Tonight at the first annual Game Awards, Nintendo’s Shigeru Miyamoto and Eiji Aonuma presented the first footage of The Legend of Zelda for Wii U. Not only did we get our first taste of actual gameplay, but also a great look at how vast the world of Hyrule will be this time around as Link must travel by way of Epona, his trusty steed. There are also a non-Zelda related juicy bit you won’t want to miss. Check out the video and the news after the break.

You’ve got to hand it to Nintendo, between Super Smash Bros. and now this Legend of Zelda footage, they definitely know how to deliver what their fans want with their IPs. Now if only they could make a system that thid-party developers could utilize. Aside from looking simply stunning, can we just talk about the map? It’s ginormous. You could almost compare it to how large the original Legend of Zelda felt on the NES back in the day.

The new game mechanics included are essential to this massive world. Placing beacons, Epona, and gliding off cliffs, it would be a nightmare to have to roll your way across this map. Back at E3, Miyamoto teased that everything you see in the game we’ll be able to travel to, so it will be interesting to see how long this new Zelda will take to beat or what kind of warp item we’ll be privy to this time. And can we also have a moment of silence for how awesome that slow motion bow action is when you leap off of Epona?

I played The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD for Wii U and quite enjoyed my experience despite the game being fairly easy yet tedious. The inclusion of the GamePad makes for a really unique experience for Zelda fans, much like how the WiiMote and Nunchuk did for Twilight Princess.

(Click on the thumbnails to enlarge the images and begin the gallery)

Now about that little juicy bit of news. There was not a specific release date announced, however, the developers did joke that the new Star Fox game will be out before The Legend of Zelda, both of which will be out in 2015.

You can follow me on the Twitter at @TyRawrrnosaurus for more updates as they become available.

Source: Nintendo