Yuji Naka isn’t really bad: How a Sega legend gradually became one of gaming’s greatest villains

Yuji Naka was once hailed as Sega’s greatest game developers, perhaps only second to Yu Suzuki. However, over the years, he’s gone from being popularly credited, incorrectly, as the creator of Sonic the Hedgehog to being one of gaming’s biggest bullies, laughing stocks, and now even a criminal.
How did this happen to one of gaming’s greatest heroes? Here is his complete story, from humble beginnings as a self taught programming prodigy to his recent escapade in the Japanese slammer. This is the Yuji Naka story!
Some sources for your edification:
Balan Wonderland director reveals the wild story behind 2021’s biggest flop by Hayes Madsen @ Inverse (4/28/22)
Former Square Enix Employee Taisuke Sasaki Handed suspended sentence….by Egan Loo @ AnimeNewsNetwork (6/8/23)
Former Sonic Team head Yuji Naka arrested over insider trading by Brian @ NintendoEverything (6/1/2023)
Here’s why it’s so easy to get away with insider trading in Japan by Colin Moreshead @ Insider (7/12/2012)
Interview with Mike Wallis @ SonicCult
Interview with Yuji Naka @ Next Generation (July, 1996)
Nights - 1996 Developer Interview @ Shumplations
Pillow Talk: An Interview with Sonic Team @ Official Sega Saturn Magazine Issue 11 (Sept, 1996)
Sonic co-creator charged with illegally trading over $1M in Final Fantasy Stock by Sisi Jiang @ Kotaku (12/28/22)
Sonic the Hedgehog co-creator Yuji Naka pleads guilty to insider trading by Jon Fingas @ Engadget (3/3/23)
Sonic X-treme @ SonicRetro
Sonic X-treme death in development | the art of failure by Stuff we play @ youtube (11/17/2019)
Sonic X-treme originally planned for 32X….by DreadKnox @ SonicStadium.org (6/14/2002)
SquareEnix Declines to Comment on Yuji Naka’s Baland Wonderland Lawsuit by Alana Hagues @ NintendoLife (5/13/22)
The Story of Sonic Team - 1997 Developer Interview @ Shmuplations
Yuji Naka Explanations about Nights Engine and Sonic X-treme accusations by Dward3390 @ r/Games
Yuji Explains Why He Scribbled Out Co-Worker From Old Nights Photo vy Josh Coulson @ TheGamer (7/6/2022)
Yuji Naka Interview by CVG (May 27, 2003) @ SonicRetro (5/2/2022)
Yuji Naka Sonic Interview - February 1995 by Gryson @ MDShock (7/19/2018)
Yuji Naka @ Twitter (7/5/2022)

[@creativecatproductions]

I removed midroll ads because they were annoying. KZbin put over a dozen. Thats crazy 😅

[@saltygumballs2621]

Thank you. You've earned my like and sub for your heroic deed today.

[@creativecatproductions]

It had to be done! I tried watching the video with my family and it was absolutely insane how many ad breaks KZbin put in there. You no longer have the option to choose where they go or how many are included in the video…..so now they just put so many in our video that there was a commercial every 6 minutes! That’s more than what you’d get just watching TV. So now I have to go and disable mid roll ad breaks on all our videos 😂 Thanks for the sub and the like dude. 😎

[@brandonwilliams6119]

Not all heroes wear capes! You earned my like and subscribe!

[@postumus77]

Here is hoping Tom Vu does the right thing and steps up to fill in the ad revenue gap for this distressed property errr video!

[@creativecatproductions]

I have no idea who Tom Vu is but if he can get the midroll ad count down to about half of what it is then I’d be grateful! 😝 I’m not putting mid roll ads on ANY videos until they change the policy or give back the ability to customize them. It ruins the viewing experience.

[@MacUser2-il2cx]

I think Yuji Naka getting credit for "creating" Sonic The hedgehog was more for the game, not exactly the character himself.

[@creativecatproductions]

I think in the 90s and early 2000s he was definitely conflated with being, somehow, the “creator” of Sonic the Hedgehog. I think he can rightly be given credit for some of the core game mechanics, like rolling and looping, and of course the programming, but when it comes to the level designs, artwork it was other people making big contributions. I think there’s no doubt the quality of the game was a group effort. 😎

[@nikkihedged]

I believe Yuji Naka’s biggest problem was caring too much about Sonic, about his work, and having a big mouth. That can be a bad or good thing. One of the stories I find interesting about him comes from the 1990s. Sega didn’t allow the members of sonic team to be credited with their real names on sonic 1, they had to use aliases, but Yuji Naka still went ahead and put their names into the game secretly. You had to put in a code to make the names visible on screen. I think that he’s just the kind of person to not allow others to walk over him. Not even his bosses at Sega. I’m amazed that between him, Ohshima and Hirokazu, Naka was the one who stayed at Sega the longest, despite his personality.

[@creativecatproductions]

I think this is spot on. Naka does have a very assertive personality. I think this probably served him well in some ways throughout his life, but being a renegade can backfire….perhaps more often than not. But putting their names in the game without approval, what a ballsy move! 😆 I love it. Of all the videogame legends from the 80s and 80s, I think Naka might be the one I want to meet the most. Thanks for watching dude! 😎

[@radiokunio3738]

I feel like there's been a shift in culture regarding "renegade" personalities, back in the 90's and 00's being assertive and independent was seen as admirable. Now it's seen more as arrogant and selfish, atleast in western culture, assertive figures that used to be admired like Elon and Trump, are seen as narcissists. The reality is that Japan is already a very collective focused culture, and I lack the understanding to really comment on Naka whould have been seen in Japanese culture.

[@nikkihedged]

@@radiokunio3738 While that is true. I do think there’s more to it since SEGA figures like Peter Moore and Tom Kalinske are still well respected and they also have strong personalities.

[@itsshauta]

@@nikkihedged It honestly feels like there's a strong "America good, Japan bad" mentality when it comes to people's perception of Sega overall.

[@nikkihedged]

@@itsshauta definitely. I see it in the way people talk about SEGA then and still now. The language barrier certainly doesn’t help. And most of sega’s history in English is told by people like Kalinske and other executives from SEGA of America.

[@DumDoDoor]

Amazing story man! You certainly have pour so much effort into this and made the history pretty straight-forward too~

[@creativecatproductions]

Thank you very much for watching! 😎

[@mrbransformer4184]

Yuji Naka was such a huge part of Sega kids lives. I hated to hear what happened but it’s nice to be able to know what ACTUALLY happened.

[@creativecatproductions]

Thank you very much for watching dude! 😎

[@mrbransformer4184]

Hahaha love the Johnny Millennium during the Phantasy Star, I was honestly thinking about him while u talked about that game.

[@creativecatproductions]

His devotion to the game is inspiring! Plus that get up is really cool

[@IAmTPhilly]

I’m so surprised this only has 1k views with how high quality and well researched this is. This is the first video of yours I’ve watched but I’ll definitely be keeping my eye open for future videos. Great video, keep up the good work!

[@creativecatproductions]

Thank you very much for watching! I really appreciate it 😎

[@orangeslash1667]

@@creativecatproductions Good news kzbin.info/www/bejne/kGrHaqd9j7x6bZI As for Nights, here's the info on the development. Nights was developed by Sonic Team, the Sega development division that had created the Sonic the Hedgehog games for Genesis. The Nights concept originated during the development of Sonic the Hedgehog 2 in 1992, but development did not begin until after the release of Sonic & Knuckles in late 1994. Programming began in April 1995 and total development spanned six months. Yuji Naka was lead programmer and producer, while Naoto Ohshima and Takashi Iizuka were director and lead designer, respectively. Naka and Ohshima felt they had spent enough time with the Sonic franchise and were eager to work on new concepts. According to Naka, the initial development team consisted of seven people, and grew to 20 as programmers arrived. Naka originally intended to make Nights into Dreams a slow-paced game, but as development progressed the gameplay pace gradually increased, in similar vein to Sonic games. The initial concept envisioned the flying character in a rendered 2D sprite art, with side-scrolling features similar to Sonic the Hedgehog. The team were hesitant to switch from 2D to 3D, as Naka was sceptical that appealing characters could be created with polygons, in contrast to traditional pixel sprites, which the designers found "more expressive". According to Iizuka, the design and story took two years to finalise. The difficulty was designed with the intent that young and inexperienced players would be able to complete the game, while more experienced players would be compelled by the replay value.

[@expsharevideogames]

Nights rules! The high score mechanic in it is endlessly fun and addicting!

[@creativecatproductions]

High score mechanics were a pretty hard sell in 1996. But who am I to judge? For I love scrolling space shooters above all genres. Is there anything more dated than that?! Thanks for watching dude 😎

[@mallicktv]

I was expecting that around the 20 min mark it was gonna turn into a Balan-only video, at which point I was planning to leave the vid, then it turned into a whole treatise on Sega's mistakes in mid 90s, which kept me hooked for the next 70 mins haha. Good job, you should do more in this style as well as your vid on Retro Studios.

[@creativecatproductions]

Thank you very much for watching! These do seem to be our most popular types of videos…..they just take months and months to make 😂

[@terran347]

I bought the controller for nights and still love it to this day ^^; I have no nostalgia for this game since I played it as an adult, but still really love it (and its sequel)

[@creativecatproductions]

It definitely has its fans! I think the Christmas version is better. Somehow it fits the character better. Thanks for watching dude! 😎

[@CanaldoZenny]

Correction: Yuji Naka didn't made Sonic R. That game was outsourced to the third party company called Travelers Tales, who also made Sonic 3D Blast. Yuji Naka was credited as General Producer in Sonic R, as it was his role within Sonic Team at the time. The programming of the game was made by Travelers Tales' Jon Burton. I think the only contributions from Sonic Team to Sonic R were the level design of the race tracks.

[@creativecatproductions]

This is true! I think I may have very briefly mentioned this in the video: the game was actually developed by Travelers Tales, but Yuji Naka served as the game’s Producer from SEGA, which means he bears some executive responsibility for the final product: good and bad. It was one of Naka’s first games in that kind of role. Thanks for watching dude! 😎

[@SeaToSkyImages]

Fantastic video about an infamous gaming legend. I really like your presentation style. It's light and fun.

