Kodama and M2 on Phantasy Star, what development was like in 1987, SEGA Ages games on Switch, lots more
–I can’t wait to find out more. You’ve mentioned a lot of prospects with games that use the SEGA NAOMI series arcade board, “SEGA AGES Virtua Racing” and whatnot. You’ve got some big plans in store, but Shimomura mentioned a bit ago how important it was that this collection gets back on track and goes well.
Horii: That’s right. We want to avoid canceling any releases.
Shimomura: My ultimate goal is to see every title from SEGA released under the SEGA AGES branding. So if I want to do that, I’ve got to do absolutely everything I can to make sure that these projects come to fruition, as a producer.
Based on how few titles we’ve released so far in the series, I can understand if people aren’t sure of how things are going. But I assure you that we’re more full of energy than we were before, and once we’re done with this volume of releases, I want to announce titles that will really surprise players with the second volume.
–Could we briefly discuss the titles you revealed recently? I’m referring to “Space Harrier”, “Columns II”, “Thunder Force AC”, “Sonic the Hedgehog 2” and “Out Run”.
Horii: We just got those titles running on our dev kits at the office. If we had shown them running at, say, the Tokyo Game Show, then people would probably be critical and say that it looks like it’s done, so why aren’t we releasing it right now, or something. But we’re in the middle of taking care of some really important aspects right now.
–As you said with us in a prior interview, fine tuning is key.
Horii: Yes, it’s absolutely crucial.
–I really understood what you meant by this when you announced “Thunder Force AC” instead of “Thunder Force III”.
Horii: Speaking of, we wanted to put “Thunder Force AC” on the Nintendo 3DS with “SEGA 3D Reprint Archives 3 Final Stage”, but sadly, we had to drop it. We had trouble integrating the C2 board that “Thunder Force AC” uses with the Nintendo 3DS. So since then, we’ve been looking forward to the next opportunity to release the game.
There is a higher color count and more stages in the “AC” version, so we wanted to release it instead of “Thunder Force III”. So, we’re really happy it’s finally coming out on Nintendo Switch.
–You had a demo of “Gain Ground” at the Tokyo Game Show this year; how was the reaction from fans?
Horii: I got a ton of people who played the game DMing me on Twitter!
–DMing you?
Horii: Yeah, and it wasn’t just people saying, “Oh, it’s awesome!” and whatnot, I got messages from people who have worked as game developers, themselves, expressing their excitement. And it really fired me up!
We’re not just talking about big fans of the game, these are people who are absolutely in love with it. These are people who understand every detail and have been playing the series for years. So, we’ve got a lot to live up to for them!
It depends on the person, but there are a lot of people who say that they want to experience the game in a certain way, so they want us to add this new feature or that new setting for them. But sometimes there are really intense fans who are like, “I just want to let you know that this game is best played like this or that,” and they want to start a dialogue with you on how to make the game better. (Laughs)
Kind of like they want to make friends with you because they really love the game. It feels like a lot of them are like, “Hey, let’s go grab a bite to eat!” But I’m still thinking about those fans when we’re hard at work on the game. We’ve gotta do right by them.
–I’d like to ask about the results of the most-wanted games survey that fans filled out at the Tokyo Game Show. How will these results play into future releases?
Shimomura: We’ve received a lot of really passionate responses, and we’re taking that all into account. As we mentioned a little bit earlier, we’ve been discussing a second season of releases, so that may influence the lineup of games.
–I see. Wouldn’t you say that your current selection of “SEGA AGES” titles has been heavily influenced by fan surveys from when “SEGA 3D Reprint Archives” came out in 2016?
Horii: I’d say so. There are games that we’ve also wanted to work on over the years, games that used the SEGA Model 1 arcade board, and so on. “Virtua Racing” did come in second place on those surveys, but we at M2 also just really wanted to work on it ourselves. Same with “Gain Ground”.
Personally, the survey at Tokyo Game Show gave me the impression that SEGA wants to make something new and fresh. And if there are titles that we at M2 want to work on that SEGA does not already have planned, we bring that up in discussion and see if we can make it happen.
–Let’s talk a bit more about the second volume of releases that Shimomura mentioned.
Shimomura: Yes, well, if we’re successful enough that we can do another collection, all of those passionate responses will come in handy as we go head first into development.
Horii: I mean, we’ve already got the NAOMI board running on Switch, right? If I had to guess, I’d say that’s the direction we’d start off with. However, we should point out that just because we have the board running doesn’t mean there isn’t any testing and tweaking involved. “SEGA AGES” is all about adding features and reworking games, after all. And, of course, we stay well aware that the bigger the scope of work, the bigger the project will become.
–Very interesting.
Kodama: Also, I want to mention that we are very pleased with the survey results. As we expected, a lot of people voted for SEGA Saturn and Dreamcast titles. It appears that the most vocal voters have very fond memories of these particular games, and we really noticed that.
This survey was quite different in results from the last survey we did during the “SEGA 3D Reprint Archives” because we only surveyed those who bought the game. The Tokyo Game Show survey cast a wider net, and it’s been really good market research for us. If we get to do a second volume, we’ll have to change our thinking up. Games that we weren’t so sure about will be a sure decision next time around.
–Is there anything you all would like to add before we end the interview?
Horii: We’re really sorry for the delay! But the game turned out absolutely splendid! We had a wild time with all of the discoveries and new stuff we learned. If you’re a fan of “Phantasy Star Online”, you’ve gotta check out where the series started by playing this version of the game. We worked really hard on making this version an enjoyable experience, no matter how you want to play it. So, please do check it out!
Kodama: It might be a 30-year-old title by now, but M2 has worked wonders to make the game feel new again. I really hope everyone enjoys it! Thank you very much.
Shimomura: I’m confident that although the game took longer than expected, the extra features and effort that went into the game will really shine through to players. I always say this, but we would be nothing without all of the dedicated fans. Our success and growth is thanks to them. We’re thankful for your support, and we really hope you support “SEGA AGES” on Nintendo Switch. I am determined to advance this project and move forward. As long as we have your support, I know we can do it. Thank you very much.
Translation provided by Oni Dino on behalf of Nintendo Everything
If you use any of this translation, please be sure to source Nintendo Everything. Do not copy its full contents.
