Part 6 of an English translation of the 2016 EXE developers’ interview from inside-games.
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- Things that you can say now that the series is over
More than 10 years have passed since the series concluded, so there are probably things that you can only say now, does anything come to mind right away? Any trouble, for instance?
Matsuda: Huh? Trouble?
Eguchi: Ah! That’s a conveniently-timed question.
Matsuda: We actually had a game cartridge sent to our customer support center from someone saying, “my game is bugged and I can’t progress”… I was working on it until the day before yesterday. [1]
Huh? But it’s 2016. Are you maybe talking about the Virtual Console version?
Matsuda: No, the original version. They sent me the Game Boy Advance cartridge and I messed with the save data a little.
Eguchi: Come to think of it, you’ve kept your Game Boy Advance development kit this whole time, haven’t you?
Matsuda: I thought about returning it, but I have to repair something like this every 3 years or so. So I keep it at my desk.
On that note, you said there was a bug. Do you fix those?
Matsuda: If you just fiddle with the save data, you can fix them. Even if 10 years have passed since release, I can’t just go and turn them down.
People are still playing, aren’t they?
Kaji: Even now, Big Bro Koetsu might fix your game for you…
Ishihara: Also, I think we planned to add Duo Soul and Forte Soul. But due to problems with time and space, we sadly had to discard them. I think in the ROM, the framework for them is still there, but that’s all. [2]
Matsuda: We just barely made it on space, we weren’t even able to include the necessary data for debugging.
Eguchi: We had to cut out all sorts of things, after all… Like kanji and such.
So you were always battling against space, then.
Ishihara: It really started from EXE4. We didn’t have nearly enough space, so we had no choice but to shrink down characters on the overworld. All of the sprites were made from scratch.
Eguchi: In reality, all characters are made to move in 8 directions, but due to space problems some characters could only move in 4. Some characters that appeared in the cyberworld just whooshed along without walking and the like. (laugh)
Ishihara: The plug-in screen had a lot of frames at the beginning as well, but we had to repeatedly trim them down.
Kaji: EXE was actually cheaper than the other games at the time. The reason is because we used a ROM that didn’t have much space. Even as the series went on, the space didn’t change. It was all for the kids that didn’t get a ton of allowance…! [3]
So is there anything you would have wanted to do more of?
Eguchi: I wonder. If you look at it simply, there’s no limit as to what you can do. So I think that making great things with the restrictions you’re given is important. But regardless, development time may have made things a little difficult.
We received a lot of questions from readers regarding Serenade. In the end, who was Serenade’s operator?
Eguchi: I’ll leave that to everyone’s imagination… Let that be my answer please. However, I think that the person everyone is thinking of is probably correct. [4]
Maybe this is also a question you can’t answer, but “Mamoru-kun” appears in EXE3’s ending credits. What was that scene all about?
Eguchi: That scene was fulfilling the “once you’re out of the hospital, let’s Net Battle.” A promise that Mamoru-kun and Netto made when he was going to get surgery. So that PET was Netto’s PET.
However, the ending timeline is loose and Rockman isn’t in that PET, so please draw your own conclusion.
Ishihara: By the way, Meijin wasn’t the one who planned the ending credits. It was the programmers.
Eguchi: Whoops… I’ve been found out. That’s right! A lot of the interesting parts were actually due to the programmers.
Matsuda: In reality, not much was set in stone. Everyone just talked and came up with things together.
Eguchi: We didn’t have many people back then after all.
Ishihara: EXE3’s UI was completely redone, that was because the programmers took the lead and said “let’s do it”.
Meijin, your achievements are gradually…
Eguchi: No, no, this is a victory for everyone! (laugh) Making a game in a year takes teamwork.
So, if you were to make a new Rockman EXE game, what would it be like?
Eguchi: That’s pretty tough but when we made Ryuusei no Rockman, we went with the theme of “something that the generation after EXE would be attracted to”. So figured that after the cyberworld, the next thing that could be exciting was the waveworld.
