MSX FAN: Akihiko Nagata interview (February 1988)

The following is a translation of an interview with Akihiko Nagata that was featured in the February 1988 issue of MSX-FAN. Nagata-san was a developer within Konami’s MSX department during the 1980′s. This article is mainly focused on the Konami Game Master utility cartridge, known as the Konami no Game wo Jūbai Tanoshimu Cartridge in Japan (literally “The Konami Cartridge That Makes Games Ten Times More Enjoyable”) or the “Jūbai Cartridge” for short. This interview specifically focuses on the enhanced that was released in 1988 known as the Shin Jūbai Cartridge, also known as the Game Master II.

Akihiko Nagata is often credited as one of the original creators of the Akumajō Dracula, although in reality he only worked on the MSX2 version (released in Europe as Vampire Killer) and not on the original Famicom/NES game, although he would later become an executive producer in many titles, most notably the PC Engine version of Snatcher, as well as Policenauts and the original Metal Gear Solid.

Introduction

We wondered why kind of developers are the people behind Konami who put hits after hits such as Shalom and Salamander. We did a direct interview with Mr. Akihiko Nagata to find out.

Mr. Akihiko Nagata is the supervisor who leads the PC department in Konami’s development headquarters. He is 28, unmarried and currently resides in Hyogo. His hobby is work. He was busy during this day, attending this interview and a party.

Secret History of the Game Master

MSX-FAN:  The Game Master 2 was released last January, but the original Game Master was already something of an unusual software. For starters, it’s not a video game at all.

Nagata: That’s because the Game Master is a software we used to test out games during development. It was a software that we made out of necessity for development. It was pretty easy to make it into a retail product. No development costs were necessary, it was simply a matter of putting it together. (laughs) The hardest part was trying to make the Game Master compatible with the games that were released before it. So when it came to the older games, we had to insert many programs for each of them. The next obstacle after that was trying to make the Game Master compatible with all MSX models with a second cartridge slot. That was truly difficult.

Speaking of which, the usage and functionality of the original Game Master differs when played on MSX2-specific games.

It couldn’t be used to import screen data or to create save data [on those MSX2 games]. The Game Master was also required to be on the second cartridge slot [as opposed to the first slot]. Because of this, the Game Master 2 not only has the same usage and functionality as the original Game Master, but it can also be used to record screen data and game progress on MSX2 games.

It seems that you can save your progress using S-RAM.

We added 8-kilobytes of S-RAM  in order to make saving progress convenient. You can save your progress on the Game Master 2 or on a disk with around 2 key inputs.

That sounds convenient for RPGs and Adventure games. So does that mean we’ll be seeing more of those type of games?

We have many requests for such games. I would like to make a game that could becoming a series like Dragon Slayer or Hydlide, but I would also like to develop a software that could create a sense of unity between the player and the game and of course, have a Konami-like sense of action.

Games Born From The Game Master

There are Konami games that make use of the MSX’s second cartridge slot for interesting features. For example, you can turn the Vic Viper in Gradius [released as Nemesis in the UK] into the titular ship from TwinBee.

When we were working on Gradius for the MSX, the neighboring Famicom division were working on Moero TwinBee [released on the NES as Stinger in North America], so we’ve tried putting a side-way TwinBee for a bit in the game. It turned out to be fun and that’s how it ended up being.

Have you created such games while thinking about using the second cartridge slot from the outset.

It was planned from the beginning with Gradius 2 [aka Nemesis 2] and Salamander [note: the MSX version of Salamander has a secret ending that requires you to clear the game with a Gradius 2 cartridge on the second slot], but usually we put such features in a game just before it goes into mass-production in around a day.

Finally, which was the game that gave you the most concern?

Naturally it was a game that didn’t sell well, but it’s difficult to describe what kind of game it was. (laughs) For instance, it was a game that was described by a certain publication as a “Konami-like shooting game”. I will leave it to your imagination to figure out which game it was.

I’m sure we can rely on Konami for making fun games. Thank you for taking your time today.

Akihiko Nagata with Konami spokeswoman Akemi Kamio holding a copy of Salamander for the MSX.