Link's Crossbow Training
Encyclopedia
Link's Crossbow Training, known in Japan as , is a shooting
video game published and developed by Nintendo
for the Wii
video game console
. It was bundled with the Wii Zapper
peripheral and was the first title to use it. It was first released in North America
and was later released in Europe
, Australia
and Japan
. It uses several environments, enemies, and other assets from The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
as stages for targets with various shootable background objects.
, Link. To perfect Link's crossbow
marksmanship, the player must pass a series of tests, starting with stationary bullseye targets
, before moving onto moving targets and actual enemies. After every level, the player gets a medal depending upon their score. The types of medals range from bronze to platinum.
Link's Crossbow Training features 9 playable levels, and the goal in each is to achieve the highest score possible within the time limit. These levels are divided into three main gameplay styles.
In some levels, Link battles bosses, most of them having weak spots that the player must hit. Link's Crossbow Training has a multiplayer mode, where players take turns competing for the highest score.
, Eiji Aonuma
and Takashi Tezuka
. The idea of a first-person The Legend of Zelda title started with The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
, which Miyamoto wanted to develop in the first person, although the inclusion of a child Link got in the way of this. Miyamoto also created the game to show Japanese gamers how fun the genre can be by bridging the gap between simple scrolling shooters and advanced shooters. It was also made with the intent of being a side-story to The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
, and make use of its vast overworld.
The development staff began work on the game's story, which Miyamoto intended to be an extra story based around Twilight Princess. However, the staff had been coming up with what could be better described as "epic tales" rather than "side stories". When Miyamoto revealed that he would not make the game with an "epic tale", much of the staff was shocked, saying it was like killing all of the ideas they had been working with until then. Some argued that they should not even do it, as it would be simply reusing existing software and selling it to the consumers. Miyamoto proposed that they make a working prototype and have test players give impressions of the game. If they did not like it, Miyamoto would stop development right there. Nintendo of America gathered together several die-hard The Legend of Zelda fans, who all reacted positively to the game. Reports from these test players were given to the development team daily, allowing them to tweak the game as they went along.
Miyamoto created a list of "don't"s for the development team, including not incorporating anything unnecessary, not "making a movie", and making sure a player could be able to complete a stage within three minutes, so as to not discourage the player from trying to beat the level again if he or she fails. Miyamoto also told the developers to not get caught up in the rewards, letting the players focus on the "journey" first, and to not include any boss battles so the developers could focus on making the whole game entertaining rather than focusing on making bosses. Miyamoto eventually gave in after the developers insisted on there being three bosses in the game, although he reduced that to one to make them focus on making one "fabulous" boss battle instead of attempting to make three boss battles.
Choosing which game to use the Wii Zapper with proved to be difficult. Because the project was due to the ideas of The Legend of Zelda staff, Miyamoto wanted to be in the The Legend of Zelda universe, although some staff argued that giving Link a gun would be too strange. Miyamoto proposed a Terminator
-style plot about a time warp to the future, but the idea was vetoed immediately. Miyamoto enjoyed the Hidden Village from Twilight Princesss spaghetti western theme, and recreated it so people could enjoy it in an FPS setting. He also thought using the Wii Zapper in a spaghetti western theme would make it even more fun. The development team eventually settled for giving Link a crossbow. Despite crossbows being unable to do a rapid-fire effect, Miyamoto felt that because it is just for fun, they did it anyway.
The game was originally titled Introduction to Wii Zapper. However, the development team opted to change this, to avoid confusion with Introduction to Wii, the Japanese title of Wii Play
. The team also did not want to call it something like The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Crossbow, as it would appear to be a grand-scaled sequel in The Legend of Zelda series, and they did not want it to be interpreted as such. They settled for Link's Crossbow Training in the end. On July 11, 2007, Nintendo announced during its E3 2007 media briefing that a new game would be bundled with the Wii Zapper
accessory. It was not announced until the GameStop Expo
in September 2007 that Link's Crossbow Training was that game. Nintendo's official announcement of this came on September 10, 2007.
