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Hyrule Interviews

@hyruleinterviews.bsky.social

A database of interviews with the Zelda team. Our goal is to preserve that legacy, share it here, and build a safe community for our followers! By @maxnichols.bsky.social www.hyruleinterviews.com

2,918 Followers  |  54 Following  |  885 Posts  |  Joined: 06.08.2023  |  2.0409

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07.10.2025 22:06 — 👍 8    🔁 0    💬 1    📌 0
PEOPLE: - Eiji Aonuma, age 50. Franchise Producer for the Zelda series. QUOTE: Aonuma: Even when I get home, I'm getting home late. I want some vacation. I want some time off. Q: How much longer do you have … before you get that time off? A: What we're looking at, really, is a sort of trend. I finish one project and the next one is just overlapping. My family is not happy. Q: But they do like Zelda games, right? A: My son absolutely does like Zelda, and my wife has started playing Zelda as well. So that's great. They understand that I'm making these games, but… They're my family, and the fact that we're not taking vacations together, not going anywhere, it's not making them happy. We're trying to find a balance. It's tough.

PEOPLE: - Eiji Aonuma, age 50. Franchise Producer for the Zelda series. QUOTE: Aonuma: Even when I get home, I'm getting home late. I want some vacation. I want some time off. Q: How much longer do you have … before you get that time off? A: What we're looking at, really, is a sort of trend. I finish one project and the next one is just overlapping. My family is not happy. Q: But they do like Zelda games, right? A: My son absolutely does like Zelda, and my wife has started playing Zelda as well. So that's great. They understand that I'm making these games, but… They're my family, and the fact that we're not taking vacations together, not going anywhere, it's not making them happy. We're trying to find a balance. It's tough.

#Linktober 7: Undead

Aonuma on never getting a break and his family's feelings about it, 2013.

Source: USgamer

#Zelda
#TheWindWakerHDQuote, #ALinkBetweenWorldsQuote
#AonumaQuote

www.notion.so/bd8ea2c85ef2...

07.10.2025 22:00 — 👍 26    🔁 7    💬 2    📌 1
PEOPLE: - Eiji Aonuma, age 46. Producer of Spirit Tracks. - Daiki Iwamoto, age 40. Director of Spirit Tracks. QUOTE: Aonuma: “Let's make it so that you can lay the tracks yourself.” I brought it up, and we started [Spirit Tracks] from that experiment. ... Iwamoto: We thought it would be a lot of fun to lay the tracks any way you liked, to be able to travel anywhere at will. ... But the problem is that, even if people can lay the tracks anywhere they like, they won't know where to lay them. Then, to make the story work, there are places where you absolutely mustn't go, and other places where you really can't be at certain points in time. … We spent half of those two years [of development] on the railroad. And then, one day, Aonuma-san said, “Why don't we just drop the idea of laying the tracks?”

PEOPLE: - Eiji Aonuma, age 46. Producer of Spirit Tracks. - Daiki Iwamoto, age 40. Director of Spirit Tracks. QUOTE: Aonuma: “Let's make it so that you can lay the tracks yourself.” I brought it up, and we started [Spirit Tracks] from that experiment. ... Iwamoto: We thought it would be a lot of fun to lay the tracks any way you liked, to be able to travel anywhere at will. ... But the problem is that, even if people can lay the tracks anywhere they like, they won't know where to lay them. Then, to make the story work, there are places where you absolutely mustn't go, and other places where you really can't be at certain points in time. … We spent half of those two years [of development] on the railroad. And then, one day, Aonuma-san said, “Why don't we just drop the idea of laying the tracks?”

#Linktober 6: Travel/Transport

Aonuma & Iwamoto on Spirit Tracks’ abandoned track-laying mechanics, 2009.

Source: Iwata Asks

#Zelda
#SpiritTracksQuote
#AonumaQuote, #IwamotoQuote

www.notion.so/d6e65557dce3...

06.10.2025 22:23 — 👍 17    🔁 2    💬 2    📌 1
PEOPLE: - Shigeru Miyamoto, age 66. Creator of Zelda, Mario, & more. - Satoru Iwata, age 59. President of HAL from 1993-2000, President of Nintendo from 2002-2015. QUOTE: Miyamoto: Iwata may have passed on, but the company is going strong. Thanks to all the ideas and systems that he left behind, our young hires have been able to thrive. What makes me sad is that if I have a crazy idea over the weekend, there isn’t anybody I can tell about it on Monday morning. When I’m eating lunch, he isn’t there to say ‘I think I’ve figured out your problem,’ which leaves me feeling stuck. I really miss him.

