BanjoKazooie

Why do I find these so interesting!  I love easter eggs, sometimes I find them myself in games and geek out

Yes the WWHD was very much a way for the team to familiarize themselves with working with the system, and I think that the fast sailing might have been a test to see how much the new hardware was capable of loading at certain speeds, because the boat speed is very similar to Epona's speed.  Also, The visuals for both the games are similar, while Zelda U is obviously far superior, and is almost a mix of SS, TP, and WW.  I think for Zelda U, the team is made of a lot of young folks, and experienced veterans.  Also, I think Aunuma loves to make extremely different games but is stuck with the Zelda franchise, so he personally loves to drastically change things up and experiment.  He was once tasked with making Ura Zelda, and when he hated just rehashing the OoT, he challenged Miyamoto and ended up making IMO the best Zelda game in the franchise's 3D history, Majora's Mask.  I also think it is clear he listens to fans and uses their input, to a degree.  He saw how upset a large portion was about the WW's childish graphics, so he gave us the gritty TP.  I know i have digressed a little, but what I am trying to get at is that This game is exactly what the fanbase wants right now, and I think he is going to deliver like he did with MM, WW, and TP.  This game is gonna blow my freaking mind!

The concept art does look intriguing.. I really hope Nintendo catches wind of this and helps publish, because then all my silly dreams of Rare coming back to Nintendo with the original staff would finally be sorta true!!

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

I do think kyoto is a stretch for the size, but it also does make sense, because the original Zelda was supposed to capture the feeling Myamoto had of exploring the woods and landscape of the region in his childhood, and the full scale of it couldn't be used then because of severe limitations of hardware and knowledge of development at the time.  With all the back to the roots talk of this game it would make sense that this is finally the game that realizes that exploration feel that was intended for the original, but couldn't be realistically done until now.  So I do believe that if it is not the size of Kyoto, it will at least be larger than almost any other game we have seen.

This does come as music to my ears, however I have to control myself, because more often than not these spiritual indie games burn out quickly, or in the rare cases (see what I did there) that they are finished, they often get panned.  I have been following this project however for a little over a year, I think the group's  twitter was originally MingyJongo, managed by the environment director, Steven Hurst, who I had the pleasure of exchanging tweets with shortly before the account went dead.  After the account died, with over 20,000 followers, I assumed the game they were planning died as well.  If this is indeed the same group of people who are making this game, then I do have some faith it will be done, and considering Grant Kirkhope was originally supporting the Mingy Jongo revival project, I have hope that he will compose music for this game as well.  As for the characters, I think the top one is some sort of tropical bird, and the bottom one is either a bipedal Alligator, or a dinosaur of some sort.  I will definitely have to follow this project closely to see whether it lives up to its hype, and if the developers are serious about taking fan consideration, than I may fire them a few emails.

Though I love Zelda, I don't trust anyone to make a movie or tv show out of it.. I don't think the world or characters are fit for that.

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?!

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!!