. As of September 30, 2008, Nintendo has sold 2.75 million copies of Link's Crossbow Training worldwide. It was the 16th best-selling game and seventh best-selling Wii game of December 2008 in the United States. It was in the Top 10 on the best-selling Wii games list for nearly two years until being surpassed by Wii Sports Resort
, Wii Fit Plus
, and later New Super Mario Bros. Wii
. It now ranks #11 on the list with approximately 4.8 million copies sold as of May 2010.
Reviews have been generally mixed to positive. Nintendo Power stated "In the way that Link's Crossbow Training shows the potential of the zapper, it couldn't be much better." However, they criticized it for being "Just too darn short–you'll probably make it through the entire single-player mode in just over an hour (add another hour to get platinum medals on every stage)." IGN
stated that while the game was enjoyable, it was also too short. IGN's review also panned the Wii Zapper as actually "making the game more difficult" to play and generally frustrating to use.
Shooter game
Shooter games are a sub-genre of action game, which often test the player's speed and reaction time. It includes many subgenres that have the commonality of focusing "on the actions of the avatar using some sort of weapon. Usually this weapon is a gun, or some other long-range weapon". A common...
video game published and developed by Nintendo
Nintendo
is a multinational corporation located in Kyoto, Japan. Founded on September 23, 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi, it produced handmade hanafuda cards. By 1963, the company had tried several small niche businesses, such as a cab company and a love hotel....
for the Wii
Wii
The Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others...
video game console
Video game console
A video game console is an interactive entertainment computer or customized computer system that produces a video display signal which can be used with a display device to display a video game...
. It was bundled with the Wii Zapper
Wii Zapper
The Wii Zapper is a gun shell peripheral for the Wii Remote. The name is a reference to the NES Zapper light gun for the Nintendo Entertainment System...
peripheral and was the first title to use it. It was first released in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
and was later released in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. It uses several environments, enemies, and other assets from The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
is an action-adventure game developed by Nintendo Entertainment Analysis and Development, and published by Nintendo for the GameCube and Wii video game consoles. It is the thirteenth installment in The Legend of Zelda series...
as stages for targets with various shootable background objects.
Gameplay
Link's Crossbow Training is set in a world in the style of The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, and in the game the player assumes the role of the protagonist of The Legend of Zelda seriesThe Legend of Zelda
The Legend of Zelda, originally released as in Japan, is a video game developed and published by Nintendo, and designed by Shigeru Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka. Set in the fantasy land of Hyrule, the plot centers on a boy named Link, the playable protagonist, who aims to collect the eight fragments...
, Link. To perfect Link's crossbow
Crossbow
A crossbow is a weapon consisting of a bow mounted on a stock that shoots projectiles, often called bolts or quarrels. The medieval crossbow was called by many names, most of which derived from the word ballista, a torsion engine resembling a crossbow in appearance.Historically, crossbows played a...
marksmanship, the player must pass a series of tests, starting with stationary bullseye targets
Bullseye (target)
The bullseye, or bull's-eye, is the centre of a target , and by extension the name given to any shot that hits the bullseye...
, before moving onto moving targets and actual enemies. After every level, the player gets a medal depending upon their score. The types of medals range from bronze to platinum.
Link's Crossbow Training features 9 playable levels, and the goal in each is to achieve the highest score possible within the time limit. These levels are divided into three main gameplay styles.
- In Target Shooting levels, players fire their crossbow at targets, which start stationary, but move as the difficulty increases in later levels. Hitting the center of the bullseye earns more points, and the points earned multiplies if the player hits subsequent targets without missing.
- In Defender levels, players remain stationary, while retaining the ability to shoot and aim through 360°. Here, Link must fight off hordes of enemies, including Stalfos in a desert-themed level, and defending a wagon from boar-riding Bokoblins.
