Post by parrothead on Nov 27, 2009 1:28:55 GMT -5
I asked a RomHacking.net forum member name Eien Ni Hen if she would translate this official Tomato Adventure interview, and she did. Here is what it reads in English:
You heard that? I've also requested her to translate the Story and Character pages of Nintendo's official Tomato Adventure website. I will show them as soon as they are translated.
Okay, here's the two-page interview:
Page 1
2. "Tomato Adventure" Developer Interview
(Blue panel) "Tomato Adventure" is an RPG that encorporates a radically new battle system. It allows you to have direct control over the flow of combat, making it fun to progress further and further in the game! We asked the development staff about the story behind the game's creation and what makes "Tomato Adventure" so unique.
(Left)
AlphaDream
Director
Chihiro Fujioka
(Right)
Nintendo
Toshiharu Izuno, Licensing and Engineering Division
(Blue bar) From "Gimmick Land" to "Tomato Adventure"
(Red text) How did "Tomato Adventure" come about?
Izuno: "Tomato Adventure" originated in a Gameboy Color game called "Gimmick Land". When interally assessed at Nintendo before its release, the game got a high rating. Of course, the AlphaDream staff had released a Gameboy Color game prior to this called "Koto Battle," which received a good rating as well. So there was a lot of talk about releasing "Gimmick Land" under the Nintendo name. All of this happened right before the Gameboy Advance was released, so AlphaDream retooled the game for the Gameboy Advance, and it was reborn as "Tomato Adventure".
Fujioka: When I was informed of the Gameboy Advance's debut, one part of me thought, "Uh-oh!" and the other part thought I was really lucky. After all, putting out a product for a brand new piece of hardware is a great business opportunity.
(Left) Gimmick Land (Right) Tomato Adventure
(Red text) What are the differences between "Gimmick Land" and "Tomato Adventure"?
Fujioka: The graphics were completely redone. The Gameboy Advance allowed for more expressiveness, so we made some changes in the directing, too. Lastly, we rearranged the music. However, we didn't made any major changes to the game's engine.
(Red text) If you don't mind going back to "Gimmick Land," I'm curious as to what concept you had in mind when creating it.
Fujioka: We didn't have a high-art concept in mind for the game. Instead, we wanted to create a game that was fun to play with. We had countless planning sessions about what we could do to make such a game. What arose was the idea of a game structure that utilizes gimmicky, toy-like controls. That's where we got the name "Gimmick".
(Red text) In battle, you use weapons called Gimmicks to control the action and defeat the enemy, right?
Fujioka: Exactly. When playing an RPG, you usually hit a button and read some text. Instead, we wanted to make a game where the player is constantly hitting buttons. Granted, when you're doing all these different types of moves in the playing field, it becomes more of an action game like "Mario". (Heh!) We were dedicated to making an RPG--not an action game--until the very end. With that in mind, we finally came up with the Gimmick system.
(Red text) So it's an RPG with action elements?
Fujioka: That sounds about right. On that note, we even made it so that the player can control the difficulty level of the Gimmicks.
Page 2
(Blue bar) A new RPG that's "fun to play with".
(Red text) With all the tomatoes and toys (Gimmicks), this game is full of things that kids can enjoy.
Fujioka: We didn't want to create an overly serious in-game world. We wanted to make something easy to comprehend, unique. Outwardly, the game has a very cutesy look, but it also has a strong sinster side.
(Red text) Speaking of which, these cute, baby doll-like characters have a dark side, don't they?
Fujioka: The personalities of the design staff really came out in the characters. There's a certain maliciousness there, you know. I think it's something that not only kids, but grown-ups can relate to.
(Red text) What kind of work was involved on Nintendo's end of the project?
Izuno: We worked on the printed materials, including the packaging and instruction manual. Also, we sought out comments and suggestions from within Nintendo in regards to the game's content and then negotiated back and forth with Alpha Dream. We decided a course of action by with the words, "Okay, let's do that." and "Let's do it this way."
Fujioka: Normally we have our finished game thoroughly evaluated by a third party, and then make improvements based on their suggestions.
(Red text) What were the biggest changes Nintendo requested?
Izuno: We asked them to change the title from "Gimmick Land" to "Tomato Adventure," which had a better ring to it. We also wanted some easily recognizable characters added in which reflected the new title. Those were Nintendo's biggest requests. That's how the characters called the "Tomatrio" were born.
Fujioka: Each character is certainly interesting, but they have little details on them that may be hard for kids to see. So we added in some symbolic tomato characters so that the game would have a more marketable image. This proposal came when the game was near completion, but we added in the characters as best we could.
