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Summoning monsters as a plant-based wizard in Soul Sacrifice
I'm still not clear what the actual name of the character I selected during my demo of Kenji Inafune's upcoming Vita game Soul Sacrifice was, nor was I able to grasp the more delicate workings of some of its deeper mechanics because the Tokyo Game Show demo I experienced was (surprise!) completely in Japanese. But I worked around it.Though the context of the upcoming universe alluded me, the combat in Soul Sacrifice broke down language barriers ... because it spoke the universal language of kick ass.%Gallery-163120%
Keiji Inafune's favorite game is Zelda: A Link to the Past
During the Tokyo Game Show this year, we asked some of Japan's biggest game industry figures what they felt is the most important game to them (outside of games they've actually created). For Keiji Inafune, creator of the Mega Man series and the brainnnnnz behind the upcoming zombie action game, Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z, that fundamental game is The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past for the Super Nintendo. As important games go, we'd agree that Link to the Past is definitely on the list (and handily available on Virtual Console).Meanwhile, Hiroshi Kawano, president of Sony Computer Entertainment Japan, picked Crash Bandicoot, which was conveniently (perhaps too conveniently) just released as a PSOne Classic for the PlayStation Vita. While it may not be the game many would have picked, it certainly has a memorable spot in PlayStation history, especially considering its developer, Naughty Dog, went on to create the phenomenal Uncharted series.
Soul Sacrifice sacrificing souls Spring 2013
Soul Sacrifice will launch itself -- and presumably a blade forged from the spine of a ruthless warrior -- into Japanese homes sometime in the spring of 2013, creator Keiji Inafune announced during Sony's pre-Tokyo Game Show press conference earlier today. No information was give regarding a North American release window."It's not that development has been delayed," Inafune said during his presentation, but rather that Comcept wants to implement user feedback gained from this week's Tokyo Game Show, as well as an upcoming demo. Sony Computer Entertainment has been gracious with development scheduling, says Inafune.It makes sense when you stop and think about it, considering that spring is the time for love, and what love comes without sacrifice? Well, that may not be the best comparison since our relationships usually don't involve trading body parts and loved ones for unimaginable power. Usually.
Inafune's Yaiba combines zombies with ninjas and mechs
Comcept officially announced Keiji Inafune's zombie game Yaiba today, though it declined to offer much in the way of detail, as we still have no idea of platforms, release window, or even how the game actually works.According to creator Keiji Inafune, it's inspired in part by fan feedback. "There are so many zombie games out there, yet people ask me for a new Inafune zombie game. I am grateful for people's respect for me as the 'zombie game creator' and to fulfill that I must answer their expectations with YAIBA."Those expectations are being fulfilled with a concept of "zombies with action, ninjas and mechs." Get an idea of Comcept's concept in this stylish (but bloody) teaser video.
Inafune's new zombie game 'Yaiba,' his Soul Sacrifice surprises for TGS
Mega Man creator and Dead Rising producer Keiji Inafune is working on a new zombie game called Yaiba, Siliconera reports. Platforms and other details are scarce at the moment.If you'll be joining us in Japan next week and have an affinity for things both horrifying and portable, then you may be interested to learn that Inafune will be showing off his upcoming Vita title Soul Sacrifice during the Tokyo Game Show. This will be the first time the game has been playable, by members of the press or otherwise.Inafune also teased that a surprise announcement of some kind, unrelated to Soul Sacrifice, could be made during the show, according to Andriasang's translation of his blog post. Whether that surprise has anything to do with Inafune's recently released Android title JJ Rockets or Yaiba itself is anyone's guess, but we're keeping our fingers crossed for a rhythm 3DS game set in an unspeakable hell dimension. In three dee!
Mega Man creator's JJ Rockets hits Android in Japan, stars US president
JJ Rockets, a side-scrolling action game from Mega Man creator Keiji Inafune, comes to Android in Japan today. More importantly, as Siliconera reports, it looks brilliantly bizarre.First off, you play as the President of the United States - probably not specifically the big O. Then you transform into what looks like a futuristic superhero version of Evel Knievel, all to save humanity from a swarm of evil mutants. Each stage has a three-minute time limit, with the stage only complete once the final boss is defeated. A promotional image from the Google Play listing suggests a diverse arsenal to choose from, while one screenshot shows a Batman-like 'Bwoom!' and 'Kaboom!!In summary: Mega Man platforming action, US super-president, time-limits, comic book stylings, and lots of fun-looking weapons. This is why we're interested.We reached out to Marvelous AQL, who are publishing JJ Rockets in Japan, but the company declined to provide any further comment. We do know, though, the game is also releasing on iOS at some point. As it is, we wouldn't be surprised by a Western release of another Marvelous-published Inafune game.
