Aonuma discusses Zelda's frequent remakes, and why Dampé heads up Zelda: Link's Awakening's new Chamber Dungeon feature

Dampé if you do, Dampé if you don't

Game Informer had the chance to ask Eiji Aonuma a bunch of questions about the upcoming Zelda: Link's Awakening remake. They started by asking why the Zelda franchise sees so make remakes/remasters, as compared to other Nintendo franchises.

The 'something new' in Link's Awakening is the Chamber Dungeon feature, which lets you drag/drop chambers to create your own dungeon. This new feature is being headed up by Dampé, who wasn't originally in Link's Awakening. Why was he slotted in for this remake?

"We understand that just creating a dungeon from nothing is very hard to do. That's why we introduced the character Dampé to be the keeper of the dungeons. He will give you challenges to complete by creating a dungeon with the challenges he gives you.

He's always been this mysterious character. If you remember him in Ocarina of Time, he was a gravekeeper and there was a dungeon beneath a grave, and there's a lot of things that are a little bit mysterious about him. He fits that image of a dungeon and that's why we thought maybe we'll incorporate him in the game in this way."

Aonuma doesn't have plans for anymore Zelda remakes, says a remake of Skyward Sword using just buttons 'might be close to impossible'

Motion controls forever!

The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening is getting a major remake for the Switch, and it's looking fantastic. Could there be more remakes on the way? Game Informer asked Eiji Aonuma that very question, to which he responded with the following.


This lead to a discussion of potentially remaking Skyward Sword, but ditching the motion controls. Aonuma's response makes it seem like that's not likely to happen.

"So you're saying control it all with buttons? That's a little hard! I think it might be close to impossible!"

Nintendo won't say whether Zelda is playable in Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2

It's a secret to everybody

After the debut of the trailer for Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2, many people have been wondering if you'll be able to play as Zelda. It's all just speculation as of right now, but what does Nintendo have to say? Kotaku asked Eiji Aonuma himself about playing as Zelda, and he offered up this response.

“A lot of people have been asking that, and so I want to ask you, why do people think that?"

Kotaku's reporter offered up this response to Aonuma's question.

“Well it seems like it’d make sense, because at the end of Breath of the Wild she was freed, so now she can be a protagonist. Also, I think people have wanted it for a long time.”

Aonuma responded with the following.

“I see...(laughs), but I can’t tell you.”

Aonuma was also asked how many playable characters are in the sequel, which was another question he couldn't answer.

Thanks to Dondom95 for the heads up!

Aonuma explains why he's returning to Zelda: Breath of the Wild for a direct sequel, thoughts on DLC, not rushing development, and more

More story to tell

Game Informer had a chance to talk to Eiji Aonuma about Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2, and he shared some rather interesting details during the discussion. Check out a round-up of info below.

On returning to Breath of the Wild for a direct sequel




On not rushing development


During the interview, Aonuma also confirmed that Hidemaro Fujibayashi will be returning to the directorial role for the sequel. He says the two are working together very hard on the project.

Aonuma says younger Nintendo staff have been playing Red Dead Redemption 2, while he's been playing Cadence of Hyrule

How do they even have time to play?!

Ever wonder what Nintendo's developers play when they're not playing Nintendo games? When it comes to the younger staff, it seems they're big on Rockstar's work. In an interview with IGN, Eiji Aonuma was asked about what the younger Zelda staff have been playing, and might be inspired by. Aonuma offered up the answer below.

“[Something] I did hear that a lot of people were playing was Red Dead Redemption 2. Recently I've been very busy, especially with Link's Awakening... So on my breaks I've been playing Cadence of Hyrule. So I've been kind of overloaded with a lot of Zelda recently."

Miyamoto and Aonuma were key in making Cadence of Hyrule happen

Both big fans of Crypt of the Necrodancer

One of the biggest surprises in Nintendo's recent Switch Nindies Showcase was the reveal of Cadence of Hyrule, a Legend of Zelda x Crypt of the Necrodancer mash-up that has Nintendo collaborating with indie developer Brace Yourself. Many are still wondering about how this collab came together. Turns out it all started with two of Nintendo's biggest names.

Believe it or not Shigeru Miyamoto and Eiji Aonuma were big fans of Crypt of the Necrodancer on Switch. Apparently the two played the game constantly, and considered themselves to be quite the fans. After becoming so enthralled with the game, both wanted to learn more about the team that put it together. That desire to learn more about the team is what paved the way for the collaboration!

Nintendo says they have 'no plans' to release The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword on Switch 'at this time'

Eiji Aonuma made an off-hand comment at the Legend of Zelda 2018 Concert event in Japan about fans waiting for Skyward Sword to come to Switch, and the internet ran with it. Why would Aonuma make a comment like this, unless he was teasing a project in the works? Turns out it was all just wishful thinking on the part of fans. Here's what a Nintendo spokesperson had to say when asked about the potential for a Switch port of the game.


Nintendo explains why Zelda: Breath of the Wild doesn't fit into the Zelda timeline

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild – Creating a Champion is now available in English, which means fans can pour through the tome and glean some new info about the latest entry in the Zelda franchise. Tucked inside the book is a comment from Eiji Aonuma on why Breath of the Wild hasn't received an official placement on the Zelda timeline.

“The final thing I’d like to convey to all of our players is that video games, not just Zelda, can go much, much farther! We got a lot of responses from adult players who said they felt the same way playing this game as they did when they used to be hooked on video games when they were younger.

We made this game with the intention of returning to our roots, so the response from players about feeling the same as they had when they were young is promising. Since Nintendo Switch is portable, I hope that they will be able to engage deeply with the game in a fresh, new way too.




Nintendo shifts around the Legend of Zelda timeline, discusses the changes in a new interview

The official timeline for the Legend of Zelda series has been updated, and there's been a few changes to how things line up. The changes have been detailed below.

- The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is at the very end of the timelines, but not connected to any of them
- Breath of the Wild is separated, but still at the very end
- in the Fallen Hero timeline, Link’s Awakening now takes place before the Oracle games

Wondering why these changes were made? Famitsu talked to series producer Eiji Aonuma, and Breath of the Wild director Hidemaro Fujibayashi to find out.

Eiji Aonuma, series producer: “Well of course Zelda: Breath of the Wild is at the very end. But, I get what you’re asking, it’s which timeline is it the end of?”


Aonuma: “Hyrule’s history changes with time. When we think of the next game and what we want to do with it, we might think, “Oh, this’ll fit well”, and place it neatly into the timeline, but sometimes we think, “Oh crap”, and have to change the placement. Actually, the decided history has been tweaked many times.” (laughs)

Fujibayashi: “Lately within the company, a term called ‘New Translation’ has cropped up. (laughs) Strictly speaking, we don’t change it, but rather new information and truths come to light.”

Famitsu: I see, so the way to interpret the lore of Breath of the Wild is still up for academic debate. (laughs)

Fujibayashi: “That’s why you should pay attention to future studies as well! Please look forward to it.” (laughs)

Nintendo shares a Zelda: Breath of the Wild sketch from Eiji Aonuma

Eiji Aonuma has Zelda on the brain ALL the time! While Breath of the Wild might be content complete, Aonuma is still showing the game some love. Nintendo shared this sketch from Aonuma above, and while it might not be the most exciting piece of art, it's about a billion times better than anything I could do!


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