Shinesparkers Feature:

Hobonichi x Nintendo

Pages 4-8: Miyuki Miyabe, meeting the developer of Metroid
~Miyuki Miyabe X Yoshio Sakamoto~

Part 1: “I might do it if I try one more time”
~The fun and difficulty of Metroid Fusion~
Did you know that the writer Miyuki Miyabe likes games so much that “She holds a controller 360 out of 365 days a year”? Did you know that she likes games so much that “The other day she counted her game guides and there were more than 300”?

The game that showed her the fun of games came out in 1994, it was Super Metroid. With its complete worldview and severe difficulty level, this hard-hitting action game captivated Miyabe. Since then, Miyabe-san has been eagerly waiting and hoping for a sequel.

And now we have the next entry in the series, Metroid Fusion. With the help of Mr. Miyabe, who is delighted with the release of the game, we are pleased to present here a conversation with Yoshio Sakamoto, the developer of the “Metroid” series.

Funnily enough, Sakamoto-san is also a big fan of Miyabe-san. Both creators being fans of each other are a little nervous to be talking to each other about Metroid.

This is part one of our series. Please enjoy this discussion to the fullest.

── Well then, it seems that you’re both feeling quite nervous, being fans of one another.
Sakamoto I’m incredibly nervous.
Miyabe I’m really nervous (laughs).
── Miyabe-san is a big Metroid…
Miyabe I love the series!
── Any Sakamoto-san, have you read…
Sakamoto I’ve already read them.
── Well, I’m looking forward to this! (laughs)
Miyabe Me too (laughs).
Sakamoto Me three.
── Let’s start, Sakamoto-san directed “Metroid Fusion”, which you’ve already played, right?
Miyabe I’ve currently beaten it twice.
── Wow (laughs).
Miyabe Um, you sent me a lot of strategy books the other day and they were very helpful. Thank you very much (laughs).
Sakamoto Oh, it’s no problem at all (laughs). I was looking at your diary on your website, and I saw that you wrote, “I can’t get out of Sector 4.” [Shinesparkers note: this blog appears to be lost.]
Miyabe I couldn’t for the longest time~.
Sakamoto I read it and thought, “Oh no, Miyabe-san is having trouble”, so I told one of my colleagues to send over a strategy guide at once. He asked “Which book shall we send?”, so I told him “Let’s just send all of them” (laughs).
Miyabe Thank you very much. I really had some hard times in Sector 4. I tried doing all sorts of things, but there was one thing I’d overlooked. If you miss it, you can’t get out. That’s when I thought, “Ah, this is Metroid.” So it was a real pleasure to be stuck.

Miyuki Miyabe
Sakamoto I’m truly grateful to hear you say that (laughs).
Miyabe That’s why, while I was stuck and couldn’t progress, I set up my SNES and replayed Super Metroid (released in 1994) (laughs).
── Wow (laughs).
Miyabe I was thinking, if I got stuck in a place like this, what would I have done in the previous game? So I booted up Super Metroid and looked through the strategy guides. I thought that there had to be something I hadn’t tried. It wasn’t like I’d forgotten anything, so I said, “I must be able to get out!” and then I tried again with my newfound confidence and I was able to clear it (laughs).
Sakamoto Thank you very much (laughs).
Miyabe I think that sort of joy is a common feature in Nintendo games. You always manage to clear a section when you say, “Oh no, I can’t do this anymore, it’s almost time to give up, but let’s try it one more time! That level of incredible balance is something I don’t think you find in other companies’ games. Zelda is just like that too. It seems like as soon as you think “I’m done! I’m going to give up, cry and go to bed”, you then think “I might be able to do it if I try one more time!” and then you do. I’m sure this is because they pay such close attention to the balancing.
Sakamoto That’s right. It’s such a hard thing to get right. It’s no good if it’s too hard, neither is it if it’s too easy. It’s impossible in reality to fine-tune a problem so that if you try one more time, you will succeed. Even though we know we made a difficult game, we were consciously trying to create problems that both challenge the player and help them grow. Well, at first a new player will need to make an effort and practice and then we want to let them progress through the game as their hard work pays off. That’s a part of Metroid that absolutely has to be there. But, everybody experiences difficulty differently.

