Flip-Flop Fanboy: The OcaRe-run of Time

Well, hindsight is always 20-20, isn't it folks?

I must say that on the face of it, a straight up remake of one of Nintendo's most popular (and subsequently ported) outings in the Zelda franchise, even with a fresh lick of paint and Twilight Style Motion Control (Maybe even Plus+, you never know...) wouldn't be a good idea.

But looking back at Ocarina's history, it is entirely possible that a remake wouldn't be entirely horrible at all.

No, I haven't completely lost my senses in some Choco-licious Easter Stupor. As mind-bendingly wonderful the cocoa-based wonder-drug is, it does nothing to effect my clarity and focus on this wonderfully wonderful chocolately chocolate...

...Okay, maybe a little...

But back on topic. Ever since the 1995 SpaceWorld tech demo, the title was hotly anticipated. Whereas Super Mario 64, which was developed alongside Ocarina, was released the next year as a launch title, Ocarina spent a while longer in development limbo, bouncing from a 64DD title, to a stand-alone cartridge title with a DD-Based expansion to come along after...

For the uninitiated or the un-nerdy, the Nintendo 64DD (Disk Drive) was an unmitigated commercial failure, originally conceived to sit underneath the N64 and run along with it, expanding on already released titles. (Random Fact: This was the original premise of Banjo-Tooie Stop'n'Swop interaction with it's predecessor).

Most of the titles in development moved to cartridge or were canned entirely. (Random Fact: The Death of the DD put paid to the development of the first 3D Pokemon RPG. Pokemon Stadium was also on the list, but moved over to Cart form.) This was the fate of the Ocarina expansion, known in quarters as 'Ura Zelda' or 'Zelda Gaiden' (The later name springing from memory only). It did eventually seem to resurface in the form of a Bonus Disk in certain LOZ: Wind Waker packages as 'Master Quest', though all this really did was change about dungeons slightly.

I'm guessing though, that it was intended to be something much more... And only helped fuel speculation of rumours of 'Temple(s) of Light' (See Fake on Left) and being able to actually get the Triforce itself.

So, this is what I'm saying:

If I got told that OcaReRun was actually going to be a fully realised, bells and whistles version of everything Ura Zelda was supposed to be, and maybe more (I'm thinking in amongst the veins of a lot of Fable II's DLC in additional story veins, emphasis on seemingly secondary characters and some kick-ass sub-quests)...

Then I'm willing to give my support to it.

This way, it's less Lucas' deviant exploits in Peru, and more a long-awaited Director's Cut, or Extended Edition. Nintendo reading from the book of Peter Jackson and LOTR.

Possibly controversial in amongst those of you I speak to, but...

The thought of seeing Ocarina become deeper, even richer an experience, ESPECIALLY given the (oft-complained about on my part) superficiality of current generation Wii games...

Surely that's worth placing the sword back in it's pedestal for?

Commercial Success killed the New Idea... Star.

Bad title, I know... But. It ties in.

DigitalSpy are reporting (link) that Nintendo are due to announce the next Wii outing for our favourite Green-Clad, Elven Hero...

The title?

"The Legend of Zelda: We've Run Out of Ideas So We're Remaking Ocarina of Time Instead."

*Rolls Eyes*

Bad Nintendo! *fwaps with rolled up Newspaper* BAD! We want new ideas. NEW! Yes it's a brilliant universe, but we're seriously going into Lucas-Esque Re-Touching (Read: Molesting) of the Original Star Wars movies...

And that way madness lies...

- DA Out.

The *Something* Killed the Gaming Star...

So... Like Mr. Bridges, I'm going to save the personal introductions and get something I want to say over and done with.

The Wii.

It's been a mixed blessing for Nintendo, hasn't it? For the first time they're leading the field amongst the big three, with Microsoft a Close-Second by cornering the Boy's Toy and Multi-Platform Market and... Well Sony's new tubby baby has been chugging along at it's own pace, having weighed itself down with surprisingly empty and shallow ploys, considering how bulky it is. And from the massive (in scale, not size) Cock-Jousting, it's clear that the PlayStation brand is hell-bent on leap-frogging itself technologically over the nearest cliff, possibly taking the market with it.

But with this supremacy comes division. The release calender for 2008 left the Hardened Fans split. Myself amongst them.

The one half was filled to the brim with people, led by a number of quite visible figures within the Gaming and Fan-based Medias, complaining that, woe-is-me, the precious company that they'd supported through the bad times had forgotten about them by focusing on their newly found casual market, and had no proper 1st Party Games for them to be content with.

The other side, and quite rightly too, gave the first bunch a heavy dose reality and pointed out that there had been numerable titles coming out, from the relatively Smashing (...I'll get my coat *shame*) Super Smash Bros. Brawl to the more obscure and overlooked Wario: Shake Dimensions as well as numerable others, and that what these unhappy bunnies were experiencing was merely a bad case of 'Second Child Syndrome': irrational jealousy of all the extra attention given to the new arrival(s).

So, you think they're right? 'Cos I think, playing both Devil's Advocate and Smug Boffin here, that while both sides have points, neither have hit the nail on the head. The whiners have jumped the gun and pretty much unjustly bit the hand that feeds them, not realising if, in the current economic climate, we'd had another Gamecube, there'd probably be no more Nintendo to complain about; Where as the rest have, quite frankly, got their rose-tinted blinders on and need to man up and call the relevant sh*t out because, if we don't, we're going to get walked over.

Here's my point:

Yes, we are getting those first-party titles that we want. Yet the only reason we get the volume complaints IS because of Nintendo's focus on the Casual Market.

It's all in the DEPTH.

When I look at the current generation of Nintendo Franchises, and then at their Gamecube-based counterparts, there's a number of glaring backward steps. It's as if Nintendo think that because they've got a brand-spanking new and 'innovative' control system, they can stop pushing themselves to make better games and move into remaking cut-down versions but with refined control...

I'm sorry, but no... I've seen this type of thing before. Who's got the biggest processing power, who's got the brightest bloom, who's got the brownest mud... Now who's got the most intuitive way to simulate jerking off whichever see-you-next-Tuesday Slimy Executive type who keeps pushing this type of thing?

Not for me.

If there's no depth to a title, it's played in a week or a weekend and suddenly it's two months before the next title out, and even then it's not one you instantly jump for...

I think the point is, saving myself more than enough for a dozen more columns, is that we as fans need to start looking for those enthralling, deep and atmospheric experiences and challenge Nintendo to challenge us... And not by just upping a difficulty curve in the AI.

Double Dash to Wii, Melee to Brawl, even Sunshine to Galaxy. Look at them and tell me that on some level the generational shift hasn't left us short changed. Look at any title... Go on. That's my challenge. And here's another, there is an exception that proves the rule. Name the title and tell me why, and you'll earn yourself a genuine 'The Nerd Blog' No-Prize*1.

In my next entry, I may or may not be discussing what the cause of this short change may be, and why it signals the industry moving in completely the wrong direction, as well as revealing that exception, and in the future possibly detailing what should be done with said franchises in something that may well become a regular feature on TNB...

'The Fanboy Knows Best...'*2

*1 - No-Prizes are fictitious and based solely on glory and perception only.
*2 - Title, as with most things on this site, are libel to change.