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Could you tell us what your involvement was with this game?1. The Pokémon Company: The company responsible for managing the Pokémon brand and operating Pokémon Centers in seven locations across Japan. The company was established in 2000, and has its headquarters in Tokyo.2. Spike Chunsoft Co., Ltd.: The developer responsible for planning, development, sales, and operations on series such as Pokémon Mystery Dungeon and Shiren the Wanderer. The company was established in 2012, and has its headquarters in Tokyo.3. Torneko no Daibōken: Fushigi no Dungeon: A part of the Mystery Dungeon dungeon-based RPG series. The first title in the series, Torneko no Daibōken: Fushigi no Dungeon, was released in Japan for the Super Famicom in September 1993.4. Shiren the Wanderer: A part of the Mystery Dungeon dungeon-based RPG series. The first title in the series, Mystery Dungeon: Shiren the Wanderer, was released in Japan for the Super Famicom in December 1995.
Game Walkthrough Review:
NagahataI was responsible for overall planning and direction for this title.
IwataI see. And what was your role, Tomie-san?
TomieIn the past, I’ve worked on scripts and storyboarding for the Shiren the Wanderer series. On this title, I was mainly responsible for writing the script.
IwataWell, it’s very nice to meet you all! Now then, since this is the first Iwata Asks appearance for the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon series5, I’d like to start by asking how Pokémon Mystery Dungeon came about in the first place. I suppose it all started with you, Ishihara-san?5. Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: A part of the Mystery Dungeon series, based on Pokémon characters. The first titles in the series, Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Blue Rescue Team and Red Rescue Team, were released in November 2005 in Japan and September 2006 in North America. Blue Rescue Team was released for Nintendo DS, while Red Rescue Team was released for the Game Boy Advance.
IshiharaThat’s right, yes. It could take a while to explain, though… which version of the story would you prefer, the really long version or the short version? (laughs)
IwataI think we’ll go for the “short” version, if you don’t mind! Our main purpose here today is to introduce the latest title, after all! (laughs)
IshiharaUnderstood! (laughs) Well, Chunsoft and I have had a working relationship ever since we were both involved in a Famicom game called Tetris 2 + Bombliss6. One of the main factors that led to the creation of Pokémon Mystery Dungeon, however, was the way I felt after playing Torneko no Daibōken. I was really surprised by the depth and quality of that game. Mystery Dungeon games have their roots in old-school RPG titles, the type they often call ‘roguelike’7 games.6. Tetris 2 + Bombliss: A puzzle game released in Japan for the Famicom in December 1991. Ishihara-san was the producer and the director was Koichi Nakamura (former president of Chunsoft, current president of Spike Chunsoft).7. ‘Roguelike’: Derived from a game called Rogue, a dungeon-exploring computer RPG, developed for Unix systems in 1981. Games that are said to use a similar format to Rogue are collectively known as ‘roguelike’ games.
IwataAh yes. ‘Roguelikes’ are dungeon-exploring RPGs in which the map is altered every time you play, with the terrain and the locations of items and monsters also changing. This gives the games a depth that means you can play them over and over again without getting bored. The game that was really crammed full that kind of enjoyment, while being accessible for everyone to play, was Torneko no Daibōken: Fushigi no Dungeon.
IshiharaAt the time, the tagline for the game claimed that it was a “game you could play a thousand times” and I think that I, for one, really did! After I started working on the Pokémon games, therefore, I was always really keen to create a game that would connect Pokémon to the Mystery Dungeon series. Pokémon Mystery Dungeon was the game that arose from that desire.
IwataHave Nagahata-san and Tomie-san been your partners ever since that time?
IshiharaThat’s right. It was Tomie-san who came up with the story concept of ‘One day, you become a Pokémon!’ back when we were working on the original title, and he has been developing the stories based upon that concept.
IwataNagahata-san, what kind of process did you go through, transforming the idea of a roguelike game into the Mystery Dungeon series? When you first set out, you didn’t know how a game like that would be received by home console owners, did you?
NagahataNo, we didn’t. At that time, Dragon Quest-style RPGs were the mainstream and very little was known about roguelike games, generally. So it was definitely a bit of a gamble. After all, players would sometimes play roguelike games for hours or even tens of hours, only to suddenly be dumped right back in square one with all their progress wiped out. Basically, however, all the development staff told us that this kind of game was definitely enjoyable, and that gave us the motivation we needed to get started.
IwataThere’s certainly an element of ‘spiritual training’ to these games, isn’t there? They’re constructed in a really enjoyable way, but every now again they’re just so unforgiving that they make you want to cry. You were really motivated to bring that particular brand of enjoyment to as many people as possible, though, weren’t you?
NagahataYes, we were. It was a real relief that, when the game was released, more people than we expected were willing to embrace it.
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