#AonumaQuote,#IwataQuote
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hyruleinterviews.bsky.social
Aonuma on the inspiration for the train in Spirit Tracks, 2009.

Source: Iwata Asks

#Zelda
#SpiritTracksQuote
#AonumaQuote, #IwataQuote

www.hyruleinterviews.com/d6e65557dce3...
PEOPLE: - Eiji Aonuma, age 46. Producer of Spirit Tracks. - Satoru Iwata, age 49. President of Nintendo. QUOTE: Aonuma: We had to think about what to use as a mode of transportation, in place of a boat, and at that point, I remembered a certain picture book. Iwata: A picture book? Aonuma: ...Which I brought with me today... Iwata: This book? 'The Tracks Go On'? Aonuma: My son loved this book. When he was four or five, this was the book he'd bring me every night before bed. ‘Read it, Daddy, read it.’ ... It's a very simple [story], but the pioneering spirit, the kids building the railroad... Something about it seemed as though it would fit with The Legend of Zelda. But I didn't tell the staff about this book.
February 1, 2026 at 4:37 AM
hyruleinterviews.bsky.social
Aonuma on the difference between his leadership on console vs handheld Zelda, 2009.

Source: Iwata Asks

#Zelda
#PhantomHourglassQuote, #TwilightPrincessQuote, #SkywardSwordQuote, #SpiritTracksQuote
#IwataQuote, #AonumaQuote

www.hyruleinterviews.com/d6e65557dce3...
PEOPLE: - Satoru Iwata, age 49. President of Nintendo from 2002-2015. - Eiji Aonuma, age 46. Director of Twilight Princess, Producer of Phantom Hourglass. QUOTE: Iwata: Aonuma-san, you're involved with both [Twilight Princess and Phantom Hourglass]. Are there any differences in how you work on the two? Aonuma: When I work on the Wii edition, I'm right on-site, and I often do my job from a director's perspective. On the Nintendo DS version, I do proper producer's work. ...That said, when I worked on the previous game, Phantom Hourglass, I was simultaneously making Twilight Princess, so I couldn't keep a very close eye on things right from the beginning. Then, when Twilight Princess was finished and I went to the Nintendo DS version's office, the development was already pretty far along.
January 31, 2026 at 2:33 AM
hyruleinterviews.bsky.social
Koizumi & Aonuma on the reason for the Kokiri's fairies, 2011.

Source: Iwata Asks

#Zelda
#OcarinaofTimeQuote
#KoizumiQuote, #AonumaQuote, #IwataQuote

iwataasks.nintendo.com/interviews/3...
PEOPLE: - Yoshiaki Koizumi, age 43. Ocarina of Time 3D Gameplay Director. - Eiji Aonuma, age 48. Ocarina of Time Dungeon Director. - Satoru Iwata, age 51. 4th President of Nintendo. QUOTE: Koizumi: The [Kokiri] village [in Ocarina of Time] has lots of trees and lots of people live there, but it was difficult to display them all at once. I came up with the idea of having each person living there followed around by a fairy. That way, even if we just showed the fairies… Iwata: I see. If you see the fairy, you know its owner is there, too. Aonuma: It also led to the scenario surrounding Link not having a fairy at first.
September 14, 2026 at 7:44 PM
maxnichols.bsky.social
I agree 1000% and I appreciate this articulation of it.

I think Miyamoto and by extension the Zelda team would agree with you (though whether they consistently lived up to this philosophy in games afterwards is debatable I think)
Miyamoto on how experiences build up and come to feel like a story, 2011. Source: Iwata Asks #Zelda #OcarinaofTimeQuote #IwataQuote,#MiyamotoQuote,#AonumaQuote https://www.notion.so/95b5a4ce641c4c69b0099add3353da6f PEOPLE: - Eiji Aonuma, age 48. Producer & Director of various Zelda titles. - Shigeru Miyamoto, age 58. Co-Creator of Zelda, producer of many Zelda titles. QUOTE: Aonuma: We have tended to lower the difficulty of recent Zelda games because we want everyone to reach the goal, like by placing healing items right before a boss battle and so on. But Miyamoto-san has been complaining that without anything to get stuck on, the games don't stick with you as memories.
June 13, 2025 at 10:05 PM
hyruleinterviews.bsky.social
Takizawa & Aonuma on how the Ocarina graphical style didn't "exceed expectations" for Zelda GCN, 2013.

