06/30 Le fameux portage d’Akumajō Dracula X Gekka no Yasōkyoku
Le portage de Symphony of the Night sur Saturn est une histoire relativement bien connue, quasiment depuis sa sortie : Konami connaît quelques revers en arcade et galère à sortir ses premiers jeux Nintendo 64, décide de porter trois récents succès de la PlayStation (Gensōsuikoden, Vandal Hearts et Dracula X) sur Saturn pour renflouer les caisses rapidement, et confie cette tâche à KCE Nagoya, leur studio low cost généralement en charge des versions Game Boy et surtout de former à la dure les étudiants fraîchement sortis de l’école.
Les jeunes en question galèrent avec le hardware ésotérique de Sega, loupent l’objectif déclaré de commercialiser la version Saturn pour la fin d’année 1997 et sortent finalement le jeu en juin 1998, plus d’un an après l’original et trois mois après la sortie de la version The Best sur PlayStation, ce qui oblige en plus Konami à vendre la version Saturn moins cher que prévu (¥3800).
Le résultat du portage est mitigé : il rajoute moult bonus sympas dont notamment un Sound Test, deux nouvelles aires de jeu, de nouveaux objets, des objets rééquilibrés et surtout deux personnages supplémentaires jouables dès le départ, mais aussi des performances techniques assez décevantes pour un jeu 2D sur Saturn (qu’un extraordinaire patch amateur a en grande partie résolu depuis, pour rappel). Résultat : c’était le ratio bonus / performances idéal à l’époque pour permettre aux fans PS1 et Saturn de s’écharper en toute mauvaise foi sur qui possédait la meilleure version.
Mais ce dont je voulais parler aujourd’hui, c’est d’un aspect moins connu et beaucoup moins discuté concernant les bonus d’Akumajō Dracula X Gekka no Yasōkyoku (d’ailleurs ce n’est pas mentionné dans la vidéo ci-dessus) : ce qu’on trouve sur le disque.
(Enfin, plutôt de l’autre côté du disque. Mais ce serait moins parlant.)
En effet, la version Saturn d’Akumajō Dracula X fait partie de cette première vague de jeux consoles à avoir caché des bonus supplémentaires pour les possesseurs d’ordinateurs personnels ayant eu la bonne intuition (ou des motivations patibulaires) d’insérer le jeu dans leur lecteur CD-ROM, au même moment ou se développait l’informatique personnelle de masse grâce à Windows95. C’est ainsi qu’on retrouve, dans un dossier bonus, des papiers peints et des portraits des personnages de Kojima Ayami en haute qualité (pour l’époque, hein, genre 1024*768 pour le papier peint).
Et même cette illustration bonus de Succube ma foi fort émoustillante et très importante pour mon adolescence (NSFW).
Si cette dernière image n’avait pas suffi à ôter le doute concernant la désinvolture complice du staff de développement pour la diffusion, dans la soumission Master du jeu, d’illustrations internes scannées en haute qualité au nez et à la barbe de Konami et Sega, le dernier document cadeau, KAIHATSU.DOC (donc « développement.doc ») daté du 9 avril 1998, vous épargnera tout soupçon.
On y trouve, dans un encodage SHIFT-JIS ma foi nostalgique et un poil émouvant quand on l’ouvre dans Windows 11 deux décennies plus tard, le post mortem de l’équipe de développement. Vous vous posiez peut-être la question légitime « mais comment sait-on tout des circonstances du développement du jeu, et depuis si longtemps ? » → parce que KAIHATSU.DOC, que vous partage ici pour conclure le post et dont je recommande chaudement la lecture, qui humanise ce portage souvent décrié et rend l’équipe éminemment sympathique. Comme avec les images partagées ci-dessus, tout cela a été archivé et traduit, à l’origine, chez l’excellent site The Cutting Room Floor.
A few words from the developers of the SS version of Dracula X…
☆☆☆☆☆ Let’s begin with the graphic artists. ☆☆☆☆☆
Thank you very much for buying our game.
Thinking back, we had our difficulties, but we were somehow able to pull things together in the end. Because the SS version is a little different from the PSX version, a variety of new elements were added to the game, so I believe that those who own the PSX version will be able to enjoy this one, too.
I’ll tell you a little story from the developers’ point of view. There’s actually another version of Maria with a full set of graphics different from the one the player meets in the actual game. It ended up going unused.
