Miyamoto Wasn't A Fan Of The Art Style In Zelda: Wind Waker When He First Saw It

I guess I was one of the few that was sold from the very beginning on the art style.

The original presentation was not a great presentation. That capstone wink was a little cringe and it looked rough. The refined look was an improvement, but still took time to get used to.

But in the end, we got one of the prettiest Zelda games in the series and one I can’t imagine never of having. Easy top 5 or 3 Zelda for me.

Wind Waker’s art style is timeless.

One of the best looking games of all time. Will look just as good in 100 years time.

I get it , but it grows on you very fast , i thought twilight has the best artstyle and aesthetic for tloz , but then botw happened and I was pleasantly surprised.

Not gonna lie, I'm glad Zelda's artstyle drastically shifted after Wind Waker because almost every Nintendo franchise has a cartoonish artstyle and the few that stood out were Metroid and F-zero, and we all know those series aren't super popular compared to Zelda.

Zelda might be Nintendo's only game series that Nintendo takes seriously when it comes to the aesthetic.

But Wind Waker's fine tho, it's just a little bit overrated.

@Tasuki More Powerpuff Girls than South Park. 😂

I love the game and bought it for GC and again with the Wii U Wind Waker bundle. However, differing opinions are always welcome and respected.

@MasterGraveheart
Yeah i remember thinking that initial reveal seemed somewhat rough especially coming off that gamecube tech demo but the more i saw of the game the more i warmed up to its visuals especially once we saw more of the colourful exteriors.

I actually thought it was his idea for the art style

Very polarizing. I can tell right away how I'm going to get along with someone based on how they respond to the art style.

This is Nintendo's most revered games franchise, I respect them for being so willing to take artistic risks and change it up so drastically between games.

Yes, well, that's the same man who thought that swapping out partners and the EXP system for a Sticker battle system in Paper Mario Sticker Star was a GOOD idea... >_>

I was not fun of cartoon cell shade graphics although i kinda appreciated them later. When i saw Twilight Princess i said that's more like it.

“Goblins make my extremities tingle” - Shigeru Miyamoto

@Mauzuri he also brought us the "scan every stupid thing" in Metroid Prime. I respect him a lot and he has birthed some of my favorite series, but he isn't perfect by any stretch.

@Tasuki Honestly this is an art style that a lot of people hated at first but it grew on a lot of people over time. I didn't like it much at first either but now Toon Link and such are really iconic that it's hard to imagine the Zelda series without Wind Waker. Have you ever tried the game? I'd highly recommend it even if the artstyle bothers you at first. Believe me, the game underneath is incredible.

That cel-shaded look holds up well today and is especially exquisite in the HD version on Wii U.

The advantage of stylized games is that they age much more gracefully. Compared to OoT and MM, WW on GameCube looks pleasing even today, even if Im not the hugest fan of the character design

Good and i cringed after playing it. Compared to OoT it is absolutely brainless.

Still my favorite Zelda game. I love the graphics.

Yet another example of Miyamoto having terrible takes.

I guess he got the realistic looking Zelda game he wanted with Twilight Princess, in the end.
... Which aged very poorly graphic-wise, contrary to Wind Waker who still stands as beautiful today.

@Mauzuri that wasn't him. That was the director of Sticker Star. All Miyamoto said to the team was basically that it looked too similar to Thousand Year Door and they should do something different. He also said they should challenge themselves to only use characters created before Mario World which is kinda dumb, but he didn't force them to listen to that lol. All it was was advice. Miyamoto doesn't even have much to with mainline Mario since 64, much less the spin-offs. But yeah most of the poor Sticker Star decisions fall on the director of that game, not Miyamoto.

@Spoony_Tech and I must be one of the few who don't find it starkly different from N64 entries anyway.😅

@Tasuki it's your right and biz what to play, but it's pretty hard to compare Wind Waker artstyle to South Park without making others question if you've ever seen South Park.

I was surprised when I first saw pictures of Wind Waker. I didn't particularly like or dislike it, I was just surprised. I had drifted away from gaming a little bit and didn't think I'd buy the GameCube. However, when I saw it running in a games shop, the animation and the way the shading moved over the 3D models sold it to me instantly.

