Interview — Games
Filters
All
[UK & Ireland]
Text-only Compact View
Text-only List View
Text-only Grid View
List View with Images
Grid View with Images
Final Fantasy XVI Producer Naoki Yoshida on the Game's Anime Influences and Design Philosophy
Find out how various anime served as inspirations for the final game.
― Final Fantasy XVI is a major departure from the Final Fantasy games of old. We had the chance to talk with Final Fantasy XVI producer Naoki Yoshida about why this is and how various anime served as inspirations to the final game. The Final Fantasy XVI universe seems dark and very adult, perhaps more than usual for this license. ...
Bringing Under Night 2 to the Arena: A Chat with Arc System Works CEO Minoru Kidooka
Kennedy speaks to Arc System Works CEO Minooru Kidooka about Under Night In-Birth II [Sys:Celes], Guilty Gear -Strive-, Arc System Works' 35th anniversary, and more.
― Founded in 1988, Arc System Works (or ArcSys for short) is the game developer/publisher behind many iconic anime fighting games such as BlazBlue, Dragonball FighterZ, and Guilty Gear—whose most recent entry recently surpassed 2.5 milli...
A Glimpse Into Under Night In-Birth II [Sys:Celes]
Kennedy speaks to French Bread's Kamone Serizawa and Seiichi Yoshihara about the upcoming Under Night sequel: Under Night In-Birth II [Sys:Celes].
― Founded in 1995, French Bread is the game development studio behind anime fighting games such as Dengeki Bunko: Fighting Climax, Melty Blood, and Under Night In-Birth. They were present at EVO 2023 with Arc System Works, where they announced that they're...
'We Are Limitless': Talking to Arc System Works about Guilty Gear -Strive- Season 3
Kennedy speaks to Arc System Works’ Ken Miyauchi, Akira Katano, and Kenta Asano about Guilty Gear -Strive- season 3.
― The latest entry in the heavy metal-inspired Guilty Gear series, Guilty Gear -Strive- is without question the largest Guilty Gear game yet—and one of the largest fighting games of the current generation overall, amassing more than 2.5 million players. At EVO 2023, Arc System Works an...
What Elden Ring Fans Need to Know Before Playing Armored Core VI
ANN was able to talk with Yasunori Ogura and Masaru Yamamura—the producer and director of FromSoftware's newly released mecha action game, Armored Core VI Fires of Rubicon.
― Recently, ANN was able to talk with Yasunori Ogura and Masaru Yamamura—the producer and director, respectively, of FromSoftware's newly released mecha action game, Armored Core VI Fires of Rubicon. With the recent success of Eld...
Crafting the Story of Atelier Ryza: Ever Darkness & the Secret Hideout with Yashichiro Takahashi
We sat down with Yashichiro Takahashi, who wrote the first and third Ryza games and produced and wrote the Ever Darkness & the Secret Hideout anime, on his experience contributing to Ryza and her world.
― The Atelier series has always had a cadre of loyal fans, but the Secret trilogy starring Reisalin Stout truly thrust the entire series into the spotlight. The trilogy might have ended with the rele...
Anime Expo 2023 - Stirring Up Mysteries with Master Detective Archives: RAIN CODE Creator Kazutaka Kodaka
RAIN CODE topped Japan's video game sales charts during its debut release, edging ahead of Final Fantasy XVI. Building off its success, we asked its creator about the neon rain-soaked world and if he plans to create more games in the series.
― Game creator Kazutaka Kodaka is well known for his specific brand of "strange," from the conniving murder-teddy of Danganronpa to the wild criminals of Akudam...
Anime Expo 2023 - Final Fantasy Artist Yoshitaka Amano Discusses Next Big Projects
The acclaimed artist is working on his next anime work, ZAN, described as "Ocean's Eleven meets Dante's Inferno."
