The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (USE SPOILER TAGS)

[Zink]

Well, I would guess that since you can't ride Epona in the Twilight Zone it's either Light Hyrule only, or an estimate of the distances of the Twilight Zone.
Possibly Wolf Link moves at Epona speed?

 

[Destiny Smasher]

No, Wolf Link doesn't run as fast as Epona, but obviously faster than normal Link.

One other thing I'm wondering is, well...Isn't the Twilight Realm going to shrink as the quest goes on? I mean, I remember hearing about how the Twilight Realm will draw back as you go forth--areas Link can't reach as a wolf will be reachable as human Link, etc.

I don't know, that was a long time ago, maybe that's been changed...?

But dang, 45 minutes...That really would be a long time...

I'm wondering if that 100-hour game length thing will turn out to be true...That's really a huge stretch, especially for an adventure game.

 

[Rabiteman]

45 minutes!? 100 hours!? *drools* Aww, man I can't wait much longer!

Hmmm? More dungeons than ever? Are we talking more than A Link to the Past? Hmmm, if I remember correctly that game had...11 dungeons...woah...holy crap...that's, a lot of dungeons.
So. Very. Excited.

Hey, you know, as I read this, I realize they really haven't told us like, anything about the game. So much of it is just rumors...Hmmm...

 

[Zink]

DS, I forgot about the shrinkage. I guess it refers only to Light Hyrule then. Probably it's 45 mins when there is no TZ left.

 

[Doggalina]

Regarding the "OMG! Why did they put TP on Wii with sword swinging action?!?!"--
I'm actually happy they did this. The Gamecube version, while still being spectacular, will have the same control scheme as OoT, Majora's Mask, and Wind Waker. The fourth time around might feel a little stale.

 

[ChRed2AKrisp]

Its the same game, just with a different feel. Sure, its not REALLY a Wii game, but who the crap cares? Its sure as he11 going to be more fun than the GC version.

Plus, I'm sure they've said there's more differences between teh 2 versions than just the control scheme, I just can't remember, much as it pains me to say.

edit: like this Does that mean that there are still a limited amount of actual ways link can swing his sword, or is there a one-to-one translation between your movement's and the swords? If tis the latter that's a pretty big change, though its unlikely.

As for the length of the game, I believe 100 hours is for the bare minimum playtime. If it takes 45 minutes to get accross hyrule, and you have to move back and forth collecting heart pieces, its gonna be wy longer than 100 hours. We've seen a total of about 1.5 hours of footage, and that actually wasn't much material, so I think in all likley hood this game is going to havew at least 110 hours for 100% completion.

 

[The rAt]

It's been awhile since this was brought up, but I really just don't see how this can work.

Here's what I mean; if moving the controller is used to aim the bow, swing the sword, ect, then what is used to move Link around? That tiny little d-pad? Okay, if that's the case, then what buttons are used to access Link's arsonal? A/B? Okay if that's the case, then what are used for Link's standard roll-attack/talk/get-on-epona/push-the-block/virtually-object-interaction button? How about his shield button? How about locking on? Sidling (assuming they bother with that)? First Person Viewing? Camera Control? Sure you could count the nunchuck, which as I recall was supposed to be a PERIPHERAL, and as such wouldn't make much sense as a requirement for a launch game, but all that does is provide motion for Link, freeing up the D-Pad for his arsenal. Does this strike anyone else as next to impossible, if not impossible to cram into the notably button shy Wii remote? Anyone?

Now, I'm not saying Nintendo CAN'T find a way to do it. I'm saying that nothing Nintendo has said has convinced me that they HAVE done it.

 

[kaid]

Nunchaku is the sword, (remember, link is left handed) Dpad is items, A is action, Nunchaku control stick is movement, and the Wiimote itself is used for menus.

That's what I remember them saying, anyway.

 

[Bedi Vegeta]

It's been awhile since this was brought up, but I really just don't see how this can work.

Here's what I mean; if moving the controller is used to aim the bow, swing the sword, ect, then what is used to move Link around? That tiny little d-pad? Okay, if that's the case, then what buttons are used to access Link's arsonal? A/B? Okay if that's the case, then what are used for Link's standard roll-attack/talk/get-on-epona/push-the-block/virtually-object-interaction button? How about his shield button? How about locking on? Sidling (assuming they bother with that)? First Person Viewing? Camera Control? Sure you could count the nunchuck, which as I recall was supposed to be a PERIPHERAL, and as such wouldn't make much sense as a requirement for a launch game, but all that does is provide motion for Link, freeing up the D-Pad for his arsenal. Does this strike anyone else as next to impossible, if not impossible to cram into the notably button shy Wii remote? Anyone?