Yoshio Sakamoto
Miyabe Getting that balance right must be difficult. In Metroid Fusion you can choose which mode, or rather the difficulty you want to play right? That must have come as a surprise for fans.
Sakamoto That’s right, it has been 9 years since the last entry after all.
Miyabe It’s hard to believe it was so long ago (laughs).
Sakamoto Yes (laughs). If we were to leave the game as tough as it was back then it would like us being stubborn old men stuck in our ways. We felt that since we had confidence we were making a good product, we should try and broaden the appeal so that as many people as possible could enjoy playing it. I think that Metroid was originally a series that pushed players away.
Miyabe That’s great.
Sakamoto On top of that, there are also players that persevere and try really hard to advance.
Miyabe While crying (laughs).
Sakamoto I’m so sorry! (laughs) That’s why we made it so that you could choose your difficulty level, so as many people as possible can enjoy the game. Then there is something that was previously forbidden in metroid, guiding the player with dialogue.
Miyabe Ah yes, there is that.
Sakamoto Yes. It gives them a clear indication of their next goal. We decided to do it this time. The way the map was put together, we decided to split it up into small sectors so that all sorts of people…
Miyabe So that they could advance.
Sakamoto Yes. That’s what we were thinking.
Miyabe Speaking of which, the guidance provided by the text is a part of how you developed the story. That was great for me. I would look forward to talking with Adam (the computer that gives Samus her orders). There are even lines that were like questions that Samus might ask, I thought that was a nice addition. Although some Metroid fans, may say “It’s not Metroid if there’s dialogue!”.
Sakamoto Yes, we had to be very careful about that. I’m sure there’ll be others who’ll say “Choosing your difficulty level is outrageous!”
Miyabe However if you’re not just trying to clear the game, but also trying to get all the items, it can become very difficult.
Sakamoto That’s exactly right.
Miyabe Therefore, as we mentioned earlier, while you have tried to make the game more accessible, it still retains some of the challenge that fans like those old samurai can enjoy.
Sakamoto You’re so spot on. If you beat the game on normal mode there’s also a hard mode…
Miyabe That’s impossible (laughs). I thought normal mode packed plenty of challenge.
Sakamoto Sorry (laughs). Speaking of which, it was interesting that players were surprisingly kind to us about the difficulty level. It has been nine years after all, so those who were in middle school are now adults. So if you compare it to its predecessor Metroid Fusion is quite accessible. We’ve had more people saying that we shouldn’t just redo what we did nine years ago than people saying that it’s too lenient. It made me think, “Oh everyone is growing up” (laughs).
Miyabe Ahhh. The fans are adults now? I see (laughs).
Sakamoto Everyone was really kind, I felt that they really cared about me.
Miyabe As a fan myself, I can understand that. After all, Metroid is an important series to me.
── So how was it Sakamoto-san?
Sakamoto Well I’m… I’m very pleased.
2003-04-11-FRI

Original link

~Miyuki Miyabe X Yoshio Sakamoto~

Part 2: “I had so much fun, I’d bring it to bed”
~Miyabe gives high praise! Sakamoto is embarrassed!~
Miyabe Miyuki, a big video game fan and Metroid enthusiast continues to talk with Nintendo’s Yoshio Sakamoto, the creator of the Metroid series. In this second instalment, we’ll start with Miyabe-san’s first encounter with the game. Take note of how nervous Sakamoto-san is.

