Hoping for a Mario-Maker-style Zelda game? Too bad, Nintendo isn't interested
No Zelda Maker for us anytime soon.
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You're going to have to dash your dreams of a Mario-Maker-like Zelda game, as series producer Eiji Aonuma doesn't think it would be a good fit.
Super Mario Maker is maybe one of the best concepts for a 2D platformer ever. Making your own Mario levels, that can be as wacky or nightmarish as you want? It's perfect for a series that has a history of fanmade challenge levels, and fits within the general spirit of Mario. Of course, lots of fans have been asking for a Zelda Maker in the meantime, as the idea of making your own dungeons and world maps is pretty enticing too. Unfortunately, such a game hasn't materialised, and likely never will. As in a recent interview with Polygon, Aonuma shared why he thinks a Zelda Maker just wouldn't work.
When asked if there was any chance we could see a game that would focus on people making their own Zelda dungeons, Aonuma responded, "When we’re creating games like Tears of the Kingdom, I think it’s important that we don’t make creativity a requirement. Instead we put things into the game that encourage people to be creative, and give them the opportunity to be creative, without forcing them to.
"There are people who want the ability to create from scratch, but that’s not everyone. But I think everyone delights in the discovery of finding your own way through a game, and that is something we tried to make sure was included in Tears of the Kingdom; there isn’t one right way to play. If you are a creative person, you have the ability to go down that path. But that’s not what you have to do; you’re also able to proceed to the game in many other different ways. And so I don’t think that it would be a good fit for The Legend of Zelda to necessarily require people to build things from scratch and force them to be creative."
To be fair to Aonuma, this is actually quite a thoughtful response. Tears of the Kingdom does let you make pretty much whatever your imagination can come up with, but like he says, it's not a requirement for beating the game. After all, the open world adventure game does give you literal blueprints to make all manner of contraptions, so if imagination isn't your strong suit, you don't have much to worry about.
Still, the Link's Awakening remake did have a new feature which let you make your own dungeons, though it wasn't as fleshed out as Mario Maker. Maybe one day…