Last month at Japan Expo in Paris, producer Eiji Aonuma conducted a masterclass panel called The Art of Zelda. The panel consists of “Breath of the Wild’s” illustrator, Yusuke Nakano, and artistic director, Satoru Takizawa. The hour-long presentation detailed how the Zelda games ended up looking as gorgeous and iconic as they did, which was then uploaded online with French and Japanese translations. Thanks to Nintendo UK though, English-speaking fans can now follow along.
Devs discuss Zelda art in-depth
“The Legend Of Zelda: Breath of the Wild” was fearless in reworking or cutting established Zelda elements, which is part of the reason it was such a big success, and while the game’s recent chapter got the most attention, The Art of Zelda also featured its other well-known chapters – “Twilight Princess,” “The Wind Waker,” and “Ocarina of Time.”
The Art of Zelda masterclass panel lasted for about an hour and divulged several golden nuggets involving the games’ progression and how they were enhanced over the years.
Sketches of various characters were also presented, which you can view in full below:
‘The Champions’ Ballad’ DLC details
Aonuma also revealed some tantalizing details about upcoming “Breath of the Wild” DLC. "The Champions' Ballad," the producer explained at Japan Expo, will be set after Ganon's defeat and will focus largely on Zelda. He also confirmed players will be playing as Link – contrary to fan speculation that Zelda herself would be playable, or that you'd be able to take control of the game's four champions: Mipha, Daruk, Urbosa, and Revali.
The upcoming DLC, named after the ballad played by the minstrel Kass in the core game, will also contain additional story and dungeon elements. Previously, Nintendo had announced a new unlockable item for Link - his lobster t-shirt from “The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker” will return in “The Champions' Ballad,” and another Zelda art book is on the way, focusing on “Breath of the Wild.”
Nintendo has opted to split its DLC offering for “The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild” into two substantially different chunks.
The first and already released DLC, “The Master Trials,” includes a handful of quality-of-life features, new outfits, a hard mode and a challenge trial, while the second, with its promise of a new dungeon and new story, is the bit that most people are excited for.
"The Champions' Ballad" will ship sometime during the holiday 2017 season.
