While Final Fantasy VII Ever Crisis is a gacha game, it doesn’t lock characters behind it. Rather, it functions in a similar way to Dissidia Final Fantasy: Opera Omnia, with equipment behind banners. In the case of FFVII Ever Crisis however, we also get different kinds of gear that include new abilities and different costumes for familiar characters. To learn more about those designs and possible future ones, Siliconera spoke with Producer Shoichi Ichikawa about the game.

Jenni Lada: When coming up with completely custom FFVII Ever Crisis gear for events and gacha banners, what does the process look like from concept costumes and pitches to final implementation?

Shoichi Ichikawa: First, we decide on the general motif/theme and create a few rough artworks.

Next, as we polish the rough artwork, we work with Tetsuya Nomura to narrow it down to one idea. It’s not uncommon that in this phase, more new possibilities are born, such as the combination of some rough ideas to create a new one.

After all that’s done, we create models based on the finalized version of the artwork.

When FFVII Ever Crisis crossover event gear comes up, such as with the FFIX and Monster Hunter costumes and weapons, how did you decide which characters would appear during the event?

Ichikawa: The most important factor with these crossover events is that our players enjoy the themed character and/or items. It’s also important for our team to properly redesign and incorporate the key elements of our collaboration partner within Final Fantasy VII Ever Crisis.

After Cid is added to the game, could we see him get a Freya-themed FFIX weapon or costume in FFVII Ever Crisis?

Ichikawa: Yes, please stay tuned!

Which other Final Fantasy games would you like to bring into FFVII Ever Crisis and, if another one of these crossovers would appear, what would be your dream character and costume pairings?

Ichikawa: I’m not able to say more about any future potential crossover events, as I don’t want to get anyone’s hopes up. That said, I’d love for everyone to stay tuned, as we will have some exciting announcements in the future! 

How would you feel about a FFVII Ever Crisis art book that included the concept art for these additional character designs and costumes?

Ichikawa: I, for one, am most definitely interested.

We’ve released many pieces of gear up to this point, but in actuality, the number of rough artworks is probably three times higher than the approved/final pieces… So, I would love the opportunity to showcase our concepts to players someday.

Final Fantasy VII Ever Crisis is available for PCs and mobile devices. 

The post Interview: Preparing FFVII Ever Crisis Costumes and Gear appeared first on Siliconera.

We’re going to see another one of the more unconventional Idea Factory International and Otomate otome games outside Japan soon, as 9 RIP makes its debut in October 2024. In this entry, there are multiple storylines with different love interests who are more otherworldly and even potentially dangerous than usual. As we go through it, it’s even divided into groups of stories telling different tales. To learn more about what makes this Switch otome stand out, Siliconera got a chance to speak with 9 RIP Director Amon and Artist Yuuya about the adventure. 

Jenni Lada: When did development on 9 RIP begin?

Amon: We started planning the project in 2021, and it officially began development in early 2022.

Yuuya: I believe the actual work began in 2022. I remember being very excited about working on the project from the beginning.

What design decisions did you make to ensure 9 RIP felt different from other Otomate otome games?

Amon: We were focused on the horror theme at first, but we realized that we wanted more than a simple dark and grim design for this otome game. So we used brightly colored, otherworldly flowers as motifs and incorporated glitchy art to create a mysterious and strange world in both design and presentation.

Yuuya: I think a horror-themed otome game is still quite rare.

Rather than just going for a dark and scary atmosphere, we focused on incorporating stylish colors and designs. In doing this, we hoped to create something that stands out and leaves a strong first impression. We kept that goal in mind as we continued our design work.

When drawing from urban legends, mythology, and the supernatural for 9 RIP’s characters and designs, which concepts did you prioritize? How did you pick what you'd include?

Amon: From the early stages of the project, we envisioned a game centered on traditional Japanese urban legends, ghost stories, and supernatural phenomena. We understand that not everyone enjoys the horror genre, so we tried to attract more players by incorporating well-known ghost stories and supernatural phenomena.

When it came to the artistic direction for 9 RIP, how did you approach characters based on supernatural entities and make them appealing otome love interests?

Yuuya: While visual appeal was certainly important, we began by incorporating elements from the stories into each character's design. For example, in School Ghost Stories, we included the sword that inspired Kara Kara's name and the rope around the boy in the mirror's neck, which plays a key role in the story.

In Other Realm, we made the characters' professions and roles immediately recognizable by using designs reminiscent of priest robes for one character, and clothes that reflected the chaotic nature of the other.

We also incorporated traditional cultural elements and various kimono styles for the costumes of characters in the Spirit World route, and ensured the characters' outfits were both distinct and visually striking.

As for the Urban Legendscharacters, we prioritized modernity over representing supernatural phenomena, so the characters don't look like ghosts.

I think that approach made the hidden things in everyday life more believable.

Given you already had experience with otome game character designs for supernatural or otherworldly beings in Café Enchante and Cupid Parasite, how did that affect art and decisions for 9 RIP?

Yuuya: From my experience in various great projects, I've come to realize that each character has their own life and story. I always feel that you can't, and shouldn't, ignore this when designing characters. It's not just about creating visually appealing designs. By properly reflecting each character's background, I believe we can create more convincing, compelling, and lively characters.

What did you get to achieve in 9 RIP that you haven't been able to do in past Otomate otome games?

Amon: I'm not familiar with all Otomate titles, but I believe structuring the game as an omnibus with four chapters—School Ghost Stories, Urban Legends, Other Realm, and Spirit World—was a very unique approach. I don't think I've seen it in other titles.

Yuuya: Maybe getting the chance to feature some pretty frightening-looking characters. Personally, I'd love to create even scarier ones!

Is there anything you would like to say to overseas fans of otome games and those who are anticipating the release of 9 RIP?

Amon: You can experience strange and somewhat peculiar love stories in this game. While various ghosts appear, I hope you will embrace them rather than be afraid of them. Also, if this game sparks any interest in traditional Japanese ghost stories and spirits, I'd personally be very happy. I hope you continue to enjoy and love 9 RIP.

Yuuya: Thank you for your constant support of 9 RIP. I'm very  happy to bring this work to you in English. Every country has its own ghost stories, urban legends, and folklore, but I hope this game gives you a chance to experience and take an interest in Japan's. I look forward to your continued support.

9 RIP will come to the Nintendo Switch on October 15, 2024. 

The post Interview: 9 RIP Director and Artist Discuss the Otome appeared first on Siliconera.

Later this year, we’ll get to explore alongside the Fairy Tale characters to go through the end of the anime and manga’s story a new game called, appropriately enough Fairy Tail 2. To help prepared for what’s to come in the sequel to the original title, Siliconera spoke with Producer Hiroshi Kataoka about the game. While we still need to wait to learn more about Fairy Tail 2 DLC, the initial insights help us get a better idea of what to expect come December 2024.

Jenni Lada: When did development on Fairy Tail 2 begin, and did was decision to develop it influenced by the anime production decision of Fairy Tail: 100 Years Quest?

Hiroshi Kataoka: We received many requests for a sequel along with feedback on the first game, and thanks to all the players it continued to sell well over a long period of time, so we consulted with Kodansha (the IP holder) about making a game about the final chapter of the main series, which we were not able to depict in the previous title. It turns out that the anime adaptation of the 100 Years Quest, which is the sequel to the original work, was being planned including when it would air, so we decided to bring this game to the fans when interest in the IP is rekindled and at everyone is excited for it.

