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The Legend of Zelda celebrates 25 years with a symphony
The Legend of Zelda is 25 this year, and Nintendo is celebrating its birthday the way any young, virile adult would want, with a trip to the symphony (Don't tell Nintendo a bar would be cheaper). The Legend of Zelda 25th Anniversary Symphony Concert is scheduled for October 21 at Los Angeles' Pantages Theatre, featuring complete symphonic renditions of the series' classic songs as chosen by composer Koji Kondo. A full tour of the show will begin in 2012. The concert will feature a 70-piece orchestra, much like the one we saw during Nintendo's E3 presentation, above. Tickets for the Pantages concert will go on sale August 1, ranging from $35 to $150, depending on how much you appreciate your childhood.
June NPD: Duke Nukem Forever is #2
Yes, it's true. A startling (and vaguely insulting) number of American consumers ignored our review and purchased Duke Nukem Forever, rocketing it to the #2 position on the NPD sales charts for the month of June. Perhaps they just didn't want to ask for refunds on those 14-year-old pre-orders. The Duke occupies a position on the charts just under its equally retro (in a different way) Take-Two contemporary, L.A. Noire. Also notable on the sales charts is the debut of another time-lost title, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D. At #5, it is the first 3DS exclusive to chart in the NPD top ten. Find the top ten best-selling games listed after the break. It's definitely a triumphant month for the past, as total game sales were down from $1.15 billion in June of 2010 to $1.03 billion in June of this year. Once again, however, Microsoft is happy, declaring its Xbox 360 the only console in the US to show year-over-year growth. The Xbox was the top-selling console with 507,000 units which Microsoft claims is "nearly twice as many units as other current-generation platforms" this month.
Navi could have been a lot more annoying (and hairy)
Navi in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time was annoying in a "fly in your kitchen at dinnertime" way, but the filmmakers at Humble Punch Productions have shown us it could've been worse, like "12 foot radioactive cockroach in your meatloaf as you serve it to the President and First Lady" annoying.
What you didn't know about The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
After playing The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time in both two and three dimensions, you probably think you know everything there is to know about the watershed action-adventure, but how wrong you are! In a recent Iwata Asks, Shigeru Miyamoto and Iwata unearthed even more dirt on the game. For example, did you know Miyamoto and team didn't think cutting grass was particularly fun, but fans of Link to the Past demanded it? It's true! Did you know it was kind of inspired by Twin Peaks? It's true! Did you know that Navi is the real Keyser Söze? It's true! No, sorry. We misread. That last one's made up.
Club Nintendo Ocarina of Time 3D soundtrack offer extended [Update]
We received a lot of emails yesterday from anxious readers, who had all registered their copies of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D with Club Nintendo for their free soundtrack discs (as announced in the E3 keynote), but weren't getting the email confirmations from Nintendo. And then the site crashed. As this was a first-come-first-serve offer, the lack of communication was disturbing. Readers reported yesterday that only a call to Nintendo customer service (on a Sunday!) would resolve the issue. Today, Nintendo updated the page for the offer, extending the cutoff to "midnight, Pacific Time on Monday June 20, 2011" -- we're contacting Nintendo to clarify if that meant last night or tonight. We tested the deal and have yet to receive email confirmation ourselves, but Nintendo's page says, "You will receive an email confirmation within 7 days to confirming we have placed your order." It also says that everyone who registered before midnight Pacific on June 20 will receive a CD. Update: Nintendo informed us that the deal is in fact active until midnight, Pacific time, tonight. There's still time!
