Producer Eiji Aonuma Answers Fans’ Burning Questions In The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

Now that more details have been revealed during last week’s Nintendo Switch presentation, fans are at a bit more ease.  With The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild scheduled to be released on March 3, producer Eiji Aonuma sat down for an exclusive interview   to discuss more about the transition from the Wii U to the Switch as well as a possibility of a female Link, and answering questions many have been wondering about.

Regarding the fact that there had been numerous speculations going on as to which timeline Breath of the Wild fits into, while Aonuma did not mention specifically which era it was connected to, he pointed out, “…one thing I’m really keen to emphasise is that a big part of the appeal of the game is surprise, unexpected encounters…”  As far as fans trying to decipher what was illustrated on the back of the Special Edition map to get some backstory, the producer claimed players would have to play the game to find out.

When asked about the development period, Aonuma replied, “…I started thinking about it after Skyward Sword was finished.”  Continuing, “…that idea of having a large open connected world was in my mind…And then the Wii U hardware made realising that idea a possibility.”  In terms of the Switch transition, the developers decided to release it on the platform last Spring.

While many are wondering about the differences between the Wii U and the Nintendo Switch versions, Aonuma stated it will be the same experience gameplay wise on both platforms, “One small difference is that the loading times on Nintendo Switch are slightly faster…”  He went on to say that it wasn’t an easy process to be working on different engines, at times saying, “Sorry we need more time” due to the open world aspect of the game.

Upon revealing Zelda’s new design, fans have noticed the different voice acting per region, mainly Zelda crying in a scene.  The producer responded, “…the scene of her crying in the trailer is just one scene…Princess Zelda…is very complex and multi-faceted…” urging fans to not focus too much on it, but instead enjoy the characters and the story.  As for a female version of Link, the producer said, “Link has always been portrayed as a male character as the protagonist of the games,” adding that it just didn’t work out in the end.  However on the flip side, a playable female protagonist in the future is possible.