Nintendo reveals Sushi Striker’s drastically different origins and original concepts

Even though you had established the story and the world, you still hadn’t decided on how this would be a video game, right?

Andou: That’s right. It was an anything goes situation at the time: Action, RPG, whatever. But we had just wrapped up “Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE”, so I kind of had my fill of RPGs for the time being. (Laughs) Besides, we were aiming at a demographic ranging from kids to older adults, so I didn’t think the RPG genre was a good fit.

Yamagami: I thought that the story had a strong foundation so it would fit well with the adventure genre.

So then how did you guys make a choice?

Yamagami: Once we reached this point, we began discussing with other developers about the main theme and the ideas that we had. We got a lot of propositions back using a bunch of different genres – one was even an action/shooter. But anyway, none of them felt quite right. It was when we met with the fourth and final developer, indieszero, that we knew we had a match.

Ah, so then indieszero made what Sushi Striker is now?

Yamagami: Well, not quite. They did have an idea for a puzzle game using our story, but it was considerably different from the final product. That idea resonated with me because in “Panel de Pon” we had a main story inserted between puzzles in a style similar to a comic. This made it more like an RPG where the scale of the story and scenarios were still present, but the battles were replaced as puzzles.

Above is the original business proposal by indieszero in the vein of action/puzzle. The idea of throwing plates at enemies started here, but the rest of it was completely different from the final product.

So it looks like they gave you the idea to throw plates at enemies.

Yamagami: Yes. In their original pitch, sushi came down from the conveyer belt lanes and you had to match the sushi together in order to throw the plates. Essentially, it was an action game. I wanted it to be an action genre from the start, but once they threw in this puzzle element, my interest was piqued. I was suddenly looking at making a puzzle game by using conveyer belt lanes, and I had never thought about making a game like this! I hadn’t felt this excited about a puzzle system since twenty-some years ago with “Panel de Pon”. (Laughs)

Wow!

Yamagami: I had this rush of inspiration. I got in an excited frenzy and started drawing out puzzles. “We need more lanes! More lanes! That’ll make it more of a puzzle. Wait. No. Two lanes is too few. We need to make it three! Oh my god, what if the lanes went in alternating directions? Look! Look!” I was so excited, I completely freaked out the staff in the meeting. (Laughs)

Andou: Even me! I tried to be polite, “Oh… uh-huh. I see.” (Laughs)

Yamagami: Yeah, and I remember Andou saying something like, “What if we had the player fight over the sushi with the opponent.” So I thought about putting a shared lane in where either the enemy or the player could take plates, which brought in an extra combat mechanic.

During the meeting no one actually understood what I was talking about, but I think they gave me some leeway. Something like, “If Yamagami says we can make a puzzle game out of this, then I guess we’ll give it a shot.” (Laughs)

Andou: I started to get nervous, though. I knew that Yamagami loved that intense, timed gameplay like “Panel de Pon” has, and I can’t play those kinds of hardcore puzzle games. I think there are many people who are also in the same boat, so I told Yamagami that I wanted to make a game that anyone could play, regardless of their puzzle skills.

I see, so you didn’t want to make a difficult game?

Andou: Yeah, because I wasn’t good at those kinds of puzzle games. (Laughs) After mulling it over, though, I thought about how it does feel pretty good when you win a battle in a tough game…

Yamagami: I think Andou was a little afraid that all of her hard work was going to be tossed aside. Like this was going to become more of my project and it was just going to turn into a hardcore puzzle title. Andou wanted her contributions to be valued.

So Andou knew you were amazing at creating puzzle games, but that’s exactly why she was worried, right? (Laughs)

Yamagami: But, you know, it’s not hard to make an easy puzzle game. It takes real skill to make a difficult puzzle game. And I convinced her not to worry too much. (Laughs)

So anyway, indieszero drew up their revised plans for us, and I waited for the best opportunity to present it to my superiors and – do you know they said?

I couldn’t even guess. What did they say?

