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YUJI NAKA INTERVIEW!


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#1
TRiPPY

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http://www.nightsint...ams.com/?p=1343

:)

So then. When we said we were aiming to take this as high as possible we weren't messing around, lolol *grin*

#2
Nemoide

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Oh man! That was an awesome interview! So informative! :D

#3
Jenny Tablina

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Really awesome stuff, its good to see Naka is still fond of NiGHT's at least - though think its a shame he didnt really have any involvement in JoD (though have to respect his stance on not making another game)

Though the PC game is certainly interesting news! Makes me wonder why theres next to no info on it despite there being a release. Once my Saturn had to go I would of killed for NiD along with the numerous Sega titles during that time that got a PC release.

#4
TRiPPY

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Yeah this PC game is confusing the heck out of us too. It was made in 2003 @___@; So why did SEGA Shanghai have to remake a port from scratch AGAIN for the PS2 if the code already existed???

#5
Leonhart

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Ohmahgawd, this is such an awesome interview. *hi-five for the epic journalistic skillz* ^3^

My jaw dropped at the PC part. I was all like, WTF I WANT ONE NOW?! And it's really cool that Naka shows so much respect to the fans, he's such an amazing designer.

#6
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Me = Floored. That whole interview stunned me, top to bottom. Not to mention I felt my heart have a little hiccup when I read about the PC port and then saw the Japanese page about it. Truly a magical interview and very glad to see Naka is still staying true to his heart in loving the game. SO many new interesting facts, especially about the Jung influences and Spielberg.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go float on some clouds the rest of today.

#7
DiGi Valentine

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"There is no NiGHTS!" ....there isn't anymore, we've been misqouting Reala since day one! XD Hahaha!

Adeema! XD

#8
sapphire

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Wow... that news about the PC port is shocking! And I didn't know Spielberg was the first to play NiGHTS. So much new info!

I'm a little disappointed that it's not "There is no NiGHTS", though. I mean, it's the best quote ever, and it's not even what Reala's saying! :)

Totally. Awesome. Present. THANK YOU NAKA! Oh yeah and TRiPPY and DiGi, too.

#9
TRiPPY

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Hahah i think as far as 'There is no NiGHTS' goes it pretty much became a fan interpretation that later turned official with SUMO Digital putting it into Allstars Tennis. So I suppose on an offical line both are true :)

My fave points-

1. The PC port existing. NOTHING was heard of it in the west other than in mid 90's so much so that people thought it was a hoax/some kind of fanmade rom. I seen 3 screenshots, i think all 3 of them were fakes now. Pretty much confirmed. We have to take this PC souce code thing -places.

2. Naka dreams of NiGHTS. Hah, one in the eye. <3

3. HOLTZ EXISTS. It only took us WHAT 14 bloody years to find out he wasn't a magazine typo XD;;;;; Gawwwd. Now we have to research him hard2thecore.

#10
DiGi Valentine

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First thing you're all going to do is tip off the gaming websites about this interview.

Go and do it now. This needs to get out there. I've started trying to contact journalists about this but i can't do it on my own. So you lot gotta help me out here. Get spreading the word. The further this goes the better.

#11
Nemoide

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I had never heard of the "Holtz mystery" but FYI I would wager researching him will be VERY DIFFICULT. I did some searching on my university's databases and found nothing translated into English. Through WorldCat (a database attempting to catalog all books owned by all libraries in the world), I found pretty limited results. By which I mean the books are all in German libraries.
Don't ask me how someone from Sonic Team discovered him!

#12
Dreamer#96

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I would love to get my hands on that PC port, considering how long I've stared at my unplayable PS2 port.

So, now that I think of it, is the PS2 port an actual port of the Saturn game, or a port of the PC port, if Sega even remembered that there was a PC port.

#13
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The PS2 port was rebulit from the Saturn version, I don't think anyone knew the PC version existed o_O

#14
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Awesomesauce! I was just wondering last night what it would be like if Naka actually stopped by the forum.

Holy crap, so many things explained, finally..

posted to Sega forum, made blogs on 1Up and GamePro

#15
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I already knew about the Marenspeak thing from the old Japanese website, but it was interesting to have him re-confirm it. I didn't know it was slang XD

#16
MAXinsanity

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Holy crap, I love you guys for doing this.

