In January 1997 interview with game's programmer Yuji Naka and game's art director Naoto Ohshima published in the Sega Magazine, he was told by an interviewer about the game (specifically talking about the original Japanese version based on Fist of the North Star) being a masterpiece on the Master System. He asked Naka if he was asked to make it? He responded:
Ohshima commented on Naka's response, that he had never heard that story before and it made him think "ah hah, so that’s why he wouldn’t let me do the musclemen type characters I’ve wanted to draw for so long."
"No, I didn’t. To tell the truth, Hokuto no Ken wasn’t really my thing. The reason why is really stupid, but in high school I had good friend who I had a falling out with, and this friend loved Hokuto no Ken… so after that experience, I just couldn’t get into it.
I joined Sega when I was 18, and before long they asked me to make Hokuto no Ken… I was like, "seriously?" But I did the programming all the same, and I also created the bosses and henchmen too. The planner gave me a rough outline of what kind of characters they were, and when I got really lost, I would read the relevant parts of the comic. “Oh, I see now… he’s like this.”
So I understand why people think I must love Hokuto no Ken, but that wasn’t the case."
I joined Sega when I was 18, and before long they asked me to make Hokuto no Ken… I was like, "seriously?" But I did the programming all the same, and I also created the bosses and henchmen too. The planner gave me a rough outline of what kind of characters they were, and when I got really lost, I would read the relevant parts of the comic. “Oh, I see now… he’s like this.”
So I understand why people think I must love Hokuto no Ken, but that wasn’t the case."
Ohshima commented on Naka's response, that he had never heard that story before and it made him think "ah hah, so that’s why he wouldn’t let me do the musclemen type characters I’ve wanted to draw for so long."
Contributed by ProtoSnake
In a 1999 commentary with the game's composer Koji Kondo published in the GSLA archive, he stated that when "Ocarina" became the game's title, he decided to try and build the music around one central ocarina melody. Given that the ocarina only has five notes to play, he tried to write the various background themes in different genres (bolero, serenade, etc.) where each one would evoke a "catchy, memorable 3-note ocarina melody". This was the motif around which he created various simple, but distinct melodies, and was very careful to make sure he didn't repeat himself. Kondo then commented:
Kondo also stated the Hyrule Field theme is the main central song, and that he wrote it so that each time you play it, the song structure unfolds in a slightly different way. He also stated that when Link stands still for a while, the song will change to a more relaxed melody, and when enemies come close, the song will get tenser. Since it is a very long game, he tried to think of ways to keep the players from getting bored, and how to make the music evolve with what's happening on-screen. He hoped to continue pursuing this idea for interactive music in future games.
"Game music is different from other genres in that it exists to make the game more enjoyable. In addition, there's a lot of interactive things you can do with game music, which I think is one of its defining traits. A very simple example would be the way the tempo increases when a time limit is running out."
Kondo also stated the Hyrule Field theme is the main central song, and that he wrote it so that each time you play it, the song structure unfolds in a slightly different way. He also stated that when Link stands still for a while, the song will change to a more relaxed melody, and when enemies come close, the song will get tenser. Since it is a very long game, he tried to think of ways to keep the players from getting bored, and how to make the music evolve with what's happening on-screen. He hoped to continue pursuing this idea for interactive music in future games.
Contributed by ProtoSnake
In a 1995 interview with the SNK Sound Team published in Neo Geo Freak Magazine, composers Shimizm and Konny stated that the team wanted to change up the patterns and image of each song, as they had to compose a large number of songs for each game they worked on while also adding something new into the image of earlier versions of songs and also relating to what the game was trying to express. By doing this, they set up a distinct identity for each game, always searching to make things more "real":
Shimizm: "Basically, these are fighting games, and their core is a system of gameplay that I endeavor to match with my music. What is the game itself trying to express…? That's where I look for my themes. For sound effects too, for example, with punches, I try to make them as realistic as possible. I place a lot of importance on that."
