Trivia Browser
▲
3
▼
Felix the Cat, the new playable character announced alongside the Kickstarter campaign for the game's story mode DLC RULE of Inverse Ninjas, was decided through a Twitter poll. The other three characters on the poll were The Continental Op (a private investigator character created by Dashiell Hammett in 1923 whose copyright expired in 2019), Gnorm Gnat (an insect character created by Jim Davis prior to Garfield who entered the public domain as a result of his original comics not having a copyright notice), and Tarcis the Lover (a joke slot seemingly originating from a dating simulator made by this game's co-developer Trainwreck Studios, and that voting for was actively discouraged by the developers).
Twitter poll and joke slot discouragement:
https://twitter.com/InverseNinjas/status/1769566363029500056
https://twitter.com/InverseNinjas/status/1769566860343964112
Kickstarter link featuring Felix announcement:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/herosoftgames/rule-of-inverse-ninjas-inverse-ninjas-story-mode
https://twitter.com/InverseNinjas/status/1769566363029500056
https://twitter.com/InverseNinjas/status/1769566860343964112
Kickstarter link featuring Felix announcement:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/herosoftgames/rule-of-inverse-ninjas-inverse-ninjas-story-mode
▲
3
▼
During Palworld's development, Pocket Pair hired over forty additional employees on a budget of one billion yen. Some of the staff hired notably came about under varied circumstances. For example, the character animator (despite having no prior industry experience) was hired by Takuro Mizobe after seeing his works on YouTube, where he posted combat animation videos and fan content based on the game Girls' Frontline as a hobbyist animator. Likewise, the director applied for the role during a Twitter recruitment run despite already lining up for a position at NetEase at the time. Finally, the main character designer for the game's Pals was initially rejected during a separate recruitment drive dedicated to finding illustrators that occurred in October 2020, but was ultimately hired after reapplying in February 2021.
▲
3
▼
In a 2019 interview with Game Center CX host Arino Kacho, director and series creator Shigesato Itoi revealed that Ninten's asthma was inspired by his own experiences with the disease. According to Itoi, he would often play video games late at night while trying to fall asleep sitting up, as lying down would induce severe coughing fits. This resulted in him developing an interest in making a game with Nintendo, to whom he felt "indebted" for keeping him busy during a difficult part of his routine. Once development on Mother started, Ninten's asthma was one of the first traits that Itoi came up with. Itoi stated:"I wanted a weak hero. The main character in Mother has asthma, and his dad is never around. That was the setup I had in mind when wondering what kind of adventure story I could make."
subdirectory_arrow_right Good-Feel (Company)
▲
3
▼
Good-Feel being the development company behind Princess Peach: Showtime! was not officially revealed until the day before the game's release, where it was discovered via the game's credits. It was also revealed through the credits that the game had been directed by Good-Feel president Etsunobu Ebisu, who had not directed a game since Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon in 1997. Two weeks prior to this, however, Good-Feel's involvement was leaked via the code from the game's demo version. When asked who the development company was, Nintendo merely stated that it would be revealed in the game's credits.
Good-Feel confirmation:
https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/princess-peach-showtime-is-goemon-designers-first-directorial-role-in-over-25-years/
Initial leak:
https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2024/03/princess-peach-showtime-developer-seemingly-revealed-in-demos-code
Nintendo statement:
https://www.eurogamer.net/nintendo-says-to-wait-for-princess-peach-showtimes-credits-to-find-out-which-developer-made-it
https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/princess-peach-showtime-is-goemon-designers-first-directorial-role-in-over-25-years/
Initial leak:
https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2024/03/princess-peach-showtime-developer-seemingly-revealed-in-demos-code
Nintendo statement:
https://www.eurogamer.net/nintendo-says-to-wait-for-princess-peach-showtimes-credits-to-find-out-which-developer-made-it
Franchise: Angry Birds
▲
3
▼
During development of "The Angry Birds Movie 2", it was decided to break away from the original source material by having the birds and the pigs end their conflict and team up against a greater threat. This was done both in an effort to surprise audiences with a new experience involving the same characters, and as part of an attempt to outdo what was done in the first film thanks to the unprecedented level of freedom that the change made available to them. According to actor Josh Gad, the production team went forward with it not only because they thought the idea was "ingenious", but also because it would be most appropriate given the increasingly polarized political climate at the time, stating:
While not explicitly stated, it's speculated that this change in the story may have also been made in response to theories that its preceding film, "The Angry Birds Movie", contained thinly-veiled political and anti-immigration undertones as an allegory on the European refugee crisis, most notably with the portrayal of the pigs being unintentionally similar to Arab and Muslim terrorist stereotypes. However, it is not likely this was intended by the film's producers as the pigs were actually inspired by the 2009 swine flu epidemic during the original game's development, on top of there being antagonistic, invasive, and explosives-based elements in the pigs and their weaponry dating back to the first game that are crucial to the series' gameplay and story concept, albeit in a less developed state than they are shown in the film.
