shmuplations.com - 12/1 Zanac

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Xyga
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Re: shmuplations.com - 3/1 Cave STG 15th Anniversary Intervi

Post by Xyga »

Thanks a lot blackoak! 8)
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qmish
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Re: shmuplations.com - 3/1 Cave STG 15th Anniversary Intervi

Post by qmish »

Just 've read that. Pretty interesting interview :idea: including those mini-comments on games.

re: discarded mecha from early Dangun Feveron - so did any Cave game have mecha as players? i cant remember
Last edited by qmish on Thu Mar 01, 2018 9:59 am, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: shmuplations.com - 3/1 Cave STG 15th Anniversary Intervi

Post by soprano1 »

Thank you, and welcome back once again.
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Re: shmuplations.com - 3/1 Cave STG 15th Anniversary Intervi

Post by Mantrox »

Thanks. Good work.
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Re: shmuplations.com - 3/1 Cave STG 15th Anniversary Intervi

Post by thetricker24 »

:D
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copy-paster
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Re: shmuplations.com - 3/1 Cave STG 15th Anniversary Intervi

Post by copy-paster »

Looks like DOJ WL was basically an unfinished game, and that Dodonpachi III was really a legit release by Cave.
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Xyga
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Re: shmuplations.com - 3/1 Cave STG 15th Anniversary Intervi

Post by Xyga »

Not unfinished but 'finalized in a hurry' with the difficulty balance we know.
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Muchi Muchi Spork
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Re: shmuplations.com - 3/1 Cave STG 15th Anniversary Intervi

Post by Muchi Muchi Spork »

It seems like every interview for every game they said something about not having enough time to properly finish the game. I kind of glaze over at this point when I read it.

One thing is for sure, Inoue would be a horrible boss.
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Re: shmuplations.com - 3/1 Cave STG 15th Anniversary Intervi

Post by M.Knight »

Welcome back blackoak!
That's a pretty cool interview. The comments about each individual are fascinating, I didn't know for instance that Shikigami no Shiro could influence the arcade operators' requests like that.
The Deathsmiles naming anecdote is also hilarous!


By the way, I noticed a slight error here :
—What about “shinu ga yoi” (prepare to die)?

Ikeda: That was Ikeda’s line too, of course.
I guess you meant to write "Inoue's line"?
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Re: shmuplations.com - 3/1 Cave STG 15th Anniversary Intervi

Post by OmegaFlareX »

Perhaps you can clear this up for me once and for all:

Is the translation for return bullets actually "suicide bullet"? Can you provide some detail on this?
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Re: shmuplations.com - 3/1 Cave STG 15th Anniversary Intervi

Post by GSK »

qmish wrote:re: discarded mecha from early Dangun Feveron - so did any Cave game have mecha as players? i cant remember
"Mecha" in this context also covers heavy machinery and vehicles and so forth, not necessarily or specifically humanoid robots.
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blackoak
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Re: shmuplations.com - 3/1 Cave STG 15th Anniversary Intervi

Post by blackoak »

Thanks everyone, glad you're liking the interview. There's a metric ton of Cave info out there so it's not exactly a revelation, but that also made it a nice discovery. Those Guwange and Esp.ra.de artbooks might be another final frontier, have to look into that later.

@MuchiMuchi, yeah, they constantly talk about not having time. jp game developers in general actually.

@MKnight, thanks for catching that! definitely a mistype, fixed it up

@OmegaFlareX, the jp actually does say something closer to "return bullets": 撃ち返し弾 is the technical term, which literally means "fire back." But since the western world is most familiar with "suicide bullets" that's what I use.
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Muchi Muchi Spork
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Re: shmuplations.com - 3/1 Cave STG 15th Anniversary Intervi

Post by Muchi Muchi Spork »

It was a pleasure to read, thanks for the translation. If you ever feel like going balls deep into the Arcadia magazine coverage of some specific Cave game, I have the scans for most of the games. Super in-depth, would be a ton of work, but who knows.
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Re: shmuplations.com - 3/1 Cave STG 15th Anniversary Intervi

Post by qmish »

blackoak, i wanted to ask... Have you ever find any interview with ore808 (Takashi Egawano, main author of Psyvariar games)? I know there is interview with Success' developers in latest "Untold History of Japanese Game Developers" by Szczepaniak which i haven't ordered yet, but not with him.
"Mecha" in this context also covers heavy machinery and vehicles and so forth, not necessarily or specifically humanoid robots.
GSK, i see. So far, i remember Esp Ra.De. and Yagawa's Cave games to feature stuff like that more than other titles (DonPachi is more military than mecha i'd say?)
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Re: shmuplations.com - 3/1 Cave STG 15th Anniversary Intervi

