It is one of the great classics in the history of video games, the unparalleled masterpiece of The Legend of Zelda, a marvel that set the path for how other 3D games should follow: I am talking, of course, about Ocarina of Time, the wonder for Nintendo 64 that appeared in 1998 and has influenced the industry ever since. And yet, Shigeru Miyamoto, its producer, was not entirely sure about it.
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And the thing is, back in the day, Ocarina of Time was supposed to be released at the end of 1997, but Nintendo started to delay it several times, and it seemed without apparent reason. However, Shigeru Miyamoto, at the time, told Famitsu magazine the truth: “The delay of Zelda is partially due to Banjo. It’s so incredible that we don’t want it to beat us“.
Exactly: Miyamoto was afraid of Banjo-Kazooie, the Nintendo 64 game that appeared four months earlier. In fact, he was an absolute fan of the game, even stating that if Mario were a “makunouchi bento” (a typical Japanese meal), Banjo was a “makunouchi bento deluxe” (meaning, with more food and more variety). He stated in Famitsu that once you started it, you couldn’t stop. It’s not often you see someone in the industry speaking so highly of something they didn’t create themselves, to be honest.
He was referring to the fact that, according to him, it has a better 3D system than Mario 64, and at Rare they even invented new technology to improve the system. “For example, they have many enemies on screen at the same time”. Of course, this was not the only reason why Ocarina of Time kept getting postponed: it had to switch from disk for the Nintendo 64DD to cartridge, they had to finish Yoshi’s Story first, etcetera… But it’s always interesting to see how even the most powerful can feel a fear born out of respect. And, frankly… both are truly great games. There was no need to fight.
