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[AshMcCool]

If I remember correctly the original interview is not from that page, but from the spanish newspaper El Mundo.
It surprised me that not a videogame magazine, but an spanish newspaper, did a better interview that the ones that magazine or videogame pages have been doing to Aonuma or other people from the sector.

Is this really suprising?

 

[EvilMario]

He's right you know. Ocarina is ugly, empty, blurry, and it's really an inferior version of every 3D Zelda released after it. The nostalgia (and epicness of what it was at the time) is really blinding.

I would personally rather see Wind Waker-esque A Link to the Pasta/Link's Awakening remade. Or even Link's Awakening updated to Minish Cap level graphics on the DS.

 

[ViperVisor]

The only thing that is a glaring weakness in OoT is the FP aiming which was not good even at the time.

 

[Deleted member 30609]

random thought: I can't believe Majora's Mask got made. What a fucking amazing game. It's so un-Nintendo, but in a way that's so right.

 

[Servbot #42]

Here's another quote:

"When a project grows continuously, you have to split it to pieces. I was the director for Wind Waker, but I let different people be responsible for different parts of the production. I had control of how things were going for them, but at the end of the production we fought against the clock and there were parts that I was forced to approve even though it didn't feel complete. I apologize that we didn't fix the triforce hunt at the end of the game. It was slow and dull." -- Eiji Aonuma

Source?

 

[Magicpaint]

random thought: I can't believe Majora's Mask got made. What a fucking amazing game. It's so un-Nintendo, but in a way that's so right.

So un-nintendo that it hardly gets recognition these days from even Nintendo (and annoying Aonuma himself). Seriously, I hope the people clamoring for change at least appreciated what Majora's Mask achieved at the time - especially as that was the perfect time to "remake" Ocarina of Time.

 

[MikeE21286]

this makes me even more excited for the new Zelda Wii

I LOVE OoT. Just love it. My favoirte Zelda game. But......the formula is getting a little old. Can't wait to see what is next.

 

[GCX]

Going by Aonuma's recent comments Zelda seems to be getting quite a big overhaul structure-wise. It'll be interesting to see what they've come up with.

 

[nightez]

I am very surprised. OOT had better puzzles and bosses than any of the more recent games. The Water Temple was simply ingenious - I cant even imagine the amount of sweat that went into designing that complex thing.

I can hardly remember any of the dungeons from Twilight Princess or Wind Waker. There's nothing that sticks in memory.

...

 

[reggieandTFE]

In preparation for the next Zelda Wii (hopefully in 2010) I think I'm going to play all of the Zelda games in order starting in January. I'm going to try to do one a month. I just need to track down a GBA SP charger and the GBA NES remakes and I'm set...

 

[SpacePirate Ridley]

Is this really suprising?

Yes when we are talking about spanish media. We are not the best here giving videogame information of any kind.

 

[Davey Cakes]

He's right when he talks about technical superiority.

On a technical level, Twilight Princess destroys Ocarina of Time, and it's a better game because of it.

OOT seemed somewhat "better for its time" than TP, and was a more fresh experience, and its dungeon design still holds up pretty well, but otherwise it's an inferior game that's only held in higher regards by the general gaming community because of nostalgia.

We've already been through the "they want OOT2, but when OOT2 comes, people complain" thing. Now it's definitely time to make some big changes that will impact the series greatly. There will always be someone who complains about it, but whatever. The series will be better off if it takes big steps in some new direction.

 

[gamergirly]

There were a lot of things we couldn't do [with Ocarina of Time] due to technical limitations. But I think we've been solving those issues with every Zelda since then. With each entry, I've tried to add things I couldn't do before. Actually, it's like I've been remaking it during these years. So if you ask me if there's going to be a Zelda remake... I thought I was making it all this time! So it maybe I haven't done well enough, I haven't been up to the expected level.

Twilight Princess is the closest we've gotten to a Zelda:Ocarina of Time remake. I think it's the closest we ever will. Going by Aonuma's recent comments, they're not going down the "OOT path" but completely shaking up the formula. So, how could it be remade?

In preparation for the next Zelda Wii (hopefully in 2010) I think I'm going to play all of the Zelda games in order starting in January. I'm going to try to do one a month. I just need to track down a GBA SP charger and the GBA NES remakes and I'm set...

That's what Im going to do, starting with Zelda 1. Doubt it will be released in 2010 so should have plenty of time :lol

He's right you know. Ocarina is ugly, empty, blurry, and it's really an inferior version of every 3D Zelda released after it. The nostalgia (and epicness of what it was at the time) is really blinding.