PEOPLE: - Shigeru Miyamoto, age 66. Creator of Zelda, Mario, & more. - Satoru Iwata, age 59. President of HAL from 1993-2000, President of Nintendo from 2002-2015. QUOTE: Miyamoto: Iwata may have passed on, but the company is going strong. Thanks to all the ideas and systems that he left behind, our young hires have been able to thrive. What makes me sad is that if I have a crazy idea over the weekend, there isn’t anybody I can tell about it on Monday morning. When I’m eating lunch, he isn’t there to say ‘I think I’ve figured out your problem,’ which leaves me feeling stuck. I really miss him.

#Linktober 5: Friendship
Miyamoto on missing his friend, Iwata, 2019.

Source: Ask Iwata: Words of Wisdom from Satoru Iwata, Nintendo's Legendary CEO

#Nintendo
#MiyamotoQuote, #IwataQuote

www.notion.so/9f39f7f356ad...

05.10.2025 18:33 — 👍 43    🔁 13    💬 0    📌 0
A set of five jade magatama: they’re all shaped roughly like just one half of the taoist yin-yang symbol, with a notch through the head for a string.

A set of five jade magatama: they’re all shaped roughly like just one half of the taoist yin-yang symbol, with a notch through the head for a string.

A closeup of Ganondorf’s hand holding a Secret Stone

A closeup of Ganondorf’s hand holding a Secret Stone

In Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, a major plot point are “Secret Stones”, which are just straight-up magatama from Japanese legend:

05.10.2025 07:06 — 👍 111    🔁 31    💬 1    📌 2
PEOPLE: - Shigeru Miyamoto, age 50. Producer of The Legend of Zelda (1986) and Ocarina of Time. QUOTE: Miyamoto: [When making Ocarina of Time] we thought of how we should translate the fun of the first Zelda game into a 3D environment, so that it made you feel free in this world you’re exploring. Sometimes you remember a place nostalgically after some years. [laughs] When you grow up and go back to a place you thought was huge as a kid, like a street, you realize there is barely any space for a car to fit in. So, after remembering the time when you were growing up, you realize there was a time when you saw things like that. Thinking it was a good idea to have that inside the game, we had some very narrow places and we included the game mechanic of going back to those spots [as adult Link].

PEOPLE: - Shigeru Miyamoto, age 50. Producer of The Legend of Zelda (1986) and Ocarina of Time. QUOTE: Miyamoto: [When making Ocarina of Time] we thought of how we should translate the fun of the first Zelda game into a 3D environment, so that it made you feel free in this world you’re exploring. Sometimes you remember a place nostalgically after some years. [laughs] When you grow up and go back to a place you thought was huge as a kid, like a street, you realize there is barely any space for a car to fit in. So, after remembering the time when you were growing up, you realize there was a time when you saw things like that. Thinking it was a good idea to have that inside the game, we had some very narrow places and we included the game mechanic of going back to those spots [as adult Link].

#Linktober 4: Nostalgia

Miyamoto on how Ocarina of Time was built to evoke nostalgia, 2003.

Source: Nintendo Prime

#Zelda
#OcarinaofTimeQuote
#MiyamotoQuote

www.notion.so/12641fe961fd...

04.10.2025 18:59 — 👍 26    🔁 11    💬 0    📌 1
PEOPLE: - Shigeru Miyamoto, age 39. Producer of A Link to the Past. QUOTE: Miyamoto: One idea [cut from A Link to the Past] was with the lantern: if you used it on a grassy area, it would cause a huge brushfire. If you cut a little circle of grass around you, you could safely stand there in the middle of it! … In swamp areas, you could use a shovel to dig a ditch, and then if you bombed the swamp breakwater it would cause the water to rush into the hole you’d dug. That idea was actually half-complete… if we’d had another six months, we might have been able to make it a reality.

PEOPLE: - Shigeru Miyamoto, age 39. Producer of A Link to the Past. QUOTE: Miyamoto: One idea [cut from A Link to the Past] was with the lantern: if you used it on a grassy area, it would cause a huge brushfire. If you cut a little circle of grass around you, you could safely stand there in the middle of it! … In swamp areas, you could use a shovel to dig a ditch, and then if you bombed the swamp breakwater it would cause the water to rush into the hole you’d dug. That idea was actually half-complete… if we’d had another six months, we might have been able to make it a reality.

