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Iwata Asks is really rad, but... well, nothing. It's just rad. Let's read 'em again.

@MUWANdo

Banned
I'm not so naive as to believe these things aren't as much about PR as they are about hearing about development and learning the history of classic Nintendo franchises, but you know what? I don't care. Iwata knows what to ask, and people seem willing to respond. This shit is like crack to me, and after reading a couple of these articles it will be to you, too, if it isn't already.

Rather than singling out any particularly fascinating ones, I thought I'd link to as many as I could find (excluding untranslated articles about Japan-only games) and you dudes can discuss 'em as you see fit. Link spam ahoy!



DS

DSi Hardware
DSi Internal Software
DSi Browser
Asking Iwata about DSi
WarioWare: Snapped!
Brain Age Express
Flipnote Studio
Rhythm Heaven
Style Savvy
The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks
DSi XL
WarioWare D.I.Y.
Pokemon HeartGold / SoulSilver
Pokemon Black / White
Pokemon Black 2 / White 2
Jam With The Band
Dragon Quest 9
Walk With Me!


WII

The Wii Hardware
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
Special Edition Interview with Iwata
Wii Sports
Wii Channels
Wii Remote
WarioWare: Smooth Moves
Super Mario Galaxy
Link's Crossbow Training
Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Mario Kart Wii
Wii Fit
Wii Music
Animal Crossing: City Folk
Punch-Out!!
Wii Sports Resort
Wii MotionPlus
Wii Fit Plus
New Super Mario Bros. Wii
Monster Hunter Tri
Sin & Punishment: Star Successor
Super Mario Galaxy 2
Metroid Other M
Wii Party
Super Mario 25th Anniversary
Kirby's Epic Yarn
Super Mario All-Stars
Donkey Kong Country Returns
Wii Play: Motion
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
Kirby's Return to Dreamland
Go Vacation
Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games
Xenoblade Chronicles
Rhythm Heaven Fever
Pandora's Tower
Project Zero 2: Wii Edition
The Last Story

3DS

Proffesor Layton and the Miracle Mask
Samurai Warriors Chronicles
Pro Evolution Soccer 2011
Ridge Racer 3D
Super Street Fighter IV 3D Edition
Dead or Alive Dimensions
Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D / Revelations
Tales of the Abyss
Resident Evil Revelations
Tekken 3D: Prime Edition
Theatrhythm Final Fantasy
Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance
"And That's How The 3DS Was Made"
3DS Hardware Concept
3DS Exterior and Mechanical Design
Nintendogs + Cats
Asking Miyamoto Right Before Release
3DS Built-In Software
Steel Diver
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D - Sound
Nintendo eShop
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time - Original Development Staff, part 1
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time - Original Development Staff, part 2
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D - Development Staff
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D - Shigeru Miyamoto
Star Fox 64 3D
Pokedex 3D
Pokemon Rumble Blast
Super Mario 3D Land
Freakyforms
Mario Kart 7
Swapnote
Kid Icarus Uprising
Spirit Camera: The Cursed Memoir
3DS XL
New Super Mario Bros. 2
Art Academy: Lessons for Everyone!
Style Savvy: Trendsetters
Paper Mario: Sticker Star
Brain Age: Concentration Training
Fire Emblem Awakening
Harmoknight
Luigi's Mansion 2
Animal Crossing: New Leaf
Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Gates to Infinity
Mario and Luigi: Dream Tea
Streetpass Relay Points
Pokemon X / Y
The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds
Nintendo 3DS Guides: Louvre
Nintendo Pocket Football Club
Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney
The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask 3D
Xenoblade Chronicles 3D
Fire Emblem Fates

WII U

E3 2011: Wii U
Wii U: The Console
Wii U: The Gamepad
Wii U Miiverse: The Producers
Wii U Miiverse: The Developers
Wii U: Internet Browser
Wii U: Chat
New Super Mario Bros. U
Zombi U
Nintendo Land
Wii Street U powered by Google
Game & Wario
New Super Luigi U
The Wonderful 101
The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD
Wii Sports Club
Super Mario 3D World
Fit Meter
Xenoblade Chronicles X
Splatoon


