RandomNPC – Video Game RPG Reviews, Editorials, and Features

The Legend of Zelda franchise is one of the oldest action RPG series out there, and it is unique in that it has consistently offered a similar experience, whether it is played on a console or a handheld.  Zelda is and always will be all about exploring dungeons, finding hidden items, and then using them to solve the puzzles within.  It is this core experience that brings players back again and again, some in spite of the similarities from game to game and some because of them. When the franchise made the move to the DS, many questioned whether it could work with its all-stylus control scheme.  Phantom Hourglass silenced many a naysayer, but sadly, Spirit Tracks does not have the same punch that its predecessor had. Continue reading ‘The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks – Staff Review’ »

Feel good! Continue reading ‘Mass Media 12/03/09’ »

Hexys Force just got infinitely more disturbing. Continue reading ‘Mass Media 11/05/09’ »

Nintendo has confirmed that The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks will be released on December 7, 2009, just in time for the holiday season.

For those that braved the line, Nintendo showed off three demos of the upcoming The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks. They were a dungeon scenario, a train, demo, and a boss fight. And if you happened to still be on the show floor at the end of the day on Thursday, you could knock out all three in one fell swoop. Luckily, I planned on taking the red eye out of town, so I can tell you about all of them. Continue reading ‘Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks Impression 2’ »

E3 may be over, but there’s lots of media for you to feast your eyes on today including the first piece of concept art for the upcoming (and still unnamed) Zelda game for the Wii. You’ll also find Spectrobes Origins, Golden Sun DS, Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of the Sky, Muramasa,  Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days, and Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers. Continue reading ‘Mass Media 06/05/09’ »

I did not get to spend much time with The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks, but I did get enough playtime to form an impression. Nintendo’s demo was set to time out after three minutes, and as always the booth staff closely monitored people so that the line could move quickly.

Continue reading ‘Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks Impression 1’ »

Upcoming Nintendo DS title, The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks, received a North American release date today, being promised for release in the 2009 holiday season. Nintendo also spilled a bit of gameplay details, talking a bit about the things Link would have to deal with while chuggin’ down the tracks.  Continue reading ‘Spirit Tracks on Track for NA Release’ »

The year is 1987. The Nintendo Entertainment System is quickly becoming a household name. Most players have hopped and warped their way through Super Mario Bros., killed entire flocks of ducks in Duck Hunt, and probably taken more than a few potshots at that infernal dog that had a good laugh at you whenever you missed — man’s best friend indeed! Most NES-playing children were, by this point, pestering parents for new challenges. And for those who’d cut their teeth on the side-scrolling Super Mario, nothing could be more different than The Legend of Zelda. Continue reading ‘Game Changers: Volume 9 – The Legend of Zelda’ »

The Virtual Console is still going strong with its 300th offering today. The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask, the peculiar Groundhog Day-like adventure from the Nintendo 64 era, is now available for 1000 Wii Points. It’s rated E for Everyone.

Nintendo announced that GBA games will join the Virtual Console and be available for download on the DSi Ware service. The first games will include Mother 3 and The Legend of Zelda: the Minish Cap. The games are slated for release in summer for Japan with a North American release currently scheduled for Q3. The price point for GBA games will be 1200 Wii/DSi Points.

The 2009 Game Developers Conference is well underway in San Francisco this week and with it there’s news and media galore. Today at Nintendo’s keynote address, Satoru Iwata announced The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks for the Nintendo DS. The game’s trailer reveals that the game is graphically similar to The Phantom Hourglass and shows Link riding a train — a train with cannons no less. Spirit Tracks is set to be released later this year.

Source: IGN

After the many adventures that took place during The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, Link is finally getting a chance to relax a little bit. Of course, this peace does not last long, and Zelda quickly finds trouble again. It’s up to Link to investigate the mysteries of the ghost ship and the ocean king in order to set things right. The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass is indeed a direct sequel to Wind Waker, though aside from one major spoiler, the story doesn’t carry over all that strongly, allowing newcomers to pick it up just fine. That said, there are some similarities in mechanics and world, many of which have been improved upon since the original, though this isn’t always the case. Continue reading ‘Blurring the Line: The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass’ »

The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker is a game of gale-force winds and wide open oceans. It strays from the conventional setting of the Zelda series, but it retains the tradition of engaging puzzles and exploration that make the series enjoyable. This focus on convention isn’t all positive, however, as Wind Waker has a number of problems which are fairly commonplace to the series. It inherits inexact control and a distinct lack of originality from its brethren, as well as a few issues that are unique to this entry. The biggest of this latter category, and possibly the game’s biggest issue overall, is the boredom of sailing long distances over seemingly endless stretches of water in order to move from island to island. In the end, Wind Waker is a game that will probably appeal most to people who can get past the idea that Wind Waker isn’t a ground breaking or revolutionary entry in the series. Continue reading ‘Blurring the Line: The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker’ »