Prerelease:The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time/Sword on A (Part 4)

July, 1998

Specifications

Indeed, there's a new issue of Nintendo Power. And it contained lots of Zelda. Even a huge feature with Miyamoto and his team, asking them all sorts of questions.

Nintendo Power spent several hours at E3 talking to Shigeru Miyamoto and members of Nintendo's EAD development group. Miyamoto hardly needs an introduction to readers of Power. His status as the best game designer has become virtually a legend within the industry. As the producer and guiding spirit of The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina, his insight into this upcoming game and other gaming topics are of particular interest as we await the release of Zelda this fall.

NP: What's the secret to a great game?

Mr. M: I think it has to do with balance. My formula for success is that 70% of the game should have to do with objectives and the rest should be secrets and exploration-things such as burning trees to find a hidden dungeon entrance like in the first Zelda game.

NP: What is the biggest difference between developing Zelda and Mario 64?

Mr. M: I was a director for the development of Mario 64, but I'm the producer this time. There are four different directors for Zelda. [Toru Osawa, Yoshiaki Koizumi, Yoichi Yamada, and Onozuka.] I have to listen to the opinions and ideas of each of them. It's a tough job coordinating all of their efforts, and I have my own ideas, too. I suppose that it's just as tough for them (laughing).

NP: How big is Zelda? Or how long will it take for gamers to finish?

Mr. M: That's hard to say since not everything has been combined. It's as big as A Link to the Past, and there's more freedom to roam about the overworld. I think it will take at least 40 hours to complete.

But I would like to see less emphasis on the technical aspects. I'm hoping a "miniature world" where people can play, the same idea as Mario 64 but more realistic. Meeting a variety of characters is more important than the story line.

NP: How many people are working on Zelda now?

Mr. M: Forty of fifty. It's the biggest development group I've ever had. We also have a programming company working closely with us. If you include those people, maybe 120 people are working on Zelda altogether.

NP: So how did the planning of this Zelda begin? What was the "System" that you had in mind?

TT: In the beginning of the development process, we were thinking about several different approaches. One was a system similiar to that used in GoldenEye. It was more of a 3-D shooting style system.

Mr. M: We also had an idea for a style similiar to Mario 64. We combined ideas from both systems, but in the end the Mario elements became the major part of the game. Perhaps we could have created a whole new system if we chose the GoldenEye style, but we went in a direction that the entire team agreed upon. What was important was creating the sense of the player becoming Link.

TT: I think we can produce a completely new type of Zelda game in the future.

Mr. M: Yes. We've already talked about a network Zelda as an interesting idea. The assitance of other players in the network could motivate a player's active participation instead of the traps that I create.

Release Date

Q: I was hoping to get Zelda64 like 2 years ago and soon it will probably be pushed back another year to add like a dog or something to the game. They obviously didn't care this much about a lot of the other N64 titles like Chameleon Twist. I don't even know one of my friends who even knows of that game. I'm not even gunna get started with 64DD. Please tell me why the games either stink or get pushed back a year. I wrote to Nintendo power but they never answer so I was hoping you would. --Curley1163

A: Zelda 64 looks to be on track for a November release in the US. Release dates for Japan and Europe have not been decided, but should also happen this year. You pretty much answered your own question about game delays. Games that are delayed are better because the developers have more time to make them great!

Translation

Q: hey Dan. come on tell us we all want to know, how did your zelda screen text stuff go?! --james o'meara

A: It went great! We translated all the messages that are currently in the game. Of course, that was just a rough translation, and many messages will be changed and added. There's still a lot of work to do but so far, so good!

Q: Sup Dan, when working on the screen text for zelda, do you translate the Japanese to English? Or do you write your own interesting text for the game? --jabby boy brennecke

A: I work with a translator who translates all the text into English. I then go over it to polish it up to sound more natural. During the process I work closely with the translator and the game developers to make sure the English version captures the nuances and subtleties of the Japanese version as much as possible. Of course, I try to stick in my own little touches here and there!

