shmuplations

The Characters of Valkyrie Profile – Developer Interview

http://shmuplations.com/vpcharacters/

This lengthy Valkyrie Profile interview with the Tri-Ace staff appeared in the Valkyrie Profile World Guidance mook. It does contain spoilers, so be warned! The questions cover the details of the characters backstories, and also include info on scenarios that were cut or changed. Some of the “secrets” here would be uncovered in Valkyrie Profile’s sequels. Finally, I’...

Game Center Operators – A 2004 Snapshot

http://shmuplations.com/gamecenters/

This interview offers a unique look at the Japanese arcade (game center) industry from the arcade operators’ perspectives. The header image is a bit misleading: the two game center operators interviewed here, Soyuu and Arisaka, bear little resemblence to the candy cab/PCB dominated arcades of the 80s and 90s. As anyone who has spent time in Japan in the last 10 years will...

Heiankyo Alien – 2002 Developer Interview

http://shmuplations.com/heiankyoalien/

Heiankyo Alien (known in the West by its Sega iteration, “Digger”) was a 1979 arcade hit in Japan, unique for having been created by students in the Theoretical Science Group of Tokyo University in 1979. In this 2002 interview originally featured in Chou Arcade, one of the original TSG student developers shares details and memories of its unusual development.

Xevious – Developer Interview Collection

http://shmuplations.com/xevious/

In the West, few pepole would count Xevious as one of the seminal classics of video game history; in Japan, however, the game and its creator Masanobu Endo enjoy a hallowed reputation as one of the first “post-Invader” successes. We also don’t usually associate shmups with detailed stories and settings, but Xevious is also known for being one of the first games to have a cohe...

House of the Dead – 1997 Developer Interview

http://shmuplations.com/houseofthedead/

This interview with the development staff of The House of the Dead was originally featured in the May 1997 edition of Sega Saturn Magazine. The Saturn port was not officially in the works yet, so (thankfully, since interviews about porting are usually fairly superficial) it focuses on the design and creation of the arcade release. There is also another interview from the...

Kirby's Adventure - 1993 Developer Intervew

http://shmuplations.com/kirbysadventure/

This fun interview with the key creators of Kirby’s Adventure was found in the official Nintendo guidebook released the same year. It covers the design and origins of Kirby as a character, and the changes they made from the earlier GB game, Kirby’s Dream Land. The questions, as you might imagine, are rather light and fawning, but they show legendary developers like...

Castlevania: Rondo of Blood – Developer Interview

http://shmuplations.com/chinorondo/

This lighthearted interview and commentary with the Castlevania: Rondo of Blood development team was originally featured in the Akumajo Dracula X cd liner notes. The distinct goofiness of the Konami team is on display here, as each member shares a funny anecdote or “hardship” from the Rondo of Blood development. It’s light, but fun.

The liner notes also featur...

Ketsui – 2002 Developer/Composer Interview

http://shmuplations.com/ketsui/

These two short interviews, with Cave devgroup leader (and Toaplan alumni) Toshiaki Tomizawa and composer Manabu Namiki, cover the gameplay and music design of Ketsui. The Namiki portion was sourced from liner notes; the Tomizawa came from the GSLA and was most likely featured in Arcadia. There are no big surprises here, though given the notorious difficulty of Ketsui, it’s interestin...

Resident Evil 2 – 1998 Developer Interview

http://shmuplations.com/residentevil2/

In this Resident Evil 2 interview from the June 1998 issue of jp game magazine “The Playstation,” director Hideki Kamiya and film screenwriter Noboru Sugimura discuss the design philosophy behind Resident Evil and the (then) novel experience of working with a screenwriter. They also shed light on changes made from the “1.5″ version of Resident Evil 2, which was ...

Zone of Enders: The 2nd Runner – 2003 Developer Interview

http://shmuplations.com/zoneofenders/

These lengthy Zone of Enders: The 2nd Runner (called Anubis in Japan) interviews were originally featured in the 1998 jp artbook Visual Works of Anubis. It features a top-down account of the development as told by director Shuyo Murata and producer Hideo Kojima.

