One of the most important parts of video games, as a medium, is the way games embellish on what’s come before, or take inspiration to create wildly new experiences. Dark Souls draws heavily from the design of Metroid games, and Persona wouldn't exist without the turn-based foundations of Dragon Quest. Reynatis is a game that doesn’t hide its inspirations, with the zipper-laden characters showing it’s a not-so-subtle riff on Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts. But interestingly, it’s also a component of the lasting influence of Final Fantasy’s biggest canceled project, Final Fantasy Versus XIII.
Revealed at E3 2006, Versus XIII immediately drew attention for its dark tone, surprisingly brutal gameplay, and black leather-clad main cast. It spent years in development trouble before ultimately being transformed into a drastically different project that became Final Fantasy XV.
“I was influenced by Versus XIII. Just like everyone else, I watched that trailer and was really looking forward to the game being released,” Reynatis creative producer Isobe Takumi tells Inverse. “There are, you could say, ‘homages’ to that game everywhere, as well as scenes deliberately made with it in mind.”
Set in Tokyo’s lively hub Shibuya, Reynatis takes place in a world where a minority of people can use magic, and these wizards are forced to hide their abilities due to local regulation and fears of their danger. This narrative theme of hiding your true self is also integrated directly into gameplay through a system where you have to continuously hide your power from normal citizens.
But Reynatis’ homages to Square Enix’s legacy are more than Easter Eggs. It’s a vital part of the game, with a soundtrack composed by Yoko Shimomura (Kingdom Hearts) and a story written by Kazushige Nojima (Final Fantasy 7). There’s also an entire questline that connects the game to the main characters of Neo: The World Ends With You.
Reynatis is clearly a labor of love from Takumi, and a fascinating look at how a creator's inspirations craft the stories they tell. But the game’s themes of suppressing your true self feels like something that Gen Z and millennials can specifically relate to in a turbulent world.
Ahead of the Western release of Reynatis, Inverse had the chance to talk with Takumi about those inspirations, the game’s narrative themes, and more.
The following interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.
There have been quite a few games set in Shibuya in recent years. Why is that setting important to Reynatis? What kind of work and research did you do to recreate the area?
Shibuya is a special place, as it is representative of Japan as a whole and has its own "magic" to it.
In order to recreate it in Reynatis, we went around Shibuya about once a week to really hone in on how things looked. Practically every time we went out, some building or another had changed or a shop was different. It was really, really hard [to accurately show an up-to-date Shibuya]!
What are your thoughts on the current state of role-playing games? Do you think the genre needs to innovate more?
Games where you play the roles of various characters have a universality to them, and I don't see that going away.
At the very least, I'm also a big RPG fan myself, and I will continue making them.
Can you tell me a bit about the “fantasy meets reality” theme of Reynatis? How is this evoked through the story and visuals?
The theme is about suppressing one's individuality, as well as liberating it. In order to have players understand that theme, the game needed to be grounded in reality, hence the real-world setting.
Particularly with Shibuya, it truly feels like another world extrapolated from the real world — making it a perfect fit as the setting for Reynatis!
Could you tell me about the Suppressed and Liberated modes? Where did the idea come from and how does it tie into both Reynatis’ story and gameplay?
These modes are related to the game's theme of feeling like you cannot express yourself due to peer and social pressure (Suppression), but wanting to be able to express your individuality as you see fit (Liberation).
These two ideas are used for two different aspects of combat. This system is brand new, and it is something that I think is very unique compared to other games.
Why did you decide to have two protagonists? How is the game built around Marin and Sari?
To portray the themes of suppression and liberation, it was necessary to look at it from different viewpoints. Do you want to liberate your individuality no matter what, or should your individuality be suppressed no matter what?
To convey both sides' sense of "right," we needed to have two protagonists. This title weaves the tale of two people with opposing viewpoints and how their paths intersect.
The NEO: The World Ends With You Collaboration is interesting as it’s fully integrated into Reynatis’ story, instead of just cameos. Was it initially planned as something smaller, or did you want it to be substantial?
Collaborations with other companies, particularly those in the console game space, are very rare, and we didn't have a lot of experience, so we proceeded with caution.
At first, I held back and asked only for an [in-game] poster or costume, but I was told to present what I really wanted to do, so I took them up on their offer and laid it all out. (laughs)
From there, we were able to create an entirely new story where Rindo and Shoka appear.
It seems like a ton of work has been put into the story and world of Reynatis. Do you want the story to continue, and do you have any ideas?
First, I would like for everyone to enjoy the main story and the post-launch episodes.
I hope that this game will be loved by many people.
As for the future of Reynatis.... Hmm. I'll just say that the seeds have already been sown.
Reynatis launches on September 27 for PS4, PS5, Nintendo Switch, and PC.
