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.