[@creativecatproductions]

Thank you very much for watching dude! We really appreciate it 😎

[@postumus77]

A fun video, thanks for the upload, but I have a few points I want to bring up. 1. Sequels generally sell fewer and fewer copies as time goes on, especially when Sega was demanding a new Sonic game every year for 4 years in a row. Trying out a new IP like Nights at Sega of Japan, while Sega of America works on 3D Sonic, made sense as a way to mitigate risk, at least to the Execs at the time. 2. I think you are reading way too much into the name Sonic Team, these guys were likely burnt out on Sonic, and wanted to do something different, hence Nights. And the fact was, the higher ups had decided to give STI the greenlight on Xtreme on the 32x, which meant they could pursue Nights on the Saturn, as kind of complementary products. But if Naka was going to build a prototype engine for what would become Nights, I would fully expect it to feature Sonic, even if it was Sonic flying around. It just makes sense to give the Execs something familiar to look at at that very early research stage. Same reason they called their team Sonic team, familiarity and prestige. 3. Critics and fans loved Nights then and they love it now, and this is not a case of rose colored glasses, the game is just extremely fun to play. In fact Miyamoto is said to have personally congratulated Naka on Nights at a tradeshow at the time, and asked when they could all expect a sequel, as the game had gone over extremely well at Nintendo offices. Also, you only play as the kids, who cannot fly, for about 3 seconds, until they are able to synergize with Nights and enter their subconscious, where they are able to tackle what is impacting their mental health in the real world, via these dream world challenges by flying as Nights. Eventually the kids find the confidence to fly on their own in the final stage, in fact the entire game and story is based on mental health, psychology, Jung/Freud, and all of it is overt, but you failed to mention any of this. 4. From Naka's Wiki page: He persuaded his superiors that Nights would only take one year and that he would work on a 3D Sonic in 1997. However, the development on Nights took longer than expected. Naka regretted that he was not able to deliver a Sonic game for the Saturn, as this was often cited as a reason for the console's failure. Naka always pushed for new ideas and concepts, he pushed for Sonic 3 to be a 3D game, he pushed for the Lock-on technology for Sonic and Knuckles, he pushed for unconventional games such as Chu Chu Rocket and Seaman, so it seems very believable to me that he pushed for a new IP in Nights, to try something different and shake off some Sonic fatigue, but the development time took longer than expected. So while he started on Sonic Adventure for the Saturn, it, along with Shen Mue, were moved over to the Dreamcast. 5. Naka likely did not want to answer the question about the mixed 2d/3d nature of Nights, because, technically speaking, everything on the Saturn is 2d. It doesn't really have any dedicated 3d hardware acceleration, it relied on myriad of chips to "fake" 3d, that's why the Saturn is often said to have 4 sided "polygons", because in reality, they weren't 4 sided polygons, they were sprites. I doubt very much that Naka, or Sega at large wanted this publicly admitted and I think Naka's deflection was pretty bad to be fair. But stating Naka was farting around for 6 months is highly presumptuous. He was one of the very few programmers able to make an engine that impressed critics and fans alike. 6. As far as withholding the game engine, assuming that it's true, I can see why he did. The devs at STI worked in C++, and the engine was in Assembly, there was just no way this was going to work, they did not have infinite time and the Saturn lacked the horsepower to deliver something with the fidelity offered in Nights, but in an open world environment and in the slower C++ language. Naka perhaps knew the best bet was for Sega to simply cut their loses and move on, he may have also anticipated that he would be roped into trying to assist STI port the Nights engine to C++, since he knew was one of the few people that knew the engine well. And as someone that didn't speak English and was moving away from coding work to higher level management work, there would be nothing appealing in it for him to move back to California, especially for a project he likely knew was doomed. I don't really endorse the idea of Naka being a good or bad guy, I don't know him personally, but I agree with your general theory, he isn't perfect, but things have likely been over blown, lost in translation or muddied by time and inaccurate memories. That said, I think you're on the wrong track with Nights being a failed Sonic game, as per the Naka quote above, Nights was meant to be a relatively quick break from the yearly same-y Sonic grind, as it was not only a new IP, it was very unconventional one too, but it took longer than anticipated to make. These projects cost tens of millions of dollars, they have to have design documents for the Execs to sign off on, including dates for milestones, release dates, etc. I think if Nights was a failed Sonic game, it would have had such documentation and we would know more about what this big budget alleged 3D Sonic game Naka was working on at the exact same time STI was also working on a 3D Sonic game, which makes no sense to me. In your theory, Naka codes for 6 months, fails to impress the Execs, they stick with STI, but they do assign Naka to lead programmer on Nights and he delivers an engine with visuals that receive near universal praise at the time from both critics and fans alike. An engine that also impressed the floundering STI so much, they wanted to somehow use it, port to C++, throw out what they had in the process, and release the game To me, it sounds like Naka delivered a very good engine on a very difficult platform that impressed basically the entire gaming world at the time, so I don't know why Sega would have more confidence in STI than in Naka, but we are talking about Sega here, so who knows, they basically stumbled into success, and immediately stumbled right out of it.

[@creativecatproductions]

that’s a good point about sequel! I think I was also trying to convey the notion that not only were the sequels far less lucrative, but they were also becoming far, far more ambitious, time consuming, and costly to develop. Sonic 1 was made by a hand full of people. Sonic 3 took around 100. Yikes! If Sonic Team was really burnt out on Sonic then they had a funny way to showing it: the secret sonic content in Christmas Nights, the 3D sonic hub world they did for the Sonic collection…..it sure seemed like they were trying all sorts of ways to get their prototype of 3D sonic to work. I think Nights was an accidental detour. After Sonic Adventure, they never went back to Nights. Or very many other places for that matter. You’re totally right that game critics were very enthusiastic about Nights, and Sega Saturn mega fans are mostly enthusiastic about nights. I think that most people wouldn’t be, however, if most people actually played the game. I think this Sega Saturn group represents and elite similar to the elite that guard the critical legacies of certain “art house” films……which is why I used Citizen Kane as an example. The fact is, if 100% of people were to be forced to watch Citizen Kane, probably less than 15% were regard it as anything more than just torture. Most people would absolutely hate that movie. Film critics, professors, art historians, and the tiny group of film buffs who adore the movie will forever say that it is one of the greatest pieces of film ever produced. The elite status, the cultural heritage dictate the status of the movie over and against any actual, real life popularity. Everyone knows why people like Star Wars, and Sonic the Hedgehog, but only a few people know why they like Nights into Dreams, and it isn’t because lots of people have actually played or tried to enjoy the game! Anyway, these are really great and thoughtful comments and I want to thank you very much for watching the video 😎

[@Liam3072]

@@creativecatproductions They actually went back to Nights for the Wii. It didn't sell. Despite Nights having a cult following, it never was a unit shifter, and it's probably a good part of why it was revisited so rarely. As for the sequels of Sonic not selling less, a good part of it is simply due to how long each game was bundled with the console and how well the console was selling at that point. Sega probably would not expect Sonic 3 to sell as many copies as Sonic 1, when it was hardly ever sold as a bundle with the system.

[@creativecatproductions]

These are good points! Thanks for watching dude! 😎

[@postumus77]

@creativecatproductions Like I said, I like the general thrust of your video, I just don't think you much going for your Nights is a failed Sonic game theory, other than your main 4 points of speculation below. 1. Sonic team chose the name Sonic team as their name and logo. 2. There is a cameo of Sonic in Christmas nights. 3. Naka wanted to make Sonic 3 in 3D. 4. Nights was critically overrated, which even if it is, doesn't prove or disprove that it was a failed Sonic game. 1.A. I don't see how this a smoking gun or providing any evidence at all really. Sonic was Sega's mascot, Sonic was what made Sega a household name, why would many of the core people that worked on Sonic, call themselves something less widely known and prestigious? I mean the game and their efforts were a very big deal at the time. 2.A. Again, like 1.A. above, I don't see why Sonic wouldn't make cameo appearances in other games. Especially as Sonic Xtreme kept getting delayed, there would be more pressure to show Saturn fans or even more broadly, the industry, that a 3D Sonic game was going to happen, that Sega wasn't going to leave Sonic as a legacy 2D game forever. Nights and Nights themed stages have made numerous cameo appearances in other games, such Sonic Racing games, does that mean those racing games were secretly failed Nights games? They also had Nights in Archie comics, again, I don't think that proves Archie comics was tinkering with the idea of becoming a Nights comic. As an aside they remastered the game for PS2 in widescreen, then in HD for Xbox360/PS3/Steam, and it got a direct sequel. It also came with its own controller, which again, shows a pretty high level of commitment from Sega, for this alleged failed Sonic game, and the controller like the game, was well received. 3.A. Yes, Naka did want to make a Sonic 3, 3D, but firstly Sega had already tasked STI with making the first ever 3D Sonic game, and development on that started on the 32X quite early on. And secondly the planning stages for Sonic 3 happened years earlier, franchise fatigue likely set in later, after all the yearly sequels. In your theory Sega was okay with Naka/Sonic Team competing with STI, but why? Why would Sega fund 2 completely different teams to make the same first ever 3D Sonic game? It makes a lot more sense that Sega was banking heavily on STI delivering on Xtreme as it had already been in development for years, leaving Sonic Team to try out a New IP that wouldn't compete with STI, so that matter was settled. Sega continued to fund that project and run the STI team into the ground because Sega needed the game more and more as time went on, and they did not have the time to start a new 3D Sonic game from scratch as it would be too little too late. Also, Miyamoto wanted to use the FX Chip to create a 3D Mario game, does that mean Mario World 2, Yoshi's Island is a failed Mario 3D game? I don't think so, I think Naka and Miyamoto both saw the possibilities that new technology was opening up and wanted to apply them to their franchises. 4.A. As per the above, Nights being overrated really has nothing to do with whether or not it is a failed Sonic game, but I'm going to address this anyway. Firstly, it was well received by both critics and fans and was the best selling Saturn game the year it came out. So I'm not sure where you're getting this idea that nobody played the game, and the public was hoodwinked by the gaming press into believing the game was good without playing it, when more people bought Nights the year it came out than any other Saturn game. Secondly, it sold quite well considering what a flop the Saturn was, and that is was a new IP, and an experimental one at that. As far as critics liking it and the public just going along with them, well firstly the Metacritic scores for the Xbox360 is only 7.2 from critics, but 7.9 from gamers, showing if anything, the public likes the game more than the critics do. And secondly, while elitism exists, stating it exists doesn't not really prove that is why Nights was highly reviewed, you need to provide some evidence. There are plenty of cases, perhaps most famously, such as The Last of Us 2, where critics not only told the gaming public it was amazing, they said it was the game of the year and one of the best games ever made, and look at the gap between the critics and the gamers on that one. The critics gave it a 9.3 average while gamers gave it a 5.8, because gamers could smell the elitism from a mile away. So no, gamers don't just adopt what critics tell them to adopt wholesale, just because you think Nights is overrated, and your own theory is that the critical praise pressured gamers into talking themselves into liking it, does not make it so. The fact that the HD re-releases score a bit higher from gamers than from critics, pretty much shows that your elitism theory holds no water.

[@creativecatproductions]

@postumus77 these are good points! I do think Nights, and the Saturn in general, has acquireda sort of mystical veneer that places them beyond scrutiny. I think, actually, quite a few people have strong negative feelings toward nights. I just think we’re a minority of a slight larger tiny minority thats even played the game. And I think we’re mostly quiet 😝

[@Planag7]

Looking forward to this. Before I watch the rest .. thank you for a full list of sources c:

[@creativecatproductions]

This is pretty close to a complete list of sources. I probably forgot a few but I keep track of what I’m reading as I go along with making one these videos. Here it was so contentious an issue that I knew I really had to post my sources.

[@edwardperkins1225]

Sonic 1 and later 2 were pack in titles for each Genesis model. Sonic 3 and S&K weren't. This probably explain the drop off in sales for S3. Sales were inflated for S1 and 2 to begin with.

[@creativecatproductions]

This is a very good point. It’s hard to get these numbers straight, and there are a lot of conflicting sources of information, but it’s absolutely critical to consider the fact that Sonic 1 and Sonic 2 were sold as pack in games…..Im sure plenty people just bought a model 2 Genesis with the sole intention of having a Genesis, and considered the sonic pack-in itself, more or less, incidental. Official sales figures for both games would have been much lower if it had not been included. Thanks for watching dude! 😎

[@JCM217]

I comment on all of your videos because I want you to know how awesome your stuff is. All of it is thoughtful and high quality. Thank you for making these videos.

[@creativecatproductions]

Thank you very much for watching and commenting dude, we really appreciate it 😎

[@cryptocsguy9282]

The decline of Yuji Naka vs he enduring success of shigeru miyamoto and the decline of virtua fighter vs the enduring success of Tekken is a microcosm of the decline of the SEGA brand as a whole vs enduring success of sony and Nintendo in the video game industry. Imagine if the workplace politics had been different at SEGA

[@creativecatproductions]

Very true! If Sega had been a unifief company, without so much clutter and internal strife, it may be with us still….in the manner that it was I mean Thanks for watching dude! 😎

[@a.d.9825]

not an apt comparision. sega was the pioneer in the arcades and the main rival was namco, and sega won out in the end, tekken not withstanding. there are many other areas and innovations that sega beat namco in, alot of what westerners dont know about. side businesses, consoles, failed - but it was a side businesses.

