Hands-on once more with the Hero of Time

In all the Wii U commotion at E3 this year, Link's next and final outing on Wii was rather lost, but we were able to reconnect with the Hero of Time at a recent preview event in the UK. Three levels in total were playable: an aerial bird race, a dungeon and a face-off against Lord Ghirahim. With Wii Remote Plus in hand we set off to see if Wii's final big game will send the console out with a bang.

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Squeeze more juice

The 3DS's battery life isn't the best around, but Hyperkin's newest accessory will keep the power light at the end of the tunnel on a little longer.

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Squeeze more juice

The 3DS's battery life isn't the best around, but Hyperkin's newest accessory will keep the power light at the end of the tunnel on a little longer.

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Okay, now this is exciting

Picross DS is still one of our favourite reasons to power up the DS these days, so the news that developer Jupiter is working on a sequel for the 3DS eShop is reason to rejoice indeed.

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What will it be?

Let's Golf! 3D will be the first new downloadable game for 3DS, and it's out next week.

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Say "ahhh"

Japan's about to come down with a fever, and Dr. Mario is the cure.

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Ticket prices inside

Nintendo's orchestral tribute to the Legend of Zelda series will kick off on 21st October at the Pantages Theatre in Los Angeles, ahead of a full tour in 2012.

The 70-piece orchestra and choir will play pieces picked by Koji Kondo and the Nintendo sound team and will be produced by the team behind the PLAY! A Video Game Symphony series of concerts.

Tickets for the LA event go on sale through Ticketmaster from 1st August and range from $35 to $150, exclusive fees and taxes. There's no further information about the larger tour, other than that it's happening next year.

The official announcement also reiterates several other Zelda anniversary celebrations, including the September release of Legend of Zelda: Four Swords for DSi and 3DS, with more Zelda-related celebrations to be announced, apparently.

Will you be shelling out for the LA concert or hope it comes a little closer to home next year?

Nintendo Celebrates 25 Years of The Legend of Zelda with Symphony Concert

First Concert Will Be Oct. 21 in Los Angeles, Followed by Full Tour in 2012

REDMOND, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Nintendo is celebrating the 25th anniversary of The Legend of Zelda™ video game series in style. The Legend of Zelda 25th Anniversary Symphony Concert will be held Oct. 21 at the Pantages Theatre in Los Angeles, and will include songs from the iconic series hand-picked by Nintendo composer Koji Kondo and his team. A full concert tour for The Legend of Zelda will launch in 2012. Ticket prices for the Los Angeles concert start at $35 and will be available starting Aug. 1 at http://www.ticketmaster.com/event/0B0046F3F2235ED2.

“The Legend of Zelda has few peers in the pantheon of video game giants, and the games and their music have always shared a deep connection,” said Scott Moffitt, Nintendo of America’s executive vice president of Sales & Marketing. “Through these concerts, fans nationwide will be able to gather and show their love for the quarter century of action, adventure and excitement that The Legend of Zelda games have brought to their lives.”

A 70-piece orchestra will be joined by a choir to perform new arrangements of a variety of songs from the series’ 25-year history. The concerts will be produced by Jason Michael Paul Productions, Inc., the producers of PLAY! A Video Game Symphony, which has toured the world performing music from video games.

“The Legend of Zelda 25th Anniversary Symphony Concert Tour brings one of the video game industry’s most exciting and enduring franchises to the concert hall and presents what we feel is the definitive concert experience for the series,” said executive producer Jason Michael Paul. “It’s an event that fans and music aficionados won’t want to miss.”

Nintendo’s celebration of the 25th anniversary includes many elements. On June 19, Nintendo released The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time™ 3D game for the Nintendo 3DS™ system, while The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword game for the Wii™ console is planned for this holiday season. In September, Nintendo is offering the multiplayer fun of The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords as a free gift to fans. Fans can download a Nintendo DSiWare™ version of the game using their Nintendo DSi™ or Nintendo DSi XL™ systems, or by accessing the Nintendo eShop with a Nintendo 3DS system (wireless broadband Internet access required for download). Additional 25th anniversary activities will be announced throughout 2011.

For more information about the concerts, visit http://www.zelda-symphony.com.

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The Fox effect

Star Fox 64 3DS hits the West on 9th September, but it's already out in Japan and has given the console's sales a sizeable boost.

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Come in, take a seat

As if to prove that Nintendo hasn't forgotten about the 25th anniversary of Metroid that kicks off early next month, the company's UK wing has just launched an official hub to celebrate Samus's space adventures.

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Nintendo Video arrives!

After last week's excitement with the Netflix application coming to 3DS, now everyone gets a taste of free 3D video with the Nintendo Video application to download from the eShop. Elsewhere there's a 3D Classic, some DSiWare and a WiiWare title too.

3DS eShop

3D Classics: Xevious (Nintendo, $5.99) — The second three-dimensional revamp after the launch title 3D Classics: Excitebike, jump into the cockpit of the famous Solvalou fighter and blow things up. Lots of things. We'll see how well this one has been updated in our upcoming review.

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