![PEOPLE:
- Kazuaki Morita, age 45. Programmer on Ocarina of Time.
- Yoshiki Haruhana, age 41. Ocarina of Time Character Artist.
- Satoru Iwata, age 51. President of Nintendo.
QUOTE:
"Morita: I also worked on the fishing minigame [for Ocarina].
Aonuma: You didn't just do the programming, but you also wrote the script for the Pond Owner. ...
Haruhana: … Morita-san made lots of requests regarding that character's face and movements. He requested specific movements … and even drew a rough sketch of how his face should look.
Iwata: Did you make so many requests because that character was modeled after someone real?
Morita: Yes, that's right! [laughs] I like fishing and I'm from an area near Neyagawa in Osaka, and there's a fishing store I used to go to in that neighborhood. My model was the shopkeeper there."](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:2e7f2uvcguv4d5qxqnyjmk32/bafkreigksigc3fhcybkntt6hkwnmenui47yccyi7vosfdjjid2yeoxaoma)
PEOPLE:
- Kazuaki Morita, age 45. Programmer on Ocarina of Time.
- Yoshiki Haruhana, age 41. Ocarina of Time Character Artist.
- Satoru Iwata, age 51. President of Nintendo.
QUOTE:
"Morita: I also worked on the fishing minigame [for Ocarina].
Aonuma: You didn't just do the programming, but you also wrote the script for the Pond Owner. ...
Haruhana: … Morita-san made lots of requests regarding that character's face and movements. He requested specific movements … and even drew a rough sketch of how his face should look.
Iwata: Did you make so many requests because that character was modeled after someone real?
Morita: Yes, that's right! [laughs] I like fishing and I'm from an area near Neyagawa in Osaka, and there's a fishing store I used to go to in that neighborhood. My model was the shopkeeper there."
PEOPLE:
- Takaya Imamura, age 58. Art Director of Majora’s Mask. Designer of tingle, the titular Majora’s Mask, and the Moon.
QUOTE:
"Q: So I know you’re very famous for creating Tingle - was there anything specific that really inspired you to make him?
Imamura: The background and the lore of the character was decided beforehand and I was only responsible for the visuals. Basically, I found a guy on the team and drew a caricature and there was Tingle!"
![PEOPLE:
- Yoshiki Haruhana, age 28. Ocarina of Time Character Designer.
- Mitsuhiro Takano, age 31. Ocarina of Time Project Coordinator.
QUOTE:
"Haruhana: There are more than 60 characters in Ocarina of Time! One character takes about 2-3 days to make, so our schedule is always uncertain. We just have to go from one to the next.
Fellow staff-member Takano once told me, ‘All the people you make turn out to be freaks.’ I never intend to do that! My response is always ‘Oh, is that so?’ [laughs] For example, Dampe the gravekeeper is a hunchback, right?
In Kakariko Village, there’s a guy sitting by himself on top of a house. It was also never my intention to make a character similar to myself, but afterwards 5 people said to me ‘Hey, that’s you!’"](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:2e7f2uvcguv4d5qxqnyjmk32/bafkreie46ghroc5xpe2kjlzefja5dkmcggtqnd5qwjxlarzisblexegei4)
PEOPLE:
- Yoshiki Haruhana, age 28. Ocarina of Time Character Designer.
- Mitsuhiro Takano, age 31. Ocarina of Time Project Coordinator.
QUOTE:
"Haruhana: There are more than 60 characters in Ocarina of Time! One character takes about 2-3 days to make, so our schedule is always uncertain. We just have to go from one to the next.
Fellow staff-member Takano once told me, ‘All the people you make turn out to be freaks.’ I never intend to do that! My response is always ‘Oh, is that so?’ [laughs] For example, Dampe the gravekeeper is a hunchback, right?
In Kakariko Village, there’s a guy sitting by himself on top of a house. It was also never my intention to make a character similar to myself, but afterwards 5 people said to me ‘Hey, that’s you!’"
