This Week in Games

Interview with Ryūichi Nishizawa, Director of Milano's Odd Job Collection

Welcome back, folks! Last week saw the publication of a column I've been nursing for a long time about how my accident changed my experience with the Kamen Rider series. I'm quite proud of the reception that column had—many thanks to everyone who took the time to read it. At the time of writing, I still don't have Kirby Air Riders—but that's because I don't want to get it without the modular Rider/Machines Amiibo. Yes, I know they're overpriced, but how else am I going to get a small plastic Bandana Dee on my shelf—with a Chef Kawasaki to go with him?!

I don't like acquisitions all that much in these parts, and it's easy to see why: for a very long time, studio mergers and acquisitions have been the death knell for many studios and the talent who works at them. For more reference, see Origin Systems, Bullfrog, Maxis, BioWare, SNK, SNK Playmore, SNK (again)... Of course, I can also point to the acquisitions of Bungie and Activision-Blizzard by Sony and Microsoft, but the practice (and its death toll) long predates those highly-publicized mergers. Nintendo has been rather slow concerning its own acquisitions; make no mistake, it's made them, but they haven't been as much of a priority for Nintendo as they have for its competition. Nintendo is warming up to the practice. They showed as much last week with the publicized acquisition of the former Bandai Namco Studios Singapore, now Nintendo Studios Singapore.

Up until now, Nintendo Studios Singapore's biggest claim to fame has been the development of the origami-based adventure game Hirogami. Besides that, they're best known for having carried out a ton of support on titles like New Pokémon Snap, Mario Sports: Superstars, and Splatoon 3, as well as support work on a smattering of Bandai Namco titles like Tales of Berseria and Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown. It's important to note that this does not mean Nintendo owns any Bandai Namco IP—they bought a support studio from Bandai Namco, that's it. So no, Nintendo doesn't own Soulcalibur.

Much as with Nintendo's acquisition of Monolith, the advantage here lies in support work: Nintendo Studios Singapore already has a long history of supporting the development of major projects, and Nintendo values support networks that facilitate these efforts. Nintendo even mentions the studio's history and aptitude in "creating in-game art assets" as the main impetus behind the purchase. There are rumors that Bandai Namco Singapore might have also been working on the earlier versions of Metroid Prime 4, but as far as I can tell, those are still unfounded, so I'm not putting much weight on that. 

Once again, this isn't really good news or bad news; it's just news. We can breathe easy that it's a smaller splinter studio getting purchased, and it's getting the promotion for its history as a good pinch-hitter; we can rest easy that there isn't a golden goose getting carved up by equity in this merger.

Medabots (known as Medarot in Japan) still exist! This alone is probably newsworthy to a lot of people; the franchise got a bit of a push in the U.S. in the wake of Pokémon's initial craze, but outside of three seasons of the anime and three games, the series didn't quite take off in the U.S. The Medabots series started in 1997, but a vast number of those games are Japan-only. Currently, the series has an ongoing mobile game, Medarot S; it features several collaborations with franchises like Mega Man Battle Network, Shaman King, and Ghost in the Shell. They've announced a new collab, and this one is a deep cut...!

It's Devil Children! You know, Demikids! Devil Children is one of the lesser-known Shin Megami Tensei spin-offs, right up there with Last Bible or Jack Bros.; also in the vein of monster-collecting in the style of Pokémon, Devil Children has kids traveling to the Netherworld to rub shoulders with iconic Shin Megami Tensei monsters like Nekomata, Lucifer, Succubus, and everyone's favorite, Jack Frost. The first games released on the Game Boy, complete with a "Red Book/Black Book" version split and a subsequent "White Book" update. A second set of titles was also released on the Game Boy Advance, which was localized as Demikids. From what I've seen, a lot of die-hard SMT fans actually don't like Demikids; a pity, that! The game brings over a ton of mechanics from mainline SMT games like demon fusion and combo spells, while also having dangerously serious stories. To wit, Demikids features two named supporting characters getting executed off-screen late in the story. The Demikids games also flipped the idea of having multiple versions of a taming game; the Light and Dark versions featured differing rosters, encouraging link-ups for trading and unique fusions, but the games also had unique stories that intersected at certain points; Light Version sends Jin and his Sol Cat, Rand, to the land of Valhalla, while Dark Version sent Akira and his Rox-partner Rox to the Netherworld, Dem.

As per the Medabot collabs, the current one features a ton of Devil Children characters turned into cute medal-powered robots. The collab focuses on the first "generation" of Devil Children games, so Demikids characters won't appear. But characters Mirai, Cool the Cerberus, Lucifer, Azel, and Jack Frost have robots now. The collab's dates haven't been released yet, but that info should be coming shortly. Unfortunately, it's quite high-and-dry if you want to play any Medabots games; the recent collections haven't been released in the U.S., and there don't seem to be any plans for bringing them over. Similarly, Atlus hasn't really done much with Devil Children in the U.S. since Demikids...

Game development is a lot more complicated than any of us gives it credit for. The layperson probably imagines something along the lines of Grandma's Boy, while even many self-identified fans think it's just simple coding. There's plenty even I don't know; never mind how coding and stuff like C++ were always beyond me, the tools inherent to game development are a mystery to me. And you'd be surprised at all the hoops that come with that, like having to license textures or images. Sure, there are royalty-free packs that people use for sound effects, but things like textures and images can still involve red tape. And this also goes for font—one of the basic elements of a game that allows people to read what's happening. Yes, Virginia: fonts have licenses, and you can't just use whatever font you like. Someone has to get paid for that stuff!

