Most Zelda fans know that Ura Zelda ended up becoming Master Quest.  Fewer Zelda fans know what Ura Zelda even was and what the devil is the 64DD?!  Well, fans still who still want to know how Ura Zelda was the one being talked about, and the how Majora’s mask was all of a sudden what was one being developed, look no further; here is the interview that started it all.  Want to see it? Click read more to be enlightened.

Aonuma: When we decided to do the Ocarina of Time, the first 3D Zelda game on the 64, as a director, I was partially responsible for dungeon design.

Iwata: It feels like Aonuma has been overseeing everything since the development of Ocarina of Time, but thinking about it, that’s not the case at all.

Aonuma: Definitely. Back then I never put my neck out for anything. *laughing*

Iwata: Hahaha. *laughing*

Aonuma: Anyway, I was allowed to do what I wanted. After making Ocarina of Time, I really felt I’d given it my all.

Iwata: When Ocarina of Time came out, people said it went above and beyond the level of other games at the time, so I’m sure you really did feel like that.

Aonuma: Yeah, I was really pleased. *laughing* Even after it went on sale, I had a really strong sense of fulfillment, the knowledge that “I did it!” I think that Miyamoto must have felt the same sense of accomplishment. It seems like both of us also agreed that there were still things left to accomplish.

Iwata: He’s kind of greedy that way, isn’t he. *laughing*

Aonuma: Anyway, we’d already gone to the trouble of making a lot of 3D models for Ocarina of Time, so we asked ourselves whether we could create a new experience by using the same ones but changing up the scenario and adding a new sense of drama.

Iwata: That’s when you decided to make Majora’s Mask, right?

Aonuma: No, we didn’t begin work on Majora’s Mask right away. At first, the idea was to make Ura Zelda.

Iwata: Ura Zelda (what later became Master Quest) was being developed on the 64DD, and was ultimately released on a limited-edition compilation disk that came with pre-orders of The Wind Waker, no?

Aonuma: Ultimately, it was other staff that ended up working on Ura Zelda. For me, though, the person in charge of Ocarina’s dungeon design, making alternate versions of the game’s dungeons didn’t seem very progressive. I didn’t think we’d be able to call the finished result a new Zelda. However, I couldn’t just say no to the idea of making a new one. To that end, I made a bargain with Miyamoto: if I could make a new Zelda game within a year, we wouldn’t have to do Ura Zelda.

Iwata: What! You mean you bartered for Majora’s Mask? *laughing*

Aonuma: That’s what we agreed on. But Ocarina of Time’s development had taken 3 years!!

Iwata: That’s right. *laughing*

Aonuma: To think, making a sequel to that game in a year… at first, I had no clue about what sort of game I should do, and the planning period just stretched on and on… that’s when Miyamoto and the other director, Koizumi, thought up a 3 day system where you’d be able to play through the same compact world over and over again, and I could finally see everything coming together.

Iwata: Actually, I kind of feel like I was the one that told you deep, compact games were something we’d see in the future. Majora’s Mask was a huge turning point for Nintendo. But I didn’t realize it started as a bargain! *laughing*

Aonuma: Yup. *laughing* The sequel was totally trial and error at first, however. In the end, once we’d adopted the 3 day system, we decided to destroy the world if the player couldn’t clear the game in 3 days.

Want to read the full interview? Click read moreGood luck, it’s in Japanese, here is the source link for it though Nintendo

Source: Glitter Berri