Zelda impressions
Matt
A playable demo of The Legend of Zelda for the GameCube is on display at
Nintendo's booth, and we took the time to give the game a go. This is the
first time the game has been on display in playable form under its
toon-shading guise, and some time spent with it seems to indicate that the
game stays predominantly true to the Zelda formula where gameplay is
concerned.
There are five playable sections of the game available, including The Island
of the Magical Beast, Dragon Mountain, Island of Beginning, Battle with the
Boss, and Vast Ocean. The Island of the Magical Beast is a stealth level
where Link must avoid searchlights to keep from being detected. He can also
hide in a barrel and wait for the guards to turn their backs before moving
on. The camera can be manually adjusted using the C stick, and it's
essential to look around corners to find hidden guards. If he's caught,
he'll be placed in jail and will have to break out via a network of crawl
spaces. Dragon Mountain takes place in a network of caves, where Link must
use brute force to defeat enemies and special items to solve puzzles. Island
of Beginning features a great deal of NPCs who ask you to perform a variety
of tasks such as capturing a pig. Battle with the Boss is a boss fight
against a huge, crablike creature with enormous claws. Link must use his
hookshot to poke the beast in its eye. After the boss has taken a few
optical shots, its head will come down, and Link can then go after the head
with his sword. Vast Ocean is a sailing stage in which Link must cruise
around a bay in a small ship, collecting the rupees that are perched on top
of barrels. If Link cruises over the wrong barrels, they will explode and
send him careening into the water.
Despite the wide variety of things to do in the playable levels, the meat of
the gameplay is virtually identical to that of the two N64 Zelda games. Link
locks on to enemies with the L button, and you can cycle through multiple
enemies by continually tapping the button. The R button is now
context-sensitive to allow for a variety of uses. Depending on the
situation, it will make Link bring up his shield for defense, crouch, or
grab crates to either push or pull them. Once Link is in the crouched
position, pushing forward on the analog stick will cause him to crawl. The B
button is also context-sensitive, and it allows Link to talk to other
characters, pick up items and the weapons from fallen enemies, and climb
onto boxes. Like in the N64 Zelda games, slashing with Link's sword is
accomplished with the A button. Pressing the button several times performs
simple combo attacks, and holding it in and then releasing it unleashes a
powerful spin attack that lasts for several seconds. Link can also be moved
while the attack is being performed to take out several enemies at once.
While locked on to an enemy, pressing the B button initiates Link's jumping
slash attack. Other Zelda standbys such as breaking pots for rupees and
cutting grass for hidden objects have made a return as well.
The directional pad is put to good use, as pressing up will bring up the
map, pressing left will toggle a window display, and tapping right will
cycle through Link's available items. If you press down on the directional
pad, it will cause the map in the bottom right-hand corner to disappear to
keep your view from being obstructed. The X and Y buttons are reserved for
using items such as the hookshot. Once an item is mapped to the one of the
two buttons, it can be used by pressing the corresponding button. The only
items included in the E3 demo are the hookshot, a magical stone, and the
telescope. To use the hookshot, you must press the corresponding button once
and Link will begin to swing it. Pressing it a second time will cause him to
give it a toss. Once collected, the magical stone will allow Link to receive
hints from his allies by pressing the Z button when prompted.
Link's health is again measured in hearts. After defeating bosses, you're
rewarded with new heart containers that increase Link's maximum health. The
primary quest in the game is to rescue Link's sister, Arill, but plenty of
non-playable characters will supply miniquests for Link to undertake. Other
innovations that were introduced in Ocarina of Time have returned for the
GameCube Zelda game. The automatic jumping ability has made a return, and so
has Link's ability to hang from ledges and shimmy along them. Perhaps the
most impressive aspect of the nuts and bolts associated with The Legend of
Zelda is that there are no loading times whatsoever. When Link enters a new
area, the screen will pause and then flip over. By the time this is done,
the new area has been loaded. While there's a lot to the gameplay in the
version of The Legend of Zelda on display at E3, it lacks the innovation
that Ocarina of Time had in spades.
The Legend of Zelda is definitely one of the most visually impressive games
on the entire E3 show floor. It's the closest thing to a 3D cartoon ever
created, and it would be impressive even if it weren't running in real time.
A level set near lava utilizes a subtle heat-distortion effect that takes up
the entire screen. Another level has mist and volumetric fog running all the
way through it. Plumes of cartoon smoke are kicked up every time Link takes
a step, and when enemies are destroyed, they disappear into a puff of purple
swirls. When Link attacks enemies, the exaggerated sparks that are produced
when metal meets metal are a sight to behold, and overall, the art style is
both bold and consistent. The game still has some slight camera issues
during battles that take place near obstacles. But thankfully you have the
ability to swing the camera manually with the C stick or hold the Z button
for a first-person view. The game is brimming with real-time cinemas, and
the artistic look allows Link to display a variety of emotions. The cinemas
do not include dialogue of any kind and instead utilize text bubbles to move
the plot forward. The draw distance in just about every playable level is
impressive, and the minutest of details such as blades of grass are modeled
with polygons and will sway individually in the wind. When Link cuts the
grass with his sword, individual blades will fly up into the sky. The
multicolored lighting in the game is truly second to none and provides a
great deal of atmosphere when mixed with the game's cel-shaded visuals. Link
and the other characters in the game also feature self-shadowing for an
added touch of realism in an otherwise surreal world.
The Legend of Zelda includes an option to download minigames to the Game Boy
Advance, but just one kiosk on the show floor supports the feature, and we
have not been able to try it out just yet. But rest assured--when we do,
we'll detail it in our next article on the game. The Legend of Zelda is one
beautiful game that plays very well, but the demo on display here at the
show lacks that innovative gameplay punch that prior games in the series
included. Perhaps there are gameplay elements that haven't been revealed
yet, but as it stands, the game stays very true to the franchise's heritage.
Look for more reports on The Legend of Zelda over the next few days.
By Shane Satterfield, GameSpot VG [POSTED: 05/22/02]