EXE 15th Ann. Special Staff Discussion! (Part 1)

Part 1 of an English translation of the 2016 EXE developers’ interview from inside-games.

This interview was done to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the Rockman EXE series and originally published on March 21st, 2016. To keep in-line with the nature of the original interview, the pages are formatted as they were in the original webpages. Japanese terms will be kept as-is, without influence from their English localizations. Names however, will be written as (Given name, Family name). Honorifics are also kept.

Translator and editor comments will be added at the bottom of every page addressing the differences that were made in the English localization, as well as miscellaneous little notes.

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[Special Report] Rockman EXE 15th Anniversary Special Staff Discussion! From the Prism Combo’s Discovery to the Reason the Series Concluded

A tale of a more developed internet in the near future, boldly arranged designs that pull you in, a tearful story depicting brotherly love, sound that makes full use of the Game Boy Advance’s hardware, and a unique system fusing both action and card games – Today on 2016/3/21, the masterpiece Rockman EXE series that so perfectly combines all of these elements enters its 15th anniversary.

To celebrate its 15th anniversary, Inside planned a discussion with the members that worked on Rocokman EXE. Meijin and scenario writer, Masakazu Eguchi, designers Hayato Kaji, Yuji Ishihara, Tokiko Nakashima, and the main programmer, Koetsu Matsuda – these wonderful members assembled for us to ask them questions about the past for as long as time permits.

The contents focus on the numbered games, and use the results of our reader poll as a basis. The interview includes, of course, the untold origins of the series, hang-ups in various areas, the tournament cheating incident, and the shocking “Prism Combo”. And now, we deliver a report exceeding 10,000 characters about Rockman EXE that will bring back memories of the past, and occasionally, make you laugh or cry.

• Profiles

Koetsu Matsuda

Position: Programmer

Responsible for: System, overall battle

Favorite characters: Toadman, Gospel

Favorite Battle Chips: Area Steal, Variable Sword

Masakazu Eguchi

Position: Planner/Meijin [1]

Responsible for: Scenario, maps, overall text

Favorite characters: Haruka Hikari (Mom), all of Meijin’s Navis

Favorite Battle Chip: Kawarimi

Yuji Ishihara

Position: Designer

Responsible for: Primarily cyberworld character designs

Favorite character: Program-kun

Favorite Battle Chip: Area Steal

Hayato Kaji

Position: Designer

Responsible for: EXE1’s character design + some in-game character sprites

Favorite characters: Netto and Enzan

Favorite Battle Chip: Long Sword

Tokiko Nakashima

Position: Designer

Responsible for: Primarily NPCs, viruses, etc., as well as 4.5’s UI

Favorite characters: Rockman, Aquaman, Forte, Netto, Yaito, Dingo

Favorite Battle Chip: Roll

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• Rockman EXE started as a horror game

Why, Meijin-san, if it isn’t your white coat! [1]

Eguchi: No need for formalities! [2]

Thank you very much! And with that, please allow us to start the discussion. 10 years have passed since the conclusion of the series, did you ever gather the members together like this?

Eguchi: It’s been a crazy long time. I think since the launch of EXE6. But, really… Everyone sure has aged. (laugh)

Ishihara: Back then, Matsuda’s hair still just about reached his shoulders. (laugh)

Matsuda: Yeah, I was blonde. (laugh) I can still remember the development environment from back then, it was a Game Boy Advance launch title after all. The development environment back then was still fresh.

So it was a launch title then. Despite being the first, it felt like it was pretty well-polished.

Eguchi: But the first thing the team made was actually a horror game.

Huh? What do you mean?

Eguchi: Originally, our starting point was “let’s make something for the Game Boy Advance”. We were making a game with a device that lets you put in your finger and measure your heart rate – basically, a game with a wearable device that links with the system. The theme was “a game you can enjoy while your heart pounds”.

Matsuda: I ended up going to Expoland’s haunted house for research.

Kaji: You’ve got a good memory. (laugh)

Eguchi: Before we realized, it became EXE… Why? (laugh) How’d it happen again?

Kaji: If I recall right, the device ended up being difficult.

Matsuda: At the time, card games were popular, so we adopted that trend and decided to go with Capcom’s strong point.

So really, before you realized, it just became EXE.

Eguchi: Of course, we followed the proper procedure of things but that’s pretty much how things felt there. (laugh)

Looking at what was going on with computers and the internet back then, Windows 95 had come out, and the Y2K bug ended up not happening. So I wonder why the setting end up being computer networks? 

