We store cookies, you can get more info from our privacy policy.
DS

The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks Trailer

by Mike Gamin - March 25, 2009, 12:12 pm EDT
Total comments: 52 Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2AJVmDY7nM

Nintendo released the first official trailer for the next DS Zelda game today!

Nintendo included the official trailer for the upcoming DS game, The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks, in their GDC 2009 press kit. It is embedded below.

The trailer features the train traveling gameplay as well as some classic Zelda-style dungeon action. It includes many stylus oriented puzzles, just like Phantom Hourglass.

According to the keynote Spirit Tracks will ship for DS later this year!

Talkback

King of TwitchMarch 25, 2009

Interesting..hmm

Spirt should be Spirit

BeautifulShyMarch 25, 2009

I am getting this! I love the music!

steveyMarch 25, 2009

1238009820734.png

Nice.  Looks like you can probably draw a path for the train tracks, much like you could draw a sailing course in Phantom Hourglass.  Otherwise, it looks very similar.  Hopefully there won't be a central dungeon that has to be repeated multiple times.

KhushrenadaMarch 25, 2009

Quote from: stevey

1238009820734.png

Totally awesome. You outdid yourself stevey. I'm calling it. Best post of March.

As long as there isn't that damn centralized dungeon, I can't wait. Color me excited, especially with that music.
And, seriously, look at Conductor Link. That's fricking adorable.

StratosMarch 25, 2009

Is it just me or do you guys think that Zelda games a slowly moving forward in time? Look at the technology: a train. I'm half wondering if we will see more modern things like this in newer Zelda games until eventually we reach a modern era. That could lead to some interesting mechanics. First a seam boat and then a steam train. What's next, a car?

I also notice that Tetra is back as Zelda, or will this not be a sequel like Hourglass was to Wind Waker?

Same graphics, gameplay as Phantom Hourglass? Meh. Color me underwhelmed at least until some gameplay details come out. Phatom Hourglass was a definate dungeon crawler, which I couldn't stand, and the Temple of the Ocean King ruined it for me (surely you all remember my heretical review).

My biggest hope is that the storyline ACTUALLY MOVES WIND WAKER'S STORY FOREWARD. Life after Ganondorf. No silly dream sequences. Phantom Hourglass = Season 8 of "Dallas."

He's on a train now? Com'on...

ShyGuyMarch 25, 2009

Links' gonna squish a princess!

ZELDA ON-RAIL SQUISHER

PopeRealMarch 25, 2009

Other forums will probably explode with "OMG Zelda is on rails now!!1"

anyway it looks really good to me!

StratosMarch 25, 2009

Quote from: PopeReal

"OMG Zelda is on rails now!!1"

Just make it a mini game fest and we have a crazy Zelda meme.

PaleMike Gamin, Contributing EditorMarch 25, 2009

I totally missed a great headline opportunity here...

New Zelda DS Trailer! It's On Rails!

kraken613March 25, 2009

Quote from: Jonnyboy117

Hopefully there won't be a central dungeon that has to be repeated multiple times.

My words exactly!


So think this is the Zelda they talked about at E3? If so I am disappointed.... I was thinking Wii Zelda...

StogiMarch 25, 2009

Relax. This maybe the Zelda they were talking about, but there will definitely be another Zelda on the Wii.

Tybo68March 25, 2009

I hope they put button controls into the game this time along with the stylus ones.

StratosMarch 25, 2009

I really liked the stylus controls. I keep wishing that they added them for Pokemon Platinum because I instinctively try to move your guy with the stylus.

Mop it upMarch 25, 2009

Quote from: Kashogi

Relax. This maybe the Zelda they were talking about, but there will definitely be another Zelda on the Wii.

If historic trends are any indication then there certainly will be:

NES: Two Zeldas
SNES: One Zelda
N64: Two Zeldas
GCN: One Zelda (spin-offs and collector's edition don't count)
Wii: Already one at launch, certainly another in the works?

Why not, look at portables too:

GB: One Zelda
GBC: Two Zeldas
GBA: One Zelda (remake doesn't count)
DS: Two Zeldas

Especially if Nintendo aims to have Wii around for longer than five years (which seems likely), there will be a second Zelda.

LuigiHannMarch 25, 2009

Quote from: Halbred

No silly dream sequences. Phantom Hourglass = Season 8 of "Dallas."

Or, you know, Link's Awakening.

Also, I like the train. Different Zelda games supposedly take place hundreds of years apart, so it makes sense that there'd be differing levels of technology. It's actually always bothered me (just a bit) that the world has seemed relatively static in that regard.

StratosMarch 25, 2009

There is a number of people who have been clamoring for a futuristic Zelda type game. Of course when one does come out (Beyond Good and Evil) nobody buys it.

Spak-SpangMarch 25, 2009

I really don't know what to think of this game.  I liked Phantom Hourglass, and it had some great additions, but this feels like there isn't any truly new ideas at this point. 

It looks like the biggest new addition is a statue you can control and assist you in fighting and solving puzzles?  The train is basically the boat but on land. 

