The Legend of Zelda producer Eiji Aonuma discussed the value Nintendo places on retaining senior employees. The team always keeps a core group of members between adjacent projects, using them as a foundation to train newcomers and maintain continuity across the series.
Eiji Aonuma stated that long-serving members who have experienced multiple development phases together find it easier to discuss how to proceed with the next steps of a project and are better able to judge when to try new things. When new members join, the team still needs time to explain their workflows, the reasons behind adopting these methods, and the internal language and concepts used.
He believes that teams need to maintain a balance between tradition and change, ensuring that newcomers do not simply follow conventions without understanding the reasons behind decisions. While The Legend of Zelda team changes over time, this approach of having core members connect adjacent projects and mentor new employees has been in place since the era when Shigeru Miyamoto was involved in related projects.
Nintendo's recent "Developer Interview" also revealed that the remake project for The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time has invited artists who created illustrations for the original N64 version to design new maps for the Nintendo Switch 2 version. This allows the remake to directly connect with the creative memories of the original work.