wfz said:
I genuinely can't wait to hear it Khuutra. Talking with you always turns out interesting.
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Nintendo could have at least done a remake of an older game to make it somewhat fresh. I would have loved to see ALttP redone since it's first version was 2d. Seeing a remake of ALttP would at least mean something new and fresh. But look at the pictures someone already posted in here. Yeah the visuals look nicely updated, but it isn't much. It won't change the way the game plays. It's prettier scenery.
What I don't understand are the Nintendo fans who have been flinging curses at "HD fanboys and the graphics whores" when those same Nintendo fans oogle over basically what amounts to an HD update of OoT. And they're willing to repay a full price for a mere HD graphics update.
As the type of gamer I am, I would have at least appreciated an ALttP remake. That would been a hundred times more fresh and new. But Nintendo knows they can release the same OoT game over and over and people will eat it up. They've done it what... three times already? These fans make me sick. It's a gold mine for Nintendo. It makes me mad because I know Nintendo is the only company capable of making their amazing franchises, and when fans beg for "just the same game ported or slightly updated please" it makes me sad because I know Nintendo is capable of so much better. But if they don't have to do the effort, they won't. It's smart, and I'd do the same thing in their position.
I have a dislike for the core gamer who only asks for the same game over and over.
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In the first place: I avoid hypocrisy in that I've never accused people of being "graphic whores" unless graphics were their only reasons for liking one game over another. THere is no inherent hypocrisy in liking better graphics while calling people out on liking graphics to the exclusion of all else.
Secondly, remaking an older Zelda title would infringe on the point that earlier console Zeldas have already seen earlier generation handheld releases, namely in that all of them were on the Gameboy Advance. You want a remake of them? In what way? Redrawing LttP's art would be pointless; the resolution hasn't been upgraded significantly enough to really do more than add in some screen real estate, which would necessitate redrawing of certain squares on the map. And redesigning entire dungeons, which would change the flow of the game, in which case it might as well be a new game altogether. The first LoZ is even worse in that its sprites are really small (and thus its environments are really large) in comparison to LttP; updating the graphics for LoZ would basically amount to changing the size and gameplay dynamic of the game. AoL suffers from the same problem. It's only with the 3D games where you can get a noticeable improvement that doesn't affect the way the games play. With OoT you get a game htat looks better and plays the same: with LttP you get a game that looks the same and plays the same; with LoZ you get a game that looks different, not better, and plays worse, since the dynamic of the game was built around small sprites and huge screens.
You remember when they released Link to the Past: Four Swords? And then again on the VC? Ocarina of Time never had that much, unless you count the Collector's Edition, which had every console Zelda up to that point except for LttP. You want to count Master Quest? Nobody actually bought that, because it wasn't purchasable! Ocarina of Time up to this point has been available to three kinds of people: people who would track down the N64 cart, people who were already familiar with the series, and people who had access to the Virtual Console. The vast majority of the time, all three of these categories overlapped. In fact, you yourself were all three of these at once.
But, now, here's the ringer:
Ocarina of Time 3D is not for you.
Here is the people that OoT3D is for (they are few in type but legion in number):
1. People who never got to play the first game. There are a ton of these people, either due to age (the game is twelve years old but most gamers fifteen or under were almost definitely too young to play it when it was popular) or due to lack of access to avenues of purchase or whatever. These are the big people here. Super Mario 64 DS has continued to sell millions and millions of copies over the past six years because it pushed past the oldschool fans and started sellign to people who'd never played 3D Mario before. That's why it might end up being the biggest 3D Mario since the original Mario 64. Nintendo clearly hopes for the same here, which is probably the biggest point of the upgraded graphics.
2. Hardcore buyers who are nostalgiac about Ocarina of Time and fall all over themselves to see it again with a current-gen coat of paint. There are a lot of these people too, in the same vein as people who want a Final Fantasy 7 remake. These people are making an admittance to themselves that the N64 version of the game isn't easy on the eyes anymore, and this new version is of Gamecube-level quality (Young Link looks as good as his Melee model, or better) while being in 3-D. For these people, the game might as well be pure fanservice regardless of the actual intent behind it.
3. People who want Ocarina of Time in portable form. Now, this is where I fit. When I was young, there was an issue of Nintendo Power that showed an image of a Gameboy (I think it was a Pocket) with a screenshot of Mario 64 superimposed over the screen. Thei dea is that that was where gaming could be in ten years - and by God, they were right! But at the time, I thought it was a fever dream. I cherished the idea of being able to carry around all my favorite games, not being tethered to a TV or the familial responsibilities that that implied. If you had told me, in 1998 and 1999 that there would come a time in 2011 or so where I would be able to play Ocarina of Time on a handheld but with better graphics, I would have had myself cryogenically frozen. Or killed and then ressurected by dread necromancy. We have portable versions of all other console Zeldas up to this point - why not Ocarina of Time? Holy shit! Just thinking about it is getting me all aflutter. I'm going to get my nice earbuds out when the time comes.
Do you fit under any of those criteria? If not, this remake is not for you.
And no, the fact that it's not for you doesn't mean that hating Nintendo or the actions they take is justified.
The problem here is that you're condemning them for appealing to an audience that isn't you. This isn't the kind of thing that they would put their mainline devs on - it's in no way going to impede Skyward Sword or whatever the next handheld Zelda is. It takes nothing away from you: the whole problem is that they're looking at someone else and saying "here, take this" while not giving you anything (except, of course, for Skyward Sword). Do you see the problem here? Pardon my clunky analogy, but it is well-known that I thought that Metroid: Other M was good but disappointing. If it were announced that another Metroid game in that vein was being produced, I would not begrudge Nintendo that decision; they're just serving someone who isn't me (possibly you). I might be disappointed, but why should I be upset that they choose to make other people happy, even if that other group is smaller than the one I belong to?
Just to condense my point, Reason to Not Be Upset:
1. It doesn't take away from other Zelda projects (probably)
2. We already have portable versions of the earlier Zelda titles.
3. 3D Zelda games are the only ones that can really be improved by a graphics overhaul.
4. It's not reasonable to be upset just because a supplier is catering to someone else, especially when they are also catering to you.
This next part hasn't been covered yet. Reasons to get excited:
1. SM64DS was a prelude to Galaxy, which kicked the current 3D formula in the stones, and also to NSMBWii, which was a return to oldschool glory. I expect something fo the same here.
2. Aonuma's not going to worry about a remake of OoT if one is actually there already. Consider this the point where we can expect the Zelda team to move past the ghost of Ocarina.
3. So many more people get to experience this game. Isn't that kind of great? I think it is. When I have kids, I will probably let them play this version.
4. It doesn't detract from mainline Zelda titles in any way. We just have no evidence that this is diverting manpower from the games you want!
5. Dammit it's Ocarina of Time and portable. Holy shit!
THat's all for now. I don't think being upset is a reasonable reaction, especially when you're being upset that other people are happy to have their wants catered.
