19 June 2007
Ferry

The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass interview with Shigeru Miyamoto

The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass is finished and coming to Japan this week (they even get to play a demo via DS Download Stations). So Nintendo of Japan posted an interview on their website with Shigeru Miyamoto, the general producer on the DS adventure. A big thanks to Thehylia for taking the time to translate. For clarity: The Phantom Hourglass takes place many months after the events of The Wind Waker. What follows are the series creator, Mr. Miyamoto’s, own words. He discusses the stylus controls and how the game feels to gamers old and new to the Zelda series.

“We’ve created a new Zelda title that can be played with a single stylus.

When we decided to develop a Zelda title for the DS, we wanted it to be a fun game with the essence of the DS. Of course, we were worried whether we could make a good Zelda game that used the stylus control scheme of the DS, but once we did it, the game didn’t lose its Zelda essence. I think we’ve created a new Zelda title that can be played with a single stylus. If you want to try something, you just need to touch the screen with the stylus; it’s very intuitive. That’s how this new Zelda game is.

Take the pots, for example. When you touch a pot, Link (the main character) will get next to it, and if you touch the pot again, Link will lift it. Then you just have to touch twice the screen in any direction to throw it away. If you want to do something, you just touch the screen with the stylus and Link will move. So, rather than controlling Link, you can indicate him what you want to do. It’s the same when fighting some enemies, if you touch an enemy with the stylus, Link will attack him with his sword. Now on the DS, you don’t need to remember which item used which button, or you don’t have to push a button to wield your sword.

There were also several ideas revolving around the concept of “writing” with the stylus. For example, when you throw the boomerang, you write the path you want it to follow. In the single player mode, there’s an enemy that will follow you, the phantom. However, in the multiplayer mode, you can control three of them to hunt down Link (this time controlled by one of your friends), just like if you were playing tag. We thought of using the microphone to control them, but it would’ve been tough to implement that (laughs). Using the stylus to control them smoothly gives you the feeling of carrying on a strategic battle. That’s how this new Zelda feels like.

Then there’s the function of writing notes. We wanted to use all of its potential. Usually you need a notepad to take notes when playing a Zelda game, but this time you can write whatever you want directly on the DS [memo map].

This Zelda game has a flavor of “no’s” (laughs).

There are some yes-no decisions you have to take.

The “no’s” in this game sometimes pull you back from the image of being immerse in the world of Hyrule and make you remember you’re playing a game on the DS. It’s a kind of balance. You have freedom but it also gives you a sense of distance, it’s not too funny but not too serious either. You can afford these things when you’ve got many ideas. The staff’s doing a good job there.

This Zelda title is full of elements controlled via the stylus or the microphone. This is now common for the DS games, but these elements are really merged with the Zelda world. For example, there are many things you can do with a candle. Some DS games make you start a fire or put one out, but the impression it gives you changes in this Zelda game.

First, a message to the Zelda fans. I think the Zelda series has evolved throughout the years. This game is no exception. We’ve changed the gameplay mechanics and it makes the game fresh and fun. We’ve also introduced the phantom hourglass system [where you collect sand in order to fill it up and gain playtime], and I’d like you to give it a try. Furthermore, the staff has done some research on Zelda to decide whether something fits in the game, so this game has many elements with the Zelda essence.

Now, a message to those people who say they liked the older Zelda games. This game’s filled with lots of fun, so it’s OK if you don’t go easy on it.

For those who haven’t played a Zelda game, like little kids, this game’s very interactive. I think once you finish it you’ll remember it as a comic book. If you touch a kanji, the furigana will appear, and I think you can enjoy it thinking it’s a comic book instead of an RPG or an adventure game.

Finally, some words to my sister (laughs). Link is cute, really; particularly this Link with cat eyes. I’d like you to watch the characters animated in a 3-D world on the DS screen. This game doesn’t use the complicated cross pad, so anyone can have a fun adventure intuitively. Please, give it a try.

The extended Japanese trailer looks like a lot of fun!

Update June 20: Japanese games magazine Famitsu has reviewed the game as near perfect! The final score from the four reviewers is 10 / 10 / 9 / 10 making for a total of 39/40 (or 97.5%). That makes it the highest scoring Zelda game ever behind the N64’s Ocarina of Time and the GameCube’s Wind Waker, who both received a perfect score in the magazine.

Update June 22: Here’s a video of the first six minutes of the intro and game.