16th February 2013, 5:16 PM
I got the hard cover, because I thought it was worth it. I did not get the limited, signed and leatherbound version, as I did not think it was worth it.
It's amazing. You've all seen the fan translated time line. Well, the translation is essentially the same done by the official group.
The concept art is very revealing. There's a lot of storyline stuff exposed here. It reveals that the hylians had actually declined after Ocarina of Time, which is why most humans in Link to the Past have round ears. It even explains the slow changes to Hylian script that have happened over the eons. It settles once and for all that the aquatic race in Skyward Sword were in fact meant to be a "primitive" ancestor race to the Zora of later games. Further, they had even thought of a primitive, volcano-like, version of the Gorons for the same game, but had opted to let them remain recognizable instead.
One very startling revelation regards Link to the Past. It's slowly crept up to Link's Awakening levels in my admiration for it, so this one came as a big surprise. The guide makes it clear that Malin and Talin from Link's Awakening are a result of Link having met a Malon and Talon in the Oracle games, which ended up influencing the dream.
The dark world/light world dynamic was a compromise during development. Originally, they had wanted to do a time travel story there. Link would have traveled between the past, the present and, surprisingly, the distant future of Hyrule. Yes, the future was going to be sci-fi. Future Zelda had some sort of bizarre space bikini. Remember, Link and Zelda were originally older in LTTP, only made "younger" when the Oracle games came out (which officially take place with the same Link and Zelda and after LTTP). Zelda looks... ridiculous in the concept art, but similar to the sorts of "future princess" character designs you might expect from early 90's space RPGs like Phantasy Star (or such characters in 80's sci fi anime). <img src="http://www.gamnesia.com/images/uploads/zelda-scifi-dress.png"> The one on the left with the pompadour? She looks like she should be blowing bubble gum, filing her nails and answering the Ghost Buster's phone in a Brooklyn accent. Well excuse ME princess!
I found that image, but not a lot of OTHER images of very bizarre concept art for characters, such as a much younger link for Twilight Princess, as well as numerous very strange designs for Fi and Midna, and a lot of general "race" designs for the various creatures.
Anyway, the light/dark thing ended up being for the best, but I still would love to see a "present day" or "futuristic" setting for a Zelda game. Well, minus the ridiculous costume for Zelda.
So it gave me something to think about. Ocarina of Time 3D was, in a lot of ways, disappointing. Firstly, the new character models were nice, but the new character animations paled in comparison to the motion captured originals. Link in particular is very bizarrely animated in the new one. I'd have loved to see the graphics redone with the quality of the upcoming Wind Waker remake.
Along the same lines, I would love to see an added dungeon that actually used the ice arrows and had an extra hard boss. I don't expect any gameplay items from that boss, just maybe a trophy back in Link's tree house. It would be a hidden "super boss" intended to push you to your limits, something Zelda could use more of. Maybe something like fighting through a fortress to tackle the Captain of the Knights of Hyrule? As the Hystoria reveals, in the time line where Link dies, the Knights of Hyrule are the ones who defend the sages long enough for them to imprison Ganon. That's what leads to Link to the Past and is why the Hero of Time is never once mentioned in that time line.
I thought of the biggest bonus they could add to a true remake of OOT. I would LOVE a complete alternate storyline where you play as Zelda/Sheik. It would start with Zelda having that dream about Link and Ganon, where she starts to doubt him. You would not spend long as young Zelda, because she's more or less stuck in the castle during that portion of the game, but there would be some small but important adventures for her to undertake in the castle, namely working with Impa to get the Ocarina of Time so she can give it to Link. It would end with you controlling Impa on horseback as she escapes from Ganon, the whole chase, from inside the castle to managing to escape in the woods. You'd see Zelda's perspective, where Link vanishes, Ganon takes over Hyrule, and she's forced to hide with Impa while training to be a ninja. It would do time skips from year to year, with adventures each year that all lead to dead ends but teach her a new skill (she would be looking for the sages and Link this entire time while doing her best to protect people in Hyrule). It would finally end up in the present, where you start tracking Link, helping him both as seen on Link's side, and then with hidden parts of the dungeons where she helps him unseen, also with boss fights against shadows and such as seen in Kakariko.
At the end, when she reveals she has the triforce of wisdom to Link and is captured by Ganondorf, it doesn't stop for her. I suggest an internal fight against a phantom Ganon while Link fights the real thing. During the fight with transformed demon pig Ganon, she's projecting herself to all the other sages and gathering their power. This mechanic ends with her firing that power at Link's sword to enable him to kill Ganon. Then Link fails. It wasn't enough, Link is defeated and his triforce piece taken. Zelda has her piece taken by Ganon, but just barely escapes thanks to the sages. Fully powered, the story now continues with Zelda and the sages rallying the knights of hyrule together for one final push. They hold back Ganon just long enough for the sages to banish him to the sacred realm. Link saved the day by freeing the sages, but now Ganon has the entire triforce, and Link is dead. Zelda decides to go on one last quest, and using the Ocarina of Time she sends a portion of her light force back in time to her past self when fighting Ganon. This time it's enough to give Link the strength he needs and he is able to defeat Ganon, just as in the original ending.