Which Fairy Tail arcs are represented in and most influential for Fairy Tail 2?

Kataoka: This title focuses on the final Alvarez Empire arc, and the story has been adjusted for a video game adaptation. In order to make the Alvarez Empire arc work as a game, we

determined that it would be “Fairy Tail vs. the Alvarez Empire” and aimed to make the combat team battles as much as possible, so we have adjusted the original series’ story under the supervision of the series’ creator [Hiro] Mashima-sensei in order to make it work.

What kind of input did Hiro Mashima have on the game and Fairy Tail 2 character designs?

Kataoka: Primarily if things were a fit for the Fairy Tail world, and his thoughts on ways to further please the fans. That means that he checks everything from the design of the characters and the adjustment of the story to make it work as a game, to the original story added just for this title and each game element and various resources including game text. All of these aspects have been supervised by Mashima-sensei.

Which pieces of fan feedback from the original Fairy Tail game affected the sequel?

Kataoka: We were fortunate to receive a lot of feedback and comments. After the release of the previous title, we received many requests for a sequel along with feedback on the game. Many were happy with having a game adaptation and they enjoyed the game, but they also wanted to see the final chapter adapted into a game, in particular having more focus on the characters, so we referenced these as we made this game.

How do you address character growth and development from the first game in FAIRY TAIL 2? Will we see all skills returning?

Kataoka: Skills have been reorganized to match the real-time and action elements and while some are returning, there are some brand new skills. Also, in battles, the central Fairy Rank system is designed to strengthen you as you attack, so it matches how battles develop and progress in the Fairy Tail series. When fans play this, they will see a very good representation of something unique to the Fairy Tail IP.

What does the roster of playable characters look like for Fairy Tail 2? We’ve already seen Natsu, Lucy, Gray, Ezra, and Wendy, for example. Will every character from the first Fairy Tail game return?

Kataoka: Right now, all I can say is that we’d like everyone to wait for upcoming news on which characters will be on the roster. But we have assembled it with “Fairy Tail vs. the Alvarez

Empire” as its base.

Additional characters like Levy and Lyon were included as DLC for the first Fairy Tail. Will they be included in the Fairy Tail 2 base game or would people like them be relegated to add-ons again?

Kataoka: Similarly, any information on DLC will be announced at a later date.

The original Fairy Tail game had cosmetic, character, and dungeon DLC. How well did those perform, in terms of sales? Which ones were most popular?

Kataoka: I will refrain answering the specific details of the popularity of the DLC, but fortunately each of the DLC released for the previous game has been well received.

Will we see a similar DLC approach in Fairy Tail 2 as in the original game?

Kataoka: To start, we have announced the details of our Digital Deluxe edition, and the content is a step above the previous game! You will not only find outfit collaborations with other Gust titles, but some additional items like Crystals and Lacrima Fragment, not to mention an alternative costume set. Also, those who buy the physical version of the game will be able to purchase the Digital Deluxe content as an upgrade pack.

As for DLC, we are considering various content that will make the game even more enjoyable, so please look forward to future updates.

The original Fairy Tail game appeared on the PS4, Switch, and PC. Have you considered bringing it to the PS5 as well?

Kataoka: At this point we do not have plans for that.

The Fairy Tail 2  release date is December 11, 2024 for the PC version on Steam, with the PS4 and Switch versions arriving on December 13, 2024. 

The post Interview: Discussing Fairy Tail 2 Game Development, Characters, and DLC  appeared first on Siliconera.

NIS America and Furyu’s next big game is going to be Reynatis, a JRPG with a story from Scenario Writer Kazushige Nojima. While Nojima’s work on entries in the Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts involved fantasy worlds and fictional locales, this one brings us into the heart of Shibuya. To better understand what that involved, Siliconera had the chance to ask a few questions about the game’s development.

Jenni Lada: What led to you working on Reynatis? 

Kazushige Nojima: My encounter with Creative Producer TAKUMI’s enthusiasm is what started things.

What was your biggest influence when writing the story?

Nojima: The town of Shibuya itself. It’s a place I’m familiar with, so I walked around it thinking about what kinds of things could happen in which places.

What kinds of efforts did you take to balance realism and magic and the supernatural in the story?

Nojima: Aside from the magic, wizards, magic organizations, and the other world that exists because of magic and monsters, I made sure to keep everything else grounded.

After launch, Reynatis is getting additional story episodes. What did the development and creation of those look like?

Nojima: I think FURYU Corporation is very generous. During development, we tried to make sure that no one would think, “Couldn’t this have been in the main game?”

Given these are post-launch story episodes, what sorts of opportunities came when deciding what they’d cover and address?

Nojima: Events that happened before and after the main game. I wanted to make sure all the side story-type content went into the main game.

Do you feel like you accomplished all you wanted to with Reynatis, or do you feel like there’s opportunity for more to be explored in a possible sequel?

Nojima: It’s always difficult to tell a linear story in a game with an open map structure. I encountered this issue with Reynatis, but I don’t think I quite solved it. I’d love to take another crack at it.

Also, we weren’t able to put in episodes for the individual characters, so if there were the opportunity to do that [it would be great].

Reynatis will come to the PS4, PS5, Switch, and PC in North America and Europe on September 27, 2024, and then in Australia on October 4, 2024. 

The post Interview: Kazushige Nojima Talks About Reynatis’ Story and Influences appeared first on Siliconera.

Founded in 2016, Cover Corporation, owners of hololive Production, took the world by storm during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, introducing the world at large to what would become an international sensation: Vtubers. Since skyrocketing in popularity, hololive introduced talents such as Gawr Gura, Mori Calliope, and Usada Pekora. Siliconera had the opportunity to speak with Motoaki “Yagoo” Tanigo, the CEO of Cover, to discuss what it takes to become a prospective Vtuber candidate for hololive and what collaborations he’d like to see come to fruition.

“We focus on how to support our talents, and this is one of the most important policies within our company. We don’t increase the amount of talents we have in a short amount of time so that we can support our talents to the best of our ability,” Tanigo stated. “We care about our talents a lot and want to provide a lot of resources for them. If we have more talents to debut, that would be fantastic, but we wouldn’t be able to support them equally.” He further went on to elaborate and stated that creating 3D models for the company's talents for concerts and other performances is a lot more extensive than some might realize, with talents needing to fly out to Japan during the creation of these models. Tanigo also stressed that while Hololive would love to expand their roster of VTuber talents, the company would not be able to support the line-up it already has if it expanded too quickly.

While hololive is no doubt an international success, Tanigo shared that the North American group is not as profitable as its Japanese counterpart. He said he hoped that upon opening the North American office for hololive (Cover), that the agency will begin to see a return on their investment in their North American talents. However, that hasn’t stopped Hololive from debuting European talents as well, with the VTuber agency branching into an audience it has no doubt already tapped into — just in a handful of different languages.

I asked Tanigo what it would take for an up-and-coming VTuber or content creator to join hololive. He stated that while applications are always open, a prospective candidate needs to be incredibly driven. This is one of several deciding factors, along with their calibur of singing and ability to speak several different languages. He did mention that not being able to sing wouldn’t mean that a prospective talent would be out of the running, but that anyone who wants to join Hololive would need to understand the amount of time and dedication that would be required. “I want people that dream big,” he said.