It might’ve been neat if she had been used, though. Because she was a dark version of Maria, the opposite to the light version of Maria, her attacks and such would have been entirely different. Go ahead and imagine for yourselves what she might have been like. (Perhaps, if she’d appeared in the game, she’d have been called Black Maria?)
Feel free to write us a letter or something. In any case, enjoy the game!
BGM: L’alba dei morti viventi/Goblin
Yoshinori Suzuki (Designer)
First off, did you enjoy the SS version of Dracula X Gekka no Yasoukyoku?
Thinking back, the original PSX version could be said to be the ultimate 2D game, at least in terms of the special effects. I think we did a pretty good job of porting it to the Saturn, which isn’t very impressive in terms of processing. Another thing we can thank the programmers for. Not to mention the trouble we had forcing the system to handle the effect transformations, transparency processing, and « impossible » specs concerning the additional monsters I was in charge of. However, our efforts weren’t for nothing, and I think we ended up with something fun. Don’t just kill the additional monsters right away, take your time with them now and then.
Ah, the river is calling…
Graphic Designer Tanabe over and out.
Hello, everyone, nice to meet you. I’m Muraoka, in charge of the game’s backgrounds. This project is my first foray into the game industry.
Sorry release ended up getting delayed. We all did our best, but we ran into some issues on the hardware front. [Laughs bitterly] It was a cycle of trial and error. (Really… Dohoho.)
But, I think our efforts came through and we were able to make a good game. I hope you’ll be able to enjoy it.
I wonder if I’ll be able to do an original game next~~~~? hopeful I want to make a game that everyone will love. If you have an idea for something that could work, please send a letter to KCE Nagoya. (LOL) Maybe you can prop up my hopes?
See ya next time!
Yasuko Okamura
For this game, our team did their best to put together as many requests and improvements as we could from the people who’d played the game on the PSX. Please send us your impressions of the SS version, if you can. The Dracula series will continue to evolve, fueled by heartwarming letters and relentless encouragement!
Thank you very much for purchasing the SS version of Akumajou Dracula X.
Until next time…
Miyata
☆☆☆☆☆ Next up, the sound staff!☆☆☆☆☆
Man, it was tough. The Dracula series always has a ton of background music, not to mention sound effects. And this one has dialogue, to boot… I was worried about whether it would really all be able to fit on one CD, as I hammered it out, day after day, I started to feel that my efforts were admirable, if I do say so myself. Please listen carefully.
Suzuki the Sound Guy
I’m Iwata, the guy in charge of sound programming. (I actually played the guitar as well!) The PlayStation’s sound is really elaborate, so porting the game was really hard work. I’m relieved that we somehow made it work.
Youichi Iwata, Sound Programmer
I was in charge of the creation and arrangement/mixing of 5 of this game’s original songs. As I did the music for the port, I attempted to pursue originality while keeping in mind the fact that the game needed to act as a successor to the atmosphere of the PSX version.
I wonder if our KCE Nagoya touch lended a bit of spice to the original title? I look forward to hearing everyone’s impressions.
Tetsuya Ozono
Hello there, I’m Junko Shintou, of the sound team.
My main job was to arrange 2 BGM tracks and create sound effects for all the original enemy characters. The songs I arranged are the original stage music for the reverse map (I arranged the song called Bigining [sic] as a techno piece), and the song in the Long Library with the old man (it’s a little different from the PlayStation version!).
I did a bunch of other things too, though…
Every day, I felt a different sort of excitement, knowing my songs would be in a game. My previous work was also on the Saturn, but my time working on this game has left me full of memories of a different sort.
I’d really love it if you were able to enjoy the game right till the end.
I’m Okada, the guy who did 2 of the BGM songs for the SS version of Akumajou Dracula X. I was a fan of the PSX version, so I’m really glad I could participate in the production of the port!!
My appreciation to Suzuki and Ozono, who taught me so much.
Okada of the Sound Department
Thank you very much for purchasing the SS version of Akumajou Dracula X - Gekka no Yasoukyoku.
What did you think of it?
This was my first time developing for the Saturn, and have some regrets regarding what I failed to do in drawing out the hardware performance (the game was still delayed regardless… sob), but I think it’s a passable port.
Because I, personally, am pretty attached to the Dracula series, there were a lot of other things I wanted to do, but release was delayed, and the PlayStation Best version went on sale…
If you think about it, Maria matured. She really grew up in the last 4 years.
Please be sure to play as Maria, too. laughs
Takagi, in charge of the system, backgrounds, etc., over and out.
