The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess 2 for Wii might have both casual and hardcore play modes

The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess 2 screenshot? Almost but not quite

Some very interesting new details have emerged from The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess 2 or whatever Nintendo intends to call the next new Zelda 2 Wii game.

The details were revealed in some patents filed by Nintendo with Shigeru Miyamoto credited as the inventor. The patents are extremely detailed and come with some crude images that even feature a figure that looks like Link (complete with shield and sword on his back) which would seem to indicate that this is specifically for a Zelda title.

The new details aim to make the game more accessible to casual gamers without taking away any of the challenge inherit in all Zelda games for core gamers, or rather, for those who want it. To break it down into easy to digest chunks, here is the gist of what was said in the patents. To quote grandjedi6 of NeoGAF:

There seem to be 3 main modes in this new Zelda game. They are:

Game — Play through the game normally. A Hint system is available but not forced. So hardcore gamers can play through the game regularly and enjoy the challenge while more casual gamers can get hints if they get really stuck

Digest — The game goes through important scenes (both movie and gameplay) in order. Essentially the game plays itself in this mode if you will. But you have the option of stopping the digest at any time and playing from that exact point. Plus when you choose to take control you are given the appropriate equipment and stats for that part of the game. No saving though, but it seems to be unneeded.

Scenes — You essentially play through any puzzle or scene again. Like digest you are given the appropriate equipment and such.

All of it sounds very exciting and very interesting. To me it looks like Nintendo is taking a kind of idea whose first implementation I ever saw was in Alone in the Dark (the idea of being able to skip chapters like on a DVD, so that if you get stuck you can still finish the game) and putting that spit and polish on it that only Nintendo can, while taking it to the next level so that even the most casual of gamers can enjoy the entire Zelda adventure.

Additionally, players might be able to record gameplay bits of them playing or solving a certain puzzle/section of the game and then upload it Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection for others Wii owners to observe. What makes this most exciting is it sounds like Nintendo will have to make the game even more non-linear than usual by allowing puzzles to be solved in multiple ways so that people can post their best plays or ways to solve the puzzle.

Hopefully we will learn more about this soon. Because I am officially hyped. But remember that this is all just rumor for now, so tack it with a grain of salt. Because even though Nintendo did file these patents, that doesn’t mean that they will use them or use them in the way people think. This IS Nintendo after all.

E3 2009 update: At a roundtable conference with Nintendo game producer Shigeru Miyamoto, he said that he hopes to announce the second Wii Zelda game at E3 2010. To prove the game’s heavily in development he showed press Twilight Princess-esque concept art for the game that displayed an oldish Link in his late teens/early adulthood, and a woman with alien-like eyes and a pointy head in a blue dress with cape who presumably was a version of Zelda. Link was looking over his shoulder with his shield in hand, and Zelda was face forward with her eyes closed, with both of them standing in front of a broken wall opening, as you’d expect after a Bomb was thrown by Link.

If Wii MotionPlus, the Wii Remote add-on for more precise positioning and in-game reaction-times takes off, then Mr. Miyamoto hopes the add-on will become mandatory in the game for swordplay and archery. Sounds like a Fall 2010 release is likely, although Miyamoto mentioned “We hope to bring it to you next year but it may take a little longer.”