Quotes on the real-life counterparts of some quirky characters
Via GlitterBerri's Game Translations (1998), Iwata Asks (2011), and Nintendo Life (2025)
#Zelda
#OcarinaOfTimeQuote, #MajorasMaskQuote
#MoritaQuote, #HaruhanaQuote, #ImamuraQuote, #TakanoQuote
![PEOPLE:
- Eiji Aonuma, age 53. Director of the The Wind Waker. Co-Director of Majora’s Mask. Zelda series producer.
QUOTE:
Q: What is your favorite song from Zelda series?
Aonuma: There’s this song from The Wind Waker, the music in the battle in the desert against the sand worm, Molgera. I love that song. It has a kind of Japanese feel to it, with the Taiko drums.
Q: Clock Town or Hyrule Castle Town – which is your favorite?
Aonuma: Clock Town. Clock Town [in Majora’s Mask] is a whole society and microcosm, and I find that interesting.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:2e7f2uvcguv4d5qxqnyjmk32/bafkreiagprciprvc3en7qwtraobncflzwdyl32bpcl6iois5gdc2a5ayhq)
![PEOPLE:
- Hiromasa Shikata. Field Designer responsible for Clock Town & Romani Ranch in Majora’s Mask.
QUOTE:
Shikata: Organizing all the various parts of [Clocktown in Majora’s Mask] while managing the size was difficult. We created a complicated area so players would feel uneasy and uncomfortable, like they are in a strange town in a foreign country, carrying the sense of uncertainty that comes with that sort of situation.
However, “I don't understand it at all” and “I played for a whole day, but I still don't know what to do” among others were many of the opinions that we kept hearing, so we continued to adjust.
Now I think getting lost is a positive part of the game.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:2e7f2uvcguv4d5qxqnyjmk32/bafkreidhloucyjgrnsdhxzpkgm5ktnxvdbmvtrp2pazdt2zorffdy5ju2m)
![PEOPLE:
- Yoshiaki Koizumi, age 32. Majora’s Mask Co-Director.
- Eiji Aonuma, age 37. Majora’s Mask Co-Director.
- Shigeru Miyamoto, age 47. Majora’s Mask Producer.
QUOTE:
Koizumi: Introducing [Ocarina’s Sages] into a different Zelda world might feel out of place. Instead we decided [in Majora’s Mask] to present characters who weren't deeply explored in the previous games. We gave them different backgrounds and settings to capture the feelings of the people who voted for less popular characters [in Nintendo Dream’s popularity poll].
Q: Anju only got 6 points in our magazine’s rating contents, but she has one of the most involved sidequests doesn’t she?
Aonuma: That's the part where Mr. Koizumi put in the most effort [laughs].
Miyamoto: It was a full-power throw [laughs].
Koizumi: Well, um... I personally liked her a lot [laughs].](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:2e7f2uvcguv4d5qxqnyjmk32/bafkreibo7erqfco5hq2jzmnzpl7mncp7dluxtravan4shldji4qss2n7ye)
![PEOPLE:
- Eiji Aonuma, age 51. Co-Director of Majora’s Mask.
QUOTE:
Aonuma: When we talked about Ocarina of Time … we talked about hospitality. But Majora's Mask isn't like that. It's all a challenge to our players. It's like we're saying to them ‘can you clear this?’
It was something like until then you were welcomed with open arms being invited to come in, and now you're being told at the door to go home if you don't have what it takes! [laughs]
… We didn't put in any kind of elements where we show people how to play this game. The game was made for those who have played Ocarina of Time, so I felt like there wasn't a need for step-by-step instructions.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:2e7f2uvcguv4d5qxqnyjmk32/bafkreibfhcygpqiky4pwxslxx24fdjcjyohgdrfqnsc7j6ak2kolemofje)
![PEOPLE:
- Jason Leung. Majora’s Mask localization.
- Bill Trinen, age 50. Majora’s Mask localization.
QUOTE:
Leung: That's how they did all the game text back then: they'd just export it and import it from an excel file. So it was just thousands and thousands of lines of dialog.
I was working [on Majora’s Mask] with Bill Trinen who was in the localization team, and he's very fluent in Japanese. He went through all the different blocks of copy, and he just translated them from Japanese to English.
