E³ 2003

Nintendo Reveals Two New Zelda Games

Hard-core Zelda fans were either disappointed or excited about this year's Electronic Entertainment Expo, depending on who you ask. Nintendo revealed that they will be releasing two new Zelda games, both for the Gamecube. But before you get your hopes up, they're not major epics like Ocarina of Time or the Wind Waker. These games are more to keep us entertained until a real Zelda game comes out. Instead of getting into my personal opinions, I'll just report the facts.

Nintendo revealed two new Zelda games in the works, entitled "The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords" and "The Legend of Zelda: Tetra's Trackers". So, let's start with Tetra's Trackers. In case you haven't guessed, this game is a spinoff of the Wind Waker. The basic gist of the game is that you and up to three other players are "trackers". You must take Tetra's clues to collect stamps from her crew. It sounds to me like some kind of treasure hunt game or something like that. So Nintendo takes characters from their successful Wind Waker and create a "new" game. This game utilizes the linking capabilities between the GBA and the GC. In fact, the game must be played using the GBA. There isn't much official information, but from what I can gather from the screenshots, it appears that maps and other pertinent information is displayed on the TV, while the actual gameplay is on the GBA. But don't take my word for it, take a look at the screenshots below (screenshots courtesy IGN, used without permission):

Next on the list is the Gamecube conversion of Four Swords. Yes, it's the same game that recently came out on the GBA. And of course, the GBA is also needed to play this on the Gamecube. This is basically the same game as on the GBA, except that some of the action is on the Gamecube. It's a cooperative game that can have up to four players. It uses similar 2D graphics as in a Link to the Past, so it's not going to be a huge makeover with killer graphics. The game uses a combination of TV-based play and GBA-based play. When the characters are outside, the action is displayed on the TV. When one or more of the characters goes inside, the action switches to the individual GBAs. From what I can gather, only the outside is displayed on the TV. This enables players to do things without the others seeing it. Most of the graphics are just like the SNES, with a few improvements. Some of the graphics have been smoothed about, and the advanced hardware of the Gamecube allows for a few special effects, as well as a huge increase in the number of characters on the screen. Take a look at some of the screenshots:

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E3 2003

Nintendo Reveals Two New Zelda Games

E³ 2003