出る出る、ゼルダの伝説	deru deru, zeruda no densetsu	It’s coming, coming, The Legend of Zelda
出る出る出る出るついに出る	deru deru deru deru tsui ni deru	It’s coming, coming, coming, coming, finally coming
ゴージャス、今度の冒険	gojasu, kondo no bouken	This adventure is gorgeous!
リアル、君もすぐに体験	riaru, kimi mo sugu ni taiken	Soon you too will be able to experience the realism
憎いでやんすね、こんちくしょう	nikui de yansu ne, konchikushou	This one’s a tough one
高画質謎解きアクション	kougashitsu nazodoki akushon	Puzzle-solving action with amazing graphics
戸惑う事なく、のめり込もう	tomadou koto mo naku, nomerikomou	You’ll get caught up without getting confused
もちのろんスーパーファミコン	mochinoron suupaa famikon	It’s for the Super Famicom, of course
危ない！出た！	abunai! deta!	Watch out! It’s here!
行け！リンク！	ike! rinku!	Go, Link!
知らず知らずの真剣勝負	shirazu shirazu no shinken shoubu	A fight to the death before you know it
今宵もゼルダは最高潮	koyoi mo zeruda wa saikouchou	Zelda’s pinnacle is tonight
スーパーファミコンゼルダの伝説	suupaa famikon zeruda no densetsu	Super Famicom – The Legend of Zelda
出る出る出る出るついに出る	deru deru deru deru tsui ni deru	It’s coming, coming, coming, coming, finally coming

The Making of the Commercial – Exclusive Interview

The following is an excerpt from “Don’t tell your mothers!”, part 3 of the Yoshiaki Kuratsune interview concerning Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade from 1101, the Japanese site that brought you the Ocarina of Time Developer Interviews.

Yoshiaki Kuratsune

The creative director responsible for creating many impressive Nintendo advertisements, from a Famicom Wars commercial parodying US Marine Corps maneuvers to The Legend of Zelda commercial that featured Scha Dara Parr. Currently attached to Nintendo’s planning division, he’s more mysterious than he looks.

Link is a girl.

This musical trilogy connects the first Fire Emblem (1990) game I mentioned before to the 1991 The Legend of Zelda commercial for which we asked Scha Dara Parr to do the music. Shall we take a look? *watches the shorter version*

出る出る、ゼルダの伝説	deru deru, zeruda no densetsu	It’s coming, coming, the Legend of Zelda
出る出る出る出るついに出る	deru deru deru deru tsui ni deru	It’s coming, coming, coming, coming, finally coming
ゴージャス、今度の冒険	gojasu, kondo no bouken	This adventure is gorgeous
リアル、君もすぐに体験	riaru, kimi mo sugu ni taiken	Soon you too will be able to experience the realism
はっと行き飲む謎解きアクション	ha tto ikinomu nazotoki akushon	Puzzle-solving action that will leave you gasping
なるほど！スーパーファミコン	naruhodo! suupaa famikon	I get it! It’s for the Super Famicom
危ない！出た！	abunai! deta!	Watch out! It’s here!
行け！リンク！	ike! rinku!	Go, Link!
知らず知らずの真剣勝負	shirazu shirazu no shinken shobu	A fight to the death before you know it
今宵もゼルダは最高潮	koyoi mo zeruda ha saikouchou	Zelda’s pinnacle is tonight
スーパーファミコンゼルダの伝説	suupaa famikon zeruda no densetsu	Super Famicom – The Legend of Zelda
出る出る出る出るついに出る！	deru deru deru deru tsui ni deru	It’s coming, coming, coming, coming, finally, coming

Did you know that Link is a girl? She’s a high school student we found through our audition. Link, the hero of The Legend of Zelda, is male, but when we were thinking about how to put it into live action we decided a boyish-looking girl would be better than a real boy. The two people remaining after the final audition were this girl and current TOKIO band member Tomoya Nagase, who was still unknown at the time. Link didn’t end up being played by a professional, but when the commercial aired the girl’s popularity led to a rush of inquiries.

We asked Scha Dara Parr to do the music. We gave them keywords to put in, but they basically did their own thing. They were Nintendo fans too, so I recall the whole thing going very smoothly. I think that putting The Legend of Zelda into live action was also unusual for the time. In my opinion, it was because the amazing original games could be enjoyed by adults as well as children that we were able to do the commercials this way. Without a doubt, if the product has personality, the commercial will have personality too. The basics are in the product.

2002-03-29

The Making of the Commercial – Inside Look

The following is an excerpt from The Legend of Zelda – On the Set Report taken from the official Japanese A Link to the Past Nintendo guidebook, published in 1991 by Shogakukan.

Producer: Yoshiaki Kuratsune
Director: Yasuaki Kanemaki
Music: Scha Dara Parr

Link and Ganon dance in the middle of a giant cave set!

“It’s coming, coming, coming, coming…”

Lyrics like the words of a spell catch your ears as you turn your head towards the TV to see a dancing Link…

Now for a quick report on the set of the commercial that makes it seem as though characters have leapt from the game screen! They’ve improved the special makeup due to the dance being harder than the producer expected and created 3 puppets to play the lead bad guy, Ganon. Keep an eye open for them while you’re watching the commercial!

It’s a little tough to get dressed and undressed all by yourself. Once filming’s finished, the costumes are full of sweat.

The crocodile is cool while he’s dancing, but he seems a bit silly standing around like this. His makeup looks really difficult to do, though.

Ask the Producer

• What’s caused you the most trouble so far?

