Want more deets on the upcoming Legend of Zelda DS title, Spirit Tracks? Of course you do. Official Nintendo Magazine’s Fred Dutton got his hands on a copy of the game early, and asked GoNintendo readers if they had any questions before the big December debut. And boy, did they ever! Topics covered include recurring characters from Wind Waker and Phantom Hourglass, the improved DS-specific controls, and more. The entire interview will be available in Official Nintendo Magazine’s latest edition. Here’s just a sample:
Compared to Phantom Hourglass, which makes better use of the DS as a system? I’d say Spirit Tracks. As well as having to use the stylus to control Link and Zelda, you also use the mic a lot. You’ll need to blow into the mic for Link’s Pan Pipes and the new whirlwhind weapon.
Do any story details overlap with other Zeldas? Yes, there are recurring characters from both Wind Waker and Phantom Hourglass.
What’s the storyline like? This is one of the strong points in my opinion. Out of all the ‘toon Link’ titles, it’s easily the darkest and the Phantom Zelda conceit is a great little twist. Cole is a memorable adversary, there’s plenty of fan service in the narrative and, all in all, it’s a really tight package.
Are there any new enemies? Yes, numerous, as well as some familiar standards.
In other Spirit Tracks news, NOA president Reggie Fils-Aime recently discussed with Kotaku the secrecy surrounding Spirit Tracks, and the difference between the NA and European box art:
“We believe that to tease fans over an extended period of time really doesn’t do the gamer just service. So, we have always been mindful of: When’s the launch date? When’s the right time to share information? How do we break information? In particular, with this game, given the Zelda dynamic — which you find out about right at the start of the game — we really wanted to keep that secret and have it be a big reveal. That is something very new and very different in a Zelda game, [having] Princess Zelda essentially playing along with you. That’s essentially what drove the strategy for how we reveal the information, when do we reveal the information and the fact that it had to be fairly late.”
In other words, they did it for the fans! I for one like that they held off. If I get too much information on a game early in its development, my excitement eventually turns to resentment and there’s the risk of my losing interest completely. ‘Sides, its nice to still have some surprises once in awhile. As for the differences in box art, (comparison picture below courtesy of original source, Press The Buttons), Reggie said:
“We just thought the package art we developed with [Nintendo's Japanese headquarters office] NCL that highlights the train and highlights the Phantom… was a great representation of the game,” adding that he didn’t feel it showed a darker side of Link “at all”.
While that doesn’t add much insight as to why the European box looks like rainbow puke and refried sunshine and the US box looks like something you’d never want to meet in a back alley, all the same, both are rather appealing. Which do you prefer?
Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks comes out December 7.
ONM
via GoNintendo
