.hack//Link Complete Strategy Guide -INTERVIEW with Development Staff of LINK-
.hack//Link Complete Strategy Guide (JP)
Creator's Voice
Interview
With
Development Staff
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| Kikuya Megane (On the left top), Hiroshi Matsuyama (on the right top), Hiroto Niizato (On the left bottom), and Daisuke Uchiyama (On the right bottom) |
Daisuke Uchiyama
Chief Producer
Oversees .hack project at Bandai Namco Inc.
Hiroshi Matsuyama
Chief Director
President of CyberConnect 2 Inc.
Director of .hack game series
Kikuya MeganeCharacter designer
Manga artist and Illustrator
Also worked on .hack//XXXX and .hack//Link -Twilight Knights-
Hiroto Niizato
Planning Director
Director of CyberConnect 2 Inc. development teams for this project
PLANNING [企画]
How did ".hack//Link" come into production?
Hiroshi Matsuyama (Matsuyama): I worked on the .hack//G.U. Game project during the development of the first .hack// game, and I also worked on the ".hack//G.U. TRILOGY" movie project during the production of .hack//G.U. In fact, around the same time, we started working on a project for .hack//Link.
Daisuke Uchiyama (Uchiyama): (Looking at the document) It was tentatively titled ".hack//The World R:X", wasn't it?
Matsuyama: I'm surprised you pulled such an old document.
Uchiyama: It says that there are 167 members in total. There are not that many people in this work (laughs). This is 2006.
Matsuyama: And while we were working on the .hack//G.U. TRILOGY throughout 2007, the game team started working on the action part of .hack//Link.
Why did you decide to release it on the PSP (PlayStation Portable)?
Uchiyama: As for games, there is the first ".hack//" and the second ".hack//G.U.", and the ".hack" series has been developed in various other media. People say that the obstacles are too high for new users to play. In this case, I think that PSP action games will more easily appeal to users of all ages, and the obstacles themselves will be much lower.
Matsuyama: We have a choice between PSP and PS3 hardware, but the main players of ".hack" are junior high and high school students, so they won't be able to buy a PS3 right away. But if we used PS2 forever, there would be no change... So we thought that developing games on PSP would be the best way to keep people happy.
What is the behind concept of this work?
Matsuyama: First of all, we had to think about what we should do in the next third season, because ".hack//" had the goal of ".hack//" and ".hack//G.U." had the goal of ".hack//G.U.". With G.U., we wanted to make the character more popular than .hack//G.U. I think we succeeded in that, but I think the story became darker because we portrayed the inner lives of the characters in more depth. As you said, I feel that the hurdle is a little higher for first-time viewers.
"This time I wanted to make sure that I felt a sense of involvement with my friends."
Hiroto Niizato (Niizato): The darkness of .hack//G.U. reflects Matsuyama's and my own tastes.
Matsuyama: I believe that works that start out as hobbies become well-loved works. In fact, that's exactly what happened with the character. Having achieved that goal, the next thing I thought I should do was "lighten it up". As the series continues, it becomes more and more difficult for new customers to approach, so I wanted to make this work bright and cheerful so that it would be easier for new customers to come in, even from this third season.
SYSTEM [システム]
Where did the idea for the Unison Combo come from?
Niizato: In the past ".hack" series, the main character and many others were the main characters, and the player only controlled the main character, while his friends were fighting on their own. This time, however, I wanted the players to be able to feel a sense of involvement with their friends. This is the Unison Combo. Instead of each player defeating the enemy individually, I wanted the players to be able to defeat the enemy while playing catch-ball with each other.
What about Cross Rengeki?
Niizato: The Cross-Rengeki is a two-platoon special move that can be used only when the gauge is full. So we wanted to create a Cross Rengeki that players can look forward to and wonder what kind of Cross Rengeki they will get when they work with this guy (for example, with Kite, BlackRose, or Silver Knight). There are many Xth form cross rengeki that are extreme, and it was difficult to create, but the people who job-extend UPCs to the Xth form are people who have a lot of love for the character. We wanted to give the Xth form users a new look, so we prepared separate patterns for the 1st and Xth forms.
