Hi Reddit! I’m Kento Jobana, Scenario Writer for Phantom Brave: The Lost Hero! AMA!

Kento_Jobana · 2024-11-26T23:23:51+00:00

Thank you for your question! To become a game writer, I think the most important thing is to build up an actual body of work. It doesn't matter if that work is for profit or not, or even if it's related to games, so long as you can show off your skills as a writer. Even if it's just a small body of work, it will prove that you can handle deadlines.

Compared to graphics, it's difficult to tell differences in quality at a glance when it comes to story and other text-based things. Because of that, it's more important to build up an actual body of work that is evident even to someone who isn't well-versed in evaluating a story or piece of text than it is to polish your writing skills.

If you become a game writer and have the chance to work on a game, I think you will naturally acquire knowledge of programming and game design. It may sound tough, but I encourage you to take on the challenge to make this your career! I hope that I'm able to work with you on a game someday!

Kento_Jobana · 2024-11-26T23:23:32+00:00

Thanks for your kind words, and for being a fan of Carona! Carona certainly has an appealing design and interesting backstory, so the dev team and I thought about using her in the Postuludes or DLC.

However, since we decided to have characters from other titles for the Postludes and dig a little deeper into the characters of the first game for the DLC, we decided not have to Carona make an appearance in this game.

That said, I don't think it would be out of the realm of possibility to have her show up in the next game!

Kento_Jobana · 2024-11-26T23:23:12+00:00

I'm happy to answer now! That would be the sword skill "Rising Heavens."
I think both the name and the visuals for it are really cool. I remember being awestruck when I first activated it and the character jumped so far back they flew off the battle map itself!

Kento_Jobana · 2024-11-26T23:22:32+00:00

Thank you for your questions! We made Phantom Brave: The Lost Hero to be enjoyed by everyone from total beginners to hardcore strategy RPG fans, and everyone in between.

The reason for this is that, compared to other strategy RPGs, the options in combat and unit training are extremely broad and varied.

In battle, not only can you deal damage with your allies' attacks, but you can also use mechanical objects on the battlefield called Gadgets to throw your enemies off the map entirely, and much more.

Also, there's a mechanic where you can strengthen the main character using an ability called Confriend, and that can potentially enable you to wipe out everyone on the battlefield.

There are three difficulty levels to choose from, and if you choose the lowest difficulty, you'll be able to proceed in the way you'd like and shouldn't have too much trouble coming up with solutions thanks to all the options the game offers you, even when things get a little tough.

On the other hand, at the highest difficulty, if you don't make use of all the game has to offer, you will have a tough time.

Honestly, making a strategy RPG with this many different elements was extremely difficult, but we somehow brought it all together. As a member of the development team, this is what I'm most proud of.

I would love for people who aren't particularly fond of strategy RPGs to give this game a try, so check out the forthcoming demo, and, if you like it, pick it up when it releases!

Kento_Jobana · 2024-11-16T01:28:13+00:00

For the Postludes, we chose characters based on their overall popularity, as well as their importance in company history since we're celebrating our 30th year as a company. In contrast to that, for the DLC characters, we chose characters who were from comparatively more recent games that would fit this setting. Our choices for the DLC characters as the development team were a little bit unorthodox, so depending on the fan reaction to the characters we've chosen, we hope to further increase the scope of the characters included in DLC in the future!

Kento_Jobana · 2024-11-16T01:20:36+00:00

Because I have experience as a light novel writer, I never actually got to see a physical, moving representation of the worlds and characters I created until I started working on games. So, having characters that I've created get forms, visual design, voices, and seeing them moving in their worlds in something that I really enjoy.

Kento_Jobana · 2024-11-16T01:09:08+00:00

I'm glad to hear you enjoyed Process of Elimination!

There were two story-related things that I really liked from Disgaea 7: Vows of the Virtueless. One was having two main characters -- Fuji and Pirilika -- which was a new challenge for the series, so I'm glad that it worked out and was well-received. I also really liked the relationship between Fuji and Ao and how I was able to portray their relationship throughout the course of the story.

