And as for those unused Wind Waker dungeons that we would all love to get our hands on? Apparently... we already have? Eurogamer had a chance to speak with The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD producer Eiji Aonuma, and this came out:

"Quite honestly, those dungeons we removed we used in other games, so we can't use them in this version!"

When Eurogamer asked if he could tell them which ones:

"I can't!"


I wouldn't expect too much new content either:

"I've received many questions about additional content beyond what was in the GameCube version of the game, but our desire is to stay true of the story that was in the original. If we add dungeons then that will affect other parts of the GameCube version, which we really want to stay true to.

"If it felt like there were maybe too few dungeons then I feel that what was wrong with the GameCube version was the pacing. It was thrown off because it took longer to get to certain dungeons. There was a waiting period, and then when you arrived there the experience maybe didn't feel as big, as you'd waited so long to get there. We're tuning the game to alleviate all that. The pacing should feel appropriate to the overall experience this time... We need to tighten those [gaps] and make the overall experience and story feel tighter."

So it sounds like The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD will be a relatively straight-forward port of the Gamecube original, with HD graphics and some tweaking being the main changes. What do you think Negative World, is this enough?

The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD will release in October of 2013.

SOURCE: Eurogamer Eiji Aonuma interview

URL to share (right click and copy)

I just can't justify getting this one. The visuals are pretty much the only thing getting a rehaul, and TWW--along with Metroid Prime--is pretty much the LEAST-aged-looking GameCube game ever. It's still gorgeous today, so I just don't see the point. Faster sailing would be nice I guess.

Posted by

TriforceBun

on: 06/14/13, 04:56

I really don't miss those dungeons. Why should I? Never knew they were supposed to be there in the first place.

Anyway, I love Wind Waker for the sailing, not for the crawling around in holes.

Posted by

kriswright

on: 06/14/13, 07:12

I need no extra anything.

Especially after seeing it at Best Buy. Shit was jaw droppingly gorgeous. Videos and pics do zero justice.

Posted by

carlosrox

on: 06/14/13, 08:28

Wait - is this going to be an eShop exclusive game, or are they planning on selling this at retail?

If it's the latter, then yeah, I might pick it up if I ever saw it for like $15. Then again, I'm really not a WW fan. At full price, I really couldn't care less about this game.

Also, question - does it run at 60fps?
Also also - I guess they're not enhancing the music at all? I hate some of the samples they use in Wind Waker. At least record someone to sing the choir music or upgrade those durn violins.

Edit: Though, in Wind Waker's defense, let me say how refreshing it is to see a 3D Zelda game again with user camera control. SORELY missed in TP on Wii and Skyward Sword.

Another edit: What is with modern game designers still using certain kinds of HUDs? I know the minority of gamers are on plasmas, but criminy, at least make some of that stuff transparent.

Posted by

PogueSquadron

on: 06/14/13, 08:33

Edited:

06/14/13, 08:39

I'll admit that I am a little bummed about them not putting those dungeons in the game. Though, when you think about it, there is more to it than just adding a dungeon or two in the game. I mean, say there was two dungeons that did not make it in. Well, storywise, there has to be a reason for Link to travel to whatever island which may have inlcuded a missing dungeon, plus there would have to be a new item introduced in that dungeon.

I was thinking about this earlier today and I figured there wouldn't be any new dungeons added, cause parts of the story would have to change. Really, there isn't must justification to add these new dungeons. We would only end up acquiring a couple new items, overall story would change the same.

I'm sure the game will look great in HD and I cannot wait to see it in person and actually play the game, but I do wish some of the textures would change. Back at the beginning of the year when Nintendo announced this game was being remade, they showed concept art and how the game would look different. I figured the game was getting some upgraded textures like on OoT and SF64.

Looking at these videos now, it appears that those concept pictures was a lie or who knows. I do remember some people complaining about those pics and again, they were just concept pics, not how the game was really going to look. I wasn't wanting a 'huge' change, but just richer textures that the GC could not handle. Now it appears we don't even get that.