If we were to make another EXE, the basis would be “something that kids today would be attracted to”. Fundamentally, I think Navis being in PETs would stay the same. So if I were to say what would change, it would be the modernization of the setting. Actually, I’ve got a concrete idea, but… I’m going to keep it under wraps just in case it ever happens. (laugh)
This might be a difficult question, but what kind of production was Rockman EXE to all of you?
Eguchi: My origin. Now, I’ve been in the company for 18 years, but EXE was my first time writing a scenario. EXE is the basis for my current style of work. As a game creator, EXE was my starting point!
Kaji: I helped create Rockman on the Famicom as well as X and such, but I was allowed to be rather free with EXE. I had drawn nothing but robots up until then, so for EXE I was able to draw things like adults and girls. It was a really great experience.
Ishihara: All sorts of stuff felt just right, the design, the story, the system, the music, the balance of comfort and passion was just right. It was a production that felt good because of all of those things.
Matsuda: I was challenged in various ways and enjoyed the games as a player as well. Particularly, I managed to get full completion in EXE3, so the series feels complete to me.
Nakashima: I entered the team as a beginner. I completed a game in a short period of time, quickly received feedback from customers, and learned what game development was like. The series gave me a lot of good memories back then. Even now, they’re loved by fans and I feel that I’m glad that I was involved with EXE.
To end, please give a comment to all Net Battlers as Meijin-san.
Eguchi: To all Net Battlers, thank you for supporting EXE for such a long time. EXE couldn’t have been what it was without your support. And even though 10 years have passed since EXE6; if I have the chance, someday I think I’d like to deliver more of the everlasting production that is “EXE” in some form or another. So please continue to support EXE and don’t forget about it. I have some concepts in mind!
Matsuda: Hm? Isn’t this a bit sudden!?
Eguchi: I don’t know if it’ll happen though.
Matsuda: Well if the time comes, you’ve got to replace your white coat!
Eguchi Right! I want to stay as Meijin! I’ll be counting on everyone then.
Thank you for gathering together despite being so busy. Thanks to you, we were able to experience fantastic things through Netto Hikari and Rockman. Congratulations on the 15th anniversary of Rockman EXE.
Interviewer: Kurimoto Koudai
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Aside from promotional goods, they also have Valentine’s chocolate which were apparently sent from fans every year!
Laughter continued throughout the discussion, from beginning to end. We’re deeply moved that the staff behind the series that is still loved by fans even now gathered together like this to talk about the past. All of the numbered titles are available on the Wii U Virtual Console, so playing them again might allow you to experience them in a different light.
Text at upper-right: IT’S ROCKMAN EXE’S 15th ANNIVERSARY!
Nakashima-san (left) and Ishihara-san (right) drew us these fantastic 15th anniversary illustrations!
Once again, thanks to our readers for participating in our poll. It’s not much, but we received some reader gifts from Capcom, so we’ll be giving both a signed clear file folder and an assortment of EXE goods to one reader via a raffle. We’ll be awaiting your entries. [further details on this contest are omitted from this page translation]
Signatures at top: Eguchi Meijin, Ishihara Yuuji
Signature at bottom: Nakashima Tokiko, Kaji Hayato, Kouetsu-nii-san!!
Translated by Jumi.
Edited by MidniteW.
Japanese to English names:
Plug-in = Jack in
Ryuusei no Rockman = Mega Man Star Force
Famicom = NES
Netto Hikari = Lan Hikari
Rockman = MegaMan
Notes:
[1] The reason for the game being sent in was not specified in the interview. It’s possible it is about the Japanese version of Battle Network 5, which has a glitch that totally prevents story progression. Capcom addressed this issue on their website, and people can mail in their game on the address listed on their site to get them unstuck. As of this post, the webpage is still up.
[2] Names for Duo Soul and Forte Soul are written in Battle Network 4’s code. The artbook, “Secrets of Rockman EXE” has a concept art for Forte Cross Rockman marked as Forte Soul.
[3] All GBA EXE game carts have an 8MB size limit. Every EXE game was sold in retail for 4800 yen, while in the US every MMBN game kept a steady price of 29.99 dollars. If they had used a bigger size, the price of the game would have increased.
[4] Though not explained, Mamoru Ura’s wheelchair has Serenade’s Navi emblem on it.