"The movie has some amazing messaging in it, not the least of which is overcoming differences with people you disagree with in order to find a common ground, which I think speaks to a lot of issues we’re dealing with right now."
While not explicitly stated, it's speculated that this change in the story may have also been made in response to theories that its preceding film, "The Angry Birds Movie", contained thinly-veiled political and anti-immigration undertones as an allegory on the European refugee crisis, most notably with the portrayal of the pigs being unintentionally similar to Arab and Muslim terrorist stereotypes. However, it is not likely this was intended by the film's producers as the pigs were actually inspired by the 2009 swine flu epidemic during the original game's development, on top of there being antagonistic, invasive, and explosives-based elements in the pigs and their weaponry dating back to the first game that are crucial to the series' gameplay and story concept, albeit in a less developed state than they are shown in the film.
General info:
https://www.cartoonbrew.com/feature-film/interview-angry-birds-2-director-and-producer-on-defying-the-franchises-video-game-origins-178262.html
Josh Gad statement:
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/josh-gad-new-cast-additions-political-messages-angry-birds-movie-2-1230727
2010 Ville Heijari interview with pig origin:
http://www.pocketgamer.co.uk/r/Various/Angry+Birds/news.asp?c=24243
Film trailer review highlighting various political undertone theories:
https://www.vulture.com/2016/05/angry-birds-about-trump-probably-not.html
https://www.cartoonbrew.com/feature-film/interview-angry-birds-2-director-and-producer-on-defying-the-franchises-video-game-origins-178262.html
Josh Gad statement:
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/josh-gad-new-cast-additions-political-messages-angry-birds-movie-2-1230727
2010 Ville Heijari interview with pig origin:
http://www.pocketgamer.co.uk/r/Various/Angry+Birds/news.asp?c=24243
Film trailer review highlighting various political undertone theories:
https://www.vulture.com/2016/05/angry-birds-about-trump-probably-not.html
▲
3
▼
Tetsuya Nomura had requested for the character Oswald the Lucky Rabbit to be used in Kingdom Hearts III, but Disney responded that he would be "too difficult" to use, though they never clarified why. While his plans for Oswald had he been added to the game are unknown, it's worth noting that Nomura has admitted that Oswald is one of his favorite Disney characters.
▲
3
▼
Dan Arey, a former Crystal Dynamics and Naughty Dog developer who worked on the second and third games in the series, praised the first game in a 1996 Retro Gamer magazine interview. Prior to joining Naughty Dog, he talked about how the game maintained its unique identity in the world of 3D platformers, even when faced with the groundbreaking influence of Super Mario 64. Arey emphasized that while Super Mario 64 embraced open-ended levels, programmer Andy Gavin and director Jason Rubin designed Crash Bandicoot to adhere to a more old-school, level-based structure while adding 3D depth to its platforming challenges by "going down 3D roads with occasional 2D side-wave elements, but everything was very focussed in terms of mechanics". Arey also expressed admiration for the game's technical achievements even before he joined Naughty Dog, which likely soon motivated him to do so:
"We saw some early demos when I was at Crystal Dynamics, and we were asking ourselves how they were getting so many polygons on the PlayStation. What they had done was pre-calculate the polygons you couldn't see from a fixed-camera viewpoint, so it looked like there were many more polygons being pushed on the system than ever before."
