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Messages - Penguin_Of_Thyme

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TalkBack / It Takes Two Interview with Hazelight and Turn Me Up
« on: November 02, 2022, 11:12:00 AM »

We spoke with Josef Fares of Hazelight alongside Louis Polak and Scott Cromie of Turn Me Up.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/interview/62009/it-takes-two-interview-with-hazelight-and-turn-me-up

It Takes Two will debut worldwide for Nintendo Switch on November 4. To discuss this, we recently interviewed Producer Louis Polak and Executive Producer Scott Cromie of Turn Me Up Games, the developer in charge of the Switch port. In addition, from Hazelight Studios, we spoke with Josef Fares, the Writer and Director of It Takes Two.

Nintendo World Report (NWR): Turn Me Up Games is no stranger to the Switch. You've ported the Borderlands Collection and Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons. Could you talk a little bit about porting It Takes Two to Switch? Were there any unique challenges?  

Scott Cromie: First of all, as you mentioned, the Switch we have a ton of experience on. It's definitely been a bread and butter platform for us over the last few years. It's a surprisingly powerful platform if you understand it, which we do just based on the other projects that we've done. At the same time, It Takes Two is a beautiful game and I think the biggest challenges were player expectations. At project onset it was like, "Do we feel like we can do this right?" And at the time it hadn't received a game of the year award. At the point that it did, kind of the stakes went up, but thankfully we again knew what we were doing and really feel like we were able to apply everything that we've learned over the last five years and all the games that we've released on Switch to It Takes Two and I think the final product is evident of that.

NWR: As far as graphical features, did you need to pare anything down for the Switch version? And speaking of framerate and resolution, were there any challenges in that area?

Scott Cromie: So our targets were the same as any game that we've done previously, which was 720p handheld, 1080p docked, 30fps, and we achieved that. As far as visual optimizations, there's always some, but our goal is to deliver an experience that is everything you'd expect, but with even more than you might not.

NWR: One other Switch technical question. Could you tell us about the implementation of local wireless play for the Switch version?

Louis Polak: I can touch on that. In this instance, we did build a custom solution. The game wasn't natively built to support the local wireless system so that was one of our major challenges that we needed to overcome because we knew that was a number one priority to support that feature on Switch. And especially with this being a co-op, split-screen game. So we ended up building that from scratch and we're stoked to have it in.

NWR: Josef, this question may be more directed at you. In the past, you've spoken about a slight inspiration from Nintendo in relation to how your games are easy to get into and accessible for all players. I wonder if you could please speak a little bit about that. And I know this isn't the first game from Hazelight to appear on a Nintendo system, but nonetheless is there any extra exciting element because It Takes Two is coming to Switch?

Josef Fares: Look, I've always been a huge Nintendo fan. Still today, I have memorable moments of playing the 8-bit stuff, you know renting it, and actually buying the Super NES, and all those great memories so obviously I'm a huge Nintendo fan. So for It Takes Two to come to Switch is just great. From a perspective of porting to Switch from the beginning, it is not something we could focus on because the focus is on making the best game possible. And for me even if I love what Nintendo does, for me hardware is hardware. If it takes any focus from the actual vision then there's not going to be focus on it. So I'm really happy with Turn Me Up Games. I think the port is really great, looking really nice and really fluid so I'm real happy for that. But with Nintendo, I often say that this is a love letter to Nintendo in a sense especially It Takes Two because I really love their approach with design. And there's a lot of Easter eggs and stuff because of my love for Nintendo. I'm a huge fan. I mean Mario Galaxy 2, Twilight Princess, A Link to the Past. A lot of games that I played and loved. It's crazy to be part of this industry and have the opportunity to win game of the year so I'm so proud to be in a place, to have started a studio that people are recognizing and praising. I'm really happy for that. However, I do have to say what I like about Nintendo's design is the simplicity. And it's not necessarily that I want more players to play it. That's not the important part. It's not important that everyone plays the game. It's the way they approach design that I like. There's a simplicity to it. It might be easier for other players to play, but it's not important that everyone should play. I tend to want to play a new game now and there's so many tutorials in the beginning and so much going on and it's like, "Oh ****."  You almost have to read a whole book when you start a game. And I'm really not a fan of that. And there's a reason why in Brothers, A Way Out, and It Takes Two that you don't see any menus, any collectibles, any upgrades. None of that will ever be in any game that we do. We like to be very clean. It's almost like iPhone design in a sense. Very clean and slick, but it's very nice.

NWR: I do greatly appreciate that design approach. I feel like even Nintendo themselves have gone back to that more in recent times. For example, Breath of the Wild versus Skyward Sword. It's great to hear that kind of design philosophy for your studio.

Warning: It Takes Two spoilers in the next question.  

NWR: I know you've already talked a lot about the Cutie the elephant scene. In my playthrough, that was such a memorable moment. And you've probably heard this from multiple people, but it was very heart wrenching and maybe mortifying.

Josef Fares: It wasn't planned to be that, but I've always thought it was an important scene for the character's growth and development and it was a scene planned extremely early. And I can say we had to drawback a little bit. It was way more violent in development. We took it back a little bit. And for me it's fun. It's dark humor. I know a lot of people react strong to it, but they don't actually die. They just throw it down the shelf and it's fine. It's just a doll. But I think the reason people reacted to it is because it comes from nothing. Nobody expected it in the game. We had another game with a torture scene where you could torture a guy with 20 different tools and nobody really cared, but for a toy everybody is screaming about it. But I'm really happy for that scene. It wasn't done to make an effect or a scene or nothing. It's just something I really love and still to today it's a very funny scene actually.