I hope that didn't change just cause people were whining about those pics. Anyways, if Nintendo just planned to remake the game in HD, thats what they should have said in the first place. They should never had shown those concept pics. Plus, I'm sure at that moment in time, the game was already underway being remade for the Wii U. So, was the game going to look a little different plus be in HD like the pics showed. Again, they were just concept pics, but thing like the windmill in that one pic was completely different looking. Even the landscape, ect had a different look. I really cannot imagine that Nintendo was updating the graphics and then suddenly they chucked it all out the window and just decided to keep the game exactly same, only now in HD.

I don't like being told one thing and then a few months later being shown and told something completely different. I will still end up buying the game. I only played it once, but I watched both of my sons when they played the game, which was back around the time it was released, maybe like a year or two later. Looking forward to playing this again.

Also, I LIKED THE TRIFORCE QUEST AT THE END! YES, I LIKE THOSE FETCH QUESTS. If NIntendo takes this out or changes it drastically, I WILL NOT buy the game.

Posted by

gamewizard65

on: 06/14/13, 11:58

kriswright said:

I really don't miss those dungeons. Why should I? Never knew they were supposed to be there in the first place

Really? You never wondered *why* you just got handed the third pearl?

I bet one of the missing dungeons was turned into the Lakebed Temple from Twilight Princess. That thing was meh.

And now I think about it some more, the other one may have been the Temple of Time. The use of the Dominion Rod is very similar to how Link had to team up with the Sages in the latter half of WW.

Posted by

Shadowlink

on: 06/14/13, 12:45

Edited:

06/14/13, 12:47

Makes sense that they would have used the dungeons in other games, so I don't really care. I think it's more important that they tweak the pacing of the game we got back then, so this sounds good to me.

Posted by

r_hjort

on: 06/14/13, 13:00

@Shadowlink

I think the Pirate Ship in Skyward Sword is a potential candidate as well. TP's Temple of Time is the other one that came to mind, definitely.

Posted by

TheBigG753

on: 06/14/13, 14:41

Probably will skip it then. I loved Wind Waker, but I just don't have time to replay a game I already played twice. Unless it's Elebits or something.

Posted by

-JKR-

on: 06/14/13, 14:56

Eh, I'll still get it down the road...but not at launch. I'd rather get all of the original stuff first...so maybe this for my birthday next year (or Lightning Returns...or both).

Posted by

ludist210

on: 06/14/13, 16:13

I've always assumed that the cut dungeons were used somewhere else. New dungeons would be nice, but who am I kidding, I was always gonna buy this day 1. Wind Waker is my favorite game in my favorite series. I've been itching to play it again (for the 7th time or something ridiculous like that), and only waited mainly because of this remake.

Posted by

rebonack

on: 06/14/13, 16:13

@sirmastersephiroth
Umm... no... they said way back before Twilight Princess was released that they were using ideas from the 2 cut dungeons from Wind Waker in future Zelda games. But the internet has selective memory and always likes to focus on the negative... positive stuff be damned.

For example for the longest time people were ragging on Miyamoto's quote around the early GCN/GBA era how he doesn't like RPGs and claiming this is why Nintendo has no RPGs (disregarding that Nintendo was still publishing Fire Emblem, Paper Mario and Pokemon at the time... but of course this was during the Pokemon is da kiddiez hate era) but selectively ignoring that within the same interview Miyamoto said that he was trying to urge Itoi to come back to work on Mother again.*

* - That GCN/GBA era was also an odd era where people were saying "imagine if Miyamoto worked on an RPG? He should! " completely ignoring that the guy openly stated that he dislikes the genre... you never get that for other people. I mean imagine if Naughty Dog worked on a Civilizations-style strategy game?

Posted by

CPA Wei

on: 06/14/13, 16:27

Edited:

06/14/13, 16:32

I love Wind Waker. Probably one of my favorite games ever. But I seriously doubt I'll get this. My finances do not allow buying games I already own just for updated graphics and fast sailing. I liked sailing.

