Issue 205 of Nintendo Power — which started rolling off the presses as E3 kicked off — arrived over the weekend, and its cover story is all about the upcoming The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass for Nintendo DS.
Zelda series producer Eiji Aonuma is on hand to speak a bit about the game's background, and about why the game eschews the DS's control pad and buttons entirely for gameplay. "My main objective was to develop a Zelda game controlled only by the stylus," Aonuma explains of the title's genesis. "The sense of wonder and surprise will satisfy existing Zelda fans, but I would really like people who've never played Zelda before to experience this game too."
Those who at one time wondered who was actually working on this game (as Twilight Princess is also in development and headed for release alongside Wii this year) need wonder no more. Aonuma reveals that the Four Swords Adventures team is hard at work on Hourglass. The team was originally working on a previously-announced installment in the Four Swords series for the DS, but having discovered how well the Wind Waker-esque visuals worked on the DS, they were inspired to make a single-player adventure instead. Aonuma hopes the control scheme seen in Hourglass will set the standard that other DS Zelda titles — "including any new Four Swords titles", according to Nintendo Power — will follow.
In addition to details we've already heard about the game since its unveiling in trailer form at this year's Game Developer's Conference, Nintendo Power offers a few more tidbits. The game will feature one primary dungeon that Link must challenge in order to beat the game, but said dungeon will "become impassible at certain points". Subsidiary dungeons scattered throughout the game world must be conquered in order for Link to be able to proceed in the main dungeon.
The dungeons contain invincible and deadly enemies Aonuma affectionately calls "chasers". When they see Link, they'll pursue him relentlessly. They're invulnerable to Link's attacks, and can down him in a single hit, so these guys aren't someone you want to try to hack your way through. Thankfully, they appear on the top screen map, so Link can plot routes around them. The dungeons feature sanctuary zones where Link can hide from the chasers as well as special jars that, when thrown, create smaller sanctuaries Link can use anywhere.
Phantom Hourglass is currently slated to hit stores in Q4 of this year, alongside Nintendo's critical mass of other holiday titles, including the Wii/GameCube Princess (which, Nintendo Power confirms, will not interconnect with Hourglass in any way). If your appetite has been whetted, be sure to check out Cory Faller's ridiculously in-depth E3 preview of Hourglass, wherein he covers the entire demo from start to finish as well as the two-player wireless mode that was also available at E3.