#majorasmaskquote

[hyruleinterviews]

Zelda Dev Highlight: Satomi Asakawa, Character Designer

Trying something new today! In (mostly) her own words, Asakawa's game dev career from start to end! Apologies to screen reader users-- these images are too big and full for me to summarize in alt text. A normal blog post version will be coming soon, you should be able to enjoy then! Full image: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ywWD2SxVPfcDqTlzYgbjC7XmI35Cs5Oj/view

[hyruleinterviews]

Aonuma on his favorite music and town, 2017.

Source: Nintendo.com

https://www.hyruleinterviews.com/30441fe961fd8075a637e2b3c48f3f97

PEOPLE:

Eiji Aonuma, age 53. Director of the The Wind Waker. Co-Director of Majora’s Mask. Zelda series producer.

QUOTE: Q: What is your favorite song from Zelda series?

Aonuma: There’s this song from The Wind Waker, the music in the battle in the desert against the sand worm, Molgera. I love that song. It has a kind of Japanese feel to it, with the Taiko drums.

Q: Clock Town or Hyrule Castle Town – which is your favorite?

Aonuma: Clock Town. Clock Town [in Majora’s Mask] is a whole society and microcosm, and I find that interesting.

[hyruleinterviews]

Tezuka & Miyamoto on re-using minor characters for a sequel, 2000.

Source: Nintendo Power

https://www.hyruleinterviews.com/Nintendo-Power-134-The-Faces-Behind-the-Masks-fd8f3dcd046442259857453510ddded8?source=copy_link

PEOPLE:

Takashi Tezuka, age 39. Supervisor for Ocarina of Time and Majora’s Mask.

Shigeru Miyamoto, age 47. Producer of Ocarina of Time and Majora’s Mask.

QUOTE: Tezuka: There were a number of characters in Ocarina of Time that we wanted to describe more fully. We didn’t have the means to do it in Ocarina, but in Majora’s Mask we do because players have the opportunity to meet every character in the game and learn more about them.

Miyamoto: After seeing Toy Story 2, I realized that Majora’s Mask used a similar technique as the sequel. We focused on some of the minor characters from the original in order to expand the world.

[hyruleinterviews]

Linktober 13: Town/Village Shikata on the design of Clock Town, 2000.

Source: The Hyrule Journals

https://www.notion.so/24fa4198de744c62ba8345fd4cba9c9a

PEOPLE:

Hiromasa Shikata. Field Designer responsible for Clock Town & Romani Ranch in Majora’s Mask.

QUOTE: Shikata: Organizing all the various parts of [Clocktown in Majora’s Mask] while managing the size was difficult. We created a complicated area so players would feel uneasy and uncomfortable, like they are in a strange town in a foreign country, carrying the sense of uncertainty that comes with that sort of situation.

However, “I don't understand it at all” and “I played for a whole day, but I still don't know what to do” among others were many of the opinions that we kept hearing, so we continued to adjust.

Now I think getting lost is a positive part of the game.

[hyruleinterviews]

Linktober 12: Obscure Character Koizumi, Aonuma, & Miyamoto on the Ocarina characters they reused for Majora's Mask, 2000.

Source: The Hyrule Journals

https://www.notion.so/b9f85e0b047f402aa703432aee6a4779

PEOPLE:

Yoshiaki Koizumi, age 32. Majora’s Mask Co-Director.

Eiji Aonuma, age 37. Majora’s Mask Co-Director.

Shigeru Miyamoto, age 47. Majora’s Mask Producer.

QUOTE: Koizumi: Introducing [Ocarina’s Sages] into a different Zelda world might feel out of place. Instead we decided [in Majora’s Mask] to present characters who weren't deeply explored in the previous games. We gave them different backgrounds and settings to capture the feelings of the people who voted for less popular characters [in Nintendo Dream’s popularity poll].

Q: Anju only got 6 points in our magazine’s rating contents, but she has one of the most involved sidequests doesn’t she? 

Aonuma: That's the part where Mr. Koizumi put in the most effort [laughs].

Miyamoto: It was a full-power throw [laughs].

Koizumi: Well, um… I personally liked her a lot [laughs].

[hyruleinterviews]

Quotes on the real-life counterparts of some quirky characters

Via GlitterBerri's Game Translations (1998), Iwata Asks (2011), and Nintendo Life (2025)

Quote 1:

PEOPLE:

Takaya Imamura, age 58. Art Director of Majora’s Mask. Designer of tingle, the titular Majora’s Mask, and the Moon.

