The Curious Case of Zelda Wii U

The guys over at GoNintendo recently posted about something that has been on my mind since the moment I saw the footage of the Zelda Wii U tech demo – will Nintendo throw away the idea of motion controls for Zelda Wii U in order to create an even newer way to play with the touch screen controller, or will we still have the 1:1 motion controls that seem to fit Zelda so well? So, I decided to post it here, give my thoughts on the subject and let you have the chance to share your thoughts.

As we all know, “The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword” is the first in the series to offer 1:1 motion controls with the MotionPlus expansion. Not only are we able to have full control of our sword, but of almost every item Link is able to put his hands on. When Nintendo first announced a revolutionary new way to play video games I definitely believe they had Skyward Sword in mind.

With the release of Skyward Sword we can almost certainly say we have seen the best the Wii has to offer. The game has beautiful graphics, full 1:1 motion control, and an intensely deep story, but how will Skyward Sword relate to Zelda Wii U? With the use of a touch screen on your controller adding yet another revolutionary way to play video games on a home console, which of these great ideas will Nintendo take?

Everyone knows that Nintendo is legendary for always searching for new, innovative ways to make the best console they can. The DS had two screens, one being touch screen, the Wii had motion controls, and the 3DS had one touch screen and one 3D screen. The Wii U will take the best of both worlds – dual screens, a touch screen, and motion controls – making it another groundbreaking console. Nintendo is definitely full of ideas when it comes to their consoles and their first party games.

The Zelda series has always been revolutionary in the world of video games. The first The Legend of Zelda offered a new way to play video games leading developers to start looking at how games are created differently than they were. Ocarina of Time was another giant step in the world of video games, and is still looked at by many to be the best of the series. More than ten years after its release, every new Zelda game is quickly given the question “How does it compare to OoT?”.

While many other games in the series had new ideas and new elements to make them stand out on their own, none really stood out enough in the world of gaming to become revolutionary. However this changed with the release of Skyward Sword. Skyward Sword took the next great step, allowing us to have full use of 1:1 motion controls and a brand new art style taking the realistic look of Twilight Princess and the cell-shaded cartoon look of Wind Waker. Both graphics styles were impressive on their own, but when combined they make a new incredible look that I can actually say looks like art.

With the passing release of Skyward Sword on the Wii, it’s only a matter of time before we start wondering about the next incredible game in the Zelda series. We know Nintendo releases a Zelda game on basically every console, so the thought though of a new Zelda game for Wii U isn’t really that surprising. Most of you have probably seen the Wii U demonstration during E3 that had a tech demo of how a Zelda game would look on the Wii U if they only focused on making it HD. We saw an amazing display of graphics that would make any graphics junkie drool, incredible use of lighting with the night and day system feature, and a brand new way to play on a home console with the use of the touch screen as your item menu on the controller.

So now we have two completely different ways to play a Zelda game. The Wii Motion Plus that offers 1:1 controls, and the new Wii U controller with its touch screen and other features. Obviously motion controls are still being incorporated into the Wii U and Wiimotes will still work with the console. How will they work side by side with the touch screen controller? We saw it in a golf game demonstration, but will it be incorporated into Zelda for Wii U as well?

Eiji Aonuma has stated himself in an interview that he loves the idea of Zelda with 1:1 motion controls and even if people come up with new ideas for a future Zelda game he would ask that the motion controls stay. At one of the Zelda 25th anniversary concerts, Shigeru Miyamoto said that he was very excited for Zelda Wii U and wanted to head up the team that works on Zelda Wii U. Miyamoto has always stated that Link was to be a “link” to the players and nothing makes that statement more true than Link acting out every motion you perform with your Wiimote. However, this time around he seems so intrigued about the possibilities of the Wii U Controller and the new ways to play, that he wants to head up the team himself.

In my personal opinion adding Aounuma’s and Miyamoto’s statements together it makes me think Miyamoto has new ideas to use the touch screen with a new Zelda Wii and Aounuma wanted to keep and improve on the motion controls from Skyward Sword even more. This is just one of the many thoughts that come to mind when I think of all that has been said and trying to come up with speculation on what the next Zelda game after Skyward Sword will be like.

Honestly, I think it would be a bad idea to have a brand new way of playing a Zelda game on a home console and not even exploring the option of using the new controller, but on the other hand, the 1:1 motion controls are faring very well and still are very new to us, so changing from something that seems a perfect fit for a Zelda game to something even newer seems dumb as well. Can 1:1 motion controls even work side by side with that new controller? Did Nintendo make a mistake by coming out with more than one new great way to experience a Zelda game and not being able to use both features at the same time? What if we are given an option to play with either the touch screen or motion controls when we start the game? Although perhaps that last point is a bit unrealistic.

Perhaps we could be seeing the start of a Miyamoto Zelda game vs Aonuma Zelda game with one being released, and a year or so later another being released from the other person. One of them being an improved MotionPlus controlled game like Skyward Sword, with the other focusing purely on the Wii U controller. What are your thoughts on this? Would you rather see motion controls or use of the touch screen? Would you like it to have an OoT, WW, TP, SS style, or something completely new? What kind of story would it have? Please let us know how you feel about the upcoming Zelda Wii U in the comments below.

Source: GoNintendo
Related: Skyward Sword Walkthrough