subdirectory_arrow_right Five Nights at Freddy's (Franchise)
▲
3
▼
"Five Nights at Freddy's: Survival Crew" is an upcoming Roblox game made in direct collaboration with Scott Cawthon, himself a fan of Roblox and playing it regularly with his children. However, due to miscommunication between Scott and the game's developer, Metaverse Team Frights, regarding one of the game's skins, a beta version of the game was accidentally released on December 20, 2023. The game was set to private two hours afterwards.
▲
3
▼
An earlier logo for Star Fox 64 found within the 2020 Nintendo Gigaleak seems to indicate that its subtitle was, at one point, going to be "The Cosmic Crisis".
▲
3
▼
Star Fox 64's development began with a series of experiments by character designer Takaya Imamura and programmer Kazuaki Morita. As Morita was new to 3D programming, creating something entirely new was difficult, and to make matters worse, they didn't have the final N64 hardware itself to work with, instead having to utilize a bulky dev computer and a modified SNES controller. The pair decided to begin development by porting the original Star Fox, which they thought would be better for easing into 3D. As this was Morita's first attempt at learning 3D, he began with inputting his own data and placing objects like cubes on a course, and then launched basic-looking Arwings. This prototype was affectionately named "Star Box".
User's translation of Star Fox 64 developer interview from official Japanese guidebook:
https://www.reddit.com/r/starfox/comments/x938ib/behold_an_attempt_at_translating_an_interview/
Nintendo Dream Star Fox Adventures interview:
https://shmuplations.com/starfoxadventures/
General SF64 development timeline overview:
https://tcrf.net/Prerelease:Star_Fox_64
https://www.reddit.com/r/starfox/comments/x938ib/behold_an_attempt_at_translating_an_interview/
Nintendo Dream Star Fox Adventures interview:
https://shmuplations.com/starfoxadventures/
General SF64 development timeline overview:
https://tcrf.net/Prerelease:Star_Fox_64
▲
3
▼
When a Skittles game was first proposed to eventual Darkened Skye executive producer Elizabeth Braswell by her boss, she responded "well, you have two choices: you can fire me now, and make the next year and a half much easier on me, or you can, like, not make me do this." The following night, she went to a bar and got drunk over the Skittles project, which she deemed "the end of [her] career". While intoxicated, she conceived the idea of using Skittles as a vehicle to do a self-aware high fantasy adventure game she had always wanted to do, but never got the chance.
▲
3
▼
On the day of the game's release, the character Kung Jin was confirmed by writer Dominic Cianciolo to be the first homosexual character in the Mortal Kombat series. This was notably hinted at during a conversation with Raiden in Story mode:
When Tanya was added as a DLC character, one of her prefight interactions with Jin also references his lack of interest in the opposite sex:
Raiden: "Go to the Wu Shi Academy. Join the Shaolin, like Kung Lao before you."
Kung Jin: "I can't. They won't... accept-"
Raiden: "They care only about what is in your heart. Not whom your heart desires."
Kung Jin: "I can't. They won't... accept-"
Raiden: "They care only about what is in your heart. Not whom your heart desires."
When Tanya was added as a DLC character, one of her prefight interactions with Jin also references his lack of interest in the opposite sex:
Tanya: "Quite a handsome Shaolin."
Kung Jin: "Barkin' up the wrong tree, sister."
Kung Jin: "Barkin' up the wrong tree, sister."