NWR: The humor is great.

Josef Fares: It's dark humor.

NWR: Yes! Yes. Because the game is so accessible, I do wonder if you happen to have a segment of the audience who really weren't expecting certain elements of the narrative such as significant others who aren't super accustomed to gaming. Many folks may not be expecting the kind of narrative and dark humor from a video game.

Josef Fares: For sure. The subject was chosen because it's not a common one in video games. It also helped a lot with the design, when you are designing a game about couples. There always a word that we have for the game's we design. In It Takes Two it was "collaboration." In A Way Out it was "trust." And Brothers was about "loss" obviously. So collaboration lends itself both to the story, and divorce, and the couples and also how we designed the game. Part of the design was that you'd scream at each other and that you'd communicate. We often say that's it's a good way of testing a relationship with someone when you play It Takes Two and see where you guys are at, you know relationship wise.  

NWR: Totally. It sounds like Hazelight is already deep into development of their next game. Has the overall reaction to It Takes Two or maybe even the Cutie scene in particular had any effect on the development of your next game? Maybe more moment like the one with Cutie?

Josef Fares: No. No. No. No. I mean of course there's always going to be an influence. But to be honest with you, I try to tell my team as much as possible not to dig too deep into reviews. I don't do it. I can see the rating given by a review, but I don't read too much. Especially when you're in the position that we're in where people are recognizing us and winning game of the year awards and blah blah blah, you slowly start to adapt yourself to what you think people are liking and why we are successful. And I think it's a danger that you could lose your own voice. It's even more important to remember why you took those decisions you took and why they are so important. But obviously we can see things that we we can always improve on. But it's important not to say, "Let's try more of this or try more of that. And people may like this." And I say a lot. We make sure that people loves our games. Not make games that people will love. There's a difference between that. So we try as much as we can to really just follow our passion and vision from the beginning. So I've already let It Takes Two go in my mind. It's not even in my head anymore. Just sitting here doing an interview about It Takes Two is weird. I'm sitting hear answering slack messages and getting feedback about our new game. So my head is somewhere else.  

NWR: One last thing. Could you talk a little about recording your voice actors?  Do you have the story set in stone before recording or do the actors have some opportunity to improvise? Did your two leads record together?

Josef Fares: It's a combination that's different for every game, in It Takes Two especially. Normally, we have the whole story. And what I mean, how it's starts and ends. Every scene. We have storyboards of every scene of the game and what's going to happen. This is pretty much before we start with the gameplay. And then from that we start the gameplay and in It Takes Two we tried to connect the gameplay and the story. The story is done and the script is being written and then the story will sometimes change and adapt to the gameplay and vice versa. It's kind of like a collaborative, but we do know where we're going and where we're heading and stuff like that. And the actors we mocapped here at Hazelight. Both Cody and May, great actors. They came along really well. We had a great time. They came from England to here. We did all the shoots here. We did everything. Hardly outsourced anything. We started at around 35 and ended up around 60 people which is quite few for such a content heavy game as It Takes Two. And it was almost 2 hour and 20 minutes of cutscenes, that's like a feature length movie. Like an animated movie. It's kind of crazy that we pulled that off. Sometimes when I think about it I'm like, "****." And we were inspired by Pixar. And some people are even saying it's almost like playing a Pixar movie. So I'm really happy that we could pull that off. But yes. The actors could improvise. We always try to get the characters as close to the actors as much as possible so we can get the best out of it.

NWR: Thanks so much for your time and looking forward to your next project.

Josef Fares: Yeah man. Dude it's going to rock.


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Podcast Discussion / Episode 292: Metroid Dread Preview Spectacular
« on: September 27, 2021, 09:30:51 AM »

I know some fellas who played Metroid Dread.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/connectivity/58509/episode-292-metroid-dread-preview-spectacular

Matt and Jared join John to talk about their recent experience playing Metroid Dread and the Switch OLED Model at a recent Nintendo press event. Fair warning, if you're worried about spoilers from the first hour or so of Metroid Dread, this may not be for you.

Jared's full preview:

Matt's full preview:


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TalkBack / Metroid Dread (Switch) Preview
« on: September 27, 2021, 05:00:00 AM »

In the very near future, a beautiful and atmospheric new entry in the Metroid series will slide its way into our hearts.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/hands-on-preview/58507/metroid-dread-switch-preview

It’s been 19 years since the world has been graced with a brand new 2D Metroid. Thankfully in less than two weeks that will no longer be the case with the release of Metroid Dread. At a recent Nintendo preview event, I got to spend a little over an hour with both Metroid Dread and the Nintendo Switch OLED model.

First of all, Metroid Dread looks absolutely incredible on the OLED model. Colors are vibrant and pop right off the screen. One of the great benefits of any OLED screen are the superb black levels and the new Switch iteration does not disappoint on that front. In addition, I found the slimmer bezels on the OLED Switch helped increase immersion into the game world. My interest level in the OLED model was very low before seeing it in-person, but I’m seriously considering picking one up now.

Let’s discuss the very beginning of Metroid Dread. Series protagonist Samus Aran has been dispatched to the remote planet ZDR to investigate a strange video transmission that indicates the X parasite has survived. An opening cutscene shows Samus facing off with a Chozo warrior on the strange planet, but this battle does not last long and she blacks out. Upon awakening, Samus discovers that she is now trapped deep underground and must find a way back to her ship. In addition, the encounter also stripped Samus of most of her abilities.

