Welcome to a life-changing experience known as my analysis of the new Zelda Wii U demo shown at Geoff Keightly's Lame Awards (got that one? It was subtle. Might miss it the first time around.) I'll be dissecting every part of this magnificent meaty beast of a demo. You go into this analysis an average everyday man/woman/Aaron and come out doubting everything you previously knew.
No turning back now, let's get this party started.
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1. Here we have a flag? That wasn't a question, it's a truth. Yes, the mighty flag. Symbolic of wind and it's eight possible directions. Due to the inclusion of the sailcloth in this game, it brings the question: Will wind play a role in this game, and will be able to change the way it moves? I don't have answers, but it could add some strategy to using your sailcloth rather than simply jumping off of anywhere and moving exactly where you intend.
2. This is a watch tower, which likely serves no other purpose other than to see your surroundings more easily. Neat.
3. And there you can see your typical three heart pieces to start the g-WAIT HOLD THE PHONE. HOLD IT. Is that--- 5 hearts!? Bu-but, Link ain't got even his green tunic bro, so this has to be early in the game. Wait, Skyward Sword started you with six hearts. Hmm, then maybe similar to Skyward Sword, we'll be seeing an increase from the typical three hearts to start off the game. Or maybe Link doesn't wear a tunic in this game-CONTROVERSY.
4. Magic meter or stamina meter. You decide. Well, not really, Nintendo does. So get off your high horse. Nah but seriously, I'm guessing Magic meter since we don't see any kind of 'sprint' mechanic like in SS, but on the other side we never see it deplete at all. So it could go either way.
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1. Waterfall in a mountain, looks puuurty.
2. Big ol' cliff! Now that is some variation in terrain, more than any other Zelda game to date.
3. Some kind of rock formation, but it plateaus in a very odd way. Almost seems like it's man-made to an extent, but it might just be a bad angle/quality video.
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1. Mountains 'errywhere. Can't wait to 'splore 'em.
2. Looks like there's some kind of body of water down there with mist emanating from it. I wonder if you could dive all the way down there.
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1. Hmm, is that some kind of teleporter thing? Is this the fast travel system by teleporting using these? I don't know, but I wanna.
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1. Beacons are back from Skyward Sword. I like a good smoked beacon.
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1. Time system is here, but it don't move at all. What is this, Kakariko Village from Ocarina of Time? Hah. Anyway, I believe the reason it isn't moving is because little Aonuma here stated he wanted to show the game at sunset. Using my flawless logic, I believe he used dev controls to make the game stay at the time of the game where the sun sets. That sneaky bastard.
2. Zoom zoom zoom.
3. Could this be the button for your item selection? Probably, yeah.
4. This is where 'numa put the beacon, and that line there shows the distance between him and the beacon. Pretty big gap, huh? I've been told that before if you know what I mean, haha (I don't).
5. So many questions, click this button for your answers. (Or just more questions). Probably just a help screen for controls and stuffs.
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All the different zoom amounts. Check it or get checked. Or do both I don't really care.
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1. Islands!? What is this, Wind Waker? It's not, it's Zelda Wii U. Pay attention dude, we're not even halfway through the analysis. But hey, perhaps there'll be boat travel in this game. Unless you have to swim, but that'd be too wet for me.
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1. I spot Lake Hylia, or at least a lake that looks like the shape of it from Twilight Princess.
2. There's some red stuff, which I assume is lava, which then causes me to assume this is Death Mountain.
3. Snow area? Probs.
4. Looks kind of like a little water area. It's unlike the other water on the map since it's far more defined and looks like it goes downward into the earth. Might be Zora's Domain.
5. At first glance this looks like snow, but I'm willing to bet this is the desert area of the game.
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1. Sailcloth is back and actually good this time, since it's very similar to the Deku Leaf where you can fly all around. Pretty freakin' cool if you ask me. Why didn't you ask me?
2. Cool lookin' rocks. Das about it.
3. Initially I though this was Death Mountain, but later one we'll see this is unlikely.
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1. Trees. Trees everywhere, and you can actually walk around them in stead of gazin' at 'em. The future is here.
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1. Waha. Water. It's.... it's water.
2. Some kinda bird statue or watch tower? The world may never know (Until 2015 of course).
3. The fake Death Mountain strikes again. Do not be fooled by his trickery.
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1. Signs of life --- a torch! Maybe this means the lantern returns... or not. Actually, that's a poor conclusion to come too since Skyward Sword had torches but no lantern. Bad Jack.
2. Something very teeny tiny back there, but I haven't the clue what it could be. Probably cool though. Hopefully. It'd be kinda cool if it was like a mollusk or something.
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1. Epones. She's back and black.... haired.