QUOTE: "Q: So I know you’re very famous for creating Tingle - was there anything specific that really inspired you to make him?

Imamura: The background and the lore of the character was decided beforehand and I was only responsible for the visuals. Basically, I found a guy on the team and drew a caricature and there was Tingle!"

Quote 2:

PEOPLE:

Kazuaki Morita, age 45. Programmer on Ocarina of Time.

Yoshiki Haruhana, age 41. Ocarina of Time Character Artist.

Satoru Iwata, age 51. President of Nintendo.

QUOTE: "Morita: I also worked on the fishing minigame [for Ocarina].

Aonuma: You didn't just do the programming, but you also wrote the script for the Pond Owner. …

Haruhana: … Morita-san made lots of requests regarding that character's face and movements. He requested specific movements … and even drew a rough sketch of how his face should look.

Iwata: Did you make so many requests because that character was modeled after someone real?

Morita: Yes, that's right! [laughs] I like fishing and I'm from an area near Neyagawa in Osaka, and there's a fishing store I used to go to in that neighborhood. My model was the shopkeeper there."

Quote 3:

PEOPLE:

Yoshiki Haruhana, age 28. Ocarina of Time Character Designer.

Mitsuhiro Takano, age 31. Ocarina of Time Project Coordinator.

QUOTE: "Haruhana: There are more than 60 characters in Ocarina of Time! One character takes about 2-3 days to make, so our schedule is always uncertain. We just have to go from one to the next.

Fellow staff-member Takano once told me, ‘All the people you make turn out to be freaks.’ I never intend to do that! My response is always ‘Oh, is that so?’ [laughs] For example, Dampe the gravekeeper is a hunchback, right?

In Kakariko Village, there’s a guy sitting by himself on top of a house. It was also never my intention to make a character similar to myself, but afterwards 5 people said to me ‘Hey, that’s you!’"

[hyruleinterviews]

Aonuma on how Majora's Mask was a challenge to the players, 2015.

Source: Iwata Asks

https://www.notion.so/aaab9d927dee468680bb01ba0da3812f

PEOPLE:

Eiji Aonuma, age 51. Co-Director of Majora’s Mask.

QUOTE: Aonuma: When we talked about Ocarina of Time … we talked about hospitality. But Majora's Mask isn't like that. It's all a challenge to our players. It's like we're saying to them ‘can you clear this?’

It was something like until then you were welcomed with open arms being invited to come in, and now you're being told at the door to go home if you don't have what it takes! [laughs]

… We didn't put in any kind of elements where we show people how to play this game. The game was made for those who have played Ocarina of Time, so I felt like there wasn't a need for step-by-step instructions.

[hyruleinterviews]

On parallels between Majora's Mask and Earthbound

Via GlitterBerri's Game Translations (2000) and Ask Iwata (Hobonichi, 2019)

Quote #1:

PEOPLE:

Eiji Aonuma, age 37. Majora’s Mask Co-Director.

Yoshiaki Koizumi, age 32. Majora’s Mask Co-Director.

QUOTE: Aonuma: I was responsible for the fairy-tale sections [of Majora’s Mask], and Koizumi was responsible for creating realistic depictions of the lives of the townspeople. I tried to emulate the fantasy atmosphere we had in Ocarina of Time…

Koizumi: And I created realistic lives for the characters.

Aonuma: You could say that Koizumi slapped his worldview on the whole thing. [Laughs]

Koizumi: I put in everything I’ve seen in my 30-something years on this earth.

Quote #2:

PEOPLE:

Satoru Iwata. EarthBound Program Director, President of Nintendo from 2002-2015.

Shigesato Itoi. Producer, Director, & Writer for Mother 1, 2 & 3. Founder of Ape, Inc., which later became Creatures, Inc. Founder of Hobonichi. My Neighbor Totoro voice actor. Iron Chef judge..

QUOTE: Iwata: What makes the Mother [EarthBound] series so special? I think it has to do with the role that Shigesato Itoi played. Nobody making games today is quite like him, and Mother remains without parallel. …

There was a time when Shigesato Itoi was totally obsessed with games, and in that sense he’s truly a gamer at heart. At the same time, he had a variety of experiences that the average game designer hadn’t, and I think these two aspects combined to form a unique individual.

… The overall effect is a game unlike almost any other. I think this is the cumulative effect of all the aspects of the gaming experience—the fun parts, sad parts, outlandish parts, and goofy parts.