#Linktober 3: Flames

Miyamoto on cut fire and digging mechanics in A Link to the Past, 1992.

Source: Shmuplations

#Zelda
#ALinktothePastQuote
#MiyamotoQuote

www.notion.so/bdf016370eb1...

03.10.2025 22:52 — 👍 28    🔁 8    💬 0    📌 0
A photo of a hardcover book with an illustration of Celes in her opera outfit — in Yoshitaka Amano’s trademark style!

A photo of a hardcover book with an illustration of Celes in her opera outfit — in Yoshitaka Amano’s trademark style!

A photo of issue 6 next to issues 1 and 2. #6 looks about x4 the size of the other two.

A photo of issue 6 next to issues 1 and 2. #6 looks about x4 the size of the other two.

A lavish two-page illsutration of Ocarina’s Hyrule Field, with Link riding Epona filling the space on the left, and wide open negative space to the right.

A lavish two-page illsutration of Ocarina’s Hyrule Field, with Link riding Epona filling the space on the left, and wide open negative space to the right.

A photo of a two-page spread of writing, about Ocarina’s development history

A photo of a two-page spread of writing, about Ocarina’s development history

Finally got my copy of Lock-On 6! I’ve been excited this one for ever since I pitched an article about Ocarina’s dev history to them in early 2023. It’s a stunning book.

Very proud to have my name in here, and honored to have @amilcarpinna.bsky.social’s incredible art with my words

03.10.2025 03:49 — 👍 32    🔁 6    💬 4    📌 0
PEOPLE: - Shigeru Miyamoto, age 46. Ocarina of Time Producer. QUOTE: Miyamoto: In Ocarina there was a version where you could use 5 or 6 magic spells, but they didn't really leave much of an impression on me, and I decided those effects would be better served as items, or as Ocarina songs. I do hope that in the future magic can be used as a way to show off the power of the new 3D visuals. It's not that I ‘dislike’ it, you see, I just think relying on magic is taking the easy way out somehow.

PEOPLE: - Shigeru Miyamoto, age 46. Ocarina of Time Producer. QUOTE: Miyamoto: In Ocarina there was a version where you could use 5 or 6 magic spells, but they didn't really leave much of an impression on me, and I decided those effects would be better served as items, or as Ocarina songs. I do hope that in the future magic can be used as a way to show off the power of the new 3D visuals. It's not that I ‘dislike’ it, you see, I just think relying on magic is taking the easy way out somehow.

#Linktober 2: Magic/Sorcery
Miyamoto on changing Ocarina’s spells into songs and items, 1999.

Source: Shmuplations

#Zelda
#OcarinaofTimeQuote
#MiyamotoQuote

www.notion.so/8d67b7d41dfe...

02.10.2025 22:28 — 👍 20    🔁 1    💬 1    📌 0
PEOPLE: - Koji Kondo, age 49. Ocarina of Time Composer. - Mahito Yokota, age 37. Ocarina of Time 3D Orchestration Director. QUOTE: Kondo: As I was playing the Nintendo 3DS version [of Ocarina of Time], there were several [tracks] that struck me as well-done. Although, it's a little embarrassing to say so myself! [laughs] One plays when you go to Zelda's castle and hide in the garden so the guards can't find you. I forgot the title, though. Yokota: That's ’The Courtyard Game at Hyrule Castle.’ Kondo: It sounds like a game of hide-and-seek. It represents that feeling of final relief you get when you're able to hide from the guards by carefully making stealthy steps. I thought, ‘I did a pretty good job!’ [laughs]

PEOPLE: - Koji Kondo, age 49. Ocarina of Time Composer. - Mahito Yokota, age 37. Ocarina of Time 3D Orchestration Director. QUOTE: Kondo: As I was playing the Nintendo 3DS version [of Ocarina of Time], there were several [tracks] that struck me as well-done. Although, it's a little embarrassing to say so myself! [laughs] One plays when you go to Zelda's castle and hide in the garden so the guards can't find you. I forgot the title, though. Yokota: That's ’The Courtyard Game at Hyrule Castle.’ Kondo: It sounds like a game of hide-and-seek. It represents that feeling of final relief you get when you're able to hide from the guards by carefully making stealthy steps. I thought, ‘I did a pretty good job!’ [laughs]

Linktober #1: Knight
Kondo on his favorite song from Ocarina of Time, 2011.