Q: Hey Dan: I saw some Zelda movie on the Internet and I noticed that every time Link gets hit he gets this Orangey-Golden Flash that lasts about a second. Will this be taken out of the final version. I only ask because it looks very stupid. I would also like to know if Link will grow as you play the game or is there a point in the game were you go from young to old? --Karl Romanowski

A: I don't think the exact effect that occurs when you are hit by an enemy attack has been finalized, but I do think it's important that there be some visual cues that you're getting clobbered! Although this game will be compatible with the Rumble Pak, and that will tell you if you are getting hit, you need more than just that if you don't have a Rumble Pak. I don't want to reveal too much about the way Link changes from age to age at this point, but suffice to say it plays an important part in his adventure.

Q: In the newest screen shots from 7/3/98, the "action button" has English words in it instead of Japanese. Some of the words were "Navi", "Return", and "Jump". I was just wondering if the English translation was one step closer. Is there a specific reason why they were in English? Thank you. --Titanic007

A: Yes.

---

Miyamoto Interview - Game Staff List Association Japan, 1998</ref>

American Version

海外版も日本版と全く変えてないです｡

前のスーパーファミコン版ゼルダもそうなんですが､別に簡単にして出したわけでもないんですが人気がありますし。私が思うには、アメリカ人はアクションが好きで、考えるゲームが嫌いというのは嘘ですね(笑)。

Sound

NP: What is the role of "Voice" in this game, and will Link speak?

Mr. M: Casically, I think environmental sound is the most important. For example, we need some sound effect indicating when Link is surprised, like in a movie. I placed our highest priority on that type of use of sound. As for Link, he doesn't speak.

NP: In the show demo, we heard Link yell when he fell a long way.

Mr. M: Yes, that's the type of sound effect we want to use.

Q: I was wondering does Link talk in Zelda 64? --Link4505

A: The sounds haven't been finalized, but Link will not speak in Zelda 64. He will obviously make some verbal sounds but won't utter any recognizable words.

Actions

TT: I like the play control of this game. We tried to come up with a system for 3-D action with simple play control. I hope it becomes standard for all 3-D action games.

NP: The attention mode using the Z Button is one of those things? We felt it was very impressive.

Mr. M: Yes we spent a long time on it even after we came up with the basic idea. It took a lot of fine tuning in order to find the easiest control for players.

NP: So you had to create a motion capture studio?

Mr. M: Yes. Actually, we rebuilt it several times. Did you see the treasure box opening in the demo game? We also captured the box opening using a real treasure box.

Interface

And action is very important, things like simplifying the button controls for complex actions. In Zelda, players will be able to customize their (C button) controls and use weapons and items on whatever button they choose.

Items

NP: How about magic?

Mr. M: The magic system is one of the few things that isn't finished yet. You'll be able to apply different types of magic to weapons on the item screen. If you apply fire magic to the bow, you can use a fire bow. That's the basic magic system.

More and more, Nintendo is sending their customers videos. This time with footage of Rare's Banjo-Kazooie. Our own Steve got it, and I don't know if it's because of the tape, but he bought the game anyway. He says you should definitely get it (though he can't seem to find the mole). Anyway, the videotape in question also contained about 0.3 seconds of Zelda footage. Our reader Golden Moon wrote this about it:

"... near the end it contains a few short but incredible scenes from Zelda V. I'd seen all but one before, but never in full 30 frames per second smooth motion. The one I hadn't seen showed Link appearing to cast a magic spell on some strange spider-like creature, though not the spider boss we're all familiar with. The other scenes were of Link riding his horse on the plains, fighting the fire dragon and water creature, and standing in extreme detail with Navie hovering around his head."

