Yoshi’s Crafted World devs on the art style, kindergarten inspiration, flip side gimmick, more

In terms of the crafting elements and level design, what sort of ideas did Nintendo have?

Tezuka: I thought the crafting elements suited Yoshi and were great, but I told them that I thought it would benefit from more content.

Matsumiya: Obviously they have a very strong gimmick right from the start, but I also proposed the same thing.

Tezuka: Speaking of which, the very first level was revised several times. From the very start it was overstuffed and so difficult to play, so we had to do a lot of chopping and changing to find the right balance.

Matsumiya: While the steam train was in there from the start, we had a lot of trouble with how it was related to the level and how player would be able to make use of it…

Watanabe: Just riding the train in itself is fun though! (laughs)

Yamamoto: While we are on the topic, the idea of collecting parts of the train and putting it back together came from Matsumiya.

Matsumiya: Because we are talking about crafting, doesn’t that automatically mean making things by hand? Then I thought: what if this also includes something big?

Yamamoto: My first thought was, “The train I spent so long creating has been destroyed!” (All laugh) I really did spend a long time making that train… For the engine to attach this needs to go here, because the piston valve needs to rotate here this needs to be here… and then the steam can come out here. That sort of thing. Even though we are only talking about crafts, I made it as if it really were going to run.

I guess you being so particular is precisely what made it possible for the train to be taken apart and put back together again.

Watanabe: Because they made all of the materials so perfectly precise, I actually asked them to make them look a little rougher around the edges, a little less perfect. It might not be as attractive, but I think it looks more like it should. I mean, aren’t these things a bit too good for kindergarten kids? (laughs)

Yamamoto: We took that on board and designed the challenge levels with Yoshi Punch, where he is rougher to look at and moves a little more wobbly.

Tezuka: Because we also worked with some of the design of the New Super Mario Bros. series and we wanted this time for it to be possible to throw eggs even into the background, I feel like we got a lot of advice from Nintendo and how we could increase the areas eggs could be thrown into.

So you’ve really strengthened that distinctive Yoshi play-style. From Good Feel’s side, I think with Wii games like and Kirby’s Epic Yarn and Wario Land: Shake It, you have spent a lot of time working on games with a distinctive aesthetic. In terms of that, how do you fell about this game, Mr. Ebisu?

Ebisu: Because our company is skilled at game aesthetics, I wondered how we could actually improve upon it with this game. Not only that, but our company has mostly worked on 2D games and while Crafted World is also mainly the same, within that there is the ability to throw eggs into the background and enter solid objects. I think we were able to overcome a new type of challenge with this game.

Tezuka: I think only a company like Good Feel could have done it. Not only did they manage to meet all of our individual needs, but I also think the way they kept persevering until the end in order to make the game the best it could be was fantastic.

Yoshi 101

What sort of material is Yoshi made from in this game and how did you decide what to use?

Matsumiya: Yoshi’s body is made from a type of crafting material called ‘flocky’.

Yamamoto: Originally he was just the real Yoshi though.

Real Yoshi?

Yamamoto: The plain old original textured Yoshi that appeared in the Mario series. Because the game world was something similar to the real world, having the ordinary Yoshi standing there seemed a little odd. So we thought it would be better to have a Yoshi that fit into the game world and started searching for the right look.

Tezuka: Now you’re wondering what Yoshi is made from!

(laughs)

Yamamoto: But then if we made it too craft-like, for example like making Yoshi out of cardboard or something, then his usual appearance would end up being lost. The aim was to maintain his usual appearance as much as possible while making him fit into the world. While we tried things like clay and plastic figure textures, the one that left the best impression was the flocky one. If you were going to use him as a real toy, the feeling would be something like velvet.

How difficult did you make the game?

Matsumiya: Because we want people to enjoy the Yoshi world we have created we were aiming for a difficulty that allows players to have fun. Even though the game is designed around collecting flowers in order to advance to the next area, within each course it’s not only about the flowers but also the Poochy puppies on the reverse side, as well as finding all those crafting materials. That means players can play the levels over and over to collect everything.

But finding everything is a challenge in itself.

Matsumiya: That’s right. That’s why we have also added the Mellow Mode (where Yoshi can use wings to fly around the stage and takes less damage) and the ability to change the difficulty. While there may be some players wanting the same play challenge as Yoshi’s Island, I think there may also be players who want to enjoy the world but find the gameplay bewildering. Because of that, we thought about how we could help out those using the more casual Yoshi. So, for example we have a notification sound play when those players are close to flowers as a hint until they find it, so that we aren’t taking away that excitement of discovery.

How did you come up with the idea of changing crafted outfits?

Yamamoto: Right from the initial planning and development stage we were thinking about costumes for Yoshi. Things like cat ears for his head and also tails. In the plan for the original game where we had the two Yoshi’s completing the front and reverse, we created those outfits so that each Yoshi would be distinctive. Because the development plan changed and the need for those things became less important, they ended up becoming crafting parts that attached to his body.

Watanabe: And also, even if we started attaching lots of small things to Yoshi we weren’t entirely convinced who would use them or what they would use them for. Because we’d gone to all the effort of making those crafting parts, we thought we’d make the most of them and attach them to Yoshi too.

Matsumiya: Yoshi carrying those parts with his hands is also really adorable looking.

Yamamoto: That’s because Watanabe said that his hands were really cute, so we had to have him carrying them in his hands.

(All laugh)

Watanabe: When he is holding things in his hand it’s like a child pretending to be a train.

Message for the Fans

Yamamoto: Because each course has been so intricately designed, I want players to enjoy Yoshi’s Crafted World not only by playing but also with their eyes. There are plenty of things to find and also lots of crafting materials in there too that I want players to see. I’ll be very happy if players can really enjoy this world we have created.

Ebisu: Having the background levels for each stage in the game means that there is twice as much to enjoy. Replay each level over and over and enjoy this game for a long time to come.

Tezuka: I think there might be a few players who have played with Yoshi in the recent Smash Bros. release, but I think there are also plenty of those who do not play action games like that. So I definitely hope those who aren’t familiar to the Yoshi series and have yet it to play can enjoy this game. There is currently a trial version of the game on the Nintendo eShop, so I think players should try that first to see the type of game we have created.

Translation by provided by Corks on behalf of Nintendo Everything

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