shmuplations

Galaga - 30th Anniversary Developer Interview

http://shmuplations.com/galaga/

This interview with Galaga creator and design Shigeru Yokoyama offers a unique look at the creation of this arcade classic, early development at Namco, and the storied “golden age” of the arcades in general. ...

Tsuneki Ikeda – 2004 Developer Interview

http://shmuplations.com/ikeda/

There are many interviews at shmuplations with Tsuneki Ikeda, leading man at Cave, but this one focuses on his “big picture” ideas about STG game design and danmaku. The italicized text at the top came from a s...

Gunpei Yokoi x Yukihito Morikawa - 1997 Developer Interview

http://shmuplations.com/yokoi/

This interview with legendary Nintendo designer Gunpei Yokoi and Yukihito Morikawa of little known developer MuuMuu was a personal favorite of mine to translate. It was conducted in 1997, just before Yokoi’s tragic e...

Clover Studios and Okami – Developer Interviews

http://shmuplations.com/okami/

These two interviews with Clover Studio founders Atsushi Inaba and Hideki Kamiya mainly cover the design philosophy of Clover and the creation of Okami. There are also a few small comments on Viewtiful Joe at the end.

KTL-NAL – 2008 Superplayer Interview

http://shmuplations.com/scorer8/
In this short interview, superplayer KTL-NAL talks about his experience playing Dodonpachi Type-B and scoring generally. He still holds the record for Type-B, at 704,468,390.

Animal Crossing – Developer Interviews

http://shmuplations.com/animalcrossing/

These two Dōbutsu no Mori (Animal Crossing) interviews from 2003 and 2001 explore the origins of the series, the guiding theme of “communication,” and its use of music and sound. Both interviews wer...

Artdink Corp. – Developer Interviews

http://shmuplations.com/artdink/

Founded in 1986 and still active today, Artdink is a Japanese pc/console developer famous (in Japan, at least) for their simulation games. The first of these two interviews touches on the origins of Artdink and the A-t...

http://shmuplations.com/scorer7/

This short but sweet interview with STG superplayer Dame KK covers his experience at the Japanese STG event Wasshoi (now in Europe). Although there is no specific strategy discussions, he ably conveys his passion for ...

Shigeru Miyamoto x Yuji Naka – 2001 Developer Interview

http://shmuplations.com/miyamotoxnaka/

This is a very special piece of gaming history: the first ever interview with former Sega/Nintendo rivals Yuji Naka and Shigeru Miyamoto. It took place in December 2001, right around the release of Sonic A...

Crimzon Clover - 2011 Composer Interview

http://shmuplations.com/crimzoncloverost/ 

This very short Crimzon Clover interview with composer potechi was originally featured in the always excellent publication STG Gameside. I translated it mainly as a little nod to the newly rele...

3DO - Console Discussion

http://shmuplations.com/3do/ 

These 3DO interviews represent a kind of time capsule, taking you back to the eve of the next-gen hardware wars in 1994. I don’t usually translate material that is this “promotional” in nature, but in between the ...

Undercover Cops - 1993 Developer Interview

http://shmuplations.com/undercovercops/ This Undercover Cops interview with creator Meeher (of later Metal Slug fame) and composer Takushi Hiyamuta is mainly centered around the creation of the character Rosa: her design, voice recording, and signat...

Koji Igarashi - Castlevania Interviews

http://shmuplations.com/kojiigarashi These three short Koji Igarashi interviews go over design details from several of his Castlevania games of the last decade. They are small, but represent my minor contribution to the Bloodstained hype. The third pie...

Bloodstained - 2015 Developer Interview

http://shmuplations.com/bloodstained This interview with Koji Igarashi about Bloodstained first appeared in game*spark, and was conducted when Igarashi returned to Japan after a week of promotions in the US. There have already been a number of excellen...

Battle Garegga - Composer Commentaries

http://shmuplations.com/gareggaost/ This composer commentary on the Battle Garegga remixes for the Saturn port was found at the old Raizing homepage. It’s a light piece and comes off mostly as a Garegga/Namiki love-in, but is a fun read given the big ...