Source: Iwata Asks

#Zelda
#TheWindWakerQuote
#TakizawaQuote, #AonumaQuote, #IwataQuote

www.notion.so/abab285aefce...
PEOPLE: - Satoru Takizawa, age 41. Design (Art) manager on The Wind Waker. - Eiji Aonuma, age 50. Director of The Wind Waker. - Satoru Iwata, age 53. President of Nintendo. QUOTE: Takizawa: We had been trying to figure out which graphical direction to take for [The Wind Waker]. And we wondered whether continuing the path taken by Ocarina of Time, and evolving upon it by giving it more detail was really the right path. Aonuma: Simply carrying on down that road was an option, and we proceeded with a prototype, but it was incredibly normal and didn’t exceed expectations. Iwata: At Space World the year before we showed a demo video of an evolved form of Link from Ocarina of Time, so a lot of people were expecting something along those lines. Aonuma: Yes. But it was difficult for us to imagine ourselves easily coming up with new ideas and expanding on that world if we had chosen that path.
July 11, 2025 at 7:02 PM
hyruleinterviews.bsky.social
Aonuma quotes about the Water Temple in Ocarina of Time, 2009, 2011.

Sources: Iwata Asks, The Guardian

#Zelda
#OcarinaofTime3DQuote, #OcarinaofTimeQuote
#AonumaQuote, #IwataQuote

www.notion.so/951cd9281b9c...
www.notion.so/37ae94838006...
PEOPLE: - Eiji Aonuma, age 46. Ocarina of Time Dungeon Director. QUOTE: "Aonuma: The Water Temple in Ocarina of Time was notorious for being very tough to conquer. I am most sorry that it was not easy for you to put on and take off the heavy boots; that all the time you had to visit the inventory. I am very sorry about that. I should have made it much easier to switch to the heavy boots. Aside from the problem with the boots, I like the Water Temple so much." PEOPLE: - Eiji Aonuma, age 48. Ocarina of Time Dungeon Director, Ocarina of Time 3D Producer. - Satoru Iwata, age 51. President of Nintendo. QUOTE: "Iwata: Aonuma-san, what was your motivation for making Ocarina of Time 3D? Aonuma: As I alluded to when I introduced myself earlier, I wanted to do something about the Water Temple. Everyone talks about it, so it's been a longstanding wish of mine these 13 years! Iwata: No matter how much praise Ocarina of Time has garnered, the Water Temple has always been an issue—like a bone caught in your throat for 13 years. Aonuma: Yeah. The worst thing was thinking about how many people may have given up there. So this time, if we used the Nintendo 3DS system's two screens, I thought, ‘Link can put on and take off his Iron Boots in a flash!’ So we were like, ‘Let's do it!’"
January 30, 2025 at 5:21 AM
hyruleinterviews.bsky.social
On parallels between Majora's Mask and Earthbound

Via GlitterBerri's Game Translations (2000) and Ask Iwata (Hobonichi, 2019)

