Kiryu’s coming to Ryu ga Gotoku Online, and Famitsu Online talked to the Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio head Toshihiro Nagoshi about it. Here’s a translation of the interview.
Source: https://www.famitsu.com/news/201903/30173978.html
From March 31, players of Ryu ga Gotoku Online will be able to enjoy the original Ryu ga Gotoku story in The Legend of Kiryu Kazuma. At the same time, SSR Kiryu Kazuma will join the battle!
The initial release will include Chapters 1 through 3, and after that it will proceed in the same way as Ryu ga Gotoku Online’s story, with a new chapter of The Legend of Kiryu Kazuma appearing each month. Many different characters will be appearing.
And of course, everyone’s looking forward to using that eagerly-awaited SSR Kiryu Kazuma card against their opponents in donpachi team battles, as well as in regular story battles!
With such a huge update on the horizon, we had to take the chance to ask Sega Games’ Nagoshi Toshihiro about it, and about Ryu ga Gotoku Online.
The Legend of Kiryu Kazuma will make it more like Ryu ga Gotoku
—— It’s been almost half a year since Ryu ga Gotoku Online was launched, so what sort of feedback has it received?
Nagoshi: There’d been comments like “Put Ryu ga Gotoku on smartphones” for a long time, but development had always been focused on consoles. I think it was because the games market changed, we started to think that “maybe a Ryu ga Gotoku for smartphones could sell,” and that’s how we decided to develop Ryu ga Gotoku Online. Looking at it now, half a year on from the release, I feel like a lot of players have found a different way of enjoying it from how they enjoyed it on consoles. That’s the kind of message I feel like I’m getting from them.
—— You never released a Ryu ga Gotoku game for phones, even for Japanese feature phones. Is this a very different situation from back then?
Nagoshi: Yes. The challenge at that time was that there was a strong feeling of, “The development of the Ryu ga Gotoku IP really needs the power of consoles, doesn’t it?” When that situation changed, and the game became playable on other devices, I think it took a few years for that realisation to really sink in. Basically, the devices’ abilities were improved, you know.
—— When you released Ryu ga Gotoku Online, was the player response as you’d expected?
Nagoshi: From the beginning, we were nervous about how the people who’ve loved Ryu ga Gotoku for so long would react to it. But it turned out that a lot of them very much enjoyed it. It was a new challenge for us, so I’m really grateful to have so many voices cheering us on.
—— Since you announced that Ryu ga Gotoku Online and the next PS4 Ryu ga Gotoku game will share the Kasuga Ichiban protagonist and part of the story, I think that in itself would capture the interest of the series fans. So your decision to add a way of vicariously experiencing the original Ryu ga Gotoku story to the game was surprising. What’s the reason for it?
Nagoshi: That’s simple. It’s because we kept getting feedback that said, “I want things that make it feel more like Ryu ga Gotoku.”
—— So you’re acting on the fans’ feedback.
Nagoshi: Exactly that. The story of the original Ryu ga Gotoku has already been rereleased as an HD version, and as Ryu ga Gotoku Kiwami, a full remake, and both were well received. We were a bit nervous about it, especially with Kiwami, even though the game was significantly revised, because we wondered how many times we can get people to replay the original Ryu ga Gotoku story. But nevertheless, when it released, it sold way more than we’d been expecting it would. You could see it as a demonstration of the demand for “playing the original Ryu ga Gotoku in different ways”, as it were. And when you think about it like that, it makes sense to put the story of the original Ryu ga Gotoku in Ryu ga Gotoku Online. In a way, it was a natural progression, I think.
—— I think one of the special things about the original Ryu ga Gotoku story is that it has that appeal, of making you “want to play it again”.
Nagoshi: When I hear that it’s enjoyable however many times you play it, that really makes me so happy. I believe that if the addition of The Legend of Kiryu Kazuma satisfies that desire then that will be a great result.
—— By the way, Nagoshi-san, what do you think it is about the original Ryu ga Gotoku that people find so captivating?
Nagoshi: There are so many different situations, it’s really difficult to analyse, you know. At the time when we originally released Ryu ga Gotoku, it had connotations of having a different atmosphere and nuance from other games of the time, it was a very hard-hitting game. However, as the times have changed, so has society. Now there’s a huge number of fantasy products that are hard-hitting, so maybe it wasn’t that after all, I wonder …
—— Certainly I think it’s not just that it’s “hard-hitting”.
