Miyamoto on Zelda: BotW's connection to the original, rupees & Zelda as a main character

A portion of a GameKult interview with Shigeru Miyamoto...

GK: To begin with, I would like to talk about the filiation between Breath of the Wild and the original Zelda for the NES. Do you still play the original game from time to time to see how the series has evolved?

Miyamoto: The relationship between Breath of the Wild and The Legend of Zelda first comes from the reactions of people who have been able to test the game, we are not trying to recreate the first Zelda. At the time, the latter was created with the idea of freedom of action and a miniature garden in mind. When the series started to evolve, we went to make more and more games with only one path to follow, which pushed us to create larger and more complex dungeons, to imagine enigmas requiring specific items which ended up giving very sequential games. We then decided to go back to the roots of the series and we started developing the game we are showing today.

GK: I noticed that the game had more numerical data than usual, but in contrast, the Rupees counter and money in general seems to have disappeared from the game. Is that the case and if yes, why?

Miyamoto: As part of the reinvention of the Zelda conventions, we focused on the rupees’ case because we had a lot of feedback on the fact that you could pick up a lot, but there were not enough ways to spend them. As items to collect in such a free and open game, we thought they lost their benefits, even if they’re in the game in a different way involving combinations and other surprises in the final version.

GK: What is your level of involvement in such an important project for Nintendo?

Miyamoto: In the past, I was heavily invested in Zelda, whether for establishing the basis or to adjust small details on the way. With the help of my colleagues, I could deliver a key game in hand and then let the team take care of the closure. Today, considering the size of the game in the works, there are a lot of different teams in charge of the production, including one responsible for the physics engine’s integration, for exemple. So, I have especially been doing small tests on the way Link controls and reacts to the player’s orders, but I leave the developers take care of the rest after validating a checklist. As we are approaching the end of the development, I think I will be more involved to polish the game as much as possible.

GK: We regularly talk about the possibility to include a female character in a Zelda game for several years. Considering her important role in the story and the name of the series, can we expect to see in the future a game with Zelda as the main protagonist? If Tingle managed to have two games in his glory on DS, surely it is possible to do something, right?

Miyamoto: We clearly talked with the team to make a game centered about Sheik, so I cannot say it is impossible to see something of the sort in the future, but in the classic games in the series, Link is the hero and that will not change. For the rest, you have to be patient and see what happens!