The Legend of Zelda's working title was 'Adventure Mario' (and other little-known Nintendo facts that will blow your mind)

Nintendo of Europe recently updated its website with a new "Iwata Asks" interview which focuses on the "handheld history" of one of the company's most famous franchises: The Legend of Zelda. This time around, Satoru Iwata, president/CEO of Nintendo Co., Ltd., chats with Eiji Aonuma, Toshihiko Nakago and Takashi Tezuka.

The trio share a slew of previously unknown facts related to the long-running series, including the one mentioned in the headline above. (Apparently, early documents included the title "Adventure" as well as "Adventure Mario.") A few others:

* According to Nakago, The Legend of Zelda's second quest was the result of a mistake made by Tezuka. “I created the data exactly in line with [the map], but then Tezuka-san made a mistake and only used half of the data. I said, ‘Tezuka-san, there’s only half here. Where did the other half go?’ and he was like, 'What?! Oops, I messed up…’ But Miyamoto-san said it was fine just like that. So, using the half of the memory that was left over, we decided to create the Second Quest."

* The characters in Link’s Awakening were inspired by those in David Lynch's TV series, Twin Peaks, according to Tezuka. "At the time, Twin Peaks was rather popular. The drama was all about a small number of characters in a small town. I wanted to make something that, while it would be small enough in scope to easily understand, it would have deep and distinctive characteristics."

* The Zelda games created by Capcom (Oracle of Ages and Oracle of Seasons) started out as a remake of the title that started it all. "At that time, Yoshiki Okamoto was at Capcom, and he wanted to make a Zelda game," Tezuka says. "The plan was to create a remake of the first The Legend of Zelda. Then, while we were talking about it ... I could sense their enthusiasm for the series, so I thought we could trust them with it. We had them make Oracle of Seasons and Oracle of Ages."

Will Apple's iPad steal gamers away from the DS and PSP?

Considering the gadget's price ($499 for 16GB, 32GB for $599 and $699 for 64GB--plus $130 if you want 3G) and size (9.56 by 7.47 by 0.5 inches, with a 9.7-inch screen), I kind of doubt it.

(Curious to see how the iPad stacks up to the DS and PSP? Check out this GamesRadar.com article. For those of you who don't feel like clicking on the link: It's a beast compared to the DSi, DS Lite, PSP and PSP Go, but it's only slightly larger than the upcoming DSI XL.)

Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter seems to think otherwise, telling IndustryGamers.com: "The one device I think will suffer from the introduction on the games side is the DS. I think ultimately a tablet at the right price is the kind of thing you buy your kid for school, since they could take it to school, bring it home and do their homework. But I think the bigger issue is the proliferation of games on Apple devices, and you're going to see a lot of cross-fertilization of games between the iPod Touch, iPhone and the tablet, so I actually see the iPod Touch benefiting from that."

EEDAR analyst Jesse Divnich is a bit more cautious. "The success of any gaming hardware device comes down to its installed base and quality third-party support. If the iPad wants to succeed as a serious gaming platform they will need support from the major players in our industry (i.e. Electronic Arts, Take-Two, Ubisoft, etc), but to receive quality support these publishers need to be reassured that the gamer installed base can surpass 20 million (worldwide). There is no point in making great games if no one is there to purchase them."

If this Bloomberg.com article is any indication, Apple's already on the right track when it comes to attracting the attention of third-party developers and publishers. Case in point: Jon Kromrey, general manager of the Apple games group at Namco Networks America Inc., shares that he is “having fun thinking about all the wonderful things we can do with the device.”

For more on the iPad's potential as a games machine, check out this PCWorld.com article.

See also: 'Not sure if want, part deux: Game 'apps' on the Amazon Kindle'

What do you get when you mix the so-called console wars with yaoi/BL manga?

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Better late than never: 'The best Castlevania ever' is coming to the States

OK, I know Castlevania: Rondo of Blood (aka Akumajō Dracula X Chi no Rondo, aka "the best Castlevania ever") made it out of Japan and into Australia, Europe and the States in late 2007 as part of Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles.

That doesn't mean squat to all of us who don't have a PSP, though--or those of use who want to play the original version of Rondo of Blood on a big, as opposed to little, screen.

All of those folks finally have reason to applaud--or at least break into a huge, toothy grin: The Entertainment Software Rating Board has officially rated Rondo of Blood for release in the States.

Now, there's no saying when the game will be added to the U.S. version of the Wii Virtual Console, but hopefully it'll happen sooner rather than later--especially considering it was added to the Wii Virtual Console in Japan all the way back in April 2008.

Reason #844 to be thankful for fan translators

The team over at DQ Translations has released its long-awaited translation patch for the PS2 remake of Dragon Quest V. Here's a video showing the pixelated (or maybe I should say polygonal) fruits of their labor:



Honestly, I shouldn't describe the patch as "long-awaited," as I didn't even know it was in the works until it was released. Don't take that as an indication of my interest (or lack thereof) in the project--I just don't pay attention to such things (e.g. PS2 fan translations) because I'm unable to benefit from them. (My PS2 hasn't been modded and my PC isn't powerful enough to run PCSX2.)

If you are able to benefit from such things, by all means give this patch a try. Dragon Quest V, with its multi-generational plot, is one of the most unique JRPGs around and, as such, is well worth your time.

See also: 'Reason #843 to be thankful for fan translators'