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Legend Of Zelda: Twilight Princess Erij Anonuma Interview
Electronic Gaming Monthly: Let's start at the beginning, or at least the beginning as far as the public eye is concerned. Were you at the Nintendo Press conference [during E3 industry tradeshow in Los Angeles] when Zelda was unveiled for the first time, and everyone who saw it just went nuts? Eiji Aonuma: Actually, as soon as I arrived in my hotel in L.A, Nintendo people were congratulating me, saying "Nice job!" and patting me on the back. I was like, "What? What did I do?" Then I learned that the Zelda video [had already been shown] without my knowledge. So I found [Zelda creator and Nintendo honcho Shigeru] Miyamoto and asked him, "Why didn't you tell me? Why didn't you schedual it so I could be there?" He just said, "Oh, sorry, I forgot." Just like that. [laughs] Later on I saw a video of the unveiling, though - saw people standing, clapping their hands, even crying. I was very impressed. EGM: Why do you think the audience had such a strong reaction? It was crazy, even for a Zelda game. EA: Well, [it might not be the answer you're looking for], but actually, that kind of reaction eas partially expected. I worked on editing that trailer myself, and I specifically wanted people not to realize it was a Zelda game at the very beginning. What we showed was simply a horse, gradually building to the close-up, and then people finally realize it's Link, it's a Zelda game. If people didn't get excited then, I was in trouble. [Laughs] I knew that there was a demand for a photo-realistic Zelda - that we couldn't deny. EGM: On to the game itself: what can you tell us about the setting for this new Zelda game? EA: At the very beginning, Link is a cowboy living in [a small rural community called] Taoru Village - not in [the usual Zelda kingdom of] Hyrule. Hyrule does exist, but it's a long way away. Actually, they raise cows in Taoru to sell to the kingdom of Hyrule. The two places have a friendly relationship with one another. There are several other villages, and every year the kingdom of Hyrule gathers them all together for a kind of festival where all the villages can communicate with each other. Each year, the chief of the village is supposed to attend the festival, but this year, the chief orders the young man [Link] to go instead. On the way to the festival, Link is going to encounter some kind of accident, which eventually leads him to the main adventure. EGM: Will this Zelda be about rescuing the Princess again? EA: Yes, the story will involve Zelda, and the story will involve Ganon, but of course the plot won't be identical to [those in] past Legend of Zeldas. EGM: Where does thi Zelda fall in the overall series' timeline? EA: I can't really go into that, partially because I want to keep it a secret, but also because we haven't decided yet. There are some kinds of... unstable, uncertain ideas that we're working on. Depending on what course we choose in the process of development, the final ending may change. EGM: Is it safe to say that there is some major gameplay element we still don't know about, like the sailing in Wind Waker, that will remain secret until just before the game comes out? EA: You're right. [Laughs] EGM: Is that why the game name still doesn't have a subtitle? Will the full name give something away? EA: We don't really know about what we're going to do with the title at this point. [It could work the other way around] - maybe there will be some kind of mystery about the title, and somewhere in the course of the gameplay, you'll realize its meaning. EGM: From what we've played, the combat feels exactly like it does in Wind Waker - we noticed you can still shields, knock off helmets, etc. Do you have any changes planned? EA: [Remember how] in Wind Waker, if the enemy comes within a certain range of Link and you press the A button [at the right time], sometimes Link will do a special attack? We thinked that worked very wel, so we're thinking about intensifying that aspect with this game. We've already added some things, like a jumping downward stab. We're going to incorporate more of these cool-looking performances [and a few other changes]. People are going to say that this game is pretty different from Wind Waker.
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