We were fortunate to grab some time with the developer of the intriguing life and reincarnation themed action-RPG Oninaki, which recently released on Playstation 4, PC and Nintendo Switch. Tokyo RPG Factory are the same developers that brought you I am Setsuna and the Lost Sphear. We asked some questions we were eager to get answers to while atGamescom 2019.
Oninaki Developer Interview Gamescom 2019
Tokyo RPG Factory previously has worked on titles with more turn-based combat such asI am SetsunaandLost Sphear. We were curious to find out more about not only the development process for the action-RPGOninakibut also about the story, Daemon combat system as well as skills and difficulty levels. After experiencing thedemo, we wanted to find out what players can expect from the full game. We sat down with the director ofTokyo RPG FactoryAtsushi Hashimoto and Creative Producer Tokita Takashi who has directed such games such asFinal Fantasy IVand Chrono Trigger, to find out more.
FL: A couple of the previous games from Tokyo RPG Factory have concentrated on turn-based combat. So now featuring action combat, how has it been developing Oninaki compared to the previous two games, where there was a different form of combat?
TF: They’re completely different really, where from the very offset the creation is very different, how we were going to tackle everything. But one thing we definitely did take from I am Setsuna, it still had that kind of attack feel on the map basically, even if it was turn-based it still was very much dependent on the that style, the AOE side of things. So we were able to learn quite a lot of elements from that, and take that into this action-RPG style, because it’s still happening on map and in real-time.
FL: The Oninaki story has very distinct themes about life and reincarnation and beyond that. So what were your influences for the story and how did come up with the idea about the Watchers?
TF: The way we came up with the idea for the Watchers is we actually back tracked to, what thought up this lore as you said it has a very deep theme about life and reincarnation, in which there is cycle of reincarnation and if you mourn the dead. The system breaks, the cycle is broken and those souls can become lost, which is the Lost Souls is what it’s called.
So we thought about and we went further and said if that really happened in a world we created perhaps we would have a group of people, the chosen few that would want to correct that broken cycle. And that’s where we came up with the idea of the Watchers, these people who would put these pieces back together to try and fix that cycle.
FL: The demo showed Oninaki as more of a semi-open world experience, with paths to follow, will this open up in the full game or will there be set paths for players?
TF: When you play, you follow a story, so we wouldn’t really class it as an open-world per se, you follow the story and it instructs you where to go.
FL: Can you explain the Daemon combat system and how you’re able to gain new Daemons? Is there a way to respec your Daemons if you decide you want to change skills?
TF: To answer the question about gaining the Daemons, they get unlocked naturally through story and game events. But you can also come across them in the Beyond, the world of the dead. You actually can find them on the field as well. So there’s a two-folded way to pick them up.
To answer your question about the respec, how to change the skill tree actions, there isn’t really a reset function but the reason we have done that on purpose is because the skill does indeed split into different paths, but it’s not done in a way you can’t unlock all of them. So if you get to the end and you put some extra hours into it, you will be able to unlock all these actions and abilities anyways, so we didn’t really feel it was necessary to go back and have a remake system.
FL: We were also wondering how many Daemons are there? Is there a chance to miss out on any? Are they all tied to the main story?
TF: You could technically miss them as there are Daemons out on the field. They are not necessarily guaranteed to be given to you. They are almost like comrades in any other RPG, that you would naturally add to your party. If you put enough effort into it, they are easily claimable and obtainable. Even if you missed a sub-plot or a place where they were, you can still go back and they will be there.
You wanted to know how many Daemons? [There are] roughly about 10 Daemons.
FL: Are there any rewards or secrets to unlock by defeating the game on the hardest difficulty? How do these difficulty levels vary?
TF: We haven’t deliberately put any kind of extra reward for clearing a more difficult setting, we did this on purpose because it’s more of an endgame content. The reason why you would want to replay the content is that if we have stronger bosses there, that give you further rewards, you will want to take those rewards in form of weapons and stuff to replay again if we had that for the harder settings to replay with. We went down the road of you being able to try skill and your ability.
With the varying difficulties, there’s a difference in HP, damage ability and generally the gorges of the UI and enemies have a little more accuracy [harder settings]. But you will have more drops, the harder it is [setting] and better heals.
FL: Are there any DLCs planned for Oninaki?
TF: We don’t have any DLC planned, and we are not thinking about it at this stage. But we do have a day one patch that has already been automatically added to the game when you buy it. This has various many things, it has adjustments made to the action settings, to the enemy actions and the different modes within the game.
Oninakiis now available to play on Playstation 4, PC via Steam and Nintendo Switch. If you want to know more about this title be sure to read our Oninaki preview.
For more Oninaki content be sure to read/watch ourOninaki Preview - A Soulful Adventure.you’re able to also check out more inOninaki Daemon Dia Gameplay Previewedand be sure to use ourOninaki Trophy Guideto unlock platinum or 100% the game.
