Hey Zelda fans, have you ever wanted to enjoy the DS games at a higher level of quality? Ever thought that the likes of Phantom Hourglass and Spirit Tracks had a lot of potential, but were held back by the obvious limitations of the system?
If so, it seems you may be in luck. Because a team of intrepid Zelda fans is now remaking The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks for modern systems.
Here are some preview videos from the obviously named ‘Spirit Tracks Remake’ YouTube channel:
As you can see, the game looks stunning so far. Yeah, it’s clearly in early development here. The maps are mostly test rooms, objects are sometimes untextured and many of the effects are missing here.
But structurally it’s sound. Structurally, they’ve got a game that seems to feel exactly like the original would on a modern console, plus an article that fits the look and feel of the project perfectly. Heck, there doesn’t even seem to be any AI involved, which is a pleasant surprise for a game like this!
It’s an incredible project, and one we’re happy to support all the way to completion.
However, it raises an interesting ethical concern for video game journalists. Do we cover games like this at this point in time?
Because on the one hand, any coverage increases the likelihood of a Nintendo takedown tenfold. The minute IGN, Kotaku, Polygon or even Nintendo Life get a hold of this news, it’s going to blow up online. It’s going to go viral on social media at exactly the point at which Nintendo is trying to market their own Zelda games in a Nintendo Direct.
If we cover it on this site, we’re basically putting a giant target on the development team’s back. We’re telling every YouTube, writer and influencer under the sun that there’s a massive fan game project they need to look at, and inspiring a flood of coverage that will almost certainly go poorly for the game.
So, there’s a definite temptation to just shut up about the whole thing. To try and find anything else to focus on, despite our clear interest in the game and its development.
At the same time though, there’s also a sense of inevitability about the whole thing. As much as we hate to say it, this project is almost certainly not going to get past the media circus unscathed.
Someone will write about it. Someone will make a YouTube video on it. Someone will talk about it on a podcast or livestream.
This story will get out there somehow, and there is virtually nothing anyone can do to stop that. If we don’t cover it, someone else will.
And that raises two more issues.
First, would we be lying to our fanbase if we pretended this game didn’t exist? Would we effectively be failing as journalists if we didn’t talk about it in some way?
Because that’s always been an interesting question to us. Should journalists and influencers self-censor to avoid consequences for the people they’re covering, even if said people are clearly doing something newsworthy?
Honestly, we don’t know. It’s a tricky moral dilemma for sure.
There’s also a bit of a business incentive here too.
So, we’ll try a bit of a middle ground here. We’ll report the story, as seen in the article so far, but we won’t generally advertise it too much. That way, people who view the site can learn about the Spirit Tracks remake and get involved with the project, but the internet hordes and Nintendo ninjas might be kept at bay for just a tad longer.
Definitely check it out if you’re interested!
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