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Hyrule Interviews
@hyruleinterviews.bsky.social
3K followers 57 following 1.1K posts
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
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hyruleinterviews.bsky.social
Aonuma on producing a non-Zelda game, 2017.

Source: Nintendo.com

#Zelda
#AonumaQuote

www.hyruleinterviews.com/30441fe961fd...
PEOPLE: - Eiji Aonuma, age 53. Producer of the Zelda series. QUOTE: Q: What does the future hold for Mr. Aonuma? Can you give us any hints? Aonuma: As I get closer to the retirement age, people ask me if I’m ever going to make anything other than a Zelda game. And so sometimes I think maybe I should. But Zelda games really have everything in them that I would want to make in a game. The way the main character grows and develops. The puzzles and the minigames. I don’t think there’s much point in me making something other than Zelda, if I did it would only end up being something just like it. It’s a problem. So I think I’ll just keep making Zelda games!
February 11, 2026 at 4:35 AM
hyruleinterviews.bsky.social
Kiuchi on designing the Bokoblins in Breath of the Wild, 2017.

Source: Creating a Champion

#Zelda
#BreathoftheWildQuote
#KiuchiQuote

www.hyruleinterviews.com/13c41fe961fd...
PEOPLE: - Takafumi Kiuchi. Lead Enemy Artist for Breath of the Wild. QUOTE: Kiuchi: I designed the Bokoblins first and worked hard to design each of the monsters [in Breath of the Wild] to be kind of charming. Rather than making them eerie and off-putting, I wanted them to have an element of cuteness and humor. I thought building in this kind of charm would make people want to play the game more. I applied this way of thinking to their behavior and reactions as well. They snore while they sleep. They devour meat. They look up at the sky when it rains. I tried really hard to create details that would keep players engaged.
February 9, 2026 at 11:48 PM
hyruleinterviews.bsky.social
Aonuma's description of the prologue story for Twilight Princess in 2005, over a year before release.

Source: Electronic Gaming Monthly (EGM)

#Zelda
#TwilightPrincessQuote
#AonumaQuote

www.hyruleinterviews.com/19841fe961fd...
PEOPLE: - Eiji Aonuma, age 42. Producer (later, Director) of Twilight Princess. QUOTE: Aonuma: At the beginning [of Twilight Princess], Link is this cowboy living in Toaru Village—not in Hyrule. Hyrule does exist, but it’s a long way away. They raise cows in Toaru to sell [to 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 this young man to go instead. On the way to the festival, Link is going to encounter some kind of accident, which … leads him to the main adventure.
February 8, 2026 at 6:25 PM
hyruleinterviews.bsky.social
Aonuma on players getting bored of traditional Zelda, 2013.

Source: MacDonald, IGN

#Zelda
#ALinkBetweenWorldsQuote
#AonumaQuote

www.hyruleinterviews.com/2fe41fe961fd...
PEOPLE: - Eiji Aonuma, age 50. Producer of Skyward Sword and A Link Between Worlds. QUOTE: Aonuma: When we created Skyward Sword, by checking the internet and seeing comments people made about it, it came to mind that maybe the users have started to get bored with Zelda, the traditional Zelda. So we’d like to try and change that up. We thought then that it would be more important to implement a kind of hand-holding system, where users would always know what they were supposed to do. But maybe it’s different—perhaps it’s also fun to just get lost in the game and try to figure out what to do by themselves… I’m really happy that I’ve managed to release [A Link Between Worlds] with new features and a uniqueness to it.
February 8, 2026 at 4:57 AM
hyruleinterviews.bsky.social
Dan Houser on game makers borrowing from Nintendo, 2012.

Source: The New York Times

#Zelda
#HouserQuote

www.nytimes.com/2012/11/10/a...
PEOPLE: - Dan Houser. Co-founder of Rockstar Games. Prodiucer or Writer for six Grand Theft Auto titles. QUOTE: Anyone who makes 3-D games who says that they’ve not borrowed something from [Super Mario 64] or [Ocarina of Time] is lying.
February 7, 2026 at 1:10 AM
hyruleinterviews.bsky.social
Miyamoto on how Luigi got his name, 2013.