And then I went in there and … I would go in line by line and try to extrapolate what the story is and what the nuances are, or just spice it up with a more conversational style. Come up with the different ways that the different characters would deliver their lines, different personalities, things like that.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:2e7f2uvcguv4d5qxqnyjmk32/bafkreigkforzlourvxf3xjfr5fmydjrzxbpq65y65choyz56czxluxhzye)
![PEOPLE:
- Yoshiaki Koizumi, age 32. Majora’s Mask Co-Director.
- Shigeru Miyamoto, age 47. Majora’s Mask Producer.
QUOTE:
Koizumi: I had already been busy designing another game. But then, Miyamoto…
Miyamoto: Recalled you.
Koizumi: I heard the whispers: ‘Zelda… Zelda… Zelda…!’ And my game was canned! ... [Laughs]
I’d originally been designing a board game, based around the theme of cops and robbers. I wanted to make it so that you technically had to catch the criminal within a week, but, in reality, you could finish the game in an hour. I figured I’d just throw what I already had into Majora’s Mask.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:2e7f2uvcguv4d5qxqnyjmk32/bafkreibqpzqx4zms3lbz7g6ahl6opda3hf3r4k74qdhwatrnalwehts7di)
![PEOPLE:
- Eiji Aonuma, age 37. Majora’s Mask Co-Director.
- Yoshiaki Koizumi, age 32. Majora’s Mask Co-Director.
QUOTE:
Aonuma: I was responsible for the fairy-tale sections [of Majora’s Mask], and Koizumi was responsible for creating realistic depictions of the lives of the townspeople. I tried to emulate the fantasy atmosphere we had in Ocarina of Time…
Koizumi: And I created realistic lives for the characters.
Aonuma: You could say that Koizumi slapped his worldview on the whole thing. [Laughs]
Koizumi: I put in everything I’ve seen in my 30-something years on this earth.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:2e7f2uvcguv4d5qxqnyjmk32/bafkreie4p55722kcymibz2vtiayjtxdwtqv53m6z5xabzaly7ii4bdhdbu)
![PEOPLE:
- Satoru Iwata. EarthBound Program Director, President of Nintendo from 2002-2015.
- Shigesato Itoi. Producer, Director, & Writer for Mother 1, 2 & 3. Founder of Ape, Inc., which later became Creatures, Inc. Founder of Hobonichi. My Neighbor Totoro voice actor. Iron Chef judge..
QUOTE:
Iwata: What makes the Mother [EarthBound] series so special? I think it has to do with the role that Shigesato Itoi played. Nobody making games today is quite like him, and Mother remains without parallel. …
There was a time when Shigesato Itoi was totally obsessed with games, and in that sense he’s truly a gamer at heart. At the same time, he had a variety of experiences that the average game designer hadn’t, and I think these two aspects combined to form a unique individual.
… The overall effect is a game unlike almost any other. I think this is the cumulative effect of all the aspects of the gaming experience—the fun parts, sad parts, outlandish parts, and goofy parts.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:2e7f2uvcguv4d5qxqnyjmk32/bafkreies5t7dloghna3ll75jxfkl46p4mn6aqderja6sf2pf5nedasfw6q)
![PEOPLE:
- Eiji Aonuma, age 41. Dungeon Director of Ocarina of Time.
- Shigeru Miyamoto, age 51. Producer of Ocarina of Time & Ocarina of Time Master Quest.
QUOTE:
Aonuma: After finishing work on Ocarina of Time, Mr. Miyamoto instructed us to use the Ocarina of Time engine to create [Master Quest]—Ocarina's second version with rearranged dungeon gameplay. But, I felt that just changing around the puzzle solving without changing the overall structure was too limiting.
I turned down Mr. Miyamoto's offer and proposed that if anything I wanted to make a new Zelda game. Now, Ura Zelda was developed for the Nintendo 64 disc system that was released only in Japan, and since I turned down this project other staff members developed it. It was finally bundled in the GameCube version of Ocarina and released as The Master Quest.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:2e7f2uvcguv4d5qxqnyjmk32/bafkreifzsyl777pic2a6e4wi3zaxmetkae25nxatsc5ztp3ldg7xcwybru)
![PEOPLE:
- Naoki Mori. Cinema Scene Support on Majora’s Mask.