#Zelda #Earthbound
#MajorasMaskQuote #EarthBoundQuote
#AonumaQuote #KoizumiQuote #IwataQuote #ItoiQuote
PEOPLE: - Eiji Aonuma, age 37. Majora’s Mask Co-Director. - Yoshiaki Koizumi, age 32. Majora’s Mask Co-Director. QUOTE: Aonuma: I was responsible for the fairy-tale sections [of Majora’s Mask], and Koizumi was responsible for creating realistic depictions of the lives of the townspeople. I tried to emulate the fantasy atmosphere we had in Ocarina of Time… Koizumi: And I created realistic lives for the characters. Aonuma: You could say that Koizumi slapped his worldview on the whole thing. [Laughs] Koizumi: I put in everything I’ve seen in my 30-something years on this earth. PEOPLE: - Satoru Iwata. EarthBound Program Director, President of Nintendo from 2002-2015. - Shigesato Itoi. Producer, Director, & Writer for Mother 1, 2 & 3. Founder of Ape, Inc., which later became Creatures, Inc. Founder of Hobonichi. My Neighbor Totoro voice actor. Iron Chef judge.. QUOTE: Iwata: What makes the Mother [EarthBound] series so special? I think it has to do with the role that Shigesato Itoi played. Nobody making games today is quite like him, and Mother remains without parallel. … There was a time when Shigesato Itoi was totally obsessed with games, and in that sense he’s truly a gamer at heart. At the same time, he had a variety of experiences that the average game designer hadn’t, and I think these two aspects combined to form a unique individual. … The overall effect is a game unlike almost any other. I think this is the cumulative effect of all the aspects of the gaming experience—the fun parts, sad parts, outlandish parts, and goofy parts.
May 9, 2025 at 10:29 PM
hyruleinterviews.bsky.social
Aonuma on his expectations that others would make games like Majora's Mask, 2015.

Source: Iwata Asks

#Zelda
#MajorasMaskQuote
#AonumaQuote,#IwataQuote

www.notion.so/aaab9d927dee...
PEOPLE: - Eiji Aonuma, age 51. Co-Director of Majora’s Mask. - Satoru Iwata, age 55. President of Nintendo. QUOTE: "Aonuma: When I finished creating Majora's Mask for the Nintendo 64, I assumed that other companies would be releasing games similar to this one. But in reality, no one did. Iwata: I certainly haven't seen anything like this anywhere else. Aonuma: Even 15 years after the Nintendo 64 version of this game released, no one created a game like this. Because of this, the unique taste and feel of this game seems to exist for a long time..."
May 25, 2024 at 9:13 PM
hyruleinterviews.bsky.social
Aonuma on not wanting to redo the dungeons he was proud of, 2015.

Source: Iwata Asks

#Zelda
#OcarinaofTimeQuote,#MasterQuestQuote,#MajorasMaskQuote
#AonumaQuote,#MiyamotoQuote,#IwataQuote

www.notion.so/aaab9d927dee...
PEOPLE: - Eiji Aonuma, age 51. Dungeon Director of Ocarina of Time, Co-Director of Majora’s Mask. - Shigeru Miyamoto, age 62. Producer of Ocarina of Time, Master Quest, & Majora’s Mask. - Satoru Iwata, age 55. President of Nintendo. QUOTE: "Aonuma: We were told to repurpose the dungeons from Ocarina of Time and make a game out of it [Master Quest], and I was handed the baton to make that happen. However, when we made Ocarina, we made those dungeons thinking they were the best we could make. … So I hesitantly obliged... but I couldn't really get into it. Iwata: You just made the ultimate dungeon, so you didn't want to ruin a perfect formula. Aonuma: Exactly! So I secretly started making new dungeons that weren't in Ocarina of Time, and that was much more fun to me. So, I grew up the courage to ask Miyamoto-san whether I could make a new game, he replied by saying it's ok if I can make it in a year."
May 23, 2024 at 9:47 PM
hyruleinterviews.bsky.social
Aonuma on Koizumi’s condition to co-direct Majora's Mask, 2015.

Source: Iwata Asks

#Zelda
#MajorasMaskQuote
#AonumaQuote,#KoizumiQuote,#IwataQuote

www.notion.so/aaab9d927dee...
PEOPLE: - Eiji Aonuma, age 51. Co-Director of Majora’s Mask. - Yoshiaki Koizumi, age 46. Co-Director of Majora’s Mask. - Satoru Iwata, age 55. President of Nintendo. QUOTE: "Aonuma: I rolled and turned thinking what kind of software I should make, and when I met Koizumi-san around that time, I asked for his help. He was working on a plan for a different game at the time, one where you would play in a compact game world over and over again. Coincidentally, Ocarina of Time had a system that controlled the time... Iwata: The sun rose, and there was nightfall. The concept of time existed in that game. Aonuma: Right, so Koizumi-san told me that he would help me out if he could use that system of time passing to make a game where you would be playing the same moments in time over and over again."
September 4, 2024 at 12:27 AM
hyruleinterviews.bsky.social
Aonuma on how they decided the number of days for Majora's three-day system, 2015.