[@cryptocsguy9282]

@@a.d.9825 Consoles were no side business , it might have started off that way but consoles as time went on and home gaming in general became more and more popular while the arcades declined even in Japan eventually. Sure overall Sega did indeed win out with more successful arcade games compared to those from namco but that's a different debate vs their long term failures in the home video games market.

[@a.d.9825]

@@cryptocsguy9282 profit wise, arcades were the main thing for a long time. It went in the red for the first time only in 2014 or so. But yeah. Sega failed in capturing the growing and worldwide relevant console scene

[@cryptocsguy9282]

@@a.d.9825 Sega were so strong in terms of overall longevity and success in the arcade scene they continued to produce their own hardware for years but they also took massive Ls on their arcade establishments in Europe/Australia and North America under the sega world, sega city and gameworks brands during the saturn/dreamcast era which alongside the console failures lost them billions of dollars. Even in recent times as you say they start to lose money on Japanese arcades and I believe they sold off their establishments in Japan in 2020/2021 but they might still be producing arcade hardware. It would have been amazing if they could have kept up the success of both the home consoles and arcades internationally for a prolonged period of time but unfortunately it wasn't to be. My local arcade used to be a sega branded arcade in the 90s and last time i went there it still had some cool games like one of the mario kart gp and newer time crisis games plus a halo arcade game but most people turn up there to drink at the bar and play pool

[@UltraHealthyVideoGameNerd]

Ivy the Kiwi is one of the best games ever, absolute brilliance

[@creativecatproductions]

Okay, perhaps I was too harsh on that game. 😝 Of those Prope games, it’s clearly in the top tier. Rodea the Skysoldier was totally next tier though! Naka must have put together a really big team of people to pull that one off. Thank you very much for watching dude! 😎

[@fuzzedmarz]

Great video! Shocked you don't have more subscribers, liked and subbed 😁

[@creativecatproductions]

Thank you very much for watching dude! 😎

[@therealfodder]

Since when does KZbin actually recommend good videos? Loved it - subbed. Hope it does well for you

[@creativecatproductions]

Thank you very much for subbing dude! 😎 I hope you enjoy the channel

[@demetriusnp49]

Yuji Naka seems to be a case of his self-esteem being the weakness to his ideals. The Japanese workspace demands people of such health to work on productive schedules, running them into the ground even. But the outlier of Sega at the time was responsible of giving Sonic a pivot before abandoning what people now consider still a laughing stock. At the very least people should respect what he DID as a talented developer.

[@creativecatproductions]

Well said!

[@demetriusnp49]

@@creativecatproductions Ironic as it is that Sega is launching their old IPs again. Difference is that they lack a console. The big thing is that the best output from a game comes from the exclusivity. You know the specs of the console you’re working on, the vision you want to display on it and the feedback from the base that pays you to play it on. I can’t see these revivals doing that big of a hit because they don’t have a Sega console to stand on anymore. And people would argue XBOX, PC and PS5 to do the games justice…but look at Nintendo. Pokemon, Mario, Zelda, Kirby and even Metroid doing numbers because of being on a home console. What grounds does Sega have?

[@creativecatproductions]

@demetriusnp49 totally fair. Im concerned about two things: 1) it seems like too litte too late given the amount of time that’s transpired, a lot of people sincerely didn’t recognize shinobi for instance. And 2) Im concerned about the quality, since these will actually be created by various studios with the license. Shinobi is being done by lizard cube and so I think it has a very good chance of being worthwhile. They love sega over there big time. The crazy taxi game looks like an upscaled port or remaster in the unreal engine. Same with jet set radio. Its kind of derivative of the original in a way that makes me wonder why they didnt just release the game for switch or something? The streets of rage game kind of looked bad to me. But I really liked the look of Golden Axe which looks like it might play out more like an adventure game or a dark souls kind of game. Id love that. So im pumped about shinobi and golden axe….and i really need to plY cyber punk bomb rush or whatever its called 😂

[@CanaldoZenny]

@@demetriusnp49 I gonna say this: quitting the home console market was the worst decision Sega ever made in the long run. Having a successful console brings a lot of passive income to your company, that you reinvest in better games and talent. I know they were in a bad financial spot in the early 2000's, and the aggressive takeover from Sammy didn't help. Sammy had the money to finance a comeback to the hardware market, and it was the perfect time, given the rise of online digital stores during the PS3/360/Wii era. However, Sammy's main source of revenue was pachinko, and they had no interest in Sega's IPs beyond using them as PR scapegoats. Which is exactly what I think they are doing with these Sega revival, using old dead IPs to mask their Union busting and mass layoffs at Sega of America.

[@kingstarscream320]

@@creativecatproductionsI recognized that Shinobi had been wiped from the public consciousness when Shinobi 3DS tanked. Real shame. I hope the new Shinobi does well. Ninjas are generic and a hard sell so they have to compensate with amazing gameplay.

[@creativecatproductions]

Im using the term “rebrand” loosely to refer to the shift in marketing that occurred in 1991 after Tom Kalinske took over at Sega. A lot of people really love sonic cd and it was widely acclaimed at the time. I think you’re right, Sonic 2 is better, but over the years I have come to love Sonic CD, quirky as it is. Thanks for watching dude! 😎

[@creativecatproductions]

@lgfrrse0402 man, never going forward with the 32X would have changed everything and we’d be living in a different world. The saturn would have had more, better games at launch. AM2 was split, and they had to cut corners on the first saturn port. Without the 32X it would have been a better game, Sega wouldn’t have burened their fanbase, and perhaps sonic crackers would have actually come out. While I know that sonic crackers was developed on mega drive hardware, the game was intended for the Saturn, I believe, in the long run. I think surviving roms of the game are simply prototypes and proof of concept.

[@creativecatproductions]

@lgfrrse0402 🧐

[@MacUser2-il2cx]

It's possible Yuji Naka wanted to be the first one to make a 3D Sonic game.

[@creativecatproductions]

I think so!

[@Terminal_Apotos]

Awesome video, very interesting and entertaining.

[@creativecatproductions]

Thank you very much for watching dude! 😎

[@ABlob]

Small correction, Rodea the Sky Soldier wasn't even initially planned for Wii U. The game was only announced for Wii and 3DS, with an interview with Naka in late 2011 saying there are no plans to bring it to Wii U. The Wii U version was only announced in late-2014, that's almost 4 years after the game was initially announced in early 2011. The only reason the game took that long to come out was because of the *3DS* version, not the Wii U version. On January 19, 2011 Rodea the Sky Soldier was announced for the Wii and 3DS. On September 23, 2011 (Rodea The Sky Soldier Is Complete, We’re Waiting For Kadokawa To Publish It): "Rodea the Sky Soldier has been finished for awhile now," Naka said in an interview with Siliconera. "My part at Prope has been done. Now it’s up to Kadokawa Games to decide on the release strategy whether it will come out for North America, Europe, and Japan.” Since Wii U is on the horizon, I asked Naka-san if Prope is working on a Wii U version, as well. "It’s finished as Wii title and as of now we have no plans to bring it to Wii U," Naka answered. "Rodea was made specifically for the Wii so players could enjoy it by flicking the remote. If we tried to incorporate those controls into the large Wii U controller it wouldn’t be the same. I would really like for people to play and enjoy it on the Wii as I had originally intended." On July 27th, 2013 (Yay! Yuji Naka’s Rodea the Sky Soldier still exists!): Kadokawa president Yoshimi Yasuda revealed that the game is still coming and that the reason for the silence was simply a lack of media interest. The build of the 3DS version is 70% complete. (Yes, the Wii version was done since 2011. And 2 years later, the 3DS still hasn't been finished.) On November 14, 2014 (that's now over 3 years since the Wii version's development was already complete): Rodea the Sky Soldier got a revival trailer, re-announcing it for the 3DS and Wii U. On April 2, 2015: The game was finally released in Japan.

[@ABlob]

Also, there's way too much speculation in this, imo... Maybe some journalism detective work could've been done instead, but I don't know how hard it'd be to contact Geist Force developers to ask them if that claim is true or not.

[@creativecatproductions]

It can be tricky to get interviews! Even tricker to get people to accurately recall events from 20 years ago, but in this case I don’t think it would have been necessary since developers from Geist Force had already published their testimony in various formats, and they were in total contradiction to each other. A that point I had to adjudicate the discrepancy and I went with the explanation that made the most sense: Yuji Naka just shut down development of a long delayed game that had missed numerous production deadlines and milestones. Thanks for watching dude! 😎

[@_mango_]

It always fascinated me that a promotional Christmas version of Nights into Dreams featured a fully playable 3D Sonic on the Saturn, along with Eggman bosses and the like. It’s almost as if that was the original intention with the game’s engine, like the video stated, and it became simple to reimplement Sonic back into the game in a way, and simply drop it as Christmas Nights. The sheer fact they accomplished that feat almost makes me wonder why they bothered making Nights when a 3D Sonic was clearly feasible and teased in the game’s engine.

[@penguinreloaded7756]

Naka will generally be remembered fondly because NiGHTS: Into Dreams is such a masterpiece. Genuinely, one of the best games ever made. The sequel didn't touch the magic that Sonic Team hit on with the original.

[@creativecatproductions]

Im not sure nights is one of the best games ever made, but it’s definitely treasured, and Naka will probably be fondly remembered in the long run. Personally, I’ll always admire his work on phantasy star! Thanks for watching dude 😎

[@vegasvanga5442]

Yuji Naka didn't make Nights, he just programmed the engine the game ran on. Takashi Iizuka is the one who actually designed the game; and Oshima designed the characters. NiGHTS is Iizuka's baby, stop crediting Naka for it.

[@Ashitaka0815]

A game doesn't work without it's engine. It's like saying Carmack wasn't important for Doom.

[@Kim-py3iv]

Honestly, this was a fun video. Great job on it, dude 👍

[@creativecatproductions]

Thank you very much dude! 😎

[@AltimaNEO]

I feel like theres a lot of parallels between Yuji Naka and Keiji Inafune. Both are thought to be the creators of a very popular mascot character, when they really werent. Both started their careers with a high note but currently sit in the dumps with not many good games in recent history to show for it.

[@creativecatproductions]

I think that’s a very fitting parallel! Indeed, I think it applies to a lot of these great Japanese game makers from the 80s and 90s. Many just really struggled with next generation technology and contemporary sensibilities. Somehow Nintendo managed to keep abreast of all these changes, and even thrive, but Konami, Capcom aren’t what they used to be…..and HudsonSoft is now gone forever too. Thanks for watching dude 😎

[@AltimaNEO]

@@creativecatproductions Yeah, Miyamoto is a beast, but that's because he knew when to step back and let the gang take the reigns while he mentors them. And Hideo Kojima it's still making great stuff. I really loved Death Stranding. But then then you've got dudes like Yu Suzuki and Tomonobu Itagaki who could never really find their stride again

[@orangeslash1667]

@@AltimaNEO The good news is that Keiji Inafune was involved in the Azure Striker Gunvolt games.

