Kodama and M2 on Phantasy Star, what development was like in 1987, SEGA Ages games on Switch, lots more
New features were added using the SEGA Saturn and PS2 versions as a point of reference, but the new auto-mapping feature was a nightmare to implement
–So, what was the thought process going into the creation of “SEGA AGES Phantasy Star” for Nintendo Switch?
Kodama: Our main concept for this release was, “Let’s let players experience this game in a way that makes sense for the modern era.” It wasn’t our intention to remake the game or make any huge changes. So, we have an optional setting called “AGES Mode” where your movement speed is increased, the experience you gain in battle is increased, and the gold you get in battle is also increased. This provides a more streamlined experience.
I discussed new features with the director at M2, Matsuoka, and he echoed my thoughts that adding too many new features to the game might end up making it feel more like a lazy remake. So rather than that, we wanted to give players a taste of the classics in an updated way. Apparently, Matsuoka is also a big fan of “Phantasy Star”, so he was really careful not to sully the experience.
Even though our goal was to preserve the original experience, there were still some aspects of the game that we had to evaluate. For example, the text in the English version may not hold up to modern translation standards. But there’s a charm to it that makes it feel so very of its time. So we decided to keep it as is.
Horii: Makes you wonder how they would translate things like the “Perorie Mate” nowadays, doesn’t it?
Everyone: (Laughter)
*Note: “Perorie Mate” is a healing item found in the game. It is a portmanteau of two things: “pero” is Japanese onomatopoeia for “licking” or “lapping” something with one’s tongue, and “Calorie Mate” is a brand of nutritional energy bars in Japan. The Western release of “Phantasy Star” originally translated this item as a “Burger”.
–It was 30 years ago, after all. Those were the early days of game localization, and there may have been some changes that had to be made knowing the little we did back then.
Kodama: Absolutely right. These days, a game in the fantasy genre might first get translated into English, but then it will be proofread and edited further to make it more linguistically appealing. They might use more poetic language, or fix a few things so they’re more in-line with a fantasy setting or something like that. But back then, I don’t think they had the resources to make things like that happen. Regardless, there were many overseas fans that fell in love with that version of the game, so we wanted to respect that and keep things as is.
–Very interesting. So going back to “AGES Mode” for a moment, this is a feature that helps make the original game more palatable in a modern sense. This was a feature that you developed 10 years ago on the “Complete Collection”. Was this the start of M2 sharing their opinions on development with Okunari?
Horii: Yes, that’s correct. We did feel like, “Haven’t we already been over this like 10 years ago?” At that time, we approached the topic from the perspective of, “What is it like to replay a game that you haven’t played since way back when?” We discussed this and came to the realization that when we were kids, we didn’t have opportunities like today to play tons of different games every month. You had maybe 1 game or so to play, so you got really into it. Nowadays, you buy a bunch of games and they pile up! So, we identified an important distinction between playing a game in the modern era compared to before.
With that in mind, we decided to add features to increase the walking speed, increase the amount of experience points you gain in battle and such. And here we are 10 years later, passing those features on to this installment.
But we decided to make things a bit more organized this time around; the feature was in the options before and people may not have understood or know about it, so we just decided to offer it as a whole mode to clear things up. Our goal was to offer this as a standalone game, so we wanted it to be of a quality that we could be proud of. So, we also added an auto-mapping feature and a monster bestiary, too.
–Making it feel like an evolution of the original game, without changing it at its core. By the way, we noticed that the first two releases in the Nintendo Switch “SEGA AGES” collection were two titles from the Mega Drive, but “Phantasy Star” is from a console generation prior: the SEGA Mark III/Master System. Were there any issues that you had with porting the game over?
Horii: We had some trouble when we did “Sonic The Hedgehog” because the Master System and the Mega Drive’s video display processor (VDP) both utilize “Mega Play”, but this time around we didn’t have any issues. It’s solely a Master System game, so it was pretty easy for us.
And since that was a piece of cake, we thought, “Oh, well now we can do this and this, too!” So that’s how we ended up adding auto-mapping and a bestiary. If it turns out that we’re ahead of schedule during development, we like to add something extra.
Speaking of which, our director Matsuoka who is a huge fan of the original release, he was the one who came up with both of these features.
Usually, I’m the overly ambitious one. I’ll come up with an idea and bring it to him and be like, “Technically, it’s possible, right?” And he’ll get upset and remind me that if my idea makes us miss our deadline, he’ll be the one that’ll have to take the fall.
But this time around, he was the one who came up with the ideas, and if I didn’t implement it right, I was the one taking the fall! (Laughs)
–I guess if the boss comes up with an ambitious idea, then it’s fine, huh? (Nervous Laughter) On a related note, we wanted to ask about the source code for “Phantasy Star”. Is the Nintendo Switch release based on the SEGA Saturn version?
Horii: Yes. When we started work on the “Complete Collection” for the PS2 back in 2008, we got the source code from the Saturn. So this new version has the same foundation.
–I see. Even the previous version was based on the Saturn, too. So this is somewhat related, when you released the game on the SEGA Saturn, it wasn’t just a simple port, was it? You added a few extra features, which is kind of like what you’re doing here with the “SEGA AGES” version.
Horii: That’s right.
–We wanted to mention how the screen layout is so very different with the auto-mapping feature. It gives the game a completely unique and fresh look!
Horii: You might even think you booted up the wrong game for a second. We recalled something Matsuoka said back when we were working on the “Complete Collection” for PS2 10 years ago. He said something like, “Man, it sure is easy to get lost in these dungeons.” So we thought it would be a good idea to create an auto-mapping feature so people don’t get lost.
…And then we ran into several bugs because of the damn thing.
–That must have been pretty frustrating.
Horii: Yeah. It would’ve been much easier if we had just displayed the map as an image. But while we were adding the location of the traps and stuff, we realized it wasn’t really a useful resource. And from there on the feature just kept growing in scale. The final product ended up being totally different from what we initially set out to make.
–So you were originally only planning to show a map of the 3D dungeons?
Horii: That’s right. We definitely wanted a map for when you were exploring dungeons, but then we had to figure out what to do with the extra screen space when you’re outside of a dungeon. So we started to change things around and add stuff here and there. Before we knew it, we had new bugs to square away.
All of these little things piled up and gave us a real hard time meeting deadlines.
Kodama: So, we’re really glad the game’s finally out now!
Shimomura: I feel really bad that it ended up causing such a headache for everyone involved.
Horii: Shimomura’s just being a good sport. I’m sure he’d love to smack me upside the head.
Everyone: (Laughter)
Horii: There really were a lot of unforeseen issues that came up during development, but that just makes us even more proud of what a great final product we made. I’m really thankful for all of our fans’ patience!
–Considering how difficult it was to implement these features, I’m sure there were times when you considering throwing in the towel. However, this is a game that hasn’t seen a rerelease in quite some time, right? So, would you say you felt a sense of responsibility to get it right?
Horii: Absolutely! I couldn’t have said it better! This is our second time working on “Phantasy Star”; the first time was actually 10 years ago.
–A development team rarely gets another chance to work on a game 10 years later. I think many would be envious; you get the chance to add things you had to leave out the first time and make it better. From a player’s perspective, though, I’m sure they wanted you to just hurry up and release it.
Horii: Yeah, we wanted that, as well. I want to see monthly releases – heck, I’d like to see bi-weekly releases! We thought things would go extra smooth during development because we’ve got some of the same staff from 10 years ago and we’ve even got Kodama, herself. But then all these unexpected things came up out of nowhere. So things really didn’t go as we planned.
