This character design may just make up for the rest.  I freaking love this guy.  Also the new frontier system they have detailed has really got me hyped, looks too good to be true!

Good lord when will this game stop looking so freaking good! The new environment screenshots released to day made me nearly die! It is so beautiful, there could be no missions or plot in this game and I would be content with just browsing the environments!!

That music from the latest video though <3

Crossing from the green continent to the white continent looks fun. Although the white continent looks pretty ugly in the preview vids.

I agree, the rest of the game looks gorgeous but that continent looks downright ugly and uninspired.  Its just lots of white bland textures with a couple weird looking trees. Although, the large super hollow mountain thing looks promising!  But other than that, it looks to be the only flaw this game has.

At least we get the tropical lush forestland to counterbalance it... That place looks insane and I cannot wait to delve into its enormity.

Wow, you learn something new every day! But believe me, I know what snow is. I live in a small town on Lake Erie near Erie PA, and believe me, I get 140-150 inches of snow yearly. That's more than 10 feet.  And snow worlds in video games always feel boring and uninspired to me.  That was my only beef with Skyrim was that it was pretty much... snow.  Snow by its very nature is boring.  But fine, they want to have snow, cool (see what I did there), but make it something different than a enormous field with a few cobweb trees.... I guess I just have a personal vendetta against snow because I deal with ten feet of it that I have to stare at for 7 months of the year. I hate snow. but I will get passed my deep antagonistic attitude about it and have fun with this game so CHEERS

I've actually recently got my hands on the original xenoblade, and I've already logged nearly 50 hours in and i do not see an end in sight.  I cannot wait for this game.  If it is anything like its predecessor I will be a very happy man! I do not care as much about world size as world life, and looking at the trailers i think this world has plenty of that!  Hopefully Aonuma  is taking notes and asking questions.  I'm also quite excited for the online implementation, and to take on some of those late game beasts shown off! 

I wonder if there is any more continents or regions.. 

Who's up for some online quests? 

Count me in!  This news made me smile soooooo big!

Alright Next time it turn mine on I will add you.  I am so amped fo this game, the world looks so varied and crisp.

Having a BLAST!! get it?!

Truly, I don't know what to expect from Nintendo, but I honestly think they might delve into virtual reality, it has always seemed like something Nintendo would do.  I also think that they will release a system that will cater to Nintendo fans more, due to the hardcore nintendo fans being the only ones who have seemed to buy wii u's, as opposed to the targeted "casual" gamers.  I'm not hoping for something that competes with PC's, but rather something that lets me experience my favorite nintendo games in a new way, something Nintendo has always done well with.

I still can't figure out for the life of me Why Microsoft and sony went with x86..

This was the worst E3 show/direct form anyone I have ever seen.. I just wasted 45 minutes of my life..

I really do not know what to think of this.. I'm happy they are planning things but I am also a little bit worried they are announcing it this soon.  If it is a third pillar, I have no idea other than maybe a phone or a tv streaming box thing... But still, I am only worried.

Maybe not that big, but at least something larger than anything we have seen in Zelda beforehand, which I am almost certain we will get.  But, whether we get the other towns and hamlets is far less likely unfortunately. It would still be nice to see some though!

Zelda Wii U Map Analysis

The purpose of this thread is not only to discuss my analysis, but to put your input in as well.  I will periodically edit this thread with new information and new speculations as more footage is shown, and as more people comment about their own ideas.  I am also hard at work with making a high quality map of the land, but with what little time i have and little experience, it is a greater chance that Nintendo will beat me to the punch.  

 
Ok, First off, I would like to point out the massiveness of the map and the infinite possibilities that are within it.  I am looking forward to this game more than any other game in the history of games!

