Q&A with Mizuguchi on Ninety Nine Nights

Famed founder of Q Entertainment gives the latest info on the highly anticipated strategy/action title.

Mizuguchi is known for his eccentric rhythm-driven games such as Lumines and Space Channel 5, and it comes as a pleasant surprise to see his Q Entertainment studio and Korean developer Phantagram working on Ninety Nine Nights, an action strategy game slated for release on the Xbox 360. We had the opportunity to speak with Mizuguchi, and also Sangyoun Lee, president and CEO of Phantagram.

Gamepro: What's the story?

Tetsuya Mizuguchi: This is a story about Ninety Night Nights. It's intriguing. [laughs]

The shattering of the crystal in the intro sequence is a metaphor for the break in peace. Before the incident, humans and other races lived peacefully, and being launched into war they now they face doubt and chaos . After the crystal breaks, the world is changed--I can't reveal specifics yet as we're creating the scenarios right now. It's a multi-angled game--you can choose from a variety of characters, and use powers from nature--like magic--to beat the soldiers. You experience the drama of families and friends engulfed in war, and will understand about 10-15% of what's going on in the world from each character. So if you play every single character, you can then understand what's happening in the world, what exactly is "Ninety Nine Nights"--and what the secret is in the world.

GP: Is it an action-RPG?

TM: No, action strategy. Phantagram has been known for good games such as Kingdom Under Fire, and we're working together to make a new type of action strategy game that's 70% action, 30% action, and 100% drama ...so that means a 200% game [laughs].

GP: So it sounds like you have a party, with several characters you control at the same time?

TM: You can only play one character at a time, but you can move your company of soldiers as well, which adds an element of strategy.

GP: Is it like Dynasty Warriors where you fight large armies of warriors?

TM: Dynasty Warriors has you fight against hundreds, but this game will have thousands. I think 20,000 soldiers can be in the field, so it'll be like a real war.

GP: Will there be any online?

Sangyoun Lee: Right now we really can't explain the details--but we will do it.

TM: We'll be really aggressive in pushing online features, but can't go in detail about it right now.

GP: How do the two studios divide the responsibilities?

TM: I left Sega a year and a half ago, and started Q Entertainment in Tokyo. We looked at studios worldwide--what kind of technologies or abilities they had. When I met Sangyoun Lee, he just finished Kingdom Under Fire, and we talked. They have very good technology, people and atmosphere, and there was chemistry [between the two companies].

It's a collaboration, so we've always discussed the intricacies of the game together. But the basic storyline was fixed by Q Entertainment, in addition to characters, game design, world design, and art.

SL: There's no separation between the companies, so we think of ourselves as one company with each person having specific responsibilities.

TM: Microsoft has been supporting us from the early stages, and we appreciate that backup, too.

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