MercurySteam, the co-developers of 2017’s Metroid Samus Returns, are once again working with Nintendo EPD on Metroid Dread. It’s immediately evident that the controls of Dread build upon those of Samus Returns. Free aim is back along with the Melee Counter that let’s Samus parry enemy attacks. One improvement to the parry system is the ability to activate these counter attacks while running. This new variation is called the Dash Melee and I found it very effective and fun to use during my short play session. Probably the biggest new addition at the game’s onset is the slide move. In prior Metroid games, encountering a Morph Ball sized passageway meant you probably needed a Morph Ball to proceed. In Metroid Dread, narrow passages have to be re-evaluated because you can just slide under many of them. The moveset for Samus feels fun and diverse right from the get-go.

Exploration and finding new upgrades and abilities is of course still at the heart of the Metroid Dread. While I only got brief glimpses at some of the new abilities like the Spider Magnet, it’s evident that the developers are trying to surprise players and avoid following the same old upgrade path. It was honestly refreshing to not acquire the Morph Ball in the first hour of gameplay. In addition, I’m happy to report the game does not appear to handhold your path through the world. While the game will certainly give you hints, it won’t explicitly tell you what room you need to go to next.

The original Metroid game and world were heavily influenced by the Ridley Scott film Alien. While later films in the Alien series would focus more on action, the original film no doubt falls in the horror genre. Because of this, I find it fitting that the new E.M.M.I. robots greatly help intensify the horror and tension of Metroid Dread. The E.M.M.I lurk around the game world in designated areas and they will hunt Samus down if they detect her nearby. They are invulnerable to most weapons and can kill Samus instantly. It’s also worth noting that each of the E.M.M.I behave differently. I enjoyed my brief heart pounding encounters with the robots. Also, even if you succumb to them, the game quickly loads back up and will revive you relatively close to your last location even if you hadn’t saved recently.

Metroid Dread appears to walk the fine line of respecting the series tradition, while also innovating in unique ways. I’m very excited to continue exploring the game world when the game releases in early October. 2D Metroid is back, baby.


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TalkBack / Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin Interview with Edelweiss
« on: May 03, 2020, 08:09:58 PM »

We spoke with the Japanese indie developer Edelweiss and learned some fun details about their upcoming game.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/interview/53372/sakuna-of-rice-and-ruin-interview-with-edelweiss

During E3 2019, Nintendo World Report had the chance to chat with the Japanese indie developer Edelweiss about their upcoming game, Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin. The development team consists of just two team members, Director Nal and CG Artist Koichi. We talked about the decision to bring the game to Switch, the varied gameplay, and some of the game's inspirations.

[Note: A corrupt SD card prevented us from sharing this interview until now. Apologies for the delay.]

Nintendo World Report (NWR): For our readers who are unfamiliar with Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin, could you please give a brief description?

Edelweiss (EW): Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin is a combination of an action game and a rice farming simulation RPG.

NWR: It was announced recently that Sakuna is coming to Switch. What led to the decision to bring the game to Switch?

EW: We’ve been interested in the Nintendo Switch ever since its release. And then we met with some folks from Nintendo and they asked us “why don’t you bring the game to Switch.” And then from there we just started programming and developing the game for Switch and now it’s coming to the Switch hardware.

NWR: In the side-scrolling action portion of the game, you have a lasso ability that can make for some fun level traversal and combat. Could you please talk a little bit about this mechanic?

EW: You can stretch the Divine Raiment to move about and also grab and swing around enemies. It can be used as both a moving and action tool. The Divine Raiment also has a very important role for the story.

NWR: Could you please tell us about the game’s story?

EW: Sakuna used to be a high up goddess in the celestial capital city. She made a really bad mistake and was banished to a very dangerous island and must now spend her time with the humans that live there.

NWR: Who is composing the game’s music?

EW: The composer is Hiroyuki Oshima. We want the music to be melodious. I feel like for a lot of games the BGM (background music) doesn’t interact with the gameplay. But on the other hand, for this game we wanted to make the music more impactful with the gameplay.

NWR: Can you talk a little bit more about the action gameplay?

EW: People think Sakuna is an action game and it does look like an action game, but the controls are actually inspired by fighting games. So players have tight control and smooth mechanics so that’s what we prioritize for the action combat.

NWR: The E3 demo ended with a battle against a relatively large opponent. Will there be many battles throughout the game with foes of that size?

EW: There will be various types of gigantic enemies.

NWR: The development team for the game is quite small. Could you tell us about some of the challenges and freedom that arise from such a small development team?

EW: One of the benefits of being such a small team is that we can be the decision makers. When we face a big obstacle, we don’t have a lot of manpower since we’re basically just a two-man team. When there’s something that’s really technical that we can’t handle, we have to outsource and then we also have to manage those people. So that’s an example of a difficulty we have as a small team.

NWR: Were you inspired by any other games during the creation of Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin?

EW: The action part of the game was sort of inspired by Devil May Cry, but the backbone would be more from the Super Nintendo game Terranigma. We were also inspired by the movies, the Seven Samurai and Princess Mononoke.

NWR: Would you say any characters in Sakuna are similar to or inspired by the characters in Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai?

EW: It might be hard to tell in the game, but I kind of got some ideas from characters in the Seven Samurai.

NWR: Any final words for people who are excited about the game?

EW: First of all, thanks for the wait. We are most confident that the game will be really good so we hope that players can enjoy a smooth action combat game and also have more interest in rice farming and Japanese culture as well.

NWR: Thank you very much for the interview.


