In an exclusive interview titled "Walking with Nintendo: Looking Back on 15 Years of Zelda Development" published on the official blog of Monolith Soft recently, senior executives of Monolith Soft, a well-known Japanese game developer, expressed their strong desire to continue to deepen cooperation with Nintendo on future works in the "Legend of Zelda" series.
The interview focused on reviewing the history of Monolith Soft’s close collaboration with Nintendo to develop the series’ flagship series since “The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword” in 2011. The company was deeply involved in the core development work of "The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild" and "The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom", contributing key forces to these two generation-defining open world masterpieces.
In the interview, the two core figures clarified the company’s expectations for future cooperation.
Daiki Iwamoto (left) and Yasuhiro Fujita (right)
Daiki Iwamoto, director of the company and assistant producer of the "Legend of Zelda" series, said: "I sincerely hope that Monolith Soft can continue to be a strong partner and undertake the core development work of "The Legend of Zelda" from scratch. I hope to further enhance the overall strength of our team based on accumulated years of experience and jointly continue to create this unique series."
Yasuhiro Fujita, head of Monolith Soft's development department, emphasized the importance of team building and the courage to take on responsibilities: "Developing "The Legend of Zelda" is always accompanied by new challenges, so it is crucial for the team to maintain sufficient flexibility to cope with it. I hope that our team can bring together talents with diverse skills and experience, who are good at communication, and always strive to achieve the best results while constantly evolving. In the future, we also hope to take on more responsibilities."
Daiki Iwamoto himself is the embodiment of the depth of cooperation between the two parties. He has led the development of "The Legend of Zelda: Fantasy Hourglass", "The Legend of Zelda: Whistle of the Land" and the two remakes "The Wind Waker HD" and "Skyward Sword HD", and served as an assistant director on the "Breath of the Wild" project.
This interview clearly sends a signal that Monolith Soft hopes to play a more central role in one of Nintendo's most important IPs. Based on the deep trust and brilliant achievements established over the past 15 years, whether the two companies can bring players another new "Legend of Zelda" game that subverts imagination in the future has become the next focus of both the industry and players.