A good deal of time is spent talking about the creative conflicts in the project between character de...

Epoch and the Cassette Vision – 1997 Developer Interview

http://shmuplations.com/epoch/

This very long, in-depth interview (found at the excellent Game Odyssey jp site) covers a period of Japanese videogame history that is obscure even to most Japanese: the pre-Famicom era of the Cassette Vision and similar LSI games. During this period, from about 1975-1982, Epoch took the lead in Japanese console video game development, bridging the gap from simple, discrete circuit gam...

Athena – 1993 Developer Interview

http://shmuplations.com/athena/

This short interview from Gal’s Island 2 (a Gamest mook series from the early 90s that focused on female game characters) covers the creation and character design of Athena. Although never very popular in the US, as an early “game character” Athena had a certain cult following in Japan, and continued to be used in SNK’s fighting games. 

I’ve also added...

Capcom and the CPS-1 – Developer Interviews

http://shmuplations.com/cps1/

This Capcom arcade special begins with a 1989 developer interview centering around rising star designer Noritaka Funamizu’s latest efforts; other CPS-1 titles like Forgotten Worlds and Tenchi wo Kurau (Dynasty Wars) are also discussed. In addition, I’ve included a special feature from 1991, in which various Capcom luminaries reminisce on their arcade games of the last decade.

Toshiya Yamanka – 2013 Composer Interview

http://shmuplations.com/toshiyayamanaka/

Toshiya Yamanaka was a composer for Arsys Software and Treasure, known among FM music afficionados for his work on Star Cruiser, Knight Arms, and other Japanese PC games. This lengthy interview offers a good overview of his work while also exploring his musical influences, approach to composition, and his hardware setup. Whenever possible I’ve linked to music samples...

Assault Suits Valken – 1993 Developer Interviews

http://shmuplations.com/assaultsuitsvalken/

This is a collection of two shorter Assault Suits Valken interviews: the first from the 10/92 issue of Hippon Super, and the second from the 5/93 issue of Famicon Tsuushin. Although short, they make a nice companion to the Valken interview I translated for gosokkyu last year. Finally, I’ve also added the liner note comments of composer Masanao Akahori, a transl...

Panzer Dragoon Saga – 1998 Developer Interview

http://shmuplations.com/panzerdragoonsaga/

This Panzer Dragoon Saga interview originally appeared in the AZEL -Panzer Dragoon RPG- strategy guide. It features three of the primary developers sharing their thoughts about the character design, favorite scenes, and the challenges of the development. I have also included a small selection of the concept art included in the book!

Shigeru Miyamoto – Mario 20th Anniversary Interview

http://shmuplations.com/mario20th/

This charming interview was originally featured at Nintendo Online Monthly in 2005 as part of Super Mario Brother’s 20th Anniversary. It contains some interesting anecdotes about Mario’s creation in addition to the expected reflection on the Mario legacy, all humorously interwoven with introspection on Miyamoto’s own life.

Tales Series – 2008 Developer Interview

http://shmuplations.com/talesof/

This lengthy interview with key members of the Namco Tales Studio development team first appeared in the Tales of Magazine in 2008. Overall, the theme of this interview can probably be summed up in one word: “fanservice.” After presenting a top-down view of the Tales development process, there are some interesting comments about rpg design and what qualities the developers believe...

Space Invaders - 30th Anniversary Developer Interview

http://shmuplations.com/spaceinvaders/

This interview with Space Invaders creator Tomohiro Nishikado and former Taito president Yoichi Wada was featured at nikkeitrendy in 2008. While not the most in-depth interview, it allows the two elder gamesmen to reminisce over their personal experience with Space Invaders and the way it changed the game industry. Some tantalizing pieces of concept art are also include...

Shigeru Miyamoto talks Game Design

http://shmuplations.com/miyamotodesign/

This short interview from 1998 with Shigeru Miyamoto was originally featured in the excellent game criticism magazine, game hihyou. It is a somewhat abstract discussion about the problems Miyamoto sees with the prevalent game design of the day. The lasting influence of Gunpei Yokoi is also apparent in the comments on realism.

