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Zelda's Hyrule Historia gets limited edition and a trailer
The Legend of Zelda: Hyrule Historia is still a couple of months away in North America, and now a collector's edition of the book has been spotted on Amazon. The limited collector's edition features a fancy faux-leather cover, which sports a debossed symbol of the Gate of Time, and shiny gilded pages. The list price is $70, though Amazon is currently offering pre-orders at $45.73.In related news, publisher Dark Horse has released a trailer for the book, which you'll find conveniently embedded above.
Father flips Link's gender to make his daughter the heroine
Maya has really been enjoying The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker. Her father, developer Mike Hoye, says she likes "sailing, scary birds and remembering to be brave," much like Link, the game's protagonist. But girls can go on adventures and rescue their little brothers, too!To emphasize that, Hoyes altered the game's disk image with a hex editor, changing all of the dialogue references about Link's gender to be feminine. Since all the alternatives had to be exactly the same byte-for-byte length, he used "swordmain" for "swordsman," and "milady" in place of "my lad" and "master." He's provided a patch for the disk image, which you can then load up in a GameCube emulator to play.The end result of all this hacking is that a little girl gets to see herself as the hero, and find the courage to defeat Ganon in her own little heart. And that makes us feel, just, you know, so ... What? No, we're not crying! Call of Duty, bro! Go have a look at the Wii U pictures again.
Hyrule Historia coming to North America in January
A list of "January 2013 New Releases" on Diamond Book Distributors shows an English version of The Legend of Zelda: Hyrule Historia, the compendium originally released in Japan in December. According to the info provided in the sales kit, the English version is being published by Dark Horse Books, and will retail for $34.99 on January 29, 2013.The Historia is famous for including a timeline of the series' storyline, but it's also full of concept art and other material, all edited and collected by producer Eiji Aonuma.
Mega64 brings Skyward Sword to Earth
Behind every legendary warrior is some guy with a Wiimote, desperately trying to perform a shield bash. Unless, of course, live-action video game pantomime is "not [your] lifestyle."
Zelda: The Lost Oracle fan film captures imagination
It's no secret Nintendo could really use a Zelda sequel that recaptures the passions of fallen fans young and old. This fan made trailer for the nonexistent Zelda: The Lost Oracle takes Toon Link and inflames the hopes of what's possible for the franchise in HD on Wii U.
Super Mario 3D Land breaks 5 million sold, Skyward Sword at 3.4 million
Nintendo elaborated on the "strong sales" for The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword and Super Mario 3D Land today, in its list of million-selling titles for the last nine months. The Wii adventure sold 3.42 million units worldwide, of which 3.04 million took place outside of Japan.That makes it the best selling Wii game for the period, right? Nope! That's Mario Kart Wii, which sold 4.91 million copies between April and December, for a life-to-date total of 31.91 million copies. New releases Kirby's Return to Dreamland and Wii Play Motion squeaked into the million-seller club with 1.21 million and 1.12 million respectively.On 3DS, Super Mario 3D Land sold 5.03 million in total -- 3.68 million "overseas" and 1.36 million in Japan. Mario Kart 7 sold almost as many, at 4.54 million. Even the good old DS managed to have some million-selling new releases: Professor Layton and the Last Specter (1.19 million, all outside of Japan) and Kirby Mass Attack (1.01 million).
Homemade golden Nunchuk is a real treasure
Keen with desire to own a golden Nunchuk to match the golden Wii Remote released for The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword? Well, you can't get an official golden Nunchuk outside of Japan's Club Nintendo, but that can't stop you from making your own. Enter Reddit user alycenwonderland, who crafted a very slick custom Nunchuk that, dare we say it, looks even better than the official peripheral. Of course, should you decide to make one yourself, it will likely take hours of monotonous work before you can reap the sweet payoff -- not unlike the latest Zelda.
Not even Link is immune to the recession
When we need money, we do what any upstanding member of society does: we cut lawns and sell lemonade. If you're a game protagonist, you hock your most treasured possessions -- at least, that's what Link does.
Zelda 25th anniversary symphony coming to Denver, Vancouver, Atlanta and more
The Legend of Zelda 25th Anniversary concert series is continuing its journey around the United States, and the show is so popular that it's added four new dates to the proceedings. In addition to all of the dates already listed, the show is coming to Denver on April 7, Vancouver, Canada on March 14, Phoenix, AZ on April 20, and finally Atlanta, GA on May 12. The concert features a full-length four-part symphony of Legend of Zelda music performed by a full-sized orchestra. Reviews on Ticketmaster's site are great so far, so if you're interested in seeing the show you'd better send that boomerang out to grab them quickly.
