Capcom producer Yoshiki Okamoto has revealed how he convinced Nintendo's Shigeru Miyamoto to let Capcom develop games in the Zelda series, an arrangement that led to acclaimed titles such as Oracle of Ages, Oracle of Seasons, The Minish Cap and Four Swords. The account, drawn from a newly translated interview, adds colour to the well-known story of how Capcom's now-defunct Flagship division came to work on the franchise, and explains the unusual tactic Okamoto used to overcome Miyamoto's initial reluctance.

According to Okamoto, the pair's discussions began when Nintendo refused his request to port the original NES Legend of Zelda to the Game Boy. After Miyamoto rejected his offer to produce it himself, Okamoto said he resorted to threatening to release "an identical game with different characters" under another name if Nintendo would not cooperate. Combined with Capcom's claim that it could produce four Zelda titles within a year, this ultimatum reportedly persuaded Miyamoto to proceed, and though the original Game Boy port never materialised, the collaboration produced several well-regarded Zelda spin-offs still fondly remembered by fans.