Okami director not so impressed with Twilight Princess

[wraggster]

During that same Media Arts Festival Yoot Saito demonstrated Odama with Wii controls at, the fellow responsible for directing Okami, Hideki Kamiya, talked a bit about Twilight Princess. His words, however, were not as one expects when someone is talking about Link's latest adventure; words strung together in such phrases as "it was phenominal" and "my life has been profoundly changed" were not used. Instead, Kamiya could only muster an apathetic response when asked how he felt about the game.

Kamiya said "To be frank, I was disappointed when I saw [Twilight Princess'] visuals. I'm a Zelda freak -- it's no overstatement to say that I created Okami because of Zelda. I really wanted [Twilight Princess] to have that regal aura, because Zelda was what we were aspiring to. I wanted it to show me things that were surprising, but..." Wow, we thought the visuals were downright impeccable at times, such as riding Epona across Hyrule Field during the day.

What do you guys think?

via wiifanboy (http://www.nintendowiifanboy.com/2007/03/06/okami-director-not-so-impressed-with-twilight-princess/)

[alienanthropologist]

I think the visuals of Twilight Princess were very good.

But I suppose I would have to say I wasn't blown away by it. I don't really know what it will take for a zelda game to blow me away the way A Link To The Past and Ocarina of Time did.

Maybe the new Zelda being designed specifically for Wii will really come up with some brilliant new ideas. I'm talking about really interesting and original puzzles, engaging narrative, and completely new gameplay.

Actually, I really miss the birdview format of A Link To the Past. I think that was definitely my favourite Zelda game.

Also, I sort of didn't like the Wind Waker when it came out because of its cell-shaded graphics (and that really annoying sea world!!!) but in retrospect, after having played TP, I think the Wind Waker had some very good ideas.

Only time will tell what they're going to do with Zelda next time. I mean, they took (how long was it?) 5 years to release TP... I have to say that I expect the new Zelda game to be at least just a good as TP and not to take as longas TP did!

Please God or fairies or gobblins or whatever is up there, hear my prayers!

[Yobumtin]

If the other games were fun for him then his standards shouldn't increase with each system release. TP has the best graphics in the Zelda series. I think people are expecting too much. You would think if people found Atari games really fun back then then they would pretty much drop a load over the games today.

[iniquitous_beast]

I have to say, despite liking Twilight Princess, I did not like Link's wolf form. It felt underdeveloped. You couldn't play through the game as a wolf and enjoy your experience. The howling sequences were lame and his wolf face looked wrong.
I have often thought that the game would be perfect if it kept human Link and used Okami's wolf mechanics and mannerisms

[ICE]

didnt the company that made okami GO UNDER!?!?! lol im not going to listen to someone who's company went bankrupt.

[Shadowblind]

It just lacked that simplistic "Zelda" feel tht ocarina of time gave so well

[shadowprophet]

Ehh. Comparing a current title to a time tested classic is unfair.
Its the same syndrome that plagues us all. Its the same syndrome that's killing sonic.

Tons of really great rpg;s have came out since 1996. yet most rpg fans still swear by chrono trigger hailing that no other rpg has ever reached its level of depth and game play ext..

But that's just not true. Many great rpgs have came out since 1996 that dwarf chrono trigger and yet are considered unworthy for a whole slew of bullshit reasons. (its just a clone) (or Chrono did it first so chrono is better) final fantasy 7 was a great game, It got more credit then it deserved. But for people to claim no other rpg matched its splendor is just lunacy.

The point being, This goes beyond people expecting too much from their new titles. it seems they expect the same things with a graphical face lift. No matter what's been brought over from any past zelda to twilight princess. Its little more then a mix of past successful play mechanics.

How is it fair that Zelda Tp isn't every bit as good as the titles it was built on?
People just cant seem to see the forest for the trees here. I like zelda twilight princess, I feel its everything i wanted from a zelda, However to say its not as good as OOT the game it was practically switched at birth with. Is just blind fanboyisim.

In conclusion, Zelda TP is every bit as good as OOT. (But its in many ways a remixed directors cut clone of oot.) Who's fault is this. Every Zelda fans. They Want, they need to play something they have already played. they need that repetition to rush them with nostalgia to connect this new zelda with the past ones.

Lets face it.
The mass market has spoken, The face of who plays video games is expanding. Its no longer just me and you and your friends and their circle. its now the old and young the shy and timid. almost everyone of every walk of life is playing videogames now. and no longer can the market afford to focus on just the hard core. and besides. (HARD CORE, has become an awfully unpopular word these days that the market tends to associate with SUCKER. We know what we like and don't need some company to tell us different)

Sad but true, that's what the market has become.

The real question to be asking is, (Is this a bad thing?)

No I don't think it is. people should always play what they want. its the principal the entertainment it based upon.


Just remember. Its the constant sale of sequel after sequel that has pushed the markets to give us the same damned thing over and over again,we like playing the same thing over and over again and will pay for it too, We have proven that time and time again.

tony hawk 9 anyone ?

[ICE]

and once again sp has utterly, in my opinion, ended a discussion. lol pretty much covers all the bases there doesnt it?

