‘SaGa Emerald Beyond’ Interview: Akitoshi Kawazu, Kenji Ito and Tomokazu Shibata Talk Global Success, Fighting, World Premiere, Music and Coffee

Square Enix () launches globally tomorrow on iOS, Android, PS5, PS4, Switch, and Steam, marking, so far as I do know, the world’s first simultaneous multi-platform release for the series. Read my announcement here. Ahead of tomorrow’s premiere, I had the chance to seek advice from three Square Enix veterans and legends: Akitoshi Kawazu (director and head author), Kenji Ito (composer), and Tomokazu Shibata (battle director) and more.

TouchArcade (TA): I do not know the way you do it, but thanks for giving us so many amazing SaGa games in recent times in the shape of remasters and ports leading as much as this recent title. This is the primary time a SaGa game has been released concurrently on multiple platforms worldwide. Can you comment on how SaGa games performed outside of Japan and what made you would like to do a worldwide launch here?

Akitoshi Kawazu (AK): Due to the incontrovertible fact that the Game Boy titles were treated as a by-product of the FINAL FANTASY series, and the Super Famicom game “Romancing SaGa” was not released abroad, the SaGa series shouldn’t be as known abroad as in Japan. then again, the PlayStation titles “SaGa Frontier” and “SaGa Frontier 2” have their devoted fans. I imagine there are a lot of players world wide who benefit from the worldview and characters which might be so necessary to the SaGa series. We want such players to have the opportunity to play a game with the characteristic features of the SaGa series. This is the goal of the simultaneous global launch of SaGa Emerald Beyond.

LINING: SaGa Scarlet Grace for PS Vita has been improved for contemporary platforms and this version also has a worldwide release. What thoughts on this release and recent remasters did you keep in mind when working on the narrative and structure of SaGa Emerald Beyond?

AND: What many fans liked most about “SaGa SCARLET GRACE” were the SaGa-specific gameplay features. The perspectives vary for every hero, the abundance of NPCs and the variability of adventures and stories they bring about – I imagine these are unique features and strengths of SaGi that no other game offers. In this title, we focused on creating much more unique worlds with fun NPCs and heroes for players to enjoy their adventures. The highly strategic battles were also well received, so we have further improved the timeline battles in SaGa Emerald Poza.

LINING: When you begin planning a composition and recording, how do you select which combination of contemporary and classical or live and synthetic instruments to make use of? For example, Urpina (battle theme from SaGa Scarlet Grace: Ambitions).

Kenji Ito (KI): I start my composition by constructing an overall structure using just the piano, which I then arrange on. I select the instruments to inform the story while creating the arrangement, so it isn’t something I made a decision initially.

LINING: Having played SaGa Emerald Beyond now, I can confidently say that it has a tremendous soundtrack that is sort of varied between the several characters. Since this game covers so many cultures, how did you approach incorporating those cultures into the music and did you employ any references to those cultures?

DOWN: We developed a worldview by interpreting the characters’ backgrounds, appearances, fashions, and ground rules, in addition to imagining what their personalities, thoughts, and speech patterns could be.
Tsunanori has jazz elements, Siugnas is charming, Bonnie and Formina has a detective automobile chase feel, Diva No. 5 is techno and so on.

LINING: When I played SaGa Scarlet Grace: Ambitions, I used to be extremely impressed by the superb combat system. Emerald Beyond builds on this. What lessons from previous SaGa titles and previous games you’ve got worked on like Kingdom Hearts III and FF16 have you ever dropped at this title?

Tomokazu Shibata (TS): The combat system in SaGa Emerald Beyond is predicated on “SaGa SCARLET GRACE”, however the specifications and formulas have been completely redesigned. This was because while we understood that “SaGa SCARLET GRACE” was well received (as was the improved “SaGa SCARLET GRACE: AMBITIONS,” which was released within the West), we were concerned that its recreation itself wouldn’t be met with similar acclaim . We also tried to reimagine the command RPG with a brand new line of thought, breaking free from conventional ideas of what a command RPG ought to be. The most evident example of that is the elimination of healing and respawning measures, which allowed us to create dense and focused battles without unnecessary elements.

We also fastidiously reviewed and considered the battle systems from previous SaGa titles. The challenge was find out how to incorporate the mixture of “SaGa Frontier” and the dramatic United Attack battle system from “SaGa SCARLET GRACE” into this title, and we combined these elements into battles that demanded overdrives and show-offs. I believe we created a combat system that mixes each strategy and unpredictability.

Much of the knowledge gained from motion games was not utilized in the sport’s design, but our experience working on KINGDOM HEARTS III was reflected in the best way we managed our staff and how we were in a position to adapt to pressure.

LINING: How does your coffee taste?

AND: No sugar and no milk. I drink extremely popular coffee.

T: I grind beans and drink them black. Even if I’m busy, I’ll take the time to pour myself a cup thoroughly.

You can follow all of our interviews here, including our recent interviews with Dave Oshry from New Blood, Digital Extremes for Warframe mobile, Team NINJA, , , and more. As at all times, thanks for reading.