With just days to go before the release of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Nintendo has published a brand-new instalment of their “Ask the Developer” interview series. This time around the interview was all about Tears of the Kingdom and had the likes of Eiji Aonuma answering the many questions that were out before him and other members of the development team.
During the interview, Aonuma, Fujibayashi, Dohta, Takizawa and Wakai, were all asked about how Link’s look has changed and discuss how hands are a huge connecting factor and key theme in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom:
Zelda Devs on Hands being the Key Theme for Tears of the Kingdom:
Eiji Aonuma: “Yes, his right arm. We wanted an iconic feature that would make it obvious at first glance that it’s the Link from this game. Speaking of Link’s arm, “hands” is a major theme in this title.”
Hidemaro Fujibayashi: “Titles in The Legend of Zelda series intertwine all the elements of gameplay, mechanics, and story, and combine them all into a single game. For this title, we chose “hands” as the key theme to bring them all together. For example, abilities that Link uses to solve puzzles are all released from his hand and arm. We even included this symbolically in the game’s mechanics, such as having scenes that use hands when opening special doors. This “hands” theme also crops up here and there as a key element as the story develops.”
Takuhiro Dohta: “The previous game was a relatively lonesome game, or rather an endurance game where you made full use of Link’s body and strength alone to traverse the vast world. What’s unique this time is joining hands and cooperating with various characters, and at times, creating items with Link’s own hands and utilising them as you progress.”
Satoru Takizawa: “We were intentional about making this “hands” theme show through in the visuals as well as in the story direction. If you watch the trailers that we’ve released so far, I think you may be able to get a sense of this atmosphere.”
Hajime Wakai: “We also expressed the “hands” theme by implementing handclaps and such in the game’s music.”
For the full interview, why not click here to check out Ask the Developer Vol. 9, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom – Chapter 2.
Ask the Developer | The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (Participating Developers)
- Eiji Aonuma | Senior Officer, Entertainment Planning & Development Division (Producer)
- Hidemaro Fujibayashi | Entertainment Planning & Development Department, Production Group No.3 (Director)
- Takuhiro Dohta | Entertainment Planning & Development Department, Programming Management Group (Technical Director)
- Satoru Takizawa | Entertainment Planning & Development Department, Design Management Group (Art Director)
- Hajime Wakai | Entertainment Planning & Development Department, Sound Management Group (Sound Director)