Compared to the First

A few things come directly to mind when comparing the map of the new game with that of the original.  The most noteable similarity is the location of a sea of some sort to the far east of the map, with the inclusion of water undercutting the southeast portion of the land. Also, rivers tend to cut through the center portion of the land, and large lakes are common and in very similar placement. Also, Circled in purple on the included map in the northeast of the Wii U game, there seems to be a small vortex or swirl of land that is definitely a point of interest, and it has a remarkable resemblance to the three rooms on the northeast corner of the original map.  While the actual content of this peculiar area are currently unknown, it is surely a point of significance and I will bet it is the location of a dungeon, if not several.

These games don't just share similar eastern portions of their maps, but also share the similar completely open world design, and references to the original Zelda have been made by Aunuma several times during development, so I am sure that these similarities are far more than just coincidence. 

Compared to A Link to the Past

While i think that the original map has a myriad of similarities, the third entry to the Franchise, ALttP, also has a single large similarity that is exciting to me and worth a mention.  Circled in white in the center of the Wii U map bearing a large C, is a large section of land almost completely enclosed by rivers, very similar to the castle of ALttP. I am willing to bet that in the large center of the new map will be a fairly decently large castle town, one that fits the gargantuan size of this game.  I also think, and this is just a complete shot in the dark, that their will be a fairly large dungeon underneath the town.  I have no idea why I have this feeling, but you heard it here first!     

Now, in respect to the other circles on the new map:

Other Peculiarities

1. The red circle in the NorthEast corner of the map that surrounds the lake.  This lake that is within the circle clearly resembles a skull.  It is also in the middle of a mountainous area that is filled with what seems like lava rivers!  An out of place, skull shaped body of water within a volcanic region....   hmmmmmm... It doesn't take a genius to realize that this is suspicious.  It also points towards a possibly dark plot, even despite the vibrant color scheme previously shown.  Possibly the palette may change depending on the location.  These statements are purely speculative, but I am willing to bet that this skull lake plays a key role in the plot somehow, but the how in somehow may not be known until we have the game.

2. The pink circle surrounding the triangle of lava with large dots on each corner. The triangle has always been a important symbol in the Zelda games since their inception, as it is always associated with the Triforce.  So the inclusion of the red rivers (most likely lava) creating a near perfect triangle naturally arouses suspicion.  This is also located in the Death Mountain area of almost every Zelda game, a placement that almost NEVER changes, despite almost every other recurring area being placed in new locations almost every game. What this means to me is that this is almost definitely the location of a major dungeon, one that has some significant relationship with the triforce. We may not know exactly what is here, but we do know that it is something (purposely extremely ambiguous there)

4. In the maroon circle to the NorthWest is a peculiar lake? Or possibly Crater. This area seems to me to be a desert region, but honestly it could also be a frozen area as well.  But I am leaning towards it being a desert, and what looks like a lake It Think is really a deep crater.  It does have a blue hue, but its far darker and less pronounced in tone then the rest of the water on the map, and it is nearly a perfect circle.  It think this area could be a possible abandoned mining facility found deep within the gerudo desert, and It is definitely a possible dungeon.  This is by far the most baffling feature of the map, and the one that I am most looking forward too.  

5. Circled in green in the west is what we all expect to be death mountain.  No real speculation is needed here, I think this is clearly the bellowing mountain that was in the background of the original footage.  However, the only interesting note is that this directly contradicts with number two.. Ninty has never included two volcanic regions in a zelda game, and being on nearly opposite sides of the map, this mountain hole is quite baffling to me.. It's either this isn't truly a volcano and is something much different and new, or those red rivers are something completely different, and I guess only time will tell which speculation is correct.

6. Finally! My favorite part of the new map is the island circled to the extreme southeast of the map. This island bears a crescent, which is the symbol of the gerudu people and the shape of the moon, and its location in an extreme of the map further adds to its peculiarity.  I am extremely interested to see what this could be.  But what is even more interesting is the shape of the mainland that seems to be reaching out its pinchers for the island.  But what after further examination I found the entire layout to be similar to the longtime series symbol, 

No, it is not perfect, but there is no doubting that it does bear a striking resemblance, one that is too great to be ignored.  The possibility that it is just a coincidence is great, but also the possibility of the symbolism is also quite significant.  There is a possibility that the triforce is hidden away on this island, waiting for the hero to swim on over and get it.

