NISA Europe Prinnies Interview Kazutaka Kodaka (Part 1/3)

Last week two of our very own prinnies Jaspreet and Taku had the chance to sit down with Kodaka-san, the creator and scenario writer of the Danganronpa series. Our prinnies managed to interview Kodaka-san and talked all things Danganronpa. Read the part 1/3 of the interview below, doods!

Question 1
Jaspreet:
What character did you enjoy creating the most from the Danganronpa series?

Kazutaka Kodaka:
I really enjoy writing all of my characters, but the character design for Sakura Ogami had the greatest impact on me.

Jaspreet:
How come?

Kazutaka Kodaka:
I enjoy seeing all of the character designs, but it’s particularly great when I see something that I wasn’t imagining.

Jaspreet:
Okay, is that because she is so big and strong?

Kazutaka Kodaka:
Yes, that’s right. (laughs)


Question 2
Jaspreet:
How do you balance what you want to write and what people want to see in the game?

Kazutaka Kodaka:
Actually, when I’m writing the scripts, I write the script for myself, I imagine myself as the user and I would write to see what I’d enjoy to see in the story. 100% what I’d enjoy.

Jaspreet:
Okay that’s good, as you keep it true to yourself, awesome!

Kazutaka Kodaka:
(laughs)


Question 3
Jaspreet:
Would you ever make a game where Monokuma is the main character / protagonist, and you play as Monokuma?

Kazutaka Kodaka:
I don’t want any other players to control Monokuma, I want to be the one to control Monokuma.
*Everyone laughs*

Kazutaka Kodaka:
Monokuma is my creation.

Jaspreet:
It’s also very interesting because having no control over him creates more fear for that character.

Kazutaka Kodaka:
Monokuma is actually a very complicated character, I basically created Monokuma based on my own feelings so people can’t read when he will be nice or really evil, you don’t know what he’ll say next, he’s very unpredictable.

Jaspreet:
So he’s very volatile.

Kazutaka Kodaka:
When I create characters, I don’t really go into detail about how they are going to talk or how they are going to act, so when the final creation comes out, I’m sometimes surprised by the outcome myself.

Jaspreet:
Oh I see, so you are surprised by the characters’ own development?

Kazutaka Kodaka:
I’m surprised and like to make players surprised too.


Question 4
Jaspreet:
So Danganronpa V3’s theme is known as “Psycho-Cool,” why did you choose to go this way? Was it a conscious decision, or was it something that developed over time?

Kazutaka Kodaka:
In the beginning I was thinking of giving Danganronpa V3 an American theme.

Jaspreet:
So not making the game based in Japan, but based in America?

Kazutaka Kodaka:
Well it was more like “Psycho-America.”
*Everyone says “Awwwwwwwwwwwwwww”, and he laughs*

Kazutaka Kodaka:
I was actually imagining that it would be based in a desert, but as I was running through it, I felt that this wasn’t interesting at all, so I changed it by adding a bit of a science-fiction element and that turned out to be more of a “Psycho-Cool” theme.

Jaspreet:
Awesome, that really interesting!

Kazutaka Kodaka:
Danganronpa 2 was a “Psycho-Tropical” theme, right?

Jaspreet:
Yes!

Kazutaka Kodaka:
I thought that I’d be able to go to Hawaii to do research, but I didn’t get to go.
*Everyone laughs*
So this time I thought I’d do “Psycho-America” and be able to go to Las Vegas, but again I wasn’t able to go, so now I’m like, forget it!
*Everyone laughs*

Jaspreet:
So “Psycho-America” is still a theme you want to do?

Kazutaka Kodaka:
If I get to go to Las Vegas, yes.

Jaspreet:
One day maybe.
*Everyone laughs*


Question 5
Jaspreet:
If you could go back to any of the Danganronpa games (Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc, Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair or Danganronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls) would you change anything? And why?

Kazutaka Kodaka:
No not really, what I did, I’m happy with.

Jaspreet:
So you’re very happy with what you ended up with?

Kazutaka Kodaka:
All the things that I wanted to do or possibly change for Danganronpa 1 and 2, I was able to accomplish in Danganronpa V3. So Danganronpa 1 and 2 are good in their own way, and they don’t need changes.
I wanted to make something completely different from 1 and 2, so that is what I did with Danganronpa V3, and in Danganronpa V3 I wanted to let the players feel personally moved in a way that only Danganronpa is capable of.

Question 6
Jaspreet:
So following up from that, would you go back to your younger self and give yourself advice on anything?

Kazutaka Kodaka:
When I was in my twenties I used to work in a game shop and I wasn't doing anything with my life, so I’d like to go back and tell myself “you suck.”
*Everyone laughs*
I’d also tell myself how bad of a person I was so that I’d be a better person.

Jaspreet:
To encourage himself.
*Everyone laughs*
But he’s ended up here so he obviously did something right.

Kazutaka Kodaka:
When I was working at the game shop I used to collect a lot of retro games, and in the Danganronpa mini-games you can see the little 8-bit characters and some retro aspects to them, so I feel that it didn’t go to complete waste. I must have actually used some of that knowledge. When I was 20, Japan was quite a peaceful country, so I was very laid-back and lazy.
*Everyone laughs*

End of Part 1

Translation by:
                                Ai Umeno
                                (Assisted by) Alan Costa

Questions by:
                                Jaspreet S Marwaha
                                (Assisted by) Taku Mavhunduke

Don't despair! You can still pre-order Danganronpa V3 Limited Edition from our store!