Old Interview with Shouzou Kaga and Hironobu Sakaguchi

[Hardin]

Shumplations have just translated two old interviews featuring Kaga, the first features Kaga meeting Final Fantasy creator Hironobu Sakaguchi, and the latter is simply about FE1. I think it's interesting to see these two creators meet, and it's always fun to get some insight on the older games.

One of the most interesting pieces of trivia IMO:

The famous Fire Emblem opera commercial. According to the Fire Emblem strategy guide, the filming was a real challenge: the armor for the opera singers was so heavy that they needed those staffs just to stay standing. The horse was a “famous” actor horse used in previous operas like Aida; however, the flashes of lightning and the size of the chorus made the horse skittish, and they had to restart over 20 times to get a good take.

As a bonus, it also revealed that Hardin and Lena were the two most popular FE1 characters as voted by magazine readers in 1990.

[Crazy Foxie]

Thanks for sharing this, it was a hugely interesting read! I finished playing FF6 about a month ago now, so this really hits home for me :) It's interesting to see the struggles that they both had to face during the games' inceptions and also how far it's come since then.

Plus that picture at the end seriously cracked me up...

[Cymbalina's Revenge]

Very cool. Thank you for posting it. It was a fascinating time-capsule.

[VincentASM]

That was really cool. I always wondered if there any interviews from old magazines or guidebooks.

Also, I never expected the creators of FE and FF meeting up like that XD

[Hardin]

I actually have an old interview with Kaga in a Gaiden guidebook. I don't have the skill to translate it, but if anyone wants I can scan it in for others to attempt. Might be a fun project for Gaidens 25th anniversary.

[secondworld]

This was a fascinating read. Sakaguchi's FE struggles were amusing and Square studying FE when it first came out is kind of a neat thing to think about.

The two most interesting things for me were 1: how much focus on the "role-playing" part Kaga put into FE 1. He talks about how ironman is the intended way to play(which was something I always assumed about previous games so confirmation there I guess) and how he wanted the experience to be different for each person and playthrough even downplaying Marth as the main character:

I don’t consider Marth to be the protagonist either, except in the sense that if he dies, it’s game over. It’s totally fine to see the story as revolving around the particular characters that you’re partial to.

It's an interesting insight into the mindset of making the original game.

The other thing that stuck out to me was this bit:

—I’ve heard some people complain, though, that Fire Emblem is actually too light on the strategy. What do you say to that?

Kaga: Well, that is an understandable response from the perspective of hardcore strategy buffs and those who design games with them primarily in mind. I think there’s a similar thing going on right now in game centers, too, and hardcore arcade fans.

But for Nintendo-made products, the baseline for the development is always that it be easy to play to the end, something “anyone can pick up and enjoy.” And I think that is a perfectly fine approach in its own right. Even if the strategy mechanics are lacking some depth, the important thing is its overall balance as a game, after all.

Actually, the first person to beat the game was a graphic designer at Nintendo, someone completely unrelated to the development. I think the selling point of Fire Emblem is that anyone, even non-gamers, can enjoy the strategy, so that made me really happy.

—So Fire Emblem was made so that even children would be able to pick it right up?!

Kaga: Yeah, as much as possible, we tried to remove “stats” and numerical data. We tried to make it so that even without relying on stats, players could still get a sense of an enemy being really powerful by how much damage they dealt.

So they actually tried to design FE to be accessible right from the start, but according to Kaga, despite those intentions the major criticism for the game when it came out was that it was "hard to understand".

I find it interesting how two things FE was/has been known for, being difficult to get into and resetting for every character, apparently weren't originally intended(at least not by Kaga).

[Katie]

Another interesting thing about the article is it actually contains pictures of Kaga. This article is the first time I've ever seen a picture of him. I didn't even know they existed.

[Illiterate Scholar]

I actually have an old interview with Kaga in a Gaiden guidebook. I don't have the skill to translate it, but if anyone wants I can scan it in for others to attempt. Might be a fun project for Gaidens 25th anniversary.

Yes please, that would be awesome.

This was a fascinating read. Sakaguchi's FE struggles were amusing and Square studying FE when it first came out is kind of a neat thing to think about.

The two most interesting things for me were 1: how much focus on the "role-playing" part Kaga put into FE 1. He talks about how ironman is the intended way to play(which was something I always assumed about previous games so confirmation there I guess) and how he wanted the experience to be different for each person and playthrough even downplaying Marth as the main character:

It's an interesting insight into the mindset of making the original game.

I find this strange though since the stories for the characters were incredibly limited for the earlier games. I'd say 90% of the cast are just people who names and that's it.

Edited May 4, 2016 by Illiterate Scholar

[VincentASM]

Yes please, that would be awesome.

I find this strange though since the stories for the characters were incredibly limited for the earlier games. I'd say 90% of the cast are just people who names and that's it.

I think "role-playing" here refers to the traditional aka literal way. In other words, players make up (play) the roles. For this purpose, it's more beneficial that most of the cast are blank slates.

Edited May 4, 2016 by VincentASM

[Tamanoir]

I find it interesting how two things FE was/has been known for, being difficult to get into and resetting for every character, apparently weren't originally intended(at least not by Kaga).

Fire Emblem's game system is actually quite simple.

You don't have to go through tons of menus to know how likely you are to win. A simple glance at the start screen tells you all you need to know.

...And part of the difficulty comes to everyone refusing to play Ironman.

[Water Mage]

It's interesting, Kaga wanted is to role-play, and yet encouraged Ironman runs.

He really wanted us to feel attached to the characters, so if they died, it would actually affect us.

And, just out of curiosity, why did Kaga leave IS again? I don't quite remember, but I think he left on his own accord and without giving an explanation.