What do you think?

Edit 2-15-15: Map Icons and Extras

As you can see in the image above, it appears that map icon's will be making a appearance in the New Zelda.  This is something that I had originally overlooked, but after extensively browsing the web for worthy information for this thread, I decided this is worthy of the first Update.  First off, these icons are very strange in nature, they look nothing like things we have seen in other games.  I think the creator of this image is right, while at first look the town one looks very strange, you can actually make out a small house with a doorway, a window, and even smoke emitting from the roof!  However, I believe that this is actually a small settlement, possibly akin to the one seen in the original E3 trailer! Now to the camp icon, I think the camp icon is something really interesting, because the actual image of it is very strange.. For one, it kind of looks like spilled milk, not a camp, and it also should be in the view of link during the scene where he looks out over Hyrule, but it isn't! Also, due to lack of other Icon's, they more than likely only appear when you discover them ,and this is most likely a scene from very early in the game. Whether these speculations are true or not, it is clear that these icons mean that this world will be huge, and alive!

As posted below, I wanted to include this image in the OP for a myriad of reasons, it backs up my earlier claim that this game is modeled after the original Zelda, and that his Hyrule is going to be massive!

Now exactly how large? Despite Aunuma's statement that it will be the size of Kyoto (300+ Sq Km).  I think a far more realistic number would be 40-55 sq Km (25-35 Sq. Miles), and this is backed up by multiple people who have taken the time to do different calculations, based on tree size, horse speed, and shadow distance and many other odd ways, and this is the lower median of those calculations.  However, extreme high calculations have been made (especially with the horse speed calculation) that could place the map at the size of Kyoto, but lets hope it is not that big because that would be overwhelming, the love would die after a certain point. I think the 40-55 Km range is just right, and would allow hundred's of hours of exploration!!!

I would also like to include this GIF for those who don't want to scroll down to see it.. Hmmmmm.  It is amazing how similar these two maps are, it will be incredibly exciting to see what other secrets this vast new Hyrule holds.

That's all for this update, as soon as any new worthy info is released that pertains to the map (or the game) be sure that it will be in this OP as soon as I catch wind of it.

Here is a nice new video to watch for anyone yearning for more speculation!!

Yeah it will be incredibly interesting to see if they implement large towns/hamlets in the game.   I'm hoping for a very large castle town and then a few hylian villages, a few human villages, and then a large town for each of the other races such as the gerudo, zora, and goron.  Also, I can't wait to see what the lost woods looks like in this game!

This is either on the Xenoblade Engine or a brand new one, because I don't think that Nintendo has another engine that is made for large open worlds. Wind Waker is the closest thing to one that they have, but I'm pretty sure that it's not that because of the sheer size of Zelda U. Correct me if I'm wrong, but Xenoblade Chronicles is the largest game Nintendo has ever made (soon to be topped by X), and that engine is apparently unbreakable, so it's probably on that.

World design wise, it's definitely like Zelda 1 simply due to the sheer size and freedom you appear to have. That's why I think Zelda 1 is the best Zelda game (even though Wind Waker is my favorite). They give you so much freedom to do whatever you want. Want to do a sword less run? You can do that all the way until the final boss. Want to do the second dungeon last? Go for it. Before you enter the first dungeon, you can get a sword upgrade, shield upgrade, a tunic upgrade from the blue ring, the blue candle, bombs, and 3 extra unit's of health. Most games give you the default sword and shield and maybe a tool.