How were the UPCs (Unison PCs) chosen to be partners in the Unison Battle?
Niizato: First of all, popular characters like Haseo, Kite, and other members that everyone would like to see. We also selected Albireo from ".hack//Al buster" and Midori from ".hack//CELL" because we thought it would be great to have characters that could be used for the first time in ".hack//Link". I wanted to make it a selling point that the main characters from the novels could be used as companions.
Matsuyama: Albireo in the novel was a big part of our consciousness. Since it was only developed as a novel, the character voices had not been decided yet. So I wanted to include the voice of Albireo in the novel. We decided on that from the beginning. Midori has already appeared in ".hack//Roots", but this is the first time for her to be a playable character.
Niizato: Midori has a very large sword and is capable of good-looking actions, so we really wanted to make her available. We had to narrow it down even further, and it was really difficult to coordinate the number of characters. There were some characters like Silver Knight (Ginkan), who was popular among the staff and was chosen in an instant, but Kaede was a little different. Kaede is a rather inconspicuous character in ".hack//G.U.", but the staff in charge of backgrounds worked on the model diligently in between their own work time. We decided that their love should be rewarded. The model is a fruit of love and is very well made, isn't it?
PROCESS [プロセス]
I understand that Mr. Seiichiro Hosokawa (character designer) and Mrs. Kikuya were in charge of character design this time.
Matsuyama: When I was working with Mrs. Kikuya on ".hack//XXXX," a comic book adaptation of ".hack//", we had many opportunities to talk about manga, anime, and games, and I was impressed by her high level of sensitivity, or rather, her discernment of what's worth seeing. ------ That's why I wanted to be involved in ".hack//Link" with Mrs. Kikuya from the very beginning of the production.
Niizato: Actually, we had meetings for both the comic and game projects at the same time. Since it takes time for a comic to be published in book form, we wanted to get a head start on the comic. Therefore, we first created a story plot, which was then used as the basis for the manga to be serialized in advance. This was the way it was done, so when the comic started, there were still many things that had not been decided yet.
Matsuyama: In addition, since Hosokawa was in charge of character design alone, it was not productive for us. However, the comic was already in production, and we wanted to complete the characters as soon as possible, so Hosokawa created the character bases and asked Mr. Kikuya to draw the images. When she drew the character, she asked me, "In real life, would this character be a junior high school student or a high school student? High school student? What kind of actions does he take? What are their goals?" He would then suggest what I should do. Especially for Schicksal, we were even asked to think about the settings.
Mrs. Kikuya Megane (Kikuya): I guess I was responsible for the original drawings, so I asked the editor to confirm that the title "character design" was not on the brochure. I asked the editor to check, and he replied, "I heard that the character design is fine." But then I was asked to do various tasks, and I got involved in parts that weren't under my authority, so my work increased more than I had anticipated (laughs).
Uchiyama: People involved in ".hack" are generally like that. I've been observing it for 10 years (laughs).
Niizato: At first, I didn't know how far I could go. I remember that in the beginning I used polite and well-mannered words, like "It's getting colder these days" (laughs).
Kikuya: As they became busier and busier, they became more and more lighthearted. Like, "Uploaded to FTP. (File Transferring Protocol)" That's all.
Niizato: As we exchanged more and more information, I realized that she was a person who thought about various things and worked on them on her own. When I looked at the finished name, I could see that it was highly finished and there were no problems at all. I decided to leave the rest of the work to her.
Kikuya: It's just getting tedious -----.
Niizato: No, no, no, no (laughs).
Kikuya: Actually, when I submitted my name to you, you didn't give me any instructions on how to revise it, so I got worried and asked you if you always read my name. ----- Did you read it?
