E3 2010: Nintendo Roundtable: Reliving Your Nostalgia

Every year around the end of E3's first day, Nintendo holds a roundtable media discussion between its most important figures and an international group of writers. While a great deal of the two-hour roundtable discussion focused on the likes of Nintendogs + Cats and The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, Nintendo's creative brain trust still lent some insight into the upcoming 3D-fied remake of the 1998 Nintendo 64 classic The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.

I was a bit nervous going into Nintendo's roundtable. After all, I missed the press conference to tackle news duty and was unable to check out any of Nintendo's new content. However, a rep reassured me that I'd have no problems going in fresh, and I discovered why after a few minutes. A large group of representatives with 3DS systems strapped to their bodies allowed media to take a look at the opening title sequence from Ocarina of Time. You've likely seen it time and time again -- Link riding trusty Epona through grassy terrain under the glow of moonlight. But you haven't seen it with everything popping out in appealing fashion. Indeed, Nintendo's ability to provide a 3D experience without glasses is exceptional.

As the briefing started, Nintendo creative director Shigeru Miyamoto told the audience that he wanted to recreate the feel of Hyrule again as Nintendo began prototyping the 3DS some three years ago. He asked us if anyone had played the demo of Steel Diver on the show floor. Only a few hands were raised. He politely admonished the crowd for overlooking it, since it was one of the games that Nintendo prototyped at E3 2004 when it unveiled the Nintendo DS for the first time. He wanted to take the core ideas -- touching levers and tweaking controls with the new technology -- and infuse them with new ideas.

Toward the end of Miyamoto and Zelda designer Eiji Aonuma's discussion of Skyward Sword, Aonuma confessed that he had a horror story to share regarding Ocarina, one that he has regretted for years. In the Water Temple, he never liked the implementation of the Iron Boots, since you had to do lots of flipping back and forth to reach the desired effect. With the touchscreen, you'll be able to switch them on and off with a few flicks on the touch screen. In general, Aonuma said that he's excited to reimagine several elements of the Nintendo 64 classic with touchscreen capabilities.

Again, although the discussion of Ocarina of Time was brief, one can hope that with newly refined controls, another Nintendo 64 classic can hit a new Nintendo handheld platform. Super Mario 64 DS was a huge hit when it launched alongside the DS, and hopefully, Ocarina of Time 3DS can deliver similar impact.