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TalkBack / Streets of Rage 4 (Switch) Review
« on: April 29, 2020, 04:01:00 AM »

It’s time to hit the streets again.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/review/53617/streets-of-rage-4-switch-review

It’s been over 25 years since the last entry in Sega’s Streets of Rage series. The fourth game in the iconic beat-‘em-up series has not been developed in-house at Sega, but instead is a collaboration by Dotemu, Lizardcube, and Guard Crush Games. These developers did not give themselves an easy task, but they’ve successfully made a worthy follow-up that is a love letter to the classic Genesis brawlers.

Streets of Rage 4 occurs approximately 10 years after the finale of Streets of Rage 3. A new crime syndicate has taken over the city and it’s up to a cast of new and returning heroes to get things under control. The story is told through short cutscenes featuring mostly static images of artwork. While the plot is very simple, it does explain why the heroes are traversing the town and also features mind control, which is always fun. In addition, those who would rather ignore the story can easily bypass it with the press of a button.

The game features five main playable characters (Axel Stone, Blaze Fielding, Cherry Hunter, Adam Hunter, and Floyd Iraia) who each have their own unique attacks. The basic controls hew closely to the precedent set in Sega Genesis titles. Each character can initiate a strong attack, by holding down the Y button or perform a blitz move by double tapping left or right and then hitting the Y button. Back attacks and throw moves have also returned. Special attacks are performed with the X button and come in both defensive and offensive varieties. It’s super satisfying to knock down foes with Cherry’s guitar or use Floyd’s metallic arm to grab an normally out of reach opponent. One negative of the special attacks is that they’ll drain your character’s health. However, if immediately after using a special you can land some normal attacks without being hit, you can actually gain that health back.

The A button lets you pick up health restoring items (roast chickens and apples) as well as weapons. The same button also lets you throw and catch weapons. There’s something extremely pleasurable about catching a pipe right before it knocks you on your ass. If you’re lucky enough to be carrying a star, you can hit the X and A buttons simultaneously to do a powerful special attack called the star move.

The variety of attacks would mean nothing if the combat wasn’t enjoyable. I’m happy to report that the gameplay is vintage Streets of Rage and it feels great fighting through the game’s 12 stages. There are numerous returning enemies who will feature the attack patterns you remember. The game has some really inventive new elements as well such as wrecking balls and chandeliers you can crash down by cutting a rope. Another fun element is the game’s combo system. The combo counter will let you know how many hits you’ve been able to string together without getting hurt. While stringing together a large combo is satisfying on it’s own, it’s also a great way to build up your score. Scoring 8,000 points in a level will gain you an extra life, which is always beneficial and your score will also determine how you get graded when a level is done. Your single player high scores can be compared with your friends.

A few years ago, I was blown away by Lizardcube’s Wonder Boy: The Dragon’s Trap thanks in no small part to it’s beautiful hand-drawn artwork. Lizardcube’s artistic work for Streets of Rage 4 may be even more impressive. Along with creating the beautiful backgrounds for each stage, they also meticulously updated the artwork for the game’s returning heroes and enemies. It’s extremely commendable the amount of work that goes into rendering each frame of animation for the game’s large cast. You don’t see many 2D games that look this beautiful and fluid because most don’t include such a large amount of hand-drawn animation. The game features multiple unlockable art galleries, which I strongly recommend checking out.

The vast majority of the game’s stage themes were composed by Olivier Deriviere. While I didn’t love every track, there are some real bangers in the mix. In addition, there are numerous guest composers that include Yuzo Koshioro and Motohiro Kawashima who were the main composers on the Genesis games. In a perfect world, Yuzo Koshiro would have composed every single track, but we still ended up with a pretty amazing Streets of Rage 4 soundtrack.

Along with the regular story mode, there’s also an arcade mode where you’re tasked with completing the game with no continues, a boss rush mode, and a PVP battle mode. One other awesome feature that I haven’t mentioned is the ability to unlock 12 retro fighters. These characters are pulled directly out of their Genesis games and feature their original pixel art and moves. It’s worth noting that the game also features some other retro goodies that are worth experiencing for yourself.

I feel that Streets of Rage 4 shares a lot in common with Sonic Mania. Both game’s were led by development teams who had the challenge of continuing classic and beloved series. I’m happy to say that the dev teams creating Streets of Rage 4 have completely succeeded in making a new 2D entry in the series much like the Sonic Mania dev teams did. The utmost respect for the source material is clear throughout Streets of Rage 4 and I’m thrilled that we have this great new brawler in 2020.


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TalkBack / We Played Sludge Life at PAX East 2020
« on: March 19, 2020, 08:06:00 AM »

Sometimes all you need in life is a cat with two buttholes.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/hands-on-preview/53244/we-played-sludge-life-at-pax-east-2020

Back in the 90s, there was a Simpsons PC game called Virtual Springfield that I never got to play, but it sounded awesome. You would explore the lively world of Springfield and have the opportunity to speak with your favorite Simpsons characters. Sludge Life from Devolver Digital feels like the Virtual Springfield I imagined in my head, except its world is filled with a zany set of oddball characters from an animated television show that doesn’t exist.

In the game, you play as a young graffiti tagger named GHOST. Players can explore the small open-world island, which is filled with numerous spots to leave their tag. While the basic concept might sound similar to the graffiti-laced classic Jet Set Radio, Sludge Life is it’s own unique beast.

