Interview | Tecmo & Red Talk Nostalgia (Nintendo DS)

Cubed3's Adam Riley: How long did the Nostalgia project take to reach completion, and what sort of major challenges did you have during development?

Keisuke Kikuchi of Tecmo: Mr. Morita, Director of Red Entertainment has cherished this idea for more than ten years. It took one year and half to complete after I joined the development process. This game has two kinds of battles; sky battles on an airship and party battles in dungeons. In those battles you can experience different styles of gameplay, and the most difficult part for us was to place those two elements into one game.

Naoki Morita of Red Entertainment: The world and plot of Nostalgia is what I and Mr.Tsujino (Concept Art/Character Design) have gestated for more than ten years. In publishing this game as a role-playing title for the Nintendo DS, it took a further six months to restructure the characters, story, and the general view of the world in order to suit the overall game design. We had many challenges whilst making Nostalgia, but the most challenging thing was to depict the Earth in 3D and actually give it three layers. Without the progress of hardware and the advanced technical capabilities of the team at Matrix, we couldn't have accomplished these goals.

AR: Can you tell us a bit about how Tecmo, Red and Matrix all joined together for this project? Also, how was the game split between the three companies during development?

Kikuchi-san: I had a chance to work together with the Producer, Mr. Ito, and Director, Mr. Morita, from Red Entertainment on another project, and was deeply impressed with their creativity and great ambition when making games. Afterwards, Mr. Morita told me that he was planning to develop a new game that he had cherished for a long time with Matrix and proposed that I join the project. I read the project overview, and the scenario of flying around the world on an airship reminded me of some kind of adventurous spirit I felt in my childhood. So, I decided that I would like to join the team to create this game! Tecmo as Producer, Red Entertainment as planner and in charge of scene settings, Matrix as developer - it worked out very well and we built up one game together by leaping across each of the roles.

AR: Many people say the game is very similar to SEGA's Skies of Arcadia in style and appearance. Do you think this is a fair comparison, and what influences did you have when creating Nostalgia?

Kikuchi-san: Is it because we use airships? I've never heard a comment like that whilst in Japan. I think every experience in someone's life affects the development of game. I got some inspiration from adventure novels such as those by Jules Verne, and that kind of excitement is what I've incorporated into this title.

Morita-san: Although there are many games and animation shows that have the background setting of 'the sky', I think no game has focused on airships as much as Nostalgia does. Airships in this game are not just ornaments, but reliable buddies to use for both combat or travel purposes, aspects that strongly feature in Nostalgia. I'm sure I got inspiration from some animation shows, movies, and novels from my youth and they underlie my creativity! So, I wanted to make this game something like old novels that will stay bright even 100 years later.

AR: Why did you choose the late 19th Century period as the game's setting, rather than something like a futuristic world? And how do the Airships factor into the gameplay?

Morita-san: When depicting an adventure story that takes place on Earth, I think the most imaginable time for a user is 19th Century. This was when science was on its way to evolution and the Earth had mysterious elements that hadn't yet been clarified, but was culturally similar to our current basic life-style. When talking about the future, the image of the world differs from one person to another. However, everyone, including adults and children, can share the same image of the 19th Century. What we wanted to depict is an ideal world that looks close enough to touch and makes us feel “nostalgic”- as the title says. You can fly through that nostalgic world freely on airships and travel to various cities or ancient monuments all over the world.

AR: With so many RPGs on the DS now, why do you think gamers should choose Nostalgia above the competition?

Kikuchi-san: Recently, many RPG games have become more and more complicated in terms of their game system and settings. In contrast, Nostalgia materialised from two kinds of gameplay system, one that suited both casual users and core gamers. Casual users can enjoy Nostalgia as an adventure action picture with easy settings and game system. Core gamers can combine each primitive system by themselves and enjoy strategic play.

Morita-san: We aimed to give Nostalgia an easy and engrossing game system, with simple characters and a story that anyone can sympathise with, as well as a plot that makes us feel excited as if we are exploring the world actually of our own will. I am sorry that this kind of game, with an original RPG style, is quite rare among many entries into the genre on DS today.

AR: Have any changes been made to improve the game for its US release? Is there anything you would have liked to include, such as Wi-Fi play or multiplayer? (If not, please explain why)

Kikuchi-san: For the development of North American version, I asked the publisher, IGNITION Entertainment, to care about the language translation first. Exploring the actual world is an important element of this game, so I asked them to attend to the text messages so that the regional characteristics can be expressed properly.

AR: A strong soundtrack is extremely important in an RPG and the one in Nostalgia is very impressive! Who worked on the music and what previous popular games have they worked on in the past?

Morita-san: I asked Tecmo's music department to compose the soundtrack for Nostalgia. I've worked with them on the “Sakura Wars” for more than ten years. Soon after I asked them to compose the best soundtrack for a traditional RPG game, they gave me a demo that was kind of spectacular 'Suite' music. The melody of that demo is now in the actual main theme tune. The person who composed this song has previously worked on “Okami,” “Sengoku Basara,” and “ BAYONETTA.“

AR: Unfortunately, the Japanese version did not sell very well. Why do you think this is? Did it miss your sales expectations by a large margin and what do you think could have been done differently to make it sell more?

Kikuchi-san: I feel this is because of my lack of awareness for effective promotion. I think we needed to focus more on promotion and ads for Japanese users because there is always a huge amount of information about new release titles and their content. Fortunately, we've had good response from the users who played Nostalgia, so, we would like to try as much as possible to sell this game in any way.

AR: Some developers, such as SEGA with Phantasy Star Zero, are releasing demo versions of their games on the DSiWare service in Japan to promote the retail release. Is this an idea that Tecmo would consider doing as well?

Kikuchi-san: We prepared a special demo for Nostalgia that we showcased at big gaming events such as E3, San Diego Comic Con, and Penny Arcade Expo, but unfortunately it is too large to be downloaded via the DSiWare service. We were grateful that many people were able to experience Nostalgia's various unique features at these big gatherings, though.

AR: Tecmo has said that currently Nostalgia is not being considered for a European release. Can you please explain why? Will this situation be reconsidered so that European fans are not disappointed?

Kikuchi-san: I'm afraid there must have been a misunderstanding. I haven't decided that this title will not launch for the European region. The idea was to launch this game for North America first, and then consider the possibility for a European release after that.

AR: Square Enix has had a lot of success with Final Fantasy IV: The After Years on WiiWare around the world. Would Tecmo consider creating a 'retro' RPG for Nintendo's download service as well?

Kikuchi-san: I'm not considering this at this point.

AR: Matrix definitely has one of the strongest game engines on DS, as shown with the Final Fantasy games, Avalon Code and Nostalgia. Will it be used again for another Nostalgia DS game in the future, or a brand new RPG project instead?

Kikuchi-san: Nothing has been determined yet, but if I have a chance to produce a new RPG in the future, I hope I can work with them, with the good capacity for imagination and planning at Red Entertainment, along with the strong technical and development capabilities of Matrix.

AR: Will Tecmo, Red and Matrix all work together in the future on another project? Also, will we ever see the world of Nostalgia expanded for an epic Wii adventure?

Kikuchi-san: Currently each of us has another project to work on, so it's difficult to collaborate again soon. However, I'm eager to work with them in the future because they all are so efficient and have high-spirited staff members!