Source: Iwata Asks

#Zelda
#MajorasMaskQuote
#AonumaQuote, #IwataQuote

www.notion.so/aaab9d927dee...
PEOPLE: - Eiji Aonuma, age 51. Co-Director of Majora’s Mask. - Satoru Iwata, age 55. President of Nintendo. QUOTE: "Aonuma: At first, [the 3-day system in Majora’s Mask] was one week. Iwata: Three days was originally one week? Aonuma: That's right. But when you returned to the first day it was like ‘Do I have to go through an entire week again...’, so we thought three days would be just right. Iwata: Wait, it got decided just like that? [laughs] Aonuma: [laughs] In this game the townspeople do different things each day and many different things happen, but when the timespan becomes a week, that's just too much to remember. You can't simply remember who's where doing what on which day."
June 15, 2024 at 5:38 PM
hyruleinterviews.bsky.social
Iwata, Aonuma, and Iwamoto on the love of trains, 2009.

Via Iwata Asks.

#Zelda
#SpiritTracksQuote
#IwataQuote,#AonumaQuote,#IwamotoQuote

www.notion.so/d6e65557dce3...
PEOPLE: - Satoru Iwata, age 49. President of Nintendo from 2002-2015. - Eiji Aonuma, age 46. Producer of Spirit Tracks. - Daiki Iwamoto, age 40. Director of Spirit Tracks. QUOTE: "Iwata: Before I discovered video games, back when I was in middle school, I was absolutely crazy about trains. There were steam locomotives which ran in Hokkaido and were about to be decommissioned, and I went up there and tracked it down so I could get photos, and I collected model trains.... Things like that. Was there a railroad fan on the [Spirit Tracks] development staff? Aonuma: No railroad fans. Iwamoto: There weren't any at first. Iwata: What do you mean, ‘at first’? Iwamoto: Well, of course, while we were researching trains, some of the staff members got interested in them."
February 27, 2024 at 5:17 PM
hyruleinterviews.bsky.social
Linktober Day 10: Zelda
Aonuma & Iwata on "the Zelda cycle".

Via Iwata Asks, 2013

#Zelda
#TheWindWakerQuote, #TheWindWakerHDQuote
#AonumaQuote, #IwataQuote #TrinenQuote
#Linktober

hyruleinterviews.notion.site/Iwata-Asks-T...
People in quote: -Eiji Aonuma, age 50. Franchise producer for the Zelda series. -Satoru Iwata, age 54. 4th President of Nintendo. -Bill Trinen, age 41. Localization for many Zelda games, Product Marketing Director. Quote: "Aonuma: There’s a ‘Zelda cycle.’ Iwata: Yes. Bill Trinen-san at Nintendo of America—who always plays a big role in preparing the overseas versions of The Legend of Zelda games—always talks about the Zelda cycle. Aonuma: Basically, as time progresses, negative opinions about The Legend of Zelda turn into positive ones. At first, I wasn’t sure about that, but seeing the response to The Wind Waker HD, I think it may be right. Iwata: And it isn’t restricted to The Wind Waker. Every time a new Zelda title comes out, there’s no shortage of negative opinions, but a year or two later, people are revising their opinions, and its reputation goes up."
October 10, 2023 at 7:34 PM
hyruleinterviews.bsky.social
Linktober Day 28: Light/Bright
Dohta & Iwata on "reality over realism" in The Wind Waker.

Via Iwata Asks, 2013.

#Zelda
#TheWindWakerQuote
#DohtaQuote, #IwataQuote, #AonumaQuote
#Linktober

hyruleinterviews.notion.site/Iwata-Asks-T...
People in quote: - Takuhiro Dohta. The Wind Waker HD Technical Director. - Satoru Iwata, age 54. President of Nintendo. - Eiji Aonuma, age 50. Director of The Wind Waker, Producer of The Wind Waker HD. Quote: "Dohta: I think Aonuma-san has said this before, about how it’s ‘reality over realism.’ With The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD, I think we were able to express a good feeling that doesn’t come across by simply portraying a photorealistic sea or sky. Iwata: That includes light or a breeze that the eye can’t see. Of course, it isn’t actually bright and a sea breeze isn’t actually blowing, but you sense those things in that gameworld."
October 29, 2023 at 12:15 AM
hyruleinterviews.bsky.social
Aonuma on the inspiration for the train in Spirit Tracks.