Source: Time For Kids (Time Magazine)

#MarioBrosQuote
#MiyamotoQuote

www.hyruleinterviews.com/2fe41fe961fd...
PEOPLE: - Shigeru Miyamoto, age 60. Director of Mario Bros. (1983). Creator of Zelda. QUOTE: Miyamoto: We spoke to our colleagues in America and wanted help finding a name for the second character [in Mario Bros.] They said that if you want Italian brothers and the first brother is called Mario, you should call the other brother Luigi. We noticed that ruiji, which means "similar" in the Japanese language, was very close to Luigi, so it became a joke in Japan that Mario is similar to Luigi. 
February 5, 2026 at 11:21 PM
hyruleinterviews.bsky.social
Miyamoto on how Japanese culture influenced Nintendo games, 2013.

Source: Time For Kids (Time Magazine)

#MiyamotoQuote

www.hyruleinterviews.com/2fe41fe961fd...
PEOPLE: - Shigeru Miyamoto, age 60. Creator of Zelda & Mario. General Manager of Nintendo EAD. QUOTE: Q: Nintendo’s main headquarters are in Japan, where you work. What are some ways Japanese culture has influenced popular Nintendo games? Miyamoto: I don’t think of myself as being very Japanese. Ever since I was a kid I’ve always liked America and American culture. I’m a big fan of bluegrass music. What’s also interesting is that Nintendo’s headquarters is located in Kyoto. People typically focus on Japan’s capital city of Tokyo but the people of Kyoto don’t focus much on Tokyo. The people of Kyoto love their city and are somewhat more individualistic. That is probably why the games we created have a more universal appeal. 
February 5, 2026 at 5:05 AM
hyruleinterviews.bsky.social
Miyamoto on the theme of Ocarina of Time, 2011.

Source: Iwata Asks

#Zelda
#OcarinaofTimeQuote
#MiyamotoQuote

www.hyruleinterviews.com/d4112e274538...
PEOPLE: - Shigeru Miyamoto, age 58. Producer of Ocarina of Time. QUOTE: Miyamoto: The theme of Ocarina of Time is very simple: it's about a child becoming an adult. There are people who watch over that protagonist. There are many encounters and partings, and the three women. … But if you just scatter that theme and story around a landscape, it won't make the game interesting. So, what is it that makes it interesting as a game? The foundation lies in the puzzles that have appeared in The Legend of Zelda franchise since the first game. It's taking that traditional series material and skillfully transposing it to 3D that really makes the game The Legend of Zelda. When we took series elements and used 3D composition, things just got more and more interesting.
February 3, 2026 at 11:57 PM
hyruleinterviews.bsky.social
Miyamoto & Iwata on whether Yokoi was Miyamoto's boss, 2011.

Source: Iwata Asks

#MiyamotoQuote, #IwataQuote, #YokoiQuote

www.hyruleinterviews.com/8f65dbbe83ce...
PEOPLE: - Shigeru Miyamoto, age 58. Creator of Zelda & Mario. General Manager of Nintendo EAD. - Satoru Iwata, age 51. President of Nintendo. - Gunpei Yokoi. Producer of Miyamoto’s games from 1981 to 1983. Creator of the D-Pad and the Game Boy. QUOTE: Q: Was your boss Gunpei Yokoi-san [early in your career]? Miyamoto: Not exactly. Q: No? Miyamoto: No. Although I did learn a lot by watching him work, in terms of who my boss was, that would directly be the then-president Hiroshi Yamauchi-san. Iwata: Yokoi-san was only above Miyamoto-san for a very short time. During that time, the relationship between Yokoi-san and Miyamoto-san was an important one, but it isn't quite right of what you always hear about Miyamoto-san's only true mentor being Yokoi-san.
February 3, 2026 at 2:17 AM
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Aonuma on games where players never get lost, 2018.

Source: Zelda Encyclopedia

#Zelda
#BreathoftheWildQuote
#AonumaQuote

www.hyruleinterviews.com/e6aaedfa0594...
PEOPLE: - Eiji Aonuma, age 55. Producer of the Zelda series. QUOTE: Aonuma: [In past Zelda games] we would place numerous landmarks so that players could follow them, and so on. We did things like that to ensure players wouldn’t get lost. But thinking critically, making a game in which players never get lost is like the development team saying that it’s actually just linear. When making a Zelda with that structure, and then examining it from a distance, it starts to feel like “Is this really interesting?”
February 1, 2026 at 10:33 PM
hyruleinterviews.bsky.social
Aonuma on the inspiration for the train in Spirit Tracks, 2009.

