Sakaguchi developing new action RPG for Xbox 360

  • By , GameSpot
  • Posted Dec 20, 2005 11:41 am PT

AQ Interactive details Mistwalker Studios head's Cry On, two more Xbox 360 titles from Cavia and Artoon; company's PS3 and Revolution projects announced.

In a press conference in Tokyo, Japanese game publisher AQ Interactive announced three new games for next-generation consoles, including a new Xbox 360 project by Mistwalker's Hironobu Sakaguchi.

A holding company established in October, AQ Interactive manages and publishes games for three subsidiaries: Cavia (Drakengard, Beat Down), Artoon (Blue Dragon, Yoshi Topsy-Turvy), and Feel Plus (codeveloper on Lost Odyssey). Up until now, the three developers only made games for outside companies such as Square Enix and Microsoft, but with nearly 350 developers working under the AQ Interactive banner, they are now going to publish their own titles as well.

AQ Interactive has already released Tetris: The Grandmaster Ace as one of the Japanese launch titles for the Xbox 360, and a second title, Tsuushin Taisen Mahjong: Touryuumon, is underway for a January release. The company looks to expand into the game market with more titles for the Xbox 360 as well as the PlayStation 3.

With Artoon and Feel Plus already handling Sakaguchi projects of their own, it came as little surprise that AQ Interactive's press conference included the announcement of a Cavia-developed Xbox 360 project from Sakaguchi (who is a shareholder in AQ Interactive).

Sakaguchi appeared at the conference to unveil the action role-playing game Cry On. This will be the first time that Sakaguchi has made an action RPG, and he's been given a budget of 1 billion yen (about $8.5 million) to get the project done.

Cry On takes place in a fantasy world where humanity coexists with subterranean giants freed from their rocky hibernation and used as instruments of war. Throughout the quest, the player controls a girl named Sally and her giant traveling companion, Boggle.

As for the game's title, Sakaguchi chose it for its dual connotations. He noted that tears come from overwhelming joy as well as profound sorrow, and he hopes to create a storyline that delivers such varied emotional experiences.

Cry On's characters will be designed by Kimihiko Fujisaka of the Drakengard series. Its music will be composed by Nobuo Uematsu, who's also working on Sakaguchi's Blue Dragon and Lost Odyssey.

The other two AQ Interactive titles unveiled at the conference were Bullet Witch and Vamire's Rain.

Bullet Witch is the second Xbox 360 project under development by Cavia. The action adventure takes place in the exceedingly bleak near future of 2013. Civilization is on the brink of extinction after demons begin appearing on the earth, and the player wades into the fray as a witch named Alicia. Equipped with a broom-shaped gun and powerful magic, players will try to take down the demons and save mankind.

Director Take Yoichi said that Alicia's magic puts a number of catastrophic events in her control, from conspiracies of ravens to tank-tossing typhoons, and even meteor showers that turn entire levels into a sea of fire. The enemies are likewise large in scale, such as a dragon that's big enough to swallow a plane.

Bullet Witch will be heavy on action, but producer Tetsu Takahashi commented that it will also feature a deep storyline that involves Alicia's past. A brief trailer presented at the conference showed Alicia fighting against demons in a city full of skyscrapers. Bullet Witch is planned for a spring 2006 release in Japan.

Cavia isn't the only AQ Interactive label working on two next-generation titles. In addition to Blue Dragon, developer Artoon is also working on an action adventure game named Vampire's Rain, currently in development for both the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

Vampire's Rain puts players in the shoes of Special Forces member John Lloyd. Lloyd has been assigned by the government to track down vampires on the sly, and then wipe them out. The game takes place in low visibility due to strong rain, which will keep players from being able to easily identify vampires from ordinary people until they get uncomfortably close.

Aside from the single-player story, various modes will be offered for online play (including a cooperative mode), and players can also choose to fight as or against the bloodsuckers. Vampire's Rain is being produced by Artoon president Naoto Oshima, and is slated for release in Japan during winter 2006.