Contributed by ProtoSnake
In the Japanese version's commentary with the game's composer Masaharu Iwata, he stated that the "Decisive Battle" felt out of step with the game's historical period. He felt it was more like "a muscle-bound action hero wielding a gatling gun in one hand", instead of wielding sword and sorcery, and apologized if it sounded a little phoned in, adding "I'd do it differently now".
Contributed by ProtoSnake
In the Japanese version's commentary with the game's composer Hitoshi Sakimoto, he joked that he wrote "Bloody Excrement" while he was thinking about the game's protagonist, Mr. Forest Bear, a "pleasant, heartwarming tale of Mr. Bear’s family adventure, that's really never explained", and that his original idea for the song was to make it feel like a pleasant, heartwarming story of Mr. Bear’s family adventure.
Contributed by ProtoSnake
In the Japanese version's commentary with the game's composer Hitoshi Sakimoto, he stated that he'd tried to evoke "the feeling that you were fighting in the midst of mother nature all around you" for "A Chapel".
Contributed by ProtoSnake
In the Japanese version's commentary with the game's composer Hitoshi Sakimoto, he stated that the "Random Waltz" theme was his very first battle theme he wrote, and it served as something like a test for different sampling techniques he wanted to experiment with, which he found very memorable. He also stated that, at the time of this interview, when he thought back on when he wrote the theme, it felt like it was 5 years ago, but it was actually only half a year.
Contributed by ProtoSnake
In the Japanese version's commentary with the game's composer Masaharu Iwata, he stated that the title for "Back Fire" is actually “Chotto Otona no Daakuman” (“A More Mature Darkman”). A few years prior for the game Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together, he composed the last boss theme named “Darkman Abikyoukan” (“Darkman Pandemonium”), which he described as an "up-tempo, kind of insane sounding song" on a level of madness that "Back Fire" couldn't quite reach, hence the title.
Contributed by ProtoSnake
In 2019, Rovio Entertainment pulled the game, alongside several other installments, from digital store shelves without announcement. This drew heavy criticism from fans. Rovio eventually apologized to fans and rereleased the game as a “Rovio Classic” nearly three years later, which was recreated using the Unity engine. The version rereleased resembles the 2012 version.
Contributed by GamerBen144
In a 1993 interview with the game's director/story plan/graphic designer Toru Yoshida published in several shorter pre-release magazines, he was asked how is the game connected to the previous games of the series? He responded:
"It’s a direct continuation of the first two games. PSIII was like a collection of side-stories, but with PSIV, we’re returning to the main storyline, with PSI and PSII forming the historical backdrop. I wanted to make one more game where you get to explore the whole solar system and travel from planet to planet.
When our team made PSII, we were stretched pretty thin, and we couldn’t include all that we had imagined. We felt that leaving the story at PSII, therefore, would have been a real waste, and that’s how the idea for PSIV got started.
Also, PSII’s battle animation system still stands out today, I think. It allowed for really great visual presentation, and again, we thought it would be a huge waste to not revisit it. But PSII and PSIII also had a lot of flaws, and we wanted to fix all that and make a game which players would consider the definitive Phantasy Star. So in that sense, we also saw PSIV as a sort of remake of the best elements of the series."
Contributed by ProtoSnake
In The Last of Us Remastered's commentary with actress Ashley Johnson and director Neil Druckmann, in the scene where Joel found Ellie in the abandoned house, Ashley stated that she improvised by shoving him out of frustration, because she felt emotional reading for the scene where Joel is planning to leave her to Tommy.
Druckmann stated that the team wanted him to remove this scene where Joel is being too cold to Ellie, but he refused because he felt it was important to keep in the scene that Ellie is "being so vulnerable and [Joel is] having these feelings. He's trying to shut it down". Druckmann also commented that when Joel said to Ellie "You're not my daughter", he stated that while that quote is almost an insult, it's the opposite of what he actually feels.