Via Iwata Asks, 2009

#Zelda
#SpiritTracksQuote
#AonumaQuote, #IwataQuote

hyruleinterviews.notion.site/Iwata-Asks-S...
People in quote: - Eiji Aonuma, age 46. Producer of Spirit Tracks. - Satoru Iwata, age 49. President of Nintendo. Quote: "Aonuma: We had to think about what to use as a mode of transportation, in place of a boat, and at that point, I remembered a certain picture book. Iwata: A picture book? Aonuma: ...Which I brought with me today... Iwata: This book? 'The Tracks Go On'? Aonuma: My son loved this book. When he was four or five, this was the book he'd bring me every night before bed. ‘Read it, Daddy, read it.’ ... It's a very simple [story], but the pioneering spirit, the kids building the railroad... Something about it seemed as though it would fit with The Legend of Zelda. But I didn't tell the staff about this book."
September 27, 2023 at 11:45 PM
hyruleinterviews.bsky.social
Aonuma, Moriya, & Iwata on seeing the original Ocarina team’s framerate challenges, 2011.

Source: Iwata Asks

#Zelda
#OcarinaofTimeQuote,#OcarinaofTime3DQuote
#MoriyaQuote,#AonumaQuote,#IwataQuote

www.notion.so/951cd9281b9c...
PEOPLE: - Shun Moriya. Programmer on Ocarina of Time 3D, Tri Force Heroes, Final Fantasy VII, & Vagrant Story. - Eiji Aonuma, age 48. Producer of Ocarina of Time 3D, Dungeon Director of Ocarina of Time. - Satoru Iwata, age 51. President of Nintendo. QUOTE: "Moriya: The trouble that the original [Ocarina of Time] staff had experienced was visible in the program source code. For example, there were remains of frantic calculations written in it, like 10 + 1 + 2 – 5. Iwata: … Especially considering that the original game included different frame rates between the heavier and lighter processing parts. … Aonuma: Back then, we might assume a processing delay would occur, but we would work hard to find a way so that players wouldn't pick up on it. In particular, the battle against Ganon was sluggish. Iwata: But that slightly heavy feeling made Ganon seem large and heavy."
March 30, 2024 at 10:43 PM
hyruleinterviews.bsky.social
Aonuma on how the Majora's Mask team was fueled by the regrets from Ocarina, 2015.

Source: Iwata Asks

#Zelda
#MajorasMaskQuote,#OcarinaofTimeQuote
#AonumaQuote,#IwataQuote

www.notion.so/aaab9d927dee...
PEOPLE: - Eiji Aonuma, age 51. Dungeon Director of Ocarina of Time, Co-Director of Majora’s Mask. - Satoru Iwata, age 55. President of Nintendo. QUOTE: "Aonuma: We were making Ocarina of Time wanting to be really proud of our work. We wanted to go out with it with our chests up high, harking to the world that this is the 3D Zelda game. We really were making the game with all our hearts into it. Even if it took a long time, we wanted to put in everything we had. Iwata: You ran into a situation where you made a lot of delicious dishes but had run out of places on the table to put them on. Aonuma: We did. Because of that, there was a sense of unfulfillment among the staff, where a lot of us wanted to do things differently with certain elements from Ocarina of Time, and also wanting to do things they weren't able to before."
June 6, 2024 at 3:57 PM
hyruleinterviews.bsky.social
Linktober Day 2: Temple
Aonuma on a long-standing wish of his when remaking Ocarina of Time.

Via Iwata Asks, 2011.

