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Square Enix has previously launched a new game for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and PC (Epic Games Store) platforms, which has been well received by many players. At The Game Awards 2021 ceremony in Los Angeles on December 10, 2021, the game was nominated for the Players' Voice Awards. About half a year after the release of New Wonderful World, the editorial board of Fami Tong interviewed the development team members through email to reveal the behind-the-scenes story that could only be exposed after the release.
Note that this article may contain spoilers, but it won't touch on the core parts of the story that will make it less fun to play.
Tetsuya Nomura
(Nomura) as a creative producer & character designer. He was responsible for the design of numerous characters in the Final Fantasy (FF) series, and served as a supervisor in the Kingdom Hearts series, Final Fantasy VII Remake, and other works. In addition, he has been involved in the production of other genre-rich works.
Tatsuya Kando
(Referred to as Shen Teng in the text) "Wonderful World" series supervision. He participated in the production of the "Kingdom Hearts" series. In the Wonderful World series, he oversees the entire development process centered on the worldview and story.
Hisashi Ito
(Abbreviated as Ito in the text) is the supervisor of this work. In the previous game "Wonderful World", he served as a programmer and planner, and was also responsible for battle design and other content.
Tomohiko Hirano
(Abbreviated as Hirano in this article) is the producer of this game. He has worked as a producer for Wonderful World Final Hybrid, Final Fantasy 10/10-2 HD Remaster, Final Fantasy Digital Card Game, and more.
Kobayashi Moto
(Referred to as Kobayashi in this article) This game is a character design. In the previous game "Wonderful World", he was also responsible for the character design with Tetsuya Nomura. His major works include Schoolgirl Strikers and Saga 3 Time And Space Overlord Shadow or Light.
Miki Yamashita
(Referred to as Yamashita in the text) This game is a character design. His major works include Heart of Kingdom Unchained χ and Heart of Kingdom Union Cross.
A New Wonderful World with 14 years of emotion
—— It has been half a year since the release of the game, I believe you have also seen a large number of fans' feedback, what do you think when you re-examine the game content?
Nomura: It's not just "New Wonderful World", as long as it is the feelings and reactions of fans, I will pay attention to it. This game has a positive review that no other work can match, and many players love this game, which makes me feel very honored. However, while reviewing the work, we also found some places that needed to be reflected, and I hoped that we could learn experience and lessons in our future work.
Shinto: This game carries all the feelings of the production team for "Wonderful World" for 14 years. We did it, fully burning ourselves.
Hirano: Now that half a year has passed since the game went on sale, spoilers should now be allowed. I would say that I'm really happy to see that players have embraced New Wonderful World's "support for up to 6 people simultaneously in real time", a feature that no other game can achieve.
Ito: I was relieved that everyone had waited 14 years, so I was worried that fans of the previous game would be able to accept the new characters and systems, but fortunately it was still very popular with everyone, and I finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Kobayashi: I'm very active in following the reactions of my fans on social media, and in terms of the range I've seen, a lot of players have praised New Wonderful World, and I'm very happy at the same time. Although I myself found the game's combat system and plot very interesting when I tested it, I was convinced that "fans of the previous game will love this game!" But before I saw everyone's real reaction, I was still very nervous.
Yamashita: I only started to participate in the production of this game, so I was very worried about whether my design would be accepted by players, but the response was unexpectedly good, and I was finally relieved!
Review the development process
—— Before the release of "New Wonderful World", an animated version of "Wonderful World" was also broadcast, so has "New Wonderful World" been influenced by animation and has it been mixed with elements in animation?
Shinto: The animated version of "Wonderful World" was basically produced in parallel with the game "New Wonderful World", and they also shared the production situation with each other, so there were many hindsight things, such as we suddenly realized the unique narrative and form of animation. Including the performance, the graffiti art that appears in the last act of the animation is very exciting, so we used the same technique in "New Wonderful World".
—— Speaking of "Wonderful World", Mr. Shi Yuanzhangqing's music also has great charm. It is believed that the music of "New Wonderful World" is also based on the needs of the development team and the opinions of Mr. Shi Yuan. How is the music of this game made? In addition, please tell me about the most impressive pieces of music.
