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Fantastic interview with some of the most durable shmup devs in the business.
Founded in 1988, Alfa System is one of the oldest developers in the business.
Alfa System celebrated it's 30th Anniversary on June 2018 with Sisters Royale in Japan which is now available on Nintendo Switch and PS4. Being one of the oldest Development Studios in the business, they have quite a portfoliobuilt up.
In celebration to the recent release of Sisters Royale we had the opportunity to ask Alfa System 10 questions! Some of them are from Fans of their works.
A: It’s been a long time since we released the original version of ‘Shikigami no Shiro’. In fact, it’s long enough for the babies who were born in the year ‘Shikigami no Shiro’ was released to have come of age as fully grown adults! So, it’s not surprising that there are many who have never heard of ‘Shikigami no Shiro’ series. We will be delighted to reintroduce the game to the old fans and will be honoured to bring the series to the new players. It will be amazing if there will be an opportunity to port all games to current platforms, for example as ‘Shikigami no Shiro: Complete Set’.
- What are your thoughts on bringing the Castle of Shikigami Series to modern Platforms, including “Shikigami no Shiro Nanayozuki Gensoukyoku” (Consoles & PC)
Castle of Shikigami was re-released on Steam in 2017, including a rebalancing DLC called Evolution. The first game was instrumental in the evolutionary success of the second game.A: Unfortunately, there is no project planned for ‘Shikigami no Shiro 4’ right now. The scale of ‘Shikigami no Shiro’ series has grown so much that we won’t be able to publish ourselves. It will require a partner who could support us in developing the series. That said, we remain hopeful. I’m convinced that we could offer amazing experience and gameplay if we were to develop the game on current consoles. Let’s wish for the day when we can develop ‘Shikigami no Shiro 4’ . It will be fantastic. We’ll think about the path branching if we could develop the game.
- Will there be a Castle of Shikigami 4? (Gameplay Request: All characters + Path branching alá Tohou)
The whole interview is great, still hoping they publish Shikigami 2 on Steam one day, with a proper translation.
Question from Geraint Evans (Head of PQube Publishing) as a Fan, obviously:
He praises you for making “loads of excellent games”! Loves Phantasy Star Portable 2 in particular.
A: Great to hear that you like ‘Phantasy Star Portable 2’!
- After Sisters Royale, which genre have you put your eyes on? RPG, Shoot’em Up or something different?
Personally, I love shoot ‘em up, so this will be a great genre to develop, but RPG with some action elements similar to ‘Phantasy Star Portable 2’ will be amazing as well. Or perhaps, an action RPG that are like ‘Tales of the World’ series. I’m also interested in developing a hybrid RPG that mixes elements from Shoot ‘em up, rogue, and treasure hunt.
They especially seem sad that Oreshika and Gunparade March were never localized.
‘Gunparade March’ (PS) was the game that made us who we are. We became the known entity within Japan, and there were many passionate fans who travelled to Kumamoto to visit where the game is based. We still have fans who send us flowers for the birthdays of their favourite characters.[/quote]
‘Gunparade March’ may not be well known internationally, but this is the signature title for Alfa System in Japan. It is a simulation game set in high school where students fight with the incoming enemies as part of their school life. AI-controlled NPC’s activities make this a unique game, and I haven’t encountered a game like this to this day.
‘Sisters Royale’ is a title that was released to mark our company’s 30th anniversary. For those who know ‘Shikigami no Shiro’, it should be a title reminiscence of the old game with new story and characters. The game is designed for all players, including the fans of Shoot ‘em up, and easier mode for those who have never played this genre. We’ve prepared an online leaderboard for everyone to challenge for the world number one, so hope you stand up to our challenge.
Going forward, we’ll continue to develop games in multiple genres and worlds. We haven’t decided on our next title, but we are convinced that it will be great fun.