Post by Dave_K. »

copy-paster wrote:Looks like DOJ WL was basically an unfinished game, and that Dodonpachi III was really a legit release by Cave.
Xyga wrote:Not unfinished but 'finalized in a hurry' with the difficulty balance we know.
Agree with Xyga, and see Dodonpachi III similarly to Futari BL "Another Version". Given an opportunity for another release they continue with refinements they would have wanted to implement but didn't have time for.
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Re: shmuplations.com - 3/1 Cave STG 15th Anniversary Intervi

Post by KAI »

This made me want to play the entire cave catalogue again. Huge thanks for translating it blackoak.
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Re: shmuplations.com - 3/1 Cave STG 15th Anniversary Intervi

Post by OmegaFlareX »

blackoak wrote:@OmegaFlareX, the jp actually does say something closer to "return bullets": 撃ち返し弾 is the technical term, which literally means "fire back."
That does clear it up, thank you very much.

I'm very curious as to what the Toaplan shmup test program looks like, and what kind of computers they used to make their games. And if Cave used those same computers up until the SH3 hardware.
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Re: shmuplations.com - 3/1 Cave STG 15th Anniversary Intervi

Post by BIL »

Will enjoy that Zanac interview, its sinister methods have been on my mind lately. ^__^
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Re: shmuplations.com - 3/1 Cave STG 15th Anniversary Intervi

Post by blackoak »

qmish wrote:blackoak, i wanted to ask... Have you ever find any interview with ore808 (Takashi Egawano, main author of Psyvariar games)? I know there is interview with Success' developers in latest "Untold History of Japanese Game Developers" by Szczepaniak which i haven't ordered yet, but not with him.
I have not, actually. I have a couple Cotton interviews in my archive somewhere. Success was a little difficult to get info on, so Szczepaniak's book probably fills a nice hole.

IIRC, a new magazine called "EXTRA!" by BEEP had a Success-focused issue recently, which I'm planning to pick up... but it looked like mostly Cotton, again. The best place to look would probably be early issues of Arcadia, but the Diet Library doesn't actually have Arcadia afaik.
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Re: shmuplations.com - 3/1 Cave STG 15th Anniversary Intervi

Post by dan76 »

Awesome Blackoak, great read, thanks. Shampoo...
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Re: shmuplations.com - 3/1 Cave STG 15th Anniversary Intervi

Post by waiwainl »

Thank you! Great reads!


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Re: shmuplations.com - 3/1 Cave STG 15th Anniversary Intervi

Post by soprano1 »

blackoak, thanks for the Tactics Ogre interview with Matsuno, love that game. Hope you don't mind me posting the link here: http://shmuplations.com/tacticsogre/
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Re: shmuplations.com - 5/22 Battle Mania (Trouble Shooter)

Post by blackoak »

lil' bump here with a really nice interview about the Megadrive shmup Battle Mania (Trouble Shooter). Covers both the original and its sequel, and goes into a lot of detail about Vic Tokai and their other games. The interviewee, Takayan, is pretty funny too.

http://shmuplations.com/battlemania

Still trying to find time for that big Zanac/Compile interview... -_-
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Re: shmuplations.com - 5/22 Battle Mania (Trouble Shooter)

Post by bottino »

That was a very fun read, thank you.

Mr. Takayan is quite the colorful character and it's very cool to see how much of his personality has influenced the Battle Mania games.

It's interesting, because as a STG, both games are very orthodox it comes to it's game system, while having a very unique, off-the-wall, colorful art design ( Daiginjo especially ). More refreshing than going for the "copy whatever is popular at the time with a different paint coat approach', that was so common at the time.

Speaking of Daiginjo, i think it's one of the best examples of a game that manages to be a very fun and exciting experience, thanks to it's colorful and creative design and technical prowess in the GFX and sound department, even though it presents a very simple and low challenge.
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Re: shmuplations.com - 5/22 Battle Mania (Trouble Shooter)

Post by EmperorIng »

Yes, that was very enjoyable to read! It's almost excessive how much he seemed to dislike the SFC... I guess karma came and got him in the end though, lol. Battle Mania is definitely a series that put a lot of effort into its "world building" and style, so it doesn't surprise me that he conceived it originally as a manga.