Raiden conversation:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7GORMl96W5g
Tanya interaction intro:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rj--p-ZZR0U
Tweets by Dominic Cianciolo:
https://www.twitter.com/domcianciolo/status/588050845763301376
https://www.twitter.com/domcianciolo/status/588059135759020033
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7GORMl96W5g
Tanya interaction intro:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rj--p-ZZR0U
Tweets by Dominic Cianciolo:
https://www.twitter.com/domcianciolo/status/588050845763301376
https://www.twitter.com/domcianciolo/status/588059135759020033
Collection: Nintendo Vs. Series
▲
3
▼
The Nintendo Vs. Series originated as a way to gauge Nintendo's ability to court the North American market following the Great Video Game Crash of 1983. Because the crash had only affected the region's home console market, Nintendo believed that the still-thriving arcade scene would be a good way to test consumer interest in the Famicom library, porting select games to an arcade format. Despite the collapse of a deal with Atari to distribute the Famicom overseas, and despite the pessimistic results of market research, Nintendo president Hiroshi Yamauchi still believed that the company could successfully enter the field.
▲
3
▼
The lyrics to Silver's theme, "Dreams of an Absolution", was based on songwriter Bentley Jones' relationship with his ex-boyfriend:
"Originally, I wrote "Dreams" about a bad ex-boyfriend who wanted to get back with me, and I couldn't shake off the past, and I was in this weird grey area that I didn't know if I wanted to move forward together anymore. Scandal! "Dreams" was written about a gay love story!"
▲
3
▼
In 2023, the character Leone Abbacchio was added to JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: All Star Battle R as a DLC character over ten years after the original game’s release. Despite being a main cast member of the fifth part of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, he was previously only playable in the 2002 Japan-only PlayStation 2 game Jojo no Kimyou na Bouken: Ougon no Kaze, due to the developers having trouble trying to make his ability Moody Blues, which causes his opponents to replay their moves, viable for combat. This led to him becoming a very highly-requested fighter for the game before he was eventually added.
subdirectory_arrow_right Ace Attorney (Franchise)
▲
3
▼
According to series creator Shu Takumi in a 2017 interview, Capcom executives issued two mandates affecting the writing of Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney. The first mandate was that the game had to include Phoenix Wright in the story, which went against Takumi's original idea for a reset of the series. The second mandate was to incorporate the Lay Judge system, a real-life judicial system, into the story, resulting in the creation of Spoiler:the MASON System game program and the trial run of a new Jurist System in the game's last case "Turnabout Succession". The Ace Attorney series began as a critique of how Japan's legal system handles criminal offenses, but around this time, that system was changing. While Japan previously suspended an older jurist system in 1943, their legislative body, the National Diet, gradually implemented a new lay judge system (裁判員, or "Saiban-in") from 2004 to 2009. This system, resembling more democratic systems in North American and European countries, calls upon six random common citizens to serve in serious criminal trials as inquisitorial judges sitting alongside three professional judges. Together they make up the judicial panel and actively analyze and investigate evidence presented to them throughout the trial before ruling on guilt and sentencing. Reflecting this, Spoiler:the Jurist System seen at the end of Turnabout Succession is made up of six random jurors guided by Phoenix Wright, where the player from the sixth juror's perspective has to rule the defendant Guilty or Not Guilty.
Takumi revealed that as part of the game’s promotion, Capcom collaborated with the Japanese Ministry of Justice and even gave a presentation of Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney at the ministry's head office, implying that the system's mandated inclusion in the game was political propaganda. Despite Capcom cooperating in the Japanese government's push for this new system and despite participation experiences being reported as positive and easy to understand, the reception to other aspects of the system were largely negative. Complaints included gradually more severe sentencing since its implementation, the risk of criminal penalties for lay judges publicly discussing confidential deliberation room details after trials come to an end, and most starkly, calling upon Japanese citizens to put aside time to participate in the system, who have been increasingly unwilling to do so. This decline in interest has been largely attributed to the length of lay judge trials and even the length of pre-trial proceedings increasing significantly over the next decade, and due to aging populations and people simply not being able to make these commitments, more citizens refused to serve or even show up to be vetted for serving in the first place, making it harder to fill out the jury.
As a result of this reception, the Ace Attorney series has not used Spoiler:the MASON System and the Jurist System since, sticking with the series' traditional Initial Trial system in future games.
