Zelda Fans are Really Strict with Conventions, Eiji Aonuma Tries to Keep an Open Mind

Specifically, in this case, Zelda fans who work internally at development studios are very strict about what Zelda is and what the conventions are. I think, however, it is completely fair to extrapolate this to the entire fanbase. After all, for all the change we seem to demand time to time, the reality is that we seem most satisfied when a game delivers on what we feel a Zelda game is supposed to be. In many ways this is a good thing, but the hard part when dealing with this internally in trying to enact true change within the series itself.

The team behind Hyrule Warriors had a very strict idea of what Zelda games are supposed to be:

“One interesting thing that’s happened is that when we talk to Nintendo and ask them about ideas and say ‘hey, what about doing this?’ They’re generally fairly positive. ‘Yeah, try new things!’ They’ll give us ideas. ‘Hey, why don’t you try this out?’ It’s an open discussion and very creative. But when we bring them back and discuss those ideas with the Zelda fans internally, they come back and say ‘no, that’s not Zelda, you can’t do that!’ [laughs] They are the ones who are really strict about what you can and can’t do.” — Yosuke Hayashi

“We certainly have Zelda fans within our development team, as well. We have people who were raised as kids on Zelda. I can come up with just an idea and off-the-cuff say ‘let’s not do this’ and they’ll just insist ‘nooooo, don’t touch that! That’s not acceptable!’ Then, I’ll sit down with them and go ‘why do you feel like that? Why do you feel this way?’ and we’ll have a conversation. We’ll come up with something that’s acceptable both to myself and to the very ardent fans of the series. I think what we’re ultimately able to come up with is something really unique and special that offers that something new, while, at the same time, staying true to what the fans of the series really come to love.” — Eiji Aonuma

Source: Giant Bomb

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