What I'm trying to say before I went off fanboying is that the world in the original allowed for freedom by hardly sectioning off anything to you. The only things that were mandatory was that you beat all 8 dungeons before entering Death Mountain, and that you eventually need to get a sword and a few items which could be done whenever you want. From what they've told us, what we can see, and what A Link Between Worlds has done with dungeons, we look to be getting that world again, and I'm super excited.

Honestly I see myself exploring and doing whatever i may do before I even enter the first dungeon.. I may try to do them in reverse order if that is possible!

I really am excited to see some screens or footage of a dungeon in Zelda U. Having the very expansive open world, I wonder if the dungeons are going to be treated in a sandbox style design. Since the dungeon is usually an enclosed space, I'd expect very detailed and intricate design for them. Perhaps something similar to the tech demo of Zelda on the Wii U, but of course with the same artstyle as currently shown for Zelda U.

Personally, I am expecting to see 7 or 8 main dungeons that are incredibly detailed and grand in scope, with probably 15-20  side dungeons that are optional but beneficial that are not close in scope to the main dungeons, but with having a uniqueness to them.  I think it is going to be similar to how WW had several very small dungeonesque places to explore, but I think these in Zelda U will be larger and tied to side quests, and will most likely give Heart pieces as rewards.

One thing to note also is that the engine is most likely a further modified version of the WWHD engine, which was stated to basically be a test of HD and U power before delving into the main game, it was actually Stage 1 of this game's development.  WW was the only game Ninty has ever made that is close to ZU in scope, and I think a lot of what they did with that game can be seen in ZU (Zelda U).  The faster travel on the boat could easily be a test to see if Epona could be used to travel fast while still keeping the needed level of fidelity, and making sure that loading of far landscape was possible. Also, the great cel-shading lighting style is extremely similar with the games. Maybe we can take from this the level of detail in dungeons, which WWHD did put a lot of effort into, more so than the rest of the World.  It will be very interesting to see if maybe a boating mechanic is thrown into the game, as it did seem as though in the first trailer that a ship's mast was seen to the right of the opening shot.  Also, the inclusion of of many shallow waters and islands in the game seems to implicate that there will be a way to get to them, and knowing the size of the world swimming seems a little absurd.  I think it is a great possibility that a sailing method that was already well established in the test run known as WWHD was implemented in this game as well.

Does it blow anyone else's mind that this is actually happening? We are seeing an almost 30 year old game redone on WiiU. You know, bringing gaming back from the brink? Like 30 years ago? The concept alone is amazing, but this isn't even a concept. 0_0

I know, it is literally a dream come true.  I can't even remember the last time I was so hyped for a game.  It's the combination of the massive world, the back to the roots philosophy, and the vibrant and beautiful art style that will still be beautiful ten years from now just like the original WW.  This is almost everything I want in a Zelda game.  Now I am just praying Nintendo doesn't do something massively stupid, but I really don't think they will.  I am insanely excited for this. 

http://www.scooptend...u-map-analysis/

When we were first shown the map for Zelda Wii U, Aonuma had it fully zoomed in on the GamePad screen. Although the larger map reveals a lot more, this close-up show does hold a few secrets of it’s own.

The map shows two small white icons either side of Link’s position. Taking a closer look at these icons shows that they are in fact building/camp markers. The beacon marker (a red cross) appears further to the right, so these icons are definitely independent.

To the east, the icon depicts two buildings stood side-by-side, one larger than the other. I’d assume that this icon is used to indicate either a large village or town.

The icon on the west shows a white tent with the number 1 displayed by it’s side. This could either represent a small settlement or possibly Link’s campsite. In regards to the number, it may be an indicator for the number of inhabitants, or simply be a way of managing your different camp locations across the map.

 

I think this is a very interesting analysis by scooptendo. Originally I didn't look at other analysis Because I wanted mine to be original, but I'm now finding some very interesting things elsewhere.