[@cryptocsguy9282]

@@orangeslash1667 Keiji Inafune also made soul sacrifice on the vita which is a underrated banger of a game

[@cryptocsguy9282]

@AltimaNEO Miyamoto hasn't been exposed as having a bad personality , he was a artist and not a programmer and seemed to have obviously better leadership at the top of nintendo than what naka had at sega going into the 3D era. There was one guy who worked on virtua fighter who left to work on tekken called Seiichi Ishii who then went on to workon tobal no 1 so he's made many great games over the years but also some bad ones like the bouncer on ps2 and Kakuto Chojin: Back Alley Brutal on xbox before seeming disappearing from the games industry in the mid 2000s. There was also another guy (dunno his name) who worked on virtua fighter then left to work for Atari on a typical crappy jaguar game called fight for life. So maybe in terms of being a great games designer it's a combination of having the right resources , good enough hardware to achieve your goal, good games design and good project management to allow you to achieve such goals. Miyamoto is talented enough and lucky enough to have all those things. If he branched out on his own and made a super mario successor on a small budget or nintendo gave his crappy hardware (virtual boy) then the end results could have been different who knows

[@CanaldoZenny]

I think you forgot one important aspect regarding Sonic on the Saturn: Sonic Jam. I don't doubt Yuji Naka's and Sonic Team's capabilities in making a 3D Sonic game on the Saturn or 32X because Sonic Jam exist. This compilation disc feature a fully 3D open world-esque hub world for Sonic to explore, with good controls and art style, and running at 30 fps. It has long been confirmed that Sonic Adventure began development for the Saturn, and that build was repurposed as Sonic Jam.

[@creativecatproductions]

This is true! But Sonic Jam was a fairly late release for the Saturn, coming out the summer of 1997. By this time the Saturn had squarely tanked in the US, and the Dreamcast started development that same year. Sonic Jam’s 3D sonic was most likely a “proof of concept” that allowed Sonic Team to demonstrate that they had really, finally gotten a viable 3D Sonic to function properly. Sonic Crackers also technically began development as a Mega Drive game, but I think with the intention of completing the final project on the Saturn, which was still in development at the time. I suspect the idea was to hash out their game ideas with the Mega Drive and then make a more polished game for the Saturn, but the Saturn. I think that might also be why Sonic Adventure started on the Saturn. They wanted workable ideas and game design that they could refine and polish later on the new hardware, which probably wasn’t ready when they started.

[@youngpawdowanaep]

Christmas Nights also included a mini game called sonic the hedgehog into dreams where you could play as sonic running around and jumping. Even ends with you fighting the 2nd nights boss reskined to look like eggman

[@Liam3072]

@@creativecatproductions I don't think there's any form of evidence that Sonic Crackers was, at any point, planned for the Saturn. Chaotix is really based on Megadrive's Sonic Crackers. It reuses not only many of the assets, but part of its code. The earliest prototype of the 32X Chaotix still has graphic data that spells "SONIC CRACKERS S32X" in the ROM DATA, and it is dated not that long after the Sonic Cracker's Megadrive latest known data (early prototypes also still have code for Tails flying movements). I think Kalinske just got confused when the interviewer talked about a Saturn game and kind of made up a story on the spot mixing a little bit of Sonic Xtreme (going overbudget, taking too long), porting Sonic 3D etc. We know for sure that Crackers was still in development for the Megadrive in April 1994, and possibly at least up to June 1994. And then the earliers prototype we have for Knuckles Chaotix on the 32X is from early december. That doesn't leave a lot of time for a game to be ported to the Saturn, then worked on, then canned because it was taking too long to develop, then ported back to the 32X. It also makes much more sense to imagine a Megadrive to 32X port because on the 32X, the Megadrive typically handles a lot of the work anyway, meaning there's a lot you don't even need to "port", you just keep the Megadrive part you want and let it do the job. In the 32X final release of Chaotix, the Megadrive actually handles all of the music except for the percussions, and all the backgrounds/scrolling, while the 32X basically only handles the sprites and special stages.

[@creativecatproductions]

@Liam3072 I think one of the main things I did in this video was to show evidence that Sonic Crackers was indeed planned for the SEGA Saturn. However, it is true that the surviving prototypes or proof of concepts that exist for Sonic Crackers were generated on the Mega Drive. However, from the research I did, I recall that this was a common practice for games that were in the planning stages of development, wherein the fundamental ideas were being pitched to producers and management, etc. The Saturn was still in development itself at the time and the hardware was not yet finalized. But Sonic Crackers would have begun the planning stage at a time when it was assumed that the Saturn was going to be a very powerful 2D console. The key question is regarding what happened to Naoto Oshima for the lengthy period between Sonic CD and Nights into Dreams? I think the idea that he was working on Sonic Crackers, as a 2D game for the next big console, is the best explanation in terms of how the pieces fit together.

[@RifeXD]

Thank you for using Bomberman 64 music at 25:50. Oh, and the rest of the video was great too. Always fascinates me that there's so much information out there to discuss about main mascots and lead programmers / directors and the like. But Bomberman / Shigeki Fujiwara? Yeah, there's virtually nothing on them, and the little there is keeps contradicting itself. (Hence why my project ended up being just surface-level stuff on the games themselves to try and lay some groundwork). I wonder, where do you find all these magazine interviews and where they come from?

[@creativecatproductions]

thank you very much for watching dude! Finding the old articles is a chore but there are some helpful tools. I often use the internet archive which has a large collection of old video game magazines uploaded in a readable pdf format. There are also sites dedicated to preserving digital copies of EGM, Game Pro, etc but they are far from complete.

[@creativecatproductions]

That 8 hour bomber man video is epic! How?! I love bomberman very much! ❤️

[@RifeXD]

@@creativecatproductions Oh you saw that? How I did it, umm, I guess Covid. Spent many years thinking about putting it together, figuring out what I could talk about and what I couldn't (like development for each game because of a lack of available info especially on the gazillion Land games). Late 2019 I figured out I wanted to use footage from across the series from the start, but that would involve binging all the games again and recording it for footage in advance. Then 2020 happened and I figured "welp, as good a sign as any" and the rest of the year was spent recording game footage, then 2021 was spent putting one part together every week for 37 weeks (hence why the playlist version has 37 videos). Knew from the start the concept is cursed, just look at how many people attempt a "whole Bomberman series" project and only end up making a part 1 because they get bogged down in the early 90s with just how confusing the whole mess is and how many common narratives are wrong (to this day people insist Bomberman II (NES) introduced the battle mode when Bomber Boy and Bomberman (PCE) released before it). It took a lot of tradeoffs and thinking about how to frame the whole thing but eventually I got it together. I apologize for the microphone quality but I just wanted to get it done at all so I left well enough alone on that front. Also, if you haven't, go watch Bomberman Jetters right now. You won't regret it.

[@sgwasega]

A lot of my favourite games were programmed by Naka. I grew up playing the classic Sonic games, then NiGHTS and Burning Rangers in my teens. Most recently I'm hooked on Phantasy Star, Space Harrier and the Master System demake as I explore that system's library. Great video and incredible life work from Naka despite the current situation.

[@creativecatproductions]

Phantasy Star is such a wonderful 80s rpg! Thank you very much for watching 😎

[@brandonwilliams6119]

Lots of interesting points brought up such as Yuji somehow not knowing about STI developing a 3D Sonic for the Saturn despite working there for a few years before heading back to Japan. With the Sega Announcement at the Game Awards and their whole New Era/Energy thing I do wonder if they’ll bring back NiGHTs along with Jet Set Radio, Streets of Rage, Shinobi, Golden Axe and Crazy Taxi. Really enjoyed the video and the different music in the background and especially your own version of an Ad with the whole alternate universe thing, could’ve also played around with the idea of Blaze the Cat as Sega’s Mascot instead, since Sonic is the mascot in our universe.

[@creativecatproductions]

Thank you very much for watching dude! 😎

[@Liam3072]

IIRC they already tried to bring back Nights on the Wii, and it flopped spectacularly. Not sure they're trying this again. Just like Shenmue, it's an IP people love talking about, but actually buying the games, not so much.

[@Captain_Neckbeard]

I'm in the Sega Cult. I have the 3D pad and Christmas Nights, which I will play this Christmas.

[@creativecatproductions]

Im definitely in the sega cult 100% but I’ll probably be playing shenmue for that christmasy feeling this December instead! Now theres a deeply flawed overrated Sega game that I have a true sentimental attachment to Thanks for watching dude! 😎

[@aheiiv]

17:42 The misspelling of Wonderworld is the LEAST concerning mistake here

[@creativecatproductions]

Technically, it’s not a mistake but rather a difference between parallel dimensions. Balan Wonderland is a better name anyway, and so is having four fingers. 😝 Thanks for watching dude 😎

[@Virtualnerd101]

Just FYI, the programming language you were talking about is C, not C+. I think you may have been thinking of C++, which is a completely different language. Great video. Happy to hear there was more to these stories than just "Yuji Naka Bad".

[@creativecatproductions]

Thank you very much for watching dude!

[@RippahRooJizah]

Do you really dislike Nights thst much? I only played it recently and found it good.

[@creativecatproductions]

Sadly I have never been able to get into the game. I really do dislike it a lot. I was a massive SEGA fan from mid 80s through to the Dreamcast, but I always struggled with the Saturn. Even games like Pazer Dragoon, I have always failed to understand how these games could appeal to Saturn fans…..I had a similar reaction to the PSX too though 😝 Thank you very much for watching though! 😎

[@RippahRooJizah]

​@@creativecatproductions Well, I do enjoy particular games from the Saturn library, including Panzer Dragoon. I even went into slight debt grabbing Saga (I've emulated it beforehand). If you ask me, that era was a mix of experimentation and some jank along side good games that I am fond of, especially a number of titles that aren't as well known. But I'm not going to bog down this comment listing them. That said, I didn't mind the dislike of Nights until it kept getting brought back up. It was kind of distracting.

[@creativecatproductions]

@RippahRooJizah i think the saturn had amazing rpgs!

[@ranzz-sm4ne]

@@creativecatproductions list those rpgs

[@creativecatproductions]

@ranzz-sm4ne panzer dragoon saga, shining force iii, magic knight rayearth come to mind. But the saturn was also the original home of the amazing Grandia, and Lunar the silver star story. I love the rpg elements of Guardian Heroes and I also like Albert Odyssey, shining the holy ark, and dragon force. I even have a soft spot for the mediocre shining wisdom. The Japanese saturn was much better in this regard, as it got Grandia, which I mentioned, but the complete shining force iii and a lot more.

[@jordans4827]

Is it Christmas??? That means it's Turbo Yuji Naka Time!!!

[@creativecatproductions]

You made it to the party! Thanks for watching dude, and merry almost Christmas 😎 I hope all is well up at the “north pole” 🤠

[@videoclunk4731]

great video very funny and great information thanks

[@creativecatproductions]

Thanks for watching! 😎

[@nightlydata2181]

This is an incredible vid that does more for my thoughts on this than I could possibly get across given that I'm still largely on Naka's side. All the stuff on how japan treats things & how translation, repeated stories, & history really affect thoughts & discussion. I largely alr felt the same bout Naka as u asserted in the final bit but ur theories on Naka & other things I feel R so close to accurate I feel if it were possible to speak face to face wit Naka even if he didn't out right spill the way he my have carried himself had a good chance to solve all. I really hope this gets spread around more as this vid & the comments really help create a more solid picture on not only Naka's true character but wut actually caused things to fall apart both for 90s SEGA & Naka's goals wit Squeenix later on. If there was a list of ppl in the industry I'd wish to meet he'd be top 5 or 3 even. I at least want ppl to acknowledge that without him jus as much as much all those other ppl who worked on that 1st game of the franchise & beyond to at least 2000s it all wouldn't even exist & he's an incredible & inventive dev wit a unique sense in the industry. It'd never happen but considerin the bs it'd be cool if SEGA brought him back for somethin even if it isn't sonic & jus let hi handle things his way for a bit edit: almost forgot to say CD is my fav classic game too(my 1st really lol) & overall is in my top 5 in the series & I've played MOST of em lol

[@creativecatproductions]

Thank you very much for watching dude! 😎

[@AirZonkWorldChamp]

I think it was weird Sega tried to make Nights a thing especially when it seemed way behind Crash and Mario 64. Still I admire Naka's work and it was cool to see all his projects here.