― Yoshitaka Amano is a man with a seemingly endless drive. He is in high demand, so there's no shortage of ambitious projects to take on. Such a packed slate takes hard work and focus, so you'd be forgiven for thinking such hardened resolve would be paired with a serious, no-nonsense att...
How Yakuza and Real-World History Collide in Like a Dragon: Ishin!
Richard Eisenbeis talked with game directors Hiroyuki Sakamoto and Yasuaki Uehara about what it was like to combine Like a Dragon's Yakuza-centric stories with the historical events surrounding the last days of the samurai.
― A few weeks back at Sega's HQ here in Tokyo, I got to sit down with both the director of the 2014 Japan-only Like a Dragon: Ishin!, Hiroyuki Sakamoto, and the director of the up...
Interview: Gungrave G.O.R.E. General Director Kay kim
With Beyond The Grave's return to the world of video games, we have some burning questions for the team Gungrave G.O.R.E team. We were lucky enough to sit down with general director Kay Kim for a quick one-on-one with Grave's resurrectors.
― With Beyond The Grave's return to the world of video games, we've no doubt had some burning questions for the team responsible for Gungrave G.O.R.E. We were luck...
Interview: Star Ocean 6: The Divine Force's Character Designer Akiman
Akiman is a renowned character designer who was called upon to help create the world and cast of Star Ocean 6: The Divine Force. We were lucky enough to sit down with the famed artist to ask him a few questions about his time working on the game.
― Best known for his design work in Capcom's Street Fighter games, Akiman is a renowned character designer who was called upon to help create the world and ...
Interview: My Hero Ultra Rumble Producer Aoba Miyazaki
Find out more about My Hero Ultra Rumble's new mechanics and what sets it apart from other fighting games in the series.
― After the success of My Hero One's Justice, Bandai Namco brings us My Hero Ultra Rumble, a new action game based on the hit shōnen series My Hero Academia. Instead of fighting one-on-one, players will have the chance to put their quirks to the test in teams of three, as being a h...
Kazutaka Kodaka Talks About His New Game, His Writing Process, and Danganronpa
"I’d say it’s like if Quentin Tarantino directed a Disney movie. [Laughs] But that’s something you’d want to see, isn’t it?"
― Master Detective Archives: RAIN CODE, the newest game from Danganronpa creator, Kazutaka Kodaka, is coming to the Nintendo Switch next year. We were able to sit down with him and talk about RAIN CODE and how he writes games—as well as his magnum opus Danganronpa. What is Mast...
Anime Expo 2022 - Interview with Digimon Survive Game Producer Habu Kazumasa
With an interesting mix of combat and visual novel-esque presentation, wrapped in a more dramatic, almost horror-filled tone, Digimon Survive looks to be an interesting addition to the franchise we all know and love.
― Celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Digimon Anime, Digimon Survive presents a brand-new adventure set in a mysterious world where your choices matter. With an interesting mix of co...
Anime Expo 2022 - Interview with One Piece Odyssey Game Producer Katsuaki Tsuzuki
What epic story awaits in multi-platform One Piece Odyssey game? Find out more in our interview!
― One Piece Odyssey is an upcoming role-playing video game being developed by ILCA and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment set to release sometime in 2022. The game features an original, self-contained story with involvement by series creator Eiichiro Oda. At Anime Expo 2022, Anime News Network was gi...
Interview: Gundam Evolution Game Producer Kazuya Maruyama and Battle Director Ryota Hogaki
Kazuya Maruyama and Ryota Hogaki promised that the Gundam Evolution game will go in a new direction not previously seen in Gundam video games before.
― At Anime Expo 2022, we were invited to meet the creators of the upcoming game Gundam Evolution, which will be released on PC and various consoles for free this year. There have been many video games related to the Mobile Suit Gundam franchise, from em...
Interview: The King of Fighters XV Creative Director Eisuke Ogura and Game Director Kaito Soranaka
We caught up with The King of Fighters XV creative director Eisuke Ogura and game director Kaito Soranaka to find out their thoughts, inspirations for the combat, and their dream team from across the SNK universe.