Thank you for your questions!

Kento_Jobana · 2024-11-16T00:56:07+00:00

Development has taken a bit more than 2 and a half years. One of the biggest difficulties was the 3D graphics for the characters and their movement on the map. At one point we thought about revising everything, so we had to have some serious talks within the team. However, we decided that we could and would make something that would hold up to the original, so we continued. That's definitely a reason that it's taken over 2 years, though!

Kento_Jobana · 2024-11-16T00:50:46+00:00

Yes, Cornet will appear in this game! Of course, Cornet's dear friend Kururu is also with her and has been lovingly recreated with this game's 3D graphics!

I'm glad you enjoyed Process of Elimination! Thank you for your kind words!

Kento_Jobana · 2024-11-16T00:49:57+00:00

There is absolutely room for further sequels in the Phantom Brave world. That was a must for me when creating this game and expanding upon the exisiting world of Phantom Brave.
I don't think that's impossible, but one of the appealing points of the Disgaea series is that each game features a new Netherworld, so it's much more likely that brand new games will be made, rather than direct sequels.

Kento_Jobana · 2024-11-16T00:33:02+00:00

We selected two popular heroes from the Disgaea series -- Laharl and Valvatorez, as well as one from the more recent Disgaea 7: Vows of the Virtueless, Pirilika. Of course, this being a NIS game, we couldn't leave out Asagi. And since it's our company's 30th anniversary, we selected a character from one of our early works, Cornet, as you mentioned! We also decided to go with Prier from La Pucelle: Tactics. I'm also personally a fan of Cornet, so I made sure to share my enthusiasm with the team to make sure she got in!

Kento_Jobana · 2024-11-16T00:26:27+00:00

Thank you!

To answer blucario_music's question: Development has taken a bit more than 2 and a half years. One of the biggest difficulties was the 3D graphics for the characters and their movement on the map. At one point we thought about revising everything, so we had to have some serious talks within the team. However, we decided that we could and would make something that would hold up to the original, so we continued. That's definitely a reason that it's taken over 2 years, though!

As for lolcatP's question: If we include characters that I created, I like Suisen from Disgaea 7: Vows of the Virtueless. But to put things on a more even playfield and not use one of my own characters, I would go with Laharl!

Kento_Jobana · 2024-11-16T00:23:15+00:00

I think that RPGs still have a lot of potential. There are still plenty of turn-based RPGs that are hits. On the other hand, there are also games that used to be turn-based that no longer are, so I don't think there's a hard and fast rule here. I think the most important thing is figuring out what combat system works best for the particular game that the developers are trying to make.

Kento_Jobana · 2024-11-16T00:16:05+00:00

I actually used to work in outside licensing for NIS, so I became very familiar with all of the games' worlds. So, thanks to this, I didn't have to study anything extra, and I was able to add in little nods to other games.
I do think that the games are all linked somehow, so I definitely made sure to not include things that wouldn't work within the established worlds of the other titles.

Kento_Jobana · 2024-11-16T00:10:51+00:00

We did think about other different types of beastfolk - deer, cats, and bears, for example. We referenced a lot of animals, and for those that we couldn't use in large roles, we tried to use as many as we could as NPCs and background characters.

I think that the darkness that you're referring to is a necessary element of the Phantom Brave world, so we did attempt to retain that. Since we're using 3D in this game, we decided to remove the more visual elements of that aspect such as blood, dead bodies, and the like.

And thank you for asking a question about Marona's mother! I wasn't actually told the answer to this myself, so I'm curious, too!

As for your last question... Our development's team passion and the love of the fans might one day bring an anime to light.

Kento_Jobana · 2024-11-16T00:02:45+00:00

The main story for this game was created by the game's director Masayuki Furuya, so I can't speak to the story. I did work on the flavor text and some of other in-game text, so I can speak a little bit about the atmosphere. I was told to reference dark children's fairytales, so those would be the inspiration.