[@creativecatproductions]

Indeed! And the games journalists too. I remember the game being praised to absolutely unrealistic levels of hype….So that when I finally did play it, I found it extremely shallow and disappointing. I just didn’t get it. 😆 Thanks for watching champ! 😎

[@Liam3072]

@@creativecatproductions I think Nights get a lot better once you realize it's not an adventure game, it's fundamentally an arcade game, and the depth of the game is actually in the scoring mechanics. Whent you look at what superplayers do to get extremely high scores, it's kinda insane and you realize you've been playing a wholly different game all along.

[@marshallw1902]

​@@creativecatproductionslol, you didn't "get it" because you choose to see it as a completely different game with overly shallow expectations.

[@creativecatproductions]

@Liam3072 that’s honestly how I always saw it, but even with the dawn of the NES and Sega Genesis, one of the great advantages was how home gaming did so much to transcend what you could get out of an arcade game. By 1996 every game was sort of an adventure with fun worlds to explore and interact with. Nights came out around the time of Mario 64, Final Fantasy VII, Tomb Raider, etc. It was fighting an up hill battle being what it was. I found it very unappealing…..but critics did love it!

[@creativecatproductions]

I just don’t think its a very good game even for what it allegedly offers. Its not terrible, but its not an interesting concept either. Certainly the world and characters are fairly interesting….convoluted….but unique. Further, even at the time, this game lacked polish. Those little platforming segues your supposed to avoid? They’re awful. Unbelievably bad, even in the mid 90s

[@marx4538]

Sonic R is neither a kart racer nor using sprites for characters, and it is a pretty fun game. I think NiGHTS really is just a product of burnout from Sonic, especially given that each main Sonic game had one hell of a turbulent development cycle. Yuji Naka seems fine, but I do think there should also be credit given to other developers on those games, Sonic or not.

[@creativecatproductions]

That’s fair! It’s not really a kart racer, but really a FOOT racer! I understand that technically those polygonal characters are not “sprites” but there is a colloquial (and technically incorrect) usage of the term in which sprite refers to just any videogame avatar or entity regardless of whether or not its 3D. Im actually not sure that Yuji Naka doesn’t share credit for those games. As I show in the video, Naka does not take sole credit for his success, and the common feeling that he does is a function of how he’s portrayed by games journalists and industry leaders. I think he has faults, but hogging credit doesn’t seem to be one of them. Thank you very much for watching dude! 😎

[@IAmPhoto]

I will say this the sonic stories went down heavily after he left in 2006, 06 might have been programmed poorly but the story was awesome. Especially conceptually, the only thing people like to say to take points away from the story is that “duh elise kisses sonic” like bro that’s all you guys focus on. Also it had the best writing for shadow too especially, no one argues about that at least

[@creativecatproductions]

I think the concept of an evil megalomaniacal genius robotosizing animals is brilliant. Whoever came up with that notion really tapped into something special. Thanks for watching dude! 😎

[@analog_ape]

Super well made and researched video!

[@creativecatproductions]

Thank you very much for watching dude! 😎

[@LumiosNoctis]

Yuji Naka did say on twitter that Sega actually fired him around 2006, which could be for similar reasons to Balan Wonderland

[@LumiosNoctis]

As a programmer it kills me inside to see you call the language C+ lol it's either C either C++ but C+ does not exist

[@LumiosNoctis]

I also disagree due to this with the assertion at 1:18:15 Programming in C would not cause any specific issue. C can be as fast, maybe even faster than assembly thanks to compiler optimizations that humans might not think about when programming normally as long as they do exploit the hardware and program efficiently. Games such as Mario 64 were programmed in C. It was pretty common during the era.

[@creativecatproductions]

I think Mario 64 was programmed in C but I believe that was fairly novel at the time. Nintendo and Sega almost exclusively programmed in assembly through the mid 90s….especially innJapan. I get the feeling that one of SOAs biggest hurdles was that they never bothered to do this, but rather preferred coding on C on PCs and then attempted to translate their work to the saturn after the fact. Not just on Sonic but like everything. I think what you say about optimizing compilers is plausible, and Im sure that’s what they were thinking, but Sega of America never managed to produce anything anywhere near as polished, smooth, or quick as the games made in Japan. Sonic Xtreme, what survives of it, is janky trash. Anyway, thank you for watching and for the thoughtful comments

[@LumiosNoctis]

@@creativecatproductions to be fair. Programming 3D sonic games, no matter the language is tricky. I know it having myself experimented with programming a game similar to Sonic Adventure in gameplay. The hardest part is handling momentum while allowing the character to move in all kind of directions such as upside down etc with loopings. This involves a lot of linear algebra maths. Not even accounting for all the physics errors to handle. Yuji Naka probably was familiar with it as he is the one who came up with it on genesis. But the transition of this gameplay that already relied a lot on maths got even trickier once it required 3 dimensional mathematics

[@creativecatproductions]

@LumiosNoctis do you think he could have done it? If he had enough time? I sometimes wonder what it would have been like if instead of doing Sonic 3 and Sonic and Knuckles, Naka used that time to get rolling on the SEGA Saturn.

[@kingalastor936]

I wish citizens and members of the law cared half as much as when politicians and members of law commit insider trading.

[@creativecatproductions]

So many lifetime career politicians get rich off of being politicians without actually producing anything of value. Sure, books and speaking tours are one thing, but so many become much wealthier than that: kick backs? Certainly. But you’re probably right, being ‘policy makers’ gives them an unprecedented edge when it comes to picking stocks. Thanks for watching dude 😎

[@BlueEyedVibeChecker]

"High fructose corn syrup, a staple of our childhood diets" Ah, you're american I see.

[@creativecatproductions]

You are correct sir! Well, technically Im from Texas, but close enough. They dont put corn syrup in Nutella or Ferrero Rocher? Probably not 😆 Thanks for watching 😎

[@AshnSilvercorp]

lol... to this day apparently Naka's point of having good music in Sonic games, regardless of the quality of the game carries on.

[@creativecatproductions]

Naka definitely puts a large emphasis of music and the musical presentation of a game. I wonder what music he listens to on a daily basis? Thanks for watching dude! 😎

[@Planag7]

Burning rangers bad?? They literally reprogram the sounds chip to display more polys. I get it you didn't grow up there in the Saturn era but they actually pushed it a lot. Honestly that shows that you did not do a proper research is very apparent..

[@creativecatproductions]

I was probably about 15 years old when Burning Rangers came out, a life long Sega fan, but I skipped out on the Saturn: I didn’t like the launch games. I just didn’t like burning rangers very much either. I think it was a very unique game, but also awkward and unappealing. I believe the attempt at the time was to make a next gen action game the eschewed violence just as much as it embraced the late 90s anime sensibilities of the time period. I know it’s always risky to honestly convey one’s opinion in these retro gaming videos, because of how much love people have for certain games from their past, but I had to be honest. Thanks for watching dude! 😎

[@creativecatproductions]

I don’t really think Burning Rangers is a bad game. It’s way better than Nights in my view, but it’s just not a game I really like. I certainly don’t think it’s one of the great Saturn games. That’s all,

[@sgwasega]

I think BR is decent but in dire need of a remaster that fixes the graphics and frame rate. I beat it once and remember that it was hard to tell what was going on sometimes. There is a fan-made PC port in progress that runs from an ISO of the game and it seems very promising.

[@MilesWingsOficial]

I love the lore behind Balan Wonderland

[@creativecatproductions]

It’s definitely very well developed. It reminds me a lot of Nights into Dreams. It was very deep, suggestive, and ambitious….im not sure it made any sense, but the effort was first class! Thanks for watching dude 😎

[@cryptocsguy9282]

I think Balan wonderland looks fun and that the character designs are fine but if the game is sh*t then it's sh*t , I'm not playing that. Shame the development was screwed up

[@creativecatproductions]

Even if it’s like $5? It’s so cheap these days…..but time is precious so I understand

[@cryptocsguy9282]

@creativecatproductions Even at $5 I still wouldn't touch it lol 😆

[@CarlosGabriel-pv4dn]

i really think that sonic team needs naka back, I belive that everyone can have a second chance

[@creativecatproductions]

Thanks for watching dude! 😎

[@cryptocsguy9282]

40:32 Spyro 3 has some side levels where you can fly through rings but it's not the main gameplay element and you can do it it star fox as well

[@creativecatproductions]

True! I used this games as examples….I was never much a fan of the original Star Fox though. Same problem 😆

[@hitchhikerwithtowel2721]

I feel like both stories of Geist Force could be true -- they're just from different points of view. I recall reading that Naka's comments weren't really "public" as you say; he was conversing with someone one-on-one at the developer's offices and a team member happened to overhear. As for the "myriad of reasons" and "65-70% completed" bits... Games get canned for any number of reasons, regardless of how much is completed. My impression was that the team's departure could have been after it was known the project couldn't be salvaged as-is; that they were going to be fired anyway, with new staff brought in to replace them once the engine was acquired. I don't play NiGHTS or Burning Rangers a lot, and BR is especially clunky by modern standards, but if you're not "rushing through it" ala Sonic or Crazy Taxi, they have that Sonic Team feeling of whimsy and "what if it reached its full potential and wasn't held back by the hardware" that we've seen as far back as Space Harrier on the Master System and up to now with... "Ballin' Wonderland". I love this name. I'm only 20 minutes in but this is a great watch so far!

[@creativecatproductions]

Thank you very much for watching! It’s definitely true that the real story probably rests somewhere between these different perspectives. Ballin’ Wonderland indeed! 😝

[@autumnalpavement2999]

...Your disrespect towards Orson Welles has not gone unnoticed! How dare you! Other than that, excellent work!

[@creativecatproductions]

Rosebud! Thanks for watching dude 😎

[@alexanderberggren87]

Dang, now I wanna replay Rodea

[@creativecatproductions]

Its a gem! Thanks for watching dude 😎

[@Fellipe2k5]

Sonic Team prototyped 3D Sonic on the Saturn at Sonic Jam's HubWorld

[@creativecatproductions]

Indeed!

[@bubbythebear6891]

Ivy the Kiwi is a flappy bird clone with a twist? Literally how? I am not far into the video yet, so I have yet to see if that is a joke building up to something.

[@creativecatproductions]

You’re not the first person to have this concern! What Im trying to convey is the simplicity of the game mechanics involved, and the fact that Prope was a casual market company at a time when casual market gaming was a wide open land of opportunity for entrepreneurs. Flappy bird was a terrible comparison on my part. And historically inaccurate, but the game mechanics employed in both flappy bird and ivy the kiwi are as old as videogames. There were so many arcade and home computer games that employed the “tap to flap” mechanic of flappy bird. I had a balloon game as a kid for the commodore 64 that was essentially the exact same game…. Ivy the kiwi is a lot more interesting as a game, but it is still a fairly primitive game built on classic premises. Not bad, just extremely “casual”. That’s the intended meaning of my comparison here.

[@bubbythebear6891]

@@creativecatproductions I was wondering if maybe in that alternate reality Ivy The Kiwi was really only a Flappy Bird clone. Still, chocolate cream Twinkies sound totally radical!

[@ordovicianscourge9520]

@@creativecatproductions pretty sure ivy was released before flappy, my dude

[@creativecatproductions]

@@ordovicianscourge9520 true! My bad. The point im trying to make is that prope targeted the casual game market of the era. These games are all clones of long since forgotten pc and arcade games from the 80s. Ive played many iterations of games like flappy across many platforms going back decades. The “tap to flap over obstacles” mechanic is almost as old as videogames

[@Linser22]

Finally an original take that’s backed up with research. I wonder how much is actually overblown, because it sounds like a lot of it was misunderstandings or exaggerations. I felt like you did a good job taking a step in the moments you referenced to consider what the real conversations probably went like. A little unrelated I always felt like Arzest was an art studio first and a game developer last. They make some beautiful games, but they play like half baked prototypes. They should just focus on the art aspect and work with actual game developers. Also Arzest was originally Artoon known for Xbox’s upcoming mascot Blinx: the time Sweeper. (I actually kinda liked that game.)

