Children’s Book Was Inspiration for Zelda: Spirit Tracks December 9, 2009
“The Tracks Go On” — A picture book published by Kin-no-hoshi sha Co., Ltd. in 2003. Story by Fumiko Takeshita, art by Mamoru Suzuki.
Iwata:
Does somebody like trains? Before I discovered video games, back when I was in middle school, I was absolutely crazy about trains. There were steam locomotives which ran in Hokkaido and were about to be decommissioned, and I went up there and tracked it down so I could get photos, and I collected model trains…. Things like that. Was there a railroad fan on the development staff?
Aonuma:
No railroad fans.
Iwamoto:
There weren’t any at first.
Iwata:
What do you mean, “at first”?
Iwamoto:
Well, of course, while we were researching trains, some of the staff members got interested in them.
Aonuma:
But at first, we didn’t have a single railroad fan. At the beginning, since we were making a new The Legend of Zelda, I put out a proposal. I said, “This time, why don’t we do away with the ship? Instead, let’s have a big, “The Legend of Zelda -like” development, where you rush across the land of the wide world, headed to some place you’ve never been.”
Iwata:
So boats were out completely.
Aonuma:
Right. No boats allowed (laughs). I think it’s fun to have a new land becoming clearer and clearer right before your eyes, and have all sorts of different developments open up. It piques your sense of adventure, too. But then we had to think about what to use as a mode of transportation, in place of a boat, and at that point, I remembered a certain picture book.
Iwata:
A picture book?
Aonuma:
…Which I brought with me today…
Iwata:
This book? “The Tracks Go On” (Pictured Above)
Aonuma:
My son loved this book. When he was four or five, this was the book he’d bring me every night before bed. “Read it, Daddy, read it.” In the book, the children keep on…
Iwata:
(flipping through the book) …Laying the tracks.
Aonuma:
They come across all sorts of things, and, for example, when they find a mountain…
Iwata:
…they dig a tunnel. When they come to a river, they build a bridge…
Aonuma:
When they come to a road…
Iwata:
They build a railroad crossing.
Aonuma:
Up until there, it’s an ordinary story.
Iwata:
Yes.
Aonuma:
But this is where it gets interesting. They come across a great big pond. And there are animals there, so they start wondering what to do. And what they do is…
Iwata:
Oh, they go around it. To protect the animals.
Aonuma:
I love that. (laughs) At that point — and since I read it to him every night, I’m sure my son knew the answer too, but I asked anyway — I always asked, “What do you think they’ll do?”
Iwata:
You like the way they detour around the pond instead of filling it in and going over it.
Aonuma:
We’d get to that part, the “punch line”, and then I’d put him to bed. That was the routine. Then, at the very end…
Iwata:
They make a station.
Aonuma:
Yes. And then a train comes. And everybody gets on it and goes home. That’s the story. It’s a very simple one, but the pioneering spirit, the kids building the railroad… Something about it seemed as though it would fit with The Legend of Zelda But I didn’t tell the staff about this book.
Tweet
Related Articles:
Amazon Leaks Zelda: Spirit Tracks UK Release Date
Nintendo Dream Zelda Art Book – 100 Pages Scanned
Link and Zelda join forces in Spirit Tracks
Loading ...
