Pokemon Platinum: Developer Interview!

by McKinley Noble
March 20, 2009 00:00 AM PST

With Pokemon Platinum just a few days away, GamePro was invited to Nintendo to talk with two of the developers behind Nintendo's powerhouse RPG franchise!

Pokemon Platinum is just around the corner for gamers in the U.S., and I'm already polishing up my Nintendo DS in anticipation of the new battles and Pokemon I'm going to see. Nintendo recently invited GamePro to their Bay Area headquarters to interview two of the men behind the development of Pokemon Platinum, just in time to increase my hunger for the release of this much-awaited remake edition in the record-breaking Pokemon Diamond & Pearl series. We chatted up Takeshi Kawachimaru, one of Game Freak's designers behind Pokemon Ruby and Pokemon Sapphire (as well as Pokemon Platinum's game director) and the famous video game composer Junichi Masuda, one of the original developers of Pokemon since Red and Blue/Green, who is also producing Pokemon Platinum.

(Center, left to right) Junichi Masuda and Takeshi Kawachimaru, with representives of the Pokemon Company. We were unreasonably intimidated.

GP: This is the first Pokemon game that's been named after a metal since Gold & Silver. Was there a special reason for calling this one "Platinum"?

Junichi Masuda: Diamond is a gem, as you know, and a pearl is something that nature creates. When we researched about Diamond & Pearl, [the word] "diamond" has a meaning of "love", and "pearl" has a meaning of "happiness". So when we thought of the third one, we wanted to have something "beautiful," at the next level. [It's] different from a diamond, different from a gem, different from a pearl, different from something that nature creates, something [that] shines, something beautiful. That's how we came up with Platinum.

GP: Are there any Pokemon that can be caught in Platinum that trainers didn't have access to in Diamond & Pearl?

Takeshi Kawachimaru: (Speaks to translator.) There are some Pokemon which you cannot meet in Diamond & Pearl, but you can meet [those Pokemon] in Platinum.

GP: How did you decide on the different story changes in the main game? There are certain elements of the story that have been tweaked and the villains have different motivations, so...

Kawachimaru: In Diamond & Pearl, you have Dialga and Palkia, and it has a story to each Pokemon. [It's] two different Pokemon, but one story in Diamond & Pearl. We wanted to create a different story for Platinum. That's how we developed Giratina, as something opposite of Dialga and Palkia. We wanted to make the existence of Giratina more fun, more interesting, cooler. That's how we came up with the whole scenario of Diamond & Pearl and then advanced to Platinum. We wanted to make different roles easier for the player to understand, so we used the text to explain how this is related. We set up an environment where Giratina exists, so that's something we have to add to make the storyline more appealing and approachable and accessible to players.

GP: What is your reaction to the success of the Wi-Fi battling system shown in Diamond & Pearl?

Masuda: One of the features that utilize the Wi-Fi connection is voice chat. You can chat while playing, and that makes the Wi-Fi battles more interesting because you can talk to each other. We definitely wanted to include that. If there was no voice chat, I [wouldn't] think this was that successful. Once we realized that was something we could make, we knew this was going to be very big.

GP: Finally, I can taunt people after I knock out their Pokemon verbally! It's going to be great. (Laughs.)

Charmander's clearly an office favorite over at Nintendo's Bay Area branch.

GP: What promoted the choice to have Gym Leaders and Gym Trainers use only one single Pokemon type? Is that going to make it more challenging?

[Author's Note: In Pokemon Platinum, Gym Leaders and Gym Trainers no longer carry any Pokemon that don't match their respective gym's type. This means that a Gym Leader like Candice won't be rounding out her Ice-type lineup with a weird pinch-hitter like the Fighting/Psychic Medicham.]

[Editor's Note: Nerd!]

Masuda: It is very difficult to set which actual Gym Leader has what kind of Pokemon that he or she uses. Each gym [ranks as] "Number 1 through Number 8." When you get to Number 1, you meet certain Pokemon, [and] that's limited. So, we have to think of whole scenarios, how Number 1 to Number 8 happens and which Gym Leaders [will] specialize in Water Pokemon or [any type] of Pokemon. It also affects the nearby area, so if there's a snowy city, of course, you will have Ice Pokemon. That scenario needs to be matched with how you line up the Gym Leaders, as well as their Pokemon. Towards the end, because you have already experienced many battles and you will meet wild Pokemon of a much higher level, that's why [in the game's final gym], of course, that leader has strong Pokemon.