Various sites this morning are reporting that fresh meat has been added to the bones of what the Nintendo community knows about the new Zelda game, in production at Nintendo Japan for the GameCube.

The first rumour is that the game will see a release in Japan in the summer of 2005, with US and European versions to follow by the end of the year. This sits somewhat uncomfortably with us, given that several high-ranking Nintendo officials stated to us - on the record - that a global release backed by a rolling localisation process was planned.

The second rumour is that the new game will pit Link not against Ganon or Ganondorf, but a new enemy, dubbed by several sites as The Hoard. This has been debunked outright, given that trailers shown to date depict Ganon’s disciples at work.

Next up are some possible subtitles, namely ‘The Legend of Zelda: A Link to Darkness’ and ‘The Legend of Zelda: Legacy of Link’. No comment on this one, either from us or Nintendo Europe – we’ll keep you posted.

And finally, according to reports, Shigeru Miyamoto has stated that Zelda may well return to its cel-shaded aesthetic as debuted in the acclaimed Wind Waker title. This is entirely open to interpretation – Will the new Zelda be cel-shaded? No, definitely not. May future games in the series be cel-shaded? Yes, as confirmed to us by Miyamoto at this year’s E3: “The cel-shaded look of Wind Waker was very popular. Although new Zelda does not use this technique, future games may do so.”

More as it breaks.