Zelda.in

Well, what do you know. I'm all ready to settle in and do some math homework (because nothing says fun quite like that), when a veritable swamp of new information is released pertaining to the already hyped-beyond-belief Assassin's Creed III. Among these bits of information is the identity of the voice actor for new lead character Connor Rahtonhaketon. Judging from the title, I'm sure you see where I'm going with this....

For the past few years, one of the major players in the Zelda translating scene has undoubtedly been GlitterBerri - it's largely due to her that we've been receiving accurate translations of information contained within the Hyrule Historia, the (so far) Japan-only Zelda timeline, history and art book. Nintendo Gamer recently conducted an interview with GlitterBerri, and while there isn't much in the way of new information about the Historia in this interview, it's certainly an interesting read for those who are interested in translation or the Zelda series in general. Jump inside for a few of the highlights from the interview....

For quite some time, GAME (and its offshoot, GameStation) was one of the premier "high street" video game specialist retailers in Britain, but if you've been paying any attention to the company's fortunes as of late, you know that it seems like that's about to come to an end. First came the news that GAME wouldn't be carrying The Last Story - a bit of a blow, considering the game's pedigree, but at least marginally understandable. JRPGs aren't the all-conquering behemoths they once were, even if they're as hyped up as Sakaguchi's latest jam has been. It seems the cuts go a little deeper than that. The big Nintendo release of the season, Mario Party 9, which is a guaranteed hit across the casual/hardcore spectrum, will also not be carried by GAME. But the real story is that GAME won't be carrying any EA or Ubisoft games, and that they've stopped taking pre-orders for the impending blockbuster release of Mass Effect 3. Jump inside for more doom and gloom....

One of the more interesting experiments on the DS that I just never got around to playing was the visual novel/adventure game 999. The sequel, which is set to be released by the year's end in North America (according to Aksys Games), will hopefully rectify my staggering lack of knowledge about this apparently amazing series. What was once known as Extreme Escape Adventure: Good People Die is going by a slightly more... sinister sounding name, coming to North America as Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward. Wish they could have kept the "Good People Die" part, but alas. While no screenshots or videos have surfaced as of yet, there's a good chance that this 3DS/Vita multiplatform release will be something pretty interesting if the pedigree of the first game is anything to go by....

Following several months of rumors, hype, and speculation, Nintendo officially unveiled the Wii U at E3 last June. Sort of. The system was officially announced, but very little information was given. Price, launch lineup, hardware specs, online capabilities, and just about anything else the fans were clamoring for was left out. Even images of the actual console itself weren't immediately revealed to the public. Granted, last year's E3 was mainly about the 3DS, but did Nintendo really accomplish anything with the early Wii U reveal? Jump inside and join the debate....

It seems there might be a technological reason for the not inconsiderable uptick in quality on the Nintendo eShop: developers have quite a bit more room to play around with. Nintendo has revealed that, unlike the 40mb limit on WiiWare games, Nintendo 3DS eShop titles can pack in up to 2GB of game. This obviously raises a number of exciting prospects. Considering that most retail 3DS games are on 2GB cards (with a few notable exceptions, namely Metal Gear Solid 3D), Nintendo could get into the digital distribution market for retail games, especially considering the upgrade to their network system with the Nintendo Network. As well, we've already seen the fruits of this choice, with ambitious eShop games like Dillon's Rolling Western and Pushmo packing in a ton of content. The drawback, of course, is that the 3DS shipped with a 2GB SD card, meaning that if people wanted to download full games, they'd need to upgrade to a bigger SDHC card. Not that that's an expensive prospect or anything, but it would require a transfer of games which is a little cumbersome. Nevertheless, this is exciting news, if only because it gives a glimmer of hope for the...

Everyone in the US is pretty stoked that one part of operation rainfall - that's the Xenoblade Chronicles part - will be heading stateside on the 6th of April, this year. It's been a long wait coming for this stellar Japanese Wii RPG, and GameStop knows just how much the wait has killed the fans of the game. Which is exactly why GameStop is securing a free book, containing concept artwork of Xenoblade Chronicles, with every pre-order of the game. Not a bad pre-order bonus, if I do say so myself!...

OK, there are a number of disclaimers that need to get put out there before I go any further: first, "important" information about Pokemon can run the gamut from new games to, simply, new monsters or Japan-specific information about some obscure aspect of the games. Second, considering that the TV show this announcement is arriving on, Pokemon Smash, has weekly broadcasts, "important" becomes a fairly relative term. With all that being said, though... Junichi Masuda, the current producer of the Pokemon series, has teased an "important" announcement for this Sunday's Pokemon Smash broadcast. Taking to twitter as well as the Game Freak blog, Masuda seems to be hyping up something bigger than usual. Is it Pokemon Gray? A new 3DS Pokemon game? A series of collectible cups? It's probably not the last one. Jump inside for his full statement....

The Last Story launches today in Europe, and I don't think I've been more excited for a game since... well, since Skyward Sword, I guess. After the complete and utter letdown that was Final Fantasy XIII, I'm incredibly excited to see what Hironobu Sakaguchi, one of the all-time greatest game designers, has up his sleeve, especially since it's his first time directing a game since Final Fantasy V. To me, this is the real Final Fantasy XIII (and by extension, Lost Odyssey the real Final Fantasy XII) In this latest trailer, Sakaguchi himself has cut together the footage of the game, revealing something that looks unfathomably epic. I might be alone on this, but I'm getting a Final Fantasy X meets Twilight Princess vibe, and it'll be interesting to see what kind of influence working with Nintendo will have on Sakaguchi's generally idiosyncratic view. Also, man, this Nobuo Uematsu soundtrack is something else. Let us know your thoughts in the comments. For those of you in Europe, you're a lucky bunch, though hopefully the wait for us North American types will be brief....

Oh Nintendo, you so sneaky! Tucked away in the flood of announcements today was the news that Dillon's Rolling Western, the latest in a line of Nintendo-developed eShop games, is getting the special treatment and releasing a day early. So it's in there! Right now! I've only had about five minutes to spend with the game, so I have no idea how it plays yet, but it certainly looks nice. If you can imagine The Wind Waker set in the old west and starring a badass armadillo, you're about halfway there. If the pedigree of Pushmo and Sakura Samurai are any indication, we should be in for a pretty nice little game. Man, isn't it nice to see Nintendo trying out new things?...