This is another except from the latest Iwata Asks we previously posted about…
Iwata
By the way, about the “Whistle of the Wide World” pan flute… Why is it that every The Legend of Zelda game has some sort of sound item in it? I’ve wondered about it for years. Is it because the sound staff is in on making the puzzles, too?Iwamoto
There isn’t a sound item in every game. There wasn’t one in the last one.Iwata
Oh, that’s right. There was one in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina and in The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, but I suppose there isn’t always something.Aonuma
As you’d expect, when the sound team takes a firm line and tells us, “We want to try doing this this time”, we often do use that as our jumping-off point. So I think that they do feel as though, since it’s The Legend of Zelda”, we should use some sort of sound item. In this case, the pan flute was brought up fairly early in the game. Then, too, the mike input capabilities are featured pretty prominently in this game, so the two concepts meshed together neatly.
This is another except from the latest Iwata Asks we previously posted about…
Iwamoto
To start with, in the previous work, we’d included a lot of different features. Personally, I felt as though we’d really done our best. We built in all sorts of ways to play, using the Nintendo DS handheld’s functions. But then Producer Aonuma said, “There’s still quite a lot left to do here, isn’t there?”Iwata
Even though you’ve done all you could (laughs).Aonuma
You see, though, I did feel the same way. In the previous game, there was a tremendous amount of ideas, and even I felt very strongly that we’d done absolutely everything.Iwata
Since you both felt that you’d done everything there was to do, what made you decide to make another The Legend of Zelda for Nintendo DS?Aonuma
Well, there are some definite similarities between that sequence of events and the way The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask came from The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.Iwata
That’s right, the situation now is similar to the way things were with the ?64.
Nintendo has just released the translated version of the latest Iwata Asks. This time, the conversation focused on the development of The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks. As we know, it took about two years to finish creating the game. But apparently, almost a whole year was spent on thinking about the game’s train mechanic.
Iwata
So at first, the staff members thought laying the tracks would be fun as well.Iwamoto
Right. But the problem is that, even if people can lay the tracks anywhere they like, they won’t know where to lay them. Then, to make the story work, there are places where you absolutely mustn’t go, and other places where you really can’t be at certain points in time. So we examined all sorts of different ways of playing. That went on for about a year.Iwata
A whole year? But your development period was two years…Iwamoto
We spent half of those two years on the railroad. And then, one day, Aonuma-san said, “Why don’t we just drop the idea of laying the tracks?”Iwata
At first, you started development from the angle of making it possible for players to lay the tracks anywhere they wanted, and then, one year later, Aonuma-san said, “Let’s not”… How did the team handle that?Iwamoto
Well…Iwata
Did it feel as though a small tea table had been upended?Iwamoto
Not… a small one. A pretty giant one (laughs).
Starting today, Nintendo of America will be taking an active role with Twitter. A “Nintendo Day, Every Day” dialogue has been launched so that the company can provide updates to fans with all sorts of goodies. From here on out, you can expect the Big N to share news, tips, tricks, and more. Additionally, Nintendo will be tweeting questions and the company is interested in hearing feedback from fans. You can check out the Twitter right here.
The Japanese Wii no Ma channel has housed a ton of video content over the past few months. Soon, however, the channel will be expanding with the addition of the Music Room. According to J-pop artist Becky, users will be able to listen to her music through Wii no Ma starting on December 5.
It’s possible that, besides music, Nintendo will make other rooms available. Recently, a few trademarks were found such as the Book Room, Manga Room, and of course, Music Room. It certainly seems as though Nintendo may have some big plans with the Wii no Ma channel in the future.
