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Mistwalker/Sakaguchi announcing 2 games June 22, teaser images [Up: 1 for mobile/PC]

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Wow. Sony said they have an announcement about a beloved Japanese creator who lost his way chasing the mobile yen coming back to PS4 in a big way. The suggestion that it might be Gooch was shot down earlier since we knew about the mobile game... but the other game might be i-...

... nah, they'll both be mobile. You know, Zael, you really were the Last Story.

That was TLS: Epilogue, and people obviously want a sequel that looks and plays like the original.

Totally this, both will probably sadly be mobile. But yeah, that quote does kind of fit Sakaguchi lol.

But indeed him finally making another console game I don't really have any hope for sadly, even after the year of dreams from Sony.

Wish he'd give a PS4 JRPG game a shot though even though it pretty much likely won't happen and he'll likely just stay on mobile now. :(
 
Anyone who thinks Sakaguchi is "chasing mobile money" has no idea what the fuck they are talking about. Sorry.

Eh, he may not be "chasing mobile money", nor does he need to, like you said, but as many have said, as lovers of his bigger games, he's still among those who have "lost their way to mobile".

Though I'm sure his Japanese audience doesn't mind since they are huge on mobile anyway.
 

duckroll

Member
Eh, he may not be "chasing mobile money", nor does he need to, like you said, but as many have said, as lovers of his bigger games, he's still among those who have "lost their way to mobile".

Though I'm sure his Japanese audience doesn't mind since they are huge on mobile anyway.

How has he lost his way when he continues to put in serious effort into making games people love to play, and by his choice of platform he has reached a larger audience than any of his previous Mistwalker games? It's such an arrogant and narrow minded thing to say. It's not just a Japanese audience. All Mistwalker mobile games are available in multiple languages. Terra Battle is available in more languages than Blue Dragon, Lost Odyssey, or The Last Story ever were. But I'm sure you're not aware of that.

Here's the reality: creators live to express themselves and share their art with people who appreciate it. If there is such a huge market for big Mistwalker console games to justify getting hundreds of contractors involved and working with publishers willing to invest millions, there would be more of them. You know why there isn't more of them? Because the reality is that people don't want that. Mobile allows Mistwalker to actually develop games themselves and there's a really fast feedback loop that helps them iterate and improve on fan feedback, making the games better and better.

Watching "hardcore gamers" on this forum throw shade at developers who have moved on from their platforms because there was no support for it, and implying that they sold out or lost their way is hilarious. They didn't lost their way, they just realized where their audiences are. Meanwhile people like you sit in a corner with 10 other people cursing into the sky. :p
 
Being a huge mobile game player for almost 3 years, i can said more mobile games nowadays is of quality title.

Hortensia Saga by Sega bring a great story(suikoden 2 or fire emblem level of stories) with great characters and great guild vs guild mechanic.

Soul Reverse Zero had beautiful arts with nice gameplay+ full story voice acting.

Shironeko Project had no stamina which allow u to play the game non stop.

And etc etc. U just need to actually be more open into trying those games lol.

I like how you played these.

DUCKROLL

Where is my compliment!!
 

Brazil

Living in the shadow of Amaz
Eh, he may not be "chasing mobile money", nor does he need to, like you said, but as many have said, as lovers of his bigger games, he's still among those who have "lost their way to mobile".

Though I'm sure his Japanese audience doesn't mind since they are huge on mobile anyway.
Posts like this are proof that GAF will die alongside traditional consoles.

Jesus Christ, people. This is supposed to be the most innovative branch of the entertainment industry, and we already have this kind of backwards-ass fear of change before completing half a century of history?

Open your goddamned tiny minds up. Ugh.
 
How has he lost his way when he continues to put in serious effort into making games people love to play, and by his choice of platform he has reached a larger audience than any of his previous Mistwalker games? It's such an arrogant and narrow minded thing to say. It's not just a Japanese audience. All Mistwalker mobile games are available in multiple languages. Terra Battle is available in more languages than Blue Dragon, Lost Odyssey, or The Last Story ever were. But I'm sure you're not aware of that.

Here's the reality: creators live to express themselves and share their art with people who appreciate it. If there is such a huge market for big Mistwalker console games to justify getting hundreds of contractors involved and working with publishers willing to invest millions, there would be more of them. You know why there isn't more of them? Because the reality is that people don't want that. Mobile allows Mistwalker to actually develop games themselves and there's a really fast feedback loop that helps them iterate and improve on fan feedback, making the games better and better.