That's why I like this community. We're small, but wow, we sure get things done :)!

#17
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NiGHTS fanbase SERIOUS BUSINESS.
*lol*

You guys should have seen how hyper we got last week when we first heard back from him. Man. I wanted to run fangirling into the forums. But sometimes the best course of action is to wait for perfect timing haha.
There were a few other questions I was going to ask (i forget them now) but I didn't ask for the simple reason that knowing the answers would undermine a lot of very creative peoples fan-verses that have spanned years and I'm kind like that :) The only reason i pushed for more info on Selph was because i wanted to know if he had an actual final design.

edit- thanks Viper :)

#18
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I just read the interview that you guys had with Mr. Naka. Unfortunately all that I can say about it is this: you guys are badass! X3

#19
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"Sparkle Attic" really interesting level lol :) (seriously)

#20
andersam

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OMGWTFBBQ INDEED

Way to go guys! This is gonna take a while to sink in for me....

omigosh.

#21
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...Are you even remotely aware how hyper I am right now?!

I didn't even know there was a rumor of a PC version, much less there actually being one. :)
And I also wouldn't have guessed that the first non-SEGA-team person to play NiGHTS was Stephen Spielberg. That's just kind of epic.

2. Naka dreams of NiGHTS. Hah, one in the eye. <3

This. This exactly.

3. HOLTZ EXISTS. It only took us WHAT 14 bloody years to find out he wasn't a magazine typo XD;;;;; Gawwwd. Now we have to research him hard2thecore.

Already on that. Been looking for him for ages, actually... Closest I've gotten at this point is a man by the name of Maximilian Gottfried Friedrich Holtz. He has at least one book to his name -- but it's a rare book (and in German), and I have no clue if it's actually him...

(Nemoide, that WorldCat site is excellent, by the way!)

Thank you Naka! And a big thank you to TRiPPY and DiGi (and Kichigai!) for putting this together for us!

#22
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As a person who has been a NiGHTS fan since 1996 I have to say THANKS! It was exciting being able to read Naka's words on NiGHTS. No other interview has given such insight into the game, and the fact that he acknowledged Selph-- man, that was great. I'm glad there's a place like nid.com for us nostalgic nerds to keep talking about the game we love.

#23
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Oh man, that's incredible that you guys managed to get an interview with Naka. This was a great read - wait...there's a PC version somewhere? :) Geeze if I could get my hands on that I'd be one very happy girl :)

#24
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Glad to see you all enjoying the interview! ^__^

In all honesty, i really didn't expect him to reply to me. During my time in this fanbase i have attempted to get interviews from other people in and around the involvement of NiGHTS into Dreams however they all fell through. I kinda expected Naka san to be too busy to reply and then that would have been just another person on the 'fell through' list.
But when he replied, i seriously couldn't believe it. I had to kick myself from getting happy because i thought that things could go wrong and he would pull out of the interview. But he didn't, he stuck with us and spoke to us even if we had to use a translator. I find it ironic that all the failed interviews i've tried to get in the past have actually paid off because we just landed the best possible interview from the guy who gave us NiGHTS in the first place. Karma, perhaps? I dunno XD

For a while i think i misunderstood Yuji Naka. I didn't understand his reasons for never wanting to make a sequel, it made me upset. But after really sitting down and really getting a feeling for what he's tried to say i think i've come to know him better. He truly is one incredible person and has won my respect 100 times over now.
A small bridge was created here today between Naka and the people he tried to communicate with via NiGHTS into Dreams.

I would also like people to say a big thank you to Kichigai and her mother because really, they're the heroes here. Without them we would have been unable to speak to Naka. They broke down language barriers for us and allowed this interview to take place. The biggest thanks goes to them :)

#25
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This is still sinking in as a reality. THE Yuji Naka giving a exclusive interview. DiGi, TRiPPY, thank you for procuring this.

Top favorite things for this interview:

- "Adeema" and "Beadichinoa NiGHTS". So love knowing that.

- PC NiGHTS? Really?! Dang, man. That's awesome.

- Why the 'Marens are circus-based.

Most of all, the interview itself. That just blows me away. Going to be happy all day~

Kichigai, you and your mother rock!