MISCELLANEOUS/FAN TRANSLATIONS/ETC

Game & Watch
Yoichi Kotabe
Platinum Games
In Conversation with Takahashi & Sakaguchi
Yoshio Sakamoto & Hironobu Sakaguchi
Fire Emblem 12 (fan translation)
Metroid Prime 3: Corruption (fan translation)
Etrian Odyssey 4 (fan translation)
Sakurai Asks: Fire Emblem Shadow Dragon
that which dare not be mentioned


JAPANESE DIRECTORY

http://www.nintendo.co.jp/corporate/links/index.html
 

tnaden

Member
Still waiting for the Kamiya one. I'm very interested in reading how that played out..

Does Iwata eat shit? D:
 
Going to re-read the Kid Icarus one over some breakfast :) Wha... there's one for OOT3D's sound...?

Question: "Is there new sound?"
Answer: "Nope."
 

Sushigod7

Member
Awesome thanks for the organized links. Subscribed!


My favorite will always be the Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks one. That's where they broke out the old documents and drawings for the original Zelda and even one for the original Mario.

Game & Watch is also amazing for a similar reason.

Reading ST one now thanks for the heads up!
 
I always found the Animal Crossing: City Folk interview especially interesting because the development team talks a lot about the Animal Tracks feature. They seem really proud of it and the possibilities but at least from my experience, the fanbase absolutely hated it.

For those who don't know, Animal Tracks is basically the feature that when you run a lot in a concentrated area, the grass starts to decay in the area. The idea is that after playing for a while you will have de facto paths to the activities you do daily like running to the town store or gate.

The problem is that then you end up with a bunch of ugly dirt and no grass if you run a lot. So then people obsess over not running in their town and get mad at others for doing it when they're visiting their town.

Anyway, I just find it really interesting how the developers intended it and liked it a lot versus the fan reception. Maybe some other Animal Crossing fans can relate.
 
I always found the Animal Crossing: City Folk interview especially interesting because the development team talks a lot about the Animal Tracks feature. They seem really proud of it and the possibilities but at least from my experience, the fanbase absolutely hated it.

For those who don't know, Animal Tracks is basically the feature that when you run a lot in a concentrated area, the grass starts to decay in the area. The idea is that after playing for a while you will have de facto paths to the activities you do daily like running to the town store or gate.

The problem is that then you end up with a bunch of ugly dirt and no grass if you run a lot. So then people obsess over not running in their town and get mad at others for doing it when they're visiting their town.

Anyway, I just find it really interesting how the developers intended it and liked it a lot versus the fan reception. Maybe some other Animal Crossing fans can relate.

I've heard the feature is not completely removed, but improved in New Leaf?
 

MrKaepora

Member
I always found the Animal Crossing: City Folk interview especially interesting because the development team talks a lot about the Animal Tracks feature. They seem really proud of it and the possibilities but at least from my experience, the fanbase absolutely hated it.

For those who don't know, Animal Tracks is basically the feature that when you run a lot in a concentrated area, the grass starts to decay in the area. The idea is that after playing for a while you will have de facto paths to the activities you do daily like running to the town store or gate.

The problem is that then you end up with a bunch of ugly dirt and no grass if you run a lot. So then people obsess over not running in their town and get mad at others for doing it when they're visiting their town.

Anyway, I just find it really interesting how the developers intended it and liked it a lot versus the fan reception. Maybe some other Animal Crossing fans can relate.
I'm sorry but I'm laughing reading this. Mad neighbours of the virtual world.
 
I'm sorry but I'm laughing reading this. Mad neighbours of the virtual world.

Haha, I think the whole thing is pretty hilarious. The sheer amount of paranoia surrounding it all, people were downright frightened that their grass might wear.

I've heard the feature is not completely removed, but improved in New Leaf?