- Tomoaki Kuroume. Effect Designer on Majora’s Mask.
QUOTE:
"Mori: I struggled with getting the moon falling cutscenes to feel as powerful as they could be [in Majora’s Mask]. In the end, I think we were able to make it all work because of the hard work of Mr. Kuroume who oversaw effects. Link also sits somewhere on the title screen loop, so be on the lookout for him!"](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:2e7f2uvcguv4d5qxqnyjmk32/bafkreigwn3wpz6hpvok5awawndzzfzirfnpvmaotnzlcyipxejgbirgvni)
![PEOPLE:
- Yoshiaki Koizumi, age 32. Co-Director of Majora’s Mask.
QUOTE:
"Koizumi: Although we worked hard to create the notebook portion of [Majora’s Mask], we still think of it as a side feature. We think the main part of the game is the standard storyline that players will engage with. But if players only focus on the dungeons, they are not going to understand the true appeal of the three-day system.
… I think it would be pretty overwhelming to jump right into doing the Bomber’s Notebook events, so we suggest that players clear the main dungeons first as an introductory course. … If the players take on the Bomber’s Notebook events after they have gotten used to the rules of the world, I think they are more likely to appreciate the story."](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:2e7f2uvcguv4d5qxqnyjmk32/bafkreia7f6ryaf7s2bqcx5owdp4ft6p2tku4favrew5eb5g6634bd2jsma)
![PEOPLE:
- Eiji Aonuma, age 37. Co-Director of Majora’s Mask.
QUOTE:
"Aonuma: I was given quite a lot of freedom this time [while directing Majora’s Mask]. I was entrusted with most of the decisions until basically the end of development when Mr. Miyamoto gave us corrections like: ‘Hmm, that's not quite right,’ on some of the finer details. Miyamoto really didn't interfere this time. At the very end of everything he came in as a player for just a little bit, but that was about it."](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:2e7f2uvcguv4d5qxqnyjmk32/bafkreiatnjyzabngokyo2q7phtxlyg7rx4lwa6qqrrbvspxagyya2zhpme)
![PEOPLE:
- Yoshiaki Koizumi, age 32. Majora’s Mask Co-Director.
- Eiji Aonuma, age 37. Majora’s Mask Co-Director.
- Shigeru Miyamoto, age 47. Majora’s Mask Producer.
QUOTE:
"Koizumi: Introducing [Ocarina’s Sages] into a different Zelda world might feel out of place. Instead we decided [in Majora’s Mask] to present characters who weren't deeply explored in the previous games. We gave them different backgrounds and settings to capture the feelings of the people who voted for less popular characters [in Nintendo Dream’s popularity poll].
Q: Anju only got 6 points in our magazine’s rating contents, but she has one of the most involved sidequests doesn’t she?
Aonuma: That's the part where Mr. Koizumi put in the most effort [laughs].
Miyamoto: It was a full-power throw [laughs].
Koizumi: Well, um... I personally liked her a lot [laughs]."](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:2e7f2uvcguv4d5qxqnyjmk32/bafkreiegaxddn5qybeb2exqsgoqzs4o55mbi65gq7ktfb7yax6urqd42je)
![PEOPLE:
- Eiji Aonuma, age 51. Co-Director of Majora’s Mask.
- Satoru Iwata, age 55. President of Nintendo.
QUOTE:
"Aonuma: At first, [the 3-day system in Majora’s Mask] was one week.
Iwata: Three days was originally one week?
Aonuma: That's right. But when you returned to the first day it was like ‘Do I have to go through an entire week again...’, so we thought three days would be just right.
Iwata: Wait, it got decided just like that? [laughs]
Aonuma: [laughs] In this game the townspeople do different things each day and many different things happen, but when the timespan becomes a week, that's just too much to remember. You can't simply remember who's where doing what on which day."](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:2e7f2uvcguv4d5qxqnyjmk32/bafkreiel2s2mk7bh4ey4umeyypyh3hhccd4hmq2vrycadvcopusmx52liu)
![PEOPLE:
- Yoshiaki Koizumi, age 32. Majora’s Mask Co-Director.