#26
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Yeah, absolutely. Kichigai + Mom deserve lots o' thanks so THANK YOU GUYS!

On a related translating note, the site mentioned in the interview about the PC version is getting butchered by google translate.

http://game.watch.im...030321/sega.htm

I'm trying to digest what I can, but it mentions something like a broadband download-and-play subscription service, which sounds a lot like what Gametap did. If I remember correctly, Gametap did have some Saturn games in the library. Furthermore, on one of the pictures, I see the word Emulation, which further lends credence to the Gametap-like system. Again, memory-willing, I remember that the emulated games that were streamed to PC over that service looked like they were being run on an emulator that reproduced the original hardware as accurately as possible. Seeing the state of something like SSF, I wouldn't put it out of the picture that that's maybe what's going on here. It would definitely explain why the PS2 team still had to use the original Saturn code for the port, and also explain possibly why it wasn't released here (exclusivity with that Japanese streaming service for that particular emulation code).

Of course, this is all speculation based on the near-unreadable mess coming from the translated page. Withholding any more unless someone would be so kind as to "make dem words better in english" :)

#27
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I have a friend that might be able to translate the page so I'll ask him...unless someone gets to the translating first :)

#28
DiGi Valentine

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I have a friend that might be able to translate the page so I'll ask him...unless someone gets to the translating first :)

No, by all means go ahead. I wouldn't wanna ask Kichigai's mum to translate that too! Lord knows she's done more than enough for us already, haha! XD;

#29
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I suspect it was indeed emulated, remember SEGA bought Giri Giri to do their Saturn download service. Makes sense NiGHTS might be included although it really is curious as Giri Giri was far from perfect emulating NiGHTS, they must have really done some hacking on that code.

Even more curious is the leaked/hacked version found on the interweb (which allegedly was the SEGA version of Giri Giri hacked to work with any game) still did not run NiGHTS all that well. But then its not the first time SEGA has released emulated collections where the sound/graphics were not correctly emulated. The Genesis/Mega Drive collection on the Dreamcast was aweful.

#30
DiENE

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I really enjoyed this, I was just thinking this morning how we need more pizazz in NiGHTS news and to have gotten some carefully chosen questions answered by Yuji Naka was the icing on the cake for me.
I have never seen Cirque Du Soleil and I am extremely interested now. Evidence of its influence is in all sorts of things I like though NiD being one of them and it reminds me of the Dead Moon Circus from Sailor Moon, I used to be able to play their theme on the piano lol.

"Come on NiGHTS" makes WAY more sence now, can definitely picture Reala saying that very aggravatingly XD I wonder what Jackle and Puffy are saying though? When defeating Jackle he sounds like hes rambling like Muttenly from Wacky Races roflcaeks.

#31
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Okay I just messaged him over deviantart. I should have an answer soon :)

#32
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Posted at Nintendolife.

I'm so ashamed that I misspelled "Yuji" the first time around. >_<; That's what I get for fast fingers and a neglectful eye where it counted. Erg.
Sorry!

#33
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Thanks Smashy :)

You know, i REALLY REALLY want to go see Mystere now. L.A huh? Hmmm future road trip is in order. We should try to make some sort of FAN DAYTRIP to the circus XD
hmmmm where's Lady Twinkle when you need her... *slings her lasso*

#34
iLLViLLAiN

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I said this in the comments of the article:

"Yuji Naka is such a respectable man. I'm so glad he agreed to this interview. So many things that were unknown. My mind's pretty much blown at this point."

Seriously, I must thank you interviewers and I must thank Yuji Naka for giving up such interesting information.

#35
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Wow! That was an amazing interview guys! Let me pick my jaw up off the floor :)

I loved learning about the words "Adeema" (which means good bye in Japanese slang) and "Beadichinoa NiGHTS" (come on NiGHTS, Etc.). It's funny the things we came up with over the years!

It's pretty cool too how much research went into the dream world aspect and how he took aspects from Jung's dream theory and Holtz.

And the PC port! I didn't even know that there were rumors about it. Hopefully we can learn some more about it.

You guys really asked some great questions! Thanks for this interview and thanks to Kichigai and your mom for translating! :)

#36
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WHOO!!

I don't come by forever and what shows up in my email! (I really shouldn't have checked it until AFTER work... my brain was broken all day by this epic-ness, and we had a branch review, ahaha!)

