Since its reveal at last summer’s Xbox Games Showcase, Game Freak’s newest venture, Beast of Reincarnation, has sparked both excitement and curiosity in equal measure. For the past few decades, Game Freak has firmly established its identity as the studio behind the Pokemon series; as such, the realistic-looking action-RPG marks a notable shift from the cartoonish creature-collection series.
In Beast of Reincarnation, players take on the role of Emma, a Purifier tasked with putting a stop to an ever-encroaching and life-threatening blight. Though this is no small task, she’s not alone; alongside Emma is her wolf-life companion, Koo, who aids her on her journey through an overgrown, post-apocalyptic Japan. In the game’s latest trailer, we saw a bit more about what exploration and combat will look like, and while you’ll still be issuing commands to a furry friend, the action-packed RPG is a far cry from what we’ve come to expect from Game Freak.
So, why the dramatic departure from the studio’s tried-and-true visual stylings and formula? That’s just one of the questions GameSpot got the chance to ask Beast of Reincarnation’s director, Kota Furushima. Ahead of the game’s August 4 release date, we spoke with Furushima about the challenges he’s experienced during production, what the game’s core message is, and why–despite the company’s long-standing relationship with Nintendo–Beast of Reincarnation is still not confirmed for Switch.
GameSpot: What are the core themes explored throughout Beast of Reincarnation’s narrative?
Kota Furushima: I think the biggest theme in the narrative of this title involves the companion character, Koo; it’s all about the relationship between [Koo] and the main character. This feeling of warmth–this feeling of having someone to rely on but also to experience loneliness with as well–they’re all important themes.
Emma, the main character, starts the game with no memories of who she is and no real emotions or feelings. So the player will kind of accompany Emma and Koo on their journey and see how she grows as a character thanks to this relationship.
There are quite a few games that feature a lone wonder and their animal companion traversing this desolate world with them. What do you think sets Beast of Reincarnation apart from other stories like this?
Furushima: What makes this game different is Koo is very deeply involved, not just in the narrative, but he actually fights alongside Emma and you can issue him commands, too. And at its core, [Best of Reincarnation] is an action RPG–there’s RPG elements. Koo can be temporarily defeated in the battle and you’ll feel this loneliness as a result of that. Their relationship is very much reinforced by the gameplay itself.
I assume, because of Game Freak’s legacy, there might be a real love of animals throughout the studio. Are there any real life relationships that you’ve had with a pet that have kind of guided this story?
Furushima: As a kid, I actually had two cats and both of them were very long-lived–16, 17 years old. I still have a lot of fond memories of them, and they were certainly on my mind when I’m working on this game.
Can you touch on the gameplay a little bit more? What are some of the things that you might be doing in this game as you explore this world?
Furushima: If we’re going to boil it down to its essence, there’s two main types of gameplay. First we’ll talk about battle and we’ll go to exploration after that.
At its core, [Beast of Reincarnation] is a real-time action game, so you’re fighting in real time like a typical action game, but the Koo element is quite different. With Koo, you actually issue commands to him like you would a more traditional RPG through a menu system. And you can issue those commands to him pretty much anytime in the game. So it’s that mix of these two game plays, and there’s that contrast between the two that I think really sets Beast of Reincarnation apart.
As for the exploration side, I’ll talk about that a little bit. The game basically can be seen as sort of like a road trip movie or a buddy movie, with these two characters on this journey across the country. The way the game is laid out, it’s not an open world. You go through different stages as you go through the game, but the road that you’re on–while it might be essentially one road–it’s quite wide. There’s a lot of room for exploring things off the beaten path and both characters utilize their abilities to engage in exploration in different ways.
With Emma, for instance, she has her plant hair abilities. Say she comes across a bridge that collapsed or something and needs to get across, you can use her plant hair to make a footpath, essentially making a bridge across; so she can use her hair for traversal in that way. And then Koo, he will oftentimes discover items–or even characters in the environment–and he can pick up items or things of that nature. So both characters, much like they battle together, they also explore with one another.
In the midst of so much environmental anxiety globally, I feel that blight is a very poignant kind of malevolent force in this game. Can you touch on maybe some of the symbolism there and why you chose to use blight as this antagonistic force in this world?
Furushima: There’s not really any kind of environmental theme running throughout the story. The blight is there essentially to highlight the relationship again between Emma and Koo. Again, it’s all about the relationship–it’s about loneliness, it’s about warmth as they travel together. It made sense, I think, to have the world in very bad shape, to make the personal relationship between them more meaningful.