“One of our talents, Mori Calliope, wanted to sing an anime opening. So we supported her in that and helped make her dream happen. And we want to be able to support our talents in that avenue as well. We want them to dream big and we want to help them achieve those dreams.” Given how large hololive is, it doesn’t come as any surprise that this would be one of the requirements to join the agency. With several of hololive’s largest Vtuber talents appearing at a Los Angeles Dodgers game in July 2024, it seems like Hololive wants to continue to explore new avenues and new promotions with big names.

However, Tanigo has ambitions and dreams of his own when it comes to potential collaborations. “I would love to do something with Riot Games.” Tanigo admitted to being a big fan of League of Legends, and even dreamed of hololive doing some kind of collaboration with Riot Games’ K-Pop group K/DA. He hoped that with the opening of the North American office, that these partnerships and collaborations will eventually come to fruition.

And while fans already released several games under the hololive Indie label, such as Idol Showdown and Holo X Break, Tanigo stated he would like to create something with AAA Western developers if given the opportunity. He did not share what kind of game he would like to make, only that he would like to collaborate with large studios in North America.

As it stands, hololive remains a giant in the Vtuber industry. Cover garnered international success, tapping into various audiences through its numerous collaborations, to truly make Vtubing something mainstream. After the appearance of Gawr Gura, Hoshimachi Suisei, and Usada Pekora at the Dodgers game, it can be hard to deny just how effective and successful Cover was at making both itself and its talents into a recognizable brand. And with hololive now properly branching into the European market with hololive EN Justice and being as selective as it is with talents and debuts, it seems like there’s no sign of it slowing down. Whether or not we’ll see major collaborations in games has yet to be seen.

The post Hololive CEO Would Like to Collaborate With AAA Game Developers appeared first on Siliconera.

One June 14, 2024 Arc System Works announced that it would adapt Guilty Gear into an anime with the help of Sanzigen Studios. An image featuring Sol Badguy, Sin Kiske, and a mysterious new character was shared, teasing who would potentially play an integral role in this upcoming adaptation. Siliconera had the opportunity to sit down with Guilty Gear Strive Producer Ken Miyauchi, Guilty Gear Strive: Dual Rulers Associate Producer Seiji Mizushima, and Guilty Gear Strive: Dual Rulers Series Composition Writer Norimitsu Kaiho.

Given how expansive the lore and narrative of Guilty Gear is, with the first title in the series released in 1998, I asked what the challenges were in adapting the "rock and roll" action and intricate lore into something comprehensible for those unfamiliar with the fighter. Guilty Gear Strive: Dual Rulers Associate Producer Seiji Mizushima had an answer.

"Guilty Gear has a twenty-five year history, and it's quite a difficult question of how do you turn that into an anime. But we want a new audience to be able to get into Guilty Gear series, and also do something that satisfies the old fans. The big challenge was really how do we protect the world and setting of this IP. " Mizushima went on to state that the production team for the anime worked closely with Arc System Works to ensure that this was done.

"Originally, this came together because the former BlazBlue Producer, Mori Toshimichi, approached me and asked how could we make something like this work. More than anything, we needed to have a strong and solid vision moving forward, otherwise it wouldn't succeed. That was the original discussion we had around the production of this project." He shared. "We ended up working very deeply with both the creators on the side of Arc System Works and the people on the animation side as well. So if you want to talk about how intertwined they are, I would say it's an almost one-hundred percent collaborative effort."

Guilty Gear Strive Producer Ken Miyauchi also weighed in saying, "Once we formed that team and assured that level of collaboration, we had the Guilty Gear Strive narrative director looking at the story and we also decided to bring in Norimitsu, who is a script writer and very well known for his work on Guilty Gear." Miyauchi stated that Norimitsu is one of the most trusted script writers when it comes to Guilty Gear, as he had worked as a script writer on previous Guilty Gear related projects. He also revealed that Norimitsu helped write the scenario for the anime. "Norimitsu would write the scenario and bring it to Arc System Works and we would have weekly meetings for quality and lore checks." This even included making sure that characters wouldn't say phrases they otherwise wouldn't say.

"We didn't want players of the Guilty Gear series to feel like the anime wasn't in line with the storyline they were already familiar with. We wanted to make sure everything was aligned. At the same time, we also focused on bringing in newcomers from the anime." We want to make sure that there wouldn't be a reliance on understanding " Miyauchi also stated that they wanted to create something that wouldn't rely too heavily on newcomers needing that deep understanding of Guilty Gear lore for them to get invested, making it more accessible to people that may be exposed to the series for the first time.

Regarding Guilty Gear Strive: Dual Rulers, Series Composition Writer Norimitsu Kaiho stated that it will be tied into previous established Guilty Gear narratives and lore. "It's a standalone in a sense that newcomers will be able to jump right in and enjoy it for what it is, but is connected to the old lore which will have a few things long-times fans may find exciting in the story." On the subject of characters that have long since been missing from the main roster of Guilty Gear, I asked if we would see some of these faces (like Robo-Ky) return. Both Norimitsu and Miyauchi laughed, Miyauchi telling me that they couldn't answer that specifically. However, he did mention that there are a few characters that didn't appear in Guilty Gear Strive that would show up in Dual Rulers. He did not specify as to which.

When asked about a prospective sequel series, or a film, if Guilty Gear Strive: Dual Rulers performs well, Norimitsu said he would love to create another story if given the chance. "I would like to see a possible sequel." Miyauchi added on. "Maybe the story of someone like Chipp, or something more character specific, or another type of drama. But all of these ideas are just something we'd like to see, and realistically, the first step we'd need to see is success with the anime."

We ended up moving the conversation into something more focused on Guilty Gear Strive and the growing popularity of the franchise. I had played several Guilty Gear games in the past, but I had always known the community to be relatively small. However, that's changed with Guilty Gear having an incredible presence at EVO and other fighting game tournaments. Miyauchi shared that he was elated to see that Guilty Gear Strive had surpassed 3 million players. "Some of our teams are quite surprised, I think the Arc System Works executives were not really expecting this level of success. Before I joined Arc System Works in 2018, I was just a casual player who liked playing fighting games. From that perspective, I knew that Arc System Works IPs like Guilty Gear had the potential of reaching this level of success. That's why I joined the company and became a Producer." He stated. Miyauchi mentioned that when Arc System Works announced Guilty Gear Strive had one million players, he knew it could do more and that when that number eventually jumped to three million, that it surprised him. However, he continues to aim high and hopes that five million players will be reached sometime in the future.

When asked about the hope that Guilty Gear: Dual Rulers will attract entirely new fans to Guilty Gear Strive, and even entice them into playing older entries in the series, Miyauchi shared his thoughts. "I'm not expecting all of these new fans to get into the fighting game, because even some long-time fans don't necessarily play a lot of fighting games and are instead attracted to the characters, lore, and music." He says. "I just hope that they will like what they like." I know that the level of success behind Guilty Gear is because of our very strong and enthusiastic community from previous entries in the series, and many of those fans discuss various things about Guilty Gear. " Miyauchi also said that he recognizes the success of the Guilty Gear franchise is largely owed to its dedicated and enthusiastic community, and that he knows that the various facets of this community will be more than willing to help newcomers come into the fold.

The Guilty Gear Strive: Dual Rulers anime series is currently in development with no known release date. Guilty Gear Strive is readily available for the PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series, and Windows PC.

The post Interview: Guilty Gear Strive Dual Rulers Will be Approachable to New Fans appeared first on Siliconera.

