Marie-Laure Norindr, also known as "Kayane," is a professional Soul Calibur player from France who recently had the opportunity to sit down and talk to Yohei Shimbori and Yosuke Hayshi from Team Ninja regarding Dead or Alive 5. Kayane managed to ask a fair amount of questions that covered a variety of topics ranging from the story mode, music, inclusion of Virtua Fighter characters, and the mindset of Japanese DOA players.
The entire interview can be found on Kayane's blog: kayane.fr. Below are some notable excerpts:
To top things off:
For your viewing pleasure, Kayane also had the opportunity to take on Shimbori in Dead or Alive 5, which you can see here:
The entire interview can be found on Kayane's blog: kayane.fr. Below are some notable excerpts:
Kayane: Why did it take so much time to produce Dead or Alive 5?
Yosuke Hayashi: After we finished Dead or Alive 4, we didn’t know what we were going to do next. After Dead or Alive 4 was released, the team was separated. After a while, we brought the team back to make Dead or Alive Dimensions. Then 3 years ago, we began to think “What can we do for Dead or Alive 5?” We then came back with a clearer answer of what we wanted to do with the series to improve it.
Yohei Shimbori: Actually, it’s not that we didn’t do anything after Dead or Alive 4. The team really wanted to make the game. To find the answer of what the concept will be for the next game, I looked for the entertainment in things like watching movies… and did some research about what “Entertainment” really is. At the same time, I wanted to experience what “Fighting” really is. So I entered a Taekwondo Dojo, I practiced there, and I got kicked! (laughing) Then I realized what fighting is, and what martial arts are really. So, I used that as an inspiration to make the game.
Hayashi, Kayane and Shimbori posing.
Kayane: You have been to E3 and SBO. What do you think about the Japanese players compared to the American Pro players?
Yohei Shimbori: There weren’t many opportunities to gather the DOA Japanese players together. The only opportunity we had in the past to make a World tournament with Japanese, American, and European players, was World Cyber Games. Besides that, there wasn’t a possibility to make a head-to-head match between Japanese and American players. We really would like the Japanese to meet the US champions like Master and Vanessa, so we want to create a place where they can all meet up and face each other.
To compare them, Japanese players are more focused on details, and they will practice again and again until they perfect it. So the attention to detail and repetition are their strength. They think a lot when they’re playing. It would be great to see the Japanese players against the rest of the world.
To top things off:
Kayane: What would you like to say to the fighting game fans to make them motivated to play DOA5?
Yohei Shimbori: For all the competitive fighters, DOA5 is better than the previous versions. We want Dead or Alive 5 to be a competitive fighting game. The game has become more competitive than it used to be before, and we have balanced and adjusted it so that it can be that way.
So Kayane, you are strong already! You shouldn’t spend that much time playing Soul Calibur, you should come and play Dead or Alive 5! So once you get the game, come to our camp and become a professional DOA5 player! (laughing)
For your viewing pleasure, Kayane also had the opportunity to take on Shimbori in Dead or Alive 5, which you can see here:
