Yasuyuki Oda is a legend among SNK fans comunity. the man, responsible for producing The King Of Fighters XIV, has been with SNK for a long time, and has worked on some of the most beloved Neo Geo titles. Thanks to mr Keisuke Nishikawa from SNK Corp, We had the opportunity and honor to talk to Mr Oda about SNK Heroines as well as other exciting topics. Check out the exclusive interview below:
KOFworld: The King Of Fighters XIV marked the revival of not only the franchise but also the company. And now we are only few days from the release of a new Title: SNK Heroines. What can you tell us about what you learned from the KOFXIV development from its concept, early reaction to success and and how you applied that to SNK Heroines?
Yasuyuki Oda: We re-recognise that a number of SNK fans around the globe have a huge enthusiasm on our SNK titles after we released KOF XIV.
Especially because our characters are very popular among our SNK fans, we developed SNK Heroines focused on the factor more like “fan-item”.
KOFworld: SNK Heroines seems to be more of party game with the depth of a traditional fighing game. Is SNK targetting a new audience with the title or are KOF fans also part of the group Heroines is catering to?
Yasuyuki Oda: We hope that both KOF fans and SNK Heroines fans play both titles more.
We greatly have changed the gameplay for SNK Heroines from KOF series so we believe that both fans can enjoy both in different gameplay.
KOFworld: Can you tell us how you decided to go with an all female cast for SNK Heroines?
Yasuyuki Oda: Female characters are very popular especially in Asia regions.
Since the multiple fighting games featuring a lot of male characters already have existed, we figured out this opposite concept and it has more impact.
KOFworld: In terms of story for the game. One of the trailers mentioned that the game is taking place after KOFXIV. Is the story of the game cannon and set in the same universe as KOFXIV?
Yasuyuki Oda: Yes, this is the story after KOF XIV and Shermie and others have come back from the inside of Verse.
KOFworld: Female Terry is obiously a big deal now 🙂 Were you expecting the big reaction the character has gotten?
Yasuyuki Oda: We did not expect this at all. We just decided the appearance of Terry at the stage of early development without taking it too seriously.
KOFworld: Speaking of Female versions of popular characters, where is Miss X 🙂
Yasuyuki Oda: More and more our fans desire her appearance in the game, the possibility should increase.
KOFworld: You have recently announced the first DLC character for SNK Heroines. Are you planning more charcaters been added to the game post launch?
Yasuyuki Oda: The release of the 2nd DLC character already has been confirmed.
KOFworld: Switching gears a bit to KOF, are there still plans to offer more DLC content for KOFXIV, like characters, classic costumes etc, or is it time to move to the next chapter?
Yasuyuki Oda: Humn….we cannot say anything about them.
KOFworld: Since we are talking about KOFXIV, lets talk a bit about the KOF a New Beginning Manga which is the first KOF manga in 20 years. Can you tell us how much SNK is involved in the manga story? Is the manga the Official story of the KOFXIV game?
Yasuyuki Oda: The story writer has created its concept and our dev team has reviewed it. The manga’s story does not become the story of KOF XIV straightaway. However I believe that the manga’s concept significantly should bring a huge influence to our games.
KOFworld: A Lot of fans are hoping that the manga will one day get an anime adaptation, do you think there is a possibility down the line?
Yasuyuki Oda: I personally hope so. But nothing has been decided yet so far.
KOFworld: Speaking of Anime, last year saw the release of the excellent first season of the CG anime The King Of Fighters Destiny. Did you have any involvement in the crafting of the story?
Yasuyuki Oda: As well as the manga, we SNK review the story written by the story writer.
With respecting the story writer’s originality, we keep the balance of the story not go far away from the original one.
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Special Thanks to Mr Yasuyuki Oda and Mr Keisuke Nishikawa For this great opportunity.
