Nintendo cancelled a home console Zelda: Wind Waker sequel

Cartoon man not happen.

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2016-12-06-nintendo-cancelled-a-home-console-zelda-wind-waker-sequel

Nintendo once had plans for a full console sequel to The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker - and it would have been set more firmly on dry land.

This follow-up would have allowed Link to ride a horse - a feature missing in the GameCube's seafaring entry.

But the idea was canned - for a number of reasons - and The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess entered production instead.

14 years on from Wind Waker's release, these early plans are detailed in the new Zelda: Art & Artifacts book, an upcoming companion to the popular Hyrule Historia tome.

The book isn't available in the UK until February, but the Japanese version is already available.

"Wind Waker 2 would have taken place in a more land-based setting, rather than on the sea, so that we could have Link gallop across the land on a horse," artist Satoru Takizawa stated (translated by Nintendo Everything).

"But Link's proportions in Wind Waker weren't very well suited for riding on horseback, he was too short, and an adult version of Toon Link did not seem appropriate either."

But Nintendo did not get as far as solving these issues. Early public reaction to Wind Waker was not positive, despite its critical acclaim upon release. Fans initially decried its cel-shaded graphical style. Oh, and Lord of the Rings was huge. Hence the switch back to darker, more realistic tone for Twilight Princess instead.

"While we were stuck on those problems, we became aware of the greater demand for a more realistic, taller Link," Takizawa concluded. "High-budget live-action fantasy movies were also huge at the time, so with all things considered, we decided to have at it. I was on board with the project as art director, and started off by bringing [Yusuke] Nakano on to do the design for Link."

Zelda: Wind Waker's story was instead continued in the enjoyable DS spin-off Phantom Hourglass, which probably had just as much sailing as before.

Twilight Princess, meanwhile, ended up being widely regarded as a good Zelda game but without the charm of Wind Waker - which has remained a fan favourite and got an HD re-release in 2013.

Seems this was a good move. Gamers weren't to kind to Wind Waker. Moving it to DS was smart decision.

As someone who loves everything about Wind Waker, I would have loved to see what kind of game this would have been. Spirit Tracks is great but Phantom Hourglass is one of the worst Zelda games so the move to DS ultimately paid off, but it would have been awesome to see another game with the same scope and sense of adventure that Wind Waker had.

Fucking fanboys, man. Wind Waker 2 would have been better than Twilight Princess any day, and I love Twilight Princess.

@charizard1605: OG Wind Waker was hot garbage. Good thing they canceled the sequel.

@uninspiredcup: IMO Wind Waker is one of the best Zeldas ever and Twilight Princess is one of the weakest...so... IMO bad thing

moving the art style to the handheld consoles (like with Phantom Hourglass) was probably best though, guess having them on a console is a waste.

OG Wind Waker is amazing, and I would have loved to see them expand on that.

I do love me some Wind Waker, so a sequel could have been cool. On the other hand I do also like Twilight Princess quite a bit so I can't really say this upsets me that much at all.

@charizard1605: It was amazing for those who were relatively new to Zelda. For those who had played them all it got boring awful quick. The formula of the element-based dungeons and item collecting had gone stale for me when I played it. The long stretches of sailing just made it worse.

Wind Wakers combat was so perfect...those perrys were so fun. Best one of the 3D Zeldas. How we went from that to TP and SS combat ill never know...

Thats how I felt about Skyward Sword. From the broken and forced controls to the handholding to the horrible graphics I just hated everything about that game

@jcrame10: Skyward Sword is miles better than Wind Waker imo. Even with the control issues the game is freaking amazing. Plus Wind Waker had worst issues.

I have been playing Zelda since LttP, and I adored Wind Waker. I found it, and still find it, better than any other 3D Zelda game before or after.

To be fair, Twilight Princess' combat had some great ideas hat would have felt equally satisfying, had Nintendo not dumbed the difficulty down beyond reason.

Yes, Skyward Sword is a terrible game with issues far beyond just the motion controls, and it almost made me lose faith in the franchise at large.

Aren't you like 24? ALTTP is probably older than you are or around the same age.

Anyway if you played The Legend of Zelda, OOT, Majora's Mask, ALTTP, Link's Awakening, Oracle of Ages, Oracle of Seasons before TWW I doubt you'd find it that amazing. Just got fed up with the same old items and same old recurring bosses and same old dungeon themes and formulas. At least the music was good and the game charming but I just couldn't stomach another grappling hook and another forest temple.

@charizard1605: That makes no sense, it's controls are still amazing. And it does bout everything better than any other Zelda game. Best story, best combat, best dungeons, best collectibles, best bosses fights, best upgrades, best trials, best difficulty, best overworld, best map system, and even one of the best final boss fights in gaming.

Another dumb decision made by Nintendo.

i dont see any issues with wind waker really. especially with the remaster they got rid of the tedious shard collecting section that sucked and the sailing is so smooth with the gamepad- no more pausing to see where youre going. Wind Waker HD is pretty much a perfect game.

Yep. Skyward Sword is a joke. Horrible game.

TP wasnt as bad but the combat was a joke. So mediocre and the swings were so poorly animated, almost corny, compared to the baddassness and smoothness of Wind Waker. Toon Link would beat the shit out of TP Link any day

Ocarina of Time > Wind Waker > Majora's Mask > Twilight Princess > Skyward Sword

Good, keep that wind waker trash at the bottom of the sea where it belongs. TP is so much better it isn't even funny.

Such a horrible choice by Nintendo, WW was and still is one of the best Zelda games, from the great art style to the water and sailing it was fantastic. It's only negative was the fetching crap near the end. A true sequel would have been amazing.

