#HaruhanaQuote
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Linktober #3: Favorite Game
Haruhana & Takizawa on being inspired by A Link to the Past, 2017.

Source: Arts & Artifacts

#Zelda, #Linktober
#ALinktothePastQuote
#HaruhanaQuote, #TakizawaQuote
PEOPLE: - Yoshiki Haruhana, age 46. Artist who designed Zelda in Ocarina of Time and Toon Link in Wind Waker. - Satoru Takizawa, age 44. Breath of the Wild Art Director, designed Ganondorf in Ocarina of Time. QUOTE: Haruhana: It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that playing this title [A Link to the Past] was what got me into the world of gaming and set the course of my life. Takizawa: It’s the same for me, in that A Link to the Past was what inspired me to try my hand at Nintendo’s employment examination. It was truly sensational.
October 3, 2026 at 6:35 PM
hyruleinterviews.bsky.social
#Linktober 19: Link

Haruhana & Nakano on androgynous Link character designs, 2017.

Source: Arts & Artifacts

#Zelda
#TheAdventureofLinkQuote, #ALinktothePastQuote
#HaruhanaQuote, #NakanoQuote

www.notion.so/06aaee32280f...
PEOPLE: - Yoshiki Haruhana, age 46. Character designer and art lead for many Zelda games. - Yusuke Nakano, age 47. Illustrator for many Zelda games. QUOTE: Haruhana: [Looking at Adventure of Link art, straight-faced] He’s got some nice hips. All: [Laughter] Nakano: Link’s appearance has always been a little bit androgynous, and he has some effeminate traits as well. One might say that those traits are his roots. Perhaps the fact that in the Japanese A Link to the Past commercial featuring Scha Dara Parr’s Zelda rap, the person dressed up as Link was female was also symbolic of that.
October 20, 2025 at 3:47 AM
hyruleinterviews.bsky.social
Iwata & Haruhana on Ocarina's “hospitality” and “roughness”, 2011.

Source: Iwata Asks

#Zelda
#OcarinaofTimeQuote
#IwataQuote, #HaruhanaQuote

iwataasks.nintendo.com/interviews/3...
PEOPLE: - Satoru Iwata, age 51. President of Nintendo. - Yoshiki Haruhana, age 41. Ocarina of Time Character Designer. QUOTE: Haruhana: I played the original version [of Ocarina] again for the first time in a long while and sensed an immense amount of hospitality. In the dungeons, for example, I felt as if someone were saying, “Welcome!” each time I entered a room. … there's a roughness in the way it attacks with its full strength. After 13 years, it still has that impact. Iwata: … What kind of hospitality is hospitality that attacks? [laughs] Haruhana: Well, when I say hospitality … I mean that when you go somewhere, all kinds of play await for your enjoyment. … And it isn't a highly organized kind of hospitality like today's games exhibit. [Ocarina] has a certain bumpiness, irregularity or roughness.
September 7, 2026 at 6:08 PM
hyruleinterviews.bsky.social
#Linktober 16: Merchant
Haruhana on 'tough requests' for character designs for Ocarina of Time, 2011.

Source: Iwata Asks

#Zelda
#OcarinaofTimeQuote
#HaruhanaQuote

www.notion.so/94f214a3332f...
PEOPLE: - Yoshiki Haruhana, age 41. Ocarina Character Designer. QUOTE: Haruhana: I would get tough requests [for character designs in Ocarina]—like a request to draw someone who would buy ghosts. But I've never seen anyone like that! [laughs] I'd think, ‘What kind of person would buy a ghost?’ and then sit around, grinning to myself, and thinking, ‘What can I do about this?’ It's easy to focus on how the characters look, but I feel like they don't really become distinctive until you see how they act when their dialogue and demo videos come together.
October 17, 2025 at 4:06 AM
hyruleinterviews.bsky.social
Takizawa on seeing Toon Link for the first time, 2017.

Source: Arts & Artifacts

#Zelda
#TheWindWakerQuote
#TakizawaQuote, #HaruhanaQuote

www.hyruleinterviews.com/06aaee32280f...
PEOPLE: - Satoru Takizawa, age 44. The Wind Waker Design [Art] Manager. - Yoshiki Haruhana, age 46. The Wind Waker Design [Art] Manager. QUOTE: Q: What was your first impression when you saw the new Link [for The Wind Waker]? Takizawa: It wasn’t something I had in my wheelhouse, so I was, frankly, shocked. But at the same time I saw it as a worthwhile challenge. In any event, I thought it looked easy to make move. You know how writers and manga artists say, “The characters began to move on their own”...? When I saw Haruhana’s sketch, I felt possibilities begin to stir within myself. All these images and ideas began to well up inside me.
April 24, 2026 at 5:52 PM
hyruleinterviews.bsky.social
Haruhana on art styles and standing out in a crowded market, 2017.

