Some of the minds behind the Zelda remake haven’t played the original

“Have you played Ocarina of Time before?”

You’d think that’d be question one on any job interview with Nintendo. 

It’s hard to believe some of the company’s youngest developers would have never touched the company’s greatest game of all time, but they exist − and Nintendo let some of them lead development on the remake of The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time. 

Producers Eiji Aonuma and Hidemaro Fujibayashi sat down with nine.com.au ahead of the game’s launch. Here are some of our favourite insights. 

Nine.com.au:The original Ocarina of Time is considered to be one of the greatest games ever. Did you feel the pressure remaking this game for a new audience 30 years later? 

Aonuma: “Thankfully, the original Ocarina of Time was well received and, of course, it’s part of the classic games now.

“In order to have it adapted for the modern audience, we felt that we needed to make necessary adjustments.

“Instead of us, the developers of the original Ocarina of Time taking on and driving the latest remake, we thought that it would be more judicious to have the younger generation of developers lead the task.

“Currently, the Zelda development team is comprised of many young developers and some of them have played the original Ocarina of Time but many haven’t played the original and, in general, they are much less knowledgeable about the original current of time.

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“We felt that it was fitting to have them lead the interpretation of this game so that it would fit with the sensibility of users today.

“We felt that the solutions that they would come up with would enable us to make the best possible Ocarina of Time remake.”

Fujibayashi: “If you were to ask me if there was no pressure at all or if there was some pressure, of course, there’s some level of pressure.

“However, a lot of the members of the Zelda development team are part of the younger generation of developers, including the leading directors.

“From their perspective, they took on this challenge as an opportunity, an exhilarating opportunity to leverage all the latest technology and the features of the Nintendo Switch 2 to remake the best possible current of time.”

Nine.com.au: The cutscenes are impressive, they were my favourite part of the game. Did you consider giving Link some dialogue?

Aonuma: (Laughs) Um, no. 

“To go back to the original motto, we wanted to preserve the original experience of Ocarina of Time.

“So we didn't even consider giving Link a voice in this latest remake.” 

Nine.com.au: Ocarina of Time is known for its music and now, some songs have slower almost lullaby versions which play at night. Do you have a favourite song?

Fujibayashi: “It may sound a bit like a spoiler but I think that the music that the players will get to hear during the last battle is particularly epic.

“During development, the person in charge of sound for the latest remake decided to mix in the original sounds of the Nintendo 64 version into the background music.

“I was playing testing the game wearing headphones and at one point I noticed this particularly nostalgic sound and I asked, ‘is this just a draft version?’

“He said, no, that was intentional. He intentionally mixed the original sound into the latest remake’s background music.

“I won't say where but somewhere in the game players will have the opportunity to hear the original sounds mixed nicely into the remix.”

Aonuma: “I can’t pinpoint one favourite sound.

“We made various adjustments so that the appropriate sound and music is played at the right time, and I think this is something that you can really optimally do or only do in a remake.

“When you’re making a completely original game, you’re often in a hurry.

“But with a remake you get to look back and to assess the overall experience.

“So, in line with the game progression and the player's emotion, we've ensured that the timings and the selection of the sound and music when they appear and wait when they fade out are perfectly in tune with what’s happening in the game.”

Nine.com.au: The drawbridge to Castle Town no longer goes up at night. How do they keep the skeletons out?

Aonuma: “(Laughs) Um, it’s because the Hyrule Castle has its own sacred power that keeps them at bay.”

Nine.com.au:In the original, once Link gets the Ocarina of Time, Saria’s Ocarina disappears. Where does it go? Have you answered that in the remake?

Fujibayashi: “If you look at the subscreen, both of them appear!”

“So he has both.”

Aonuma: “It’s somewhere in one of his pockets somewhere (laughs).

“Link has so many items, right?

“But you’re not going to see everything all over his outfit!

“There’s a magic to the game where he can carry everything in a way that enables them to go through the adventure nonetheless.”

Nine.com.au:You have made the game a bit easier for players. It’s easier to know where to go. It’s easier to find the gold skulltulas. Did you do this because modern gamers expect a little more direction? 

Aonuma: “What we strive to do is to make the game overall more accessible.

“We need to consider, what is the difficulty in a game?

“I think what we often say is difficult, is actually a difficulty in understanding what to do and this kind of difficulty doesn’t necessarily contribute to the gameplay.

“We tried to put more focus on the process of taking on the challenge.

“So we’ve kept the difficulty in terms of the challenge, rather than the difficulty of understanding  what to do, by providing all of the necessary hints.

“In the original Ocarina of Time, as you noted, there was a lack of information. 

“Sometimes you were doing things just by coincidence.

“What we wanted to do is reduce this kind of difficulty, the difficulty to understand, and to try to focus on the challenges that constitute the true source of fun throughout the game.”