The Next Zelda

    As most of you know, Nintendo has begun work on the next Zelda game, dubbed Zelda: Gaiden for the time being. This game will be released on the 64DD in Japan, but what about the U.S? There are a few options on what could happen. Scenario 1 is that they make Zelda: Gaiden for the Nintendo 64 in the form of a lock-on cartridge. This would free up lots of memory in the new cartridge since the game engine and a lot of graphics are already in Zelda 64's cartridge. Another solution is that they make it in a regular Nintendo 64 cartridge just like Zelda 64. This would benefit the few people who actually don't have Zelda 64, but because all the original graphics and the game engine would have to be stored on this cartridge, it would waste a lot of space, and probably won't happen because they probable wouldn't have enough room for the whole game. Keep in mind that the largest Nintendo 64 cartridge is 32MB (currently), and the 64DD disks can store 65MB. The worst option of all is that the game will not be released in the U.S. at all, but I think this is highly unlikely, since Nintendo would have to be stupid not to release a Zelda game in as many places as possible, since it brings them tons of money. The final option is that the American version will be on a DVD and be one of the launch titles with the Dolphin. This could be very interesting since they'd have time to touch up the graphics and make it look a little better for the Dolphin, and they could possibly add some more cutscenes to the game.

    What will Zelda: Gaiden be about? Nothing has been made official, but so far the rumors are ranging anywhere from just a bunch of side quests to Zelda 64, to new dungeons, to an entirely new game altogeather. For now, we'll have to wait and see. Zelda: Gaiden is scheduled for a release in January, 2000 in Japan, and if it is coming for the Nintendo 64, it would probably be a few months later, and if it is made for Dolphin in the U.S, it could be as late as October or November 2000. Keep in mind that the only part of this that is official is the fact that Nintendo is developing a new Zelda game for the 64DD in Japan, so we'll just have to wait and see what happens.