riday, November 21 it finally started: the Space World 1997 in Japan, where Nintendo traditionally always showcases their latest games and future projects. This time around, they showed their 64DD, Yoshi's Story, F-Zero X and much more. Most importantly, they also showed The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time. It even was playable! Nintendo Power Source kicked off their dose of Zelda V media with an actual movie of the game. You can download the MOV file (ZIP: 426 kB) here. It shows Link riding his horse, and fighting Stalfos. Later on, Next Generation would come with three additional movies, of much larger size. Download NG Movie 1 (ZIP: 2.28 MB), NG Movie 2 (ZIP: 2.35 MB), NG Movie 3 (ZIP: 2.18 MB). At the same time, N64.com put up a bunch of almost 50 pictures which seem to be taken straight from the Next Generation movies. Here they are: click on each of them to bring up a larger version:

Read on, to see what Dan Owsen, Nintendo's site publisher said about his experience with the demo that was playable at Space World.

"You hold the Z Button to target an enemy, and then you can use any weapon on it, the sword, boomerang, bow and arrow, bombs, etc." "There's also a BIG stick." "The coolest enemy I saw was the giant Dodongo. When he first appears, you see a real time 3D cinema from the Dodongo's point of view. He walks up to Link and you can see how puny Link is in comparison." "The horse was really cool too. You can whip him as you ride and he'll go faster and faster. Then he can jump over things." "The game is of course very very cool but I don't need to tell you all that." "Mr. Miyamoto said the game play feeling is 90% complete." "Now they are adding the tricks and gimmicks to make the game great."

Then there are the hard facts from the show, which aren't as happy as these very positive comments on the game. Unlike earlier reports, Zelda V will come out in April in Japan, instead of February. But, the price will be 6800 Yen, instead of 7800 Yen like previously reported. Next, here's the report N64.com has on The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time.

 Zelda 64 Control Mystery Solved. Nintendo reinvents 3D controls and comes up with a fix for notorious butt shots. Zelda promises to solve the problem of annoying 3D camera angles

Do you remember getting annoyed at losing sight of your enemies or a certain object in Mario 64 or Tomb Raider? Witnessed too many butt shots or camera stuck in wall incidents? Nintendo has pioneered an interesting solution for Zelda 64 that is guaranteed to inspire action RPGs for years to come. Here's the scoop:

 Camera
The camera follows Link, in a style similar to Tomb Raider. When you see an enemy or an object that interests you (or you1re being attacked by an enemy), you press and hold the Z-Button. This will bring up a cursor that locks on to your target. Now, as long as you hold down the Z-Button, the camera will stay on your target, retaining its over the shoulder position. This allows you to circle your enemies and slash at them while side-stepping, back-flipping and shielding yourself from the onslaught (R-Button). While you are locking on to a target, the screen will become slightly letterboxed to let you know that the target mode is active. To help you keep track of your attackers, Navie, your fairy will hover over the target's head. Release the Z-Button at any time to break the target lock. The upper C-Button will let you either switch to an alternate camera angle (inside houses or cities), or zooms in to let you look around.

 Attack System
The attack system is equally impressive. Pressing A will make Link draw his sword. Press it again to slash at your enemy once. Press it three times to swing the blade from the bottom to the top. Press jump and A to slash downward. Turn the 3D Stick in a circle to swing your sword over your head once. Press and hold A to charge your sword and make it glow, then unleash a nice helicopter slash that1s sure to turn any stinking skeleton into a heap of bones. Similar controls are available for the other items, which can be distributed over any of the lower three C-Buttons. Press the corresponding key once to draw the weapon or item, then press it again to use it.

 Action Button
But the crowning feature is the context sensitive B-Button. If you stand close to a ladder, the B-Button display at the top of the screen will change to climb or descend, if you run around freely, it will change to jump, stand next to a sign and it turns into read, and so on. Simply pressing the button will activate the function. Some of the available functions include open, pull, push, check, talk and crawl. There is also a nice auto-jump feature that prevents you from falling from platforms when attempting to jump across a crevice.

Check back soon for detailed first impressions on one of the hottest games ever. (ps)

By far the most detailed and best coverage of Space World can be found on VideoGameSpot. Here's their report on Zelda V.