In addition to the three announced games, AQ Interactive also revealed a list of other titles currently in development. The list of titles broken down by system follows:

Revolution
A game based on a major comic book
Original action game

PS3
Major 3D game

PSP
Jitsuroku Oniyome Nikki
Original RPG

DS
Edutainment Game
Adventure Game

PS2
A game based on a comic book for female audiences

37 Comments

  • senjutsu

    Posted Jun 4, 2008 4:00 pm PT

    8 millions for a game? That's not enough for next-gen developpement...

  • kevy619

    Posted Jul 20, 2007 3:59 pm PT

    Pretty much all these games suck.

  • Rizer

    Posted May 4, 2007 6:42 am PT

    Bullet Witch didn't seem that much fun and the whole Vampire Rain thing, where you literally just walk around in the rain and find vampires, does seem to be hinting at a corney experience. But, in reality, it could concievably work out. Any theme could work if done well enough, right? Who knows, maybe the title "VampireRain" is actually very deep and it's setting only happens to be in an area or areas that seem constantly rainy during the story. You never know.

  • Rizer

    Posted May 4, 2007 6:42 am PT

    Bullet Witch didn't seem that much fun and the whole Vampire Rain thing, where you literally just walk around in the rain and find vampires, does seem to be hinting at a corney experiance. But, in reality, it could concevably work out. Anything theme could work if done well enough, right? Who knows, maybe the title "VampireRain" is actually very deep and it's setting happens to be in an area or areas that seem constantly rainy. You never know.

  • ish_gibbor

    Posted Jan 15, 2007 11:28 am PT

    I am happy another vampire game is coming weee. I am bumped though that you are not a vampire. Although it looks like in the multiplayer you can be a vampire, but big deal. I want a game like masquerade bloodlines but better. Better combat system, and better story. Of course next generation graphics and all that jazz. Some cool voice interaction like KOTOR. Shoot I would be happy if they just made a vampire game that was just like KOTOR.

  • EchoEcho

    Posted Jan 27, 2006 2:04 pm PT

    Looking forward to the RPGs, but the ideas for Bullet Witch and Vampire Rain make me laugh. Especially Bullet Witch. I mean, seriously, just the name alone, nevermind the concept. Hopefully I'll be proved wrong, but whatever.

  • chrisdojo

    Posted Dec 21, 2005 12:42 pm PT

    Revolution - A game based on a major comic book, Original action game & DS - Adventure Game....... sweet. (hopefully they actually make the 'major comic book' game something worth playing)

  • SavoyPrime

    Posted Dec 21, 2005 7:50 am PT

    I'm not so sure about the other games, but I'll be keeping an eye on Sakaguchi's Cry On. Sakaguchi is the man!

  • swanlord

    Posted Dec 21, 2005 6:55 am PT

    Endru You gonna have to get a xbox360 for this game baby !!! its a 360 exclusive!!!! rock on xbox!!!!!!!

  • OPOLO

    Posted Dec 21, 2005 5:32 am PT

    Bring Them On - Thank U for update

  • forever_blank

    Posted Dec 21, 2005 4:38 am PT

    Oooh A ReVoLuTiOn Game... Oh And Xbox 360 Games, Look Forward To That

  • Endru

    Posted Dec 21, 2005 2:04 am PT

    one more final fantasy with you would be beyond anything!!!

  • Endru

    Posted Dec 21, 2005 1:57 am PT

    sakaguchi please come back to PS3

  • YukoAsho

    Posted Dec 20, 2005 11:16 pm PT

    dru - Most likely the majority, if not all of these games will be published in the US, by MS themselves if no one else wants to do them. MS wants everyone to have a 360, not just mainstreamers.

  • omino

    Posted Dec 20, 2005 10:19 pm PT

    Wow, I must be getting soft because I'm starting to believe that the 360 is really going to have japanese game developer support, at least at the beginning of its life cycle. I couldn't be happier. : )

  • dru26

    Posted Dec 20, 2005 10:11 pm PT

    Are these games going to be released in the U.S. too? I'm not too sure about the story line of those games mentioned, they sound a little stupid if ya ask me.

  • gamespotter001

    Posted Dec 20, 2005 8:55 pm PT

    Now if only Square would also develop for the 360 other than FFXI

  • Xa31nov1s

    Posted Dec 20, 2005 8:12 pm PT

    I can hardly contain myself! Oops... yep, there it went. I hope you can't smell that through your computer...

