6. For New Players, and For Girls Too
Alright, to finish up, I would like you to describe in your own words what it is that you recommend about The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword to those who may play it.
Okay. As mentioned earlier, it looks different and the controls are different, and the impression of playing within an area of continuous land has totally changed. As it came up in the fifth session of “Iwata Asks,” Iwata Asks: The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword (laughs)
That was quite a surprise. (laughs)
That’s how much we were determined to change it this time, but that isn’t to say it is completely different.
It is, without a doubt, The Legend of Zelda.
Yes. It’s genuine Legend of Zelda. When you play it, you think, “Ooh, I’m so cool!” so it satisfies like a Legend of Zelda game should. We left in the good parts of the series and, as mentioned earlier, added in lots of new elements that everyone on the staff wracked their brains over.
And when the players throw themselves into a challenge, the game encourages them. (laughs)
Yes. (laughs) A lot of characters that cheer Link on appear, so I think it’s the kind of game that is accessible to anyone, whether they’re long-standing players of the series or newcomers. And I hope girls who say they’re no good at scary games will also try it.
The Legend of Zelda isn’t just for guys.
It most certainly is not! (laughs)
Understood. (laughs) Marunami-san?
I can’t help but recommend the objects. Earlier, we talked about things blending into the background. Actually, we made the objects bigger than ever before in the series. Rupees, for example.
They did get quite a lot bigger.
We did that because we wanted players to definitely get Rupees when they come jingling out. The slightly accentuated visuals this time made it possible to make them bigger to increase visibility without having them seem out of place. And the Hearts that Link uses to regenerate his health are growing here and there in the field.
Like flowers.
There are Bomb Flowers, so we thought, “Why not have Heart Flowers, too?” (laughs) And there’s lots of gameplay in the game fields, not just in the dungeons, making it necessary to regenerate health, but we couldn’t just strew jars with Hearts in them all over. So we decided, as a variation on ways to get Hearts, to have Heart Flowers sort of like tulips blooming. In the end, we had them bloom not just in the game fields but in various places, which is kind, I think, for beginners. I hope new players will also play it.
I see. Iwasaki-san?
Along with what Marunami-san just said, an item called a Stamina Fruit appears for the first time. It doesn’t exactly boost your stamina by cheering you on (laughs), but this time you can dash, and when you’ve been running for a while, your stamina gauge runs low and you run out of breath. In order to replenish your energy, we made a round, green fruit. At first, since Stamina Fruits aren’t found in the real world and haven’t appeared in the series so far, we didn’t know how to design them.
No one’s ever seen one. How were they first described when you were told to make them?
They were described as a plant growing in various places. It looks like it would give you strength and like it would taste crisp and refreshing.
Crisp and refreshing... (laughs)
We designed with that in mind and made sure to place them wherever you’re likely to run out of breath, so use them a lot!
For a crisp and refreshing dash.
Yes. And about the item called the Beetle, the controls with the Wii MotionPlus13 accessory are refreshing. Just flying it is fun, so I recommend that. You can use it to scout out areas in dungeons and hit objects, and if you release it toward enemies, they react, so please fly around with it a lot! 13 Wii MotionPlus: An accessory with a built-in gyro sensor that can detect detailed player movements. It is used by attaching it to the Wii Remote controller. The Wii Remote Plus controller already has this technology built into the controller itself. Either one of them is required in order to play The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword.
Hirono-san?
Lots of distinctive folks live in Skyloft, and we included a lot of side quests.
There are a lot even aside from the cheering.
Yes. (laughs) They’re each living their own way, so people make all kinds of requests to Link. Lots of ideas thought up by many staff members are packed into those characters and they’re standing by waiting for Link to talk to them. So, for example, if you get stuck and stop making progress or if you think, “I want to take a little break from this adventure,” return to Skyloft.
And play with the townspeople.
Yes. I think you’ll have a great time. And if you target those residents, Fi will explain all about them.
In our second session of “Iwata Asks,” (Haruyasu) Ito-san, who worked on effects, also mentioned that. You mean the Iwata Asks: The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, right?
Yes. When you fight enemies, Fi will teach you their weak points, but she can explain a lot about residents, too.
Yes, that’s really interesting.
She’s a wealth of knowledge. (laughs)
When you think, “Who is this guy?” just target that character.
This time, you also target regular characters and not just enemies.
That’s right. You’ll have fun if you do.
And last, Hosaka-san.
Whatever it is that may interest you, be it the art style this time or Link’s great looks, I hope everyone, even if you’re not great at action games or you’re new to video games, will try this game. If you do, the story and presentation will really draw you in and you may even cry.
(nodding) Right, right.
And so I wouldn’t lose Link when I was playing, I meddled with something that had nothing to do with my work and had them adjust the placement of recovery points so even I could beat a tough enemy.
You didn’t just plan but also stressed your own opinions as a representative of beginner players so the game would be easier to play for anyone.
Yes. I thought, “I can’t do that!” We made adjustments like that right down to the finest details so people like me can definitely enjoy playing all the way to the end. I hope people will play it.
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword is incredibly dense in content, but you put a lot of effort into figuring out how you could make new players want to try it. So we’d be happy if people who haven’t played video games play it.
Yes. And this time is Iwata Asks: The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, enjoyable even to those who don’t know the previous games. For that reason as well, I hope new people will enjoy it.
You’ll hear voices cheering you on.
(laughs)
Thank you for your hard work, everyone.
Thank you.