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Aounuma should be fired

Dio

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Aounuma has been the main man behind Zelda for a very long time, we have had some great games made under his supervision yet it has been many years since he has made a title that has truly delivered.

In his interviews he also seems not to have very much knowledge about the lore of his own games and lacks a clear direction, often giving vague answers in relation to series lore suggesting what could be rather than what is.

He seems like a loveable chap but from a business perspective he should be fired and someone put at the helm who will make games that sell and have a clear direction.

Do you think it is time for a new leadership and team to take the series in a different direction or are you satisfied with where the series is going and wish to ride with it through the U bend?
 

ABC

Joined
Jul 18, 2012
ALBW was released 1.5 years ago and has been amazing. I don't think he should be fired. I don't know what you mean by "it has been many years" but SS and TP both delivered as well.
 

Iridescence

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He gave us much of Majora's Mask and Wind Waker. Twilight Princess was purely fan service - he didn't want to make that game to begin with. I will agree that that Skyward Sword (which I loved) and the DS games had some misdirection. The common complaint at the time, keep in mind, was that people were getting too lost in Zelda - so he made the games more linear.

His last release (ALBW) was great and his upcoming release (Zelda U) looks fantastic. Let's at least wait until Zelda U comes out before we even think about letting him go. I think the good outweighs the bad.
 

ABC

Joined
Jul 18, 2012
The first Zelda game he was a part of was Ocarina of Time, since then he has worked with the series for about 17 years, that is a pretty long time.

I know, but OP wrote "it has been many years since he has made a title that has truly delivered." so I assumed OP was referring to anything after Wind Waker.
 

Spiritual Mask Salesman

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I know, but OP wrote "it has been many years since he has made a title that has truly delivered." so I assumed OP was referring to anything after Wind Waker.
Well that really depends on G-King's opinion, maybe he doesn't like Wind Waker so starts counting the years from Majora's Mask up? Twilight Princess was decent but not nearly as popular as it could have been. Skyward Sword is controversial because it appealed to some fans but not to others, because of the split on fan's opinions on it I wouldn't say it delivered.
 
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Why? Just because he made a couple questionable games? By that logic most of the game developers at Ninty should be fired. Not every game will be a winner and not every game will be a hit with individuals. He's given us OoT, MM, ALBW, TP, Smash Bros, etc.

Besides, the lore of Zelda was a tangled mess until recently...actually I still consider it a mess.
 
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The common complaint at the time, keep in mind, was that people were getting too lost in Zelda - so he made the games more linear.

Really, I don't get how this can even be a grievance to factor into things now. At the time, if "the time" was back when OoT came out, maybe. But nowadays, people who insist on figuring things themselves will do so, and people who don't will just look it up, so being "lost" isn't a thing anymore. So hopefully their design philosophy won't be so misguided from now on.
 

Iridescence

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Aunoma did say that he realized players enjoyed being lost and wanted to emphasize less linearity. That's why ALBW was one of the least linear entries in the series and Zelda U is heading that direction as well.

Why even be worried based on what we've seen from Aunoma in the past 2 years?
 

Jamie

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People throw around "fired" so easily. Fired? For what? He's been working with Nintendo for 20 years. Move him to a different position? Maybe. Strip him of all his income, give him no severance, and basically treat him like garbage despite decades of work? No lol
 

Lozjam

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May 24, 2015
I think age and retirement will determine his fate at Nintendo more than the success of any LoZ game will.
I think Aonuma plans to retire after Zelda U anyway.
Aonuma said:
Honestly, I'm getting to the point in my career where I have to think about what sorts of things I want to do and how much time I have left before retirement. I've certainly enjoyed all the time that I've spent working on Zelda games, even when it's a struggle, I've absolutely enjoyed it. But I'm probably not too far from retirement. I should start to think about a successor, someone who can take over all of this. That's a very important decision, but that's one of the things that is bouncing around in my head on a daily basis as I work.
http://www.zeldainformer.com/news/aonuma-says-retirement-is-not-too-far-off-considering-successor
Aonuma said:
I always make these games with the thought that this is going to be my last. However, every time we finish work on it, I always still have regrets, wishing that we could do this or that, and end up wanting to make another Zelda game. I guess that could come to a close if I finally make a perfect game, but perhaps I would not be able to create such a thing even if I spent my whole life on it. However, I know I won’t be able to keep working as a developer forever, so I really would like to create something as close to perfection as possible not too far into the future and be able to retire with no regrets.
http://www.nintendolife.com/news/20...to_zelda_in_the_hope_of_making_a_perfect_game

So Zelda U could very well be Aonuma's last game, that he wants to be absolutely perfect.
We will just have to see if Zelda U is good enough for both us and Aonuma. I love the work he has done with the series, but I think he is very tired of the Zelda series. That in turn, makes games uninspired, and dull(Twilight Princess, and Skyward Sword very much come to mind with this franchise fatigue). I think it will be time to let someone else take the reigns, and I think Aonuma already has someone planned to take that role right now.
 

Iridescence

Emancipated Wind Fish
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Location
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Sometimes I don't think this generation knows what it means to work on problems rather than to completely throw them in the garbage. When there's a problem in a relationship, standard advice is "oh, dump him/her".

What's wrong with just working with Aunoma to get a better product rather than firing him?
 

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