In a recent interview with the Nikkei Sangyo Shimbun, courtesy of GameSpot, Yu Suzuki spoke about his transition from the immediacy of the arcades to the depth of Shen Mue: "The production process is basically the same as with arcade games, but the scenarios are more important in an RPG. The conversations must be natural. The sunset must be seen in the evening, and the stores must be closed at 8 in the evening. We are trying to see how near to reality we can go." He also discussed what kind of an impact Shen Mue may have on the DC, and what his history is with RPG's: "I don't think Shen Mue decides Dreamcast's fate, but I think it will help the sale of hardware. I want it to become more of a pep-up drink for Dreamcast." "I'd like to go about my work as if I was a cook using classic RPGs as sources. It's natural that my work will be different from other RPGs and I don't have a sense of rivalry with anyone. As a matter of fact, I'm not fond of playing those types of games. "Certainly my business involves playing battle games, but I haven't played RPGs from other companies, even though I have to in order to study them. You can say that's not my taste. I prefer games like Tetris or Whack-A-Mole." Suzuki also mentioned that the game is about 60% complete, and may not make its planned Spring release date. He also confirmed that he is already planning a sequel. |
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