[D2 Megaten] "The scenario was revised five times just from the synopsis" A story of a year and a half of struggle to realize "Raidou-ness". "Raidou Remastered: Super Strength Corps Miracle" Collaboration Commemorative Interview

 

In "D×2 Shin Megami Tensei Liberation" (hereinafter referred to as "D2 Megaten"), which is currently being distributed by SEGA, "RAIDOU Remastered: The Tale of the Super Power Corps(hereinafter referred to as "Raidou Remastered: The Tale of the Super Power Corps").

In this article, we asked Sabatoma Iwasaki Producer (text: Iwasaki) about the details of the event and their enthusiasm.

Sabatoma Iwasaki Producer Close-up

table of contents

Behind the scenes of the "Raidou Remastered: The Tale of the Super Power Corps" collaboration. Preparation is underway even before the announcement

――How did this collaboration come to be implemented?

Iwasaki

 "D2 Megaten" has made it a habit to hold a summer collaboration, which is a half-anniversary. However, becoming a tradition can also be an element that leads to a rut, so in order to break through that, I wanted to liven it up by involving the "Marriage Festival" that is well received by everyone.

However, instead of just appearing characters from the "Shin Megami Tensei" series and doing a "marriage festival", I consulted with Mr. Atlas who wanted to collaborate with derivative works with a view to future expansion, and at that time, there was no information at all about "Raidou Remastered: The Tale of the Super Soldiers".

It was a story that we didn't even hope for, but Atlas also said, "I want you to liven it up together," and we decided to implement it.

――Wasn't it quite shocking that the collaboration with the title before the announcement progressed?

Iwasaki

 I just asked if we could 

collaborate with some derivative works, so I was really surprised to hear that "Raidou Remastered: The Tale of the Super Soldiers" is in development.

――You said that you were working before the release of "Raidou Remastered: The Tale of the Super Power Corps", but how long exactly has this collaboration project been in motion?

Iwasaki

 I consulted with Atlas around March 2024, so it must have been working for about a year and a half. Since it was decided early on, we were able to set a longer development period than normal collaborations, so the collaboration character "Kuzuha Raidou & Gout (*)" (hereinafter referred to as "Raidou & Gouto)" is a masterpiece that takes a considerable amount of time and more time to produce than normal demons.

* Kudzu is correctly "hee" in the middle.

――What kind of characters will Raidou and Gouto appear as in D2 Megaten? Please tell us about the specs.

Iwasaki

 In this collaboration, the genuine 14th generation Kuzuha Raidou, that person, will appear. Raidou is a "demon summoner (Devil Summoner)" who fights by making full use of demon summoning, so "D2 Megaten" uses a system called "Buddy Demon", in which Raidou and demons fight together.

――Was the "Buddy Devil" system conceived and developed in the wake of this collaboration? Or was there a plan for it originally?

Iwasaki

 There 

was a concept related to the "Ensai", but I think the implementation would have been much earlier without this collaboration. Also, because we were able to collaborate with "Raidou Remastered: The Tale of the Super Soldiers", I think that the creators were more enthusiastic than usual and were able to reach a very good quality system.

――Please tell us about the specifications of Raidou & Gout, including "Buddy Devil".

Iwasaki

 Raidou & Gout is an attacker with very high attack power. Another major feature is its high versatility in summoning Yoshitsune and Mo Shobo as demons and switching between them to fight.

The specs alone are quite high, but what I want you to pay special attention to is that they have a new style called "unique type". The "Singular" type is a new type of attack that does not fit into the conventional strike type or magic type, and can attack while ignoring all enemy defense and damage reduction. No matter how high the enemy's defense is, and no matter how much damage reduction they have, you can attack with these completely ignored.

Also, in Summon: Yoshifosune, he has a buddy skill inspired by "Jumping Eight Boats". This is also very powerful, and when combined with Raidou & Gout, it is an active skill that can attack 9 times. As far as I can remember, this number of attacks is one of the largest for a single attack. In addition to its high attack power in the first place, it is a "peculiar" type that can launch a multi-stage attack that ignores the enemy's defense, making it an exhilarating attacker to use.

By the way, the "Singular" type has the characteristic of consuming HP instead of MP to use skills. Therefore, operation is simpler than MP consumption. Also, since Mo Shobo's buddy skill recovers self-HP, it is important to switch between Yoshifox for attack and Mo Shobo for defense. If you can fight well, you can continue to attack powerful while maintaining high HP, so if you master it, you can use it for general purposes.

――It sounds a little too strong (laughs). Wasn't this difficult to balance?

Iwasaki

 Certainly looking at the specs alone, it may seem too strong. However, since the current "D2 Megaten" is in an environment where the defenders are strong, it will take this much breakthrough power to create a sense of exhilaration on the offensive side and make it simple for those who are starting to enjoy it.

To be honest, there are some challenging parts, but we have made careful adjustments from the perspective of "whether we can properly defeat the enemy as an attacker". Don't worry, we've achieved overwhelming firepower in pursuit of Raidou-like gameplay, while adjusting the game experience so that a wide range of players can enjoy the gaming experience.

――This time, the character's name is "Raidou & Gout", but will Gout participate in the battle?

Iwasaki

 Gout will also appear, and we will also create 3D models with great effort. However, Gout does not engage in direct combat and becomes a close watcher.

It was implemented based on the idea that Raidou and Gout should be together. In the scenario, Gout appears in a fit form, such as riding on Raidou's shoulder. There were some difficulties in production and supervision, but we created it without relaxing our efforts, so please pay attention to Gout's movements.

