Nintendo Magazine WildFire article: Yojiro Interview

One Classy Bloke · Post by **One Classy Bloke** » Thu Jul 20, 2006 12:34 pm

Tsuyoshi-kun wrote:Virtua Fighter would not count as shallow. It has one of the most, if not THE most, deepest, most complicated fighting systems in the entire genre.

But only three action buttons. An impressive feat.

(...)toolazyetcetc · Post by **(...)toolazyetcetc** » Thu Jul 20, 2006 2:21 pm

Virtua Fighter would not count as shallow.

The later ones maybe not, but the first one definitely would. So would stuff like Outrun, Streets of Rage, Shinobi, Monkey Ball, the original Sonic trilogy, Sega Rally, etc etc.

DackAttac · Post by **DackAttac** » Sun Jul 23, 2006 7:16 pm

Did we ever confirm it was on rails? Or was it just inferred from what could be a stupid explanation of the tilting-instead-of-joystick controls? Because those light-trails are to fill up a gauge akin to the dash meter in Rush, not necessarily a fixed path.

Hybrid · Post by **Hybrid** » Mon Jul 24, 2006 4:12 am

I really don't get any of the complaints you guys have been levelling at this game. Firstly, the only major bottomless pit I saw was right at the end of the demo on a perfectly straight path. That has to count for something, right?

It isn't exactly on rails, either. You can stop, backtrack, move left and right, and while it looks as though you can't leave the path you're meant to take, you can't say the game will have a lack of exploration based on one rather early demo. What's to stop Sega from adding higher alternate routes that you have to high-jump to, or forks in the road that both take you to different destinations?

With all the praise this game is getting (from everyone who played it, not just Wii/Sonic fanboys who can't fault anything either console/mascot does), I find it hard to believe anyone could just be assuming it will play and control like balls. Maybe its just the natural wariness of Sonic games we've all been building up since Adventure 2, but right now you're all being really unfair to a game that hasn't done anything wrong, and is apparently doing lots of things right.

Zeta · Post by **Zeta** » Mon Jul 24, 2006 3:34 pm

It sounds like a crappy version of Crash Bandicoot controlled by tilting the controller and with Sonic pasted into it. That sounds pretty wrong to me. We complain about linear stages, and they make a game that's even more linear than Heroes. Why should we praise that? It soulds more like a crappy arcade game than a Sonic game.

DackAttac · Post by **DackAttac** » Mon Jul 24, 2006 3:37 pm

It's not even that it's doing anything right, it's just that they really haven't confirmed any huge faux pas yet. The facts seem to be that we're all looking at the same minimalist footage and assuming our way into the most convenient verdict for our respective viewpoints on the saga. I'm hopeful not because it looks like the most fun I could have with Sonic. I'm hopeful because there aren't yet any new characters, gameplay seems to not involve vehicles, weapons, treasure hunting, fishing or psychic powers. I don't know what the hell the gameplay will be, as it all sounds very confusing, so I can't really do my lame white boy victory dance and buy a bottle of Dom PÃƒÂ©rignon in celebration of a good Sonic game after all this time. It could suck eggs from what we know.

But I don't hear "rails" from anything but our own flimsy inferences. All Sonic Team have said is "tilt the controller forward or backward to make Sonic go that way" and "tilt it left or right to make Sonic steer in that direction." Hasn't that been the way their joystick-driven gameplay has worked for the past eight years, only with the whole controller instead of a stick?

Hybrid · Post by **Hybrid** » Tue Jul 25, 2006 4:02 am

Zeta wrote:It sounds like a crappy version of Crash Bandicoot controlled by tilting the controller and with Sonic pasted into it.

The reason Crash Bandicoot sucked is because he was a completely bland and uninteresting character, with no real special abilities. The other reason is that the game was too linear. You can't really say the same for Wild Fire just yet, having said that I can't deny it either because none of us have any clue how finished levels will turn out.

Going just by what we've seen (and not assuming anything about the final product), it looks fun, at the very least. That seems like a positive thing to me, hence why I can't understand the negativity.

Or maybe its just that anything looks promising after Shadow.

Omni Hunter · Post by **Omni Hunter** » Tue Jul 25, 2006 1:32 pm

Nah, I liked Crash Bandicoot, it was proof that you didn't need special abilities to have a successful product.
As for the game being linear, this is one of the first ever 3d platforming games, of course it's going to be "a bit too linear".
Besides, the first few games were good at least.

