Coming straight off of the official announcement of Project X Zone 2 last week, Famitsu got a hold on three of the leading game developers working on the game; Kensuke Tsukanaka, the producer coming from Bandai Namco, Souichirou Morizumi, Monolith Soft’s development director, and Koji Ishitani the development producer of Monolith Soft.
Famitsu began by asking about the development of the game, and when it started. Morizumi responded by saying that almost from the moment the first game was released, the team was already considering the project of a second game, and playing newer entries from the game series that were already a part of the Project X Zone universe. Actual work on the game, however, didn’t start until after the western release, as the team felt that the feedback from both parts of the world would be entirely beneficial. Tsukanaka also mentioned that the game had a very good reputation both not only in Japan, but in North America and Europe, too. So, given the situation, a sequel would be something worth working on.
When Famitsu asked further about the reception overseas, in relation to Project X Zone 2, Tsukanaka said that while the Japanese fans are, of course, considered, they wanted to be sure to consider the overseas fans and make them happy, too.
When prompted to talk about the story, Morizumi mentioned that the feedback from the first game was helpful for the second. While the first entry’s story was something like a road movie with constantly changing maps, many commenters wanted the story to be more steady, and develop without rushing. He also said that, as a result, the second game’s story will be much deeper than the first.
Famitsu prodded further regarding the feedback from the first game, after which Ishitani took the floor. He talked about how the many of the opinions they received talked about gameplay and other more game-focused content, such as the number of enemies on a single map, or having some type of growth function other than just level ups. In response, Ishitani says, the team is rebuilding the gameplay for Project X Zone 2 with the addition of new elements as well as fixing old ones. The battle visuals, too, have been a focus, as they are trying to make all of the information flying around on the screen easier to understand.
Morizumi also talked about the 14 featured games already announced for Project X Zone 2, discussing how they aimed to keep the staples while still adding fresh faces to the new roster. He also went on to say that he believes that many of the coming announcements will be fun surprises for people, resulting in many “Huh?! That character from that game!?” moments.
Project X Zone 2 is set for a worldwide launch this coming fall, and development is already 60% done. We’ll keep you guys posted on more announcements as they come.