I also enjoyed the shout out to Whip Rush, brief as it was (and too bad it didn't seem to recall fond memories for Takayan - I rather like the game!).
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Re: shmuplations.com - 5/22 Battle Mania (Trouble Shooter)

Post by BIL »

Ah yes, one of my favourite oddball black sheep devs! Wasn't left with the best impression of them from childhood, the River City Ransom-esque charm of Demonhead aside - but lately I've been pleasantly surprised. Enjoyed getting a look behind the curtain, not just the Battle Manias but a wide range of other stuff as well... Takayan's a hoot to read, too.
Takayan wrote:That was where I discovered Mappy, and my eyes were opened to the joy of video games.
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Dengeki Big Bang!/Clash at Demonhead
All of the strange people who worked at VIC just threw together all their weird ideas. Of course, I’m completely normal so I had nothing to do with it.
Explains a lot. Image Wonderful personality if nothing else. I actually really like its rambling format and simple but functional action/platforming. Very RCR-esque, for good and bad. Image
Magical Kids Doropie/The Krion Conquest
This was made by Seki Tomoki, who did the graphics on the first Battle Mania. The minor characters were designed by Ashika Sakura the renowned manga artist.
Not fond of the game itself at all, actually for years I thought it was some Chinese Rockman bootleg... but the eyecatches instantly brought to mind Battle Mania, and the same sense that the art director really wanted to be directing TV anime. And then they stick the main character in some shitty sewer!
Magical hat no buttobi Tabo! Daibouken/Decap Attack
This was the Aighina team. I’m proud of those guys. Starting with Kakefu-kun they spent a total of 5 years refining the physics on those swinging poles.
Respect. Image Also this may finally, finally get me to take up Rob's advice and try out Magical Hat.
Totsuzen Macho Man!/Amagon
This was contract work for another company.

Golgo 13: Dainisho Ikarosu no Nazo/The Mafat Conspiracy
More contract work.
Interesting, I usually see those credited to Aicom but I guess Vic staff were involved too? Machoman's kinda underrated imo, it's quite good in its "Rockman from Hell" way.
...so when I told them I wanted to make a sequel they said “No”, I asked why and they replied “Just no”.
This whole thing read beautifully btw. :lol:

And wow, real passion re: the Battle Manias! Impressive to hear there wasn't any particular personnel upgrade for Daiginjou, just experience and sheer vigour... I always had the impression it'd had some resources put behind it. Hell, it's impressive just hearing the persistence Takayan needed to even get Dai greenlit. Shame the TV commercial is seemingly gone. Definite pantsu sighting in that screencap. Image

Regarding the Nintendo razzing, I could swear you also gun down Cape Marios during the truck chase... maybe it's my eyes playing tricks on me.
EmperorIng wrote:I also enjoyed the shout out to Whip Rush, brief as it was (and too bad it didn't seem to recall fond memories for Takayan - I rather like the game!).
Much as I love Daiginjou's antics, I'd keep Whip Rush's no-frills discipline over its Side Arms Lite if pressed, and most definitely over the relatively tame first Mania. Sharp little hori. It reminds me of a paced-up sequel to Hot-B's likeable but ambling Over Horizon (FC). Cute that they brought the stubby, almost Opa Opa-esque ship back as Mania's POW courier.

Guess it's some consolation that WR goes for like a tenth of Dai and a fifth of the first. :mrgreen:
blackoak wrote:Still trying to find time for that big Zanac/Compile interview... -_-
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Re: shmuplations.com - 5/22 Battle Mania (Trouble Shooter)

Post by FRO »

Thank you, blackoak, for the translation of the Battle Mania interview! That was a good read, and provided some interesting insights into the game's development. It's too bad no one asked him about the abomination that was the US box art :P
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Re: shmuplations.com - 10/1 Soldier Blade

Post by blackoak »

hey guys! got a new shmup interview up (finally, hehe)... it's for Soldier Blade, and was featured in a 20th Anniversary e-book that one of the designers put together back in 2012

http://shmuplations.com/soldierblade/

It's got some nice concept art (much more in the ebook btw), and lots of detailed notes about things they wanted to add, explanations of the lore/bosses, etc. The main planner is really hard on himself actually, and it's a little surprising considering how much people like this game (the easy difficulty and console-y stage design notwithstanding). enjoy! Should have some more shmup stuff in the next couple months too... sooner if Space Harrier counts, haha.
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Re: shmuplations.com - 10/1 Soldier Blade

Post by garrz32 »

Thanks blackoak, the art is fantastic.
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Re: shmuplations.com - 10/1 Soldier Blade

Post by Ebbo »

Thank you for this translation blackoak! Soldier Blade is one my favourite shooters and a huge influence. It's rather reaffirming and very relatable to hear all these self-doubting observations of the designer regards to the final game.
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