#Zelda, #Linktober
#OcarinaOfTimeQuote, #OcarinaOfTime3DQuote
#IwataQuote, #AonumaQuote

hyruleinterviews.notion.site/Iwata-Asks-O...
People in quote: - Eiji Aonuma, age 48. Ocarina of Time Dungeon Director, Ocarina of Time 3D Producer -Satoru Iwata, age 51. President of Nintendo. Quote: "Iwata: Aonuma-san, what was your motivation for making Ocarina of Time 3D? Aonuma: As I alluded to when I introduced myself earlier, I wanted to do something about the Water Temple. Everyone talks about it, so it's been a longstanding wish of mine these 13 years! Iwata: No matter how much praise Ocarina of Time has garnered, the Water Temple has always been an issue—like a bone caught in your throat for 13 years. Aonuma: Yeah. The worst thing was thinking about how many people may have given up there. So this time, if we used the Nintendo 3DS system's two screens, I thought, ‘Link can put on and take off his Iron Boots in a flash!’ So we were like, ‘Let's do it!’"
October 4, 2023 at 4:15 PM
hyruleinterviews.bsky.social
Aonuma, Moriya, & Iwata on seeing the original Ocarina team’s framerate challlenges, 2011.

Via Iwata Asks.

#Zelda
#OcarinaofTimeQuote,#OcarinaofTime3DQuote
#MoriyaQuote,#AonumaQuote,#IwataQuote

www.notion.so/951cd9281b9c...
PEOPLE: - Shun Moriya. Programmer on Ocarina of Time 3D, Tri Force Heroes, Final Fantasy VII, & Vagrant Story. - Eiji Aonuma, age 48. Producer of Ocarina of Time 3D, Dungeon Director of Ocarina of Time. - Satoru Iwata, age 51. President of Nintendo. QUOTE: "Moriya: The trouble that the original [Ocarina of Time] staff had experienced was visible in the program source code. For example, there were remains of frantic calculations written in it, like 10 + 1 + 2 – 5. Iwata: … Especially considering that the original game included different frame rates between the heavier and lighter processing parts. … Aonuma: Back then, we might assume a processing delay would occur, but we would work hard to find a way so that players wouldn't pick up on it. In particular, the battle against Ganon was sluggish. Iwata: But that slightly heavy feeling made Ganon seem large and heavy."
January 22, 2024 at 4:25 PM
hyruleinterviews.bsky.social
Aonuma on how he converted A Link to the Past's map to 3D personally, 2013.

Via Iwata Asks.

#Zelda
#ALinkBetweenWorldsQuote
#IwataQuote,#AonumaQuote,#TominagaQuote

www.notion.so/21da00adcfff...
PEOPLE: - Satoru Iwata, age 53. President of Nintendo. - Eiji Aonuma, age 50. Producer of A Link Between Worlds. - Kentaro Tominaga. A Link Between Worlds Sub-Director & Planning Lead. QUOTE: "Iwata: Did anyone say that [A Link Between Worlds] would turn out like a remake even though you had this new idea of entering walls? Aonuma: They did. Everyone gets skeptical when they simply hear about it in words. So I used a tool myself to render the landforms of A Link to the Past into 3D. Iwata: You did that yourself? [laughs] Aonuma: Yeah. It took about three days. Tominaga: I think it took a little longer... Aonuma: Did it? [laughs] I wasn't sure it was right for a producer to go that far, but I thought showing the actual thing would be more convincing and made three-dimensional landforms."
December 23, 2023 at 8:42 PM
hyruleinterviews.bsky.social
Miyamoto on how experiences build up and come to feel like a story.

Via Iwata Asks, 2011.

#Zelda
#OcarinaofTimeQuote
#IwataQuote,#MiyamotoQuote,#AonumaQuote

www.notion.so/95b5a4ce641c...
PEOPLE: - Satoru Iwata, age 51. President of Nintendo. - Shigeru Miyamoto, age 58. Producer of Ocarina of Time. - Eiji Aonuma, age 48. Ocarina of Time Dungeon Director. QUOTE: "Iwata: Aonuma-san said that while a lot of people say they like the epic story [of Ocarina of Time], on the level of the script, the story isn't actually that epic. It feels epic because everything you experience within the game is added to the story. Miyamoto: That's right. The experience players have encountering people in the gameworld builds up and comes to feels like a story."
November 19, 2023 at 1:12 AM