Firstly, HUUUGE thanks to everyone involved for getting this to us! Words cannot express!

I had NO ideya about a PC version AT FREAKING ALL. Hmm, maybe the Japanese PS2 port ran on a different graphics program or something? And everything about dream research, and Spielberg, and what honestly shocked me the most was "Beadichinoa NiGHTS"! I must've said it out loud about five times today and giggled every time because I sounded just like Reala... |D

Although I will always hear "There is no NiGHTS" and "Aptiva", I think. ;3

Oh, and I haven't seen Mystere, but if you get to see even ONE Cirque du Soleil show, trust me, you're in for a treat! :) Quidam and Varekai are favorites - I just wish Mystere was on DVD too..!

Major major MAJOR kudos! Can you just feel the love here? <3

#37
Noctourne Wonderland

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3. HOLTZ EXISTS. It only took us WHAT 14 bloody years to find out he wasn't a magazine typo XD;;;;; Gawwwd. Now we have to research him hard2thecore.

It's amazing! How Sega got ahold of an obscure German psycholoy book is beyond me, but WOW.

For a while i think i misunderstood Yuji Naka. I didn't understand his reasons for never wanting to make a sequel, it made me upset.

Me, too, but it makes a lot on sense. I think most fans felt the same as Naka when JoD was released and it just wasn't NiD.

I really enjoyed this, I was just thinking this morning how we need more pizazz in NiGHTS news and to have gotten some carefully chosen questions answered by Yuji Naka was the icing on the cake for me.
When defeating Jackle he sounds like hes rambling like Muttenly from Wacky Races roflcaeks.

Sannafrassin' rassin'! :)

You know, i REALLY REALLY want to go see Mystere now. L.A huh? Hmmm future road trip is in order. We should try to make some sort of FAN DAYTRIP to the circus XD
hmmmm where's Lady Twinkle when you need her... *slings her lasso*

I say we get Stevo to track down the NiGHTS bus and we can all go on a Fan adventure. :P

Also:

Adeema = abayo (which means good bye in Japanese slang).
Beadichinoa NiGHTS = come on NiGHTS, Etc.

Aptiva and there is no NiGHTS indeed!

NiGHTS, a hero, originated in “Shadow”


I always associated that with Reala. Fanfiction ahoy! :D

Elliot and Claris, who have strayed from the dream world, originated from Jung’s Animus and Anima.


Has anyone ever thought to apply archetypes to the children? It makes so much sense now that I think about it.

Persona items that appear in the Wii version originate from Jung's dream theory, too.


See, JoD has depth! I wonder what they are...

Visualization of this character was made to some degree.


I wonder if that means official Selph art exists! :) I'd love to see it.

Oh, the first person to play NiGHTS, other than the SEGA team, was Mr. Spielberg. During the development of the NiGHTS game, he visited SEGA and we asked him to play with an experimental version of the new controller. Since then we called it the Spielberg controller.


How cool is that? :P

#38
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The only thing I regret is not being able to read the article sooner. I had maybe 2 minutes to scan it over at lightspeed before work today, and I couldn't get the full jist of it. But now, everything's clear, and the reality is setting in.

HOLYJESUSYUJINAKAOMG

There.

I'm still blown away that he took the time to speak to the fans. Clearly this man still holds his best creation close to his heart, and rightfully so. I'm still letting it all sink in. This was the single best thing I have read all year. So many questions, so many thoughts finally come full circle. Fourteen years later...woah.

TRiPPY, DiGi, Kichigai, and Ms. Kichigai? I thank you all. So much. For what you have brought us. A thousand e-cookies and sparkle-dust fireworks for all of you!

#39
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Thank you very much!

That interview made my day, I'd like to know more about Selph and its look.

NiGHTS is evil?

#40
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Glad you guys are enjoying it :) Also very glad Kotaku picked it up.
http://kotaku.com/55...soleils-mystere

Sorry about the short server outage lastnight the data center had a blip.

And Bosco NiGHTS is a Nightmaren, he is evil by nature but dissagrees with his creator Wizeman. If helping humans makes him good then He's a Hero, but at the end of the day he's still a creature of bad dreams. Which is why NiGHTS is just badass. Anti-hero for the win.




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