SamuKata
shmuplations

shmuplations

patreon


shmuplations posts

Curse of Darkness (Michiru Yamane) / Mario RPG interviews

Curse of Darkness (Michiru Yamane) / Mario RPG interviews

https://shmuplations.com/curseofdarkness/
https://shmuplations.com/supermariorpg/

Hey all! For the second update this month, I went back and added the Michiru Yamane porti...

View Post

Final Fantasy IX – 2000 Developer Interviews

Final Fantasy IX – 2000 Developer Interviews

https://shmuplations.com/ffix/

These Final Fantasy IX interviews were originally published in Hyper Playstation magazine, shortly before the game's release in July 2000. As pre-release interviews, they contained a good deal of promotional fluff, so I have slightly edit...

View Post

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'...

View Post

Persona 4 – 2008 Developer Interview

Persona 4 – 2008 Developer Interview

https://shmuplations.com/persona4/

This mammoth Persona 4 interview with director Katsura Hashino was originally featured in the Persona Club P4 book. Hashino covers the character design, story influences, and larger themes in great detail. Please note that about h...

View Post

Puyo Puyo Fever - 2016 Interview

Puyo Puyo Fever - 2016 Interview

https://shmuplations.com/puyopuyofever/

Conducted in commemoration of Puyo Puyo's 25th anniversary, this Famitsu interview saw former Sonic Team boss Yuji Naka trading insider info with current series producer Mizuki Hosoyamada on the creation of Puyo Puyo Fev...

View Post

Donkey Kong (1994) - Developer Interview

Donkey Kong (1994) - Developer Interview

https://shmuplations.com/dk1994/

Taken from Shogakukan's official strategy guide, this interview saw members of Nintendo and co-developer Pax Sofnica discussing the making of Nintendo's 1994 Donkey Kong revival for Game Boy, with the discussion covering the genesis o...

View Post

Contra x Shinobi and Capcom Partnership Developer Interviews

Contra x Shinobi and Capcom Partnership Developer Interviews

Hey all! We've got two interviews to share today. These were on the shorter side, so I've combined them into one update for the purposes of patreon. All the translations this month were done by our editor GSK--give him a shoutout on twitter! My back is starting to feel better again, but I'm still taking it real easy for the time being. Other...

View Post

Tekken – 2010 Roundtable Interview

Tekken – 2010 Roundtable Interview

https://shmuplations.com/tekken/

Taken from Arcadia magazine, this 15th-anniversary roundtable discussion saw Tekken series steward Katsuhiro Harada and several prominent community members discussing their history with and memories of each title, from the 1994 origin...

View Post

a quick update

Hey all,

I apologize for the delay with the voting thread this month. Unfortunately, I'm still having a lot of health issues with my back (sitting in the hospital waiting room for an MRI right now), which is going to diminish my translation outpu...

View Post

Akira Sakuma - 2000 Developer Interview

Akira Sakuma - 2000 Developer Interview

https://shmuplations.com/akirasakuma/

This humorous Akira Sakuma interview from 2000 was originally sourced from the GSLA archive. Known in Japan for Momotaro Densetsu, an early Dragon Quest clone, and the train-themed board game Momotaro Dentetsu series, the di...

View Post

Star Fox Assault - 2004 Developer Interview

Star Fox Assault - 2004 Developer Interview

https://shmuplations.com/starfoxassault/

This lengthy Star Fox Assault interview with producers Takaya Imamura and Tsuyoshi Kobayashi and directors Toshiyuki Nakanishi and Yutaka Yoshida was originally featured in Nintendo Dream magazine. A joint development ...

View Post

Donkey Kong: A Record of Struggle

Donkey Kong: A Record of Struggle

https://shmuplations.com/donkeykong/

From December 1996 to April 1997, "bit" magazine published a series of articles titled "Arcade Game Technology", authored by Ikegami Tsuushinki programmer Hirohisa Komanome. The last article was an in-depth examination of the ...

View Post

Metal Max - 2014 Developer Interview [PART 2]

Metal Max - 2014 Developer Interview [PART 2]

https://shmuplations.com/metalmax/

Hey guys! Wrapping up November with the second part of this mammoth Metal Max interview. This time the conversation revolves around the "lost" Metal Max games--MM3 for the PlayStation and Metal Max: Wild Eyes for the Dreamcast...

View Post

Castlevania: Curse of Darkness - 2005 Developer Interview

Castlevania: Curse of Darkness - 2005 Developer Interview

https://shmuplations.com/curseofdarkness/

This lengthy Castlevania: Curse of Darkness interview with producer Koji Igarashi and director Takashi Takeda originally appeared in the official Konami strategy guide. It mostly explores the individual character des...

View Post

Resident Evil 4 - 2005 Developer Interview

Resident Evil 4 - 2005 Developer Interview

https://shmuplations.com/residentevil4/

This lengthy RE4 interview with producer Hiroyuki Kobayashi (who also worked as a programmer on the earlier games) was originally featured in Nintendo Dream. The main topic of discussion is the complete overhaul that RE4...

