Zelda Wiiu Header

An urge to buy Japanese coffee for Mario, Aonuma talks Zelda changes, and news bits

News    

Over the past few weeks, Tuesdays seemed to be very boring. So quiet, that stuff like this ended up getting published on the site. This week news decided to happen on a Tuesday for some reason – tons of it. Let’s get writing then.

Eiji Aonuma has recently spoken with Danish gaming magazine Gamereactor and sometimes a gaming blog Kotaku in two separate interviews regarding the present and future of the Zelda franchise. The upcoming Wii U game, and the recently released 3DS remake were highlighted in both chats.

When questioned on dungeon building by Kotaku, he talked about how he would create the layout for an old Zelda game, and then goes onto detail what is different for the upcoming Wii U game.

Now, this is sort of like the orthodox version of how to create Zelda dungeons, but I should bring up something that’s really important to us now is that we feel it’s important to challenge the orthodoxy of the Zelda series as we’re creating new games. So while we still need to look for some themes early on, we do want to look at interesting ways to make departures from the rest.

Gamereactor then questioned him on what the Wii U can bring to the Zelda series, and he talks about using the extra power available in the Wii U, along with the second screen experience on the Gamepad, to help bring some new ideas and features to the franchise.

When I first showed off the new Zelda game on the Wii U, it seemed everyone was very excited and started proclaiming that a Zelda game had at last become open world! Zelda games have always allowed you to roam and explore a huge world. What’s changed now is that the hardware has progressed to the point that you can now explore this vast world seamlessly; the underpinning of the game hasn’t changed. And keeping track of where you are in that open world is now easier with the second screen on the Wii U GamePad, which Aonuma says aids with the sense of adventure while paralleling real life. Recently, I’ve taken to relying on the map on my smart phone when I’m out walking in a place I’m not familiar with. A map isn’t something you keep tucked away in your bag, it’s by holding it in your hand and being able to constantly check it as you move forward step by step that gives you that sense of adventure.

That’s enough Zelda for one day, lets talk about Mario related things, like this…

Image Source:  

nintendo-coffee

The above is the result of Japanese coffee brand Dydo teaming up with Nintendo for a campaign to have 8-bit figures bundled with their coffee products. The set of 8 minute figures come free with cans of ice coffee sold by the company in certain convenience stores. It’s an experience kind of like when you use to get a stupid toy in your bag of Rice Krispies – but much, much better.

The campaign has only recently started, so you cannot even go to eBay at the moment to spend silly money on trying to get them shipped over. Unless Nintendo choose to team with a similar company in US/Canada or Europe it seems these beauties will remain Japan exclusive. They always get all the cool stuff!

News Bits

  • Have you bought an Amiibo or five? If so, you are in good company, as Nintendo have announced they shipped 5.7 million of the blooming things worldwide. They boast that Link is the top seller in Japan, US/Canada, and Europe, but Mario is the fave in Australia. They also announced the sell through rate for each region – which highlights which Amiibo has sold the most compared to the amount they shipped (it’s a percentage thing). Captain Falcon comes out top of this chart in Japan, Marth is king in US/Canada, Little Mac comes out on top in Europe, and Australia loves Ike for some reason.
  • There is a NIS America press event set for Thursday – which should result in some interesting announcements. NIS America are the US publishing arm behind cult hits such as Danganronpa and Disgaea amongst others. 
  • The Playstation 4 firmware has been updated to 2.04. It unexcitingly just makes things more stable!
  • A Screamride demo is now available on both 360 and Xbox One. That is a very descriptive name for a game, as in Screamride you make people scream by building rides. The full game will release on March 3rd. There is a launch trailer to watch too if you are interested.
  • The Dead or Alive 5 Last Round disc looks very wet, and that makes me feel bad, because it is bad, and you should feel bad too. Bad Temco, bad!
  • The Nyko Light Grip for Xbox One is possibly the stupidest controller I’ve ever seen
  • The new SquareEnix Humble Bundle has gone live. It is more an “Eidos” Bundle to be honest – there is not a RPG in sight.
  • No official news, but circulating rumors are suggesting that Helldivers might be the PS+ game of choice for PS4 in March. If you have not been keeping up, Helldivers is the next game from the developers of Magicka, and is best played in coop.
  • Ed Boon has taken to Twitter to say there will be no demo for Mortal Kombat X. Thankfully, I have some inkling of how it will play based on the 17 other playable versions of the game released since 1992, so the omission is not too bad.
  • The Evil within is getting DLC in March, but it won’t fix that horrible aspect ratio. Here is a trailer to view though.
  • The Xbox Live Ultimate Game Sale is go, and many items are reduced. Go to the sale page to see all relevant things. Both 360 and Xbox One titles have discounts. 360 titles have the bigger drops, but the Xbox One reductions are not too bad either. I’d highlight that Watch Dogs is on sale, but talking about Watch Dogs just reminds me of Person of Interest. I like Person of Interest so much, that any time I used a gun in Watch Dogs was to shoot people in the kneecap.
  • Looks like Blizzard are trying to help colorblind gamers – although experts say they could do more.
  • Mark Henry DLC has been released for WWE 2k15. The new mode puts players in the rather large shoes of Sexual Chocolate himself, as he sets about inducting people into the Hall of Pain. I’ll post this trailer for you because THAT’S WHAT I DO.

What a busy day! Wednesday surely cannot match this large amount of news, can it? And don’t call me Shirley