Kamiya wants to "exceed" God of War

By Tom Bramwell Published 1 September, 2008

Starts by getting into a fight with Itagaki.

Devil May Cry creator and Bayonetta designer Hideki Kamiya has said he wants to "make a game that exceeds God of War's sequel".

"Out of all those action titles, there's one game that I am paying really close attention to, that I think is a rival game, a good game, which is called God of War 3," Kamiya told EGM.

Kamiya was less enthused about Tecmo's Ninja Gaiden series, however. "I've never played Ninja Gaiden, and to be honest, I'm not that interested," he said.

Apparently that's because "the quality that gets you interested in something is that you feel something for them", and "Ninja Gaiden just didn't have that power".

Ninja Gaiden, of course, was overseen by former Tecmo producer Tomonobu Itagaki, who recently left the company in a whirlwind of litigation at the completion of the second game in the Xbox series.

Fortunately, 1UP was able to track him down in a pub in Japan and ask him for his reaction. Brilliant.

Kamiya had argued that "the baton was dropped" after he made the original Devil May Cry eight years ago. "Was he asleep for eight years?" said Itagaki.

"There's those that truly are outspoken, and there are those who are just trying to cover up for their weaknesses. We have a saying here in Japan which is that 'the weaker dog barks more', and I sincerely hope that he is not one of the latter." Fight!

But let's get back to God of War, which Kamiya definitely felt something for.

"So there's like a wall for your imagination or ideas, and when you're actually creating something, you don't even see the wall. But with GOW, I felt like I saw beyond the wall," he told EGM.

"I felt like they created the game in a very good way which managed to bring in the users, they gave you a huge impactful feeling right in the beginning, and just drew you into the game. So I'm very impressed that they made the game like that."

For more on Kamiya's hopefully-God-of-War-3-exceeding Bayonetta, check out our Bayonetta preview. For more from Tomonobu Itagaki, trawl the pubs around Waseda University, apparently.

Picture of Tom.

About Tom Bramwell

Tom is Operations director of Eurogamer Network and Editor-at-Large of Eurogamer.net. He joined the company in February 2000.

Read more articles from Tom by visiting the Tom Bramwell archive page.

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Comments (22) Latest comment 2 years ago

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  • Aysir #1 4 years ago

    Wow, he's quite harsh on Ninja Gaiden isn't he? The cinematics and atmosphere in NG do suck, but the gameplay is top notch, it seems a little foolish to completely ignore it.
    God of War 3 vs Bayonetta then? I've got my money on Bayonetta...unless Kratos starts with a different weapon this time.

  • drumbaby #2 4 years ago

    If the original DMC had a fully customisable controls, so it could play in the same config as the new ones, I'd be playing it to this day. Best of the lot, because it just has bags more atmos and feel than any of them...genuine charm and mystery. The guy's a genius.

  • ParanoidZombie #3 4 years ago

    Agreed that GOW (1, not 2) has the best background/plot/atmosphere, but ninja gaiden's gameplay is just 1000 times better. And i'll choose gameplay over atmo/plot any day.

  • Dizzy #4 4 years ago

    ROFL MDC atmosphere?... I guess that is why his games are filled with angst-ridden teens.

    I think he can be honest... DMC is a middle of the road game. It isn't opposition to NG or GoW.

  • Xerx3s #5 4 years ago

    "I've never played Ninja Gaiden, and to be honest, I'm not that interested,"

    Well, now you know why dmc fails.

  • JHuxley #6 4 years ago

    Why all the hate for DMC?

    "I guess that is why his games are filled with angst-ridden teens"

    Uhh...which angst-ridden teens are those exactly? DMC has none. Maybe there were some in Okami then? Hmm...

  • Machetazo #7 4 years ago

    DMC wins in style, bravado, and bosses. GoW wins in making everything you do look fantastic, for a very little effort, and combining that with a smooth flow, and progression - THAT game is the middle ground - NG wins...It's the equivalent of an MMO grind. I'm not sure how, specifically, it wins, but it is enjoyable to play (I've played NG/Black/Sigma).

    @drumbaby - you're so right about DMC (1) :)

  • JHuxley #8 4 years ago

    "Well, now you know why dmc fails."

    Yes, because he should have time-travelled to the future to play a game highly influenced by his own so he could go back and make it better. Fool!

  • septimus #9 4 years ago

    God of War > Ninja Gaiden > Devil May Cry.

    Though Devil May Cry is far more fun than Gaiden, just not as deep.

