Goichi Suda, more commonly known as Suda51, and Shinji Mikami require no introductions. Over the long years of their careers, they released seminal titles that have had a lasting impact on video games and contributed to shaping the medium as we know it today. The No More Heroes series, Killer 7, the Resident Evil and Dino Crisis series, the original Devil May Cry, and Viewtiful Joe are only some of the games the two Japanese developers either created or helped make that have influenced many of the games that came after them.
Besides the aforementioned Killer 7, Suda 51 and Shinji Mikami collaborated on a few other games, such as Shadows of the Damned, which is coming to modern PC and consoles as the Hella Remastered edition. During Gamescom, I had the chance to chat with the two legendary developers not only about the upcoming remaster and the original concept for the game, which changed heavily during development, but also about the projects they would like to develop, their illustrious careers, and more. Enjoy!
The interview was conducted via an interpreter and has been edited for clarity.
Shadows of the Damned has become a cult classic over the years, but it is far from being the most popular game you have worked on together. Why did you decide to bring it back? Do you feel the game will be better received now?
Suda51: The original Shadows of the Damned came out in 2011 on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, and these days, it’s pretty hard to play, even if someone wants to. Back then, the game wasn’t promoted that much and didn’t really get as widely known as we’d hoped. For this reason, we wanted to bring the game back for modern consoles to allow more people to experience it, whether for the first time or all over again. Also, we’d like to get as many of our Grasshopper games available as possible, and we decided to start off with Shadows of the Damned.
Why a remaster and not, say, a remake?
Suda51: I’m not sure there’s a good answer to this question. A remake would cost a lot more money to make. The original’s graphics were pretty good for the time, and they held up pretty well, so there wasn’t really a necessity to remake the game fully.
Besides New Game Plus and new costumes, is there anything else that has been changed or improved? If nothing has been changed, is there anything you would have liked to change, given the chance?
Suda51: As you mentioned, there’s a New Game Plus mode and new costumes, but apart from that, the game is 4K compatible to better work on modern consoles. Besides this, there isn’t any other change. Shadows of the Damned was based on an idea called Kurayami, and if the game we ended up making would have been based on that idea, I would have wanted to make a full-on director’s cut of that. But unfortunately, that wasn’t the game that we put out, so I didn’t want to make any changes. Playing the game for the time in 10 years, however, I noticed the tempo of the action really stands out for modern games’ standards, as does the trip through hell, which compliments the graphics well and how everything is presented. I think that is really cool, and I might have added something to it if given the chance
Speaking about the original concept for Shadows of the Damned, it’s been known that Suda-san wasn’t really happy about how the game turned out in the end. Do you think the original concept would have worked better nowadays with people having a different perception of Japanese games compared to 2011?
Suda51: As you mentioned, the perception of games has changed over the years, and nowadays, it would be easier to make. To be honest, I haven’t given up on it yet. This isn’t an actual guarantee, but it could be the next, next, next project I will work on.
Now that the Shadows of the Damned series has been revived, is there a chance of a sequel with both of you involved?
Suda51: I’d rather make a Killer 7 sequel first, but realistically, if the game sells well enough, I’d like to look into making a sequel. I really love Garcia, Paula, and Fleming as characters and their dynamic, which is kind of like an adult version of Super Mario Bros. I’d really like to continue their story if there’s an opportunity.
Speaking about potential future projects, is there any game or series you have worked on that you would like to give another chance with a sequel or remake?
Shinji Mikami: God Hand 2.
I approve of that. (Everyone laughs)
Suda51: I have talked frequently with the people from Spike Chunsoft, and one game that has come up several times is Michigan, a game that I released years ago. The type of game and its general vibe would go over pretty well the way video games are these days, and it’s something I’d like to revisit again at some point.
You have collaborated on multiple projects. What did you learn from each other, and have you applied these lessons to other projects?
Suda51: Up until we made Killer 7 together, me and Grasshopper mainly developed adventure games. Killer 7, on the other hand, was an action game, and I learned a lot from Mikami-san on how to make such a game, decide on a direction, and solve typical action game issues. That experience was basically my textbook about how to make an action game.
Shinji Mikami: Working together with Suda51 was a lot of fun, but there wasn’t anything to learn from him. I really love the scenarios and stories he writes, but it’s not the sort of thing that you can learn from or copy, even if I had wanted to.
Are you open to collaborating again on a future project?
Suda51: If it was somehow possible to do, I’d love to develop a Killer 7 sequel with Mikami-san.
Now that you have mentioned it again, I really have to ask. Is a Killer 7 sequel happening?
Suda51: We have talked about it with a few different media outlets before. The only thing preventing a Killer 7 sequel from happening is the IP. If we somehow got the rights to that…
Realistically, I am a bit scared of going back to the series again. When we made the original, I poured time, energy, and passion into it like never before, directing everything and making sure every little thing was just right. The work was very draining, and I’m not sure I could do that again.
Speaking about the original Killer 7, a lot of content was cut from the game. So, maybe some sort of complete edition would be an easier way to revisit the series.
Suda51: A complete edition is something I could do, and I wouldn’t have to drain myself so much to put it out.
You both had very long careers. One word to define them, and another to define your collaborations.
Shinji Mikami: It’s kind of hard to find a single word to define my career. “Completely putting myself into everything” is a good definition. Regarding my collaborations with Suda-san, a good definition would be “enjoying new things.”
Suda51: As Mikami-san said, it is difficult to find a single word to define my career and our collaborations. If I had to find a word, I’d say “Instinct.”
Regarding my collaboration with Mikami-san, it felt like going to school. Back in the day, we’d get together for an hour or two, and for the first twenty or so minutes, we would discuss actual game development. For the remainder of the time, we would talk about non-gaming-related stuff, and I not only had fun but also learned a lot from these talks.
Thank you for your time!
