Media.Vision is most well-known for its work on the Sony-owned Wild ARMs series of role-playing games, but the company recently dabbled in development for Nintendo’s portable platform, the DS, bringing RIZ-ZOAWD to the Japanese market. Now XSEED Games has teamed up with Warner Bros. to launch the extremely pleasing RPG experience in the US market under the new name of ‘The Wizard of Oz: Beyond the Yellow Brick Road’. Thanks to Ken Berry of XSEED, Cubed3 was lucky enough to catch up with Media.Vision’s Nobuo Nakazawa, Director of the project.
Cubed3’s Adam Riley: Is this your first project for DS, and if so, what are your thoughts on developing for the system?
Nobuo Nakazawa of Media.Vision, Director of THE WIZARD OF OZ: Beyond the Yellow Brick Road: It is indeed our first DS project. Developing on a new platform is personally a very rewarding experience. We had to make many new decisions such as selecting the memory size and the distribution of data loads, figuring out the texture sizes with the programmer, etc. I love that aspect of projects.
AR: Using the ‘trackball’ control system on the touch-screen is certainly an intriguing idea. What made you choose this type of control system?
Nakazawa-san: Since this is a game exclusive to the DS, we decided to make it where the controls would be based only on the touchscreen. Since that meant that wed need to be able to control the characters on the map using only the touchscreen as well, we brainstormed how we would do that and came up with the idea of the trackball.
AR: Can you tell us a little bit about how the game was conceived and what makes it special compared to other RPGs?
Nakazawa-san: This title was developed with the purpose of providing a new RPG experience on the DS. I think its graphics really set it apart, while the unique yet convenient controls should be an enjoyable experience to almost anyone.
AR: Why were you unable to use the Wizard of Oz name in Japan? Do you think the brand name will give the game a better chance in the US?
Nakazawa-san: The reason we decided on the Japanese title can be summed up with the fact that we have different cultures. We simply thought that our original title of RIZ-ZOAWD would work best for Japan. The North American side decided using Wizard of Oz would work best for the North American market so they pursued the licensing opportunity with Warner Bros. I certainly hope that it will be successful!
AR: The game’s sales have been very low in Japan so far. Were you disappointed by the result and why do you think it wasnt more popular?
Nakazawa-san: Whether or not a particular game sells well, game creators are always thinking about making something better than what we have now. We constantly think about new ideas, how to improve the game, etc. Whether or not we actually get a chance to implement some of those ideas in a sequel is for the sales numbers to decide.
AR: SEGA has put a small part of Phantasy Star Zero on the DSiWare service to promote the full retail version of the game. Would you also consider releasing something similar on DSiWare to help improve sales of RIZ-ZOAWD in Japan?
Nakazawa-san: Sorry, but I’m not in any position to decide on those kinds of promotion-related matters. If someone came to me and said it was an option, I would be interested in looking into it, though.
AR: Now that you have created a very impressive game engine, are you considering making a sequel to this game? Or would you prefer to make a brand new game using the engine?
Nakazawa-san: I don’t know about calling it an engine or whatnot, but we did accumulate a lot of know-how in terms of how to get the most out of the DS hardware. Should we work on another DS game, whether a sequel or something new, I believe that the experience we gathered from working on The Wizard of Oz will be invaluable in helping us create something that will be very high in terms of quality.
AR: Have any publishers shown interest in bringing the game to the European market as well?
Nakazawa-san: There’s been some talk about it, but I don’t know the exact details.
AR: The DSiWare and WiiWare download services are now becoming very popular. Will your team be bringing any projects to either service?
Nakazawa-san: I can’t answer any questions about official company plans but the following is a personal opinion I am giving as a game developer. It’s hard for us game creators to be partial to any one platform or method of distribution. I currently have nothing in mind for DSiWare or WiiWare, but I will start planning if I can think of any ideas that may be a good fit. We have to stay platform-neutral when we can in order to ensure that the best content is coming to the platform most appropriate for that particular content.
AR: There have been several RPGs on Wii that have sold very well, so are you planning on supporting the Wii console as well with your RPGs in the future?
Nakazawa-san: Hard for me to speak in regards to company policy, but I definitely like making RPGs so if I were to come up with any kind of idea, chances are good that it will be an RPG.
AR: Media.Vision is well-known for its work on the Wild ARMs series, but do you hold the rights to the games or are they controlled by Sony?
Nakazawa-san: Those rights would be under Sony Computer Entertainment. We were only the developer on the series.
AR: Following on from that question, will fans ever be able to play another Wild ARMs and what format is likely to receive the next Wild ARMs game?
Nakazawa-san: It makes me very happy to hear that there are people that still want to play a Wild ARMs sequel. Thank you very much. As with the previous question, though, whether or not there will be a new Wild ARMs is completely up to Sony Computer Entertainment, so I cannot give you an answer. The same goes for the question about what platform it will be on.
AR: The creator of Wild ARMs actually left Media.Vision late last year. How has this affected the team and will your company still consider working with his new company in the future?
Nakazawa-san: It’s always tough losing a longstanding member of your team, but the rest of the staff has come together to really minimise the impact. If our respective companies were hired to work together on a new project, it would definitely produce some interesting results.