The casting, to start with. We were searching for someone who not only looked like Link but could dance, too, so it was difficult to fill the role. We chose Princess Zelda from an audition, too, but it ended up being the celebrity Yayoi Niijima.

Zelda – Yayoi Niijima

An Osaka-born celebrity who debuted as a lead in the movie Oazuke. Her record debut from Pony Canyon is set for January, 1992.

“It’s my first time appearing in a commercial, so I’ve been really looking forward to it. I’ve played Mario and sports games on the Nintendo.”

Link – ?

A 16 year old from Hyogo. An anonymous newcomer who was chosen in a 300-person audition to find someone who would suit the role of Link.

“It’s the first time I’ve ever done something like this, so I had my hands full trying not to get in the way of the people around me. I haven’t decided what I’m going to do after this, but I’m thinking that I’d really like to continue with dance.

Choreography:

1. “Kickin’ it” (x3)

Starting position: Face forward. Right hand at right side. Left hand raised and angled horizontally at elbow towards body, chest height. Legs together.

Keeping back straight Left hand pushes down, fingers splayed. Raise right leg to waist level, bent at the knee.

Left hand returns to starting position (raised and angled horizontally at elbow towards body, chest height). Hop onto right foot, raise and bend left knee (for hopping momentum).

Keeping back straight, Left hand pushes down, fingers splayed. Raise right leg to waist level, bent at the knee.

Left hand returns to starting position (raised and angled horizontally at elbow towards body, chest height). Weight on right leg. Left leg kicks straight out to waist height.

Bring left leg back in, return to starting position.

Turn head left.

Return to starting position.

2. “Kickin’ it Variation” (x1)

Starting position: Face forward. Right hand at right side. Left hand raised and angled horizontally at elbow towards body, chest height. Legs together.

Keeping back straight Left hand pushes down, fingers splayed. Raise right leg to waist level, bent at the knee.

Left hand returns to starting position (raised and angled horizontally at elbow towards body, chest height). Hop onto right foot, raise and bend left knee (for hopping momentum).

Keeping back straight Left hand pushes down, fingers splayed. Raise right leg to waist level, bent at the knee.

Left hand returns to starting position (raised and angled horizontally at elbow towards body, chest height). Weight on right leg. Left leg kicks straight out to waist height.

Bringing left leg back, let left hand drop to side. Legs together.

Jump out with knees bent, facing outwards. Hands clenched into fists at sides.

3. “Strongman” (x1)

As you jump, turning your knees inwards, Bring arms up and around to right-handed “Strongman” position. Raise right arm up in a fist, bent at elbow, angled horizontally to your head. Angle left arm horizontally downwards.

Jump, knees turn outwards. Hands do not change.

As you jump, turning your knees inwards, Switch the positions of your right and left arms, changing to left-handed “Strongman” position. Raise left arm up in a fist, bent at elbow, angled horizontally to your head. Angle right arm horizontally downwards.

Bending knees into a mid-air kneeling position, jump and land back in standing position, arms at sides.

4. “Superman” (x1)

Step out with right foot, raise right arm above head.

Step out with left foot, so your legs are spread, bringing right arm down to chest level.

Bring right arm horizontally across body to left shoulder in pushing motion.

Return right arm.

Bend at waist, dropping arms at sides, stoop towards floor.

Raise body up again, keeping knees slightly bent. Thrust hands out straight, fingers splayed, with right hand over left.

5. “Crocodile” (x2)

Switch hand position so left is over right, hopping forward.

Switch hand position so right is over left, hopping forward.

Open hands wide like a crocodile’s mouth, right up and left down.

Bring hands together, keeping fingers splayed and facing forward, right over left.

6. “The Roll” (x1)

Starting position: Lean body to the left, rest head on right shoulder. Hands maintain right over left position.

Roll body down and around to the right, then back up.

Turn head left. Drop right hand to right side. Roll left hand into stop position. Lean on slightly bent right leg.

7. “Swirly Arms” (x1)

Bring left arm to side. Bending legs, curl to the right.

Rise up, returning to spread-legged stance while swirling close-fisted arms two times.

Cross unbent arms at elbows at waist-level.

Swing crossed arms above head, bending elbows slightly.

Lower crossed arms to waist-level, straightening elbows.

8. “Hands Behind Head” (x1)

Uncross arms. Bring right arm down to side, bring left arm up behind head, elbow bent, fingers splayed. Bring right arm up behind head.

Pivot torso right.

Pivot to left side, leaning on bent left knee and getting ready to turn.

Jump and do a 180° turn to the right till you face the back, stretching right hand out to side as you turn.

9. “360(?)” (x1)

Dropping left hand to side, raise right hand up and chop, elbow bent behind head. Again raise right hand up and do chopping motion.

Bring left hand up, elbow bent behind head. Again stretch right hand out to side.

Raise right hand up, elbow bent behind head. Do a 360° hopping turn to the left till you face the back again. Stretch left hand out to the side, legs spread.

Stepping forward on left foot, pivot to face the front. While turning, bring left hand into a fist, elbow bent, at your side. Punch forward with raised right hand while stepping forward with right leg.

***Interlude***

Insert original snazzy magic spell/ninja move/spin attack.

10. “Finale” (x7)

Face with body to the left, turn head to the front. Raise left leg, bent at knee. Bring left hand into a fist, elbow bent, at your side. Punch raised right hand out to the side.

Switch legs so right leg is raised and bent at knee. Look in front of you while punching straight out with left hand. Have right hand curled in a fist, elbow bent, at side.