Grounding Inc's Crimson Dragon already had a lot in common with the Panzer Dragoon series. Given that it was under development by the same core team that worked on Panzer Dragoon, including creator Yukio Futatsugi, the similarities weren't exactly surprising.
After trying out the latest iteration of the game and speaking with Futatsugi at E3, it seems that any distinction between Crimson Dragon and Panzer Dragoon is nominal at most, especially now that Kinect is no longer a central feature. In the most vital of ways, this is a Panzer Dragoon game. As a longtime fan of the series, I can tell you that's a very good thing.
If Crimson Dragon is successful, developer Grounding Inc. hopes it will become a franchise, creator Yukio Futatsugi told Joystiq during E3. When asked if he would ever return to role-playing games, Futatsugi told us he'd like to see Crimson Dragon spun out into a full-fledged RPG.
Futatsugi is best known for creating the Panzer Dragoon series, notably the much loved but hard to find RPG, Panzer Dragoon Saga, so the prospect of Crimson Dragon RPG should be an exciting one for fans.
Right now the team is focused solely on finishing the current game, he said, but the story and atmosphere of Crimson Dragon have been crafted in such a way that it could easily be turned into an RPG. Grounding already has many team members who worked on the likes of Panzer Dragoon Saga and Panzer Dragoon Orta, including Crimson Dragon's programming lead, design lead, art lead and sound team. When the decision was made to bring Crimson Dragon to Xbox One, the team also acquired the art designer from Futatsugi's original Xbox cult classic, Phantom Dust.
Of course, few people have played Panzer Dragoon Saga, and many may not understand what all the fuss is about. The game was released at the end of the Sega Saturn's lifecycle, and only 30,000 copies were produced for North America. I asked Futatsugi if he'd like to see Panzer Dragoon Saga re-released as a downloadable game, especially given Sega's recent retro push with games like Jet Set Radio and Nights.
He would like to see Saga re-released, he said, and the subject comes up from time to time at the Grounding offices. Usually, these discussions end with the team realizing that the game would be very difficult to remake. Still, Futatsugi said he would love to play it again.
Microsoft and Panzer Dragoon creator Yukio Futatsugi are still working on Crimson Dragon, the Kinect rail shooter revealed in 2010 and since hit with a delay and a year-long silence. In fact, Futatsugi tells Eurogamer that Crimson Dragon is "not far off" from completion.
"Well, the game has been delayed and I know people are waiting for it, but it is definitely moving ahead," Futatsugi says. "Microsoft will announce it when they're ready."
A demo for Crimson Dragon launched briefly - and accidentally - on the Japanese Xbox Live Marketplace in January 2012, demonstrating the game's early mechanics and design. We're not saying the gameplay looks like doing the Hokey Pokey in front of a Kinect, but it looks like doing the Hokey Pokey in front of a Kinect. With dragons.
"When we started working on it I realized that a rail shooter is perfect for Kinect," Futatsugi says. "Kinect can't handle too much movement - you can't move totally freely. Also, it's better to keep the number of recognized movements simple so as not to confuse the Kinect system, and these things make a rail shooter the ideal choice."
A demo for the delayed Kinect rail shooter, Crimson Dragon, whose title and visual resemblance to Panzer Dragoon reflect "inspiration" from that series (not to mention shared staff), went up on the Japanese Xbox Live Marketplace earlier this week.
The demo was apparently released early, as it was taken off the service soon after. However, it wasn't quick enough to elude the single person paying attention to the Japanese Xbox Live Marketplace. YouTube user draikin1 captured footage of the demo, which you can now enjoy here, to see how eerily similar dragon riding and hula hooping are.
Crimson Dragon was recently given a June 13 release date in Japan. However, even if you do have access to a Japanese Xbox Live account, you shouldn't expect it on XBLA this week, as the Kinect game by Panzer Dragoon creator Yukio Futatsugi has been delayed at the last minute.
The Japanese release of the game currently has no announced release date - quite a change from June 13. No reason was offered for the sudden delay.
Crimson Dragon will careen into Japan on June 13 for 1,200 Microsoft Points ($15), Andriasang reports. Crimson Dragon is a Kinect exclusive created by Panzer Dragoon director Yukio Futatsugi that will allow players to ride six different types of dragons while shooting fireballs and laser-inspired projectiles.
Yeah, we think it sounds like pretty much the best thing ever, too. Unfortunately, there is no word yet on a western release date.
When we first heard Microsoft was backing a game called Project Draco, we thought it was a Harry Potter spinoff title featuring Draco Malfoy, Winky the house-elf and Minerva McGonagall in a Three's Company-style RPG. Turns out it's a flying shooter for Kinect starring dragons, which is way cooler, we admit.
