Speaking to Game Informer, Eiji Aonuma had a few things to say about working on Phantom Hourglass and developing for the DS hardware in general. Among other things, he made it clear that while a direct sequel to Wind Waker, first time players won't necessarily leave with the feeling that that they missed out on the whole story -- thanks in part to a nice plot summary of Wind Waker at the beginning of the game.

He also commented that by nature of its two screens, the DS hardware makes 3D gaming feel more natural than on their console counterparts. If there was a limiting factor of the DS at all that he could think of, it had to be the lower polygon count to take into consideration when designing a game -- obviously a by-product of having smaller screens in which to work with. In all, Aonuma had nothing out of the ordinary to say about the DS during the interview. However, the last bit of information that he let slip may prove to be the highlight of the conversation.

You might want to hit the jump, to see what else he had to say. 

When asked about whether he was ever tapped by Nintendo about his thoughts on potentially using Link, Sheik, or Ganondorf for Smash Bros. Brawl, his response was a bit surprising:

"I've been working with Sakurai for a very long time with this new Smash Bros., because the Wii came out and when discussion for a new Smash Bros. took place nobody could think of anyone other than Sakurai working on it. He was kind of the default, and I was very happy to hear that he would be working on it. Actually, my designers did work on the designs for Sheik and Link and Ganondorf. So they submitted the initial designs, and so it would fit in the Smash Bros. Brawl environment, they’ve had to tweak some of the designs. But Sakurai has brought those altered designs to NCL. We’re working very closely with the team of Smash Bros. Brawl to make sure the characters look their best.

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