4Gamer.net Yu Suzuki Interview

[Switch]

4Gamer.net interviews annually celebrities from the gaming industry, asking each one questions on the retrospective of that year and future aspirations, and Yu Suzuki was one of the 149 celebrities interviewed this year. There are four questions asked for each celebrity, and here is Yu Suzuki's part of the interview, published on December 28:

*As Japanese is not my forte, I'll not attempt to translate the questions and answers word by word (Switch or Axm can absolutely do a better job than me). I'll do my best with my basic knowledge of the language and whatever software translator I can conjure up, so sorry for any possible mistakes on translating the following.



The first question is basically about what game most impressed Yu in 2016.

His answer was that because of the development of Shenmue 3, he didn't have time to play anything. But given what he saw in TGS, he liked the in-game colors from "Horizon Zero Dawn", the control mechanics from "God of War" and the UI and effects from "Assassin's Creed". Yu also mentions having ordered "Final Fantasy XV".



The second question is about Yu's opinion on the most impressive piece of entertainment released in 2016.

Yu answers that he has been focused on watching Chinese and South Korean period movies and dramas, because of Shenmue. He then cites the Chinese movies "Reign of Assassins" (2010) and "The Grandmaster" (2013), praising and repeatedly re-watching the techniques and sense of speed used in those action titles for research.
As for 2016, Yu mentions the Japanese blockbuster hits "Shin Godzilla" and the anime movie "Your Name", describing "Shin Godzilla" as giving off a sense of Japanese cultural pride and "Your Name" a representation of pure love in this day and age.



The third question asks of Yu to name a person or people that he's been following (in the news) in 2016.

He names Japanese table tennis player Jun Mizutani, and billiards players Jeffrey Ignacio and Naoyuki Oi.



For the last question, it's asked what is Yu's aspirations for 2017 and a message for the 4Gamer readers.

Yu mentions Shenmue 3, as research and development advances, it reached the point where you can imagine the final image of the various elements coming together in the game. Yu has many things he'd like to share with us, like characters, environments and mini games, but he will do so in a gradual manner going forward in 2017. He asks all of us to continue supporting the project.

Source: http://www.4gamer.net/games/000/G000000 ... #ys_suzuki

[Yokosuka]

I'm always embarrassed to see Yu having to deal with relative mediocrity in recent pop culture. Hopefully he has still kept his perspective ability and manages to follow his very own way.

[Switch]

*As Japanese is not my forte, I'll not attempt to translate the questions and answers word by word (Switch or Axm can absolutely do a better job than me).

Not at all - you're being too modest! Great job.

I've just put up a direct translation on my blog, so I'll just the link here in case anyone is interested - but all the points are already in sand4fish's translation above.
http://www.phantomriverstone.com/2016/12/yu-suzuki-comments-on-past-coming-year.html

[mjq jazz bar]

That's interesting that he's interested in playing Final Fantasy XV. I've not played it, but people have told me there are some aspects reminiscent of Shenmue. Also, it's using the same engine as Shenmue III, right?

[Karimov]

when you look at the photo you can clearly see that he misses the glass. he sits relax and watching the view



jokes aside horizon zero dawn and god of war a re a good thing to get inspired by. assassins creed as well. i shouldnt expect too much but if he really goes for that i can expect a good game.

[Spaghetti]

Also, it's using the same engine as Shenmue III, right?

It's using an internal Square Enix engine, though going forward their Japan division is going to be using UE4 (FF7R, Kingdom Hearts 3, Dragon Quest XI already confirmed to be using the engine).
----------------

As for the interview itself, it does seem to reiterate what we already know in that 2017 should be the year Shenmue III starts coming together fully. It makes me curious how the Kickstarter materials are going to be handled, but I expect it may take a couple months to build up to something more openly presentable.

[Rikitatsu]

Thanks for translating this!

The Grandmaster,huh... I hope the game won't end up full of slo-mo scenes, really dislike that shit.

[Switch]

Well, I guess I'll be plunking down the $3.99 to rent The Grandmaster & $4.99 to rent Reign of Assassins on Amazon Prime.

Also... is he just a fan in general of billiards and table tennis? Or can we expect those to show up in the game?

Thanks for the excellent translations, both of you.

[Switch]

Also... is he just a fan in general of billiards and table tennis? Or can we expect those to show up in the game?

