2007 is over and done with, but that doesn't mean that the awards for the previous year are done being awarded just yet. RPGamer, a fairly renowned site for information and news relating to RPGs for any console, has looked at the RPGs of the previous year and its editors have come to a conclusion on the games they feel were the best for each console.

After being delayed and earnest Zelda fans getting impatient, The Phantom Hourglass was finally released. Apparently it lived up to the massive hyper surrounding the game; it's taken the title of "Best DS 2007 Game" by RPGamer!

[Source]

Good news, European Zelda fans. The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass was released in stores on Friday, October 19th. If you haven't purchased it already, what are you waiting for?

Phantom Hourglass has now been released in every major territory worldwide. I hope you're all enjoying the game!

After three weeks of being out on the market, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess has been getting rave reviews. According to gamerankings.com, from 45 professional reviews Twilight Princess has averaged a remarkable score of 95.5%, making it the 11 highest ranked game of all time. Putting Twilight Princess in the same breath as classics such as the original, A Link to the Past, Ocarina of Time, and Wind Waker.

As the year is coming to an end, there will be plenty of Game of the Year awards being handed out. And you can be sure that Twilight Princess has a good chance of winning many of them. Be sure to check back frequently to find out what awards Twilight Princess will be winning.

Gamecube loyalists rejoiced today as The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess GCN was released after a three year wait. Twilight Princess Wii has had a terrific response so far, and hopefully the Gamecube version will enjoy the same success.

Unfortunately, due to the poor sales in Australia of the Gamecube, Nintendo Australia seems to pushing for the Wii console and its games. Due to this, Nintendo Australia will only let certain stores sell it (namely EBgames) and will only take pre-orders before December and then release the game. After the games have been ordered and are sold, Nintendo Australia will no longer release the game for Gamecube, but will still sell the Wii Version. So if anybody in Australia wants to get Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess for Gamecube, pre-ordering ASAP is strongly recommended.

After a two and a half year long wait, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess is finally out! The game was released for the Nintendo Wii at Midnight this morning (the 19th) and so far only positive comments have been made.

Be sure to check back to the portal for more updates on Twilight Princess on the days to come.

On Monday, 1UP began a week dedicated to Zelda to celebrate the release of Twilight Princess. 1UP posted previews about fishing, Link's wolf form, and the Twilight Realm. They also posted three exclusive videos, interviewed the people who worked on Zelda in the U.S., and reviwed the game.

Jeremy Parish of 1UP gave Twilight Princess a perfect 10. Parish wrote "Twilight Princess succeeds admirably, and in every respect. On top of that, it's an exceptional game in its own right: gracefully improving on the best elements of its predecessors, carefully trimming their shortcomings, and throwing in plenty of new ideas to keep things interesting."

You can see the previews, interview, videos, and the review by clicking on the link below. However, there are spoilers in some of the previews. You have been warned.
[ Source ]

After years of waiting, it is finally happening; Twilight Princess is hitting stores and the first reviews are starting to pop up all over the internet. While none of us expected Twilight Princess to be anything short of fantastic, Gamespy's 5/5 is confirmation that Nintendo have crafted yet another masterpiece.

The review is spoiler free, so don't be afraid to read. Included is an in-depth analyses of gameplay, control and structure, as well as other more minor things that add up to the overall experience of the game.

This review is well worth the time to read, and is just the first in a long line of reviews that will be coming out in the course of the next few weeks, so get in early and discover just how great this game is really going to be.

[ Source ]

On November 9th, Jeremy Parish of 1UP was able to play the events leading up to the second dungeon of Twilight Princess and the second dungeon itself. Parish wrote an extremely detailed article about what events occured, what the second dungeon was like, and more.

Before he reached the second dungeon, Parish had to fight multiple goblins who were riding warthogs while Link was on horseback. His main goal was to defeat the leader of the goblins. To do so, he needed to hit the leader three times which Parish described as very difficult. After Parish was able to do so, he had to defeat the goblin leader in a joust on a bridge. Parish's impression of the fight against the goblins was, "although certainly nothing on the Lord of the Rings scale, it's a totally new form of gameplay for the Zelda series that nevertheless fits perfectly with the controls and overall feel of Twilight Princess."

