Tokyo RPG Factory

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Tokyo RPG Factory Co., Ltd.
TypeSubsidiary
IndustryVideo games
Founded2014; 7 years ago (2014)
FoundersYosuke Matsuda
Headquarters6-27-30 Shinjuku, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo
Key people
Yosuke Matsuda
Atsushi Hashimoto
Takashi Tokita
ProductsI Am Setsuna
Oninaki
Decrease ¥515 million (2020)
Number of employees
10 (2017)
ParentSquare Enix
Websitewww.tokyorpgfactory.com
Footnotes / references
[1][2][3]

Tokyo RPG Factory Co., Ltd. (Japanese: 株式会社Tokyo RPG Factory) is a Japanese video game developer and subsidiary of Square Enix, a company known for his work in the role-playing genre. The company was founded in 2014 under the name "Tokyo Dream Factory" by Yosuke Matsuda, who became president of Square Enix in 2013. As of 2019, it has released three titles to varying degrees of critical and commercial success; I Am Setsuna, Lost Sphear and Oninaki. The three were each themed after the Japanese phrase Setsugekka (Snow, Moon and Flowers). A fourth project is in the planning phase as of 2019.

Tokyo RPG Factory was founded to develop modern interpenetrations of the "golden age" of RPGs, such as Chrono Trigger. Its structure, which focused on bringing in freelancers and staff volunteering from other departments within Square Enix, was modelled on Western film and game studios. Recurring staff members for their projects are director Atsushi Hashimoto, and scenario writer Hirotaka Inaba. Takashi Tokita provided input on the first two titles before taking on a creative role in Oninaki.

History[]

Origin and staff[]

Beginning in March 2013, Square Enix—known for its work in the role-playing video game (RPGs) genre—underwent structural and policy changes when Yoichi Wada stepped down as president and was replaced by Yosuke Matsuda. Matsuda wanted to steer the company towards a more individual identity for products amid rising production costs and changing consumer demands.[4][5] During this time, discussions were held internally about the potential for a group within the company focused on modern re-imaginings of the story-driven turn-based RPGs produced during the genre's golden age in the 1990s such as Chrono Trigger and entries in the Final Fantasy series.[6][7] Matsuda spearheaded this initiative.[2] Taking inspiration from the corporate structure of outsourcing and freelancing staff common with Western movies and video game development, Matsuda "bypassed" Square Enix's corporate structure to create a small-scale subsidiary studio which would feature freelance guest developers working alongside company staff. He also noticed a number of Western-developed successors to golden age titles which proved commercially successful.[7]

Matsuda sent out invites to a number of people, and the studio was created around them.[7] The developer was founded in 2014 under the name "Tokyo Dream Factory", with Matsuda putting in a policy of allowing various staff members to volunteer rather than being assigned there.[6] The following year, it changed to the final name of Tokyo RPG Factory, representing its chosen genre and development goals.[8] The studio's name was created collaboratively by staff.[7] Their aim was to create original titles within small budgets, and were given high creative freedom within their design goals.[2] For their first three titles, Tokyo RPG Factory drew thematic and visual inspiration from the Japanese phrase Setsugekka (Snow, Moon and Flowers).[9]

Acting as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Square Enix, the developer is based in Tokyo, Japan.[1] In 2017, the developer had ten regular employees, and others joining in if they wished.[2] A recurring staff member is Atsushi Hashimoto, who has acted as director for their projects since its inception.[7][10] Scenario writer Hirotaka Inaba also worked on all their titles to date, collaborating on the first two projects with Makoto Goya.[11][12] Takashi Tokita, known for his work on Chrono Trigger, provided input for the battle systems of the first two games, then took a deeper creative role in the third.[10]

2014-2019[]

Following the developer's inception, work began on their first title, originally announced in 2014 the codename Project Setsuna.[13][14] This project was eventually titled I Am Setsuna, drawing mechanical inspiration for its Active Time Battle system from Chrono Trigger, and created the story around themes of sadness and sacrifice.[14][15][16] Despite the concept for multiple titles from the developer, I Am Setsuna was created as a standalone project.[9][17] Releasing worldwide in 2016, I Am Setsuna saw positive responses,[18] and despite initial losses turned a major profit for the company by the end of 2017.[19][20] Following the release of I Am Setsuna, the team began work on another similar project, carrying over some terminology and elements from their first game but otherwise creating a standalond experience. This second project was Lost Sphear, which used the story and gameplay theme of "memory" in its design.[18][21] Releasing in 2017 in Japan and 2018 in the West,[22][23] Lost Sphear was again profitable though earnings fell compared to 2017.[24]