[@creativecatproductions]

I remember Blinx the Time Sweeper well! It was a really promising concept at a time when these Japanese gaming legends still had a lot of cultural currency. I think a lot of great Japanese game makers really struggled with the next gen stuff after the 16-bit era. Some, like Kojima, thrived under the changes but when I look at what happened to Konami in the long run, and Capcom, its such a shame. Thanks for watching dude! 😎

[@SallyPuppy123456]

@@creativecatproductions The problem with Blinx actually wasn't with the game itself. It was a matter of who published it; Microsoft. Microsoft originally created Blinx as an attempt to appeal to the Japanese market as... I guess Japan doesn't like Microsoft since it's not a Japanese corporation? It ended up flopping in Japan, obviously so Microsoft just kinda canned it. It sucks how much terrible treatment it got as a franchise with so much potential.

[@creativecatproductions]

I really have to look more into Blinx. Thanks for watching the video! 😎

[@CanaldoZenny]

Artoon also made Yoshi's Island DS, which in my opinion ia not as good as thw original Yoshi's Island, but still a good platformer, better than New Island.

[@Austinator0630]

​@@CanaldoZennyYoshi's Island DS expands to the plot of the snes original by introducing a plot element regarding the seven star children. Yoshi's New Island serves as a midquel.

[@kamaximiliank4355]

So about the Rodea the Sky Soldier release, I think that's technically incorrect? (And maybe you cover that I need to continue watching) as the Wii U version came with the Wii version as well. I own it and just checked, unless you're saying this company did the Wii version after Prope did their own. (I did need to actually play both versions admittedly, and do plan to one day)

[@kamaximiliank4355]

I really did just need to watch 30 seconds more, d'oh!

[@creativecatproductions]

I’d love to see Rodea the Sky Soldier released in the Switch. Thanks for watching dude! 😎

[@ogjk]

Muchos Thanks! Definitely the best take on Naka san I have ever seen. Hopefully he finds his way home to Sega as a contributer or something . Thanks for the epic content looking forward to more.

[@creativecatproductions]

Thank you very much for this dude! We really appreciate your support and hopefully we’ll have more videos soon enough 😎

[@randallscott4581]

Could Naka ever find his way back?

[@creativecatproductions]

Ive been thinking about this too. I think its likely that Yuji Naka is going to retire. I doubt any major game companies would be willing to take him in after the disaster that was Balan Wonderworld. And his public reputation, as a criminal, certainly doesn’t help matters. If he’s going to go forward with a new project then he’d have to finance the risk himself and I doubt he has the resources to do so. I really don’t know what his next step could be. Does he still own the rights to Prope? Could he bring back Rodea the Sky soldier? People would probably actually like another chance at playing that game, or a port of it, or even a sequel? Ive heard rumors of retirement though, and his X account has gone silent, though it was once so lively

[@kingstarscream320]

Probably not. Convicted felons can barely get jobs in the USA, and my impression is that criminals are treated even worse in Japan. Real shame because I’d love to see him make Sonic Superstars 2. Get it done, Sega.

[@NorthSutherland]

0:31 Just looking at that screenshot makes me wonder: How did anyone in high school stand out back in those days? Identity confusion must've been an all-time high.

[@creativecatproductions]

I think that image must have been from a Japanese hoodlum movie 😂

[@femorllarina9395]

This video is amazing, 1:30h felt like 20 minutes

[@creativecatproductions]

This is the best compliment 😆 This is essentially our goal and its why we spend so much time creating so many original assets and jokey images to try and tell the story. It took months to make this video. Thank you very much for watching dude! 😎

[@MacUser2-il2cx]

NiGHTS flying around might have been intended for Super Sonic. Super Sonic could fly by Sonic 3 and Knuckles. Also you collect a lot of blue spheres in the game. Those spheres also turn gold for bonus points. What if they change colors when Sonic goes Super? What if NiGHTS flying were meant to be the special stages to collect Chaos Emeralds? What if the two kids were gonna be regular Sonic and Amy Rose?

[@creativecatproductions]

That’s a good hypothesis…..of course, I’m biased

[@davidjohnson6087]

it’s voice sounds like AI, and the quality of the scriptwriting doesn’t fare much better. I don’t know if this video is made by a robot, but if it wasn’t, it certainly took cues from ones that were.

[@creativecatproductions]

I assure you nothing about this video was made by AI, which I detest. I even wrote the script by HAND, so medieval are my inclinations! No, if it sounds robotic then its a function of me having to read my hand written notes for hours and hours straight into a microphone. It took probably about 3 hours of raw audio to produce whats in the video, because I mess up lines, or get interrupted, or misread something, etc. I think the script meanders but I was meandering through some stormy, foggy waters, full of an amazing amount of contradictory information. In the end, the conclusion I came to is that most of what’s asserted about Yuji Naka is nonsense and that the guy isn’t the paraiah he’s made out to be. He’s maybe not likeable but not a monster. Anyway my progamming says to say “thanks for watching” 😎

[@davidjohnson6087]

@@creativecatproductions honestly, based reply. have now watched more into the video and feeling much better about it. i take back my criticisms

[@creativecatproductions]

@davidjohnson6087 I really appreciate it! 😎

[@TorchOG]

This is a good video to eat cereal to

[@creativecatproductions]

Honeycomb or cinnamon toast crunch? Thanks for watching dude! 😎

[@MacUser2-il2cx]

I say give him another shot at Sega with the Sonic Adventure remakes. Even if he doesn't contribute much, it'll repair his image.

[@creativecatproductions]

Id love to see him do another game for sure!

[@MacUser2-il2cx]

@@creativecatproductions Also Altered Beast, Eternal Champions, and Kid Chameleon just popped up in recent trademarks.

[@VEGANVANIA]

I bought "Let's Tap" because of this video. I disagree with everything you have to say in the video, of course, but credit where it's due: you've inspired me to buy "Let's Tap" for the Nintendo Wii. ;-)

[@creativecatproductions]

Im glad to be an inspiration 😂 And thank you for watching 😎 I take it you’re a big fan of Nights into Dreams?

[@a-bas-le-ciel]

No, man: _Nights Into Dreams_ is a barely interactive *screen saver.* It can be understood as an evolution of the flying toasters from _After Dark_ on Windows 3.1@@creativecatproductions

[@KoopaMedia64]

Unrelated to this video, but I'd enjoy a CCP video sharing opinions on the recent Analogue Duo, a clone of the original TurboDuo. They're expensive and unless it was a review unit, I wouldn't expect anyone to shell out for one just for a video, but the Analogue Duo is the most recent new TG16 hardware since the Mini, would probably make a fun video with more TG16 goodness.

[@creativecatproductions]

That would be an awesome video but I’d probably be waiting for like 16 months before I could even get my hands on one! Plus they are pretty pricey. I love their slick look though. I think Joe from gamesack did a great review of the console. He’s alway thorough and honest. I love Joe for honest complete reviews of hardware.

[@Amit7.]

‏‪41:14‬‏ why sonic look different in this logo? Its an old logo or something?

[@VirtuousAezon]

It's a fanmade one

[@x7heDeviLx]

Haha Miyamoto is actually a good game producer not just living off his past wins. Equal footing lol😅 as for the Geistforce interview from back In the day so he said political end fighting well that sounds like a nice way of saying what happened. A guy working in the industry wouldn’t want to say to much about producers still in the industry most people stay away from talking personal info like that with some magazine interviewer , I mean why would they. And these are not random people who all speak Japanese these are game creators who work for Sega could you think of a reason they would want to speak Japanese and would work towards it. I did really enjoy this content and subbed

[@creativecatproductions]

Thanks for watching dude! 😎

[@crystalmadison8449]

Handsome guy can't be a bad person

[@creativecatproductions]

Who could criticize that winning smile though? 😂 Thanks for watching dude 😎

[@Diwasho]

As much as I agree that NiGHTS isn't that fun to play, to its credit, Shigeru Miyamoto himself went on record saying that it was the one game he wished he'd made. I do believe that it was a blast for its time but ultimately it ended being one of those games that aged rather poorly. The presentation is very unique, at least that's for sure. Also, Marvel comics were actually bombing very hard in sales throughout the 90's after the collapse of the comic book market/bubble. That's what forced Marvel to sell off the rights to their best IPs to various companies for chump change just to stay afloat.

[@creativecatproductions]

Ive read that Miyamoto quote also but I think I dismissed it as a political nicety uttered at a time when Sega was a real competitor against Nintendo. Shigeru Miyamoto is 100% dedicated to perfection, and his craft, yet I’m also certain he does not actually play or like videogames. I’ll say that most people still very much enjoy playing Mario 64, which has this dedicated community of speed runners and players to this day, and somehow most people have never heard of Nights. I don’t think it aged poorly, I sincerely think it was never fun. Comic sale indeed did totally bomb in the 90s. I remember the bubble! I think Marvel sales had had a major uptick thanks to genuine interest. X-men comics in the late 80s and early 90s were legitimately very popular, as was spider-man. All thanks to good writing and good artwork. It was the age of dudes like Todd Mcfarlane. People were into characters like wolverine, venom, and daredevil, it was a good time…. Until the comic industry started tailoring everything to the bloated speculators market. Comic collecting became like beanie babies and NFTs, People bought up every collectible cover, special issue, or issue #1 they could find and marvel couldn’t help but start making their stuff to fit demand. The quality of the writing dropped as they tried to copy stupid cash grabbing story lines similar to the death of superman, which brought huge short term revenue to the ailing DC comics. So they cloned spider-man, they killed off major characters, they screwed around, and they started printing a lot of garbage with fancy covers. The whole industry really went to sewers thanks to the speculators. Thanks for watching dude! 😎

[@mohammedganai9636]

The Saturn 3d pad was superior to the DC pad.

[@creativecatproductions]

I actually thought the Dreamcast pad was pretty great! But I’ve never owned the 3D control pad so I couldn’t make a fair comparison. Thanks for watching dude! 😎

[@mohammedganai9636]

@@creativecatproductions 2 less face buttons, a bulkier form factor, replacing the perfect d-pad with that sharp cross thingamajig, and the controller cord protruding from the bottom rather than the top.

[@creativecatproductions]

@mohammedganai9636 I can’t recall many games that were dependent on the d-pad. The analog stick was good, and the triggers on the shoulders offered dynamic input. Plus the VMU was awesome. It was bulky and weird, but playing games with the controller was always fun and straightforward. Its fine! Thanks for watching dude! 😎

[@cryptocsguy9282]

I've never played nights into dreams but when I 1st found out the game exist I thought it look pretty weird like wtf is that???? If you can find the video on the xbox youtube channel where they discuss the games for gold program in a particular month where they gave away nights into dreams a a lot of people on the comments section had the same reaction as me , and I imagine many of them like myself did not grow up with sega consoles and maybe weren't even old enough to remember sega consoles. I love classic sega stuff (had to make up for what I missed out on) thou and I'd give nights a shot one day (I claimed the free xbo 360 version) but it does look pretty weird to say the least

[@creativecatproductions]

Honestly I had a similar reaction when I first saw nights….what is this?! But I had a similar reaction when I first played Panzer Dragoon too. I was astonished by all the critical praise and hype because it was just a rail shooter where you moved a cursor. It was on the same level as space harrier. The saturn has always baffled me. The Dreamcast was great though 😎

[@cryptocsguy9282]

@@creativecatproductions I do enjoy space harrier and panzer dragoon but many people might be of the opinion that that on rails shooter gameplay design is outdated since the panzer dragoon remake on the switch got mixed reviews and star fox zero on the wii u also got mixed reviews

[@creativecatproductions]

@cryptocsguy9282 i do love some space harrier! Its one of my favorite sega arcade games. I was never much into star fox

[@HellsChef45]

Another great video by CCP! Every time you called "Arzest" "Azrest" it got me ROFLing!