I fell in love with the art as much as I fell in love with the game itself - to me, it is still the pinnacle of Zelda. I also love the visual style of Breath of the Wild. And yet, I can understand those who prefer the Twilight Princess style. It's rather a shame they never made a Zelda with the exact style and quality of the Wii U demo.

In my opinion, Nintendo finds itself in the position of having developed three excellent art styles for 3D Zelda. If I had to choose, though, nothing quite beats that of Wind Waker.

Well, to be honest, who didn’t?
And then everyone fell in love with it.

@NintendoJunkie hey I never heard someone hate the “scan every thing” …. I loved it. I remember loving all the lore behind every stuff in that universe. Gives it another more complex layer.

Miyamoto's been making bad decisions for a long time.

Goes to show you that developers with guts can achieve their vision even if Miyamoto does not agree with it.

Not surprised Miyamoto preferred a realistic look, it is what he envisioned from the start of the series after all.

I always held Shigeru Miyamoto in high respect, but this just reaffirms that. Personally, I think The Wind Waker's characters look absolutely terrible, but its environments look anywhere from okay to pretty good. Overall I am not a fan of the style.

That's ironic given that Miyamoto was famously the one who pushed for Yoshi's Island to have a more cartoony and stylised look.

Yeah, it looks pretty cringe, but if I liked the gameplay I could've learned to live with it or even like it like everyone else. But that's not my biggest issue and why I will never touch this game. My issue is that the dungeons are linear as hell and the only real exploration is in the aimless, empty looking sea.

Just because he's one of the best game designers to have ever lived doesn't mean that he's always right.

Just another terrible Miyamoto take to add to his sizeable pile.

The thing about windwaker, and especially windwaker HD is that it’s never going to look dated, because the art style is pretty much as good as it could be

This game is the reason I keep considering rebuying a Wii U. I really hope they bring it to switch.

Favourite zelda. 2nd favourite zelda soundtrack just slightly behind ocarina of time. Guredo valley beats nearly everything.

As a first reaction, I don't blame him. It took me a bit to adjust to the art style. But Wind Waker's art is fantastic and has aged like fine wine imo.

I would’ve thought it were Miyamoto gunning for that art style in the first place if anything. Seems more in line with his original inspiration of being a kid exploring than a gritty realistic look does.

Always loved the look of Wind Waker, but it was my first Zelda game so I didn’t have any attachment to any previous style. Either way it’s aged better than many games of not only that generation but every generation since. Not many 3D games of that era can claim to have a timeless look but Wind Waker has it

While in hindsight, WW current art style is definitely the way to go and not make the game look like a dated piece of hot mess. I think we can all confidently agree that if WW had more realistic graphics at the time, GameCube would’ve sold a lot better.

Why it’s not yet on the Switch completely baffles me.

I remember him saying that was how he always had seen Link in his mind. He lied?

Makes sense. Games were really getting into the “realistic dreary” ride that the industry still hasn’t gotten off of and the spaceworld tech demo didn’t help matters. I certainly had a negative reaction at the time which I now regret but it cost Nintendo a sale which is what matters. It’s one of those art vs product issues gaming lives in. It likely would have sold better at launch had it looked like TP (and may even be part of the reason the series abandoned the style mostly) but the team was vindicated by later opinion of the style.

It was the same for me. Just like Final Fantasy IX. At the time, I found the style too childish. Not "cool" enough. And today both are my favorite games of the respective series!

never been a fan

Toon link was my first introduction to Link so to me this is 'THE' link and the grittier, earlier 3d takes look strange.

I liked the art & animation style when it came to the gamecube. I didn't like the time-consuming sailing. I never got to try Wind Waker HD and it's improved (shortened) sailing.

Not a fan either. I still much prefer Twilight Princess over this game.

I loved the look.
Right from the very first reveal teaser. ^_^;;

Loved the look and have bought it 2x now. I hope they bring it to Switch so I can do a 3rd purchase. -=0

Everyone saying that it is timeless and futureproof are correct. This game could be upscaled to 8k in a few years and will look good.

I think the cell shaded style was very good on Wind Waker. It might have been a bit weird going from the more "realistic" N64 models.

But honestly, it's one of the reasons why The Wind Waker is still my number 2 Zelda of all Time. (Only beaten by Breath of the Wild)

And yes, I would love to give Nintendo money to buy it on the Switch for the third time

Now I need to know if Miyamoto ever ended up enjoying the way Wind Waker looks 😭

BUT I THOUGHT MIYAMOTO HATED THE REALISM OF TWILIGHT PRINCESS AND FOUGHT WITH AONUMA OVER IT!

