How Konami veterans got back together to pay tribute to a classic JRPG series
Asa spiritual successor to the Suikoden series created by the late Yoshitaka Murayama, Eiyuden Chronicle has been a major undertaking for Tokyo’s Rabbit & Bear Studios, particularly its three development leads, all former Konami employees. Here, designer Junko Kawano (who worked with Murayama on the first two entries), producer and art director Junichi Murakami and director Osamu Komuta tell us about remaining faithful to the PS1 era of JRPGs, as well as the benefits of using modern technology.
How did this collaboration between Konami veterans – some of whom had not previously worked together – come about?
Junko Kawano There was actually a setting where ex-Konami people were coming together for celebratory drinking events. These meetings were not intended for any other purpose, but we were reaching a certain age, and so maybe it was good for us to create a game that we’d find interesting for us.
Your fellow Konami alum Koji Igarashi found success on Kickstarter with Bloodstained: Ritual Of The Night a few years ago – was that why you also opted for crowdfunding? What challenges came from that?
Junichi Murakami We did approach Igarashi, our senpai, for advice, asking about the differences between the crowdfunding process and the ordinary production process. He warned us that it would be tough, and he was right! Most of the backers were very supportive and always cheering us on, which was very helpful in our mentality. Of course, we were under a lot of pressure since we had to make some [stretch goal] commitments and proceed with the project, but the warm support we received at all times and the great response we received to the deliverables along the way gave us confidence and allowed us to continue the work with great peace of mind. The tough part was, no matter how busy we were with creative work, we always reported to our backers every month, so we always needed to prepare two types of documents – English and Japanese – and so on.
The art style combines 2D and 3D graphics – how did you decide on that approach?
JM The idea came from a simple thought: how much more evolved would pixel art, which has always been my strength, become if I created it with modern technology? I was also inspired by the pixel art revival movement triggered by several games, such as Octopath Traveller. I thought it would be amazing if 2D pixel art could move in a 3D environment with the same sensation as 3D characters. However, there were many problems in moving the 2D characters without collapsing in a 3D background where the camera could move freely. In order to solve these problems, we went through a number of various styles, using trial and error.
