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Talking Game Design with Fukio “MTJ” Mitsuji

http://shmuplations.com/mtjdesign/

This 1989 feature, originally published in Gamest magazine, captures a discussion between some of Japan’s most accomplished arcade game designers, led by fellow Taito developer a...

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Pokémon – 2000 Developer Interview

http://shmuplations.com/pokemon/

In this 2000 interview, Pokemon veteran and art director Ken Sugimori outlines the genesis of Game Freak’s perennially popular monster-collecting franchise, the struggles he faced de...

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Yasumi Matsuno Interview Round-up!

Hey guys! As requested, I've got two Yasumi Matsuno interviews to share today:

Yasumi Matsuno x Hideo Kojima (1999) - http://shmuplations.com/matsunoxkojima/
Yasumi Matsuno x Shigeru Miyamoto (2003) - View Post

The History of Nintendo Game Music (1983-2001)

http://shmuplations.com/nintendogamemusic/

Veteran Nintendo composers Koji Kondo and Kazumi Totaka expound upon the ever-changing world of video game audio in this interview published on Nintendo’s Japanes...

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Akira Yasuda – 2003 Developer Interview (Part II)

http://shmuplations.com/akirayasuda/

Here is the long-awaited conclusion to the Akira Yasuda interview from a couple months back!  Akiman discusses his frustrations with managing new talent at Capcom post-SFI...

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Data East – 2004 Developer Interview

http://shmuplations.com/deco/

In this roundtable interview, originally published in 2004, the mysterious “D”, “E”, “C” & “O” share their insight on the inner workings of Data East a.k.a. DECO, a compa...

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Seiken Densetsu 3 – 1995 Developer Interview

http://shmuplations.com/seikendensetsu3/

This 1995 interview covers the development of the Square action-RPG Seiken Densetsu 3, the sequel to the beloved Secret of Mana and a game that was famously denied--and...

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Women and the Famicom – 1991 Special Interview

http://shmuplations.com/womenandthefamicom/

In this breezy discussion, first published by Famitsu in 1991, three Japanese women (ostensibly readers of Famicom Tsuushin chosen at random) discuss their introd...

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Castlevania – Developer Commentary

http://shmuplations.com/castlevania/

The development of the three Famicom Castlevania games has long been shrouded in mystery. Recently, a developer View Post

Darius I&II – 1986/89 Developer Interviews

http://shmuplations.com/dariusii/

These two interviews cover the development of Taito’s high-spec ultra-wide shooting game, Darius, and its hotly-anticipated sequel, Darius II. In both interviews, the developers ou...

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Super Smash Bros. – 1999 Developer Interview

http://shmuplations.com/smashbros/

In this interview with the short-lived Nice Games magazine, Kirby series creator Masahiro Sakurai discusses the inspiration behind the newly-released Nintendo 64 4-player fighting ...

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Akira Yasuda – 2003 Developer Interview

http://shmuplations.com/akirayasuda/

In the first half of this lengthy 2003 interview, legendary designer and illustrator Akira “Akiman” Yasuda looks back at his origins as an artist and the early titles t...

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April/May/June Voting!

Greetings to all patrons new and old. It's time again to offer suggestions and feedback re: what you'd like to see translated in the next few months. I'll still be referring to the previous voting posts, but it's never a bad idea to post again what you'd like to see translated.  Also, if mul...

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Treasure and the Megadrive – Developer Interviews

http://shmuplations.com/treasureroundup/

This assortment of interviews shows the newly-formed studio Treasure promoting their earliest Mega Drive games: the critically-acclaimed run-and-gun action game Gunstar...

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Final Fantasy VIII – 1998 Developer Interviews

http://shmuplations.com/ff8/

How does one follow up a zillion-selling, standard-setting smash hit? Square’s Final Fantasy team leads discussed that and much more with Famitsu as part of the press tour for Final Fantasy ...

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Aria of Sorrow – 2003 Developer Interview

http://shmuplations.com/ariaofsorrow/

These two interviews cover the conception and development of Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow, the third and final Castlevania game developed for Game Boy Advance and the second o...

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A Visit to Konami (1987)

http://shmuplations.com/konamivisit/

In the late 1980s, BEEP! magazine ran a series of special features on major developers (Namco, Sega, Konami) and their workspaces. They make for a great “time-capsule” read...

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Shin Megami Tensei – 1992 Developer Interviews

http://shmuplations.com/smt/

These three short interviews cover the conception, development and post-release thoughts of several of the key members behind the original Super Famicom version of Shin Megami Tensei, the cata...

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Tetris – 1993 Developer Interview

http://shmuplations.com/tetris/

Although the history of the Tetris development is fairly well-known now, these two interviews from 1993 and 1989 feature comments from creator Alexey Patjinov on a range of subjects, inc...

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Shining Force – 1992 Developer Interviews

http://shmuplations.com/shiningforce/

In these two interviews, several members of Sonic! Software Planning (now Camelot Software) and Climax Studios, led by producer, game designer, president and self-confessed j...

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Dragon Quest IV – 1989 Developer Interview

http://shmuplations.com/dqivroundtable/

In this lengthy interview from the 11/89 issue of Famicom Tsuushin, Dragon Quest creators Yuji Horii and Koichi Nakamura talk about the challenges of making Dragon Quest ...

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Rayforce – 2016 Developer Interview

http://shmuplations.com/rayforce/

This lengthy and fascinating interview with key developers of Taito’s Rayforce was originally featured in the “game gene” mook. What I have presented here is actually an edited...

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The Roots of Compile – 1998 Developer Interview

http://shmuplations.com/rootsofcompile/

This compilation of interviews from 1998’s 2018-12-31 05:25:52 +0000 UTC View Post

Dec/Jan/Feb Voting!

Greetings to all patrons new and old. It's time again to offer suggestions and feedback re: what you'd like to see translated in the next few months. I'll still be referring to the previous voting posts, but it's never a bad idea to post again what you'd like to see translated. I've got a nice big R...

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Yasunori Mitsuda – 2003 Composer Interview

http://shmuplations.com/yasunorimitsuda/

This thoughtful interview with composer Yasunori Mitsuda from 2003 was originally featured in game hihyou. Mitsuda discusses various aspects of his creative process, inclu...

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Yasuhiko Fujii - 2007 Developer Interview

http://shmuplations.com/yasuhikofujii/

This interview with Super Metroid and “Kaeru no tame ni kane wa naru” programmer Yasuhiko Fujii originally appeared in game shokunin volume 1. The first part of the interv...

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Ikari Warriors, Guerilla War, and The SNK Golden Age

http://shmuplations.com/snkgoldenage/

In this long and candid interview from 2001, SNK alum Koji Obata describes the company’s early-’80s struggles, their re-emergence as an arcade powerhouse, the self-proclaime...

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Space Harrier – Developer Interview Collection

http://shmuplations.com/spaceharrier/

In this collection of decade-spanning interviews, former and current Sega AM2 members discuss the making of Sega’s classic 3D shooting arcade game, Space Harrier. As with so m...

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Splatterhouse - 1988 Developer Interview

http://shmuplations.com/splatterhouse/

Happy Halloween! This fun little Splatterhouse interview from 1988 was originally featured in NG magazine (Namco’s in-house produced magazine which ran from 1983 to 1993). T...

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Mario Kart 64 – 1996 Developer Interview

http://shmuplations.com/mariokart64/

In this interview taken from the official Japanese guidebook, several key members of the Mario Kart 64 team discuss their roles during development and the new challenges they face...

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