Zumba Fitness regains top UK sales spot; Ocarina of Time plays second fiddle
We've given up trying to understand. Zumba Fitness is back atop the UK charts this week, a position it's enjoyed several times before. This latest ascension for Zumba was thanks to a 51 percent increase in sales of the Wii version. Chart-Track doesn't provide an explanation for the sales boost ... probably because some things just can't be explained. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time for 3DS enjoyed a second place debut on the charts, with around 20% of UK 3DS owners buying the title during its launch week. Duke Nukem Forever sales slipped 58 percent and the title drops two spots into third place for its second week at retail -- this hasn't quite been the glorious comeback for Nukem. Other premieres last week were Dungeon Siege 3 and Alice: Madness Returns, which charted at ninth and 13th, respectively. Child of Eden, the Kinect-enabled sensory experience appreciated by critics, debuted in 25th. Taste the purple of the UK top ten after the break.
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D review: From Hyrule with Love
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time hasn't stopped being one of the greatest video games ever created in the 13 years since its initial Nintendo 64 release. Its decade-spanning story, lovable characters and groundbreaking methods of interacting with a 3D world were so ahead of their time in 1998, the game still manages to outpace most action-adventure games released today. This is very, very fortunate for Nintendo, because Ocarina of Time 3D is about as straightforward a remake as remakes come. Aside from a few neat gimmicks tied to the 3DS' hardware capabilities, Grezzo's renovation of Nintendo EAD's masterpiece is entirely superficial. In this complete aesthetic overhaul, however, Grezzo has exhibited something extremely rare for developers -- more rare, even, than the creativity and inspiration that made the original Ocarina of Time such a revelation: Grezzo designed every gorgeous inch of Hyrule with unswerving, boundless love. %Gallery-125679%
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time's development detailed in new Iwata Asks
Nintendo's regular Iwata Asks features are typically capable of dredging up some fairly magical feelings of nostalgia, but none have tapped into our happiness centers quite like the latest installment, which details the development of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. Not only does it talk about the game's early prototypes (including that ill-advised, short-lived FPS version), it talks about the inspiration for some of the major revelations that made the game possible. For instance, Z-Targeting? That was inspired by actual ninjas. Seriously! Check out the full interview for more details, like the developmental relationship between OoT and Super Mario 64, as well as a long-overdue admission that, yes, Link is running around Hyrule in long, white underwear.
Ocarina of Time 3DS ad starring Robin Williams, his daughter, and a tremendous beard
The flurry of trailers reminding you of your long-time love for The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time wasn't enough to get you excited for the 3DS remake? The latest TV ad, starring Robin Williams, his daughter (named Zelda, after the 1987 NES game), and his incredible grey mane should do it!
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D launch trailer has some questions for you
There are at least six or even seven questions in the launch trailer for The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. Pressing questions, like, "Willst thou soar or willst thou suck?" With any luck, you'll have figured out the answers by the time the game launches on Sunday.%Gallery-125679%
Australia getting its own awesome Ocarina of Time 3D bundle
Though not nearly as radical as Greece's Deku Nut-packed bundle, Australia's getting its own special edition of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D. Shedding the legumes and baseball cap of its Grecian counterpart, the Australian Ocarina Bundle -- available exclusively as a pre-order bonus from EB Games -- includes an Ocarina, some sheet music to help you play some of OoT's transportative jingles and a large box with which to contain said instrument and tabulature. Just a note, Nintendo of America: We are rapidly approaching the day where you won't be able to announce this kind of Ocarina-filled special edition for US release anymore, because the game will have already come out, and then we won't have an Ocarina, and then we'll be sad all the time. We really need you to come through for future us, Nintendo.
Latest Ocarina of Time 3DS trailer plays the Song of Nostalgia
We're not above admitting that the latest trailer for The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (ripped from the Japanese Nintendo Channel) got us a lot more excited than we thought we'd be getting for a nearly 15-year-old game. Head past the break to check it out ... and do try to contain yourself.
Watch over 10 minutes of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D footage (in German)
As if ReDeads in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time weren't scary enough in English, one gamer recently captured over 10 minutes of footage of the game in German, ReDeads and all. Aside from sheer terror, the clip also features a thorough look at the upcoming remake.