── It would seem that you discovered Metroid soon after you started playing games, Miyabe-san?
Miyabe Yes. Super Metroid was the first action game that I fully completed.
Sakamoto Oh, is that so? I’m very honoured.
Miyabe The first game I played was Mario All-Stars but my reflexes were just not up to the task. My niece, who was in elementary school at the time, as well as her friends, were much better than me. So thye would say to me, “There’s no way you could play an action game”, so I would just nod and say “You’re right”. After that I played Torneko no Daibouken [Shinesparkers note: Torneko’s Great Adventure: Mystery Dungeon] and I didn’t really need fast reflexes for that one so I worked hard and steadily got through it. Around that time I saw the advertisement for Super Metroid and got an intense feeling that “I have to play this!”.
Sakamoto Suddenly, just like that? (laughs).
Miyabe That’s right (laughs). I have a friend who recommended gaming to me, but he also told me that I wasn’t ready for this one yet (laughs). He said, “You should play a few more easy games and get more used to it”. But it just looked so fun, cool and I just had to play it so I ended up buying it anyway.
Sakamoto I might have even tried to stop you myself (laughs).
Miyabe (laughs) Sure enough, I had a really tough time, but even someone like me can beat it if they put their full effort into it. I was super pleased when I beat the game. I had a lot of trouble with the space jump in particular. But the joy you feel when you’ve finally become able to do something is amazing isn’t it? That’s why it’s already a game I love.
Sakamoto Thank you so much.
── Super Metroid is a masterpiece, but even at the time it was a very difficult game, so it’s not something a beginner would easily be able to handle.
Sakamoto You’re right. It’s like suddenly trying to do a triathlon when you start thinking of taking up a sport for the first time.
Miyabe Is that so!? (laughs).
Sakamoto It’s not something that happens often (laughs). I’m surprised, truly. Metroid fans are the type of people who draw joy from pressure and get spurred on by the difficulty of a game. They’re the kind of people with a strong desire to proceed. I also think they might be the kind of people to be hard on themselves (laughs).
Miyabe I know so little about myself (laughs).
Sakamoto That’s not what I meant (laughs).
── What is it about Metroid that draws you to it so much Miyabe-san?
Miyabe For one thing it has a well developed world. This is already well known, but Samus is a woman right? She’s a bounty hunter fighting for the galaxy, but she’s a woman. It was pretty fresh at the time. I started playing games after I’d turned 30 and it was such a fascinating world even as an adult. It was so well thought out that even in Hollywood, there are movies that don’t have such a well thought out setting. Yet, nothing is overly explained. The stoicism of it all is appealing.
── What do you think about that, Sakamoto-san?
Sakamoto Well I… Thank you so much.
Miyabe After that, it’s the joy of searching for new discoveries. It’s like when you’re looking for a way to advance, or when you think, “Oh I can get through here?”, or “Can I get a tank here?”. I think it might be fun to connect the GBA to the GC and play the game on the TV. Whether it’s the mum or the data watching the child play, they could say “Why don’t you go this way?” or, “Isn’t it this way?”. It’s not a game where people can play competitively, but I still think that it’s a game that can be enjoyed together, and that’s its appeal. In fact, my sister and I used to have a lot of fun in that way. It’s such a stoic, sci-fi setting but somehow it continues to play on the player’s mind. That’s why I love Metroid so much.
── (pause) How’s that, Sakamoto-san?
Sakamoto Well… I’m just… truly… impressed.
── (pause) Can you please say it a pit more clearly?
Sakamoto (pause) Thank you so much.
── (pause) No, not to me, say it to Miyabe-san.
Sakamoto Oh (laughs).
── Um, well then, how excited were you when Metroid Fusion first came out Miyabe-san?
Miyabe My god! On the day of the release, I wrote “Celebrate the Second Coming of Samus Aran!” in 4 times the normal size on my homepage (laughs). I was so happy I kept playing after I went to bed. The GBA SP has a front-lit screen, so I can play under the covers without having to turn on the lights. I would be there under the covers thinking, “I’ll go to bed after I’ve made just a little more progress”, and then I would realise, “Oh, it’s 2am…” (laughs). When I woke up the next morning, my eyes were so red that I’d decided not to bring it to bed from then on. But then one day I caught a cold. It wasn’t anything serious, but I thought, “I’ve got a cold” (laughs). I was so overjoyed that I changed into my pj’s and was back under the covers. That’s how much fun I had playing.
── (pause) What do you think of that as the producer?
Sakamoto Well… It’s such a complex feeling. How do I describe it?
── You can’t describe it? (laughs).
Miyabe I’m sorry that I’m the only one doing the talking (laughs).
Sakamoto Oh no, no, it’s no problem.
── What do you think about the charms of Metroid, such as the joy of discovery and the setting, as Miyabe-san described them?
Sakamoto Of course the sense of discovery is important. Even if it’s just a dead end, don’t worry about that place specifically, but if you take a turn at a slightly different place…
Miyabe That’s right (gestures with her finger), you make progress like this!
Sakamoto Yes (laughs). I’m very particular about that part of my work. To be frank, the setting hadn’t quite come together for the first disc-based version and I only got involved in the middle of the project, it was all sort of rushed together because it was supposed to be released in a month (laughs). As the series continues, I feel like I’m continuing to tidy up and shape the series, while trying to build on what was decided in the past.
Miyabe Like in Metroid Fusion, the Metroid series isn’t so black and white that one side is evil and the other is righteous. For example, Mother Brain (the computer that appears at the end of the first game) has a great deal of will and emotion. It’s not so much that Mother Brain is doing evil on purpose, but rather that they are some kind of powerful, controlling symbol of power, not so much a villain. So while it’s scary as a player, I can still feel some empathy for them. I wonder if something like it exists in reality, or whether it exists within human beings as well. The fact that I can have all this in mind while playing is one of the reasons I like Metroid so much. What’s more, the name is brilliant. Mother Brain is both a “mother and the one in charge” right? It’s pretty great to have something like that in a 9 year old game…
Sakamoto (silence)
── (pause) Sakamoto-san, don’t just be quiet.
Miyabe Also, as I was playing Super Metroid, I thought to myself, this is a battle between a woman who tried to dominate and a woman who tries to liberate. I thought it was so cool! Even though I’m not a feminist. So this time, Samus’ life is in danger because she’s been infected by the X Parasite and the Baby (metroid) saves her life. Just from that alone, as a fan, I’m already like “Woooo!” and the final scene is just…
Sakamoto (silence)
── Sakamoto-san, pull yourself together!
2003-04-16-WED

