Koizumi:
With regard to Z Targeting, I believe we started talking about how we wanted a good way of hitting opponents in front of you when we were making Super Mario 64.
Iwata:
But you couldn't do it.
Koizumi:
Right. Then, when we were making The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, I thought up something when we were making the camera system for fighting enemies. What caught my attention in the studio park was the sword fight. They regularly put on shows in which the hero defeats ruffians. Watching that, I thought, "Hmm, that's weird." That was because there was no way one person could fight and win when surrounded by 20 opponents.
Iwata:
Because he's vastly outnumbered.
Koizumi:
I thought there must be some kind of trick, so I watched very closely, and it was simple. It's a sword battle, so there's a script and a certain setup. The enemies don't all attack at once. First, one attacks while the others wait. When the first guy goes down, the next one steps in, and so on.
Iwata:
It's arranged so they attack one-by-one, in order.
Koizumi:
Right. One thing I had been trying to figure out with regard to Z Targeting was how to fight multiple enemies. If I just made it like normal, the enemies would swarm the player all at once, so it would be a mess.
Iwata:
Yeah.
Koizumi:
Watching that show at the studio park was a clue toward solving that problem. Z Targeting flags one particular opponent, telling the other enemies to wait.
