https://shmuplations.com/ffxi2/
This Final Fantasy XI interview with director/writer Kenichi Iwao was originally featured in the FFXI Story Ultimania mook and explores how the backstory and lore were created for Square's inaugural and long-lived MMORPG. The conversation covers the races and cultures of Vana'diel, the Vana'diel Tribune, and various memories Iwao has after 8 years of managing FFXI.
This has...
Greetings to all patrons new and old. It's time again to offer suggestions and feedback re: what you'd like to see translated in the next few months. I'll still be referring to the previous voting posts, but it's never a bad idea to post again what you'd like to see translated. Also, if multiple people suggest the same interview, it's more likely to get translated, so feel free to second other people's suggestions. And as always, don't hesitate to ask questions about the interviews if y...
2022-07-09 01:12:55 +0000 UTC View Post
https://shmuplations.com/shinsekai/
This short interview with the in-house SNK sound team known as Shinsekai Gakkyoku Zatsugidan (New World Music and Performance Group) originally appeared in Neo Geo Freak magazine. The conversation never goes too deep, but offers brief comments on Garou Densetsu, King of Fighters, and Samurai Spirits. I've also attached the more colorful liner notes from the Samurai Spirits 19...
https://shmuplations.com/aceattorney3/
This lengthy Ace Attorney 3 interview originally appeared in the Gyakuten Saiban 3 Shinsou Kaimei guidebook printed in 2004. While conducted for the release of GS3, in their various recollections director Shu Takumi, producer Atsushi Inaba, and designer Tatsuro Iwamoto touch on all three games of the original trilogy.
https://shmuplations.com/ffiv/
Final Fantasy IV was a major turning point for Square, and marked the real beginning of their cinematic storytelling ambitions. These interviews chronicle the release of FFIV, with a major emphasis on addressing the criticisms from FFIII. They also piece together the timeline of how the Famicom FFIV was abandoned; please note that the first two interviews refer to the SFC game as "FFV"...
https://shmuplations.com/ksuzuki/
https://shmuplations.com/kojikondo/
This interview with composer Keiichi Suzuki was sourced at the GSLA (it likely was originally featured in one of the many Japanese 32-bit magazines). The main focus is on his work on Kaze no Regret, Kenji Eno's innovative "no visuals" adventure game that is yet to be...
https://shmuplations.com/takatsunasenba/
This lengthy interview originally appeared in the legendary gaming magazine CONTINUE in 2001, and was later recompiled with others in "the style of game" book printed in 2012. The first half of this interview covers Senba's experiences in the anime industry (on Char's Counterattack, in particular), the transition to Taito and game development, and the design of his ...
https://shmuplations.com/moon/
This Moon developer interview was originally featured in the "Moon: Official Book" printed in 1997. It mostly focuses on the backstory of the characters and world, including things that didn't make it into the game (though some of the answers should be probably be taken with a grain of salt). The book also features a small selection of concept art with developer commentary, which I've ...
https://shmuplations.com/saga2/
In these two Famitsu interviews (dated 1990 and 2008), series creator Akitoshi Kawazu, planner Hiromichi Tanaka, and composer Kenji Ito discuss the making of SaGa 2: Hihou Densetsu (Final Fantasy Legend II), the popular sequel to the idiosyncratic Game Boy RPG Makai Toushi SaGa (Final Fantasy Legend) and the game that cemented the SaGa series as a pillar of Square's RPG output.
https://shmuplations.com/chuchurocket/
These three interviews, starting with an interview from Dreamcast Magazine vol 35 (1999), cover the making of Sega's 4-player party-puzzler Chu Chu Rocket, an outwardly simple game that served as a template for several pioneering technical efforts for Sonic Team, including full online multiplayer on the Sega Dreamcast and extensive single-cartridge multiplayer functiona...
Greetings to all patrons new and old. It's time again to offer suggestions and feedback re: what you'd like to see translated in the next few months. I'll still be referring to the previous voting posts, but it's never a bad idea to post again what you'd like to see translated. Also, if multiple people suggest the same interview, it's more likely to get translated, so feel free to second other people's suggestions. And as always, don't hesitate to ask questions about the interviews if y...
2022-04-11 03:05:03 +0000 UTC View Post
https://shmuplations.com/thinkingrabbit/
This early interview with Thinking Rabbit founder and amateur-turned-pro developer Hiroyuki Imabayashi first appeared in the 12/83 issue of LOGiN magazine. Thinking Rabbit is probably best known in the West for venerable puzzle game Sokoban, but they were prolific in many other areas, notably adventure games. The original editorial commentary is closely woven into t...
https://shmuplations.com/kirbynightmare/
This Kirby: Nightmare in Dream Land interview was originally featured in Nintendo Dream in 11/2002 (a truncated version was also published online at NOM). The questions are lighthearted and fawning, but it's fun to see the team joke around as they explain the various design choices behind Kirby's first GBA outing. Note: I've edited the interview down a little bit fr...
https://shmuplations.com/shinjimikami/
This interview with legendary Capcom creator Shinji Mikami originally appeared in the book "Capcom Denshi no Moushatachi" published in 2000. The free-wheeling conversation explores the contrast between Mikami's approach to game design and that of Capcom veteran Yoshiki Okamoto, and also looks at marketing challenges and Mikami's conflicted feelings about his new role as...
https://shmuplations.com/yokoixeno/
This charming discussion with pioneering creatives Kenji Eno and Gunpei Yokoi was originally featured in an "Eno-themed" special edition of Game Hihyou from 1996. The actual interview took place in August of that year, mere days before Yokoi would retire from Nintendo to start his own development studio. The first part of their talk revolves around the Virtual Boy before ...