Sludge Life comes from the minds of Terri Vellman and Doseone (they’re also working on the upcoming Disc Room). The idea of Sludge Life first entered their minds while working on the first-person shooter High Hell. Terri basically envisioned the world of High Hell with no guns and then they started brainstorming from there.

The game’s cel-shaded island is dominated by the evil corporation Glug. Glug has polluted the island with toxic waste and they also manufacture the Ciggy Cigs brand of cigarettes. Unfortunately the mascot for the cigarettes, Ciggy, gets crushed by a statue, which leads to Glug’s workers going on strike because the corporation won’t clean up the mess.

Players can learn more about the Glug Corporation if they like, but are equally encouraged to just explore the small town and speak with it’s zany denizens. Developer and music lead Doseone was walking me through the demo when we encountered a guy who was clearly enthusiastic about exercising. Doseone explained to me that the character’s dialogue and personality was partially based on a guy who used to always talk with him at the gym. Many of the game’s characters have been inspired by people that the developers met in real life.

Sludge Life is a laid back game where you can do whatever you want. From my short playtime it’s clear that there are tons of secrets to find. While exploring an apartment building I crawled through a vent and found a man who had seemingly been locked inside an asylum like room for ages. I also got to meet a gigantic baby and shoot some hoops on a basketball court. Another fun experience was finding a mushroom and literally getting high. My character shortly after ingesting the mushroom began flying to the top of the building and then burst through the roof like the great elevator in Willy Wonka. I could then see the entire town and fly wherever I pleased. Doseone explained this is sort of a cheat code that lets you find places to visit.

Another cool feature are the game’s interactive computers that use an OS reminiscent of Windows 3.1 on acid. There’s even a fully working puzzle game called Crypt Creeper that you can play inside the game. It’s also worth noting that I met a cat with two butt holes. It was unclear to me if all cats in the game world have multiple butt holes or just the one I encountered.

Sludge Life is a strange title. There’s no big objective. Players are free to choose what they wish to get from the experience. Those who want to solve some of the town’s mysteries are free to do so and might get a special ending for their effort, but overall you can do whatever the hell you want. I’m ready to take another visit to the game’s strange world when it comes out later this year.


7
TalkBack / Disaster Report 4 Interview with Kazuma Kujo
« on: January 07, 2020, 01:20:00 AM »

We spoke with the chief producer of Disaster Report 4 and learned some interesting details about the April Switch release.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/interview/51269/disaster-report-4-interview-with-kazuma-kujo

During E3 2019, Nintendo World Report had the opportunity to sit down with Kazuma Kujo to discuss Disaster Report 4: Summer Memories. Kujo is chief producer of the game and has been involved with the series since it's inception. We talked about the team's decision to bring the game to Switch, the excitement of bringing the new installment to a Western audience, and also disaster movies. The game will be available in North America, Oceania, and Europe on April 7.

Nintendo World Report (NWR): Could you please talk a little bit about the decision to bring Disaster Report 4 to Nintendo Switch?

Kazuma Kujo (KK): In Japan, the Nintendo Switch has been gradually rising in popularity and Granzella has been receiving a lot of requests to put their titles on the Switch. The final push was actually from NISA, who recommended to have Disaster Report 4: Summer Memories on the Switch as it's very major in the West.

NWR: Can you talk a little bit about the new game and explain some of the new features for people who have played the previous Disaster Report games?

KK: The previous games in the series were more action-oriented, like having to flee from collapsing buildings or cracking streets within a span of 1-2 days in the city. This time, we emphasized the realistic aspects of experiencing an earthquake (or just a natural disaster in general), like a shortage of food or immense stress and how to survive for 6-7 days under such circumstances. Betrayal is one theme, as the player will encounter others who may deceive them or act prejudiced towards them. Another example is when you're within a rescue area, several problems come up [and it's up to the player on how to act], so this ability to choose one's own course of action reflects how more in-tune to reality this installment is.  

NWR: Granzella acquired the rights to the Disaster Report series. Can you talk a little bit about that process and why you wished to do that? 

KK:  There were talks between Granzella and Irem Software Engineering (the previous company we were at) about purchasing the Disaster Report IP, as we still had a strong desire to keep the series going. Our team thought the title had a lot of potential and wanted to produce more installments.  

NWR: Can you talk about the localization process?

KK: When it comes to localizing our game, it's not just limited to North America or Europe! We talk to our partners worldwide and receive feedback on what's the best way to localize the game for that specific audience. Taking such into consideration, the game for each region has its own subtle differences and specialties. Such collaboration comes about more when the game is near completion.

NWR: Can you talk a little bit about the music for the game?

KK:  As some may already know, the original production of Disaster Report 4 was halted, so the music for the game's first part was composed with the PS3 in mind. After the IP was purchased in 2014, we found that we still needed a couple more songs to put into the game. So that time, we went to a different composer located near Granzella's headquarters which makes it easier to communicate.  

NWR: Has the game been designed with newcomers to the series in mind? Also, are there any callbacks to previous entries?

KK:  Disaster Report 4 was intentionally created so that a person new to the series can pick it up and start playing. There are some characters from previous installments that make an appearance, but it's not necessary to know their background to enjoy the game.  

NWR: Are there any final things you would like to say to fans in the West?

KK:  It's always been our goal to have our games enjoyed by a broader audience, so Disaster Report 4 getting a Western release feels surreal. Since this title has a more Japanese-oriented background and involves a natural disaster that some parts of the world don't really experience, we hope that players can pick up the essence of what it's like to be in an earthquake-prone area. So, please enjoy this game!  

NWR: Is being informative about disaster's a core part of the game?