Nagoshi: There’s one thing I can think of. The story of Ryu ga Gotoku is a solid contemporary drama, but it’s important to note that there are game-like fantasy components too, you know. As the series continued, we’ve added to the amount of story and play elements, but it’s kept the same basic framework it had in the original Ryu ga Gotoku. It’s not easy to explain, but while the Ryu ga Gotoku series is not a documentary about real yakuza, it’s not a game with a nonsensical story where you can ignore the plot either. I think Ryu ga Gotoku falls right in the middle of both extremes, and that’s a place that people find pleasing, maybe? That’s what I’m thinking.
—— I see. And does The Legend of Kiryu Kazuma have that same feel too?
Nagoshi: The basic story of the original Ryu ga Gotoku remains unchanged. But since it’s for smartphones, there are some things that had to be changed for the sake of playability. We have this great story, but we also have to make The Legend of Kiryu Kazuma interesting and worth playing, and that’s a different thing. No-one thinks that just getting hold of Kiryu’s story makes it interesting in itself, so we had to really analyse how we could optimise it to make the best of it on a smartphone.
We’re letting you play as Kiryu because his series is over
—— Now you’re adding the Ryu ga Gotoku scenario and SSR Kiryu Kazuma, I think expectations will be even higher.
Nagoshi: There are still people waiting for Kiryu, are there?
—— There are! (laughing) However, when you turn someone with Kiryu’s absolute power into a card, there’s a danger he’ll just overshadow all the other characters, I think. Did you consider that when you approved it, Nagoshi-san?
Nagoshi: Of course, Kiryu is the protagonist, and he’s a character with absolute power, but … Kiryu’s story reached its end in Ryu ga Gotoku 6: Inochi no Uta., so in the end I think it’s fair enough, just let them have it, you know? (laughing)
—— So in a way it’s fan service?
Nagoshi: Yeah. But because we’ve added SSR Kiryu, it’s natural that the passionate fans will start calling for “More Kiryu! Different Kiryu!” When that happens, we’ll listen carefully to everyone’s voices and give some consideration to making a different version of Kiryu, that’s how we’ll be approaching it.
—— By the way, you’ve also announced that you’ll be adding SSR Goda Ryuji. That makes me think that you’ll be going on to tell the story of Ryu ga Gotoku 2 as well. Am I right to think that?
Nagoshi: If the process of adding the original Ryu ga Gotoku story goes well, that’s probably something we should think about doing afterwards. Of course, I’m not saying we won’t do it if it doesn’t go well, but we’ll look at it again, and if we’re confident we can make it better, I think there’s enough room for discussion. But given the timing of when Goda Ryuji will be added, we won’t be adding Ryu ga Gotoku 2 at the same time.
—— Given that it’s a smartphone game, does that make it easier to take the players’ feedback and apply it in development?
Nagoshi: It does. Though there are differences in how we would shape it to suit existing Ryu ga Gotoku fans as opposed to players who are enjoying Ryu ga Gotoku for the first time in Ryu ga Gotoku Online. Of course, the ideal is for Ryu ga Gotoku fans to like it and for new players to be able to enjoy it too, I think that’s the main thing we have to aim for.
—— That sounds like it could be very difficult.
Nagoshi: I think it’s being played by a lot of people who were Ryu ga Gotoku fans to start with, but I want to make it so there’s lots of different ways for people to get into it. Actually, I’ve been hearing things like, “I don’t really know the recent Ryu ga Gotoku, but I used to know it well in the past,” as well as things like, “I started playing Ryu ga Gotoku Online because of Judge Eyes: Shinigami no Yuigon.”
—— By the way, I have a naive question about the story. How closely linked will the story of Ryu ga Gotoku Online be to the story of the new PS4 Ryu ga Gotoku game?
Nagoshi: Well … you’ll find that out when the PS4 game comes out. (laughing) Of course, it’s not going to be like, “Well, that story was completely irrelevant!” so please don’t worry about it.
—— So, finally, do you have any message for people who are playing Ryu ga Gotoku Online, or for people thinking they might start playing because of The Legend of Kiryu Kazuma?
Nagoshi: Whether you’ve played the original Ryu ga Gotoku or not, I’ll be thrilled for you to experience the exploits of Kiryu Kazuma on your smartphone. I think the smartphone game Ryu ga Gotoku Online is fun in itself, so I really recommend you taking this chance to check it out.
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