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Animal Crossing is one of the most inventive and original game of its generation, and that is one of the main reasons it became such a success among GameCube owners. People through all ages wanted to play this game, and it seemed that nobody cared about the childish initial apperance the game had. And if someone did care about it, it would only be branded as cute.
So what was it that made this guy such a success among gaming fans of all ages, and why was it that it became the most imported game over the pond, only because Nintendo did not bother to release it in Europe? The game was chock full of Zelda elements and goodies, of course! Well that, and it was also probably the best game of its genre, and it still remains at its throne, but we all know that what we want to know more about are the connections to the Zelda series. Well there are quite a few, so we will make you a list:
In the game you are able to receive various furniture to use in your house. Well one of piece of furniture you can get is actually The Master Sword resting in its pedestal.
The Fortune Teller often visits your town, and if you look closely you can see the Triforce symbol on the inside her tent.
Remember Anju and Kafei from Majora's Mask? If you do you probably (don't) remember the shirts the wore in the game too. Well lucky for you, because you are in for a treat then, because you can actually get these shirts in the game. Kafei's shirt is strangely enough called "Kaffe", so just remember that.
When encountering a random cupboard, you might get the following notice: "You have found 100 Rupees, too bad you can't use them here".
Travelling across the river the Captain might ask you if you have ever spent a night in Hyrule Prison.
Talk to Gulliver and if you are lucky he might mention his girlfriend from Hyrule. Wonder who that might be ...
Hidden inside Animal Crossing is actually the original Legend of Zelda from 1986. Nintendo have yet to release an official code to use to unlock this hidden treasure, so currently the only way to unlock it is by using an Action Replay
Board Games
Unfortunately, the release of this game was poorly planned, and it faced the same destiny as much of the other merchandise released at the same time: The trash pile!
The purpose with the game was to travel through the six different levels, represented as six different sections on the board, and in the end destroy Ganon.
If you want to purchase this game, you most certainly won't find it in the local toy store. However, there is a good chance you might find it and buy it pre-owned at online auctions such as Ebay.
BS - Zelda
This game was originally a updated 16bits version of the original 'Legend of Zelda' NES game, and it was produced for the Super Famicom (SNES) Satellaveiw add-on. The Satellaview was a 'thing' that you could attach to the bottom of the SNES, and with it you would at certain times be able to download games and store them onto clean cartridges. This was only for the subscribers of Nintedo's sattelite channel which only existed in Japan along with the Satellaview. BS- Zelda was, as I mentioned, produced only as a game for the Satellaview, and that was originally the only place you could get a hold of the game. Sad, but true. However, Nintendo did have plans to release this game, but unfortunately for us Zelda fans, they never realised it.
BS- Zelda was the first game to be produced exclusively for the Satellaview. Previously only additional dungeons and leves had been available for the Satellaview-users to download. Nintendo had big hopes that this enchanced version of original 'Legend of Zelda' game would attract many gamers to the Satellaview, and it did.
Even though BS- Zelda was supposed to be an exact copy of Zelda 1, only with SNES graphics, they made some changes to it. The overworld map, dungeon maps and even the main-character was different from the original. In this game, you played as the Satellaview mascot instead of Link. Another downside with the game, was that every time you got to a dungeon, it took 9, yes that is right, 9 minutes for it to load! Sounds like a Playstation game to me, but fortunately it wasn't.
Because the Satellaview never became such a big success as Nintendo was hoping for, the service was shut down. And even worse, this happened before they could finish BS- Zelda. So, now you know it, there is no final version of this game. The last official version lacks the final dungeon among other things. Though, the past years many different ROM versions of BS- Zelda have been floating around on the net. Some of these include very pleasant changes such as no loading time, play as Link and more.
CD-i Zelda
A few years back, Nintendo and Phillips went into partnership. The original idea was to develop a CD add-on for the SNES. However, when they saw the way SEGA went after using the same consept with their Mega Drive, this project was put on ice. Only there was a problem that had to be solved: Nintendo had already given Phillips the permission to create new games using some of their most exclusive franchises, Zelda included.
The results of this were the three Zelda games for the Phillips CD-i console, and today these games are just named "CD-i Zelda", because nobody really wants to remember these games. Below you will find screenshots, walkthroughs and reviews of all three of the CD-i Zelda games. Clicking on a thumbnails will lead you to a bigger version of the screenshot.
Collector's Edition
Background This bonus disc was released as a bonus for those who purchased a GameCube between the period November 17th 2003 and January 14th 2004, and this was a part of Nintendo's attempt to win the console wars in the Holiday Period. This magnificent disc was also obtainable through a special online bonus system, where you would get two PIN codes when you bought one of the specific games that were part of the bonus programme, and if you bought two of the special games you would be rewarded with The Legend of Zelda: Collector's Edtion.