Parish wrote that by the second dungeon, Link will have two new items (a bow and iron boots) and will be able to learn a new ability called Shield Bash.

You may read the article by clicking on the Link below. However, read at your own risk. There are spoilers on pages two and three.
[Article]

Nintendo announced recently that they will be giving away a special Animal Crossing: Wild World item to celebrate the release of Twilight Princess.

Zelda fans who have a wifi connection will be able to recive the item from November 17th till November 24th. The item will be attatched to a letter from Nintendo in your Animal Crossing character's mailbox during that time.

On November 5th, Gamepro interviwed Nintendo's Senior VP George Harrison. Harrison answered a couple of the questions Zelda fans have been asking about Twilight Princess recently. Harrison also revealed some differences between the Wii and Gamecube versions of the game.

Harrison confirmed that the game will be 70+ hours long. He also confirmed that gamers will be able to buy the Gamecube version of Twilight Princess in stores and that both versions will cost $50.00 (U.S.).

The most notable parts of the interview were where Harrison told Gamepro what will make the Wii version different from the Gamecube version (not involving the controls). Harrison said that gamers will be able to download new content for the Wii version. However, Harrison only confirmed that new levels will be downloadable. Harrison also mentioned that Link will be right handed in the Wii version while Link will be left handed in the Gamecube version. Because of this, all fights, cutscenes, and puzzles in the Wii version will be flipped (a mirror image of the Gamecube version).

Just days ago, Matt Casamassina of IGN fame had the opportunity to sit down and have some quality time with Nintendo's upcoming smash hit, Twilight Princess for the Wii.

Matt has provided us with a wonderfully in-depth review of the first ten hours or so of Twilight Princess' storyline, as well as the game's final control scheme and his impressions on the actual depth of the game. According to the article, the game will in fact require 70+ hours to complete like Nintendo originally stated, and the difficulty has been seriously ramped up since the days of the overly-easy Wind Waker.

Be warned, the article itself contains storyline spoilers, starting on page four. No major plot points are revealed, just a few tidbits of information concerning how the game begins and what the relationships between certain characters are like. Unless you're dead-set on not knowing anything about the game until you play it for yourself, the article makes for a good read for those interested in knowing how everything kicks off.

There's still a lot that can't yet be revealed, but as Nintendo slowly lifts the lid on its most prized title ever, you can expect a flood of new information coming over the course of the next few weeks. Keep those cursors on the refresh button, because you wont want to miss this.

View the article [here].

Nintendo released two beautiful new videos of the Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess today.

The first is of the title screen where Link is seen riding his horse across a bridge and into a a vast Hyrule Field which rivals the details of the landscapes in Shadow of the Colossus. As Link rides around a cliff and off into the sunset, Wolf link comes on and howls. The game logo then appears with a subtitle that reads "Start: a+b".

To watch the first video, go [ here ]

The second video is a trailer with some brand new footage. It shows Princess Zelda in both robe and dress, and what seems to be a lead villian walking down a dark hall. Along of this, of course, is plenty of action scenes.

To watch the second video, go [ here ]

Following the announcement that Twilight Princess for GCN will only be available online in Japan, western Gamecube loyalists started panicking that they too would have to buy their much-anticipated game online. According to cvg.com, the game will still be available in-store... In Europe at least.

Nintendo has told CVG: "Zelda: Twilight Princess on GameCube will be available via the usual retail channels in Europe."

While that still leaves the States in doubt, one would assume that those poor Japanese are the only ones effected by Nintendo's cruel marketing decision.

[source]

Update

A more recent article, published at Gamespot, has also highlighted this issue (along with concerns TP GCN wouldn't be available at all). Finally, confirmation that TP will be available in-store in every place other than Japan.

It begs the question of what exactly the Japanese did to Nintendo, but I digress.

