The Impact of A Link to the Past On Aonuma’s Career

The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past is without a doubt my favorite game in the series. The vast amount of collectibles, exciting puzzles and bosses, and dual-world dynamics made for the perfect adventure. This title was one of the greatest factors in why I wanted to have a life in gaming, in some form or fashion. According to the recent interview between Game Informer and Eiji Aonuma, A Link to the Past also had a major impact on the current director and producer of the Zelda series.

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?

Aonuma: I directed a few different titles [like the Japan-only Marvelous: Mōhitotsu 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 just come over to that team and make a Zelda game.” That is when I joined the Zelda team that produced Ocarina of Time.

Personally, I really enjoy hearing what inspired the people that I look up to and knowing that they enjoy the games they create just as much as I do. His passion for

A Link to the Past has actually become his craft, and could be why he revisited that world in A Link Between Worlds, thought by many to be one of the best titles in the series in years. If there is one thing that keeps me hopeful about the future of the Zelda series, it’s knowing that the man behind it cares more about the series and trying to create something that inspires newcomers the way A Link to the Past inspired him than trying to make just another new game for the sake of putting another Zelda game on shelves.

What game in the

Zelda series was your most inspirational? What do you want to see return from previous titles? Do you feel better about Zelda U thinking that Aonuma has started to fall back to what made the series so special to him instead of focusing so much on reinventing the series? Let us know in the comments below.

Source: Game Informer Magazine (Exclusive to Subscribers)