Interview with Yasuyuki Oda - Producer for SNK Heroines: Tag Team Frenzy

Recently I had the fortunate chance to interview Yasuyuki Oda-san (through a translator) for the build to the release of SNK Heroines: Tag Team Frenzy, a fighting game taking the female roster of characters of the King of Fighters’ franchise in to a more lighthearted fighting game.

GameGrin: Have you been doing much travelling lately? With SNK Heroines coming out soon, I assume you’ve been going around and attending events.

Translator: Yes, actually [Oda-san’s] stomach hurts a little bit [laughs]. [Oda-san] had a pretty nice dinner last night, might have been a little too much for [Oda-san].

GameGrin: Well speaking of food, let’s just jump to that, a weird question that I ask is what food would best describe you?

Translator: Onigiri.

GameGrin: Do you have a favourite onigiri?

Translator: Salmon flakes.

GameGrin: Ah okay, just to go back to games. With the game coming out early September, what do you hope your western audiences get out of SNK Heroines when it’s out?

Translator: Well there’s two things, the battle system is a 2v2 battle system. That’s unlike anything else, obviously unlike anything that’s come out of SNK. But honestly, not a lot like anything else others have come out with. That’s the first thing [Oda-san] would like people to pay attention to. Now the second thing is the customisation people can do, there’s over 130 items people can use to customise their characters. And then you can take like funny pictures in-game with them, and you can share them on social media and things like that, so [Oda-san] really hopes people will really enjoy that feature, and enjoy taking fun and crazy pictures that they can throw up on social media. And you know, have conversations about all that.

GameGrin: Do you have any favourite customisation load outs then?

Translator: You can change the background of the game as well, and in one of the backgrounds you can change is the SNK offices. [Laughs] [Oda-san] really likes that one, there’s ones where you can see people peeking out of it. [Oda-san] thinks that one’s really funny.

GameGrin: Do you have any favourite characters?

Translator: Shermie, it’s been a while since Shermie’s come out.

GameGrin: Is there any other game or franchise you’d like to work on? And is there anything specific about that series?

Translator: Samurai Shodown. If possible [Laughs]. It’s because it’s so different from other fighting games, where it’s weapon based. Whenever you land an attack, you lose so much of your stamina meter. And it’s one of the only games really, where having that big of a damage is allowed. So for example, [Oda-san] thinks people be really upset and there’d be a lot of complaints from [players] about it.

GameGrin: Ah, mid fight you just lose all your stamina [power down noise]. With other games in general, I know with SNK you tend to have other stuff coming into it. Is there any franchise that’s possible beyond the scope of the game that’d you like to include in it?

Translator: [Oda-san] there’s a lot of franchises out there, but there’s really nothing [Oda-san] can say, or really wants to say right now, about that kind of stuff. Good question but yeah.

GameGrin: Ahh, too early to ask that question.

Translator: Just a little too early.

GameGrin: Sticking to fighting games, this year has been pretty much the year of fighting games. Is there any games that’s gotten you excited? And do you think we’ll see SNK Heroines be at events like EVO? Or do you think it’ll be more of an at home kind of game?

Translator: Two games, Dragon Ball FighterZ and Fighting EX Layer. And both actually, in terms of EVO it might be a side stage tournament where, you know where more games are allowed. But it’s really a game that lends itself to both, where you can play it casually with yourself at home but it can also be played at a tournament setting as well.

GameGrin: How easy do think it is for someone who’s not into fighting games or the franchise to pick up?Do you have any recommended characters for beginners?

Translator: Absolutely, it’s a really good game for beginners to get into fighting games [Oda-san recommends] Leona [Heidern] and Yuri [Sakazaki] for newbies [Chuckles].

GameGrin: With SNK Heroines, it kinda came out of a surprise in an almost revival kind of a way. Do you think that this might get more attention to the King of Fighter series and make it part of the big names like Street Fighter and Tekken?

Translator: Yeah, that’s actually what they’re aiming for, to be on top of that heap again. [Oda-san] says I hopes people will look forward to their work going forward in this arena.

GameGrin: Do you think, in terms of taking characters and taking them out of that setting, that we’ll see a spin-off involving characters from SNK Heroines or even King of Fighters in general? Or even possibly in a different medium.

Translator: Actually there’s a lot of stuff going on for that, for example King of Fighters has one that’s like a 3D anime. It’s mainly centred, I don’t want to say broadcasted, but it’s like mainly in Asia, particularly in Japan, China, Hong Kong. They’re really big on it, in Japan it’s called a Media Mix.

