Twinfinite sat down with Granblue Fantasy: Relink and Granblue Fantasy: Versus director Tetsuya Fukuhara at Granblue Fantasy Fes 2018 in December, who shared new details on the upcoming RPG and fighting game.
It should be noted that this interview was conducted before Cygames announced that PlatinumGames is no longer working on Granblue Fantasy Relink.
Get the notable tidbits below.
Granblue Fantasy: Relink (Game Information)
- On choosing characters: As it is a story-driven RPG, “we want to make sure the characters are our most iconic,” including Gran, Katalina, and the other characters that appear in the main story.
- On downloadable content characters: Downloadable content characters are “included in our plans,” but details cannot currently be shared. “We definitely know that our fans want more characters to appear in the console games, so that is definitely something that we are considering.”
- On other characters: “Caracters like Lancelot, Charlotta, and Percival” are still in the game.
- On frame rate: Granblue Fantasy: Relink is aiming for 60 frames per second, but may settle at 30 frames per second depending on the final visuals. “That being said, as mentioned, our goal, for now, is to have it running at 60 frames per second.”
- On unique elements: Granblue Fantasy: Relink will be more accessible compared to Granblue Fantasy: Versus. “We aren’t really aiming to have something completely unique or bizarre, departing too much from the typical elements of RPG… We believe that the overall quality will make the game stand out from the games in the same genre.”
- On job changing: Job changes are not present in the game due to the immense amount of resources that would be required. Instead, those reseources are being used “to fully flesh out” other characters like Katalina and Rackam, who have “very different gameplay from the main character.”
- On release window: Granblue Fantasy: Relink was previously planned for 2018, but is currently without a release window. The project became “more and more massive” and Cygames “didn’t want to make compromises on the quality,” so it chose to delay the game. “At the moment it doesn’t have a release date because we already delayed it once, we never, ever want to do it again.”
- On silent protagonists: Gran and Djeeta (male and female protagonists) remain silent protagonists, as they are in the mobile game, outside of voices for battle actions and dialogue reactions. The protagonist’s name can be changed.
- On simultaneous worldwide release: Granblue Fantasy: Relink is aiming for a simultaneous worldwide release.
- On releasing so late into the console generation: “It has been quite a while since the release of PS4. That being said, that also means that the whole industry has stronger development skills on the platform. On top of that, the installed base is also much bigger. Releasing on the latter half of the generation does have its merits so we do want to take advantage of this timing. Since PS5 has not been officially announced, we don’t know what’s going to happen. Yet, if it does come out before our games are released, we might think of releasing on PS5 as well. That being said, in that case, they would probably have to be remastered versions.”
Granblue Fantasy: Versus (Game Information)
- On choosing characters: Granblue Fantasy: Versus is a more character-driven game compared to the story-driven Granblue Fantasy: Relink, so the method for choosing characters is different. “There is much more room for introducing more unique characters or some who aren’t as relevant to the main story of Granblue but do have a strong fanbase.”
- On downloadable content characters: Downloadable content characters are “included in our plans,” but details cannot currently be shared. “We definitely know that our fans want more characters to appear in the console games, so that is definitely something that we are considering.”
- On frame rate: Granblue Fantasy: Versus is “definitely” going to run at 60 frames per second. “As a fighting game, we believe that’s a must.”
- On simultaneous worldwide release: Granblue Fantasy: Versus is aiming for a simultaneous worldwide release.
- On accessibility: “We have built the game on the idea of accessibility for gamers unfamiliar with fighting games. That is achieved by having special moves activated by one button, and the game not being so much combo-oriented. One strike has meaning even without being chained into a massive combo… It was also Arc System Works’ desire to have a less combo-focused fighting game… For people who are really into fighting games, there is going to be another layer of complexity based on the timing and trying to read the opponent’s next move to determine the best response.”
- On unique elements: “There is going to be a story mode full of RPG content. Playing by yourself without competing with other people will be very enjoyable.”
- On job changing: Job changes are not present in the game.
- On western promotion: Granblue Fantasy: Versus may exhibit at Anime Expo 2019 from July 4 to 7.
- On releasing so late into the console generation: “It has been quite a while since the release of PS4. That being said, that also means that the whole industry has stronger development skills on the platform. On top of that, the installed base is also much bigger. Releasing on the latter half of the generation does have its merits so we do want to take advantage of this timing. Since PS5 has not been officially announced, we don’t know what’s going to happen. Yet, if it does come out before our games are released, we might think of releasing on PS5 as well. That being said, in that case, they would probably have to be remastered versions.”
Granblue Fantasy: Relink is in development for PlayStation 4 and has no set release date. Granblue Fantasy: Versus is due out for PlayStation 4 worldwide in 2019.