Interview with Director Itsuo of CAPCOM's "Dragon's Dogma 2": He Talks about His Feelings on the First New Product in 12 Years

The SaigaNAK editorial team was in Taiwan to cover the "Taipei Game Show 2024," which was held from January 25 (Thursday) to 28 (Sunday), 2024. One of the titles that attracted a lot of attention was " Dragon's Dogma 2. One of the titles that drew a lot of attention was "Dragon's Dogma 2." Here is a report on the media interview with "Dragon's Dogma 2" director Hideaki Itsuno!

【TGS2024】ドラゴンズドグマ2やモンスターハンターなどが出展するJustdanブースレポート！

Director Hideaki Itsuno of "Dragon's Dogma 2" takes the stage.

This is a joint media interview, so it includes questions not from the SaigaNAK editorial staff.

First of all, he reviewed the stage and job system of "Dragon's Dogma 2" on a slide basis. The main storyline is the same as the previous title: "The main character, whose heart was stolen by a dragon, must fight the dragon to get it back.

Director Izuno also explained the game while playing it on a real machine. The demo version used in the presentation was the one produced last summer.

The most distinctive feature of Dragon's Dogma is the "pawn" system, which allows players to enjoy adventures with a party of four while playing alone. In this title as well, by touching the rimstone, players can bring in pawns of various races and personalities. As you would expect from a next-generation console, it is a pleasure to be able to seamlessly switch back and forth without loading up the game.

It has been announced that "Dragon's Dogma 2" has four times the map area of the previous game, but the development staff said, "It 's much bigger! Polo said, "It's even bigger!

More than 1,000 NPCs live in such a vast world, each with their own purpose. Although it may seem like you are losing sight of your purpose, the game has been designed with a flow line that allows NPCs who have something to do to talk to you on their own.

The "Griffin," a giant monster familiar from the previous title, is the target of the battle. It is good at attacking from the air, so if you are a melee jobber, it is effective to climb up on its back and attack it.

The "grab" action is effective against all monsters, but it cannot be maintained for a long period of time because stamina is continuously depleted. In such cases, you can recover stamina by standing on top of the monster. But...

Of course, you will die instantly if you are shaken off. Dragon's Dogma is very severe in terms of fall damage, so be very careful when standing on top of a monster!

We also challenged a Cyclops that was nearby. You can take it down by attacking its weak points, such as its eyes, and pulling on its hands and feet when it is on all fours. Pawns accumulate knowledge in the course of their adventures, so they may be able to teach you tidbits about this kind of combat.

Q. How do you feel after the booth stage?

D.: We were a little worried, but we were relieved that so many users came to our booth.

Q. More than 10 years have passed since your last game.

Itzuno D: I really wanted to make "2" right away, but I couldn't because I was working on other games. I finally made it! I am very happy to have finally made it.

Q. What was your impression of Taiwan and the Taipei Game Show?

Itzuno D: Japan and Taiwan are very close, and I think we have similar interests and ways of thinking, so I feel a sense of closeness. This is the same as at other game shows, but I was very impressed by the happy faces of the visitors.

Q. How do you feel about the expectations from fans in Taiwan and other countries?

D.: The world has changed dramatically in the past 10 years with the explosive spread of SNS and the expansion of PC game market share. Now that CAPCOM of Japan is releasing an open world game here, I feel a different sense of expectation, almost a sense of pressure, compared to the previous game.

Q. Please tell us about the AI used for the pawns in the game and how you are utilizing it.

Itzuno D: The AI in the game industry is different from the so-called ChatGPT AI, but the biggest difference from the previous work is that the pawns in this game use the vast amount of information in the game to make decisions. In the previous work, the pawns were just "acting like it". In addition, the specialties and personalities of the pawns are also different, so the pawn creator's individuality comes out more.

Dragon's Dogma 2" will be released on March 22, 2024!

台北ゲームショーに来てます！

I'm coming to Taipei Game Show!

我來台北電玩展！#dragonsdogma #DD2 #DMC5 pic.twitter.com/axMvrD2iv9

— Hideaki Itsuno (@tomqe) January 25, 2024

As Director Itsuo mentioned, CAPCOM has released five world-class titles in the past 10 years that have sold more than 10 million copies. Will this be CAPCOM's masterpiece to follow Monster Hunter, Resident Evil, Street Fighter, and Devil May Cry? "Dragon's Dogma 2" is scheduled for release on Friday, March 22, 2024!

Sorry, this article is only available in Japanese. at the moment.