With over 25 golden years of consistently phenomenal games under its name, just breathing the word “Zelda” is enough to instantly grasp any gamer’s attention – myself included. While the four simple words “Zelda coming in 2014″ is all it takes to turn heads, Wii U Daily managed to extract treasure chestfuls of information on the new title. If you began with the slightest of intrigue, prepare for rampant excitement to possess your body. Let’s begin!

The source, although remaining anonymous, is assured to be as reliable as they come. They have previously confirmed with accuracy the Wii U “achievements” system as well as Wii U social network service Miiverse, both before official statements/unveilings were made. While technically still a rumor at this point, you can attest your utmost faith to at least the majority of this information.

Starting with the obvious: Eiji Aonuma once again returns to lead the development. The development team working under him, however,  is the biggest team to ever work on a Nintendo game consisting of “hundreds of people”. They have been working on the game for four years already.

“It’s a 4-year development cycle with a new console, new technology, new engine etc. It’ll end up being the most expensive game they’ve made to date. It’s a huge investment for them [Nintendo] in money and manpower, this is Rockstar/GTA territory”.

Despite what E3 2011′s Zelda tech demo may have us believe, Nintendo is in fact once again using the cel-shaded visual style from Skyward Sword. This seems strange as Zelda releases have undergone a consistent alternating cycle of toony/realistic for several years (following this pattern are the home console releases: from Majora’s to Wind Waker, to Twilight Princess, and then Skyward Sword). The source claims Nintendo “feel they’ve found the sweet spot with Skyward Sword, and they’re continuing this approach with the Wii U Zelda game”. If this style has been built over four years, we can safely conclude that this style will definitely remain. To anyone disappointed that this won’t be a moodier, grittier take though, think of the HD power supporting those graphics!

Speaking of the new HD capabilities, the source adds that the game is so big that it simply would not be possible were it not for the 25 GB Blu-ray based storage that the Wii U utilises. A dungeon in the current build is an entire forest that spans larger than Ocarina’s Hyrule field!

Speaking on online capabilities:

“Online multiplayer was never on the drawing board, they’re sticking with the tried and tested Zelda formula. It’ll have some online features like Miiverse and some sort of system where players can leave hints and help each other in the dungeons. That’s about it”.

Personally, this doesn’t concern me. I feel that if co-operative play were to be implemented in a mainline Zelda game, it may ruin the atmosphere – there’s something all too special about being the lone hero, traversing the land and saving the world on your own. That’s not to say I don’t want a new Wii U Four Swords too though!

Finally, for the most exciting prospect: the gameplay. Claimed to be the “most innovative game ever”, this title is promised to use the GamePad to its utmost fullest potential.

“At least one of the hardware features added to the GamePad were solely implemented because the Zelda team figured out they could do something cool with it.

“Zelda designers started sketching out concepts as soon as Nintendo decided to include a screen with the new console. Everything in the game is built around the controller and its unique abilities. Every single feature in the controller is used to its full potential. Some of this stuff is still in early stages of development, but they’ve already implemented enough to show just what’s possible with the new controller. They showed some of this stuff to key third party devs behind closed doors last year to get them to realize the possibilities of the new tech.”

So there you have it. There may not be a full title for the game yet or any screenshots, but with all aspects covered – graphics, gameplay, online support, size and estimated release – we can paint a picture in our minds ourselves of potentially the most exciting-sounding Legend of Zelda game yet… Not a statement to at all be taken lightly.

[Source: Wii U Daily]