Aonuma reflects on Majora’s Mask’s short dev time, was originally worried about fans accepting the game

Majora’s Mask might be one of the most interesting games in the Zelda series. Not only is the title darker and different from other entries, but development itself was also atypical.

Eiji Aonuma reflected on the original release of Majora’s Mask in a recent issue of GamesMaster. In his chat with the magazine, he discussed the game’s short development cycle, and how “innovation truly comes when you have to work under some kind of big pressure.”

Below are his words in full:

At first we were told that we needed to start work on the original straight after Ocarina of Time, and that we needed to complete it in a year. Since we had to make a game that would be just as fun in such a short amount of time we needed to have some innovation that wasn’t in Ocarina of Time. Looking back now, I feel that innovation truly comes when you have to work under some kind of big pressure.

Today, Majora’s Mask is certainly loved by Zelda fans. But Aonuma originally had significant concerns about it being accepted due to its “uniqueness.”

Since its release, no-one has really made anything similar, and I think the uniqueness of it is what has really allowed it to leave a lasting impression, even now, in the memories of fans. Saying that though, I was very worried at launch whether users would accept the game, precisely because of this uniqueness.

The remake of Majora’s Mask, The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask 3D, is coming to 3DS in less than a month. It’s due out on February 13.