Nakago: This is a bit of a digression, but…

Iwata: By all means. (laughs)

Nakago: (flipping through the file in front of him) After we talked about New Super Mario Bros. Wii for “Iwata Asks,” I decided to see whether what we said was accurate or not.

Iwata: Oh, you dug up some old documents.

Nakago: These are the first specifications for Zelda.

Iwata: Oh, wow! It’s got Miyamoto-san’s personal seal on it!

Nakago: It says “adventure.” Over the course of these few pages it doesn’t just talk about the overall structure of Zelda, but also items and enemies.

Iwata: Was Zelda called Adventure at first?

Tezuka: I think “Adventure Mario” was written on the file binding these specifications.

Iwata: It’s for Zelda, but it says “Adventure Mario”?

Nakago: It always said “adventure.” Whether it was “Mario” or “Zelda.” On the second page, for items, it mentions compasses, bows and arrows, boomerangs, and gold and silver.

Aonuma: Cool…

Nakago: On the third page, labelled “Enemies,” it says “Hakkai.” I think that became Ganon.(Editor’s note: The Hakkai reference must be from “Chohakkai” (which is the Japanese name, and called “Zhu Balie” in Chinese), a pig-like character that appeared in the 16th century Chinese novel “Xi Yóu Jì” (“Saiyuki” in Japanese). He is typically portrayed with having a pig’s head. This story is popular in Japanese culture.)

Iwata: Ganon was Hakkai?

Aonuma: It says “Bull Demon King” here. Is that Ganon? And it says “octopus.” That must be the Octorok, right? Wow… And “Eyeball” must be Gohma.

Tezuka: That square bit at the top indicates the size of the characters.

Iwata: Oh, it’s two by two. So this enemy should be two by four. It includes how to actually design it from the very beginning.

Nakago: And it has notes designating things as small, medium-sized, or large.