Kill The ‘Cast (Suda51 & GHM Podcast) Episode 1 – featuring special guests, okumura!

Hot off the presses, myself and some fellow Suda-nuts from the Kill The Past discord decided to start a podcast!

Herein we ramble about NMH3, Suda51, Killer Is Dead, Syndrome, and a bit of everything in between.

Mediafire link: https://www.mediafire.com/file/dgwwisq1zgr9630/Kill_The_Cast_EP1.mp3/file

Special HOT FUEGO guests: okumura, composers of the best song in the NMH3 OST!

The Silver Case demo is on Steam. For real.

As some of you may recall, around eight months ago, I was bandying about the notion of a fan translation for this little crazy game.

 

In a move that is as big a case as can possibly be made for the existence of a higher power, Playism and Active Games Media decided to localize it.

And everyone at iwakura.p breathed a massive sigh of relief.

Make no mistake, people: this would have been the project from hell. The Silver Case is a multimedia MONSTER! Live action footage, anime, a multitude of art styles, and a script so massive that Robert Jordan would go ‘okay, get that man an editor’.

It’s also a PS1 game that is seventeen years old.

And it’s on Steam. Right now. You can actually PLAY A TRANSLATED VERSION OF THE SILVER CASE, LEGITIMATELY, ON PC.

In short, it is a MIRACLE that this is happening.

Can’t stress that enough. Small bonus: this is the first chapter of the ‘Kill The Past’ trilogy that leads into Flower, Sun, and Rain, and ends with Killer7. This is Suda51 at his prime, in full-tilt crazy mode. And a fantastic translation team took it on, so this is really the perfect storm.

In the demo, of the first chapter titled ‘Decoyman’, two detectives are hot on the trail of a legendary killer named Kamui Uehara… and an elite special forces team realizes they may be in way over their heads.

So uh, yeah.

http://store.steampowered.com/app/476650/

Go download it! Fly, you fools!

Here’s some screens too.

Suda 51 Interview: thoughts on Killer7 spinoffs, NMH3, and a TSC localization?

Felt the need to share this interview from Gamereactor, at a game development convention in Barcelona.

http://www.gamereactor.es/noticias/242804/Una+hora+de+fan-service+y+dise%F1o+de+videojuegos+con+Suda51/

Thanks to CaVaYeRo from NeoGAF for the time stamps. My thoughts after.

• 00:00 – Brief introduction, Suda means “you sweat” in Spanish.
• 03:32 – Killer 7 memories: Development freedom with Mikami-san, art style and complex, layered story.
• 06:45 – Flower, Sun and Rain: The unique loop-day structure and the tour guide book clues as fresh mechanics. PSOne vs PS2 development and non-action games. Lost (TV series) and Uchikosi-san (Virtue’s Last Reward) vibes.
• 12:56 – No More Heroes 3: What’s left to do and when.
• 15:06 – How to create GhM’s strong and unique characters. Indie creative freedom and publisher tastes. The NMH switch from PS3/Xbox 360 original shooter concept to Wii-focused final design.
• 19:43 – Suda-san as one of the last “Japanese dev stars”, “no more heroes” in game development? Hotline Miami devs as heroes and chemical brothers.
• 24:15 – Shadows of the Damned: Collaboration with Mikami-san and anecdotes, the funniest trip to EA. Mexican and Spanish influences, Latin passion, Suda-san “Spanish blood” and Barcelona inspiration.
• 31:50 – Lollipop Chainsaw: The zombi genre in a unique, B-class fun way. The US school comedy. The pitch trailer.
• 36:48 – The James Gunn involvement & commitment. Collaborating with filmakers, Suda as “the Robert Rodríguez of videogames”.
• 40:21 – Importance of art in GhM, “Art of Grasshopper Manufacture” album personal meaning, how to choose/hire an artist for the studio, team play like in FC Barcelona.
• 46:00 – GhM before and nowadays: grass-hopping from punk/indie style to business and GungHo owned studio, yet gaining creativity.
• 49:22 – Let it Die and concepts to share with young developers as inspiration and advice. Making games you’d like to play, nigh time creative mood, connection with people.
• 54:55 – Q&A from audience and readers:
– Killer 7 prequel or sequel chances.
– Marvel vs. Capcom and DC vs. Grasshopper Manufacture
– 58:20 – Times at Human Entertaiment wearing suit.
– 60:16 – The Silver Case remake chances.
– 61:50 – Opinion on indie games, innovative ideas and big publishers.
– 65:53 – Suda51 last advice for young developers. Three bullet points for game development: passion, finding your own form, finding your own rhythm.

Now, takeaways.

• Suda has no real plans for a Killer7 spinoff or sequel, but wouldn’t mind seeing a fan service game like “DC VS Grasshopper”. No real surprise, it’s no secret he prefers to do new things, i.e. ‘Kill The Past’. This is a constant subject in the interview.
• FSR’s time loop was the result of him wanting to do something different besides all the constant action games of the PS2 era. He’s glad he thought up the idea before Lost and Kotaro Uchikoshi(VLR/999).
• He’s very much aware of the desire for a TSC port, and wants people to play GHM’s first game.
• No mention of Lily Bergamo being changed to Let It Die whatsoever. I bet the topic is taboo. I’m sure he’s as unhappy as everyone else.
• Human made him wear a suit to work, so it seemed fitting that a ‘weird’ company like GHM came about as a result.

Personally? I feel he’s hamstrung by GungHo and  it is very unlikely, but with the interest he mentioned in the GHM book(being approached by Spanish companies to localize TSC), I hope it’s possible.