Watching "hardcore gamers" on this forum throw shade at developers who have moved on from their platforms because there was no support for it, and implying that they sold out or lost their way is hilarious. They didn't lost their way, they just realized where their audiences are. Meanwhile people like you sit in a corner with 10 other people cursing into the sky. :p

I definitely don't think people not wanting anything large scale from Sakaguchi is that cut and dry. Last gen was also particularly tough for the genre as whole as well.

Why would I not be aware of that? I downloaded Terra Battle as well.

Sakaguchi himself even on several occasions talked about bringing Terra Battle to console, so it's not like he's not thought about console too.

10 other people? A lot of people still want him to make some console games too and not only just mobile games. I don't think it's overly selfish as long as people don't demand he totally stop making any of the mobile stuff he also wants to make as well. :D
 

duckroll

Member
I like how you played these.

DUCKROLL

Where is my compliment!!

*head pat*

I definitely don't think people not wanting anything large scale from Sakaguchi is that cut and dry. Last gen was also particularly tough for the genre as whole as well.

Why would I not be aware of that? I downloaded Terra Battle as well.

Sakaguchi himself even on several occasions talked about bringing Terra Battle to console, so it's not like he's not thought about console too.

10 other people? A lot of people still want him to make some console games too and not only just mobile games. I don't think it's overly selfish as long as people don't demand he totally stop making any of the mobile stuff he also wants to make as well. :D

No one said that Sakaguchi doesn't want to ever make a console game though. I'm sure he would be happy to. But is it practical to expect him to put in 10-20 million of his own money just to satisfy that desire from a fanbase who weren't there when it mattered? Why would he? Console development is expensive and managing 100+ people in a team is a huge task. Sakaguchi lives in Hawaii with his daughter. He flies back to Tokyo as required, but prefers the convenience of being able to work remotely with a small team he can trust completely.

The choice really isn't between him making mobile games or console games. It's a choice between him making mobile games because that's how he can get stuff out there for fans in a practical fashion, or not making games at all and just retiring. I'm sure he could, and we would be worse off for it without his benevolent grace.

If you want to look for people who really "lost their way" maybe you should go seek out the gamers who refused to support Mistwalker RPGs when they were on Xbox 360, Wii, and 3DS, while screaming that they would love to buy one for PS3 or PS4 or whatever. Or maybe you should look for the MS Japan managers who bailed out of the entire region, ending support for publishing games such as Blue Dragon and Lost Odyssey. Or you could look for the people in Nintendo of America who decided that despite having a completed localization and a ESRB rating for ASH, they didn't want to release it in English after all.

Those are the people who let down Mistwalker fans who want more console games. Not Sakaguchi. Not Mistwalker. The Gooch stays with us always. He has kept the faith. It was others who strayed from the light and fell into the abyss.
 
despite having a completed localization and a ESRB rating for ASH, they didn't want to release it in English after all.

ASH had a full localization ready? Well, that sucks to learn, I was looking forward to that game...

Posts like this are proof that GAF will die alongside traditional consoles.

Jesus Christ, people. This is supposed to be the most innovative branch of the entertainment industry, and we already have this kind of backwards-ass fear of change before completing half a century of history?

Open your goddamned tiny minds up. Ugh.

Some are good but as has been pointed out before the vast majority are still really bad and also exploitative.

Maybe you should take that up with many game makers as well, and maybe before gamers, then because a lot of them still talk about the problems with mobile (and the mobile marketplace) and what PC/console enable them to be able to do beyond mobile capabilities.
 

theofficefan99

Junior Member
Craving a game with the atmosphere and writing (minus Gongora) of Lost Odyssey, and the battle system (with a better camera) of The Last Story. Hope he gets enough revenue from mobile games to one day make an amazing console RPG.
 

Byvar

Member
Anyone who thinks Sakaguchi is "chasing mobile money" has no idea what the fuck they are talking about. Sorry.
Blame the Sony exec who said it first. I know about Gooch's situation and don't think he "lost his way" or is "chasing mobile money" at all. I don't think anyone is throwing shade at him for that. It's a narrow-minded thing to say about just about any developer (of the kind that people like), since very few choose mobile over console if console is still a good option. So since no one really fits, I think you can simplify the quote to "beloved Japanese console game developer who only develops on mobile now" which does fit Gooch.

