This series of articles will take a look at the development of Nintendo-published software. These Q&A; sessions conducted by Nintendo Online Magazine, and transcribed to English exclusively by N-Sider staff member Anthony JC, come directly from the developers so as to give you a first-hand look at the amount of sweat and blood that goes into Nintendo's most celebrated releases.

Eiji Aonuma Producer Nintendo Co., Ltd Entertainment Analysis & Development

Toshiaki Suzuki Director (Hyrule Adventure, Shadow Battle) Nintendo Co., Ltd Entertainment Analysis & Development

Yoshinori Tsuchiyama Director (Navi Trackers) Nintendo Co., Ltd Special-Planning & Development

Q: When did this game begin development?

Eiji Aonuma: Well the original concepts began development a few months before E3 2003. It was really experimental and we weren't sure what direction we would end up going, but showcasing the title generated enough interest in our connectivity Zeldas. As a producer, I decided along with the development team that we should fuse the titles together. Suzuki took charge of Hyrule Adventure, and Shadow Battle; while Tsuchiyama took charge of Navi Trackers.

Q: How did the 3 games utilize the connectivity feature?

Toshiaki Suzuki: I have been working with connectivity for a long time, if you would all remember the Kirby Tilt N' Tumble projects. I wanted to use the GBA as more than a controller, by combining the two hardware and designing with that in mind, a truly refreshing game was produced.

Aonuma: Remember, at first we were only incorporating Hyrule Adventure and Navi Trackers. Suzuki proposed to add more content by adding a third game called Shadow Battle. Of course I said yes!!

Suzuki: I wanted the game content to satisfy any gamer out there. The idea of Shadow Battle was clever, and the engine to make it was not too impossible based on our prior work. The project was fun, but it was hard work [smile].

Q: How did Hyrule Adventure take this form?

Aonuma: Well, online gaming and multiplayer gaming is really becoming popular. Rather than a split-screen game, the connectivity allowed for us to develop this like a multiplayer online game.

Suzuki: We were sure not to make the game multiplayer only either. I think although the most fun can be had playing with friends, the event of a single player session must always be treated fairly. For many reasons, we spent a lot of time making the Hyrule Adventure huge. We could have made it smaller and still feel more than content with the multiplayer since there is so much to do! But for single player, Hyrule Adventure is your main game, thus we had to really make it huge.

Q: How is Shadow Battle?

Suzuki: The game is a straight forward single screen set-up where all the Links duke it out. However, we thought we needed to add something extra. So there are several clever GBA connectivity elements within it.

Aonuma: It's not only a battle game, but part hide and sneak.

Q: How is Navi Trackers which Mr. Tsuchiyama took charge of?

Yoshinori Tsuchiyama: Well we wanted to do a connectivity Zelda completely different than the Hyrule Adventure. That was the original plan.

Aonuma: We developed a game called Marvelous which used the Satella View almost eight years ago. In that game, we had a quest where you would collect stamps while listening to a radio which gave you clues. We took that idea and reproduced it by using connectivity instead.