I think I will buy it because it is Zelda, but honestly I am on a wait and see. 

mac<censored>March 25, 2009

Quote from: Stratos

First a steam boat and then a steam train. What's next, a car?

Well, logically, I suppose, a steam car.

Hmm, or even better, a steam motorcycle!

Zelda's basic principle seems to be "the wackier the better!"

(not a complaint mind you, I like it!)

mac<censored>March 25, 2009

Quote from: Spak-Spang

The train is basically the boat but on land. 

Well, not entirely -- the boat could go "anywhere", but the train has to stick to the tracks; this gives train travel a very different feel in real life, so it would probably feel different in the game too.  It seems well suited for some interesting puzzles.

Also of course, merely being situated on land instead of the sea should given opportunity for more interesting environmental variation during travel (mountains, tunnels, bridges, ...); one thing I didn't like about the sea travel thing was simply that the sea seemed ... kinda flat and boring (even in WW, where they tried their best to add interest).

Color me underwhelmed as well. I liked the stylus controls in PH, but the train seems too derivative. This is the first Zelda game i can think of that I'm not excited over, and that worries me. I really hope this game has fewer lever and "go over here" puzzles and more interesting dungeon music.

broodwarsMarch 25, 2009

Wow, how...underwhelming and oddly unexciting.  It's Phantom Hourglass with a Train instead of a Boat, which has me wondering if that's really the best they could do.  Until they announce something more unique about this one (and hopefully confirm that there shall be no Ocean Palace-esque dungeon or ANY Stealth sections), I'm going to have a hard time caring about this one.  Sad, really...I used to get so excited at the announcement of a new Zelda game.

mac<censored>March 25, 2009

Quote from: TheYoungerPlumber

Color me underwhelmed as well. I liked the stylus controls in PH, but the train seems too derivative.

Er, what on earth do you expect them to do?  It seems like anything they pick is going to seem derivative in some sense (e.g., a motorcycle would basically just be a horse with wheels).

Or do you mean you don't like the whole separate over-world?  I might agree with that; one thing about traditional zeldas I liked over e.g. FF was that you just walked from place to place, with no viewpoint shift.  However, based on this video, the train actually seems much closer to the "integrated" zeldas in feel than PH did -- even when travelling on the train, the viewpoint doesn't shift to "satellite view", and you don't feel like you're playing on a map.

But who am I to speak -- I like trains (in real life), so I'm pretty jazzed about this.

NWR_pap64Pedro Hernandez, Contributing WriterMarch 25, 2009

Color me intrigued.

I would love to know how the train plays into the Zelda myth.

Quote from: broodwars

Wow, how...underwhelming and oddly unexciting.  It's Phantom Hourglass with a Train instead of a Boat, which has me wondering if that's really the best they could do.

My feelings exactly.  I'm kinda like, "Is that it?"

I'm excited and totally insta-buy, but I have two questions:

1. Land? LAND!?!?! Did they dry out Hyrule or is this in another part of the timeline?!?!?

2. Who is working on this? Hopefully not all the Zelda team.

IceColdMarch 26, 2009

Wow, these are hands down the most apathetic reactions I've ever seen to the revealing of a new Zelda.

Well, in truth, it really wasn't that great a trailer.

The most interesting thing about it is the guided giant statue buddy you get.

CalibanMarch 26, 2009

You're all a bunch of party poopers. Link in a train is a significant technological advance for the series, and who knows what the future will bring us.

Quote from: Caliban

You're all a bunch of party poopers. Link in a train is a significant technological advance for the series, and who knows what the future will bring us.

LAND is a bigger advance for the series!

CalibanMarch 26, 2009

Land, sea, it's all the same. You have land, but you can't go underneath to explore. You have the sea, but you can't submerge and explore. So what's the point if it's land or sea, you can't do anything in it.

NinGurl69 *hugglesMarch 26, 2009

You can walk on land without being stuck in a stupid boat.

UrkelMarch 26, 2009

Link in a train brings us one step closer to a steampunk Zelda.

This can only be a good thing.

Quote from: Urkel

Link in a train brings us one step closer to a steampunk Zelda.

This can only be a good thing.

QFT

KDR_11kMarch 26, 2009

New Zelda game same as previous one with one minor change, news at eleven!

Seriously, it's freaking Zelda, that never changes much. The only recent change was PH's new control and item paradigm. As for those demanding dpad controls, forget it, that would mean they'd have to dumb the items down massively and pretty much turn it into LttP again. The whole point of PH's revamp was that items became more versatile with the improved controls. Dpad movement plus stylus aim wouldn't work either, it hurts since it leaves you without enough hands to support the system's weight. Believe me, I loved PH's use of the stylus for movement after playing Tingle's Rosy Rupeeland because it meant my hand would no longer hurt.

Quote from: Stratos

There is a number of people who have been clamoring for a futuristic Zelda type game. Of course when one does come out (Beyond Good and Evil) nobody buys it.

That's because BG&E was more like Splinter Cell or something than Zelda.

broodwarsMarch 26, 2009

Quote from: IceCold

Wow, these are hands down the most apathetic reactions I've ever seen to the revealing of a new Zelda.

