Legend of Zelda producer Aonuma wants to break from the series' traditional formula

Legend of Zelda producer Eiji Aonuma wants to break from the series' traditional formula and try new gameplay ideas, something the company will explore in 3DS title A Link Between Worlds, he said in an interview with 4Gamer.

Aonuma addressed rumblings that he had previously stated he was "tired of making Zelda games." This is the not the case; what he meant, he said, was that he is tired of making games following the same cookie cutter gameplay formula.

"When I say I'm tired, I'm not talking about making Zelda, but rather, the same constituent that has been used to make Zelda up until now," he explained. "While on the subject, in regard to how we've always done things the traditional way until now: Why does it have to be traditional? That's the question I've been asking myself.

"If we don't change that, we can't make something new," he added. "We're slightly approaching The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds with that mindset, and also the next Zelda title, which we intend to continue changing. However, this brings us to the topic: exactly what is The Legend of Zelda about?"

The producer explained that a "traditional" game often copies from its predecessors, and continuing to copy and paste the same gameplay and ideas into more Zelda games takes away from the series' "uniqueness."

"So, by no means, am I tired of it," he said. "Rather, the more we change it, the more I get fired up. Having someone think, ‘Huh? Is this Zelda?!' at first, then, ‘Oh, it is Zelda,' is what we're going for. Something that wouldn't make it matter whether Link or Princess Zelda appear in it or not. Something where it wouldn't even matter if Zelda is actually a princess, or not."

Aonuma also said the currently in-the-works Legend of Zelda title for Wii U, first shown as a tech demo at E3 2012, is "going well" and incorporates HD features Nintendo explored with The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD.

"We're incorporating HD features we tried in the Wind Waker, and vice-versa, by applying HD features from it to the Wind Waker," he said. "Since it's a remake, we've been limited regarding what we can do with the Wii U Gamepad; however, for the new title we'll have various ways of using [the device]."

Aonuma also hinted that there will be some connection between Wind Waker HD and the new Wii U Zelda, at least in terms of gameplay mechanics.

"For example, traveling while having the map displayed on the Wii U GamePad made it really comfortable [to play], and I believe this can also be done for other areas besides the ocean," he said. "Parts that I felt were fun while playing [The Wind Waker HD] will assuredly have an influence on the next title, without a doubt."

Aonuma will be in attendance at New York Comic Con to give a talk about Wind Waker HD and A Link Between Worlds.