KK:  We actually get asked quite often in Japan whether these games are meant to inform users about disasters, but in my [Kujo-san] mind, if people are able to take away helpful information from the game, that's good. However, these games are more for entertainment and to get the player's heart beating fast from the high-tension of being in such situations. I felt that such feelings would make for good entertainment, especially in a game format. Take the United States for example. There are whole movies centered around natural disasters, so I felt it's a good "medium" to put into a video game.  

NWR: Do you have a favorite Western disaster movie?

KK:  I like the movie "Twister"!  

NWR: Thank you very much for your time.


8
TalkBack / Alien: Isolation (Switch) Review
« on: December 28, 2019, 10:00:00 AM »

The atmospheric survival horror game is now on the Nintendo Switch.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/review/52456/alien-isolation-switch-review

Creating a sequel to a beloved film is not an easy task, especially when it uses a completely different medium to tell its story. Luckily for gamers, Alien: Isolation is an extremely effective follow-up to the original Alien film released in 1979. Unlike the more action-oriented film sequel Aliens, Alien:Isolation hews closely to Ellen Ripley’s first extraterrestrial encounter and focuses on horror. The Nintendo Switch version of Alien: Isolation is a scary and atmospheric horror adventure that is a must play for fans of the genre.

Alien: Isolation starts off approximately 15 years after the events of the original Ridley Scott film, with Ellen Ripley’s daughter, Amanda, on a mission to find out what happened to her mother. Amanda hopes the answers she seeks lie on the flight recorder of her mom’s lost ship, the Nostromo. The majority of the game takes place on a remote space station called the Sevastopol, which currently houses the flight recorder. I’ll tread lightly on further story details, but I will say that the voice cast does a great job of bringing the game’s inhabitants to life and that the story is told through both cutscenes and via messages left on the in-game computer terminals.

Employing stealth and avoiding detection are vital to survive in Alien: Isolation. Along with the titular otherworldly creature, human and android foes also can be found aboard the space station. While you have an assortment of weapons and gear that you can craft and utilize, they usually will only slow down your opponents temporarily. Similar to stealth in Metal Gear Solid, sometimes the best option is to hide in a locker, hold your breath, and wait for the alien creature to walk away.

It’s worth noting that sometimes Alien: Isolation can be very frustrating. Depending on what difficulty you choose, you might find yourself repeatedly falling to the same foe, which certainly can dampen your enjoyment of the game. Thankfully, you have the option of adjusting the difficulty whenever you like, if a certain section gets too tough, for example. (Note: If you choose the “Nightmare” difficulty mode, you cannot make an adjustment later on, and I promise you will die a lot.)

Whether you’re playing on your HD television or with headphones on in portable mode, the game is extremely unnerving and scary. Feral Interactive developed the Switch port and have done an amazing job at maintaining almost all graphical effects and details. The lighting engine is especially impressive. Unlike some Switch ports, I’m happy to note that the audio and music do not appear to have been compressed to a lower bitrate. Playing with headphones is strongly recommended because the sound design is great and might actually help you realize an alien is approaching. Another unique feature for Switch is the ability to aim certain items, such as your handgun, via gyro controls.  

The game’s ability to capture a strong dose of the original Alien film’s atmosphere helps create a wonderfully immersive experience. As long as you understand that this is a survival game where brute force will simply lead to a quick death, it’s highly recommended.


9
TalkBack / Ring Fit Adventure (Switch) Preview
« on: October 08, 2019, 11:28:00 AM »

Nintendo’s latest fitness experience promises to make working out a ton of fun.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/preview/51913/ring-fit-adventure-switch-preview

Each copy of Ring Fit Adventure comes with two things, a flexible plastic ring called the Ring-Con, and a leg strap. After placing a Joy-Con into each of the included items, you can go ahead and wrap the leg strap around your left quad (I’m fairly confident it needs to be attached to your left leg). Pick up the Ring-Con, and now you’re ready to both exercise and play.

Whether it’s playing bongos to make Donkey Kong run and punch or dodging soccer balls by leaning on the Wii Balance Board, Nintendo has often excelled at creating fun control schemes using off-the-wall peripherals. The Ring-Con is another very unique way of controlling the action on-screen, and it’s both super intuitive and, depending on the activity, super tiring. The first activity I got to try was the Pectoralis Major Challenge. I held the Ring-Con in front of me like a steering wheel and my goal was to perform as many ring presses as possible in a short period of time. The Ring-Con displayed both it’s flexibility and durability when I attempted this challenge. Squeezing the Ring-Con was easy at first, but after pressing the ring inwards over fifty times, my muscles began to ache and I couldn’t keep my pace up. I managed to perform 96 ring presses and that result showed up on the in-game leaderboard. You can compare certain results and leaderboards with others in your household who are playing on the same Switch. In addition, those who pay for Nintendo Switch Online can compare their scores with their internet friends.

The second activity I tried was called Robo Wrecker, a whack-a-mole type mini-game. Once again, I held the Ring-Con like a steering wheel, but this time I needed to either press in on the ring or pull on the sides to squish the moles popping up. It’s necessary to spin the wheel to have the spring-loaded smashing devices line up with the moles. Like any good game of whack-a-mole, you really need to pay attention if you want to knock out a high number of the critters. The constant stretching and squeezing also does a number on your arms and will make it nigh impossible to catch every mole.