Now, I'm not saying Nintendo CAN'T find a way to do it. I'm saying that nothing Nintendo has said has convinced me that they HAVE done it.

Nintendo explained the exact controlls for TP on Wii at the E3 press conference. And most games do require the nunchuck, which I'm pretty sure will be bundled as standard with all wiimotes.

You do not swing the sword with the wiimote or the nunchuck. The B trigger is the sword. The closest you get to swinging stuff is the fact that shaking the nunchuck controller will do Link's spin attack with the sword.

 

[Zink]

Um, that was changed. You can use the wiimote to move the sword now.
Nunchuck analog- movement
Nunchuck triggers- extra item macros?
A- Action
B- lockon?
D-pad- Item macros

 

[Mic_128]

B's for arrows now.

 

[Zink]

Oh yes, I forgot. Perhaps it will be a little context sensitive?

 

[ChRed2AKrisp]

you forget, in your control scheme the wiimote sensitivity itself is only used for arrows( and we know for fishing), which only come out when you press B. What if link could actually take out his shield by moving the wiimote up and back, and then you could actually move his sheild with the remote to protect different parts of your body?

And you have redundant nunchuck triggers. Just stick with the d-pad for items, make a trigger into lock on. That leaves the second trigger for any number of options. Maybe shield, or if the sheild comes out with the wiimote then something like crawl or maybe a quick path to boomerang or bombs. THe thing is, so many things can be done using the Wiimote. Maybe if you hold action button and then pull back over your shoulder you can take out a bomb.

W/e, point is until the game is finalized and someone goes hands on and reports the controls, we don't know what's going to happen.

 

[Excel_Zero]

I can't wait for this game. It looks so awesome. I'm definitely getting the Wii version.

 

[Destiny Smasher]

I believe someone above said that this version will be 'way more fun than the GCN' version.
Yea, see, that's an assumption at this point.
All of the feedback I got from people at E3 was, "It's not really any more fun, it's actually annoying."

Now, I would imagine by now Nintendo is pretty darned close to having the game complete. They're gonna need to get it out a little early so people can play it and review it and all that.
Of course, it could launch in October, it could launch in November, we don't even know yet.

As far as it 'not being a true Wii game,' there's actuallyt quite a number of people who care.
I care because it's not a true demonstration of what Wii was designed for.
However, yes, that becomes irrelevant if it is fun and somehow enhances the gameplay.
That's the thing though--it simply looks like some alternate input, rather than elements that actually evolve the gameplay.

But at this point, I've become rather apathetic--I'm just gonna sit and wait until the 14th, see what goes down, wait some more, see how the changes are coming along...
I'll probably just get the Wii version, anyway and pray that it's as solid or more solid than the GCN version, and I have faith it will be. But we don't KNOW yet. And since we're shelling out $50 for the thing, I would believe we have a right to know before we deply said cash.
That's the responsibility of people at 1Up, Gamespot, IGN, etc., to let us know if the game is worth our money, etc.

I'm actually more concerned about the story, depth of the world, originality, atmosphere, all that, than I am with the controls now.

And I'm sorry, but I have never played any adventure game of any kind that even got CLOSE to 100 hours, I find that very far fetched.
If Nintendo proves me wrong, then that would be stupendous.
But seriously, what adventure game have you ever played that even got to 50 hours?
The only games I've ever played that reach lengths like that are RPG's.
I mean, Resident Evil 4 was 30 hours or so, and that game was amazing for every hour.
And then there were reasons toplay it some more.

If riding on horseback takes up THAT much time, then it's empty time filled in--many would say all the time you spend sailing the ocean in Wind Waker could equate.
I actually loved sailing the ocean, exploring new areas, meeting up with that awesome fish guy, and then you could just teleport to wherever you wanted to go eventually.

If there's one thing can guarantee about this game, it's that it will be looked at VERY critically, reviewers are going to have a stern eye for detail and critique it strongly, as well they should with all of the hype and waiting behind it.

I'm rather excited, and if the game lives up tomy lofty expectations and even surpasses them as Resident Evil 4 did, there will be much rejoicing in the streets and taverns. Or maybe just streets...since there are no taverns around here...Actually, there's not really streets, either...

 

[Paranoid_Android]

It's been awhile since this was brought up, but I really just don't see how this can work.

