Link’s Face is Special?! Interview: “Nendoroid Link: The Wind Waker Ver.” Planning & Production Heads!

Nendoroid figures don't just look cool!

As mentioned in a previous piece, Link, the protagonist of the series The Legend of Zelda, is being made into a Nendoroid figure. As the product name “Nendoroid Link: The Wind Waker Ver.” suggests, it’s a Nendoroid figure of the so-called “Cat-Eye Link” or “Toon Link” and comes with parts such as the Hero’s Sword, the Hero’s Shield, a Heart Container and the Wind Waker. Another special feature is that it includes very expressive face parts typical of The Wind Waker, such as a “smiling face,” “attack face” and “anxious face.” Link is a long-awaited addition among the numerous Nendoroid adaptations of Nintendo characters, such as Isabelle from Animal Crossing: New Leaf and Luigi from Super Mario Bros. As a fan of The Legend of Zelda myself, there are many things I can’t help but be interested in, such as what led up to a Link Nendoroid and why they went with toon Link. So, to clear up these questions (and not just for my own curiosity), I went and interviewed people in charge at Good Smile Company. Keep reading to hear behind-the-scenes stories about the production of the detailed Nendoroid Link figure and each of its parts!

■ Profile

Kyojin (photo left)
Head of planning for Nendoroid.

Mesuka (photo right)
Head of production for Nendoroid.

Asking everything from Link’s production to memories of Zelda !

──Please start by telling us what led up to this Nendoroid adaptation of Link.

Kyojin: We’ve had more opportunities recently to adapt Nintendo characters into Nendoroid figures, such as Luigi or Isabelle from Animal Crossing: New Leaf. So when we thought about which character really represents Nintendo, we came up with Link. Since there are various versions of Link, we thought about which Link to make into a Nendoroid. You don’t hear much about toon Link being made into a figure and we thought he had a good compatibility with Nendoroid, so we approached Nintendo about it. Also, figma was releasing a Skyward Sword version of Link, so we wanted to differentiate ourselves from that.

──So the idea came from Good Smile Company then?

Kyojin: Right. When we were planning it, it was right when we found out that The Wind Waker HD was going to be released and we thought about releasing the figure alongside it, but there was a lot of attention paid to the specifications and prototype, so we ended up missing that time frame... [laughs] But, because of that, I think it turned out well.

Mesuka: Sorry about that. [laughs]

──[laughs] I’d love to hear the war stories about that part of the process. What were the most problematic parts of production?

Mesuka: Even within The Legend of Zelda, Link has several different looks, but outside of that as well, the features of his face change little by little with each title, such as with the Smash Bros. series. On top of that, fans of Link each have their own image of him, and though this was based on The Wind Waker HD, people may still look at a Nendoroid for The Wind Waker and see discrepancies, thinking “My Link’s not like that!” Because of that, we took a lot of pains to find a good balance that embodied everyone’s idea of Link.

──The base is definitely The Wind Waker HD, but there are different arrangements.

Mesuka: For example, for the shape of the hair we adjusted it over and over to bring out a rounder image like the Link in titles such as the latest Smash Bros. while keeping a polygonal feel to it like in the original version.

──You tried to bring together all of the looks while keeping the base as The Wind Waker HD?

Mesuka: We did. Because of that, we looked at each and every illustration from the series and closely compared the features and differences of the regular Link and toon Link.

──That, that sounds very difficult... What are the steps to producing a Nendoroid figure?

Kyojin: First, we start by saying to the character’s publisher, “We’d like to make this character into a Nendoroid,” and getting their permission. On the planning end, we come up with ideas about what parts we want to include and as it enters the production stage, we keep ironing out the plan. After that, it goes into actual production and the prototype starts getting made, and I’ll let Mesuka talk about the prototype.

Mesuka: [Laughs] There are many prototype designers in the company, but there was a subcontractor who was a fan of Zelda, so we asked that person to take this one on. That person happened to use 3D data to make the prototype, so after putting in corrections and adjustments to the finished data, the prototype is printed on a 3D printer. However, even at that stage, there are places where the shape doesn’t work or it’s different from what was pictured, so adding more and more corrections, colored versions keep being made that are close to the finished product.

──I see. Do some of the ideas for the facial expressions and other parts come from Kyojin?

Mesuka: Not some, but all of the parts are decided by Kyojin, right?

Kyojin: Right. The ideas for the facial expressions, the Hero’s Sword and the Wind Waker came from me.

──Even the spinning slash effect?

Kyojin: Right, right. The sword and such were simple to do since they’re fully formed in the game to begin with, but we struggled with how to make the spinning slash effect into a part. It was bigger in the early production stages.

Mesuka: If we used the exact same proportion between Link and the effect that’s used in the game, it would be quite large. Thinking there was no way it could be that size, we tried printing it out on a 3D printer and, just as we thought, it was so big it couldn’t even fit in the Nendoroid box. [laughs] So, though we made it smaller, we kept it looking as much as possible like the spinning slash effect in the game.