[@creativecatproductions]

Id suggest we make this into a drinking game but I say it incorrectly enough times to kill an African bull elephant from intoxication Thanks for watching dude! 😎

[@LawrenceAaronLuther]

1:08:31 Ah, so saturn games were programmed with pygame. it all makes sense now

[@ranzz-sm4ne]

The Sonic Fandom since 2005 + The Starwars Prequel hatedom = reverse hack syndrome i will agree that Sega deserves to be called-out for bad mistakes and some bad games here and there (some sonic games during the 2000s-2010s included) but after this fanculture of pretending to be some righteous hero and fueling all this enraged narrative that Naka/Sonic were bandwagon'd with, i'm not sorry for this idea of detractors going through hard amount of scrutiny on the level they were giving formers for years (hate/killart from 80sborn failures, articles from failed pundits complain about the number of sonic characters ruin the games despite not being playable, journos demanding the series be catered to the bare minimum) It happened with Neogaf going to shit after 2017 (one of the biggest detractors of the Sonic IP) it WILL HAPPEN after this year

[@graysongdl]

How can you call a game a "Flappy Bird clone" when anyone with eyes can see that the onscreen footage doesn't resemble Flappy Bird in the slightest? Especially when the game came out years before Flappy Bird even existed? Is this video a late April Fools joke, or was research just... not done? Or was the script not proofread?

[@creativecatproductions]

Huh? This video required plenty of research 😆 Thanks for watching dude! 😎

[@graysongdl]

@@creativecatproductions Alright, you not responding to my question with anything more than a "nuh-uh!" tells me that this is indeed a joke video. Guess I just won't watch the rest, then.

[@creativecatproductions]

@@graysongdl I honestly just dont have time to respond to this in any other way. I thank you for watching what you managed though. And to be fair, your question was pure rhetorical criticism. You didn’t like that I reduced his game to “flappy bird” and thats about the extent of it.

[@creativecatproductions]

I also acknowledge that I was mistaken to assume that flappy bird came out before Ivy the Kiwi. However the game mechanics exmployed in both games are actually much older than either game. Flappy bird itself is just a knock off of primitive game mechanics from the elder days of home computer games. It wasn’t meant as an insult to Naka or his game. Rather it was a way of highlighting how prope had aggressively targeted the casual gaming market on wii and ios, which is true.

[@graysongdl]

@@creativecatproductions Game mechanics in both games? Do the two games even have anything in common? Best I can think of is that they both feature birds, and are... 2D? Besides that, I'm genuinely having a hard time seeing what it is that makes them so similar in your eyes. Honestly, I didn't even know the release dates of the games myself until I looked it up while writing my comment. The main point of my comment was that I saw a game get called a "clone" of a game it doesn't even bear a passing resemblance to, a contradiction which is demonstrated and highlighted by the footage being shown onscreen at the same time you were making the claim (which I could've sworn was an intentional editing choice by the editor), which made me stop and ask myself whether I was missing some joke or something.

[@randallscott4581]

Which persona is better Vinny Vegas, "Big Daddy Cool" Diesel, "Big Sexy" Kevin Nash?

[@creativecatproductions]

I definitely prefer Kevin Nash as Kevin Nash. Diesel was such a dork! 😝 However, diesel had some decent matches with the likes of Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels. In WCW he oozed machismo, but stopped working. Same with Hall. He was such a beast in the WWF, and though he remained cool, his performance was like an extended drunken vacation. WCW is where talented wrestlers went to….sleep it off I suppose 😂

[@creativecatproductions]

Thanks for watching dude! 😎

[@randallscott4581]

@@creativecatproductions Always glad to see your stuff!

[@randallscott4581]

​@@creativecatproductions I think the main problem with Nash in WCW was one, he was stuck in a stable with Hulk Hogan, who I still like and enjoy despite the nonsense he spews. Two, Kevin was overshadowed by Hogan and to a far lesser extent, Scott Hall. Three, him being made head booker gave him ample time to be lazy.

[@creativecatproductions]

@randallscott4581 Hollywood hulk hogan was so badass. I loved that angle. I always expected the Outsiders to really start tearing it up. Sadly that never quite happened, but I still enjoyed their run as tag team champions. That was a great gimmick, the NWO taking every title, unopposed until Sting finally showed up. Great stuff

[@kalvinravn8431]

True Nights isn’t super but man I played the Hell and still do out of Burning Rangers For my Saturn. I did sell most of my Saturn games but emulate Burning Rangers. You have to understand that if you owned a Saturn you had few 3D Platform games and this was a warm welcome then.

[@creativecatproductions]

This sounds a lot like why I spent so much time playing Doom for the 32X in 1994 and 1995! 😝 Honestly, 3D platformers of that generation were just rough in general, outside of Mario 64. I remember the hype for Tomb Raider, another game from the period that was widely acclaimed that I just never understood. Surely, exploration is fun, surely that was a cool character, but the wonky controls, the iffy platforming, the polygon tearing, the draw distance…..they were all terrible! For me the move from 16-bit to Next Gen felt like a huge step down….except for Rpgs. I loved the rpgs and the Saturn also had great rpg’s Thanks for watching dude! 😎

[@marshallw1902]

​@@creativecatproductionsThat's just weak cherrypicking. The issues you applied to that part of 3d gaming can apply to medicore 16-bit games as well, and better titles later emerged on that same era with revised elements, you just choose to nitpick present flaws and ignore the positives, not a very good argument.

[@creativecatproductions]

@marshallw1902 my issues with 3D platforming are numerous and they’re rooted in the 3D mechanics themselves. I never much enjoyed it. For instance the amount of walking before getting to the next area or thing to do is drastically increased with 3D spaces. Instead of moving, say, Mario just left and right, and landing jump up and down, now I have to move in an entire new plane of direction too. If i used to move mario 10 feet forward in a 2D game, now Im working with 100 feet of mostly empty space in a 3D platformer and thus everything just takes a lot longer. Further, there was always the issue of gauging jumps onto platforms….with moving cameras and confusing perspectives, this was never very easy. In real 3D space i can do this because of my own depth perception and innate sense of propiocepion. But getting a 3D character to land on a platform correctly always took more faith than it ought to in a game. I think this is why 3D platformers, even the good ones, mainly became collectathons. Running around and picking up golden whatevers was more certain positive feedback than actual gameplay could ever be. 3D was awesome for adventure games though. The Ocarina of time was amazing…..they also made platforming and jumping an automatic function 😝

[@Zetchzie]

Not a bad guy. Just a lousy person maybe.

[@creativecatproductions]

I’ve learned over time that, really, none of us are very good and we could all be condemned if scrutinized by the worst moments of our life. Naka is a public figure who’s had a lot of bad moments publicly scrutinized, sometimes correctly, but often with the admixture of gross exaggeration or the distortion of reality. As a consequence, we tend to see him through a false lens, as if he and other men like him, were the worst and only bad people alive. But I wonder how I’d fair better, if I were given his circumstances? We really only know this little about the man. And there’s probably a lot of good there too. Perhaps not good enough? Probably, but that goes for me too. Thanks for watching dude! 😎

[@Zetchzie]

@@creativecatproductions very true. it's just really sad to see someone i looked up to fall from grace. But also, apparently, he's always been a pain to work with. not giving a straight story and not being able to trust any of his words though really rubs me the wrong way.

[@creativecatproductions]

@@Zetchzie I certainly don’t believe everything he says. I suggest that it might really be true, for instance, that he withheld Sonic-Xtreme from STI.

[@Zetchzie]

@@creativecatproductions Yea. He may not like americans. We all know Sega has had issues with its US counterparts. I always wanted to ask him what Sonic 06 was intended to be like but i doubt we would get a good answer.

[@PKGangsta18]

What did you say about NiGHTs and Burning Rangers? @8:56 ...3D "Sprites?" Sonic Adventure 2 not as well regarded as Sonic Adventure 1? ...everything after Heroes mediocre, including Colors and Generations? How dare you, sir? 😭 ...and yes. I agree about Rodea lol

[@creativecatproductions]

Thanks for watching dude! 😎 I know that 3D polygonal objects are not technically the same thing as 2D sprites but Im an 8-bit, 16-bit guy mostly and Ive long since accustomed myseld to calling everything ‘Sprite’ I go out and im like “I think I’ll have a sprite to drink”…..my favorite Sprite is Dr Pepper. “Well isnt this a spritely day?” “I sprought this guy spriting in the park. I sprite the heck out of there.” So on and so forth….

[@ChibiSteak]

28:37

[@powwow360]

Great video! Apart from from you're horrible take on Nights (and to a lesser extent Burning Rangers)! I don't mind you're own narrow subjective opinion on why you don't like it but its the views on why other people appreciate it that are way off and unnecessary. This video does a great job of explaining the genius of it to those who appreciate kzbin.info/www/bejne/pYrJlImshbGYmMU Otherwise great stuff on this and I like your grounded takes on Sega on other videos, esp their change since the Sammy merger which isn't often emphasised enough by other media.

[@creativecatproductions]

I knew my thoughts about Nights would make some people unhappy but I have to be as honest with myself as possible when making these. I think it gives my videos a unique and therefore relevant voice…..but it can also be discordant and annoying too. I wrote this in a spirit of trepidation, knowing what I might face 😆 Thank you very much for watching our videos dude! 😎

[@robhasahead8736]

Great Video all though I do have 1 question. At 32:01 to 32:22 you yell the N word at the top of your lungs. It came out of absolutely no where and it offended me deeply. I want to know what your artistic goal was in including a violent cry of the N word at 32:01 to 32:22.

[@robhasahead8736]

@nomickike2165 but he said it with the Kaizo R.

[@robhasahead8736]

@nomickike2165 he violated both the fajita convention and the magnum carcus.

[@creativecatproductions]

Am I being canceled 😞?

[@robhasahead8736]

@@creativecatproductions Not if you have a good reason.

[@VirtuousAezon]

Hahaha... Yes! Correct, I am innocent!

[@creativecatproductions]

Oh my stars! Its Yuuuuuji Naaaaaka! 🤩 Thanks for watching Senpei

[@antisonictardcringe433]

@@creativecatproductions dude, it's obvious the "gamer" identity has done a number on your brain

[@creativecatproductions]

@@antisonictardcringe433 I think both me and this guy know I’m joking. 😝

[@Sinn0100]

Hold on a minute..."rebranded Genesis with the first Sonic?" No, Sega did not rebrand the Sega Genesis in 1991 when Sonic became the pack-in game. The rebrand did not take place until the release of the Sega Genesis 2 in 1994. The first pack-in game for the Genesis 2 was Sonic The Hedgehog 2. I remember also seeing the Genesis 2 being packed with Sonic Spinball, Streets of Rage 2, and Streets of Rage 3. Basically it got around. Addendum- You are the first person I have ever heard say they think Sonic CD was the best of the early Sonic titles. I got my copy of Sonic CD the day it dropped. At the time, I was Sonic crazy and seeing his new game on CD was an event I wasn't missing for anything (I might have skipped it for a date with Christina Applegate). Aside from the incredible FMV intro and Red Book Audio...I hated it. I even despised the 3d bonus game as the perspective was warped. No, Sonic The Hedgehog 2 was and still is my favorite in the series. I stopped playing most Sonic games after the death of the Dreamcast.

[@Sinn0100]

I know I already posted but I forgot to mention two things. First, this is an excellent video and while I may not agree with everything here it is fantastic. Second, Nights Into Dreams actually came packaged with the Saturn 3D controller. I know because I bought mine right when it released and I still have the entire box set. I haven't played Nights in a long time but I remember being able to play it with a standard controller just fine. I actually have never really cared for Nights all that much but I was also never hung-up on having a Sonic game for the Saturn. There was so much to explore and experience when the 5th generation started that I was content. I got both my Playstation and Saturn on 9/9/95. I tried to find a Saturn before that but I could never find one. White I still play everything across all platforms, genres, and generations of gaming the 5th generation is my favorite. Addendum- By 9/9/95 I was working and had quite a bit more money to buy games with. It also helped that trading games and consoles really started to take off by '95. I traded in so many consoles and games to get both "Super 32-bit systems" on day one...but I did it. You didn't even need an ID back then or be 18.

