Patent: Next Zelda goes casual? (CVG 9/1/08)

by **VampiricPadraig** Fri Jan 09, 2009 11:08 am

An interesting patent has emerged for what appears to be Nintendo's next Zelda game, sparking concern (in our office anyway) that the famous adventure series is all about to go all "casual".

The patent, credited to Mario daddy Shigeru Miyamoto himself, describes an all-new hint system as well as a DVD-style scene selection option, for a dummy game called 'Legend of OO' (we wonder what that could be?!)

The three systems outlined by the patent (thanks to NeoGAF for translating the gibberish) seem to be the following:

Main game: Play through the game from start to end as normal with an optional hint system. Veteran players can enjoy the challenge while less experienced players can get an occasional helping hand.

Digest: The game shows important scenes in the game, both cut-scene and gameplay, in order (it basically plays itself). You have the option of stopping the digest at any time and playing the 'scene' yourself with relevant equipment and powers. You can't save the game in this mode.

Scenes: Play through any puzzle or 'scene' in the game with appropriate equipment and powers. A bit like a DVD movie's scene selection.

Miyamoto has already expressed the Zelda series' need to become more accessible to a broader group of players, stating that "lot of people who bought the Wii are not necessarily the types of people who are interested in playing that kind of game."

The above systems sound like a fine gateway to us for helping casual players into the Zelda stratosphere, and really there's no reason to believe that they'll affect the core Zelda game fans expect. After all, Mario Kart Wii managed to please both camps. Yes, we're back on it.

Nintendo UK declined to comment when contacted.