Director Yukio Futatsugi described some specifics of Crimson Dragon, the official title for Project Draco,at a Microsoft event, listed by Famitsu and unofficially translated by XBLA enthusiast @lifeflower. According to the translation, Crimson Dragon will allow players to ride six different dragons, but Futatsugi showed three, the Blood Skin, Dark Shoulder and a hairy number called Snow Wing.
Check out a few pictures from the event showing off some blurry, big dragons, right here.
Try and look surprised: the Australian classification of Panzer Dragoon-esque on-rails shooter Project Draco as "Crimson Dragon" was accurate, as the game has been officially renamed. The new title was confirmed during an Xbox 360 event in Japan this week, wherein a handful of new shots were shown off as well. As you can see for yourself, the game is looking gorgeous (Avatar-esque, if we can), and Famitsu was feeling notably positive on the Kinect-controlled XBLA title. Crimson Dragon is expected to launch at an unnamed point in 2012.
And yes, it is highly unlikely the renaming has anything do with infamous TNA wrestler Chris Hamrick, in case you were wondering.
It would appear the final name of "Project Draco" will be Crimson Dragon, if the pieces of a recent Australian classification fit neatly together. The author of the classification is noted as Grounding Inc., with Microsoft as publisher. Also, the game is also called Crimson Dragon, which seems to perfectly describe the flying reptilian protagonist of the game.
Project Draco, a Kinect-based dragon shooter, is heavily inspired by the Panzer Dragoon series. This observation is totally cool since the game is under the direction of Panzer Dragoon creator Yukio Futatsugi and many of the game's original team members. Project Draco is expected to fly sometime this year.
Speaking to Gamasutra, Project Draco lead Yukio Futatsugi and producer Toshiharu Tange laid out several details about the upcoming Kinect title. First and foremost, it won't actually be called Project Draco on release, though the final title has yet to be decided. The pair also expressed some of the difficulties in developing a title for Kinect.
One such issue is that different players will perform actions in different ways. "Previously you could just say 'Press the A button' and everyone got that, but trying to catch all the possible ranges of motion can be tough to implement," said Futatsugi.
The pair also discussed some fo the processes behind how they create the worlds of their games, including the classic Panzer Dragoon series and Phantom Dust. According to Futatsugi, a good portion of the fantasy is reliant on "lies." Or, to put it more clearly, about 70 percent of his games are "created with a 'realistic' bent," while around 30 percent focuses on "stuff you would never see in real life, such as the supernatural abilities people have." And, you know, riding around on dragons. Check out Gamasutra for the full interview.
A year ago, we were told that Project Draco was merely "inspired" by Panzer Dragoon. Having played Project Draco, I'm inclined to think that might be the biggest understatement in recent memory. Project Draco positively drips with Panzer Dragoon goodness. And it should, given the involvement of Panzer Dragoon creator Yukio Futatsugi and many of the game's original team members. Dragons, diving, rolling, gorgeous environments and enemies, homing laser breath - it's all there, and I couldn't be more thrilled.
Previously announced as a 2011 title, Joystiq learned today that Project Draco, the Grounding Inc. Kinect project "inspired" by Panzer Dragoon, will actually be released in 2012. We can also reveal that the title is much more than inspired by Team Andromeda's seminal on-rails shooter. Straight up: Project Draco is basically Panzer Dragoon Kinect.
Despite looking like Panzer Dragoon, being developed by Panzer Dragoon creator Yukio Futatsugi, having a codename referencing dragons with the same initials as Panzer Dragoon and, most suspiciously, having a codename at all, Microsoft Game Studios VP Phil Spencer told Joystiq he "woudn't call [Project Draco] a Panzer Dragoon game."
"It's a Kinect game for one thing, which is going to have its own take on it," Spencer said, referring to the concept of riding a dragon. Spencer added that "there are some differences between -- as a Panzer Dragoon fan -- the stuff we've seen in the Panzer Dragoon series and [Project Draco]," but he didn't elaborate on those differences. During the Microsoft keynote where the game was announced, Futatsugi explained, "What I wanted to do most is to fly." So perhaps Draco is more flying and less on-rails shooting?
So if it's not a Panzer Dragoon game, then what's up with the whole dragons-you-can-ride thing? "Futasugi-san does have a passion for dragons and the interactions between humans and dragons," Spencer said. "I think you could say 'inspired by' and obviously Futatsugi-san's heritage with that franchise is an important part of his history." But Spencer still "wouldn't characterize [Project Draco] as a Panzer Dragoon game."
"I think there's some great things about the mechanic in Panzer Dragoon that can work really well, but we're not in any way trying to diminish the value of that franchise or steal from it." So we're guessing they're not going to call it "Tank Leviathoon."
