Aonuma: Twilight Princess was the Zelda project most impacted by fan opinion
Nintendo usually does its own thing when it comes to creating games – especially with Zelda. No one asked for a cel-shaded Zelda after Ocarina of Time, but that’s exactly what was delivered.
However, there are some instances in which Nintendo has taken fans’ opinions into consideration. For Zelda, Twilight Princess was the project most impacted and influenced by fan opinion.
Zelda producer Eiji Aonuma told Zelda Universe:
Hmm… I think the project that reflects our reaction to fan opinion is probably Twilight Princess. The incentive for us to create that different version of the Zelda universe was certainly as a result of The Wind Waker criticism that we received. Fans were saying that it wasn’t what they were looking for, it wasn’t what they were hoping for, so that’s why we went with this different graphic presentation. So I think that’s probably the one, the biggest change that we made.
I still remember eight years ago at E3 when we ran that first video of Twilight Princess. It was received very well; there was a standing ovation! So I still remember that moment very well.
