It's been another week, and it seems like life in the Nintendo blogs has picked up a little. Leading this week's charge is the Wii's share of the Resident Evil fever - The Darkside Chronicles, plus rumors of Code Veronica getting a Wii-make. The Conduit, that despite having no MotionPlus support is still holding up pretty well. Check out the details in this week's Nintendo Weekend Warrior.

Super Smash Bros. Brawl fans will definitely get their fill of updates today as we feature three interesting new aspects to this highly celebrated Wii title. In our full article, you can take a look at the unlockable stage based on the Electroplankton DS title, Sheik's special moves, and an interesting mini-game which can be unlocked upon finishing the game's Classic mode. Well, what are you waiting for? Click on the "read more" link below and check it out!

Nintendo Wii fans won't have to wait too long to get another big game for their consoles. On November 19, 2007, Nintendo of America will release Link's Crossbow Training bundled with the gun peripheral Wii Zapper for the total experience. Here's a video of players using the Wii Zapper in the game:

As we all know by now, Link's Crossbow Training by Nintendo will come bundled with the Nintendo Wii Zapper accessory. This peripheral acts like a light gun used in other shooting games, making the trigger-happy experience more realistic than what control pads can provide.

Nintendo's Link's Crossbow Training is set in the same world style that Nintendo's blockbuster RPG The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess is in. It has our hero Link practicing his marksmanship to further improve his ability to defend Hyrule. By the way, Capcom's Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles is also bound to use the Nintendo Wii Zapper, further raising anticipation for the peripheral.

All this hype and build-up for the coming Tokyo Game Show is getting us tense. So, to wind down before the storm of updates, confirmations, and gossip clean-up, we bring you some light content for Sunday leisure reading to cap the week. Well, not so much of leisure reading as it is leisure listening and watching.

This is RobinHoodFR's take on the Hyrule Field main theme from The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. What's impressive about this piano version? Well, if you haven't played the game, much less heard the Hyrule Field theme, it's as orchestraic as you can get - complete with drums, flutes, bass, and violins (unless this blogger needs his ears checked).

Now think all those instruments but only recreated on the piano. That's the hook here. Yes, it's not Wind Waker's Great Sea theme, but impressive nonetheless. Given how musically complex the original piece by Koji Kondo is, this guy's put in some serious effort to play this tune out.

Our hats off to RobinHoodFR for some good music this weekend! Definitely brings back memories of all those times we went Golden Bug hunting and Heart Piece searching all over Hyrule.

Nintendo fans out there will probably be disappointed that Camp Hyrule has been cancelled this summer. In lieu of this, they have decided to hold a sweepstakes where the winner walks off with a life-sized statue of none other than Link himself.

Camp Hyrule started back in 1995, and is essentially an online camp normally held in August. In the event, players could chat, play online games, and win prizes under the supervision of Nintendo employees and Nintendo Power columnists.

This online simulation has everything you'd expect from a summer camp: campfires, water sports, and archery. Participants are assigned to cabins, where they work with other participants to earn points through various games, a Photoshop contest, and other events.

So is this the end of Camp Hyrule? Well, there was no specific mention about it closing for good, so there's still hope for next year. If you're interested in joining the sweepstakes, head on over to the Camp Hyrule site through our read link to get some details.

Nintendo of America (NoA) reminded all of us a couple of days ago that Zelda II - The Adventures of Link is going to be the 100th VC title to be released on the Wii's online service Virtual Console. Today, the day NoA updates VC for North America, fans will finally be getting their hands on Zelda II alongside three other retro titles.

The first one is side-scrolling platformer Toe Jam and Earl in Panic on Funkotron. The game was originally developed by Sega and has already been announced for VC Europe. Fans who want it should have at least 800 Wii Points. The remaining games are the following:

• Milon's Secret Castle (NES, 1 player, 500 Wii Points): It is a world where music is the language of the people. An evil warlord from the north arrives and captures the castle. The princess is imprisoned deep within the castle, and the world's musical instruments are taken and hidden away.