Source: Iwata Asks

#Zelda
#OcarinaofTimeQuote
#KondoQuote, #YokotaQuote

www.notion.so/39d16d85bfa1...

01.10.2025 22:14 — 👍 19    🔁 6    💬 0    📌 0

Miyazaki had not yet made Mononoke or Spirited Away at the time of this interview. His most recent title was Porco Rosso.

Miyamoto had either just finished or was about to finish A Link to the Past.

01.10.2025 00:33 — 👍 9    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0
PEOPLE: - Hayao Miyazaki, age 51. Studio Ghibli co-founder, Director of Nausicaä, Laputa, and more. - Shigeru Miyamoto, age 39. Creator of Zelda, Mario, & more. Producer of Nintendo EAD’s Software Development Department. QUOTE: Miyazaki: I think there is a fundamental difference between video games and dramas. If it's a drama, characters don't necessarily choose a correct path. They often try to do something impossible even if they know there's no chance, but then something happens and they somehow make it. In a way, making a drama is how to make up a good, convincing lie. ... In a way, movies are more diverse than video games. Miyamoto: I see it differently. I believe that the current games are something like what you just described. But if we could push the limits of computers or CD-ROMs, maybe we can make movie-like games in the future.

PEOPLE: - Hayao Miyazaki, age 51. Studio Ghibli co-founder, Director of Nausicaä, Laputa, and more. - Shigeru Miyamoto, age 39. Creator of Zelda, Mario, & more. Producer of Nintendo EAD’s Software Development Department. QUOTE: Miyazaki: I think there is a fundamental difference between video games and dramas. If it's a drama, characters don't necessarily choose a correct path. They often try to do something impossible even if they know there's no chance, but then something happens and they somehow make it. In a way, making a drama is how to make up a good, convincing lie. ... In a way, movies are more diverse than video games. Miyamoto: I see it differently. I believe that the current games are something like what you just described. But if we could push the limits of computers or CD-ROMs, maybe we can make movie-like games in the future.

Miyazaki & Miyamoto on the differing potential of movies vs video games, 1992.

Source: Family Computer Magazine (Famimaga)

#MiyazakiQuote,#MiyamotoQuote

www.notion.so/b03bc1d10e23...

01.10.2025 00:30 — 👍 37    🔁 6    💬 1    📌 0
PEOPLE: - Eiji Aonuma, age 51. Co-Director of Majora’s Mask. QUOTE: Aonuma: When we talked about Ocarina of Time … we talked about hospitality. But Majora's Mask isn't like that. It's all a challenge to our players. It's like we're saying to them ‘can you clear this?’ It was something like until then you were welcomed with open arms being invited to come in, and now you're being told at the door to go home if you don't have what it takes! [laughs] … We didn't put in any kind of elements where we show people how to play this game. The game was made for those who have played Ocarina of Time, so I felt like there wasn't a need for step-by-step instructions.

PEOPLE: - Eiji Aonuma, age 51. Co-Director of Majora’s Mask. QUOTE: Aonuma: When we talked about Ocarina of Time … we talked about hospitality. But Majora's Mask isn't like that. It's all a challenge to our players. It's like we're saying to them ‘can you clear this?’ It was something like until then you were welcomed with open arms being invited to come in, and now you're being told at the door to go home if you don't have what it takes! [laughs] … We didn't put in any kind of elements where we show people how to play this game. The game was made for those who have played Ocarina of Time, so I felt like there wasn't a need for step-by-step instructions.

Aonuma on how Majora's Mask was a challenge to the players, 2015.

Source: Iwata Asks

#Zelda
#MajorasMaskQuote
#AonumaQuote

www.notion.so/aaab9d927dee...

30.09.2025 03:13 — 👍 31    🔁 5    💬 0    📌 0
PEOPLE: - Makoto Yonezu. Senior Lead Landscape Artist for Breath of the Wild. QUOTE: Yonezu: I wanted to design a building that would stand out so that the stables [in Breath of the Wild] would be visible from far away, even while running across the plains. I personally felt that they served a similar purpose to the Postman character who has appeared throughout the series, so I decided to make them completely over the top, placing a giant replica of a horse's head on top of the building. When the staff involved said that they liked it and told me that it was easy to understand, I went ahead with the design.

