IFC held an interview with big boss Reggie Fils-Aime. Some of the answers contained information about Skyward Sword. We.ve put the Zelda pieces together and this is the result.
“In that vein, lets focus on “Zelda” for a bit. This is kind of a radical departure in terms of control scheme. You can use the Wii remote and nunchuk as [series hero] Link’s sword and shield, which is the first time for that input method. And even some of the design and layout aspects of this new game seem much different. Do you worry that longtime Zelda fans may be put off by this? You’re asking those people to make a jump…
I’ll tell you: I’m a longtime “Zelda” fan. I played “Zelda” before I ever considered that I could be working for the company. I cut my teeth on “Link to the Past.” I’ve picked up that control scheme and it feels like a great “Zelda” game. I mean now, I have the sword and shield. I am the one deciding how to attack a particular enemy. It feels great to me. I found that it’s a fantastic new way to experience the “Zelda” franchise.
In terms of the look, [Nintendo's chief Zelda guru Eiji] Aonuma-Mr. Miyamoto highlighted this-is very into our history, and they wanted to look that was more impressionistic, and that’s why you see the color palette the way it is. And I think it’s great. I love that we have done everything from, you know, the look and–
Like the cartoonishess of “Wind Waker”…
Right, all the way to the “realism” of “Twilight Princess” and everything between. I think it’s great, I think it’s what helps keep the franchise fresh.
Is there a bit of a teaser with regard to what we saw on the trailer, and in the name “Skyward Sword”? It seems to indicate that there might be some kind of vehicular element or something.
[At] the developer roundtable, Mr. Aonuma shared the skyward element of this game. The storyline goes that Link is living in a cloud world and finds a way to go down to the ground. And the gameplay will take you between this ground world and the sky world.
Right. Kind of the sailing in “Wind Waker.”
So that’s the traversal.
You know, I feel like the last few “Zelda” games have hinged on an axis mechanism that the game is organized around. Whether it’s “Twilight Princess” with the light and dark, or “Wind Waker” with the sailing. Do you feel like there is a core part of the series at this point?
I think it is.
The earlier games were more about straight RPG-style dungeon crawler gameplay.
Well, in “Link to the Past”, you had light and dark, too.
That’s true. And in “Ocarina of Time,” you had the different time periods and Link at different ages as the core mechanic in that game.
So, these two worlds are a key part of the Zelda franchise. And you know, being able to do certain things in world, different things in the other world — now, Mr. Newman, Mr. Miyamoto are the developers — but as a player, a lover of the franchise, to me, yes, those are core parts of the franchise.”
Read the full interview here.