- In Ranger levels, the player assumes complete control over Link (via the control stick on the Nunchuk), in levels including a siege on an enemy encampment, and fighting through a forest.
In some levels, Link battles bosses, most of them having weak spots that the player must hit. Link's Crossbow Training has a multiplayer mode, where players take turns competing for the highest score.
Development
Link's Crossbow Training was produced by Shigeru MiyamotoShigeru Miyamoto
is a Japanese video game designer and producer. Miyamoto was born and raised in Kyoto Prefecture; the natural surroundings of Kyoto inspired much of Miyamoto's later work....
, Eiji Aonuma
Eiji Aonuma
is a Japanese video game designer and video game director. He currently works for Nintendo, and has overseen several installments in The Legend of Zelda series of video games.-Education:...
and Takashi Tezuka
Takashi Tezuka
, sometimes credited under his nickname Ten Ten, is a video game designer working for Nintendo. A graduate of the Design Department of Osaka University of Arts, he joined the company in April 1984 and was involved with some of the most critically acclaimed Nintendo series, including Mario and The...
. The idea of a first-person The Legend of Zelda title started with The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
is an action-adventure video game developed by Nintendo's Entertainment Analysis and Development division for the Nintendo 64 video game console. It was released in Japan on November 21, 1998; in North America on November 23, 1998; and in Europe on December 11, 1998...
, which Miyamoto wanted to develop in the first person, although the inclusion of a child Link got in the way of this. Miyamoto also created the game to show Japanese gamers how fun the genre can be by bridging the gap between simple scrolling shooters and advanced shooters. It was also made with the intent of being a side-story to The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
is an action-adventure game developed by Nintendo Entertainment Analysis and Development, and published by Nintendo for the GameCube and Wii video game consoles. It is the thirteenth installment in The Legend of Zelda series...
, and make use of its vast overworld.
The development staff began work on the game's story, which Miyamoto intended to be an extra story based around Twilight Princess. However, the staff had been coming up with what could be better described as "epic tales" rather than "side stories". When Miyamoto revealed that he would not make the game with an "epic tale", much of the staff was shocked, saying it was like killing all of the ideas they had been working with until then. Some argued that they should not even do it, as it would be simply reusing existing software and selling it to the consumers. Miyamoto proposed that they make a working prototype and have test players give impressions of the game. If they did not like it, Miyamoto would stop development right there. Nintendo of America gathered together several die-hard The Legend of Zelda fans, who all reacted positively to the game. Reports from these test players were given to the development team daily, allowing them to tweak the game as they went along.
Miyamoto created a list of "don't"s for the development team, including not incorporating anything unnecessary, not "making a movie", and making sure a player could be able to complete a stage within three minutes, so as to not discourage the player from trying to beat the level again if he or she fails. Miyamoto also told the developers to not get caught up in the rewards, letting the players focus on the "journey" first, and to not include any boss battles so the developers could focus on making the whole game entertaining rather than focusing on making bosses. Miyamoto eventually gave in after the developers insisted on there being three bosses in the game, although he reduced that to one to make them focus on making one "fabulous" boss battle instead of attempting to make three boss battles.
Choosing which game to use the Wii Zapper with proved to be difficult. Because the project was due to the ideas of The Legend of Zelda staff, Miyamoto wanted to be in the The Legend of Zelda universe, although some staff argued that giving Link a gun would be too strange. Miyamoto proposed a Terminator
The Terminator
The Terminator is a 1984 science fiction action film directed by James Cameron, co-written by Cameron and William Wisher Jr., and starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Michael Biehn, and Linda Hamilton. The film was produced by Hemdale Film Corporation and distributed by Orion Pictures, and filmed in Los...
-style plot about a time warp to the future, but the idea was vetoed immediately. Miyamoto enjoyed the Hidden Village from Twilight Princesss spaghetti western theme, and recreated it so people could enjoy it in an FPS setting. He also thought using the Wii Zapper in a spaghetti western theme would make it even more fun. The development team eventually settled for giving Link a crossbow. Despite crossbows being unable to do a rapid-fire effect, Miyamoto felt that because it is just for fun, they did it anyway.
