Zelda: The Directors Behind the Games

When one thinks of the directors behind The Legend of Zelda games today, two names come to mind: Eiji Aonuma, who is now famous for overseeing the franchise as a whole and directing many of its games, and Hidemaro Fujibayashi, who people now know as the director behind Zelda: Breath of the Wild.

The Zelda games have enjoyed many directors over the years, though, and while Aonuma and Fujibayashi may be the most famous, some of the most interesting games have actually been handled by other individuals.

Here's a look at the directors behind The Legend of Zelda series, and how many games they've directed.

Hidemaro Fujibayashi (5 games)

• The Legend of Zelda: Oracles of Ages/Seasons 
• The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords
• The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap
• The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
• The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

Eiji Aonuma (4 games)

• The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (with Yoichi Yamada)*
• The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask
• The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
• The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess

Takashi Tezuka (3 games)

• The Legend of Zelda (with Shigeru Miyamoto)
• The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
• The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening

Daiki Iwamoto (2 games)

• The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass
• The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks

Hiromasa Shikata (2 games)

• The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds
• The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes

Tadashi Sugiyama (1 game)

• Zelda II: The Adventure of Link (with Yoichi Yamada)

Toshiaki Suzuki (1 game)

• The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures

* Ocarina of Time has a number of directors associated with it, each responsible for a different aspect of the game. Aonuma is listed as a “Game System Director” along with Yoichi Yamada.

Images courtesy of Nintendo's Iwata Asks website. Information sourced via Nintendo game credits.