Taste-Test: The Legend of Zelda - Takuto of the Wind

Rated: Rating Pending Developer: Nintendo Publisher: Nintendo Players: 1 Saving: unknown

I was surprised by the short lines at the Zelda console in Chicago’s Cube club. So when the guy in front of me stepped aside, I quickly elbowed my friends out of the way and snatched the controller. I won’t bother you all with the story lines and explanation of the demos since I’m sure you’ve already heard them a million times before. However, during my 10 minutes or so with the game, there were four things that immediately caught me eye: The Vivid colors, the smoothness in control, the humor, and most importantly, the outstanding cinematic direction.

So let’s start with the colors shall we. One of the benefits of cel-shading, is that Nintendo is now able to focus less on making detailed, 3-D figures, and more on stylistic backgrounds. Everything is crisp, clear and bright, something that truly has to be seen to be appreciated. I was particularly impressed with the multicolored birds. It seemed that each feather was a different color, and rather than being a mess of orange and blues, it looked fantastic. During the boss battle, after triggering a series of events, the camera cuts from the blacks and oranges of this interior volcano, to a bright blue sky with a huge red dragon. The contrast is truly stunning and impressive.

Next up, Controls. No big surprises here, other than I’m like the combat a lot more. Maybe it’s just because I’ve been playing Start Fox lately, but the combat in Zelda seemed a lot a bit more varied than in past games. The gamer is given more options to jump attack, dodge, flip, etc… Now, I said the control was smooth, and I meant it. Could we expect anything less from a Zelda game? One thing I noticed was that the days of rolling forward to get around faster are gone. Rolls are now a defensive maneuver, causing Link to do a side somersault. In fact, it actually slows the player down. On top of it all, the C-stick is now a 360 degree fully rotational camera. Of course the L button is still used to lock on to enemies and set the camera behind link, but C-stick is very impressive. Even if you hate the graphics, Zelda fans are going still going to love the control.

Ah, humor… I wish I knew thee well. I was literally shocked, how much humor was in the game, and (perhaps more importantly) how well it was pulled off. One of my favorite scenes was when link is placed in a barrel and fired of the pirate ship at an open window. Link acts in a cowardly fashion at first, struggling to escape…and then grimaces as he’s fired off into the night sky. High up by the window, it looks like he just might make it…only to smack face first into a wall, and slide down slowly as an oblivious guard continues to make his rounds in the distance. This sense of humor permeates the game, and I felt really worked well in the portions I played. Hopefully, Nintendo is smart enough to use some discretion with this, since there are times the player like Link being tough…especially when standing up to the game’s great evil.

However, by and far, the thing that left me most impressed with the Legend of Zelda, was the cinematic direction. The cut scenes were so masterfully directed that at times, my mouth was left gaping. In one scene, we see from the point of view of two birds as they swoop down on Link. In another, the camera stays stationary as Link comes flying on the screen, and then passes by again. It’s hard to explain camera direction in words…so I guess you’ll just have to trust me on this one. So maybe you can relate to this… the cut scenes in this game rival some of the best movies out there. No joke.

Overall, this Zelda has a very different feel to it than past Zelda games. Yet, it’s still stellar gameplay. I have come away more excited than ever about this title. Although I’m curious of how a non-cel-shaded (hmm…that word seems odd) game would have turned out, I’ve come to love the cel-shaded one all on its own.

Joseph Rodemeyer