I swear I've read that before. Now I'm so confused...

When it comes to Zelda and Mario, Miyamoto seem to had opposite appeal. He wants Mario games to be cartoony as possible which is why he made the Yoshi's Island games and why he took offense when Rare made Donkey Kong Country look super realistic. Then when it comes to Zelda he want that to be as realistic and not cartoony so he did not like Wind Waker as much compare to Twilight Princess? What a strange guy, well guess after Breath of the Wild 2 Zelda be going realistic again then.

He was right. It is an outstanding game but there are many gamers who refused to buy it because of the style. That is a fact. It doesn't matter that it aged better than TP, the game suffered in sales because of the art style. Sad but true.

It is still my favourite 3D Zelda though.

Can’t say I love the art style either. It put me off playing it for some time. But I don’t know if it had a frame rate jump or something at the time, but I remember thinking that it played and felt like the animation flowed beautifully.

For my mind it’s far prettier than a screen shot can capture

I ended up boycotting Zelda over this until Twilight Princess, because I disliked the Toon art style so much. And while I did go back & play it much later on, & it was a fun game, I still dislike the visual style of that particular game.

It`s the only 3D Zelda that doesn`t give me gaming motion sickness (except for some areas of BOTW), and at least the (great) beginning wouldn`t have worked with a "realistic" art style at all. I was totally convincend ( I had it preordered, in spite of my scepticism) after the first five minutes with their sense of space, fun and magic.

I was a hater until playing it. In fact I almost didn't even go pick up my preordered copy at GameStop, figuring that the $15 down I had paid was fair enough to get the Ocarina of Time bonus disc (Which was what I really wanted).

Yet I ended up a fan of the art style even before I had left Link's island at the start of the game. I ended up very happy that I had followed through with my preorder. And nearly 20 years later, that Ocarina of Time disc remains unplayed, although I'll play Master Quest one of these days hopefully.

That all said, Link's design never did grow on me. Definitely was the weakest link in the game's art design.

I hated it and I still don't like it. Started playing it after OoT on the GameCube and thought it was a huge let down. Couldn't play much of it at the time. Eventually I came back to it and I did enjoy the gameplay. Just didn't like that style. Twilight Princess really impressed me again so I was back to loving the series again and became my second favourite Zelda game. OoT is my first. The art style for Wind Waker puts me off from replaying it.

I was in the same boat. But after I played Wind Waker, I saw why they went with this art style, and it was such a charming experience, that it become my favourite Zelda game of all time, until Breath of the Wild came.

@Mauzuri He hated Super Paper Mario and then instructed them to have less story. It's Called Mario Story in Japan.

I never liked it. When it was first announced, it had a completely different art style. Then when it actually was showcased, and it looked like it did, I and plenty of others were upset. If you preordered it, you got the oot master quest 4 pack, which I loved, and could never get into wind waker. Even as a mature adult, when I finally played it 100% on the Wii U, it still is my least fav zelda game. I appreciate it a bit more and can see why people liked it. But it was still a disappointment after seeing what they originally revealed.

Wind Waker's the best looking game in the series and even at the time everyone was mad over it I thought it looked great.

Coming from Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask, I was hoping Wind Waker would have even better more realistic graphics. So I was really pissed when they released a new Zelda game with cell-shaded graphics. But honestly, after playing it and seeing toon Link's expressions, I came to find the art style as quite endearing. Would I have preferred a more realistic look? Sure. But Wind Waker worked out alright and I still love revisiting it to this day. Then Twilight Princess followed after it and I fell in love with the Zelda franchise all over again. Midna is easily the best companion so far

@Boldfoxrd Completely agree. Back in the day, I remember hearing a lot of people ignoring this game, just because of the art style.
People love it nowadays, but it was not love at first sight.

So did I. Not a fan at all. It's also the first game I can remember playing and feeling like it was just so empty.

I’ll be honest, I can’t remember my initial reaction because it fell into a short period where I’d stopped playing videogames. But Wind Waker is an amazing game, and I’m thankful they stuck with their vision. Not just the art style, it’s everything… the locations, the town, the geography. All very very expressive and memorable.