I would personally rather see Wind Waker-esque A Link to the Pasta/Link's Awakening remade. Or even Link's Awakening updated to Minish Cap level graphics on the DS.

OOT was made in 1998. It couldnt be expected to hold up graphically to anything released after N64/PS1. The game's considered a masterpiece for its time and based upon that era holds the essentials for a great game. That's why it's so highly considered in history

 

[Magicpaint]

I am very surprised. OOT had better puzzles and bosses than any of the more recent games. The Water Temple was simply ingenious - I cant even imagine the amount of sweat that went into designing that complex thing.

I can hardly remember any of the dungeons from Twilight Princess or Wind Waker. There's nothing that sticks in memory.

...

One thing Ocarina does over its successors is create a better sense that the dungeons are open. Majora's Mask does that too, but there are only 4 of them. In WW and TP, most of the dungeons involve rooms with self-contained puzzles. Not enough multi-room puzzles, so they can often feel very linear. Ocarina also has the best dungeon music - the themes fit their respective dungeons and create an incredible atmosphere. Forest Temple and Spirit Temple come to mind.

Honestly there are a lot of things OoT still did better than its successors (excluding MM which is a Zelda of a very different flavour).

 

[EvilMario]

OOT was made in 1998. It couldnt be expected to hold up graphically to anything released after N64/PS1. The game's considered a masterpiece for its time and based upon that era holds the essentials for a great game. That's why it's so highly considered in history

Right, and that's why it's inferior to every title in the series released since, although people will go on and on about how great everything in OoT IS , even though it's been topped time and again.

As for the poster who mentioned dungeon design, I find it tough to argue against Twilight Princess' dungeons. They were simply the best designed and in many cases, unique dungeons in the 3D Zelda series. Your childhood might remember the horrors of the Water temple, Phantom Ganon, and the back and forth of the Spirit Temple.. but design wise, they're still not as good as Majora's Mask, or Twilight Princess.

 

[Davey Cakes]

That's the thing. OOT's dungeons are by far the best part of the game and are what still keep the game in high standing. However, in terms of pretty much everything else, from a general design standpoint, all of its successors have improved upon it. Better stories, better exploration elements, better sidequests, etc.

 

[Magicpaint]

That's the thing. OOT's dungeons are by far the best part of the game and are what still keep the game in high standing. However, in terms of pretty much everything else, from a general design standpoint, all of its successors have improved upon it. Better stories, better exploration elements, better sidequests, etc.

All of its successors have improved on it in some way or the other, but not wholly. OoT still has the best balance of elements in the series, imo.

 

[Davey Cakes]

As for the poster who mentioned dungeon design, I find it tough to argue against Twilight Princess' dungeons. They were simply the best designed and in many cases, unique dungeons in the 3D Zelda series. Your childhood might remember the horrors of the Water temple, Phantom Ganon, and the back and forth of the Spirit Temple.. but design wise, they're still not as good as Majora's Mask, or Twilight Princess.

TP's dungeons don't slouch, definitely. This is especially so since there are seven dungeons in the game that are designed as "Adult Link" dungeons in terms of general complexity, where there were only five of them in OOT. I do think that the Twilight Palace is more in line with one of the "Young Link" dungeons in OOT, though, and that OOT still has the superior "final dungeon."

If anything, the games are on par in terms of dungeon design. There's no real reason to knock either game here, because both are showcases for the brilliant dungeons that the Zelda series can bring to the table.

 

[GrotesqueBeauty]

random thought: I can't believe Majora's Mask got made. What a fucking amazing game. It's so un-Nintendo, but in a way that's so right.

It's one of the only genuinely mature games I've ever played. Most games with a story to tell tend to shove their message in your face, but MM took on sophisticated themes like alienation and moral ambiguity with a soft touch. I was fascinated by the ominous tension that permeates the game, and unsettling undertones during even outwardly whimsical moments. It's dark, but not in a hamfisted way like most games. I agree it's pretty amazing the game got made at all, not just because it's was such a departure from the rest of the series, but because it wasn't afraid of being less accessible in service of greater depth and complexity. At the time I thought it would just be a quick and dirty OoT spin off, but somehow it ended up being one of the best most unique games I've had the pleasure of experiencing, and possibly the only one that struck a raw emotional nerve with me.

I guess what I'm trying to say is

Spoiler

LOL I HAVE FANBOY NOSTALGIA! NEW = BETTAR!1111one!1.

 

[iidesuyo]

I guess it comes down to how important framerates are to you.

