This Ocarina Of Time staff Q&A was published in The 64 Dream issue #31 from 1999.
Archived magazine here: https://shorturl.at/bchI3

Translated by
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Formatted by
Javed Sterritt: https://twitter.com/JavedLSterritt

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The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
Development Staff: One Question, One Answer

The developers of Nintendo have seriously answered questions about the game ranging from serious to strange, please enjoy!

Q1. Can you tell us the maximum size of the largest fish you can capture in the fishing mini-game?

A. Try your best to capture the maximum sized fish which is 81 centimeters! (Morita, Boss Programming)

Q2. Why did you make it possible to defeat the Big Octo inside of Jabu-Jabu with a single Deku stick?

A. The Deku sticks easily break, but as Young Link they are the strongest item you can possess. Furthermore, because sword attacks can double their attack power when performing a jumping slash, you can technically defeat the Big Octo in one hit! (Onozuka, Game Systems Director)

Q3. Why are there no prizes when collecting the Skulltulas number 51-99?

A. The curse that the Cursed Rich Man’s family has (the development team called Golden Skulltulas “Kin-suta” a fusion of the two words for Gold and Skulltula in Japanese) different power levels depending on the family member. For example, the parents’ curse requires 5 times as many Skulltula to defeat as opposed to the children. To receive the top reward from the family a little bit of dedication is required. (Yamada, Systems Director)

Q4. I feel sorry for the Frog that gets used for the eye drops…

A. Hahaha, that is pretty sad, isn’t it? However, the frog has probably been used for centuries so King Zora and Dr. Lake probably didn’t feel sorry for it. I feel sorry for them too, but there are so many creatures in our lives that are useful. In each region of Hyrule, a memorial service is held once a year for the animals that have been of service to humans in this way. (Koizumi, 3D Systems Director)

Q5. What are the objects on either side of Princess Ruto’s head?

A. As a child-Ruto, those are eyes, meaning she has four eyes. Is it a bit unsettling? I designed the child-Ruto with sharks in mind. Specifically, the hammerhead shark. I thought, “what if a shark bit a human child on the head?” Later, maybe the eye becomes a hole, maybe it turns into a pore? As the Zora’s grow that area turns inward. Not very imaginative, is it? (Haruhana, Character Design)

Q6. The King Zora’s wife (Ruto’s mother) is nowhere to be found?

A. During the events of “Ocarina of Time”, she is unfortunately not part of this world anymore. However, as King Zora has a certain look, I think that Queen Zora was a beautiful creature. (Ozawa, Script Director)

Q7. Why is it that you have chosen to only give small tastes of the old Zelda series’ field theme in this game?

A. I’ve always kind of wanted to shake up the music a little bit in any case and because Ocarina of Time is a brand-new 3D game on the N64, I felt it necessary to change the music just a little bit from previous entries in the series. Additionally, Hyrule field is so vast that I thought it’d get boring and repetitive to hear the same melody all the time, so I decided to make a variety of music that would never get boring, with additional music and effects depending on Link’s status. (Kondo, Musical Composer)

Q8. Why in the world are the Great Fairies so flashy?

A. It’s so common that fairy designs are quite pure. In both good and bad ways, it was a fresh idea, wasn’t it? I also love a good challenge and remembered designing the fairies from A Link to the Past. If I had had more time, I would’ve designed them to be more distinct from one another, if we had had more time, perhaps I could’ve designed a “pure” great fairy. (Haruhana, Character Design)

Q9. What made the running man unable to win? 

A. It’s really the idea of a character who seems like they can win but ultimately can’t. As a result, he became Link’s biggest rival in all of Hyrule (other than Ganon of course). The truth is even if he won, he would have nothing to give away. (Laughs) (Kimura, Mapping data manager)

Q10. Where did the little graveyard boy end up when you became an adult? 

A. Five years later, when the boy was 8 years old, he wandered into the lost forest in search of his missing father and unfortunately got lost. He ended up becoming Skull Kid. Skull Kid of course doesn’t talk to adults, so when he encounters Adult Link, he just instinctively attacks and doesn’t ask any questions. (Koizumi, 3D Systems Director)

True of False  Questions 1 (Order: Left to right, top to bottom):

- Zelda’s sales numbers are satisfying (True)

- I can still think of new idea for Zelda (True)

- After Zelda’s release I thought shoot! (True)

- If we make the next Zelda game with anything other than the N64 DD, it will be on the hardware that comes after the N64 (Partially True)

- You can complete Zelda without every getting a game over (False)

Q11. The Kokiri tribe is outside of the forest at the end of the game, are they alright? The Zoras too…

A. The Mini-Great Deku Tree’s power which protected the forest has expanded due to the destruction of the evil power that was previously present, the Zora tribe also doesn’t always need to be in the water to be safe! (Kawagoe, Cutscene Director)

Q12. What happened to the Cucco's lady older brother after giving you the mushroom?