(Red text) Were there any other requests?
Izuno: There's a card game called "Gimica" in the game, but when it was on the Gameboy Color, the player was supposed to pick up cards dropped in the playing field. They changed this to fighting against key characters in the field to get cards.
Fujioka: This was the biggest alteration in terms of workload. Originally, we wanted to make use of the communication functions in the Gameboy Color, so we put in a card game as a way of testing them out. We ended up having tons of fun with it. What's more, Nintendo absolutely loved the card game. So we shortened the dialogue for the characters in towns, and added more of the card game in. The result is a deck with more diverse elements and a card game you can play to your heart's content, which is good.
(Red text) About how long is the game's play time?
Fujioka: About 16-17 hours normally, and about 25-26 hours to find all the cards and Pacifiers.
(Red text) As the game's creator, what would you like people to get out of the game?
Fujioka: For me it's all about the scenes. The story is a valiant one about rescuing a kidnapped girl, but the dialogue becomes highly important when taken scene by scene. If the player is able to pick up on that, I think the lines will make them grin ear to ear, even if they're an adult. Basically, I think that anyone can enjoy the simple structure of winning by making your Gimmicks stronger and correctly following commands. We took special care to balance out this particular area so that your party members aren't defeated in one hit. You don't gain experience like you would in other RPGs, but there are lots of Gimmick Techniques which can be powered up to help you win.
Izuno: In any case, I think that once you start playing with it, you'll realize how fun it is. So please at least give it a try. I don't want to make the game sound like it's solely geared toward kids just because it's cute. It's a product that teenagers and adults can enjoy, too.
(Green text) Tomato Adventure: Recommended Play Style
Tomato Adventure is both cute and fun! We've compiled some hints to make the game easier for beginners and to help advanced players get more in-depth into it.
1. Gimmicks are divided into 4 types. Find the one you're good at, strengthen it with Batteries, and use the heck out of it!
2. Increasing a Gimmick's difficulty level will also increase your attack power. However, it's still possible to beat the game on low difficulty. The key to winning is finding a difficulty level that suits you.
3. Half of your Gimmicks will come from the playing field. The other half come from collecting Pacifiers and exchanging them. Do your best to collect them all and get a Complete.
4. The key to getting a Complete in "Gimica" is perseverance!
I'll let you know as soon as I'm done with the Story and Character pages.
Page 1
2. "Tomato Adventure" Developer Interview
(Blue panel) "Tomato Adventure" is an RPG that encorporates a radically new battle system. It allows you to have direct control over the flow of combat, making it fun to progress further and further in the game! We asked the development staff about the story behind the game's creation and what makes "Tomato Adventure" so unique.
(Left)
AlphaDream
Director
Chihiro Fujioka
(Right)
Nintendo
Toshiharu Izuno, Licensing and Engineering Division
(Blue bar) From "Gimmick Land" to "Tomato Adventure"
(Red text) How did "Tomato Adventure" come about?
Izuno: "Tomato Adventure" originated in a Gameboy Color game called "Gimmick Land". When interally assessed at Nintendo before its release, the game got a high rating. Of course, the AlphaDream staff had released a Gameboy Color game prior to this called "Koto Battle," which received a good rating as well. So there was a lot of talk about releasing "Gimmick Land" under the Nintendo name. All of this happened right before the Gameboy Advance was released, so AlphaDream retooled the game for the Gameboy Advance, and it was reborn as "Tomato Adventure".
Fujioka: When I was informed of the Gameboy Advance's debut, one part of me thought, "Uh-oh!" and the other part thought I was really lucky. After all, putting out a product for a brand new piece of hardware is a great business opportunity.
(Left) Gimmick Land (Right) Tomato Adventure
(Red text) What are the differences between "Gimmick Land" and "Tomato Adventure"?
Fujioka: The graphics were completely redone. The Gameboy Advance allowed for more expressiveness, so we made some changes in the directing, too. Lastly, we rearranged the music. However, we didn't made any major changes to the game's engine.
(Red text) If you don't mind going back to "Gimmick Land," I'm curious as to what concept you had in mind when creating it.
Fujioka: We didn't have a high-art concept in mind for the game. Instead, we wanted to create a game that was fun to play with. We had countless planning sessions about what we could do to make such a game. What arose was the idea of a game structure that utilizes gimmicky, toy-like controls. That's where we got the name "Gimmick".
(Red text) In battle, you use weapons called Gimmicks to control the action and defeat the enemy, right?