If you want to look for people who really "lost their way" maybe you should go seek out the gamers who refused to support Mistwalker RPGs when they were on Xbox 360, Wii, and 3DS.
Those are the people who let down Mistwalker fans who want more console games.
I wonder if things would have been different had Mistwalker been funded by Sony instead of Microsoft.
Regardless I think the publishers are more to blame for not marketing the games at all. The only game that received 1 good English commercial (though I never saw it, must've been NA only) was Lost Odyssey, and unsurprisingly that ended up being their most popular console game. The Last Story had one too, but that commercial was really badly made.
And of course, we also have those reviewers to blame who criticized Blue Dragon and Lost Odyssey for being too traditional or who preferred the big empty world of Xenoblade to the smaller, more detailed levels of The Last Story.

Jesus Christ, people. This is supposed to be the most innovative branch of the entertainment industry, and we already have this kind of backwards-ass fear of change before completing half a century of history?
Open your goddamned tiny minds up. Ugh.
"I like mobile games and my opinion is absolute so people who don't should just open their goddamned tiny minds up." People don't want mobile games not because of the platform but because a lot of them suck.

Although Terra Battle is alright, I think it isn't as good as Gooch's console games. I played Terra Battle until like chapter 20, but it got so tiresome that I dropped it even though I was quite a big fan of the music.
The story was terribly paced compared to his console work: every chapter until then was a collection of "one subchapter of story -> many subchapters of 'uh oh, an enemy!' -> one subchapter of story".
The combat system was cool, but looked and felt like playing a board game on a screen, which is disappointing for those who like being immersed in the world and combat.
I thought the art was alright though less inspired than in their previous work.
Still, I appreciate he's still developing games, and I would welcome a mobile game if it addressed these flaws and was more immersive (add exploration!). Basically more like a traditional RPG, or something new.
 

Fdkn

Member
It's not console gamers fault that Sakaguchi used the console version bait to lure them to Terra Battle. I donwloaded the game, played a bit and realized I have a thousand games elsewhere I'd rather be playing because mobile is not even convenient for me. My phone is a work tool and games drain too much battery also.

I understand him going mobile and enjoying small teams, but for me that makes him irrelevant as I am not interested in playing those type of experiences. I guess the correct choice would be to not post at all in the thread tho, as that is what I usually do with things I don't have an interest in.
 
Blame the Sony exec who said it first. I know about Gooch's situation and don't think he "lost his way" or is "chasing mobile money" at all. I don't think anyone is throwing shade at him for that. It's a narrow-minded thing to say about just about any developer (of the kind that people like), since very few choose mobile over console if console is still a good option. So since no one really fits, I think you can simplify the quote to "beloved Japanese console game developer who only develops on mobile now" which does fit Gooch.


I wonder if things would have been different had Mistwalker been funded by Sony instead of Microsoft.
Regardless I think the publishers are more to blame for not marketing the games at all. The only game that received 1 good English commercial (though I never saw it, must've been NA only) was Lost Odyssey, and unsurprisingly that ended up being their most popular console game. The Last Story had one too, but that commercial was really badly made.
And of course, we also have those reviewers to blame who criticized Blue Dragon and Lost Odyssey for being too traditional or who preferred the big empty world of Xenoblade to the smaller, more detailed levels of The Last Story.


"I like mobile games and my opinion is absolute so people who don't should just open their goddamned tiny minds up." People don't want mobile games not because of the platform but because a lot of them suck.

Although Terra Battle is alright, I think it isn't as good as Gooch's console games. I played Terra Battle until like chapter 20, but it got so tiresome that I dropped it even though I was quite a big fan of the music.
The story was terribly paced compared to his console work: every chapter until then was a collection of "one subchapter of story -> many subchapters of 'uh oh, an enemy!' -> one subchapter of story".
The combat system was cool, but looked and felt like playing a board game on a screen, which is disappointing for those who like being immersed in the world and combat.
I thought the art was alright though less inspired than in their previous work.
Still, I appreciate he's still developing games, and I would welcome a mobile game if it addressed these flaws and was more immersive (add exploration!). Basically more like a traditional RPG, or something new.

Well said Byvar.

Craving a game with the atmosphere and writing (minus Gongora) of Lost Odyssey, and the battle system (with a better camera) of The Last Story. Hope he gets enough revenue from mobile games to one day make an amazing console RPG.

.
 

Byvar

Member
Girl from the first screenshot is the same as girl from this old January 2016 reveal:
http://www.siliconera.com/2016/01/27/mistwalker-shares-look-concept-art-unannounced-game/

It was color swapped but it's the exact same dress hairstyle.

I believe Sakaguchi mentionned a new world view, I doubt this is Terra Battle.
Hmm, nicely spotted, but I still think it's Terra Battle. The characters are super colorful and have crazy attachments, exactly like Terra Battle, and the dragon thing also looks like Terra Battle's dragons.
I don't know, I just feel like the older art has a different style, a different feel to it somehow. It feels like the old art for The Last World:
lSmlxgQ.jpg

By the way, now that I look at the teaser images in the OP again...