― The King of Fighters XV arrived last month with an ambitious new take on SNK's long-running series, packing in both new ideas and characters alongside a familiar lineup and voluminous ref...
Interview: Captain Tsubasa Creator Yoichi Takahashi and Captain Tsubasa: Dream Team Producer Ooki
Captain Tsubasa: Dream Team received a brand new story installment titled NEXT DREAM that is penned by none other than Captain Tsubasa's creator Yōichi Takahashi himself.
― Back in September, the football simulation game Captain Tsubasa: Dream Team received a brand new story installment titled NEXT DREAM that is penned by none other than Captain Tsubasa's creator Yoichi Takahashi himself. Anime News ...
Award-Winning Composer Kevin Penkin On Creating The Soundtrack For Grow:Song of the Evertree
Kevin Penkin rose to prominence within the anime scene after his evocative and captivating soundtrack for the Made in Abyss anime. His latest project is the magical sandbox video game Grow:Song of the Evertree.
― British-Australian composer Kevin Penkin rose to prominence within the anime scene after his evocative and captivating soundtrack for the Made in Abyss anime, which won him the Crunchyroll A...
Interview: Remake Our Life!'s True-to-Life Depiction of Creative Work With Frontwing Producer Yasuhiro Atobe
ANN spoke to producer Yasuhiro Atobe to learn about Frontwing's connection to the anime, and how its depiction of creative work rings true to life.
― Remake Our Life! tells the story of Kyōya Hashiba, a game industry worker. After encountering a dead end in his adult life, he travels back in time to his university days, where he strives to create things with his newfound friends. The visual novel dev...
Set Sail with One Piece Treasure Cruise Producer Tomoya Yoshizawa
Ahead of ONE PIECE Treasure Cruise's sixth anniversary, Anime News Network was able to talk to Producer Yoshi to discuss his favorite moments from the series and how the game has evolved over the last six years.
― The popular mobile game ONE PIECE Treasure Cruise is celebrating its sixth anniversary with a brand-new English-language campaign, "Operation: Bring Back Sanji ~Extremely Hellish Chaos?!~ ...
Interview: VR Visual Novel Altdeus: Beyond Chronos Director Haruki Kashiwakura
The team behind the intriguing Tokyo Chronos VR visual novel game is back with Altdeus: Beyond Chronos, a sci-fi VN set in future Shibuya.
― Last year, MyDearest released the intriguing Tokyo Chronos VR visual novel game, which implemented traditional visual novel gameplay mechanics in a VR setting. The game was a success in Japan, but the team at MyDearest is interested in reaching an even wider aud...
Interview: Re:ZERO Creator Tappei Nagatsuki and Illustrator Shinichirou Otsuka
In anticipation of the Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World- The Prophecy of the Throne multi-console game, we interviewed series creator Tappei Nagatsuki and novel illustrator Shinichirou Otsuka.
― The Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World- The Prophecy of the Throne game for the PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, and PC via Steam will release in North America on January 29 and in Europe on Februa...
Interview: Robotics;Notes Elite and DaSH Producer Tatsuya Matsubara
If you've seen the Robotics;Notes anime, why should you play the game? Richard Eisenbeis gets the answers from game producer Tatsuya Matsubara.
― The western world is about to see a lot more Science Adventure visual novel titles, with the upcoming English release of Robotics;Notes Elite and Robotics;Notes DaSH in October. Robotics;Notes Elite is an enhanced version of the original Robotics;Notes visu...
Pro Overwatch Player Bischu Talks Anime Ahead of Playoffs
Los Angeles Gladiators professional Overwatch player Bischu is gearing up for the league playoffs on today. Jacki Jing caught up with 26-year-old D.Va and Roadhog player ahead of the team's match for a quick anime-flavored intermission.
― Los Angeles Gladiators professional Overwatch player Bischu is gearing up for the league playoffs on today. Anime News Network's Jacki Jing caught up with 26-year-o...
