In a Nintendo Direct that aired on October 1, 2013, the late Nintendo President Satoru Iwata revealed new gameplay and details of A Link Between Worlds, which was set to launch the following month.
During the presentation, Iwata discussed the mysterious new character, Ravio. Following a screenshot posted on Miiverse, he addressed the similarities fans had drawn from Ravio to Nabbit from New Super Mario Bros. U, which had just released the year prior. Iwata suggested that the Zelda team may have been inspired by Nabbit, but according to a later interview from Zelda producer Eiji Aonuma, the strikingly similar bunny designs of both characters was completely coincidental.
In the Direct, Iwata made clear that Ravio “has nothing to do with the Mario series,” but he offered an explanation as to why the characters may have shared a resemblance.
“The Zelda and Mario series are created on the same floor by members of the development teams that sit right next to each other,” Iwata says. “So, perhaps, they inspired one another, and knowingly.”
Two weeks after the Direct, however, Spike interviewed Aonuma on A Link Between Worlds, addressing the comparisons Iwata made and asking Aonuma if he was surprised by the response from fans.
“Actually, I wasn’t really aware of that Mario character, Nabbit, which is maybe kind of funny for me to say, but you know, I’m very busy,” Aonuma revealed. “Obviously, we weren’t thinking of Nabbit when we made that character, but when we put the picture up on Miiverse people started making that comparison, and they had that reaction, and I realized that people are always kind of looking for those sorts of connections.
“I thought it was really interesting, so I brought it up with Mr. Iwata, and I said, ‘Maybe other people haven’t thought of this, but it’s kind of interesting, so maybe you could put it in the Direct.'”
With the many Mario cameos littered across the Zelda games, I remember thinking back then that Ravio had to have been a reference to New Super Mario Bros. U, especially as this game and A Link Between Worlds were releasing fairly close together. It’s funny how these coincidences can happen; maybe there are just a lot of rabbit fanatics at Nintendo.
To end on a touching note, Aonuma was also questioned on his thoughts on Miiverse, and he revealed that the service had a profound effect on him. “I think one thing that surprises me is how many encouraging messages I get when I just post something simple. Like, just at E3, I posted that I was really feeling the jet lag, and people were like, ‘oh, no that’s too bad,’ and gave me lots of pat-on-the-back type messages.
“It made me realize that Zelda fans are just really, really nice. I didn’t realize they were such great people. When I’m at my job, and working on producing The Legend of Zelda titles, and Mr. Miyamoto is getting mad at me and stuff, then I get these encouraging messages it’s almost enough to make you cry, so it’s just really great.”
We love you too, Mr. Aonuma!
