During a recent interview with Nintendo of Europe, Electronic Arts and Eiji Aonuma (Director) talk quite candidly about their latest realise and why it’s so suitable for the Wii console.

Nintendo of Europe: Mr Aonuma, how does it feel for Twilight Princess to be the flagship launch title for Wii?

Eiji Aonuma: “It is unprecedented for a Zelda game to come out as the launch title for a new system – and it is also my own first launch title, so as you can imagine it’s an exciting time.”

“I have to say that at first I was a bit puzzled when the idea surfaced of ‘making a Wii Zelda out of a GameCube Zelda’. But as the development process got underway, and we started to apply the revolutionary controls of the Wii to the Zelda game play, I realised that the Wii as a console was ready for Zelda.”

NoE: Ocarina of Time is regarded as one of the greatest games ever made. Why do you think Twilight Princess will be better?

EA: “You know, I think I need to hear players’ opinions in order to judge if it is better than Ocarina of Time. I can say that, from the perspective of the developer, in comparison with Ocarina of Time we have a wider gaming world. There is more variety in puzzle-solving features and the characters are more expressive – especially Link. And these are all things that we couldn’t include in Ocarina of Time. So from that perspective, Twilight Princess is certainly a bigger game.”

NoE: The game was originally due for release in late 2005. Can you tell us how you’ve been spending the extra year of development time?

EA: “The reason for delays has always been about realising a Zelda game that exceeds Ocarina of Time in quality. And of course, we initially set out to make a GameCube game, which we then needed to adapt to a title that can comfortably be played on the Wii.

“Even with the extended development schedule, our aim to exceed Ocarina of Time in quality was a high bar to reach. It’s taken a lot of trial and error in order to develop the satisfying control system that combines the Wii Remote and the Nunchuk, because the basis of what we had was designed was with the GameCube controller and hardware in mind.”

NoE: Initially you didn’t want to implement full sword control with the Wii Remote, right?

EA: “Right. When we were developing the Wii control system, the most important thing for us was that the controls had to be intuitive. But at some point we decided to exclude the full sword control system, because we thought it would be too tough for players to perform this action every time they want to use their sword. Ultimately, however, we decided that we should adopt the idea of full sword control, because we really believe that it is necessary to make using the sword an intuitive experience.”

NoE: Using the Wii Remote for fishing proved very popular during E3. We’re guessing that fishing will be more than just a minigame in Twilight Princess?

EA: “Well there are some places within the main storyline that require you to use your fishing skills. But just like a minigame, you are of course free to play it as much as you want beyond what the main quest requires of you.”

NoE: What part does Princess Zelda play in the game? Is she going to be the ‘damsel in distress’ again or is she going to have a more active role?

EA: “She is definitely in distress in this game! She’s in the unenviable position that she has to decide the destiny of Hyrule. And her actions will be affected by how you play the game…”

NoE: We’ve also seen familiar characters like the Gorons reappear. Who else can we expect to run into?

EA: “I try not to give too much away, because it takes away the element of surprise if you hear too much information before you play. But I can tell you that the Zoras are set to return – and this is because this story is connected with the Hyrule from Ocarina of Time.”

NoE: All-new in Twilight Princess is Link’s transformation into a wolf. What sort of abilities does his animal form give him?

EA: “Well, Link turns into a wolf when he enters the Twilight part of Hyrule that is under the control of a shadowy power. As a wolf, he will be able to see what humans can’t see, and he can sniff out smells of various things. Also, when he gets help from the mysterious Midna, he’ll be able to perform new actions that the human Link cannot perform.”

NoE: Apart from Epona, what ways will Link be able to travel around such a big game world?

EA: “Midna can help you warp to places, but only after you created certain portals by defeating some very dangerous enemies. So you cannot just warp all over the place.

“Additionally, there is an item that enables you to warp out of dungeons and can then return you to the place you were before. This is a marvellous item, so I encourage you to seek it out when you’re in a dungeon.”

NoE: We certainly will! Is there anything you would like to add?

EA: “As I mentioned, I think the Wii is a great system for Zelda, and I am very satisfied with the final Wii version of Twilight Princess. I am already looking forward to the time when people start playing the game, and if you feel the same way about it as I do, I will be even more happy!”

NoE: Mr Aonuma, thank you very much for your time!

The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess is due for release on 8th December 2006.