Every now and then Nintendo holds developer interviews via Miiverse, cleverly calling them “Miitings.” Just like the Iwata Asks interviews that came before them, they tend to shed some light on the development process and even occasionally tell us some behind-the-scenes secrets. The latest Miiting is with Eiji Aonuma, Zelda series producer, and it has a focus on the recent Twilight Princess HD.
After discussing the original version and the challenges created by releasing on both the Gamecube and Wii, Aonuma goes on to discuss the remaster’s brand new features. He states that he wanted to make the most of the Wii U GamePad, such as incorporating the map, and they even briefly touch on amiibo compatibility. It turns out Aonuma wanted to see the bar-owner Telma get her own figure, but in the end we got Wolf Link.
He then goes on to say that, while the GamePad was important for improving controls, the main reason they wanted a remaster was to improve picture quality. While he thinks some games don’t benefit too much from graphical polish, he thinks the ability to see far away objects really helps make Zelda seem more real.
They also briefly discuss the partnership with Tantalus Media in Australia, as they couldn’t develop the remaster in-house due to their hands being full with the next big game in the series. Ultimately, they managed to overcome language and long-distance barriers to nail the original game’s iconic visual style.
Aonuma also gives his thoughts on Link as a character, believing him to be a “sincere and earnest kind of fellow”, regardless of his age. For Twilight Princess, however, they added a little wrinkle by making Link seem more confident and pushing his limits, hence the scenes where he shows off by spinning his sword before sheathing it.
Perhaps the strangest tidbit of information from the interview is the revelation of Wolf Link’s origins. Apparently, during an overseas trip, Aonuma had a dream where he was a wolf locked up in a jail cell. After waking up he got the urge to put it into a game, and the entire time he never even considered other animals for transformation. You can check out one of their initial designs for Wolf Link below:
The entire Miiting is well worth a read, just be sure to click “view oldest comments” to show the entire interview from the beginning!
Written by Tom Brown
Whether it’s an exciting new entry in a series long established or a weird experiment meant only for the dedicated, Tom is eager to report on it. Rest assured, if Nintendo ever announces Elite Beat Agents 2, he’ll be there.
