As you may recall from last year, the Japanese gaming news website “4Gamer” interviews Japanese game creators from a wide variety of companies, major and minor. In these interviews, the creators are asked about things they considered influential from this year, and discuss their aspirations for the next year.

And much like last year, three members of Too Kyo Games: Kazutaka Kodaka, Takumi Nakazawa, and Kotaro Uchikoshi– were featured. I have translated their interviews and featured them in this post for those curious.

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Kazutaka Kodaka

Representative/Director/Scenario Writer
Representative work(s): Danganronpa series

1. What was the most admirable (or shocking) game released in 2019?

AI: The Somnium Files
A game like the sum of the adventure game genre, I believe it’s a game adventure game fans can’t get enough of.
The graphics and effects have a lot of effort put into them, but the story is nigh-perfect.
It’s my personal favorite game story of 2019.。
(13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim is also fun, but I’m not done with it yet, so…)

2. What media released in 2019 left the deepest impression on you?

Once Upon A Time In Hollywood.
This was a film that caught my attention from the announcement.
Though I was disappointed that Tarantino would be covering such an unpleasant incident…
I was glued to my seat in shock when it ended.
I believe this film is a once-in-a-decade movie for film fans.

3. Which person attracted the most attention from you in 2019?

Pierre Taki
This was the first time someone I’d liked for so long had been arrested, but I’ll keep cheering him on in the future.

4. Please give a message about your aspirations for 2020 and for 4Gamer readers.

I have the recently announced FMV game Death Come True and the already announced Death March Club coming up.
I also have several other works in-progress.
I’ve kept them under wraps since going independent, but it finally feels like they’re coming together.
2020 will be the year of Too Kyo Games!

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Takumi Nakazawa

Director/Scenario Writer
Representative work(s): Root Double -Before Crime * After Days-, Ever17 -the out of infinity-, Punch Line

1. What was the most admirable (or shocking) game released in 2019?

Seven Deadly Sins: Grand Cross of Light and Darkness
From the adventure to the rich effects, I was shocked just how far mobile games have come.

2. What media released in 2019 left the deepest impression on you?

The movie Avengers: Endgame.
No matter what anyone says, the culmination of a long series that has spanned eleven years is very impressive and moving. It was exciting how many characters/callbacks it had, and the emotional way it all came together was simply astounding. I know that’s boosted by eleven years worth of emotions all piled up, but even so, it was one excitement after another all the way until the end.
Incidentally, the most shocking individual media was the movie Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. The visual direction was amazing, and I kept watching it over and over for that visual style.

3. Which person attracted the most attention from you in 2019?

Greta Thunberg
The way her words and performance had an effect all over the world stunned me with the way she made her voice heard.

4. Please give a message about your aspirations for 2020 and for 4Gamer readers.

2020 will mark start of the releases of already announced titles such as Death March Club and Death Come True, along with other titles that have been kept under wraps so far.
Some may be confused by the announcement of a completely different title such as Death Come True, considering how little information has been released about Death March Club. Some may be wondering “Has Death March Club been cancelled?” After all, they’re both from the same developer, and both have “Death” in the title. But please rest assured, Death March Club is still being made. It’s very interesting. Death Come True will also be interesting in a completely different sense. Both of these super interesting titles will be released in 2020. Please look forward to them both. Death March Club! Death Come True! (When this becomes an article, these titles will both be in big letters, so I wonder if all this repetition will catch people’s eye…)
Oh, also, I’m continuing to write scripts for an original anime. I hope I will be able to announce that one eventually.

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Kotaro Uchikoshi

Director/Scenario Writer/Toilet Cleaner
Reprensentative work(s): Ever17 -the out of infinity-, Zero Escape series, AI: The Somnium Files

1. What was the most admirable (or shocking) game released in 2019?

Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown
It shook my soul.

2. What media released in 2019 left the deepest impression on you?

Kodaka already said Once Upon A Time in Hollywood, so I’ll go with Joker. The conclusion aside, the way the cuts were so thoroughly refined struck home for me. The conclusion aside, Joaquin Phoenix’s eerie yet fascinating performance was beyond excellent. The conclusion aside, it was a strange movie I kept wanting to see over and over again. The conclusion aside…

3. Which person attracted the most attention from you in 2019?

Agnes Chow. She shook my soul.

4. Please give a message about your aspirations for 2020 and for 4Gamer readers.

AI: The Somnium Files was released to rave reviews, so go buy it! Also, Death March Club (TBD) is scheduled to be released in 2020. I believe more information will be coming out in the future, so please check it out. Thank you!