Splatoon devs on Inkling girl design focus, Squid Sisters, and more
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Wii U | 66 Comments
The latest issue of Famitsu has a massive Splatoon interview. Producer Hisashi Nogami, art director Seita Inoue, designer Keisuke Nishimori, sound director Toru Minegishi, and sound composer Yuki Tsuji spoke with the magazine. That’s a lot of developers indeed!
During one point of the discussion, Inoue and Nishimori spoke about how the Inkling design centered around the girl at first.
They said:
“The main emphasis was on the girl, to the extent that we thought at first whether it would be alright to not have a boy (laughs).” – Inoue
“When having a chance to design a new character, there is the fact that it’s rare to have a girl lead in a Nintendo title and also having a strong and active female may make it easier to become accepted overseas. The design was centered on the girl at first, and then the design of a boy was thought of in comparison.” – Nishimori
Japanese Splatoon players vote on their favorite weapons, stages, Squid Sisters, and much more
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Wii U | 14 Comments
Earlier this month, Famitsu held a survey on its website about Splatoon. 3,798 responses were recorded between July 8 and July 13 pertaining to various game aspects. The results were definitely interesting, and we wanted to share some of the information with you.
First, the gallery below covers what elements players like, their current level, and current rank.
Sakurai remembers Satoru Iwata
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 20 Comments
Masahiro Sakurai published a new column in the latest issue of Famitsu. His piece is entirely about Satoru Iwata, who just recently passed away.
Sakurai started out by stating the following when he heard the news: “My mind went white and even now the reality hasn’t sunk in.”
He then remembers the early days, and recalled how Iwata had been one of the interviewers when Sakurai applied for a job at HAL Laboratory Inc. “Our positions and locations changed throughout our long association,” he said. “He was the best superior I ever had and a man who understood me better than anyone.”
Later in his piece, Sakurai described Iwata in the following five ways:
He was a man of virtue. Where a normal person would get annoyed or angry, he would never show such emotions and would instead analyze, organize, and offer ideas. He was someone who could bow his head and apologize for things that weren’t his fault. I often worried about his stress levels, but he always talked with a smile.
He had a brilliant mind. Even when people would talk at length or without focus he was able to quickly say, “so, what you’re trying to say is…” and quickly summarize their point. He was able to see to the heart of people and things and was a master of simplifying them so that anyone could understand their point. He could immediately make a call on changes to improve. I have no doubt that many people were saved by this quality.
He was a man of effort. Even though he didn’t start out in the managing field, he read numerous management books, he would ask for advice from the necessary people that he would take to heart, and managed to become the president of Nintendo. What he gained from his years as a programmer allowed him to take many long-term projects to successful fruition.
More: Famitsu, Masahiro Sakurai, Satoru Iwata, top
Famitsu review scores (7/21/15)
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, News | 5 Comments
This week’s Famitsu review scores are as follows:
Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer (3DS) – 9/8/9/9
Prince of Stride (PSV) – 9/9/7/7
Zettai Meikyuu Himitsu no Oyayubi-hime (PSV) – 8/7/8/7
Fushigi no Chronicle: Furikaerimasen Katsu Madewa (PS4/PSV) – 7/8/8/7
Klap!! Kind Love and Punish (PSV) – 8/8/7/7
Wan Nyan Animal Hospital (3DS) – 7/7/7/7
Princess PreCure: Sugar Kingdom and the Six Princesses (3DS) – 7/7/7/6
Daisenryaku Exceed II (PS3/PSV) – 7/5/6/6
More: Famitsu, Famitsu scores
Famitsu’s most wanted games (7/19/15)
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, News, Wii U | 3 Comments
It’s time for the latest Famitsu’s most wanted games chart! Dragon Quest VIII remains at the top spot with this week’s rankings, and Monster Hunter X continues to climb.
Head past the break for the full chart. All votes were cast between July 2 and July 8.
More: Famitsu, Famitsu's most wanted
Capcom teases Monster Hunter X, Monster Hunter Diary bonuses for MH4U owners
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, News | 5 Comments
Capcom will be giving those who own Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate in Japan a little “something” as a bonus in Monster Hunter X. That’s according to series producer Ryozo Tsujimoto, who shared the information with Famitsu.
