NP: Ten years after its release, Ocarina of Time is still revered by many as the best and most influential game ever made. Why do you think it has made such a large and lasting impact?

EA: Unlike Miyamoto, who had a firm idea of what he wanted to make based on his experiences developing 3d games in the past, I was working on a 3d game for the first time. Since there weren’t any similar games to emulate, I groped around in the dark for quite some time. In the end, when I heard the testers’ response, I heaved a sigh of relief.

Since there was nothing to copy, we were forced to be original. I believe that is why we were able to create a game that inspired a fresh sense of wonder in its players….

Mr. Aonuma also lets us in the the secret of how Epona came to be…

EA: If I said we included Epona because Miyamoto likes horses, that would be oversimplifying it, but that was actually the biggest factor. He wanted Ocarina to be unique, and realized that there weren’t any other games that involved riding a horse….

Finally, for those of you that think Aonuma should be busy making the next Zelda game instead of doing interviews, this should make you happy.

Anouma took a break from crafting his next Zelda adventure (still top secret) to look back at the game that shaped his career.

Link