Thanks for the excellent translations, both of you.

Thank you. About table tennis Yu mentioned before enjoying to watch matches whenever he can (as seen in the translation also done by Switch on a previous 4Gamer interview), and as for billiards...

Not at all - you're being too modest! Great job.
I've just put up a direct translation on my blog, so I'll just the link here in case anyone is interested - but all the points are already in sand4fish's translation above.
http://www.phantomriverstone.com/2016/12/yu-suzuki-comments-on-past-coming-year.html

Thank you. I was really stressed out about getting the exact meaning behind his words wrong. There are certain nuances in language you only get once you hit a really high level of proficiency (and English is not even my native language lol), so kudos to you for always presenting to us a consistent and clear awesome translation job!

[Himuro]

Those movies he mentioned are solid. I actually remember being a bit disappointed with The Grandmaster. I wonder what Yu thinks of modern Chinese cinema. It's not as good as it used to be in the martial arts category though there's still some bright spots, of course. A lot of the ones that are most hyped from around that period like Legend of the Fist were kind of all over the place in quality. Reign of Assassin's is much better than The Grandmaster. South Korean film is the tits, though.

[Switch]

I was really stressed out about getting the exact meaning behind his words wrong.

I know what you mean, it's a bit of a mixture of art and science to try to read the intention behind the words.

[sand4fish]

Those movies he mentioned are solid. I actually remember being a bit disappointed with The Grandmaster. I wonder what Yu thinks of modern Chinese cinema. It's not as good as it used to be in the martial arts category though there's still some bright spots, of course. A lot of the ones that are most hyped from around that period like Legend of the Fist were kind of all over the place in quality. Reign of Assassin's is much better than The Grandmaster. South Korean film is the tits, though.

There are like 3 versions of The Grandmaster. I highly enjoyed the original Chinese domestic release, as it focused on the mood of its characters (as it's a known trait from the director's past works) rather than on the action sequences. The international version was trimmed down for a more action flick focus. BTW, Yu Suzuki must have set a particular interest on this movie because of a certain character who is a master at Bajiquan, an art in which Yu personally practiced and the one Akira Yuki from VF uses.

I agree with you on the South Korean movies. Some of the best movies I watched this year were korean movies like Train To Busan and The Wailing, although none were of martial arts related genre.

[Himuro]

There are like 3 versions of The Grandmaster. I highly enjoyed the original Chinese domestic release, as it focused on the mood of its characters (as it's a known trait from the director's past works) rather than on the action sequences. The international version was trimmed down for a more action flick focus.

I...did not know this.

I'll have to check it out again. Thanks for the heads up! So the international release is another Red Cliff? A trimmed down, bastardized version of the full length film? Why do they keep doing that?

[sand4fish]

There are like 3 versions of The Grandmaster. I highly enjoyed the original Chinese domestic release, as it focused on the mood of its characters (as it's a known trait from the director's past works) rather than on the action sequences. The international version was trimmed down for a more action flick focus.

I...did not know this.

I'll have to check it out again. Thanks for the heads up! So the international release is another Red Cliff? A trimmed down, bastardized version of the full length film? Why do they keep doing that?

They mainly do that because such movies carry a heavy historical baggage that most foreigners may find either too confusing or too dragging, while it's mostly a common history knowledge among the native audience. It would be like showing an American Civil war themed movie to an international audience. Certain historical nuances are never explained to the general public because most Americans know about it, but to an international market they would feel lost watching certain portions of the movie. So that's the main reason for the trimming, and the general public cares mostly about having a quick action fix anyway.

[Switch]

About this part that Yu mentioned in the interview:

Of the games I saw at the Tokyo Game Show, [...] control of the sidekick character in God of War was very interesting.

I'm guessing he was referring to the main character's son, who apparently will be able to be called up to assist in battles (GameRant):

Shroff also gave insight into the role that Kratos’ son will play in the game, explaining that he’d be much more than a passive character. According to Shroff, there will be a “son button” that can summon Kratos’ son into battle as an active combatant. Both Kratos and his son will be upgradable and Shroff hints that the son is a fundamental part of the combat system, “as the game progresses you can expect to see the son fighting toe to toe with Kratos taking out enemies on his own.”

Perhaps he was interested to see how it compares with the Character Perspective system in Shenmue III.