Makai Kingdom - Nippon Ichi Talks Strategy

Nippon Ichi has quickly become a company that many equate with being one of the best in the console gaming industry with regards to creating strategy titles. Ever since Atlus published Disgaea: Hour of Darkness for the PlayStation 2, fans have been lining up to see what this developer has next in store. This summer the company, who now is responsible for publishing their own titles, will release Makai Kingdom for the PlayStation 2, and as expected, anticipation is at a fevered pitch. So when the opportunity arose to sit down and speak with Yos***suna Kobayashi came available, we jumped at the chance.

eToychest: First, let me thank you for agreeing to speak with us about Makai Kingdom. Before we begin, can you tell us a little about yourself and your role on this the project?

Yos***suna Kobayashi: My name is Yos***suna Kobayashi and I am the executive director of Makai Kingdom. Please let me thank eToychest for this wonderful opportunity. For Makai Kingdom I overlooked the entire process of the development from the planning stages and took part in the actual game programming.

SBG: It seems that previous NIS strategy titles follow a certain progression - they all retain certain elements of previous games, but diverge in some rather significant way. What is the most significant difference between Makai Kingdom and previous games such as Disgaea or Phantom Brave.

YK: Being able to create your own kingdom and inviting(summoning) them onto the battle field is the biggest change made. Also we can't forget to mention that "all" battlefields are randomly generated including the types pf monsters that appear, so players will have a refreshing experience every time they play!

SBG: Will the American and European versions still offer both English and Japanese speech?

YK: Of course! We did it for both Phantom Brave and Disgaea; we can't possibly disappoint our fans by leaving the feature out. Our policy is to satisfy our existing fans first, obtaining new fans comes second in our list.

SBG: Are you worried that the inclusion of buildable structures may cause some long-time Nippon Ichi fans to pull away from the series?

YK: I am not actually worried about this issue. I strongly believe the new invite system will only attract new fans rather then pulling away. Inviting structures simply add more strategies to the battle, which our fans seem to love.

SBG: Previous Nippon Ichi titles, Disgaea in particular, have brought new perspectives on the struggle between light and dark. Will Makai Kingdom build on this at all, and if so - to what degree?

YK: There isn't much struggle between light and dark like in Disgaea, since all of our characters for Makai Kingdom are pure darkness. However their will be a struggle between desire and emotions between characters to spice up the story.

SBG: Disgaea could be a very, very lengthy game if you did everything the game allowed you to do, or quite short if you decided to just pummel through the story. Will Makai Kingdom still allow players to choose the scope of their interaction? And, if so, what is the minimum game length and an estimate on how long it will take to do everything Makai Kingdom offers?

YK: Nice question, yes Makai Kingdom will share similar game lengths with Disgaea and Phantom brave. If you wish to zoom by the game I say it can take anywhere from 30 to 40 hours. However, if you truly try to "beat" the game, it would take literally 100 hours!

SBG: Cameos have been an element of previous NIS titles, but have usually come in the form of hidden, unlockable characters. We already know from our preview that Prinnies will appear in Makai Kingdom, but will there be other cameos, and if so will they be a part of the main story, or will they come in the form of unlockable secrets?

YK: This time around the hidden characters will appear in the main story to a certain degree. Please expect characters from Disgaea and Phantom Brave for Makai Kingdom. You might be surprised to see who's in the game.

SBG: The NIS series has seen a progression in how character classes are handled. La Pucelle had no characters that could be created, Disgaea had a certain class hierarchy from which you could create characters, and Phantom Brave had a free-for-all class system in which only a few core classes existed but with hundreds of permutations. Which of these class systems is Makai Kingdom's most similar to, or how does it differ from all of these?

YK: For Makai Kingdom there are quite of few character classes, all distinctively different. In Phantom Brave many of the characters had similar moves and skills depending on the weapon they held, but for Makai Kingdom we made it so, there is a clear difference between various classes. Also the addition of vehicles like tanks and planes will certainly expand the fun factor in character/vehicle creation!

SBG: Did you leave out or change any elements from the previous games that you would have liked to keep for Makai Kingdom, but decided not to in the interest of keeping things new?

YK: I personally loved the lighthearted feel of Phantom Brave, but I kept that lighthearted feel out from Makai Kingdom. I didn't want to destroy Makai Kingdom's awesome yet demented world setting.

SBG: How strongly had customer feedback contributed to your design philosophy and goals in creating Makai Kingdom, and is equal weight given to American and European fans as well as those in Japan?

YK: Customer feed back is very big factor to our development. We try to incorporate as much ideas our fans provide us. For instance, fans from America and Europe strongly recommended the game+ feature; therefore, we brought the feature back from Disgaea. If you have any suggestions or questions, log onto our website and give your opinion. Any suggestions help to create future titles!

SBG: Do the Japanese and English versions differ in any major way? Has the story presentation altered significantly during the localization process?

YK: We always work our best to faithfully localize our titles. However, there are certain lines like Japanese jokes that need to be Westernized or the audience won't know what the heck is going on. Believe it or not, the easier the line is the harder to localize. Many of our translators have a tough time translating comedic lines.

SBG: Makai Kingdom marks the fourth NIS isometric strategy title to come out in America in half as many years. How long until we see the next NIS title from your team?

YK: Hmmm, good question… I think we'll be taking a nice little springbreak, before we get back to work, but we will release another title in Japan later this year. You ask what the title is. Well that's still a secret. For now please enjoy Makai Kingdom!

SBG: How long did the initial development process take? How about the localization process?

YK: Development for Makai Kingdom took about half a year. We were extremely tight in schedule, so that 6 months was a just brutal… I have heard from Haru Akenaga the president of NIS America that localization for Makai Kingdom will take about 4~5 months.
SBG: Again, thank you for taking the time to talk to us about Makai Kingdom. Before we go, is there anything you'd like to add, or maybe an interesting piece of game trivia you'd like to share?

YK: Thank you very much for this amazing opportunity. I believe Makai Kingdom is a game that any strategy RPG lover can enjoy - however, don't take my word for it. Have your readers check out our official website at www.nisamerica.com for more information on Makai Kingdom! More info, screenshots, and movies will be available, so please check often. Again thank you very much for the interview!

Mar 18, 2005 - 11:40 am | 0 comments
Roger Helgeson