#beatemups

I was locked out of my Tumblr but my silence is over.

And what a time to silence me. I was watching Wood Hawker’s (BeatEmUps/Nontendo Podcast) live stream of the Nintendo Direct + Treehouse and they revealed this 1 minute, 30 second trailer at the end and when I tell you that my jaw hit the floor and I was bouncing all around the room, I am not being hyperbolic. I was fucking insane. I went absolutely bonkers over this reveal even though I knew that it was coming due to NateTheHate’s leaks as he knocked the wind out of it.

It’s here guys. The thing I’ve been asking for for a long ass time: An Ocarina Of Time remake. But not in the way they did it on the 3DS. It’s not a HD remaster for updating the graphics and soundscape. No, not that!

Remade. Reimagined. Redone from the ground up!!!

As Yoshiaki Koizumi said: REBORN. It’s BORN anew!

Which might be added to the working title for it as I’m not sure that they can release 2 games with the exact same working title even if one is a remake of the other.

And that’s so fitting too because of the reincarnation/alternative lives cycle that they do with Link, Zelda and Ganondorf. The way they follow each other into every lifetime and timeline. The way they’re bound together by the Triforce virtues of Courage, Wisdom and Power.

The implications of that lore as the premise to this remake of Ocarina Of Time (as it was originally this game released all the way back in 1998 that started that lore before the prequel Skyward Sword officially introduced it) is staggering. That’s before even getting into the game itself. Just bringing back that lore and even having the opportunity to expand on it as it’ll be fully reimagined the way Final Fantasy 7 was and the way Fable will be is very exciting for me on its own all because that lore combined with the storytelling makes Ocarina Of Time one of the best written concepts ever!

You will know from my rants and raves about it in Xena that the eternal reincarnation cycle does things to me. Well Zelda also does that but in a Triangle pattern and it’s part of the reason I even care about the series at all but it’s in particular Ocarina Of Time where it’s a staple and I can only imagine what the remake will do with it!

Guys… we’re really in for a treat with this remake and if it wasn’t for the leak, perhaps we wouldn’t have known it until the September Direct. I feel like they were forced to announce it this early due to the leak of it happening because Yoshiaki Koizumi did not look happy about it. He said a short sentence to “take a look” and that was it. He was pissed. He did not want to announce the title and I don’t blame him or any of the creators. I’d be livid if I was forced to announce something I wasn’t ready to.

But regardless, I’m so excited to see more and to play it THIS YEAR! I reckon it’s going to be the only title that’s released alongside GTA6 and that would make sense. I mean if anything can compete with that it’ll be Ocarina Reborn because it is one of, if not the greatest 3D video game of all-time. It’s THAT game that started the entire 3D era of gaming off on the legendary Nintendo console the Nintendo 64 because before then - it was only ever 2D. Side scrollers and top downs. Seeing and playing in a 64-bit three dimensional space literally changed THE GAME. The entire gaming industry was revolutionized for good and there is absolutely no way to overstate how much ‘The Legend Of Zelda: Ocarina Of Time’ is responsible for that. It’s why it became one of the most popular and successful gaming series and franchises in history. They have to recapture all of that in this remake because if they fail to do so - they will sully not only the IP but Nintendo’s legacy in the video gaming industry in providing the 3D gaming experience on both a home console and a portable hand-held as it was released on both originally and it will technically be released on the both of them again. They can’t fuck this up and I know they won’t because if there’s any company that cares about visual art/entertainment and the video gaming experience overall it’s NINTENDO because they have always done things their own way and they’ve lasted alongside the juggernauts of Microsoft, Sony and Sega because of that and they will throw EVERYTHING they have at this remake in order to do it 1000000% right!

They won’t slouch on this and the short trailer proved it with the voice narration and the beautiful tapestry and the fade in to what looks like Unreal Engine 5 Next Gen graphics of Young Link curled up waiting for his fairy to take him on a journey that will change his and our lives.

I am beyond my mind and heart excited for this remake to drop and Day One, out-of-the-box, I will be playing it!

It’s been almost 30 years. It is time for Ocarina Of Time to be remade for the new generation of video game fans as well as the veteran fans that loved the original game. This is not just a fresh coat of paint. It’s not a remaster of the same engine and formula. It is an overhaul of epic proportions and it’s about time that Legend Of Zelda got its due and with the most popular, successful and greatest game in the series at that. This is so exciting!

I'm just gonna add a little bit of brain candy to the whole Megumi backstory thing:

GGXPlus Artwork went so far as to suggest Axl actually went back in Time to his original Timeline briefly to meet up with his former Street Buddies/Thug Rivals whom he had defeated in the past.

This in and of itself is a nod to games like Streets of Rage/Final Fight/Double Dragon/River City Ransom. In fact Axl's whole backstory is that he cleaned up the entirety of the slums of Cotswolds, London, England in his original era.

I-No makes a comment in Strive that she originally didn't get along with her "boyfriend" and only fell in love with him after the fact... this might be a nod to "Poison" or other female enemy characters that appeared in these various beat-em-up games.

So when Axl starts punching enemies, he starts crying while he fights in the streets and says the catchphrase "I can't get nothin' out but tears!"... which is what I-No remembers of her missing boyfriend Will (William Bruce "Axel" Rose Jr.).

Meanwhile, on Axl's side of the Paradox, Axl remembers that his girlfriend was really gentle and kind and wore long hair just how he liked her to wear it.

If Megumi Saito was related to a Japanese Martial Arts master who taught Axl Low how to fight... it might in fact be a nod to the plotline of Art of Fighting (one of SNK's founding arcade action fighting games which later fed in to games like Fatal Fury and King of Fighters).

Speaking of which, a certain Kasumi Todoh IS IN FACT the daughter of a Japanese Martial Arts Master, and she is almost always looking for her long lost father in her storylines.