Greece's Ocarina of Time pre-order bonuses are the best bonuses ever
Nintendo Greece has apparently decided that selling its customers a renovated, three-dimensional version of the best game ever made isn't a sweet enough treat. The official Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D page on Nintendo.gr has revealed that folks who pre-order the game through Nintendo will receive a plethora of bonuses, including a keychain, baseball cap, 3DS cover, an actual ocarina and -- get this -- a canister of Deku tree seeds. (We hear that if you plant them, actual sentient shrubs come out of the ground.) No pre-order bonuses for the U.S. have been announced, but needless to say, the bar's been set pretty high. If we don't get a pouch of replica rupees, or at the very least, a remote-controlled Bombchu, we're going to be extremely disappointed.
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword's music hides a secret in plain sound
Here's something for all the Zelda continuity conspiracy theorists. FPAwesome was reversing the sound on YouTube videos one day, as we all do when bored, and discovered a big secret in The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword's GDC 2011 trailer. The background music, which sounds at first like a totally original composition, is actually "Zelda's Lullaby" in reverse! GoNintendo extracted just the audio, which you can hear after the break. Is it a clue about the storyline of Skyward Sword, or is it the work of a playful composer? That's another one for the conspiracy theorists, as is the possibility that the back-masked music is a form of mind control. [Thanks, Sean]
Listen! There's a new Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D trailer
Apparently hearing our lustful cries for more Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D media, the US Nintendo Channel has posted a new trailer for Link's remade adventure. We honestly never thought we'd say this, but that is one fine looking Dodongo.
Rumor: Ocarina of Time 3D to see limited initial release
Japanese retail news blog Sinobi (translated by Andriasang) reports Nintendo has a somewhat surprising supply strategy for its upcoming, three-dimensional remake of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. According to the blog, Nintendo's initial shipment of the title to retailers will be "extremely small." Furthermore, Nintendo supposedly isn't letting retailers order extra units of the game, and is allotting a limited number of copies for all retailers, regardless of their respective size. It seems bananas to limit supply on the 3DS' most anticipated title to date, but Sinobi suggests this could be a reaction to the overstocking of Zelda: Spirit Tracks, which ended up in Japanese bargain bins faster than the franchise is likely used to. If that's the case, then Nintendo is forgetting one very important factor: Spirit Tracks is a pretty okay game, while Ocarina of Time is the best game ever made.
Ocarina of Time 3D title screen opening vid makes us happy all day
Few games on this planet are capable of washing us away in a deluge of nostalgia like The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. The game's official site recently uploaded the 3DS remake's title screen opening, and ... man, that takes us back. To a simpler time. Like, 1998, to be exact.
Ocarina of Time 3D includes new 'Boss Challenge' mode
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D may not possess a boundless cornucopia of new features over its Nintendo 64 predecessor, but Nintendo revealed one neat gameplay mode in a press release published earlier today. After reaching a certain point in the game, players will access the "Boss Challenge" mode, which will "provide players with the opportunity to face any of the previous Bosses they have defeated once again, or, the option to face and confront them one-by-one, all in a continuous battle." Oh, you mean we'd have to pummel Queen Gohma, King Dodongo, Barinade, Shadow Ganondorf, Volvagia, Morpha, Bongo Bongo, Twinrova, Ganondorf and Ganon all in one sitting? That's a whole lot of weak points to exploit, but we're pretty confident that we can handle it.
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D preview: Ageless beauty
Imagine you're 30 years old -- heck, imagine you're 40. You're single, looking up old flames on Facebook and you start talking to an old mate, one that always had a special place in your heart. You reconnect and meet up for coffee -- at first glance, you're taken aback by how beautiful this person is. Time hasn't seemed to touch them one bit. In fact, they look better than the last time you saw them. This is the exact feeling I had while playing The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D on the 3DS earlier this week. I didn't expect to be blown away, but after going inside the Deku Tree, stomping around the Hyrule Fields and witnessing the new, lush palette of colors as the day cycle progressed from dawn to dusk, that old love stirred again. %Gallery-121052%
