Aonuma wants Link to have a gender-neutral appearance so that anyone can relate to him
Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 191 Comments
When Zelda: Breath of the Wild’s was initially announced, there was talk about Link possibly being female. Producer Eiji Aonuma eventually shot down that idea, but speculation had been swirling before this week that the game could include an option that would allow players to choose a gender.
Link may look a bit feminine in Breath of the Wild – or at least slightly less masculine compared to how he looks in Twilight Princess. However, his appearance is intentional.
Aonuma explained to TIME that he “wanted Link to be gender neutral” going all the way back to Ocarina of Time. This was done so that different types of players could relate to the character. Aonuma said that he “went a different route and created a version of Link that was more masculine” with Twilight Princess, but “went back to the drawing board and decided Link should be a more gender-neutral character” after that title.
Aonuma’s comments in full:
More: Eiji Aonuma, interview, The Legend of Zelda, top
Nintendo Minute – Zelda: Breath of the Wild gameplay with Eiji Aonuma
Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in Switch, Videos, Wii U | 5 Comments
The latest episode of Nintendo Minute has gone live, and it’s a very special one. Zelda producer Eiji Aonuma stopped by to chat and show off Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Take a look at the video below.
A message from Aonuma about Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Switch, Wii U | 48 Comments
Nintendo UK has a new post up on its website about The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. On it, there’s a message from producer Eiji Aonuma.
Here’s the note in full:
Dear Zelda fans,
The new Zelda game, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild for Wii U, has finally been presented at E3. The theme for this new title is “rethinking the conventions of the Zelda series”. Breaking from tradition, the player has the freedom to go wherever they wish to go, to do whatever they wish to do, in a vast open world. This is a whole new, unprecedented game in the history of Zelda.
In the Nintendo booth at E3, we arranged statues of characters from the game in diorama-like settings, borrowed from the game. We wanted to entertain visitors and help them experience the world of the new Zelda game. The picture here shows Mr Miyamoto and I bravely challenging an in-game monster called a Bokoblin. I know we are acting a bit silly for our age, but I hope this gives you a bit of a laugh…
Miyamoto, Aonuma on why Zelda: Breath of the Wild is being made for both NX and Wii U
Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Switch, Wii U | 145 Comments
A few weeks before E3, Nintendo revealed that Zelda: Breath of the Wild would be made for NX in addition to Wii U. Two of the top developers involved in the project have now commented on the decision to have it on both platforms.
First, here’s what Shigeru Miyamoto told IGN:
“It’s complicated because as we’re developing this — obviously development of NX started a while ago — and unfortunately, I’m sorry, but the development of this game took a lot longer than expected. We really felt like we would be able to get it done last year, but there was a lot of struggle with using the physics engine, so that’s why it took a long time.”
“Also, when we thought about developing a Zelda game for the NX, it would have to be way further down the life cycle of the system. And this game, rather than really focusing on the unique features of the Wii U, it’s really a game you sit down and get into. There was a change in direction, so we decided to develop for both consoles a while ago.”
Zelda producer Eiji Aonuma chimed in on things as well. IGN mentioned that the situation is similar to Twilight Princess, which appeared on both Wii and GameCube.
Aonuma said in response:
Aonuma – changes in Zelda: BotW were made based on negative Skyward Sword feedback
Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Switch, Wii U | 118 Comments
According to Zelda producer Eiji Aonuma, Breath of the Wild features changes that are based on the negative feedback Nintendo received from some fans who played Skyward Sword.
Aonuma told Polygon:
“A lot of the fans that played Skyward Sword said that they were really bummed out that they couldn’t find the hidden element of the game. A lot of the users, when they looked at the map, they said, ‘OK, there’s these places I can go, but how come I can’t go over here?’
“Fans that enjoyed the motion controls in Skyward Sword may actually be a little bit disappointed playing this game.”
Aonuma added that the decision to create a much bigger world this time around was largely shaped by those fan responses. In this game, Nintendo wants there to be a lot of treasures and surprises for players to find.
