An inflatable Yoshi and a drill bit - will Galaxy 2 have more puzzle-orientated stages?

Wired.com’s excellent Game | Life blog features a fascinating interview as Chris Kohler talks to Shigeru Miyamoto about Nintendo’s forthcoming software and its rivals’ ventures into motion-control territory.

Apparently, Mario Galaxy 2 came about because the development team had so many unused ideas left over that a straight sequel simply made sense - Miyamoto points to Mario’s new drill item as something which could potentially have a dramatic impact upon gameplay, while it seems Yoshi will also play a major part in differentiating the sequel from its wonderful predecessor.

He also suggests that Galaxy 2 will not feature as significant a story as the original, stating that plot is less important a consideration for a game as action-orientated as Mario games traditionally are, and more key for the Zelda series. Talking of which, he reveals that the Zelda announcement wasn’t made on stage at E3 for two reasons - one, he’s not keen on the industry’s habit of talking about games long before their release; and two, “we thought it was just more valuable to continue have the team focus their energies on creating what will be a very entertaining gameplay system, rather than have them waste their energies creating a trailer to announce a game at E3 very far in advance.”

While elsewhere it has been suggested that Miyamoto was privately impressed with what he saw of Project Natal, he hints to Kohler that he feels the controller-free approach isn’t necessarily the right way forward, talking of how important feedback from the remote - from the speaker and the rumble - is to enhancing immersion. He also talks of the “precision” of Wii MotionPlus - and accuracy is no doubt going to be one of Nintendo’s watchwords as Natal’s release approaches. “Looking at what the other companies have shown here at E3, it feels like they have finally obtained the very basic technology for doing motion control, but perhaps they still have to learn how to use that and take advantage of it in an interactive experience,” Miyamoto adds.

He also discusses New Super Mario Bros. Wii and the troubles facing the Japanese games industry. But I’ve pilfered enough highlights from Kohler’s excellent Q+A for now - to read more (and you really should), click here.

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Kotaku has posted an excerpt of Nintendo’s financial results for fiscal year 2009, pointing out a note from Nintendo to its investors that the forthcoming Zelda: Spirit Tracks “will appeal to a wider age group of people”.

Naturally, this has led to speculation that it may be even more casual-friendly than Phantom Hourglass, though this may just be Nintendo trying to explain to its investors why it’s still making core-focused titles alongside its multi-million-selling Wii- branded range. That said, the results for Wii Music were considered disappointing, the instrument sim shifting a ‘mere’ two-and-a-half million unit.

It may, of course, be a reference to that patented hint system which was revealed not so long ago - will Spirit Tracks guide less experienced players through its dungeons should they find themselves getting stuck? The patent originally seemed to be for a Wii game, but it’s quite possible.

Expect to see more of Spirit Tracks at E3 this June.

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Short answer: quite probably.

Clever internetters with too much time on their hands have uncovered a patent filed by Nintendo, which suggests the next Zelda game will feature an elaborate hint system involving players being able to view videos uploaded by other gamers, offering solutions to puzzles they’re stuck on.

Equally interesting is a new DVD-style chapter system, which will apparently allow players to replay certain sections of the game, and also offer the possibility for players to skip a section they’re stuck on, but only after a certain amount of time has passed. Thus, in theory, encouraging less able gamers to complete the game, while still giving them a chance to figure out the solution for themselves.

One of the pictures accompanying the patent strongly suggests that the game will be played in the third-person, and not - as some (ahem) have suggested - a radical change to a first-person perspective.

Strong rumours were afoot that the next Zelda would offer something very different to previous titles, and for this intriguing new structure to work, it looks like it could be a little more linear than before. It also suggests that the game’s puzzles will remain as brain-ticklingly tricky as ever, but that those without the time or the smarts to figure out the more taxing riddles will be more likely to finish the damn thing.

Potentially, this could be an intelligent, elegant solution to what Miyamoto perceived as a problem with Twilight Princess - he was disappointed in that game’s sales, and hinted that its epic length and difficult puzzles may have been off-putting for Wii’s expanded audience. With the option to turn hints and skips off for hardcore players, the next Zelda looks like the best of both worlds - a game which offers plenty to both casual and hardcore players.

So will we be seeing a new Zelda at E3 2009?  The hype meter just got turned up another notch.

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