Takumi revealed that as part of the game’s promotion, Capcom collaborated with the Japanese Ministry of Justice and even gave a presentation of Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney at the ministry's head office, implying that the system's mandated inclusion in the game was political propaganda. Despite Capcom cooperating in the Japanese government's push for this new system and despite participation experiences being reported as positive and easy to understand, the reception to other aspects of the system were largely negative. Complaints included gradually more severe sentencing since its implementation, the risk of criminal penalties for lay judges publicly discussing confidential deliberation room details after trials come to an end, and most starkly, calling upon Japanese citizens to put aside time to participate in the system, who have been increasingly unwilling to do so. This decline in interest has been largely attributed to the length of lay judge trials and even the length of pre-trial proceedings increasing significantly over the next decade, and due to aging populations and people simply not being able to make these commitments, more citizens refused to serve or even show up to be vetted for serving in the first place, making it harder to fill out the jury.
As a result of this reception, the Ace Attorney series has not used Spoiler:the MASON System and the Jurist System since, sticking with the series' traditional Initial Trial system in future games.
Apollo Justice dev team 2007 interview:
https://gyakutensaibanlibrary.blogspot.com/2016/09/4-isnt-change-from-old-to-new-but.html?m=1
Shu Takumi 2017 interview:
https://news.capcomusa.com/2017/11/18/the-making-of-apollo-justice-ace-attorney-feat-shu-takumi/
Articles explaining the lay judge system and first case under it:
https://www.law.columbia.edu/news/archive/japans-new-jury-system-evaulated
https://web.archive.org/web/20160611021725/https://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2009/12/08/issues/ichihashi-trial-key-test-of-legal-reforms/#.V1t0vCXP1S8
Articles featuring criticisms of the lay judge system:
https://foreignpolicy.com/2009/08/03/japans-new-unpopular-jury-system/
https://www.nippon.com/en/japan-data/h00468/japan-marks-10-years-since-start-of-lay-judge-system.html
https://web.archive.org/web/20190508022405/https://www.japantimes.co.jp/opinion/2019/05/05/editorials/evaluating-lay-judge-system-10-years/
https://apjjf.org/-Mark-Levin/3141/article.html
https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Sexual-Violence-in-Japan%3A-Implications-of-the-Lay-Suzuki/67b28807c51160297bb80bdb3b7fdcda95f50a74?p2df
https://gyakutensaibanlibrary.blogspot.com/2016/09/4-isnt-change-from-old-to-new-but.html?m=1
Shu Takumi 2017 interview:
https://news.capcomusa.com/2017/11/18/the-making-of-apollo-justice-ace-attorney-feat-shu-takumi/
Articles explaining the lay judge system and first case under it:
https://www.law.columbia.edu/news/archive/japans-new-jury-system-evaulated
https://web.archive.org/web/20160611021725/https://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2009/12/08/issues/ichihashi-trial-key-test-of-legal-reforms/#.V1t0vCXP1S8
Articles featuring criticisms of the lay judge system:
https://foreignpolicy.com/2009/08/03/japans-new-unpopular-jury-system/
https://www.nippon.com/en/japan-data/h00468/japan-marks-10-years-since-start-of-lay-judge-system.html
https://web.archive.org/web/20190508022405/https://www.japantimes.co.jp/opinion/2019/05/05/editorials/evaluating-lay-judge-system-10-years/
https://apjjf.org/-Mark-Levin/3141/article.html
https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Sexual-Violence-in-Japan%3A-Implications-of-the-Lay-Suzuki/67b28807c51160297bb80bdb3b7fdcda95f50a74?p2df
subdirectory_arrow_right Magic Pengel: The Quest for Color (Game)
▲
3
▼
"Teddy" is a 3D-modeling software that allows users to create 3D models by simply drawing freeform strokes, created by Takeo Igarashi. Along with being available on the Unity Asset Store and being part of the "Magical Sketch 3D" PC package, there are two video games that notably use the software: the GameCube game Amazing Island (as part of the game's monster creation system), and the PlayStation 2 game Magic Pengel: The Quest for Color (where it's used to create the game's Doodles).