GameGrin: So it’s like an OVA format? [OVA (Original Viewing Aired) is the japanese equivalent of straight to physical format, in some cases these are special limited releases] Is there any chance we'd see it in the West?

Translator: Yeah, kind of like that. [Oda-san] would love for someone to do that for them, they really don’t have the means to do that. In Japan this series will be released in a Tankobon format. [Tankobon is when chapters of a series, typically from a serialised format, are reprinted as a collection, IE Volume X of Series Y]

GameGrin: Recently we’ve seen a rise of superheroes, with Marvel and DC releasing big budget movies, has that pop culture influenced SNK Heroines? Like the name Heroines and even the costume designs.

Translator: Basically, [Oda-san] says it looks like that is because set in a magical world, so that’s how the characters ended up [looking like that]. It’s not so much playing off the superhero genre, it’s more because it’s playing off the magical world setting.

GameGrin: Do you think any of the characters would become that superhero type?

Translator: Athena [Asamiya], she’s always kind of been a superhero. Even in her old games.

GameGrin: I’m just curious about that hooded figure, I’m not super clued up with the SNK franchise, but that dark hood, looking over the shoulder. I’m super curious.

Translator: In the game, there’s a story. If you play the game, you find out who that figure is and what their purpose. So please look forward to that.

GameGrin: For the story mode, will just be constant battle after battle, or will be seeing cinematics? And what type of story will we see?

Translator: There are about two or three CG cutscenes, and between battles there’s a story talking sequences. [And] definitely more on the fun and lighthearted side of things.

GameGrin: With the production side, how hard was it to bring it to Switch? Originally it was meant for PS4, but it was then brought over to Switch.

Translator: [Oda-san] says honestly developing both was difficult, they were both challenging on the development side.

GameGrin: With the Switch being such a huge success, do you think we’ll see your next game or even King of Fighters being on Switch? I'm sure fans will expect more quite eagerly.

Translator: Yeah absolutely, we’d definitely like to see more. Even for example, there’s a game coming called SNK 40th Anniversary Collection which will also be coming out on Switch. At the moment, there’s no further plans specifically for it, but please look forward to future announcements.

GameGrin: Ah tight lipped again [Laughs]. I’m just curious, in Japan, Media Mix is a big thing. We’ve seen it with a lot of idol based franchises with the most recent one that comes to mind being Uma Musume. Do you think Media Mixes work in the West or do think it’s a very Eastern thing?

Translator: [Oda-san] says it’s more a matter of, in Asia, a lot of companies will approach them to do Media Mix stuff. Whereas in the west the idea, it’s like you’ve said, it’s not really caught on as much. [Oda-san] feels that going forward, more companies in the west will be more interested in doing that method of dealing with brand and that it might increase going into the future.

GameGrin: That’s really interesting, I didn’t expect it to be a company saying “we’d like to work with you on this product” and not the other way around of asking to work on a title.

Translator: Yeah, as surprising as it may be, it’s pretty much always the opposite with using a company’s character.

GameGrin: Is there any Media Mixes that are super successful and you’d try or would like replicate?

Translator: Fukaron Setsu two, in Japan. It was extremely success and [Oda-san] would like to see something like that again.

GameGrin: Sticking with anime, is there any anime you’re a fan of or currently watching?

Translator: The first season just ended, [Oda-san] has been watching Golden Kamui. [Oda-san] thinks it’s probably in Japan. Golden Kamui, go check it out.

GameGrin: I’ll hops onto Crunchyroll afterwards and watch it in the lounge downstairs [laugh]. I know quite a few games in Japan have received an anime, one that comes to mind is God Eater which lasted for a year in terms of its release schedule. Do you think King of Fighters or SNK Heroines has enough content to turn into a long form media?

Translator: Yeah definitely, [Oda-san] says there’s enough content there. Maybe not one year [Laughs]. It would probably follow the comic, where there’s a tournament setting, there’s a couple matches and something happens, and then they all come together, and solve whatever mystery happens, that’s probably what would happen.

GameGrin: Damn, still no details [Laughs].

Translator: Well that’s what would happen if they were to do it, this is all hypothetical. It’s in the manga too, so unless you read Japanese, that’s pretty much what the manga is all about.

GameGrin: Just going back to crossovers and how you’re not talking about characters going into the game. What characters would go into other games? Something like Fire Emblem and Persona making Tokyo Mirage, where they made a spin off game.I am curious if you have a franchise you'd like to work with.