Source: Iwata Asks

#Zelda
#SpiritTracksQuote
#AonumaQuote, #IwataQuote

www.hyruleinterviews.com/d6e65557dce3...
PEOPLE: - Eiji Aonuma, age 46. Producer of Spirit Tracks. - Satoru Iwata, age 49. President of Nintendo. QUOTE: Aonuma: We had to think about what to use as a mode of transportation, in place of a boat, and at that point, I remembered a certain picture book. Iwata: A picture book? Aonuma: ...Which I brought with me today... Iwata: This book? 'The Tracks Go On'? Aonuma: My son loved this book. When he was four or five, this was the book he'd bring me every night before bed. ‘Read it, Daddy, read it.’ ... It's a very simple [story], but the pioneering spirit, the kids building the railroad... Something about it seemed as though it would fit with The Legend of Zelda. But I didn't tell the staff about this book.
February 1, 2026 at 4:37 AM
hyruleinterviews.bsky.social
Aonuma on the difference between his leadership on console vs handheld Zelda, 2009.

Source: Iwata Asks

#Zelda
#PhantomHourglassQuote, #TwilightPrincessQuote, #SkywardSwordQuote, #SpiritTracksQuote
#IwataQuote, #AonumaQuote

www.hyruleinterviews.com/d6e65557dce3...
PEOPLE: - Satoru Iwata, age 49. President of Nintendo from 2002-2015. - Eiji Aonuma, age 46. Director of Twilight Princess, Producer of Phantom Hourglass. QUOTE: Iwata: Aonuma-san, you're involved with both [Twilight Princess and Phantom Hourglass]. Are there any differences in how you work on the two? Aonuma: When I work on the Wii edition, I'm right on-site, and I often do my job from a director's perspective. On the Nintendo DS version, I do proper producer's work. ...That said, when I worked on the previous game, Phantom Hourglass, I was simultaneously making Twilight Princess, so I couldn't keep a very close eye on things right from the beginning. Then, when Twilight Princess was finished and I went to the Nintendo DS version's office, the development was already pretty far along.
January 31, 2026 at 2:33 AM
hyruleinterviews.bsky.social
DeSharone on the “lyrical” vision for the CD-i titles, 2006.

Source: Hardcore Gaming 101

#Zelda
#ZeldaTheWandofGamelonQuote, #LinkTheFacesofEvilQuote
#DeSharoneQuote

www.hyruleinterviews.com/c370aba2caf0...
PEOPLE: - Dale DeSharone, age 49. Producer of Link: Faces of Evil and Zelda: Wand of Gamelon for the Phillips CD-i. QUOTE: Q: Was the development team [of the CD-i Zelda titles] big fans of the prior two Zelda games? DeSharone: People really liked the games. But, I think we had more of a lyrical storytelling desire or inclination. I think we were probably more focused on story, and that may have also had something to do with the CD-i platform itself.
January 30, 2026 at 3:56 AM
hyruleinterviews.bsky.social
Iwata on being called in to save EarthBound.

Source: Ask Iwata

#EarthBoundQuote
#IwataQuote, #ItoiQuote

www.hyruleinterviews.com/0f7756f19ab8...
PEOPLE: Satoru Iwata. Program Director for EarthBound. President of Nintendo from 2002-2015 Shigesato Itoi. Producer, Director, and Writer for EarthBound, editor of the A Link to the Past (1992) manga QUOTE: Iwata: When development for EarthBound was in shambles, I was called in to save the sinking ship. At the time, I was both the president of HAL Laboratory and one of it’s programmers. … I said to them “I’ll play around with what we have,” and I went back with the project in its current state. About a month later, I showed Shigesato Itoi and his team a revised version, with the scrolling map and everything. Were they surprised! In fact, they were all freaking out so much I was honestly confused. I was like “Guys, I barely did anything.” That’s how bogged down the project was.
January 29, 2026 at 12:01 AM
hyruleinterviews.bsky.social
Wada on his thinking when illustrating the Breath of the Wild key art, 2017.

Source: Creating a Champion

#Zelda
#BreathoftheWildQuote
#WadaQuote

www.hyruleinterviews.com/13c41fe961fd...
PEOPLE: - Takumi Wada, age 34. Illustrator for Breath of the Wild. QUOTE: Wada: When I drew the official box art and E3 illustration, I wanted to give the sense that Link was confronting the world. My first sketch portrayed Link looking out over Hyrule with his back to the viewer. I then experimented with several other compositions that more prominently featured Link, but eventually settled on the direction of my initial idea. I felt that the world itself, not just the characters, had a leading role in [Breath of the Wild]. I also wanted to convey that this was the beginning of a new Zelda, so I drew the sky at daybreak.
January 28, 2026 at 2:30 AM
hyruleinterviews.bsky.social
Miyamoto on why Mario is a plump shape, 2011.

