How Aonuma Became Producer for The Legend of Zelda

Since he joined the Zelda team back in 1998, Eiji Aonuma has become quite the legend himself. As you may already know, he has since then directed and produced a number of some of our most beloved Zelda titles. Mr. Aonuma is often pressed for info about upcoming Zelda titles, but you seldom hear of where his Zelda journey all began. Thanks to a recent interview from Game Informer, Aonuma was able to share a brief background that reveals how he eventually came to be the producer for The Legend of Zelda series.

Hit the jump to read on!

 Game Informer: What was your path into video game design?

Aonuma: …After joining Nintendo, I originally worked as an artist, doing the design of characters like Mario in pixel art. I went on to character design for lots of different games. I eventually reached the point where I wanted to make my own game. This was around the time A Link to the Past had come out. Playing that game really made me realize there were lots of different sorts of feelings you could convey in a game; it opened up some new horizons.

Game Informer: How did you come to be in charge of Zelda?

Eiji Aonuma: I directed a few different titles [like the Japan-only Marvelous: Mohitotsu no Takarajima-Ed.] before I worked on my first Zelda game, but what’s interesting is that a lot of those games had a very Zelda-like feel to them. Perhaps it was because I had been so influenced by my recent playthrough of A Link to the Past, but it was something Mr. Miyamoto noticed in the work I had been doing. He said, “You know – if you want to make a Zelda game maybe you should come over to that team and make a Zelda game.” That is when I joined the Zelda team that produced Ocarina of Time.

It’s always interesting learning how some of our most successful and influential game directors got their start and how far they’ve come. Considering how involved Mr. Aonuma has been with his array of Zelda titles, I can’t imagine anyone else producing the Zelda titles to come. What do you think of Aonuma’s background? How do you feel about his involvement with the Zelda games he’s worked on? Tell us in the comments below!

Source: Game Informer (via Nintendo Everything)