Nintendo Surprises With New Zelda for DS
Link joins Mario on the portable juggernaut. First screens.
Nintendo president Satoru Iwata's keynote speech at the Game Developers Conference on Thursday was perhaps light on new games, but he did reveal that Nintendo has the first Legend of Zelda title in the works for that twin-screened juggernaut, the DS.
Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass shuns the more realistic style of the long-delayed Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess and instead uses a similar cel-shaded art style to Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker. The game also features heavy use of the touch-screen.
You'll be able to use the stylus to direct Link's boomerang, annotate dungeon maps to help you remember where enemies and chests are and trace out paths for your Wind Waker-esque ship to follow. The touch-screen is also used in solving puzzles and foiling bosses in battles that will sometimes stretch over both screens.
The portable nature of the game shouldn't be taken as a sign that it's not important to Nintendo. The company has its top people working on the game, including Eiji Aonuma, the man commanding Link's adventures of late.
Next stop for Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass is what will no doubt be a big showing at E3 in May. The game will be out for DS later this year.
Alex Wollenschlaeger
Editor, Kikizo Games
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The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass Announcement trailer from GDC (normal quality) |
1.08m | 8MB | SD, DF, 30 640x480 1.2Mbps |
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