Source: Iwata Asks

#DonkeyKongQuote, #SuperMarioBrosQuote
#MiyamotoQuote

www.hyruleinterviews.com/39d6164a4154...
PEOPLE: - Shigeru Miyamoto, age 58. Creator of Zelda & Mario. General Manager of Nintendo EAD. QUOTE: Miyamoto: The reason Mario is a plump shape is because gaming devices at that time could only read collisions between square boxes, not because I wanted to make him cute. His design turned out like that because I adjusted for the capabilities of the gaming device of the day. For example, resolution was low, so I made his face big.
January 27, 2026 at 3:08 AM
hyruleinterviews.bsky.social
Miyamoto & Iwata on flight simulators, 2011.

Source: Iwata Asks

#MiyamotoQuote, #IwataQuote

www.hyruleinterviews.com/d4112e274538...
PEOPLE: - Shigeru Miyamoto, age 58. Creator of Zelda & Mario. General Manager of Nintendo EAD. - Satoru Iwata, age 51. President of Nintendo. QUOTE: Miyamoto: The essence of flight-simulation games is to enjoy the controls of airplanes. … PC flight simulators have been around for a long time, and some arcade games were also offering that type of simulations. The difficulty level is high with these simulators when we see them as video games but that difficulty is one of the greatest charms for them. Iwata: It's simulating the actual control of the machine. In the same way that flying a plane in real life is difficult, the controls for these games were difficult too. Miyamoto: That's right. It's the polar opposite of the "controls" for the action games I usually make.
January 25, 2026 at 5:06 AM
hyruleinterviews.bsky.social
Apologies for the delay! An alt-text readable version of the Staomi Asakawa highlight has been published at Hyrule Interviews:
www.hyruleinterviews.com/Zelda-Dev-Hi...
January 24, 2026 at 4:20 AM
hyruleinterviews.bsky.social
Kensuke Tanabe announced that he is retiring in an interview today!

He was a script writer who worked on A Link to the Past and Link's Awakening, so let's talk a little bit about him and his career.

#Zelda
#TanabeQuote

LTTP team (via @glitterberri.bsky.social's site!):
A black and white photo of the core dev tream for A Link to the Past, with Kensuke Tanabe circled in read. The photo is from the Shogakukan guide to Trifoce of the Gods. This scan is courtesy of GlitterBerri, who runs a game translation website.
January 22, 2026 at 4:41 AM
hyruleinterviews.bsky.social
Trying something new today!

Zelda Dev Highlight:
Satomi Asakawa, Character Designer

In (mostly) her own words, Asakawa's game dev career from start to end!

#Zelda
#TwilightPrincessQuote, #OcarinaOfTimeQuote, #MajorasMaskQuote
#AsakawaQuote

Full image:
drive.google.com/file/d/1ywWD...
A very tall image. it's got 7-8 different quotes on it, an image of Satomi Asakawa, and screenshots of various games that influenced her early in her life and career. A very tall image. it's got 5-6 different quotes on it, screenshots of animation and film that influenced Asakawa, some images of her senior project from DigiPen, and some images of the first characters she designed for Ocarina of Time. A very tall image. It's got 4 different quotes on it, an image of Satomi Asakawa, and screenshots of characters she designed for Majora's Mask, The Wind Waker, Super Mario Sunshine, and Pikmin 2 A very tall image. It's got 2 different quotes on it, and a big collage of art of characters that Asakawa's team designed for Twilight Princess. It also has some photos of her, including some from Twilight Princess development and one from a few years after she retired from Nintendo.
January 20, 2026 at 4:51 AM
hyruleinterviews.bsky.social
Iwata on the time he gave programming advice to Nakago, 2009.

