11-25-97: The Space World Show is now over, and I can definitely say that from the pictures and movies that I've seen, Zelda will meet and exceed all expectations. It's truly going to be something spectacular.

These shots depict the amazing real-time graphics of the game's introduction.

First we take a look at the nifty cool looking real-time intro. It's a bit short, but looks incredible. Like past Zeldas, the game begins in the rain. As Link approaches Hyrule castle, a beautiful white horse comes charging out of the Hyrule castle and into the darkness. On the horse is a Hyrulian guard, protecting a young princess named Zelda. Link goes up to the drawbridge and sees the pursuer, a green-faced man named Ganondorf.

The game has quite a few new features. First of all, there's the "Lock on" mode, which is activated by pressing the Z-button. This enables the player to target an object and strafe around it. This is quite revolutionary is the fact that it solves all of Mario64's old camera problems. The graphics also take an incredible step up, with new light-sourcing, tremendous looking polygon trees, and accurate shadows. Little graphical effects abounded At only 70%, the final game should blow everyone away. The town looks spectacular and is only a preview of better things to come. One interesting note is that the camera for the town scenes are fixed high above the town, so it's sort of like Final Fantasy's pre-rendered sequences. There is a new magic system, which should provide for cool-looking spell sequences which fill up the screen.

Lush, highly detailed environments fill up the cartridge.

The music wasn't finished at the time, but sound effects were dead on. The caves featured ambient sound, and hopefully the old theme music will return. The enemies are looking pretty good at this point. Three bosses are present, the Stalfos, the Ghoma (spider boss), and the Dodongo (a huge dragon). Real time cinemas take place within the battles for dramatic scenes, and at the end, a cinema depicts the demise of the creature. At this point, the AI isn't finished, so expect the difficulty to be increased. As in previous games, killing enemies will yield power crystals. Supposedly there is a total 16 items that Link can use. Another interesting aspect is time-travel, and the younger and older Links. The game will be jam--packed with all sorts of gameplay goodies.

The town graphics have a fixed camera view, similar to Final Fantasy.

Overall, I was very impressed by the entire presentation of the game, and can't wait for it to be released. Unlike Mario, Zelda promises a high replay value, and many new revolutionary thing to come. The best part is that, even in the short demo, there were already three bosses present, as opposed to Mario64's rehashed Bowser. Some people are worryed about the auto-B button, and some other aspects. I'm sure that the game will still offer a significant challenge, and what Miyamoto wants to do is for the player to become quickly immersed, and not have to wrestle with the controls. Remember the Mario demo and how the game evolved? The final game should be just incredible. Three monthes seems like a long wait, but this game will undoubtly be one of the best games ever.