https://shmuplations.com/bahamutlagoon/
https://shmuplations.com/ketsui/
Hey all! For today's update we've got two medium-sized interviews that patrons have been requesting for awhile. Neither was long enough for a single update, but together they make a nice addition to the archive. FYI, I've appended the Ketsui interview (whic...
https://shmuplations.com/shikigami2/
This Shikigami no Shiro II interview originally appeared in the Official Setting Materials book published by Famitsu in 2003. It largely focuses on the new characters Roger Sasuke and Niigi G.B., while also taking a close look at the boss and stage design. The Shikigami series is (in)famous in the West for a butchered "localization" (Mobile Light Force 2), and while this in...
https://shmuplations.com/densha/
Densha de Go! is one of Japan's most enduring and inimitable arcade franchises, but it's little known in the West owing to the inherently local appeal of the Japanese rail system. This interview was originally featured in Gamest magazine and focuses on the game's conception and design. Some of the place names will probably be unfamiliar to the Western reader, but keep them...
https://shmuplations.com/ocarinaoftime/
This lengthy Ocarina of Time interview first appeared in a Japanese strategy guide. The interviewer's strong opinions are a good match for producer Shigeru ...
https://shmuplations.com/radianthistoria/
Originally appearing in the Radiant Historia: World Guidance book, this lengthy interview with three key members of the development team looks at the conception, design, and story inspiration behind the oft-overlooked DS rpg. This interview was co...
Greetings patrons! If you've checked out the new Masayasu Yamamoto translation, you've probably had a chance to see the re-design, but I wanted to formally introduce it here and give you a walkthrough of some of the new features and changes. But first, a small look back at how it all got started...
When I first created shmuplations.com in 2013, it had been 10 years since I last touched anything...
2022-01-19 06:51:20 +0000 UTC View Post
https://shmuplations.com/valis/
This interview with programmer Masayasu Yamamoto originally appeared in the Game Shokunin book. In the 1980s Yamamoto worked on PC-88 and X1 games at Nihon Telnet, and in the 90s he made SFC and PSX games for Climax and Matrix. Today he works at Chunsoft. The main focus here is Valis, but he also touches on other games, including the unusual MSX shooter Androgynous.
T...
2022-01-18 14:32:58 +0000 UTC View PostGreetings to all patrons new and old. It's time again to offer suggestions and feedback re: what you'd like to see translated in the next few months. I'll still be referring to the previous voting posts, but it's never a bad idea to post again what you'd like to see translated. Also, if multiple people suggest the same interview, it's more likely to get translated, so feel free to second other people's suggestions. And as always, don't hesitate to ask questions about the interviews if y...
2022-01-16 10:03:43 +0000 UTC View Post
http://shmuplations.com/masayukiuemura/
This interview with Nintendo engineer Masayuki Uemura, who pass away earlier this month at the age of 78, was originally featured in Used Games magazine in 2000. Uemura would retire from Nintendo in 2004 and move on to a teaching position at Ritsumeikan University (a move he predicts at the end of this interview), but here he reflects broadly on the development histor...
http://shmuplations.com/zombienation/
This Abarenbou Tengu (Zombie Nation in the US) interview with director/composer Takane Ohkubo was originally featured in the liner notes of Clarice Disc’s “Rom Cassette Disc” series. For a semi-obscure cult classic, Abarenbou Tengu has a surprisingly interesting development history that sheds a (not entirely flattering) light on the struggles of third-party Famicom ...
http://shmuplations.com/kondoxsakai/
In 2003 legendary Nintendo composers Koji Kondo and Shogo Sakai met at a music studio where Sakai was recording the Kirby Air Ride OST cd. Nintendo Dream interviewed them both and the result was a free-wheeling conversation covering various aspects of their long careers. The discussion includes interesting trivia about specific songs as well as more general musings on their...
http://shmuplations.com/fftwotl/
This lengthy Final Fantasy Tactics: War of the Lions interview was originally printed in Square-Enix’s Official Complete Guide. As one might expect, it focuses almost entirely on the additions to the PSP version, especially the new movies, jobs, and link play features. The team, who were all huge fans of the original, comes across as exceedingly thoughtful in the integration of t...
http://shmuplations.com/sugiyama/
Like all Dragon Quest fans around the world, I was deeply saddened to learn of Kouichi Sugiyama’s recent passing. I wanted to do my part in celebrating his work with these three vintage interviews. Two of them cover Sugiyama’s personal history and approach to game music, in which he advocated for game composers to learn the fundamentals of music theory as he felt this would e...
https://shmuplations.com/puyopuyotsu/
Taken from Studio Bent’s All About Puyo Puyo Tsu book, this long interview saw director Kengo Morita, assistant programmer Yasutoshi Akiyama and designers Sonchou Sawa and Aya Shimazaki discussing the creation of Puyo Puyo Tsu, the second arcade entry in Compile’s wildly popular and influential falling-block puzzle game series.
Conducted during the early stages...
http://shmuplations.com/gunhazard/
These Front Mission: Gun Hazard interviews originally appeared in Famicom Tsuushin magazine and two aftermarket Japanese strategy guides. Led by Assault Suits Valken director Hideo Suzuki, the Omiya Soft team covers the usual ground of character design, story, and gameplay, but also finds time for some silly-but-practical digressions into cooking and dishes.
For some rea...