Category Archives: Magazine Translations

Takahashi Meijin Speaks: The Game Industry During the First Year of the Heisei Era

Magazine Translations

Interview/Text: Kaze no Iona Photography - Noriaki Watanabe Profile - Starting out in the game industry with Hudson in 1982, he was in the PR department when Hudson began releasing games on the Famicom, and was known to the media as "Takahashi Meijin". Since leaving Hudson in 2011 he's appeared on broadcasts as a game presenter, established his own company called DokiDoki Groove Works, and has otherwise continued to be active in the industry. 30 years ago, the name of the era changed to Heisei. What was the game industry like during that first year? We took a look back on it with someone who was on the front line as an employee of Hudson, Takahashi Meijin. Continue Reading

Our Nostalgic Games: Samurai Shodown

Magazine Translations

Our Nostalgic Games ~Retro Gamer Roundtable~ #202

Editors passionately discussing games playable on modern hardware that are just as good as they've ever been!

Arcade Archives Neo Geo (PS4) - Samurai Shodown

A weapons-based fighting game with a Japanese flavor that was released by SNK in 1993. With swords and daggers as your weapons and a single blow being fatal, many intense matches can unfold. Original Release Year: 1993 Hardware: Arcade Date of Digital Release: 12/08/2016 Maker: Hamster Continue Reading

The People Who Resurrected Samurai Shodown

Magazine Translations

Kaito Soranaka (Planner): He was primarily in charge of the battle system, and also served as the director of SNK Heroines. Nobuyuki Kuroki (Director): The director who supervised the entire project, also a long-time developer who worked on Fatal Fury, etc. Yumi Saji (Character Designer): She was in charge of the character design, and also worked on King of Fighters XIV. Taking a new look at what makes the series popular for the first time in about 10 years, a new Samurai Shodown game has been released. We bring you this interview with three of the staff members involved in its creation.

Hardships and Inside Stories of the Development that Created the Samurai Spirit

Please give us some details about how development on this game began. (Kuroki) I heard this from the producer Yasuyuki Oda, but apparently he was asked by a chairman within our company if we were finally going to release a new Samurai Shodown game. I guess it all began when Oda answered with "Let's do it!". The Samurai Shodown series has the most personality of all of SNK's titles when it comes to visuals and game play systems. So project planning began with us thinking about how it's so easy to distinguish from those other titles, and how it will be able to bring in new fans. Continue Reading

Final Fantasy VIII Remastered: New Features!

Magazine Translations

Straight from the director of the original version and producer of the remastered version, Yoshinori Kitase! Please tell us about how FFVIII came to be remastered. (Kitase) Thinking about how we want all the fans of the original games in the FF series to enjoy them, even though the hardware has changed, we started planning for remasters of FFVII, FFVIII, and FFIX. The releases of FFVII and FFIX both proceeded according to plan. But for FFVIII, the move to a higher resolution on modern hardware really raised graphical quality across the board. We kept tuning the game as much as we possibly could within the limits of the porting process, so that the models and motion capture wouldn't break down. I believe we achieved a high level of quality that will make fans satisfied. Continue Reading

Space Invaders Invincible Collection: Creator Interview

Magazine Translations

To commemorate the announcement of this new title, we have an interview with the original Space Invaders creator Tomohiro Nishikado, as well as Yuuichi Toyama, who is handling the collection. They tell us some behind the scenes stories about the legendary game that created such an enormous boom, as well as some interesting things about the collection. Pay close attention to this first hand account from the person that helped create game culture as we know it today. Tomohiro Nishikado (Taito Advisor) - The creator of Space Invaders needs no introduction. He currently works as an adviser for Taito. Yuuichi Toyama (Producer of the Space Invaders Invincible Collection) - He joined Taito in 2017, and has previously worked on the Darius Cozmic Collection.

The Game That Caused a Move From Electromechanical to Video Games

As of 2018, it's been 40 years since the first Space Invaders game. Mr. Nishikado, do you have a lot of emotional attachment to it, being the developer? (Nishikado) I continue being surprised at how much time has passed, every 10 years since its release. Continue Reading

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