The Retro Hour (Retro Gaming Podcast)12 Sep 2025

497: “We Wanted Ocarina’s Opposite - That’s Why Majora’s Mask Got So Dark” - Takaya Imamura Interview - The Retro Hour EP497

This week we welcome Nintendo legend Takaya Imamura, the visionary artist behind F-Zero, Star Fox, and Majora’s Mask. We hear some incredible stories from his three decades at Nintendo: from being interviewed by Shigeru Miyamoto, to creating Captain Falcon on a whim, to the wild one-year crunch that gave birth to Majora’s Mask. He reveals how a shrine in Kyoto inspired Fox McCloud, why Tingle was born out of pure exhaustion, and the surprising comic book roots of his latest project Omega Six. This chat was recorded live at Retromessa in Norway.

Contents:

00:00 - The Week's Retro News Stories
44:22 - Takaya Imamura Interview

Please visit our amazing sponsors and help to support the show:

Play Expo Blackpool: https://www.playexpoblackpool.com/

Bitmap Books - https://www.bitmapbooks.com

Check out PCBWay at https://pcbway.com for all your PCB needs

Take your business to the next level today and enjoy 3 months of Shopify for £1/month: https://shopify.co.uk/retrohour

We need your help to ensure the future of the podcast, if you'd like to help us with running costs, equipment and hosting, please consider supporting us on Patreon:

https://theretrohour.com/support/

https://www.patreon.com/retrohour

Get your Retro Hour merchandise: https://bit.ly/33OWBKd

Join our Discord channel: https://discord.gg/GQw8qp8

Website: http://theretrohour.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theretrohour/
X: https://twitter.com/retrohouruk
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/retrohouruk/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/theretrohour.com
Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/theretrohour

Show notes

Dreamcast Wireless Controller: https://tinyurl.com/yzr5kwdx
Fallout 1 3D: https://tinyurl.com/476fu3b4
Vectrex Mini Updates: https://tinyurl.com/3hs2sphw
Limited Run FMV Games: https://tinyurl.com/yc23t2fu
Clive Sinclair Comedy: https://tinyurl.com/56s3hyhr
Wolfhound Trailer: https://youtu.be/bBVXgchDEXk

Oppdag Premium

Prøv 14 dager gratis

Kjøp Premium

Episoder(500)

270: Atari & Computing Pioneer Chris Crawford - The Retro Hour EP270

Chris' website: http://www.erasmatazz.com/ Please visit our amazing sponsors and help to support the show: Bitmap Books Atari 2600/7800: a visual compendium: https://bit.ly/3cCjtU7 Join 2+ million ...

8 Apr 20211h 43min

269: Dominik Diamond & 8-Bit Show & Tell - The Retro Hour EP269

GamesMaster: The Oral History Kickstarter: https://bit.ly/39qhGiQ 8-Bit Show And Tell: https://www.youtube.com/c/8BitShowAndTell/ Please visit our amazing sponsors and help to support the show: Bit...

1 Apr 20211h 35min

268: Making New Vectrex Games in 2021 - The Retro Hour EP268

Robin's website: https://www.jubbernaut.com/ Please visit our amazing sponsors and help to support the show: Bitmap Books The SNES Pixel Book: https://bit.ly/3w6KO8L Jeff Wayne's The War of The Wor...

26 Mar 20211h 28min

267: Ocean Software: Inside Stories with Bill Harbison - The Retro Hour EP267

Bill Harbison website: https://harbonaut.wixsite.com/portfolio Please visit our amazing sponsors and help to support the show: Bitmap Books SNES/Super Famicom: a visual compendium: https://bit.ly/30...

19 Mar 20211h 28min

266: Pete Cannon: Making Amiga Jungle Music in 2021 - The Retro Hour EP266

Please visit our amazing sponsors and help to support the show: Bitmap Books SEGA® Master System: a visual compendium: https://bit.ly/3uSqNSn Get 3 months of ExpressVPN for FREE: https://expressvpn....

12 Mar 20211h 17min

265: Bullfrog with Alex Trowers - The Retro Hour EP265

Please visit our amazing sponsors and help to support the show: Bitmap Books SEGA® Master System: a visual compendium: https://bit.ly/3uSqNSn We need your help to ensure the future of the podcast, i...

5 Mar 20211h 27min

264: Frak!, The X-Files, Ghostbusters II with Nick Pelling - The Retro Hour EP264

Frak! on Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1251330/Frak/ Please visit our amazing sponsors and help to support the show: Bitmap Books Game Boy: The Box Art Collection: https://bit.ly/2IR...

26 Feb 20211h 15min

263: SimCity & Maxis with Justin McCormick - The Retro Hour EP263

Please visit our amazing sponsors and help to support the show: Bitmap Books Game Boy: The Box Art Collection: https://bit.ly/2IRJfr9 Get started shaving with Harry's today by claiming your Trial Se...

19 Feb 20211h 16min

Reklamefrie Premium-podkaster

Hør populære podkaster som Storefri med Mikkel og Herman, Ida med hjertet i hånden, Krimpodden og mye mye mer

Skap din egen podkastboble

I appen skaper du ditt eget bibliotek med favoritter, og vi gir deg også anbefalinger til podkaster du ikke kan gå glipp av.

Prøv 14 dager gratis

Dersom du er ny Podme-bruker får du 14 dager gratis prøveperiode når du oppretter abonnement

Premium

99 kr/ måned

Tilgang til alle våre Premium-podkaster
Alle podkaster fra VG, Aftenposten, BT og SA
Reklamefritt Premium-innhold
Ingen bindingstid. Avslutt når du ønsker

Prøv 14 dager gratis

Premium

129 kr/ måned

Tilgang til alle Premium-podkaster
Alle podkaster fra VG, Aftenposten, BT og SA
Reklamefritt Premium-innhold
Ingen bindingstid. Avslutt når du ønsker
En Ekstra bruker

Prøv 14 dager gratis

Populært innen Fritid

Historiene og stemmene du vil høre

Ubegrenset tilgang til alle dine favorittpodkaster og lydbøker

Les mer