Cognition Dissemination: Is Vanillaware Okay?

It took many developers time to adjust to the realities of HD video game console development during the last generation of systems — for those that survived, anyway. But it took even longer for Japanese developers, who had to unlearn several bad production habits if they wanted to create games on the platforms. For the biggest example, they could no longer afford to develop multiple games on different and subsequently discarded game engines, a process that was always wasteful.

A key aspect of that last paragraph was “if they wanted to,” as several developers fled to the greener pastures of handheld platforms or a lower-powered console like Wii. Others had a hell of an adjustment process awaiting them and still haven’t quite reached their previous heights, and Vanillaware is among them. There was a time where they could afford to develop and release two games within a comfortable timeframe, but we’re long past that point. What’s worse for Vanillaware is how they still haven’t adjusted after all these years, in addition to other development issues they’ve run into.

Their problems started with Dragon’s Crown, their first HD title. Instead of the company working on two projects in a nigh-simultaneous manner while others helped with assorted programming tasks, the entire studio had to work on this game for a while with few staffers to spare. It’s why they couldn’t help XSeed with programming for the localization of Grand Knights History, which led to the project being cancelled and remaining only in Japan. It didn’t help when the game was tossed around from one publisher to another, as initial publisher and funder Ignition Entertainment shuttered, with the game being passed to Atlus. Fortunately, it released before the second publisher’s managerial problems arose, as Atlus switched ownership from Index Corporation to Sega thanks to the former going bankrupt.

Fortunately for them, Dragon’s Crown was one of the best-selling games in their history, and one of the only recent examples of a successful side-scrolling brawler that isn’t a rerelease of an old title. They further expanded their audience with Dragon’s Crown Pro on PlayStation 4.

Now, the intriguing-looking title they’re currently working on is suffering from ostensible development issues: 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim. The project was revealed at Tokyo Game Show back in 2015, over three years ago. While they’ve shown how the game will look as pretty as their previous efforts, we’ve learned little about how the core game works. It’s possible they haven’t pinned down all the concepts, which could be why they’re hesitant to talk about precisely what the game entails. This could help explain why it’s been in development for so long.

It will stay in development for a while longer, too. 13 Sentinels didn’t receive so much as a release timeframe until two years after it was revealed, where it was scheduled for release sometime in 2018 for PS4 and Vita. But given how long the game has gone MIA, it clearly wasn’t coming by the end of this year. So, it was no surprise when Vanillaware and Atlus confirmed it would be delayed out of this year, but this became more ominous when neither company would confirm a new timeframe. The Vita version was also cancelled, thanks to many longtime system software providers slowly ending support. It’s now planned to be a PS4-exclusive, though that could also change.

Vanillaware could be having issues with the vision behind 13 Sentinels’ concept, and it’s possible they’re adjusting it due to fan feedback. The game appeared to be a fast-paced mecha action game with RPG elements when it was first revealed, but it was a bit of a surprise to see it was actually a fusion of an action game and visual novel. This tempered the excitement of several prospective fans (though they were still looking forward to it), and it’s possible they’re listening to them. The scope of the project could also be causing issues, since the game will include the perspectives of 13 characters — hence the name, of course. This could imply that it could have plenty of content, though hopefully all the perspectives won’t send characters through the same stages like Odin Sphere.

Creating their traditionally pretty art style in HD could also be causing serious issues behind the scenes, since all the artwork is hand-drawn. This was also an issue with Dragon’s Crown, as HD games require for the art to be meticulously polished, and at high resolutions. It has to look good for those 1080p and 4K sets, after all, something they didn’t have to worry about in 480p titles like the aforementioned Odin Sphere and Muramasa: The Demon Blade, which originally released for PlayStation 2 and Wii, respectively.

To answer the question in the title: Vanillaware is definitely not okay when it comes to developing games as efficiently as they used to during the standard definition gaming era. But I’m confident Atlus will give them all the time they need, given how successful Dragon’s Crown was, so they’ll be fine in the long run. It could take a while before 13 Sentinels descends upon the worldwide audience, so hopefully everyone anticipating it is the patient type.