The director and producer of Tears of the Kingdom have thanked fans of the game following the success of its first year.
To commemorate the game’s first anniversary, Japanese magazine Nintendo Dream talked to director Hidemaro Fujibayashi and Zelda series producer Eiji Aonuma.
Reflecting on the game’s mighty cultural impact, Aonuma recalled recently hearing about a particularly committed fan of the game.
He says: “The other day, I heard about an incident when a kid excitedly said, ‘I played Tears of the Kingdom for over 1,000 hours,’ and the mother smiled in response, saying, ‘I didn’t know about that!'”
“Of course, I was shocked that one could play a single game that much, but I was also surprised that the mother accepted that.”
Before ending his message with a hearty thank you to all Tears of the Kingdom players, Aonuma touched on the franchise’s future.
“Zelda is a longstanding series, and I would like to utilize the experience from this title to create more games that everyone can enjoy in the future, so please look forward to it,” he says.
Fujibayashi added that the fanbase’s widespread enjoyment of the game has brought joy and motivation to the development team.
“In particular, the Ultrahand, one of the new features added that allows you to attach and detach objects together at will, has continued to lead to unique vehicles and creations that we had never imagined,” he says.
“This has made me feel that we succeeded in implementing one of the core concepts we had been aiming for, which was to make a game that embodies ‘Can you do it? Yes you can,’ and so I am also pleased with that.”
Fujibayashi also encourages players to try a new playthrough of the game in order to experience it from a new perspective.
“It has been designed so that even after clearing it once, replaying the game while already knowing the truth allows you to realize things you did not notice on your first playthrough, and the same scenes or dialogue could seem completely different,” he explains.
The interview is from the new July 2024 issue of Nintendo Dream, which also includes a special “Character File” feature of Tears of the Kingdom. You can read the full translation of the interview on Nintendo Everything.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom launched on Nintendo Switch on May 12, 2023.
Header image: Nintendo of America