──That’s amazing that it couldn’t fit in the box. [laughs] Link has various different actions, I believe, so why the spinning slash?

Kyojin: If it’s Zelda, it has to have the spinning slash, right? [laughs]

──I see what you mean. [laughs]

Kyojin: This is the first Link for Nendoroid, so we wanted to include parts that weren’t just in The Wind Waker, but also parts common to the entire series, such as the Heart Container and the spinning slash. With that, there might be slightly less of a Wind Waker element.

──Now that you mention it, that’s true.

Kyojin: Personally, as something just from The Wind Waker, I wanted to include the leaf used when flying (the Deku Leaf). But there’s a price range for Nendoroid figures, and we have to choose parts in line with that, so for that reason, we stayed with things that were more orthodox.

──The Deku Leaf! There are a lot of things you can picture from that, like the flying pose or waving the leaf... At the idea stage, were there things that you wanted to include?

Kyojin: In the beginning, I made a list full of things I thought it would be fun to include, and narrowed it down from there. At the idea stage, we also had a bow and arrow and a bomb. Also, toon Link is full of expressions, so there were various other expressions chosen. The parts that are chosen were carefully selected from there.

──Even so, it feels as though there are more parts than the normal Nendoroid figure.

Kyojin: There aren’t many that have four expressions. And the eyes are open on each one.

Mesuka: This is kind of internal information, but it takes more time for the factory to produce something with the eyes open, so with other Nendoroid figures, there is usually an expression that has closed eyes. In that sense, it’s pretty rare for something to have four open-eyed expressions.

Kyojin: Aside from that, there aren’t that many of the other parts.

Mesuka: I think it might seem that way since the items are impressive. There aren’t that many different arm parts and such.

──When this Nendoroid Link was announced, what kind of reaction and feedback was there?

Kyojin: A lot of people reacted, saying “My Link is coming out!” The Legend of Zelda has a lot of popularity overseas, so I was both nervous and excited to see what kind of reaction there would be to toon Link, but we had an amazing response there and people were hoping for it overseas as well, so I was relieved.

──Nendoroid are also sold overseas, aren’t they?

Kyojin: We are currently putting effort into expanding overseas. The percentage of overseas sales have gone up and we’ve even opened a specialized department. Nintendo products are very popular in North America.

──That’s true. Are characters like Isabelle from Animal Crossing: New Leaf popular as well?

Kyojin: Isabelle is clearly much more popular here. [laughs] For Nendoroid, it’s Luigi. Also, among the figma figures, Link and Samus are incredibly popular.

──Was there anything difficult for Link in particular, that other Nendoroids didn’t have?

Mesuka: Actually, the shape of most Nendoroid faces are the same, but Link’s face was different from the other Nendoroids, so we had to create a special shape to bring Link’s expressions to life. With Nendoroid, one of the features is that the parts are interchangeable and you can put one figure’s expression onto a completely different figure, but Link has long ears, so his faces wouldn’t fit on some characters.

──In what ways exactly is his face different?

Mesuka: Link’s eyes are bigger than other characters, and so the angle of his face was completely different from the bishoujo characters we often have as Nendoroid figures. We had to do the face over and over again to make it resemble the style of the game. [laughs]

Kyojin: For regular Nendoroid figures, even if the character changes, the face kind of stays the same and doesn’t change that much.

Mesuka: Even if the expression changes, there are a lot where the eye area doesn’t really change, but we had to adjust that for Link, which took some time.

──What was the input like from Nintendo?

Kyojin: They very willingly gave feedback. Nintendo was very detailed in their input and it felt like we were creating the figure together. In particular, we were able to have several exchanges about the Heart Container.

Mesuka: The red part of the Heart Container is made with a clear material so you can see through it, but at first it was painted in a non-transparent red paint. Which, if you’re just thinking of color production, produces a prettier red. We had a request from Nintendo saying to make the red transparent like in the game, so we made it clear, and as a result, I think the Zelda fans were pleased.

──I see. The Heart Containers in the recent Zelda games certainly look transparent. After this, the figure will be released and I think everyone will have fun with it in different ways, but do you have any particular hopes for that, such as a certain place you’d like it to be displayed or played with?

Kyojin: Some place like the sea would be nice, wouldn’t it? Doing things like putting him on a boat. I feel like it would be more true to Link to take him outdoors. A place that looks like a dungeon in the game might also be good.

──There are various ways you can photograph him to look like he’s on an adventure.

Kyojin: My personal favorite expression of his is the vigilant one (pictured below).

Mesuka: Me too!

Kyojin: If you put him up against a wall, it makes it seem like he’s peeking at something. [laughs]

──That sounds very much like The Wind Waker, which is great!