    *Still waiting for the faint promise of Kratos and Nariko as downloads for SC4*

  • Widge #10 4 years ago

    God of War is lightyears ahead of DMC, its just a sheer pleasure to play through and through, also consistently keeps lumping on jaw dropping moments on you. Really epic.

  • RedSparrows #11 4 years ago

    Ninja Gaiden utterly kicks ass

  • HermitArcader #12 4 years ago

    Post deleted at 09:17:39 22-12-2011

  • Geowolf #13 4 years ago

    ""I've never played Ninja Gaiden, and to be honest, I'm not that interested,"

    How does he know he wouldn't be interested if he hasn't played it. The very nature of that statement screams professional jealousy on his part. The technical complexity of Ninja Gaiden and its highly respected hardcore position elevates it over the competition. In all honesty I prefer the POP series to DMC, I just don't view it as anything spectacular. GOW likewise is a very POP inspired title (I'm being polite in saying it that way). Easier for Kamiya to pick the easier title to exceed and try to run down the classical action title (remember it had earlier 2D origins than DMC) especially when, with the loss of the Ninja Gaiden team and Itagaki, a NG successor is likely to be detrimentally affected.

  • johnnybrn #14 4 years ago

    'GOW likewise is a very POP inspired title'

    Irony of ironies, is the last POP game - The Two Thrones tried to emulate GOW with its quick time button pushes, which felt out of place in a POP game.

    It'll be good for the game through if the bar is set so high

  • Geowolf #15 4 years ago

    "'GOW likewise is a very POP inspired title'

    Irony of ironies, is the last POP game - The Two Thrones tried to emulate GOW with its quick time button pushes, which felt out of place in a POP game.

    It'll be good for the game through if the bar is set so high "

    lol

    Emulating GOW or SHENMUE, the true originator of QTEs.

    Yes they're all just the illegitimate children of daddy Shenmue and mummy Soul Reaver. :p

  • Geowolf #16 4 years ago

    Who's copying who?

    Right everyone get your caps on and start thinking of the earliest games where we first saw the individual distinctive features of these games. We will find the true original game if we all think hard enough. lol


    Actually, QTEs maybe shouldn't be credited to Shenmue. afterall, Dragon's Lair was infuriating us for many a year prior to Shenmue.
    Edited by 1 at 01/09/08 @ 15:07

  • MattyD #17 4 years ago

    Never mind all this hardc0re nonesense - as much as I enjoyed the first Ninja Gaiden on Xbox, I don't think anyone can argue that the original God of War wasn't more fun to play. It's certainly more enjoyable than Ninja Gaiden 2, which was just about the worst example of trolling your own fans I've ever had the misfortune to play.

  • BillyBrush #18 3 years ago

    @MattyD

    NG2 was excellent imo, personally i don't think God of war even touches the combat, maybe it beats something like Onimusha but NG2 is on another level than those, the only one imo that compares is the first, and that's very slow feeling compared to 2 now...not sure what you were playing but the combat is just insanely responsive, fast, and brutal...he didn't troll any fans, he improved the fighting and fight coreography to a level that will be extremely hard to top...

  • Vemsie #19 3 years ago

    Artistically, Kamiya operates on an entirely different level than Itagaki. He is a true author with titles like Resident Evil 2, Devil May Cry, Viewtiful Joe and Okami under his belt. All classics and each representing a different genre as well.

    I like Ninja Gaiden (II) a lot (though the sequel is a step back in quite a few ways and is plagued by technical hiccups), but in no ways does it have more depth than DMC. Watch the combo vids of really good players, it really is the Street Fighter II of the third person action genre. DMC (Kamiya wasn't involved in any of the sequels) was innovative at the time with its air combo's and juggles, so I can't wait to see where he takes Bayonetta. Early reports are certainly promising.

    Edited by 1 at 05/09/08 @ 11:52

  • Notwhollysane #20 3 years ago

    GOW = mash buttons and then play a game of simon to finish off your opponent. DMC = try to get the combo meter up because the enemy AI isn't smart enough to present a challenge on it's own. NGB = Challenging enemies that are fast, button mashing gets you killed, badass ultimate attacks, crazy bosses, crazy weapon variety, etc.

  • freakzilla #21 2 years ago

    Oh really? Then why fuck is SEGA porting Bayonetta? Is any god of war fan going be impressed by a framy, washed out mess (as indicated by DF) next to GOW3 (which will apparently be in 1080p when released).

  • freakzilla #22 2 years ago

    I hate kamiya. I like both ninja gaiden and GOW over DMC and based purely on the art style so far I HATE Bayonetta, what an ugly cow.