Twilight Princess was the ‘starting point’ for Zelda Wii U, director says

The Legend of Zelda series is undeniably cumulative, with each installment influencing and inspiring the next. Even so, Twilight Princess was a particularly powerful influence for the Wii U’s upcoming Zelda title, according to Director Eiji Aonuma.

Aonuma directed the original GameCube and Wii versions of Twilight Princess, and served as producer on its recent HD remake. He also announced and will lead the Wii U’s as-yet-unnamed Zelda title, and in the conclusion to a retrospective video series chronicling Twilight Princess HD’s development (above), said the two games are spiritually connected.

“One thing I’ve realized as I’ve been working on [Zelda Wii U] is that a lot of the things I want to do with this new Zelda game are things I thought of while making Twilight Princess,” he said. “I can’t talk specifics, but to me, Twilight Princess was a starting point, making it possible to do what I’m doing now, in a way.”

“The impact of being the director was key, of course, but I think Twilight Princess played a key role for me in the approach to making Zelda games,” he continued. “Of course, we put everything we had into Twilight Princess. But I think it’ll be fun for people to look back when [they] play the new Zelda and compare the two.”