This interview was uploaded to Intelligent Systems’ official Panel de Pon website in October of 1997, celebrating the two-year anniversary of the game’s release. For the unfamiliar, Panel de Pon underwent a drastic visual change (switching from its original style to a Yoshi motif) and was released in territories outside Japan as Tetris Attack. The original SNES version of Tetris Attack is no longer available overseas due to licensing complications surrounding the Tetris name, but the latest iteration of the series, Puzzle League Express, is a DSiWare title that can be played on the Nintendo DSi and Nintendo 3DS, and is available for purchase through the Nintendo eShop.
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It has been almost two years since Panel de Pon went on sale in October of 1995. To celebrate the one-year anniversary of the creation of the Panel de Pon website, we had members of the development staff gather to discuss their memories of different anecdotes and ordeals from the development process.
Developer Profile:
Hitoshi Yamagami
Nintendo Corporation, Ltd.
Development Headquarters, R&D 1
Director, Systems Designer
Favorite character: Seren
Toshitaka Muramatsu
Intelligent Systems Co., Ltd.
Team Battle Clash Development Department
Director, Designer, and Animation Director
Favorite character: Lip
Shinya Yamamoto
Intelligent Systems Co., Ltd.
Team Battle Clash Development Department
Lead Programmer
Favorite character: Lip
Toshihiro Nishii
Intelligent Systems Co., Ltd.
Team Battle Clash Development Department
Computer AI Programmer, etc.
Favorite characters: Serbet, Cordelia, Windy
Taku Sugioka
Intelligent Systems Co., Ltd.
Development Department
Title Screen and Menu Programmer
Favorite character: Lip
Yumiko Morisada
Intelligent Systems Co., Ltd.
Development Department
Select Screen Font, Title Screen Designer, etc.
Favorite characters: Freya and Mascot, Payapaya