Developer Monolith Soft has published a new interview discussing its involvement with the production of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (thanks, Go Nintendo).
The interview focuses on the creation and modelling of the game’s characters, creatures, and items, which Monolith worked on extensively during its collaboration with Nintendo EPD. One particular point that’s worth highlighting is its work on creating Ganondorf, the game’s primary antagonist and long-time Zelda villain.
Rather than create a character who looked outright strong and evil, Monolith went further, highlighting Ganondorf’s “mysterious and alluring charm”:
“The character that left the biggest impression on me was Ganondorf.
“We didn’t just aim for him to look strong or evil; we focused on conveying a mysterious and alluring charm.
“In particular, the way his muscles are defined and the shading on his face were points we meticulously worked on until the very end to express the desired atmosphere for the model.”
Indeed, Ganondorf’s portrayal in Tears of the Kingdom is arguably one of the more nuanced since his first appearance back in Ocarina of Time, and we can certainly see what Monolith Soft is getting at with its approach to his design.
It’s worth checking out the full interview if you get a moment, though keep in mind it’s not been officially translated into English at the time of writing. The team also touch on the origin of the Horriblins, the unique design of the Solider Construct, and how it maintained close contact with Nintendo when working on the ‘Fuse’ weapon combination system.