Here's what I mean; if moving the controller is used to aim the bow, swing the sword, ect, then what is used to move Link around? That tiny little d-pad? Okay, if that's the case, then what buttons are used to access Link's arsonal? A/B? Okay if that's the case, then what are used for Link's standard roll-attack/talk/get-on-epona/push-the-block/virtually-object-interaction button? How about his shield button? How about locking on? Sidling (assuming they bother with that)? First Person Viewing? Camera Control? Sure you could count the nunchuck, which as I recall was supposed to be a PERIPHERAL, and as such wouldn't make much sense as a requirement for a launch game, but all that does is provide motion for Link, freeing up the D-Pad for his arsenal. Does this strike anyone else as next to impossible, if not impossible to cram into the notably button shy Wii remote? Anyone?

Now, I'm not saying Nintendo CAN'T find a way to do it. I'm saying that nothing Nintendo has said has convinced me that they HAVE done it.

I hate it when uninformed people rant (especially when being informed means reading a thread on the same forum).

The "Nunchaku" peripheral comes with the system. Nothing in the word "Peripheral" means "Buy this seperately". Most games will probably use it.

 

[Zink]

And I'm sorry, but I have never played any adventure game of any kind that even got CLOSE to 100 hours, I find that very far fetched.

Lol. Final Fantasy Tactics: Advance was 300+ hours. It's possible.

 

[DarkLink567]

I'm pretty sure that alot of RPGs can generally hit the 100 hour mark, such as FFT:A and ToS. If the GC version was to release much much earlier I would have stuck to that, but since it's same time release, I might as well go for Wii. I wouldn't mind the new control scheme.

 

[Deleted member]

Tales of Symphonia was a good 80 hours for me

 

[Eor]

Those are generally considered RPGs, not Adventure.

The original Ocarina of Time probally took me around 70 hours to beat, but that was my first real video game and I was in third grade.

 

[Resting_Fox]

Well if the fishing is at all realistic, you've got twenty hours there.

I think to keep the game accessible to everyone though, they'll probably make it no more than 50 hours for Zelda Lite, leaving the full heart completion and other side-quests to consume the other fifty hours.

But I wonder. How many discs is this game going to fill. FF7 took three discs just for 70 hours. FFX took about 30-40 hours on one disc, with 100+ if you want to fight Nemesis. Disgaea can go on indefinitely with the Item World, but can a time devouring system actually be built into Zelda maintaining the one-disc format, or will these hours be spread out over multiple discs?

Wait, IGN' summary has the Media Size listed as : 1 GOD
maybe that's supposed to be GCD

 

[Zink]

Tales of Symphonia was 2 disks(best RPG evar btw). I don't think Zelda will be, though, as I think Wii disks can store more than GCN ones.

 

[Cashed]

Tales of Symphonia was 2 disks(best RPG evar btw). I don't think Zelda will be, though, as I think Wii disks can store more than GCN ones.

They're essentially DVDs, and if they're dual layered they can hold up to 9GB. So yeah, there won't be any storage issues with games on the Wii.

 

[Gerald Bostock]

I plan on purchasing the GCN version only since I don't know if I'll be getting the Wii at launch.

 

[Lightsaberboy]

I doubt this game is really going to be about 100 hours. They prolly are including all the little sidequests and whatnot.

i'll prolly get this for the GC because I don't plan on getting a wii until Brawl comes out. Plus a new game is a lot cheaper right now than a new console + a new game.

and a 45 min horse ride in Hyrule? I hope it doesn't become as tedious and the boat rides were in WW.

 

[Link_master101]

......................

 

[ChRed2AKrisp]

please delete that account and start with a better first post..

that was even worse than the guy who started with "hmm..."

at least he had letters, rather than a bunch of periods.

If you have something to say, spit it out. Otherwise don't waste space.

relax lightsaberboy. If you start with epona, there's bound to be a much faster method of travel. THere always is.

The temple warps in OoT, the song of soaring in MM, the teleport in WW.

 

[The rAt]

I hate it when uninformed people rant (especially when being informed means reading a thread on the same forum).

The "Nunchaku" peripheral comes with the system. Nothing in the word "Peripheral" means "Buy this seperately". Most games will probably use it.