Sword

Beam Blade

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Small Spin Attack

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Large Spin Attack

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Tunics

Q: In some web sites, they say that in Zelda 64, Link will have three types of armor( like in previous games) and three types of swords ( like in previous.....). If they say it in this web site which I think is ign64 how come Nintendo didn't mention it? I heard that the types of armor are from weak to strong: green, red and blue. the swords are the regular sword, the MASTER SWORD, and the giants dagger. can you tell me if this is true or if this is fake? Also how come you don't show screenshots of link with differing armor and swords if they're are any. please answer. PS put the armor and weapons in weak to strong. PSS u rule. P.S.S.S evil Dan is DA BOMB --Airdan64DD

A: These details were not mentioned on Nintendo's Official web site because they're not finalized yet. All I'm going to tell you is, as in previous games, Link will have access to several different sets of clothes, swords, shields and a large arsenal of weapons. These things will not go from weakest to strongest, sometimes they will have other functions. When the game is closer to finalization, we'll have a more complete run-down on all the weapons, items and armor.

Minigames

Renting Horses

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Racing Ingo

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Link's Model

NP: What's the greatest technical challenge of this game?

Mr. M: I think the challenge is to create visual expressiveness using lighting and textures-for instance, the smooth skin of the horse and the realistic movements of Link's hood. How much realistic expression we can make is the biggest challenge for me.

NP: Who played as Link?

Mr. M: It was a professional actor, although not a famous one. We also hired professional action stunt men to capture Link's sword fighting. There is a famous Universal-Studio-type amusement facility in Kyoto called Eiga Mura. Movie Village.] We hired a professional Samurai sword-stunt actor from there.

NP: How about facial expressions?

Mr. M: We have several types of expression':, Link showing surprise, blinking his eyes, that sort of thing.

Story

NP: Who's in charge of creating the story?

Mr. M: There's one scenario writer. He wrote drafts and I made comments and changes.

NP: Will there be a lot of 3D-cinema scenes in Zelda?

Mr. M: Perhaps more than 40 minutes worth of scenes. I think it's important to have cinema scenes in order to keep people actively involved in the game.

NP: Let's get back to Zelda. You said that a game's "System" is more important than its story when you develop a game. Is that true for Zelda this time?

Mr. M: Yes, but since I have an excellent staff that is strong in every area, I think you'll find that the story-telling is a real strength in this game.

NP: But the "System" is still the most important part of the game?

Mr. M: Yes. I don't think that a story alone can make a game exciting. I'm afraid that people think that I ignore story lines or that I don't feel that the story has any value. My first priority is whether the game play is interesting. What I mean by that is that is that a player is actively involved in the game. The story is just one of the ways to get players interested, like the enemies or puzzles. If you just want a good story, you should pick up a novel or a movie. The difference is in the participation. In a game, you might meet a character, but you don't find out his story until later, after you do something that reveals the truth about him. It's all up to the player. You only get that sort of experience with interactive entertainment. Of course, the scenario, characters and graphics are all important, but it's this active attitude that is the most important element.

NP: Will this Zelda be the end of the saga?

Mr. M: No. Not at all. The action system of this Zelda is completely different from previous games. To me, Zelda games are a always about the concept of the system rather than about a particular story.

NP: Is Link able to go back and forth through time?

Mr. M: Yes, he can and he must.

Serenade of Water

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Characters

Revisited - Epona

Mr. M: I’d also like to talk a bit more about a technical issue. I think the use of realtime cinema scenes is something we really haven't seen much of before.

GG: FMCG.

NP: What's that stand for?

GG: Full Motion Computer Graphics. I named it.

Mr. M.: We used motion capture technolofy for the FMCG to capture mo0re realistic movements such as Link mounting his horse. We had to make a mock horse in our studio.

NP: The horse action looks great.

Mr. M: Thanks, but we still have more work to do on the details.

Q: Yo Dan. Me and my friends have been thinking a lot about Link's horse in Zelda 64. Can Link fight bad guys while riding the horse or does he have to get off? And can the horse attack by kicking bad guys or something and help Link or is Link alone when fighting? Thanks a lot. -the Jerk whos addicted to Nintendo 64 but cannot play enough because every time he starts playing his mama says, "Come on, dinner is ready."