There’s also something planned for Monster Hunter Diary: Poka Poka Airou Village DX. By having save data on your 3DS, you’ll be given something that’s “a little better than from 4 Ultimate,” but only a little.
Capcom isn’t sharing details beyond this at present. These bonuses will be just enough for one to think “that would be nice to have”.
More: Capcom, Famitsu, interview, Japan, Monster Hunter X, Ryozo Tsujimoto
Scans roundup – Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer, Devil’s Third, Pokken Tournament, more
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, Images, Wii U | 1 Comment
This week’s Famitsu scans are now available. Highlighted games include Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer, Devil’s Third, Dragon Quest VIII, Nobunaga’s Ambition 2, Pokken Tournament, and Romance of the Three Kingdoms 2. Scans of each title can be found in the gallery below.
Pokken Tournament – not just Tekken with Pokemon, made for Pokemon fans
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 5 Comments
Bandai Namco’s Katsuhiro Harada spoke with Famitsu this week about Pokken Tournament. The arcade fighter is launching very soon in Japan – tomorrow, actually.
In one part of the interview, Harada explains that Pokken Tournament isn’t just a Tekken game with a Pokemon skin slapped on.
“It’s a solid versus game, but at its core, it’s an action game for Pokémon fans. People might think that because we’ve worked on games like Tekken and Soul Calibur or because of the name ‘Pokkén,’ that this game is made for established fighting game players, but I’d like to come straight out and say ‘no, it isn’t.’”
Harada eventually goes on to say that Pokken Tournament was made with Pokémon fans in mind as opposed to fighting game players.
“The tech to make the game and the knowhow behind the massive amount of animations comes from our experience working on the games we’ve made before, but with the gameplay, we’ve set our sights on Pokémon fans.”
One way in which the team attempted to appeal to Pokemon fans was through the UI. This was changed from something that may fighting experts would be familiar with.
“Having the camera looking at the characters facing each other from the side with their stamina bars on the top left and right of the screen is an established fighting game format, but that’s something that experienced fighting game players can understand on instinct. That might give Pokémon fans the impression that the game is harder than it is, so we’ve intentionally gotten rid of that.”
Harada also has some tips for novice players. He suggests that these gamers “should especially focus on blocking”. Even though combos and technique are important, properly blocking enemies’ attacks was the most important divider between beginners and experienced players.
Itagaki on why he didn’t give up on the development of Devil’s Third and more
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Wii U | 13 Comments
Famitsu provides an update on Devil’s Third this week. Along with the magazine’s report, there’s also an interview with creator Tomonobu Itagaki.
First, here’s what Itagaki had to say about multiplayer:
“There are things like diplomacy chat that only clan leaders can use, so you can have conferences with other clans. I’m a military enthusiast so there are also many political elements in the game.”
Famitsu then asks about being able to enjoy just the multiplayer:
“Of course. You can [enjoy the multiplayer] even without playing the single-player game. Even so, the single-player is packed with Itagaki-like things, so I’d like you to try it. In order to make both the multiplayer side of the game and the single player side of the game enjoyable, each of them required an amount of quantity, quality and scope. There are these two parts of Devil’s Third. That’s why it took time [to make the game].”
Arc System Works wants to make 3DS games with acquired Technos IPs
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, News | 1 Comment
Last month, Arc System Works announced the acquisition of the Double Dragon, Super Dodge Ball, River City Ransom, and Kunio-kun franchises. This week’s issue of Famitsu asks president Minoru Kidooka about what’s next for these former Technos IPs.
Kidooka told the magazine:
“Firstly, we’d like to develop 3DS titles like we’ve been doing up until now. Personally, I’d like to see titles such as Kunio-kun and Double Dragon be revived as arcade games again.”
“This is something we’re aiming for the next fiscal year, but I’d like to get the fighting part of Downtown Hot-Blooded March: Let’s Go to the Great Sports Meet and make it into a game, and turn it into something that can be played competitively with four players at the arcades.”
Arc System Works most recently developed Downtown Special: Kunio-kun no Jidaigeki da yo Zenin Shugo. That game launched in Japan on May 28.
