Nintendo’s The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild has been the subject of much critical praise and commercial success since launching for the Switch. The open world title completely revamped the standard exploration of Hyrule with an unprecedented level of freedom. As the game’s development winds down (the last DLC Champions’ Ballad was released in December) and the Game of the Year awards pour in, Zelda series producer Eiji Aonuma discusses what he’d like to see in the next title.

Apparently the game is already in production but there’s very little we know about it. While speaking to IGN, Aonuma did say he wanted to preserve the level of freedom that made Breath of the Wild such a success thanks to “how important that is.”

“You know, I can’t speak to what other people, other companies will do in their own games, but I think for me, especially just in terms of the Zelda series, the incredible freedom that this game offers you and how well that’s been received…to me, it means that freedom, that level of freedom is something that needs to be maintained in Zelda games going forward. My eyes have been opened to how important that is,” says Aonuma.

This doesn’t necessarily mean a huge open world like Breath of the Wild though. Aonuma said that, “For example, if there was like, ‘you can’t do this because you don’t have the right tools’ or ‘you don’t meet the certain requirements,’ players are going to not want to do that anymore. So we wanted to very much incorporate that. Going forward, I think we would definitely consider that way of thinking when we create something in the future.”

A good example would be The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds which allowed players to tackle the game’s dungeons in any order they saw fit. Perhaps we’ll see something like that in future Zelda games. What are your thoughts on the matter? Let us know below.

Even with all the effort Nintendo has made to develop The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, it’s possible that another Zelda game could come to the Switch in the future.

This is according to producer Eiji Aonuma while speaking to IGN. “I haven’t been able to fully use all of the new features of the [Switch]… There could be the possibility of another Zelda on Nintendo Switch.”

With the scale that Breath of the Wild offers, what could distinguish the next Zelda game from it? “I think the core element of Zelda gameplay kind of stays the same. There’s the main character development as well as characters you meet along the way, and then you learn new things as the character develops. With that said I think we could keep all that, and then I do wonder how we can expand from here with that in mind.”

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is out on March 3rd for Nintendo Switch and Wii U in the meantime so stay tuned for more information.

Eiji Aonuma has spent the better part of his gaming career working on The Legend of Zelda– he started working on the series with Ocarina of Time, where he was one of the directors, before he got custody of the entire franchise with Majora’s Mask. Since then, he has been heading up production of all games and spin offs in the franchise.

But it sounds like he may be working on something other than Zelda, too- speaking in an interview with EDGE, he mentioned that Nintendo has been trying to get him to work on a brand new IP in addition to his work on Zelda, also teasing what this new IP might be like.

“Actually, Nintendo has been telling me to create a new IP,” Aonuma said in an interview with EDGE (via NeoGAF). “But then, they’re also telling me to make more Zelda games. I can’t really share much; I’m not sure I’m allowed to say anything. But I really like the idea of a game where I can live as a thief. That’s all I’ll say.”

Aonuma seems to be revitalized now, after years of coming off as tired and disenfranchised with game development- and this seems to be reflecting in just how great Breath of the Wild, the upcoming Zelda game, looks to be, not to mention how great A Link Between Worlds was. Whatever Aonuma has up his sleeve, I can’t wait for it. It’ll be great to see him step out of the confines of the Zelda franchise for a bit, and it’ll be great to see Nintendo attempting another big budget new IP.

When Nintendo announced that The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild was delayed into 2017 and would launch on the Nintendo NX as well as the Wii U, many were quick to believe that it was to allow the former to have a strong launch title. Issues of polish are always the case but producer Eiji Aonuma noted to EDGE that things had gone slightly awry at a certain phase.

“At one of the milestones, the game was fantastic. There were so many great elements. But at the next milestone, that was all gone.

“I’d made a lot of comments about what they needed to add, but I never told them what I thought was good about the game at that milestone. So they added stuff that I’d recommended, but they also added some other elements they thought would work well – and that ended up breaking all the good parts of the previous build.”

