Eiji Aonuma receives French arts knighthood

Eiji Aonuma, the longtime producer behind The Legend of Zelda series, has been honored by the French government with the title of Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters. The Ministry of Culture held the ceremony this week and presented him with the medallion.

Culture Minister Catherine Pégard praised Aonuma as a storyteller who leaves room for the player’s imagination. She also thanked him for inspiring children around the world to dream. Aonuma gave a short statement in French and told fans to continue the adventure together.

Aonuma has worked at Nintendo since 1988. He became especially well known through Ocarina of Time and has helped shape nearly every major Zelda game since then, including Wind Waker and Breath of the Wild.

The French Ministry had announced the knighthood in 2023. Aonuma joins other artists and creators who have received the honor, including Nintendo’s Shigeru Miyamoto and game designer Peter Molyneux.