Senko no Ronde - 2010 Developer Interview

http://shmuplations.com/senkonoronde/ This interview with G.Rev director Hiroyuki Maruyama mainly covers the origins and design of the “vs. shooting” series Senko no Ronde, but also touches on some general questions about STG. Unfortunately, there...

Ys IV - 1993 Developer Interview Collection

http://shmuplations.com/ysiv/ These lengthy Ys IV interviews mainly came from an Ys IV strategy guide published in 1993. They cover the music, game design, and challenges of the joint development between Hudson and Falcom. Also included at the end is a specia...

Capcom 1991 Retrospective

http://shmuplations.com/capcom1991/ This 1991 Capcom retrospective catches the arcade all-star team of Okamoto, Nishitani, and Funamizu just before the runaway success of Street Fighter II. The candid talk features design details from several of their e...

Motoi Sakuraba - 2002 Composer Interview

http://shmuplations.com/motoisakuraba/ This interview with veteran composer Motoi Sakuraba of tri-Ace, Wolf Team, and Dark Souls fame covers some obscure details of his early FM work, as well as his personal history and composition process. I’ve al...

Valkyrie Profile - 1999 Developer Interview

http://www.shmuplations.com/valkyrieprofile/ This Valkryie Profile interview with director Yoshiharu Gotanda covers the design, difficulty balance, and origin of the game as a strategy RPG. I have also appended a small portion of another interv...

Metal Slug - Developer Interviews

http://www.shmuplations.com/metalslug These three Metal Slug interviews cover the design of the first two entries in the series. The heavy focus on character-based questions may seem odd for a Metal Slug interview, but it should be remembered that, th...

Metroid Fusion / Zero Mission - 2003 Developer Interviews

http://shmuplations.com/metroidgba Closing out April, these two short interviews with Metroid Fusion and Zero Mission director Yoshio Sakamoto cover the changes in Samus’ design, the contrast between these games and previous Metroids, and the challenge...

Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap – 2004 Developer Interview

http://shmuplations.com/minishcap/ This very short Minish Cap interview with supervisor Eiji Aonuma and director Hidemaro Fujibayashi from Famitsu magazine briefly goes over their design ideas and the influence of Capcom on Zelda.

Cosmic Fantasy – 1992 Developer Interview

http://shmuplations.com/cosmicfantasy/ Cosmic Fantasy is a relatively unknown series of four RPGs by Telnet released for the PC Engine. Kazuhiro Ochi is an animator who tried his hand at game design, though he never made anything past the Cosmic Fant...

Gimmick! – 2011 Composer Interview

http://shmuplations.com/gimmick/ This short Gimmick! interview with composer Masashi Kageyama was featured in the liner notes of a Sunsoft remix cd. Though brief, it makes a nice companion piece or appetizer to the longer Gimmick interviews over at glitter...

Dragon Quest vs. Dragon Slayer – 1987 Developer Interview

http://shmuplations.com/kiyahorii/ Yuji Horii and Yoshio Kiya were two of the giants of the Japanese RPG world in the 80s. This short but sweet interview offers a candid, broad look at their development process before turning to speculation on the future...

Ace Attorney: Justice for All - 2002 Developer Interviews

http://shmuplations.com/justiceforall/ Long before it was re-released on the DS in the west, Ace Attorney (or Gyakuten Saiban) was a critical hit in Japan on the GBA. These two interviews go over the influences of the series and the differences betwe...

Mega Man X Development Diary

http://shmuplations.com/megamanx/ This Mega Man X developer diary is a funny look at what sounds like a very difficult development. While light on technical insights into the Mega Man X development, it's a nice a slice-of-life piece from Capcom in the ear...

After Burner II – Developer Interviews

http://shmuplations.com/afterburner/ These two Afterburner interviews are from 1988 and 1996, but I have compiled them (by subject matter) into a single interview. The seminal arcade title was mostly developed by the three-man team of Yu Suzuki, Satosh...

Blazing Star - 1998 Developer Interviews

http://shmuplations.com/blazingstar/ These two Blazing Star interviews from 1998 cover the game's stage design, characters, and its relationship with Pulstar. The first interview was featured in Neo Geo Freak magazine, and the second was conducted by J...