View Post

Oct/Nov/Dec 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'...

View Post

Shadow of the Colossus - 2005 Interview

Shadow of the Colossus - 2005 Interview

https://shmuplations.com/shadowofthecolossus/

This Shadow of the Colossus interview originally appeared in the 10/05 edition of The Playstation 2 magazine. It sees producer Kenji Kaido and director Fumito Ueda expounding on the merits of their just-relea...

View Post

Klonoa 2 - 2001 Developer Interviews

Klonoa 2 - 2001 Developer Interviews

https://shmuplations.com/klonoa2/

These two vintage Klonoa 2 interviews were originally featured in The Playstation and Namco Games magazines, shortly after the game's Japanese release in March 2001. Producer and director Tsuyoshi Kobayashi and art director Yoshihik...

View Post

Metal Max - 2014 Developer Interview

Metal Max - 2014 Developer Interview

https://shmuplations.com/metalmax/

This Metal Max interview with creators Hiroshi Miyaoka and Tomoki Tauchi originally appeared in Roleplaying Gameside #1, a short-lived offshot of Shooting Gameside. The interview covers the pair's post-apocalyptic and sci-fi influ...

View Post

quick update!

quick update!

Greetings everyone! Just a quick note: I only managed to get one interview out last month, thanks to a visit from the family, a brief illness, and the adoption of two (very rambunctious) new tortie kittens that are just now starting to let me sleep, haha. I also devoted some time in early August to collecting more interviews at the Diet Library,...

View Post

Yoji Shinkawa - 2001 Developer Interview

Yoji Shinkawa - 2001 Developer Interview

https://shmuplations.com/yojishinkawa/

This interview with famed Konami illustrator and designer Yoji Shinkawa first appeared in volume 4 of the Game Maestro book series. The thoughtful questions trace a path through Shinkawa's career, from catching Hideo Kojim...

View Post

Jumping Flash! 2 - 1996 Developer Interview

Jumping Flash! 2 - 1996 Developer Interview

https://shmuplations.com/jumpingflash2/

This interview with the three Jumping Flash! 2 teams of MuuMuu, Exact, and Sony was originally featured in The Playstation magazine. In what appears to have been a very congenial development, the teams here discuss chara...

View Post

Donkey Kong Jungle Beat – 2004 Developer Interview

Donkey Kong Jungle Beat – 2004 Developer Interview

https://shmuplations.com/dkjunglebeat/

This rollicking Donkey Kong Jungle Beat interview originally appeared in Nintendo Dream magazine, shortly after the 2004 E3 exhibition. The game was still in-development, so the discussion largely focuses on the response f...

View Post

Burning Rangers - 1997 Developer Interview

Burning Rangers - 1997 Developer Interview

https://shmuplations.com/burningrangers/

This Burning Ranger interview (actually a composite of two interviews) originally appeared in Saturn Fan magazine about six months prior to the game's release the following year. Led by producer Yuji Naka, the Sonic Te...

View Post

July/Aug/Sept 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'...

View Post

Bahamut Lagoon - 1996 Developer Interview

Bahamut Lagoon - 1996 Developer Interview

https://shmuplations.com/bahamutlagoon/

This is an update to the Bahamut Lagoon interview--I've added a brand new interview with the entire staff, taken from Famitsu's Bahamut Lagoon Fanbook. Some of the lore questions at the end are very silly, but overall th...

View Post

The Desks of Developers - A Pictorial Series

The Desks of Developers - A Pictorial Series

https://shmuplations.com/desks/

In the late 90s, the Japanese gaming magazine "The Playstation" ran a monthly feature on the workspaces of famous gaming devs. I've collected four of these here and translated the original editorial commentary (which include some remark...

View Post

Shigeru Miyamoto x Toshihiro Nagoshi - 1999 Developer Interview

Shigeru Miyamoto x Toshihiro Nagoshi - 1999 Developer Interview

https://shmuplations.com/miyamotoxnagoshi/

Before the Yakuza series, Toshihiro Nagoshi was mostly known for his arcade work at Sega, and this hardware-centric discussion originally published in Game Hihyou magazine reflects that history. In addition to the ...

View Post

Dimahoo - 2000 Developer Interview

 Dimahoo - 2000 Developer Interview

https://shmuplations.com/dimahoo/

This colorful Dimahoo interview originally appeared in the Great Mahou Daisakusen OST liner notes. It features commentary from programmer Yuichi Toyama and designer Kenichi Yokoo, as well as composers Kenichi Koyano and Atsuhiro Mot...

View Post

Silent Hill - 1999 Developer Interview + Bloody Roar 2

Silent Hill - 1999 Developer Interview + Bloody Roar 2

https://shmuplations.com/silenthill/

This vintage Silent Hill interview with director Keiichiro Toyama, designer Takayoshi Sato, and sound director Akira Yamaoka comes from the GSLA, a Japanese archive of interviews from older print sources. Although short, it co...

View Post