Skyward Sword's language deciphered, turned into font
Did you ever wonder what all the writing found throughout The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword translated to? Neither have we, but fan "Sarinilli" did, and discovered that it's just our alphabet represented by new characters. A few of the Hylian characters represent multiple letters, but it's a simple substitution regardless. With this knowledge, Sarinilli then created a font out of the Hylian characters, which you can download here. Now you can write secret messages meant only for Link! We think he'd be very surprised to find out how concerned people are about the Zelda timeline.
Zelda Flipnote animations, made by the Nintendo of America staff
What better way for the Nintendo of America staff to show its love for Zelda's 25th anniversary than to make art on the DS itself? Here's a quick roundup of some cute NoA creations for Flipnote Studio, posted to YouTube by a fan from the Nintendo Channel.
Legend of Zelda 25th Anniversary shirt is a real treasure, for a limited time
You enter the quiet, overgrown cavern by pushing open the heavy stone door with all your might. Inside, sunlight streams through the broken ceiling, and dust that hasn't been disturbed in hundreds of years lazily floats through the air, shaken up by your entrance. The sunbeams land on the summit of a small set of stairs, where an ornate, red and gold chest sits, teasing and waiting for you to open it. You do. As you crack open the ancient treasury, a small fanfare plays, starting quietly and then opening up into a triumphant series of simple notes, telling you that you have finally done it. The item you pull out of the centuries-old coffer is fine treasure indeed. It's a shirt, adorned with some kind of legendary logo, a heart container tag, and the number "25" on the back. It's available in five sizes, for a special one-time only printing. Order now, before February 20, 2012, to get it sometime this May. You fold the shirt into your leather pack, and move on through the dungeon -- who knows what fearsome beast you might have to use this on, three different times, to defeat it?
The official Legend of Zelda timeline isn't entirely official yet
But it's getting close -- game translator GlitterBerri used the above video of the Hyrule Historia, a history book edited by Zelda developer Eiji Aonuma, to create the below timeline of events throughout Zelda's history. This is the closest we've seen to an official timeline, but it may yet be tweaked. Enjoy your speculation:
Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword save files repaired by Wii channel
What's that, Link? You say your progress in The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword has been halted by a game-breaking sequence of events? And that I must deliver expository text because you're unable to speak? Alright then. Nintendo's corrective strategy for Skyward Sword, which will strike you as unorthodox and elaborate compared to Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 patching procedures, is to release a full Wii Channel. It will repair (or effectively patch) save files created after the glitch has occurred. According to an announcement from Japan, the "Zelda Data Restoration Channel" will be available through the Wii Shopping Channel, from the Wii Channel section. Nintendo of America has not yet updated its support page to highlight the new channel. At the moment, it's letting customers send in their save files for repair.
What motion controls could do for JRPGs
This is a column by Jason Schreier dedicated to the analysis (and occasional mocking) of his favorite genre, the Japanese role-playing game. Whether it's because they're too antiquated or just too niche, he believes JRPGs don't get enough attention in the gaming industry today. It's time to change that. While plowing through the last few sections of The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword several weeks ago, I realized that I didn't want it to end. Not because I wanted to keep playing -- the action-adventure game had already stolen more than 40 hours of my life -- but because I wanted to continue waving my arm up and down to kill things. I was completely enthralled by the game's motion controls. And I used to hate motion controls. You see, Nintendo's latest Zelda uses the Wii controller's MotionPlus accessory to recognize the precise movements of your arm. Slash horizontally, and hero Link will do the same. Slash vertically, and Link's sword will follow suit. Slash diagonally? Well, you can probably guess. As a cranky longtime gamer with a crippling fear of change, I spent a long time thinking that this sounded terrible. Waggling my controller in games like Super Mario Galaxy and Twilight Princess felt more like inconvenience than innovation. Would Skyward Sword really feel all that different? Yes. Yes it would. It felt phenomenal. And it made me start asking another question. Could motion controls add some flavor to JRPGs?