Yeah, I believe it is to some degree. I'm not sure exactly to what extent though. Only 3 more months to find out myself... ;-;
 
The Kamiya Iwata Asks is gonna be the best.

Iwata: What are some of the challenges you faced during the development of The Wonderful 101?

Kamiya: Ask your mom.

Iwata: Was making a sequel to Bayonetta part of the plan from the very beginning?

Kamiya: Do you eat shit?

Iwata: (laughs)

Iwata: You've had a long history in game development, starting at Capcom and eventually moving on to become a founding member of Platinum Games. Can you tell me about how you got started in the industry?

Kamiya: Next week, in game magazines.
 

Neff

Member
Still blows my mind that they made Super Mario 64 from nothing in little more than a year.
 

Sadist

Member
It's pretty awesome stuff to read. I love the one with Ono from Capcom. They were geeking out, amazing read. I loved the part where Ono asks Iwata to sign his copy of Balloon Flight.
 

Axspell

Neo Member
It's rare you see a CEO like this who has had a history in game development, and it's the reason why Iwata Asks is as good as it is. I'd love to see something else like this out of Sony and Microsoft.
 

Currygan

at last, for christ's sake
I love the story behind Mario Galaxy and the whole food analogy, haha. Iwata Asks is a great feature
 
http://iwataasks.nintendo.com/interviews/#/wii/nsmb/2/2

Uchida: I can't share anything quite as fantastic as everyone else...but it's about how the Goombas dance in time with the ♪wa-waaa! part of the music. I didn't think anyone would notice, but when I saw the responses from the Club Nintendo survey, some people had written that they thought it was cute the way the Goombas jumped to the music.

Iwata: People really are paying attention. (laughs)

Uchida: That's right! I was really happy to get a response like that. Then, after the game went on sale and I told my family I had worked on New Super Mario Bros. Wii, they said, "Oh, that one that goes ♪wa-waaa!"

Iwata: Hey! That's pretty fantastic, if you ask me! (laughs)

Everyone: (laughs)

Uchida: Everyone seems to hear it as "wa-waaa." That made me aware all over again of how amazing sound is.

Asuke: May I add something to this fantastic story?

Iwata: Of course!

Asuke: It's about what I said earlier about the two women talking on the train. The one who didn't usually play video games said it was cute the way the Koopa Troopas waves their hands with the music.

Uchida: Really?!

Asuke: Really! The Koopa Troopas turn and face the viewer and shake their hands in time with the ♪wa-waaa. I'm sure that's what she meant.

Iwata: You are blessed as a sound programmer.

Uchida: Thanks! (laughs)

*sigh*
 

Lloyd-Christmas-Cry-and-Gag-Dumb-and-Dumber.gif
 

cw_sasuke

If all DLC came tied to $13 figurines, I'd consider all DLC to be free
What happened to that pdf-ebook collection a Gaffer once planned ?
 

freddy

Banned
The only real reason why some big third party games should be on WiiU. I'd love to hear some devs like Chris Avellone and Josh Sawyer, for example, do an Iwata asks.
 
Audio chinese water torture over 4 games is how.
Yep, and overeliance on waa-waa to create a memorable tunes makes it worst as all you'll filter to music down to is Waa-waa waa-waa, that NSMBU download better give us new music as well.

On the topic on Iwata Asks, these are brilliant as we rarely get any glimpse into Japanese developers other than some translated interviews. I mean all these name we won't really take notice if not for these articles.
 

jmls1121

Banned
From the great Spirit Tracks one:

Iwata Somehow, I had the impression that you'd been overseeing everything since Ocarina of Time, Aonuma-san. Now that I think about it, I guess that wasn't the case.

Aonuma Absolutely not. I managed to stay out of the line of fire most of the time back then.

Iwata (laughs)



The best one imo is the Miyamoto and Itoi one.
 

watershed

Banned
These are really, really great reads. It's gonna be sad if Nintendo gets rid of this feature once Iwata is kicked to the curb!
 
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