Yes that GIF Appears at almost every analysis on the Internet.  I think this further proves my original point that the world seems to take heavy influence from the first few games of the series.  I cannot wait to get more footage so I can speculate more and more and more!  Also, after watching a few videos I learned that the end of the game award trailer was likely below lake Hylia, due to the bridge and the direction of Death Mt.  Truly cannot wait for this game and how it is doing everything I have ever hoped for in a Zelda

Just updated the OP with map size calculations and info on Icons!

New update to op with Cool speculation video

This picture summed it up pretty well for me after the info from the game awards.


 

 

Great write up and analysis Banjo. Nintendo did say (Aonuma specifically) about wanting to go back to the roots of Zelda... the original . The world design looks very much like it was inspired if not directly implemented in Zelda U.

Yes I agree, that picture is I think proof of the world being directly influenced by the old Zelda. Hopefully the game is every bit as expansive compared to its day as the original.

We had some discussion on the forums a bit ago regarding the engine for Zelda U. 3dude probably could chime in but I think some were in agreement that at the very least, the Zelda dev team probably were getting some suggestions or help from the team at Monolith Soft for X.

 

There are some engine similarities it appears in the scope of the open world, draw distance etc. We were even thinking it may well be the same engine. Hopefully he sees this thread and comments on that aspect. 

 

I believe when Nintendo was toying with Wind Waker, they were more playing with art style rather then engines. Wind Waker was ambitious to create an "open world" but it was more sectioned off in that regard.

Hmm. I could sorta see that.. But at the same time I can't.  I guess the styles are so different it's hard to see them coming from the same engine.  However, the flora do look incredibly similar.. It is possible however that the Zelda U engine incorporates elements from both the WWHD engine and X's engine.  But yeah I guess you are right that it was more art style, but I still wonder how Link will be able to access those islands, because swimming seems unreasonable.  Let's hope 3Dude comes by and can elaborate haha

That is true. You don't even have to finish the dungeon; you could just get the magic key to not worry about locked doors. It's fitting how the magic key is in the second to last dungeon in the game, but it is most useful if you break the dungeon order, which encourages exploring and experimenting. Players that go directly through the game in order have to worry about having enough keys (not usually an issue because keys aren't limited by dungeon as they are now), but if you decided to look around and try the 8th dungeon first you were rewarded with something incredibly useful. While the dungeons have a listed order, there was nothing restricting the player from going in whatever order they chose, and that's what I miss about Zelda. A Link Between Worlds was great about going through dungeons in any order, but all the major items required for dungeons were in Ravio's shop, so you didn't discover them (I haven't finished it, so if there's something that I'm missing I apologize). In the first game, you found items in dungeons, so you had that sense of discovery. It also happened to avoid the trope of using the item you get in a dungeon up until you go to the next one and get a new item by making the item you get not necessary in that dungeon. The boomerang was useful in the first dungeon, but it wasn't required for the boss. The first game got it right, but then later games somehow follow that trope (which I believe was set by Ocarina of Time. I'm not to sure; I haven't finished Link's Awakening or A Link to the Past). That's why I'm glad that Zelda U is looking towards the original for inspiration.

 

I kind of rambled on a bit, but I don't think I really got to talk about why I think Zelda 1 is the best one in detail. I'm just super excited for this game in the same way you're excited for Xenoblade (and this game, as we seem to have similar reasons for excitement).

This is exactly what I am so excited about. The return to discovery and rewarding being bold.  I think that the reason Nintendo is being so blatant about taking this game and modeling it after the first is that I think they are even missing the sense of discovery, especially Miyamoto. He created the game to model his experience as a child around Kyoto, and I also really don't think it is coincidence that he has been quoted saying that the game size is that of the region of Kyoto, I think that it is very possible that this is a way for the legend to finally realize that sense of Childhood wonder in a game, and share it with the world.  I know Aunuma is the developer behind this, but it seems as though Miyamoto is heavily involved with its creation as well, even more so than previous entries.  I am so insanely excited to explore this entire map, because I know that just like the original there will be secrets and adventures literally hidden around every corner.