▲
3
▼
Star Fox: Assault is notable for including three unlockable Famicom/NES games originally created by Namco:• Xevious
• Battle City
• Star Luster
As explained by the development team in an issue of Nintendo Dream, this was done to highlight Star Fox: Assault being a collaboration between Nintendo and Namco, with the latter being its primary developer. With the Star Fox franchise being a sci-fi shooter series, Tsuyoshi Kobayashi and Takaya Imamura had carefully decided on which classic Namco games would fit the best with that vibe. There were considerations to also include Nintendo created Famicom/NES games (one person, for example, had suggested including Balloon Fight), but ultimately Imamura and Kobayashi couldn't come up with any games that would have fit the Star Fox world and atmosphere.
Unfortunately, as the Famicom versions of Battle City and Star Luster had never been released in Western territories, they in turn were excluded from all Western versions of Star Fox: Assault, leaving Xevious as the only unlockable Namco game outside of Japan.
Star Fox Assault Nintendo Dream interview:
https://shmuplations.com/starfoxassault/
Footage of Xevious, the only unlockable Namco game in the western version of SFAss:
https://youtu.be/BrMv7tKA74A?t=6
https://shmuplations.com/starfoxassault/
Footage of Xevious, the only unlockable Namco game in the western version of SFAss:
https://youtu.be/BrMv7tKA74A?t=6
subdirectory_arrow_right Assault (Game)
▲
3
▼
The subtitle of Star Fox: Assault was suggested by Nintendo of America. Initially, there were legal concerns as Namco had already trademarked the name "Assault" for their 1988 arcade game of the same name. Fortunately for Nintendo, the trademark was only valid within Japan, and Namco, who were already the developers for Star Fox: Assault, had granted them permission to use the title.
subdirectory_arrow_right Star Fox (Franchise)
▲
3
▼
During the development of the original Star Fox, character designer Takaya Imamura originally wanted to make the characters generic humans and aliens, similar to his character designs from F-Zero. It was Shigeru Miyamoto who convinced him to instead make them anthropomorphic animals, as he wanted the game's aesthetic to stand out from every other science fiction property coming out at the time.Fox in particular being a fox was inspired by the Fushimi Inari-taisha shrine located near Nintendo's offices.
Iwata Asks - Star Fox 64 3D:
https://iwataasks.nintendo.com/interviews/3ds/starfox/0/2/
2002 Nintendo Dream interview with Takaya Imamura on Star Fox Adventures:
https://shmuplations.com/starfoxadventures/
2002 Nintendo Official Magazine interview with Takaya Imamura:
https://web.archive.org/web/20030416023122/https://www.nintendo.co.jp/nom/0210/fox_03/page03.html
English translations of above NOM interview:
https://www.reddit.com/r/starfox/comments/18rek3h/just_throwing_out_a_translation_of_this_old/
Nintendo Classic Mini: SNES developer interview – Volume 1: Star Fox + Star Fox 2:
https://www.nintendo.co.uk/News/2017/September/Nintendo-Classic-Mini-SNES-developer-interview-Volume-1-Star-Fox-Star-Fox-2-1273086.html
https://iwataasks.nintendo.com/interviews/3ds/starfox/0/2/
2002 Nintendo Dream interview with Takaya Imamura on Star Fox Adventures:
https://shmuplations.com/starfoxadventures/
2002 Nintendo Official Magazine interview with Takaya Imamura:
https://web.archive.org/web/20030416023122/https://www.nintendo.co.jp/nom/0210/fox_03/page03.html
English translations of above NOM interview:
https://www.reddit.com/r/starfox/comments/18rek3h/just_throwing_out_a_translation_of_this_old/
Nintendo Classic Mini: SNES developer interview – Volume 1: Star Fox + Star Fox 2:
https://www.nintendo.co.uk/News/2017/September/Nintendo-Classic-Mini-SNES-developer-interview-Volume-1-Star-Fox-Star-Fox-2-1273086.html