During the later development of Lost Sphear, the third planned title was being planned out, with Tokita taking on the role of creative producer and having input on the narrative.[10] With a longer campaign than earlier titles and gameplay which shifted away from turn-based to action-based combat, Oninaki was a mechanical shift for the studio despite retaining their initial design philosophy of evoking older RPGs.[25][26] At Tokita's urging, Inaba wrote a far more mature narrative than previous titles from the developer, focusing on death-related themes and examining the concept of reincarnation.[10][25] While it saw strong positive responses from players,[27] Tokyo RPG Factory also suffered a financial loss during that period.[3] Following the release of Oninaki, the studio has been doing concept and pre-production on an untitled fourth game.[27]

Titles[]

Year Title Platform(s) Reference
2016 I Am Setsuna[a] PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, Nintendo Switch, Microsoft Windows [28][29]
2017 Lost Sphear PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Microsoft Windows [22][23]
2019 Oninaki[b] [30]

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b "About". Tokyo RPG Factory. Archived from the original on February 24, 2021. Retrieved July 14, 2021.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b c d Dwan, Hannah (November 30, 2017). "Interview with Yosuke Matsuda, The President of Square Enix on Tokyo RPG Factory, the Nintendo Switch, and the future of Square Enix". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on November 30, 2017. Retrieved June 2, 2020.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b Sato, Ike (2020-08-04). "Square Enix Reports Big Losses From Subsidiaries Tokyo RPG Factory and Studio Istolia". Siliconera. Archived from the original on 2021-02-16. Retrieved 2021-07-09.
  4. ^ Handrahan, Matthew (March 26, 2013). "Yoichi Wada steps down as Square Enix CEO". GamesIndustry.biz. Archived from the original on January 3, 2020. Retrieved July 14, 2021.
  5. ^ Nunneley, Stephany (October 5, 2013). "Square Enix president Yosuke Matsuda feels the company must "reform with urgency"". VG247. Archived from the original on January 2, 2019. Retrieved July 14, 2021.
  6. ^ Jump up to: a b "Square Enix President & CEO Yosuke Matsuda interview – 'it's better to be a leader than a follower'". Metro. January 15, 2018. Archived from the original on January 15, 2018. Retrieved June 2, 2020.
  7. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e 『いけにえと雪のセツナ』の魅力に迫る連載企画! スクウェア・エニックス社長の松田氏をはじめ、開発のキーマンへのインタビューも掲載【特集第1回/電撃PS】. PlayStation Blog (in Japanese). January 29, 2016. Archived from the original on July 11, 2021. Retrieved July 14, 2021.
  8. ^ McCarthy, Caty (June 27, 2019). "Tokyo RPG Factory on How the Studio's Classic RPG Inspiration Fuels the Action-RPG Oninaki". US Gamer. Archived from the original on July 2, 2019. Retrieved April 21, 2020.
  9. ^ Jump up to: a b "Tokyo RPG Factory Shares a Closer Look at Oninaki". PlayStation Blog. 2019-04-24. Archived from the original on 2019-04-30. Retrieved 2019-09-07.
  10. ^ Jump up to: a b c d [E3 2019]“命の物語”を描くRPG「鬼ノ哭ク邦」のインタビューをお届け。気になる世界観やアクションバトルについて制作メンバーに聞いた. 4Gamer.net (in Japanese). 2019-06-15. Archived from the original on 2019-06-29. Retrieved 2019-09-07.
  11. ^ LOST SPHEAR 完全攻略ガイド+ビジュアルアート集 ~記憶が紡ぐ神話の書~ (in Japanese). Square Enix. 2017-10-26. ISBN 978-4757555174.
  12. ^ Romano, Sal (2019-02-20). "Oninaki creative producer is Chrono Trigger director Takashi Tokita". Gematsu. Archived from the original on 2019-02-20. Retrieved 2019-09-07.
