In a new interview with IGN, the producer behind Nintendo’s most recent Legend of Zelda titles, Eiji Aonuma, said development of the new game he’s working on was influenced by reactions to the previous console game in the series, Skyward Sword.
“We actually had some feedback from Skyward Sword, where people were saying ‘This is not exactly the Zelda game I was looking for, I was looking for a bigger open world,'” said Aonuma.
He continued: “Past Zelda games have encouraged and rewarded exploration, especially the original on NES. Despite the vastness that the above-clouds hub world implied, Skyward Sword consisted of three areas in all, which were revisited throughout the game. It did have its moments of greatness (statue fight, anyone?) but it did also feel rather cramped. Unfortunately, I can’t go into details but I’m hoping to put a surprise, or kind of a twist, on my view of an open world game. I hope that you’ll look forward to it.”
Aonuma clarified this. While he takes fan complaints into consideration, he doesn’t feel bound by them, adding, “[If] they’re asking for a certain element, I would think ‘Oh, why not interpret this in a different way that you wouldn’t expect?’ That’s how we create a new element in a Zelda game. I always want to implement something new and surprising in every game.”
So basically, we’re getting the vast open world we wanted, but not quite in the way we were expecting. Given how unpredictable Nintendo can be, it’s anyone’s guess what the final product will look like. The Legend of Zelda is scheduled for a 2016 release for the Nintendo Wii U.