Aonuma noted that the message he took away was to offer positive responses to help maintain the things that worked for the game. “If I’d managed that well, maybe development wouldn’t have extended quite so much.”

Regardless, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild looks amazing and we can’t wait for it to release. What are your thoughts on it? Let us know below.

Hyrule Warriors is set to debut in North America and Europe this month for the Wii U, thus bringing the action of Dynasty Warriors-meets-Zelda to the English speaking masses. However, at one point, Hyrule Warriors was meant to be more like a classic Zelda title.

This was revealed by Zelda producer Eiji Aonuma in conversation with Nintendo Life. It was Omega Force producer Yosuke Hayashi who came forward with the idea. “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, 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.”

Hayashi for his part wanted 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.”

Hyrule Warriors has been reasonably successful in Japan as a result – how will it fare in the rest of the world? We’ll find out in the coming weeks.

Nintendo’s The Legend of Zelda Wii U managed to make a very strong impact when it debuted during the Nintendo Direct presentation at E3 2014. Sure, there was plenty of discussion as to whether Link was a girl or not but more importantly, producer Eiji Aonuma revealed that there would be an open world this time around.

Of course, in speaking to EDGE (via NeoGAF), Aonuma revealed that, “Since we’re talking about open worlds, let’s state upfront that we don’t plan to have an open world in the same way other companies have been doing in recent years.”

What does that mean exactly? It could possibly mean that there won’t be dozens of jobs to farm cash or Skyrim-like scale and depth. Then again, it could also mean that Nintendo won’t be taking the same route as most open world games in terms of their gameplay. We’ll find out how it works as we head into 2015.

This time around, we’re hoping for more than an increased scale. We’re hoping to see Zelda as it’s never been seen before, doing things that would have seemed impossible with the Ocarina of Time. Here are 5 new features we hope to see.

1. Customizable Link

This seems like a bit of a moot point considering that Link has often had alternate outfits in other Zelda titles. We’d like to see something similar in Zelda Wii U except in a more nuanced way.

For instance, it would be great of Link could equip different gear for his arms, legs, chest and head. Nintendo could also keep it even simpler and offer different suits with a slot or two for extra perks. This doesn’t mean Zelda has to become Skyrim – on the contrary, it could lend to radically different styles of play during battles. Some gear could allow you to shoot arrows faster; others could increase the radius and length of your spin attack.

Most importantly, we’d like to be able to customize Link’s look based on what we saw at E3. If he’s not going to go with the traditional outfit, though we’re sure it’s in there somewhere, it’d be great if Link could don various different looks.

2. Sandbox Style

The Legend of Zelda series has been very openly open world but there have been very few sandbox elements really implemented in the past few games. Granted, this is more action adventure than Grand Theft Auto but with the increased scale, we’d appreciate the idea of a more vibrant Hyrule this time around.

There could be different residents going about with their schedules and offering you quests throughout the game, and random occurrences that Link could become involved in. Heck, we loved the idea that a random monster can just pop up and engage you on a wide open chase throughout the landscape.

It’s an interesting balance since previous games have had an ample number of side-quests and activities, but this is more about making Hyrule seem like a living breathing place. At least Aonuma is taking cues from A Link Between Two Worlds and allowing players the freedom to tackle areas any way they want.

3. The Evolution of Battle

Let’s face it: the action adventure genre has evolved beyond the fighting mechanics seen in Zelda. Whereas everyone was busy implementing their own style of Z-targeting in the past, it’s now more about the Free Form fighting style of Batman: Arkham City or the counters and combos of Assassin’s Creed. There are still a few games that opt for straightforward hack and slash though.

With Zelda Wii U, it’s a tough decision since the Free Form system would fit so well with Link’s movements. We could see a fusion of this and the traditional targeting system that lets you pick off enemies one at a time. It’s doubtful that the work done on Hyrule Warriors, an epic hack and slash game developed by Nintendo and Dynasty Warriors developer Tecmo Koei, would have any effect on Zelda Wii U.