Hirano: Our need is "Mr. Ishimoto, please make a piece of music that goes beyond the previous work", and Mr. Ishimoto's advice is "How about simply letting the types of music develop in a more extreme direction?" Eventually we added some more rock and metal-inspired pieces, and I was most impressed by the OP song "NEW GAME." We wanted to update the impression of "Wonderful World" in the minds of players, so we added some of the iconic "Twister" of the previous game, and also made "NEW GAME" into a more powerful, rhythmic song. To be honest, this piece of music should be the one that Mr. Shi Yuan spent the most energy on.
The developer of this game, H.A.N.D., was also responsible for the development of The Wonderful World Final Hybrid, and previously participated in the development of Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days and Kingdom Hearts Re:coded, a studio with a relationship with the Kingdom Hearts team. What was the most memorable thing about your collaboration with H.A.N.D. during the development of this game?
Hirano: H.A.N.D. has fanatical fans of Wonderful World, so even at the draft stage, when square Enix asked, "We want to do this this time...", we would receive them "If you don't have the flavor of Wonderful World, how about doing this?" and other proposals. After many exchanges, we completed this project.
Ito: Personally, H.A.N.D. and I have been working together since Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days, and they are a trusted partner for this game that needs to invent new elements. In particular, in terms of combat development, they have tried various things from the "Wonderful World Style" as a difficult bone to build a basic combat system that is durable and durable. The novelty and fun of the "Wonderful World Style" and the addictive combat are inextricably linked to H.A.N.D., who is a partner.
Rules and designs about character names
—— In previous interviews, you have mentioned that "the new characters in this game are named after common rules", such as Susukichi deer, Shiba Butterfly (pendant), Tsugumi is based on the crane (official strategy + setting information set mentioned), Migaki is the image of the phoenix, please ask these characters based on the flower card (traditional Japanese card gameplay) as the prototype? In addition, if there are other rules and prototypes, please let me know as well.
Nomura: The new companions of this game are related to flowers, trees, and sounds, and the Shinjuku Grim Reaper is named after the flower card. Death is roughly as everyone predicted, there are too many words written out, here is a brief mention of 4 new characters.
Rindo (playing) gentian (flower)
Shoka 桜音 (sound) Aster (flower)
Fret Touch (guitar) Momosai (flower)
Nagi Flute (Flute) (Bamboo Cypress, Evergreen Tree of the Family Rosaceae)
- Please tell us about the design concept of the mysterious character "Migaki" (ミカギ), which appears in the final trailer, and the reasons for choosing Narimi Konishi to voice him.
Nomura: Initially I wanted to design Migaki as the final boss, but after adding Kubo (クボウ) that doesn't exist in the script, I couldn't make her the final boss. However, in terms of results, it is better to arrange Migaki to appear, and the reason why this character can show a worldly temperament is inseparable from The excellent voice of Ms. Konishi. I learned about Ms. Konishi through the recommendations of several acquaintances, and the moment I heard her voice, I felt that I had finally found the missing piece of the puzzle.
When Beat(ビート) and Neku (ネク) are together, they are almost inseparable, what is his design philosophy in this game? What design concept was Shiba, the game administrator, based on?
Kobayashi: Beat's initial setting was "to dress up as a Neku on your own initiative", so the design concept was to create a "pseudo-Neku". Although the initial image will be closer to the appearance of Neku, his setting became "hiding identity and acting carefully but mistaken for Neku", so we added some more Beat-style colors, and eventually formed the image that everyone sees now. Shiba is the leader of the Shinjuku Grim Reaper, and we wanted to show the difference from the Shibuya forces, so we designed it with the concept of "Shinjuku = Night City".
—— Shiki in the previous game did not disclose the real appearance, only a moment of footage can glimpse the corners of her mouth, in this work is her first official appearance, the costumes on her body are also renewed, what is Shiki's design concept?
Yamashita: Shiki is a bit untrimmed, but she is still trying to pursue fashion in her own way, so I kept the elements of glasses, cardigans, dresses and leggings from my predecessor, and then made some modern adaptations, and the hairstyle was also replaced by a modern style of short hair wavehead.
—— What are the most impressive of the two roles in charge?
Kobayashi: Fret was the first character I designed, and I like him a lot, and I have a deep affection for Beat. The design of this game has changed a lot compared to the previous game, and there can be no spoiler-related introduction before and after the release, so I am very concerned about how the players will react.
Yamashita: Because I was the first time I was in charge of the design of the protagonist, I have a deep affection for Nagi. In terms of the nature of the otaku, I also have many places to empathize with her, so I feel very happy to be able to take on her design. It's probably like "pushing the best" (推しが尊い, a Japanese idol otaku) feeling.