... I literally just noticed these are not 2D artworks but 3D images that may even be in-game (there's aliasing)!! Holy shit, it looks exactly like Fujisaka's art style, that second image especially. So these are the results of them trying to replicate 2D art in 3D as Gooch said last year... I'm both amazed and kind of afraid because my phone can't handle 3D, especially not on this level. If this turns out to be mobile though I'll get a super powerful one just for this!
 

Byvar

Member
Forgive the double post, but it seems Sakaguchi just confirmed his next project (the one he showed pictures for) is for iOS, Android and PC.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nOhpZra6cMg#t=53m35s (starting at 53:35)
Seems like they had a good laugh at people thinking they'd be showing The Last Story 2 at E3, too.

He is keeping his other announcement a surprise for the 22nd.

From my limited Japanese it also looks like he said Uematsu completed the main theme for the next project, confirming that he is composing. He also played that theme (or another song from the game): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nOhpZra6cMg#t=56m42s (starting at 56:42). The video is titled "HighSky_remix", confirming that this game is either Terra Battle 2 or a game set in that universe.
Make sure to keep watching, as the video also shows some new pictures from the game (starting at the 1 hour mark). As I said before, they contain 3D models and there's aliasing to be seen, so I think they are screenshots. Which I think is amazing, they look like actual Fujisaka artwork!
 

synce

Member
Second pic reminds me of the cancelled Cry On. It's practically guaranteed to be mobile though if Sakaguchi's hinting at it instead of having a major reveal.
 

Tall4Life

Member
June 22 is the NBA draft, so the most plausible explanation is that they're announcing a basketball game with characters of The Last Story.
 
Lost Odyssey was better than any Final Fantasy after FFX, and one of the best JRPGs of all time imo. Blue Dragon was a nice breath of fresh air, but sadly Xbox ppl didn't really support either games.

Blue Dragon got middling reviews and what sales figure for a JRPG counts as "showing support"? LO sold over 200k copies in its na debut so it's not like this was some Phantom Dust game that nobody bought or played.
 
If you wanted console Gooch, you should have bought BD, LO, and TLS. BD and LO were enormous productions and good to great games.
 
None of Mistwalker games consoles efforts never did all to well guys.

Dream is deader than Pokemon Stars.

They just need to make a last big go at a big console game, put their all into it like it's do or die time for them to realize their dreams...

..a final fantasy, if you will.
 

Mar Nosso

Banned
How has he lost his way when he continues to put in serious effort into making games people love to play, and by his choice of platform he has reached a larger audience than any of his previous Mistwalker games? It's such an arrogant and narrow minded thing to say. It's not just a Japanese audience. All Mistwalker mobile games are available in multiple languages. Terra Battle is available in more languages than Blue Dragon, Lost Odyssey, or The Last Story ever were. But I'm sure you're not aware of that.

Here's the reality: creators live to express themselves and share their art with people who appreciate it. If there is such a huge market for big Mistwalker console games to justify getting hundreds of contractors involved and working with publishers willing to invest millions, there would be more of them. You know why there isn't more of them? Because the reality is that people don't want that. Mobile allows Mistwalker to actually develop games themselves and there's a really fast feedback loop that helps them iterate and improve on fan feedback, making the games better and better.

Watching "hardcore gamers" on this forum throw shade at developers who have moved on from their platforms because there was no support for it, and implying that they sold out or lost their way is hilarious. They didn't lost their way, they just realized where their audiences are. Meanwhile people like you sit in a corner with 10 other people cursing into the sky. :p

Doesn't matter how hard you justify his current choices or however many players are exposed to Terra Batlle. The fact of the matter is that his console work was iconic and defined a generation, if not two. His mobile work doesn't.

People want a return to glory. And mobile isn't the way.
 

Spman2099

Member
Despite the praise some have for Lost Odyssey here, I don't feel like Mistwalker ever followed through on their potential. I hope this unannounced game is for consoles. I hope Sakaguchi is writing and directing it. And, most importantly, I hope Sakaguchi remembers what made his SNES games great.

I expect very little, I but I am hoping that Sakaguchi can establish himself once again.
 
Despite the praise some have for Lost Odyssey here, I don't feel like Mistwalker ever followed through on their potential. I hope this unannounced game is for consoles. I hope Sakaguchi is writing and directing it. And, most importantly, I hope Sakaguchi remembers what made his SNES games great.

