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Post by bioniccommando83 on Aug 16, 2009 23:45:21 GMT -5
I have to say I'm rather fond of the original NES G.I. Joe (and moderately fond of G.I. Joe: The Atlantis Factor) and whole heartedly applaud his comment on the new G.I. Joe movie (which I will never, ever see). Props to Ken on that.
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Post by susanismyalias on Aug 16, 2009 23:52:07 GMT -5
Your recent threads have been fantastic.
Keep them coming!
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Post by Ike on Aug 17, 2009 0:03:46 GMT -5
Threads like this are what make this forum awesome.
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Post by Haz on Aug 17, 2009 1:24:41 GMT -5
Definitely. Is the GB Burai Fighter a port or a sequel to the NES game? It's a port (I think), called Burai Fighter Deluxe. |
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CRV
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Post by CRV on Aug 17, 2009 3:13:58 GMT -5
Rey: You should ask if he knows anything about the Burai Fighter arcade game.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 17, 2009 7:16:17 GMT -5
Yeah, I was amazed he emailed back. I asked him a few more questions too, hope he answers back soon enough. What I want to know is about the Goldeneye SNES game, if he knew anything about that. |
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Post by Deleted on Aug 17, 2009 7:17:24 GMT -5
That's really damn cool. I might update the Natsume one properly then get on to a KID one. I discovered Burai Fighter not too long ago and was surprised at how excellent it was. Heh, oops...guess I should have used the reserve thread (started on a GI Joe article). |
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Post by ReyVGM on Aug 17, 2009 8:05:56 GMT -5
After he replies my last email, I will reply back with these questions you guys have. I don't want to flood his inbox  |
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CRV
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Post by CRV on Aug 17, 2009 8:20:17 GMT -5
After he replies my last email, I will reply back with these questions you guys have. I don't want to flood his inbox In that case, I have some more, if these haven't already been addressed. - What exactly did he do on these Taxan games? Did he write up design documents? Did he ever communicate with the Japanese development team? - Does he know how KID became the recipient of these games? |
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Post by ReyVGM on Aug 17, 2009 8:33:34 GMT -5
Well, for your first question I think he answered when he said "I produced/designed all of those games." The games being Burai Fighter, Low G Man, GI Joe and Kickmaster.
I don't know exactly what a producer does, but if he designed them, then I guess that means the games look and play that way because he wanted to.
I'll still send him the questions though.
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Post by Ike on Aug 17, 2009 10:51:49 GMT -5
Tell him to come post here.
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Post by ReyVGM on Aug 17, 2009 11:09:34 GMT -5
I sent him the link to this topic, but it's up to him if he wants to post. I doubt it since I'm sure he's a pretty busy guy.
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Post by ReyVGM on Aug 17, 2009 11:34:11 GMT -5
Ok, he answered smsgenny's questions: "A few comments from the cool thread. I was a producer/designed at Taxan, not marketingJ
We started working with Kid with Burai, and then contracted them to do Low G, then GI Joe, then Kick Master, then GI Joe 2. The development was run from the US, though our friends at naxat helped some. I was making a LOT of trips to Japan back then, and typically for 2 week visits.
I went from Taxan to Namco to Nintendo, then to MS. No Taito in there, they just licensed Kick Master from Kid after Taxan folded…"I had already emailed him yesterday, this is what I wrote (did I sound too much like a fanboy?): "So you are indeed KAL.
Whose idea was it anyways to put 3 quests? I see a lot of Taxan games did that, but not all of them were designed by you (8 Eyes for one). Why didn't GI Joe Atlantis Factor have 3 quests too? Why was Kickmaster so similar to GI Joe? It was basically GI Joe without guns
The NES GI Joe is one of my favorite games and I was surprised when I recently found out about Kickmaster and how similar it was.
Sorry for all the questions, but it's not everyday that get you to talk to the guy that designed one of your favorite games 
Someone should really find a way to bring those games to Virtual Console. Or maybe even a 2D remake. There's so many great overlooked games from the old days that deserve a second chance.
I'm now playing through the NES Magician, all 3 quests, just to see if you also worked on it.
Here are two topics I made about you and those games:
Gamespite:
www.gamespite.net/talkingtime/showthread.php?t=8405
And Hardcore Gaming 101:
hg101.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=games&action=display&thread=5552
Well, thanks for taking the time to write back and have a nice day Ken."And this is his reply: "I always liked the idea of different difficulties, but I really wanted them to actually DO something, other than just be harder, more enemy types, different level design (as possible with the old tech), unlocks, different endings, whatever… this is also pretty obvious in some of my other early games where I helped and/or had influence… two of the better known being Goldeneye and Blast Corps.
Kick Master was about ½ done when Taxan shut down. I was only able to work on it for a few hundred hours, but I have some great memories there.
Magician was the first game from Eurocom, when we hired them to do the game (because of the game), there were the 3 founders working out of a barn…
Low G Man was the first game I designed completely, and GI Joe is the first I was really proud of. It had special moves, vehicle jacking, multiple difficulty impact, really pushed the NES with the MMC3 chip… good fun.
As with Kick Master, GI Joe 2 was about ¾ done when Taxan went away, and was then picked up by Capcom. I wasn’t able to help finish it, but I had a lot of early influence. Personally, I liked the first better.
Would be cool to see them on VC, doubt I could get them on XBLA, pure mechanics based 8-bit games were great fun to make, and to play!
Of course, I did have a reasonable amount to do with Shadow Complex, so I still have a love for the 2D greatness. J If you haven’t played this one yet, hold on tight…"I already emailed him back with some other questions. I won't ask anymore unless he says it's ok. |
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Post by Feynman on Aug 17, 2009 11:58:50 GMT -5
What an awesome guy. Now I have to play Shadow Complex even MORE knowing Ken Lobb is involved! I find it interesting that pretty much everything he's had a hand in has been a game I love. Looks like I need to go play all the games he's worked on that I missed.
You should consider taking this information and impromptu interview and writing up a small article. It's a great piece of video game history!
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Post by ReyVGM on Aug 17, 2009 12:02:46 GMT -5
Unfortunately I suck at writing, but if anyone else wants to do it, then go ahead.
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