Industry Veteran Explains Why Nintendo Decided to Remake The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

Eiji Aonuma Wanted Younger Nintendo Developers to Rediscover Ocarina of Time

The Legend of Zelda series producer Eiji Aonuma says Nintendo’s full remake of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time gave a new generation of developers a chance to explore the game’s place in the franchise.

In an interview for Nintendo’s official Ask the Developer series, Aonuma said many current Nintendo EPD developers had worked primarily on later games in the series. Some were only superficially familiar with Ocarina of Time, while others had played it as children. That led him to wonder how well the new generation understood its significance to the franchise.

Ocarina of Time was Aonuma’s first project in the Zelda series. He thought a full remake would help the team understand the game’s structure and original development principles. He hoped the process would give younger developers ideas they could use in future installments. The Legend of Zelda’s 40th anniversary was another reason to revisit the classic.

Aonuma did not want to impose his own vision for the remake. Instead, he gave the team freedom to decide which elements of the original to preserve and which to change. He believed the developers should make Ocarina of Time their own game, drawing on the ideas and conclusions they reached themselves.

The producer said he initially expected more extensive changes. As the project progressed, though, he realized how much the team valued the original. The developers ultimately made fewer changes than he had anticipated.

Aonuma said he was surprised by the depth of the team’s respect for the original Ocarina of Time. The developers were much more attached to the source material than he had expected.

Source: iXBT.games