In this most recent trailer, we heard the word “evolve” used, which I feel like naturally kind of draws comparisons to Pokemon. Was that supposed to be sort of like an intentional nod? How does Beast of Reincarnation redefine “evolution” on its own terms?
Furushima: The way the term “evolution” is used in this game mostly refers to things happening in the world itself. Let me explain what I mean by that. Again, this is a world that has largely been destroyed; it’s been turned on its head. Humanity is no longer the dominant force. We have plants and animals that are kind of in charge now, so to speak. So we started thinking about plant life. Typically, it’s very quiet and gentle, just kind of off in the background. But what would happen if humanity wasn’t there to kind of keep plant life in check, so to speak? So we have this world now with tremendous overgrowth–where the plants are kind of evolving in different ways now that they essentially rule the world. So that’s the way the term evolution is used in the game.
I recently read that Beast of Reincarnation was pitched over six years ago as part of an internal contest in the studio. So it seems like it’s safe to say it’s been in development for some time. Is this kind of an unusually long time for a game to be in development at Game Freak? And if so, what opportunities has that given you while developing this title?
Furushima: I think that the biggest difference in the way this game was put together versus how we might ordinarily do things at Game Freak–because as you say, this concept came about a while back–is that the first year or so, there was a lot of focus on world building and getting the scenario and the narrative in place, prototyping the game, et cetera.
For the first year, well, you’re basically looking at the entire team that was doing that–I was doing that all by myself. That naturally takes time. When we typically embark on different titles, we’ll have, from a relatively early phase, a dedicated scenario writer, a dedicated director, and other dedicated folks on the team, so things can move a little bit more quickly. This time I got a slow start as I was kind of on my own. Gradually, because it is a new IP, things started to take shape; we wrote in more and more people into the team and began to accelerate. But the beginning phase was a little different than what we ordinarily do.
Have there been any other big changes or challenges throughout development, or just things that you’ve kind of had to encounter for the first time while working on this game?
Furushima: I would say that every single thing about putting this game together has been a challenge. It’s something new, it’s been something we’ve really been striving for. But it’s very different from other titles I’ve worked on. It’s hard to even compare it, in that sense.
Speaking of how different they are, visually, Beast of Reincarnation is extremely different from the studio’s previous titles. What inspired such a dramatic shift and what challenges have you faced as you’ve ventured into a more realistic art direction?
Furushima: I think the visual style is a direct result of the narrative and then the general concept at the heart of the game itself. The story we’re trying to tell and the feelings we wanted the user to feel–those themes of loneliness, warmth, et cetera–it kind of had to be a realistic world for this to take place in. It wouldn’t necessarily give the same vibes, I think, if it was something more comical or more kind of cartoony.
Inside the game, there’s these things called blighted forests, where suddenly the forest will grow around the character. It’s striking, it’s impactful, it’s almost scary, and it simply wouldn’t be if it wasn’t realistic. The story came first and then the visual style was decided to suit the story and the emotional impact we want it to deliver.
Continuing with visuals and performance, considering the game’s visual fidelity, I know some players have been curious as to what the studio is doing to ensure that Beast of Reincarnation will offer high quality performance. What would you say to reassure prospective players of the game’s performance?
Furushima: Performance is an important part of this game. Exploration is a core aspect and we want players to feel like they can do what they want to do, and the action also has to feel right.
All of these aspects serve the game and make it the experience we want it to be. So with graphical performance–whether it be bug fixing or any service that is going to deliver those feelings you want to deliver and make sure the users enjoy it–taking those actions are of utmost importance to us.
Fans have also noticed that Beast of Reincarnation has not yet been announced for Switch. Considering the studio’s long relationship with Nintendo, some have felt it’s kind of unusual. Can you provide any comment on this?
Furushima: There’s nothing to talk about at this time regarding the platform, other than what has already been announced.
Is there anything about this game that you haven’t gotten to talk about yet in any interviews that you really want to either highlight or just dig into?
Furushima: Yeah, I guess it’s easy I think for players to see this game and think about it in terms of it being Game Freak trying something new, getting off the beaten path, and doing something kind of challenging. And that’s absolutely true and it’s important for the company.
But I think, as a creator, it’s really important to me, too. The idea of kind of having this concept of it at first then gradually seeing it take shape and take form–it’s really exciting. It’s something that I find very motivating. Game Freak will continue to do new and exciting things, I presume. It’s very important to the company. But it’s also very important to me as a creator, again, to see kind of my idea–my baby–take shape in the real world.