Wind Waker 2 Almost Came To GameCube Before Twilight Princess
By
Steven Richtmyer
Wind Waker is known as one of the best Zelda games today, but its art style is the reason its first sequel was scrapped in favor of Twilight Princess.
Although it certainly has fans today, the GameCube was one of Nintendo’s least commercially successful home consoles. Many gamers weren’t enthused about some of the platform’s more experimental titles, and The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker was a great example of this. It might be looked upon as one of the better Zelda games today, but Wind Waker sold poorly enough that its GameCube sequel ended up being scrapped in favor of Twilight Princess.
Wind Waker took a new approach to the Zelda franchise from multiple directions. The game takes place in a vast ocean dotted with islands players can sail to and from, which was radically different from the land-based medieval kingdoms the series was known for. Arguably the biggest difference Wind Waker brought to the table, though, is its cell-shaded art style, which was reused in many other Zelda titles, such as the many multiplayer Zelda games.
Related: Zelda: Wind Waker’s Scrapped GBA Sequel Pitch
When it released on Nintendo 64 in 1998, Ocarina of Time took the industry by storm with its innovative camera controls and engaging story. Many players were enthralled with the direction the series was headed in, eagerly awaiting a graphically superior successor on GameCube. The darker themes and aesthetic of the N64 titles seemed to solidify that Zelda rested alongside Metroid as one of Nintendo’s more mature franchises, with realistic art styles and adult themes. With this context in mind, it makes sense that Wind Waker‘s cartoony look upset Zelda fans in the early 2000s.
According to DidYouKnowGaming? on YouTube, Wind Waker was originally planned to get a sequel on the GameCube.
Nintendo attributed Wind Waker‘s poor sales to its aesthetic, since American players, in particular, were craving a more realistic-looking Zelda game. Series producer Eiji Aonuma claimed Wind Waker 2 was in the planning and early development stages for about a year before the project was changed into the realistic Zelda fans had been hoping for.
This new, realistic Zelda ended up becoming Twilight Princess, which is known for its gritty look. Even though it sold much better than Wind Waker, its art style was hardly carried on, while Wind Waker’s was reused several times. Games like Minish Cap and Wind Waker’s DS sequel, Phantom Hourglass, used its initially hated look. Twilight Princess Link was cut from Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, but Toon Link continues his perfect attendance since debuting in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. It’s a shame The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker‘s cell-shaded style was the demise of its potential GameCube sequel, but at least Twilight Princess ended up being a stellar game too.
Next: Zelda Producer Wanted To Make A Link’s Crossbow Training Multiplayer FPS
Source: DidYouKnowGaming?
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About The Author
Steven Richtmyer is a graduate of Rider University and a gaming contributor for ScreenRant.com. Based in New Jersey, Steven has worked and written for his school paper during college and he also worked as a barista at a local coffee shop. Steven developed a passion for the gaming industry in his childhood that has only grown as time moved on. Some of his favorite series include «The Legend of Zelda», «Dark Souls», «Resident Evil» and «Borderlands».
I Want Wind Waker 2 More Than Another Breath Of The Wild
By
Devin Friend
The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker is a game that brings out some of the series best traits, and a sequel could be even better than the first.
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2 is one of the most anticipated Zelda releases in years, but a sequel to The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker would probably be more interesting. Although Breath of the Wild took the series in several new directions, Wind Waker had its own style that made a memorable game in its own right. A Wind Waker sequel would have more to offer than one may think.
The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker was the flagship Zelda title for the Nintendo GameCube. Starring Link on a quest to save his younger sister, the plot soon develops into something much larger than Link had ever expected.
He goes from simply searching for his sister to fighting to save the world from Ganondorf. Since Zelda games are always better with Ganondorf, it’s only fitting that he plays a role here. In this quest, Link sails across the Great Sea with the help of a talking boat known as the King of Red Lions, exploring several distinctive islands along the way.