Original link

~Miyuki Miyabe X Yoshio Sakamoto~

Part 3: “No, that’s not Metroid, that’s Samus!”
~The Charm of Metroid Prime~
The continuation of the highly-acclaimed Metroid discussion! In this part, we discuss “Metroid Prime”, which released on the GameCube. As Ms. Miyabe’s machine-gun talk slows down, Mr. Sakamoto’s tension appears to slowly dissipate…

── Mr. Sakamoto, what was your involvement in the GameCube title “Metroid Prime”?
Sakamoto Metroid Prime’s programming and development was made overseas, so I only had a supervising role overall.
Miyabe You mean you provided support regarding Metroid’s lore, the story so far, the setting and so on?
Sakamoto That’s right. There are a lot of Metroid fans overseas, but they might not know all the finer details.
Miyabe That’s right. (laughs)
Sakamoto The funniest moment was when they were making Samus’ model, and I was asked “Does Metroid look good like that?”. (laughs)
Miyabe That’s not iiit! (laughs)
Sakamoto So I said, no no no, that’s not Metroid, that’s Samus! (laughs)
Miyabe They must have thought that the game’s title was the protagonist’s name, huh.
Sakamoto Many make that mistake. To be fair though, we also made the mistake of calling Link “Zelda”. (laughs)
Miyabe It’s true now that you mention it. (laughs)
Sakamoto But, these people overseas have an incredibly rich imagination, so they came up with settings and backstories that even I didn’t know about! (laughs) Now, naturally it’s a good thing to put good ideas to use, but there’s also a part where you have to ask “Where will the story go from here?”.
Miyabe (laughs)
Sakamoto But, well, I wasn’t too strict with them and would give the OK to interesting ideas, so they welcomed my supervision.
Miyabe I see. I’m still about one fifth into the game, but I know I definitely want to finish it. Although, after dying and getting lost so much, I usually end up getting tired and falling asleep (laughs). Still, that kind of response makes me think “Yup, that’s definitely Metroid”.
Sakamoto When Prime made the move to a first-person perspective, I didn’t know what kind of game experience it would bring. I was both in a state of doubt and anticipation. But in the end I thought, oh well, the team working on it can be trusted, I’m sure they won’t do anything too strange.
Miyabe That’s right. I think the Metroid games until now were the kind where the path opens up as Samus gains more moves (powers), but in Metroid Prime, the path ahead becomes visible by switching your visors and changing Samus’ angle of vision, and I find it very interesting how it changes your way of thinking. It’s complex, but the graphics are very sharp, and the music is cool.
Sakamoto Ah, regarding the music, in fact it was actually handled by someone from our department. It was made by the person who was in charge of Super Metroid.
Miyabe Oh, is that so! That’s really cool! That’s why it sounded a bit nostalgic. It was actually just made by the same person.
Sakamoto That’s right. (laughs)
Miyabe I also really enjoy the music of Metroid. Let’s see, once I had to be hospitalised due to an illness; it wasn’t anything serious, but I was told to stay at the hospital for a day, just in case. It happened right after I’d set my own record of 2:13 in Super Metroid. Because that hospitalisation happened so suddenly, I hadn’t brought any books, and I couldn’t fall asleep when they turned the lights off at 9 o’clock. So, I would just lie down, thinking absent-mindedly about Super Metroid, and um, the beats of the game’s music would start playing in my head (laughs). When I got home, I immediately played the game. (laughs)
Sakamoto That’s… impressive… Thank you so much.
── Mr. Sakamoto, no need to feel so embarrassed!
Sakamoto Right. Um, well, you can really hear the game’s music in your head, even when you’re not listening to it.
Miyabe Yeah, you can just hear it out of nowhere.
Sakamoto It has happened to me too. Though in my case, um, it was more like I almost got ill from working on the game.
── What on earth? (laughs)
Miyabe (laughs)
Sakamoto Really, Metroid’s music would be playing in my head all day long! Sometimes I’d go home, take a shower, and start hearing it. It’s so strange. I could really hear it. It’s really like an illness.
── … Mr. Sakamoto, that’s not what “illness” means.
Sakamoto It happened so often…
── Please, pull yourself together.
2003-04-19-SAT

