Zelda Gaiden, Ura Zelda update

[09.29.99] » Miyamoto comments on development of the next N64 Zelda titles.

   In a recent interview with Japanese Nintendo magazine 64 Dream, Zelda mastermind Shigeru Miyamoto updated readers on the progress of the two new Nintendo 64 Zelda games.

   Development of Zelda Gaiden, the "same engine, new game" sequel to The Ocarina of Time, is progressing smoothly. According to Miyamoto, the version shown at last month's Space World show in Japan was about 20% complete, though the game engine itself was nearly 80% done. The game itself will take about as long for players to complete as Ocarina of Time did, though the storyline spans only half the timeframe that Ocarina's did. Zelda Gaiden is still slated for a March 2000 release in Japan; a U.S. release is already confirmed.

   Further off is Ura Zelda, the 64DD add-on to the original Zelda 64. Ura Zelda will only interact with Ocarina of Time; it will not feature any of the new elements from Zelda Gaiden save the addition of numerous masks for Link to wear. Indeed, Ura Zelda may take the mask concept one step further; it's possible that gamers may be allowed to take pictures of themselves with the Game Boy Camera, transfer the snapshots to the Nintendo 64 via the 64GB Pak, and then touch up the images in the 64DD's Talent Studio before finally importing them into Ura Zelda as masks for Link to wear. Ura Zelda's eventual fate still is undetermined, however, and relies mainly on the shaky status of the 64DD add-on. But "whether or not we release it, we are still working on the game," Miyamoto told 64 Dream.