Interview: Ask the Developer Vol. 9

On May 9th, 2023, Nintendo hosted the ninth volume of their "Ask the Developer" series. with a focus on Tears of the Kingdom. The interview is broken up into four parts. This article covers the English and Japanese translations of the interview.

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First, could I ask you to briefly introduce yourselves? Eiji Aonuma (referred to as Aonuma from this point on): Hello, I’m Eiji Aonuma, the producer of the Legend of Zelda series. My first role in the series was designing dungeons for The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (1). I served as the director and producer for The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (2), and I’ve been the series' producer ever since. (1) The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. Released in November 1998 for Nintendo 64™. It is characterized by a story that goes back and forth between Link's childhood and adulthood. (2) The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. In the U.S., released in November 2006 for Wii™ and December 2006 for Nintendo GameCube™. In the Twilight Realm, the world of shadow, Link transforms into a wolf.
Hidemaro Fujibayashi (referred to as Fujibayashi from this point on): Hello, I’m Hidemaro Fujibayashi, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom's director. Continuing from The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword (3) and the previous game, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (4), I proposed the fundamental idea of the game and directed the entire production team. (3) The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword. Released in November 2011 for the Wii system. This game featured an intuitive control system which utilized the technology of Wii Remote Plus and Wii MotionPlus accessories. A remaster of the game, The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD, was released in July 2021 for Nintendo Switch. (4) The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Released for Nintendo Switch and Wii U in March 2017. Awakening from a 100-year slumber, the protagonist, Link, must explore and survive the vast and dangerous land of Hyrule to regain his memories. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is its direct sequel.
Takuhiro Dohta (referred to as Dohta from this point on): Hi, I’m Takuhiro Dohta, the technical director for this game. I've been involved in the Legend of Zelda series in various different roles, but The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild was the first time I worked on a Legend of Zelda game from the very start. In this title too, I was responsible for the game's overall technical direction. Satoru Takizawa (referred to as Takizawa from this point on): Hi, I’m Satoru Takizawa, the art director for this game. I first joined the series with The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, and since then, I’ve been handling artwork and design for titles such as The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker (5) and The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. I've coordinated the visuals since The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. (5) Launched in December 2002 in Japan for Nintendo GameCube (March 2003 in the U.S.). The player controls the wind with a mysterious baton to sail across the ocean and explore the different islands.
Hajime Wakai (referred to as Wakai from this point on): Hello, I’m Hajime Wakai, the sound director. My first involvement in the series was when I composed music for The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker. I’ve been involved as the sound director for the series since The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword. Thank you very much. Many may already be familiar, but, Aonuma-san, could you give us a brief introduction to the Legend of Zelda series? Aonuma: Of course! The Legend of Zelda series is set in the kingdom of Hyrule, where the sacred power of goddesses resides. It is a series featuring both action and puzzle solving, in which the protagonist Link, the player's avatar, battles against Ganondorf and others who are scheming to obtain that power. In many games, Link must also help Princess Zelda who is destined to be endowed with the sacred power of goddesses. This title, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, is a direct sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, which released in 2017. Once again, it takes place in the vast land of Hyrule after the conclusion of the previous game. So this title picks up after the events of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.
Aonuma: Yes, this title is set in Hyrule shortly after the end of the previous game. There are many reasons why we chose this setting. After finishing development on the previous title, we wondered if we could make it possible for players to continue exploring the world after they've reached the game's ending. The Legend of Zelda series seems to be one of those franchises where the visual style and game mechanics often change drastically for each entry. Was there ever a discussion about creating a new game with a completely new world, rather than a sequel? Aonuma: No, not really. Although the previous title, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, has its own conclusion, we started to come up with new ideas that we wanted to bring to life in this already realized version of Hyrule, so our direction in making a sequel did not change.

Part 1: What to change, and what to keep

English (US)

First, could I ask you to briefly introduce yourselves? Eiji Aonuma (referred to as Aonuma from this point on): Hello, I’m Eiji Aonuma, the producer of the Legend of Zelda series. My first role in the series was designing dungeons for The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (1). I served as the director and producer for The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (2), and I’ve been the series' producer ever since. (1) The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. Released in November 1998 for Nintendo 64™. It is characterized by a story that goes back and forth between Link's childhood and adulthood. (2) The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. In the U.S., released in November 2006 for Wii™ and December 2006 for Nintendo GameCube™. In the Twilight Realm, the world of shadow, Link transforms into a wolf. Hidemaro Fujibayashi (referred to as Fujibayashi from this point on): Hello, I’m Hidemaro Fujibayashi, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom's director. Continuing from The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword (3) and the previous game, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (4), I proposed the fundamental idea of the game and directed the entire production team. (3) The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword. Released in November 2011 for the Wii system. This game featured an intuitive control system which utilized the technology of Wii Remote Plus and Wii MotionPlus accessories. A remaster of the game, The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD, was released in July 2021 for Nintendo Switch. (4) The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Released for Nintendo Switch and Wii U in March 2017. Awakening from a 100-year slumber, the protagonist, Link, must explore and survive the vast and dangerous land of Hyrule to regain his memories. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is its direct sequel. Takuhiro Dohta (referred to as Dohta from this point on): Hi, I’m Takuhiro Dohta, the technical director for this game. I've been involved in the Legend of Zelda series in various different roles, but The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild was the first time I worked on a Legend of Zelda game from the very start. In this title too, I was responsible for the game's overall technical direction. Satoru Takizawa (referred to as Takizawa from this point on): Hi, I’m Satoru Takizawa, the art director for this game. I first joined the series with The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, and since then, I’ve been handling artwork and design for titles such as The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker (5) and The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. I've coordinated the visuals since The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. (5) Launched in December 2002 in Japan for Nintendo GameCube (March 2003 in the U.S.). The player controls the wind with a mysterious baton to sail across the ocean and explore the different islands. Hajime Wakai (referred to as Wakai from this point on): Hello, I’m Hajime Wakai, the sound director. My first involvement in the series was when I composed music for The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker. I’ve been involved as the sound director for the series since The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword. Thank you very much. Many may already be familiar, but, Aonuma-san, could you give us a brief introduction to the Legend of Zelda series? Aonuma: Of course! The Legend of Zelda series is set in the kingdom of Hyrule, where the sacred power of goddesses resides. It is a series featuring both action and puzzle solving, in which the protagonist Link, the player's avatar, battles against Ganondorf and others who are scheming to obtain that power. In many games, Link must also help Princess Zelda who is destined to be endowed with the sacred power of goddesses. This title, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, is a direct sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, which released in 2017. Once again, it takes place in the vast land of Hyrule after the conclusion of the previous game. So this title picks up after the events of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Aonuma: Yes, this title is set in Hyrule shortly after the end of the previous game. There are many reasons why we chose this setting. After finishing development on the previous title, we wondered if we could make it possible for players to continue exploring the world after they've reached the game's ending. The Legend of Zelda series seems to be one of those franchises where the visual style and game mechanics often change drastically for each entry. Was there ever a discussion about creating a new game with a completely new world, rather than a sequel? Aonuma: No, not really. Although the previous title, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, has its own conclusion, we started to come up with new ideas that we wanted to bring to life in this already realized version of Hyrule, so our direction in making a sequel did not change.