 Taking Miss Zelda
For A Ride Today, Nintendo finally unveiled a playable version of Zelda 64 (now known as Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time in Japan), and needless to say, it was everything I expected it to be and more. Rather than give you a formal rundown of the game (yawn), I'll try to explain the various parts of the demo and the basics of the game from top to bottom, so you can get a general idea of how it was for me to experience what could easily end up being the greatest game of all-time.

 The Delay
Before I begin, take note that the Japanese version of Zelda 64 has been delayed until April 1998, so a US release isn't likely until at least next Summer. Yes, it stinks, but at least we know that they're taking their time to ensure that the game is perfect when it finally is released. Anyway, on to the game...

 The Intro
When you first power on this 70 percent complete special Space World version of Zelda 64, you're dropped into the game's short (it may not be complete yet), but completely awesome intro sequence. As young Link approaches Hyrule Castle at night in the pouring rain (remind you of a previous Zelda game?) he hears a noise and runs off to the side of the castle drawbridge to hide. Suddenly, out of the castle comes a beautiful white horse, galloping at full speed away from the castle, as if being chased by someone. Who's on the horse, you ask? A Hyrulian guard, protecting a small girl - a Princess, in fact - named Zelda.

As they escape, Link walks out into the center of the drawbridge only to come face to face with Zelda's pursuer - a tall evil-looking man with a wicked grin, also on horseback. As he glances upon Link for the first time, the screen pans up past his fiendish green face and away from the scene, fading to the Title Screen. As you probably would've guessed, the man with the green face was none other than Ganon himself. But, as the game's story will explain - this isn't the Ganon you've grown to know and hate. Zelda 64 takes place before the Super NES Zelda, making it the earliest of all the Zelda games in the timeline. Ganon hasn't actually become Ganon yet (his name is Ganondorf), and the idea behind the game is to prevent the young thief from becoming the evil SOB that wreaks havoc on Link's descendants.

 The Tours
Once you begin, you come to a specialized menu (made just for the SpaceWorld exhibition) that allows you to tour several parts of the game to get a feel for what's to come. The three main choices to begin are Hyrule Tour, Dungeon Tour and Battle Tour. I'll explain each tour as best I can (I spent more time in some areas than I did in others, but I did try everything out at least twice).

 Hyrule Tour
The Hyrule Tour gives you four locations to start from, including Link's House, the Hyrule overworld, a River area, and outside the castle - riding Link's horse. Inside Link's House, you can press the Top C button to switch to an overhead view that gives you a better perspective on the layout of his room. Once you climb outside, in what seems like light snow (hard to say - the ground is completely dry and brown, but it certainly looks like snow), you can wander around the countryside near Link's home and get accustomed to the game's controls. The Left C, Bottom C and Right C buttons are each used for items (like Bombs, your Slingshot, a Boomerang, etc.), while the A Button is for Link's sword. The B Button's usage changes depending on the situation. For example, if you walk up to someone, B will be used to talk to that person, but if you're just wandering around an open area, it can be used to check (search) the area around you.

However, the most important (and innovative) button use comes in the form of the Z Button. Holding down the Z Button allows you to focus on whatever is nearest you (whether it be a simple sign, a townsperson, a Boss character - whatever), so that you can move around the object in 3-D without taking your eyes off of it. This is a key selling point to the game's incredibly realistic battle system, as now you can focus on enemies and fight without having to worry about losing focus or getting confused because of the 3D environment. Only after playing the game for several minutes do you truly realize how important this feature is - it makes a world of difference during play.

The overworld and river areas are just more places of Hyrule to explore. There are huge mountains, narrow valleys, dark caves - I mean, you name it, it's here. You can also explore the main town (sorry, I forgot the name), which has several different interesting viewpoints, depending on what area of the town you're in. It actually reminded me of Final Fantasy VII, where each area had a totally different perspective. The only difference is obviously this time everything is fully 3D modeled... it just looks amazing.

Then of course there's the horse scene. There wasn't too much to do here, but you could mount Link's horse and ride around the fields near the Castle, jumping over small fences and hills, and trotting around with another horse (a white one) to get used to the control. There are several carrots onscreen when you ride the horse, and each time you whip it (to make it run faster), one of the carrots goes away for a bit. I'm not sure how this will work in the final version - it seemed kind of silly to have carrots at all if the supply is unlimited. There must be something more to this that I wasn't getting. I'll try and get to the bottom of this carrot business tomorrow.