Related: Zelda: Wind Waker’s Most Powerful Weapon Isn’t The Master Sword
WInd Waker introduced players to a new world unlike any Zelda game before it. The Great Sea held a number of interesting islands, from civilized floating cities to ancient tombs. The Great Sea itself made the world feel enormous, and even though the sailing was originally criticized, it became a distinct part of the game’s identity. The amount of islands with their own distinct feel, even if they only feature a minigame or collectible, is impressive. The Zelda series has a reputation of high quality design, and although Shigeru Miyamoto wasn’t fond of Wind Waker‘s style at first, the game proved to more than live up to the series’ standard.
It’s the perfect Zelda game to get a sequel after BOTW 2 releases.
Wind Waker also ends on an excellent hook for a future adventure. After Ganondorf is defeated, Link accompanies Tetra and her pirate crew to travel even further across the Great Sea and continue exploring. Although the King of Red Lions is no longer alive, Link still has his trusty ship and all of his skills as he prepares for his next adventure. Another direct sequel — one that’s a truer Wind Waker 2 and not Phantom Hourglass or Spirit Tracks — could explore more of what happened after the final scene of Wind Waker. The games already explored a lot of the Great Sea, and there were still a few mysteries that could be explored further, such as whatever happened to Wind Waker‘s Greatfish Isle.
Wind Waker 2 also has the chance to create even more islands for Link and Tetra to explore. With Link capable of sailing the seas rather than being restricted to walking on foot, there are fewer restrictions to travel, so it is very likely that more of the world could be unexplored following the other games.
Since Wind Waker designed some excellent locations, it would be interesting to see how a sequel would compete with Wind Waker‘s most memorable islands.
Wind Waker has become a highly respected Zelda title, and the world that it created would benefit from further exploration. Even though Breath of the Wild was a major success, Wind Waker 2 could arguably provide a more fulfilling sequel than BOTW 2. If other Zelda titles are revisited for remakes in the future, hopefully, Wind Waker will be at the top of the list.
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About The Author
Devin Friend is a graduate of McNeese State University with a bachelor’s degree in creative writing.
A lifelong love of cartoons and video games has given him endless enthusiasm as well as a critical eye for both mediums. Any game or show that catches his interest will be heavily researched and binged for hours on end. He has a great passion for creating characters and storytelling, and spends a lot of free time writing stories of his own.
Breath of the Wild talked about the tricks they used during development — Gamedev on DTF
For example, as the main geometric shapes for the game world, developers intentionally
choose triangles and rectangles.
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CEDEC Game Developers Conference ends in Japan
2017. The authors of Zelda: Breath of the Wild spoke at one of the panels, who dedicated their
presentation on game design.
Matt Walker, Capcom Product Manager,
shared on his Twitter the most interesting facts from the past
conferences. nine0003
The developers intentionally used
triangles when designing locations and terrain objects.
First, such
in this way they offered the player two options — to climb an obstacle
or bypass it. Secondly, such elevations naturally blocked
overview and gradually showed the gamer what is in the distance when he
bypassed.
They explain that using triangles carries out 2 objectives- gives players a choice as to whether to go straight ov…
nine0002 and it obscures the player’s view, so designers can utilize them to surprise players, make them wonder what they’ll…
They have 3 different scales that they utilize this principle with as shown here — all to achieve different objectsi…
Triangles came in three sizes and were used as
shown in the figure. Each was meant for specific purposes.
Rectangles were also often used by designers
levels.
They also used rectangles as shown here. Instead of gradually revealing something, rects are good for completely hi…
In addition, they used rectangles as shown
on the image.
Instead of gradually opening up an overview of something, they
completely hid the object from the hero.
You can get an idea for just how widely this concept was applied in this image.
From this image you can estimate how often
concept was used. nine0003
They give an example of how the design was applied in action in these images. Note how the structure in the distance
The authors showed an example of how the concept was applied in action.
Pay attention to how the building gradually appears in the distance.
Finally, the structure hides the tower in the back, so there’s this chain of interest — hill -> bridge structure ->…
As a result, the building closes the tower behind it, so it turns out
next chain: hill, bridge, tower. nine0003
The panel also said that in order to solve different
production tasks and game debugging programmers built a special
tool right in
Breath of the Wild.
Thus, it was possible to optimize the work
commands.