Inafune's 'Soul Sacrifice' coming to Vita in North America and Europe
Western Vita owners won't be exempt from the horrific business of trading their own body parts for magic power. Sony announced plans this morning to localize Soul Sacrifice, the "dark fantasy" action game directed by Keiji Inafune that was previously exclusive to Japan gamers.On the PlayStation Blog, Inafune described his desire to show the "reality" within a fantasy setting. "Cruelty is a reality in our world, and we have to make sacrifices and pay costs on a daily basis," Inafune said, totally bumming us out. "I wanted to blend this 'reality' theme into a fantasy world, one filled with magic, and create a new type of gaming experience that relied on the player making sacrifices in order to obtain great power."And that's why you're able to rip your own spine out of your body and use it as a magical weapon.
Inafune working with Level-5 on Guild02 [update: screens]
Guild01 is an upcoming 3DS cart by Level-5, collecting four small games by Suda 51, Seaman's Yoot Saito, Yasumi Matsuno, and comedian Yoshiyuki Hirai. Even before the (so far Japan-only) release of this game, early Famitsu info reveals the existence of a second collection called Guild02, this time involving the outspoken and suddenly very busy Keiji Inafune.Inafune's game translates to "Insect Tank," and puts the player in the role of a miniaturized WWII tank fighting giant insects. His game is joined by "Alone," a "suspense game" by Chunsoft visual novel writers Takemaru Abiko and Kazuya Asano, about someone who wakes up in a dark room with no memories, and "The Friday When Monsters Appear" by Kazu Ayabe, creator of the My Summer Vacation series. True to the title, monsters show up every Friday in a '60s-era town full of children who love the giant Ultraman-style heroes of the day.Guild02 will also have some kind of connectivity with the previous collection, allowing Guild01 owners to get passwords to unlock material in Guild02. We suppose that's one advantage over releasing these games one by one on the eShop, but seriously, Level-5, release these games one by one on the eShop. That's what it's for.Update: Famitsu has screens of all three games. Above (obviously), Insect Tank.
Soul Sacrifice is Keiji Inafune's Vita game, features gruesome magic
While Sony's Japan Studio is the only listed name on the teaser video for Soul Sacrifice, a new Famitsu story adds some other names to the roster. Former Capcom exec, current Comcept/Intercept head, and Neptunia mk2 weapon Keiji Inafune is in charge of planning on the Vita game for his company Comcept.That would mean Soul Sacrifice is the Vita game he semi-accidentally announced, and then attempted to unannounce, earlier this year. Inafune is working with developer Marvelous AQL, with composers Yasunori Mitsuda and Wataru Hokoyama providing music.The game allows players to cast powerful magic spells, but requires a payment ("Sacrifice") for each. You can sacrifice objects, but the most powerful spells require you to give up parts of your character's body – in an example given, you give up an eye to summon a Gorgon. The player has been enslaved by a sorcerer, and captured in a small cell, when a demonic book appears that allows the player to experience past magical battles – which you can do with up to four players.Head to Famitsu now to see many, many screenshots and pieces of Comcept concept art.
Enjoy Keiji Inafune's adorable GDC 2012 slide cartoons right here
Keiji Inafune often adds a sketch of his creations (like Mega Man) when giving autographs to fans. Inafune took to his GDC 2012 presentation slides with the same flair, offering illustrations to accompany his various points throughout a speech that focused on Japanese game development.
Keiji Inafune on why you shouldn't tease unannounced projects
"I don't think I mentioned anything about PlayStation Vita," Keiji Inafune told me in an interview this morning. His answer -- an outright lie -- elicited laughs from myself and his translator, both of us having attended his state of the Japanese game industry panel yesterday at GDC 2012 -- where he teased a PlayStation Vita project."I can say that I got in trouble from Sony," he said. Uh oh! Unsurprisingly, Inafune wouldn't budge on any more details, only adding that, "You should be able to hear something more in detail soon." That's right, folks -- even important devs like Keiji Inafune can't just walk around saying whatever they want about unannounced projects all willy nilly.But don't fret, fans, as Inafune plans on launching his already announced Nintendo 3DS project, King of Pirates, worldwide. "For all my titles, I'm looking to do worldwide publishing. I can't say who is publishing because it could be Marvelous directly or maybe they're going to find another publisher in the US," he said. "But the plan is to do it worldwide."