It can be a really big deal when an anime series ends up inspiring its first game. Especially when it is a Shonen Jump series and the ensuing title doesn’t end up being something like a fighter. But that’s exactly happened with SPY x ANYA: Operation Memories, the first SPY x FAMILY game. It’s more of a relaxed, slice of life affair with Anya Forger as the focus. To learn more about its development, Siliconera spoke with Producer Yuri Kishi about the title.

Jenni Lada: When did you start working on the SPY x ANYA: Operation Memories SPY x FAMILY game? 

Yuri Kishi: The project started several years ago. When we started, the anime series had not yet been broadcast even in Japan, but the manga series had begun, and we were confident that the game would become even more spread in the future. Many of us in our office are also fans of the manga, and the project began with the desire of a fan to enjoy the world of the Spy Family in the form of a video game as well.

How influential is the SPY x FAMILY manga and anime on SPY x ANYA: Operation Memories, and which arcs can we expect to see events from in the game?

Kishi: In the game, the player assumes the role of Anya and collects photo memories of her daily life to complete a photo diary assignment from Eden College. During the day, players can go to school, and by night, they can spend time with the Forger family. On days off, players can go on family outings to the ocean, the aquarium, and other places to collect photo memories to put in Anya's diary.  

The game also features more than 15 unique mini games that are specific to SPY x FAMILY. For example, you can avoid a ball when playing Dodgeball by using Anya's Telepathy during mini game. In addition, the four Forger characters can enjoy more than 80 different dress-up options, including costumes from the anime as well as game-original clothing, accessories, and hairstyles that can only be found in the game.

There are 10 types of outings the Forger family can go on in game. How many different kinds of outcomes and experiences can we expect to experience at each location and place? How valuable will it be to return to the same spot multiple times?

Kishi: Depending on the progress of the game, the number of places you can go out will be unlocked. There are 10 locations in total, including the aquarium, museum, castle, and beach. Once you have visited a destination, you can go there as many times as you like and can decide where to go. At each destination, there are many things that Anya likes, such as butterflies and swings. When you find them, take a picture of them. If you take nice pictures, you will be able to collect memories to fill the diary. The "Super Cool! items" will change each time you visit a destination, so try going again and again and taking various photos. Once you have taken all the pictures, you will be able to see the wonderful event of the Forger family.

Which SPY x ANYA: Operation Memories outing was the most fun to implement?

Kishi: There are a total of 10 outings in the game, and the places featured in the anime, such as the museum and castle, are particularly impressive. Players can actually run around in the world of the anime. In addition to the destinations, the game offers the unique experience of running around as Anya in the Forger's house, Eden College, and other familiar places and interacting with characters like Loid, Yor, Damian, Yuri, and Fiona.

Appearances from SPY X FAMILY characters Damian, Becky, Yuri, and Fiona are already confirmed, but are there any other major characters we can expect to see in SPY x ANYA: Operation Memories?

Kishi: At Eden College, you can interact with Anya and her friends' homeroom teacher, Henderson, as well as Damian's friends, Emile and Ewen. You can participate in various mini-games with them, such as playing cards, attending Henderson's class, competing in evaluations, and even playing Dodgeball with Bill, who also appeared in the anime.

When picking out minigames for SPY x ANYA: Operation Memories, what kinds of activities and experiences did you try to prioritize?

Kishi: SPY x FAMILY incorporates unique characters, an outlandish yet heartwarming story, cool action, and comical story, making it popular among a wide range of customers, across all ages. We aimed to captures the essence of Spy x Family and can be enjoyed by anyone who loves the series by game which can be interactive entertainment. After thorough discussions within and outside the company, we developed the gameplay and style for SPY x ANYA: Operation Memories. In this game, players can enjoy unique mini-games based on anime, such as using Anya's telepathy to avoid a ball in Dodgeball, or reading your opponent's thoughts when playing cards. Additionally, there are mini games where players control Loid as “Twilight” to complete missions, Yor as "Thorn Princess" to defeat bad guys, and to run on a Bond.

Now that you’ve made a sort of life sim based on SPY x FAMILY, is there any other type of game based on the series you’d like to create?

Kishi: Currently, there are no plans for another game. However, as mentioned above, the world of SPY x FAMILY is so rich, I am sure there are other ways to adapt it into another game. We incorporated a lot of the charm of the work into SPY x ANYA, so I hope you will play this game!

Spy x Anya: Operation Memories will come to the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation 5 outside Japan on June 28, 2024, with the PC version showing up on Steam on June 27, 2024. The Spy x Family game is immediately available on Nintendo Switch in Japan, with PS4, PS5, and PC versions following there on June 27, 2024. The anime is streaming on Crunchyroll, while Viz Media handles the manga.

The post Interview: Developing the SPY x ANYA SPY x FAMILY Game appeared first on Siliconera.

The Monkey Ball series is a staple for Sega, with new entries regularly appearing on various consoles. Sometimes, they mean new courses to roll through. Other times, the priority ends up being on party games that implement the mechanics. With Super Monkey Ball Banana Rumble on the horizon, especially with it including multiplayer in the Adventure Mode as one of its signature features, Siliconera spoke with Director Daisuke Takahata, Producer Nobuhiro Suzuki, and Designer Yukio Oda about the game.

When did development begin on Super Monkey Ball Banana Rumble?

Nobuhiro Suzuki: Development started about 2 years ago, so around the spring of 2022.

How did the development of Super Monkey Ball: Banana Mania affect Banana Rumble?

Suzuki and Yukio Oda: In response to user feedback from Super Monkey Ball: Banana Mania, we have made a number of improvements and quality of life updates to Banana Rumble, including the ability to enjoy Adventure Mode with up to four players in multiplayer, and improvements to physics in an effort to make it simpler and more intuitive. I believe that the development of Super Monkey Ball: Banana Mania has helped to enhance the quality of Banana Rumble in many ways.

Super Monkey Ball Banana Rumble is the first entry in over five years to be limited to a single platform. Did that affect the development process in any way?

Sukuki and Oda: The reason for limiting the game to Nintendo Switch was primarily to provide a stable quality of online competition with 16 players, which is the biggest selling point of this game. As a result of focusing on a single platform, we were able to focus on the implementation and stabilization of online matches over time, and as a result, we were able to reach a level that our users can enjoy. 

If we receive support from our users, we believe we can consider expanding platforms in the future, so please support Super Monkey Ball Banana Rumble.

Super Monkey Ball Banana Rumble supports 16-player multiplayer. What led to the development shooting for that number? 

Sukuki: For the number of players, we tried a lot of things during the development stage. When it came to stability on the network itself — the processing speed, the fun of the competition -- in order to firmly establish these elements, we found that the optimal number of players is 16. That's the reason why we went with the number that we did.

How did developing for a larger group affect game modes? Are there any concepts you wanted to include, but couldn’t, because of the larger player count? 

Daisuke Takahata: Developing for a larger group had various influences, and was also a big challenge for us. As the number of players increased, it inevitably means there will be more players that can't get to be "first place," so we aimed for gameplay that allows as many more players to have a chance to win. Also, since you will be colliding with a lot of people, we made many detailed adjustments to how the ball would rebound.

Likewise, how did the larger number of players in multiplayer affect Super Monkey Ball Banana Rumble options? 