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1. Controls. Left analog stick likely controls Epones, A dashes probably, and the right trigger likely is how you use your arrows. Maybe.
2. Body of water and sand. This is like the 'beach episode' of Zelda.
3. Look at that tree, we ain't ever seen a tree of this caliber in a Zelder before.
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Hey, it's that forest they showed off for Twilight Princess that we never got. Until now... unless this one gets cut too.
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Link wears a hood when on Epona. Got something to hide, Lonk?
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The little skank pulled the ol' swticheroo yet again! He's... right-handed like in Skyward Sword and Twilight Princess. Also sword. ALSO HE'S RIGHT-HANDED OPTIONAL MOTION CONTROLS CONFIRMED ACTUALLY THOUGH.
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1. Arrows are back, and require ammo like usual and like unusual since A Link Between World didn't have ammo. Also, notice the D-Pad icon-this is likely how you switch between different arrows. Pretty neat.
2. He's shootin'. About it really.
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1. What is this, a clip show?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJfJTmfq2Q4
Nah but seriously folks, the goddang scarf is clipping through the goddang shield. DANG.
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1. Real big tree.
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1. Statue. We'll be looking more into this one, but notice it's bird-like appearance and bird-like greed.
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1. Looks like a bokoblin, or some kinda 'blin. Much better design than the one's in SS, but they didn't give a good look at 'em really.
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1. A wing on the statue!? No way, could it be a bird!? Wait... bird... Skyward... SWORD. That's right, Skyward Sword himself is in the building and ready to mingle. Could this be a potential sequel? I don't know, but the similar graphics and bird statues everywhere (they were in the E3 trailer) make me think it's possible.
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1. Little bokoblin is either sleeping or hiding in grass. Like the marijuana kind.
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1. Another look at the wing. It's glorious.
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Bullet time/slow-motion thing when you use an arrow. You jump off of Epones and shoot an arrow in the air because it looks cool.
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Just wanted to highlight how in Twilight Princess, in areas like this you would be on a set path and wouldn't be able to venture outside the walls. Here? You can go literally anywhere all around. NOICE.
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1. One last look at this beautiful bird statue. It's a bird, got it? Skyward Sword 2 Holiday 2015, pre-order now.
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1. Little animal up on that rock.
2. Some kind of castle-like building, or possible the entrance to a bridge.
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1. The true death mountain. Note the fire.
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HORSES YAY.
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So there you have it, the one and only Zelda on Wii U hosted by yours truly. And yours not so truly (Aaron). I'd like to thank you all for making it this far, and have a safe drive home.
No turning back now, let's get this party started.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Here we have a flag? That wasn't a question, it's a truth. Yes, the mighty flag. Symbolic of wind and it's eight possible directions. Due to the inclusion of the sailcloth in this game, it brings the question: Will wind play a role in this game, and will be able to change the way it moves? I don't have answers, but it could add some strategy to using your sailcloth rather than simply jumping off of anywhere and moving exactly where you intend.
2. This is a watch tower, which likely serves no other purpose other than to see your surroundings more easily. Neat.
3. And there you can see your typical three heart pieces to start the g-WAIT HOLD THE PHONE. HOLD IT. Is that--- 5 hearts!? Bu-but, Link ain't got even his green tunic bro, so this has to be early in the game. Wait, Skyward Sword started you with six hearts. Hmm, then maybe similar to Skyward Sword, we'll be seeing an increase from the typical three hearts to start off the game. Or maybe Link doesn't wear a tunic in this game-CONTROVERSY.
4. Magic meter or stamina meter. You decide. Well, not really, Nintendo does. So get off your high horse. Nah but seriously, I'm guessing Magic meter since we don't see any kind of 'sprint' mechanic like in SS, but on the other side we never see it deplete at all. So it could go either way.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Waterfall in a mountain, looks puuurty.
2. Big ol' cliff! Now that is some variation in terrain, more than any other Zelda game to date.
3. Some kind of rock formation, but it plateaus in a very odd way. Almost seems like it's man-made to an extent, but it might just be a bad angle/quality video.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Mountains 'errywhere. Can't wait to 'splore 'em.
2. Looks like there's some kind of body of water down there with mist emanating from it. I wonder if you could dive all the way down there.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Hmm, is that some kind of teleporter thing? Is this the fast travel system by teleporting using these? I don't know, but I wanna.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Beacons are back from Skyward Sword. I like a good smoked beacon.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Time system is here, but it don't move at all. What is this, Kakariko Village from Ocarina of Time? Hah. Anyway, I believe the reason it isn't moving is because little Aonuma here stated he wanted to show the game at sunset. Using my flawless logic, I believe he used dev controls to make the game stay at the time of the game where the sun sets. That sneaky bastard.