A. After that, there’s a Kokiri girl named Fado waiting with a deep message for you; “Everyone is a Stalfos!”. Yes, everyone who wanders into the Lost Forest becomes a Stalfos and goes to live at the Forest Temple. So why doesn’t Link as a human turn into a Stalfos? After all, he’s part of the Kokiri people, so why not? (Koizumi, 3D Systems Director)

Q13. The cutscene with Impa and Sheik has animation that feels a bit off. Was motion capture not used?

A.Yes, that’s correct, it wasn’t used. In regard to Motion Capture, it was only used for Link’s animations which on their own only account for a small percentage of his animations. Typical places where motion capture is used are the following: 

1. Link’s idle animations 

2. Horse mounting and dismounting animations

3. Magic-related animations

4. Some animations in cutscenes

(Mori, Cinematic Director)

Q14. The names of the four spirits from the forest temple are the same as the four sisters in Little Women (references an anime-adaptation of Little Women) aren’t they?

A. Actually, these spirits weren’t bad people, they were four beautiful sisters who were close friends and long ago served as priestesses in the Forest Temple. Perhaps Ganondorf’s evil energy spread across the land and corrupted the sisters’ hearts which is why the oldest sister Meg is found in the main room sobbing. I wanted to show that these spirits weren’t evil at heart, so I took the names of the sisters from “Little Women”. I will admit that one night I did watch Little Women (adaptation) and found myself extremely moved and thought “Well there are just four of us!” (Takizawa, Character Design)

Q15. Is the man running around in the castle town a thief?

A. Oh, I guess he is going to the back of the store, but he does look suspicious, doesn’t he? I didn’t mean for him to appear as a thief, perhaps he’s delivering something. (Haruhana, Character Design)

 Q16. There are rarely any male Gerudo born, does that mean that the people are all unmarried/single?

A. Every 100 years, only 1 male Gerudo is born. However, Gerudo women can marry and have children with men of any race. The kidnapping of men of other races is a common occurrence. No matter what the race of the father, the children are always born pure Gerudo, so as long as there are men of other races still enchanted with the Gerudo charm, the bloodlines will never die out. (Osawa, Script Director)

 Q17. Why does Sheik wear a bandage on their head? 

A. Well obviously there’s lots of long hair under there, so think of it more like a turban than a bandage.

 Q18. Why are there so many horses at the Lon Lon Ranch, when the business is a dairy farm?

A. In Hyrule, horses are a prized mode of transportation. As such, it’s extremely profitable to breed and train wild horses. Ingo probably offered Epona to Ganon to get ahead… (Osawa, Script Director)

 Q19.  Are there any women in the Goron tribe?

A.  There definitely are but it’s so difficult to tell them apart, especially because everyone also addresses themselves as “Ora” (English equivalent of addressing oneself as just I.) (Osawa, Script Director)

Q20. In the Bottom of the Well dungeon, the process of acquiring the Lens of Truth is a lot easier compared to other dungeons. (Even though Zelda dungeons often take you to each room sequentially and reward you with the item at the end.)

A. The relay under the graveyard, water cave, the training grounds of the Gerudo, the gardens of Hyrule and finally the bottom of the well are all dungeons that are a bit different than just collecting stones or wise men, so I dared to deviate a little from those ideas. In the bottom of the well, I hope that visitors are able to quickly find the lens of truth and explore and find the Gold Skulltulas and other treasures. I’d be really happy if everyone could enjoy the adventure. (Yamada, Game System Director)

True or False 2: 

• I was secretly confident about the 40-point score of Famitsu. (False)

• Zelda is obviously my favourite game series. (Partial, its tough…)

• My ocarina playing skills have improved greatly (False)

• I’ll answer any strategy questions about the town (True) (If I didn’t know that would be unacceptable) (Laughs)

• I’m concerned about the great prediction of Nostradamus (True) (Seems happy)

• I’ll be commuting to the new office by bike (True)