Takahata: So a new option that came about due to the increase in the number of players is that we now have a "Chat Wheel.” This shortcut allows you to send messages and stickers to other players at different moments during gameplay, and you can and customize it as you see fit. This option exists because Banana Rumble is different than other entries in the Super Monkey Ball series up until now, so we hope players have a lot of fun interacting with others all around the world in this unique way.

Super Monkey Ball games are, as of late, known for their guest stars and optional characters that sometimes appear as DLC. Will Super Monkey Ball Banana Rumble feature the same sorts of cameos and how will that affect the multiplayer experience?

Suzuki: When the guest characters were announced for our last title, Super Monkey Ball: Banana Mania, there was a very positive response from the fans. As a result, we are very excited to share what additional content players can expect in Banana Rumble through the SEGA Pass and other updates, so we hope everyone is looking forward to that.

As for how the additional characters will impact the gameplay, the scope of how you can enjoy the game will expand, but they won't give you an advantage in a match. User technique and luck will always play a key role in the experience. It will not be a pay-to-win situation, so please don't be concerned about that.

The Super Monkey Ball Banana Rumble Adventure Mode also features four-player co-op multiplayer. How difficult was this to implement, and how does it affect progression?

Suzuki: The traditional gameplay of Super Monkey Ball can be found in Adventure Mode, so while it wasn't as difficult to implement as Battle Mode, especially with it supporting up to 16 players, there were still a lot of issues to solve, including the user of split-screen and user contact. Specifically, it is difficult to meet the needs of both “cooperation ” and“ competition, ” and for this reason, we have introduced a range of options such as allowing players the choice to turn off collision so you don't bounce off each other, along with other  settings. Also, to make sure the game can be enjoyed by family and friends, we have made adjustments that are unique to multiplayer, like how everyone can work together to complete missions.

Super Monkey Ball Banana Rumble will come to the Nintendo Switch on June 25, 2025. 

The post Interview: Preparing Super Monkey Ball for the Switch appeared first on Siliconera.

The SaGa series has blossomed over the years, turning into one in which we’re assured new games will always appear worldwide and additional entries will continue the series’ legacy. Following the recent release of SaGa Emerald Beyond, Siliconera got to ask series creator Akitoshi Kawazu about past entries in the series like SaGa 2: Hihou Densetsu, SaGa 3: Jikuu no Hasha 3D, and Unlimited SaGa, currently running ones, and the future of SaGa games as a whole.

Jenni Lada: In Japan, SaGa 2: Hihou Densetsu and SaGa 3: Jikuu no Hasha 3D remakes both appeared on the DS. How would you feel about a Collection of SaGa style worldwide release of those titles?

Akitoshi Kawazu: The DS versions would need to be redesigned, but it would be nice to release them if possible. No concrete plans are in progress at this time.

Unlimited SaGa is one of the more experimental games in the series. Looking back on it, what did you learn from that installment?

Akitoshi Kawazu: I learned that players can be surprisingly conservative.

If you would get a chance to remaster Unlimited SaGa and get it a second chance worldwide, what additional features or elements might you want to include in it?

Akitoshi Kawazu: There are many ways to go about this, from putting it out as-is to completely revamping it, so I don't have anything in mind yet. The battle system would probably go through an overhaul.

Romancing SaGa Re;univerSe is coming up on its sixth anniversary. What would you like to do next in the game?

Akitoshi Kawazu: The most important thing is to continue the service, so there are no plans to make any major, drastic changes. We’ve provided many characters and styles, so it would be great if we could do something that utilizes them. However, since implementing anything is never a simple matter, I’m hoping to take my time and proceed with intention.

You’ve teased a SaGa Frontier 2 remaster as a follow up to SaGa Frontier Remastered. What would you most like to do in such a project, and is there anything you didn’t get to achieve in SaGa Frontier Remastered that you’d like to try in a return to the sequel?

Akitoshi Kawazu: It’s important to deliver to fans who loved the past works, so we want to continue to do so. On the other hand, making it possible for new users to play refined versions of past works is another area where we would like to take on more challenges.

What would you like to do next with the SaGa series and new games?

Akitoshi Kawazu: Experimentation is a mainstay for SaGa, so I’d like to continue this with whatever comes next. Perhaps I’ll experiment with something a bit more “conventional” next.

The post Interview: Akitoshi Kawazu Talks About Old and New SaGa Games appeared first on Siliconera.

A month before the release of Final Fantasy XIV Dawntrail Director and Producer Naoki Yoshida. During our conversation, the developer discussed the painstaking work that went into implementing the upcoming graphics update, as well as the challenges of creating the new Viper and Pictomancer job classes for the expansion. This also meant hearing about the passion the creator has for the FFXIV community.

Brent Koepp: Viper and Pictomancer seem like they could be among Final Fantasy XIV's most ambitious job classes in the game to date. What was the greatest challenge with implementing both of them in the MMORPG?

Naoki Yoshida: With every Final Fantasy XIV expansion, the battle and combat team and I always have to come up with introducing a new job. So we are always wracking our brains like, "Oh, no! What are we going to do!? What are we going to do!? There's just way too many jobs now!" [Laughs].

The team is always wracking our brains around like, "How long do we have to continue doing this? And that fear of "Oh, we are adding new jobs again?" is definitely a challenge during the development of new expansions. And with a lot of MMORPGs out there, whenever they introduce a new class, they tend to be OP (overpowered), and they end up being nerfed. But we don't ever want to do that with Final Fantasy XIV. And so the team is very diligent in making sure that the balance of new job classes is always well-managed.

So sometimes, this results in a new job class that may be slightly weaker than existing jobs initially. But with Final Fantasy XIV, we make sure that with any job combination, you will be able to clear dungeon content and raid content. And we really make sure that we are always looking at the new job's balance and making sure that, overall, we are able to keep the balance we've maintained with the other classes already in the game. So, while creating Viper and Pictomancer was tough and challenging, we know that the players are looking forward to both new jobs being introduced. So we work really hard. And in the end, we really just take to heart how much the players are anticipating Dawntrail's new jobs.

And on a side note, in about three months, the team will need to start considering what new jobs we'll have to add for the NEXT TIME! [laughs]. So yeah, that fear is going to come back up all over again [laughs].

Final Fantasy XIV is a game players have been playing for over a decade now. As a team, what was it like seeing FFXIV for the first time with the upcoming graphics update applied to it?

Yoshida: I, and specifically the artists on our team, are very happy with this graphical update. With Final Fantasy XIV historically, we had to always accommodate for the different specs of different machines, including the PlayStation 3. So, at the time, we made the pipeline so that the build would accommodate the PS3.

But now that we are applying this graphics update and updating our systems so that they are more modern, our team has been able to utilize new technology. As a result, our pipeline has now improved for the artists. So they are definitely happy with that change. For the elements the artists will be creating for Final Fantasy XIV 7.0 and beyond, they are very happy with the pipeline that has now been set up.

How much work went into the FFXIV graphics update, and were there any challenges bringing it into a game that launched in 2013?

Yoshida: We have to apply this graphics update to previous content as well, and it's [laughs] a very significant amount of content! We don't even want to count how many things we now need to change. And so, some things in older expansions will need to be remade, while other things will just be a matter of updating textures. But just thinking about it [laughs], it just makes the artists kind of like, "Hold their brain and be like ahhh!" They are not looking forward to adjusting those.

With the amount of hard work that was put in by the artists, I don't think I can do it justice to try to explain all of the elements they worked on in the graphics update. We would run out of time. I wish I had more time to explain everything just to honor their hard work. It would have been nice. But I guess the challenges of making the graphics update can be summarized in one example I want to give you.

