Part 54: An Audience with PlatinumGames - Part 8

Finally, what are your three favourite games of all time? You can name more if you like.
Firstly, The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past for Super NES. This game should be displayed in museums, as one of humanity's treasures. Its planning is godlike. Have you played this game?

Sure. Many times through.
I've played several game rounds too. It's really beyond challenge. The second game is Gradius. I can't forget the impact Gradius had on me when I saw it the first time in an arcade. Saw the demonstration screen, before you insert a coin. There are some options and I thought "What the hell is this?!" Option itself was first introduced in Twinbee. In Gradius, some orange glowing things were tracing the player's movement. And that Shot which filled the whole screen! This firepower was...
Unbelievable.
Unbelievable. I didn't think the game could work. Firepower like that. Baaam. I thought, "This game is incredible," when I saw that picture. And the background was, like stage 1, a vulcan, very photographic. This world was so mysterious to me. Mountains are on the ground. But there was also ground on the upper side, with mountains. Old games were based on illusion. But Gradius had realistic graphics. Therefore I tried to apply a visual image based on reality to this game graphic. I asked myself, "So what is it?" There is ground below. But there is also ground above. This landscape is only possible if you sliced a cave. The problem was, that you could see starts in the background. So it wasn't a cave.
Kind of art.
Yes, this is art. I was thinking of a gap between two planets in the universe. But the ground is wooded. So it's not in space since it was verdant. But air can't exist with this background. Therefore I couldn't understand this world. Then something sparked in my head. "This game is amazing." I was fascinated by it. I have played and played it intensively.

And the next... The last game is Space Harrier. This also had a mind-blowing impact on me. I saw it the first time in the magazine Beep, as covered in the opening article. This was the first... well, maybe not the first... game with 65535, full colour graphics. I guess Hang On was the first game... for games by Sega. In Hang On, they used the board just experimentally and didn't use full colour. Space Harrier was the first attempt at full colour. Something like that was written in the article. So the imagery was very beautiful. And 3D shooting... I loved 3D shooting right from the beginning. This game was graphically one of the best of all 3D shooting games. But I saw this only in the magazine's screenshots. So the first impression was just "a beautiful fantastic world".

And then I saw the game the first time when I went to an arcade. I thought, "No one can play this!" Like the bike race in Tron. I thought, "I could never play it while I was watching the movie." Tack, tack, tack! No normal human being can react so quickly. A visual just like that. One object came after other object from interior with high speed. And one player was playing this game. I watched him from behind. It was so incredible, that I thought, "This must be the final stage." I just thought, "I'll never reach that level." Then I inserted a coin to play, and saw, this stage was just the second stage. (laughs) "These graphics were already in the second stage?! The first stage was also great!" That had a big impact on me. I put all my respect into Bayonetta this time. That's all.
I've often heard about this title. Each time you talk about that, you mention this game. For me, the first one is The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, just like him. It's a fantastic game. So fantastic that I can't say anything else other than "fantastic game". The next one is Final Fight.
He says that every time. (laughs)
It just happened that I was in an arcade. I did not go to arcades much at that time. I saw a poster on the wall there, and this poster was so cool. Normally, someone is looking at the viewer, but on this poster, no one looked at you. All you see is a bloody iron pipe on the ground. The scene is filled with a sense of tension and I wondered, what kind of masculine game is this? Then I started to play it.
Cody was looking to this side. (Kamiya looking back)
That's it. (laughs)
Cody turned around, with a clenched bloody fist. (laughs) This poster is great. Was it Yasuda-san who drew it?
Yes.
I don't really want to praise him, but this was great.
It was very good. Then I searched for this game and played it the whole time. I still love this game now.
I needed to talk with Hashimoto-kun at lunch break and went to find him. But he didn't acknowledge me at all, so I watched him for a bit and thought, "Ah, he's playing."
That was an imported PSP version and the last game is Tactics Ogre. The atmosphere, the world and the visual style were fantastic. It was as hard and serious as a game can be. I love this game so much. I played this game 'til the end of Super NES. Also while changing to the Playstation generation. Until the very last phase of Super NES.
You really mean that you like Tactics Ogre not Ogre Battle? You like Tactics Ogre more?
I like Ogre Battle too, but it is too unreasonable. (laughs) You can't finish it playing in a regular fashion. (laughs)

Well, Yasumi Matsuno did work on MadWorld. Is it possible that you two are going to work together with him sometime?
Well, let's see. If I get a chance...
I raise sand when I work with other people, so I don't think so.
That is a quite misleading statement. (laughs) I think he means "with other game creators".
It's impossible for me to work together with other obsessive people.

You start to compete?
Definitely! Wait, the only creator with whom I could work with is Shu Takumi.

The creator of Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney
Ace Attorney. But I don't know what he...
He is going to say no. (laughs)
I just meant... you don't have to compete if you can trust someone. I don't know a lot about other creators, so I guess I will start arguing. But I have a long-term relationship with Takushu. We joined the company in the same year and I also know him personally. I have played Ace Attorney 1, 2 and 3, so I know what quality he can produce. I would be able to trust his choices completely. Even if a finished scenario is like bullshit, I could accept it, as long as it was under his authority. If it was Shu Takumi, I could do it.
So it's impossible. (laughs)
Why is that?! Who knows?!
I meant Matsuno-san.
Ah, Matsuno-san. Sorry, I don't know much about him, but I can imagine that he is quite obsessive.
He (Kamiya-san) can write a scenario.
I don't think so.
Well, I think you can.
I'd like to work with Shu Takumi.
It's possible, I guess.

Please give a message to the fans who bought this Limited Collector's Edition Game Guide.
I've said this before for Devil May Cry, but this game is like a letter of challenge to players. I think, a game for hardcore players is now quite valuable. On this occasion, I would like you players to rise up to this challenge. This is our letter of challenge to you, but when you receive it and hone your skills, our challenge-letter will change one day into a challenge to yourself. I want you all to challenge your limits and master this game.
Me too! You've said what I wanted to say.
Hey, hey, hey. Those were my words!
We have packed this game with many elements. And there will be information which you won't understand by looking on the internet. If so, please read the guide, then go back to the game and play it again. I want you do dive into this game a number of times. We hope you will love Bayonetta for many years to come.