Druckmann stated that the team wanted him to remove this scene where Joel is being too cold to Ellie, but he refused because he felt it was important to keep in the scene that Ellie is "being so vulnerable and [Joel is] having these feelings. He's trying to shut it down". Druckmann also commented that when Joel said to Ellie "You're not my daughter", he stated that while that quote is almost an insult, it's the opposite of what he actually feels.
Contributed by ProtoSnake
In the Japanese version's commentary with the game's composer Masaharu Iwata, he stated that "Run Past Through The Plain" ended up being the third battle theme. He thought that the two previous battle themes were too "in your face", so he decided to create a song with a central melody that sounded more friendly. Eventually it ended up sounding like "something you’d hear at a matsuri (local festival)".
Contributed by ProtoSnake
In the Japanese version's commentary with the game's composer Masaharu Iwata, he stated that the theme for "Unavoidable Battle" was the first battle theme he created. Before "Unavoidable Battle", he created another battle theme before it, but it felt too happy-sounding, so the team rejected it. As he reflected on it, he created "Unavoidable Battle" to be a more pointed, exaggerated song, while the rejected music was re-purposed and used for the Unit Introduction theme, which is played over the opening demo.
Contributed by ProtoSnake
In The Last of Us Remastered's commentary with director Neil Druckmann, he stated that Jeffrey Pierce originally auditioned for the role of Joel, which ultimately ended up being given to Troy Baker instead. When the team began finding someone to cast as Tommy, they called Pierce back in and were impressed with his performance, landing him the role of Tommy. Baker stated that he felt a chemistry between himself and Pierce that made for a sense of realism in Joel and Tommy's relationship.
Druckmann also stated that Ashley Scott was originally intended to play Tess instead of Maria, and that there were no auditions for either of those characters.
Druckmann also stated that Ashley Scott was originally intended to play Tess instead of Maria, and that there were no auditions for either of those characters.
Contributed by ProtoSnake
During a livestream hosted by voice actresses Maggie Robinson and Nicole Tompkins, who both voice Daniela and Lady Dimitrescu respectively, they requested the game's modding community to make a flower crown for Cassandra Dimitrescu's character model as a commemoration to the character's voice actress Jeanette Maus, who passed away from colon cancer before the game's release.
In June of 2022, a cosmetic nameplate to commemorate the holiday Juneteenth was released but received much backlash due to a secondary palette for the nameplate being named, "Bonobo". The bonobo is a type of great ape, and many saw it as a racist connotation in association with the holiday. The nameplate was quickly renamed "Freedom", and an apology was issued, with 343 Industries' senior community manager John Junyszek later stating that the palette name originated from an asset-editing program commonly used at the studio, although it was not used in the development of Halo Infinite.
In a 1991 commentary with the game's composer Nobuo Uematsu published in the FFIV Minimum Album Liner Notes, he stated that the unreleased track "The Sea of Silence" was planned for the Moon overworld map, but the scenery didn't exactly match so it got scrapped, much to Uematsu's dismay as he was fond of the song.
Contributed by ProtoSnake
In a 1991 commentary with the game's composer Nobuo Uematsu published in the FFIV Minimum Album Liner Notes, he stated that in early plans for the game, the team wanted to use the unreleased track "Rosa o Sukue! (Save Rosa!)" aka "Restless Moments" for a scene where you had to save Rosa within a time limit or a game over would occur; this scene would appear in the final game in the Tower of Zot without this song.
Contributed by ProtoSnake
In a 1991 commentary with the game's composer Nobuo Uematsu published in the FFIV Minimum Album Liner Notes, he stated that the unreleased track "The Origin" was the first song he composed for the game, and described the song as setting the tone for the rest of the pieces that came after. He also stated that it was originally intended to be the opening introduction theme, but "Red Wings" was chosen instead.
Contributed by ProtoSnake
In an interview with creative lead Patrice Desilets, he confirmed that the DLC was originally planned to be part of the main game.
"So we said, 'Okay, let's take a portion of the game that was planned and we'll give it in DLC.' We'll remove some stress to the team while giving more to fans and people who like Assassin's Creed."
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