General gaming |
- Japanese Games That Turned Genres On Their Ears
- Champion of Dreams: An Interview with Hideo Yoshizawa
- Keeping the Classic Sound Alive: An Interview with Yuzo Koshiro
| Japanese Games That Turned Genres On Their Ears Posted: 20 Sep 2012 01:52 PM PDT
Feature 1UP COVER STORY  1UP COVER STORY | WEEK OF SEPTEMBER 17 | RETHINKING JAPAN Japanese Games That Turned Genres On Their EarsCover Story: Boldly going against the grain, for better or worse.I t's hard to ignore the risks associated with unconventional ideas. Every new concept introduces a dozen new ways for a game to go spectacularly wrong. Even if everything comes together without a hitch, a significant part of any given audience will reluctantly stray from their comfort zone. Some of the most memorable Japanese games were helmed by developers that wholly embraced offbeat ideas. They forged ahead where many others might have backed off, following the unconventional path as far as it would take them. The results weren't always perfect, but by taking chances the resulting titles subverted established genres in creative and often hilarious ways. |
| Champion of Dreams: An Interview with Hideo Yoshizawa Posted: 20 Sep 2012 12:36 PM PDT
Feature 1UP COVER STORY  1UP COVER STORY | WEEK OF SEPTEMBER 17 | RETHINKING JAPAN Champion of Dreams: An Interview with Hideo YoshizawaCover Story: The producer of Klonoa and Mr. Driller offers an insightful look back at the origins of his classic works.A s director and producer of games like Klonoa, Ridge Racer Type 4, and Mr. Driller, Hideo Yoshizawa played an instrumental role in Namco's PlayStation-era console game renaissance. Emphasizing playability (and great music) over the increasingly complicated nature of their contemporaries, Yoshizawa's games may not have dominated the sales charts, but they certainly won their share of loyal fans who even now look back on those titles with a fondness that has faded from many other PS1 releases. I recently spoke to Mr. Yoshizawa at Bandai Namco's sci-fi office in Shinagawa, Tokyo about the birth of his PlayStation classics and learned unexpected detailed about Klonoa's origins in the process. 1UP: How long have you been at Namco, and what projects did you start with when you first came here? |
| Keeping the Classic Sound Alive: An Interview with Yuzo Koshiro Posted: 20 Sep 2012 09:03 AM PDT
Feature 1UP COVER STORY  1UP COVER STORY | WEEK OF SEPTEMBER 17 | RETHINKING JAPAN Keeping the Classic Sound Alive: An Interview with Yuzo KoshiroTUNES: We speak with the legendary composer about his early days, and how his modern work reflects his PC roots.F or kids who grew up owning Nintendo consoles, "Hip Tanaka" was likely the first name they ever put to a video game soundtrack. But those who grew up on Sega or NEC systems probably had a different muse: Freelance composer Yuzo Koshiro. A talented, versatile, and decidedly friendly musician, Koshiro entered the games industry writing compositions for niche PC RPG developer Nihon Falcom before branching out to console work. Koshiro contributed to two landmark works of game music: Ys Books I and II, whose reworked Turbo CD version turned thousands of young American gamers into instant fans with its blistering rock arrangements, and the Streets of Rage trilogy, which stunningly twisted the Sega Genesis sound chip into a source of the purest, most addictive trance electronic to appear in a video game to that point. For our first appointment in Japan before this year's Tokyo Game Show, we visited the office of Koshiro's development studio Ancient for a long overdue interview. 1UP: I understand you have a very long history with music. Can you speak about how you first became involved with music, and how you knew that you wanted to make that your living? |
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