Original link

~Miyuki Miyabe X Yoshio Sakamoto~

Part 4: “I think more like a developer”
~Combining gameplay and story, and Sakamoto still as embarrassed as ever~
Ms. Miyabe admires the lore and storyline of the Metroid series. How did its creator, Mr. Sakamoto, bring this world to life? Also, will Mr. Sakamoto’s tension finally disappear for good?

── Earlier, Ms. Miyabe had a lot of praise for the Metroid universe, were you in charge of writing it throughout the series, Mr. Sakamoto?
Sakamoto That is correct. In particular, I wrote everything in Metroid Fusion by myself, from the story to the dialogue.
Miyabe (Mimicking the gesture of writing on paper with a pen) You wrote it? All of it?
Sakamoto (Mimicking the gesture of typing on a keyboard) Yes. (laughs)
Miyabe Huh? Huh? Huh? You mean, you chose every single word one by one?
Sakamoto That’s right, all of it. But, well, it’s not the kind of thing a professional like you would read, Ms. Miyabe…
Miyabe No no no, don’t say that!
Sakamoto So, um, Ms. Miyabe, I learnt that you liked Metroid by reading about it in a magazine article.
Miyabe Right.
Sakamoto I was gleefully thinking to myself, “that’s incredible!”, “that’s so impressive!”. Because I really read a lot of your books.
Miyabe Thank you very much!
Sakamoto And so, well, while I was writing Metroid Fusion’s story, Samus’ lines, the exchanges with ADAM, I would think, “Hm, I wonder if Ms. Miyabe will play this one as well?”.
Miyabe Oh, well of course! I’d waited so long for it. (laughs)
Sakamoto Well, I’m very happy to hear that, but it was a lot of pressure thinking that a professional might read what I wrote. (laughs)
Miyabe Not at all, I mean, I thoroughly enjoyed ADAM’s personality. It was, very, um…
Sakamoto I see… If you say so… Um…
── (…why is it starting to feel like a blind date…?)
Miyabe So anyway, as a producer you supervise everything, to the point of even choosing each and every word.
Sakamoto That’s right. The idea is that, by deciding in advance how the story starts and how it ends, it’ll be easier for the staff to know what to do.
Miyabe I see, I see.
Sakamoto Of course, I’m sure everyone has their own way of doing things, but personally, what comes first is the lore, the setting…
Miyabe Everything derives from it.
Sakamoto Yes. I thought it would be easier if I decided on the story first. That is why I think more like a developer. I don’t think my work style is that of a typical producer.
Miyabe Is that so?
Sakamoto I mean, it is very hard to control everything from the outside. So, well, I’d stay with everyone, until late at night, writing messily while they told me “Mr. Sakamoto, you spelt that part wrong”. (laughs)
Miyabe It really feels like, moreso than just stories, you value stories that mesh perfectly with the gameplay.
── Moreover, it really doesn’t feel like you’re approaching both aspects differently. Rather, it’s like they’re both together.
Miyabe Yes, absolutely.
Sakamoto Hm, I never thought of it that way. I think that when I started making games in the Famicom era, learning what a game is, and learning what a story is, both just happened to come at the same time.
Miyabe Ah, I see.
Sakamoto Since then, without really knowing why, I’ve liked writing stories. That’s why I’ve also accepted to make text adventure games (a type of game where the scenario progresses by choosing text-based options) on several occasions.
Miyabe Is that so!
Sakamoto But, um, if you were to read those, Ms. Miyabe, now that would probably… make me turn red… as a beetroot…
── “Make me turn red as a beetroot.” (laughs)
Sakamoto That’s a terrible thing to say. Ah, no, no, that’s rude to everyone who was kind enough to play these games. Please cut what I just said from your transcript!
── Finally, I got to hear you be assertive! (laughs)
Miyabe (laughs)
2003-04-22-TUE

