Dark Souls Creator Feels "Unworthy" of Comparisons to Zelda

Hidetaka Miyazaki has said he feels "deeply unworthy" of comparisons between the Dark Souls series, which he created, and Nintendo's The Legend of Zelda.

Speaking to Glixel, Miyazaki discussed his reverence for the Zelda series and said he believes Dark Souls is of a completely different genre, making the comparisons somewhat inappropriate.

"When I was a student, The Legend of Zelda was truly monumental," he said. "So to be perfectly honest, I feel deeply unworthy of the comparison. The Legend of Zelda and Dark Souls are different games belonging to different genres though, and they're guided by different concepts of game design."

He continued: "They don't need to aspire to the same ideals. If there are similarities, they probably stem from the fact that The Legend of Zelda became a sort of textbook for 3D action games."

Later in the interview, Miyazaki was asked more about the difference in design between the two series'. The Legend of Zelda, according to producer Eiji Aounuma, shouldn't allow players to lose their bearings and get lost in the world. Dark Souls, on the other hand, does the bare minimum to guide the player, instead pushing them to discover the world and its systems for themselves, which often means getting lost.

"Our goal was to allow players to do what they want, define their own goals, make their own discoveries, embrace their own values, and find their own interpretations," Miyazaki explained.

"Core to that was the importance of getting lost. This gives value and meaning to finding one’s way. Also, we're just not very nimble when it comes to giving good guidance, and rather than try to overcome our own shortcomings, we decided to focus on things that we were good at."

The first Dark Souls 3 expansion, titled Ashes of Ariandel, will be available for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC in October. You can watch a trailer for Ashes of Ariandel here.

Dark Souls developer From Software has confirmed it is making a new Armored Core title and another "weird" game. As for the Dark Souls series, the studio has no intention of following Dark Souls 3 up with another sequel.

"There's absolutely no plan right now for any sequels, spin-offs, or tie-ins," Miyazaki previously said. "But I can’t say for certain the possibility is 0% ... What is certain for now is, to me personally Dark Souls is over. So rather than make another sequel, I think it's time we take a step to a new direction."