I can't touch the original PS1 Ridge Racer anymore, but I'm always in for a lap in the 60fps HiSpec version that came with RR4. Having played the 60fps section of Starwing/Starfox in Wario Ware Wii, holy shit, a remake would be awesome!!

20fps were not acceptable to me back then and they are not today. If they released a remake with decent framerates I'd be there day 1. Back in 1998 I played Dreamcast parallel, which REALLY hurt the fun I had with OoT. It was the last N64 game I ever bought new.

 

[TunaLover]

The extreme calm over Retro Studios put me nervous =/, on Zelda FPS topic...

 

[Davey Cakes]

I guess what I'm trying to say is

Spoiler

LOL I HAVE FANBOY NOSTALGIA! NEW = BETTAR!1111one!1.

I think that Majora's Mask has a very complex, emotional, character-driven layer that cuts through nostalgia like a knife.

 

[plagiarize]

mark me up as another person that just couldn't tolerate the frame rate (and imprecise controls that come with it) when i tried it a couple of years back.

Windwaker remains for me the pinnacle of 3D Zeldas. i loved the sailing and the Triforce hunt personally... but then i also completed the trading side quest and did the treasure hunt in every section too.

heck i thought they gave you the wind waker too early, and the warps too early. the sailing engine was good enough that you could tack into the wind, and the game never required you to do it.

i'd often tack rather than do the wind change spell, at least for short distances like sailing around an island or what have you.

 

[upandaway]

Well at least he's acknowledging that recent games are OoT+.

I know Zelda Wii will be different, yeah, but what I really want is to remove that + from Zelda, when the games just have a ton of unneeded stuff into them and they don't feel efficient or coherent in design, as if people threw in whatever they made in their spare time.

With Zelda Wii being M+ maybe that will make it a bit more similar to WSR in that aspect of minimalism. I think it could help the series a lot if a bit of the extra stuff like ladders having textures on the sides and water physics inside the bottles when held in Link's hands were removed. It only gives the game a feel of, it's stuffed with too much detail.

 

[gamergirly]

Right, and that's why it's inferior to every title in the series released since, although people will go on and on about how great everything in OoT IS , even though it's been topped time and again.

As for the poster who mentioned dungeon design, I find it tough to argue against Twilight Princess' dungeons. They were simply the best designed and in many cases, unique dungeons in the 3D Zelda series. Your childhood might remember the horrors of the Water temple, Phantom Ganon, and the back and forth of the Spirit Temple.. but design wise, they're still not as good as Majora's Mask, or Twilight Princess.

That's not why it's inferior. Improving something and Changing it completely are two different things. For example, if you take Wind Waker's dungeons which felt more like building blocks that came together and Twilight Princess's dungeons where they simply became bigger and more diverse, they were both modeled off of Ocarina of Time's fundamental designs. None of Wind Waker or Twilight Princess's core concepts would have been possible without Ocarina of Time. One is evolution, the other is revolution

 

[Black-Wind]

Shit. Hearing about Zelda Wii being realistic pisses me off. I'd at least like a mix of of cell shading and realism. Hell, I guess I'd accept another realistic Zelda if the artstyle is drastically different than TP, but seeing the single art we have for the game, I shouldnt' get my hopes up.

I think your putting too much into that bro.

I thought the same until I realized that he was talking about it being more "realistic" then the DS games.

 

[Zoramon089]

One thing Ocarina does over its successors is create a better sense that the dungeons are open. Majora's Mask does that too, but there are only 4 of them. In WW and TP, most of the dungeons involve rooms with self-contained puzzles. Not enough multi-room puzzles, so they can often feel very linear. Ocarina also has the best dungeon music - the themes fit their respective dungeons and create an incredible atmosphere. Forest Temple and Spirit Temple come to mind.

Honestly there are a lot of things OoT still did better than its successors (excluding MM which is a Zelda of a very different flavour).

I...find this hard to agree with. TP's dungeons were just as open if not moreso than Oot's...the Water Temple spanned how many number of levels, the same with the Temple in the Sky. Not to mention having to switch between Wolf and Human allowed puzzles to be much more complex (Arbiter's Grounds was EXCELLENT)

 

[TunaLover]

I´d want Aonuma, Koizumi and Sakurai, get more spotlight for Wii2. Nintendo is getting too dependant on Miyamoto´s wishes.

 

[Struct09]

OOT is my #1 of all time, but it's good to hear the developers talk like this. I'd like a game to come around and top OOT for me, and the Zelda series needs some serious enhancements for that to happen.

