‘The Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild’ Director Reveals What Open Air Means & Talks Sequels

The Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild is described as an open-air game, and Nintendo director Eiji Aonuma recently told Nikkei exactly what that means. Translation from Japanese Nintendo also reveals Aonuma’s thoughts on sequels to the popular title.

Speaking first to Breath Of The Wild’s open-air quality, Aonuma reflected on how 1998’s Ocarina Of Time was very much a first implementation of the concept. The game allowed players to explore a version of Hyrule that was expansive and freely accessible, but that vision also had a few roadblocks. In his words, its dungeon progression system pushed players down “routes” to take them to new areas without fear of getting lost.

Read: Breath Of The Wild’s First DLC Pack Fully Detailed By Nintendo

“At the time I thought [routes] were the right thing,” he said. “However, as we stacked on the series, ‘not getting lost’ would produce feelings of blockages like ‘cannot do anything but that’ or ‘cannot run away,’ so more and more people felt dissatisfied with that.” To Aonuma, open-air represents a release from those shortcomings. In other words, he believes “you can freely explore a vast world connected seamlessly, and you can progress to find out your own ‘answer.’”

With that open-air roadmap firmly established as a popular formula, gamers everywhere are dying to know what’s next for the franchise. Aonuma obviously declined to talk the specifics of sequels at this time, but he did say he hopes to “continue reinventing the series” by “removing frustrations and providing surprises that exceed everyone’s expectations.”

These words align with statements published in April’s Famitsu. In that publication, Aonuma suggested open-air Zelda games mark a turning point for his upcoming projects. “I think that, in the future, open-air games will be the standard for Zelda,” Aonuma said.

Before a Breath Of The Wild followup can arrive, however, the game’s DLC must be released first. Last week Nintendo detailed the title’s first major content offering for those who purchased the $20 add-on. Its perks include a hard mode, map tracking features and a bunch of equipment that offers known and unknown advantages. Later this year, a larger content drop will feature a new dungeon and story to explore.

Read: Breath Of The Wild Devs Discuss Their Favorite Levels & Favorite Food

The Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild released this March to universal critical praise, and its momentum has yet to slow down. Even Aonuma was quick to note that the game’s unique qualities are responsible for it being “welcomed with such enthusiasm” by everyone who’s played it. Our affiliates at iDigitalTimes gave the game a perfect review score of five stars, and it’s already on many shortlists for 2017’s game of the year.

The Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild is available now on Nintendo Switch and Wii U.

What do you think of Breath Of The Wild’s open-air qualities? How might they be embellished in a hypothetical sequel? Tell us in the comments section!