Zelda.in

Recently, Eiji Aonuma has been interviewed discussing complexity, story and training in Zelda. He talks about these elements in Skyward Sword, and modern Zelda titles. The introduction of certain RPG elements has brought changes to the series. More upgrades and collectibles in Skyward Sword have given it a whole new complexity and challenge for those [...]

Kingdom Hearts director Tetsuya Nomura sat down with Nintendo Power and spilled the beans on a number of the core elements of Kingdom Hearts Dream Drop Distance, including story spoilers, details on the game's thematic and gameplay philosophies, and a number of names of Square-Enix talents who have come together for the game. Much of the interview retreads over familiar ground, but Nomura's a little more generous about giving out information than he's been previously, so there are still plenty of gems to be found. Specifically, if you're curious about the game's title and its significance to both the story and gameplay, curious about the relationship between the Mark of Mastery exam being undertaken by Sora and Riku and the game's antagonist(s), or wondering about the inclusion of certain Disney properties and The World Ends With You characters, this is the interview for you. You can check out the full text of the interview along with my reactions to some of the new information after the jump....

Nintendo released a huge press pack containing information and assets related to Kid Icarus Uprising multiplayer modes, weapon types, and screenshots. Lots and lots of screenshots. The game will feature a couple different multiplayer modes: Light vs. Dark team play, which consists of two teams of three duking it out, and of course Free-for-all, an up to six-player melee where the last man standing wins. You can play locally via wireless play (the press release doesn't specify whether single-card multi-play is possible) or online. If there are any holes in the player roster for an individual match, CPU characters will step in. You can also bring your various weapons, including fused and gem-crafted weapons, into your multiplayer battles. Don't forget to check out Sakurai's video presentation of Kid Icarus Uprising, also after the jump. It features content from the trailers we posted earlier as well as in-depth showings and explanations of the multi-player and item crafting features....

Another translated volume of Iwata Asks, focusing on The Last Story, has been released. In this second volume, Iwata sits down to talk about the upcoming Wii game with director Hironobu Sakaguchi and composer Nobuo Uematsu. Throughout the course of the interview, the three discuss Sakaguchi and Uematsu's long-time working-relationship, changing their approach to RPG music, and the music featured in The Last Story. As per usual, I've gone through and written-out the key information and quotes from the interview, which you can read inside....

We all knew it would happen eventually, and now it's all but confirmed. Junichi Masuda, one of the key directors of the Pokémon games, recently responded to a question from a pestering fan about whether or not Game Freak was ready to reveal a new sequel to Pokémon Black & White Versions. His answer began with the usual "I can't talk about that" response we usually get from such persons on such issues, but he followed it up with a request: "Please watch the next Pokémon Smash!" Could this be a teaser of an upcoming announcement? Recently most new Pokémon games have been announced on Pokémon-related TV shows in Japan, including the much-anticipated HeartGold & SoulSilver, so it seems pretty likely that an upcoming sequel would follow suit. We'll see what's to come soon enough. If you're a Japanese speaker, you might enjoy the video showing the interview where this question was raised, which you can view after the jump....

Final Fantasy creator Hironobu Sakaguchi recently made an appearance at a special pre-BAFTA event for his latest project, The Last Story, which will soon be released for the Wii in Europe and still remains unannounced for North America. As with Final Fantasy, The Last Story's title reflects the idea that the game could be the last game the team ever work on, and therefore, they should give it their all to make it the game to end all games. However, Final Fantasy was not the last video game, and sequels continue to be made. Naturally, the question about whether or not the universe of The Last Story will continue to be explored was bound to come up eventually. ...

Shigeru Miyamoto recently sat down with Entertainment Weekly to discuss Skyward Sword, Mario Kart, and his biggest upcoming project: Pikmin 3. Much of the interview is basic fluff: "What's it like to be working on franchises for so long?", "What's a typical day for you?", or "Who's your favorite Mario Kart character?" (It's Mario, by the way.) Buried within are a few interesting tidbits about Skyward Sword - for example, that Miyamoto only ever actually played the prototype, which was much challenging than the final retail version. Hop inside for his quotes, as well as other interesting info....

This blurb is technically "outside Nintendo," since it addresses a rumor about the next-gen Xbox locking out secondhand software, but given that Nintendo's prepping their own next-gen system for launch, I figure it's still a relevant issue. What? You haven't heard? Apparently Microsoft's next home console is going to implement a feature that will reject software that's been played on another system. The measure's aimed at disrupting used game sales in order to maximize the money flowing into publishers' pockets. Pipe dream? Maybe. But the fact that such a measure is even being talked about makes it relevant to gaming across the board - that developers are getting behind the idea does so to an even greater extent. Jameson Durall, a design director from Volition, Inc., the developers behind Saints Row, says it'd be a great step forward for the gaming business: "Personally I think this would be a fantastic change for our business and even though the consumers would be up in arms about it at first... they will grow to understand why and that it won't kill them." Jump inside for more quotes from Mr. Durall and share your thoughts in the comments section!...

Kid Icarus's voice acting has been a source of contention among critics. It's corny in a charming sort of way, just like Star Fox 64's voice-overs were back in the day. On the other hand, if you're not into that sort of cheese, the juvenile script, ridiculous inter-deity banter, and exaggerated voice performances might come off as grating. (Then again, this is a game for kids, so...) In a recent interview with Nintendo Power, the game's director, Masahiro Sakurai, said that his approach with the voice-acting isn't to try to cram a bunch of story cutscenes into the action game. It's to offer a sense of personality to the characters. As we've seen in preview plays, most of the dialogue will occur in the heat of gameplay, not during long-winded cutscenes. "[M]ovies and such are much better at telling stories in an effective and enjoyable way than games are... while there is a story, we don't advance it by forcing players to sit and watch some tedious briefing scene or anything." Check out some of the other highlights from Sakurai's interview after the jump....

If you visit Nintendo of America's official site for Xenoblade Chronicles, you'll see a set of links at the bottom of the page. The one on the left links to a series of Iwata Asks interviews regarding Xenoblade Chronicles... but wait! If you slide your mouse cursor over the link button, you'll see the text description displayed at left - "A Discussion on Game Development with the Creators of Xenoblade Chronicles and The Last Story." But why mention The Last Story interviews if the game's not coming to the U.S.? I cross-checked the link with the Nintendo UK Xenoblade page and it's safe to say that the mouse-over text wasn't just a remnant from the original site (which the American site is based on). And since the only mention of The Last Story in any of the Xenoblade Chronicles Iwata interviews appears in a footnote... could this mean Nintendo's planning to bring The Last Story stateside sometime this year?...