Legend of Zelda's longtime producer Eiji Aonuma has recently been doing the press rounds to promote the new entry Echoes of Wisdom, but he's also been discussing the design philosophy of the Zelda series in general.
Speaking to Washington Post reporter Gene Park recently, Aonuma shared one rather interesting fact, mentioning how his teams always prioritise the gameplay with stories then used as a vessel. Here's exactly what he had to say:
Eiji Aonuma: "I've never really made a game where you think of the story first and then go into gameplay. First when you think of the gameplay, what you're trying to think of after that is how you can get players to understand that gameplay.
"The story becomes used as a vessel because it has a beginning and end, and the player moves through it. I think it would actually be kind of difficult to do the reverse and start with the story then try to match the gameplay mecahnics to that."
If you look back on the Zelda series, the games are balanced out with thoughtful mechanics and puzzles, and a world (filled with all sorts of exciting landmarks and NPCs) that help build the narrative.
In a separate interview recently, Nintendo has explained the thought process behind the menu system in Echoes of Wisdom.