You know what I hate? Stupid people who think they are smart. Now, Androids of the Paranoid persuasion may have endless hours of a wasted life to spend in a fantasy world, but I do not. My time has value. I have far too many commitments with actual people to pour over every word said in a 101 page topic such as this, or one which is whatever ridiculous length the Wii topic has reached, in hopes of finding some nugget of actual information. And if you happen to have that much free time on your hands, I won't pick on you for it. And in all honesty, I'm completely open to being informed about that which I am apparently uninformed, an attitude you tend to find in mature people. But if you're going act high and mighty for not having a life, in an to make yourself look better to help your apparent lack of self esteem, then you're doing yourself a disservice, not me.

Oh, and by the way, what exactly does the word 'peripheral' mean, then?

Disclaimer: The previous paragraph is not to intended pick on the many patrons of this forum who posses near-encyclopedic knowledge of video game, trivia, development information, mechanics, ect. and don't try to lord it over others like arrogant hypocrites.

Nintendo explained the exact controlls for TP on Wii at the E3 press conference. And most games do require the nunchuck, which I'm pretty sure will be bundled as standard with all wiimotes.

You do not swing the sword with the wiimote or the nunchuck. The B trigger is the sword. The closest you get to swinging stuff is the fact that shaking the nunchuck controller will do Link's spin attack with the sword.

Fdv, thank you for the info. More to the point, thank you for not being a jerk about the info. However...

Shigeru Miyamoto disclosed to Japan's Nintendo Dream publication that instead of pushing the B button on the Wiimote for a sword swing in Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, the player will now control that movement with the motion of his or her arm. IGN says during E3 that Nintendo said players would get tired having to actually swing the controller, but now Miyamoto has changed his tune: "Upon actually playing it, it's more interesting this way."

...I was infering based on this post (assuming that the information it contains is reliable), that the control scheme was being altered, possibly/probably beyond the extent to which it wasreported. As far as the nunchuck being included, I wasn't aware that that had been confirmed by Nintendo and was under the impression that it's inclusion as a free peripheral (a concept I had believed Nintendo to be unfamiliar with) was speculation.

In any case, in rereading my post, I realized I cut a large section out, elaborating on what I meant to communicate. In retrospect, there were some important things which served to clarify my stance on the issue. The short version is that I wasn't implying that Nintendo couldn't fit everything on the Wii remote (although I am still unclear on how they are handling such things as the shield and lock on button), but rather that cramming all of the functions into a device with significantly less buttons in such a way that it functions well could prove extremely difficult, and Nintendo has yet to convince me that they've done it. And that's the point. For the presence of dual games to be justifiable, Nintendo needs to show people that there's something better/extra about the Wii version. I haven't seen that. I wasn't at E3, though. But hey, niether was most of the rest of the world, and Nintendo doesn't need new customers, do they?

On the topics of Hyrule size and transportation, I think Epona is a big factor to consider. I mean, if it takes 45 minutes on a horse to cross Hyrule, what does that make on foot? Too much walking, I'd say. Unless there are a heckuvalot of warp points. Guess we'll find out.

In any case, think I've met my quota of pissing people off for the day, so I will retire into the eternal bliss which is an intigration paper. Have a good night, all.

Andy

 

[Paranoid_Android]

You know what I hate? Stupid people who think they are smart. Now, Androids of the Paranoid persuasion may have endless hours of a wasted life to spend in a fantasy world, but I do not. My time has value. I have far too many commitments with actual people to pour over every word said in a 101 page topic such as this, or one which is whatever ridiculous length the Wii topic has reached, in hopes of finding some nugget of actual information. And if you happen to have that much free time on your hands, I won't pick on you for it. And in all honesty, I'm completely open to being informed about that which I am apparently uninformed, an attitude you tend to find in mature people. But if you're going act high and mighty for not having a life, in an to make yourself look better to help your apparent lack of self esteem, then you're doing yourself a disservice, not me.

Oh, and by the way, what exactly does the word 'peripheral' mean, then?

Disclaimer: The previous paragraph is not to intended pick on the many patrons of this forum who posses near-encyclopedic knowledge of video game, trivia, development information, mechanics, ect. and don't try to lord it over others like arrogant hypocrites.

Your time has value? Do people pay you to complain about stuff that you could find with a google search, or are you taking a break from your thesaurus right about now? I don't lord knowledge over people. I lord common sense over people. You sir, have none. And despite your disclaimer, you are insulting everyone viewing this forum who have two things in common: Time and a love for videogames (particularly, Smash).

And since you're time is too valuable to look up a word, I did it for you...