—— Nagi's main-recommended square color Tomonami Adult(Tomonami-sama-sama)-like philosophy.
Yamashita: She's a favorite game character for Nagi, so my philosophy was to design it to be different from the style of the game's original work and more of an otome image. The painting style is based on my own habits, so it is easier to draw than the characters in the original work...
— Rindo wears a hooded sweatshirt from Jupiter of the Star, while Neku and Shoka wear the Gatto Nero brand. So do other characters have a designated brand, or what brand do you think should be worn according to the image of a certain character?
Nomura: The costumes that have the brand logo printed on it do use the setting you said, but for those clothes that don't have the logo, we use the brand that doesn't appear in the game.
Kobayashi: I hadn't decided on the brand of the character's costume when I was designing the character, so there was no "this character should use this brand" setting. But Susukichi is a character who likes black and white, so I later thought he would like Mokokuro's clothing.
Yamashita: Although the brand itself is undecided, we thought during the discussion process that Nagi's clothing can be bought at the grocery store like the previous game.
- Chapter titles, Fret's memes, Motoi's poems (?) Which employee is it from?
Shinto: Chapter titles, Fret's memoirs, etc. were all done within the team. We wanted titles in all sorts of forms, so we deliberately took the work of multiple employees. However, the recall image appeared in Fret's mind, so we handed over to the employees who were not too delicate and not too rough. Motoi's poems were written by Ishibashi, who was in charge of the script, and I think Motoi's thinness was just right to play a satirical role.
— Mr. Kobayashi painted the painting of Twisters and the cover of the August 12, 2021 issue of Fami Tong (released on July 29, 2021), what should I focus on when drawing the painting of New Wonderful World?
Kobayashi: This game is a long-lost sequel, so some parts of the picture will be closer to the previous game. Although it is a self-tribute, I still want to show the feeling of "new" wonderful world. So despite the different main characters, I deliberately adopted a similar composition. In addition, I also pay attention to the movement and momentum of the characters when I paint. In the game, Rindo and others have gambled their lives to run around Shibuya, so I want to convey to the players their desperate feelings in the painting.
▲ Cover art of the Nintendo DS edition of Wonderful World
▲ Illustration of Fami Tong's August 12, 2021 issue (released July 29, 2021).
Ito supervises the badges that he likes as well as the battles
── Next, I would like to ask Ito Supervisor, what are the top 5 badges that you personally recommend (or personally like), and what are the reasons for liking them?
Ito: Here are the top 5 in my mind.
5th Black Cat's Ghost Sword
The special effects of Gatto Nero's Mr. Meow badge are all carefully crafted, so I love each badge. The effect of the ghost sword system is as long as the button is easily pressed, which is deep in my heart.
4th Place Where is it? I am a rice cake.
The design of the badge is cute and the name is mysterious, so I like it. (Although the name came up with my own...) ）
3rd Aircraft Enjoy
I also love Clokey's fanatical badge design. This badge can also help solve money problems early in the game.
2nd place Azamaru
If you want to talk about "Wonderful World", it is essential to quickly slash the shock wave of the enemy, so I also chose one. Jupiter of the Monkey's Royal Emblem design is also very good.
1st Place Angel Kick
I really liked the design of the badge, and the wide range of superpowers allowed me to see the original intention of focusing on the speed of combat in the early days of game development, so I was very impressed with it.
▲ Angel kick. Launch a jump kick at the target. Can be obtained at The East Pole Hands 1F
There are a total of 47 superpowers in this game, how did you decide on the corresponding badges? Are there any solutions that were not adopted that could be revealed?
Ito: The lineup of badge designs is a luxury, and each brand has a different designer. But if the badge pattern and super power are too compatible, it is less interesting, so when we ask for it, about half of the badge ability does not inform the designer, but only tells them the attributes, hoping that the designer can freely design the pattern. It was the right decision in terms of results, as it showed the different personalities of the designers. In the draft of superpowers, the original Mind Force badge was intended to be designed to be able to grasp the poles and vehicles on the map, etc., but the venue would have too much impact on the function, so the final plan was not adopted. In addition, I also considered the mechanical operation of using the badge UI body on the screen to attack in the previous game, but this did not match 3D, so I also abandoned this scheme.