I don't think Zeta said Crash Bandicoot sucked either, just that the gameplay seemed similar to CB but was of a lower quality.

Above all, I see Sonic Wildfire being a good Arcade game because it's quick and simple (Which is a good thing), but I'm not too sure of what it will be like at home.

Post by **G.Silver** » Tue Jul 25, 2006 3:43 pm

I didn't like Crash myself, it was too loose for a game with no "special abilities," and just felt like a thrown-together and overly simplistic platformer to me. I admit I didn't play it that much, but the only parts I really liked were the "dash towards the screen with a giant object chasing you" sections.

I felt Super Magnetic Neo had similar gameplay and I liked it a lot more, despite the retarded character and utterly inflexible "magnetic power," which was--typically--more of an on-off annoyance than a gameplay mechanic that made the game any more fun. It's probably just because it's Japanese, right? ;)

Post by **Popcorn** » Tue Jul 25, 2006 4:25 pm

I too liked Super Magnetic Neo a lot more than Crash. I'm really sensitive to shitty art direction and character design and that kind of stuff, though, and the fact that I hate the Crash series so much is largely indebted to my powerful dislike of the character himself.

It's probably just because it's Japanese, right? ;)

Of all the games I've really loved, many are Western, but most are Japanese. Thinking about it, I don't think any of my preferred non-Japanese titles are third-person action/adventure games. I generally dislike the way Western developers approach art direction (see above) and also their... I dunno, this is a very hard thing to express, but I dislike the way lots of third-person Western games feel. Some intangible quality makes Mario, Ico, Sonic and Snake feel much more natural and satisfying to me, control-wise, than the Prince in PoP or Jade in Beyond Good and Evil (both games I enjoyed). There's something about things like animation and the collision detection that only the Japanese seem to be masters of. Even a game like PoP which received widespread praise for its animation and fluidity felt slightly wrong to me.

If I ever find myself in that unlikely position of 'video game director', that's my biggest fear: that I will be unable to communicate all this to my invevitably Western staff, and that despite my unprecedented brilliance my beautiful visions will end up just looking and feeling wrong.

Post by **Segaholic2** » Tue Jul 25, 2006 4:35 pm

Sure, blame someone else.

Post by **Green Gibbon!** » Tue Jul 25, 2006 5:42 pm

I liked the first couple of Crash games okay based on the little time I spent with them, but whoever decided it was mascot material should be ear raped by diseased hyenas. I remember at the time it was being compared to the likes of Mario 64 and NiGHTS, which, y'know. Toshinden was awarded similar unjust attention.

If I ever find myself in that unlikely position of 'video game director', that's my biggest fear: that I will be unable to communicate all this to my invevitably Western staff, and that despite my unprecedented brilliance my beautiful visions will end up just looking and feeling wrong.

I get the impression that the "Western" feel is not so much due to lack of staff who understand the concept of subtlety so much as management who (probably justifiably) question its market value. "Make this character edgier", "punk up this dialogue a bit", "darken those textures", "needs bigger guns and glitzier explosion effects". I imagine the characteristically clunky controls stem from a greater emphasis on exaggerated animation (looks good in screenshots and videos and has always been a distinguishing feature of Western animation) rather than tight mechanics. Japan is a smaller market and they've kind of historically always been better at sublety in their aesthetics than any Western culture, so...

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Tue Jul 25, 2006 7:02 pm

Theres lots of great games developed by America
as well as japan,whom people seem to worship!
People tell Americans to brush up on there art
but when they use anything similar to Anime everyone
gets racist.Huge eyes aren't trademark the Japanese
race,exspecialy since Huge eyes were first done in
America,and to say somebody is better at something
because race is disgusting,not saying anyones done that!
but any what about people like Insomniac Games,
Sucker Punch Productions,Naughty Dog made the Jak & Daxter
franchise,which no one can tell me sucked!That game was great
and had a great art style to boot,along with story,just because
some people don't like them does not make japan better.

Zeta · Post by **Zeta** » Tue Jul 25, 2006 7:36 pm

Insomniac Games,
Sucker Punch Productions,Naughty Dog made the Jak & Daxter
franchise,which no one can tell me sucked!

1) Jak 2 and 3 sucked. The Crash Bandicoot games were mediocre with slight flashes of innovation that were quickly lost.

