The Legend of Zelda series producer Eiji Aonuma previously revealed that he got the job working on the series after its creator Shigeru Miyamoto saw similarities between it and his directorial debut.
Before Ocarina of Time, Aonuma had only directed one game, the Japan-only SNES release, Marvelous: Another Treasure Island, which took inspiration from A Link to the Past. In a 2005 issue of Edge, Aonuma recalled, "Marvelous was said to be similar to The Legend Of Zelda in terms of gameplay, and as a matter of fact... I really wanted to incorporate some essence of Zelda into it."