In Cubed3’s latest interview we managed to catch up with the team that recently brought Fullmetal Alchemist: Dual Sympathy to the Nintendo DS in the US.
Cubed3: First of all, could you please tell our readers a little about your role on this project?
Dave Degnan: Certainly. I was the localization producer for this project. My job was to take the Japanese game, organise the translation of the text, record the voice-overs with the English actors, and get it through Nintendo for approval.
C3: How large was the team and how long was the game in development for?
DD: This game was already released in Japan, so we just needed to localize it. Once we got all of the contracts taken care of between Destineer and Bandai, it took about four months (not including production of the carts). That was enough time to localize the game and get approval from our licensors.
C3: Have you been pleased with how successful Fullmetal Alchemist has been over in Japan and the US so far?
DD: Absolutely. Fullmetal Alchemist has quickly become one of my favourite franchises by a long shot. It speaks volumes for the series, considering that I own a few hundred animes. I have been lucky to work with a franchise that I not only love, but that has been widely successful. If you haven’t gotten around to seeing this series, you’re definitely missing out.
C3: And are you hoping to see the game released over in Europe? If so, do you expect it to be received as well as in other territories?
DD: We would love to release it in Europe, but the details on it coming to fruition aren’t solidified yet.
C3: Can you please talk us through the main aspects that make the DS version differ from the previous PlayStation 2 Fullmetal Alchemist titles?
DD: The Playstation 2 games were more action-RPG based, where Dual Sympathy is a side-scrolling action game. Kind of like the old school Double Dragon and Final Fight games. One difference about Dual Sympathy is that it incorporates the Nintendo DS Touch Screen. Everything from interacting with mini-games, pulling off special attacks/alchemy attacks, and so forth. There is also a fair amount of the typical control pad and button interaction for the main game, just like you’d expect from typical console action games.
C3: Dual Sympathy is based on the entire Fullmetal Alchemist storyline, spanning 51 episodes. How difficult was it to fit as much of this as possible into the one game, and choosing what sections of the plot to leave out?
DD: Well thankfully we didn’t have to deal with that since the game was already completed. We just went through and translated it into English. Knowing both the series and this game front and back though, they did make sure to hit majority of the main plot points though.
Some things were missed, but were instead summarised with pre-chapter overviews. It is always hard to fit such a large series into a small cart and include real voice-overs as well. The best approach with a game like this is to pick the best action sequences from the series and summarise any major story plots.
C3: This title was released in the Japan during the middle of 2005. How did you come to the decision to finally release an English language version?
DD: I had worked with Bandai in the past on several other titles, and when we learned that they had a Fullmetal Alchemist game available for localisation, it was just a no-brainer to bring it to the US.
C3: Did you encounter any problems during the translation of this game to a western market? Or come across any issues with the actual DS hardware?
DD: There were a few issues, but nothing major. I was able to catch and correct most of the character name misspellings, so it matched the US translation. Thankfully there were no hardware issues. We did, however, add some functionality for players to have the ability to press START to skip a cut-scene if they so choose and get right into the action.
C3: Do you feel that this game will appeal solely to fans of the Fullmetal Alchemist anime, or will it appeal to a wider audience as well?
DD: It’s funny that you ask that, because more often than not I’ve had people tell me that the game is a blast to play, and the majority of these people are not Fullmetal Alchemist fans or aren’t big into anime. That tells me that this game is really quite appealing to both sides of the spectrum. The Fullmetal Alchemist fans, on the other hand, have told me that they liked how simple and addicting the game is, and rather enjoy the nice touches of music, voice, and sound from the series.
C3: How are the two screens and touch-screen control used in the game?
DD: The game utilizes the top screen for all of the action and story sequences, with the bottom saved primarily for any special attacks, interactive sequences/mini-games, or text. That way you spend more time focusing your attention on the top screen, but use the bottom screen to support your play by drawing alchemy circles, doing special attacks, and so forth.
C3: Is there a chance we may see other anime-based titles for the Nintendo DS by your company in the near future?
DD: Being such an avid anime fan, you can bet I’ll push for more anime games! *laughs* The Nintendo DS is such a great platform it just ends up being one of the better choices for more interactive games.
C3: There have been three Fullmetal Alchemist games on PS2 so far. But will we see another DS game in the future? And if so, would you been keen to implement any online functionality?
DD: With such a strong franchise like Fullmetal Alchemist, and an interactive platform like the Nintendo DS, I’d say that would be a fair bet.
C3: Have you had a chance to work with Nintendo’s Wii hardware? If so, what are your thoughts on it? If not, are you eager to work with it?
DD: Yes, I both own one and am pushing for development on the Nintendo Wii. Like with the Nintendo DS, Nintendo is making good choices in aiming for a more interactive game platform on the Wii. The Nintendo Wii is one of the platforms that fits perfectly with the Fullmetal Alchemist franchise.
C3: On the whole, are you pleased with the final version of Fullmetal Alchemist and is there anything you would have like to have included / developed further?
DD: I am quite pleased with how Dual Sympathy turned out. The voice-overs ended up sounding great for a DS game, and we were able to get all of the bugs out of the game before it shipped. The only item I wished that we could have implemented was some sort of multiplayer functionality. Being an already released game though (and having every last byte of the cart utilized already), it just wasn’t a realistic request.
C3: With the Virtual Console already becoming immensely popular straight from launch, can we expect to see any of your older titles appear on the system?
DD: It’s definitely not out of the question!
C3: Our readers are very eager to know, will we ever see a version of Fullmetal Alchemist on the Wii in the future?
DD: It certainly is a platform that would support many of the anime series’ core principles. I personally think a Wii Fullmetal Alchemist game would be a blast, so we’ll see where those discussions go in the future.
C3: Finally, what games have you been playing lately and is there anything in particular you are looking forward to?
DD: Lately I have been hooked on two games, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess for the Wii and Gears of War for the Xbox 360. I absolutely love the storyline and interactivity of Zelda. They finally brought the franchise back to the look and feel of the Ocarina of Time game. As for Gears of War, I’m just intoxicated by the gameplay and visuals in that game. Epic really took a genre that was getting dull, and gave it the design face-lift that it needed.
I’m really looking forward to another instalment of Star Wars KOTOR, but this time on the Wii. I was hooked on the first two, but the Wii just seems to be the platform that would bring the franchise to the next level. What Star Wars fan wouldn’t want to hack apart baddies with the next closest thing to a lightsaber?