Unfortunately, what was a simple process of "pay license, acquire font" has been complicated for many Japanese studios. For years, Japanese gaming studios depended on Fontworks LETS for all of their high-quality font needs. But Fontworks was acquired by the American company Monotype in 2023, and with Fontworks' old licensing plan expiring this past November 28, Japanese studios find themselves in a pickle. They can still license fonts from Fontworks... but the cost for that license has jumped from a mere $380 USD to $20,500. What's worse, studios are reporting that there is now a user cap on applications using the fonts, numbered at 25,000. So, for Fate Grand Order (which is licensed with Fontworks) to stay within compliance, it couldn't have a player base above 25,000.

This is especially galling (not to mention limiting) for Japanese developers; as Automaton Media points out, the Japanese language's extensive alphabet means that you can't just do what an American game does and depend on default User Interface fonts or even open-source options. With all of the tiny details necessary for text to read correctly, a high-quality font is a must—and it's not exactly easy to make a new font on your own. That takes time and money that isn't always afforded to developers.

I doubt this is meant to be a targeted decision against Japanese developers; at the risk of being naive, I'd like to presume this was just Monotype really wanting to nickel-and-dime their industry without realizing how unfeasible that practice is. But the whole smack reminds me of the difficulties Japanese developers had with the transition to HD game development; it was largely easy for American developers, who could rely on industry-standard tools like Havoc and Unreal Engine to cut their work. A preference to develop in-house tools like Square Enix's Crystal Tools didn't help matters... but neither did the simple language barrier. Japanese developers wouldn't have proper documentation or support for Unreal Engine until UE4. While the font matter isn't quite so drastic, it's still a devastating blow; it remains to be seen how this will shake out for the Japanese game industry.

Fans are surprised at Milano's Odd Job Collection's revival, especially considering it's being overseen so closely by its creator, Ryuichi Nishizawa. Formerly of Westone, the studio that brought the world the beloved Wonder Boy series, Nishizawa-san worked closely with Implicit Conversations and Marvelous to bring Milano's Odd Job Collection to modern consoles—and the U.S.! He was also kind enough to take the time to answer a few of my questions about the odd job collection and how the gaming world has changed in the years since its original release.

Anime News Network: For someone who has never heard of Milano's Odd Job Collection, what would you say is the biggest draw in the game?

Ryuichi Nishizawa: If I had to describe it in one phrase, I'd say it's 'the ultimate pixel-art slow-life game.' And above all, the game features a massive amount of hand-drawn pixel-art animation—far more than you'd ever expect from an 'odd-job comedy' game. That richness of animation brings Milano's quirky daily life to life uniquely and charmingly.

ANN: Are you concerned about the game not resonating with an American audience?

RN:Back in 1999, I think the game would have been a tough sell overseas. Someone even told us, 'You can't release a game in North America where an 11-year-old girl lives alone and has to work—that counts as child abuse!' (laughs) But the world has changed. Many people in America grew up with Japanese manga, anime, and games. So the everyday lifestyle and cultural quirks in this game can be enjoyed more positively today.

ANN: If you were to make a new Odd Job Collection, what new mini-games/jobs would you want to add?

RN: If we made a new game today, the jobs would reflect what kids dream about now. Being a YouTuber, a nail-artist, or even a video-game animator might be the 'cool jobs' for an 11-year-old today! (laughs) Of course, that changes by country, so I'd love to ask you: what do kids in America want to be right now? Exploring that difference could be a fun starting point for new ideas.

ANN: How has the Japanese market for games like Milano's Odd Job Collection changed since its release in 1999?

RN: If we were targeting 11-year-old girls today, a smartphone might be a more natural platform than a console. Milano is based on '40 special days,' but the structure actually works well even without that limit—similar to a cozy 'live-service' style. Mini-games are the in-game fun, while customizing Milano's house is the meta-game. If we remade it as a vertical smartphone title, I think it could resonate surprisingly well with modern audiences.

ANN: Along those lines, how has the American fanbase for Japanese games changed in the same time frame?

RN: In 1999, the internet wasn't widespread yet—many people were just starting to use email. Hence, we had no way to know how American fans felt about Japanese games. Even with my Wonder Boy games, I didn't realize they were being ported and played all over the world. Communication with fans truly began after the rise of social media. Now I can directly see players in America enjoying even my older titles, and that connection feels incredibly encouraging. The relationship with fans has evolved into something much more direct and warm.

ANN: Would we ever see a new Milano game starring an older Milano?

RN: That's a wonderful dream, isn't it? Imagine Milano all grown up—taking real jobs, meeting new people, maybe even experiencing romance while trying to find her place in life. I'd love to make that story someday.

ANN: Which of the existing "jobs" is your favorite? Conversely, which one frustrated you the most?

RN: My favorite is the cow-milking job—that's the true essence of slow life! The flying cow has a pastoral charm, and I love that dopey expression on its face. We once printed about 50 T-shirts with that cow on them as a promotional giveaway. I wonder if any winners still have them? They must be ultra-rare by now! (laughs) The most frustrating job is dishwashing. But if you concentrate long enough, you enter a zen state and start performing god-tier moves… which is fun in its own way.

ANN: Do you have any final words for our readers?

RN: Thank you so much for your interest in a small but very lively pixel-art game from 1999. If Milano makes you smile even once, that's more than enough for me. And if you enjoy the game, please tell your friends—Milano wants to keep working! (laughs) I hope this game becomes a little time machine to the heart of Japanese game culture from that era.

Many thanks to Sonia Im and Marc Bianchi for their help arranging this interview, and to Nishizawa-san for taking the time to speak with us!