Translator: [Oda-san] would definitely like to do an action RPG, if they were to do anything like Tokyo Mirage. Personally, [Oda-san] would like to work with Kamen Rider. That’s because [Oda-san] is personally a fan of the series.

GameGrin: Would you even be interested in making a Kamen Rider game?

Translator: The thing with Kamen Rider is that, every year it changes and they make a new one. Basically there’s a rule where, if they make a game on it, it has to be within the current season. Or else, if it doesn’t come within that season, it stops. So the schedule is incredibly tight [Oda-san] says. But, if [Oda-san] was allowed to make any Kamen Rider on any series in the past, without having to worry about any of that time constraint, [Oda-san] would love to give it a try.

GameGrin: Is there a Kamen Rider series that's your favourite? And why?

Translator: There was one called Kamen Rider Agito, which is from 2001, which [Oda-san] is a particular fan of. It’s always been a children’s program, but from the early 2000s they decided to switch things up and make it more geared towards adults. However, for the 2000 year, they went way too far with into that direction. And it was actually too scary for kids to watch, so they had to pull it back and that’s when they found a nice balance between the more children’s thing and adult thing.

GameGrin: I know with Kamen Rider there’s some really out there costumes, is there any or has any of the customisations been influenced to look like Kamen Rider in SNK Heroines or references to other medias, that maybe, fans would be able to find?

Translator: [Oda-san] says that it’s not so much in the items, or items that could be made into looking like Kamen Rider. But in terms of the special moves, there’s some that look like that, it’s not so much that it’s homage to it, but it just ended up looking like that. [But] Probably not, at least the very least [Oda-san] knows they didn’t intentional set out to do that with any part of the game. Anything in the game is purely incidental.

GameGrin: Is there anything you kind of you grew up with in terms of gaming that has influenced you into making these types of games?

Translator: [Oda-san] says honestly because [Oda-san] has been playing games for so long, and so widely that there’s not necessarily any games that [Oda-san] uses as a set of references. [Oda-san] just loves games overall as a medium, so [Oda-san] just has that background of knowledge playing so many games.

GameGrin: Do you have any favourite genres?

Translator: Recently [Oda-san] has been really into open-world games. Most recently Assassin’s Creed Origins for example, [Oda-san] really liked that. I brought it up, and [Oda-san] confirmed that he likes Horizon Zero Dawn, [Oda-san] really liked that as well.

GameGrin: That’s really interesting to know that even Western games orientated games are something you enjoy. Is there type of game do you think Japanese players should play more of and vice versa? Kind of like an exchange.

Translator: Yeah, generally speaking, those types of games don’t become hits in Japan. He thinks that Japan is a little behind in terms of, you know, appreciating games like that. Infamous Second Son [for Japanese players], and to answer the second part of your question Zelda Breath of the Wild [Oda-san] would probably recommend for the opposite.

GameGrin: In Japan, there’s a very rich gaming culture. Is there anything that’s made you gone “I’m really glad I’m part of this culture change” or like a change in genre or mechanic that’s redefined a game like fighting games having a special meter instead of just combos.

Translator: Yeah there’s one, it’s being able to cancel your supers. In Fatal Fury 2 and Mark of the Wolves, [Oda-san] said that you can notice that afterwards they implemented that, afterwards [Oda-san] ended up seeing that on a lot of different fighting games. So that’d be the one for [Oda-san].

GameGrin: In terms of changes, do you think we’re seeing a real shift to how games are being produced and received by audiences?

Translator: Probably the biggest thing in the market is that there’s so much free to play, but you can’t just make a game for free. You have to monetize it somehow, developers have to be really careful in terms of how they do end up monetising their game. Because if you do add some kind of gambling system, then it’s honestly not a game. [Oda-san] says it’s just gambling. So that’s something that developers really need to pay attention to.

GameGrin: Just sticking with the gambling, I know in Japan they had the gacha system and how that used to be a bigger problem back when it was fixed rates or something like that. How much do Japanese people pay attention to Western media? Like recently we’ve seen a push back against loot boxes and that was a talking point for quite some time.

Translator: There’s definitely an awareness for that kind of thing, what made it so noticeable is that, if you do it on console, it’s complete different in terms of reception anywhere. Whereas on mobile, there’s like an acceptance.

GameGrin: Just to stick with mobile, where do you think gaming is going in like the next 3 to 5 years?