Source: Iwata Asks

#BalloonFightQuote
#IwataQuote, #NakagoQuote, #MiyamotoQuote

www.hyruleinterviews.com/01d01475fc47...
PEOPLE: - Satoru Iwata, age 49. Programmer on Balloon Fight, President of Nintendo. - Toshihiko Nakago, age 52. Programmer on Balloon Fight, Super Mario Bros., and The Legend of Zelda. - Shigeru Miyamoto, age 56. Director & Producer of Super Mario Bros. and The Legend of Zelda. QUOTE: Iwata: HAL Laboratory worked on the [Famicom] version of Balloon Fight while… Nakago: We worked on the arcade version. … We wondered why the player's movements were smoother on the home version and asked Iwata-san for advice. Iwata: That's when I told Nakago-san everything I knew. One thing I recommended was that instead of calculating the character's position using integers, they should also calculate it using decimal points, thereby doubling the precision. In this way, calculating gravity, buoyancy, acceleration and deceleration all become more precise and the movements look smoother. … Nakago: … I remember Miyamoto-san complaining: “Why do you have to go to another company to find this stuff out?” [laughs]
January 18, 2026 at 3:55 AM
hyruleinterviews.bsky.social
Miyamoto & Iwata on having crowds around them at the arcade, 2009.

Source: Iwata Asks

#MiyamotoQuote, #IwataQuote

www.hyruleinterviews.com/309b8c772861...
PEOPLE: - Shigeru Miyamoto, age 56. Creator of Mario & Zelda. General Manger of Nintendo EAD. - Satoru Iwata, age 49. President of HAL from 1993-2000, President of Nintendo from 2003-2015. QUOTE: Miyamoto: We decided to research what made hit titles [in 1980] so popular. Well, when I say “research”, I just mean playing the games! [laughs] Iwata: Playing in the name of research! [laughs] Miyamoto: As you can imagine, I was a big fan of games. What's more, while now there are lots of people at Nintendo who are highly skilled video game players, at the time I was one of the best. Iwata: People would gather round to watch when you were playing in the arcade, wouldn't they? Miyamoto: Before I knew it, there'd be a crowd of people around me! Iwata: There was even a time when I had people gathered around me, you know!
January 17, 2026 at 5:10 AM
hyruleinterviews.bsky.social
Aonuma on Twilight Princess' timeline placement, 2005.

Source: Electronic Gaming Monthly (EGM)

#Zelda
#TwilightPrincessQuote
#AonumaQuote

www.hyruleinterviews.com/19841fe961fd...
PEOPLE: - Eiji Aonuma, age 42. Producer (and later Director) of Twilight Princess. QUOTE: Q: Where does [the recently revealed Twilight Princess] fall in the overall timeline? Aonuma: I can’t really go into that, partially because І want to keep it a secret, but also because we haven’t decided yet. There are some kinds of... unstable, uncertain ideas we're working on. Depending on what course we choose in terms of development, the final ending may change.
January 16, 2026 at 4:29 AM
hyruleinterviews.bsky.social
Iwata on the direction for WarioWare (Hobonichi, 2019)

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

#WarioWareQuote
#IwataQuote, #MiyamotoQuote

www.hyruleinterviews.com/cb278bf9f772...
PEOPLE: Satoru Iwata. President of Nintendo from 2002-2015.Shigeru Miyamoto. Creator of Zelda, Mario, & more. General Manager of Nintendo EAD. QUOTE: Iwata: When we were creating WarioWare, I remember saying all the time, “We need to do whatever Nintendo hasn’t been able to do.” Interestingly enough, it was Shigeru Miyamoto who masterminded the release of the first WarioWare title, putting tons of energy into the plan. Essentially, the idea of “doing what Nintendo can’t do” meant “anything [but what] Miyamoto would probably do”. What Miyamoto wanted more than anybody was the sort of games that he would never make.
January 15, 2026 at 3:21 AM
hyruleinterviews.bsky.social
Fujibayashi on the the root ideas of Breath of the Wild, 2024.

Source: Retro Gamer Magazine

#Zelda
#BreathoftheWildQuote
#FujibayashiQuote

www.hyruleinterviews.com/2e741fe961fd...
PEOPLE: - Hidemaro Fujibayashi, age 51. Director of Breath of the Wild. QUOTE: Fujibayashi: [Breath of the Wild] didn't come to me right away as a fully formed idea. For a long time, I went from idea to idea before I finally reached what I think are the very roots of Breath of the Wild's gameplay: the idea of cliff climbing and paragliding back down, the keyword “survival", and the idea of “creativity of combination” whereby players make use of things that happen when their actions interact with objects placed on the map—for example, lighting wood with fire to create a bonfire.
January 14, 2026 at 3:25 AM