@jcrame10: Wind Waker story and characters are weak. Game is too easy for a Zelda game puzzle and combat wise. No good boss fights except the Phantom Ganon fight. The collectibles are boring. Sailing on the boat gets boring after while and unless you get the Sailcloth which is super weird to get, it sucks. HD version fixed the annoying end, but it's still flat. Wind Waker is still a great game, but it's no masterpiece like Skyward Sword.

It's interesting to me how similar these games are, and yet people have such divided opinions about which ones are good and bad. Really, if you've played one Zelda, you've played them all (with a few exceptions) and I suspect Breath of the Wild will feel more familiar than initial info suggests.

This is not meant as a criticism. It's a timeless formula that I'm happy to come back to over and over again.

@judaspete: People will never agree on best Zelda. They each are so unique and awesome that people get attached to them.

I'm even crazy about Tri-Force Heroes, game is insanely fun playing with others.

Yeah, but I had an SNES growing up, and LttP was the first Zelda game I played second actually, since I played Link's Awakening first. And no, I played those games before (not both Oracles, one of them, I'm actually not sure if I've still played Seasons even today), and I still found Wind Waker incredible, and I still find it to be the best of the 3D Zelda games.

lolwat

We know this is true because Toon Link is better in Smash than Link :p

The controls, the only time they are good, are for combat, and even there they are besought by problems inherent to motion controls (reclaibration, drift, incorrectly read inputs), and so on. I agree it has a good story (not that it has the best one), that it has the best dungeons (some of them, in any case), but literally everything else about what you said is wrong.

Best combat? It turns combat into a spot the pattern rhythm minigame. Best collectibles? The f*ck does this even mean? And maybe I would be willing to agree with this, whatever it is, if it didn't send me on 30 fetch quests before every single dungeon. Best upgrades? It was the first Zelda game with upgraded equipment, so this is the most senseless point yet. Best trials? What the f*ck does this even mean? Narrative elements present in one game and not in the others are not a point of comparison. Best difficulty? You mean like when Fi spoils the solution of a puzzle for you, and constantly reminds you where you should be going? Bets overworld? Now I'm going to laugh, because Skyward Sword has no overworld, did you actually play the game? And what the f*ck does best map system even mean?

Naw, I say WW is better than OoT

in what world is Wind Wakers story weak...it had the most complex plot and most twists out of like, any Zelda....it was more than just the traditional hero story

@jcrame10: Right? Plus it's the only game that actually manages to give Ganon some actual depth and motivation beyond 'evil man wants to take over the world.' It along with Majora's Mask are the best stories in the series (and admittedly, Skyward Sword ranks high here too).

@charizard1605: The Sky is it's overworld. It has an awesome map and allows you to mark stuff. The trial system where you get to do the Dragon parts. I didn't do no fetch quest, the game tells you if you need extra help the quest are designed to help. I required no extra help.

Fi only helps after an extended amount of time, I only had her help me twice in the whole game. But she was another awesome addition I forgot about. If you walk away from the game she can help you easily pick up where you left off.

The sky is an empty expanse of clouds, small rocks, one hub city, and a hut. This is the best overworld in the series? Maybe if you never played, I don't know, literally any of the other games in the franchise.

@charizard1605: It's the best because it helps with immersion. It brings the world to life and helps make the story that much more awesome. It's amazing flying around in Zelda going from place to place and collecting things.

These are just words thrown into a sentence with no sense of meaning or cohesion.

@charizard1605: For someone who never played the game maybe.

Conversely you sound like someone who only ever played Skyward Sword and none of the other Zelda games.

Got the special edition with the gold cover and Wii remote at launch, played through the game twice. Now what?

@charizard1605: Those are just words thrown into a sentence with no true meaning.

If you're going to ape a comeback, at least fucking use it in the right context. Though I shouldn't be surprised at you lacking contextual awareness either.

@charizard1605: Send us a photo big boy. I'm sure you still have your Skyward Sword save file since you stated you recently replayed it. At least then I'd believe your vagueness on it. Gamers always talking shat about games theyve never played.

Didn't Nintendo of America pretty much tell Miyamoto and the guys in Japan that the next Zelda needed to have a realistic and mature tone for the franchise to remain relevant?

How about you send a photo of you having played other Zelda games other than Skyward Sword?

My experiences playing skyward sword are pretty well known on this forum- here is a post I made right in the wake of playing the game from all the way back when it released, back when I was willing to give it more credit.

@charizard1605: Thats what I thought, all talk. I got all my saves on my systems, anytime bro, anytime. Just holla at your boy when ready to prove your talk.

I still don't see proof you've actually even played anything other than Skyward Sword. Prove it.

@charizard1605: Cool story bro, we beilve you. No one pretends to play games they've never played, why who would do such a silly thing.

Exactly, why.

Where the pics of your Zelda games at bro

Good! Toon Link sucks.. :P

@iandizion713 Charizard has played through Skyward Sword.

Beat it once and I believe he attempted to give the game another playthrough.

He made quite a detailed thread a whlie back. highlinghitn what he liked but ultimately why he disliked the game.

@charizard1605: You first bro, like I said, anytime. Your Skyward Sword for all my Zeldas. Such a small price to pay. Looking forward to your acceptance of my challenge.

I think a WW2 could have been amazing but if it turned into TP im ok with that because i really liked TP.

Skyward sword was easily the worst of the bunch...but it still had its charm. Some great dungeons, story and visual style were all great.

I think we can all agree though, BoTW looks like a return to form for the series.

@iandizion713: Naw, I don't think I will- I actually might have bothered any other time to dig it out, but you're not worth the effort. The posters on this board who matter, and anyone who's been here longer than your trolling ass, know. I don't actually care whether or not you treat my opinion as valid.

@charizard1605: Thats cool then. I figured as much.

How would toon link have trouble riding a horse? just give him a smaller epona.