Today, the Zelda franchise is practically synonymous with Eiji Aonuma, but as you probably know, it was Shigeru Miyamoto who created the series, and he has spoken many times in interviews about how the games are based on his childhood adventures in the forests around Kyoto. So when did this shift occur, and how did it actually happen?
GamesRadar is now highlighting an old interview from 2005 in the gaming magazine Edge, where Aonuma explains that Miyamoto was impressed by the former's Super Nintendo game Marvelous: Mōhitotsu no Takarajima, which was released in 1996. It was partly inspired by The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, and Aonuma explained:
"Marvelous was said to be similar to The Legend Of Zelda in terms of gameplay, and as a matter of fact... I really wanted to incorporate some essence of Zelda into it."
Miyamoto therefore asked Aonuma if he would like to work on The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, an offer he accepted, and he went on to design its dungeons, among other things. Apparently, the work made a strong impression, because he subsequently became director of The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask (alongside Yoshiaki Koizumi), before taking sole responsibility for the series with The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker.
Incidentally, the next Zelda game will be a remake of Aonuma's first game in the series, namely Ocarina of Time, which was announced as recently as Tuesday.