Nintendo to repair buggy Zelda: Skyward Sword save files
While Bethesda scrambles to control unforeseen events born from thousands of characters, objects and dragons interacting with each other in the sprawling land of Skyrim, Nintendo addresses a game-breaking error that occurs if you complete one of three quests in the wrong order ... and then talk to a guy twice. "If you are experiencing this situation, we are able to repair your saved data," Nintendo writes on its support page for The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword. If you couldn't avoid triggering the bug (here's how), you can now send in your save file to be repaired. The company also intends to release "a program that will repair save data for those who have their Wii connected to the Internet." That sounds almost like a patch, filtered for technical terminology, but Nintendo only refers to it as a "program." (Aside: The mythical Wii game patch does exist in some cases!) We'll let you know as soon as we hear more about this restorative download. If, in the meantime, you feel paranoid about Link's bugs, you can keep up to two duplicates of your save file -- just select "copy" from the main menu every now and then.
Get a golden nunchuck to go with your golden Wiimote from Japan's Club Nintendo
Admit it: Your flair for fashion, design and symmetry has prevented you from fully appreciating the gold-colored Wii Remote Plus that came bundled with special edition versions of Zelda: Skyward Sword. Hey, we're not judging! Take one look at our wardrobe and you'll know our meticulous approach to color coordination. We're here to tell you there's a solution to your dilemma -- Japanese Club Nintendo members can now spend their hard-earned credits on an equally golden Wii Nunchuck. The faux-metallic peripheral will run you 600 Points, while the other new addition to the rewards catalog -- a 3DS game case which holds up to 18 titles -- will cost you 150 Points. You can check out the new Nunchuck in the image posted above; just try not to let the shameful color mismatching get to you. We've contacted Nintendo to see if these new products are coming stateside.
Shigeru Miyamoto 'retiring from current position' at Nintendo, working on smaller games [update: Nintendo denies]
Update: A Nintendo spokesperson tells Reuters that the report of Shigeru Miyamoto stepping down to a different position is "absolutely not true." The company asserts the story is a "misunderstanding," and that Miyamoto has "no intention" of stepping down. Original story: "I'm not saying that I'm going to retire from game development altogether. What I mean by retiring is, retiring from my current position," Nintendo head of development and long-time game industry figurehead Shigeru Miyamoto told Wired's Game|Life blog in an interview this week. It appears, after a lengthy career spent creating some of the game industry's most popular and important franchises, Miyamoto is altering his role at the company. "What I really want to do is be in the forefront of game development once again myself. Probably working on a smaller project with even younger developers. Or I might be interested in making something that I can make myself, by myself. Something really small," he explained further. Miyamoto isn't quitting development, though. Apparently he's looking to start a new project in 2012, and hopes to show it publicly by year's end. "In other words, I'm not intending to start from things that require a five-year development time," he added. While he won't be changing roles immediately, the idea behind announcing his retirement is to spur the less veteran devs at Nintendo to step up. "I'm interested in doing a variety of many other things," he teased.
Oops! Game-halting bug in Skyward Sword (and how to avoid it)
If you're currently many hours deep into The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword -- say, around the "Song of the Hero" quest -- you'd better be careful. According to an email from Nintendo sent to Zelda Informer, you may encounter a game-breaking glitch if you complete tasks in a certain order during the "Song of the Hero" quest. If you save after the bug is in effect and don't have an earlier file as a backup, you'll have to start Skyward Sword over. If you complete the quest's desert leg first and speak to a Goron gentleman not once, but twice, the game locks out completion of the other two portions, halting all progress in the game. That said, it's pretty easy to avoid: just don't talk to the Goron more than once. Done! (Alternatively, do not complete the desert part first.) Nintendo gets more specific in describing the glitch in its letter, which we've dropped below the break. We've reached out to Nintendo to see if a patch will be issued for the game, but the company's official release unfortunately didn't indicate as much.
Indie composers craft The Legend of Zelda tribute album
OC ReMix revisits the grand history of Zelda with a new tribute and remix album, "25YEARLEGEND." The project draws together 18 experienced indie musicians, including the producer of Minecraft's tunes to spelunk by. It's available as a free download here. Even though Zelda's music has been remixed umpteen times in successive games, this buoyant compilation surprises with a few creative interpretations, and a good selection of the most sacred songs. We've placed two of our favorites after the break. If you listen to the whole album, keep an ear out for a cameo by an infamous Nintendo commercial.