- Eiji Aonuma, age 37. Majora’s Mask Co-Director.
QUOTE:
"Koizumi: Navi [in Ocarina of Time] was more like a doting wife who does everything, but we decided to make Tatl more like a brusque older sister [in Majora’s Mask]. Doing that actually made it easier to provide hints. Instead of saying something like, ‘What if you tried to do this?’ it is more like ‘Do it this way!!’
Aonuma: The one in charge of the dialog likes straight-talking women [laughs].
Koizumi: Everybody likes them [laughs].
Aonuma: Everybody wants to be scolded a bit [laughs]."](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:2e7f2uvcguv4d5qxqnyjmk32/bafkreia4f4xdxuummydhbto3bcnqraaxz72jmucjeiazzv55og5wgqdrge)
![PEOPLE:
- Jason Leung. Majora’s Mask English Localizer.
- Mitsuhiro Takano, age 55. Majora’s Mask Script Director.
- Masashi Goto. Majora’s Mask Localization Support.
QUOTE:
"Leung: I definitely felt very intimidated and nervous [with] Mr. Takano who was the script-writer. I mean, he was a great, easy-going guy but I just felt like, 'I don't wanna let him down.'
I worked very closely with him, and then my translator, Mr. Goto. It was basically the three of us just sitting in an office at a big, big table for long, 12 hour days, 5 days a week, scrubbing through all the copy line by line. Mr. Goto would translate it to Mr. Takano, who then would just make sure that it was upholding his story."](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:2e7f2uvcguv4d5qxqnyjmk32/bafkreihrgtrmj57mzdngtvjleznpp7h564xrejmghd3ffeuzuditckrusy)
![PEOPLE:
- Satomi Asakawa. Character Designer for Majora’s Mask.
QUOTE:
"Asakawa: NPC characters are always created by considering how they will be seen, and only have a small number of bones and polygons. To get the player to empathize with them, we use lots of motion and facial expressions to show off their personalities.
We usually have a model when we create our characters. For example, the monkeys [in Majora’s Mask] were based off a cat I had bought. If anything, the monkey's faces look cat-like, right? Next, the giant turtle was modeled after the famous Japanese twins Kin and Gin, of which Kin happened to be in the news at the time for passing away. The beaver brothers also have special names! Younger brother Shtick (the one holding branch) and older brother Twig (the swimming beaver)."](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:2e7f2uvcguv4d5qxqnyjmk32/bafkreievfpiaozuvin6ivv5casgtx7x6cnfk6kbmun4dqpu2fvheky4oba)
![PEOPLE:
- Eiji Aonuma, age 37. Majora’s Mask Co-Director.
QUOTE:
"Aonuma: It was going to be impossible for us to make a large game in under 12 months. So we had to figure out how to make something more compact. We decided we could manage to do about four dungeons in under a year, but to avoid the [Majora’s Mask] becoming something merely small, we considered incorporating something new… the idea we came up with was how do we create a system where the same events are going to happen in the same place, but by doing something differently, [the player could] have a different experience.
That’s where the idea of ‘the game resets in 3 days, but each time the player goes back to start, their experience expands a little bit’ came from."](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:2e7f2uvcguv4d5qxqnyjmk32/bafkreiegb2c3zjcgujexbanmo2m6o3irh7omihol3b5lw66my72alidowu)
![PEOPLE:
- Yoshiaki Koizumi, age 32. Majora’s Mask Co-Director.
QUOTE:
"Koizumi: Initially [setting Majora’s Mask in Hyrule] is what we talked about doing. But when we actually started working on it, it turned out that swapping things around was actually easier. The designers have really developed their skills, and their work is much faster.
… Even if it is the same grassy field, we wanted to do something different with it… Something like using a more vibrant color palette or making strangely shaped trees. The towns, which were inspired by medieval Europe in Ocarina of Time have more of a Southeast Asian style this time. It wasn't just about the visual design; the goal was to create something that was really different from the previous work."](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:2e7f2uvcguv4d5qxqnyjmk32/bafkreichj5234ethonux3wvdrmnng62t6efvxqluecuaslqml4drkxd6ja)
