Ocarina of Time 3D announced

CB Droege 22 Mar, 2011 at 1:54pm ET Article published in Gaming

Nintendo has announced plans to release the classic Ocarina of time on the 3DS with enhanced visuals, including access to the 3DS’s proprietary “no glasses” 3D mode.

Ocarina of Time is considered by many Legend of Zelda fans to be the greatest of the series, and even those who don’t agree will still admit that it represents a turning point in the franchise. Ocarina of Time introduced a whole slew of gameplay elements and features which we have come to love and expect from Legend of Zelda games, including three-dimensional dungeon exploration.

This new edition has a revamped engine to make the graphics crisper and higher in polygons, while also taking advantage of the new 3D capabilities of the 3DS. Players will be able to control the game with the 3DS “circle pad” just as they would have used the analog stick in the past, and the inventory and menu systems have been redesigned to function with the stylus.

One of the coolest features, however, will be the use of the first person mode, which will allow players to use the accelerometer in the new hand-held system. Turning the system will turn Link’s view, allowing the player to feel even more like they are looking through a window into the world of Hyrule.

Unlike some of the ports that we saw for the DS so far, this one looks good enough to draw in more recent converts to the franchise. Yes, it will mostly appeal to the hardcore Zelda fans, but even players who were first introduced to Link on the Wii with Twilight princess will find this title attractive, and well within old-game tolerances for graphics and gameplay.

Everyone has been wondering what title Nintendo is going to pull out to really push 3DS sales; what game is going to make fans salivate to such degree that they open their wallets to replace their Nintendo handheld one more time? Here you have it: This is the reason to buy a 3DS.

The final release date is yet to be announced.

Comments

22 Mar 2011 ~ 1:56pm UPSLynx Hey Jimmeh, I just found the last bit of effort to make me click that "proceed to checkout" button.
22 Mar 2011 ~ 2:00pm primesuspect Heh.
22 Mar 2011 ~ 2:38pm MiracleManS I bought the original and the Wii VC port...I do not think this will push me over the edge.

I'm a little confused about turning the system, since I've heard it's very easy to mess up the 3D view of things with slight head movement.
22 Mar 2011 ~ 3:04pm UPSLynx

MiracleManS wrote:

I'm a little confused about turning the system, since I've heard it's very easy to mess up the 3D view of things with slight head movement.

It's probably a feature I'll ignore, just for comfort/laziness sake. Depends on how sensitive the movement is.
22 Mar 2011 ~ 4:37pm Cliff_Forster So far the 3DS feels like its just offering a bunch of recycled content. I've played Ocarina of Time, Street Figther IV, Ridge Racer, Dead or Alive, Lego Star Wars, others have gotten their fill of Nintendogs already.

When the DS came out it was a huge departure from the ordinary. This here, it just is not doing it for me. I've always said, where Sony failed is they thought the handheld gamer wanted a console experience in their hands. The sales numbers will tell you, they really don't. People want original games that translate well to a handheld experience. Its just a different platform, and should be treated as such.

I love Nintendo dearly, but I am going to go out on a limb and predict the 3DS will fall short of our initial expectations. Knowing Nintendo, they will likely rebound in the end, but the launch is looking soft to me.
22 Mar 2011 ~ 5:30pm drasnor Eh, it's a no-brainer for me. I apparently lost my DS Lite and PSP last summer driving back from EPIC and need to replace them. I was considering a DSi XL, but now I'm thinking 3DS after playing with one at SxSW. Since Sony still hasn't made a successor to the PSP 3000 it looks like I'll be getting one of those.
30 Mar 2011 ~ 6:23am CrazyJoe I still think the best handheld device I've ever owned was my Sega Game Gear. That thing was awesome.
30 Mar 2011 ~ 5:23pm Canti I really don't see how this is going to sell the 3DS. Then again I've always felt like the whole 3D thing is just a gimmick used to make money (especially those damn glasses in the theaters). If I want to play OoT I can do it on my PC with an emulator, plug my N64 back in, or play it on my Zelda collection Gamecube disc. I'm pretty sure that fans of the Zelda series could play it the same ways as well as on their virtual console. What I can't see is people paying $200 plus the cost of the game to play a 13 year old game they've probably paid for a few times already just so they can do it IN THREE DIMENSIONS. I love me some Ocarina of Time and I've played through it more times than I can count (I can count to at least 7, maybe even 9 if I try hard enough) but 3D OoT doesn't sound the least bit appealing.
30 Mar 2011 ~ 5:26pm Thrax It's going to sell like hotcakes.
30 Mar 2011 ~ 6:45pm primesuspect It sounds appealing as hell to me. I'll be buying OoT on launch day.
30 Mar 2011 ~ 7:49pm Garg I'm probably going to cave and get a 3DS. I haven't played any Zelda games since Link to the Past, so while recycling content is lame, it'll be new to me.