Can you blame people for not being excited?

1.  It's not a good trailer, being neither terribly exciting nor interesting.
2.  We're shown that Link uses a train in the trailer, but the trailer doesn't go that extra distance to show us what it can do that makes it unique and interesting.
3.  It's a re-skinned clone of the most thoroughly bland Zelda ever made.
4.  Is it just me, or does the graphics engine actually look worse in this game than in Phantom Hourglass (despite it being the same engine)?  Phantom Hourglass looked like a prototype Wind Waker.  This looks like something you'd download off the N64 Virtual Console shelf.

I'm not opposed to the Train idea, so long as the Train has a unique function that makes it fun, fresh, and exciting.  But in that trailer it looks like it's just a damn re-skinned boat that can only move around on land.

As for Beyond Good & Evil, calling that thing a game in the Zelda mold is being rather kind as it's much more of an action/stealth game.  It's also incredibly short, and also has a very misleading title...

CalibanMarch 26, 2009

Quote from: NinGurl69

You can walk on land without being stuck in a stupid boat.

You're still stuck either way.

Ian SaneMarch 26, 2009

I'm not that interested but it has nothing to do with the trailer.  I just didn't think Phantom Hourglass was all that hot.  I hate the controls and I hate the central dungeon design.  It totally seems like a really great game is stuck in there somewhere but it's a huge chore to get it out.  Zelda was never a chore for me before.

So now they're making a sequel to it.  And that's not unexpected or even a bad idea in theory.  I think the train is a very odd idea but not necessarily a bad one.  I'm sure anyone that liked Phantom Hourglass will get a huge kick out of this game.  I just didn't like PH so I'm not going to like another game with similar gameplay.

mac<censored>March 26, 2009

Quote from: Ian

I just didn't think Phantom Hourglass was all that hot.  I hate the controls and I hate the central dungeon design.

Ian, you hate everything.

StogiMarch 26, 2009

Everyone is hating on this game; why and for what reason?

The train?

The statue?

The similar gameplay?

I for one am looking forward to all the neat and crazy things you can do in cooperation with the statue; from solving puzzles to killing baddies. I'm also looking forward to using the train. Why? Because it's a new form of transportation and that's always exciting. Sure it maybe like the boat, but is that necessarily a bad thing? And finally, I found the controls intuitive in PH to say the least. Everything was easy to do. It looks like they plan to add to it, which can only make it better.

So why all the hate?

Nick DiMolaNick DiMola, Staff AlumnusMarch 26, 2009

Quote from: Kashogi

Everyone is hating on this game; why and for what reason?

I'm guessing because generally speaking PH didn't connect with people. I really disliked PH, so a sequel isn't of great interest to me. Of course I'll still buy it anyway, the Zelda pedigree demands that much; however, my expectations are extremely low.

StratosMarch 26, 2009

I liked the multiplayer from PH a lot. I hope they expand on those ideas and even add more more game modes like the battle mode in Four Swords.

But I agree that the game did feel a bit bland and like a chore in a number of places. Maybe the removal of the central dungeon will liven it up a bit and if there are no invincible enemies.

StogiMarch 26, 2009

You guys are pansies. The central dungeon wasn't so bad.

GoldenPhoenixMarch 26, 2009

Quote from: Kashogi

You guys are pansies. The central dungeon wasn't so bad.

Tedious, timed dungeons with stealth are not fun.

StogiMarch 26, 2009

Ya but say the game was bad simply because of that is pansyism.

PH was epic... it was the best Zelda since OoT... you're all mean!

King of TwitchMarch 26, 2009

I think the fact that the most annoying aspect of the 3D Zeldas, transportation, (running around Hyrule field in OOT, sailing in WW) is suddenly being pushed to the front is what turns me off. There's no reason for it on a handheld with no loading times to mask and whatever happened to warping?

And the repetitive tree/cloud/grass/dungeon textures don't do much for me but these are just my first impressions don't kill me

EasyCureMarch 26, 2009

Quote from: GoldenPhoenix

Quote from: Kashogi

You guys are pansies. The central dungeon wasn't so bad.

Tedious, timed dungeons with stealth are not fun.

Geez there was barely any stealth in that game. Nothing like Splinter Cell or MGS. I'm with Stogi on this one, everyone here hating on PH (mainly its central dungeon) is a pansy. I can see having issues with the controls, that's a legitimate concern, i know it took me awhile to get used to the all touch controls for a Zelda game, but everything else is just nitpicking.

The game actually presents a challenge to veteran Zelda players and you dismiss it as tedious, yet if it was stricken from the game you'd all be clamouring it was too easy. I should be used to this by now..

Quote from: Kashogi

Ya but say the game was bad simply because of that is pansyism.

Pansyism is my new favorite word.

Spak-SpangMarch 26, 2009

I loved the central Dungeon.  I thought it would be annoying after hearing all the complaints, but it may have been my favorite part of the game, and was very creative.

Also, I liked the Stealth elements in the game.

Got a news tip? Send it in!
Advertisement
Advertisement