Hello! My name is Takamasa Shiba, and I am the producer for Lord of Arcana. In case you are wondering who I am and what I’ve worked on in the past, Valkyrie Profile was the first project I worked on as an assistant, followed by online games such as Chase Chase and Depth Fantasia, along with Drakengard for PlayStation 2. More recently, I worked on Dragon Quest: Young Yangus and the Mysterious Dungeon and the Lord of Vermillion (LoV) series, while simultaneously working on Lord of Arcana (LoA).
I know that you are interested in some inside information regarding LoA, so here it is! In the beginning, we were most interested in creating a LoV-inspired multiplayer action game. Since LoV had established such a substantial presence, we wanted to expand beyond an arcade game. Despite this, the game is set in a world isolated from the LoV arcade game. The world of LoA was created by and is called Horodyn for the purpose of determining successors to the power of Arcana. Here, nine Arcana stones, stolen from the LoV world, impound monsters called master guardians. You will need to defeat the master guardians to obtain the stones, meaning you will need to be strong enough to defeat all the master guardians to obtain Arcana.
When people ask me what my favorite part of this game is, I say that the “finishing” sequences such as Finishing Blows and Final Cinematic Scenes are the most interesting feature of LoA. In particular, we included the Final Cinematic Scenes to clearly cultivate a sense of fulfillment since it would be anticlimactic for a formidable monster to be defeated so rapidly. You can also direct Finishing Blows towards your friends to knock them off their feet, giving you a chance to annoy them. We really wanted to keep a sense of revelry to this game!
Beyond the finishing moves, it really is about you and your Slayer in LoA. In Japan, it’s common for friends to gather and play multiplayer action games. The fact that you can create a Slayer unique to yourself and show off new weapons is an enjoyable aspect of customizing. LoA offers countless hours of playtime and you will grow attached to your customized Slayer the more you play the game.
LoA really differentiates itself from other games in its genre by implementing elements unique to Square Enix. It implements beautiful visuals of monsters designed by famous illustrators and incorporates a RPG element by intertwining difficult action elements with character growth as you proceed through the game.
Though it follows other action games in keeping with the traditional elements such as producing weapons, cutting off an enemy’s tail and collecting materials, we made sure to include elements that can only be enjoyed in this game. There are so many features to this game and it doesn’t stop with single play as exemplified by the features specific to multiplayer. I hope that everyone will play the game countless times for enjoyment over a long period of time. Thank you!
Lord of Arcana is now available for preorder and will be available at retailers and via digital download on January 25, 2011 for the retail price of $39.99 and is rated “M” for Mature. Thank you!
