An interview with the producer of “Rune Factory Dragon World” revealed that the number of characters you can interact with this time is the largest in history

“Rune Factory Dragon World” developed by Marvelous was displayed at the Nintendo booth at the Taipei Game Show. Development director Shiro Maekawa not only held a signing event, but also accepted interviews from Taiwanese media, giving us a glimpse of the game. Every detail.

The protagonist will embark on a journey to save Dongguo as an earth dancer. The stage of the story is set in the eastern country “East Kingdom”. The Eastern Kingdom was once hit by the past disaster “The Fall of the Dragon Star”, which caused the earth to be destroyed, the runes (the energy of the earth) to dry up, and the gods who control nature to disappear without a trace.

The protagonist who has lost his memory is an “Earth Dancer” and is tasked with saving the world through the power of “dance”. In order to protect the lives of the residents of the Eastern Kingdom and restore the gradually disappearing nature, the protagonist will embark on an adventure journey to find the lost gods together with his good friend “Mokorong”.

The protagonists of this game are “Subaru” and “Kaguya”. Players can choose one of them to play at the beginning of the game. In addition, “Mokorong” as a partner will play a guiding role in the adventure, assisting the protagonist on various occasions.

The protagonist must revitalize the land of the Eastern Kingdom by developing villages, whether it is planting, opening waterways, waterwheels, and building residences for residents. This time, villagers can assign tasks to villagers, such as asking them to sow seeds, or asking villagers to forge iron, etc. to build their own lives.

The protagonist of this game has the special ability of the “Earth Dancer”, one of which is to use “dance” to stimulate the power hidden in the “artifact”. It can be used to attack or manage. For example, Umbrella Dance can be used to water water, or it can cause water-based attacks on monsters. Captured monsters can be produced and killed, and those with four legs can also be ridden.

In daily life, you can engage in fishing, cooking and other activities, and enjoy every day freely. In addition, through “Adventure and Life”, you will meet a variety of characters. Once you’ve connected with them, you can go on adventures together or ask them out on a date. If the relationship becomes closer, there is still a chance of getting married.

There are up to 16 characters in love this time, the most in history. They are also fully voiced. You can have children after getting married. Same-sex marriage is also supported. The two protagonists can also develop a romantic relationship with each other. Among the new characters, Pilika and Zhui Lan will appear in the main plot and can also join the team, but the romance plot is in the DLC.

The following is the content of this interview

Q: The UI and art style are different from the past, reminding people of modern mobile games. Are there any references to current mobile games in this part?

A: This time the UI design hopes to be more concise, so the UI is relatively simplified so that players can fully experience the world view. This gives everyone a more modern feel, but it is not specifically designed for mobile games.

Q: Are there any new elements in agriculture this time?

A: This time in terms of agriculture and life elements, village development is the main system. Farmers can have semi-automated systems, such as watering and fertilizing, and can also conduct mining and run shops, allowing them to live their own lives. In addition, the protagonist this time is the Earth Dancer, who can harvest, sow, and water a large number of crops at once, making these operations more convenient and efficient.

Q: Feina from the fifth generation is also a target to be captured this time. How will the childhood sweetheart in his hometown feel?

A: In this game, everyone can see the grown-up Feina. Feina and Julian are childhood sweethearts. Through the deepening of the relationship with Feina, you can see some of Julian’s current situation and the situation in his hometown.

Q: The map seems to be larger this time. Are you confident in the performance of Switch?

A: We have shown the actual screen of Switch, and some players are indeed worried. We have done a lot of reflection on optimization, and believe that the loading speed and performance can satisfy players.

Q: How did you come up with the new dance elements this time? Are there any rules?

A: We have put a lot of thought into how to show the protagonist’s abilities in the Japanese-style world this time. In the past, it has always been the power of the Earth Bond. The Japanese pronunciation of “Earth Bond” is very close to that of a dancer. It is derived from this homophony. Come on, Japanese Noh drama and so on also have many elements of dance, so I chose to use earth dancers to present it.

Q: How many types of dance are there? Will there be any DLC added?

A: Currently, there are several categories announced. In addition to the currently announced ones, there are also some that have not been released. Please continue to pay attention. As for the dance itself, there are currently no plans to add it through DLC.

Q: In addition to dance, what other important elements can you share?

A: The main system this time is indeed the village development part. In addition, in the battle part, the team can have up to 6 people. This time the number of characters is the largest ever. I hope to have various interactions and adventures with the characters, so the upper limit has been added.

Q: This Dongguo series seems different from previous series. Why do you want to design it with an oriental theme?