Thank you very much for purchasing the game. I’m Y.M. I was mainly in charge of certain game devices.
The walls behind bookcases, the moving floors outside the walls… These little things in the game weren’t noticed much, and I was moved to tears once or twice. When people finally noticed some of them and smiled, I was very happy.
Y.M. – Programmer
Thank you very much to the people who bought and sold our game. And, to the people involved in developing the game, good work. 2D action games are a rare genre these days, but I think that means it’s Konami-esque. The inside of the castle is pretty expansive, but I’d really like you to be thorough in your search and aim for a 100% clear.
If you have ideas such as “I want to play this type of game,” or “I wasn’t too happy with this part,” please write us or join Konami and work with us. laughs
Shimiz, the guy in charge of the players
Nice to meet you!! I’m Imai the programmer.
It’s been just about a year since I joined Konami. I wanted to make something in 3D, but I end up on the staff of a 2D action title, the SS version of Dracula X. I was mainly in charge of the enemy characters (was it really just the enemy characters?). There were probably around 200 of them, if you really narrow it down.
Which enemies did you enjoy? The one I had the most trouble with was Orlok. It took me 2 weeks. The programming for its pre-transformation and post-transformation was nothing to sneeze at. There are probably around 5 small fry. I had other people helping me out, but, in the end, I was in charge of doing the small revisions. It was tough.
Perhaps because of that, I ended up missing out on summer holidays, New Years, and my TV dramas. When we were writing New Years cards, I told my wife that I’d be finished soon, just to make her happy, but now the sakura are blooming. It’s already April.
It was sad! Painful! The schedule was demanding! The department head had us in a death grip (much love!)! Even the police were merciless!
Now I’ll pass on something I learned from working on this project. The title is “Parking on the Street Is a Terrible Thing”.
It was a rainy morning in March. I’d spent my weekend staying at my wife’s parents’ house (I had to work on Saturday and Sunday as well, you see). Because we had a (1 year old?) hamster at our house, I had to bring it with me, and, naturally, I drove over in my beloved Toyota Carib.
When I went to my wife’s parents’, there was always the implicit understanding that I’d park on the backstreet behind the house. Because it wasn’t forbidden to park on that street, I didn’t think anything of parking there and going off to work. On Saturdays, that wasn’t a problem (though, to be honest, it should have been okay no matter what the day). Then Sunday came along. Stressed out by work, I returned home and fell asleep in a daze. Monday soon followed.
I awoke to the voice of my mother-in-law telling me “You’re parked illegally!” “What?!” I exclaimed. “That street isn’t illegal to park on!” I had a bad feeling about this. When I went down to my car, I found a ticket that looked like a regular parking ticket, but the message on the ticket was clearly different from a regular parking ticket. The note said « violation related to automobile storage location ».
The note explained how the police had come by prior to 8 the night before, and again at 5 that morning. There were traces of chalk on the tires (no small thing). I visited the police station right away. The receptionist indicated that I hadn’t committed a parking violation, but that I should go down to the traffic division. “If it wasn’t a traffic violation, then what the hell?!” I said to myself.
A little while after I was shown to the traffic division, one of the people in charge there came out and began to take notes. “Why are you taking notes?” I asked in confusion. “Mr. Imai, this isn’t a traffic violation we’re dealing with, but a violation of the Motor Vehicle Storage Act. We won’t be fining you, but the penalty fee will have to be decided in court. The cost should come to less than 200,000 yen, but you will have to appear in traffic court. By the way, the fee has never been lower than 50,000 yen. If you can’t pay the amount they decide on, you will have to do forced labour for 5000 yen a day.” I was dumbfounded. As a bonus, after taking down the notes, the person added “The perpetrator of this violation has deeply reflected on his wrongdoing, so please grant him leniency in your judgment.” “What the hell did I do?!” I thought to myself. “Bad luck!” the police officer told me.
I was dumbfounded. I was stupified. To think that something like this had occurred after I just so happened to visit my in-laws’ house. It would have been better if they’d towed me. In the end, I paid 50,000 yen for the good of my country (likely more with tax), but more people than me have suffered under this Motor Vehicle Storage Act. Be forewarned: If you treat curbside parking lightly, you’ll suffer a sorry fate.
If you want to do the right thing, kiddos, become someone great!
This has been a report on Imai’s present circumstances.
From the Developers of KCE Nagoya’s Dracula X For the Saturn