Main Entry: 2peripheral
Function: noun
: a device connected to a computer to provide communication (as input and output) or auxiliary functions (as additional storage)

http://m-w.com/


Obviously the definition is a bit dated (a Hard Drive is supposedly a peripheral, despite it being required for a computer), but my point stands, which was that Peripheral != Pay.

In any case, in rereading my post, I realized I cut a large section out, elaborating on what I meant to communicate. In retrospect, there were some important things which served to clarify my stance on the issue. The short version is that I wasn't implying that Nintendo couldn't fit everything on the Wii remote (although I am still unclear on how they are handling such things as the shield and lock on button), but rather that cramming all of the functions into a device with significantly less buttons in such a way that it functions well could prove extremely difficult, and Nintendo has yet to convince me that they've done it. And that's the point. For the presence of dual games to be justifiable, Nintendo needs to show people that there's something better/extra about the Wii version. I haven't seen that. I wasn't at E3, though. But hey, niether was most of the rest of the world, and Nintendo doesn't need new customers, do they?

http://www.bonafidereviews.com/articles/159/images/ZELDA3.jpg

I'm not sure how well you can make out that picture, but it should shed a little light on the control scheme. The "Nunchuck" isn't included in that picture, but it is in all the other ones (not on the screen, but in the guy's hand). It seems that you don't swing the controller to attack, but still aim with it, etc. The D-Pad covers the use of items. The Nunchuk will probably cover crouching and locking on, and in one of the E3 videos, it showed that spinning the Nunchuck made Link do a Spin attack (Remember: Link is left handed).

On the topics of Hyrule size and transportation, I think Epona is a big factor to consider. I mean, if it takes 45 minutes on a horse to cross Hyrule, what does that make on foot? Too much walking, I'd say. Unless there are a heckuvalot of warp points. Guess we'll find out.

Link will have his horse pretty much right from the beginning - or right from wherever you'll actually need traveling speed. I'd imagine that at some early point in the story, you'll get the song that lets you transport yourself instantly to certain locations (it was the Ballad of Gales in Wind Waker, and I can't remember back to the N64 titles).

 

[blaksheap82]

They ability to teleport from one area to another late in the game is practically a hallmark of all RPG's, from FF to Pokemon, so I'm sure that we'll get something like that in TP, I don't see Anouma missing something so basic. I can't remember where I heard you get Epona right from the start, but mini games in the village show you riding; you are supposed to start as a ranchhand, after all; and even if the 45 minute horse ride really is from one end of Hyrule to the other, which was still only a rumor of an estimate (that's a bit like a friend of a friend told me this and that), I really doubt we'll frequently, if at all, be required by the story to make that trek. There will definitely be stops along the way. It's been quite a while since I've played WW, but if you went from one corner of the map to the other, my guess would be it would take almost twenty minutes. Destiny Smasher pointed out how that time on the ocean was filled in, and at the very least, that ocean will be dull and flat compared to what the terrain of TP will be (especially since some thought it was already mind numbingly boring, but my attention is not easy to hold onto, and I could take it, so most those people probably just complain too much ;p).

As for the control scheme, so much of the standard control scheme is context sensitive, I really don't see any problem with it, I've just been wondering how they'll transcribe that special sword plant finishing move in the trailers. I wouldn't quite feel like doing that with the Wiimote every time, the purpose of a finishing move is usually to avoid just that, and make it easier, thereby less tedious.

 

[Jossy]

It's not a theory, it was confirmed in OoT. One of the guys inside the mask shop tells you that once a year the gerudos come into town looking for males. It's only once in 100 years that they give birth to a male themselves.

even better...

Gossip stones in Ocarina Of Time tell you:
"They say that Gerudos sometimes come to Hyrule Castle Town Market to look for boyfriends."

"They say that Gerudos worship Ganondorf like a god." --> Meaning the all-female society worship the man they get once in a 100 years.

BUT the best part (taken from wikipedia):

Their race consists entirely of women, but according to Nabooru in Ocarina of Time, one man is born every hundred years, and this man is destined to become the King of the Gerudo. It is stated by a Gossip Stone in "Ocarina of Time" that Gerudos travel to Hyrule Village to search for boyfriends... presumably with whom to reproduce. This is also evidenced by the panicked reactions the player gets when talking to male NPCs when wearing the Gerudo Mask gotten from the Happy Mask shop.

(LOL @ the cheating husbands in Market Hyrule)

anyway,
im not sure which version i will buy and i made a topic about it.