If you can imagine the character's face in Final Fantasy XIV, let's say we focus on their dimples or the surface of their cheeks. This is not created with just polygons, but it's also a matter of the normal map that is placed over the character's head. And so, with the graphics update, the resolution of the texture that is placed on top of the normal map with the polygons will have increased in resolution as well.

So the textures have been made into high-resolution, but we've also had to adjust the lighting to be of higher quality. Now, we have high-quality density, high-quality resolution, and high-quality processing of all the different elements that are on the surface texture of the character's face. But because the original normal map underneath the surface texture has not been updated, there are these weird lines or shadows that will show up on a character's face with the way the lighting hits the skin. And because that kind of weird line shows up, we received feedback from players when initially previewing the new graphics update.

Players were like, "Oh, no! My character looks completely different from what I'm used to seeing!" All of the assets were the same. It's just how the new lighting hits. It made it seem like the characters now had laugh lines [laughs]. So, the artists on our team went in to fix the normal map so it doesn't have the weird lines showing up when a shadow is cast across a character's face. Sometimes, they even had to adjust the projection of the shadow itself to fudge it so it didn't cast a weird shadow on a character. That's the kind of painstaking detail our artists had to do.

I was actually present with the character team, making sure that okay we fixed this specific issue. We've pointed and checked the problem and found a solution. With this example I've given, I think you can grasp or get an idea of just how much effort and work was put into the upcoming graphics update for Final Fantasy XIV.

Final Fantasy XIV Dawntrail will be available in early access on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Mac, and PC starting June 28, 2024. The new expansion will launch worldwide on July 02, 2024.

The post Interview: Naoki Yoshida on Making Final Fantasy XIV Dawntrail appeared first on Siliconera.

As the years go by, the SaGa JRPG series gained a wider appreciation worldwide and, as a result, we get to see new entries like 2024’s SaGa Emerald Beyond. Now that the game is available everywhere, Siliconera got a chance to catch up with this entry’s Director and Lead Writer Akitoshi Kawazu, who is also the series creator, to go over its development.

Jenni Lada: First, when did SaGa Emerald Beyond development begin?

Akitoshi Kawazu: Development on SaGa Emerald Beyond started as soon as we completed development of the Japanese version of SaGa Scarlet Grace. Concurrent to working on the overseas version of the title, we held a series of meetings to accumulate ideas for the next entry.

How did SaGa Scarlet Grace influence Emerald Beyond’s development and scenarios?

Akitoshi Kawazu: We designed a new event management system based on our experience with SaGa Scarlet Grace. As a result, it is now possible to incorporate fairly complex scenarios.

Likewise, SaGa: Emerald Beyond comes after the rereleases of games like SaGa Frontier and Collection of SaGa: Final Fantasy Legend. We also see Mr. S and mechs return. How did classic titles influence its development?

Akitoshi Kawazu: Our intention isn’t to trace past works. The introduction of various races was an important element in the design of this work. In addition, we already had a character who was well-suited for the tutorial element, which is so important in modern games, so we simply had them make an appearance.

When creating the main cast of SaGa Emerald Beyond characters, what were your immediate goals?

Akitoshi Kawazu: Our goal for each protagonist was to offer a completely unique experience. To achieve this, we prepared a variety of characters with distinct cultural backgrounds in addition to different abilities and visuals.

Were there any potential leads you wanted to try and include, but couldn’t?

Akitoshi Kawazu: There are indeed characters that couldn’t be included, but it’s probably best not to mention them. After all, there might be an opportunity for them to appear somewhere else.

In the case of Bonnie and Formina, we have two heroines in a single story instead of one lead. What influenced their development and direction?

Akitoshi Kawazu: Yes. When I thought of a female duo, the first one that came to mind was Thelma & Louise.

Each of the main characters have certain gimmicks that set them apart as heroes. How did you work on the balance for each one to ensure they’d be at about equal power levels and all be interesting individuals?

Akitoshi Kawazu: We allowed for some variation when it came to a character’s ease of use. More so than maintaining balance, we wanted players to enjoy a different experience with each protagonist.

What artistic influences helped shape SaGa Emerald Beyond and its characters and world?

Akitoshi Kawazu: For the artistic vision, I had a lot of in-depth discussions with members of the art team, especially with the lead artist, Satoshi Kuramochi. We asked him to design characters who encapsulated the essence of video games while having a realistic presence.

How did other forms of media affect the development of characters like the “magical girl” Ameya or vampire Siugnas?

Akitoshi Kawazu: The presence of magical girls in Japanese anime is the basis for Ameya's design and storyline. I think Siugnas also has less of a traditional vampire feel and is more like a character you might find in a Japanese manga.

Is there any sort of world or situation you wanted to include, but weren’t able to? What would it have entailed?

Akitoshi Kawazu: We were working on designing worlds that were entirely mechanical or had a strong connection with music.

SaGa Emerald Beyond is available on the Nintendo Switch, PS4, PS5, PC, and mobile devices, and a demo is out now.

The post Interview: How SaGa Emerald Beyond Took Shape appeared first on Siliconera.

It’s a big year for Monster Hunter as a series, as we’ve not only started to see more Monster Hunter Wilds news, but both Monster Hunter Stories and Monster Hunter Stories 2 are heading to more platforms. To learn more about the latest remaster and port, Siliconera got a chance to talk with Producer Yoshihiro Akira and Art Director Takahiro Kawano about the games getting a new chance at fresh audiences.

Jenni Lada: Monster Hunter Stories is about eight years old now. What sorts of challenges did that pose when preparing it for the Switch, PS4, and PC?

Yoshihiro Akira: Because Monster Hunter Stories was an older title, it took a lot of effort to bring it to current platforms. Programmers had to decipher the source code to develop the game. The biggest problem we faced was the user interface. The Nintendo 3DS version had two screens, including a touch screen, and even the mobile version was designed for touch controls. We have rebuilt the controls based on the user interface of Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin so that Monster Hunter Stories can be played comfortably on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Steam.

In addition, in order to allow players who have played the game in the past to enjoy it again, we created a fully voiced version of the game to deepen immersion in the scenario, which was well received, and a Museum mode containing design artwork to help users fall in love with the series even more.

It was already confirmed that Title Update 1.20 and 1.30 will be included in the Monster Hunter Stories Switch, PS4, and PC versions. Will any other quality of life features inspired by the sequel appear in the game?

Akira: The user interface was rebuilt based on the controls of Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin. In addition, we have incorporated features to make it easier to play based on our experience with Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin, such as gathering materials while riding your monstie and the Quick Heal.

How deep into the archives did you go to prepare its Museum Mode, and which piece of insight into its development are you most excited to have preserved for people to see?

Akira: Fortunately, the archives were well organized and preserved at the time, so it made things a lot easier. If you visit the Museum after playing the story, you will have a better understanding of the character design ideas that sadly did not make it into the game and the images that were created to design the maps, allowing users to enjoy the Museum mode even more.

In particular, the map images will give you a better understanding of the many wonderful designs that were used to create the world of Monster Hunter Stories. Please also take a look at the comments made by the staff at that time!

How will the amiibo-exclusive monsters be handled for the Monster Hunter Stories remaster, given the amiibo for the 3DS game never appeared outside Japan?

Akira: The amiibo functions will be carried over as is. The Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin amiibo can also be used to acquire content. What you can get though....you will have to wait and see!

