The upcoming Zelda-esque action RPG Oceanhorn is one of the most anticipated games amongst our community, and I've been dying to get my hands on it myself. Especially after a premature copy was accidentally released in late February, further teasing us anxious gamers. At GDC last week I finally got to sit down with Phillip from FDG Entertainment, who signed on last December to help developer Cornfox & Bros wrap up development on the title, and give Oceanhorn a spin.

Unfortunately, there were issues with Oceanhorn and our capture hardware, so we weren't able to do the typical hands-on commentary video like we had been doing all week at GDC. However, FDG was nice enough to capture about 5 minutes of footage through their own simulator so we could have a look at the early goings in the game.

Oceanhorn will tell its story via many cutscenes and voiceover work, but since those elements haven't been finalized yet they've been omitted from this hands-on look. So it's just straight up gameplay, but I'll try to give the video some context. Your father is missing after fighting the evil sea monster Oceanhorn, and it's up to you to finish the job. Your first quest in the game is to track down your father's old sword and shield, then get the sailboat that lets you explore the huge open game world and properly begin your adventure.

From the storyline, to some of the game mechanics, to the Wind Waker-esque open-sea sailing, the Zelda influence is apparent in Oceanhorn. That's not a bad thing at all, by any stretch, as it'll likely be a cold day before we see our pointy green-hatted hero on an iOS platform. More importantly, though, is that despite those similarities Oceanhorn still feels like its own thing. It nods but doesn't pilfer, and it's been tailored beautifully to be played on the touchscreen.

Sadly Oceanhorn is still a ways off, and likely won't be hitting until late this year at the earliest, but if my sampling of the game at GDC is any indication it will certainly be worth the wait.

So we've been pretty darn excited for Oceanhorn, the gorgeous upcoming Zelda-inspired action RPG, ever since we first saw it in November of last year. Things went kind of silent after that, until a couple of new screenshots surfaced this past September and a proper gameplay video was unveiled the next month in October. Things were looking fantastic, and it seemed like Oceanhorn might actually be getting kind of close to being finished.

Well, in a good news/bad news sort of situation, developer Cornfox & Bros. posted a huge update in our forums as well as on their blog revealing the status of the Oceanhorn project. First of all, the game won't be coming out in 2012 as originally intended. I'm not totally surprised by that given the scope of a game like this, and I'd rather wait for things to be fully-baked than struggle to hit a target date. It's a bummer, but I can deal.

On the brighter side of things, Cornfox & Bros. announced that they have partnered up with FDG Entertainment to take on Oceanhorn tag-team style, and with the extra help they'll be able to fully realize their original vision for the game and make sure it's the best that it can be. The scope of the project has grown by leaps and bounds since first being announced, and with some extra hands on deck Oceanhorn will be a bigger and better experience than what Cornfox would have realistically been able to deliver in a reasonable timeframe. It's an interesting partnership, and I'm curious to watch it go from here.

This is one title that I'm almost more excited for than any other, and I'm anxious for things to really get moving with the new developer collaboration so they can finish this puppy off and get it in my hands. We'll be keeping a close eye on Oceanhorn as development continues for any new details, but for now enjoy the new set of screens in this post and be sure to check out the forum thread for more discussion from both our community and the game's developers.

Early this year Cornfox & Bros. released a "secret" gameplay video of their upcoming action RPG Oceanhorn, which gave us an all-to-brief glimpse of the highly anticipated game in motion. Things had been kind of quite on the development front since then, but about a week ago the developers updated their blog letting fans know they're still toiling away at Oceanhorn and they even released a couple of new screens to prove it.

Today, Cornfox & Bros. have let another "secret" gameplay video slip out into the ether. And by slip out I mean they publicly published it to YouTube and posted it in our forums for all to see. Somebody really needs to school these guys with the proper meaning of "secret."

In any case, this new video shows a meaty 3 minutes and 25 seconds of Oceanhorn gameplay, and it looks great. The camera even bounces back and forth a couple of times to show the game on iPad as well as iPhone. It looks like this adventure should play just fine on the smaller iPhone and iPod touch screens.

As you can see, there is a definite Zelda-esque vibe going on in Oceanhorn, as that was indeed one of its many inspirations. I'm particularly interested in the single-button gameplay, where just one button foots the load of all the game's actions, changing context when needed. And of course, the world itself is quite gorgeous and there will be a heavy emphasis on exploration, with plenty of hidden caves and side quests to lose yourself in.

We're definitely excited to give Oceanhorn a spin when it finally does hit, which is as of now an undetermined time, and based on the Watch List activity in the TouchArcade app [Free] plenty of you out there are excited for it as well. Stay tuned and hopefully we'll have more on Oceanhorn in the very near future.

Late last year Cornfox & Brothers, one of the developers responsible for the collaborative iOS racer Death Rally [$0.99], revealed Oceanhorn, an action RPG set in a gorgeous world with a heavy emphasis on exploration and discovery. In January a quick gameplay video was released which only served to tease us even more. Oceanhorn looked awesome.

Well it’s been fairly quiet since then on the Oceanhorn front, but the developers have recently reaffirmed on their blog that progress is being made on the game, and have a couple of brand new screenshots to prove it. The top screen demonstrates how your character can interact with various moveable objects in the game, and the bottom screen shows one of the many random caves you’ll run across during your adventures which is waiting to be explored.

Oceanhorn was intended as a 2012 release, though Cornfox & Bros. are being kind of mum about giving out any sort of specific launch timeframe, or even if it will indeed make it out this year. I’m personally of the mind that I’d rather wait for the game to be done than play an inferior product sooner, but it’s tough because I’m really looking forward to Oceanhorn, as are many players in our forums. We’ll let you know as soon as we get any more information on this highly anticipated release.

Check this: footage of Oceanhorn, the Cornfox & Brothers adventure game joint that seems to resemble the best Zelda ever in both style and tone, is now available. We've embedded the video just below for your viewing pleasure and aren't worried in the slightest that it will be pulled despite being labeled as a "secret" video. This is a PR stunt for a title that made waves when first announced, and hasn't seen substantial coverage since.

We're not complaining, by the way. We want to see more and realize that Oceanhorn: Monster of Uncharted Seas could be a big deal when it hits later this 2012. Not only is it fascinatingly gorgeous, but it's also mechanically and functionally inspired by Zelda. The world desperately needs more of these kinds of games, and if these cats can pull it off, a lot of people are going to be very happy.

Also, in entirely unrelated but sort of related news: If you're into Wind Waker, check out this fan-made imaginary Wii U sequel trailer that just hit YouTube and is blowing up all over Twitter. Bananas!