Jett Rocket features motion controls for dashing into enemies and re-fueling your jet pack, both of which feel very natural and fun to perform. There were however a few area in the game where motion controls seemed obvious, but instead use traditional analog controls. The Jett Boat race for example has players steering with the analog instead of tilting the controllers. Was there a certain reason for this decision?

We tested various motion control schemes. Using the Wiimote sideways worked perfect but this was not possible because the Nunchuk was connected with the Wiimote. The other possibility was to hold the Wiimote upside but this is very inaccurate, at least for the high speed controls we needed. So we finally used Nunchuk control because it gave the best gameplay.

Shin’en has developed several very fun multiplayer games on Wii Ware such as Art of Balance and Fun! Fun! Mini Golf. Was there ever any talk about a multiplayer experience in Jett Rocket or was it always meant as a single player experience?

We were very happy with the multiplayer mode in Art of Balance. We think playing it multiplayer makes it to one of the most enjoyable games on Wii Ware. Anyway, it is very hard to do a good multiplayer mode in a jump’n’run. Of course there is the possibility to use the 2nd player as a ‘helper’ like in SMG but that didn’t fit with the gameplay. So instead making a mediocre multiplayer mode we concentrated on a great single player experience.

Many people have mentioned they would love to see a full retail title on Wii from Shin’en. You’re a studio which really seems to have a great grasp on how to get the best out of your game on the Wii platform. Does Shin’en have any future plans on branching out into developing full retail games on Wii, or are you confortable with keeping to Wii Ware?

We did only retail games in our past. We enjoy now very much todo download games. I’m pretty sure you will see us in the future doing both.

Were there any games that inspired the development of Jett Rocket?

We all are big fans from Mario 64. It was the first great 3d game for us. It did so many things right. Even today many games struggle to get on pair with this classic. So i think that was a great inspiration for us in general.

After completing Jett Rocket players are shown a screen during the credits which mentions Jett Rocket 2. Is there anything you can possibly tell us about the game’s sequel at this time?

Jett Rocket come back. And maybe in a different way then expected. Thats all i can say right now

Many Wii Ware developers have found success with releasing several chapters of their games. Is this a direction we might see the Jett Rocket series go in as well?

We don’t like to have our customers paying twice or triple for a similiar experience. So i doubt we will ever do something like that.

In closing this interview is there anything you and the team would like to say to fans of Jett Rocket as well as any other Shin’en games?

Thanks for taking Jett Rocket to the top of the Wii Ware charts! And be assured the best is yet to come from Shin’en.

Was the customization aspect of the game decided from the start or was it something that came in later in development?

It came very early in development. The game genre implies that the camera be positioned quite far away from the action, but to keep the Rabbids’ spirit we needed to get closer to them. That’s why we decided to put a Rabbid in the Wiimote so you could directly interact with him just like in Nintendogs and add an exciting touch.

You’ve given players access to a huge variety of paint brushes, tools, tattoos, colors, accessories and so on. It’s a very detailed and polished feature.  How many members of the team worked on this mode and for how long?

It was a very passionate small team of 8 persons. We focused on the Wii Remote feature, the Wii Channel and an upcoming surprise.

Past Raving Rabbids games have had customization modes as well. Rabbids Go Home seems to focus more on allowing players to paint and deform their Rabbids as opposed to simply dressing them up in outfits. Was there a reason for this decision?

Today, many games have a powerful character customization feature. Little Big Planet is one of the best examples. We wanted to do something that gave a lot of variety, but was still ridiculous enough to fit in Rabbid Land. The bunnies were also inspired by street art so we also wanted to give the player freedom to express their own artistic talents whilst still being able to abuse their bunny a little in the process

There appears to be a total of 10 secret Rabbids locked in the customization mode. How can players go about unlocking all of them?

Two of them are unlockable directly ingame. The eight others need a specific code from several retailers.

Could you explain what ‘Stickers’ do in the Customization? It seems the Rabbids Channel features a section for them, but nothing appears. Do players win these in contests?

Now that the game is out I’m sure we’ll be seeing many clever custom Rabbids from gamers. Were there any hilarious Rabbids designed by the team you want to share with us?