Early glimpses of the upcoming open world ‘Legend of Zelda’ title on the Wii U have shown off that the game will be quite expansive. However, according to a recent interview by Gamereactor Magazine with producer Eiji Aonuma, the world will be as big as it can possibly be on the Wii U.

“A huge, seamlessly unfolding world is something that can’t be achieved if the hardware isn’t advanced enough,” Aonuma stated to Gamereactor Magazine. “Ever since we made the very first generation of Legend of Zelda games though, we’ve had as large a world as can be realized with the hardware, so you could say it was inevitable that we’ve now done the same with the new Wii U title.”

Aonuma also commented further on reactions to the new ‘Legend of Zelda’ title’s switch from the series’ more linear structure to its now fully open world gameplay structure.

“When I first showed off the new Zelda game on the Wii U, it seemed everyone was very excited and started proclaiming that a Zelda game had at last become open world! Zelda games have always allowed you to roam and explore a huge world.”

According to Aonuma, the Wii U itself is what is responsible the ‘Legend of Zelda’ to go fully open world.  “What’s changed now is that the hardware has progressed to the point that you can now explore this vast world seamlessly; the underpinning of the game hasn’t changed,” he explained.

‘Legend of Zelda’ for the Wii U was first unveiled during E3 2014. Very little has been revealed about the game in terms of its story. However, what has been more of the talk of the town is its open world gameplay structure, which is a first in the long running series’ history. With prior games taking on a more open but linear approach, this newest ‘Legend of Zelda’ title is very much a step in a different direction for the series.

The newest ‘Legend of Zelda’ does not have an official release date yet, but it is expected to release on the Wii U sometime in 2015. 

Source: Gamereactor Magazine