  13. ^ Karmali, Luke (2015-06-16). "E3 2015: Square Enix Announces New Studio and RPG Project Setsuna". IGN. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on 2015-09-26. Retrieved 2015-09-16.
  14. ^ Jump up to: a b Takasue, Kaori (2016-06-03). "15 Things to Know About I Am Setsuna, Out July 19 on PS4". PlayStation Blog. Sony Computer Entertainment. Archived from the original on 2016-06-03. Retrieved 2016-06-03.
  15. ^ とりもどそう、ぼくたちのRPG。スクエニ×TRFが『いけにえと雪のセツナ』を作った理由. Dengeki Online (in Japanese). ASCII Media Works. 2015-09-28. Archived from the original on 2015-09-29. Retrieved 2015-11-17. Translation Archived 2015-11-18 at the Wayback Machine
  16. ^ Farokhmanesh, Megan (2016-03-15). "I Am Setsuna dev ditched Vita version in the US to focus on 'big screen' immersion". Polygon. Vox Media. Archived from the original on 2016-03-15. Retrieved 2016-03-16.
  17. ^ Romano, Sal (December 22, 2016). "I am Setsuna staff discuss concept, CGI, internal reception, and what's next in fan interview video". Gematsu. Archived from the original on December 24, 2016. Retrieved July 14, 2021.
  18. ^ Jump up to: a b Webster, Andrew (July 25, 2017). "How Lost Sphear continues the surprise revival of classic Japanese RPGs". The Verge. Archived from the original on February 3, 2018. Retrieved July 14, 2021.
  19. ^ Frye, Brendan (August 3, 2016). "Tokyo RPG Factory Ends Year in $2.4 Million Deficit". CG Magazine. Archived from the original on August 6, 2016. Retrieved July 14, 2021.
  20. ^ スクエニHD子会社のTokyo RPG Factory、17年3月期の最終利益は2億3600万円と黒字転換に成功…『いけにえと雪のセツナ』で知られる. GameBiz.jp (in Japanese). July 24, 2017. Archived from the original on September 24, 2017. Retrieved July 14, 2021.
  21. ^ Hertzog, Clara (November 9, 2017). "Lost Sphear Q&A: Looking to the Past to Create a Modern RPG". PlayStation Blog. Archived from the original on May 31, 2020.
  22. ^ Jump up to: a b スクウェア・エニックスの新作RPG「LOST SPHEAR」,発売日が2017年10月12日に決定。価格は5800円+税。特典情報の公開も. 4Gamer.net (in Japanese). July 25, 2017. Archived from the original on September 29, 2020. Retrieved July 14, 2021.
  23. ^ Jump up to: a b Gilyadov, Alex (July 25, 2017). "Lost Sphear Release Date Announced". IGN. Archived from the original on August 9, 2017. Retrieved July 25, 2017.
  24. ^ スクエニHD子会社のTokyo RPG Factory、2018年3月期の最終利益は65%減の8300万円…第2弾タイトル『LOST SPHEAR』を発売. GameBiz.jp (in Japanese). July 30, 2018. Archived from the original on July 31, 2018. Retrieved July 14, 2021.
  25. ^ Jump up to: a b 開発者インタ���ュー. Famitsu (in Japanese). Enterbrain (1578): 50–51. 2019-02-21.
  26. ^ 『鬼ノ哭ク邦』インタビュー。「スクウェア・エニックスってこういうこともやるんだ」を目指して。ハクスラ系のやりこみ要素の情報も【E3 2019】. Famitsu (in Japanese). 2019-06-20. Archived from the original on 2019-06-20. Retrieved 2019-09-07.
  27. ^ Jump up to: a b 『鬼ノ哭ク邦』ネタバレありインタビュー。企画初期ではリンネが母親だった!?. Dengeki Online (in Japanese). 2019-11-07. Archived from the original on 2020-02-26. Retrieved 2021-07-09.
  28. ^ "Ikenie to Yuki no Setsuna RPG Ships in Japan on February 18". Anime News Network. 2015-11-17. Archived from the original on 2015-11-17. Retrieved 2015-11-17.
  29. ^ McWhertor, Michael (2016-04-22). "Square Enix's Chrono Trigger-inspired I Am Setsuna coming to PS4 and PC in July". Polygon. Archived from the original on 2016-04-22. Retrieved 2016-04-22.
  30. ^ Romano, Sal (2019-05-21). "Oninaki launches for PS4 and Switch on August 22 in Japan, 'Daemon' trailer". Gematsu. Archived from the original on 2019-06-09. Retrieved 2019-09-07.

Notes[]

  1. ^ Known as Ikenie to Yuki no Setsuna (いけにえと雪のセツナ, lit. "Setsuna of Sacrifice and Snow") in Japan
  2. ^ Known as Oni no Naku Kuni (鬼ノ哭ク邦, lit. "Country Where the Ogre Cries", translated in-game as "The Wailing Land") in Japan

External links[]

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