New Games from CyGames

CyGames has made a good name for themselves in the past couple of years, though if you’re primarily an English-speaker, your response to this is likely “who?” Heck, they don’t even have an English Wikipedia page.

If you don’t know them by name, you might be familiar with their most successful title: Granblue Fantasy (which has a Wikipedia page, by the way). It’s a free-to-play turn-based mobile RPG with a colorful art style and good soundtrack, which takes inspiration from other titles in the genre. It’s been particularly compared to Final Fantasy, helped through its art and part of its music coming from Hideo Minaba and Nobuo Uematsu, respectively. Both spent years at Square Enix, and departed almost concurrently.

More importantly, it’s one among a number of mobile titles that successfully reeled in a massive audience that didn’t mind spending money on its numerous microtransactions — however small or large. It released in March 2014, and reached ten million downloads in a mere two years. Only a few among that number need to spend regularly for the company responsible to make money hand over fist, which is at least slightly respectable despite the predatory nature of “Mobage” titles. Similar to GungHo’s Puzzle & Dragons, it’s also popular enough that it’s hosted crossovers with other video games, anime, and manga franchises, including Street Fighter, The Slayers, and Sakura Wars/Taisen X.

So what’s a company to do after accruing so much cash? Spend the hell out of it, of course, and they showed precisely what they’re spending it on at the CyGames Next 2016 press event. Like GungHo, though part of it will fund future mobile efforts in the hopes of finding the next hit, they also want to make games for dedicated gaming platforms.

Real-time strategy title Lost Order should be of interest to Granblue Fantasy players and others who enjoy Japanese RPGs. Despite this being another mobile title, there are enough familiar names on board to pique their interest. It’s a collaborative effort between CyGames and — of all developers — PlatinumGames, making this the latter’s first venture into the mobile realm. They reside in a territory where mobile has been dominant for years, so the big surprise is how long it took from them to make the jump, and I expect this to be far from the last.

Final Fantasy Tactics and Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together director Yasumi Matsuno will fulfill the same role here, making this the first time he’s been deeply involved with a game’s development since Crimson Shroud at Level 5 in 2012. Longtime partner Akihiko Yoshida is handling the art, while the music is being done by…no, not Hitoshi Sakimoto, but Hideki Sakamoto. Lost Order will be one among an increasing amount of mobile games aimed towards the core gaming audience in Japan, the kind of title that would have been on a dedicated handheld if they were performing better. If it turns out well, hopefully it will receive some kind of localization.

Also for mobile is Princess Connect Re:Dive, an anime/RPG sequel to the first Princess Connect title that you’ve never heard of. It’s tough to tell what this is about, as the trailer doesn’t reveal much, nor does much information about the first game exist in English. It will include every heroine from the first title, feature a soundtrack from the venerable Kohei Tanaka, and animation from the also well-known Wit Studio. It appears to be aimed towards girls who like playing games on phones, because that trailer doesn’t have enough fanservice for me to believe this is for guys fascinated by anime girls.

More interesting, however, are the titles not being made for mobile, as they show how CyGames is leaving their comfort zone. First among these is Granblue Fantasy Project Re:Link, an action/RPG that marks another collaboration between the company and PlatinumGames. It’s set in the same world as the Granblue Fantasy mobile game, and features a similar art style and some of the same staffers (Hideo Minaba, Nobuo Uematsu, etc.). From the information that was provided, this will primarily be a multiplayer game, though a single-player scenario will also be available. With the large amount of characters they’re planning to add, there should be at least one that suits each person’s playstyle.

No platforms were confirmed, though producer Koichi Haruta mentioned that he purchased a new PC for this; and given how well that platform does in Japan, expect this to be on at least one console too. I hope PlatinumGames has assigned their better talents to this, to ensure it turns out better than the likes of The Legend of Korra or the recently maligned Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutants in Manhattan. Given that Metal Gear Rising Revengeance director Kenji Saito is involved, there’s more confidence that won’t happen. The title’s only 10 percent complete, but given how fast Platinum tends to work, don’t be surprised if it releases by the end of next year — at least, in Japan.

Lastly, CyGames has a high-end console title planned called “Project Awakening,” currently in development at their Osaka district. The teaser video shows a mysterious girl who awakens as she’s falling into a similarly mysterious city, complete with a dragon-like figure flying around. This is accompanied by text saying “embrace disappointment and awakening,” which hopefully isn’t foretelling the game’s quality. Very little was revealed about this, meaning it’s likely 2018 at the earliest. Though no console was mentioned specifically, CyGames Osaka started hiring for PS4 development last year, and still has positions left to fill.

Additionally, an anime adaptation of Granblue Fantasy was confirmed, which will be produced by A-1 Pictures. It will begin airing in Japan in January, and there’s a good chance a streaming company will simulcast it. Not many details were given, and someone had to reupload the trailer elsewhere, as the YouTube upload is region-locked. I don’t know what they have to hide here.

Let CyGames be another example of precisely how much money free-to-play mobile games can make, but it’s also great when that leads to opportunities like the two above dedicated platform titles happening. CyGames has mentioned nothing about establishing a western district, and Granblue Fantasy can only be played in English after downloading the Japanese version. Nothing was mentioned about localizations here either, but hopefully they’re in the process of either establishing a base outside their home country, or working out a deal with another publisher. While that could take a while, the console and PC games announced here are also early, so they have some time.