- Is the design of supporting up to 6 people in battle influenced by the plot of companion characters and so on? Or is it a desire from the members of the Battle System Development?
Ito: That's what the battle development team wanted. The previous game has a total of 6 slots, including the continuous play element, which is just the right number. In addition, the appropriate time point for unlocking the vacant seat is also decided by the Battle Development Team. The number of slots in the badge and the number of characters in The New Wonderful World is the same, so the script needs to build a very strategic story. Therefore, the climax of the story of this game is complemented by the joy of the unlocking of the function, and finally the very interesting game level design of this game is achieved.
—— Say a few words to players who have already played and will play this game in the future.
Yamashita: Thank you very much to all of you who supported New Wonderful World! If you're curious about the game's worldview, be sure to give it a try, a game that contains many of the unique personalities of Wonderful World!
Kobayashi: Thank you very much to all the players who played New Wonderful World, if you can like this new Wonderful World, it would be great. Players who are interested in this game but have not yet played it, as well as players who do not know the previous game, can also enjoy the "Wonderful World World" with many kinds of fun, so be sure to try it.
Ito: First of all, it's an honor for players who have played New Wonderful World to have such a positive response that I've never experienced before. Secondly, for players who have not yet played this game, even if you start from this game, you can experience extraordinary fun, just let it go.
Hirano: Players who have already played it should be able to understand what I'm trying to say, New Wonderful World is about Shibuya in 2021, and the relationships are close to reality. After I played it to my nephew, his impression was "I know I understand, that's how it feels in reality", so the content of the game should also make students feel empathy. It would be nice if you could try it.
Shinto: We made this game to the point where we found it interesting to play by ourselves, and that's what makes the game interesting. The fun of the intertwining of the elements is probably only possible in New World, and I hope more players will share this fun with me.
Nomura: Players who have a deep affection for Wonderful World should have played it, but there are many players who have never touched the series before. As I wrote before, the players' ratings are so good that they are terrifying. It is precisely because you are in this era that I hope that you can easily play this game. Although the game has its predecessor, you can have fun watching the animated version, and you can have fun even if you have only started in the pit from this game.
Easter Egg – The puzzle of the previous game, who is Coco!?
—— The reason for Coco's actions in the new plot "A NEW DAY" of "Wonderful World Final Hybrid" will be revealed, but Coco resurrects Minamimoto, giving people the impression that she has great power as the god of death. Who is she? As a result, she prompted Neku to investigate the reversal in Shinjuku, which is also in line with Joshua's intentions, is she also related to Joshua?
Shinto: Indeed, it would be a little unreasonable for Coco to have nothing to do with Joshua. However, if you spoil everything, you lose the fun, so please feel free to use your imagination and enjoy this game.
Is the Mr. Meow doll that Tsugumi is holding the same doll that Shiki once owned? The reason why Tsugumi got mr. Meow dolls was probably from his friend Coco, but how did Coco get Shiki's Mr. Meow dolls? What is the connection between Coco and Shiki?
Shinto: The Mr. Meow doll that Tsugumi is holding is the original version of Shiki's doll. In addition, why mr. Meow dolls can be transferred to Tsugumi through Coco, we also have a complete setting on this. Unfortunately, this time because of the overall reasons of the game, we omitted this part of the script, if only we could make up the script of each character in other forms.
—— In the plot "A NEW DAY" of "Final Hybrid Edition", the noise of the "incongruous system" encountered when fighting Coco, and the noise of the seal Tsugumi is also "incongruous", what does this common point mean?
Ito: Don't say it, the last noise of "A NEW DAY" (uncoordinated tapirs) is not "uncoordinated", but "Bug", because tapirs are dream-eating animals (laughs). So there is no relationship between the two, and the noise of sealing Tsugumi is "uncoordinated" mainly because of other reasons such as combat balance.
▲ Image from the battle of "A NEW DAY"
▲ The picture is from the battle of "New Wonderful World"
Coco's line mentions that "Tsugumi was once the God of Death, and was restored to a superpower (participant?) in the Shinjuku era 3 years ago. Do you have any plans to describe the reasons why Death became a superpower, or something related to it?
Shinto: Personally, I really want to describe the story of Tsugumi's death and shinjuku's disappearance! If the fans also strongly express "want to know more!" If you wish, maybe these contents will one day be presented to you in some form.
Rinkomurano, Chief
Edited by 丨 Shiina Pear
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