European gamers had the opportunity of getting it through the similar online Stars-bonus system at NoE's official site, and by purchasing a special Mario Kart: Double Dash!! GameCube bundle, which also included this disc. Japanese Zelda fans could only get a hold of the disc through a newly started online Bonus system.
What's on the Disc? The Disc included the full versions of four classical Zelda games: The Legend of Zelda: The very first Zelda game ever to be released, and the classic that started what was to be one of the most popular and best loved game series of all time. This title was originally released for the Nintendo Entertainement System (NES) in 1986. Please go to our Legend of Zelda section for more information and help on this game.
The Adventure of Link: This was the follow up to the Legend of Zelda, and also a large hit when it was released for the NES in 1987, only a year after its predecessor. For more help and information go to our Adventure of Link section.
Ocarina of Time: Considered by many Zelda fans to be the peak of the series, and not without reason. Ocarina of Time took the series into the world of 3D gaming, and it did it in a brilliant way which stunned gamers throughout the entire world -- It was a prequel to all previously released games, and with it came a whole new generation of Zelda fans. Our Ocarina of Time section will provide you with all the additional help and information you might need.
Majora's Mask: Dark and depressive are the keywords that describe the settings of this game best. The game also stands apart from the other games of the series in many other ways, for one it does not take place in Hyrule, but an alternate dimension called Termina, and the traditional characters, Zelda and Ganondorf barely appear in the game at all. In the Majora's Mask section you will find much more information as well as all the help you could possibly need to get through this game.
In addition to these four classic Zelda titles, there was also a playable 20 minute demo of the GameCube smash-hit, Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, as well as two short movies, one about The Wind Waker, and one about the "History of Zelda", although it only included game footage and basic information on the games, and it was not the detailed documentary the fans were hoping for.
More Information As previously mentioned the games are pretty much direct ports from their original versions, though the resolutions has been upped quite a bit on all four of them. The two NES classics, Legend of Zelda and The Adventure of Link both take 3 blocks on your Memory Card, while Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask use 9 and 21 blocks respectively.
Legend of Zelda is just as all the other games a straight port from the original NES version except for a few minor changes -- The copyright has been updated on the title screen, and the spelling mistake in the very beginning of the game which said "Gannon" has been corrected to "Ganon". The same goes for The Adventure of Link, a straight port with an updated resolution. Both games look crisp and colourful.
Ocarina of Time is the most upgraded game on the disc, and it is not the same version that was released with the Wind Waker Bonus Disc, but it has infact gotten a much more severe face-lift. The framerate has been improved since the last bonus disc, not to mention the original Nintendo 64 version, and a few of the textures in the game have actually been updated as well.
When loading Majora's Mask you will be given a message that states that you might experience some glitches when playing the game, and that it is due to the porting from the Nintendo 64, and not because there is something wrong with your TV. This is mainly the sound, and it can be annoying at the times, especially when you exit the in-game menu as you will notice a split-second stop in the sound. It will appear during play as well, but not too often to ruin the experience. Just as with OoT they have updated the resolution from the N64 version, but no textures have been improved in this game.
Game & Watch
Over a decade ago Nintendo released some small hand-held gaming 'consoles' called Game and Watch. These small and simple LCD games actually became quite a success. Each Game and Watch would contain a single game featuring one of their most popular characters. There was no possibility to change the game on the G&W such as the with the more famous GameBoy. The different Game and Watches were sold seperately, and they featured famous characters such as Donkey Kong, who was the most famous at the time, Mario and of course, Zelda!
In the Zelda version, the triforce had been split into 8 pieces, and Link, had to recover them and bring peace back to Hyrule.
The Game and Watch can be considered as the older brother of the GameBoy we know today, and it was a very decent system, considering that it was released almost twenty years ago. The downside with the Game and Watch was that the response from the buttons was terrible, and you almost had to push them with a pen, because of the size!
Navi's Tracker's (Tetra's Tracker's)
Game Summary Navi Trackers was released as a part of the Four Swords Adventures package in Japan. However Nintendo of America decided to drop it from the US version of the game, presumably because of the large localization work it requires, due to all the spoken dialogue in the game. Rumours are currently circulating that this game will be released in the US as a bonus together with the sequel to The Wind Waker. We will of course keep you updated on this, and in the meantime the info we have about the game should give you a decent insight into what we have been missing out on, for now at least.
Gameplay
In Navi Trackers, all the actual gameplay takes place on the GameBoy Advance screen. It does feature a one-player mode, unlike Hyrule Adventure however, you need a GameBoy Advance to play this mode as well, because everything takes place here.
The gameplay is, as stated several times already, takes fully place on the GBA screen, and it revolves around the different Links running around on an island, collecting various things such as Rupees, Items, and of course "medals", which are collected from the members of Tetra's pirate crew.
If you manage to collect enough "medals" from Tetra's pirate crew, which can be obtained with the help of the other things you pick up throughout the race, you will win the round. Quite simple, really.
