Aonuma, director of the Zelda games since Majora' s Mask on the Nintendo 64, has revealed to Game Informer that his upcoming Nintendo DS title The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass will feature online versus play for two players.

The multiplayer will see one player moving Link around a maze while the other controls three Darknuts trying to stop him. There' ll also be a bunch of power-ups at each player' s disposal. Link will be able to acquire Pegasus boots to make him move faster and a shield to protect against attack. The Darknuts will also be able to use the Pegasus boots for extra speed, launch tornadoes and gain increased attacking power.

It sounds like good fun and the good news is that development is almost complete, with the game having entered the " fine-tuning" phase. It could be a while before the game is released in Europe though, with its debuts in Japan and North America both scheduled before the European launch.

GI: Will there be multiple multiplayer modes for Phantom Hourglass? Like mini-games?

Aonuma: In the single-player game, the actual amount of data there is quite large. If we were to add too many multiplayer games, it would start to effect how much gameplay there is in the single player. So even within the single player, we’re having to limit the number of maps we use to the most interesting. That’s not to reduce variation but we want the players to experience each map to its fullest. So it’s actually enhancing gameplay as opposed to limiting it.

GI: Is there only one multiplayer mode?

Aonuma: Yes, but there’s also going to be a tag mode. So there will be variation.

GI: Right now its one-on-one. Will there be more than one-on-one play?

Aonuma: No. I would like everyone to battle one-on-one.

GI: Will you be able to battle over the Nintendo Wi-Fi connection?

Aonuma: Yes.

The DS being about as powerful as a N64, Phantom Hourglass looks really bad, articsticly boring, the 2d in Minish Cap has much more style!

Zelda is not supposed to be online.

Aonuma, director of the Zelda games since Majora' s Mask on the Nintendo 64,

Hey, maybe he' s the reason zelda games have sucked since leaving the 64

The DS being about as powerful as a N64, Phantom Hourglass looks really bad, articsticly boring, the 2d in Minish Cap has much more style!

I know, i cant stand the fact that they keep making zelda games cell shaded like windwaker. I would rather play the 10 year old Ocarina of time than play a new cell shaded game.

Zelda is not supposed to be online.

Nor should it be cell shaded

You' re talking like they made several more with that look. It' s the first after Windwaker and that because they thought that it was one of the best options. Considering what the DS is capable of.

But the cell shaded look was less generic than a realistic style. It had a lot of artistic value. The problem is that people never are satisfied. When it was cell shaded a lot of fans complained. With the more realistic look they were complaining about the fact that it was " just a bit prettier than Ocarina of Time" .

I know, i cant stand the fact that they keep making zelda games cell shaded like windwaker. I would rather play the 10 year old Ocarina of time than play a new cell shaded game.

No no, i loved the windwaker, i like that style more than TP, but thats properbly because WW was my first Zelda game, also the sense of exploration was more fun.

Gathered i havent played that much into TP yet, (danm you world of warcraft)

Windwaker is my favourite Zelda game so far. I just loved the graphics and the gameplay was really great. I liked it more than TP even. With TP you could almost feel that the team kept thinking
" how can we make this better than OOT?"
So instead of having that nice warm feeling a Zelda game should have, it has a feeling of the need to be good.

Wind Waker was a fantastic Zelda game. The cell shaded graphics really created a certain charm about the game. However, it is not my favourite Zelda game. I still place Ocarina of Time as the best followed by Twilight Princess and then Wind Waker. The problem with the Wind Waker was that it was a bit too easy.

So instead of having that nice warm feeling a Zelda game should have,

TP is a darker, more mature Zelda which is what I love about it.

The only bad thing about TP is that it didn' t have Tingle in it......

Boo Zelda! get a job!

The problem with the Wind Waker was that it was a bit too easy.

No, that' s the problem with TP. TP is without a doubt the easiest Zelda game I' ve ever played.

Wind Waker is soo underrated, in my opinion. However, my favourite Zelda has got to be A Link To The Past. Nice and colourful, HUUGE world to run around in (One of the biggest Zelda games) and it' s the first Zelda I have ever played. I want more games like that damnit! I don' t want " Next-Gen" . I want more retro!

No, that' s the problem with TP. TP is without a doubt the easiest Zelda game I' ve ever played.

What! I think TP is one of the hardest! Wind Waker was easy especially the boss battles.

Wind Waker is soo underrated, in my opinion. However, my favourite Zelda has got to be A Link To The Past. Nice and colourful, HUUGE world to run around in (One of the biggest Zelda games) and it' s the first Zelda I have ever played. I want more games like that damnit! I don' t want " Next-Gen" . I want more retro!

Same here, A Link To the Past rocks all. At the time, there was no other game that could possibly have taken my attention away from it. Unlike with the following Zelda' s, it had no competition from other pc/console games, and really raised the bar for RPG' s.

As for online, I guess its ok if they feel like adding it. However, spending much Dev time adding it would be a waste IMO.

What! I think TP is one of the hardest! Wind Waker was easy especially the boss battles.

Really, because I think the bosses are the easiest ever in TP. I never came close to dying in TP.
In WW i died several times at some of the bosses.

Darknuts

Is that like a " fine specimen of Carolina Blacksnake" ? (name me that movie, get a cookie, no googling!)

I' ve played about an hour into Twilight Princess, & while it' s still very much a 9.0 game, it just wasn' t as engaging as Windwaker was. I mean, I spent at least half an hour playing grass, herding livestock, catching cats & doing other useless " chore" tasks. They actually made them enjoyable in Wind Waker.

I really do miss my GCN though... I definately regret selling it.

TP is a darker, more mature Zelda which is what I love about it.

See a game with a main character dressed as link, isnt supposed to be dark!

Wind Waker was my first full Zelda game and I loved it, all of it. Even the sailing and everything. Twilight Princess I like even more but found it harder to get into. It was only after the third dungeon when the world opened up a bit more than I started to think " Woah!" . I' ve actually become a huge Zelda fan recently and want to get hold of some of the older games...

If you haven' t played Ocarina of time yet you really should! I played it for the first time one or two years ago and I was amazed. It' s honestly a better game than WW over all, but I personally have more feelings for WW.
It' s going to be interesting to see how Phantom Hourglass turns out. If they make a Link to the past/Wind Waker hybrid then it should be good.

Btw, from now on I will refer to the game as PHG or Zelda DS because the full name is too long.

If they make a Link to the past/Wind Waker hybrid then it should be good.

If they did that to a link to the past i would kill myself aka Kevin Crouse(immortaldanmx gets the joke)