Wakai:
Connecting the ground and the skies seamlessly also presented difficulties from a sound perspective.
Dohta:
Yes, the sound staff often pressed the programmers to clarify where the dividing line between the surface and the skies was.
Wakai:
Sound transitions are done seamlessly as well, but the background music in particular needs to change according to the situation. Because of this, we need to place transition triggers to indicate where the music should switch.
Dohta:
I’d never needed to consider where the sky begins before, so I had to think about it. (Laughs)
Everyone:
(Laughs)
Wakai:
Also, it was difficult to find a fitting sound for the sky.
Takizawa:
I guess it’s because the sky is a scene we’ve all only ever witnessed from inside an airplane, right?
Wakai:
Exactly. I knew what “flying in the sky” sounded like, but the request was for an “island in the sky”. (Laughs)
Aonuma:
After all, no one has ever been to an island in the sky.
We’ve only discussed the skies, but this title has its dungeons too, right?
Fujibayashi:
Yes, we haven’t talked about the dungeons yet. They’ve changed from the previous game. For example, there is a dungeon that connects directly from Hyrule’s surface. If you dive from the sky straight into the dungeon, you’ll trigger an event. We think this will be a new experience that wasn’t possible in the previous game.
Dohta:
We’ve made dungeons unique to their respective environments, so we think you’ll be able to enjoy the wide variety of regional characteristics.
Takizawa:
Making a “wide variety” was pretty challenging. The four Divine Beasts were the dungeons in the last game, and they shared similar designs. This time, the dungeons are huge and each carry their own regional look and feel, just like traditional The Legend of Zelda games. We think they will provide a satisfying challenge for players. They were certainly a challenge to develop! (Laughs)
Look forward to Chapter 4 coming May 11th!

