Aonuma Explains Origins Behind Zelda: Majora's Mask

[Valigarmander]

Aonuma Explains Origins Behind Zelda: Majora's Mask

In a new installment of Nintendo's always illuminating "Iwata Asks" column (via Gamasutra), Zelda mastermind Eiji Aonuma explained the conception and lasting impact of what remains the most unusual installment in the storied franchise: 1999's The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask.

Rather than feature the standard Zelda structure of eight or so dungeons to seek out and explore, Majora's Mask used a Groundhog's Day-style structure of repeating three "days" within the game over and over, in an attempt to keep the world from being destroyed. And as it turns out, this unique design came about from a challenge from Shigeru Miyamoto.

As Aonuma explains, after they shipped The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (which Aonuma worked on as a dungeon designer), Miyamoto immediately wanted to make an "Ura Zelda," or "flip-side" version of the game (what eventually became Ocarina of Time: Master Quest). Aonuma was not excited about the prospect and protested.

"At that point, Miyamoto-san gave us a tradeoff: he said, if we could make a new The Legend of Zelda game in one year, then it wouldn't have to be a 'flip-side,'" Aonuma said. "At first, we had absolutely no idea what sort of thing we were supposed to make, and we just kept expanding our plans... At that point, the "Three-Day System," the idea of a compact world to be played over and over again, came down from Miyamoto-san and one other director, [Yoshiaki] Koizumi-san. We added that to the mix, and then, finally, we saw the full substance of a The Legend of Zelda game we could make in one year."

Iwata also interjected with how he feels this system in Majora's Mask has had a lasting affect on Nintendo's game design. "I feel as though, back then, we were given a glimpse of the concept that 'Deep, compact play is one form of the games of the future.' I think in that sense, as a product, The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask was a big turning point for Nintendo," he said.

Evidently you can even see it's lasting affect in the latest Zelda game, Spirit Tracks: "You're traveling by train, and if you're careful to remember where things are, they come in handy later," said Spirit Tracks director Daiki Iwamoto, explaining how it's similar in concept to how Majora's Mask forced players to remember key things that occurred throughout the repeating three days.

Awesome, as was the resulting game.

[Metal Mario]

Rather than feature the standard Zelda structure of eight or so dungeons to seek out and explore

Or these days, two or three.

[Cravdraa]

You know, it's funny looking back.
When I was still young, with little understanding of what made video games fun to play, (say, around the time Link to the Past came out) every new game seemed to be "bigger and better" than the ones before it. Because of this, I was under the impression that the games would just keep getting longer and longer as technology improved.

I think I honestly expected to be playing a 30+ Dungeon Zelda game by now.

[Cosmonautical]

If we had some oldschool-style Zelda, a 30+ dungeon game would be awesome.