Aonuma and Fujibayashi Talk The Champions’ Ballad and Breath of the Wild’s Development in New Video Interview
Posted on January 31 2018 by Rod Lloyd
Nintendo has uploaded a new “Dev Talk” video featuring two leading members of the team behind Breath of the Wild and its second DLC pack The Champions’ Ballad. Director Hidemaro Fujibayashi and series producer Eiji Aonuma sat down to answer questions about the latest downloadable content and share some insight into the game’s development. The duo discusses such topics as the inspiration behind the Master Cycle Zero, the popularity of Prince Sidon, and even their plans for the next Zelda title.
In this new developer interview, Aonuma and Fujibayashi share about how certain aspects of Breath of the Wild and its DLC packs evolved throughout development. They take turns answering questions about design decisions, inspirations, and their own experiences with the game. The video even showcases some interesting pieces of concept art, illustrating how in-game items like the Master Cycle Zero and characters like Prince Sidon changed before the game’s release.
The developers are eventually asked about what’s next for The Legend of Zelda, and Aonuma (somewhat reluctantly) provides an answer:
“I think The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild was all about breaking conventions and re-thinking what was natural and normal for Zelda titles. Now that we’ve had this great new reaction to this, we start to think, “Well, uh-oh, is this going to be the new convention?” I think we want to keep creating new things in the game, by creating fresh, new, unique ideas. But at the same time, we don’t want to erase what was successful with The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild too. That’s why I think keeping that balance is something we want to stay focused on.”
I really do hope that the Zelda team can strike the right balance between new ideas and the things fans have grown to love about the series.
What struck you most from this interview? What questions do you want the Breath of the Wild developers to answer in the future? Let us know in the comments.
Rod Lloyd is the Editor-In-Chief at Zelda Dungeon, overseeing the news and feature content for the site. Rod is considered the veteran of the writing team, having started writing for Zelda Informer in 2014 as a Junior Editor. After ZD and ZI officially merged in 2017, he stepped into the Managing Editor role and has helped steer the ship ever since. He stepped up to lead the writing team as Editor-In-Chief in 2023.
You can reach Rod at: rod.lloyd@zeldadungeon.net