[wolfpack]

oh well, the zelda series for me can be milked all it wants... ill still love it :P just like final fantasy... cept i wish they kind of kept the old battle system when they went to XII .... cuz i mean come on, even though theres freedom of movement, i still miss the old everyone being lined up taking turns to attack

[shadowprophet]

oh well, the zelda series for me can be milked all it wants... ill still love it :P just like final fantasy... cept i wish they kind of kept the old battle system when they went to XII .... cuz i mean come on, even though theres freedom of movement, i still miss the old everyone being lined up taking turns to attack
I don't know, For me I was the most die hard of the die hard final fantasy fans.

BUt final fantasy seems to have lost it roots somewhere.

That magic feeling I used to get playing the older titles. is now in the later ff's completely gone. I feel it hasn't truly been there since ff X.

Five years ago. Five years since the last true final fantasy proper. Its too long to wait, and without another Ff proper in site, Final fantasy has lost a fan in me. Im done buying smuck just because it has a final fantasy theme and product label. That's not enough for any true fan of the series proper.

Anyone who has been there since the early days, even from ff 6.

I've been a fan since part one. But still just to have known final fantasies roots. and to see what a final fantasy is today. That's not the same game, and just because square says it is. doesn't make it so. The real final fantasy- finaled its last fantasy with X. X marked the true death of the series.

The popularity of ff xii is proof that the classic roots to ff are gone forever.
Classic final fantasy is dead, and classic rpgs in general aren't far behind.

I do not like these hybrid rpgs. that are made by companies that cash in with ease.
I do not like them in their box. I do like them on shelves or in stocks. I do not like them here or there. I do not like them anywhere.

And if you paid me every day to play these games there still no way. That I would like them, just because, They're not what the companies say they was.

indeed.

[Shadowblind]

I hate all new FF titles. The only two thatI liked, although I despise the battle system, is FFIX and Mystic Quest. I don't care what people say about FFVII, its NOT THAT GOOD.

I've never played Okami, so I can't compare it, I just mentioned it didnt have that Zelda...feel to it.

[shadowprophet]

I hate all new FF titles. The only two thatI liked, although I despise the battle system, is FFIX and Mystic Quest. I don't care what people say about FFVII, its NOT THAT GOOD.

I've never played Okami, so I can't compare it, I just mentioned it didnt have that Zelda...feel to it.

Mq got some bad press for many reasons. But at that time. final fantasy was still final fantasy. and in many respects.. Even Mistic Quest has held up well and in more respectes then one is a more proper final fantasy then a lot of other more modern FF's

[iniquitous_beast]

didnt the company that made okami GO UNDER!?!?! lol im not going to listen to someone who's company went bankrupt.

No, it did not go under. The development team that made Okami was closed down by Capcom, which had been losing money across the board. They couldn't afford to keep so many teams running, and they decided that they would rather keep their teams that make weak (but strong selling) sequels rather than innovative (yet risky) new games. The Okami team might have been disbanded, but many of its members have re-formed into a new group, called Sprout. Look forward to more high-quality, innovative games from them in the future.

Besides, I think we both know that there is more to this than you simply not trusting "someone who's company went bankrupt". I'd be willing to bet that you are just upset that he bashed the awesome Twilight Princess. Rather than attack someone's right to an opinion, it is always better to just respond honestly to what he says.

[mcvader]

I don't have a Wii but I've played a Fair bit of TP at a mates house, I thought the graphics looked very Gamecube but that didn't bother me. I just felt that the Wii-Remote was totally under used.

When you swing the controller like a sword - Link swings his sword but it makes no difference how you swing, he still goes through the OOT style hack, hack, slash, so whats the point, how is that any different than pressing a button. Sure you aim at the screen to throw you're boomerang but it didn't feel any better than using a normal joypad.

I would have thought first party games would have made good use of the Wii-Remote but if this is the best use of it that Nintendo can come up with than how bad are the 3rd party games gonna be?

I'm gonna wait for a bit and see if they come up with anything revolutionary before I get a Wii, it seems all I'd be doing with it at the moment is playing my GameCube games on it anyway.

[alienanthropologist]

I felt the way TP used the Wiimote was acceptable.

I share Mcvader's misgivings about the sword slashing, which to me felt somewhat inaccurate and a bit clumsy. However, using the pointing capabilities of the Wiimote to shoot arrows and throw the boomerang was certainly far better than using the joypad. The agility and freedom of movement it provided is unprecedented.

I suppose what has to be taken into cosideration here is that TP is a camecube game adapted at the last minute for the Wii. Thus the Wiimote control comands are basically an interpolation of the analogue gamecube controls.

That's why I've got high hopes for the new Zelda developed especially for the Wii. It's going to make full use of the wiimote's functionalities.

[watoto]

I agree that you have to consider that TP was a GC game originally. I think the problem is that's it was a game developed in-between worlds.

Remember,they were trying to please the audience because when the project was started,nintendo weren't doing so well,unlike now. They needed a hit so they made a spiritual sequel to OOT with some new things,THEN added wii functionality .5 years is a lot of time.

The same applies technology wise. I noticed several time in the game that no matter how nice the visuals were or the lighting,the textures were's no hot most of the time,but then agian it was meant to originally fit on a tiny gamecube disc,so less space.

Also,they could have easily had one big map with no load times, but not on gamecube. So I think it will be interesting to see the new Zelda being developed with Wii technology and functionality in mind form the start. It'll look better and the controls will be even more refined.

I'll happily play now that they got the whole "OOT spiritual sequel for american fans" obligation out of the way. Plus I still have to kick Zant's ass one more time if only to see him/it squeal and jump like an idiot..