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The No More Heroes series finally returns in January with Travis Strikes Again. However, fans are also curious about the next true entry in the series – No More Heroes 3.

We’ve heard Suda51 speak about No More Heroes 3 ever since Travis Strikes Again was announced. And in an interview with Kotaku UK, he once again touched on the topic.

Compared to some other recent RPGs, reaching the “end” of Pokemon: Let’s Go, Pikachu and Pokemon: Let’s Go, Eevee doesn’t take terribly long. Director Junichi Masuda was asked about this in the Japanese strategy guide, which was then published in the English version.

Masuda explained that he didn’t want Pokemon: Let’s Go to entirely monopolize your time – especially in the age of smartphones and the fact that people play other games. The team therefore increased the walking speed “and kept the playtime needed to reach the Hall of Fame on the shorter side.”

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

In just three days, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate sold five million copies worldwide. Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa commented on the early success while speaking with The Sankei News.

Furukawa said, “The people who’ve played Smash before are coming back for this one; that accumulation of players contributed to the initial push [in sales]”. He also said that Nintendo needs to continue selling “and not get caught up in that initial momentum.”

Recently, Japanese magazine Famitsu interviewed Persona Q2 director Yuta Aihara and producer Daisuke Kanada. Two discussions were published in back-to-back issues. Aihara and Kanada spoke about the reactions from fans, improvements made compared to the first entry, and more.

We’ve readied a full translation of both interviews. You can read the talks in full below.

Takafumi Kiuchi was the lead artist on The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. One of his major roles was coming up with the designs for the Guardians. In the recently-translated Zelda: Breath of the Wild – Creating a Champion art book, Kiuchi spoke about their creation.

Interestingly, Kiuchi revealed that the Guardians weren’t set as being Link’s allies or enemies when development was in its early stages. He therefore went with a design that was more neutral. Kiuchi also said that “there was a design for a giant, fortress-like Guardian that was equipped with multiple beam cannons, but we were ultimately unable to implement it.”

Masahiro Sakurai

In last week’s issue of Famitsu, the Japanese magazine shared a lengthy interview with Super Smash Bros. Ultimate director Masahiro Sakurai. A slightly longer version was then issued on the publication’s website.

During the interview, Sakurai commented on most major aspects of the game. This includes when development itself actually started, Spirits (including World of Light), the new fighters, online play and eSports, and what lies ahead for the future. We’ve prepared a full translation of the discussion below.

When The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild was early on in development, Nintendo had some very different ideas in mind for the design of the Gorons. Lead NPC artist Hirohito Shinoda revealed in the recently-translated Creating a Champion art book that the team was planning a drastic change in which they had bigger heads, a more human-like appearance, and more. However, “none of them really fit.” This led to basing the Gorons on their original design from Ocarina of Time.

Shinoda said:

DenFamiNicoGamer was recently given the opportunity to speak with Super Smash Bros. Ultimate director Masahiro Sakurai. At one point of the discussion, Sakurai revealed that he wasn’t directly involved with character balancing for this game.

Siliconera translated the relevant portion of the interview. Here’s what Sakurai said on the subject:

Pokemon: Let’s Go, Pikachu and Pokemon: Let’s Go, Eevee director Junichi Masuda has commented on the game’s visuals.

According to Masuda, the team wanted to make the graphics approachable – especially for parents. He explained that he “didn’t want to make it a game that would cause parents to feel mistrustful of our games.” Game Freak also “didn’t want it to look scary.” This is partially why the team went about making character proportions “look a bit childish”.

Masahiro Sakurai started out at HAL Laboratory where he directed several Kirby games. About a decade later, he left the company and now operates on more of a freelance basis.

Sakurai spoke with EDGE this month about a variety of topics, including why he left HAL. He noted that it had nothing to do with losing interest in creating Kirby games. As far as Smash Bros. goes, he says it lets him make “something with more value and wide-reaching effects.” Sakurai added that he doesn’t feel like he’s “stuck in a rut doing similar things.”


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