"Tossing aside the standard temporal ocarina for something a little more complex, a "Flute Link" cosplayer performed on stage at this year's Masquerade show at the Otakon 2008 in Baltimore, bringing Navi in tow. It's a great performance, although it's hard to tell when she's playing live and when it's pre-recorded (for demonstrationg of her live performance, we also embedded a video of Flute Link performing Tetris with an Otaku band.

And for anyone who ever wished Navi would get her what fo..."

"The book will be the latest entry in the longrunning "Popular Culture and Philosophy" series. The series has spawned dozens of volumes looking into the deeper meaning of our favorite entertainment. These philosophical deconstructions include Seinfeld, The Simpsons, The Beatles, zombies, James Bond, The Matrix, The Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, poker and Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Several rival pop culture philosophy publishers have sprung up. Blackwell Philosophy and Pop Culture covers such..."

Hot off of the Mario Marathon last month, they are at it again. The Mario Marathon team will be partnering up with Cameron Banga and the Four48 Team in bringing you a marathon gaming session of the seven console Zelda titles, from the original classic Legend of Zelda to the newest Zelda title, Twilight Princess. The group will be soliciting donations, with all proceeds going towards Penny Arcade's Child's Play Charity, which buys toys and video games to children's hospitals across the count...

"Take her to mom: Aerith (Final Fantasy series)

Aerith is a sensitive girl that can warm any heart. Just ask any of the Final Fantasy fanboys who fell for her charms over the past few years. She's also deep-rooted when it comes to family and faith, as her role as an "ancient" clearly explains. Moreover, she can probably whip up a good salad, since she's so involved with nature.


Don't take her to mom: Morrigan (Darkstalkers series)

Not only is Morrigan almost completely underdressed ..."

"Placing a drawing pin on a colleague's seat, making a prank call, wearing a funny wig, informing a friend their entire family has perished in an accident - all classic April Fool's Day gags. But producing a high-budget action-packed CG-heavy trailer for a movie version of The Legend of Zelda? That's a whole new level of commitment.

Legend of Zelda


Kudos, then, to our friends at IGN.com, for we wonder if they've done just that - putting out a call for actors with green vests, long hair..."

"10. The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons/Oracle of Ages (Game Boy Color, 2001)
Nintendo's Game Boy Color Zelda releases, the Oracle of Seasons and the Oracle of Ages, are refreshing entries in the series. Both games interact via two separate GBC systems and a link cable, the first Zelda releases to do so. They're difficult to find, but worth tracking down if you're up for some old school adventuring."

"Nintendo's Shigeru Miyamoto is interviewed in the latest issue of Famitsu. While the interview, which was done to commemorate the magazine reaching issue number 1000, is mostly reflection, Miyamoto did give a few hints on future plans.

First, the Balance Wii Board, the peripheral that's included with Wii Fit. The magazine noted that Wii Fit has been quite the success story for Nintendo so far. To this, Miyamoto responded that if the game sees success overseas as well, Nintendo may end up r..."

"Console and handheld modder Michael Page mailed in to let us know about his latest creation: a custom Blue & White Zelda DS Lite. Inspired by Morpheon Mods’ Gold Zelda DS Lite, this one-of-a-kind mod features a finely detailed design of Link’s shield embellished in a metallic hue with two small green LEDs hidden beneath, as well as a sleek glossy sky blue paint job."

"Things have been fairly subdued on the Wii Zapper front since the device was shown off at E3 in July, but news of a release date in North America just landed in the GamerSquad mailbox - November 19 is the date to mark in your diaries. As previously announced, it’ll cost US gamers $19.99 (£10 / €15).

However, while dates and prices are sorta interesting, they’re not as interesting as new Zelda games, right? Right. Well, here’s something: the Zapper will also come with a new Zelda title bund..."

"Nintendo will show off the capabilities of its new Wii Zapper peripheral with a new game called Zelda Crossbow Training, according to reports.

Apparently shown to GameStop managers in a presentation in Las Vegas today, Zelda Crossbow Training is a simple, third-person target shooting game believed to be using the Twilight Princess engine.

It is yet to be confirmed if this is the pack-in game Nintendo promised would show off the abilities of the new peripheral as Wii Play did the Wii Rem..."

"It’s a day with a ‘y’ in its name, so here’s another banal, senseless Wii add-on. The item you see above is known as the "Hero Pack", a plastic/foam sword-and-shield combo manufactured by Camy International that Wii owners can clip on to their Wiimote and Nunchuk while playing -- can you guess which game?

Of course, we’ve been here before. A couple of months back, GamerSquad also flagged up a very similar, slightly less Hyrulean-looking Wii sword and shield from German firm Pebble Enterta..."

"If you paid close attention to yesterday's Phantom Hourglass commercials, you might've spotted the lobster design (or is it a crayfish?) on Link's shield. What do you think of the new look? Wind Waker fans should recognize the crustacean shape, as it originally showed up on our hero's pajamas in the GameCube game.

Link's shield has been as much a staple of the Zelda series as the adventurer's green cap, deflecting octorok attacks and pushing away charging enemies. Over the past two decades..."

"Change the setting
While such a ridiculously awesome different redesign is obviously out of the cards, am I the only one who’s getting tired of the medieval castles and grassy plains look? The Final Fantasy franchise manages to reinterpret their universe for every installment, and this philosophy actually makes more sense for the Zelda series. Think about it: the story behind every game is that Link, Zelda, and Ganondorf are continuously reincarnated/brought back to life every X amount of ye..."

"Twilight Princess demonstrated that Nintendo's talented development teams are still more than capable of putting together a stunning Hyrulean adventure. The problem, some might say, lies in its repetition. Zelda games stick to a very familiar and rigid formula. Anyone who's played Zelda over the years will know that many of the themes, plots, locations, items, music and even puzzles are re-used (albeit in slightly adapted, updated ways) in one game after the next.

It is blatant repetition,..."

"Legendary Nintendo game designer Shigeru Miyamoto has told Entertainment Weekly that he believes Twilight Princess didn't do well in Japan because there are fewer and fewer people interested in playing big RPGs.

When asked his opinion on why Zelda isn't doing well in Japan, Miyamoto replied, "Well, I think a lot of people who bought the Wii are not necessarily the types of people who are interested in playing that kind of game. And a lot of the people who would want to play it [due to chro..."

"Wii:

1. Super Paper Mario (Nintendo)
2. Cooking Mama: Cook Off (Majesco)
3. Mortal Kombat: Armageddon (Midway)
4. Prince of Persia: Rival Swords (Ubisoft)
5. Spiderman 3 (Activision)

GameCube:

1. The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (Nintendo)
2. Mario Party 7 (Nintendo)
3. Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door (Nintendo)
4. TMNT (Ubisoft)
5. Super Smash Bros. Melee (Nintendo)

Nintendo DS:

1. Pokemon Diamond (Nintendo)
2. Pokemon Pearl (Nintendo)
3. Puzzle Quest: Chal..."