 

[brandonh83]

I...find this hard to agree with. TP's dungeons were just as open if not moreso than Oot's...the Water Temple spanned how many number of levels, the same with the Temple in the Sky. Not to mention having to switch between Wolf and Human allowed puzzles to be much more complex (Arbiter's Grounds was EXCELLENT)

Hell City in the Sky was one giant puzzle pretty much. My favorite temple ever.

 

[Black-Wind]

I´d want Aonuma, Koizumi and Sakurai, get more spotlight for Wii2. Nintendo is getting too dependant on Miyamoto´s wishes.

I keep forgetting that he is making a new game. :/
I think it might be revealed at E3 . . . cause I do remember him saying it would be out/ revealed like 2 years from when he talked about the new studio.

And for the others (IDK about Sakurai) it would seem that Miyamoto still has to guild Aonuma and Koizumi.

 

[Vinci]

I´d want Aonuma, Koizumi and Sakurai, get more spotlight for Wii2. Nintendo is getting too dependant on Miyamoto´s wishes.

I agree. Miyamoto would of course be able to make his own games and new IPs, but yeah, I'd like these folks to get more acknowledgement. In particular, Koizumi and Aonuma. Sakurai should be fine.

 

[GamerSoul]

From the standpoint of a developer that help created OoT, his remark makes sense. He's not stuck in the past. He knows that they are capable to do more and they have been doing more, technically that is.

The game itself is a timeless classic, and the one thing that it has over all it's successors is the imagination that went into. There was so many diverse characters/races, interesting folklores, and sidequest that it was easy to fall into the game. The Gerudos, Zoras, Gorons, Sheikah, etc, were all differnt and helped, I think more than most people believe, make the experience becuase there was more to experience.

 

[brain_stew]

though it is arguably deserving of 'the best game ever' title because it was so good when it first came out.

No, that would be the "most influential" or "most revolutionary" game ever, not best game ever, which Ocarina of Time quite clearly is not.

 

[bjork]

OoT is the game that soured me on the Zelda franchise, so good on this guy for wanting to make a better game. Zelda 2-2, please.

 

[Davey Cakes]

OoT is the game that soured me on the Zelda franchise, so good on this guy for wanting to make a better game. Zelda 2-2, please.

People are going to lambaste you for that statement.

But honestly? I don't disagree, really. Playing the Subspace Emissary in Brawl, as Link, made me think "why not?" in terms of a new Zelda game with sidescrolling action. Same goes for the "from the side" segments in games like Link's Awakening.

Zelda II is severely underrated, and I think a new game that follows its general model would not be bad at all.

 

[DjangoReinhardt]

OoT is still the most enjoyable OoT-esque Zelda for me. There's nothing in WW that I want to experience again and the good bits of TP are buried under too much nonsense.

 

[The Hermit]

It's complicated. Past things belong to our memories, and they grow bigger in there. If you play Ocarina of Time nowadays, you notice that it's not that good. Sometimes it doesn't move as fast as it should, graphics aren't as beautiful as they should be; there are some confusing parts... Any present Zelda is technically superior. Everything goes faster, more fluid...

He is completly right about that. But a game is greater than just the sum of its parts and the sum of OoT is greater than every other Zelda.

but to best Ocarina of Time, a great change –comparable to what happened back then- must be introduced.And that'll be rather complicated.

Yup.
Well, he realizes that OoT and TP were partially Ocarina remakes, especially TP, and that to do Zelda great again he need a great change... and it will be very fucking hard for that.

Aonuma still owes me 3.99 (the price of calling Nintendo's help line) for not knowing that I had to shoot an arrow at the sun.


Asshole.

I though it was hinted in some of the stones...

The only part I ever needed a faq in this game (and am still ashamed for it) was how to get through that room with 2 spiked wood walls.

 

[GamerSoul]

OoT is still the most enjoyable OoT-esque Zelda for me. There's nothing in WW that I want to experience again and the good bits of TP are buried under too much nonsense.

Yeah, I like WW but I couldn't get myself to get all the way through it again. TP's really did a great job in developing Midna and connecting her story to the Triforce, but she's gone now.:lol But Zant......was caca.

 

[acanaday]

Great stuff. I remember listening to his postmortem on developing Twilight Princess at GDC. He really undersells his talent.

 

[Kai Dracon]

None of what Aonuma says gives me confidence that he understands the damage OoT really did to Zelda: removing the arcade game mechanics and challenge from the overworld map, removing the sense of danger from Link's explorations, and making the overworld simplistic and monotonous.