Interview: FAIRY TAIL Game Producer Keisuke Kikuchi
Kikuchi details what makes this franchise entry a unique, rewarding experience, including content not previously seen in the manga.
― Based on Hiro Mashima's hit manga series by the same name, the FAIRY TAIL RPG was recently released on PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, and PC via Steam in both Japan and the West in July. To discuss the offerings of this new game, we interviewed FAIRY TAIL producer and...
Hands-On Impressions and Interview: Granblue Fantasy Versus
Get an inside look at the smash hit mobile game Granblue Fantasy's exciting transition to fighting games, courtesy of Arc System Works!
― There always seems to be an upswell of excitement when it's announced that Arc System Works in involved in a new fighting game, but even moreso when they're loaning their development prowess to an already-established franchise like Persona or Dragon Ball. So when G...
Raging Loop Scenario Writer Amphibian
The writer behind the upcoming new psychological horror visual novel - praised highly by both Gen Urobuchi and Ryukishi07 - discusses his inspirations and what went in to making this.
― Raging Loop is an award-winning psychological horror visual novel developed at Kemco and published overseas by PQube. It's one of the more intriguing new visual novels to emerge in the market, having received endorsem...
Interview: Kill la Kill the Game: IF Director Hideaki Mizota
Get the inside story and some fun details from the director of the upcoming collaboration between Aplus Games and TRIGGER, Kill la Kill the Game: IF.
― Kill la Kill the Game: IF has been picking up more steam lately, introducing more playable characters and features ahead of its 2019 release. The game is being published by Arc System Works, and although the developer is Aplus, who previously worked o...
Interview: Record of Grancrest War Creator Ryo Mizuno and producer Yurika Tsukita
Ryo Mizuno, creator of wars both Lodoss and Grancrest, talks up his long and storied career in novels and RPGs alongside the producer of the new Grancrest War mobile game from Bandai Namco.
― Ryo Mizuno's career has been pretty spectacular – both a novelist and a game designer, Mizuno made his mark after creating a legend with the blockbuster fantasy novel series Record of Lodoss War back in 1988 (wh...
Takuya Yamanaka, Director of The Caligula Effect: Overdose
The director behind thrilling psychological adventure game The Caligula Effect talks in-depth about the anime adaptation and the game's splashy rerelease slated for 2019.
― Two years ago, developer FuRyu released a collaboration with Persona 1 and 2 writer Tadashi Satomi, The Caligula Effect, exclusively on PSVita. However, next year will be the opportunity to revisit this sci-fi psychological concep...
Interview: Sohei Niikawa, Writer and Producer of Disgaea
The producer and writer behind the iconic strategy RPG series Disgaea reflects on 15 years of success, and what it takes to keep an aging franchise relevant.
― We may be a few years off from a Disgaea 6, but the first Disgaea game is making its way to Nintendo Switch and Playstation 4 with all-new HD graphics in the form of Disgaea Complete. The original game released on the Playstation 2 in 2003, bu...
Interview: Fate/Grand Order Game Director Yosuke Shiokawa and Voice Actress Ayako Kawasumi
The director of the international phenomenon known as Fate/Grand Order talks about the last year of incredible success, what the English playerbase has been like, plus some insight from Saber herself, Ayako Kawasumi!
― At nearly every major anime convention these days your eyeballs will be greeted by massive, city-carpeting advertisements for Aniplex's massive Fate/Grand Order mobile game, which laun...
Interview: Danganronpa Power Duo Yoshinori Terasawa and Takayuki Sugawara on Zanki Zero
The men behind Danganronpa have a brand new game coming soon to the West, with a spectacularly brutal storyline and a whole new cast of characters. Learn a little more about Zanki Zero in today's interview!
― Danganronpa duo Yoshinori Terasawa and Takayuki Sugawara attended this year's Anime Expo to talk about their latest game, Zanki Zero, at the Spike Chunsoft panel. Spike Chunsoft had announced at...
