Home > Aonuma on Merging Dynasty Warriors and Zelda into What Became Hyrule Warriors
Hyrule Warriors is not a typical Zelda game - in fact it is not really a Zelda game but a Dynasty Warriors game for those unaware. Well, Eiji Aonuma gives us an inside look at what it takes to merge both titles into a single game. At first, they proposed a more traditional Zelda title with a dash of Dynasty Warriors; however, Shigeru Miyamoto told them no and to create a Dynasty Warriors game with a dash of Zelda. Be sure to check out more information after the break...
Did it seem that this crossover of Zelda and Musou gameplay always seemed like a natural fit, or was it challenging in the early stages to combine the two franchises into a cohesive experience?
Aonuma: At first, when Hayashi-san approached me, he wanted to make this title closer to a Zelda game than a Dynasty Warriors game — that extended to having boss battles in the dungeons and [having] certain characters in the game. However, Mr. Miyamoto came along and up-ended the tea table, saying, "No, that should not be the case. What we're doing here is grafting Zelda onto the Dynasty Warriors experience." It was a reversal of the original proposal from Hayashi-san, which was adding elements of Dynasty Warriors onto the Zelda franchise. It ended up being the other way around based on Miyamoto's direction.
As a crossover title, Hyrule Warriors has plenty of source material to draw from, but also two separate franchise identities with which to stay faithful. How did you approach combining these two franchises while still staying true to their individual identities?
Hayashi: This relates a bit to when Mr. Miyamoto stepped in to overturn the tea table. It was really trying to strike that balance of making a game that Zelda fans will enjoy that is different from a typical Zelda game, that has enough elements that people will enjoy but also not losing Zelda fans. We ourselves are Zelda fans as well, so we had to ask ourselves the question of what is it that makes a Zelda game, and how many of those elements do we need to include. Up until the very end, we kept adding different elements to the game until we struck a balance that we were happy with.
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About the Author:
Austin Dickson
Austin Dickson has been around the Zelda fandom for years. He started Link's Hideaway as a small personal project, which later turned into something of which he never thought possible. He enjoys writing articles, guides, walkthroughs, and developing the different Concealed Gaming network sites.