Matsuyama: I read it! I always ask (laughs). I just don't say anything because I have no complaints.
Kikuya: If I don't hear anything, I feel uneasy. I wonder if they don't read it or if they are not interested in it.
Everyone: (laughs).
Niizato: We started to use a messenger and chat directly with each other, but even then, when I saw the name, I thought, "Oh, yes, I like that one" (laughs).
Kikuya: I'd chat with them, but they'd say, "Excuse me, I'm in a meeting right now."
Niizato: It's really a meeting!
Kikuya: I have no doubts about it (laughs).
Niizato: You are a manga artist and storyteller yourself, so you create your own world very clearly. She not only cleans up the design, but she draws it only after she feels satisfied. So, if there is no difference between the basic background and the design, she will work on it right away, but if she feels that there is a discrepancy, she will check it thoroughly. There is a lot of back and forth like that.
Kikuya: This was especially true for the comic demo. We could not simply say, "We will proceed as per the order form." We had to make sure that the scenes specified in the demo were correct, and there were questions about how the comic demo would flow before and after the demo.
The comic demo was a visual novel presentation.
Niizato: It was decided from the beginning that we would insert demos in between stages, but the common expression of simply having characters and text on the screen was boring, so we went through a trial-and-error process to find a better way. At the time, digital comics read on cell phones were very popular, so I wondered if I could take advantage of the sensation of reading comics digitally. Many digital comics were just colored in, but I wanted to add more powerful movement, so I started to elaborate more and more (laughs).
Kikuya: There was a scene in the scenario that was designated as a comic demo, and I was in charge of turning that part into a name. The PSP screen is horizontal, and the dialogue is written horizontally, which is the opposite direction of Japanese manga. I had to draw thin, even lines that were different from those in comics so that they would look good on the PSP screen.
The last part is very exciting.
Kikuya: I wanted the last scene to be one that would make the players say "aha!" It was longer than the first scenario I received, but I made my image into a name and made a proposal. ・・・・・・.
Niizato: It wasn't a suggestion, but rather "I want to do it!" (laughs). Basically, the frame just flaps the wings, but the final scene is quite animated.
Matsuyama: That wasn't my plan at first, but as it turns out, I'm glad we did it.
Kikuya: If you say so, I am glad that I proposed the idea.
What did you keep in mind when working on both games and manga?
Kikuya: I tried to keep the manga as digital and simple as possible so that there would be as little difference as possible between the game and the manga. I was very careful not to use a rough touch in the comic demo. The first priority was to draw in a way that would be easy to understand for the person doing the coloring. For the game character illustrations, I was aiming for something that would be acceptable to everyone without any peculiarities, yet still have a bit of a Moe element to it. ・・・・・・
CHARACTERS [キャラクター]
"I decided to make a relatable, the realistic middle schooler main character."
Tokio is a new type of protagonist.
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| Tokio Kuryuu, the main protagonist of .hack//Link |
Matsuyama: Kite and Haseo, who have been the main characters up until now, are not realistic in a sense. They are charismatic junior high school and high school students who attract people and play tricks on people, including adults. He is the kind of charismatic junior high school and high school student who bewitches people, including adults, and attracts them. He is the kind of protagonist that you can admire, but even though he is theatrical and fun to watch, you can't really empathize with him. On the other hand, Tokio is a life-size junior high school student, a simple boy who likes video games and dislikes studying, just like any other boy. I wanted to make a realistic, relatable junior high school boy as the main character.
Niizato: Tokio is a lucky guy. Kite and Haseo are very unique, and they have a strong presence among the existing fans. If we were to put out a bar saying, "This is a new character," we would lose out in terms of presence. So, instead of playing games with them, I made them stand on their own feet and put them in a position where they can be criticized. They are different from the other main characters. The fact that only one of them is dressed in a modern costume is a visual representation of this.
