“I started working on the series not at the beginning but part-way through its history,” he told GI in their chock-full new issue with the next South Park game on the cover. “I think because of that, early on I was more looking objectively at the series and how we could change small, individual elements within it, rather than looking at how the series should evolve.
“As time has passed — particularly in the last few years — I’ve started to think a lot more about how I can take the series and really make it my own Zelda and evolve it further. As [Nintendo's head of game development] Mr. Miyamoto has allowed me to take the reins of the Zelda series, ultimately that’s what I need to do. Perhaps some people will think it’s a little bit late for me to start thinking about that, but as time goes by, that’s becoming more of a theme in how I’m approaching the series.”
Aonuma has been heavily involved with the 25-year-old Zelda series since 1998′s acclaimed The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time. The series has had plenty of admired installments since then, including last month’s The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword. In my own review for the game, I praised it but also described it as part of what I consider to be the new paradigm for Zelda, a series that was once formally experimental but in the last decade has become entertainingly formulaic, a la James Bond movies.
In the same GI interview, Aonuma expressed mixed feelings about adding voice-acting to the series, an element that many vocal fans call for. It doesn’t seem like adding voice is the kind of fundamental change Aonuma is talking about. He doesn’t want to tweak elements. He wants to tweak the whole thing. That should make future Zeldas all the more interesting to anticipate and play.
GoodOleTones
Thursday, December 8, 2011 at 8:26 AMgreat news! Skyward Sword shook up the usual formula a bit, but im all for even more changes. The idea of a new Wii U Zelda game with these new ideas makes me drooooool lol
Martin
Thursday, December 8, 2011 at 9:12 AMGreat news! Wind Waker shook up the usual formula a bit, but I am all for even more changes. The idea of a wii Zelda game with new ideas makes me drool! Repeat ad nauseum!
Dmoli
Thursday, December 8, 2011 at 9:25 AMGreat news! I’m going to be a troll.
SRG
Thursday, December 8, 2011 at 8:28 AMHere’s the sort of change we want:
Let us fast forward through the dialogue, instead of feeding it to us at a kindergartener’s reading speed.
markd
Thursday, December 8, 2011 at 3:10 PMhaha yeah I’m finding that infuriating! Somehow I cant learn that mashing the A button doesn’t speed it up, I just keep doing it
Stevorooni
Thursday, December 8, 2011 at 8:31 AMFirst person shooter, Link will now carry guns.
BR!AN
Thursday, December 8, 2011 at 1:52 PMAnd fly a B-52 instead of a Loftwing.
BR!AN
Thursday, December 8, 2011 at 1:56 PMAnd Link’s best friend John Hathcock will use a Barrett M82A1 and blow Ganondorf’s face off from 2 miles (convert it yourself) away.
Rigby
Thursday, December 8, 2011 at 8:49 AMThose damn vocal fans better not get voice acting!! *shakes fists
Most fans I know and talk to don’t want voice acting for zelda so I don’t know who these vocal fans are but they BE LOCO! :P
oggob
Thursday, December 8, 2011 at 9:08 AMVoiced by Nolan North! lol
Thom
Thursday, December 8, 2011 at 9:20 AMI can’t get my head around this: do they not want voice acting, or do they not want BAD voice acting. If it was good, would that really be shitty?
I’ll be honest: I want it. Text based conversations leave out a whole dimension of characterisation. I’ve been playing Zelda forever, and will continue to do so, but I’d rather some high-quality voice acting, especially as their now starting to get the idea that a decent story is a must.
DeeK
Thursday, December 8, 2011 at 12:32 PMI’m fine with no voice acting for the characters, but I’d love the story narration, i.e the non-interactive section, to be voiced. That would improve the storytelling feel to the game, and also make the narration more interesting to sit through.
regis fils aime's self-confidence
Thursday, December 8, 2011 at 8:51 AMno voice acting!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It would ruin the series. Fans dont know what they want
Quirkhall
Thursday, December 8, 2011 at 9:06 AMI remember he said the exact same thing once Twilight Princes was released. Here we are 5 years later and while Skyward Sword changed a few things here and there, it’s still the bare-bones Zelda experience we’ve had since 1998.
AerintheADEQUATE
Friday, December 9, 2011 at 2:06 AMRight, but he has still been working under Miyamoto for those years as well… *now* that will be different and he actually *will* be in charge of the franchise’s direction.
Steven Bogos
Thursday, December 8, 2011 at 9:10 AMIt needs voice acting. Not for link himself, he can still remain a silent protagonist with voice acting in the game (see: Half-life) but the whole game feels cheap and rushed without it. I feel like i’m playing one of those crappy DS ports that can’t spare the memory for voice acting.
Alex
Thursday, December 8, 2011 at 5:19 PMWhy does he have to be silent? Why should ANY protagonist be silent! It is childish and ridiculous. When would you ever ask someone to do something and then then they just stay completely silent and then walk off to do it? Nothing should follow Half-Life’s example, Freeman not talking is easily the weakest part of the whole franchise. Zelda NEEDS voice acting, and it needs EVERYONE voice acting. All or nothing.
Samuel Webster
Thursday, December 8, 2011 at 11:49 PMZelda doesn’t NEED voice acting, it’s done fine without it.
If they do add voices though, Link needs to stay silent, because as miyamoto has said, his intent was that the player becomes link, giving a character a voice makes it that much harder to feel like them.
You find freeman not talking to be a weakpoint, a lot of people find it to be strongpoint.
Pylgrim
Friday, December 9, 2011 at 12:10 AMHey there, welcome to gaming! You must be new.