To me, it wraps up all those split time lines in one neat little package in the form of a whole new game play experience. It would even open up the possibility of characters other than Link in future games.
It's amazing. You've all seen the fan translated time line. Well, the translation is essentially the same done by the official group.
The concept art is very revealing. There's a lot of storyline stuff exposed here. It reveals that the hylians had actually declined after Ocarina of Time, which is why most humans in Link to the Past have round ears. It even explains the slow changes to Hylian script that have happened over the eons. It settles once and for all that the aquatic race in Skyward Sword were in fact meant to be a "primitive" ancestor race to the Zora of later games. Further, they had even thought of a primitive, volcano-like, version of the Gorons for the same game, but had opted to let them remain recognizable instead.
One very startling revelation regards Link to the Past. It's slowly crept up to Link's Awakening levels in my admiration for it, so this one came as a big surprise. The guide makes it clear that Malin and Talin from Link's Awakening are a result of Link having met a Malon and Talon in the Oracle games, which ended up influencing the dream.
The dark world/light world dynamic was a compromise during development. Originally, they had wanted to do a time travel story there. Link would have traveled between the past, the present and, surprisingly, the distant future of Hyrule. Yes, the future was going to be sci-fi. Future Zelda had some sort of bizarre space bikini. Remember, Link and Zelda were originally older in LTTP, only made "younger" when the Oracle games came out (which officially take place with the same Link and Zelda and after LTTP). Zelda looks... ridiculous in the concept art, but similar to the sorts of "future princess" character designs you might expect from early 90's space RPGs like Phantasy Star (or such characters in 80's sci fi anime). <img src="http://www.gamnesia.com/images/uploads/zelda-scifi-dress.png"> The one on the left with the pompadour? She looks like she should be blowing bubble gum, filing her nails and answering the Ghost Buster's phone in a Brooklyn accent. Well excuse ME princess!
I found that image, but not a lot of OTHER images of very bizarre concept art for characters, such as a much younger link for Twilight Princess, as well as numerous very strange designs for Fi and Midna, and a lot of general "race" designs for the various creatures.
Anyway, the light/dark thing ended up being for the best, but I still would love to see a "present day" or "futuristic" setting for a Zelda game. Well, minus the ridiculous costume for Zelda.
So it gave me something to think about. Ocarina of Time 3D was, in a lot of ways, disappointing. Firstly, the new character models were nice, but the new character animations paled in comparison to the motion captured originals. Link in particular is very bizarrely animated in the new one. I'd have loved to see the graphics redone with the quality of the upcoming Wind Waker remake.
Along the same lines, I would love to see an added dungeon that actually used the ice arrows and had an extra hard boss. I don't expect any gameplay items from that boss, just maybe a trophy back in Link's tree house. It would be a hidden "super boss" intended to push you to your limits, something Zelda could use more of. Maybe something like fighting through a fortress to tackle the Captain of the Knights of Hyrule? As the Hystoria reveals, in the time line where Link dies, the Knights of Hyrule are the ones who defend the sages long enough for them to imprison Ganon. That's what leads to Link to the Past and is why the Hero of Time is never once mentioned in that time line.
I thought of the biggest bonus they could add to a true remake of OOT. I would LOVE a complete alternate storyline where you play as Zelda/Sheik. It would start with Zelda having that dream about Link and Ganon, where she starts to doubt him. You would not spend long as young Zelda, because she's more or less stuck in the castle during that portion of the game, but there would be some small but important adventures for her to undertake in the castle, namely working with Impa to get the Ocarina of Time so she can give it to Link. It would end with you controlling Impa on horseback as she escapes from Ganon, the whole chase, from inside the castle to managing to escape in the woods. You'd see Zelda's perspective, where Link vanishes, Ganon takes over Hyrule, and she's forced to hide with Impa while training to be a ninja. It would do time skips from year to year, with adventures each year that all lead to dead ends but teach her a new skill (she would be looking for the sages and Link this entire time while doing her best to protect people in Hyrule). It would finally end up in the present, where you start tracking Link, helping him both as seen on Link's side, and then with hidden parts of the dungeons where she helps him unseen, also with boss fights against shadows and such as seen in Kakariko.
At the end, when she reveals she has the triforce of wisdom to Link and is captured by Ganondorf, it doesn't stop for her. I suggest an internal fight against a phantom Ganon while Link fights the real thing. During the fight with transformed demon pig Ganon, she's projecting herself to all the other sages and gathering their power. This mechanic ends with her firing that power at Link's sword to enable him to kill Ganon. Then Link fails. It wasn't enough, Link is defeated and his triforce piece taken. Zelda has her piece taken by Ganon, but just barely escapes thanks to the sages. Fully powered, the story now continues with Zelda and the sages rallying the knights of hyrule together for one final push. They hold back Ganon just long enough for the sages to banish him to the sacred realm. Link saved the day by freeing the sages, but now Ganon has the entire triforce, and Link is dead. Zelda decides to go on one last quest, and using the Ocarina of Time she sends a portion of her light force back in time to her past self when fighting Ganon. This time it's enough to give Link the strength he needs and he is able to defeat Ganon, just as in the original ending.
To me, it wraps up all those split time lines in one neat little package in the form of a whole new game play experience. It would even open up the possibility of characters other than Link in future games.