Sega Nerds

Exclusive interview: Iizuka-san on NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams

Posted by Graham. Filed under G, Interviews, Nintendo Wii. Tagged with Exclusive, NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams.

As a few of you will now know, (from that great communication point, that is our forums), I (well Sega Nerds), was invited to Sega Europe headquarters, for a press conference with one Mr. Takashi Iizuka.  Oh wait… that’s one of the guys who came up with NiGHTS!

The press conference, was a chance for several magazine representatives, and two (yes only two - including Sega Nerds) websites, to have a preview of the final build for NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams.  This included a presentation by Iizuka-san, a chance to play the game, and also a question and answer session, with the great man, Iizuka-san, himself (plus translator).

I intend to break my day down into 3 articles (not one long one, like with Mario and Sonic).  First up, I give you the Sega Nerd interview, with Iizuka-san.

Now, I should note that due to time constraints, the conference starting late and Iizuka-san, suffering from jet-lag, (he had been travelling acoss Europe all week, and then came in from LA, that day), my interview was conducted with two other people.  One representative from SoE, and a (rather decent) guy, named Mike, from SonicCageDome, who was actually there on behalf of NintendoLife.

While I got to ask a good bundle of questions, the other two also asked a few which I wanted to ask, plus asking some extra questions… So I shall be mixing our questions together, to get the best of the interview - credit is given where credit is due.

I should also point out - that Iizuka-san’s translator was not of the greatest standard, so I am having to ad-lib a few answers, because her response was quite fragmented at times.  But then again I can’t speak a word of Japanese, so I can’t bitch.

Without further ado:

Sega Nerds: When did development for JoD start?

Iizuka-san: The idea came about 2 Years ago. Development began 1 and a half years ago

NintLife: 6 Years ago rumours came about, for a game called Air NiGHTS, with the motion control idea. Was Air NiGHTS a real game?

Iizuka: The game proto-type was real, as was the motion control idea, but the game never made it to development.

Sega Nerds: Where did you come up with the idea for the My Dream segment of the game?

Iizuka: It was developed from the A-Life system in the original NiGHTS. While the original only allowed you to interact with A-Life in the missions. You now have a seperate, small world, the beauty of A-Life, is it creates a place where the developers will not be able to predict what will happen.

Sega Nerds: Why did you decide to give NiGHTS a voice? And why did you choose a female voice?

Iizuka: [Laughs] Well the original game had voice clips for NiGHTS, but in JoD I wanted to use more voice acting. The voice helps to add depth to the game play, and tell the story in the cut scenes.

The voice for NiGHTS is meant to represent the characters interpretation of NiGHTS. As NiGHTS is non-gender specific, from the girls point of view NiGHTS can be a girl.

Sega Nerds: Will there be any unlockable content in JoD? Like with Christmas NiGHTS – you could unlock Sonic.

Iizuka: There will be some unlockable features, but I cannot say what they are. They are meant to be a surprise. But if players get high rankings, they will unlock features.

Sega Nerds: Is there anything you would have liked to have changed or added to the final release of JoD?

Iizuka: No, nothing more. I feel that we have implemented everything we wanted to. I think we did everything we could do with the Wii’s features. [Jokes] It’s perfect.

Sega Nerds: Which control method do you prefer?

Iizuka: I personally prefer the Wiimote controls, as you get the feeling of free flying with these controls.

But I suggest that fans of the original may wish to use the GameCube controller, as it is more like the Saturn controller, and is what players will be used to. At least at first.

SoE: Some people say that Bell Bridge (the game’s fictional setting), resembles parts of London. Is there any truth to this? And if so, why did you choose this setting?

Iizuka: Well like the character of Sonic is designed to be more like American style, NiGHTS has been designed to be more like that of European. So that is why the stages have the look of a more European setting.

It is also why the characters in NiGHTS have English accents.

SoE: How many people worked on NiGHTS JoD?

Iizuka: There were 26 developers from Sonic Team USA working on the game. With the sound and CG developed in Japan.

SoE: Why was Jackal not included in JoD? Is the Chameleon boss meant to be a replacement?

Iizuka: Well I like the character, but we didn’t want to make the game exactly the same. So not all the bosses are the same. [Laughs] It is a new game.

SoE: Apparently there was a deleted boss from the Original NiGHTS, called Selph. What did he look like?

Iizuka: [Laughs] How do you know about Selph?

SoE: ‘They’ know.

Iizuka: [Laughs again] They, who is they?

Well the idea for the character existed, but he was never actually created.

NintLife: In JoD, NiGHTS has different masks, which he can use. What is your favourite mask?

Iizuka: It depends on the situation; I like the Rocket mask because you can use it to create your own strategy.

But my favourite will have to be the Dragon mask.

Sega Nerds: The number of NiGHTS change as you play (we noticed on our play through). Does this affect the game play, the more you play?

Iizuka: No.  It is just there as a counter, for you to know how long/many times you have been playing.

Sega Nerds: NiGHTS used the Saturn’s internal clock to add new game play/secrets to the game, depending on the date. Will the same feature be used in JoD?

Iizuka: No. For the Saturn, it was a new feature and a new challenge.

With the Wii, the Forecast Channel is the new challenge. However there will be seasonal events within the game, which will appear in the My Dreams section.

SoE: For gamers who played NiGHTS into Dreams obsessively, you could unlock rare Nightopians called King or Superpians. Will there be any rare Nightopians in JoD?

Iizuka: In the My Dreams section of the game it is possible to mix Nightopians with the Marens (baddies) to create new creatures.

There will also be Superpians.

Sega Nerds: It has recently been announced that NiGHTS is being remade for the PS2. Will the game be released worldwide? And are there any plans for a Wii version, perhaps on the Virtual Console?

Iizuka: There are currently no plans for the PS2 version to be released outside of Japan, and no plans for a Wii version either.

It is being released in Japan, due to the high demand for the game. So there are no plans for a worldwide release… so far.

Sega Nerds: Thank you very much, for your time. And for making a new NiGHTS game.

Iizuka: Thank you.

Special Thanks: SoE for inviting me Sega Nerds.  Plus, Ryan and Psycho_Echidna, for help with questions. And to Dennis (from SegaOn magazine) for providing me with a close-up image of Iizuka, that didn’t look all blurry and shite (like mine did).