8. Three Times the Volume
With regard to using the gyro sensor, did it turn out the way you envisioned, Miyamoto-san?
Yes. Better, actually. Usually, the correct order is to play with the Circle Pad, and once you’re fairly good at that, you can switch to the gyro sensor as a side option. But with this game, it’s so easy that you can start with the gyro sensor and keep the Circle Pad as a side option.
The gyro sensor is a must-use feature.
Yes. That’s how comfortable it is to use. Games until now gave the impression of playing within a limited angle of view, but when you play with the gyro sensor, (gesturing as if thrusting his face into the screen) it’s like your face is buried in the screen.
It’s that much of an immersive experience.
The space has expanded exponentially. You know how horses that pull carriages wear blinders so they can’t see sideways?
Uh-huh.
It’s like those are suddenly gone, so you feel an incredible sense of freedom. Besides, it’s simply comfortable to operate. For example, when you go scuba diving, there’s an underwater scooter you hold on to with both hands.
Yes. It looks like a torpedo with a propeller.
It’s like you’re holding on to one of those. You play as if you’re underwater holding on to an underwater scooter and zooming along.
I see.
But one challenge arose on the Nintendo 3DS system.
It’s weak when viewed from an angle.
Exactly. Each person will view it differently, so when it’s hard to see, you can shut off the 3D depth slider and use the gyro sensor to your heart’s content. Or you can do the opposite. I hope people will play it however they like.
The 3D depth slider is on the top right so you can switch anytime you like.
Exactly. And when you’re playing with the gyro sensor, there’s a hybrid method including the Circle Pad.
If you decide you want to use the Circle Pad in the middle of play, it will switch over the moment you touch it.
When you want to comfortably zip through an arch, you use the gyro sensor, and you use the Circle Pad for a boss battle. You can change the method of game control in an instant even within the same level.
That’s right. I hope people will play according to their own tastes.
Okay. I’d like to finish up with messages for the fans. Takano-san, would you start us off?
This time, I checked one thing after the other that Q-Games had made. That was really fun.
Even though you made the original 14 years earlier?
Yes. For example, on levels in which you were to fly under overhead structures, I used to just fly over them on Star Fox 64, but with the gyro sensor, I can smartly fly under. It’s fun because you think, “Hey, I’m pretty good!” (laughs)
I see. (laughs)
Some who played the original Star Fox are fathers now. Playing with the gyro sensor is so comfortable now that when a dad plays with his son, his son will say, “You’re pretty good, Dad!” So I hope people will enjoy it.
Okay. Amano-san?
In my self-introduction, I said I played through Star Fox 64 in my first year of secondary school, but I didn’t actually make it all the way through.
Oh.
This time, I realised there was about three times the volume!
(laughs)
Even though you said you loved it! (laughs)
Oh, I do! I really thought I had thoroughly played it.
But you weren’t even close.
No. I thought, “Ooh, I’ve never seen this level before!” The staff at Q-Games was more knowledgeable about the little details. (laughs)
He would say things like, “What is this level?” (laughs)
Playing with the gyro sensor, I could slip through all kinds of places and discover lots of new things. Even people who played Star Fox 64 will be able to make the same discoveries with Star Fox 64 3D that I did, and first-timers will be able to repeat the same level over and over without getting tired of it, so I really hope everyone will enjoy it.
Why don’t you get tired even if you repeat the same parts?
We made it a certain way because we want people to go back and play it repeatedly, like by searching for alternate routes.
I see. You made the courses with a view toward repeat play.
That’s right. On Star Fox 64, you couldn’t save the progress you had made on a particular level, so every time you started playing, you had to play the same levels. The levels were designed to stand up to that. Also, this time it’s on a handheld, so we added a save function. And in the Nintendo 3DS mode, even if the game ends, you can continue. So we’ve cut down on the stress involved in growing accustomed to the game.
Alright, and Dylan-san?
I hope people will enjoy the four-person battle mode. You can view the other players with the camera and look at their faces as you battle them.
Not their Mii characters.
Nope. The Nintendo 3DS system has a camera, so you can look at the players’ faces in real-time. And as long as you have one copy of the game, you can enjoy Download Play for up to four people. Even if you only have two people, the computer can run the other two vessels, so you can play that way too.
Or a single player can take on the computer running the other three.
That’s right.
And last, Miyamoto-san.
“It’s the universe you’ve been longing for...” Oh, that’s rubbish. Don’t write that down.
(laughs)
But that is how much I feel that the Nintendo 3DS system really gives the game a greater feeling of outer space. I told Dylan-san that if this game wasn’t interesting, I couldn’t make any more Star Fox games!
You did say that.
I said, “If first-time players like this game, Star Fox will be reborn!” That’s how much I’m counting on this one game!
The future of Star Fox depends on the reception it receives.
So if there’s anyone out there who wants to see into the future, please play this! (laughs) And don’t be afraid to use the brake when you play. At the same time, the gyro sensor will adjust your position to that angle, so if you feel misaligned, use the brake.
I see. That’s a good strategy. Well, to everyone out there, a game from 14 years ago has been remade for the Nintendo 3DS system, but as I listen to you talk, I don’t feel like it’s a remake of an old game. As can be said of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D20, it isn’t a mere remake. 20. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D: An action-adventure game released for the Nintendo 3DS system in Japan on June 16, 2011.
We didn’t use emulation.
And it isn’t a port.
It has been born anew.
Yes, it is a rebirth. We paid a lot of attention to redoing the graphics for explosions, for instance.
Yes, you remade everything.
It’s like the phoenix that plunges into the sea of fire only to rise again. But the title Star Fox 64 Phoenix wouldn’t make much sense. (laughs) It’s a handcrafted copy using today’s technology.
So what about calling it Star Fox 64 Handcrafted Copy? (laughs)
(laughs)
Dylan-san, I’m looking forward to your next project.
Please do! (laughs)
Thank you for your time today.
No problem!