The text on this page is taken from pages 32 and 33 of the Zelda Box guidebook, released in Japan in 2002.

The Developers Discuss Tott

Aonuma: Everyone says that they never expected this guy to be important enough that he teaches Link a song. [Laughs] In the beginning, we planned to give him an even more important role. Weren’t we thinking of having him give you the Wind Waker?

Haruhana: What??

Aonuma: Maybe not. [Laughs] At the very least, he once had more dancing animations than he does now… Oh, that’s right! There was a time when he’d remember the songs Link taught him, and dance along. There’s a theory that the reason Tott can’t change the time from day to night, no matter how hard he tries, is that he adds too many unnecessary flourishes to his dances. It’s an interesting thought, but incorrect. [Laughs]

Haruhana: The real reason is that Tott isn’t using the Wind Waker. [Laughs] Not to mention, he isn’t a hero or anything, just a regular guy. [Laughs] By the way, Tott is modeled on people like Presley and Machy.

Aonuma: What I want players to pay attention to is the fringes hanging from his sleeves. They move very beautifully! [Laughs] The programmers really did their best on those.

The Developers Discuss Salvatore

Takano: Salvatore of Windfall Island and Salvatore of Spectacle Isle are the same person. He travels to Spectacle Isle via raft. After you first meet him on Windfall, and strike up a conversation with him on Spectacle Isle, he says “Oh!”, meaning “Oh, it’s that kid again!” [Laughs] Because his name is that of a former painter, and because he has a beard, we decided to make him Italian.

Aonuma: Salvatore is one of Miyamoto’s favorite characters. He asked me “Is that a character you did calculations for? In that case, he’s awesome.” And I was like, “Of course we did!” [Laughs]

Haruhana: We even did calculations for the hand towel hanging around his neck. [Laughs]

The Developers Discuss the Windfall Islanders

Haruhana: Most of the male characters of a certain age that inhabit Windfall Island were revived from a collection of scribbles I’d amassed. Candy, for example. He’s got a beard, but he’s only 17 years old.

Takizawa: Haruhana is good at drawing middle aged dudes.

Haruhana: [Laughs] I have the most difficulty when someone tells me to draw something beautiful.

Takano: A big point for me is the names of the islanders. [Laughs] Minenco, for example, and Garrickson… Takahashi was the one that named them. (Hajime Takahashi. See page 14.) He really played around and did what he liked.