Platform

GameCube

Toys ‘R’ Us stores around Japan are, for the month of July, hosting special demo pods with playable demos of Zelda, Metroid, Mario Party, and StarFox Adventures from E3.

Let me put this in context. Around September we normally get Space World (formerly Shoshinkai) – for years a legendary trade show with hundreds of thousands of visitors, the biggest games debuting from NCL, Pokemon stage shows, free goodies, and a real sense of excitement for kids and game fans alike. This year, that will all be thrown to the dogs.

Instead, we have some old demos thrown together from E3 in Toys ‘R’ Us. Exactly the same E3 demos, mind you, with a ‘Thanks for playing the E3 version!’ sign, and oceans of English text for the pre-teen Japanese crowd to navigate. Probably two out of three kids I saw play Nintendo’s winter lineup for GC, threw down the controller in frustration from not understanding the in-game instructions. Thanks, Iwata-san. Strike one.

Anyway, I spent a few hours playing through three of the demos on display. Here follows some brief impressions.

PART 1: ZELDA
PLAY TIME: TWO HOURS

First impressions were disappointing. It’s ironic really. When ‘Celda’ was unveiled at Space World last year, I was one of the very few not mouthing off against the new design. Infact, I loved the change. Gone was the focus on the dreary race for realism and technical advance. It’s sad that all most people expect from the next generation of graphics, is the same old thing in higher res. But Zelda GC was a refreshing and bold artistic statement.

But having finally taken control of Link in his little cell-shaded world, I have mixed feelings. Firstly, control is not as tight and responsive as I expected. I’ve come to expect lightning-quick reactions to the controller in EAD games. Zelda doesn’t feel lightning quick – nearly, but not quite. If Link is running 'left', pressing 'right' should snap him back INSTANTLY in that direction. But it doesn’t. Instead, Link ANIMATES into that direction, and it creates a brief lack of intuition that I’ve rarely felt in a Zelda (or Mario) game. It’s not a big deal, but it’s there, and it's the kind of niggling control issue which I simply never expect from a Zelda game.

My issues with the control don’t stop there. I didn’t like the implementation of the auto-jump in Zelda 64, and I like it even less here. I doubt it’s any coincidence that it’s one of the least ever copied ideas from a Nintendo game. In Zelda GC, it bothers me that I can’t hop, skip and jump around as freely as the environment invites me to. A pool of water behind a wall – I want to run and leap over the wall straight into it. But no. I have to run up and stand with my nose to the wall. Wait for about a second. Then let Link hoist himself up of his own accord. And it’s everywhere – tree branches that can’t be hopped onto, sunny roof tops inviting whimsical exploration, but by the time you’ve stood with your head to the wall and the AI has detected that you want to jump, the moment is gone. With the GC rendering a truly beautifully styled 3D world, the lack of jump denies interactivity. I've no doubt that later in the game you'll be equipped with all kinds of new gubbins. But this kind of universe still deserves more control.

What else. The sailing mini-game – did not like this one bit. Not intuitive at all, I saw numerous players quit out in utter confusion. Camera was poor too. I don’t like the new mechanic of Link having to carry around heavier weapons either. It makes him annoyingly slow, and I groaned in annoyance having to backtrack through dungeons several times to find a heavier weapon (needed for smashing big doors). Another stage was almost directly ripped off – sneaking stealth around guards, avoiding search lights, hiding in a barrel. And a non-skippable, non-interactive cut-scene that lasted over two minutes at my count. Miyamoto cannibalising Hideo Kojima? The horror.

On the positive side, the new look is remarkable. Zelda GC uses the same ‘fuzzy distance’ effect as Mario Sunshine, and it gives the world a dreamy, impressionistic feel. I dig it.

Almost everything you do, has a beautiful visual result. Defeated enemies vanish with a stunning flourish of purple smoke. Objects moved or interacted with throw out little jets of dust, the standard Zelda-world clumps of cuttable grass sway and flow in the wind and it’s all stylised to a beautiful premeditated design. And that’s the key point: the world feels consistent. Like all the best EAD games, all the elements – water, land, characters, effects, feel part of the same world. It’s just a seamless, immersive experience that no one does better.

The cell-shaded representation of Link himself is not convincing. I feel a bit betrayed to admit this, having aggressively defended it over the last year. But I spent a long time with the game, close up, and my honest conclusion is that they could have done a significantly better job with him. It's Zelda, and I’ll live with it. But still.

Similarly unflinching impressions of Metroid and StarFox Adventures coming later today.

Justin
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