The Legend of Zelda is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year. In honor of that, GameSpot’s Mike Mahardy wrote an article about the series’ legacy, and reached out to some developers to see how it influenced them. Cliff Bleszinski – former Gears of War maker – as well as Darksiders developers Joe Madureira and David Adams shared some thoughts.

Continue on below for a look at what the three developers said. You can also find the original article with comments from artist David Hellman here.

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Aonuma on valuing feedback from Zelda fans, not trying to force messages into the games

Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 79 Comments

Speaking with GamesMaster this month, Zelda producer Eiji Aonuma commented on how feedback from the fans is greatly valued.

He said:

“We’re constantly thinking about how to make it unique compared to other games, both in general as well as to others in the Zelda series. Of course, the response of fans is most important and something we care very much about, which is why recently we have been showing early previews at events like E3. We’re looking to see that there are no problems with the directions we’re taking, and are reflecting the reactions we do get into subsequent development.”

At another point of the interview, Aonuma talked about how the Zelda games are free of meaning. He finds the idea of putting ideologies in games “kind of scary.”

Aonuma stated:

“I haven’t and won’t be trying to put any message or meaning into the games. (If someone else were to make a Zelda game though, of course it might be different.) Occasionally I receive messages from fans telling me how playing Zelda games has changed their lives. While of course this makes me incredibly happy to hear, I feel a great sense of responsibility as well, so part of me feels that developers putting their own ideologies in games is kind of scary.”

That wasn’t all from Aonuma. During the same interview, he also weighed in on Link having a voice. You can find his comments about that topic here if you missed them last week.

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Zelda: Symphony of the Goddesses – London appearance commercial

Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, Videos | 2 Comments

The Legend of Zelda: Symphony of the Goddesses – Master Quest will be returning to the UK on April 23 at The SSE Arena in Wembley, London. A commercial promoting the event can be found below.

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Zelda: Twilight Princess manga is happening

Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in GameCube, General Nintendo, News, Wii, Wii U | 25 Comments

Last July, Akira Himekawa teased a new entry in the Zelda manga series. There were plans to have it out last year, but strangely, nothing ever materialized. A concrete update was finally shared today.

A new Twilight Princess manga will begin and published at Shogakukan’s manga app Manga One. They would’ve liked to announce the title during last year’s tease, but there were many states of affairs, which is why they could only announce it today.

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Aonuma unsure about having Link speak in Zelda games

Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 80 Comments

In an interview with GamesMaster this month, Zelda producer Eiji Aonuma shared some thoughts about the possibility of having Link speak. He does believe that this could be a good idea, but at the same time, he also “feels that that air of proud independence he has because he doesn’t speak is a precious part of the individuality of his character.”

Aonuma’s words in full:

“We’ve had a lot of requests from fans to hear [Link’s] voice, and while in some ways I do feel that it could be good to have a game where he speaks, part of me also feels that that air of proud independence he has because he doesn’t speak is a precious part of the individuality of his character. I want to think long and hard about whether changing that would be for the better or not before I make any decision.”

Link has been known throughout the history of Zelda as being a silent protagonist. If he were to be given a voice, that would definitely have a notable impact on the series. How would you feel if Link spoke in a Zelda title?

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New 3DS XL Hyrule Edition coming to Europe in March

Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in New Nintendo 3DS, News | 1 Comment

Good news for Zelda fans in Europe, as the Hyrule Edition New 3DS XL was announced for the territory today. You’ll be able to pick one up starting on March 24.

Here’s the news from Nintendo’s Twitter account:

Introducing the New Nintendo #3DS XL Hyrule Edition, arriving on 24th March! #Zelda pic.twitter.com/l9QqOXHqTr
— Nintendo UK (@NintendoUK) January 21, 2016

Source

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Zelda: Twilight Princess HD tweet (1/19/16)

Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News, Wii U | 28 Comments

Yesterday, the Japanese Zelda Twitter account began sending out new messages to promote Twilight Princess HD. There’s another post today, though this time it’s more about the series in general. Along with the timeline image above “Malo” wrote the following:

“…it’s Malo. This is a rare article brought by the pops with mustache… (note: likely Aonuma) So according to this, this story is the era of victory of the Hero of Time. The Hero of Time? …I don’t know the details, but why is everyone wearing green clothes? …if they’re of the same brand. That’s gotta be really good product appeal.”

Source

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Zelda fans vote on their favorite entry in a new survey

Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 63 Comments

Zelda Informer, a fan site dedicated to all things Zelda, recently conducted a massive survey about the series. 9,461 people participated, 6,603 of which filled it out to completion.

One of the more interesting results stems from a question asking people about their favorite Zelda game. Here are the results from that one:

The Legend of Zelda – 4%
The Adventure of Link – 2%
A Link to the Past – 13%
Link’s Awakening – 4%
Ocarina of Time – 36%
Majora’s Mask – 29%
Oracle of Seasons – 3%
Oracle of Ages – 3%
The Wind Waker – 19%
The Minish Cap – 6%
Twilight Princess – 37%
Phantom Hourglass – 3%
Spirit Tracks – 3%
Skyward Sword – 18%
A Link Between Worlds – 8%
Tri Force Heroes (E3 Demo) – 1%
Four Swords – 2%
Four Swords Adventures – 2%
Zelda Game and Watch (Any Version) – 0%
BS The Legend of Zelda – 0%
Ancient Stone Tablets – 0%
Link’s Crossbow Training – 1%
Navi’s Trackers – 0%
The Faces of Evil – 0%
Wand of Gamelon – 0%
Zelda’s Adventure – 0%
Tingle’s Rosy Rupeeland – 0%
Tingle’s Balloon Trip of Love – 0%
Tingle’s Balloon Fight – 0%
Hyrule Warriors – 7%
Ocarina of Time 3D – 14%
The Wind Waker HD – 14%
Majora’s Mask 3D – 15%
Link’s Awakening DX – 4%
Never Beat a Zelda Game – 0%
No Favorite – 3%

Twilight Princess was the most selected response here, although Ocarina of Time is right behind. A Link Between Worlds was also the top handheld title excluding remakes.

You can find much more from the survey right here.

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