TITLE
The direct influence of Twin Peaks on Zelda
AUTHOR
Scott Meslow
PUBLICATION
The Verge
YEAR
2024
ARTICLE TYPE
Interview
FROM THE ARTICLE
The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening has been a Nintendo classic for so long that it’s easy to forget how weird it felt when it dropped for the Game Boy in 1993. Originally conceived as a straightforward port of the Super Nintendo’s A Link to the Past — which itself had been a return to the mean after 1987’s divisive sidescroller Zelda II: The Adventure of Link — Link’s Awakening could have been a safe, solid extension of a proven Nintendo brand, like the Game Boy versions of Mega Man, Metroid, or Castlevania that preceded it.While its gameplay closely resembles A Link to the Past, Link’s Awakening is something stranger. The journey is set not in the kingdom of Hyrule like the rest of the games, but on a mysterious island whose most prominent landmark is a mountain with a giant spotted egg on it. Apart from Link, no major characters — including series villain Ganon and the eponymous Princess Zelda — appear in this Zelda game.
[…]
In a 2010 interview, Link’s Awakening director Takashi Tezuka revealed the inspiration for this memorably bizarre cast of characters. “At the time, Twin Peaks was rather popular. The drama was all about a small number of characters in a small town,” Tezuka said. “So I wanted to make something like that, while it would be small enough in scope to easily understand, it would have deep and distinctive characteristics.”
GAMES MENTIONED
The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening
PEOPLE MENTIONED
Mark Frost
Takashi Tezuka