Likewise, how will the Monster Hunter Stories 2 amiibo bonuses be handled on the PS4?

Akira: It is not possible to obtain this with the PlayStation 4 version.

Which monster design for Monster Hunter Stories and its sequel are you most proud of? Likewise, which Monstie do you wish you could have included in the series?

Takahiro Kawano: The Monster Hunter Stories series features monsters from the Monster Hunter franchise, and while we rarely design new monsters, we did create original monsters for the final bosses of both games. I can't go into detail about this due to spoilers, but please check them out for yourself! A monster I’d like to introduce to the series would be a very large monster like Lao-Shan Lung. It would be difficult to incorporate it into an RPG style game, but I’m sure it would be fun if we could make it happen.

What would you like to potentially do in, say, a Monster Hunter Stories 3 if given the chance to make it?

Akira: I think the core being a Monster Hunter title that is easy to play for those who are not good at action games and those who like turn-based RPGs will remain the same. It would be nice to be able to evolve the series in such a way that we can keep the strong elements and change things that need to be changed.

The Monster Hunter Stories remaster will come to the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and PC on June 14, 2024. It is also available on the 3DS and mobile devices. Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin releases on the PS4 on June 14, 2024, and it is available now on the Switch and PC.

The post Interview: Preparing Monster Hunter Stories 1 and 2 for New Platforms appeared first on Siliconera.

Leading up to the first anniversary of the hololive Advent, Siliconera got a chance to talk to each of the members of the generation, and that includes Fuwawa and Mococo Abyssgard. Like Shiori Novella, Koseki Bijou, and Nerissa Ravencroft, the twins talked about their experiences with hololive. They also discussed what it is like to stream as a duo and their recent move to Japan.

Jenni Lada: Congratulations on your move to Japan! How difficult was it to make such a big move while also handling streaming responsibilities?

Fuwawa and Mococo Abyssgard:It was really tricky! We definitely can’t say we recommend it, ahaha! We did our best to deal with the sudden limitations of the cardboard box we were staying in temporarily while we looked for our doghouse, but for us, the most difficult and frustrating part was not being able to spend more time together with our Ruffians while streaming. Of course we made sure to still stay close through Twitter and other means, but it just wasn’t the same as being live... After spending time together with the Ruffians almost everyday for well over half a year, it was a bit of a shock to our systems! We still had lots of Ruffians sending us support and headpats to us online daily, which helped push us through our mountain of quests, especially when they were really ruff on us. We’re really happy to be in our doghouse now! We feel so fortunate to have the Ruffians here supporting us always! They protect our smiles just as much as we do theirs. 

What are you most looking forward to doing now that you two are living in Japan? 

Fuwawa and Mococo Abyssgard: We want to be able to grow ourselves lots and lots! Of course we want to get to know our senpai more and to improve our Japanese, but we also hope to be able to take vocal and dance lessons! We want to be able to make use of everything available to us! That’s why we decided to move, so that we could grow ourselves even more and hopefully be able to protect our Ruffian’s smiles even better! Living in Japan has actually been a dream of ours since we were little puppies, but somewhere along the way we had given up on it... It’s been ruff, especially in recent years when we were locked up in The Cell and everything... But thanks to all our Ruffians, we were able to make that dream come true! We still haven’t been able to take advantage of things quite yet since we’re still just getting moved in and aren’t quite comfy yet, but we’re really looking forward to learning lots and lots and all the exciting things still to come! 

A number of your goals at debut involved getting to take part in things like the Odaiba Tokyo Idol Festival or be in a manga. How do you feel your relocation will help with some of these?

Fuwawa and Mococo Abyssgard: To be honest, we don’t know if it’s going to help us get closer to our dreams at all! All we can do is our best and make the most of every moment we have! We’ve felt a bit frustrated at times that we can’t do more, but we really want to show the world that we’re the right dogs for the job when we get thrown a new bone! We’re really excited when we get new opportunities, big or small, and we’re always up to a new experience or challenge! We’ll continue to work like dogs and believe that those big dreams will come true with some hard work! 

How do you feel about the excitement your fans showed over Mister Donut during hololive SUPER EXPO / 5th fes.?

Fuwawa and Mococo Abyssgard: We were really, really surprised! It’s a wonderful feeling seeing Ruffians from all over the world interested in visiting a place very special to us, and for us to be able to share something that’s brought us so much joy! It looked like the sights you’d see in Akihabara around 15 years ago when a new visual novel went on sale, and it made us feel really warm and nostalgic! We’ve heard that some Ruffians from overseas who can’t speak Japanese have been able to communicate with other Ruffians at Mister Donut by BAU BAUing together, so it makes us happy to hear that “BAU BAU” can transcend languages and bring everyone together! We really want Ruffians to be good friends together and to protect each other's smiles when we’re busy at times with vocal or dance lessons or whatnot! We worry sometimes because Ruffians can be, well you know, a little bit ruff, but we know that there is a lot of fluffy and fuzziness deep down too! So it makes us really happy to see everyone getting along, creating things together, and just being a very warm and loving family! We do feel a bit bad because the pon-de-rings are always sold out though... bau bau... If they don’t have any in Akihabara, we recommend you check out their other locations, like in Asakusa or Ginza! 

One of your streaming fixtures is the FuwaMoco Morning Show. How did you two come up with the idea for it?

Fuwawa and Mococo Abyssgard: We’ve actually wanted to do FUWAMOCO MORNING since before we joined hololive! We really liked the idea of sharing mornings together with our Ruffians since sometimes mornings can be really ruff. We thought that if we had a morning show, we could all wake up early, have a paw-sitive start to the day, and share happy and healthy lives! That’s also why we have some of the viewer-submitted corners as a part of our show, because we want our Ruffians to go out for regular walks and be able to enjoy the world they live in! We really enjoy a good walk ourselves and we want to see what your world is like too! We’re so happy that many Ruffians decide to share their mornings with us and that we’re able to start your day off on the right paw! We’re almost at our 100th episode, but we hope we can continue to do so for many more episodes into the future. 

What kinds of challenges do you feel come from there being two of you working together for your streams? Do you ever encounter any kinds of technical issues because of it? 

Fuwawa and Mococo Abyssgard: Our technical setup is actually pretty complicated! We don’t think there are any other members in hololive who have a similar setup to us just because there are two of us! We’ve never said it before, but we almost weren’t able to debut on time because of the issues we were having... Luckily we were able to solve things and everything went on without a hitch! Because there are two of us it makes for a lot of problems that you wouldn’t think should be problems, and unfortunately we’re the only ones who can solve them. We have to get creative sometimes! As for challenges because we’re always working together, that’s never a problem for us! There are times where we do bump heads, but it’s usually just over something silly like we have the same idea or vision for a project and just aren’t communicating it to each other very well. We’re always each other's biggest support though! We’re the fluff and the fuzz! 

Likewise, are there any perks that come from having someone else always around to help with streams?

Fuwawa and Mococo Abyssgard: We’re able to share the workload between each other on some things, which is really handy! Usually Mococo is more in charge of the technical aspect and game play and Fuwawa takes care of audio and reading comments more! Ruffians also get very curious about which one of us writes tweets and other messages, but it’s almost always both of us! Maybe it’s just Fuwawa’s paws who typed it out, but Mococo approved it and decided to add this or that to it! But no matter how many times we explain it, they don’t seem to get it... We think it’s really silly! What’s hard to understand about it, huh? (laughs) We also have lots of fun planning new ideas together that we think the Ruffians could get excited about... If we’re not streaming or working on projects, we’re almost always thinking up new ideas! 

