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C3 Exclusive Interview | Alfa System Talks Shikigami on Nintendo's Wii, DS Project Being Considered

on 14.12.2007 at 20:35 User Icon

Posted by Adam Riley (jesusraz) Number of Comments

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Alfa System Talks Castle of Shikigami III on Wii
Interview by Adam Riley :: Friday 14th December, 2007

Nintendo system-owning shooter fans have been eager for more insane action goodness since the days of Ikaruga early on in the GameCube’s lifespan. So far the offerings have been few and far between. Now, however, Aksys has revealed Castle of Shikigami III will be coming to the US in early 2008. Cubed³ was lucky enough to get the chance to speak with Japanese developer Alfa System via the help of Michael Manzanares at Aksys Games, to discuss the project in more detail, plus talk about the potential of a DS shooter…

Castle of Shikigami III for Wii – coming Spring 2008

Cubed³’s Adam Riley: First of all, could you explain why you decided to bring this game to Wii and how long the project taken?

Alfa System, via Michael Manzanares, Associate Producer at Aksys Games: This was a very popular arcade game in Japan, so we decided to bring it to the home console. Preparation and development time together took a total of about one year.

AR: Since the game is also coming to Xbox 360, what are your thoughts on the differences between developing for both Wii and 360? Have there been any particular weaknesses encountered with Wii during the development process?

AS: Since the Xbox360 specs are higher, we were able to keep the game close to the arcade version, so it took a shorter time to develop. The Wii handles Shikigami no Shiro quite well, so there really aren’t any weaknesses to speak of during development.

AR: For those unaware of the series’ history, can you please explain a little about what Shikigami no Shiro is?

AS: The Shikigami no Shiro series debuted in Japanese arcades in 2001 and blended the elements of a bullet hell shooter with a character-driven story. The continued popularity of the game spawned a number of comic books, novels and merchandise in Japan.

AR: What sort of weapons and spacecraft will be on offer? And how will choosing different characters effect the way gamers play?

AS Each character has a unique standard rapid-fire shot, Shikigami Attack and Special Attack in addition to their Hi-Tension Max ability. Since the shots are so different between characters, a strategy with one character won’t necessarily work with another.

AR: It has been reported that the game does not use the Wii’s motion controls at all. Is this correct? And if so, why was this not included?

AS: That is correct. While the Wii’s motion controls are great, there was really no need to include it for this project, especially considering the manic design of Shikigami no Shiro.

AR: Will there be any specific differences between the Wii and 360 editions? And was any consideration given to including online Wi-Fi for either multiplayer or even just leaderboards?

AS: While the two are essentially the same, the 360 version supports higher resolutions, an online leaderboard, and downloadable content like themes and gamer pictures.

AR: There is a large contingent of Wii owners in Europe that are keen to know when this game will be coming over to this territory. Will you be trying your best to ensure the fans here get their request granted?

AS: We’re aware of our European fans and are always doing out best to get our titles to them.

AR: As for in the US, Arc System Works has dealt with Aksys Games several times in the past. So are we to assume Aksys is bringing the game to the North American market as well?

AS: Aksys has made an official announcement today regarding the US version of Shikigami no Shiro III, called Castle of Shikigami III.

AR: Will the game support use of the Classic Controller and GameCube pad for fans wanting to play using a traditional controller?

AS: Absolutely.

AR: With the Nintendo DS market basically being a blank sheet when it comes shooters like Shikigami, has any thought gone into taking advantage of this and bringing something to the two-screen portable? Currently the only competition is from German team Shin’en with its Nanostray and gamers are eager for some portable shooting action.

AS: We have no definite plans at the moment, but since there are very few games similar to this one on the DS, I think that it will be well worth it to develop such a game. In addition, if we can produce a shooting game on the DS with quality like Nanostray, I think the development team will enjoy doing so in the process.　　

AR: Finally, what are some of your favourite shmups?

AS: Ikaruga and the Gradius series.

* * *

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Bastardman

Reply Quote #1

Amazingly amazing.

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L98 Mario

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Oh yes. I can almost see her panties.

What? Yeah, great interview, thanks for posting it up!

on 14.12.2007 at 20:37

jesusraz

Reply Quote #2

Endless Ocean 2 Adventures of the Deep - review now live!

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News Editor

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It's great to see Aksys bringing the Wii version over to the US. Hopefully 505 Games will pick this up for Europe as well like it did with Hoshigami Remix on DS.

It'd be cool to see what they could do on DS...I wonder if they'd be able to come up with something stronger than Nanostray 2, though?

Seriously, you have to wonder why Treasure hasn't turned out a space shmup on DS yet. The market is seriously WIDE open right now! Smilie

By the way, Alfa System is the same dev team that just completed the fantastic Tales of Innocence for Bandai Namco on DS...so clearly it's very capable of churning out stunning DS graphics!

Cubed3 Senior Editor :: Lead Writer :: News & Interviews Editor

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on 17.12.2007 at 05:07

charwiimario

Reply Quote #3

El perro se comió mis pantalones, por eso estoy desnudo.

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L12 Kremling

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Wow, this looks interesting. I like the name of the game and the anime characters. Sweet. Thanks for the info, no other website (I think) has info on this game, weird...

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on 18.12.2007 at 10:26

jesusraz

Reply Quote #4

Endless Ocean 2 Adventures of the Deep - review now live!

12188

News Editor

Online!

It's because the game has only just been confirmed for Wii in the US. The game launched in Japan last Thursday and is getting quite a quick turnaround for the US.

Most sites haven't had chance to learn more about the project yet. I approached the developer independently as I had an interest in the game...and Aksys replied saying it was bringing it to the US and would sort the interview. Good timing with my emailing, I guess Smilie

Oh and the character art was something I specifically asked for, which again is why other sites haven't put the shots up Smilie

All part of the C3 service Smilie

Cubed3 Senior Editor :: Lead Writer :: News & Interviews Editor

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on 18.12.2007 at 17:43

Laurelin

Reply Quote #5

having too much to do to play. Unfortunately.

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L67 Ken

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Great interview. These guys are very kind to hold Shin'en so high in quality. Shin'en put a lot of effort into their games, making them very graphics heavy. I think they do so too, since he said Wii-version was more or less the same as X360 - except resolution, which is okay.
Ikaruga (being a port from Dreamcast!) looks very beautiful, I hope they stay graphics heavy to this game as well and maybe others realise, how great in graphics Wii is if only effort is pumped into! (weird thoughts, I hope anyone got them... *g*)

I find your lack of faith disturbing!

on 04.01.2008 at 11:21

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C3 Exclusive Interview | Alfa System Talks Shikigami on Nintendo's Wii, DS Project Being Considered

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