Aonuma: Biggest Nintendo team ever working on Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Switch, Wii U | 20 Comments
It’s no secret that The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is a massive project. But its scope is so huge that Nintendo has its largest team ever working on the game.
That’s something producer Eiji Aonuma shared in an interview with GameSpot. He largely talked about that during the discussion, but also gave an interesting answer about seeing and doing everything in the game.
Head past the break for Aonuma’s comments. Definitely check out GameSpot’s piece here as well.
Aonuma on Zelda: BotW – getting lost is fun, subtitle, coy on Link’s green tunic, more
Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Switch, Wii U | 13 Comments
IGN recently published an article about Zelda: Breath of the Wild which contains comments from producer Eiji Aonuma. Aonuma spoke about the world and how getting lost can be fun, rupees’ role, the subtitle, the special arrow shown in 2014, and Link’s green tunic.
We’ve rounded up Aonuma’s comments below. You can read IGN’s full piece here.
On how Nintendo approached the idea of filling such a large space…
“We talked a little bit about the idea of density, how dense to make this big world.” – Aonuma
– The team realized that filling the vast landscape with things to do and explore would be a lot of work
– As the team experienced moving around on horseback or climbing up to a high place to paraglide down, they realized that their desire to see what’s ahead of the next horizon grew
– At the same time, the team realized some moments should be subtle as you explore
“We realized that it’s OK if there’s pocket of emptiness.” – Aonuma
Aonuma on Zelda: Breath of the Wild – Miyamoto taking a step back, single-screen experience
Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Switch, Wii U | 96 Comments
This information comes from a Wired interview with Zelda producer Eiji Aonuma…
On Miyamoto stepping back a bit…
“I’m actually the one who was the most affected by Miyamoto taking a step back, because now I have to take on all the responsibilities of Zelda. I thought, hey, this is my chance to create something I really want to create!
Miyamoto is God, so even when I say, hey, this is what I think should be done, they’ll always question: ‘Well, what would Miyamoto say?’ Up until about two years ago, Miyamoto actually had a lot of comments and advice about Breath of the Wild.”
On having it be a single-screen experience…
“We realized that having something on the GamePad and looking back and forth between the TV screen and the GamePad actually disrupts the gameplay, and the concentration that the game player may be experiencing. You have your car’s GPS system on your dash. If you had it down in your lap, you’re going to get into an accident!”
Aonuma on Zelda: BotW – Link jumping, art style, Guardians, open world, breaking traditions
Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Switch, Wii U | 13 Comments
This information comes from Zelda producer Eiji Aonuma regarding Zelda: Breath of the Wild via a TIME interview…
On letting Link jump manually…
Aonuma: We never really questioned it, we just created a game where there wasn’t a jump function. But we always had an auto-jump. In order to create an environment where we implement an auto-jump function, we had to make sure players always know where to go. We basically created an environment where, say there’s a cliff, a wall, then we created a wider area where users could approach and then auto-jump.
In Breath of the Wild, where you have an environment where things are rounder and rockier, it’s really hard to create that auto-jump function. That meant we had to let it go. We really wanted for Link to climb up things, but it wasn’t fun to create an auto-climb function. By contrast, it was really fun to have Link actually grab on things, and then being able to control that climbing motion. That’s why we needed to introduce jumping, so Link could jump up on things and start climbing.
Back when we were working on this, I wasn’t 100% sure players would be happy with the change, because it’s been such a big part of the franchise for such a long time. But after this E3 experience, I’ve gained confidence it was the right decision.
Eiji Aonuma Mii going out to 3DS owners
Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, News | 0 comments
Nintendo has started sending out an Eiji Aonuma Mii to 3DS owners in both North America and Europe. If you have SpotPass enabled, you should be seeing him show up very soon (if not already).
Aonuma’s message? “Let’s get wild”. He’s also been showing playing Zelda: Tri Force Heroes recently.
