Nintendo is continuing its Ask the Developer series of published interviews with game development leads, this time on The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom. In parts 1 and 2 of this interview, the company reveals a number of tidbits about Echoes of Wisdom, including Grezzo as the elusive co-development studio behind the project and Tomomi Sano as the game's director, and first-ever female director on The Legend of Zelda series. You can read the full interviews yourself , but here are some highlights.
First off, Sano has a rich history in the industry, earning her first credit in 1998 for editing stage textures on Tekken 3 . She began working with Nintendo in 2004 as a coordinator on Mario Party 6 , and over time was involved in a number of Nintendo-published and supported projects. Her first Zelda credit was in 2011 on The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D as a coordinator, and she followed it up with the same role on Majora's Mask 3D a few years later.
In 2016, Sano served as assistant director on Twilight Princess HD , and was also assistant director on Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga + Bowser's Minions and Bowser's Inside Story + Bowser Jr.'s Journey . Most recently, she was a project coordinator on the Switch version of Link's Awakening in 2019 .
According to the interviews, Aonuma apparently "almost always" asks Sano to be involved with Legend of Zelda projects at Grezzo. Grezzo and Nintendo co-developed Echoes of Wisdom, but in the interview, series producer Eiji Aonuma.