Is this true?

I did a bit of research, but couldn't find much, only that he formed his company after Tharcia.

A got sued because of Tear Ring Saga.

Kaga seems to be a very reclusive man, because I can't find anything about him.

Edited May 4, 2016 by Water Mage

[MCProductions]

It's interesting, Kaga wanted is to role-play, and yet encouraged Ironman runs.

He really wanted us to feel attached to the characters, so if they died, it would actually affect us.

And, just out of curiosity, why did Kaga leave IS again? I don't quite remember, but I think he left on his own accord and without giving an explanation.

Is this true?

I did a bit of research, but couldn't find much, only that he formed his company after Tharcia.

A got sued because of Tear Ring Saga.

Kaga seems to be a very reclusive man, because I can't find anything about him.

Pretty sure I read somewhere that Kaga liked the capabilities of the Playstation over the N64, so that's why he left.

This was an interesting read, and I find it funny how even Kaga wanted everyone to have their own personal canons before Awakening and Fates REALLY started to nail that in.

[Katie]

I'm curious how people felt about FE3 book 2 regarding Hardin when it first came out. Since he was apparently a fan favorite, I'd imagine it hit many people right in the feels when they had to fight him and were unable to save him.

[solrocknroll]

honestly awakening and fates seem like more of a natural evolution of Kaga's ideas than the rest of the series

a focus on characters, rpg-type stuff, and accessability? where have I seen that before

Casual Mode isn't something he thought of, but it's still a natural evolution

[Illiterate Scholar]

Pretty sure I read somewhere that Kaga liked the capabilities of the Playstation over the N64, so that's why he left.

Not sure there's really anything to do with capabilities as the N64 was difficult to develop for. Tear Ring Saga really doesn't do anything special. The only thing the PS1 had over the N64 was storage. 2D sprite do take up more memory, but the PS1's lack of RAM also meant 2D animation couldn't be as detailed and fluid.

The rumor is Kaga had some disagreements along with the difficulty working with the N64 (Paper Mario was announced during the early days, and released towards the end of the system's life) that drove him to leave.

I hope they let bygones be bygones and bring Kaga back. They brought Sakurai back.

honestly awakening and fates seem like more of a natural evolution of Kaga's ideas than the rest of the series

a focus on characters, rpg-type stuff, and accessability? where have I seen that before

Casual Mode isn't something he thought of, but it's still a natural evolution

I find this really strange since his games only got harder as the series progressed. I heard Tear Ring Saga and Berwick Saga were also very difficult, Berwick Saga especially. That's why the role playing comments confused me. I always saw Kaga as someone who wanted the series to be about meticulous strategy and coming up with your own techniques to win.

Edited May 5, 2016 by Illiterate Scholar

[secondworld]

I feel it should be stated at this point that these comments were made in the early years of the series and Kaga's vision could have changed as time went on.

...Do we have any Kaga interviews for FE4 and 5?

[Illiterate Scholar]

I feel it should be stated at this point that these comments were made in the early years of the series and Kaga's vision could have changed as time went on.

Of course. Ideas change all the time. Just that it felt more like a natural evolution of the series. Fire Emblem Gaiden definitely saw some of his role playing ideas being tested. I think even FE4 had some of that vision in there.

[Jedi]

The creators of 2 of my favorite franchises, what a cool little piece of history!

[Katie]

While his games did get harder as the series progressed, I feel like it should be noted that his games, with the exception of Thracia, are generally considered to be some of the easiest fire emblem titles, and even Thracia was meant to have an easier version released on the N64, that sadly never came to be.

[Julius Nepos]

I think the whole roleplaying thing and playing ironman could go quite well together. Sure, a character death wouldn't ordinarily be planned, but a tragic or heroic death could make for a great end to a character's story.

I actually have an old interview with Kaga in a Gaiden guidebook. I don't have the skill to translate it, but if anyone wants I can scan it in for others to attempt. Might be a fun project for Gaidens 25th anniversary.

I'd be up for it when I have more free time and a better knowledge of Japanese.

The other thing that stuck out to me was this bit:

So they actually tried to design FE to be accessible right from the start, but according to Kaga, despite those intentions the major criticism for the game when it came out was that it was "hard to understand".

I find it funny how it's not just by modern standards that FE1 is hard to understand. I've always been wondering whether the game's UI wasn't really a problem for people in 1990 who were used to the NES or that it even back then it was seen as rather clunky.

I think "role-playing" here refers to the traditional aka literal way. In other words, players make up (play) the roles. For this purpose, it's more beneficial that most of the cast are blank slates.

Huh, I never thought of that. I always thought the lack of character in development in FE1 (and FE2) was mostly due to the technical limitations of the NES.

[Tessie Spoon]

Huh, I never thought of that. I always thought the lack of character in development in FE1 (and FE2) was mostly due to the technical limitations of the NES.

Perhaps the role-playing was intended as a result of the NES' limitations.

I found it interesting how Kaga intended Ironman to be the way to play. The developers of FE10, in the interview on this site, also intended it to be the way to play. I like how at least some of Kaga's vision remained, even after he left Nintendo.

[Katie]

And they probably came up with casual because they realized no one actually ironmans, they just do what Sakaguchi does and reset whenever anyone dies.

[MCProductions]

And they probably came up with casual because they realized no one actually ironmans, they just do what Sakaguchi does and reset whenever anyone dies.

Funnily enough, after reading this interview, I've started resetting less when characters die, and I'm suddenly having more fun than before. Rip Beowulf and Noish tho

[Jedi]

It would be interesting if along with casual they added in an Ironman mode next time as well, which like saves after every move or something.