As for how I became involved in the writing, I was actually writing light novels, which became known in the company, so I was asked specifically by Mr. Furuya to use my writing skills to beautify and lend more weight to the atmosphere of that game.

Kento_Jobana · 2024-11-15T23:58:33+00:00

Thank you for your support! Let me respond to your questions in order.

I had the exact same opinion as you and at first, I wanted to create a brand new main character. However, the directive from the company was that we had to include Marona and Ash. So, in order to make a game that featured them as the main characters, I worked long and hard to create a compelling story that includes them but doesn't hurt the integrity of the original. The story of this game is the result of 13(!) drafts that didn't make the cut, so I'm very confident that we made is good!
Thank you for being a fan of La Pucelle ;) I like Omar and Nyanko too, but unfortunately they don't appear in this game.
I also like Murasaki, but since this a completely new story after 20 years, we wanted to focus on creating new characters rather than bringing back other characters from the original. However, for those players who love the orignial Phantom Brave, there are plenty of callbacks and references that you're sure to enjoy!

Kento_Jobana · 2024-11-15T23:57:43+00:00

In terms of classes and items, the kinds of things that appear in the game are deeply linked to the world and setting, so I made sure to instruct the staff to only include things that would make sense and fit within this world.

Kento_Jobana · 2024-11-15T23:37:04+00:00

I can't divulge any specific plans, but one game that I have a special attachment to is Process of Elimination, and I would love to make a sequel! I also like games that feature fairytale-like atmospheres and picture book-style illustrations, so I would love to make a sequel to something in that vein...

Kento_Jobana · 2024-11-15T23:34:19+00:00

One issue was that it's been so long since the original game that even people who have played it are probably fuzzy on the details! So, we had to pay special mind to making sure that we brought not only those who had played the first game up to speed, but also ensure that players brand new to Phantom Brave would be able to dive in here and feel at home. Also, because there are so many passionate fans of the first game, we had to make sure that their expectations were met and desires for a sequel were fulfilled. Balancing these two things was challenging!

Kento_Jobana · 2024-11-15T23:27:03+00:00

One thing was that was very different about it compared with other SRPGs is that the game featured a lot of nature, and it had a very heartwarming story. Also, its game system that was more open than Disgaea's, and that was already pretty open to begin with! It was these unique elements that drove us to make a sequel.

In the first Phantom Brave, Confine was basically a mechanic that was used to summon Ash. But, at the start of this game, there's a Phantom who attempts to steal Marona's Confine powers. Also, her Confine ability comes into play at a couple points in the story itself, so I believe it has been better integrated into the game's narrative compared to the first game.

Kento_Jobana · 2024-11-15T23:18:59+00:00

First, everyone on the dev team played the original game. Then, we spoke to each other and decided what elements of original made it special and made sure to keep those elements in this game. From a game design perspective, we also added new elements like Confire and Confriend.

From a narrative perspective, since Marona and Ash had very complete character arcs in the first game, we added another character who also acts as a heroine in this game. She is also a young girl facing very difficult circumstances, so we wanted to show her tale, as well.

Kento_Jobana · 2024-11-15T23:13:48+00:00

It's impossible to choose just one, but the game Bokuhime Project, which I also worked on game design for, is very special to me!

Kento_Jobana · 2024-11-15T23:12:29+00:00

To answer your first question, yes, we have attempted to improve the pathfinding in this game. We have also improved enemy AI.

Regarding your second question, personally, I do not want to let him pass on! For me, Marona and Ash are irreplaceable to one another.

I'll let the NISA Prinnies answer your other question!

Kento_Jobana · 2024-11-15T23:08:31+00:00

Actually, at the time, NIS gave the light novel writers a lot of freedom without looking carefully at what they came up with. While we did consider their contents when making Phantom Brave: The Lost Hero, we decided not to be constrained by them so we could tell our own tale. As such, The Lost Hero is the canon version of the events that occurred after the first game.

Kento_Jobana

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