• Dead Moon (TurboGrafx16, 1 player, 600 Wii Points): The story begins with a comet discovered in the vicinity of Pluto that is headed on a sudden collision course with Earth. Mankind narrowly succeeds in diverting the comet's course, and it crashes into the moon. However, investigations into the damage uncover that what hit the moon was not a comet, but a gigantic mother ship.

Lastly, NES-original Zelda II is priced at 500 Wii Points. This title follows the adventures of Link as he returns to Hyrule to search for the Triforce and to awaken Zelda from an endless sleep. Embark on a quest to find the Triforce of Courage and save Hyrule from ruin.

In an interview, Nintendo boss Shigeru Miyamoto expressed his disappointment about three things: Zelda's sales in Japan, disrespectful kids, and people who don't pay taxes.

He started off with The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, which he says didn't do quite as well in his home country as it did in the U.S. and Europe. He points the cause to conflicting interests in the demographics that patronize the Wii. He thinks that a lot of the people who do have the Wii aren't interested in playing big RPGs and some of the people who do want a run at Hyrule can't find a Wii because of its short supply.

He also expressed disappointment over Japan's deteriorating state of social responsibility. He says a lot of people opt to do freelance work and jobs that don't pay taxes. He says Japan needs to be more aware of how taxes help in development and advancing the nation.

He was also dismayed with the fact that Japanese kids are becoming more and more disrespectful of their elders. He cites the example of young people taking the seats intended for the old and the pregnant in trains. He says he intends to create games that can foster values again so that he can help minimize these negative norms that are rising fast in his homeland. To see the full interview, follow the read URL.

Frys.com is obviously serious about selling their newest Wiimote peripherals in the block, the Asid Tech Sword and Shield Kit. The peripherals guarantee that you will "bring your gameplay experience to the next level." As to how that goes, exactly, we're not really sure. But from what can be gleaned from the products, you may attach the shield to the nunchuk, though they didn't really show how this is to be done.

 

Then again, these are on sale for only US$ 30, so if you can't buy the more expensive collectible Zelda items that we have around, you may opt for this one. However, you'll have to put your artistic hat on and get creative with paint, probably, to get this plastic peripherals that much needed zing to turn it into your very own Wii bling.

Just remember: These "Zelda" items? They aren't stylized with the coat of arms of Hyrule... sigh.

 

We all know how great The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess is. The game takes Nintendo Wii and GameCube players on an epic journey with Link to save Hyrule from the darkness that threatens to engulf the land.

You can re-live the game's classic moments outside the console now. Enterplay has created a nice 86-card suite that remakes the game in playing card form. All the key characters including friends and bosses are depicted in amazing art. Weapons and power-ups can also be drawn to stack up the advantage against the opposition.

For real collectors, Enterplay says that there's a nine-card gold foil set waiting to be tapped. We can't wait for these to hit local shops. You may not like cards, but for real Zelda fans, they'd make an excellent addition to the collection stash.

Another loss to the gaming community has occurred once again, as Ocarina Of Time 2D forum admin brings sad tidings. According to Revenant, Richard Denton (better known as Dampe among the forum members) has passed away, after having been involved in a vehicular accident. At the moment, no details are being given about the said accident, as Denton's friends and family are still coping with the loss. As explained by Revenant,

I'm not feeling up to explaining detail of the accident, and how it happened, I'm just here to notify everyone since his family would be devastated, and his brother probably wouldn't want to explain the loss to a bunch of guys on the net.

In the meantime, the future of the community which was built around Denton's work remains uncertain. As of this writing, we have noted that the official website of Ocarina of Time 2D has been taken down upon Denton's family's request

Richard Denton was the creator of the much-awaited fan-made title, Ocarina of Time 2D. As the name of the video game suggests, the aim of the project was to reproduce one of video game history's most successful games, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, in 2D instead of 3D. This move has made the game look like the original Zelda game, The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, thus managing to merge two of the most-loved Zelda games into one.

Dampe will be missed. May he find his Hyrule.

For those who may be unfamiliar with Dampe's work, here's a video to show you what it was all about, and why so many people will miss him badly.