Aonuma Talks Zelda's Past, Nintendo DS Zelda Plans

Thanks to GameSpy for its interview with Nintendo's Eiji Aonuma on the Zelda franchise, as the EAD deputy manager reveals he wasn't a fan of early Zelda efforts ("I could not stand the original Zelda. When I first played it, I did not know what I was doing. I was overwhelmed by enemies and I got killed right away"), questions the infamous CD-I Zelda titles ("I must admit, they were a strange characterization of the Zelda games"), and mentions future franchise plans, including a previously unconfirmed Nintendo DS Zelda title: "We have a Game Boy Advance Zelda [Minish Cap], a DS Zelda, and this [realistic] GameCube one."

Comments

Not good

[ArmenTanzarian]

He couldn't play/didn't appreciate the original Zelda? IMO he shouldn't be allowed within the same building as a team that's working on a new one. There's a lot of love for the old characters who're still around and fans expect at least some level of character integrity over the years; beating the first game should be part of the application process to touch any future Zelda game.

Re:Not good

[fireduck]

seeing as how he was the director for Majora's Mask and was a designer for Ocarina of Time; and was chosen specifically by Miyamoto for these jobs, i don't think there's much to fear.

but that's an interesting point to raise. i wonder how many of the developers working on any of the 3D castle wolfenstein games were required to many through the old top down version? or whether the Duke Nuke'em team had to play the side scroller? Fact is, games and technology evolve and adhering to the original is not always good or possible (did any of the 3D wolfensteins ever involve stealing guard uniforms to travel incognito?)

Re:Not good

[NanoGator]

"He couldn't play/didn't appreciate the original Zelda? IMO he shouldn't be allowed within the same building as a team that's working on a new one."

That's a bit of an overreaction if you ask me. His complaints are more or less legitimate. That game doesn't really have the sense of style that the SNES game he did like had. The sense of direction in that game, at least from initial viewing, is virtually non-existent. Remember the SNES game whose title escapes me at the moment? It immediately immerses you into a story.

Anyhoo, I don't want to spend too long going over that. There's a difference between saying "I didn't like it" and "I hated every single thing about it." He didn't say the latter, but his comment is being interpreted that way.

Re:Not good

[ArmenTanzarian]

Not adhering to the old technology, but at least realizing the core elements that made people love the games in the first place. People didn't play Zelda for the whiz-bang graphics, it was the puzzles and the plot (which was more of a plot framework until later games).

Re:Not good

[Anonymous Coward]

Your point is well conceived. I'd like to make a question out of it for everybody.

Would you rather have new Zelda games be similar to the numerous Zelda games that Aonuma either enjoyed playing and/or had an actual hand in making, or would you rather have new Zeldas follow in the style of the one Zelda game that Aonuma has stated that he didn't like?

The only people with valid concerns regarding the Zelda franchise being in Aonuma's hands are, then, the ones that thought that Zelda took a wrong turn somewhere before the third game. That hardly makes them the kind of Zelda fans who would buy a new Zelda game then, no?

Re:Not good

[kannibal_klown]

Remember the SNES game whose title escapes me at the moment?

How could I forget, it's my absolute favorite game. I still try to play it from beginning to end once a year.

It was The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past

Re:Not good

[Anonymous Coward]

The Zelda games that Aonuma has worked on carry on the legacy of Zelda III: LTTP quite faithfully.

I liked the first two Zelda games very much. But it wasn't until the third that I felt that the series had become a substantial force in the gaming world. And knowing that now, it's not difficult to see how one could dislike the first game but adore the third (similarities notwithstanding).

As for the concern about Aonuma's disdain for jumping games, I'll put forward the controversial notion that one of the things that makes the 3D Zeldas so great as realistic adventure games is the lack of a distinct jump operation. While jump puzzles do exist in these Zeldas, they aren't platformers, and the lack of distinct, platformer-style, user-controlled jumping helps solidify that fact. I doubt the Zelda series will suffer any more under Aonuma than it already has (which is to say, not much, if at all).

Re:Not good

[metroid composite]

There's a lot of love for the old characters who're still around and fans expect at least some level of character integrity over the years; beating the first game should be part of the application process to touch any future Zelda game.

Yep, such exciting characterization and dialogue as...

Master using it, and you can have THIS.

It's a secret to everybody.

Dodongo dislikes smoke.

Buy something will you?

I haven't played Super Mario Sunshine, but I'm willing to bet it never once uses the line "We're sorry Mario, but our Princess is in another castle" and that line has far more popularity.

Legend of Zelda was about the innovative gameplay, positively massive world, and being the first NES game to have a save file, NOT the characters and plot. Link's an elf-like character with a sword (just like the rest). Gannon is a loser blobby pig with no lines. Zelda is a Pauline ripoff. Nobody else is really worth mentioning.

Re:Not good

[Guppy06]

" He couldn't play/didn't appreciate the original Zelda? IMO he shouldn't be allowed within the same building as a team that's working on a new one."

OK, we have somebody here who:

1. Thinks drastically different from everybody else about something and
2. Isn't afraid to voice his opinion

And you want him gone? Hell, those two reasons are probably why he's has high in Nintendo as he is, which is as it should be!

Not a flame... Just a little rattled.

[Iscariot_]

I'm not flaming or trolling here, I love each and every game in the Zelda series. But is anyone else a little spooked by this interview?

This guy is taking a big, big role on all future Zelda projects, and he's spooked by games that require jumping?!? Thought Zelda 1 was too hard?! Somehow I think Miyamoto's final touches to the last few Zelda games have been much more significant than Aonuma cares to admit...

It's also weird to see how much budget has played a role in the Zelda storylines and gameplay. Then again, I suppose that innovating within restraints is a part of any job.

Here's to hoping that Zelda continues to entertain for years to come!

This logic worked for Deus Ex II !!

[LordPixie]

It would appear that the developers behind DEII really didn't like the original Deus Ex. Hence the unified ammo, lack of skills, no depth, poor voice-acting, etc.

With such a rock-solid gameplan, what could go wrong ?!?


--LordPixie

Re:Not a flame... Just a little rattled.

[Anonymous Coward]

I think what a lot of technical people don't want to admit is that it doesn't take a technically-capable person to create art and entertainment that is technically appealing to technical people.

It's been proven that geeks without design backgrounds shouldn't be left alone in the GUI design room. I'm not saying that gamers shouldn't be allowed in the game design room, but I am suggesting that maybe having someone who isn't a time-run caliber player as the leader of a project for a game that is meant to be widely appealing isn't the worst of things. If anything, the insights of both Miyamoto and Aonuma - one who has said that he has in the past disliked computers, and one who has recently stated that he didn't like the first Zelda game - have already been quite far-reaching, to positive effect, BOTH on the Zelda games that we all love playing regardless.

Re:Not a flame... Just a little rattled.

[Guppy06]

"This guy is taking a big, big role on all future Zelda projects, and he's spooked by games that require jumping?!?"

Zelda is supposed to be about exploring and adventuring, not falling off a ledge for the umpteen-millionth time because you didn't time your jumps juuuust right. That's why God gave us Castlevania 64.

"Thought Zelda 1 was too hard?!"

OK, bright boy, answer me this: Without 20 years of hindsight, without Nintendo Power, without the Official Nintendo Player's Guide, without The Legend of Zelda: Tips & Tactics, without friends who already knew, without calling up a Nintendo game counselor, without even breaking the seal on the partial map that came with the game...

How the heck are you supposed to find the 7th and 8th labrynths?