4Gamer: Tell us a little about what you've been working on as a member of the King of Fighters 14 development team after joining SNK.



Hidetoshi Ishizawa (Neo_G): [As Lead Game Designer] I'm in charge of adjusting and fine tuning gameplay on this title. So what I do is go to KoF 14 game designer Watanabe (third from the left in the banner) with ideas like "if we could implement such-and-such thing in this manner, the game will be more interesting." And then Watanabe is the one who'll incorporate that.



Outside of fine tuning gameplay, I also work on adjustments for the new characters. For these characters, what I'd do is suggest play elements that would be fun for fighting game fans. And then similarly, Watanabe would take those ideas, and realize them in a manner that fits the KoF flavor.



4Gamer: As the illustrious Neo_G, from here on out, will you also be working on fighting games other than KoF 14 down the pipeline at SNK?



Hidetoshi Ishizawa (Neo_G): This time around, it just so happened that the title I've been working on is KoF 14. But outside of this title, I think I'm probably going to be working on action game titles.



4Gamer: You mean games like Metal Slug, or Flying Power Disc (a Neo Geo title made by Data East), I suppose? Well, Flying Power Disc isn't owned by SNK, but you catch my drift -- you'll be working on more Neo Geo games?



Hidetoshi Ishizawa (Neo_G): Ah, you could put it that way, I suppose (laughs). Of course, originally my handle name "Neo_G" was derived from SNK's "Neo Geo" platform. With that said, I never thought I'd actually be working on SNK games one day. As we plan on reviving the old SNK namesake, from here on out there's really a lot we'd like to work on. Please look forward to great things from us.



4Gamer: What about you, Oda (KoF14 producer Yasuyuki Oda)? What kinds of requests did you ask of Ishizawa when he joined the development team?



Yasuyuki Oda: Although Ishizawa only joined the team from February of this year, I asked for him to give the game a little extra kick in the fine tuning phase.



4Gamer: Now that you're able to finally announce a release date for KoF 14, is there anything you'd like to say to the readers and fans who're eagerly waiting for the game's release?



Yasuyuki Oda: As it's been a while since the last time we've launched a new game under the SNK brand, right now our number one focus is on servicing our fans and meeting their expectations. From here on out we also plan to work on plenty of stuff that we hope everyone will find fascinating.



4Gamer: [As traditionally each chapter in the KoF saga has been told over three games] Of course, we can expect a KoF 15 and 16 in the future, right?



Yasuyuki Oda: We don't know for sure if that will happen yet (laughs). But with that said, the team absolutely wants to make them.



4Gamer: What about other SNK fighting game franchises like The Last Blade and Fatal Fury?



Yasuyuki Oda: We would absolutely love to make them as well (laughs). Please look forward to our other titles in the future.