It might've been a good thing that I was young and blind to public opinion when Wind Waker came out. Because it was one of my first Zelda entries (I had the OOT/WW double pack on GC) and I absolutely adored it. Shame most people couldn't see it's charm back in the day, but everyone sings its praises now. The Zelda effect is an odd one.

The only 3D Zelda I never finished. Didn’t like the art style but now I freaking love it! Please bring it to the Switch… otherwise I need to buy a Steamdeck to emulate it…

Everyone In the world could hate it, and I would still love it!

This is revisionist history. I was 17 years old when this game came out. I remember all the interviews I read at the time stating the cell shading was Miyamoto’s style and decision. That he was very disappointed at the initial reception. That he was very proud of the fluid cartoon like animation and the very expressive facial animation. He was very happy with Wind Waker.

Even though Miyamoto seems to have a lot of bad ideas, in this case he was kinda right. Isn't Wind Waker the worst selling 3D Zelda, and the reason they went so hard with realism in Twilight Princess? Personally, I love both art styles.

I remember people not liking the art style.

But once you played it and saw how slick and beautiful it is, you soon forget. It has aged so well unlike MM and OOT and I rate WW above TP and SS.

I like it enough, the DS games were some of my first Zeldas, but I’m glad it didn’t replace a more traditional Link design. I like the toon games being a separate thing.

The HD version on Wii U is just gorgeous. I never played the original on GameCube but I always thought it looked a bit ugly in comparison to the HD game

Well he was right, it didn't sell.

Thing is, this style (cartoon-like) is so friendly for younger fans whilst still challenging for grown-ups as you'd expect. I played this with my son who adored the overall style, graphics and cuteness. It's easily one of the best Zelda titles for me just because he loved it so much, and I, myself loved it so much seeing how much he loves us playing together. Great game and grateful for the memories! We both love Zelda!

I think this art style would be better for a platformer.

Something like Banjo-Kazooie would look great like that.

I was sold on the look instantly. My experience prior to that with cel shaded games was Jet Set Radio and I knew it would work a treat with Wind Waker. I remember the hate Wind Waker got, but I was sitting there thinking they could inject so much personality in that style, and in my eyes it delivered exactly that. Art style always wins for me.

When WW released I was more into 2D Zelda like ALTTP and the Oracle games, seeing the new style didn't make me feel anything, I even probably thought the style better represented the deformed sprites of the 2D games.

That said, I'm glad it was not permanent just because it was eventually accepted by practically everyone.

Character re-designs can be such a dangerous gamble. When Sonic Boom was announced through a silhouette of the main characters, and you could see extra spikes, buff Knuckles, long legged Sonic, it was an absolute nightmare.

I love the art style. It has personality unlike twilight princess. And that’s coming from someone who has both games in his top five of all time.

I was 9 or 10 when I saw it. Hadn’t played OoT prior to that. My first game was Awakening. I liked the art style. Reminded me of a cartoon come to life.

Still like it

I dont think this article is accurate.

I know Miyamoto is a busy guy, but it took him awhile to see what art style LoZ game had to soon to fix?
I love the WW art style definitely made more people look/used media in the art style.

Ironically I still can't stand the look of Twilight Princess. Other than a few story moments, and a couple of memorable moments (dungeon of time), the whole game is so forgettable and I think one of the weakest in the series.

Wind Waker is such a freakin gem and I never understand how anyone could hate the look of it.

I didn’t like it initially but it grew on me and was a joy to play.

I think I didn’t like it because Zelda was Nintendo’s more grown up series and it wasn’t clear to me where Nintendo was heading. Were they just going to target children?

In retrospect, many of the games from that time were just brown and blurry and all looked the same.

Me too, but it's not the worst p
art for me. This game is as boring as hell (GC version, Wii U is better)

I wasn’t a fan of the art style at first either. After playing it, I ended up loving the game though and then learned to love the art style. I guess I just wanted more of a darker Zelda after the 64 games. But Windwaker has a special place in my heart.

I remember vividly my original first thought when I saw it in an issue of GamePro Magazine (that I still have) was "Huh?"

But I quickly came to like it and especially when I played it and thought "this style is amazing!" and "this game is awesome and fun!"

My very first Zelda game, so it’ll always have a special place in my heart. The artstyle is great but it’s the expressiveness they got out of it that makes me love it. Only BOTW has come close.

