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Lynxara and Hitoshura's Kazuma Kaneko interview
Posted on Aug 30, 2006 11:08pm EDT
The following interview was conducted with Kazuma Kaneko, lead designer
and artist of Atlus' Shin Megami Tensei series of games, back at
this year's E3. Once it became clear I couldn't use this in the mag, I
decided it was still way too interesting to waste! So here it is, L2G
readers. If you love any of the MegaTen games or are just curious
about the upcoming Devil Summoner title, you should give it a
look! Hitoshura and myself (Lynxara) conducted this interview, if you're
wondering about that.
HGM: So could you tell us, in your own words, about your role in
creating the games of the Shin Megami Tensei (MegaTen)
series?
Kaneko: Aside from character design, which most people know me
for, I oversee storytelling and gameplay design.
HGM: So what makes the Devil Summoner games distinct among
the many MegaTen games?
Kaneko: Devil Summoner doesn't use the turn-based system
most people associate with the Shin Megami Tensei RPGs. It's more
of an interactive action game. Basically, "devil summoners" are people
who act as detectives, while using demons to aid them. In a Devil
Summoner title, the player takes on the role of a "devil summoner"
for him or herself.
HGM: Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne was sort of the
"classic" MegaTen look. Digital Devil Saga: Avatar Tuner
was a surrealist take on the MegaTen aesthetic. What is the spin
on the MegaTen visual sense we'll see in Shin Megami Tensei:
Devil Summoner?
Kaneko: Well, this Devil Summoner game is set in Japan in
the early 1900's. It was a shadowy period of transition from traditional
culture to a more modern, Western-style culture we call
"Westernization". The game designs dramatize this by trying to look as
realistic as possible.
HGM: So we'll see period technology, like guns and cars?
Kaneko: Yes, definitely.
HGM: What special system design elements did you come up with for
Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner?
Kaneko: Unlike most MegaTen games, you only have one demon
at a time for your partner. The summoner, Raidou, never acts on his own.
Instead, he does combination attacks with his partner. There's a lot of
interactivity, with the summoner and his demon.
HGM: Speaking of Raidou, could you tell us a little bit about him?
Kaneko: Raidou Kuzunoha is the game's main character. His name
has a special significance... in kabuki theater, there is a tradition
where a great actor's name may be carried on by other actors. This
demonstrates the great one's importance and honor. In Devil
Summoner, the Kuzunoha clan is descended from great persons like
that. The player character is a 'chosen one' who gets to inherit the
name of a great man, Raidou Kuzunoha.
HGM: So what's the significance of the original 'Raidou
Kuzunoha', that the player character is named after?
Kaneko: The Kuzunoha clan was founded by a great man who taught
five disciples. The original "Raidou Kuzunoha" was one of those
disciples, and other people inherited their names to honor them. Future
Devil Summoner games will talk about the other four great disciples.
HGM: So with Devil Summoner coming out this year and
Persona 3 on the way, what's next for the MegaTen series?
Kaneko: Probably the next Devil Summoner title.
HGM: What systems can fans expect to see MegaTen games on
in the future?
Kaneko: Probably the PS3 and Wii. I would really love to bring
MegaTen to Wii.
HGM: What would a Wii MegaTen game be like?
Kaneko: Well, if you play Nocturne or Digital Devil
Saga, they're typical modern RPGs. You see your characters act from
a third-person view. But as you and your readers probably know, the
original MegaTen games used a completely different first-person
viewpoint. I would love to go back to basics with MegaTen on the
Wii and bring back the first-person perspective, while using the
controller to let players experience their environments directly.
HGM: Let's end with some questions about you as a designer. Of
all your many projects for Atlus, can you pick a personal favorite?
Kaneko: It's Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner right now,
but I'm the sort of person who always prefers my latest game over my
older ones.
HGM: What was your first project with Atlus?
Kaneko: Oh, I really can't remember... it was definitely a NES
game. I know my first game was Kings of Kings, back when Atlus
was a division of Namco.
HGM: Aside from your work for Atlus, you've contributed guest
designs to other video game series like Zone of Enders and
Super Robot Taisen. You've also provided designs for Japanese
television series like Masked Rider Hibiki. Can your fans look
forward to any more projects like that?
Kaneko: Oh yes. I'm friendly with many other Japanese game
producers, so crossovers are a natural result. I'm also actively
interested in working with mediums outside of video games. I'm working
on illustrating some novels right now, for example. Some are based on
Atlus properties, but some are original.
HGM: Can you name any of these "special projects" for us?
Kaneko: Not yet!
J'ai beaucoup aimé Lucifer's Call. J'espère bien avoir un megaten sur wii
Viewtiful Kenka a écrit :J'ai beaucoup aimé Lucifer's Call. J'espère bien avoir un megaten sur wii
Moi j'ai trouvé ca vraiment à chier, et Dieu sait si on m'a poussé à acheter ce jeu acclamé par les trois otaku du coin sur divers forums "ouais Megaten strop bien, FF aux chiottes". Passé le design et l'ambiance cool (pas souvent que le Japon se fait détruire dans les trente premières minutes d'un RPG), y'a rien, queud, peau d'zob. C'est chiant à en crever, les donjons sont des successions de couloirs hideux tous pareils, et j'ai rarement vu des combats aussi moisis. J'ai tenu 6h, sachant que ma dernière heure de jeu se sera conclu par un magnifique combat où j'arrive et mon héros se fait poutrer en un coup par un sort "Mort". Game over, j'avais pas sauvegardé depuis une heure. Ce sale jeu de merde a volé hors de la PS2, n'y est plus jamais retourné et n'y retournera jamais, à moins que je me fasse chier à un point incommesurable. Même deux sombres croûtes comme Grandia III ou Arc The Lad IV, déjà bien moisis, valent mieux que cet étron.
(ca se voit assez que j'ai vraiment la haine contre MegaTen ?)
Ïl est top Lucifer's Call. Le système de monstres est bien foutu, l'histoire est cool, le chara-design top, l'ambiance superbe. Seule la progression à travers les téléporteurs pourra paraître pas très bien gérée ainsi que les passages dans le réseau d'Amala.
Sinon trop mega roxxor comme game, t'as méfu ou koi ?
