Legendary game composer Yuzo Koshiro (ActRaiser, Streets of Rage, Etrian Odyssey, etc) is mostly busy with his own game development company these days – Ancient Corp., however the creator has talked up the Nintendo Switch.
Koshiro had some choice words for the hardware, as well as Nintendo’s output of software in the recent years:
“Switch strikes me as a very Nintendo-like piece of hardware,” Koshiro said in an interview with Polygon. “The games that Nintendo makes haven’t really changed over these past 20 years.
“They’ve had recent hits like Splatoon, but looking at the hardware, it seems made for games like Mario, Mario Kart, Splatoon … it seems like they simply wanted to make a system that would allow them to make those games more dynamic, so they could add more expression to their games. They only really want to have people enjoy their own games more. It doesn’t really seem like they are being that adventurous with the system.”
The composer noted the danger of the Switch becoming a direct competitor to the Nintendo 3DS, which Nintendo has repeatedly said they’ll support alongside the new hybrid console.
“If Nintendo is going to keep up with the Switch, I think they’ll need cheaper models, or maybe to make them lighter. If they were to do that, it could become a replacement for the 3DS … but, of course, Nintendo has said themselves that that is not what they’re planning to do.”
Koshiro had some harsh words regarding the positioning of the hardware, and how Nintendo is moving forward with it.
“It kind of makes me think, ‘Why does this thing even exist, really?’ In other words, it’s a game system that will allow people to enjoy Nintendo games even more, but at the same time, I’m not really surprised by it and don’t really feel there’s anything novel about it.”
Despite his negative outlook on the system, Koshiro is a huge Nintendo fan and would love to work on a Nintendo game.
“I honestly haven’t really thought too much about [what series I’d like to compose for], but I do love Nintendo titles,” he said. “I think it would be fantastic to work on something like Zelda or Splatoon. Zelda, in particular, I am a huge fan of. I love fantasy and action, and of course, Zelda is the ultimate combination of both of those things.”
Ancient has been around since 1990, with games released on platforms ranging from the Sega Game Gear, the Xbox 360, all the way to the Nintendo 3DS. Ironically, Koshiro is looking to port their 3DS game Gotta Protectors to the Nintendo Switch.