Nonetheless, if we’re going to go about wishing for things, then why not introduce dual wielding? Have Link wield the hammer and sword for the first time together and introduce different attacks based on this? There could also be different trade-offs such as lacking the shield – similar to using Biggoron’s Knife in Ocarina of Time – to cater to various play-styles. Can you imagine Link only using the bow and arrow to fight, Legolas-style?

4. A New Day in a New World

This goes without saying, especially since every Zelda is set in a new version of Hyrule, but it’s time Nintendo finally retired the Hero of Time story-arcs. If you didn’t know, all the Zelda games are connected with Skyward Sword being the first game in the series chronologically. From there, the game splits off into all sorts of alternating pathways depending on what Link did (and didn’t) do.

And while it’s made for some amazing storylines and memorable games, we’re ready for something new. We’d like to see Nintendo wipe the slate clean and approach Zelda Wii U with a fresh mind.

Various references could pop up to other characters, sure, and they could even appear in the game. But Zelda Wii U should be a new beginning rather than a new chapter and kick off a new chronology that will extend for decades like the Hero of Time arc did.

5. Multiplayer Support

We’d doubt Nintendo’s ability to create a compelling multiplayer experience with Zelda but the last time we did that, they gave us Four Swords. Suffice to say, Zelda Wii U could be the first game in the series to implement online co-op for up to four players.

There are several ways to implement this: There could be a four player party wherein the player’s character always looks like his version of Link while appearing as an NPC or soldier to other players. The customization mechanic and different fighting styles will also help players to differentiate themselves when playing with others. Finally, the overall sandbox style of the game could allow for four-player missions throughout as opposed to simply tailoring the whole game (or a separate campaign) for four players. Maybe have harder 4 player dungeons that net rare equipment?

What would you like to see in the new Zelda Wii U? Let us know in the comments.

We’re not even finished with E3 2014 and Zelda producer Eiji Aonuma is already planning for next year’s E3. In a Miiverse message from Aonuma (via NeoGAF), he mentioned that he wants for people to be able to play the recently revealed Zelda Wii U at E3 2015. This will most likely be in the form of a demo to be experienced on the show floor but if it indicates anything, it’s that the game will be available in the second half of next year.

On the one hand, it makes sense since we just saw the game for the first time yesterday. On the other hand, you’ll probably go for another 1.5 years before being able to play Zelda Wii U. Can we wait that long? We can certainly try.

Zelda Wii U will feature a wide-open world that allows you to approach areas in any way you see fit and features the return of Epona. Did we mention it looks great? Let us know what you think of the game in the comments.

What do you get when you combine Tecmo Koei’s experience with hack and slash titles and Nintendo’s Zelda universe? Why, Hyrule Warriors of course. After being announced in December 2013 on Nintendo Direct, Famitsu (via Siliconera) now reports that the game will be out on August 14th in Japan for the Wii U.

It stars series mainstay Link as he traverses Hyrule, hacking and slashing several classic enemies with his trademark sword. You can also use bombs and arrows to defeat the hordes of enemies. It won’t feature the puzzles and intricate dungeons of other Zelda titles though. But you can spin attack fools so that is something.

Interestingly, Hyrule Warriors is produced by Eiji Aonuma who serves as director for the main Zelda titles. Could that mean a game that’s more than your average hack and slash Dynasty Warriors-esque adventure? We’ll find out in the coming months. Hyrule Warriors currently has no release date for outside of Japan.

Speaking to GamesTM, Aonuma stated, “We encountered an awful lot of problems from the drastic leap we took with Wind Waker. I think we will be a bit more careful in the future, but if we find a new approach that not just the developers, but also the users would enjoy then I think we will want to break new ground again. But we haven’t found such an approach yet.”

The next game in the series is The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds which releases on the 3DS on November 22nd in Europe and North America.