is a Japanese video game designer, director, and producer at Nintendo. He is a senior officer within their Nintendo EPD division. He serves as the producer of the Legend of Zelda franchise and has worked on the title since 1998.
Career was born in Nagano Prefecture, Japan on March 16, 1963. He graduated from the Tokyo University of the Arts in 1988 with a master's degree in composition design, working on animated puppets called karakuri. After graduating, Onozuka was interviewed at Nintendo. He met Shigeru Miyamoto during the interview, and showed Miyamoto samples of his college work. Onozuka got a job at Nintendo without ever having played a video game before. He asked his girlfriend about video games, and she introduced him to two Yuji Horii games, Dragon Quest (1986) on the Famicom and The Portopia Serial Murder Case (1983) on the PC-8801, which were the first video games he ever played. His first projects involved graphic design, creating sprites for Nintendo Entertainment System games such as 1991's NES Open Tournament Golf. Onozuka was director on 1996's Marvelous: Mōhitotsu no Takarajima for the Super NES.
Miyamoto later recruited Onozuka to join the development team for The Legend of Zelda series. Onozuka served as the game scenario director and dungeon designer for The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. With his surname changed to Aonuma, he served as the director for The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask. Following work on The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, Aonuma considered moving on to other projects, but was convinced by Miyamoto to continue with the series.Electronic Gaming Monthly, Issue 213, March 2007. Page 79. Aonuma has since led the production of The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, Phantom Hourglass, Spirit Tracks, Link's Crossbow Training, Skyward Sword, A Link Between Worlds, Breath of the Wild, and Tears of the Kingdom.
Aonuma plays percussion as a founding member of the Wind Wakers, a brass band formed in 1995. The band comprises over 70 Nintendo employees who perform a few concerts a year. He was promoted to the position of deputy general manager within the company's Entertainment Planning & Development (EPD) division in June 2019. By 2023, Aonuma had been promoted to senior officer at EPD.
Recognition Aonuma received a lifetime achievement award at the 2016 Golden Joystick Awards. In 2023, the Ministry of Culture in France chose to distinguish Aonuma with the Order of Arts and Letters.
Ludography Year Title Role1991NES Open Tournament GolfGraphic design1996BS Super Mario USA Power ChallengeMarvelous: Mōhitotsu no TakarajimaDirector, graphic design1998The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of TimeDirector, dungeon design2000The Legend of Zelda: Majora's MaskDirector2002The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker2004The Legend of Zelda: The Minish CapSupervisorThe Legend of Zelda: Four Swords AdventuresProducer2006The Legend of Zelda: Twilight PrincessDirector2007Link's Crossbow TrainingProducerThe Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass2009The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks2011The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3DThe Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Anniversary EditionThe Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword2013The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HDThe Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds2014Hyrule WarriorsSupervision2015The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask 3DProducerThe Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes2016Hyrule Warriors LegendsSupervisionThe Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HDProducer2017The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild2018Hyrule Warriors: Definitive EditionSupervision2019The Legend of Zelda: Link's AwakeningProducer2020Hyrule Warriors: Age of CalamitySupervision2021The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HDProducer2023The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom2024The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom2025Hyrule Warriors: Age of ImprisonmentZelda Franchise Supervisor2026 The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time Producer
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