How Resident Evil 2 helped Keiji Inafune become the indie dev he is today
Back in the mid-90s, now acclaimed Japanese developer Shinji Mikami was passionately toiling away on the first game in a soon-to-be hit franchise: Resident Evil. It was to be published by Capcom, but the company had reservations about the new intellectual property -- so much so that it nearly canned the project outright. Ex-Capcom global head of production Keiji Inafune recalled his side of the story during an impassioned GDC 2012 speech yesterday.Inafune claims he watched from the outside as Capcom's support for Resident Evil faded, and while he worked on other titles within the same company. Mikami fought for the fledgling game, eventually getting it published for Sony's PlayStation. The rest, of course, is zombie-ridden history.When Capcom began work on a sequel, Inafune says he got himself involved in a production role. "While Mikami focused on the game, as the producer, it was my mission to sell this title to as many people around the world," he said to a room full of attendees. But with the massive success of the first RE title, Inafune's role as salesman was relegated to a cake walk. "With my previous title Mega Man Legends, it was pretty challenging to even book a round of press appointments. No one was interested in hearing about a new Mega Man title," Inafune said. "However, the scenario was completely different with RE2. Once we announced the project, the requests poured in."
Keiji Inafune working on Vita
Keiji Inafune somewhat unintentionally let slip that he's working on a PlayStation Vita game during his "The Future of Japanese Games" talk. After speaking of work on his upcoming 3DS title, King of Pirates, as well as his company's work in social gaming, he mentioned that he's challenging himself once more with the Vita.That's the direct approach to discussing the future of Japanese games, right? Just tell people about a Japanese game that's coming out in the future.Inafune didn't offer specifics on the game, nor did he say which of his two companies (Intercept or Comcept) is responsible for the project. In fact, shortly after noting the existence of the project, he asked everyone to forget that he said it, alongside a big smile (not dissimilar from his visage above).
Street Fighter X Tekken's Mega Man has Inafune's blessing
You might be wondering why Capcom decided to go with an outlandish, embarrassing caricature of the Mega Man 1 box art Mega Man as a Street Fighter X Tekken bonus character for PS3 and Vita. According to a tweet from producer Yoshinori Ono, the decision was made with input from Capcom executive emeritus Keiji Inafune."I consulted with Mr.Megaman (his name is Mr.I...) about it 1 year ago," Ono said. This iteration was the "result" of that consultation. A previous Mega Man game developed under Inafune's command, the cancelled Mega Man Universe, also featured "Bad Box Art Mega Man." So maybe Inafune just thinks it's really funny.Now, as for why Mega Man and Pac-Man are Sony-exclusive characters despite not having anything to do with Sony or the PlayStation platforms ... we aren't sure who was consulted on that decision.[Thanks, Alex!]
Sid Meier, Keiji Inafune and Riot Games folks added to GDC seminar list
Sad your favorite game designer isn't getting his or her deserved time in the spotlight? Well dry those eyes, friend! It's gonna be hard to hold onto that grudge because today industry legends Sid Meier and Keiji Inafune have both been added to the GDC talk docket, as well as League of Legends proprietors, Riot Games. But hey, if you're not going to GDC, feel free to keep crying while you read the rest of this post.Meier's talk, entitled "Interesting Decisions," will revolve around his viewpoint of gameplay as "a series of interesting decisions" and how developers can recognize and add these kinds of decisions, ultimately providing the player with a more fulfilling experience. Maybe he'll also talk a bit how that philosophy will play into XCOM: Enemy Unknown?Inafune will aim to analyze the current state of the Japanese game industry in his sixty-minute talk, "The Future of Japanese Games." Along with his unnamed cohorts, he'll delve into the current problems facing the region and analyze the past success of Japanese game development. We imagine he'll also probably suffer through a lot of questions about Mega Man.Finally, Riot Games offers a postmortem on its successful Dominion expansion for its runaway hit, League of Legends. Lead producer Travis George will offer insight into the expansion's genesis, all the way through production and launch.