Posted by

VickiL

on: 06/14/13, 16:29

VickiL said:

I love Wind Waker. Probably one of my favorite games ever. But I seriously doubt I'll get this.

This. If the main changes are just a reskin, faster sailing, and Miiverse messages in a bottle then I'll probably pass. Wow, I haven't passed on a Zelda in a loooooong time.

Posted by

Abdooooo

on: 06/14/13, 17:18

@TheBigG753

Probably also why we got that incredibly weird bird-thing in the Temple of Time in Twilight Princess as well.

Posted by

missypissy

on: 06/14/13, 18:16

@missypissy

Hmmm, I played TP about 4 times I believe and for the life of me, I cannot remember any weird bird thing in the Temple of Time. God my memory sucks lately...on the other hand,only good thing about having a shitty memory, I can play games or watch movies that I've already experienced like it was the first time.

Posted by

gamewizard65

on: 06/14/13, 18:37

Edited:

06/14/13, 18:38

And....... now Aonuma is saying that they never cut any dungeons to begin with.

I think when the GameCube version of Wind Waker was released I might have said that I cut some dungeons, but what I was actually meaning to say was that there was a lot of frustration on my part, because there was a lot of content that I couldn’t include that I wanted to.

Sounds more like they were trying to get some more dungeons in and couldn't, but not that they actually WERE in and got cut? Maybe semantics, but still interesting.

Also, as for the whole multiplayer in the upcoming Wii U Zelda thing...

EG: During that Nintendo Direct you hinted that we may no longer play Zelda alone on Wii U. Do you think local or online multiplayer would be better for the series?

Aonuma: In saying it's not a single-player or lone experience, I didn't necessarily mean multiplayer. There has actually been multiplayer in Zelda games, in Four Swords for example. But for example in Wind Waker, with the Tingle Bottle - it's not a traditional multiplayer experience but you certainly have the feeling that other people are exploring the same world and sharing information.

So that's one way that I meant that it's not a single-player experience. We'll continue to explore different ways of opening up this world beyond a single-player experience, but that's not necessarily to say that there will be typical multiplayer.

Posted by

Zero

on: 06/14/13, 20:20

Edited:

06/14/13, 20:22

@Zero
I always figured that was always the case. I never thought they decided "well we finished these dungeons and could put them in but I think we'll leave them out" and more rather they had a deadline to meet and didn't have time to wrap up those two dungeons and integrate/program them into the game. Perhaps they poorly worded it the first time around and people just interpreted in the worst way they can imagine (which happens to people in all walks of life) but that's how I always took it.

I think Super Mario Sunshine likely suffered from the same thing with tons of filler Shines (especially the notorious blue coins) and more Shines per area than Stars per area in 64 and Galaxy. This was the post-N64 era where Nintendo wanted to shake the stigma that they delay things all the time (after the cancelled Super Mario 64 2, the oft delayed Ocarina of Time, and the rampant Rare game delays), to the point where Miyamoto promised that Super Mario Sunshine would release before the end of the summer and made some promise with the release time of The Wind Waker (which I can't recall at this moment). In fact in Sunshine's case it basically released as close to fall as possible (basically just making it in time for Miyamoto's promise to come true).

Posted by

CPA Wei

on: 06/14/13, 22:30

Edited:

06/14/13, 23:40

@Zero I never interpreted the two dungeons as being completed, I figured that they were all planned out, but then they didn't have time to program them into the game. But then again, I don't consider "cut" content to have actually existed in the game, it can still be something planned out.

As for the multiplayer thing, when I first saw Miiverse I was worried that Nintendo would view it as a replacement for online multiplayer. Looks like I may be right about that... :(

Posted by

Mop it up

on: 06/14/13, 23:36

@gamewizard65

Bird thing.

Posted by

missypissy

on: 06/15/13, 00:04