Original link

~Miyuki Miyabe X Yoshio Sakamoto~

Part 5: “Despite being a novel, I wanted it to be enjoyed like a video game”
~About “Brave Story”~
In this final part of our special discussion, we discuss one of Ms. Miyuki Miyabe’s recent novels, Brave Story. Hm? “That has nothing to do with video games”? You’d be surprised! Also, at the end of the discussion, both guests will have a special present to give away!

* Applications for the giveaway are now closed. Thank you for all the applications!

── Changing topics a little, I have a question regarding Ms. Miyabe’s latest novel, Brave Story. I heard that, when writing this novel, one of your intentions was to incorporate the fun and joy of video games into a fantasy novel?
Miyabe Yes, I recently released this novel. Taking a bit of inspiration from fantasy RPGs, I thought it’d be interesting if, despite being a novel, you could enjoy it kind of like a video game. Of course, for those not familiar with video games, it can still be read as a regular adventure fantasy. But, at the end of the day, it can’t beat the fun of moving around in Metroid or Zelda. For that world to be portrayed realistically, it must be written a different way. In that sense, I feel that novels still have quite a lot of room for improvement.
── Your novel contains a lot of “video-gamey” scenarios, though, like boss battles or puzzle-solving.
Miyabe That’s true, but in a novel, if you want to tell your story at a good pace, it ends up being nothing but boss battles (laughs). In video games, the act of battling to earn experience points is fun, but you can’t have that in a novel. That’s why it ends up feeling like, event-event-event, okay, boss battle, roll the ending cutscene (laughs).
Sakamoto I see.
Miyabe That being said, I was incredibly happy when I was told by some people that they could hear video game sound effects while reading my book. Like for example, whenever the protagonist would solve a puzzle and proceed forward, they’d hear Zelda’s “dan-dan-da-da, da-da-da-da” jingle (laughs). Or when he’d be crossing a field, they’d hear the background music of an RPG, or during a scene where he stays at an inn, they’d hear a “pom-porom-pom” sound.
Sakamoto That’s something I can totally relate to. While reading your works, those sounds definitely come to mind, and I do find myself wanting to add in sound effects and background music.
Miyabe Ohh, that makes me so happy!
Sakamoto I think that’s just the way it’s written. Somehow, the sounds just come with it. Hm, maybe calling it “video gamey” would be a bit rude…?
Miyabe No no no, I totally understand. I’m happy to hear it.
Sakamoto That kind of story development feels very suitable for a video game scenario. The way it unfolds, smooth yet dynamic at the same time. Hm, that kind of sounds pompous when I put it that way.
Miyabe No no, not at all.
Sakamoto That’s why it was such a pleasant read. For instance, the dialogues were absolutely fantastic. I don’t know how to put it. But really, the story is fantastic too, and I really enjoy following it, word by word. There are so many things I like about it, I don’t even know where to start. Well, if I started talking about it, it’d take all day. I don’t know what to do.
── Mr. Sakamoto, you should say these things to Ms. Miyabe, not me.
Miyabe No way, I myself am too nervous for that (laughs).
Sakamoto Yeah, that’s not happening (laughs).
Miyabe Hearing what Mr. Sakamoto said just now, I was thinking, originally, um, how do I say, I may have written the story to advance and unfold kind of like a video game. I’m really glad if that’s how it felt. That’s why, since I can sense people enjoyed this story because of that, I would like to continue writing novels incorporating things I enjoy about video games, such as the action or the world building.
Sakamoto I look forward to that. But, Ms. Miyabe, I heard you say that you wouldn’t want to work in the actual creation of games?