Silent protagonists have been a staple of gaming almost from the time the first videogames with dialogue appeared -that is, more than a decade before Half Life. Link certainly was mute from his inception… when Dr. Freeman wasn’t even a spark jumping between two synapses deep in the subconscious of Gabe Newell.
There’s a clear reason for the existence of silent heroes beyond the sometimes rightful accusation of lack of technical resources or will:
A game’s playable character becomes an avatar for the player to interact with the visual medium of the game. The player dictates all its actions, vests it with his own personality and desires, and in turn, adopts the motivations, abilities, and resolve of the playable character. This amalgamation creates the illusion that the player became the playable character, enhancing his or her experience. A silent hero contributes to this illusion, allowing the player to contribute his own thoughts as dialogue.
AerintheADEQUATE
Friday, December 9, 2011 at 2:04 AMYou obviously need to play Metroid: Other M… silent protagonists are a much better idea.
May Link remain forever enigmatic and thoughtful.
Powalen
Thursday, December 8, 2011 at 9:12 AMAs long as they don’t listen to the fans TOO much. Most people have no idea what they want until they get given it. As long as the games continue to be of a high standard I don’t care what they do. (Though personally I hope they go down the motion controlled swordplay path one more time. Loved it in Skyward Sword)
Jack
Thursday, December 8, 2011 at 9:13 AMI wouldn’t mind seeing more new locatiions rather than just Hyrule. Maybe revisit Termina, New Hyrule, Labrynna, Holodrum and Koholint Island; and maybe even expand them a bit more.
Maybe make a few changes to Link’s tunic. I mean still keep the Green hat and tunic but maybe make it more rugged. Also make some more of the items he acquires appear outside on him instead of just when equiped.
bill
Thursday, December 8, 2011 at 9:18 AMThis is a great idea, showing the main items on link, and when you pull a item out it shows him taking it of his body, just not to a huge extent
http://www.zeldauniverse.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/1_link-items.jpg
Joshy206
Thursday, December 8, 2011 at 9:23 AMI reckon Skyward Sword is a great place to leave behind the old formula, and shake things up.
rikku45
Thursday, December 8, 2011 at 9:55 AMI prefer there to be no voice acting. I also like the game play as it is now, I hope the changes aren’t for the worst
Gusman
Thursday, December 8, 2011 at 10:04 AMI reckon a Zelda set in a modern day world would mix things up quite a bit!
Stevorooni
Thursday, December 8, 2011 at 11:10 AMLink is a bus driver in the modern day Hyrule when Prime Minister Zelda is kidnapped by sadistic terrorist leader Ganondorf.
Unfortunately, while Link is the latest in the line of chosen heroes, he can’t afford to leave his job because he has hefty student loans (after studying a useless sword fighting degree) and a mortgage and his girlfriend Saria is preggers with his child.
So Link must take on a second job to make ends meet, decides to live in a loveless marriage with Saria who just uses him for what little money he earns while his child grows to resent him. He also makes extra money on the side by turning to petty crime and breaking into peoples houses at night, rummaging through their cupboards for spare change and breaking all of their pots.
Then one day when Link has nearly paid off his debts while becoming a stressed out drunken shadow of his former self, Saria divorces him, revealing that the child was never his, and taking his house and all of his money, leaving Link homeless and living in the forest.
It is at this point that Link finally goes truly mad, quitting his job, cladding himself in a green costume, and breaks into his former house intending to leave a steamer in the middle of the living room. While sneaking through the basement trying to find some beer, he stumbles upon the Master Sword.
Taking the sword, Link finds that while he once held the Triforce of Courage, he had to give 35% of it to the government for tax purposes. Being jobless he must recollect the missing triforce shards slowly through welfare payments while simultaneously tricking the government into thinking he is genuinely looking for work.
yrrnn
Thursday, December 8, 2011 at 12:02 PMAlso, guns!
thealienamongus
Thursday, December 8, 2011 at 12:23 PMlol. well thought out
MrTaco
Thursday, December 8, 2011 at 3:13 PMComment of the year?
Neo-Kaiser
Thursday, December 8, 2011 at 10:53 AMLet’s give the Zelda franchise to Vigil Games!
NegativeZero
Thursday, December 8, 2011 at 11:53 AMMaybe we’ll get a jump button.
Crispus
Thursday, December 8, 2011 at 12:13 PMThe Elder Scrolls VI: Hyrule…….nuff said
The Elusive Tom Cruise
Thursday, December 8, 2011 at 6:20 PMI remember hearing in another kotaku post that Ocarina of time was originally going to be in the first person. Perhaps A re-imagining in the first person could be a nice change.
james
Thursday, December 8, 2011 at 7:44 PMYeah, about 10 years too late.
I’d rather they rested the franchise for at least the next generation of consoles – and come back with a real re-boot.
AerintheADEQUATE
Friday, December 9, 2011 at 2:00 AMI respect Miyamoto and his contributions to Zelda. He truly created some wonderful things.
But I am also extremely excited to see what Aonuma will do with Zelda. I have loved what he’s done so far with the series and my tastes have begun to lean more towards his style and opinion of what ‘Zelda’ can/should be than towards Miyamoto’s.
The Miyamoto games were the solid-diamond foundation for Zelda and will always be classics. It’s an extremely strong franchise. I think it can withstand some experimentation and some exploration of different ideas and ‘versions’ of itself.
Really looking forward to seeing what he comes up with. :)
Ty
Friday, December 9, 2011 at 5:48 AMVoice Acting? I’d be happy if they’d go back to LttP’s formula and trim out the fat of the whole NPC/story crap. Focus on gameplay more, give gamers back their freedom (and start admitting they’re not morons).