I cannot stress this enough: this is a rumor. Rumor rumor rumor RUMOR. At this point (with the game five years in development and all) I just find it fun to speculate. And if its somehow irresponsible to report on something that’s a rumor, well, blame Joystiq. They did it first.

Anyway, the 2chan forums over in Japan (who’ve been known to leak correct rumors before) has some info floating around that will be very intriguing to Majora’s Mask fans. Here’s a list of the rumors, as summed up by Joystiq:

The game will be very different from the traditional overworld/dungeon/overworld Zelda style.

Link will be left- or righthanded depending on whatever option you select as a player.

Mechanics and gameplay are done in terms of development, and dungeons, story, and characters are still being fleshed out. Part of the story will involve an innkeeper in Link’s hometown and her young son.

The girl in the teaser picture may be named Adelle, Adella, or Aderu, though that picture was a placeholder, not her real face. She won’t be with you throughout the game, but she will communicate with Link through his sword.

The sword itself is not the Master Sword, but it will develop and release unlockable abilities as the game goes on.

There will be horseback combat, and your horse (possibly Epona, though that may just be a nickname for the horse in the translation) will be much better at avoiding obstacles.

And finally, the Link in this game may be the Hero of Time from Ocarina of Time, the game itself may contain time travel, and the overworld may include more than just Hyrule, and/or may not be Hyrule at all. That means that the Wii Zelda may in fact be a direct or indirect sequel of Majora’s Mask, a fact sure to raise the ire of some (and the hopes of others).

As far as rumors go, these are pretty good. But again, while this is from a message board that often gets things right, its still a message board, the place where wild fan rumors are born. So take it with a grain of salt.

All the same, this is one Majora’s Mask fan that hopes the rumors are true.

Joystiq