Tokyo RPG Factory on Oninaki: "we want to challenge ourselves"

One of the games announced by Square Enix at its 2019 press conference was the next JRPG by in-house developer Tokyo RPG Factory. Compared to its previous titles, this new game Oninaki moves away from Chrono Trigger inspirations and is instead an attempt at creating something more fast-paced and action-oriented.

At the first day of E3 2019, we had the opportunity to sit down with the lead developers and talk about their shift in gears.

"After working on both I am Setsuna and Lost Sphear, we wanted to challenge ourselves and create something different than the previous titles," the developers told us. "The change in art-style and gameplay represents a new direction for the studio."

With a new visual direction and gameplay in place, we then asked about the story and if the game had any connection with past titles.

"The story is inspired by classic Japanese storytelling from manga and animé. As with previous games, the game deals with sorrow and loss, which is also reflected in the title, referring to a shadow realm," Tokyo RPG Factory elaborated.

Despite the change in gameplay and visuals, Oninaki should be considered part of a trilogy called "Snow, Moon and Flower".

The game still has a way to go and it will be interesting to see whether the young studio finally can deliver an amazing JRPG.