PEOPLE: - Makoto Yonezu. Senior Lead Landscape Artist for Breath of the Wild. QUOTE: Yonezu: I wanted to design a building that would stand out so that the stables [in Breath of the Wild] would be visible from far away, even while running across the plains. I personally felt that they served a similar purpose to the Postman character who has appeared throughout the series, so I decided to make them completely over the top, placing a giant replica of a horse's head on top of the building. When the staff involved said that they liked it and told me that it was easy to understand, I went ahead with the design.

Yonezu on the design of the stables in Breath of the Wild, 2017.

Source: Creating a Champion

#Zelda
#BreathoftheWildQuote
#YonezuQuote

www.notion.so/13c41fe961fd...

28.09.2025 19:44 — 👍 26    🔁 5    💬 2    📌 0
Video thumbnail

Hi, I'm Melora, the main source of scanned #Zelda art & out-of-print publications since The Internet. I was also the lead campaigner for Zelda manga & art/info books to exist outside of Japan. Join me as I try to create a gallery of every piece of licensed Zelda art via collecting & with your help!

27.09.2025 18:36 — 👍 402    🔁 119    💬 14    📌 0
PEOPLE: - Shigesato Itoi, age 62. Creator of Earthbound, editor of the Ishinomori A Link to the Past manga. - Shigeru Miyamoto, age 58. Creator of Zelda & Mario, General Manager of Nintendo EAD. QUOTE: Itoi: Rather than preparing Plans B and C, you should use your time to polish up Plan A, the one you really think is good. You're the same way, aren't you, Miyamoto-san? Miyamoto: Yes. I've never thought of alternate ideas. Itoi: Or, you haven't ever attended a meeting where you had to pitch your presentation so that it is accepted, have you? Miyamoto: No. I was in an environment where I made decisions myself and continually asked myself whether it was truly good or not. Itoi: … If you're constantly worried about what so-and-so will say, the project or team will never grow. … You may think, "What will the customers say?" You may worry too much about these customers you can't see, which shrinks your idea.

PEOPLE: - Shigesato Itoi, age 62. Creator of Earthbound, editor of the Ishinomori A Link to the Past manga. - Shigeru Miyamoto, age 58. Creator of Zelda & Mario, General Manager of Nintendo EAD. QUOTE: Itoi: Rather than preparing Plans B and C, you should use your time to polish up Plan A, the one you really think is good. You're the same way, aren't you, Miyamoto-san? Miyamoto: Yes. I've never thought of alternate ideas. Itoi: Or, you haven't ever attended a meeting where you had to pitch your presentation so that it is accepted, have you? Miyamoto: No. I was in an environment where I made decisions myself and continually asked myself whether it was truly good or not. Itoi: … If you're constantly worried about what so-and-so will say, the project or team will never grow. … You may think, "What will the customers say?" You may worry too much about these customers you can't see, which shrinks your idea.

Itoi & Miyamoto on not compromising over what others might think, 2011.

Source: Iwata Asks

#ItoiQuote, #MiyamotoQuote

www.notion.so/8f65dbbe83ce...

28.09.2025 04:25 — 👍 88    🔁 16    💬 0    📌 5
PEOPLE: - Shigeru Miyamoto, age 59. Creator of Zelda & Mario, General Manager of Nintendo EAD. QUOTE: Miyamoto: In terms of [Retro Studios] working on a Zelda, it's not out of the question, certainly, for them to work on an entire Zelda game amongst themselves. Traditionally I think that the Zelda team has always had a close contact with anyone who's working on a Zelda game. If you were going to have that happen in the US at Retro, that would be kind of difficult for them to be able to coordinate. Certainly they're too busy for that sort of thing right now. It would probably require me to be involved to a great extent as well, so I would have to get over quite a bit too. I'd probably have to live in Texas... [laughs]

PEOPLE: - Shigeru Miyamoto, age 59. Creator of Zelda & Mario, General Manager of Nintendo EAD. QUOTE: Miyamoto: In terms of [Retro Studios] working on a Zelda, it's not out of the question, certainly, for them to work on an entire Zelda game amongst themselves. Traditionally I think that the Zelda team has always had a close contact with anyone who's working on a Zelda game. If you were going to have that happen in the US at Retro, that would be kind of difficult for them to be able to coordinate. Certainly they're too busy for that sort of thing right now. It would probably require me to be involved to a great extent as well, so I would have to get over quite a bit too. I'd probably have to live in Texas... [laughs]

Miyamoto on whether Retro Studios could make a Zelda game, 2012.