[source]

The Gamecube version of Twilight Princess has always been on the rocks, right off the start, with not much more than tentative release information straight from the start. Acting more as the "less advanced" version of the one coming out on the Wii, there was once speculation that the game might not even be making it to Japan at all.

Famitsu.com recently reported, however, that indeed, the Japanese will be getting their own Gamecube copy of the game, but not in the form that they thought. No Japanese store will be selling it as a release, the only way that anyone will be buying thet game in Japan is over the net.

No change has been made to the North American release date, still slated for November 19th for the Wii and December 12th for the Gamecube version.

[Source]

The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess has been rated by the ESRB. (Entertainment Software Rating Board)

It's rated Teen for Animated Blood and Fantasy Violence.




[ Source ]

Computer and Video Games put up an article yesterday on the top five must-have games for the Wii, placing Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess on number five.

This one's a no-brainer. When a new Zelda game comes out, you buy it, no questions asked. But Twilight Princess is extra special; not only will it be the first Zelda game to launch alongside a Nintendo console, but Shigeru Miyamoto has promised this will be the best Zelda game ever - and we believe him.

We drool over every new screenshot that Nintendo releases. Seeing Link battling against giant armoured guards, with sparks lighting up the detailed textures on both combatants and bright metal shards flying everywhere is a sight to behold. It's the game that puts end to concerns about Wii's graphical capabilities. And we know that everything we've see so far only scratches the surface of what that game has in store. December 8 can't come soon enough.

[Source]

Zelda fans, beware. GameDaily recently placed a featurette on the 'net about the series not being the best launch title for the upcoming Nintendo console, the Wii, originally codenamed Revolution.

While the defense does put up some good points, the opposition, Chris Buffa, also recognizes the massive amounts of gamers in the age range usually dominating Nintendo consoles that the Mario series has brought in, and says that the Zelda game which has been heavily advertised over the past few days was only there as a replacement for the absense of a Mario game to be made on time.

While perhaps hardcore gamers may enjoy such games as Zelda, the masses may not be as impressed with it as they were with such other games as Super Monkey Ball. He attributes Zelda's success as a lauch title on a once in a life-time lightning strike that shouldn't have happened in the first place.

Feel free to read the entire article as the source below.

[Source]

A recent trailer released to the Japanese public has shown new footage of the Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. The most interesting thing noticed was Link's usage of his sword. In a change from previously seen games and screens, Link now holds his sword in his right hand instead of his left.

Previously Nintendo admitted the Wii version of Zelda: Twilight Princess would not make use of the console's motion sensing controls for Link's signature sword slashing, citing potential fatigue associated with constant arm movements. However, it appears Nintendo's top dog producer Shigeru Miyamoto himself has decided to double-back on this decision. In an interview with Japanese gaming periodical Nintendo Dream, Miyamoto confirms motion sensing for sword controls will be available for the Wii edition of Twilight Princess. Button controls will instead be reserved for projectile attacks, though we assume users will still need to manually "aim" imaginary bows using the Wii controller. At this point it is unclear what degree of choice players will be given between "standard" and "Wiimote" control schemes for general gameplay.

Additionally, Miyamoto hints at even more goodness in store of Zelda fans still patiently awaiting the release of the game for both GameCube and Wii versions. Hopefully Nintendo will not end up bloating the game with disappointing features in their attempt to pack even more surprises into the final product.

Since Link himself wields his sword in his left hand, we propose automatic victory in battle and wine, women and song for left-handed Wii players. :)

Nintendo has recently released five beautiful new screenshots of artwork. Three are of new locations, one of the Twilight Realm enemies, and one is of a strange dog-like creature with a crest upon it's head.

To check them out for yourself. Just go to the [ artwork section ]

You already know Nintendo's upcoming Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess will feature a degree of compatiblity with the motion sensing controls for their Wii console, and today the company further clarifies how we will expect to see this. The Wii functionality will not actually be present in the GameCube release which has been delayed for more times than Zelda fans would have liked. Instead, Nintendo will simultaneously release a Wii version of the game alongside the GameCube edition.