On the TV-Screen, the Navigators are shown together with an interactive map of the island where the action takes place. During the action of the race, the navigators will narrate the entire rally -- Which in other words mean that Navi Trackers is the very first Zelda game to feature real voice-acting.
Depending on how well you perform in the race, the navigator will provide exclusive hints only to you through the GameBoy Advance, which the other players won't be able to see.
Navigators
Navigators will appear on the TV-Screen, and guide the players through the race for the medals, and at the same time narrate the entire race, with real voices. While it is not quite certain as of yet what the difference between the different navigators are, we know for certain that Tetra is the default navigator, and the other ones have to be unlocked at some point in the game.
[ TLO Zelda OoTMQ Page ]
Soul Calibur II
[ Game Homepage ]
Very few games, if any, have been hyped up more than this game. Equally few games have also been surrounded by so many rumours, and so much speculation as this game has been. A sequel to one of the most successful games ever, Soul Calibur, which is one of the three other games besides Ocarina of Time and The Wind Waker to receive a perfect review-score from highly-regarded Japanese gaming magazine Famitsu, it is nothing else than natural that this game has been eagerly anticipated for months, and even years.
Especially GameCube, and most of all Zelda fans have been looking forward to this game, as it was rumoured for a long time that everyone's favourite Nintendo-character, Link himself, would be an exclusive playable character in the GameCube version of the game. Months went by and this rumour was eventually put in the trash can, until then one day out of a sudden Namco decided to drop the bomb right in the face of all non-believers: Link was going to be a playable character in the game! Zelda fans rejoiced, as this was a chance for everyone to play as the Link they never got -- The "real-looking" Link which was put on display in the Nintendo GameCube tech-demo at SpaceWorld 2000!
So it is official, Link is a full-fledged playable character in the GameCube version of the game, and with him he brings his full arsenal of weapons, including the Master Sword, Bow and Arrow, Boomerang and even more! It has also been confirmed that every console-specific character will get a special intro in the game, and Link's intro reminds suspiciously much about a 3D-rendered version of the famous scene from A Link to the Past when he first lays his hands on the Master Sword! Without doubt this game has enough real-looking Link to go around for every Zelda fan out there.
Super Smash Bros. Melee
[ Game Website ]
When Nintendo released its GameCube console, one of the most anticipated games was 'Super Smash Bros. Melee' (SSBM). This fighting game in traditional Nintendo style was the sequel to the N64 version called 'Super Smash Bros'.
Although very similar to it's older brother, SSB, there are many new features in this game such as new levels/arenas, completely revamped single-player mode, and of course more characters to choose from. Still the biggest surprise with this game is that was rated 'Teen' on the ESRB rating. This was rather unexpected, as we were all expecting another family game, that could be played by a father, aswell as his five year old son. But as we can see, Nintendo is living up to their promise, and they made one of their most popular family games, a fighting game mainly for youths.
Back to the game. Why do we feature an own section about this game, you ask? The answer is simply that there are so many things in the game related to Zelda, that this game is almost seen on as a semi-Zelda game. All the main characters are in the game; Link (Two Links infact, adult and young -Link), Ganondorf, Zelda, Sheik. Termina (the land where Majora's Mask took place) is also a fighting arena in the game, as well as Hyrule Temple.
This game lives up to all expectations, with extraordinary graphics, great gameplay, many infamous characters to choose from, and tons of new challenges. You have to beat different aspects of the game to unlock new arenas and characters.
The game also offer new battle modes such as 'Coins' and 'Decision'. Battling in 'Coin' mode, you have to collect the most coins, and fighting in 'Decision' means that the winner will be decided by the combos one perform.
Another very interesting aspect of SSBM is the Event Match feature. It lets you enter special scenarios of the game which you will have to beat within a certain time. An example of an Event Match is "Triforce Gathering", where you play as Link and team up with Zelda to fight Ganondorf, and have to defeat him within a few minutes. All in all there are over 50 different even match scenarios just waiting to be un-locked.
And last but not least, the multiplayer mode is marvellous. This game is sure to keep Nintendo on the throne as the king of entertaining multi-player games. This game has infact got all the right assumptions to be listed up there together with previous legendary multiplayer-games such as Mario Kart and Goldeneye.
Super Smash Bros.
Not to be mistaken with the Game and Watch, this was an actual wrist-watch with a built in full-fledged Legend of Zelda game.
Needless to say the controls in this game was a little clumsy, and a large set of hands did not help very much.
The game itself followed in the footsteps of the first Zelda game, with the overhead view, and the goal in this game was the same; to gather the eight pieces of the shattered Triforce of Wisdom.
As you can see from the box to the right, the game featured some official art from the orginal Zelda game as well. It is quite obvious that with this watch Nintendo hoped to create a portable mini-version of the very first Zelda game. Did they succeed? According to the sales numbers, not so much.
This watch is frequently being sold at online auctions such as E-Bay, and if you want to get it, which all Zelda collectors do, that is definately your best chance.
