Anyone who still wants to poke fun at the Wii U for not being a “real next-gen console” need take only one glance at the next Legend of Zelda game to be proven completely wrong. This game looks gorgeous!
Some of the character design choices strike me as a bit odd — Link looks more female than male, and he’s wearing blue instead of green (though in fairness that’s likely an early game appearance before he dons the trademark green outfit) — but none of that changes the fact that the game is downright beautiful. Just look at that Hyrule vista shot. The artistry and grandeur of the world is so awe inspiring, like a stylistic fusion between Wind Waker and Skyward Sword. I just want to stare at it for days.
Beyond its pretty appearance, the other hype surrounding the currently untitled Wii U Legend of Zelda is the fact that it’s being designed as a true open-world experience. Zelda games have always been somewhat open ended in exploration (particularly the original and Link to the Past), but since turning 3D typically there have been structure limitations to force players through a linear progression of dungeons set within a vast world. Looking back at it now, it appears that Nintendo probably used the complete-dungeons-in-any-order structure of the most recent 3DS game, A Link Between Worlds, as a stepping stone to this game’s open-world ambitions.
As long as Nintendo doesn’t go too far and make this “The Legend of Zelda: Skyrim,” I’m sold. It may just be time to for me to finally break down and buy a Wii U, though I’ll have plenty of time to mull it over as the new Legend of Zelda won’t arrive until 2015.
Nintendo has not yet released a standalone upload of The Legend of Zelda Wii U reveal from today’s E3 2014 digital event, however you can jump to approximately the 20-minute mark of the full event re-air embedded below to check it out. It needs to be seen in motion to be fully appreciated.