[@creativecatproductions]

I think you’re probably right about Sonic 2 being the best sonic game from that generation, though I have a soft spot for Sonic CD. I think its very creative, though deeply flawed. When I mentioned the sega rebrand I only meant to highlight the marketing shift under tom kalinske. Im using the term pretty loosely here. Thanks for watching dude! 😎 I responded earlier but somehow my comment failed to show.

[@Sinn0100]

@@creativecatproductions Oh man, I completely misunderstood! You are absolutely correct. There was indeed a marketing shift. Oh and you are also correct in saying Sonic CD was innovative. The time aspect was such a cool idea and levels changed depending on what part of the timeline you're in. Again, great video!

[@orangeslash1667]

@@Sinn0100 Ohshima cited the film Back to the Future (1985) as an influence on the time travel.

[@Howardpower679]

Did you just put sonic generations as one mediocre sonic game??? Are you f.... me right now?????

[@creativecatproductions]

Our inclusion of Sonic Generations was not intended to as “here is a mediocre Sonic game” but the image was just meant as a depiction of “more recent Sonic games”. We make these videos as a family, myself and my oldest kids, and my 10 year old son created that particular image to match audio about “recent sonic games”….I wouldn’t have included Sonic Generations either due to the implication 😆 Thanks for watching dude 😎

[@Jackattack359]

⁠@@creativecatproductionsin that case, your entire family makes very questionable editing decisions

[@creativecatproductions]

@@Jackattack359 I certainly hope so! I wouldn’t want them just doing things exactly how people expect them too. Not much sense or value in watching something like that. 😎

[@Jackattack359]

@@creativecatproductions it also doesn’t qualify as subverting expectations as you seem to be implying here either

[@tardistime6857]

It does seem yuji naka does have a bit of an ego he is a talented programmer however by his own actions and decisions I’m sorry but his legacy will forever be tarnished and that is a-shame

[@creativecatproductions]

Thanks for watching dude! 😎

[@FishopolisDoc]

I think this video would be a lot better if you took the time to actually confirm what the titles of games are before recording, pronounced the names of companies correctly, who worked on what, and weren't so actively disrespectful to the work of these creators. Things like this taint what is otherwise a valuable resource of information on a subject worth digging deeper into. The core of the video is good but it's got enough mistakes and odd asides that I'd hesitate to recommend it to anyone. Thanks for your time and effort regardless.

[@creativecatproductions]

But I’m from another dimension 😂 Thanks for watching dude 😎

[@creativecatproductions]

I sincerely don’t mean any disrespect though. Its a challenge. Thank you anyway though.

[@bartdude82]

Didn’t watch the video yet but Yuki Naka is the sole reason why Sonic Xtreme underwent such horrible development constraints at the time. It would’ve been easily resolved had he put his pride aside and let the team use the Saturn/Nights build. That alone puts a bad taste in my mouth from this man…

[@creativecatproductions]

I think there were probably a lot more problems for sonic x-treme than just Yuji Naka. I think a bigger issue is Sega changing their plans and moving the development of the game from the 32X to the Sega Saturn, effectively causing the game to go back to square one. I think the change of leadership at Sega of America and the loss of the game’s original leadership were also definitive problems. Also, writing the game in C+ was bananas. Naka couldn’t have really helped. Sure, I think the decent thing would have been to send the help, but like he said, even if he did, they would have had to scrap everything they already completed. Essentially, what were they actually planning to do? Nothing they had produced up to that point was remotely viable or of sound enough quality to sell to customers as a videogame. That’s not really Yuji Naka’s fault.

[@ranzz-sm4ne]

"pride" this word is very common for western and insecure sonic fans

[@postumus77]

As someone that has both programming experience as well as software development at large corporations, I can state with pretty much 100% certainty, you have no idea what you are talking about. 1. STI never produced a great game, Xtreme did not need to just come out, it needed to be a system seller, akin to Sonic 1, it was going to go up against Mario 64 after all. 2. Sega's ill conceived 32x and Saturn approach made sense to them because the Sega of the US wanted a way to keep their huge install base of Genesis customers, and a cheaper and backwards compatible upgrade seemed less risky than a more expensive new system without backwards compatibility. While Sega of Japan had no such constraints as the Mega Drive was a flop there, so they preferred the Saturn. This is why I believe Xtreme was greenlit not only for the 32X, but also by STI, bc it fit with Sega of America's plans. 3. STI's output was underwhelming and there is no way they were ever going to pull this off, initially they developed 2 game engines, 1 for bosses with a fish eye lense(just why?), and the other for the levels. They had severe staffing loses. The game was a janky mess, not withstanding the issue with them using C++ for the engine. 4. As STI was floundering and STI's and Sega of America's leadership was failing to right to ship or cut losses, STI saw Nights and viewed it as a panacea to all of their many problems, it wasn't. They were a young and mostly inexperienced team, Assembly is much much harder to program in than C++, but they had many other issues as well, the game looks bland and uninspired, the levels do not look fun to play, nor cohesive, it basically looks like a some mock up stages were made. Which makes complete sense, you don't get a game that is nearly complete and just need a new engine to finish it off, quite to the contrary, if they couldn't build a reliable game engine, then they weren't going to pull off the game either, as they didn't have the capacity for it, they were in over their heads, and a lot of people quit for precisely that reason. 5. The saturn lacked a lot of 3d power, but programming in assembly would let you get the most out of what it did have, but translating the engine from assembly to C++ would not only delay the game until the Dreamcast most likely, I don't even believe STI had the technical prowess to pull it off, ever. It's fine to play what if, but the fact of the matter was, Sega was not going to wait just to answer the hypothetical, well maybe if they started all over again with a new engine they have to translate, maybe 1 day they'll be able to launch the game on a system that isn't for sale anymore sometime after the year 2000, if ever, because translating the engine from Assembly to C++, would entail not just a massive time delay, C++ code just does not perform as well as Assembly code. So even if by some miracle this team gets it translated, what if the game is running at 4 FPS, what then? 6. We do not know how it went down, we have certain people's side of the story, but we weren't actually there, we only have little snippets. It is completely plausible that Naka realized STI would not have the technical expertise to translate the game engine to C++, so he would inevitably be roped into going back to California, and likely for a failed project anyway, because the time delay in translating the game to C++ and the performance hit from using C++, meant the game would neither run properly or be delivered during the Saturn's life time. And he may have been starting his family around this time, it's very easy to say he should have shelved his personal interests, but it's entirely plausible that Naka felt the project was doomed, and the sooner Sega cut their loses, the better it would be for the company. And I've seen software development projects go millions and millions of dollars into development, and I've known those projects were going to fail because they were overly ambitious and the teams working for them were not a good fit to deliver them, but the Execs took years to catch up, they didn't want to admit they had wasted 2 million, so they'd spend another 10 million, before finally having to cut the cord, it is the sunk cost fallacy, and it happens all the time. I'm 99% certain Sega Execs knew the Xtreme project was in deep trouble, but they also knew they had spent ~50 million dollars on it, and that the Saturn needed a system seller, so they kept doubling down on it it, until it was obvious the Saturn was dead and it was time to focus on the Dreamcast.

[@exchangediary968]

After I heard he was rather abusive towards his staff members during Ballan and having a petty twitter fight with Naoto I KIND OF lost respect for him

[@aaronwatson1432]

Sonic 06 was the best Sonic game alongside the Adventure games and Frontiers. Fight me!

[@creativecatproductions]

Bold! 😂 Thanks for watching dude 😎

[@Jackattack359]

Uh, the analog controller for Nights was literally bundled with the game. If you’re going to make a video like this, can you maybe actually do your research first? And while you’re at it, learn the proper pronunciation of company names and video game titles

[@creativecatproductions]

Im pretty sure I addressed both of these things 😝

[@Jackattack359]

@@creativecatproductions no, you didn’t

[@RoboyZHunter]

Lmao I started skipping a ton the moment I heard raid shadow legends

[@creativecatproductions]

I was worried that might happen! 😝 Does anyone actually play that game? Thank you very much for watching 😎

[@creativecatproductions]

Of course….you know I was just joking right! Theres no ad copy for raid shadow legends in this video

[@RoboyZHunter]

@@creativecatproductions I found out right away when I noticed how quick this went read sponsors last for at least 1 minute

[@creativecatproductions]

@@RoboyZHunter dont forget to use the promo code! 😆

[@Zinkolo]

He was bad though? He was reportedly a major dick to everyone around him and would nonstop brag about his cars. Golden bolt has a great video on this. He's a joke

[@creativecatproductions]

His cars are, indeed, pretty wicked. Lots of people don’t like Yuji Naka, so there must be a colonel of truth regarding his temperament. But Im not convinced all unlikeable people are unlikeable simply because they are bad. Its possible to retain good character, even virtue, and still be despised by your associates. I just don’t know the man closely. Thanks for watching dude! 😎

[@antisonictardcringe433]

and goldenbolt is a pretty shitty youtuber who has nothing to his name besides his online persona

[@kingstarscream320]

Being a “dick” and bragging about cars is not enough to ruin the reputation of a man who made Sonic 3.

[@kingstarscream320]

@@creativecatproductionsExactly. Like CM Punk.

[@Maulbert]

​@creativecatproductions There's a saying, 'If you meet one asshole during a day, you met an asshole. If you meet nothing but assholes during a day, you're the asshole'. There's too much smoke surrounding Naka for his reputation to not be well earned. I'm inclined to believe the stories.

[@seanthiem1176]

yuji naka the badboy of videogame development, other creators hate him but fans love him

[@creativecatproductions]

Indeed! Thanks for watching dude! 😎

[@e4gyofficial]

thanks Chinese Communist Party, very cool!

[@creativecatproductions]

My sincere hope is that one day Creative Cat Productions will force the Chinese Community Party to change their name to Chinese Communist Entertainment. Like the Panda People did to the WWF 😝

[@a.d.9825]

the name sonic team was chosen specifically because of trying to attract people "hey its those that made the sonic games". also while i like your documentary style you insert very subjective opinions such as nights being a bad game, brings it down a whole lot

[@creativecatproductions]

My aim here was to make a comprehensive reassessment of the career of Yuji Naka, and in order to do that I was required to make a judgment about all of the games he worked on over the decades. Sometimes I had positive things to say, sometimes negative. One of the most perilous things a retro gaming channel can do is to not like someone’s favorite game from their youth. But I like to live dangerously 😝 Thank you very much for watching dude! 😎

[@a.d.9825]

@@creativecatproductions doing an overall comprehensive assesement of someones body of work and only including YOUR opinions as if it were objective is a contraditcion. but you do you

[@creativecatproductions]

@a.d.9825 how would that even be avoidable? All we could say in the end is that Yuji Naka existed, he worked on these published games. But my aim was to ask whether or not Yuji Naka is really as bad as so many people say? Our entire aim was to make a grand value judgement based upon a reappraisal of his story and rumors about him. Thats all. Some people really love Nights. Some people really don’t like it. I think thats fair. Its just a small part of the larger story.

[@a.d.9825]

@@creativecatproductions i know you played it off as a joke that nights was a bad game, but it didn't land for me. im not butthurt or anything. its just an off way of covering someones games.

[@kingstarscream320]

@@a.d.9825Unless someone says their opinion is fact, you have to assume they are merely giving their opinion, especially if it’s on something that can’t be objective at all such as the quality of art.