Square Enix will soon be releasing The Deofield Chronicle, an interesting take on the JRPG genre strategy.
One of the most interesting features is the fact that the gameplay flows in real time, but (as you can read in my hands-on preview or learn by playing the demo yourself) the speed and gameplay mechanics make it quite well suited for those players. Enjoy the turn based strategy JRPGs that make up.
To learn more about the game, we spoke to producer Shigeyuki Hirata and game director and art director Takahiro Kumagai.
Giuseppe: When I first saw the game, it wasn’t immediately clear to me that it was a real-time strategy game. I thought it would be a spiritual successor to Final Fantasy Tactics, but then I realized it was real time so it was a bit different. How did you come up with this idea?
Shigeyuki Hirata: So the reason for this is really simple: it’s just the fact that there have been many turn-based and grid-based SRPGs in the past and we expected more to come in the future, so it was an attempt to really stand out and pack. differentiate between
In addition, one of the inspirations for the game was the previous Ogre Battle title as well as other titles. We wanted to challenge our developers to create an entirely new experience, where they are implementing the real-time aspects but making it functional as an SRPG title.
Giuseppe: Speaking of inspiration, are there any Valkyria Chronicles fans on your team? I can see several points in common, especially in the story.
Shigeyuki Hirata: It looks like nobody in the development team worked on Valkyria Chronicles and personally I haven’t played it. That being said, I’m personally not entirely aware of what kind of game this is, and I don’t think it was a direct inspiration for our game.
Giuseppe: If you look at Square Enix’s fall lineup, it’s basically raining JRPGs. At the top of your game, we have Star Ocean: The Divine Force, Valkyrie Elysium, Harvestella, Tactics Ogre: Reborn and Crysis Core: Final Fantasy VII Reunion. Aren’t you worried that they’re going to compare a little bit to each other?
Shigeyuki Hirata: It’s not so much a concern because if you think about the gaming industry as a whole, it brings it to life as a whole, so I think that should be welcome.
But as far as all these kinds of competitive titles are concerned, so to speak, we are entering an era where players are really able to pick and choose what they really like or I really like. I love what they want to play.
So clearly, not limited to the next several months, or next year and next year, there’s going to be a lot of titles that are released in general.
I think we are in a position where players are able to truly pick and choose the titles that they enjoy the most. And so, I don’t think it’s a bad thing for the games industry in general.
In the midst of this, of course, we need to create a title that attracts as many players as possible, and we believe we are able to provide our audience with something that is unlike others.
Giuseppe: If you look at the character design for DioField Chronicles, which I absolutely love, by the way, it’s very painterly. Was it challenging to translate it into 3D graphics? Often developers use pixel art or 2D art to translate that kind of style to the console’s screen, but you went in a different direction.
Takahiro Kumagai: Translating character designs into 3D wasn’t as difficult as you’d believe. Basically, when you’re looking at the style of the game, much of it is from a top-down view and it’s designed like a diorama, where the characters resemble the pieces that you battle. taking to the field.
Speaking from a control aspect as well, it was relatively easy to include it as full 3D. Speaking specifically of the illustrative art style and designs, these are expressed through the panels that artist Kamikokury-san drew to display the historical background and setting of the game.
As far as the game not using the pixel art style is concerned, I think the developers resort to it because Square Enix hasn’t developed many SRPGs recently and there aren’t a lot of recent titles within that genre, but when You look at some of the other companies that develop games within that SRPG realm, you’ll see they’ve gone 3D, or they’ve taken a more anime-like style or other kinds of different artwork.
And so, with respect to some of the more recent titles, some have taken to full 3D like, and Final Fantasy XII comes to mind. But regardless, it could be that we haven’t released many new titles within the SRPG genre, which can lead to the impression that people can generally fall back on the pixel art genre.
But again, translating the art style into 3D was not such a difficult process.
Giuseppe: Kamikuryo-sensei is one of my favorite artists to have ever worked at Square Enix. I love his art style and I was wondering if his participation was part of the opening pitch of the game, or maybe he was picked up later?
Takahiro Kumagai: The reason we wanted to reach out to Kamikikuryo-san for the artwork is from the time he partnered with a traditional temple in Kyoto where he painted traditional Japanese panel art.
It mixes that Final Fantasy-like world with history, and it actually served as the initial inspiration that led us to request Kamikokuryuo-san to draw the art.
Giuseppe: Valtaquin is one of those characters that really impressed me. If you look at her character design without playing the game, she may seem like the typical ethereal noble princess, kind and compassionate, usually in a healer or supporting role. Then, playing the game, I noticed that she was nothing like her design had imagined me to be. She is proud, confident, strong-minded, funny, often even arrogant, and she throws meteors, and I really love her. Is this kind of contrast between his looks and his behavior something you want to achieve? How did you come with him?
Shigeyuki Hirata: This contrast was certainly intentional from the get-go. We wanted to design her so that there was this contrast between her looks and her personality.
In fact, there is a famous historical Japanese figure who served as a model for his character. But again, it was quite deliberate to make her personality different from the way people can see her from outside.
This contrast will become even more apparent as you continue to play through the game. There may be some individuals who can take comfort in it or there may be others who may potentially dislike it. But again, we wanted to make sure that the character leaves an indelible mark.
Giuseppe: Can you tell me who is that historical character who inspired Voltaquin?
Shigeyuki Hirata: Yes. He may actually seem a bit vague as a historical figure. In the Bakumatsu period of Japan (the last years of the Tokugawa shogunate between 1853 and 1867) there was a group called the Shinsengumi and among them was a man named Kamo Serizawa.
And yes, he is a male, but it served as the initial take-off point for Valtaquin to develop in terms of his strength and his assertive attitude. Of course, as we developed the character further, there were other motivations that molded that character from there.
DioField Chronicle will release on September 22, 2022 for PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PC, and Nintendo Switch.
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