God of War Ragnarok Director Reveals How a Classic Nintendo Game From the NES Era Inspired Him for the PlayStation Blockbuster

Published 11/14/2022, 8:21 AM EST

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Santa Monica Studio’s God of War Ragnarok has finally launched worldwide. The PlayStation 5 exclusive has already become a masterpiece within days of its launch, thanks to the rave reviews it’s been receiving.

The director of 2022’s God of War recently revealed a huge secret regarding the PS5 blockbuster while interacting with a media outlet. A lot of the fans might not be knowing that Ragnarok has been inspired by a very iconic Nintendo game from the Zelda series!

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Nintendo classic The Legend of Zelda (NES) inspired the director of God of War Ragnarok

Eric Williams, the director of the latest installment in the memorable series, recently talked to IGN. While interacting with the website, he revealed five NES-era games that inspired him while making Ragnarok. Moreover, one of them is also an entry in the iconic Zelda franchise from Nintendo.

Yes, one of the reasons for the amazing world-building in God of War Ragnarok is also in The Legend of Zelda. Not the Nintendo Switch entry but the very first NES game from the classic era of the 80s. In case anyone is not aware, it was the first installment that introduced the world to Link, Princess Zelda, and Hyrule. Eventually, this title left a lasting impression on the director’s mind when he was a child.

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According to Eric Williams, “being from the Midwest and playing in the woods as a kid made this game feel so familiar and fantastical all at the same time.”

“They Were Freaking Out…” – God of War Ragnarok Director Reveals His Team Was Concerned for the Game’s Quality

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Apart from the Zelda title, he also mentioned other Nintendo games as well. NES hits like Castlevania II: Simon’s Quest, Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!!, Baseball Stars, and River City Ransom also ended up inspiring the director.

Meanwhile, the latest God of War installment is creating new sales records while being a fan favorite since the day of its arrival. It’s become the second-best-rated video game of 2022 as well. With a stellar rating of 94 percent on Metacritic, it is only behind FromSoftware’s open-world fantasy RPG Elden Ring.

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What are your thoughts on the PlayStation 5 exclusive? Have you also begun playing it on your console? Let us know in the comments down below.

WATCH THIS STORY: The best PlayStation exclusives of all time!

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Written by:

Mintu Tomar

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Mintu Tomar is an eSports author at EssentiallySports. After completing his bachelor's in Philosophy, he has followed his passion for covering news as a budding journalist. He lives and breathes video games and is a die-hard Call of Duty fan.
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Edited by:

Deepika Bhaduri