Exclusive: Interview With Takashi Iizuka from the Sonic Team - News
by VGChartz Staff , posted on 26 July 2011 / 6,207 Views
Few characters in gaming are as recognizable as Sonic. We are extremely honored today to interview Takashi Iizuka, series producer for all Sonic titles about his part in Sonic's lifespan. He currently leads the Sonic Team and his previous work with Sonic is extensive, spanning over twenty titles, beginning with Sonic 3.
gamrFeed - We know you work on Sonic Generations, can you tell us a little bit about your job? Which other Sonic games have you worked on? What brought you into the games industry?
Takashi Iizuka - I joined SEGA in 1992 after graduating university, as I wanted to be part of creating products, which entertain people. Immediately after joining SEGA, I was involved in development of Sonic 3 for MegaDrive. Since then, I’ve worked on many Sonic titles like Sonic Adventure and Sonic Heroes as game planner and director. I’m now the series producer overseeing all Sonic titles.
gamrFeed - What influences do you bring to your work on Sonic?
Takashi Iizuka - There are lots of entertainment outlets (like video games and movies) with fascinating ideas by numerous creators around the world. I try to experience as many of those as possible to gain inspiration. While I may have a few influences from those, the most important things when creating a new title are looking back at previous projects, and the feedback/reception of the fans and market. We try to add new game play and/or features in any new Sonic titles, and we take into account the market reception when deciding the concept for the next title.
gamrFeed - Do you see influences from Sonic in other games?
Takashi Iizuka - Platform action games are generally about making precise jumps, so I have not seen action games where you blaze through like Sonic. This is probably why so many people have been supporting Sonic for 20 years, from the day he was born, and we have a sense of mission in creating Sonic games.
gamrFeed - What is your idea of a perfect Sonic game? What elements of that vision made it into Sonic Generations? What aspects weren’t included and why?
Takashi Iizuka - People first think of Sonic as “speed” but Sonic action games are first and foremost “platforming action.” We can’t have a game focusing solely on speed and turn it into a racing game, but we can’t have a game without speed as that would not be Sonic. Merging these two features (which normally do not go together well), and with the Sonic world and its characters that appeal to the audiences, are the elements required in Sonic games. Sonic Generations takes the experience from previous Sonic games in terms of merging speed and platforming action, and should be a fun title that everyone can be excited about.
gamrFeed - What challenges did you face designing levels for both a 2D and 3D format?
Takashi Iizuka - Reimagining 2D original games to 2D, and 3D original games to 3D, works smoothly as we can see the outcome. However, that was not the case for creating 3D stages where the original was a 2D game and vice-versa. We cannot destroy the original image, but had to include new elements and game play. We have also included ideas where people who know the original will find something fresh, and not just re-arranging the original games.
gamrFeed - Over the last 20 years, what have been the greatest evolutions for Sonic?
Takashi Iizuka - The greatest thing to happen for Sonic is obviously when he was born 20 years ago. In terms of greatest “evolution”, I think it would be the evolution to 3D action game in Sonic Adventure (1998). 3D Sonic is now recognized by many people, but back in those days, no one could imagine what a 3D Sonic game would look like, and it was a huge task to develop. If we did not have the evolution to 3D at that time, Sonic may not have been as greatly appreciated and enjoyed by fans for such a long period of time.
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I believe many would agree they nailed the gameplay perfectly in Sonic's original Genesis/Megadrive outings. My opinion may defer in that Sonic Adventure and every 3D iteration afterwards, they left out important key factors that were what drove his success in 2D. Momentum.
The homing attack is all well and good, but when you bounce off an enemy with or without it, you lose that momentum and arch higher in the air rather than carrying the speed you once had to bounce you further through the stage. You can also stop on a dime as opposed to skidding to a halt in the 2D outings.
Sonic R did more right by that logic than the Adventure series. Sure, you have to hold L or R to make tight turns, but spindashing, rolling, and the sense of speed was truly nailed in his Saturn outing more than any 3D iteration afterwards.
That was a nice interview, though I wish Takashi was a little more convincing that this would carry the gold medal that Sonic Colors finally achieved to be a good 3D Sonic game.
"In terms of greatest “evolution”, I think it would be the evolution to 3D action game in Sonic Adventure (1998)."
No wonder we can't get a decent damn sonic game anymore these days.
Long live Sonic ! My fav character in my childhood :)
