Zelda Director Explains How Link Between Worlds Reminded Him Of Mario 64

The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds director, Hiromasa Shikata, has explained to Famitsu how the iconic Super Mario 64 reminded him of Link’s latest adventure. Famitsu suggested to Shikata that the game’s most unique feature is the ability for Link to become a painting and also part of a wall. Shikata explained how that element came to be.

“The thought of having link become a drawing on a flat surface seemed interesting to me; an idea that came out of nowhere. However, I thought that simply having him be part of a flat surface would’ve made it no different than a side-scrolling game, so we thought it would be better to have him turn along the corners of the walls, after further consulting with the [other members of staff].”

“Back when I first played Super Mario 64, I was jumping around the bridge by the castle, and was really surprised when I fell down into the moat,” he shares. “If it were a 2D Mario game with a side-view, you wouldn’t be able to fall down as deep.”

“Just like the sense of amusement the 3D feeling gave me from jumping off the bridge, this time I felt something similar when I was able to slide through the barred window.”

“This may be a spoiler to those who’ve yet to play the game, so I’ll just say that certain items you can find inside walls and becoming a drawing on the wall to dodge enemy attacks, are ideas that came afterwards,” adds lead programmer Shiro Mouri.