 Dungeon Tour
The Dungeon Tour lets you start at one of three dungeon scenarios, each a little bit different from the other. Like previous Zelda games, there are traps and puzzles in the dungeons, and there's a slick map system which resides at the bottom corner of the screen and can be turned on or off by pressing the L Button. In addition, by pressing START you'll come to the subscreen menus - one of which is a Field Map (in the overworld), or a more detailed Dungeon Map (in the underworld). While we're on the subject, I'll tell you about the other subscreen menus (there are four).

One is the aforementioned map screen, one is the Item Screen (where you can select from a variety of items that you've found along the way, as well as view which Medals you've collected so far), one is the Equip Screen (where you can equip Link in four different areas - Sword, Shield, Clothes and Boots), and finally there's a Collect Item screen that was totally blank (so I have no idea what it's for).

 Battle Tour
Ahh, my favorite part of the demo so far. The Battle Tour lets you try out three different Boss battles - against Ghoma, Dodongo, or Stalfos. The Stalfos battle looks like it may take place earlier on, since it's pretty simple - you fight against two huge Stalfos Knights in a big room. There's no real pattern or weak spots; you simply hack and slash (and dodge and defend) until you've defeated them. Still, just watching the fight from the outside perspective (when holding the Z button) is a treat.

Ghoma's battle is a bit more complicated. When you enter his cavern, you'll come face to face with him (he looks incredible). You need to shoot him in the eye with an arrow, and then run up to him and slash him with your sword when he's stunned. After you hit him a couple of times, he retreats and climbs up the wall (it looks SO good), and proceeds to drop small mini-Ghomas down to keep you busy while he prepares to attack again. Once you defeat them, he comes down, and you repeat the process until you finally defeat him.

Lastly, there's Dodongo. Upon entering the room you'll see a square block outline in the ground. Lay a Bomb there and a huge hole will open up. Upon jumping down, the game switches to a real-time cinema scene of Link landing, turning around and (presumably, based on the expression on his face) wetting his pants. You don't actually see Dodongo yet - the scene is very cinematic. You'll see Link backing away from an angled top-down view (with him looking at the screen, almost as if you're seeing the action from Dodongo's eyes), and you'll hear the earth shaking as Dodongo slowly stomps toward Link. Then finally the camera sways around to show the GIGANTIC creature, who lets out a huge roar and prepares to attack. Defeating him isn't too hard, fortunately. He's still got a horrible intolerance for Bombs, so when he opens his mouth to breathe fire, you simply chuck a Bomb down his throat and then attack him with your sword when he crashes to the ground. A few rounds of this and the creature will go down for good.

One other interesting thing I learned about Zelda 64 is that later in the game when you get the Ocarina (which will allow you to travel through time), you'll actually have to learn tunes during the game and play them out with different buttons on the controller. It's not a huge deal, but it's just another example of the astonishing amount of interaction and control you have in this game.

Well that about sums things up for the demo. This was just a small taste of the huge game - Lord only knows what awaits us in the final version. As if you can't tell, I'm already totally in love with it and I can't wait to get my hands on it come April. I've been looking forward to this game more than any game in recent years, and now that I've played it, I can honestly say with confidence that I think it's going to live up to and EXCEED everyone's high expectations.

Just five more months...

 Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time (Japanese Title)
 Genre: 3D Action-Adventure
 Price: 6800Yen (around US$60)
 Release Date: April 1998 (Japan)
 Number of Players: 1
 Rumble Pak Compatible
 Percent Complete: 70 percent

By John Ricciardi, Electronic Gaming Monthly

Next Generation had the official screenshots of Zelda V in great detail. Click each picture you bring up a larger version.

Finally, here's N64.com's review of The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time:

 EVERYTHING about Zelda 64
N64.com continues its coverage of Zelda 64 with an in-depth look at graphics, sound, creatures and items.

Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time is a work of art. We knew it all along: There was simply no way Zelda 64 was going to be anything but stunning. But rarely is there such a perfect mixture of graphics, sound, and gameplay. Even the most cynical players will shake their heads and have to admit that Zelda 64 will shape the action RPG genre for years to come.

In a nod to prior Zelda installments, Zelda 64 starts with Link in the rain. A cinematic cutscene shows Link watching in fear as a stately knight leaves Hyrule Castle on horseback -- with him, a young elven princess, Zelda. Link runs to the lowered draw bridge and tries to cross the castle moat, but his path his blocked by a dark figure. There, in the middle of the pouring rain stands Ganondorf, a thief with a greedy grin and a nose as big as Cyrano de Bergerac’s. Thus begins Link’s adventure on the N64, a tale of elves and dragons, of good and evil, and of time.