Matsuyama: In the beginning, the character is wearing a uniform, but towards the end, he/she changes into the Xth form. Since the characters are longing to become heroes, we made it possible for them to transform into fantastic and picturesque heroes, such as paladins and dragon knights, which are typical of heroic characters.
As for Saika, the heroine.
Kikuya: In the beginning of the story, Saika may seem a bit harsh, but towards the end of the story, I drew her in the hope that she would come to like Tokio and be seen as a cute girl. In fact, in the initial scenario, Tokio was a much colder character, and we talked about the fact that he was just a jerk ...... (laugh).
Uchiyama: Indeed, in the beginning, there is only "Tsun" and no "Dere" on her at all. I was worried about how she would be evaluated (laugh).
Niizato: In the first scenario, the scene in which the Puchiguso child dies was supposed to end with the line, "It's okay, it's just the data." But I was told that this was a bad idea and that I definitely needed to follow up on it. ....
Matsuyama: For Saika, Puchiguso is just data, so without reading the air, she says, "You should retrieve the Chrono Core while you still can." Saika has to say these words, and the only way to affirm them is to deny them and affirm them. Then Tokio says, "Let's not do that now," to which Saika responds, "Geez...."
Niizato: From the perspective of those who know her background, Saika is Saika, who is in a desperate situation to save her brother, and as such, is blinded by her surroundings. However, the players didn't understand that. We thought about that and followed up on the details.
I heard that Mrs. Kikuya designed Klarinette.
Kikuya: Mr. Hosokawa is not very good at creating beautiful characters, or rather, female characters, and since the details of the character Klarinette had not yet been clearly defined, we decided to design the character from scratch.
Matsuyama: Hosokawa doesn't have that kind of character (laughs).
Niizato: At first, the real-life settings of the Schicksal members were not nearly as solid. We only had a rough idea of what they looked like and what their personalities were like. At one point, Mrs. Kikuya told us that the story would have more depth if we worked on the realistic settings. We discussed this with her and made the final decision.
Kikuya: Actually, Schicksal's real name rhymes.
Uchiyama: Yes, that's right. However, in the "New Epitaph Testament" included in the "Absolute Siege Pack", Orgel's real name is "Takeshi", but it should be "Takeru", otherwise "Orgel" and "Takeru" do not rhyme. If I may take this opportunity to correct this, please contact me at ..........
Who is your favorite character?
Uchiyama: Yes, that's right. However, in the "New Epitaph Testament" included in the "Absolute Siege Pack", Orgel's real name is "Takeshi", but it should be "Takeru", otherwise "Orgel" and "Takeru" do not rhyme. If I may take this opportunity to correct this, please contact me at ..........
Kikuya: I think my favorite, or the easiest to draw, is the Klarinette. I designed it, so it is easy to draw because there are few lines (laughs). Also, the character Posaune, which I drew a lot in manga. I enjoy drawing this character because I can break his face as much as I want and draw it freely. At first, I was like, "I can't accept this character physiologically!" I was thinking, "Why is Orca naked?" (laugh) But as I drew him, he became a character I thought was cool. Conversely, I am not very good at drawing Haseo. I was afraid that I would be criticized if I drew him in a strange way because he is a popular character. Haseo can make funny or scary faces, but I have to draw him as a handsome man no matter what the situation is.
STORY [ストーリー]
When were the first episodes of this work, such as "The Chop Chop Case," made?
Matsuyama: "Chop-Chop Case" is a part of ".hack//G.U." story that we omitted. There was a story called "Terminal Disk" that depicted the transition from "The World R:1" to "The World R:2" which told from CC Corp's programmer, Bansyoya perspective. In this story, the specific story of Mia's disappearance was not depicted in the end.
Niizato: Yes, we ended up just showing that they got rid of things as if they were cleaning up. If we had delved too deeply into the truth of the salvage, the story would no longer be the story of the Bansyoya, so we just laid out the facts.
