Nintendo's Designers Pursued 'Elegance' in the Ocarina of Time Remake

Producers Eiji Aonuma and Hidemaro Fujibayashi discuss bringing the first 3D Zelda game to a whole new audience.

By Andrew Webster

When Nintendo set out to remake The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, the team faced a design challenge distinct from building a brand-new game. The original 1998 title had already become a landmark in game design, and the remake—released for the Nintendo 3DS—had to introduce that experience to players who had never touched the N64 classic while preserving what made it special. For producers Eiji Aonuma and Hidemaro Fujibayashi, the guiding principle throughout development was elegance.

In an interview, the pair explained how that philosophy shaped the project: rather than piling on new features or overhauling the original design, they focused on refining and clarifying the experience. The goal was to make Ocarina of Time feel intuitive and approachable for a new generation—smoothing rough edges, improving usability, and ensuring that every element served a clear purpose rather than adding complexity for its own sake.

That emphasis on elegance reflected a broader design sensibility at Nintendo: restraint and coherence over novelty. By respecting the original's structure while modernizing its presentation and controls, Aonuma and Fujibayashi aimed to deliver a version of Ocarina of Time that felt both faithful and fresh—an enduring classic made accessible to players encountering it for the first time.

via The Verge