Aonuma wants Link to have a gender-neutral appearance so that anyone can relate to him
Posted on 7 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 7 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.
Nintendo: Zelda: BotW is a reason to buy NX right away, third-party talk, NX news later this year
Posted on 7 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, General Nintendo, News, Switch, Wii U | 80 Comments
Financial Post published a new interview with Nintendo of America’s executive vice-president of sales, Scott Moffitt. Topics include lessons learned from this generation, third-parties, when we’ll be hearing more about NX, and more.
We’ve posted some excerpts from the interview past the break. The full discussion can be read here.
More: interview, Scott Moffitt, top
Miyamoto, Aonuma on why Zelda: Breath of the Wild is being made for both NX and Wii U
Posted on 7 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:
Kamiya: Platinum wants to make Bayonetta 3, has ideas for a new Okami
Posted on 7 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 32 Comments
Metro spoke with Platinum Games co-founder Hideki Kamiya at E3 to talk about Scalebound. However, the interview did bring up some Nintendo-related topics. Specifically, Kamiya touched on both Bayonetta and Okami, and indicated that he’s interested in working further on both franchises.
With Bayonetta, Kamiya said that he and the rest of Platinum “want to make 3.” He later added that he has “ideas” for a new Okami game as well.
Here’s the full exchange between Metro and Kamiya:
More: Bayonetta, Hideki Kamiya, Okami, PlatinumGames, top
Miyamoto: Nintendo trying to create “a new kind of Mario”, may appear at next E3
Posted on 7 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 102 Comments
In an interview with IGN, Shigeru Miyamoto teased what Nintendo is planning next for Mario. Miyamoto said that the company is trying to make “a new kind of Mario”, which has a possibility of showing up at E3 next year.
He said:
“We’re always challenging ourselves to create something new, so hopefully you’ll see a new kind of Mario in about a year or two. Maybe next E3 we’ll be able to share something.”
Later in the discussion, Miyamoto noted that there are different challenges with Mario compared to Zelda – which is seeing a refresh of sorts through Breath of the Wild – due to the wide audience Mario games reach.
“It’s kind of difficult with Mario because some of the more important conventions of Mario are based on the approachability and accessibility of those games. (Having new people join Nintendo has allowed Nintendo to look) at the conventions with fresh eyes.”
More: interview, Mario, Shigeru Miyamoto, top
Capcom wants to localize The Great Ace Attorney, “certain circumstances” preventing it
Posted on 7 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, News | 12 Comments
The Great Ace Attorney debuted in Japan last year. Sadly, there hasn’t been any news about it heading west. That’s not due to a lack of interest from Capcom though.
Speaking with GameSpot, Ace Attorney series producer Motohide Eshiro mentioned that Capcom wants to localize The Great Ace Attorney. However, “a number of circumstances” are preventing that from happening at the moment.
Eshiro said:
“Unfortunately there’s a number of circumstances… We absolutely do want to bring it to the West, but unfortunately due to these circumstances right now… I’m really really sorry! Nowadays on the Internet lots of fans are directly asking us, ‘Where’s Daigyakuten Saiban?’ On livestreams, even in the Japanese ones, people from the West will write in and ask where it is. Every time we say, we’re sorry! Certain circumstances are kind of getting in the way.”
More: Capcom, interview, The Great Ace Attorney, top
Miyamoto open to a Sheik spin-off, Nintendo has considered it
Posted on 7 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 40 Comments
There could come a day when Nintendo comes out with a new Zelda spin-off that stars Sheik. That’s based on new comments from Shigeru Miyamoto, who indicated to GameRant that there have been discussions “within the development team” regarding “how it might be cool to have a game” with the character.
Miyamoto went on to say that such a project wouldn’t be “an impossibility.”
His words in full:
“Within the development team, too, there have been talks about how it might be cool to have a game that features Sheik as a protagonist. It’s having maybe a Zelda spin-off with Sheik as a protagonist, for example, I don’t think that’s an impossibility.”
More: Shigeru Miyamoto, The Legend of Zelda, top
Gurumin 3D: A Monstrous Adventure announced for 3DS, out this summer
Posted on 7 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS eShop, News | 17 Comments
Mastiff and Falcom have revealed that Gurumin 3D: A Monstrous Adventure is in the works for 3DS. Furthermore, it’ll be released on the eShop next month.
Gurumin originally came out on PC in 2004 as a Japanese title (before coming to Steam last year), and later ended up on the PSP. This marks the third new platform for the title.
As for the game itself, here’s an overview:
The fantastic Action-RPG from leading Japanese developer Falcom (Developers of “Ys” and “Zwei” among other classics) featuring real-time combat, stunning 3D graphics, tons of fully voiced characters and mini-games , 90+ items, multiple endings, a rocking soundtrack, 35+ hours of playtime, and more.
And a trailer:
Gurumin 3D: A Monstrous Adventure will be released in both North America and Europe this summer as an eShop download.
Aonuma – changes in Zelda: BotW were made based on negative Skyward Sword feedback
Posted on 7 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.
