Square Enix on the long process of re-releasing Romancing SaGa 2, sticking with pixel art, more
Posted on 7 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Switch eShop | 5 Comments
Last week’s launch of Romancing SaGa 2 on Switch was pretty monumental. It was actually the first time the RPG released outside of Japan on dedicated gaming platforms. It’s mostly the same game as the Super Famicom title, but with a few extras like updated graphics and audio, new character classes, a new dungeon, and New Game+.
Prior to this week’s launch, VG247 caught up with producer Masanori Ichikawa original director Akitoshi Kawazu to talk about Square Enix’s classic. They commented on a variety of topics, including the amount of work involved needed to re-release Romancing SaGa 2, the decision to stick with pixel art as opposed to going the 3D route, and more.
You can read a few excerpts from the interview below. For the full discussion, head on over here.
Zelda: Breath of the Wild devs on the thinking behind Shrines and Divine Beasts, lack of long dungeons
Posted on 7 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Switch, Wii U | 33 Comments
Breath of the Wild was a complete reinvention of the Zelda formula, and many past staples were either discarded or reworked. One example of this is the dungeons. Whereas past Zelda titles featured long, unique dungeons with and a particular item to obtain, Breath of the Wild instead mostly has a ton of smaller Shrines scattered throughout the world and a few Divine Beasts that are thematically similar.
Zelda series producer Eiji Aonuma and Breath of the Wild directed Hidemaro Fujibayashi commented on Nintendo’s approach to Shrines and dungeons in the debut episode of the Nintendo Power podcast. We’re first able to hear from Fujibayashi, who explains that big dungeons would mean that players would spent too much time there.
Splatoon 2 dev on how long it took to develop, why it took so long for changing gear in-between rounds, music talk
Posted on 7 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Switch | 12 Comments
Eurogamer published a new interview today with Splatoon 2 producer Hisashi Nogami. Nogami commented on how long it took to develop, why it took so long to allow players to change gear in-between rounds, and creating music / bands.
You can find answers to these comments below. For the full interview, head on over here.
More: Hisashi Nogami, interview, Splatoon 2, top
Mario + Rabbids associate producer on using the Mario IP, the script, Snowdrop, why Donkey Kong wasn’t truly in the game, more
Posted on 7 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Switch | 2 Comments
Gamereactor published a new interview today with Cristina Nava from Ubisoft Milan. Nava acted as the associate producer on Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle.
During the interview, Nava talked about Mario IP, the game’s script, the flexibility of the Snowdrop engine, and why Donkey Kong wasn’t truly in the game. Regarding the final point, she explains that the concept of Mario + Rabbids is more about combining and fusing elements. They included the Rabbid Kong boss as more of a nod/reference with the shape, tie, and music instead of a Rabbid version of Donkey Kong.
Tiny Metal devs planning free multiplayer DLC and a couple of major updates
Posted on 7 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Switch eShop | 6 Comments
Even though Tiny Metal has officially released, Area 35 intends to continue supporting the game. Players can look forward to more content and updates in the future.
In an interview with Nintendo Life, Area 35 boss Hiroaki Yura said that the team is planning free multiplayer DLC. Once that’s done, the studio will be working on “two or three major updates” that will be announced “when we’re ready.”
More: Area 35, Hiroaki Yura, interview, Tiny Metal, Unties
Romancing SaGa director on Switch’s momentum and potential impact on game development
Posted on 7 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Switch | 20 Comments
Akitoshi Kawazu is the man behind Square Enix’s SaGa series. He’s been involved with all of the entries, and directed Romancing SaGa 2 – which just hit Switch last week.
USgamer caught up with Kawazu with the new digital release of Romancing SaGa 2. During their chat, Kawazu commented on Switch.
More: Akitoshi Kawazu, interview
Soulcalibur VI not currently in development for Switch, but its producer is interested in the system
Posted on 7 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Switch | 109 Comments
Before Soulcalibur VI was revealed, there were (perhaps unfounded) rumors about a Switch version. Unfortunately, it doesn’t look to be happening. Some had hoped that Bandai Namco could be saving news about a Switch version for January’s Nintendo Direct, but that doesn’t appear to be the case either.
Producer Motohiro Okubo told Metro that Soulcalibur VI isn’t in development for Switch. That’s partially because the project started over three years ago, well before the console existed.
More: Bandai Namco, interview, Soulcalibur VI
Capcom wants to modernize the audio for Mega Man 11
Posted on 7 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Switch | 19 Comments
Game Informer has posted the next part of its coverage for its month-long features of Mega Man. For the latest entry, the magazine focuses on audio design and spoke with audio director Ryo Yoshii.
Yoshii indicated that Capcom is taking the sounds of Mega Man 11 very seriously. In line with the visual look, the team wanted to modernize the audio.
More: Capcom, interview, Mega Man 11, Ryo Yoshii
Panic Button confirmed to be working on Wolfenstein II for Switch
Posted on 7 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Switch | 23 Comments
Panic Button has already worked with Bethesda to bring Doom to Switch. Unsurprisingly, the company has been brought back to help out Wolfenstein II on the console as well.
Senior game designer Andreas Öjerfors confirmed the news to Gamereactor. Öjerfors said that Panic Button is now a Switch expert, and given how Doom turned out, Wolfenstein II should end up being a great experience on Nintendo’s console as well.
Reggie says Switch sales are “unprecedented” for Nintendo
Posted on 7 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Switch | 85 Comments
Nintendo announced this week that Switch sales have surpassed 10 million units worldwide in its first nine months. For a new system that launched early in the year rather than during the holidays, that’s pretty darn good.
CNET spoke with Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime after hearing about Switch’s big sales. He called Switch’s sales “unprecedented” before adding that its pace “is one of the fastest in our own history and in gaming history.”