You two are at over 800,000 subscribers on YouTube at this point. Do you have any special plans for when you hit the 1 million mark?

Fuwawa and Mococo Abyssgard: We’re hoping that we can do something really special, but more than anything, we just want to spend such a momentous occasion together with the Ruffians! Hitting 1 million subscribers on YouTube has always been a huge dreams of ours since we debuted, but we’ve always said that more than reaching that goal, it’s the journey that’s important to us, so we want to have a bunch of fun together with our Ruffians while on that journey and make that dream come true altogether, the FUWAMOCO way! 

You can follow Fuwawa and Mococo on social media and catch their streams on their YouTube channel.

The post Interview: Hololive’s Fuwawa and Mococo Talk Streaming, Moving to Japan appeared first on Siliconera.

All of the hololive Advent Vtubers are about to hit a big milestone. In July 2024, they’ll all have been with the company for a full year. In addition to talking to Shiori Novella and Koseki Bijou, Siliconera spoke with Nerissa Ravencroft about her time in hololive and affection for it, as well as her musical aspirations.

Jenni Lada: Now that you’ve been with hololive for a few months, how are you feeling? Is being a part of Advent what you expected it to be?

Nerissa Ravencroft:I love hololive, so the fact I'm here is still a blessing to me everyday. I get to wake up and do something I love everyday, so it makes me really, really happy. As for Advent, I truly know I've made some life-long friends in this group of amazing girls, so having them here with me every step of our journeys is a really exciting experience!

You’re known for your love, respect, and appreciation for your coworkers. Who haven’t you gotten to collaborate with yet or meet that you’d love to work with on a stream?

Nerissa Ravencroft: I haven't really gotten to collab with a lot of JP senpai, so I'd be really happy to work together more all of them! Specifically, I'd really love to collab with (Houshou) Marine-senchou-senpai and (Oozora) Subaru-senpai. I've been able to collab with (Hakui) Koyori-senpai before, but I'd also love to get closer to her! (Tokoyami) Towa-senpai was also really kind, so I'd like to collaborate and become better friends.

You’ve become quite well known for your song covers. What does the process look like for preparing them? How do you determine what you would like to work on, and about how long does it take to present one?

Nerissa Ravencroft: Honestly, singing is my greatest passion. With it being a passion, I really want to do covers of songs I'm passionate about, rather than singing it because it is popular. Usually, I need to find a song I love and, I'd I'm writing English lyrics, I need to find some inspiration! Then, after recording is done, it's all about finding someone to do the instrumental, mixing, art, and music video. This process can be really fast, but it can also take up to 2 months depending on how fast everything gets turned in!

Whose music would you love to cover going forward?

Nerissa Ravencroft: I've already gotten to sing a lot of songs I love by producers I love (Kikuo, Pinocchio-P, Deco*27), but I haven't really gotten to sing anything by Giga yet. I've been a fan for a long time, so I'd love to cover one of his songs!

How would you feel about potentially getting to release your own EP or LP album?

Nerissa Ravencroft: As if now, I've released my first every original sing, “Say My Name!” My goal eventually is to release a full album, so I hope I have the opportunity to someday.

Your family and their appearances have become a fairly regular fixture on your channel. How did it come up that they would join you? Did you experience any issues with them getting to also appear? And how do they feel about their designs that you came up with?

Nerissa Ravencroft: My family is a really big part of my life, but I didn't really expect them to be apart of my content at first. But, because we are close, I can't really help but want to show them off a bit~ regarding their designs, I actually really love doing character design stuff! So it was really fun ti draw them, and then to see so much of the community bring them to life in drawings!

What would you most like to achieve leading up to your first anniversary with Hololive?

Nerissa Ravencroft: One of my big goals was to release my first original song before my anniversary. Since Ive successfully done so,, I guess I hope I can reach 700,000 before my anniversary! 

You can follow Nerissa Ravencroft on social mediaand catch her streams on her YouTube channel.

The post Interview: Nerissa Ravencroft Talks About Her Music and Love for Hololive  appeared first on Siliconera.

The five hololive Advent Vtubers will be celebrating their first anniversary with Cover in July 2024, and Siliconera caught up with members like Koseki Bijou to talk about their experience so far. In her case, we got a chance to hear about what it’s like to attend events, stream games, and what she’d like to accomplish in the future.

Jenni Lada: What’s the coolest thing you’ve gotten to do or the thing that you’re most happy about in your first year?

Koseki Bijou: Is it already almost a year? WOW it went by so quickly!! The coolest thing ever is just realizing that I'M HERE! and I feel so blessed to be here too! Being able to share my interests and enjoy playing games in front of people is mind boggling. People like watching ME? Playing VIDEO GAMES? That's just crazy to think about! I love it when people tell me that they've bought a game because they enjoyed watching me have so much fun playing it. It's the best feeling ever!

You’re quite adept at Souls-like games. What got you interested in the genre and what tips do you have for people?

Koseki Bijou: I like a challenge! I actually picked up Dark Souls III on a whim and didn't really think too much about it, it was just a game series that I wanted to try. But I fell in love with it and all Souls-like games! There's nothing quite like the feeling of finally beating a boss after hours of struggle! It's the best! I guess my tips for people is don't treat your deaths as failures. Treat them as you're learning the fight and the moves. Enjoy the experience! When I go into a boss fight not thinking about beating it as quickly as possible (unless speedrunning or something) I'm going in to have fun!

Your use of memes and way of playing around with them have resulted in phrases like “Biboo tax” and your “Gyatt for the Rizzler” take on the meme song becoming known outside the hololive fandom. What led to you coming up with that?

Koseki Bijou: I think I'm pretty active in keeping up with current memes and I guess that knowledge helps. But a lot of the memes surrounding me are stuff that stuck within the community! Silly moments just naturally became memes, and those are actually my favorite ones because they remind me of the moments and streams surrounding them!

What was it like going to events? Is there anything you like to do to prepare?

Koseki Bijou: It's really fun! The thing that gets me the most is being able to see everyone! When I'm streaming, I don't actually realize the amount of people watching! It's a different experience streaming and talking to chat and actually seeing all the Pebbles in person! It's a really meaningful experience for me! My favorite parts are the meet and greets where I could talk to Pebbles one on one! I don't really have a set routine to prepare me for these events, but one habit I like to do is take notes about the event before and after! I have fun little notes about all the Pebbles I meet so I can remember the experience!

What game or game would you like to play that you haven’t had a chance to yet?

Koseki Bijou: As you know, I really love Souls and challenging games! THE one game that I really wanted to play and haven't gotten a chance to yet is Bloodborne! I heard that it's a fan favorite among FromSoft games so I'm really itching to try it one day!! I'm also looking forward to the Elden Ring DLC as well!

What is your dream collab within hololive?

Koseki Bijou: Within hololive I wanna collab with my JP-senpai! I'm still a bit shy and the language barrier is my biggest struggle, but I'm doing my best to learn Japanese because I really admire them and want to talk with them properly and play games together! I think my dream collab would be with Towa-senpai because she's SO cool!!

You can follow Koseki Bijou on social media and catch her streams on her YouTube channel.

The post Interview: Hololive Advent Vtuber Koseki Bijou Talks About Games and Events appeared first on Siliconera.