On Friday, N64.com gave you the inside scoop on the camera, control and battle system. Today we delve a little deeper and hopefully answer all the questions that have been burning inside the minds of Zelda fans for the last two years. Note that the demo Nintendo showed off at the Space World was a collection of test levels, put together just for the show. Thus Nintendo avoided divulging too much information about the story, and kept the suspense about Zelda 64’s magic system alive as well.

Gameplay: Once you get used to the radically different camera system, navigating the environments and fighting against enemies becomes second nature. Many of the problems that plagued Mario 64 in the camera and control department are a thing of the past, and there is virtually nothing that distracts from Zelda 64’s immersive gameplay. Being able to explore the wide environments, climb hills, fight monsters, push and pull items and discover new areas is a real trip. One thing that is absent from most RPGs is the ability to interact with all objects. In Zelda 64, you can pull and push walls, open chests and drawers, hang from ledges, and try to hit anything you see with your sword, bow, boomerang, hammer, or stick. And yes, Link can swim. If you thought Final Fantasy has a lot of atmosphere, then Zelda 64 with its “in the game” perspective will blow you away. It’s an adventure game, an exploration game, a role-playing game, sword fighting and platform action -- it’s Doom with a bow, and it’s set to surpass Mario 64 as the most playable 3D game ever.

Graphics: Look at the pictures, and you’ll be a believer. It’s like Mario 64 taken to the max, with endless landscapes, gorgeous cities and dank dungeons. Zelda 64 runs at framerates between 24 and 30 frames per second, pushing vast polygon environments populated by detailed creatures and non-player characters. For the first time, Nintendo shows off real light-sourcing in one of its titles. Both the enemy creatures and Link himself are lit according to the environment they are in, and even cast varying shadows into the appropriate directions. And how about this: If you carry your sword in your hand, Link will swim with only one hand, or climb up a ledge clutching the sword with only one hand. The demo presented players with the opportunity to explore some of Hyrule’s overworld. The plains, hills and trees are all rendered to perfection and the animation is as smooth as can be. There are huts, treasure chests, friendly and unfriendly characters, signs, and fairies that whizz through the air. Unlike in games like Turok or Doom, you can see for miles.

The demo also lets you enter a city, which is displayed from a central camera angle. Imagine it like the camera is stuck in the middle of a town square, following Link as he goes into the distance. The graphics here are very Final Fantasy-esque, albeit a little more pixelated.

Sound: Unfortunately, it was pretty noisy at the show, so you couldn’t hear much during gameplay -- but I simply went up to one of the monitors and cranked up the volume for a while (until one of the Nintendo guards came and turned it down again). The sound effects are brilliant. Depending on what you hit with your sword, you hear a cool metal clank or a crunch noise, the bow and arrow are as convincing as the real thing, and the screams of the Dodongo are downright scary. Although the demo didn’t have much music implemented yet, the overworld was alive with sounds, bird calls, animal noises and footsteps. The music in the dungeons was very much like Doom 64’s exquisite ambient soundtrack, with low, pounding bass notes and a siren-like string sound that gives the game a very eerie edge. Unfortunately, the typical Zelda theme music wasn’t in yet, but if it’s as good as the ambient soundtrack, you’re in for a treat.

Creatures: In the Space World demo, Nintendo shows off a number of new enemies and three bosses. Link encounters several strange creatures in the fields, among them stones that come to life, man-eating plants and jumping spiders. The unfinished cart also lets you try out three different boss battles. The first one pits you against two pretty tall and scary Stalfos skeltons in a round arena that both attack you at the same time. When you kill them, they crumble to a heap of bones. The other two bosses, a Ghoma spider creature and a HUGE Dodongo dragon are some of the most impressive enemies in an N64 game yet.

Ghoma crawls along the ceiling and drops little spiders that attack you, before it descends and faces you eye to eye. Its weak spot is all too obvious: Whip out the old bow and arrow and show the nasty spider that Robin Hood is not the only green-shrouded hero with good aim.

