Video: Developer chat with Aya Kyogoku and Risa Tabata
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, Videos | 3 Comments
Nintendo has posted a new developer chat video with Aya Kyogoku and Risa Tabata. The two talked about getting involved with gaming, what it’s like being a female developer at Nintendo, and what they’re most excited about among their current projects. They also shared a message for females who are interested in working in the industry. Watch the full discussion below.
More: Aya Kyogoku, interview, Risa Tabata
Monster Hunter X devs explain the game’s title
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, News | 2 Comments
Capcom has a number of new Monster Hunter games on the way, including Monster Hunter X. This one is actually pronounced “Monster Hunter Cross”.
How’d Capcom end up settling on the name? This is something that members of the development team touched on during an interview with Famitsu.
Monster Hunter X producer Shintaro Kojima started out with the following:
“Just as we said earlier, old and new elements cross over together [in the game]—so it bears the connotation of mingling. Moreover, the letter X looks like it divides the given space into four… so four hunting styles, four large main monsters, four villages. They’re all crossing.”
Producer Ryozo Tsujimoto then chimed in:
“We actually hesitated a lot [when coming up with the title]. Many title candidates were brought up, but ultimate it was the power of the letter’s appearance… the force one feels from the ‘Cross’ that led to [the choice of X].”
Finally, we have these words from director Yasunori Ichinose:
“It isn’t as though there was a particular reason for the number four; it just came about naturally through discussions. It was the same when creating the main monster. Usually, we only create one monster to highlight, but by making four of them we could think about creating monsters we couldn’t make so far.”
“The same goes for the hunting styles. We though that bringing out the individual play styles of players and increasing the amount of freedom through several play styles would be nice… and that’s how the different elements diversified and each of them just so happened to total up to four. It wasn’t predetermined, but personally speaking, I feel things worked out rather nicely in the end.”
The Great Ace Attorney team on development, thought about starting in London, music
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, News | 2 Comments
In the latest issue of Japanese magazine Nintendo Dream, The Great Ace Attorney director Shu Takumi and composer Yasumasa Kitagawa were interviewed by the magazine.
One of Nintendo Dream’s questions asks Takumi about what left the greatest impression on him during development. Takumi explains that because he was creating a whole new world, it took more time that he anticipated to create scenarios. He was actually in a hospital for roughly a month while The Great Ace Attorney was being made.
“It was just when we had to decide on a logo in order to announce The Great Ace Attorney, so I checked designs in the hospital,” he said. “Seeing the logo reminds me a bit of the scent in a hospital room (laughs).”
Zelda: Tri Force Heroes – fashion importance, additional talk about communication, more
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, News | 2 Comments
Game Informer has now published its full interview with The Legend of Zelda: Tri-Force Heroes director Hiromasa Shikata. Highlights include:
– On how it’s partially inspired by Four Swords in a way, but he didn’t set out to create a sequel to that title
– On why there are 3 players instead of 4
– The importance of fashion in the game
– More talk about communicating online
You can find Shikata’s comments to these various topics (and a couple more) below. The full interview is located here.
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
Project X Zone 2 producer on the story, characters talk
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, News | 0 comments
Siliconera caught up with Project X Zone 2 series producer Kensuke Tsukanaka at E3. The story and selection of certain characters were among the topics discussed.
We’ve posted a few of the interview excerpts below. For the full interview, head on over to Siliconera.
Monster Hunter X details – no underwater combat, Frenzied monsters, Guild Quests
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, News | 1 Comment
The team behind Monster Hunter X shared even more details about the game while speaking with Famitsu in an interview. Mainly, series producer Ryozo Tsujimoto and director Yasunori Ichinose spoke about how this new title differs from previous entries in the series.
Here’s the latest information:
– No underwater areas
– Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate’s Frenzied monsters and Guild Quests will not be returning
– This is because Capcom wants to emphasize the elements that will be unique to Monster Hunter X
– Verna Village is unique to X
– The village is more open and spacious compared to previous Monster Hunter villages that have a warm and dense feel
– The kind of life depicted in Verna is different from past Monster Hunter titles
– This difference in ambiance extends right from the colors of the village all the way to the way it’s designed for players
– Capcom somewhat emphasized interactions with non-villager beings for Verna Village
– Among these is the herbivorous “Moofer” species that is kept in Verna
– The worldview of Verna is unrelated to the prior Monster Hunter games
– This is because it’s important to create a unique worldview for each Monster Hunter title
– Verna will also be the only village in Monster Hunter X with a Guild Hall that is used to access multiplayer
– Can travel between multiple villages like in 4 Ultimate
– Do so via a hot-air balloon
– Part of some sort of ecosystem investigation that you will be carrying out through the course of your adventure
– Why you’re investigating the ecosystem is related to the game’s story
– Information will be revealed at regular intervals
– With the new details, players will begin to get some idea of just how the game plays
– When they actually get to play it for themselves, hopefully they’ll say: “Oh? It’s different from what I imagined, but it’s interesting!”
– Capcom wants to have a more personal hunting experience with the customization options
– They want to betray people’s expectations in a good way
Senran Kagura producer has many new ideas for the series
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, General Nintendo, News | 10 Comments
Several Senran Kagura games have been created since the series debuted in 2013. However, producer Kenichiro Takaki still seems to have many ideas in store for the future. He has more elements in general that he’d like to realize, and he also has a number of stories that he’d like to tell.
According to Takaki:
There are lots of new aspects I want to add to the series, and lots more stories I want to tell. If you play Senran Kagura 2 and Estival Versus, you might get a glimpse of what I’m trying to say, but there’s still a lot more story that I want to dive into!
The latest Senran Kagura game, Senran Kagura 2: Deep Crimson, is coming to North America and Europe in the very near future.
More: interview, Kenichiro Takaki, Senran Kagura
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].”