So development started when you passed on the “what in the world” list to Ooiwa-san at GREZZO?
Well, we didn’t have that list when we first started working on the game, so at first we played the Nintendo 64 version through and through. We started off by playing in a lot of different ways, captured video, and made a list. Then we heard from Aonuma-san that he wanted to add in new elements.
So from the beginning, he wanted to put in new ways to play, rather than making a simple remake of the Nintendo 64 version.
Exactly. So within our team we brainstormed all sorts of new ideas that could be put into the game world of Majora’s Mask. We presented our ideas to Miyamoto-san through Aonuma-san towards the end of 2011.
That’s about six months after Ocarina of Time 3D has been released. Didn’t you get nervous having heard that you had to present to Miyamoto-san?
Oh my heart was pounding while waiting for the response! (laughs) But thankfully the presentation ended just fine. It was at a later time when we received the “what in the world” list, which to us was like a challenge in itself.
What was then a challenge to the players was now a challenge to the developers.
That’s exactly it! (laughs)
That “what in the world” list was first drafted by Aonuma-san, so then I played those parts through to confirm, and had Mario Club play it out too. There were new “what in the world” things from those steps as well, and we compiled them all in one list.
So the “what in the world” list went through an upgrade after it left Aonuma-san’s hands.
Right! (laughs) (spread hands widely top to bottom, as if holding a big batch of paper) We handed it all to GREZZO and asked them, “We have all these points that need to be addressed. From where should we get started?” That’s when the real development began.
When we had taken a look at the “what in the world” list, Aonuma-san’s confessions were written everywhere! (laughs)
Confessions? (laughs)
I wrote in a bunch of comments to where I thought weren’t good. Like, “I’m sorry that this comes from the one who made it this way, but…”
That was on the top of every list.
And, “At the time, I think there was something wrong with me…”
He said something similar every time we had a meeting! (laughs)
“What in the world” was something that he said all the time! (laughs)
Every time a “what in the world” came up, I always apologised and made excuses about why I did what I did at the time. I was probably able to do that because I thoroughly replayed the game first, and that I had a clear idea on what needed to be accomplished.
You were able to see a clear direction on how to create it for Nintendo 3DS.
That’s correct, but the sheer amount was astounding. Of course, at the time I must have been keeping an eye on everything, so I wondered to myself why there were so many things that I wanted to fix.
I also have a lot of things that I made in the past where I would do things differently if I had the chance! (laughs)
But I have so many! It’s a lot! (laughs)
Why are you saying it so proudly?! (laughs)
(laughs)
I knew I didn’t want to open the lid from the get-go, and it turned out that my instincts were correct.
But think about it this way, you were able to fix every “what in the world” in the game because we had this opportunity.
I guess you’re right. That’s because there were people who were able to make things right... Thank you so much for all you’ve done.
Oh no, you’re very welcome! (laughs)
How does it feel cleaning up after someone’s mess?
I always felt like it was a challenge bestowed upon our team because of the trust and rapport we established when we worked on Ocarina of Time 3D.
Because you were trusted, you were given a challenge.
Right. I think because we had GREZZO work on the remake of Ocarina of Time 3D, they had a deep understanding of the program, so we knew they could get a clear understanding of Majora’s Mask once they played it. A development approach like this one was only made possible because GREZZO worked on the remake of Ocarina of Time 3D.
They were also very passionate and were highly motivated to the task, even to the small details. So we were able to ask them to work on it with confidence.
Thank you for the kind words. Those words will further raise the motivations of all our team members!
You basically re-experienced what we went through 15 years ago. We travelled from Ocarina of Time to Majora’s Mask.
Oh you’re right. That’s definitely true! (laughs)
By the way, Aonuma-san, while you were working on Majora’s Mask 3D, you were also working simultaneously on The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds16.16. The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds: An action adventure game released for Nintendo 3DS systems in November 2013 in Europe.
Right. To be honest, I wanted only to focus on working on Majora’s Mask 3D, if I could have.
But A Link Between Worlds was a completely new game, unlike Majora’s Mask 3D.
So eventually my hands got tied up, so I asked Ooiwa-san to take on the role of director, a role which I couldn’t fill at the time.
Ooiwa-san said that he was tasked with the role of director at the beginning of this interview, but now we find out how that came to be.
Oh I see, that’s how it all came to be.
What? Ooiwa-san, you didn’t know about it until now?
No, I did not!
So as I was making A Link Between Worlds, I noticed things that could be put in Majora’s Mask.
Ah, I see.
I had it happen before. Whenever I work on multiple titles at once, I find things like that.
So as you were checking things off your “what in the world” list one by one, you also had to work on new themes that arose from working on A Link Between Worlds.
Exactly.
It makes sense that it took so long to develop.
Because we worked on it for such a long time, new things came up, like support for New Nintendo 3DS17.17. New Nintendo 3DS: A new member of the Nintendo 3DS family. New Nintendo 3DS and New Nintendo 3DS XL were released on 13th February 2015 in Europe. New features such as super-stable 3D, the C Stick, and built-in amiibo support were added, and it also has more processing power compared to its predecessor. Visit the New Nintendo 3DS website for more information.
Right! (laughs)
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