"First, let's talk about the Boss design. The President proposed this interaction logic, and it has proven to be incredibly effective. It has made the Bosses in this Ninja Gaiden much more challenging and engaging."
"Next is the execution. We had initially considered designing an execution mechanic, but the President suggested adding a screen-shake effect, insisting that the screen should shake during the execution. After I tried it out, I felt this effect was a stroke of genius for the execution sequence, greatly enhancing the visual impact after each kill."
"Then there's the overall combat style. Initially, I planned to set the game's difficulty to be extremely high throughout. However, the President's approach was to adjust the difficulty by focusing it on the Boss battles. For the preceding levels, the difficulty would be increased primarily through level design, with the common enemies designed to be defeated relatively easily. After some thought, I realized this aligns with the development philosophy of the Sonic series: ensuring fluidity within the levels while concentrating the difficulty on the Boss battles. This creates a high-speed, seamless experience, making the gameplay flow much more exhilarating."
"And then there's the story... The World Map design actually appeared back in the FC era. But after we introduced this World Map on the MD, we set up Hayabusa Village as a sort of safe room and added some detailed changes. At first, I didn't see what good that would do, but after seeing the players' reactions, I think I finally understand. The effect is to give players a moment of respite after the intense combat, rather than just triggering an Easter egg."
After Hideo Yoshizawa finished speaking, he looked at Kobayashi Tetsu with trepidation. He wasn't sure if his summary was correct; he just had a feeling it was.
Kobayashi Tetsu nodded slightly.
"You're mostly correct. These design choices are what set this work apart from others. However, there are still some shortcomings..."
Kobayashi Tetsu raised his hand, and Naka Yuji immediately pushed the whiteboard over.
Just kidding, what good is flattery? His true specialty was pushing the whiteboard at a moment's notice!
Kobayashi Tetsu gave a silent thumbs-up and began to write.
"Regularly returning to Hayabusa Village isn't just about creating a safe house, nor is it just to generate emotional impact when the village is attacked. The most important goal is to establish a symbolic image."
"Just like with Metal Gear, we need a symbol to solidify the character's core identity. For example, the interactions in Metal Gear can showcase Snake's calm and resourceful nature as an operative. Achieving these traits relies on various details throughout the game. However, since Ninja Gaiden is an action game and the development process has already been delayed for so long, we don't have extra time to design more details. So, we're using a clever shortcut."
"By tying Hayabusa Village to Ryu Hayabusa's image, we establish a sense of belonging. The ultimate effect is that Ryu gains a warm, family-oriented persona, despite being a man of few words. At the same time, Momiji's dialogue confirms Ryu's extremely high status within the village."
"From another perspective, having Hayabusa Village as a fixed element will make it easier for us to add new characters if we produce a sequel."
Hideo Yoshizawa nodded repeatedly, a look of sudden realization on his face.
Naka Yuji was also lost in thought.
No wonder Kobayashi Tetsu had insisted on giving Sonic those oversized shoes. In the end, it was all about creating a visually distinct character symbol that players could recognize at a glance, even with the crude graphics, and then associating that symbol with Sonic himself.
After everyone had processed the information, Kobayashi Tetsu casually flipped the whiteboard over.
"The most important point is the gameplay experience—Executions are satisfying, but they can't be used too often. While they enhance the thrill of the game, they also disrupt the flow of combat. That's why we've only implemented Execution Mode in Boss battles, and even then, it's primarily used as a finisher."
"I'm positioning this game as a high-speed action title."
"We don't need complex puzzles or endless waves of mobs. Instead, the various skills in combat will synergize, allowing players to chain combos and press the advantage, just like in a fighting game. Everything is designed with the core goal of fast combat and a swift playthrough. That's what I mean by a high-speed action game."
This was exactly why Kobayashi Tetsu had overhauled the game's framework after taking over Yoshizawa's mess.
The difficulty shouldn't come from the monsters' stats, but from the level design.
At the same time, we must ensure the combat is fluid and exhilarating.
This was the core philosophy behind Ninja Gaiden's transition to 3D, and it proved to be a resounding success. By stripping away the convoluted puzzles, the game's flow improved dramatically.
Action games like Devil May Cry and Bayonetta have all significantly minimized their puzzle elements. When puzzles do appear, they're simple tasks—like moving an object from one place to another or defeating a specific enemy at a certain time.
God of War, on the other hand, represents a different breed of action game. It pairs monster-slaying with puzzles that are often quite brain-teasing.
With the lecture finished, Kobayashi Tetsu felt a sense of satisfaction.
Hideo Yoshizawa suddenly raised his hand.
"President, I have one last question. How should we handle Momiji's ending?"
"It doesn't matter," Kobayashi Tetsu shrugged. "If you try to give players a definitive answer now, you'll diminish the character's importance. You can establish her survival as the official canon in the second game, but you can't tell the players she's alive right now. If a game has multiple endings, you should let the players choose their own. You can specify the canon ending in a sequel, but until then, you must remain neutral."
The reason for this was simple.
If the official version directly specified the ending, then the multiple-ending setting would be pointless.
