Recently, I had the chance to ask SaGa Series Producer Masanori Ichikawa about Romancing SaGa Re;univerSe, the mobile game that will soon be available in the West. Having gotten into the SaGa series just this year through the fantastic Romancing SaGa 3, I was excited at the prospect of interviewing Ichikawa-san. Read on to learn all about Re;univerSe and Ichikawa-san’s history with the SaGa series!
Spencer Legacy: Since Re;univerSe came out in Japan at the end of 2018, what made now feel like the right time to bring the game to the West?
Masanori Ichikawa: We started working on the global version right after Romancing SaGa Re;univerSe became a big hit in Japan. We were originally planning to get it released one year later, but it took more time than anticipated to get the localization up to a high quality. We did our best to try to get it out as quickly as possible.
What makes Romancing SaGa a fitting series to base a mobile game on?
First and foremost, I believe the SaGa franchise itself isn’t that well known in the West. I feel this is unfortunate, and I want to do something about this, even today. We created Romancing SaGa Re;univerSe with the hope that it will spark interest in the SaGa franchise as a whole, for both Japan and overseas. The Romancing SaGa series can be perceived as one of the origins of the SaGa franchise. Though the real origin of the franchise is the SaGa titles released on the Game Boy, it was from the Romancing SaGa titles that the core SaGa gameplay experience was established. As such, we based this game on the Romancing SaGa titles so the entertaining elements of the SaGa franchise would be easily accessible for players to try out.
What were some of the difficulties that came with adapting the mechanics of Romancing SaGa to a mobile gacha game?
I believe what you really want to ask is probably something like this:
“Is the SaGa franchise suited to the type of gacha games that are frequently seen in Japan?” or “Players won’t be able to enjoy the game unless they roll gacha, right?” These are points that I felt would be challenges as they popped up while I was playing other mobile games or back when we were initially developing this title. I’ve always felt it was unfair in other games when players who roll gacha frequently would have overwhelming advantages. (Of course, I won’t rule out these types of games completely because I understand that they have their own appeal as well.)
The biggest challenge was in creating a game system that can be enjoyed even if players doesn’t roll on gacha. I didn’t want to create a situation in which players would start to feel affinity for a certain character but would have to let it go if they pulled the same type of character with a higher rarity, which would put that older character to waste. I’m sure players will understand once they play the game, but it’s easily possible to play through this title without making any purchases. In fact, many of the players in Japan enjoy the game without using any money.
How many of the Japanese version’s updates will be available at launch for the Western release of the game?
The Japanese version and the Global version are quite different. The Global version will start its operation in a state in which many of the elements/features that didn’t work well in the Japanese version will already be quite refined. Also, in-game events will be implemented at a faster cadence compared to the Japanese version. That’s all I can say at the moment.
Will this version of Re;univerSe be updated in tandem with the Japanese version?
Unfortunately, the events will be released at a later time than the Japanese version. But think of it this way – because of this, the events will be more refined compared to the Japanese version. Additionally, we plan to distribute extra jewels to players so the game will be easily enjoyable from the get-go. This is because, more than anything, I want players to enjoy the game. I believe we will also start considering original events for the global version in the future.
Who are your personal favorite characters from the series?
I love all the characters so I can’t choose any favorites, but I do like the types of characters that can only be seen in the SaGa series, such as the lobsters and Mechs.
Is there anything you’d like to say to the Western SaGa fanbase as Re;univerSe nears its release?
I was just a SaGa fanboy in Japan back in the day, but fast forward to today, and I’m the SaGa series producer. This all started from a very simple desire of wanting to give back to the people who created the SaGa games since I loved their Game Boy titles when I was a child. This desire came to me because there was a long hiatus for the SaGa franchise in Japan.
I don’t think we have a large number of SaGa fans overseas, but I do read the messages from them, and I can say that these fans are quite hardcore. Thank you – your messages have made it my way.
I hope to keep the fire burning for this extremely unique and entertaining JRPG, one way or another. Fortunately, we’ve come to a point where we can say that the SaGa series has made its comeback in Japan. Players will definitely be able to thoroughly enjoy this mobile title, so I hope fans of the console SaGa titles would trust me and give it a try. I hope players will reach out to me with their feedback or send tweets my way.
It’d be great if the fans can create hype for the SaGa series, collectively with the console SaGa titles and this mobile title. If it weren’t for the overseas fans speaking up, Romancing SaGa 2, Romancing SaGa 3, and SaGa SCARLET GRACE: AMBITIONS wouldn’t have been released overseas.
We’d like to thank Ichikawa-san for taking the time to do this interview with us. If you’re interested in checking outRomancing SaGa Re;univerSe, you can pre-register for the Android version on the Play Store.