  • hush404

    Posted Dec 20, 2005 6:35 pm PT

    Nice to see some love to some others systems besides the 360.

  • SturokBGD

    Posted Dec 20, 2005 5:33 pm PT

    [This message was deleted at the request of a moderator or administrator]

  • SturokBGD

    Posted Dec 20, 2005 4:40 pm PT

    [This message was deleted at the request of a moderator or administrator]

  • swanlord

    Posted Dec 20, 2005 4:27 pm PT

    Yea baby the 360 rocks!!!! i have had it since launch day and i absoulutely love it!!! the japs are commin and the want the 360....Sony better watch out !!!! ill take these games on 20 dvds compared to that overpriced bluray shyiit!!!

  • Optimusv2

    Posted Dec 20, 2005 4:12 pm PT

    hahahahha I just kissed my xbox360 so glad i have one.

  • MaChaorules

    Posted Dec 20, 2005 2:33 pm PT

    360 gets more support from japanese developers yay

  • Buck_Hotep

    Posted Dec 20, 2005 1:43 pm PT

    I gotta wear shades...

    But first they need to finish up on the games they already started for the 360: Blue Dragon and Lost Odyssey. It's fine and dandy to throw out upcoming and new projects as long as the current ones are on their way to finishing.

  • NeonNinja

    Posted Dec 20, 2005 1:42 pm PT

    Sounds good, these games sound pretty sweet, lets see how it all turns out, I hope they sell well in Japan.

  • mikekare79

    Posted Dec 20, 2005 1:42 pm PT

    Looks like more and more games comeing to the 360. I didn't buy an Xbox right away cause of many things, including game library, but I love my 360 and it looks like there are gonna be plenty o games to go around!

    I WANT MORE HALO 3 NEWS!!!!!!

  • AviontheOne

    Posted Dec 20, 2005 1:38 pm PT

    Finally got my 360 yesterday.....along with I got some good news about the future of the 360. I couldn't ask for anything more from MS than this. They are really making an effort to make 360 a great console. The only thing missing from the original Xbox was titles like Lost Odyssey and such. I fell in love with gaming by playing immersive Japanese style RPG's, so to hear that, the MS and Mystwalker relationship is going to be long term, is music to my ears.

  • necrogodomega

    Posted Dec 20, 2005 1:06 pm PT

    Well, it's nice to see that the company that's working on the 2 RPG's for 360 will at least continue to support the system for awhile longer. Hopefully if these games do well in Japan, more Japanese Devs will make cross platform games too.

  • AstroGeology

    Posted Dec 20, 2005 12:56 pm PT

    Future Looks bright.

  • tbonetrav18

    Posted Dec 20, 2005 12:48 pm PT

    Hopefully the 360 will have an abundance of rpg's unlike the xbox

  • billysea

    Posted Dec 20, 2005 12:46 pm PT

    I am interested in that original action title for Revolution.

  • boyzz121

    Posted Dec 20, 2005 12:42 pm PT

    Sounds like 360 is going to have just as much support from the japanese then the PS3 is going to have.. Im looking foward to seeing more of the revolution games also.

  • bossjimbob

    Posted Dec 20, 2005 12:24 pm PT

    Wow. Sounds like some cool stuff on the way. *hugs 360*

  • jarvideos

    Posted Dec 20, 2005 12:16 pm PT

    I may have to get all three consoles next-gen if the 360 keeps getting Japanese games along with stuff like GoW.

    And can't wait to see what the DS/REV titles are.

  • Aktion_Man

    Posted Dec 20, 2005 12:10 pm PT

    i can't believe this publisher. it seemingly comes out of nowhere, and suddenly throws waves of ambitious games out at us. i'm especially surprised at the wealth of 360 support, and the fact that the games all sound substantial and worth playing. the best gifts are surprises, i guess.

  • spchernandez

    Posted Dec 20, 2005 12:03 pm PT

    Ok as long as its dad, i mean Sakaguchi, and throwing in some music composed by the "Master Chief" of ears Uematsu im certain it will be a good title. Heck just by reputation it WILL be good.

  • Adamb246

    Posted Dec 20, 2005 11:44 am PT

    some Revolution and DS games, I'm all about that

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