Longtime Zelda producer Eiji Aonuma has teased what’s next for the future of the beloved Nintendo series. As of this week, Nintendo will finally be releasing its much-anticipated remake of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time on Switch 2. And while this remake will allow fans to experience one of the most popular Zelda game in history in a whole new manner, Nintendo is still planning to continue the mainline series in the years to come. Now, Aonuma has opened up about how he’s viewing the future and what his role in creating new games will be.
Speaking to French publication AFP, Aonuma credited much of the work that has been done on the new remake of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time to the younger members of the development team at Nintendo. Aonuma mentioned that many of the devs had never played the original Ocarina of Time, which allowed them to come into working on this remake with fresh eyes. The result is one that Aonuma seems greatly proud of, and he ultimately said that this game wouldn’t have happened without many of these newer developers.
“It’s thanks to these young people, by thinking about how to adapt the game in the best possible way, how to make it fun once you have the controls in your hands, that this remake came into being,” Aonuma said.
Looking ahead, Aonuma further lavished praise upon the young studio members at Nintendo, saying that he’s greatly looking forward to what they do with the franchise. Aonuma, who shared these comments during a speech after becoming a Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters, said that he’s “extremely happy” when thinking about working together with this team as they approach creating the next Zelda project.
Although Aonuma didn’t share any info on the nature of the next Zelda game, the fact that he’s stressed many younger developers will have a say in where the series goes suggests that it could be a stark departure from what was seen in Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom. Still, Aonuma stressed that he isn’t going to be leaving Nintendo any time soon, which makes clear that he’ll still play a pivotal part in determining the course of Zelda.
As mentioned, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time is set to arrive this week on November 5th, exclusively for Switch 2. This new remake of Ocarina of Time will be followed by the franchise’s debut on the big-screen, when The Legend of Zelda movie hits theaters next year on April 30th. A trailer for the Zelda movie has yet to arrive, but it should be revealed at some point in the coming weeks or months.