Source: IGN

#Zelda
#TheLegendofZeldaSeriesQuote
#MiyamotoQuote

www.notion.so/27841fe961fd...

26.09.2025 23:15 — 👍 15    🔁 1    💬 0    📌 1
PEOPLE: - Sammy Hall. Concept Artist at Retro Studios. QUOTE: Hall: Stuff from a long lost cancelled Zelda action/jrpg that never went beyond pre-production [at Retro Studios]. Really want to return to these some day to finish a few. Zelda games have wacky weird stuff, and this game was setting out to be ten times weirder. Fun pre-pre-pre-production origin story of the Master Sword. Within the bad ending of Ocarina of Time exploring the last male Sheik’s (after a genocidal ethnic-cleansing) journey transforming into the Master Sword. All while the Dark Gerudo are giving their 100 year birth to Ganon.

PEOPLE: - Sammy Hall. Concept Artist at Retro Studios. QUOTE: Hall: Stuff from a long lost cancelled Zelda action/jrpg that never went beyond pre-production [at Retro Studios]. Really want to return to these some day to finish a few. Zelda games have wacky weird stuff, and this game was setting out to be ten times weirder. Fun pre-pre-pre-production origin story of the Master Sword. Within the bad ending of Ocarina of Time exploring the last male Sheik’s (after a genocidal ethnic-cleansing) journey transforming into the Master Sword. All while the Dark Gerudo are giving their 100 year birth to Ganon.

Hall on the potential story for the pitched Retro Studios Sheik game, 2021.

Source: Unseen64

#Zelda
#RetroStudiosSheikGameQuote
#HallQuote

www.notion.so/27841fe961fd...

26.09.2025 03:36 — 👍 22    🔁 5    💬 1    📌 0

Yeah he was president of Nintendo for 30-odd years before they even got into video games, then he spent the last twenty years of his career defining the console industry and going from arcade to Famicom to Gameboy to Gamecube

Insane

24.09.2025 01:54 — 👍 2    🔁 1    💬 1    📌 1

Here we go!:
bsky.app/profile/hyru...

24.09.2025 01:34 — 👍 4    🔁 1    💬 1    📌 0
PEOPLE: - Hiroshi Yamauchi, age 56. Nintendo President from 1949 to 2002. QUOTE: Yamauchi: Though the style of amusement is greatly influenced by the times, the essence of amusement is always self-realization and communication with others.

PEOPLE: - Hiroshi Yamauchi, age 56. Nintendo President from 1949 to 2002. QUOTE: Yamauchi: Though the style of amusement is greatly influenced by the times, the essence of amusement is always self-realization and communication with others.

It's Nintendo's 136th birthday today, so here's the oldest quote I've got:

Yamauchi on the essence of amusement, 1984.

#Nintendo
#YamauchiQuote

www.notion.so/902471fa6e62...

24.09.2025 01:33 — 👍 42    🔁 9    💬 0    📌 2

Oh I did not realize it was the anniversary! Thanks for the heads up!

23.09.2025 20:01 — 👍 1    🔁 0    💬 1    📌 0
PEOPLE: - Atsushi Miyagi. Twilight Princess Field Design Lead. QUOTE: Miyagi: I had always felt that it wouldn't have been possible to finish everything [in Twilight Princess] by the original deadline, so I felt that the one year delay was only natural. Since the game wasn't nearly ready in terms of both quality or volume, and we were lacking a clear roadmap for how to proceed, when the decision to postpone release was made I felt that I had to reassess things. Before that, in the period when I felt that it would be impossible to complete everything with the way things were going, I was personally burned out. Readjusting myself … was really quite a struggle. Before the decision to delay … I was working on what had to be done every day with the deadline right in front of me.

PEOPLE: - Atsushi Miyagi. Twilight Princess Field Design Lead. QUOTE: Miyagi: I had always felt that it wouldn't have been possible to finish everything [in Twilight Princess] by the original deadline, so I felt that the one year delay was only natural. Since the game wasn't nearly ready in terms of both quality or volume, and we were lacking a clear roadmap for how to proceed, when the decision to postpone release was made I felt that I had to reassess things. Before that, in the period when I felt that it would be impossible to complete everything with the way things were going, I was personally burned out. Readjusting myself … was really quite a struggle. Before the decision to delay … I was working on what had to be done every day with the deadline right in front of me.

Miyagi on what Twilight Princess' delay meant to his work, 2006.

Source: Iwata Asks

#Zelda
#TwilightPrincessQuote
#MiyagiQuote

www.notion.so/d28f338fac34...

