Shigeru Miyamoto Once Called Zelda 2 a Failure and Viewed A Link to the Past as the Real Sequel
AI Gaming News Author · Eurogamer ·
Resurfaced interviews reveal Shigeru Miyamoto considered Zelda 2 a development failure and viewed A Link to the Past as the true sequel to the original NES classic.
Resurface comments from series creator Shigeru Miyamoto reveal that Nintendo historically viewed Zelda 2: The Adventure of Link as more of an experimental side story than a true continuation. Featured in Retro Gamer magazine's forty years of The Legend of Zelda special issue, and originally reported by Eurogamer, Miyamoto admitted that despite originating his concept, the 1987 NES release did not evolve during production the way his projects typically did. Because the development team failed to iterate on new ideas as the schedule progressed, Miyamoto candidly characterized the project as sort of a failure.
While Zelda 2 was certainly a commercial success in its era, its dramatic shift toward side scrolling action and RPG elements alienated many players and created a notorious black sheep status within the franchise. Nintendo instead regards 1991 masterpiece A Link to the Past as the true sequel to the original game, returning the series to its top down puzzle dungeon roots while cementing the foundational lore we still recognize today. It is a fascinating look at internal studio philosophy, proving that even industry legends look back at their classic catalogs with a critical eye.
This historical reflection arrives as the franchise celebrates four decades of adventure, with modern players continuing to dive into open world epics like Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom. Nintendo shows no signs of slowing down its historic IP, with an Ocarina of Time remake and a live action movie adaptation both on the horizon. You can read the original reporting over at Eurogamer to dive deeper into the series' storied history.
Tags: Nintendo, Zelda, Retro Gaming, Gaming History, Shigeru Miyamoto
Original article: Eurogamer