New ‘Legend Of Zelda’ Game Coming To Wii U In 2014

The biggest The Legend of Zelda game ever is being planned for the Wii U, WiiUDaily reports. Nintendo has also assembled its biggest development team ever, led by Eiji Aonuma, who has been working on the game since late 2010.

The new Zelda title, which doesn’t have an official subtitle yet, was originally supposed to be released next year in order to compete with new consoles from Sony and Microsoft, but Nintendo quickly abandoned that goal. WiiUDaily’s source, who has not been named, says that since the game is the biggest project Nintendo has ever done, a Q3 2013 release was unrealistic. The source also said:

“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.”

The new game will have roughly the same number of dungeons as previous Zelda game, but some will be broken up into three parts that “will literally take hours to complete.” One dungeon will be an entire forest, and will be even larger than the massive Hyrule Field in Ocarina of Time. It will also have side quests and mini-games, as well as as hours of orchestral music.

Unfortunately, the new Zelda game will not have online multiplayer, but it will have online features, such as allowing players to leave hints to help each other through dungeons. The game will have the same visual style as the latest title, Skyward Sword, only in full HD. The insider also said the visuals that were shown at 2011’s E3 were just a tech demo, and that it was made by a different team with an older engine.

Are you excited for a new The Legend of Zelda game for the Wii U?