What's more, both versions of the game are scheduled to debut alongside the Wii console itself, so that places the game somewhere in the fourth quarter of this year.

With E3 just around the corner, more and more information regarding Twilight Princess is starting to slip out. Following the latest screenshot from Time Magazine showing the game on the Wii, scans from the next issue of EGM have also been posted around the internet and they reveal much more information than we expected to get before the show itself.

SUMMARY

- When playing this game on the Wii, you will not actually swing the controller as your sword. Nintendo's reasoning for this is that because of the frantic pace of Zelda battles, players would become tired too quickly.

- Navi will become an on-screen indicator of where you're pointing the Wii controller.

- Some online features are planned, what exactly they are is currently unknown.

- The game has more dungeons and more items than OoT, even though the game is currently only 80% completed.

- The game will only have widescreen support on the Wii.

These new features, all concerning Twilight Princess on the Wii, are exciting news to enthusiasts of Nintendo's new console. Other interesting tidbits that can be garnered from the scans is that the Twilight Realm has been completely redesigned from the drab black and white of the '05 trailer, and at some point in the game, it appears Midna may be able to exist in her normal form outside of the Twilight Realm.

More news in the days to come.

[Scans]

In Time's most recent issue, a reporter had a chance to play Twilight Princess using the Wii remote. So far, the ability to control Link's sword, bow & arrow, and fishing rod have all been confirmed. The Wii remote is supposedly able to change into a rod itself, in which players will actually have to reel in fish as they would in real life.

More information soon.

Today at GDC, a new Zelda game, titled the Phantom Hourglass, was unveiled. It will be for the DS and will have Wind Waker style graphics. It also takes full advantage of the stylus.

"The Phantom Hourglass takes advantage of the DS stylus, or your fingertip. So far, the game appears to have a puzzle based dungeon type world. The stylus can be used to throw weapons, steer a ship, and write numbers or symbols. The numbers and symbols? No real idea yet what that's for."

To read the full article go [here], to see screenshots and footage of the game, go [here].

There's been a lot of speculation recently about whether or not Twilight Princess will have special, Revolution-only functionality. Reggie Fils-Aime dodged the question in his recent interview with Spike TV, but in an interview with Nintendo of Europe, Shigeru Miyamoto confirmed that Twilight Princess will be playable with the Revolution controller.

"...One of the most important features is that, because Revolution can run GameCube software, when you play Twilight Princess on Revolution you can take advantage of the Revolution controller."

To what degree the unique, "pointer" style control will be utilised is currently unknown, however we do have a vague idea of the sort of functionality Miyamoto is going for.

"...You can shoot an arrow simply by pointing the controller at the target on the screen and pressing a button."

This is exciting news for Zelda fans, giving them even more incentive to not only pick up a copy of Twilight Princess, but also Nintendo's next-generation console, the Revolution.

During a recent interview with SpikeTV, Nintendo's Vice President of Sales and Marketing Reggie Fils-Aime confirmed that Twilight Princess will not be releasing in April as many fans had hoped.

Fans had been hoping for an April release since Nintendo of America's Vice President of Corporate Affairs, Perrin Kaplan, was quoted as saying "...we're announcing a new global launch in 2006, after the conclusion of this fiscal year (March 31)". However, when questioned on the highly-anticipated game's release date, Reggie responded by saying "Its coming out this fall, its coming out on Gamecube", meaning that the game will see a much later release than fans had been expecting.

In the same interview, Reggie spoke about Zelda and the Revolution. When asked about special, Revolution-only features, Reggie responded with "You know, its a great idea... But right now, the focus really is on getting it out on Gamecube". Whether this completely rules out special Revolution functionality remains to be seen.