A: This is a tough one to answer without giving some cool stuff away. I'll just tell you that Link can do more on the horse than just ride it from place to place... how's that?! :-)

Revisited - Sheik

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Talon

Prototype	Final

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Child Malon

Prototype	Final

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Prototype	Final

It seems that Malon didn't originally give you a hint about where to find her father.

Prerelease Screenshot	Official Japanese Script
とーさんったら きっと　どっかで　アソンでるのヨ。 こまったオトナよネ、フフフ。	とーさん　きっと お城の　どっかで　ねてるのヨ… こまった　オトナよネ。　フフフ！
I'm sure that old dad of mine is goofing off somewhere. And to think he's an adult. Teehee.	I'm sure my dad's asleep at the castle somewhere... And to think he's an adult. Teehee!

Adult Malon

Prototype	Final

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Ingo (Past)

Prototype	Final

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Ingo (Future)

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Environments

NP: What is your favorite thing in this game?

Mr. M: What I'd like to do is create a totally realistic atmosphere. For example, if you went to a dungeon, you could almost smell it (laughing). Or even within the same body of water, you can could see differences between cold water and hot water. This would be my dream (laughing). With the N64 I've tried to do that kind of thing.

Revisited - Lon Lon Ranch

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Revisited - Back Alley

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Revisited - Castle Courtyard

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Revisited - Graveyard

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Revisited - Death Mountain

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Revisited - Death Mountain Crater

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Revisited - Ice Cavern

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Garden Minigame

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Cowshed

Prototype	Final

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Dampé's Shack

Prototype	Final

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Prototype	Final

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Royal Family's Tomb

Prototype	Final

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Twinrova's Lair

Prototype	Final

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Enemies

Revisited - Cucco

Prototype	Final

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Revisited - Red Tektite

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Redead

Prototype	Final

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Twinrova

I was brought into the Ocarina of Time project to create the Ganon that you see in that world, plus unique bosses like Twinrova. As Zelda fans know, Twinrova is the Spirit Temple boss that starts as twins - one a fire witch, the other an ice witch - that eventually combine to make one creature. We always create a design based on roughouts for the setting and scenario. The scenario designer had written the Twinrova scenario that was really funny, with the two witches tormenting each other, and I was very skeptical that my proposed designs could live up to the comedy. But the director liked my treatment, and my Twinrova designs ended up in the game. - Character Designer Satoru Takizawa

(Source: source needed)

August, 1998

Cutscenes

In November, fans were treated to the first Ocarina of Time cutscene ever seen: Link’s fateful encounter with Ganondorf on the drawbridge of Hyrule Castle Town.

Miyamoto has always loved films and anime. Recognizing that he was not a professional moviemaker, however, he decided to adopt a cinematic approach when it came to the game’s development, rather than trying to make a movie himself.

Because the game featured the player interactively controlling Link in a world that functioned in real-time, one of the experiments the producer conducted was to use camera blocking to showcase Link as though he were in a movie.

Though the title ended up containing over 1.5 hours of cutscenes, Miyamoto denied that this made the game a movie, claiming that if someone were to edit the scenes and compile them into a video, it would be terribly boring to watch.

He credited the designers with the quality of the cinematic scenes, saying that it was their talent that that allowed the developers to incorporate natural cinematic techniques into the game real-time, rather than his own.

CBS Toy Test

From July 23rd to August 16th, 1998, an event called the 1998 Toy Test was held at Pacific Center in Seattle, Washington. There, kids 7 years and older were able to test new and unreleased games from Sony and Nintendo, after which they were asked to rate the games they'd played from "terrible" to "most excellent". CBS News collected this data and used it to report on their findings as part of CBS Consumer Correspondent Herb Weisbaum's 1998 Toy Test series on CBS This Morning. The series was broadcast from November 16th to 21st, 1998.

One lucky Nintendo fan, a reader of Z64: THE Zelda64 Page known only as "David C.", wrote an account of his experiences that was later archived by Zelda Headquarters.

• Same version as E3?

Specifics

• The text was in Japanese.
• Link was an adult.
• There was a night and day system.
• Time was accelerated, so the sun and moon moved quickly across the sky and set on the horizon.