Streets of Rage 2 - 2105 Developer Interview

http://shmuplations.com/streetsofrage2/

This interview is an in-depth look at the making of Streets of Rage 2 (Bare Knuckle II in Japan) with its designer and planner, Ayano Koshiro. Although a veteran of game design whose work has graced classics like Actraiser, Lunar, and Ys, in the West she is still largely unknown except as the sister of famous composer Yuzo Koshiro. In any event, this candid interview ...

Star Ocean series – Developer Interviews

http://shmuplations.com/starocean/

These two interviews for Star Ocean and Star Ocean: Second Story were found in their respective strategy guides. The first, from 1993, is unfortunately quite short, but connects the development of Star Ocean with Tales of Phantasia. The second interview from 1998 is done in a round-table style, and goes deep into the details of the story and game design of Second Story.

Valkyrie Profile – 1998 Composer Interview

http://shmuplations.com/valkyrieprofilemusic/

This excellent interview from 1998 with composer Motoi Sakuraba and Tri-Ace sound programmer Hiroya Hatsushiba covers the music of Valkyrie Profile. There’s a lot of detail about the designers’ ideas for the music, and some fairly surprising admissions from Sakuraba about Valkyrie Profile and his composition process generally.

Stunfest 2014 – Superplayer Interview

http://shmuplations.com/stunfest2014/

This interview with Japanese STG superplayers SOF-WTN (Dodonpachi), SPS (Ketsui), and Hattori (Ikaruga) documents their trip to Stunfest in 2014. Like the issue covering the previous year’s trip, it was originally featured in STG Gameside.

This year MAGES (responsible for Bullet Soul and the PS3 port of Ketsui) producer Masaki Sakari also joined, and he...

Espgaluda – Developer Interviews

http://shmuplations.com/espgaluda/

The first of these two Espgaluda interviews was found at the GSLA and sheds a little light Arika’s PS2 port. The second, longer interview is from Espgaluda composer SOU1′s page at theinterviews.jp, a sort of “question and answer” style blog.

Makaimura Series – Interview Collection

http://shmuplations.com/makaimura/

These Makaimura (Ghosts and Goblins) interviews come from two separate sources: a 2005 interview for Gokumakaimura, and a 1991 interview for the two shorter excerpts. Together they offer a rare insight into the concept and design of the Makaimura series, with some musings by Fujiwara on action games generally at the end.

Shenmue – 2000 Developer Interview

http://shmuplations.com/shenmue/

This Shenmue interview from 2000 goes over the general design process of the seminal Dreamcast game. Highlights include alternate  titles, the special role of the interior designer Sega hired, and the origins of a certain cat. There is also a special focus on the music and sound effects in the latter half of the interview.

Chrono Trigger - 1994/95 Developer Interviews

http://shmuplations.com/chronotrigger/

These two interviews with the Chrono Trigger development team were found at the GSLA. The first interview, from 1994, comes before Chrono Trigger was released and contains an interesting description of a more free-form event system that was never fully implemented, as well as an account of working together with legendary Enix developer Yuji Horii. The 1995 interview goe...

Art of Fighting - 1993 Developer Interview

http://shmuplations.com/aof/

This short interview with the designer (he doesn’t give his name) of King from Art of Fighting talks mainly about the design of that character and Yuri, the npc damsel of the first game. Be warned: Japanese chauvinism is on full-display here. Apparently there is a more substantial interview with the Art of Fighting 2 staff from an old mook, which I hope to locate and translate soon. 2015-07-21 18:12:26 +0000 UTC View Post

Game Arts x Chunsoft – 1998 Developer Interview

http://shmuplations.com/miyajixnakamura/

In this lengthy interview, the two founders of Chunsoft and Game Arts, Koichi Nakamura and Yoichi Miyaji, share their views on the present state of gaming in 1998 with a focus on RPGs and the ever-expanding, “epic” playtimes that were becoming increasingly common then. Yoichi is not as well known as his brother Takeshi, who passed away in 2011, so this inter...