Inafune's 'The Island of Dr. Momo' launches via GREE
The first game from Keiji Inafune's 'Comcept' studio -- the first Inafune game since Capcom, in other words -- is now available in Japan, and it's pretty dang cute. 'The Island of Dr. Momo' is a social game for smartphones, published by gigantic mobile game company GREE. It was released on Android yesterday with an iOS version incoming. In this (we'll warn you again: it's cute) game, you collect eggs from different creatures, and "fuse" them in an attempt to create the cutest "Kawaiimon" animal in the world. You can trade the results with friends to increase your menagerie, or get new Kawaiimon out of a capsule machine. Inafune's other game is also pretty adorable: Intercept's Kaio: King of Pirates will be out on 3DS sometime next year.
Inafune cheers on Mega Man Legends 3 fan campaign
Keiji Inafune, the Inafking (as he's known in credit sequences for his old games) descended from his Inafthrone recently to offer his approval of the grassroots "100,000 Strong for Bringing Back Mega Man Legends 3" community, in a post on his blog. "All these fans with such strong emotions really do have an intense passion for the game," Inafune said. "I am really glad to hear this." Inafune said he felt the "warmth" of fans' passion for the canceled Mega Man Legends 3 Project, and said he would continue cheering for his "juniors" to bring it back. Inafune offered an interesting psychological explanation for the tenacity of Mega Man fans: "While playing classic [Mega Man], for a while I found it too difficult and wanted to give up," the former Capcom exec said. "But even then, I would desperately continue to clear the stage. Nobody can forget the feeling of finally beating Wilys stage after all that work, defeating the UFO and watching the ending." The obstacle in front of fans now -- the "Dr. Wily" -- is Capcom. [Thanks, Logan!]
Keiji Inafune reveals 'King of Pirates,' heading to 3DS in 2012
Ex-Capcom head of production, Keiji Inafune, has yet another pot on the stove. His company, Intercept, announced its next game last night: "King of Pirates" for the Nintendo 3DS, which brings Inafune back into console development (as previously hinted). The game is apparently set on a massive ocean, "where heroes fight for ambition, justice, and their lives," according to a note from Inafune. 4Gamer reports that the game is planned as a trilogy, and features some form of multiplayer. The teaser trailer, however, doesn't go very far in explaining what the game is actually about, though it seems to indicate some form of ship battle game -- the official website describes it as "pirate action adventure." The trailer does let slip some other information, however, such as who's publishing the game, namely Marvelous AQL, makers of the Harvest Moon series. Currently, King of Pirates is only slated for launch in Japan, though we'd be surprised if it didn't end up in other territories eventually. In fact, according to Inafune's own development philosophy, it's almost guaranteed to arrive elsewhere.%Gallery-135800%
Inafune's next game was ready to show at TGS, but he wasn't
Ex-Capcom head of production Keiji Inafune has announced a couple of social titles in development at his company Comcept, and some form of involvement in a female dating sim for PSP, but he's yet to speak about anything in the console realm from his other company, Intercept. He had plans to show off his first console title since leaving Capcom in late 2010 at this year's Tokyo Game Show. So, what happened? "We decided not to," he told me this past weekend. "As for titles which aren't social games," he noted, it would be "very, very soon." He specifically pointed out that his company already had work ready to show, but due to the crowded space, he decided against it. "By the time you guys get back to North America, we might have something releasing," he said. When I told him we'd be flying back the following Monday, September 19, he just laughed and added, "That's a bit too soon, it's going to be a little longer."
Inafune asked to keep working on canned Mega Man projects post-Capcom; Capcom declined
When Mega Man co-creator and former head of production at Capcom Keiji Inafune vacated his long-held position late last year, it was unclear what would happen with the two projects he had just fought to get going -- a long-awaited sequel in the Mega Man Legends series and an ambitious XBLA/PSN Mega Man mashup title. Despite a brief period of support from his former employer, the two games were eventually canceled. Inafune, however, was still fighting for the games after his employment ended. "I really wanted to finish those two projects, especially Legends," Inafune told me in an interview this past weekend at the Tokyo Game Show. "It's really up to Capcom to let me do it or not, and for the moment I don't think they're gonna let me do it," he resignedly added. Apparently after leaving his position at his former employer, he requested to continue working on the project in some capacity as a contractor. Cacpom, however, wasn't interested in that idea. But rather than directly blame Capcom for canceling the two projects -- he's not into pointing fingers, as we already know -- Inafune spoke to his struggle even getting them going.