Seeing Hideo Yoshizawa and the others lost in thought, Kobayashi Tetsu waved his hand dismissively.
"Go on, get back to work. Take your breaks and rest when you need to. By the way, where's Iwata-kun?"
Naka Yuji answered, "Satoru Iwata went to Nintendo to discuss the MS cartridge compression chips. We used a lot of them when we released Romance of the Three Kingdoms, so we need to restock. He should be back this afternoon."
Kobayashi Tetsu nodded. "Have him come to my office when he returns."
After settling things, Kobayashi Tetsu returned to his office.
This month's sales report had already been compiled by Aika.
Setting aside the revenue from other games and the earnings from Capcom and Koei, Ninja Gaiden alone had successfully surpassed one million copies sold in Japan over the past nearly one month.
The average price of a Mega Drive cartridge was around 5,000 to 6,000 yen, and the Ninja Gaiden cartridge was priced at 6,500 yen.
After deducting all production, logistics, and marketing costs, the net profit per cartridge was approximately 1,700 yen.
That's 1.7 billion yen, Kobayashi Tetsu thought, tapping the desktop.
Outsourcing cartridge production to Bandai meant paying them a substantial extra fee, which would severely drain Atlas's liquid assets.
If they switched to in-house production, they could further reduce costs. As long as the cartridge factory remained profitable, the net income per cartridge could rise to over 2,000 yen—more than a third of its selling price.
That would significantly boost their overall revenue.
Cartridge Factory.
Kobayashi Tetsu jotted the words into his planner.
A cartridge factory, new games, and of course, his next major move.
The era of 3D gaming was fast approaching. Once 3D games arrived, 2D games would gradually fade into history. This wasn't a challenge a few artists could solve; it was simply the end of an era. Just as tanks replaced cavalry and rifled muskets replaced archers, the time had come for 2D games to step aside.
Early 3D games were crude, but by the mid-90s, the emergence of graphics accelerators would propel 3D gaming forward. Later graphics cards were essentially a fusion of these accelerators and the original graphics cards.
Back in the era of 3D accelerators, you had to unplug the monitor cable from the graphics card and plug it into the accelerator card to play games; otherwise, they wouldn't run. Later, once graphics cards integrated these functions, this was no longer necessary.
Of course, Old Huang in his leather jacket would also make his mark on the stage of history.
But that was all something that would happen five years later.
For now, Kobayashi Tetsu intended to bring the final glory to 2D games during their twilight years.
A knock sounded at the office door, followed by Iwata Satoru's voice.
Kobayashi Tetsu replied, "Come in."
He looked up to see Iwata Satoru with a light sweat on his forehead, looking as if he had come straight to the office upon his return.
"President," Iwata Satoru said, bowing his head. He kept his report brief: "I've just finished planning the cartridge compression chip with Nintendo, and then—"
"You can handle those matters on your own; you don't need to report them to me," Kobayashi Tetsu interrupted. "I want to talk to you about something else."
Kobayashi Tetsu flipped over the whiteboard he had prepared.
"I'm planning to form a special department. It will likely require a significant investment, so we need a truly exceptional coordinator to manage it and ensure no funds are wasted. For now, I'm calling it the Atlas R&D Department. Its primary focus will be overcoming various software challenges in game development, and it may eventually expand into hardware."
Kobayashi Tetsu stared intently at Iwata Satoru, his gaze burning with conviction. "I believe, Iwata-kun, that you are the right person for this position."
Iwata Satoru fell silent for a moment before finally speaking.
"What would my responsibilities be?"
"You will oversee technical development, manage the flow of funds, and constantly monitor the market for superior technologies to acquire," Kobayashi Tetsu explained. "However, we will not become an industry trust. While we will maintain control over our own technology, we must not use it to stifle others. The more technology there is, the more the market will flourish, attracting more players and expanding Atlas's own audience."
Seeing Iwata Satoru still lost in thought, Kobayashi Tetsu spoke up: "The first task for the Technical Development Department will be to create a game engine specifically for 2D games! An 'engine,' as the name suggests, is the core component that powers a vehicle. I want this to be like an engine—something that can drive any game at any time, allowing developers to simply plug it in and start creating, thereby maximizing the efficiency of the development process!"
With their own game engine, the development workflow would be drastically accelerated, and the technical foundation would be more robust, no longer relying on the fleeting inspiration of a single individual.
Famous engines from the future, such as Unreal, Frostbite, and RAGE, came to mind. The Frostbite Engine powered the Battlefield series, while the RAGE Engine was used for Red Dead Redemption and Grand Theft Auto from the fourth game onwards. As for the Unreal Engine, it needed no introduction.
Before Kobayashi Tetsu's arrival, Black Myth: Wukong had been a product of the Unreal Engine.
"An engine is the new platform of the digital age."
Just as developers today had to pay Sega and Nintendo to create games, using a specific engine for development also required purchasing a license and sharing revenue with the engine's owner.
And now, Kobayashi Tetsu was entrusting this mission to the yet-to-be-formed Technical Development Department—and to Iwata Satoru.
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