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At the game's launch party, Saitō announced that he had been diagnosed with osteosarcoma and that one of his legs had been amputated and replaced with a prosthetic metal rod, stunning the development team. Despite this, he shrugged it off saying "legs aren't necessary in the [game and illustration industries]." Okano stressed in his recounting of this event that despite the tight schedule, Saitō was one of several "mercenaries" working on the game who could have taken breaks whenever he wanted, and that the development team as a whole were not forced to work. Okano believed that Saitō hid his illness to maintain "his own self-respect as an artist" and that the game "is filled with [Saitō's] soul", but clarified that he did not think that the game was good "because it sacrifices someone's lifespan". Okano felt that he owed a debt to Saitō for the rest of his life for "[robbing] him of his leg", but they would never work on a game together again. Saitō continued to work, but the cancer recurred and metastasized into his lungs, leading to his death in 2006 while working on the game Culdcept Saga.
Ichizo Sorge (pen name for Tetsu Okano) - 8bit Chronicle: Stage 02 - Volumes 3-4 (pages 44-45):
https://x.com/HUGASTUDIO/status/1891266190099570707
Tetsu Okano tweets:
https://x.com/HUGASTUDIO/status/1891100279480713244
https://x.com/HUGASTUDIO/status/1891108787064352776
https://x.com/HUGASTUDIO/status/1891380636973174824
https://x.com/HUGASTUDIO/status/1891265269118407011
https://x.com/HUGASTUDIO/status/1891141025025999290
https://x.com/HUGASTUDIO/status/1891327316829028476
https://x.com/HUGASTUDIO/status/1891404373239955739
Stage 3 boss fight background concept art:
https://x.com/HUGASTUDIO/status/1891142767914402088
Stage 3 playthrough:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kN4Uy_ENeGI
Tomoharu Saitō obituaries and death:
https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2006/08/4837/
https://www.gamedeveloper.com/game-platforms/obituary-tomoharu-saito-game-character-artist
https://x.com/HUGASTUDIO/status/1891325127880503796
https://x.com/HUGASTUDIO/status/1891266190099570707
Tetsu Okano tweets:
https://x.com/HUGASTUDIO/status/1891100279480713244
https://x.com/HUGASTUDIO/status/1891108787064352776
https://x.com/HUGASTUDIO/status/1891380636973174824
https://x.com/HUGASTUDIO/status/1891265269118407011
https://x.com/HUGASTUDIO/status/1891141025025999290
https://x.com/HUGASTUDIO/status/1891327316829028476
https://x.com/HUGASTUDIO/status/1891404373239955739
Stage 3 boss fight background concept art:
https://x.com/HUGASTUDIO/status/1891142767914402088
Stage 3 playthrough:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kN4Uy_ENeGI
Tomoharu Saitō obituaries and death:
https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2006/08/4837/
https://www.gamedeveloper.com/game-platforms/obituary-tomoharu-saito-game-character-artist
https://x.com/HUGASTUDIO/status/1891325127880503796
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Easter egg footage:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GdwFjS-5ROk
Amazon listing for Zolman Ebiinu-kun:
https://www.amazon.co.jp/ゾル漫―えびいぬ君-ゾルゲール哲/dp/489637245X
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GdwFjS-5ROk
Amazon listing for Zolman Ebiinu-kun:
https://www.amazon.co.jp/ゾル漫―えびいぬ君-ゾルゲール哲/dp/489637245X
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The game went through massive changes when it was ported from Japan to the US. The Japanese version only has Easy and Difficult difficulty settings. The International versions removed these in favor of Normal and Hard, with Normal as a re-balanced version of the original Difficult. The international versions also add a health meter for the bosses, language selection, a couple new enemies, adjusts some of the level layouts, and fixes some of the slowdown.
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