As Shadows of the Damned: Hella Remastered’s October 31st release date approaches, we spoke with two of the legendary creators of the 2011 game – Shinji Mikami (Resident Evil) and Goichi Suda (No More Heroes) – at gamescom.
While the conversation mostly focused on Shadows of the Damned and its remaster, the duo also touched on working together on Killer7 and told us a bit about what to expect from their next projects, with Suda’s Grasshopper Manufacture and Mikami’s newly founded Kamuy Inc both working on modern games.
Mikami shared with us his thoughts on the closure and subsequent liberation of Tango Gameworks, the studio he founded.
How did the Shadows of the Damned remaster come about?
Goichi Suda, founder of Grasshopper Manufacture: We started getting offers to port Shadows of the Damned about eight years ago. My studio Grasshopper Manufacture wanted to do it, but at the time Shadows of the Damned was exclusive to Origin, a digital distribution platform operated by EA. As a result, the porting talks fell through.
Since we couldn’t port the game, I gave up for a while. But I still had the desire to bring older Grasshopper Manufacture titles to contemporary consoles. I was able to do that with The Silver Case, and I was also able to bring Killer 7 to Steam and then bring No More Heroes 3 as a modern title. I thought Shadows of the Damned would be next, and I finally got around to doing that.”
Did the fact that Grasshopper Manufacture is now under the wing of NetEase Games help make this venture possible?
What are the differences in the remastered version?
Suda: We have added a New Game Plus mode where players who have completed the game can go back and play it again with all the upgrades they received the first time around. This game has an RPG element where you can upgrade your weapons and by the end of the story you will be much stronger; so if you use this weapon from the beginning of your second playthrough you can mow down weak enemies like an invincible force.
“We’ve been getting requests for a New Game Plus mode since the original game, so we definitely wanted to include that in the remaster. We’ve also introduced modern costumes, some of which can be unlocked on a second playthrough, so keep an eye out for those. The remaster allowed us to implement everything we wanted to include in the original game.”
What about visual improvements?
Suda: The remastered version supports a maximum resolution of 4K. It also supports a smoother 60 fps. The PS5/Xbox Series X/PC version supports 4K, while the Switch version supports 30 fps. In the original version, some cutscenes were pre-rendered, but in the remastered version, they have been changed to real-time cutscenes.
Let’s go back in time a bit – why did you decide to collaborate on this game?
Shinji Mikami, former head of Tango Gameworks studio: I really liked Kurayami’s outline, but there was no way Capcom management would approve it at the time. I had no choice but to give up, but we agreed to look for other opportunities to work together.”
Suda: A few years later, Grasshopper Manufacture started thinking about expanding overseas. We decided to present some plans to publishers outside of Japan, including Kurayami, and Mikami accompanied us. About three companies were interested, but in the end we signed a contract with EA.
Mr. Mikami, what made you decide to collaborate with Mr. Suda on creating the game?
Mikami: When Shadows of the Damned development was at its peak, I was also working as a director on Vanquish (2010) at PlatinumGames, so it was really tough. In the middle of that busy period, I got an email from Suda. Apparently, he wanted to completely redesign the main character of Shadows of the Damned. I was surprised because the character design was already finalized.
Why did you suddenly decide to change the appearance of the main character?
Mikami: Exactly, that was the second time – that’s when we landed on the final design for Garcia Hotspur. I was horrified at the time. I couldn’t believe we were changing the protagonist design at such a overdue stage!”
And Mr. Suda, why did you want to create a game with Mr. Mikami?
Suda: Mikami gives me a sense of security. Sometimes when a game director has been working on a game for a long time, he might not be sure about some of his ideas. You think something is captivating, but you don’t know if others will feel the same way. In such situations, Mikami will always make good decisions. Sometimes he would guide me by saying, “It would be better if you did it this way.”
Without wanting to overanalyze his talents, Mikami’s experience as a director allowed him to make good judgment calls. Even after working with him on Killer7, I wanted to work with him again to make a game. As a producer, Mikami takes the position of “protecting” the project from outside influences, so he’s very simple to work with.”
Mikami: I think we’ve managed to fulfill most of Suda’s requests for Killer7. That said, we wanted to remake the game’s cinematics from scratch, but we weren’t able to.
Mr. Mikami, last year you left Tango Gameworks, the studio you founded, and then the studio closed in June of this year. Then in August it was announced that Krafton would buy the studio and continue the Hi-Fi Rush series. How did you feel about that?
Mikami: I thought the studio would be safe as long as they continued to produce Hi-Fi Rush games. That’s one of the reasons I left Tango Gameworks. So I was surprised when the studio closed.
Suda: It was like a bolt from the blue, right?
Mikami: Now Krafton has taken over the business, so I feel like it ended up working out well. It reminded me that if you make a good game, someone will pick it up. The hard work of the Hi-Fi Rush development team has led to a new chapter in the company’s history. I think that for a development studio, making a good game is more directly related to survival than making a popular game.
Can either of you tell us what games you’ll be working on?
Suda: “So you do something.”
Mikami: Yes, I’m not just a producer – I’m directly involved in the development.”
If you were to create a modern title together, what would you like it to be?
Mikami: I would like to make a sequel to Killer 7. But it might be complex since Capcom owns the rights to the brand.
Shadows of the Damned: Hella Remastered will be released on October 31, 2024 for PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and PC (Steam).
Daniel Robson AND Esra Krabbe are editors of IGN Japan and did an interview at gamescom. Ryuichi Kataoka is a freelance writer for IGN Japan.