Translator: Three things [Oda-san] think, one we’ll see is the proliferation of streaming games. The second is that the amount of people who’ll buy digital instead of physical will increase, and the number of people who buy physical will decrease.

GameGrin: Wouldn’t that be a massive market change? I noticed when I went to Tokyo and Kyoto, there was a massive market of second hand market for instance. Do you think it would be that big a shift in Japan?

Translator: [Oda-san] thinks that Japan is definitely behind in terms of the trend because the games market is so small that they need to catch up to everybody else. Or else that market is going to disappear entirely.

GameGrin: When you say it’s small, is like a shrinking market or was a small market that everyone that operated within that market was able to make it sustainable?

Translator: [Oda-san] says it’s more that it’s always been small and kept at that same rate without so much decreasing.

GameGrin: I know in Japan there’s a really big arcade culture, and I read that SNK Heroines is going to be getting an arcade version. Do you think that arcades are very Japanese? Because we don’t have any of them like Sega Tower, we do have Namco Arcade here, but it doesn’t compare to Akihabara or Ikebukuro.

Translator: Yeah maybe not in the West, but [Oda-san] thinks that in Japan arcade culture will continue. [Oda-san] doesn’t expect it to get bigger but [Oda-san] says that it should be able to maintain what it is right now.

GameGrin: From an outsider’s perspective, what do you think makes arcade culture so unique to Japan? Do you think it’s a case of arcades themselves or a work/lifestyle thing?

Translator: [Oda-san] brings up two examples, one is that people who like competitive games, they want to do it in that setting. You know the screen’s like bigger and a really nice set up for it. So [Oda-san] think’s that’s one reason. Another reason is that, card type games are really popular in Japan. And the only way you can get them, is to go to the arcade to purchase them.

GameGrin: Are there any arcade stands that have caught your eye that are currently in Japan? And what do you think makes them so entertaining?

Translator: [Oda-san] says there’s one, there’s a new cabinet style, that’s made by Taito, called NESiCAxLive 2 that’s got like King of Fighters 14 too. There’s two things that make it interesting, there’s multiple makers in it so you can switch games. And the second is that you can actually do, there’s almost like online play with other people who play the game.

GameGrin: Do you have any fond memories from arcades or any of the games you played?

Translator: [Oda-san] remembers when he was elementary school, [Oda-san] couldn’t really get to go into the arcades at the time. There was one small shop near his place that had three different games and he remembers going often and having fun. [Oda-san] says they’d switch out the games often, but one thing [Oda-san] had no cognisant of the time was copies. There was at the time a lot of copies, so you had the real Donkey Kong. But you also had Donkey King, Crazy Kong, and Crazy King [Laughs]. [Oda-san] really enjoyed playing them and beating them.

GameGrin: Is there anything in the arcade you’d like to implement? Like with Gundam have their giant pod booths to pilot them, and KanColle had a wheel to control your fleet.

Translator: So there was a SEGA game a long time ago that used like a Ferrari pod, like thing. It had a bunch of screens that were arranged, and [Oda-san] would like to see a more realistic version of that.

GameGrin: I know in Japan they’re doing like a Mario Kart using VR, where you get to take the mushrooms and throw the shells. Is VR something that’d you like to work on?

Translator: [Oda-san] says he worked on something like a long time ago, one that allowed you to simulate a Gundam cockpit and you got to shoot and do things like that. It was like a demo, but [Oda-san] has always liked VR. It was a long time ago, VR is expensive but back then it was really expensive. It was so expensive that it could only be a demo.

GameGrin: With VR being more of thing, do you think you could make that a reality?

Translator: Yeah that’d be great, but Gundam is Bandai’s property. So [Oda-san would] like them to do it actually, [Oda-san] would like them to make those types of games.

GameGrin: Would you want to work with Bandai though?

Translator: Yeah if it’s possible, [Oda-san] would like to do that.

GameGrin: Do you have any favourite series? Or is there any Gundam game you’d like to make or remake? I know there was a Gundam fighting-esque game on the Game Boy.

Translator: Yeah Iron Blooded Orphans is the one [Oda-san] likes. There’s nothing he’d like to remake, honestly the old ones were so heavily based on the anime that they ended up not being great games. But now they’ve finally actually started making good Gundam games.

And with that, our interview wrapped up shortly after. A thank you to NIS America and Reef Media for arranging this, and for Yasuyuki Oda-san answering my list of questions. SNK Heroines: Tag Team Frenzy is set to launch September 7.