After watching a cinematic scene where you see Link staring in fear at “something big” from the monster’s perspective, you encounter Dodongo -- a dragon that would make Turok’s dinosaurs whimper in fear. The battle takes place in a cave with a glowing lake of lava at its center. True to its environment, Dodongo breathes fire (awesome effect), but also rolls itself up into a ball in an attempt to crush Link. If Link gets hit by the flames, it literally sweeps him off his feet! Luckily, there is a bark that comes with the bite. Whenever Dodongo lets out a scream or prepares to let rip, throw a bomb into its mouth. The ensuing explosion weakens the dragon and brings it to its knees. Now attack its head. If the creature is slayed the creature, you are treated to an awesome (realtime-rendered) cutscene where the Dodongo sinks into the flaming lava pit.

Navie: Link’s fairy hovers over his head and greets non-player characters with a friendly “konnichi-wa” (Good Day). When locking on to an enemy with Z, Navie flies over to the target and points out its the location while assuming a red color. Navie is so far the only “speaking” character seen in the game, and she often shouts advice as to what to do while battling.

Horse: Jump on the horse with the B-Button. With the 3D stick Link can ride into any direction (varying speeds). The animation and sound effects are dead-on. The horse can be whipped to run faster, but each time you do that you deplete one carrot from a “carrot meter” (the need for this is currently unknown, but it’s likely that there will be some sort of race).

Sword: When you press the A-Button, Link draws his sword and carries it in his left hand. Press the button again and he swings the blade horizontally. Pressing the button three times performs two swings and one downward slash. Press B (when it is in the jump-mode) and A and Link lurches foward and attack with his sword. Pressing and holding the A button makes the sword glow. When you release the button, Link swings the blade around himself with a cool helictoper slash. You can also turn the analog stick in a full circle and press A for a similar, but less powerful attack. Note that some of these moves are slightly different for the younger version of Link, who carries a dagger, rather than a sword.

Shield: Press the R-Button, and Link blocks enemy attacks with his shield. While he is protecting himself, he cannot swing his blade.

Bombs: You can assign the bomb function to any of the three yellow buttons. When you press the button in question, Link takes out a bomb and ignites it. He can still walk around with it, but it’s probably wise to get it out of his hands as soon as possible. There are two actions he can perform: Either put down the bomb on the floor in front of him, or walk in a certain direction to toss it. It is probable to buy bombs in stores, but there are also some weird plants in Hyrule that produce bombs and offer an unlimited supply.

Bow and Arrow: There are two ways to shoot arrows at the enemies. From the lock on mode, simply press the appropriate C-Button and Link fires an arrow. But if the button is pressed during regular gameplay, the camera zooms in for a behind the bow perspective. Link can now aim accurately and fire at will.

Stick: Link can use a stick just like the sword and hit things that are far away. There are probably more uses for the stick, but I couldn’t figure them out.

Hammer: Pound things into the ground. It works as a weapon, too, but you have to get in close.

Magic Nuts: Press the appropriate C-Button to throw a magic nut that explodes in a flash of light and blinds your enemies. Link can now easily attack them without getting hurt.

Boomerang: The boomerang leaves a cool trail when it's thrown, and it comes flying back to Link (whether it hits its target, or not). But be careful, if he's in the middle of a jump and not ready to catch the boomerang, it may actually hurt him.

Gems: Just like in the old Zelda games, Link can collect green and red gems that are left over whenever he vanquishes an enemy.

Map: In some areas, you can bring up a map in the lower left corner by pressing the L-Button.

Control: Just like in Mario 64, Link is moved around with the analog stick. He can walk and run, depending on how far you press the stick. If you lock on to an enemy via the Z-Trigger, Link automatically faces the target and “strafes” sidways, rather than turning into that direction. During battles, Link can perform a cool backwards flip by pulling the stick into the opposite direction. Jump, climb, descend, read, open, talk and swim with the B-Button

Menus: There are several menu screens, that you can bring up by pressing START. For example, there is an extensive map system, as well as an item and an equipment screen. Choosing your items is really easy. Simply highlight the object in question and press the C-Button you want to assign it to. There is also a special item screen that shows you items that can only be used at certain key moments in the game.

Data Management: The Zelda 64 cartridge comes with a built-in EEPROM that lets you save three different files. There is no need for a separate memory pak.

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time will explode on Japanese N64s in April ‘98 and sell for a mere ¥6,800. Hopefully, Nintendo of America will let the west have a piece of the action as soon as possible, or I fear there will be more gamers importing the title than there are fairies in Hyrule.

 Peer Schneider

After all the excitement of Space World, I will update the Preview with all new info. Info on these pages come from Nintendo Power Source, VideoGameSpot, Next Generation and N64.com.