(lazy ppl can take a look at all the gossip stone messages here...
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Gossip_Stone )

 

[The rAt]

Paranoid_Android,
I could write a long friggin' post clarifying how you took things I said out of context. I could disect your post, line by line, and demonstrate why I disagree with you on virtually every thing you made (in relation to my apparent lack of character, the points involving Zelda, I will not disagree with). But the truth is, you'd just write another post about my apparent lack of common sense. Or how I am completely uninformed about whatever facet of Zelda knowledge. And really, I don't think its worth it.

Therefore, I retract my previous tone of statements in relation to you or any other gamers. My point was never intended to insult those who have knowledge (in this case of video games), because I would be at least partially insulting myself, but rather those who berate others for not having the same knowledge on a topic where there is truly quite a bit to know. However, I would be a hypocrite if I did not acknowledge that I have more than once made someone else look stupid for not possessing the same information as I.

In any case, the point is, I'm done arguing about what I do know, what I don't know, what I should know, and what I shouldn't know. Because, all sarcasm aside, time (not just mine, but yours as well) has value, if not purely by the fact that it is limited, and I have no desire to waste any more of anyone's arguing about which one of us is better at pushing the other's buttons (which is truly what I feel this boils down to).

So, enough fighting about what a good, bad, smart, stupid, uninformed, overinformed, preinformed, postinformed, exinformed, ect. person I am, you are, or anyone else is. Say what you want.

End thought.

Back on topic, however, blaksheep82's post immediately made me think of convenient rest stops along the way. You know, get off your horse, stretch your legs, refill the milk, ect.

Seriously though, if this map is truly that big, finding pieces of heart strikes me as an insane task. I'm beginning to hope they litter about more goodies besides them to find (though I'm not entirely certain what they could include of value besides rupees... joy pendents, perhaps?)

 

[Jossy]

lol joy pendants in dungeon chests of WW were so freakin gay...
theres no use of them after u got ur deed

 

[Rabiteman]

Ughh, I forgot how horrifyingly boring sailing around was in WW. If it is that big, there had better be a heck of a lot of things to do along the way...Heck, even that's gonna get boring after the first, maybe second time through. I'd prefer if they just made huge dungeons instead.

Let's see, I'm gonna get the Gamecube version because I'm not getting a Wii until SSBB, and I reserved that cursed game about a year and 3/4 ago. Plus, I'd rather just use the Gamecube controller cause it's comfy, hehe!

 

[MeleeMan]

The bad thing about the ocean in WW is that there was no effin change in scenery. It's just a huge ocean that all looks the same. Sure there were some islands scattered about and the ocean was pretty at first, but it got old quick. Hopefully if the map really is as big as they say, they'll make it a bit more interesting. If it's one giant Hyrule Field I'm gonna shoot myself.

 

[Zink]

The land areas of Zelda games never dissapoint interest-wise, IMO. I would love to see more collectibles worth something and MORE TRADING SEQUENCES! I love those!
One of my most anticipated features is levels of weapons- in OoT there was Biggorn Sword and Megaton Hammer at top level. In MM the FD mask fun but was way overpowered. Hopefully we'll see an ultimate power paired with an ultimate opponent.

 

[DarkLink567]

Ah yes, the Fierce Deity Mask. I didn't get to even use it until the second time I fought against Majora. The megaton hammer became obsolete after I recieved the Biggoron Sword (Same Strenth, Longer Range) except for puzzle purposes.
Yes, the Land based ones were done well, but Nintendo is going to have it tough on a much larger plain than Hyrule Field of OoT.
As for Wind Waker, I don't know if there was a way to make the ocean less boring. However it would have been nice if the islands were much bigger than they were.

 

[Paranoid_Android]

Link switched hands?!

http://wii.nintendo.com/software_zelda.html

Check out that screenshot - Link is wielding his sword in his right hand, and the shield in the left. This has never been seen in any Zelda game, ever. It must be to acommodate the Wii controllers awkwardness if used with the left hand.

 

[McFox]

I was going to comment earlier about that, but I forgot.

If you watch their medley of games (you can see the video at gamevideos.com), you'll see Link slashing around with his right arm. Like you said, it's because sword-swinging is now supposed to be pretty closely controlled with the Wiimote, as opposed to doing basic actions and pressing a button as was described at E3. That being the case, people have to be able to put Link's sword in their dominant hand, even if it goes against all canon.

 

[Zink]

There's something on Gamespot about the new controller setup.

*McFox EDIT* http://www.gamespot.com/events/wiilaunch/story.html?sid=6157656&pid=928519

There's the link.