Miyamoto explains to Iwata why he thought the original Zelda wasn't that unique.
http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/news/25590
In the latest entry of Nintendo's Iwata Asks column, the Nintendo President sat down with lead designer and producer Shigeru Miyamoto regarding his games and the recently released in Japan 3DS.
When Iwata asks how he makes it so that his games are the opposite of bland, Miyamoto explains that it is a misconception as he thought the original Legend of Zelda game for the NES was bland.
After the two of them exchange laughs at the comment, Miyamoto elaborates that he believed that at the time some of its elements, such as swords and magic, would never be featured in any major way. This is due to the fact that at the time of Zelda's release, movies such as "The Never Ending Story" showed fantastic elements common in the Zelda series, so the concept of a young boy finding as sword didn't seem as fantastic to the developer.
A translation of this part of the article is below.
Iwata: What you (Miyamoto-san) tend to make is usually the complete opposite of bland.
Miyamoto: Er, actually - that's a misconception
Iwata: It's a misconception?
Miyamoto: When I made Zelda it was totally bland. (laughs)
Iwata: (laughs)
Miyamoto: Stuff from that genre, I never thought it would be used in such a major way when I made the first Zelda. I mean, c'mon, back then a world of swords and magic was hardly major.
Iwata: Really?
Miyamoto: Sure, like "The Never Ending Story" was popular for a time. But seriously - this world of "Young man, take this sword and go"? You could definitely say that's bland.
I think Miyamoto is getting hung up on the theme of the game too much here. Yeah the general fantasy theme is pretty cliche but the gameplay itself was revolutionary. The sheer scope and ambition of the original game at that time was huge.
To me this is like Paul McCartney describing "I Want to Hold Your Hand" as bland because it's just a love song. It didn't change music forever because of the lyrical content. Zelda wasn't a groundbreaking game because it was a kid with a sword.
I still enjoy "I Want to Hold Your Hand", but the original Zelda is something I struggled with as an 8 year old and now as a 23 year old. Jonny said Metroid is badly design and unplayable, and I think the same can be said about the original Zelda.
I still enjoy "I Want to Hold Your Hand", but the original Zelda is something I struggled with as an 8 year old and now as a 23 year old. Jonny said Metroid is badly design and unplayable, and I think the same can be said about the original Zelda.
QuoteI still enjoy "I Want to Hold Your Hand", but the original Zelda is something I struggled with as an 8 year old and now as a 23 year old. Jonny said Metroid is badly design and unplayable, and I think the same can be said about the original Zelda.
Even if you don't think Zelda holds up, you're talking about gameplay. Miyamoto is talking about the theme and style of the game which I just think is a silly thing to get hung up on. I agree with Perm that there is probably something lost in the translation here.
Hell, if we're going on theme, ALL of Miyamoto's games are bland. The storyline and characters in his games come across as hastily thrown together at the last minute entirely so that there is some sort of story.
QuoteI still enjoy "I Want to Hold Your Hand", but the original Zelda is something I struggled with as an 8 year old and now as a 23 year old. Jonny said Metroid is badly design and unplayable, and I think the same can be said about the original Zelda.
Even if you don't think Zelda holds up, you're talking about gameplay. Miyamoto is talking about the theme and style of the game which I just think is a silly thing to get hung up on. I agree with Perm that there is probably something lost in the translation here.
Hell, if we're going on theme, ALL of Miyamoto's games are bland. The storyline and characters in his games come across as hastily thrown together at the last minute entirely so that there is some sort of story.
Story is optional in a video game.
No, I think it's spot on that he's talking about the setting. Dude with sword defeats dragons and stuff to save princess is regular fantasy.Yeah, but pretty much every Zelda game is like that. It sounds like he's saying only the first one was bland, not the whole series.
the later games tell you constantly where you need to go but the original just hands you a sword and you have to figure it all out on your own.
I always saw the original Zelda like that. But recently I got an NES and I've been checking out scanned manuals of NES games. I don't know how it worked in Japan but in America the original Zelda came with a map that states outright where the first four dungeons are and puts question marks in the locations of the later ones. It's really no different than how A Link to the Past marks the dungeons on your in-game map, except instead of putting it in the game they put it in the manual. So it is not as obtuse as it appears when you only have the game itself at your disposal.
From what I've heard, the original Japanese version also had a map in the manual as well to make sure players wouldn't get lost either. This is why when I see some people talking about how Nintendo needs to make a Zelda like the original where you have no idea where your suppose to go and be lost the entire game, I laugh. Unless someone got the original Zelda at a used videogame store or just never bothered to read the manual, Nintendo has always been giving players advice on what to do since day 1.
The map in the manual shows that Miyamoto has always intended for players to have help when playing Zelda games and as technology has increased, he's just been able to do more with it. Now I can understand why some people don't like it, but when I see people say the original Zelda is the best and then point to the lack of help as a reason and demand the modern Zelda's stop helping people has always humored me since if the technology for the NES was better at the time of development, Miyamoto would have allowed players to access a giant map in game with the dungeon locations mark just like he would later do with Link to the Past.
I don't know how it worked in Japan but in America the original Zelda came with a map that states outright where the first four dungeons are and puts question marks in the locations of the later ones.That's true, a lot of newer games have elements to them that used to be in the manual or some other insert, such as a game's story, maps, equipment information, etc. I had that map when I was younger too, but it's long gone now so I often forget about it. I also remember the equipment chart that came with Final Fantasy; buying equipment in that game is pretty much guesswork without it.
This is why when I see some people talking about how Nintendo needs to make a Zelda like the original where you have no idea where your suppose to go and be lost the entire game,To be fair, the map is optional, whereas in the new games, you have no choice but to be told three times where you need to go next, no matter how many times you've played the game.
Yeah Spirit and Shadow could be done whenever. The item you needed to gain access to both was the Lens of Truth.
Weren't they numbered in A Link to the Past?