I had the wonderful opportunity to sit down at a round table interview with none other than Marvelous’ huge boob producer himself, Kenichiro Takaki! I tried to squeeze in as many questions as I could, and I tried to ask the best I could.
Without further ado, please enjoy the written version of our interview, below:
Niche Gamer: You’re adding Ayane and Ikki Tousen characters as third party DLC. Are you planning to add more characters as DLC, third party or not?
Kenichiro Takaki: So we have Ayame (Senran Kagura: New Wave G Burst), Ayane from DOA (Dead or Alive) coming out, we do have some characters from Ikki Tousen coming out […] If the question is are there more characters coming out in the future, then yes, but I can’t reveal anything at this point.
Niche Gamer: It seems like Estival Versus is easily the biggest in the series thus far, and the reception is the biggest. Did you ever foresee the series getting this big and loved, and do you think this could spur more games in the future – across more platforms?
Takaki: Yes, it’s something that I always wanted to think – it would be nice if it became that, but I never expected it to be this big, the size of the fan community and whatnot.
When we created the first one, we created it for a very specific community target, but I still had fun creating it within that small scale. I’m really surprised by how it turned out. So yes, I am very surprised.
As for other platforms, of course I’m very curious. It would be nice to do something with Project Morpheus. Maybe in one or two years PS5 might come out? So, in those cases I definitely want to see something in that as well.
Niche Gamer: A follow up – we have a lot of fans wanting to know if there’s a potential for Morpheus and Senran Kagura. Is that something you’re considering or looking into?
Takaki: I’m always curious about what Morpheus does. As a spec, it’s an awesome device. I won’t be able to produce Estival Versus as is with Morpheus, but it would be more going into the Senran Kagura atmosphere.
For example, there’s five girls right now [translator points to screen demoing the game].
It would be like you’re sitting in the middle of that, and you get to look at them and be part of that atmosphere. Not really as a game right now, it’s just a concept, an idea. I have no idea if it’ll come true or when it will come out.
Niche Gamer: You previously mentioned that Hibari is your favorite, mostly because of the buruma, and that it reminded you of your childhood. Are there any parts in Estival Versus that go back to your childhood and make you nostalgic?
Takaki: I can’t point a specific part, but there are a lot of parts where I was inspired by my teens and 20’s.
It could be different games or anime, but I love SNK games, so there are a lot of aspects from those throughout the game, just using those as inspiration. Even if I’m not trying to, it just comes out.
Niche Gamer: Do you think that you have more creative freedom at Marvelous now, because of Senran Kagura? Do you think that goes into your overall role at the company?
Takaki: Yes, it actually changed a lot. There’s a lot more freedom.
Niche Gamer: Recently XSEED has put out more and more games on PC. We have a lot of hardcore PC fans who want to see Senran Kagura on PC. What are the chances of that ever happening?
Takaki: It is something that I always think about daily, like how do we create it. I’m not sure at this point if I can bring Estival Versus over to the PC.
I would love for the fans to create their own mods, and just go crazy on their creativity. I can’t really say if it will happen on Estival Versus, but it is something that I have on my mind, and how to make it work.
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