Nintendo says Retro now 'thinks like Nintendo', needs less supervision, relationship with RARE was difficult

“The job itself hasn’t changed so much, but when we worked on the first Prime I was focused on the controls, and the visor system was something I thought up with Retro. So I would do a lot of brainstorming, firming up specs with them. Moving onto Donkey Kong, we were doing a lot of the same things. But one thing that really has changed over the years for us is that Retro has gradually come to really think like Nintendo. So there’s been a lot less need for explanation and supervision. I don’t think that Mr Miyamoto went over to Rare and did face-to-face visits really, and without email, communication happened by fax, and I think it made it really difficult for him to relay his vision and experiences the same way.” - Nintendo producer Kensuke Tanabe

“In Metroid, we would create a large number of assets and send them to Tanabe-san for review and he would add a number of changes. What has changed since then is that before we even start creating assets we have a much better understanding of his expectations and vision. We don’t throw away a lot of work anymore.” - Retro president Michael Kelbaugh

I think Retro has shown that they’re more than deserving of working on Nintendo’s top-of-the-line franchises. Time to get them working on Zelda!

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