While there’s a variety of individual activities to try, the most exciting part of the game is the main adventure mode. In this mode, you play as a young woman who must use different exercises to traverse the land and defeat enemies. Unlike regular RPGs, the player’s attacks consist of a wide selection of exercises. Some of the exercises included are thigh press, knee lift, bow pull, and overhead arm twist. Similar to Wii Fit (and many other Wii games), the game constantly instructs you on the proper way to perform each exercise/attack. You actually perform a stronger attack when you use the proper form and motions to execute the exercises. Defeating enemies helps you level up and earn in-game currency to spend on new workout clothes and smoothies, which can provide stat upgrades or restore your health. In total, there’s over 40 exercises/skills that you can unlock. Along with the battles,the simple act of traversing each level is a lot of fun. If you run faster in real life, your female avatar’s hair will catch fire and she’ll speed up. You’ll need to perform many different motions to traverse the world’s many obstacles.

Ring Fit Adventure is also extremely customizable. When starting a new adventure session, you have the option of lowering or increasing the game’s difficulty. The game also features a custom mode where you can build out different fitness lists of your favorite exercises. I was told that you can probably complete the adventure mode in about two months if you play one hour each day. Knowing Nintendo, there will likely be multiple incentives to jump back in after your first Adventure, in addition to just wanting to get a good sweat on.

I should also mention the game’s achievement-like system, which comes in the form of new titles. It was unclear if you’ll be given specific instructions on how to unlock the titles, but hopefully you’ll know what’s necessary to unlock titles like “Runner with a Dream!” One other nifty feature is that by placing your finger over the Joy-Con’s IR sensor, you can see what your current heart rate is.

My short time with Ring Fit Adventure was really enjoyable. Making exercise fun is no easy task, but it seems like Nintendo has crafted an addictive and unique way to get fit.


10
TalkBack / Re: SNES Games That Should be on Switch
« on: September 05, 2019, 02:15:14 AM »
Interplay I believe still has the rights to Earthworm Jim. In fact, they're actually developing a new game in the series for the Intellivision Amico (we'll see if that actually happens).

11
TalkBack / Xenoblade Chronicles Comparison Video
« on: September 04, 2019, 07:12:42 PM »

Check out how the Wii version looks compared to the upcoming Definitive Edition on Nintendo Switch.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/video/51630/xenoblade-chronicles-comparison-video

Watch the Xenoblade Chronicles video comparison below.


12
TalkBack / Re: Classic SEGA Arcade Games Will Not Be In Shenmue 3
« on: June 18, 2019, 02:42:22 PM »
Don't the Yakuza games still include Sega arcade games?

Yes, they're still featured in the Yakuza games and also appear in the Yakuza team's other games like Judgement and Fist of the North Star: Lost Paradise.

13
TalkBack / Re: Classic SEGA Arcade Games Will Not Be In Shenmue 3
« on: June 18, 2019, 09:37:44 AM »
SEGA arcade games currently available on Switch as part of the SEGA AGES series somewhere in the world:

Out Run (Yu Suzuki masterpiece)
Gain Ground (cool game, no Yu Suzuki involvement)
Puyo Puyo (currently only available in Japan)
Virtua Racing (Coming June 27 to rest of world, Yu Suzuki heavily involved)
Wonder Boy in Monster Land (Coming June 27 to rest of world)

Two other Yu Suzuki arcade games that we'll be getting on Switch at some point:

G-LOC: Air Battle
Space Harrier

14
TalkBack / Classic SEGA Arcade Games Will Not Be In Shenmue 3
« on: June 18, 2019, 12:32:54 AM »

The creator of Shenmue, Yu Suzuki, confirmed that his old creations like Out Run & Space Harrier will not appear in the upcoming sequel.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/news/50894/classic-sega-arcade-games-will-not-be-in-shenmue-3

During an interview with NWR at E3 2019, the acclaimed game designer Yu Suzuki explained that unfortunately his classic arcade games would not be playable in Shenmue 3.

As the head of SEGA's AM2 division, Yu Suzuki designed arcade hits one after another during the 1980s and 1990s. Games like Virtua Fighter and Daytona USA delivered addictive gameplay and bleeding edge visuals. When the original Shenmue launched on the Sega Dreamcast in 1999, it included two playable classics, Hang-On and Space Harrier. Shenmue 2 would continue this trend with the addition of two more games created by Suzuki, Afterburner II and Out Run.

When we asked Suzuki if some of his classic titles like Space Harrier and Out Run would be returning in Shenmue 3, he responded, "I'm sorry we don't have those arcade games, but instead I do have a lot of other games." Upon noting that we've already seen many of the games that will be featured (like the pachinko game Lucky Hit and turtle racing), Suzuki-san told us, "You'll see more."

Shenmue 3 will not be completely devoid of references to classic SEGA arcade games. For example, during the new wood chopping job, an upbeat tune from After Burner II will start playing if you slice multiple pieces of wood in succession. Failing to hit the next log with your axe will instantly stop the arcade music and switch it to something much more calming. Yu Suzuki described these music changes in correspondence to your actions as a feedback mode.

We'll have a full preview of Shenmue 3 in the near future.

Note: Nintendo World Report will continue to mostly focus on Nintendo games. The coverage of Shenmue 3 is a rare exception.


15

It's not possible to transfer Mario Maker stages that were created on the 3DS or Wii U over to Super Mario Maker 2.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/news/50589/wii-u-mario-maker-levels-cannot-be-transferred-to-super-mario-maker-2

At a recent Mario Maker 2 press event, a Nintendo Treehouse representative told NWR that courses created in Super Mario Maker for the Wii U cannot be played or imported over to Super Mario Maker 2. In addition, Super Mario Maker courses created on the 3DS are also incompatible with the upcoming Switch sequel.