The game was originally titled Introduction to Wii Zapper. However, the development team opted to change this, to avoid confusion with Introduction to Wii, the Japanese title of Wii Play
Wii Play
Wii Play, released as in Japan, is a party video game for the Wii console. It is a counterpart to the games Wii Sports, Wii Music and Wii Fit. It features minigames that use characters from the Mii Channel. Several of the games featured are from E3 2006 demos such as the Duck Hunt-styled shooting...
. The team also did not want to call it something like The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Crossbow, as it would appear to be a grand-scaled sequel in The Legend of Zelda series, and they did not want it to be interpreted as such. They settled for Link's Crossbow Training in the end. On July 11, 2007, Nintendo announced during its E3 2007 media briefing that a new game would be bundled with the Wii Zapper
Wii Zapper
The Wii Zapper is a gun shell peripheral for the Wii Remote. The name is a reference to the NES Zapper light gun for the Nintendo Entertainment System...
accessory. It was not announced until the GameStop Expo
GameStop
GameStop Corporation is an American video game and entertainment software retailer. The company, whose headquarters is in Grapevine, Texas, United States, operates 6,500 retail stores throughout the United States, Canada, Australia, Austria, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, New...
in September 2007 that Link's Crossbow Training was that game. Nintendo's official announcement of this came on September 10, 2007.
Reception
As of July 9, 2008, the game has sold 194,849 copies in Japan, according to FamitsuFamitsu
is a line of Japanese video game magazines published by Enterbrain, Inc. and Tokuma. Currently, there are five Famitsū magazines: Shūkan Famitsū, Famitsū PS3 + PSP, Famitsū Xbox 360, Famitsū Wii+DS, and Famitsū Wave DVD...
. As of September 30, 2008, Nintendo has sold 2.75 million copies of Link's Crossbow Training worldwide. It was the 16th best-selling game and seventh best-selling Wii game of December 2008 in the United States. It was in the Top 10 on the best-selling Wii games list for nearly two years until being surpassed by Wii Sports Resort
Wii Sports Resort
Wii Sports Resort has received generally favorable reviews, with an average score on Metacritic of 80%. IGN gave it a 7.7 out of 10, citing the impressive fidelity of the controls and how the graphics, as compared to the majority of Wii games, were superb. GameTrailers gave an 8.6 out of 10....
, Wii Fit Plus
Wii Fit Plus
is a fitness video game by Nintendo for the Wii console. The game is an enhanced version of Wii Fit and was announced at Nintendo's E3 2009 media briefing on June 2, 2009. The game was released in Japan on October 1, 2009 and in North America three days later on October 4. It was released in South...
, and later New Super Mario Bros. Wii
New Super Mario Bros. Wii
is a 2009 side-scrolling platform video game published and developed by Nintendo for the Wii video game console. The game was released on November 12, 2009 in Australia, November 15, 2009 in North America, November 20, 2009 in Europe and December 3, 2009 in Japan...
. It now ranks #11 on the list with approximately 4.8 million copies sold as of May 2010.
Reviews have been generally mixed to positive. Nintendo Power stated "In the way that Link's Crossbow Training shows the potential of the zapper, it couldn't be much better." However, they criticized it for being "Just too darn short–you'll probably make it through the entire single-player mode in just over an hour (add another hour to get platinum medals on every stage)." IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
stated that while the game was enjoyable, it was also too short. IGN's review also panned the Wii Zapper as actually "making the game more difficult" to play and generally frustrating to use.
External links
- Link's Crossbow Training at NintendoNintendois a multinational corporation located in Kyoto, Japan. Founded on September 23, 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi, it produced handmade hanafuda cards. By 1963, the company had tried several small niche businesses, such as a cab company and a love hotel....
.com - Link's Crossbow Training at ZeldaWiki.org