Summary

  • Producer Aonuma revealed that he prioritizes gameplay over story when developing Zelda games, believing it results in a more flexible and creative design process.
  • Aonuma believes story should support gameplay, not the other way around, which explains why Zelda continually innovates with gameplay.
  • Aonuma’s gameplay-first philosophy keeps Zelda fresh, with immersive mechanics that push the boundaries of exploration and adventure.

The Legend of Zelda series producer and developer Eiji Aonuma recently explained that his main focus when developing a game is the gameplay, with the story coming afterward. The Legend of Zelda producer also mentioned that he never prioritizes the story first, as doing so could make the development process “difficult.”

The Legend of Zelda series, created by Nintendo, is widely recognized for the sense of adventure it has provided since its first installment in 1986. The franchise’s focus has always been on exploration, innovative gameplay, and mechanics. Eiji Aonuma has been a key developer since Ocarina of Time, and he has played a major role in shaping the series' direction. Under his leadership, games like Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom brought open-world exploration and advanced physics to the franchise, introducing new mechanics and gameplay aspects to the video game scene in revolutionary ways.

In a recent interview with the Washington Post, Eiji Aonuma opened up about his approach to making successful games like Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom. He explained that gameplay always comes first for him, as he prioritizes it over the story when developing a new Zelda title. Aonuma confessed that he believes starting with gameplay mechanics leads to a more flexible and creative design process, while starting with a story can feel limiting and make things harder. "I think it would actually be kind of difficult to do the reverse and start with the story, then try to match the gameplay mechanics to that," he said. For him, the story is there to support and enhance the gameplay, acting as a guide that helps players navigate the experience from start to finish. According to his vision, gameplay drives the player's journey, while the story serves as a way to bring that journey to life.

Zelda Producer Aonuma Says Prioritizing the Game's Story First Can Make Things Difficult

This insight into Aonuma's approach highlights what’s made the Zelda series so successful, especially with the last three titles: Breath of the Wild, Tears of the Kingdom, and Echoes of Wisdom. These games have won over fans with their immersive and innovative gameplay. While many games today focus on or balance story with gameplay, Aonuma’s gameplay-first philosophy has kept Zelda feeling fresh, pushing the boundaries of exploration and adventure.

This has not been the only interesting thing Aonuma has revealed to players, as he recently shared some new details about Link’s role in Echoes of Wisdom in another interview. Aonuma and the game’s director, Satoshi Terada, mentioned that they initially considered giving Link spoken dialogue to match Echoes of Wisdom's darker themes. However, they ultimately decided to keep Link silent, believing that dialogue wouldn’t fit with his iconic status as a silent protagonist.

I think it would actually be kind of difficult to do the reverse and start with the story, then try to match the gameplay mechanics to that

Aonuma’s comments about prioritizing gameplay might come as a surprise for many, considering the strong focus on story that the last three entries in the Zelda franchise feature. However, this also highlights why Zelda constantly offers gameplay innovations, presenting new ways to explore its rich virtual worlds.