@TheCrabMan actually true

Interesting read. I remember Miyamoto defending the change back in the day, saying that a realistic approach just would get copied. I never knew that in reality he hated the artstyle and that it was Aonuma who pushed it. Well, thank goodness he did, it was great. Miyamoto was somewhat right about the sales though: It wasn't a massive hit in America back in the day. That's why they made Twilight princess. Skyward sword felt more like a compromis to appeal to both sides.

It seems they not always listened to Miyamoto. Now they have totally steered away from the realistic graphics. Botw is darker then Skyward sword, but is still cartoony and a bit Ghibli-esque.

I'll never forget the first time I saw screenshots from Wind Waker in a Nintendo magazine. It's one of my most treasured gaming memories.

the only thing wrong with wind waker visually is over use of a particularly eye watering shade of blue 😟

seriously though, great game. i dont like the sailing though and ive never gotten very far.

I knew Miyamoto was a zombie.

Wow, even Nintendo employees didn't like the art style back then. Makes me wonder how they feel about the choices they made for that other employees weren't in on in that era. How did they feel about Metroid Prime being first person, or Mario sunshine being an island adventure with a water pack? How'd they all feel about using two characters for Mario Kart?

Not the first time Miyamoto was wrong
Looks at tombstone of Star Fox Zero, without the second screen/gyro restrictions

@MasterGraveheart Capstone wink?

I also cringed at Wind Waker when I first saw the trailers, but then I played at a friend's house and loved it. I looked in every store to buy my own copy, Walmart, Electronics Boutique (before merging with GameStop), and some video store I don't remember the name of. I ended up buying Viewiful Joe from the video store instead because I could not find Wind Waker anywhere that day. My friend let me borrow Wind Waker but decided he didn't want his game when I tried to give it back. I still have his game to this very day.

I wasn't a fan of the style, still ain't, although one benefit is the graphics have aged well as a result.

On the flipside, I didn't like Twilight's bland style either and aged a bit poorly.

BotW struck the perfect balance in my opinion. I hope they stick with it.

@relinqued How is it brainless? Hyperbolic much?

@Goofus I don't hope they stick with it. I love the fact that Zelda's art style is always changing.

@Ryu_Niiyama I think the industry has come a long way from the realistic dreary trend. The low point was definitely during the 360/PS3 era. Every other game was about generic guy with a buzzcut (usually a space marine) and the color palette consisted of green, gray, brown, black.

I feel like games really started to move away from that with the PS4/One era. Games weren't afraid to embrace brighter and more varied colors.

I'm sorry..how does this pertain to the rumored direct airing on Wednesday?

Stylised graphics age far better than realistic stuff. May not be for everyone, but I like the cartoon aesthetic.

I always liked the art style, at the time I saw it as what A Link to the Past would look like in 3D. The only problem Wind Waker had was it was clearly rushed and was missing at least 2 dungeons.

WW, SS and BotW are the best looking Zelda games with their timeless art styles. From these, BotW is the best looking one by a large margin.

I bet he thought the Chibi art style for Metroid Prime: Federation Force was a great idea.

Loved Wind waker from the moment I saw it, got very excited for the HD remaster on the Wii U.

Art style is fine, would be better if Link wasn't so tiny.

I would totally buy all the GameCube Zelda games in HD on Switch for about $19.99 a pop.

Back when this game was new, I loved the art style. Still do today. As I make my way through Elden Ring for the 5th time or so, I do wonder what a Zelda title could look like with its visual style

@Spoony_Tech I’ll never believe it. 😉

(Unless you were under the age of 10 in 2002, then sure, but that’s pretty standard.)

I can’t remember actually hating it, but I do remember it took a bit to adjust. (Also I didn’t play it until like 2006/07 when I got my Wii, so was totally on board well before that.)

I think when it was new, I watched my friend play it awhile, and I was sort of bemused and… generally accepting of it even by then I think. So yeah pre-launch shock mostly out of the way by the time it came out, and then seeing the cool gameplay… yeah, interesting little chapter of gaming history.

@Moistnado I think we’d be lucky to get WW and TP in a pack for $60.

Wind Waker breathed some much needed variety into the series, I think. It allowed Zelda to be more than just one particular flavour, and I doubt the likes of Skyward Sword, Breath of the Wild, Link’s Awakening on Switch, or the overwhelming majority of handheld entries that came after would be the same without its willingness to break the mould.

