Submit a news tip



Eiji Aonuma

Zelda Tears Kingdom Rauru seal shrines Lightroots

Hidemaro Fujibayashi and Eiji Aonuma, the director and producer of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, have shared interesting information regarding Rauru’s seal – including what it did to Ganondorf – as well as the shrines and Lightroots. This comes as part of a recent interview with Japanese magazine Nintendo Dream that we’ve translated.

We won’t go too much into a summary here as the interview goes into (light) spoilers, but we get to hear about what Rauru’s seal on Ganondorf actually was, the appearance of shrines and Lightroots, and more.

Zelda Maker Aonuma

Super Mario Maker has had two successful games, and some fans have wanted Nintendo to explore something similar for The Legend of Zelda. However, don’t expect anything on that front in the near future.

Zelda series producer Eiji Aonuma spoke about the possibility in an interview with Polygon, but seemed to rule it out. While Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom have allowed for creativity through its different gameplay systems, Aonuma doesn’t feel that the actual concept of Zelda Maker would be a good fit for the franchise.

Zelda linear Eiji Aonuma

Starting with Breath of the Wild, The Legend of Zelda has moved away from the linear and traditional 3D games fans had been accustomed to since Ocarina of Time. The series is now focusing on “open air” experiences with a huge world to explore and with much more freedom. Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom have done well from both in terms of sales and reception, though some fans miss what came before.

Zelda producer Eiji Aonuma has now responded to some of those discussions as part of an interview with IGN. Here’s what Aonuma shared when asked how he feels about those who miss linear Zelda given where the series is at now:

Playable Zelda

Nintendo’s Eiji Aonuma already shared a few words earlier this year on what it’ll take for Zelda to become playable, and he’s not commented on the possibility again.

Of course, as fans know, Link has taken the center spotlight in The Legend of Zelda even though the princess herself is often involved with the story. You can play as her in titles like Spirit Tracks and Hyrule Warriors, but that’s not exactly what some have been asking for.

Zelda timeline Hidemaro Fujibayashi

Hidemaro Fujibayashi and Eiji Aonuma, who has served as the director on Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom, has shared general thoughts about the Zelda timeline and how much Nintendo thinks about it.

The timeline has long been a topic of discussion for fans, but there have been times when Nintendo has been coy about it. When asked by Game Informer how much consideration and importance Nintendo gives it, Fujibayashi said it’s “something that the development team recognizes and it considers, but to an extent.” This is because focusing on it way much can put restraints on creativity.

Zelda Tears of the Kingdom Breath Wild sequel

Tears of the Kingdom did something that we don’ usually see from Nintendo, which is a sequel set in the world of a previous Zelda game – that being Breath of the Wild. While that just happened, don’t expect to see something similar again anytime soon.

Zelda producer Eiji Aonuma, speaking with Game Informer, said Nintendo’s goal was to exhaust what was possible in the world of Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom. He went on to say specifically: “I don’t think that we’ll be making a direct sequel to a world such as that that we’ve created.”

Zelda Tears of the Kingdom Depths design

A recent interview with Famitsu reveals that the Depths for The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom “were made in a surprisingly short period of time.”

That comes from director Hidemaro Fujibayashi. The initial area’s development came together quickly, though he did acknowledge that “it took a long time and many adjustments for it to take its present shape”. 

Zelda Tears Kingdom Elden Ring

The developers behind The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom didn’t take any inspiration from Elden Ring or any other major titles for that matter. That’s according to Hidemaro Fujibayashi, the game’s director and Eiji Aonuma, the producer of the series.

FromSoftware previously said that when the studio was developing Elden Ring, it was influenced by various titles including The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. However, it sounds like the team at Nintendo was too busy to play that game – or at least that goes for the developers at the top.

As the director and producer respectively, Hidemaro Fujibayashi and Eiji Aonuma are two of the most important people working on the Zelda series currently and they recently finished up Tears of the Kingdom as director and producer respectively. Both have been involved with the franchise for decades at this point. Fujibayashi started out with Zelda: Oracle of Seasons and Oracle of Ages in 2001 while Aonuma has been around even longer – specifically in 1998 with Ocarina of Time.

Fujibayashi and Aonuma, speaking with RTL Nieuws, were recently asked if they’re afraid of getting “stuck” in the sense that they only continue to work on Zelda games. However, both don’t seem to view it that way.

Here’s what the two shared:

Classic style Zelda

The Legend of Zelda series producer Eiji Aonuma has again commented on the possibility of revisiting the style of past entries in the series – but there are no plans as of now.

Speaking with RTL Nieuws, Aonuma said that games like Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom were possible because of what came before them. However, rather than looking back at the old entries in the series, Nintendo instead prefers “to look to the future.”


Manage Cookie Settings