The Wind Waker sort of tried to address this and still has my favorite overworld/overocean of any 3D Zelda. It just needed to be bigger with larger continents to break up the ocean. TP turned right around and beat its head against a brick wall however, once again remaking the same immediate area surrounding Hyrule Castle.

I wonder if we'll ever get a modern Zelda with an opening as simple yet as strong as Link to the Past - it was a dark and stormy night, you wander out into the storm, find your dying father, receive the family sword, and are told to save the princess.

I will kill someone if I have to trudge around for 3 hours doing stuff like catching pigs. CHRIST.

 

[Mash]

I played through OOT about 2 months ago and I loved every bit of it. It doesn't conform to the conventions of today so much but that doesn't mean it doesn't hold its own.

 

[upandaway]

The Wind Waker sort of tried to address this and still has my favorite overworld/overocean of any 3D Zelda. It just needed to be bigger with larger continents to break up the ocean. TP turned right around and beat its head against a brick wall however, once again remaking the same immediate area surrounding Hyrule Castle.

WW had the most potential to be like the original Zelda, I think. All you needed is a quick optional raft at the start and obviously improvements to the content and pacing.

You can go anywhere, you can do everything in whichever order you want - which order for the first 3 crystals then which order for the 3 temples to awaken the sword, and finally, the order where you found pieces of the one Triforce Chart that leads to the triforce of courage (I also hated fishing the shards out but finding the maps was great). The overworld filled with a bunch of varied islands holding sidequests and side puzzles (that chain together).
That's my idea of what WW could have been if it was given, say, a couple more years, and a good slap to the head.

 

[Neuromancer]

I loved Ocarina of Time but you can't judge it against today's standard, the only fair way is to judge it in the context of the time it was released. And at the time it was incredible. Would I want to play it again now, well, not really. Some games age better than others.

 

[GregLombardi]

I don't really think he is saying its not that good overall, but that its individual pieces have been vastly improved. Misleading attack on GAF's favorite game!

 

[KeeSomething]

Aonuma was talking about from a technical standpoint. As far as graphics go, I agree that every Zelda after has looked better. But Ocarina of Time is still the ideal Zelda game, and from a gameplay point of view, it's the most balanced and possibly most timeless. It still has a very memorable overworld with some of the greatest (if not, the greatest) dungeons of all time.

Aonuma said that Ocarina of Time was so special because it tooks risks and offered a completely new experience back in 1998. Sure, it follows the same plot formula as ALttP, and the foundations are the game, but it's a completely new experience because in a new dimension and introducing a lot of new story and gameplay elements that have been reused over and over since.

Zelda Wii sounds very ambious! That's certainly something to be excited about. It seems that it could be thr next Ocarina of Time in terms of becoming the new standard. But to do that, Nintendo can't just remake OoT and "enhance" it like they've been doing over the years, and they finally realize that.

 

[Azure J]

WW had the most potential to be like the original Zelda, I think. All you needed is a quick optional raft at the start and obviously improvements to the content and pacing.

You can go anywhere, you can do everything in whichever order you want - which order for the first 3 crystals then which order for the 3 temples to awaken the sword, and finally, the order where you found pieces of the one Triforce Chart that leads to the triforce of courage (I also hated fishing the shards out but finding the maps was great). The overworld filled with a bunch of varied islands holding sidequests and side puzzles (that chain together).
That's my idea of what WW could have been if it was given, say, a couple more years, and a good slap to the head.

This would have been the Zelda game to end all Zelda games. Dead serious.

 

[ThatObviousUser]

I wonder if we'll ever get a modern Zelda with an opening as simple yet as strong as Link to the Past - it was a dark and stormy night, you wander out into the storm, find your dying father, receive the family sword, and are told to save the princess.

Uncle, and you find out in the credits

Spoiler

he didn't really die.

 

[boiled goose]

OOT is the best game I have played. Nothing I have played has made me feel the way OOT did when it first came out.The game is still playable and enjoyable. I must have played this game over 10 times. I don't understand how people can call OOT unplayable by today's standarsds and praise something like say Sotc. I always fest Sotc, framerate was terrible even when the game came out. (it is still one of my favorite games)

Aunuma at least understands that zelda needs to change. the problem is he always tries to use a gimmick or hook instead of making a tight new core experience.

OOT is extremely cohesive, something that the more refined TP lacks.

 

[Cygnus X-1]

The only thing that is a glaring weakness in OoT is the FP aiming which was not good even at the time.

FP aiming?