Miyabe Right (laughs). That is, um… I feel that I’d be really sad if video games stopped being fun to me (laughs). Playing video games is my single, biggest hobby after all. So yeah.
Sakamoto I’m sure you could come up with great ideas. But, yeah, I understand how you feel (laughs).
Miyabe I know several mystery novel authors who were involved in video game production and wrote scenarios for them. So, being envious, I asked them, “How is it like?”, and all of them told me “Ever since I started that job, I barely ever play video games” (laughs).
Sakamoto That’s right (laughs).
Miyabe So, I think if that were to happen to me, I’d lose all joy in life. Of course, I’m sure making games would be fun, but if it ever turned into a job, I would have to find another hobby…
Sakamoto If that were to happen, you wouldn’t be able to play the next Metroid title… Alright, let’s forget about that idea!
── Well you gave up quick.
Miyabe Well, I wouldn’t mind trying to write a novelisation of a video game. Although, since there are a lot of points in games where the story progresses by moving the character, it’s hard to adapt them into novels. Some time ago, I was talking with Mr. Miyamoto, and he told me “Clearly there would be no way to adapt Pikmin into a novel” (laughs).
Sakamoto (laughs)
── Ms. Miyabe, you are currently working on the novelisation of a game called ICO, is that correct?
Miyabe Indeed. It’s a game with a very simple setting, but, how should I put it, it had a charm that tickled my writer’s spirit, so I asked to work on it. However, the editor in charge asked me “Are you sure it’s not just because it has an attractive male protagonist?” (laughs).
Sakamoto I agree that the young and male characters you write often tend to be attractive ones. I enjoy that a lot.
Miyabe Well, thank you. How can I put it, when I’m writing, I think to myself, I want to write characters the same way Osamu Tezuka draws his. The boys and girls that Osamu Tezuka draws don’t really have any clear gender expression to them, you know? Instead, the characters are very flexible and changing. So, when I write a boy character, although he’s a boy, I want that character to push the story forward with a more gender-neutral role.
Sakamoto The boy from The Devil’s Whisper left an impression on me. I can’t remember his name, unfortunately.
Miyabe Umm… What was his name? I also forgot (laughs).
Sakamoto He was a really good character. Also, I haven’t been reading a lot of historical fiction lately, so I decided to read Akanbē. [Shinesparkers note: this novel’s Japanese title is あかんべえ. It has no official English title.]
Miyabe Oh, thank you so much!!
Sakamoto And I fell in love with Orin’s character.
Miyabe Wow! I’m glad (laughs).
Sakamoto That part near the end about Orin’s backstory, while I was on the train, I couldn’t help but tear up. The old man sitting in front of me was staring at me (laughs).
Miyabe He was probably thinking, what’s wrong with him (laughs).
Sakamoto Oh definitely (laughs). No, it’s just… Orin… It’s because of Orin… Orin and the cricket…
── Sorry to interrupt such an emotional moment. I find the protagonist of Mr. Sakamoto’s game Card Hero and the protagonist of Brave Story very similar.
Sakamoto Oh, right right right!
Miyabe Ohh, is that so?
Sakamoto Do you know the game Card Hero?
Miyabe I know it by name, though I have yet to play it.
Sakamoto It just so happens I brought a copy with me, I thought you might want to play it. It’s a Game Boy game. (Dashes to get the game and brings it to her)
Miyabe Wow! It looks so cute. For the first time in a while I’ll take out my Game Boy Color and definitely play it. Thank you so much!
Sakamoto Don’t mention it, I had a great time today.
Miyabe I did too, thank you very much.
Sakamoto …I am really glad I chose this job.
(everyone) (laughs)
2003-04-25-FRI

Original link

We Tried Out Metroid Fusion

Checking Out Metroid Prime

Playing the NES Metroid on the GameCube