Interview: Ray Murakawa, Producer, Tecmo NBA Unrivaled

October 13, 2009 by Jeffrey L. Wilson
Filed under: Interviews, Sports 

lakers NISDUNK 2 Interview: Ray Murakawa, Producer, Tecmo NBA Unrivaled

Tecmo simultaneously shocked and delighted old school sports gamers with the June announcement of Tecmo NBA Unrivaled. Even before the first wave of screenshots appeared, gamers were pondering the style of play that the new game would adopt. Would it be like the godly Tecmo Super NBA? Completely insane like NBA Jam? We baby birds were hungry and no one was there to feed us.

All answers come in time, they say, and I’m happy to report that they have arrived courtesy of Ray Murakawa, producer, Tecmo NBA Unrivaled. We shot him some questions post-Tokyo Game Show, and he’s graciously answered everything presented to him about the A.C.R.O.N.Y.M.-developed b-ball title. His words, and tons of screenshots, are after the break.

team select Interview: Ray Murakawa, Producer, Tecmo NBA Unrivaled

What prompted Tecmo to return to NBA gaming? It’s been a long time since the company has put out a NBA title.

We’re all fans of old school basketball games, especially Tecmo Super NBA Basketball. The simplicity, speed, the light strategy, and all of the outrageous plays that we all remember from the old school have been a thing of the past. For a while now, basketball games have evolved into something that transcends traditional gaming, which is incredible, but those game have lost a lot of what we felt needs to be brought back in today’s market.

Is Tecmo NBA Unrivaled a sim, an over the top romp like NBA Jam, or somewhere in between?

The last thing we want to do is compete with the classics. We drilled deep into what all of those games in the past were about and thought to ourselves, “What if we imagined that we were in the nineties, what would blow us away? How can we make our game feel and look like no other basketball game out?” So we started from the ground up. We incorporated 8-Way controls to echo back to the D-pad and joystick era, and we put a focus on uncompromised response and twitch gameplay. We basically wanted to make a 2D game within a 3D universe, something most recent “retro style games” just do superficially.

To answer your question, it’s not a no-holds-barred free for all like some arcade games, so you can’t throw elbows and punches to steal. We wanted to build a game with enough strategy and rules to keep the matches interesting like Tecmo Super NBA, but we also wanted crazy dunks and arcade visuals to keep the excitement up.

nuggets MOMENTUM Interview: Ray Murakawa, Producer, Tecmo NBA Unrivaled

What is the significance of the visual effects seen in the initial screenshots, such as the green sparkles and blue-and-white ripple effect? Are they tied into the Momentum Bar?

3-Pointers, Dunks, and shots performed during Momentum Mania are accompanied with different effects.

How does one fill the Momentum Bar?

If you make shots, steal, dunk, or intercept the ball, you’ll increase your momentum. Once full, you’ll get launched into Momentum Mania, where you try to keep your momentum on your side because at any moment it can get take away from you and reversed to the other team.

Are there any online modes?

There are ranked and quick match modes online.

Why did you decide to go the digital download route instead of a traditional retail release?

First and foremost, it’s the future! Also, the power of the new consoles allows us to create games that are compact, but visually stunning with depth.

When can we expect the game to hit the virtual shelves?

Q4 2009

magic celtics VFX Interview: Ray Murakawa, Producer, Tecmo NBA Unrivaled

Tecmo NBA Unrivaled (PSN, XBLA) carries the 2009-2010 rosters (all 30 teams), and supports monitors/televisions  up to 1080p resolution. Multi-player (both online and offline) allows player vs. player, or 2 Players vs. CPU. And just in case you’re wondering, the up close and personal cutscenes Tecmo’s games were known for back in the day will be implemented into gameplay to highlight important actions (see our gallery below).


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More 2D-X Goodness:

  1. Revealed: Tecmo NBA Unrivaled Screenshots
  2. E3: Tecmo Revisits Retro Hoops Action With NBA Unrivaled (PSN, XBLA)
  3. Interview: Mike Fahrny, producer, Tecmo Bowl Throwback
  4. Do You Have What It Takes To Beat Tecmo At Its Own Game? (NBA Unrivaled)
  5. Interview: Herb Yang, Managing Producer for Dungeon Fighter Online

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