Before the release of Shenmue, Yu Suzuki was best known for his impressive back catalog of groundbreaking arcade games. With this in mind, Apple's decision to approach the influential Japanese developer about creating a new game for its Apple Arcade service seems like something of a no-brainer. The resulting title, Air Twister, is a futuristic rail shooter that's unlike anything else on the platform.
Shortly after the game's release, Game Rant spoke to Suzuki about the development of Air Twister and the future of the Shenmue franchise. Interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.
Q: How would you describe Air Twister to somebody who’s never played it before?
A: It’s a 3D fantasy shooter game.
Q: More than 30,000 people have played it in the five days since it first went live. You must feel pretty good about that?
A: 30,000 people have played it?
Q: According to one of the leaderboards, yes.
A: I see. I'm learning something! Yes, I’m happy.
Q: What were some of your main inspirations for Air Twister?
A: I visited Apple's headquarters to explore the possibilities of Apple Arcade. When I asked them what kind of game they wanted, they asked me to make a simple, fun game like the good old arcade games of the past. I also researched my old games to see what kind of games would be good. I thought it would be a good idea to make a space shooter concept like Space Harrier. I had no intention of making a sequel to Space Harrier, but rather to create a space shooter with a fantasy world that I like, and I like The NeverEnding Story, and rocks and buildings floating in the air without gravity. I also love the idea of people floating in the air, so I decided to go with the same concept and approach it using today's technology.
Q: In terms of the way that it plays, Air Twister feels a lot like Space Harrier. Would it be fair to call it a spiritual successor?
A: When you make a space shooter you collect your favorite things. That concept, together with the technology of 1985, was used to create Space Harrier, and the same concept was used to create Air Twister using the technology of 2022.
Q: The game’s themes and visuals are certainly very striking, but how important is the soundtrack to the overall Air Twister experience?
A: There are many kinds of fantasy, but I’d always thought that my vision of fantasy and Valensia's music would be a good match. When I worked on fantasy projects in the past, I often listened to Valensia's music and I also loved old progressive rock music, such as the band Yes, so I thought that if I was going to do another fantasy project, Valensia would be a good choice.
Q: How did things progress from there?
A: Well, I didn't have Valensia's contact information, so I tried to find him on Twitter or Facebook. I sent him a message explaining that I was game creator Yu Suzuki with a link to my Wikipedia page attached. I asked him if there was a chance to work together and offered to explain the game to him if he was interested. I ended up showing him the world and the characters, and he said that he liked it and that it was a fantastic world, so we decided to do it.
Q: What was the brief that you gave him?
A: As far as the music goes there are two kinds: newly written songs and old songs with different arrangements and lyrics, and for these 19 songs, all the recordings were redone. Some lyrics of the old songs didn't match Air Twister. The melody is great and fantastic, but the lyrics are a bit different from Air Twister's. I asked him to change all the lyrics for Air Twister. For example, Air Twister is a shooting game, but there were lyrics about breaking up with your girlfriend and it didn’t really fit the content, so I asked him to rewrite and change the lyrics for the game.
Q: I see. There are a few things listed as “coming soon” within the game’s menus. What kind of things can players expect to see in future updates?
A: That's a bit of a secret. Please look forward to it. As I mentioned, there are some casual game modes in there, like Fluffy and Tap Breaker. We've also included some fun, light games for casual users, so I hope people enjoy it.
Q: At the moment, Air Twister is only available on Apple Arcade. Do you plan on bringing it to other platforms in the future?
A: I don't have any information I can give you at the moment. We're in an exclusivity period right now.
Q: How did it feel to be working on an arcade game again after all these years?
A: It's a short period of time, shorter than, say, Shenmue. It’s nice to have a short period of time to make a tight production, and also to have a good balance between the two.
Q: You recently started playing video games having previously avoided them. Do you think that this will have an impact on the way that you approach your future games?
A: I don't usually play video games, but before I make a game, I usually play a few different games as a kind of market research. I need to learn what the latest trends are in video games. I make reference, so if there is a good system like the way the UI is displayed - if it is better, more comfortable, or easier for the player - I might want to use it for reference. For example, the commands in Virtua Fighter are complicated, but I think the commands in recent fighting games have become gentler. I think that such things are a sign of the times.
Q: While on the subject of future games, what’s next for YS NET after Air Twister?
A: We just released Air Twister and we have plans to update it, so we will do a few events and updates.
Q: When it comes to the future of Shenmue, in the past, you’ve talked about wanting to modernize the Shenmue formula to appeal to a broader audience. How exactly would you go about doing that?
A: The user interface needs to be more intuitive as it is a bit confusing and there are many parts where you have to think for yourself. The original Shenmue had a lot of parts where you had to figure things out on your own, like who you needed to talk to in order to solve certain quests. Today’s open-world games have quest markers and so the story is very easy to follow as long as you keep moving forward, but players don’t always get to enjoy solving the puzzles by themselves. I think it would be better to make Shenmue more comfortable for people to think and solve puzzles on their own. If the game was solved without thinking, it wouldn’t be Shenmue.
Q: What other lessons did you learn from your experiences developing Shenmue 3?
A: After we released Shenmue 3, we received comments and feedback from many different people. We have a database of sorts and I think that the voices of users, fans, and first-time players, as well as our own reflections, will be the next step for the new game. Most Shenmue fans have given us positive feedback, saying that the game is very typical of Shenmue. For first-time Shenmue players, though, the game is a bit confusing, the progression is slow, and it can be a bit tiring to play. If there’s an opportunity to make another game, I would like to approach it in that way; preserve the good qualities of Shenmue, but also make it enjoyable for casual players. Next time, I want to make a game that both fans and casual players can enjoy.
Q: You appeared quite prominently in 110 Industries’ Tokyo Game Show presentation last year and there were strong rumors about a partnership a few months ago. Are YS NET and 110 Industries currently working together on a new game?
A: I don’t know who started those rumors. 110 Industries approached us for an interview and we just answered their questions. I think the rumors are just rumors.
Q: A few hours ago, 110 was asked about Shenmue 4 on Twitter, to which they replied “Eventually.” It sounds like they know something we don’t…
A: We did not talk to 110 industries about that.
Q: In your experience, is it normal for a publisher to comment about a game that they have no connection with?
A: It’s not normal, no. I don’t have any comments about 110.
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Air Twister is available now on Apple Arcade.