Iwata Asks is a series of interviews conducted by former Nintendo Global President Satoru Iwata with key creators behind the making of Nintendo games and hardware.



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Nintendo DS




Volume 2 : The History of Handheld The Legend of Zelda Games

Make All the Characters Suspicious Types

Aonuma

It wasn't until The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening that the series started having a proper plot.

Nakago

The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past had a bit of a story, but a story running throughout the whole game really started with The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening.

Iwata

That must mean Koizumi-san the romantic, who was in charge of story, had quite a large influence over the general direction of The Legend of Zelda series.

Aonuma

That's right.

Iwata

Koizumi-san is probably sneezing about now. (laughs)

(Editor's note: In Japan, it is customary for people to jokingly say to each other that if someone sneezes for no reason that it must mean someone is talking about the person who is sneezing.)

Everyone

(laughs)

Iwata

The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening, which Tezuka-san did whatever he wanted with, had quite an influence over subsequent Zelda games.

Tezuka

I wonder about that...

Iwata

As far as the general flow goes, I think so.

Tezuka

I didn't try to do that on purpose, though. Oh, right, about Twin Peaks...

Aonuma

Whoa, here we go. (laughs) Iwata-san, do you know about Twin Peaks?

Iwata

No. Bring me up to speed. (laughs)

Tezuka

We were talking about this before you arrived. I was talking about fashioning The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening with a feel that's somewhat like Twin Peaks. At the time, Twin Peaks was rather popular. The drama was all about a small number of characters in a small town.

Iwata

Okay...

Tezuka

So when it came to The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening, I wanted to make something that, while it would be small enough in scope to easily understand, it would have deep and distinctive characteristics.

Iwata

That makes me think of Wuhu Island in Wii Sports Resort11. The events occur at a well-known location, so background elements come into clarity. You were thinking about that for The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening?

11. Wuhu Island: The island that is the setting of Wii Sports Resort and Wii Fit Plus. The general concept is to develop a wide variety of games entailing adventures and other activities that take place on the island. For more on the "Island Concept," see Iwata Asks: Wii Sports Resort.

Tezuka

I remembered it earlier. (laughs)

Aonuma

At the time, I didn't know what he was talking about. I was like, "What is this guy talking about?" (laughs) But since Twin Peaks was popular at the time...

Iwata

You thought he just wanted to be trendy?

Aonuma

Yeah. (laughs) I thought, "You really want to make The Legend of Zelda like that?!" Now the mystery is solved. (laughs)

When I was reading Tanabe-san's comments in the strategy guide, I saw, "Tezuka-san suggested we make all the characters suspicious types like in the then-popular Twin Peaks."

Iwata

Did that guy who looks like Mario appear because you wanted to make someone who looked suspicious? He did look suspicious, but... (laughs)

Tezuka

After that, in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time12 and The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask13, all kinds of suspicious characters appeared. I didn't tell them to do it that way, but personally, I did find it considerably appealing.

Aonuma

The staff who worked on The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time had all played The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening, so they had a sense of how far they could go with the The Legend of Zelda series.

Tezuka

Oh, I see.

Iwata

That makes sense. Tezuka-san, you broadened what was permissible for The Legend of Zelda without even realizing it.

Tezuka

I guess I did. Well, I'm glad I could contribute.

Everyone

(laughs)

12. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time: The first 3D The Legend of Zelda title. Released for the Nintendo 64 in November 1998.

13. The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask: Released for the Nintendo 64 in April 2000, one year and five months after the release of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.

Aonuma

I'm certain it was an important element in the series making a breakthrough. If we had proceeded from The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past straight to The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time without The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening in between, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time would have been different.

Iwata

Yes, I agree. It made a big difference that the staff knew the possibilities.

Aonuma

That's right.

Iwata

Tezuka-san, you worked on handheld The Legend of Zelda titles after that, too, didn't you?

Tezuka

Yes. That was together with Capcom. At that time, Yoshiki Okamoto14 was at Capcom, and he wanted to make a Zelda game.

The plan was to create a remake of the first The Legend of Zelda. I thought if it was just going to be an adaptation of the first one then it should be all right.

Then, while we were talking about it, I realized he had quite a strong affection for the The Legend of Zelda games. Normally, though, I would have been resistant to leaving games like The Legend of Zelda or Super Mario Bros. to anyone else.

14. Yoshiki Okamoto: A game creator who helped develop the Street Fighter series, among other titles, while at Capcom. Currently, he is president of Game Republic Inc.

Iwata

I vividly remember being shocked when I heard that. I almost thought it must be some kind of mistake. Not because of Capcom, but because I thought The Legend of Zelda was a prominent franchise that Nintendo kept very close. I just assumed that it would be impossible for a major Super Mario Bros. or The Legend of Zelda game to be made by external entities.

Tezuka

Usually, that would be true, but Capcom works really fast, and talking to them, I could sense their enthusiasm for the series, so I thought we could trust them with it. We had them make The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons and The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages15

Iwata

But you were checking in on it rather frequently.

Tezuka

Yes. Capcom is in Osaka. Since they were so close, I visited them on numerous occasions. We hadn't dealt with them in the past, and I found the temperament with which they develop a game is different from ours.

15. The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons and Oracle of Ages: Two action-adventure games released simultaneously for Game Boy Color in February 2001.

Iwata

What was your impression?

Tezuka

They struck me as being very jock-like. (laughs) Not at all like us.

Iwata

What type were you Nintendo guys like?

Tezuka

A circle of like-minded people.

Nakago

Yes, that's right. You're definitely a circle of like minds. (laughs)

Aonuma

Like an afterschool club. (laughs)

Iwata

So it was the Afterschool Club of Like Minds versus the Strictly Hierarchical Athletic Types, and it was that unusual combination that brought forth The Legend of Zelda for Game Boy Color.

Tezuka

The first one went really well, so I thought I could leave more to them.

Aonuma

That led to the later The Legend of Zelda games for the DS system.

Tezuka

You guessed it.