2. Zoom zoom zoom.
3. Could this be the button for your item selection? Probably, yeah.
4. This is where 'numa put the beacon, and that line there shows the distance between him and the beacon. Pretty big gap, huh? I've been told that before if you know what I mean, haha (I don't).
5. So many questions, click this button for your answers. (Or just more questions). Probably just a help screen for controls and stuffs.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
All the different zoom amounts. Check it or get checked. Or do both I don't really care.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Islands!? What is this, Wind Waker? It's not, it's Zelda Wii U. Pay attention dude, we're not even halfway through the analysis. But hey, perhaps there'll be boat travel in this game. Unless you have to swim, but that'd be too wet for me.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. I spot Lake Hylia, or at least a lake that looks like the shape of it from Twilight Princess.
2. There's some red stuff, which I assume is lava, which then causes me to assume this is Death Mountain.
3. Snow area? Probs.
4. Looks kind of like a little water area. It's unlike the other water on the map since it's far more defined and looks like it goes downward into the earth. Might be Zora's Domain.
5. At first glance this looks like snow, but I'm willing to bet this is the desert area of the game.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Sailcloth is back and actually good this time, since it's very similar to the Deku Leaf where you can fly all around. Pretty freakin' cool if you ask me. Why didn't you ask me?
2. Cool lookin' rocks. Das about it.
3. Initially I though this was Death Mountain, but later one we'll see this is unlikely.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Trees. Trees everywhere, and you can actually walk around them in stead of gazin' at 'em. The future is here.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Waha. Water. It's.... it's water.
2. Some kinda bird statue or watch tower? The world may never know (Until 2015 of course).
3. The fake Death Mountain strikes again. Do not be fooled by his trickery.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Signs of life --- a torch! Maybe this means the lantern returns... or not. Actually, that's a poor conclusion to come too since Skyward Sword had torches but no lantern. Bad Jack.
2. Something very teeny tiny back there, but I haven't the clue what it could be. Probably cool though. Hopefully. It'd be kinda cool if it was like a mollusk or something.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Epones. She's back and black.... haired.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Controls. Left analog stick likely controls Epones, A dashes probably, and the right trigger likely is how you use your arrows. Maybe.
2. Body of water and sand. This is like the 'beach episode' of Zelda.
3. Look at that tree, we ain't ever seen a tree of this caliber in a Zelder before.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hey, it's that forest they showed off for Twilight Princess that we never got. Until now... unless this one gets cut too.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Link wears a hood when on Epona. Got something to hide, Lonk?
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The little skank pulled the ol' swticheroo yet again! He's... right-handed like in Skyward Sword and Twilight Princess. Also sword. ALSO HE'S RIGHT-HANDED OPTIONAL MOTION CONTROLS CONFIRMED ACTUALLY THOUGH.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Arrows are back, and require ammo like usual and like unusual since A Link Between World didn't have ammo. Also, notice the D-Pad icon-this is likely how you switch between different arrows. Pretty neat.
2. He's shootin'. About it really.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. What is this, a clip show?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJfJTmfq2Q4
Nah but seriously folks, the goddang scarf is clipping through the goddang shield. DANG.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Real big tree.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Statue. We'll be looking more into this one, but notice it's bird-like appearance and bird-like greed.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Looks like a bokoblin, or some kinda 'blin. Much better design than the one's in SS, but they didn't give a good look at 'em really.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. A wing on the statue!? No way, could it be a bird!? Wait... bird... Skyward... SWORD. That's right, Skyward Sword himself is in the building and ready to mingle. Could this be a potential sequel? I don't know, but the similar graphics and bird statues everywhere (they were in the E3 trailer) make me think it's possible.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Little bokoblin is either sleeping or hiding in grass. Like the marijuana kind.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Another look at the wing. It's glorious.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bullet time/slow-motion thing when you use an arrow. You jump off of Epones and shoot an arrow in the air because it looks cool.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Just wanted to highlight how in Twilight Princess, in areas like this you would be on a set path and wouldn't be able to venture outside the walls. Here? You can go literally anywhere all around. NOICE.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. One last look at this beautiful bird statue. It's a bird, got it? Skyward Sword 2 Holiday 2015, pre-order now.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Little animal up on that rock.
2. Some kind of castle-like building, or possible the entrance to a bridge.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. The true death mountain. Note the fire.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
HORSES YAY.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
So there you have it, the one and only Zelda on Wii U hosted by yours truly. And yours not so truly (Aaron). I'd like to thank you all for making it this far, and have a safe drive home.
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Can't wait to see some more of this, anyway, game is shaping up a treat. Interesting to see how Nintendo will fare throwing their weight around in what's become a quite competitive thing now, the ol' open world; this really seems to be the "Make it open-world!" generation. I can live with that quite happily, too!
