‘Zelda’ Wii U Like ‘Going From Japanese Food To Western Food’, Says Nintendo

While Nintendo has held The Legend of Zelda Wii U close to the vest and not shown much of the title in action, the company does occasionally drop morsels of information for fans to chew on. Producer Eiji Aounuma gave an update on the status of the game in an interview where he made an interesting culinary comparison.

Development on The Legend of Zelda Wii U remains “busy,” according Aounuma in a Famitsu interview translated by Kotaku. “The game has really taken shape, and things have gotten easier. That means things are progressing well.”

The producer also had more interesting comments about the influence and direction of The Legend of Zelda Wii U. It’s already well-established Nintendo is going with an open-world direction for the game, with a greater emphasis on exploration. Of course, there is also the new look for Link, and much of the game world itself. So, what was the starting point for the newest entry in the Zelda series?

“I think the base of our secret sauce has always been Ocarina of Time,” Aonuma said. “But this time, the change in flavor will be like going from Japanese food to Western-style food. Perhaps players will be surprised.”

“Please look forward to it, because I think we’ll be able to make ‘something new’ like Ocarina of Time was,” he concluded.

Let the debate over the meaning of Aonuma’s metaphor of going “from Japanese food to Western-style food” now begin. The Legend of Zelda has always had its own unique style as an action-adventure game, even among Japanese titles. It’s easy to imply the Producer’s meaning as veering towards more of the style of Bethesda Softworks The Elder Scrolls series, because the newest Zelda is going open-world.

An open-world The Legend of Zelda naturally necessitates changes to the game’s play-style and story delivery. That’s a large reason for the delays of the game and why it did not appear at E3 2015. Aonuma explained the team had “discovered several new possibilities for the game” at the beginning of the year.

“As we have worked to turn these possibilities into reality, new ideas have continued to spring forth, and it now feels like we have the potential to create something that exceeds my own expectations.”

Nintendo and the development team made the decision to forego the yearly convention and the time it would take to create a demo to focus on developing out the game instead. The result has been one of the more mysterious Nintendo titles in recent memory. Only a first look of gameplay from the 2014 Game Awards show plus a CGI trailer in 2013 has been shown thus far. This is for a game that was first announced alongside the Wii U in 2011.

Fans have little idea of what to expect, as Aonuma’s team works in relative secret with surprisingly few leaks. Throw in the added mystery around the possibility the next Zelda title could also be a Nintendo NX launch title, and you have a fandom that is close to bursting with anticipation.

For now, the best chance at a meaningful reveal of The Legend of Zelda Wii U remains this year’s E3 convention in June. Nintendo will host another of its Nintendo Direct showcase events in lieu of a press event, but you can bet it will be chock full of information about the game along with details about the Nintendo NX.

What do you think about Aonuma’s metaphor of going “from Japanese food to Western-style food” with The Legend of Zelda Wii U? Sound off in the comments below.

[Image via Nintendo]