Source: Arts & Artifacts

#Zelda
#TheWindWakerQuote
#HaruhanaQuote

www.notion.so/06aaee32280f...
PEOPLE: - Yoshiki Haruhana, age 46. The Wind Waker Design [Art] Manager. QUOTE: Haruhana: We were asking ourselves ‘Is this the right direction to go?’ and ‘Does realistic equal a good game?’ At the time, as console hardware specs went up, many games were heading in a more photorealistic direction. And, at that time, when I was flipping through a game mag, all I saw were really similar-looking games, and I began to worry we would be making one of them. So we thought about what we needed to do with our art to make [Zelda on the GameCube] stand out. How could we make the readers of that magazine stop and look at our project? We decided that making a realistic Ganondorf and Link wasn’t it...
April 30, 2025 at 3:06 AM
hyruleinterviews.bsky.social
Linktober #18: Shopkeeper

Morita on the inspiration for the Pond Owner in Ocarina, 2011.
Source: Iwata Asks

#Zelda
#OcarinaofTimeQuote
#MoritaQuote,#AonumaQuote,#HaruhanaQuote #Linktober

www.notion.so/94f214a3332f...
PEOPLE: - Kazuaki Morita, age 45. AI Engineer for Ocarina of Time. - Eiji Aonuma, age 48. Ocarina of Time Dungeon Director. - Yoshiki Haruhana, age 41. Ocarina of Time Character Artist. QUOTE: "Morita: I also worked on the fishing minigame [for Ocarina]. Aonuma: You didn't just do the programming, but you also wrote the script for the Pond Owner. ... Haruhana: … Morita-san made lots of requests regarding that character's face and movements. He requested specific movements … and even drew a rough sketch of how his face should look. Iwata: Did you make so many requests because that character was modeled after someone real? Morita: Yes, that's right! [laughs] I like fishing and I'm from an area near Neyagawa in Osaka, and there's a fishing store I used to go to in that neighborhood. My model was the shopkeeper there."
October 18, 2024 at 4:43 PM
hyruleinterviews.bsky.social
#3 & 4:
Yoshiki Haruhana (Artist in many Zelda games. Designed Zelda in Ocarina and Toon Link in Wind Waker)

Satoru Takizawa (Art Director for Skyward Sword, Breath of the Wild, Tears of the Kingdom. Designed Ganondorf in Ocarina of Time)

#Zelda #HaruhanaQuote, #TakizawaQuote
PEOPLE: - Yoshiki Haruhana, age 46. Artist who designed Zelda in Ocarina of Time and Toon Link in Wind Waker. - Satoru Takizawa, age 44. Breath of the Wild Art Director, designed Ganondorf in Ocarina of Time. QUOTE: "Haruhana: It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that playing this title [A Link to the Past] was what got me into the world of gaming and set the course of my life. Takizawa: It’s the same for me, in that A Link to the Past was what inspired me to try my hand at Nintendo’s employment examination. It was truly sensational. "
May 4, 2024 at 6:17 PM
hyruleinterviews.bsky.social
Quotes on the real-life counterparts of some quirky characters

Via GlitterBerri's Game Translations (1998), Iwata Asks (2011), and Nintendo Life (2025)

#Zelda
#OcarinaOfTimeQuote, #MajorasMaskQuote
#MoritaQuote, #HaruhanaQuote, #ImamuraQuote, #TakanoQuote
PEOPLE: - Kazuaki Morita, age 45. Programmer on Ocarina of Time. - Yoshiki Haruhana, age 41. Ocarina of Time Character Artist. - Satoru Iwata, age 51. President of Nintendo. QUOTE: "Morita: I also worked on the fishing minigame [for Ocarina]. Aonuma: You didn't just do the programming, but you also wrote the script for the Pond Owner. ... Haruhana: … Morita-san made lots of requests regarding that character's face and movements. He requested specific movements … and even drew a rough sketch of how his face should look. Iwata: Did you make so many requests because that character was modeled after someone real? Morita: Yes, that's right! [laughs] I like fishing and I'm from an area near Neyagawa in Osaka, and there's a fishing store I used to go to in that neighborhood. My model was the shopkeeper there." PEOPLE: - Takaya Imamura, age 58. Art Director of Majora’s Mask. Designer of tingle, the titular Majora’s Mask, and the Moon. QUOTE: "Q: So I know you’re very famous for creating Tingle - was there anything specific that really inspired you to make him? Imamura: The background and the lore of the character was decided beforehand and I was only responsible for the visuals. Basically, I found a guy on the team and drew a caricature and there was Tingle!" PEOPLE: - Yoshiki Haruhana, age 28. Ocarina of Time Character Designer. - Mitsuhiro Takano, age 31. Ocarina of Time Project Coordinator. QUOTE: "Haruhana: There are more than 60 characters in Ocarina of Time! One character takes about 2-3 days to make, so our schedule is always uncertain. We just have to go from one to the next. Fellow staff-member Takano once told me, ‘All the people you make turn out to be freaks.’ I never intend to do that! My response is always ‘Oh, is that so?’ [laughs] For example, Dampe the gravekeeper is a hunchback, right? In Kakariko Village, there’s a guy sitting by himself on top of a house. It was also never my intention to make a character similar to myself, but afterwards 5 people said to me ‘Hey, that’s you!’"
February 18, 2025 at 2:35 AM
hyruleinterviews.bsky.social
Linktober Day 13: Spirit/Ghost/Phantom
Haruhana on 'tough requests' for character designs for Ocarina of Time.

Via Iwata Asks, 2011.

#Zelda
#OcarinaOfTimeQuote
#HaruhanaQuote
#Linktober

hyruleinterviews.notion.site/Iwata-Asks-O...
People in quote: -Yoshiki Haruhana, age 41. Ocarina of Time Character Designer. Quote: "Haruhana: I would get tough requests [for character designs in Ocarina]—like a request to draw someone who would buy ghosts. But I've never seen anyone like that! [laughs] I'd think, ‘What kind of person would buy a ghost?’ and then sit around, grinning to myself, and thinking, ‘What can I do about this?’ It's easy to focus on how the characters look, but I feel like they don't really become distinctive until you see how they act when their dialogue and demo videos come together."
October 13, 2023 at 6:06 PM