Interview: Star Ocean Anamnesis
Legendary character designer Akira Yasuda and producer Kai Takaaki share some fun stories and behind-the-scenes details from Star Ocean Anamnesis, the glossy mobile version of the long-running fan-favorite RPG series. Bonus Yoshiyuki Tomino story included!
― Star Ocean was a storied RPG franchise that lay dormant for quite some time until 2016's Star Ocean: Integrity and Faithlessness. Last week saw ...
Interview: Digimon World: Next Order's Kazumasa Habu
The producer of the latest Digimon game discusses why Next Order is important, how to raise Digimon, and why he'd really like to hear from Western fans.
― Digimon World: Next Order came out a little earlier this year, placing it close behind 2016's Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth. Yet there's more to Next Order than just another Digimon release. It's part of the Digimon World sub-series, which takes a sl...
Interview: Tales of Berseria's Yasuhiro Fukaya
The producer of the latest Tales game, Tales of Berseria, dishes about what we can expect from the newest installment in this beloved JRPG series.
― The Tales series was long an underdog in North America. Rampantly popular in Japan, the RPG line made far more modest appearances in the West up until Tales of Xillia arrived in 2013 and Namco Bandai's overseas plans for one of the Japanese game industry...
Interview: Sword Art Online Hollow Realization's Yosuke Futami
SAO's newest RPG is getting a special edition english release in just one week! Producer Futami tells us all about it.
―
Sword Art Online's stock is still rising if its attendant video games are any indication. Namco Bandai brought Sword Art Online: Hollow Fragment to the West only in carelessly translated digital form in 2014, but this year's Hollow Realization gets a physical release with a lavish...
Interview: The World's Biggest Visual Novels with Visual Art's
Visual Art's CEO Takahiro Baba, character designer Na-Ga and music composer Shinji Orito discuss the incredible success and behind-the-scenes details of some of their biggest games, including Air and Angel Beats!
― Three members of Japanese visual novel company Visual Art's – CEO Takahiro Baba (left in picture), character designer Na-Ga (not pictured by request), and music composer Shinji Orito (rig...
Interview: Mega Man Legacy Collection Producer Rey Jimenez
Capcom's Mega Man Legacy Collection is out, featuring the first 6 Mega Man games and a ton of archival artwork. Todd sat down with one of the project's producers to get the dirt on what went in to this museum-quality collection.
― Mega Man is in the midst of a comeback. Well, a minor comeback. After spending a few years on Capcom's disabled list, the plucky robot hero returns with Mega Man Legacy Col...
Interview: Street Fighter V's Peter Rosas and Matt Dahlgren
Two of Capcom's company men discuss all things Street Fighter V, including some recently announced new characters and what to expect from the game.
― Capcom's presence at San Diego Comic-Con scaled back in recent years. No longer does the company put on panels for every series it backs, be it Monster Hunter or Resident Evil. Yet Street Fighter still merits its own panel, complete with an appearance b...
The Art of Japanese Video Game Design With Suda51
Todd Ciolek talks with the wildly creative and eccentric man behind famously strange games like Killer7, No More Heroes and Lollipop Chainsaw to crack the secrets behind his philosophy on game creation.
― Goichi “Suda51” Suda has a special place in the game industry. Several places, in fact. Some know him as the author of twisted, investigative games like The Silver Case and Flower, Sun, and Rain. So...
Interview: Hiroshi "Bamboo" Takeuchi, OVERDRIVE Producer
We sat down with OVERDRIVE and MangaGamer producer Hiroshi Takeuchi to grill him about the visual novel industry both in Japan and the US.
― Hiroshi "Bamboo" Takeuchi is a busy, busy man. When he isn't performing his duties as a producer for OVERDRIVE, a visual novel and eroge company responsible for hit games like Kira Kira, or as CEO of Japan Animation Contents Inc, he's literally performing as the...
For all articles, see the archives