23.09.2025 03:36 — 👍 16    🔁 2    💬 0    📌 0
Hyrule Interviews: How I Post Daily Quotes
YouTube video by IncongruousNewt Hyrule Interviews: How I Post Daily Quotes

How I Post Daily Quotes (7:45):
www.youtube.com/watch?v=duFx...

22.09.2025 05:41 — 👍 5    🔁 0    💬 1    📌 0
Hyrule Interviews: A Tour of the Backend
YouTube video by IncongruousNewt Hyrule Interviews: A Tour of the Backend

I was recording videos to show the folks over at @zeldatranslations.bsky.social how I set up my databases and post quotes everyday, and I figured why not! Might as well make them public for everyone!

These are mostly technical/process.

A Tour of the Backend (29:49):
www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ujx...

22.09.2025 05:41 — 👍 15    🔁 4    💬 3    📌 1
PEOPLE: - Eiji Aonuma, age 60. Producer or Director roles in many Zelda titles, Producer of the Zelda franchise. QUOTE: Q: One of the discussions that I've seen among fans is, ‘Gosh, I miss the more traditional linear Zelda of the past.’ How do you feel about that given the direction of the series toward a very free-form design? Aonuma: I do think we as people have a tendency to want the thing that we don't currently have, and there's a bit of a grass is greener mentality. … But also, it's interesting when I hear people say those things because I am wondering, ‘Why do you want to go back to a type of game where you're more limited or more restricted in the types of things or ways you can play?’ But I do understand that desire that we have for nostalgia, and so I can also understand it from that aspect.

PEOPLE: - Eiji Aonuma, age 60. Producer or Director roles in many Zelda titles, Producer of the Zelda franchise. QUOTE: Q: One of the discussions that I've seen among fans is, ‘Gosh, I miss the more traditional linear Zelda of the past.’ How do you feel about that given the direction of the series toward a very free-form design? Aonuma: I do think we as people have a tendency to want the thing that we don't currently have, and there's a bit of a grass is greener mentality. … But also, it's interesting when I hear people say those things because I am wondering, ‘Why do you want to go back to a type of game where you're more limited or more restricted in the types of things or ways you can play?’ But I do understand that desire that we have for nostalgia, and so I can also understand it from that aspect.

Aonuma on fans' desire for new Zelda experiences in the Ocarina style, 2023.

Source: IGN

#Zelda
#TheLegendofZeldaSeriesQuote
#AonumaQuote

www.notion.so/2efbed19e556...

22.09.2025 04:29 — 👍 16    🔁 2    💬 2    📌 2
PEOPLE: - Eiji Aonuma, age 52. Director of Twilight Princess. QUOTE: Aonuma: One time, when I was sleeping, I had a random dream that I was a wolf and locked in a jail cell. Who knows why I had a dream like that... So when I woke up that morning, I thought it'd be kind of neat to have Link turn into a wolf [in Twilight Princess].

PEOPLE: - Eiji Aonuma, age 52. Director of Twilight Princess. QUOTE: Aonuma: One time, when I was sleeping, I had a random dream that I was a wolf and locked in a jail cell. Who knows why I had a dream like that... So when I woke up that morning, I thought it'd be kind of neat to have Link turn into a wolf [in Twilight Princess].

Aonuma on the inspiration to turn Link into a wolf in Twilight Princess, 2016.

Source: Nintendo

#Zelda
#TwilightPrincessQuote
#AonumaQuote

www.notion.so/c7696ae6d0cc...

20.09.2025 19:14 — 👍 20    🔁 5    💬 0    📌 0
PEOPLE: - Eiji Aonuma, age 54. Producer of Breath of the Wild and Champion’s Ballad. QUOTE: Aonuma: I asked the staff if we could try [adding a motorcycle to Breath of the Wild], but they told me it would break the game, and I was immediately denied. … So I gave up initially, but … I tried again, telling the team, ‘Since the player has played all the way to the end of the game, and this is the final reward, it is okay if it breaks the game a little bit.’ … Everyone was pretty unenthusiastic about the idea, but I pressed on, saying something about making it in the image of a Divine Beast that Link can ride, to which they responded that it would be confusing if there was another Divine Beast. … Somehow, I got them to add the Master Cycle Zero [to The Champion’s Ballad DLC].