I expect very little, I but I am hoping that Sakaguchi can establish himself once again.
Personally I think Blue Dragon is their best game.
 
Doesn't matter how hard you justify his current choices or however many players are exposed to Terra Batlle. The fact of the matter is that his console work was iconic and defined a generation, if not two. His mobile work doesn't.

People want a return to glory. And mobile isn't the way.

Boom. Why don't more here get this?
 

Ryukori

Member
I'm expecting a console game since they reached a tier that if a certain number of people downloaded the game, they would work on a Terra Battle console game.
 

Yjynx

Member
Doesn't matter how hard you justify his current choices or however many players are exposed to Terra Batlle. The fact of the matter is that his console work was iconic and defined a generation, if not two. His mobile work doesn't.

People want a return to glory. And mobile isn't the way.
Kind of agree on this. I think some people just wants to go back to that glorious console era....

Edit: damn I missed those times...
 

Zeta Oni

Member
Boom. Why don't more here get this?

Doesn't matter how hard you justify his current choices or however many players are exposed to Terra Batlle. The fact of the matter is that his console work was iconic and defined a generation, if not two. His mobile work doesn't.

People want a return to glory. And mobile isn't the way.

I can fully understand wanting to see the man return to the type of games that made his name mean what it does today. I'd personally love to see another LO, or the revival of Cry On.

That said, it does not matter what people "want". If he wants to make mobile games, that is his choice and I'm not sure why its so hard to respect it and move on, even for the most hardcore out there.

A fans disappointment doesn't outweigh the creators desires.

Lost Odyssey and Blue Dragon are both available digitally and backwards compatible now, so at the very least, those games aren't going anywhere.
 

antibolo

Banned
Posts like this are proof that GAF will die alongside traditional consoles.

Jesus Christ, people. This is supposed to be the most innovative branch of the entertainment industry, and we already have this kind of backwards-ass fear of change before completing half a century of history?

Open your goddamned tiny minds up. Ugh.

It's just exploitative gacha crap, not innovation.
 

Byvar

Member
Two BGMs of their next game released on Mistwalker's YouTube channel.

New Title A: Main Theme

New Title A: BGM1
This is great! I'd heard them before and I knew the first was the main theme for the new title, but I had no idea BGM1 was for the new title too. It sounds awesome, atmospheric and pretty different from Uematsu's usual stuff, but he's still recognizeable. Can't wait for the 22nd!

I guess "Mistwalker New Title A" confirms that there are indeed 2 new titles.
 

Rmagnus

Banned
How has he lost his way when he continues to put in serious effort into making games people love to play, and by his choice of platform he has reached a larger audience than any of his previous Mistwalker games? It's such an arrogant and narrow minded thing to say. It's not just a Japanese audience. All Mistwalker mobile games are available in multiple languages. Terra Battle is available in more languages than Blue Dragon, Lost Odyssey, or The Last Story ever were. But I'm sure you're not aware of that.

Here's the reality: creators live to express themselves and share their art with people who appreciate it. If there is such a huge market for big Mistwalker console games to justify getting hundreds of contractors involved and working with publishers willing to invest millions, there would be more of them. You know why there isn't more of them? Because the reality is that people don't want that. Mobile allows Mistwalker to actually develop games themselves and there's a really fast feedback loop that helps them iterate and improve on fan feedback, making the games better and better.

Watching "hardcore gamers" on this forum throw shade at developers who have moved on from their platforms because there was no support for it, and implying that they sold out or lost their way is hilarious. They didn't lost their way, they just realized where their audiences are. Meanwhile people like you sit in a corner with 10 other people cursing into the sky. :p

Preach! Never understood the logic of shitting on mobile or handhelds. Good games are good games no matter the platform
 

MilkBeard

Member
Forgive the double post, but it seems Sakaguchi just confirmed his next project (the one he showed pictures for) is for iOS, Android and PC.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nOhpZra6cMg#t=53m35s (starting at 53:35)
Seems like they had a good laugh at people thinking they'd be showing The Last Story 2 at E3, too.

He is keeping his other announcement a surprise for the 22nd.

Releasing (and possibly keeping in mind) on PC is a good hybrid/next step. I liked Terra Battle, but my interest in playing games on my phone is pretty low. I would like to play Mistwalker games on PC if possible. It will be interesting to see how Terra Battle 2 improves on the formula.

As for the second project, it will be interesting to see. I can't help but get myself hyped for the possibility, even though I should know better and brace for disappointment.

At some point they will be coming out with a full-fledged console/PC Terra Battle, that is, if they keep their word from the download goals.
 
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