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In this interview conducted by French publication Gamekult, Miyamoto shared the original sci-fi vision for the Zelda series and some details about how Link’s design was decided.
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November, 2021
For the release of the Wii U, the most famous of game designers met with Gamekult for an interview. If the father of Mario and Zelda remained evasive on Nintendo and his projects, he did reveal for the first time how his famous green-clad hero was created.
Q: What was your exact role in developing the Wii U?
Miyamoto: It’s difficult to say, because in theory I’m responsible for software, but since the beginning I’ve had a say in the development of new hardware, especially the game pads. In the end, as we make the hardware and software together I found myself involved with the design of the DS and the Wii. For the Wii U, the line was really blurry between software and hardware. We gathered multiple people from those two departments to discuss the project together. I was among those who pushed for a small screen embedded in the gamepad. Beyond that, it’s quite difficult to say who did what exactly.
Shigeru Miyamoto, 2012. Image source: 1101.com
Q: In an interview from 2006, you related being frustrated by the edges of TV screens. Was the Wii U already in the back of your mind?
Miyamoto: It’s difficult to trace the line from words to acts! Sometimes I think out loud, but I don’t think that was in relation to the Wii U. But it’s true that with the panorama view that allows you to look around you on the gamepad’s screen, you do get out of the TV.
Q: From the start, the Wii gave the impression of a console made for sports games, especially racket sports. When we tried the Wii U and Nintendo Land, we instead got the impression it was made for board games. Was it?
Miyamoto: It wasn’t only made for board games; I think it would have required four small screens in addition to a big touch screen for that. But it’s true it’s easier to make board games on the Wii U, because you can have four players touch the screen and see the result on the big screen. Also, it includes an NFC chip. This means you can add interactions that are closer to games, and not only board games. I’m thinking about toys. And you know, what works really well on smartphones, at least in Japan, are card-collecting games. But those are virtual cards. I’m more interested in real cards. That’s why I believe the Wii U has more potential than those [mobile games].
Screenshot from Nintendo Land, of a stage curtain rising with the Nintendo Land logo
Q: On the side of traditional games, you mentioned Metroid would work really well on the Wii. Were you thinking about Metroid Prime, Metroid Other M, or something else entirely?
Miyamoto: You know, the kind of ideas I have for Metroid can already be found in Metroid Blast, the minigame dedicated to the series in Nintendo Land. Generally speaking, I’m thinking along the lines of the Wii U being an HD console, with superior graphics and more computational power. So it’s natural to imagine a beautiful HD action game… [big smile].
Q: After a quick poll on Twitter, one of the game series that French players are dearly missing is F-Zero. Nobody really understands why Nintendo did not release any new installment since 2004. Is there a chance to see the franchise on Wii U?
Miyamoto: I’m really glad to hear Twitter’s opinion, because since the first game on the Super NES there have been a few installments, but I don’t think the series evolved much. I thought that, quite the contrary, people would have grown bored with it. So now I want to say: thank you and please play the F-Zero mini-game in Nintendo Land in the meantime. I’m also very curious and would like to ask those people: why F-Zero? What’s missing that we haven’t already done?
Q: Recently, there’s been a lot of interrogations about your future. What about you? Where do you see yourself in ten years?
Miyamoto: First of all, I hope I to still be alive ten years from now! If I am, I hope I’m still working for Nintendo, doing what I love. I’m very in-demand these days, but I’m lucky that I can get younger people–well, they’re 40-year-olds–to work in my stead. They’re all talented producers who worked on games for the Wii or Wii U. Thanks to them and their talent, I can take some distance from my usual tasks, knowing those projects are in good hands. And I can focus on what’s interesting me, even if I keep supervising somewhat. Right now, I’m hanging on to finish Pikmin 3!
Q: To conclude, I would like to ask you a question that I don’t think you ever answered. You told the story of Mario’s creation many times, but never the tale of the hero from Zelda. Do you remember Link’s birth?
Miyamoto: Actually, Link’s sprite was drawn by Mr. Tezuka. At the time, as you know, the NES was very limited and we could only use three different colors [for the sprite]. And yet, we wanted a recognizable character.
Takahi Tezuka, 1991, from the Shogakukan A Link to the Past guide
What I wanted most of all was for him to use either his sword or his shield, and for them to be visible on screen. We made his weapons really big for them to be recognizable. We then had to create a hero that would still be visible next to those big weapons, despite his small size. That’s why we thought of a long hat and big ears. For us it evoked a fairy-like character, so we moved along the lines of an elf.
At the time, if you were talking about big ears you were talking about Peter Pan, and because I really liked Disney, we took inspiration from it. Not full inspiration, obviously, it wouldn’t have been nice… From there, I told myself Peter Pan’s greens would suit our character. And because we were limited by three colors and there was a lot of forest environments in the game—green on green—it fit together quite well, so we went that way.
Q: And where does his name come from?
Miyamoto: It’s not a very well-known story, but back then, when we started designing The Legend of Zelda, we imagined the fragments of the Triforce as electronic chips! It was meant to be a video game that would take place both in the past and the future. Because the hero was linking together both eras, we called him “Link”, after the English word. But in the end, Link never went to the future and it remained a heroic fantasy game. We can even say there’s absolutely nothing futuristic in the game! [laugh]