Fujioka: Exactly. When playing an RPG, you usually hit a button and read some text. Instead, we wanted to make a game where the player is constantly hitting buttons. Granted, when you're doing all these different types of moves in the playing field, it becomes more of an action game like "Mario". (Heh!) We were dedicated to making an RPG--not an action game--until the very end. With that in mind, we finally came up with the Gimmick system.
(Red text) So it's an RPG with action elements?
Fujioka: That sounds about right. On that note, we even made it so that the player can control the difficulty level of the Gimmicks.
Page 2
(Blue bar) A new RPG that's "fun to play with".
(Red text) With all the tomatoes and toys (Gimmicks), this game is full of things that kids can enjoy.
Fujioka: We didn't want to create an overly serious in-game world. We wanted to make something easy to comprehend, unique. Outwardly, the game has a very cutesy look, but it also has a strong sinster side.
(Red text) Speaking of which, these cute, baby doll-like characters have a dark side, don't they?
Fujioka: The personalities of the design staff really came out in the characters. There's a certain maliciousness there, you know. I think it's something that not only kids, but grown-ups can relate to.
(Red text) What kind of work was involved on Nintendo's end of the project?
Izuno: We worked on the printed materials, including the packaging and instruction manual. Also, we sought out comments and suggestions from within Nintendo in regards to the game's content and then negotiated back and forth with Alpha Dream. We decided a course of action by with the words, "Okay, let's do that." and "Let's do it this way."
Fujioka: Normally we have our finished game thoroughly evaluated by a third party, and then make improvements based on their suggestions.
(Red text) What were the biggest changes Nintendo requested?
Izuno: We asked them to change the title from "Gimmick Land" to "Tomato Adventure," which had a better ring to it. We also wanted some easily recognizable characters added in which reflected the new title. Those were Nintendo's biggest requests. That's how the characters called the "Tomatrio" were born.
Fujioka: Each character is certainly interesting, but they have little details on them that may be hard for kids to see. So we added in some symbolic tomato characters so that the game would have a more marketable image. This proposal came when the game was near completion, but we added in the characters as best we could.
(Red text) Were there any other requests?
Izuno: There's a card game called "Gimica" in the game, but when it was on the Gameboy Color, the player was supposed to pick up cards dropped in the playing field. They changed this to fighting against key characters in the field to get cards.
Fujioka: This was the biggest alteration in terms of workload. Originally, we wanted to make use of the communication functions in the Gameboy Color, so we put in a card game as a way of testing them out. We ended up having tons of fun with it. What's more, Nintendo absolutely loved the card game. So we shortened the dialogue for the characters in towns, and added more of the card game in. The result is a deck with more diverse elements and a card game you can play to your heart's content, which is good.
(Red text) About how long is the game's play time?
Fujioka: About 16-17 hours normally, and about 25-26 hours to find all the cards and Pacifiers.
(Red text) As the game's creator, what would you like people to get out of the game?
Fujioka: For me it's all about the scenes. The story is a valiant one about rescuing a kidnapped girl, but the dialogue becomes highly important when taken scene by scene. If the player is able to pick up on that, I think the lines will make them grin ear to ear, even if they're an adult. Basically, I think that anyone can enjoy the simple structure of winning by making your Gimmicks stronger and correctly following commands. We took special care to balance out this particular area so that your party members aren't defeated in one hit. You don't gain experience like you would in other RPGs, but there are lots of Gimmick Techniques which can be powered up to help you win.
Izuno: In any case, I think that once you start playing with it, you'll realize how fun it is. So please at least give it a try. I don't want to make the game sound like it's solely geared toward kids just because it's cute. It's a product that teenagers and adults can enjoy, too.
(Green text) Tomato Adventure: Recommended Play Style
Tomato Adventure is both cute and fun! We've compiled some hints to make the game easier for beginners and to help advanced players get more in-depth into it.
1. Gimmicks are divided into 4 types. Find the one you're good at, strengthen it with Batteries, and use the heck out of it!
2. Increasing a Gimmick's difficulty level will also increase your attack power. However, it's still possible to beat the game on low difficulty. The key to winning is finding a difficulty level that suits you.
3. Half of your Gimmicks will come from the playing field. The other half come from collecting Pacifiers and exchanging them. Do your best to collect them all and get a Complete.
4. The key to getting a Complete in "Gimica" is perseverance!
I'll let you know as soon as I'm done with the Story and Character pages.
You heard that? I've also requested her to translate the Story and Character pages of Nintendo's official Tomato Adventure website. I will show them as soon as they are translated.
Years Old]