Satoru Iwata sits down to chat with some of the team behind Skyward Sword and some interesting information is released.

Nintendo president Satoru Iwata has sat down to chat with several key staff members who worked on The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword. Needless to say this article contains SPOILERS for the game so be warned.

The team begin their discussion with Faron Woods, the first forest that gamers come across in Skyward Sword. The team discuss the importance of making an area that is accessible to new gamers, interests long-standing fans of the series and is both open but also not too confusing. In order to ensure gamers don't spend hours on end lost in the woods the team introduced an element called 'Dowsing', which will point the player in the right direction if used, and a beacon in the distance that players can use as a reference point. Discussing the open-ended nature of making Faron Woods Mr. Hiramuki said the following:

"I tried to make the landforms more three dimensional that before in the series. I designed it so that the first time you come, you can just follow the roads, but as you explore, you become able to go all sorts of places, and then you can just head straight to where you want to go. You don't just go once, but come and go many times."

Nintendo has experimented with many visual styles during the Zelda franchise's 25 years, from the cel-shaded look of Wind Waker to the gritty realism of Twilight Princess. With Skyward Sword they have gone for something that resembles a watercolour painting somewhat and this caused a few problems, which Harayasu Ito discusses:

"The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker was like cel animation, so we had the effects make a similar impression. With The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, that completely changed toward greater realism. The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword makes different impression from such realism, so at first I wondered what to do.

When you took a good look at it, the backgrounds had an atmosphere rather like watercolor, but the characters moving around there were slightly different so as to stand out. At E3 2010, we exhibited rather featureless art for the background and characters that would fit either style, while trying to avoid becoming too realistic.

But later I heard from Aonuma-san that someone at NOA (Nintendo of America) had said that the effects were featureless and lacked something. So I hurled myself into fixing them. To make it look better, I would make something and toss it out, make something and toss it out. It would fit in well, but I was aiming for distinctive visuals and tried a variety of manners of expression. What's more, the sword this time�"

The team also discuss other elements such as creating bosses from vague requests ("There's a giant boss that tries to force its way to a destination. I want you to come up with a way of holding it back."), using the landscape to their own advantage and how the landscape and bosses are incorporated into the plot.

A recurring point raised during the discussion is that the game world is designed to be navigated through several times, so while you may make your way through a forest or dungeon you may need to come back to it in the future. The team have worked hard to make sure there are new and rewarding elements to encourage you to go back rather than make it a chore.

Skyward Sword will feature an element called the Silent Realm, a place where Link is unarmed and must run away from enemies in what has been described as "sort of a game of tag". You must search for Sacred Tears and collect them, but if an enemy finds you the world changes and you must run away from it. If you do collect a Sacred Tear you are rewarded with a safe period to continue your hunt. This game will be played in locations you have previously visited so you can use your knowledge of the landscape to your advantage.

To round up the discussion the team describe how they feel about The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword. Shigeyuki Asuke describes the game as one that enables you to "move however you want", and he is now "in the same position as those who speak passionately about The Legend of Zelda". He also notes that due to the use of Wii MotionPlus "you can get into the game without feeling the controls are difficult".

Be sure to read the full discussion for even more information!