Newly Translated 1993 Interview with Yuji Naka, Yu Suzuki, and Kan Naito

[Gryson]

I've just translated this interview which some of you might like. Especially good is Yuji Naka making veiled negative comments about Phantasy Star III.

Enjoy!

The People Making Sega's Future

[EPSYLON EAGLE]

You must spread some Reputation around before giving it to Gryson again.

[Cafeman]

Awesome! Thank you for the translation! I keep looking at the table snapshot and Suzuki busting a gut laughing, and it cracks me up. He always seemed so serious in other pictures and interviews.

[Barone]

Enjoy!

The People Making Sega's Future

Honestly, I enjoyed it more than any other material you've translated so far. Thank you so much!

I'm such a Yu Suzuki fanboy, lol. Brilliant, brilliant individual.
Even the answers to the questions here, all very enlightening.

I really liked to read his take on arcade ports and what nowadays would be called "arcade perfect" ports.
The way he dismisses and mocks that concept is refreshing.
Mega Drive renditions such as Senjō no Ōkami II, Super Hang-On and Gauntlet are the best examples of how it should be done IMO.

I also liked the parallel between Sega and Namco. But I'd say Namco changed a lot after the Sony partnership.
They began to spam sequels as if there's no tomorrow.
Now, the Namco up until this interview was really phenomenal; I've always liked their catalog on the Mega Drive. Not the flashiest games but any means, but really solid gameplay with genuine replay value.


Very interesting to read Yuji Naka's view on CD games and how he was totally detached from Sonic CD.
I think that says and explains a lot. Again, people sometimes like to push the alternate reality narratives but we have to remember that those guys were human beings and they had their own preferences and things that motivated them or not. It doesn't seem that he wanted any part of CD Sonic games at all, especially in that animation-heavy presentation formula which was the norm for the time.
And that in an interview where he had just spoken about having to cut 5 levels from Sonic 2.

I believe that some games or kinds of games really didn't need more than 4 Mbit or 8 Mbit to be really great. My favorite Sonic is still the first one despite being "consensus" nowadays that stuff like Sonic 3 & Knuckles and Sonic Mania are superior; I totally disagree.
I prefer to play Sonic 3 isolated from the "second" part of the game. It just drags for way too long otherwise.
Having to cut down to 4 Mbit or 8 Mbit helped some of those early games to remove fillers, avoid unnecessary mechanics, cut frivolous aesthetic elements and make the most of what best they had.
For fighting games, for an example, very different story.
But for 2D platformers, I still vastly prefer Sonic The Hedgehog and Quackshot to the majority of the later releases using much more ROM or CD space.