The sequel to 2017’s massively popular Breath of the Wild, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom was just as much of a sensation when it released last year, surpassing 10 million copies sold within 3 days of launch.
Recent Zelda games have not only found loads of commercial success in the Switch generation, but the transformative BOTW has also influenced several games, including FromSoftware’s 2022 blockbuster, Elden Ring. While many believe it’s perfectly normal for games to draw inspiration from each other, The Legend of Zelda‘s creators find themselves in a different school of thought.
Tears Of The Kingdom Creators Didn’t Play Elden Ring
In an interview with Nintendo Everything, Tears of the Kingdom director Hidemaro Fujibayashi and series producer Eiji Aonuma were asked about Elden Ring being inspired by Breath of the Wild, and if they found themselves being influenced by it as well, to which Fujibayashi said:
Sorry, but we didn’t really have the chance to play the game. We were too occupied with the development of Tears of the Kingdom, which resulted in us not really being able to play games. We did hear about it, though.
While Elden Ring director Hidetaka Miyazaki openly credited Breath of the Wild as a source of inspiration, it seems the TOTK team simply didn’t have the chance to explore The Lands Between, as they were too busy building their own masterpiece. However, even if they could, Fujibayashi shot down any chances of influence making it into TOTK:
Even if we had the time to play games, we wouldn’t reuse ideas from them. When we make a game, we come up with a general concept to come up with new ideas based on that.
Zelda Games Will Never Be Influenced By Others
Upon being asked if Zelda titles are developed in a creative “bubble”, free from influence from other games, Aonuma emphasized their focus on fresh ideas:
Of course there are situations where you make something that’s similar to an existing game, but I would never try to put the ideas of others in my game. I’m too proud for that. I’m always looking for original ideas.
Aonuma finds particular satisfaction in pushing boundaries and exceeding expectations. To drive the point home, he shared an anecdote from the development of A Link Between Worlds, where he surprised even Nintendo’s then-president with a groundbreaking mechanic:
When I made A Link Between Worlds, you had a 3D system when you jumped, which made it look like Link was coming right at you. When I showed this to former Nintendo president (Satoru) Iwata, he said he “didn’t know this was possible”. I was very happy to hear that, because to me that’s the essence of game development: figuring out things no one else has thought of.
This unwavering focus on originality is not only contained to Zelda, but to the entirety of Nintendo’s game portfolio. Fresh and innovative ideas are the foundation of every game they release, and it pays dividends for them every single time.
Tears of the Kingdom was solid evidence of this, as it was just as groundbreaking as Breath of the Wild, despite being a sequel. All it needs is a bump up in resolution and framerate, and the upcoming Nintendo Switch 2 can sort that out.