Actions

• Link could only hold his breath for a couple seconds, and then he would come back up for air.
• He could swim while carrying a shield on his shoulder and a sword in his hand.

Sound

• The music included "the classic anthem", and a remixed version of the town music from A Link to the Past.
• Link sounded like a girl.

Interface

• The B button was the action button.
• It said Dive in deep water.
• It said Navi normally.
• It could be used to talk to characters.

• Start opened the inventory screen.
• There were 3 or 4 screens with maps, items, and other information.
• The screens swirled around the player as he scrolled through them.

• The Z-target function was present.
• It used a red targeting reticule.

• Link climbed out of the moat automatically.
• Link could be made to jump on command with the action button.
• Link climbed up tall steps and grabbed cliff edges by himself when falling off.

• There was a minimap in the bottom corner of the screen.
• The topographical map showed hills, valleys, Link's position, and his direction.

Items

• To change weapons, go to the weapons menu, select the new weapon, and press the C button you wish to use it with.
• didn’t get to try any magic items

Sword

• Link had a sword and shield equipped.
• “Dagger"

Shield

• Link had a sword and shield equipped.

Bombs

• When Link takes out a bomb, he carries it until the player hits the action button (B).
• If you press the button the bomb is equipped to while moving, Link will throw it.
• If you press the button while Link is standing, he will drop it.
• The bombs were able to open some doors, which blasted apart.

Bow

• If you press the button the bow is equipped to, Link puts away his equipment as the camera zooms in.
• The perspective shifts to Link's point of view, with him holding the bow in front.
• Once Link took out the bow, the player didn't think he could walk around, because the analog stick's function switched to controlling the bow's aim.
• Pressing the action button (B) again returned the player to sword-fighting Link.

Ocarina of Time

• Link was able to use the Ocarina and play using the C buttons.

• The player found a rock with a picture of the Ocarina engraved on top.
• When he stood on it, Link pulled out his Ocarina.
• The player didn't know which song to play, so nothing special happened.

Hookshot

• The Hookshot and Bow are fired from a first-person perspective.

Deku Stick

mentioned only

Boomerang

mentioned only

Characters

Revisited - Navi

• When Navi was summoned with the action button and nothing was around, she swirled around Link.
• Navi turned bright red around Tektites and indicated them.
• Navi turned yellow around a Goron.

Environments

Revisited - Hyrule Field

• Link swam in a moat.
• Link wandered around in Hyrule Field.
• Hyrule Field was big and took a long time to walk across.

Revisited - Death Mountain

• The player went to "Death Mountain Area" from the exit at the top of the town.
• There were a couple Tektites that were easy to kill.
• There was a Goron at the top of the path.
• Link could slash at the Goron with his sword while talking to it.
• The Goron may have spoken about Goron City.
• The Goron rolled away when it was finished talking, perhaps because the player was slashing at it.
• The player tried jumping off the cliff after it, but Link caught the edge before falling and said "Whoa!" in an effeminate voice.

Revisited - Dodongo's Cavern

• The player found "Dodongo's Lair", but couldn't open the door, even with bombs.

Kakariko Village

• The player found Kakariko Village and walked inside.
• The screen faded out and announced the new location.
• There was no load time.
• There was a chicken in Kakariko.
• When hit with the bow, it crowed "Cockadoodledoo," and ran away.
• Most of the doors in the village were open.
• When Link approached them, people slammed them in his face.

Goron City

• The player went to Goron City.
• The lighting in Goron City had a moody atmosphere.
• There were lots of Gorons and a Goron king.
• They seemed to be saying the same thing.
• The Goron shop on the bottom floor had a Goron salesman.
• The shop had bouncy music.
• The player could walk up to the shelves and pick off the item he wanted.
• The player equipped the Hookshot.
• The Hookshot bounced off of most rocks and dirt in Goron City, so it wasn't very useful for getting out of the city.

• The player was pulled away from the game by Nintendo employees at this point.