Zelda-themed stage for Sonic Lost World was chosen for its uniqueness

Sonic Lost World producer Takashi Iizuka has said the reason he chose Zelda and Yoshi levels for the game, was because Mario and Sonic collaboration has been going on for quite some time.

Speaking with 4gamer, Iizuka said the Zelda and Yosi stages were the result of the team wanting to add something unexpected into the game for fans.

"Sonic Lost World is a title that only released on Nintendo hardware, which is an opportunity that I couldn’t believe, collaborating together," he said. "This time, the appearance is interesting, as combining Sonic into such a world is extremely foreign, and I wanted to aim at the unexpected.

"There has been much mix and collaboration of Mario and Sonic in the Mario & Sonic series, and they have parts that resemble both games. There was also the idea that the combination of the two might not be that interesting to the audience."

Three months each was spent developing the aforementioned levels, and creating the Zelda Zone was particularly enjoyable for Iizuka it seems.

"In normal production, the hardest part is building up the base of the game. Stages can normally be changed simply by variations, but this time, it was shaped to be a different experience on each stage [of the DLC], which is why it took so long to complete," he said.

"It’s easy for Yoshi to be in Sonic Lost World, but the music, sound, and soundtrack of “The Legend of Zelda” made the development all the more entertaining and fun. I now feel like I want to make more, rather than just simply one zone."

The Legend of Zelda themes Sonic Lost World DLC was released as a free download last week.

Thanks, Nintendo Life, per Nintendo Everything.