@BlubberWhale I know, but I wouldn't buy it... Maybe on a good retail sale, if I got both games on a cartridge. But not for $60. I have a GameCube.

As someone who was a teen when Wind Waker came out .. while i loved it everyone i knew hated it (non nintendo gamers) .. at that time of the Cube i felt like i was the only nintendo fan on the planet

@Tasuki Well then, you'll never play it. Which is a real shame if you ask me; as I feel Wind Waker is one of the very best Zelda games.

I like seeing the people who blame Miyamoto for everything not being able to wrap their head around this article haha. “I read somewhere he hated Twilight Princess” “This article is fake news” “Miyamoto hates babies”

I loved the art style of WInd Waker. I remember wanting to get the game just on the art style alone. Twilight Princess turned me off the whole series.

@BlubberWhale sadly I was 29.

Yeah I remember hating the look when first seeing it, funny enough it’s now my favorite-looking Zelda game of them all (and in my Top 3 Zelda games overall, along with BotW and Ocarina)

The graphics of wind waker are based on huge anime classics from the sixties, like Gulliver's travels beyond the moon, Puss in Boots and The Little Prince and the Eight-Headed Dragon.
It's the actual reason why Wind Waker stands the test of time.
And it's the reason we eventually got BOTW with the graphics that it has, heavily inspired by ghibli (Princess Mononoke).

Could be useful to point out that Yoichi Kotabe worked on Wind Waker. Just look it up.
There's a reason Miyamoto is and will be remembered as a designer and not an art director.

I still don't like it haha

Because the previous Zelda games were so realistic, eyeroll. It looks way closer to Zelda I, Link To The Past, Awakening, Ages/Seasons than OOT or MM. They make 3 "realistic" games, Zelda II, OOT, MM, and now that's standard Zelda graphics, lol.

The style of Wind Walker cemented my view of Nintendo as a visionary company. I saw it and thought, a company that will commit one of its flagship franchises to such a stylised look is serious about creating imaginative, joyous escapism - something I want much more than realism in a video game!

Ironically, Skyward sword was originally supposed to be more realistic. There are screenshots from a prototype. But then Miyamoto came with a painting of cezan and said he wanted it that way. So Miyamoto isn't always against cartoon/impressionistic stuff. Of course he made cartoony stuff in the past himself (A Link to the past, Mario world, Yoshi's island, etc).

@Lanmanna I think the more cartoony style lends itself better to the 2d Zeldas (it was perfectly suited for Link's Awakening), but I think a bit more realism is better for the 3d entries. Not gritty realism, but a balance between the two.

@Moistnado I respect that. I’d probably get it, but a few small fixes or additions would go a long way to ensuring my business.

WindWaker came at the perfect time. The 6th generation was when a lot of series got their “looks” more defined. What Zelda did essentially unshackled it from any expected art style since it was such a departure even from the N64’s low fidelity models. It’s makes it one of the most interesting series to look back on and compare entries. Even games like “A Link Between Worlds” has a fresh and interesting art style that’s different to other games in the series. It’s been a big reason that Zelda has managed to stay fresh for so long since there’s always something new to try out with the series from a visual and gameplay perspective.

@Lanmanna The original trailer ended with Link looking back and giving a long wink that was kinda cringy and felt really unnatural, even with the excuses of a cartoon environment. It may have shifted the tone of the game /too/ much for my taste. Not helped by the fact the weak animation of the trailer to begin with.

@Mgalens Seeing the whole of the Great Sea was a BIG help, yes. The improved presentation also helped.

@NintendoJunkie nah fam. The scan everything mechanic was interesting, you don’t know what you’re talking about.

@Spoony_Tech Ah cool, a gaming vet. 🙂 Guess I would’ve been… 18? (“Sadly” That’s hilarious, ha!) But yeah, glad you liked the style right away. As I mentioned, though my memory is hazy, I don’t think it took me long to embrace it. Then again I still hadn’t really experienced a full Zelda game on my own yet, so I didn’t take the change too personally… maybe? I’ll have to dig into my old repressed memories a little deeper lol.

EDIT: OK I didn’t finish it, but I guess I had already played a good chunk of Link’s Awakening by that point.

Interesting, I thought I read somewhere that Miyamoto pushed this design but I guess that's because he had to.