[ Video of Interview ]

[ Joystiq Article ]

In the latest issue of Nintendo power, Yoshiyuki Oyama, part of the staff involved in the making of Twilight Princess, revealed that Nintendo have big plans for Link's arch-nemesis, Ganon. Oyama promised us that Ganon will be involved in a way that we could "never, ever expect", and that he will once again play a key role in the game. Also announced was that this game will be considerably harder than previous installments, which is good news for veteran Zelda gamers who feel the series has become somewhat easy as of late.

[ IGN Article ]

Hit GBA game, The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap, has recently won multiple awards around the internet. The highlight of which are the "GBA Game of the Year" award on both Gamespot.com and Gamespy.com.

The Minish Cap also took GBA Adventure Game of the Year on both Gamespy.com and IGN.com.

[ Gamespot Award ] , [ Gamespy Award ], [ IGN Award ]

Yahoo! Games kicked off it's article for Most Anticipated Games of '06 with a preview of Twilight Princess, further hyping the sure to be hit from Nintendo.

The article also mentioned a couple of rumors about Revolution compatibility:

"Twilight Princess will also be playable on the backwards-compatible Revolution, and it's rumored to have minigames or extra content designed for the Revolution's innovative motion-sensing controller."

To read the entire preview, go [ here ].

According to European magazine, NGC, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess will not only be fully compatible with the Revolution controller, but will utilize all of it's functions.

"NGC can exclusively reveal that Twilight Princess will be playable on the forthcoming Revolution using the upcoming console's unique controller..."

[source]

NGC supposedly got this from a message board. And so far there has been no confirmation from Nintendo, so as of now, it's nothing more than a rumor. But if it's true, we could be swinging Link's sword ourselves.

In a recent interview with Latin American magazine, Club Nintendo, Chief Marketing Officer of Nintendo, Reggie Fils-Aime, supposedly said that the highly anticapated Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess will be released in April 2006.

"The transcript confirms that the game will indeed still be released for the GameCube in April."

[source]

Although the source seems reliable, for now, take this with a grain of salt. Nintendo hasn't made any official statements about the release date since the delay. April seems likely, but cannot yet be confirmed.

While browsing the internet earlier tonight, I stumbled upon this image, the first screenshot of Tingle DS (tentative title). While not much can be said about the gameplay from the image, it does confirm the belief that this game is, as expected, weird.

By Fifth Column

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PLATFORMS

The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap [GBA]
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess [Wii, GC]

In August 2005, Nintendo announced that The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess would not be ready by the anticipated release of November 2005. The developers decided that they wanted to expand the game further and incorporate more ideas and features, and thus, the game was delayed. Nintendo estimates the game to now be released closely after the start of Nintendo's next fiscal year (around April 2006). Nintendo promises this move to make a much better game, and has already announced that this will be the last delay, and have vowed not to make the game a Revolution release instead.

After Microsoft's X05, Nintendo held an event of it's own to show off the Wi-Fi capabilities of the DS. Along with that, Nintendo confirmed that Tingle will be getting his own RPG for the Nintendo DS.

[Article]

Gamespy.com made a list of the 25 best games at E3 2005, and The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess topped it.

"There wasn't really anything at the show this year that could knock The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess from our most-wanted list, proving once again that Nintendo really knows how to please its audience. "

[source]

The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess stole the show at this year's E3. It had a magnificent booth, and more importantly there were four playable demos. One was of Link's hometown, the other of a horse battle, the third was of a dungeon and the last was of a gigantic boss. The four demos revealed a lot of new information about the game, including the controls and how the story unfolds.

Warning, the following links contain spoilers!

To watch the videos of the demos; go [here], to read about the demos; go [here].

In an interview with IGN.com Perrin Kaplan, VP of Nintendo's corporate affairs, confirmed that The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess will be released in 2005.

"Asked if Zelda would launch in America, Europe and Japan this year, Kaplan simply said, "Yes.""

[source]

At Nintendo's pre E3 press conference a brand new Twilight Princess trailer was shown. The trailer revealed a lot of information about the mysterious game, as well as confirming that Link is able to transform into a wolf, and the title, "The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess".

To check out the trailer for yourself go [here]. If you just want to see the screenshots, go [here]