A: Marvelous has received a lot of good responses for products such as “Amaho no Saki Inahime”, so we also hope to make more use of Japanese elements in the future. This is one of the reasons for choosing an oriental theme. In addition, the latest main story is under development. We hope to have a new work to make new attempts and use our experience in the new main story, so we switched to the Eastern worldview as a new beginning.

Q: Which parts do you want to try here?

A: We want to try some new methods. For example, crop harvests are scattered one by one, which will be very inconvenient in operation. This time, they can be collected at once, which will provide a more comfortable game experience. We also hope to have new ones. Players can come into contact with this series, making the game more accessible and in line with modern operating methods, and the extra props do not need to be placed in the warehouse one by one.

In addition, it was mentioned on the Japanese live broadcast that this dialogue did not have vertical drawings, which is also something we want to try. The cooking system has also become more convenient. Some fans of the Rune Factory series hope that there will be a lot of procedures and processes in cooking. However, our series is getting longer and longer, and the system is getting larger and larger, so it is not very friendly to novices. , so I hope newbies can get started with the entire game process more quickly.

Q: The character design gap this time is very different from the past. Why? If there is no vertical painting this time, where will the illustration appear?

A: Dragon World can become a new beginning and transition. I hope to put aside the established impression, so I chose a new character design. The cancellation of vertical paintings was mentioned in the program. Because of the advancement of 3D modules, emotions and sorrows can be expressed very well. This will make vertical paintings become too much information on the screen, so it was cancelled. Therefore, players are in some situations. The vertical paintings seen on promotional materials will not appear in the game.

Q: Can I change my love partner after I decide on one?

A: This time, once a partner has been decided on the system, it cannot be canceled. However, just like in the past, if you are already in a relationship with A and are interested in B, you can also develop a romantic relationship with B.

Q: Can same-sex couples get married?

A: Yes, and there are no conditions to be fulfilled. You can get married right from the beginning. Some players are looking forward to this, but some players think it is not necessary. Therefore, the flow of the script has also been adjusted. In the past, you had to get married before you could understand the little secrets of the characters. But this time, a bond mission system has been added. Once you solve it, you can know the secret of this character and use it to decide whether it is the marriage relationship you want.

Q: It is mentioned in the plot that the other protagonist who has not been chosen will become an NPC or even a love interest. Will the role of the character be similar to that of other NPCs? Or will it weigh more than other NPCs?

A: The other one is the same as the other love candidates, but because he is the protagonist, he will have a deeper relationship with the main plot.

Q: I just mentioned that love partners can be plural, but there should be only one marriage partner, right?

A: Yes, although there can be many boats, only one can get married.

Q: How long will this main process take? How long does it take to complete all elements?

It takes about 40 to 50 hours to simply clear the main line. After clearing the main line this time, there are post-clearance elements that you can continue to play. Including the previous bonding elements, the game time is about 100 hours.

Q: Are life-related game systems such as fishing and cooking also integrated with Japanese systems?

A: We have made more detailed adjustments in this series of works. You can choose whether to focus on ordinary rice or glutinous rice. We also made some menu adjustments based on Japanese elements.

Q: Is it necessary to develop the village system? Can players who are not good at it progress smoothly through the game?

A: Because it is related to the plot, there will be some minimum things to do during development. These will be carried out in the form of tutorials, so players who are not good at it can proceed smoothly as long as they follow the tutorials. Although it doesn’t have to be very fancy, the more prosperous the village is, the stronger the protagonist will be. I hope everyone can use this system to experience the game.

Q: The monsters this time are a little different from last time. Can the monsters be restrained to work in this game?

A: I haven’t done a very detailed calculation on the number of monsters, but it’s probably similar to “Rune 5”. However, there will be some unique Japanese monsters and legendary monsters added to the lineup. As for the charge restraint, there is no similar one. system, but AI has become much smarter than in the past, so we can let them assist us in combat and life without doing much.

Q: Are there any rideable and command monsters this time, including boss-level monsters? What will be the conditions for obtaining it?

A: The riding monster is somewhat different from previous works in that it must have four legs. The capture of BOSS monsters is similar to “Rune 5”.

Q: Does having children include same-sex marriage?

A: This time, just like Runewu, you can have children. As for the performance, we will use it in a traditional Japanese cultural way, so please look forward to it.

Q: Will the plot be a little different when protagonists of different genders go to different places to express same-sex plots?

A: The general direction of the love plot is the same, but the two have different personalities, so the communication with other characters will be slightly different.

In the end, Maekawa Shiro said: “This is my opinion as a Japanese. Taiwan is a very close place to Japan, both geographically and culturally. I don’t know what the Eastern elements this time will mean to Taiwan and Hong Kong players. It’s not that friendly, the game will be released in four months, I hope everyone can support it.”

“Rune Factory Dragon World” will be launched on Switch and Steam on May 30.