Mesuka: But, the ordinary kind of expressions were more difficult than one like this. Bishoujo and anime characters have pupils and light is shown in the black part as white circular highlights. Having that makes the expression more lively, but Link’s eyes are completely black. This kind of black eye normally looks as though it doesn’t have any life in it, so we had a lot of difficulty bringing out the expressions while bringing out the eyes.

──If you look really closely at the eyes, there is a gradation, isn’t there?

Mesuka: Right. In order to make it not look frightening, we made adjustments with the gray shadow that’s in the white part of the eyes.

──Oh. I just realized this, but the tip of the hat turns, doesn’t it?

Kyojin: Right. Just slightly. [laughs] How to depict the hat was something we spent time on as well. When you picture Link, I think you can see the hat from the front, but when we tried to capture that, the head would get too big and such.

──Oh, I see. That’s a Nendoroid kind of difficulty, isn’t it... The raised-arm pose is good, isn’t it? When he has an item in his hand, you can almost hear that sound.

Kyojin: I actually wanted his hand to go straight up, but it was too difficult, so we gave that up.

Mesuka: The Nendoroid heads are big, so the arm can’t go straight up.

Kyojin: Because of that, we tried to make it look as close to straight as possible. Also, I hope that anyone holding it will have the image corrected in their brain. [laughs]

──By the way, were the two of you both familiar with The Legend of Zelda to begin with?

Kyojin: Yes. For me, ever since the Disk System days.

──Since the first game! Did you play any of The Wind Waker or other games in the series to produce the figure?

Kyojin: No, I haven’t played it. I clearly remember my friend playing The Wind Waker. It was like animation, so it was fun just to watch. Also, since The Wind Waker HD had not yet been released when we were planning the figure, I used the photographs from the Nintendo home page and a strategy book for the GameCube version for reference. [laughs]

──How about you, Mesuka?

Mesuka: I played a little a long time ago, and I mostly just watched my little brother play.

──So, you really had to become familiar with from square one.

Mesuka: I knew about toon Link, but it was my first time really researching and looking at him and I wasn’t used to his unique appearance, like the cat eyes. [laughs] But, in the process of making the figure, I strangely started to find toon Link to be the cutest one. [laughs]

──Like having a soft spot for your child. [laughs] Building on that, if you have a favorite game in The Legend of Zelda series, would you be able to share that with us?

Kyojin: The ones that have stayed with me are the first Zelda on the Disk System and the Super Nintendo Zelda (*The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past*), but my favorite... probably The Adventure of Link.

── The Adventure of Link! That’s tough. [laughs]

Kyojin: That game was pretty hard, wasn’t it? Moving the shield up and down. I was in elementary school at the time, and I liked difficult games, so I liked the level of difficulty in it. I also liked Kid Icarus. [laughs]

──You like only hard ones. [laughs]

Kyojin: If I played them now, I probably couldn’t do it. [laughs]

──[laughs] Mesuka, you mentioned that you haven’t really played the games, but do you have any memories or anything regarding Zelda?

Mesuka: I only played a little bit a long time ago, but for characters, Tingle stayed with me. [laughs]

──He definitely does leave an impression, for various reason. [laughs] If you made a Tingle Nendoroid, the major fans would be pleased…

Mesuka: With his long face, I think we’d have to change it even more than we did with Link, which would be very difficult. [laughs]

──Having made Link, would you like to make any other characters in the Zelda series?

Kyojin: I’d like to. I’d like to try to make a non-toon regular version of Link. That being said, it’s just a wish of mine and it’s not that we’re actually going to do it. [laughs]

──May I ask if there are any other Nintendo characters that you will be making into Nendoroid figures?

Kyojin: We can’t say anything yet, but we’re thinking about different ones, so please look forward to that.

──I have high hopes! Finally, could we have a message for any readers who are looking forward to Nendoroid Link?

Mesuka: I don’t think there are many toon Link figures. I think you’ll be able to move it like in the game and have as much fun as you like, so please by all means try it out.

Kyojin: There are several expressions, so I hope you’ll change them according to your mood. Also, if you take him outside, I think you’ll be able to get a taste of going on an adventure with Link.

Small Nendoroid Link gallery

With that, I hope you enjoyed the interview. I would be very happy if you’ve become more interested in Nendoroid Link or The Legend of Zelda. By the way, various shopping sites are currently (as of May 19, 2014) accepting pre-orders for Nendoroid Link. It’s common for Nendoroid figures to sell out quickly, so I recommend reserving yours soon. I have of course already reserved mine! I’ll keep mine on my desk with his vigilant expression!

© 2002-2013 Nintendo, Licensed by Nintendo
© 2002-2013 Nintendo
© 1986-2011 Nintendo
© 1987-2011 Nintendo

Good Smile Company Official Site
Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD Office Site

Source: famitsu.com
Source article written by Sekai Sandai Miyokawa