_{Interviewers: Brian Lee, Theodore Mak
Photos by: Brian Lee}

T-ONO: What are your thoughts about the convention so far?

Kimura: There are a lot of attendees and Japanese content here, and it looks like everyone’s having a good time. There also seems to be more game-related companies than in previous years with a lot of gaming demo stations and kiosks. I think game-related events and content at Anime Expo will continue to increase.

T-ONO: Based on crowds around your booth, Granblue Fantasy is clearly very popular outside of Japan. The game is a bit difficult to access for international players. Can you tell us a little about the reasons why the game hasn't been released in international stores?

Kimura: Granblue was originally intended to be Japan-only.  One of the issues we’re facing are the requirements for Google Play and iTunes releases.  We haven't quite gotten around to hashing that out and making an official international release.

T-ONO: How has the international community’s feedback shaped the game?

Fukuhara: We receive feedback from our Japanese players and recently from our international fans. We don’t separate the feedback. We get feedback like, “The game is amazing, please add this or that feature.” We consider all feedback as long as it’s something constructive that we can work with. We don’t get much feedback on the story or game mechanics, but we do get feedback on balancing. We read all feedback and criticism equally. 

T-ONO: The game has been out for about five years now.  What technical challenges have you had to overcome?

Kimura: From the very beginning, we redesigned and rebuilt a lot of things. The number of characters that you could bring into a fight was initially limited but now that limit has been removed. We also added several quality-of-life features like skipping redundant animations and actions. There was a lot of refining and behind-the-scenes work done to change certain game mechanics. For example, the battle effects are different now from how they were in the beginning.

Fukuhara: There are a lot of things that are not apparent to the player like the compression of code which helps reduce data usage and keep network traffic smooth.  We're able to do bigger things but use almost the same amount of data thanks to that. All of the improvements are possible only because of the technological improvements developed over the years. 

T-ONO: It’s been a while since we’ve heard of any updates on Granblue Fantasy: Relink. Is there any information that you can share about the timeline or the current production status of the game?

Kimura: There’s not much we can share right now but please don’t worry.  We are making solid progress in Relink’s development.

T-ONO: Switching to Cygames’ other console title, can you tell us how involved Cygames is in the development of Granblue Fantasy Versus?

Fukuhara: Arc System Works is developing the battle system and Cygames handles the character design and story/scenario writing. Cygames is also working on the textures and animations. 

T-ONO: The roster shown so far is relatively limited, are there any characters that you would like to see in the game?

Kimura: Honestly, if there was any particular character that I wanted to see, they would be included in the game without question. [laughs]

T-ONO: Finally, a message you would like to say to your fans in the US?

Kimura: Granblue: Fantasy Versus is designed to be a fighting game that both fighting game beginners and advanced players can enjoy. If you are familiar with the Granblue Fantasy universe, you’ll enjoy it even more. But even if you don’t, we hope you will be able to enjoy the game. 

Fukuhara: Granblue Fantasy doesn’t have an official international release, but many people enjoy it which makes me thrilled. Adding the anime and Granblue: Fantasy Versus on top of that, helps us reach out to a new fan base while also letting the current fan base enjoy the Granblue universe even more. The original staff will keep working hard on developing the Granblue universe, so please continue to support us! 

^{Images: © Cygames, Inc. Developed by ARC SYSTEM WORKS}