They managed all of their tasks by integrating their management tools with the game, so you wouldn’t get people doi…
All tasks have been integrated into the game using management tools so that no one does the same job twice. nine0003
A task could be created by setting up a sign in the world, and then all related specs and meeting details related t…
A quest could be created by placing a sign in the game along with
all the characteristics and details that relate to it.
To understand how to keep the attention of the players as much as possible
for a long time, the developers have studied the most popular routes of gamers and
located in the «white spots» of the tower and various tasks.
However, the design move did not give the desired result —
players felt like they were being «led by the hand» and the game itself felt linear.
It was possible to solve the problem with the help of a concept called «gravity».
nine0003
placing structures of varying visibility/importance in dffrnt places,leading players in different directions and al…
The location of buildings of various visibility and importance in
different places allowed to direct players in different directions and take them away
from the original rate.
You can see in this image how the different structures rank in visibility — naturally drawing player’s attention, a…
You can see how the buildings differ in appearance. They are
attract the player’s attention naturally or «by purpose». nine0003
The objective order changes depending on how the player likes to play-if they’re aggressive, they’ll go after enemy camps to get better gear
Gradation «by goals» depends on the gamer’s style of play. If he
plays aggressively, then he will go to the enemy camp for new equipment.
Developing the user interface, the authors sought to
make it recognizable by four parameters: graphics, font, design and
animations.
@Nibellion Coallescing information so there aren’t as many places players would have to look. nine0003
The information is placed in such a way that the player does not
I had to look in different places.
Also, in order to unify the interface, the developers picked
a special shade of white called Zelda White, and the font was chosen
standard, no frills. Italics have been used to make it easier to read. Also, some interface elements were made more noticeable through animation.
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3DNews Software News «Triangle Rule» and other secrets … The most interesting in the reviews
10/04/2017 [21:42], Julia Pozdnyakova The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild was one of the hottest games of the year and one of the highest-rated titles on Metacritic review aggregator of all time (97 out of 100 on the Nintendo Switch version). Information Walker shared in his microblog, and later enthusiasts have issued it in a PDF file. Among other things, at the conference, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild development director Hidemaro Fujibayashi and senior artist Makoto Yonezu talked about the «triangle rule». Its essence is as follows: the objects of the game environment, such as mountains and buildings, were made in a shape similar to a triangle. According to the authors, this made them attractive to gamers: they increase interest in exploring the world (the peaks are visible from afar, and you want to know what is behind these “triangles”) and offer a choice (for example, go around the mountain on the left or right or climb it) . The creators used «triangular» mountains and hills of three sizes to achieve different goals (the larger the «triangle», the more interesting it is). The pictures below show how the player, having run around the mountain, finds a building, which is partially visible from afar. While triangles are good for hiding a small area of the map from the user’s eyes, rectangles are useful when you want to completely hide one or more objects. Examples of objects that are close to rectangles in shape can be large trees. nine0003 Such decisions may seem simple, but in fact, it is thanks to them that The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild turned out to be so exciting. Making a huge open world and filling it with objects and characters is not enough — it is important to structure it in such a way that it is interesting for players to move around it. A good example of the complexity of such a task are the two images below. This is the same map, but the first one shows user routes with one world design option, and the second one with another. In the first case, the developers placed the towers on the map in such a way that game events unfolded in the space between them. The testers did not like this option: they complained that they were “led by the hand”, and the narration became chaotic. The problem was solved by a concept that the authors called «gravity» (gravity). They placed objects of various types, sizes, and importance (see image below) in such a way that gamers can use them as targets for their movement and, if desired, turn to some other one. The new structure made the passage non-linear, made it easier to navigate and find the right places (for example, if the user has chosen an aggressive style of passage, he can move from one enemy camp to another). As you can see, the routes of the players have become much more difficult. nine0003 The organization of the development process was also interesting. The team has integrated the task manager directly into the game, allowing you to create messages in it describing what needs to be done in a specific area of the map (for example, to fix some kind of problem). 
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Some of the secrets of the outstanding game design of the latest Zelda were revealed by Nintendo developers at the CEDEC (Computer Entertainment Developers Conference) event, held from August 30 to September 1 in Yokohama. For those who don’t speak Japanese, Capcom’s production manager Matt Walker translated some of the conference materials published on 4Gamer and other sites. nine0003 
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