Lastly, I’d like to ask what it is, from your own standpoint, you’d like to draw the players’ attention to most. We’ll start with Nintendo and Yamagami-san this time.
All right. It didn’t come up earlier today, but we put a lot of effort into the cutscenes. In order to make cutscenes that matched the grandeur of Fire Emblem this time, we produced them with the concept of a grand spectacle like the opening of the Taiga Drama historical television series. Not only are they thoroughly appealing as 3D movies, but I think players will really be able to feel the worldview of this game.
We showed some in Nintendo Direct13.13. Nintendo Direct: Nintendo Direct is a series of Internet presentations in which Nintendo president Satoru Iwata and Nintendo of Europe’s president Satoru Shibata deliver the latest information about upcoming Nintendo titles.
Yes. While we captured the atmosphere of the story with the cutscenes, I think it would be great if the players can fully enjoy the greatest appeal of this game – specifically, how it develops in line with the way you play.
All right. Yokota-san?
Okay. We’ve talked a lot about the mechanics, but we’ve thought a lot about the story, too. We wanted to make a slight change and included elements that didn’t exist in previous Fire Emblem games. Within the traditional story regarding the nations, I hope players will sense a new kind of Fire Emblem.
Kozaki-san, if you would please?
With regard to the visuals, the fastest way would be to see for yourself, but I think the facial expressions are the richest ever. Each character expresses a full range of emotion, so it’s easier to get into the dialogue scenes.
And Kusakihara-san?
As mentioned before, everything miraculously went in the same direction, and it’s the result of the development team going all out, so I think those who pick it up will be able to sense that enthusiasm. Take the fighting scenes, for example. In many of them, the characters move far better than we expected in the design phase. I think how the characters appear to have life breathed into them is worth seeing. I definitely hope people won’t turn off the fight animation!
Why do you think the movement turned out so well?
Hmm… it’s a mystery to me.
Perhaps it’s love.
That’s it! (laughs) It even surprises me.
When development is infused with energy is when it’s surprising to see the parts you yourself have designed. Maeda-san?
About SpotPass14, I wanted everyone to connect every day, so we decided to have teams of characters based on past games , who assemble about once a day that you can become comrades with, fight alongside and buy items from, distributed via SpotPass. But altogether there are about 120 teams! (laughs) So after release, I hope people will enjoy it little by little for a long time.14. SpotPass: A feature in the Nintendo 3DS system that, when activated, receives various information and content when near a wireless Internet access point.
This time really has momentum – as if the brakes are broken! (laughs)
It’s just like the picture on the packaging . Everyone is advancing in the same direction!
Yes, that’s right. Both the package illustration and mood on the development team are in sync. Higuchi-san?
This time, a lot of the action is represented in 3D, but in addition to the regular viewpoint from the side, we added a first-person perspective . You can look each other in the eye as you fight, so I hope people will also enjoy the 3D visuals. We also put more into the audio than ever before, with real violin performances and so on. We tried a lot of new things, so I hope people will listen to it in a good sound environment.
Well, Narihiro-san, what did you think as you listened to today’s conversation?
There was more enthusiasm than I expected.
(laughs)
Watching from the sidelines, I was pretty worried, but the excitement of the core developers is clearly reflected in the final product. It has more elements than we could have possibly imagined, so I think it turned out to be a very concentrated game. Also, for the first time in a while, we put a lot into the theme of one generation taking over for another.
That’s part of the amalgamation we spoke of.
Yes. And continuing from last time, you can make your own unit, in which your own avatar participates. The first time, I played as a boy and the second time set it to a girl, but partway through, I realised I’d better not let her get married! (laughs)
(laughs loudly)
I suppose you felt as if she were your daughter? (laughs)
Yes. Rather than my own unit, I treated it like my daughter.
You wouldn’t want her to fall for the wrong type of boy! (laughs)
That’s right! (laughs) Like, “Only someone worthy can marry her!”
(laughs loudly)
Assembling the essence of an amalgamation like that gave rise to new emotions, which was incredibly refreshing. Even having played it for so long, I still make new discoveries and the story truly encompasses a lot, so it was really refreshing to play.
It truly does feel like more than an ultimate amalgamation over and above a mere amalgamation.
Yes. It’s more than I expected. I suppose they overcame everything I was worried about.
Narihiro-san, are you a little jealous?
Yes, it’s a bit galling. (laughs) I also think it’s good that I could see it from a slightly different position. I realised there was still a lot we could create, so I thought it would be good if it led to something different.
Next to Yokota-san, I kept saying I was jealous, too. If Yokota-san hadn’t joined, we couldn’t have made it like this, so I’m happy, but also jealous. (laughs)
In a good way, it’s a change of generations. I think we’ve been able to pass the baton little by little. And bringing in Kusakihara-san and Kozaki-san for a new and fresh perspective was great. I learned from them.
All right, thank you. I knew this game was an amalgamation of the Fire Emblem series, but listening to you today, I thought…what enthusiasm!
(laughs)
It started coming together with a concentration that would normally be impossible, and the developers sensed that and caught fire. What began as an amalgamation born of selecting the good parts transformed, due to your enthusiasm, into something greater than imagined. And the new people added to the team exerted themselves as if dragged in by that enthusiasm and fought as if battling it out on their own turf. I’m looking forward to release even more now. Thank you for today.
Thank you!
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