GameSetInterview: DELTAHEAD's James Howell on SegaGaga translation
GameSetWatch.com has posted an interview with DELTAHEAD's James Howell on SegaGaga translation
a small cut from the interview
Do you think it's something that you could recommend to someone not well versed in Sega history? To someone who hasn't played it - like me - it seems like something that might go over the heads of a lot of gamers - particularly Western ones.
SegaGaga definitely belongs in the hands of industry vets and Sega fanatics, though I don’t think it stands well as a game without its references. It’s not bad by any means—it just doesn’t do much original in the terms of the genres featured in it. In fact, it’s ironic that the game addresses a futuristic, fictional stagnation in Sega’s creative output, and it also features unremarkable gameplay in its RPG and shooter segments. Maybe the irony is intentional, but the game succeeds precisely because it takes full advantage of Sega’s presence in the industry.
With that said, the references are executed well enough to please Sega acolytes as well as folks who only read about Alex Kidd in magazines while they played the NES at home. A lightweight Sega fan may not understand that SegaGaga’s CEO, Hitomajiri, alludes to the actual Sega executive Shoichiro Iramajiri, but that material is there for the faithful.
The real test for players’ attention will come from the business sim portion of the game. Besides the fact that the genre doesn’t properly exist in the West (outside of perhaps some of the early Sim- games), the main rewards come through Sega references. If a player doesn’t see the comedy in spending half his budget to develop Super Wonderboy in the year 2025—resulting in a net gain of 5% of the market—he’ll likely need to get through the business sim on curiosity alone.
read it here