Yamagami: They said, “I think this is the most interesting idea we’ve ever received from you, Yamagami.” Which made me think about all the projects I’ve brought to them in my career… Were they really that boring? (Laughs)

That’s awesome! Even though you’ve made so many popular games in the past, they were intrigued by Susi Striker the most? This one must be special!

Yamagami: (Laughs) I do what I can. Anyway, they positively loved the idea so we moved on to the next step: creating a prototype.

So no one from Nintendo thought this concept was too out there? They were all on board from the start?

Yamagami: Well, we hadn’t made a game where the plot was about eating sushi, so that was already a win for us in terms of originality. Further, I think using conveyer belt lanes as the base for the puzzles totally tied the world we were building together with the way that the player enjoys the game. You can easily see how we could make a video game out of this, right? I was confident that it was a very solid proposal, so I was sure they weren’t going to have any objections.

Andou: See? Sushi equals entertainment!

Yamagami: We used that catchphrase throughout the outline and approval process. (Laughs)

Seems like that was an important slogan for you, Andou.

Andou: Definitely. Generally speaking, people are happy when they talk about sushi. I didn’t want that feeling of “sushi equals entertainment” to change just because we were working on a sushi game for work. There were surely times during development where the staff was susceptible to that.

Yamagami: Right. We didn’t want to alter the positive feelings associated with sushi while working on the project, otherwise the game wouldn’t turn out to be fun. It was so critical, so we were really careful about it.

With Andou’s plan for a video game based on eating sushi and Yamagami’s concept of using conveyor belt lanes as puzzles, the framework for Sushi Striker: The Way Of Sushido was set in place. Andou’s next step was using her connections to join all kinds of up-and-coming creators from different industries together to further the project.

The script was written by playwright and actor Norihito Nakayashiki, who is famous for his contributions to comedy and theatre, such as “Kaki Kuu Kyaku” (a modern theatre troupe) and “Kuroko’s Basketball” (a manga and anime). The Sushi Striker animation was directed by anime director and producer Akitarou Daichi, who is famous for directing the series “Ojarumaru: Prince Mackaroo”. Andou was in love with both of their work, so she sought them out and talked them into collaborating on Sushi Striker.

Sushi Striker’s theme song, “Sushi No.1”, started making waves on the internet even before the game came out. As with “Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE” and the “Style Savvy/Style Boutique” series, Nintendo collaborated again with entertainment conglomerate Avex for music that even non-Japanese speakers can get hyped about. After the song was completed and presented to Nintendo, Yamagami was shocked, “I didn’t know if they were going to be able to do it with the criteria we gave them, but I they did it effortlessly!” An interesting tidbit: the song’s lyrics are in Japanese in every territory’s release.

Thank you for sharing. After hearing this, I genuinely feel like this is a game that could not have existed without the two of you as a combo. The same goes for “Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE”.

Yamagami: It’s honestly just because we started out on a really strange note. (Laughs)

Andou: Oh, come on. I don’t think it was that strange. (Laughs)

Yamagami: I like to think of Andou like she’s a gamer and fan who always explains things very clearly to me. I’ll always get an honest answer or reaction out of her, so I know I can rely on her to bring people in who are also easy to understand. I truly feel that we are a more refined duo than we even were during the development of “Tokyo Mirage Session #FE”. I believe we’ve made authentic entertainment with this game that anyone can understand and enjoy. I wasn’t so sure that it’d be possible to make a game about eating sushi, but I feel like we honestly nailed it!

Andou: It’s because we all love sushi. Sushi also equals power!

Yamagami: Speaking of, I’m certainly interested to find out how well Musashi and the Republic fare in their liberation efforts.

Ah, yeah, that’s right! There’s still so much I want to know about the story!

Andou: Yeah, in the next one I want to—well, this one isn’t even out yet.

Yamagami: Andou, you can’t start work on another before this one’s out. (Laughs) I sincerely hope people enjoy this game, and I hope those who get their hands on it recommend it to others!

Translation by 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.