The Nintendo representative explained that the extensive list of new items and features was a major reason why the two games are incompatible with one another.

Players will need to recreate their old courses from scratch in order to bring them over to Super Mario Maker 2.


16
TalkBack / Trine 4 Preview and Interview
« on: April 10, 2019, 05:35:58 AM »

We got to take a look at the next installment in the Trine series.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/video/50247/trine-4-preview-and-interview

Trine 4 returns to the 2D sidescrolling gameplay that appeared in the first two entries. Check out our video preview below (and don't stop watching early or you'll miss a quick interview with Frozenbyte's Kai Tuovinen).


17
TalkBack / Gear.Club Unlimited 2 (Switch) Hands-on Preview
« on: December 02, 2018, 07:42:00 AM »

This arcade racing sequel features a number of improvements over its predecessor.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/preview/49048/gearclub-unlimited-2-switch-hands-on-preview

I recently spent an hour with Gear.Club Unlimited 2. The arcade racing sequel from developer Eden Games comes out on December 4. While the game has many similarities to the first title in the series, there's definitely been some major improvements.

First of all, the graphics have seen a major upgrade. Level geometry seems to have been vastly improved and I also witnessed some great looking lighting effects. The improved visual look is thanks to an upgraded version of the unity engine. In docked mode, the game runs at 1080p and in handheld mode it runs at 720p. In addition, the game appeared to run at a smooth 30fps at all times.

The car handling seems very similar to last year's edition. I had a fun time racing around the tracks and think arcade racing fans will feel right at home. There's also a number of driving assists available to help make racing easier if needed (such as braking and steering assistance). Players who wish to use gyro controls can also pretend their Joy-Con or Pro controller is a steering wheel and race that way. The lack of analog triggers on the Switch has also been addressed by the development team. The game uses a software system to help simulate different pressure inputs.  

Car enthusiasts will be happy to learn that the game features 51 real world cars from a number of different manufacturers. These cars can be worked on at the in-game performance shop where you can buy new car parts and give each vehicle a new coating of paint. The development team worked diligently to make sure the digital versions of the cars accurately reflect their real world counterparts.

The most important change in the sequel is likely the inclusion of true online multiplayer this time around. In the first Gear.Club, players could compete against the best track times of their friends, but you couldn't actually have a live online match. Unfortunately, I was unable to try the online multiplayer during my demo, but it's great to know it's included. Players can also participate in up to 4-player local split-screen racing.

My short time with Gear.Club Unlimited 2 was very enjoyable. I've always liked arcade racers and it appears that the development team has put a lot of work into the sequel. It's also worth noting that even though the Gear.Club series started in the mobile world, the brand new entry on Switch was designed from the ground up for the Nintendo console. I look forward to the game's upcoming release and hope the online multiplayer delivers a smooth experience.


18
TalkBack / Starlink: Battle For Atlas Video Preview
« on: September 25, 2018, 05:15:07 AM »

19
TalkBack / Re: Pair Of Classic Shooters Releasing On Switch This Winter
« on: September 05, 2018, 08:54:25 PM »
I believe it was de-listed for a while, but reappeared a year or two later.

20
TalkBack / Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night Interview
« on: August 26, 2018, 04:28:00 PM »

Check out our interview with producer Koji Igarashi.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/interview/48122/bloodstained-ritual-of-the-night-interview

Earlier this year, we had the pleasure to interview Koji Igarashi at E3 2018. Watch the video below.


21
TalkBack / Re: Nintendo Sales Party: July 2018 US NPD Group Results
« on: August 22, 2018, 09:01:12 PM »
That's it. If Warioware couldn't top Pokemon Ultra in sales for the month, it's over. 3DS is dead. Nothing is selling well on it aside from the Pokemon Ultra games. Even Detective Pikachu came and went with low sales. Switch has taken over and that's where the game sales are happening now for Nintendo.


WarioWare Gold did come out at the very end of the month. It might be the number 1 3DS title in August.

22
TalkBack / 21 Minutes of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
« on: June 18, 2018, 11:46:52 AM »

Check out some matches of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate played by the NWR crew.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/video/47570/21-minutes-of-super-smash-bros-ultimate

Watch the off-screen Smash video below.


23
TalkBack / Team Sonic Racing Interview with Richard Acherki
« on: June 18, 2018, 04:31:23 AM »

We talked with the game's lead designer at E3.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/interview/47566/team-sonic-racing-interview-with-richard-acherki

There's a new Sonic racing game coming to Switch later this year and the new game has a strong focus on working together with your teammates. Lead designer Richard Acherki tells us about the team mechanics, the development studio, and more. Watch the interview below.


24
TalkBack / Team Sonic Racing Gameplay
« on: June 12, 2018, 10:58:54 AM »

Cars aren't alive (in this universe) so he's still the fastest thing alive.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/video/47507/team-sonic-racing-gameplay

Gameplay from the PS4 version of Sonic's latest racing experience.


25
TalkBack / New Crash Bandicoot Level "Future Tense" Debuts at E3
« on: June 11, 2018, 10:30:00 AM »

Crash Bandicoot gets a bit more N. Sane with a brand-new level.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/video/47450/new-crash-bandicoot-level-future-tense-debuts-at-e3

Activision brought a brand-new Crash Bandicoot level for its N. Sane Trilogy to E3. The N. Sane Trilogy is slated for a Switch release on June 29.

Check out gameplay and more E3 news on Nintendo World Report TV.


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