Matsuyama: But in fact, when "The World R:1" was lost, Mia was salvaged by the CC Corp, which led to the drama of the Elk becoming an Endrance. And there is one more story there, the story of PI ACT 2 to PI ACT 3. In fact, I also had the story of ".hack//Roshi. Piroshi went from being a "Biroshi" to an "ACT2", and I wrote the words "Puchop!" I wrote the words ".hack// Roshi's story. In the end of the second volume of "Chop-Chop XXXX," you wrote to Mr. Kikuya, "Next is Chop-Chop," which I used as a secret word at the time to refer to all the stories in the gaps that were not being told, which is what it really is. The true meaning of "Chop-Chop" is ".hack//Link" itself.
Niizato: I had already decided that Mia would be salvaged, destroyed, and implanted Inside the Endrance from the beginning, but I didn't know that Piroshi was involved in the story until I heard it from someone else (laughs). So, I searched for materials for the scenario of ".hack//Link" this time. I was surprised to hear that the president was so convinced. I thought that since the president was so sure about it, there had to be some material. I looked everywhere, but I couldn't find anything: ....... There was no way. It was only in Matsuyama's mind (laughs).
Matsuyama: So we had a meeting. We said, "This is what "The Chop-Chop Case" is all about!"
I wonder if there was an open beta or production version of the "Akashic Line"?
Niizato: "Akashic Line" is a special kind of game, even though it is an Internet game. Jyotaro Amagi, the creator of "Akashic Line," was working for the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), which at the time was a rather rigid organization, and they allowed selected children to play "Akashic Line" as intelligence training software. Ostensibly, this was done as part of intelligence education. In reality, however, this was done for the purpose of real digitization, so there was no need to have adults play the game, and there was no need to be open about it.
Matsuyama: So, as a result, it was never made into a public. The experiment was conducted in 2014, coincidentally at the time of the "Twilight Bracelet Incident." It means that something like that was happening behind the scenes. The game graphics of "Akashic Line" appear in the reminiscence scenes, but if the staff of ".hack//Link" had been involved, the graphics would have been similar to the ones in ".hack//Link". I asked him to do everything from the design to the final product by himself because it was completely independent, including the worldview.
Niizato: The entire world of "The World" is a 3D polygon world, so I asked for a slightly low-tech 2D look.
Matsuyama: When I placed the order, I told them that I would put a filter on the top so that it would be almost invisible, but I didn't think they would go that far (laughs).
Finally, please give us a few words for the players.
Uchiyama: Dear fans. If you recall, 2010 is the year in which Kite has first log into The World. He is in the second grade of junior high school and I wonder where he is now. ・・・・・ I have caught up with the setting. I have met so many people and experienced so many things through this series. I hope that these relationships will take on a new form.
Niizato: ".hack//Link" is not just a sequel, but a compilation of the previous ".hack" games. In the past ".hack" games, we have been gradually building bridges to other games, but now that we have brought them all together, I think you will be able to experience all of the connections in a real sense. The linkage, the "ring," is exactly what I want you to enjoy. I hope you will enjoy the linkage. And the scenario is really wonderful, so I hope you will enjoy it.
Kikuya: I hope you will never get tired of playing the game until the emotional ending. I especially hope that you will watch the comic demo again and again. The Cross Rengeki for the parts I am not in charge of are different for each character, so I hope you will switch the characters around and play with them. As a player myself, I am looking forward to it!
Matsuyama: ".hack//Link" is the final chapter of the third season. I hope you will enjoy the conclusion of the ".hack" series with us. The ".hack" incident is a major milestone in the third season, and the story in the game contains many elements that will lead to the future. The third season of the ".hack" project will continue, so please keep your eyes on it and enjoy it until the end.
February 2010 at Bandai Namco Games Inc.
Image Interview source by Erroneous
Translated by Jikanet
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