PEOPLE: - Eiji Aonuma, age 54. Producer of Breath of the Wild and Champion’s Ballad. QUOTE: Aonuma: I asked the staff if we could try [adding a motorcycle to Breath of the Wild], but they told me it would break the game, and I was immediately denied. … So I gave up initially, but … I tried again, telling the team, ‘Since the player has played all the way to the end of the game, and this is the final reward, it is okay if it breaks the game a little bit.’ … Everyone was pretty unenthusiastic about the idea, but I pressed on, saying something about making it in the image of a Divine Beast that Link can ride, to which they responded that it would be confusing if there was another Divine Beast. … Somehow, I got them to add the Master Cycle Zero [to The Champion’s Ballad DLC].

Aonuma on convincing the team to add the Master Cycle in the Champion's Ballad, 2017.

Source: Creating a Champion

#Zelda
#TheChampionsBalladQuote, #BreathoftheWildQuote
#AonumaQuote

www.notion.so/13c41fe961fd...

19.09.2025 23:02 — 👍 28    🔁 5    💬 8    📌 1
PEOPLE: - Shigeru Miyamoto, age 56. Creator of Zelda & Mario. - Satoru Iwata, age 49. President of Nintendo. QUOTE: Miyamoto: Even if you slip up just before clearing the castle [in a Mario game], you'll be sent right back to the starting point. Maybe this is all due to my nasty streak! [laughs] But I think playing at that level of intensity is actually the most enjoyable way to play. Iwata: You think it's more fun to have to play from the start of the level again? Miyamoto: With platform games, only playing the difficult parts can really take it out of you. It feels good to play parts that you can breeze through as well. … Iwata: That's why rather than having lots of checkpoints where you can save your position, it's better to play through the easy part again. Miyamoto: Right. That's more pleasurable for the player. 

PEOPLE: - Shigeru Miyamoto, age 56. Creator of Zelda & Mario. - Satoru Iwata, age 49. President of Nintendo. QUOTE: Miyamoto: Even if you slip up just before clearing the castle [in a Mario game], you'll be sent right back to the starting point. Maybe this is all due to my nasty streak! [laughs] But I think playing at that level of intensity is actually the most enjoyable way to play. Iwata: You think it's more fun to have to play from the start of the level again? Miyamoto: With platform games, only playing the difficult parts can really take it out of you. It feels good to play parts that you can breeze through as well. … Iwata: That's why rather than having lots of checkpoints where you can save your position, it's better to play through the easy part again. Miyamoto: Right. That's more pleasurable for the player. 

Miyamoto on why he thinks it's more fun to have to restart levels after failure, 2009.

Source: Iwata Asks

#MarioSeriesQuote
#MiyamotoQuote, #IwataQuote

www.notion.so/309b8c772861...

18.09.2025 01:33 — 👍 39    🔁 13    💬 2    📌 2
PEOPLE: - S. Nagano. One half of “Akira Himekawa”, the Zelda manga writer/artist duo. - A. Honda. One half of “Akira Himekawa”, the Zelda manga writer/artist duo. QUOTE: Honda: When we travel, we often go to ride horses. Of course, only horses trained for riding. Nagano: When we visited Mongolia, we tried wild horses that the nomads use for their everyday needs. They brought a few horses and told us to choose one. We used the same horse for a week, and our riding improved a lot. Honda: They were small horses. It was like riding a bike, which was good. The size matched our bodies. Nagano: The horses we ride in Japan have bigger bodies, so we can’t wrap our legs around them very well. I can’t use my legs to give them orders [laughs].

PEOPLE: - S. Nagano. One half of “Akira Himekawa”, the Zelda manga writer/artist duo. - A. Honda. One half of “Akira Himekawa”, the Zelda manga writer/artist duo. QUOTE: Honda: When we travel, we often go to ride horses. Of course, only horses trained for riding. Nagano: When we visited Mongolia, we tried wild horses that the nomads use for their everyday needs. They brought a few horses and told us to choose one. We used the same horse for a week, and our riding improved a lot. Honda: They were small horses. It was like riding a bike, which was good. The size matched our bodies. Nagano: The horses we ride in Japan have bigger bodies, so we can’t wrap our legs around them very well. I can’t use my legs to give them orders [laughs].

Honda & Nagano on traveling and horseback riding, 2004.

Source: Viz Media

#NaganoQuote, #HondaQuote, #HimekawaQuote

www.notion.so/1aec8fb05127...

17.09.2025 05:19 — 👍 17    🔁 6    💬 0    📌 0

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