2) Insomniac Games is great at landscape and level design, awful at character design. They make the most bland characters in videogaming. And I'm including Awesome Possum in consideration.

Post by **Segaholic2** » Tue Jul 25, 2006 7:36 pm

Go back to Europe.

Post by **Delphine** » Tue Jul 25, 2006 7:39 pm

What.

Ngangbius · Post by **Ngangbius** » Tue Jul 25, 2006 7:53 pm

Wasn't Jak's design based on the opinions of a focus group? XD

Post by **Popcorn** » Tue Jul 25, 2006 8:13 pm

The blacks suck at character design.

BlazeHedgehog · Post by **BlazeHedgehog** » Tue Jul 25, 2006 8:26 pm

I used to hate Crash Bandicoot, then I forced myself to play through the first game. I haven't played 2 or 3, but the first Crash Bandicoot is a great platformer. It's aged very well, and I went through roughly half the game again a few nights back.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Tue Jul 25, 2006 8:51 pm

Popcorn wrote:The blacks suck at character design.

I assume your joking,because either way your wrong,the thing
you don't get is race doesn't make you better than anyone.
Thats about like saying white men can't jump and ignoring all
the white athletes,or saying asian people have crooked teeth when
thans a clear lie,or saying black people are stupid,that to is a lie!
@Zeta

Well thats your opinion,those games were great in my opinion,did you
even bother playing those games?What about Ratchet & Clank?Sly Cooper,
what about games like Halo,Doom,Quake,Myth,and Oni?those games are widely
popular but people refuse to admit that japan isn't the best,people should
stop worshiping japan,there no better or worse than any other person!
You have your good and bad just like every other race.

Post by **Segaholic2** » Tue Jul 25, 2006 9:08 pm

Anonymous wrote:I assume your joking,because either way your wrong,the thing
you don't get is race doesn't make you better than anyone.
Thats about like saying white men can't jump and ignoring all
the white athletes,or saying asian people have crooked teeth when
thans a clear lie,or saying black people are stupid,that to is a lie!

I completely disagree with this post! I think race is the largest factoring denominator when it comes to physical attributes and prowess (or the lack thereof)! Oh, to be born tall, white, blonde, and proud! My life dream is to bring about the genesis of the Fourth Reich and successfully finish what Hitler himself started! We shall rape, burn, and pillage the niggers, kikes, spics, gooks, chinks, half-breeds, retards, faggots, and pizza boys!

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Tue Jul 25, 2006 9:15 pm

Segaholic2 wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I assume your joking,because either way your wrong,the thing
you don't get is race doesn't make you better than anyone.
Thats about like saying white men can't jump and ignoring all
the white athletes,or saying asian people have crooked teeth when
thans a clear lie,or saying black people are stupid,that to is a lie!
I completely disagree with this post! I think race is the largest factoring denominator when it comes to physical attributes and prowess (or the lack thereof)! Oh, to be born tall, white, blonde, and proud! My life dream is to bring about the genesis of the Fourth Reich and successfully finish what Hitler himself started! We shall rape, burn, and pillage the niggers, kikes, spics, gooks, chinks, half-breeds, retards, faggots, and pizza boys!

Oh well,didn't exspext any one to take me seriously,resume your
previous conversation,and thanks for your time.

Shadow Hog · Post by **Shadow Hog** » Tue Jul 25, 2006 11:23 pm

Moving away from racial discussion (well, kinda), something that makes me wonder here... I see people complaining about unoriginality in character design pretty much on a daily basis these days. So, to that I'll ask, what exactly would you consider a quality that makes characters stand out from the rest? Obviously being generic isn't a good idea (ie: when making a fox character, don't make it look exactly like a red fox, since the furry community's beaten that into the ground and then some), and remaining appealing is pretty good too, but even still, I'd kinda like some thoughts here.

j-man · Post by **j-man** » Tue Jul 25, 2006 11:33 pm

Shadow Hog wrote:when making a fox character, don't make it look exactly like a red fox, since the furry community's beaten that into the ground

With their penises.

Huh-huh. Huh-huh.

Shadow Hog · Post by **Shadow Hog** » Wed Jul 26, 2006 6:27 am

I was thinking the non-yiffy pictures, though I'll admit that when you get into that field the subject's been driven into the core of the frickin' planet.