Blimey. It’s always when you’re expecting least that you’re surprised the most, and so it is with the fascinating latest in the Iwata Asks series, up now on Wii.com.
(For those unfamiliar with the series, each one is simply a lengthy conversation between Nintendo’s president Satoru Iwata and the developers of the first-party title being discussed. They’re always a great read because Miyamoto is nearly always involved, and he and Iwata evidently share a similar sense of humour - there’s always about ten moments where the translation just says “(laughs)”. It helps perpetuate the feeling that Nintendo is a likeable and caring company - this sort of thing gives a charming, human face to a multi-billion-selling corporation.)
The latest focuses on Link’s Crossbow Training, which may seem like an unusual choice until you realise it’s only just been released in Japan, selling 92,000 copies in its first week. The nature of the discussion is about building bridges between those who enjoy simple controls and the normally complex FPS genre - and thus the game, which combines elements of both, was born. It’s well worth a look, not least because Miyamoto suggests he strongly considered a first-person perspective for Ocarina Of Time (!) and that his initial proposal for the game was not to use link but to have “a sort of Terminator style story about a time warp from the future”. And he loves the genre, even though he’s not very good at it. Wow.
Seriously, give it ten minutes of your time. The line about ‘the third in the big box series’ in particular made me chuckle.
Iwata Asks (Wii.com)