Eguchi: I think it came up in conversation a bit ago but since card games were trending, we started with the theme of “a card game that only Capcom could do”. We’d decided for the project to be aimed at kids from the start. So from there, we chose to use the Rockman IP. We combined Rockman’s action with a card game to give birth to a new system. That system was “data action”.

Basically, replacing cards with data gave us Battle Chips and the character who would fight using them was Rockman. Furthermore, when thinking about the setting, we decided the most suitable thing would be a “network society”. So from the start, the setting and the system were decided upon.

Were there any points you had to pay careful attention to when designing the system?

Eguchi: EXE is an action game, but you can’t jump. Ground-breaking, isn’t it? (laugh)

Ishihara: Back then, we often talked about “let’s make it a game where kids that aren’t good with action, can still win with strategy”.

Lately, smart appliances and smart houses have been appearing, and everything is connected to the internet. Plus, you can talk to your smartphone and it’ll respond. For better or for worse, the things that happened in EXE are gradually becoming reality. What’s this like for you as the creators?

Eguchi: The times have finally caught up! (laugh)

Everyone: (laugh)

Eguchi: In the first place, as something aimed toward children, we placed high value on a feeling of “stretching just a little further”. For example, cell phones. Back then, adults had them but kids weren’t allowed to touch them. So there was a feeling of aspiration there. We added the feeling of “stretching just a little further” to that and put the element of the PET.

We considered the feeling of “stretching just a little further” in the scenario as well, and depicted the theme of “a close future that seems like it could actually happen”. If it were too imaginitive, you wouldn’t have much experience with it. We went with what kids would come up with if they thought “if the world became a network society, it’d be like this!” and kept that first in mind.

Matsuda: That’s true, we took the feeling of “stretching just a little further” really seriously.

• Rockman EXE’s development was generally tough!?

I think EXE has many fantastic entries, but when all’s said and done, I think it’s really amazing that you were able to put out a new entry in the series every year. Perhaps the move to the Game Boy Advance’s development environment was a smooth one.

Ishihara: The Game Boy Advance is a good console. First off, it can output graphics similar to the Super Famicom while being portable. And since it’s aimed toward kids, it was easy to develop for. We’ve made a lot of arcade games and 2D games, so we were able to put that know-how to use.

Eguchi: But since it was a launch title, the schedule was rough… We couldn’t postpone it at all. The release date was March, so I went home late on New Year’s Eve then went back to work on the morning of January 2nd. But at least I somehow managed to secure New Year’s Day. (laugh)

In any case, I guess EXE2 came out in the same year as EXE1!

With that kind of schedule, were they developed at the same time?

Eguchi: No, we started on EXE2 immediately after EXE1 was finished.

Ishihara: Speaking of schedules, EXE4.5 was pretty tight huh? [3]

Eguchi: That was really tough!

Matsuda: That was pretty difficult! Seriously…

Eguchi: (while pointing at an EXE4.5 package) This thing was made in half a year.

Ishihara: Definitely. Looking back now, I can say that the schedule really was harsh. EXE5 was, too.

Plus, EXE3 had the Black version come out afterwards. [4]

Eguchi: It was the arrival of the two version boom.

GO TO PAGE 2

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Translated by Jumi.

Edited by MidniteW.

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Japanese to English names:

Rockman EXE (the series name) = Mega Man Battle Network

Area Steal = Steal/AreaGrab

Variable Sword = VarSword

Meijin = (Mr.) Famous

Kawarimi = AntiDmg

Program-kun = Mr. Prog

Netto = Lan

Enzan = Chaud

Long Sword = LongSwrd

Rockman = MegaMan

Aquaman = SpoutMan in Battle Network 6

Forte = Bass

Yaito = Yai

Super Famicom = Super NES

Notes:

[1] Translator’s note: Despite being renamed to Mr. Famous in the official English localization, Meijin’s meaning is actually more close to “champion” or “master”. While a certain degree of fame is to be expected if one is to be acknowledged as the best in their field, it’s not explicitly part of the word’s meaning — you’d want the word “yuumeijin” for “famous person”.

[2] This is most well known from the TV anime as Meijin’s catchphrase. In the NT Warrior English dub, this was modified to “It’s just Famous”.

[3] Refers to Rockman EXE 4.5 Real Operation, which came out between EXE4 and EXE5. This game never had an official English release.

[4] Refers to the Japanese version of Mega Man Battle Network 3 Blue version. Which came out a few months after the Japanese version of Battle Network 3 White version.