The Wii U Release Date was announced yesterday, giving relief to millions of Nintendo fans who were scared that the system would not be released this year.
But Nintendo fanboys can also take another sigh of relief because new information about the next generation Zelda game may have also been revealed.
According to Wii U Daily, Nintendo is preparing to release another Hyrule adventure in 2014. The game will maintain the art style of recent installments such as "Skyward Sword" which presented the fantastical world in a colorful quasi-impressionistic art style. This may deter gamers looking for the harsh dark style presented in the Zelda tech demo at E3 two years ago. In that video, Link, the series' hero, was portrayed in the same design as the 2006 installment "Twilight Princess." That game was darker in ambience than 2011's "Skyward Sword." The visuals will be projected in full HD.
Another bit of information that Wii U Daily is reporting is that the Wii U Zelda has the biggest development team ever assembled by Nintendo for one game, giving rise to speculation that this may be the biggest Zelda game ever. Eiji Aonuma, director of past Zelda titles, will return as director of the project. Work on the game started back into 2010.
The game is said to feature the same number of dungeons as in previous games (which should number around 10 or 11), but they will be much larger than anything ever before. Wii U Daily's source even states that the dungeons are broken into "3 parts and will literally take hours to complete." The game will also have online features though no multiplayer will be included. It will also take full advantage of Nintendo's tablet controller and will "redefine gaming with its features and innovation."
Nintendo originally planned a Fall 2013 release to help the Wii U fight off impending releases of Sony and Microsoft's new systems during that same time slot, but the game was deemed to large to finish by then.
While this is mainly rumor and speculation, none of this information is controversial or completely implausible. We will find out more as the November 18 Wii U Release Draws Near.
The next Zelda will not look like this.