29th Oct 2011 - It was widely announced that the Town Square in Nottingham City Centre was to be transformed into the Hyrule Castle Market from Ocarina of Time as part of the GameCity festival, which is now in its sixth year.

Sadly the rumours about the event were highly exaggerated. A long queue snaked its way around what could only be described as a huge metal marquee, which was concerning as it was a long line to what appeared to be a small shack. However since the weather was dismal it was an acceptable sacrifice to let this slide for reasons of wind and water resistance. Those waiting in line were given free copies of Official Nintendo Magazine to pass the time, which featured an article chronicling the Legend of Zelda series and a review of the highly anticipated Skyward Sword in which it received a highly respectable 98%.

Expectations however were not met and a vision of a real like Hyrule Castle Town remained a dream as inside this marquee was a scene which did not resemble Castle Town in the slightest. Disappointing. Instead there were many activities for the younger Zelda fans to enjoy but not much to keep the older fans entertained. A long table provided the setup for many arts and crafts activities, from designing your own shield to folding yourself a nice boat from Phantom Hourglass.

Outlining the walls were fully playable versions of every main console game in the Legend of Zelda series and a long blank blackboard where fans were invited to make their mark, which many did with some impressive art skills.

Available to buy were costumes of Link, though these resembled the mascot of Nottingham - Robin Hood - more than the iconic tunic of the Hero of Time. Sword and bow tutorials were present, which gave the young'uns a chance to try their hand at being the Ocarina-toting swordsman and marksman themselves. These were hosted by a member of staff dressed in Link's red tunic who gave the willing participants who took centre stage instructions on what stance you should take and how to attack and defend.

Flair with your free hand was required.

The main attraction was the opportunity to play a demo of Skyward Sword. Waiting in line for almost half an hour for a 5 minute taste was definitely worth it to whet my appetite for Link's latest adventure. The demo I played was set in the Earth Temple after some exploration I encountered a Stalfos and gave him what for. The controls are very responsive, the motion is fluid and the environment was amazing.

As always there are those so dedicated that they must dress up as characters from this timeless series and although there wasn't many, the few that did dress up looked very impressive.

Although the premise may have been misleading, the day was a fun and eventful one. Despite not looking like Hyrule, you could definitely feel the sensation of being taken away from the normal world. Even if it was just for an afternoon.

Written by Derek Wheatley

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