Collaboration with Atlas and the challenge of scenario creation

――It's a rare case that the production of "Raidou Remastered: Super Strength Corps Miracle" is underway on the Atlus side while development is also progressing on "D2 Megaten", isn't it?

Iwasaki

 That's right. For the collaboration, we created the motion from scratch for D2 Megaten. We have developed it with great attention to detail, so please pay attention to it.

――So all the motion was created on the D2 Megaten side. Please tell us more about what you are particular about.

Iwasaki

 Based 

on the materials and videos of "Raidou Remastered: Super Strength Corps Miracle", I produced it with the supervision of Atlus. Based on the point that "this movement is not like Raido", we have brushed up repeatedly, so I think the quality is satisfactory to everyone.

――So you've made a lot of small adjustments.

Iwasaki

 I 

was particularly particular about the attack motion. I don't think there are many opportunities to use attacks because of his strong unique skills, but I am very particular about the motion of swinging the sword, so I would like you to see it.

――I heard that you and Atlas agreed to "make it exciting together" in the opening talk, but what aspects are you involved in addition to supervision?

Iwasaki

 Basically, supervision is the main focus, but in this collaboration, we are also collaborating in terms of PR. Campaign information with "D2 Megaten" was introduced during the live broadcast of "Raidou Remastered: Super Strength Corps Miracles," and "Raidou Remastered: Super Strength Corps Miracles" was announced during the live broadcast of "D2 Megaten." We were able to collaborate more than ever before, so it was a measure full of good experiences.

――Did you basically supervise the 3D models and motions?

Iwasaki

 He 

also supervises the event scenario. This time, we put a lot of effort into the scenario, and because of that, we have a schedule period compared to other implementations, and Atlus has supervised it closely.

――Please tell us about the parts that you were particularly particular about and the points that you challenged in creating the scenario.

Iwasaki

 First 

of all, this event will be a type of event called the "Tokyo Recapture Event." In the past, this type of event did not support scenario rereading, but this time we are putting a lot of effort into the scenario, so we are modifying it so that it can be read back.

――What was the most difficult part of completing the supervision?

Iwasaki

: 

The most difficult part was the scenario. As for how hard it was, it took me all the way to the fifth draft at the synopsis stage (laughs).

――The synopsis is a precursor to the plot, isn't it? So 5 retakes is amazing!

Iwasaki

 Yes, I really stumbled at the starting line. We couldn't put together the fundamental parts of why Raidou came to the world of D2 Megaten, his motivations, and what he was fighting for, so we had to make a lot of adjustments. It took a long time to combine the world of D2 Megaten with the world of Raidou Remastered: Super Strength Corps Miracle.

――Did you make any new discoveries through development?

Iwasaki

 I 

personally think that it is a new thing that I have gained to be able to understand the character of Raidou Kuzuha more clearly and in high resolution. Through supervision, I felt the feelings and enthusiasm that Atlas's development team has for Raidou, and we were also enthusiastic about that enthusiasm.

For example, in "D2 Megaten", you can hear the character's lines by tapping the character status screen, but Mr. Atlas requested that "Raidou speaks every time depending on the timing the player wants to speak, which is different from Raidou's image." Raidou is set so that it does not speak even when tapped.

I thought without question, "It's good to be able to hear (read) the voices and lines of the characters at any time," so I learned from Atlas's perspective and commitment. In that respect, respect for the character is also revealed.

Highlights and the future of D2 Megaten

――At the beginning of the interview, you said that you would like to think about the future and work with derivative works. Please tell us about the future of D2 Megaten, specifically the next year. What actions and measures will be implemented in the future?

Iwasaki

 This 

year's D2 Megaten has a policy of "making it a turbulent year," and we are taking an aggressive stance. Collaborating with derivative works is also a manifestation of this aggressive stance and a major challenge. It was also worth the challenge, and I have learned a lot and gained a lot of experience, so I would like to make the most of it.

D2 Megaten celebrated its 7th anniversary in January of this year, and we will continue to take on challenges next year and the year after that so that we can continue to deliver new things to our customers and give them the surprise and joy of "It's been seven years and they're still doing something so new!"

――I'm looking forward to new challenges in the future! Just a few more tips! For example, could you give us some information about what month you are looking forward to?

Iwasaki

 Let's see. Keep an eye on the end of August. We don't have anything big to do in September, but we're going to talk about what's going forward. I can't say exactly what kind of information we will send out yet, but I would like you to pay attention to the most recent September. I think it will probably be announced on a live broadcast, so please look forward to it.

――Finally, do you have a message for our readers?

Iwasaki

 This collaboration with "Raidou Remastered: Super Strength Corps Miracle" was the second installment of the Half Anniversary, and we put a lot of effort into it. We are doing our best to make it so that our customers and users can overcome the hot summer and enjoy it, so we hope that you will log in and play.

We have been working closely with Atlus and cooperating in various ways, and it is a high-quality collaboration, so if you are a fan of Atlus or are interested in playing "Raidou Remastered: Super Strength Corps Miracle", I would like you to take a look. We are confident that we are making something that will meet your expectations, so please look forward to it.

In addition, the update, which will be held at the same time as this collaboration, will also add new elements such as an increase in the maximum number of "brands" to be possessed and rainbow special effects. The update will make it easier and more interesting to play if you leave the game, so please keep an eye out for the evolution of "D2 Megaten".

▼ Related campaign information

• RAIDOU Remastered: Super Corps Tale Now on Sale
• RAIDOU Remastered: Super Soldier Strange Tale Commemorative Goods and Atlas Official Merchandise Now on Sale
• "RAIDOU Remastered: Super Corps Strange Tales" Collaboration Commemoration! Submission campaign in progress (until 8/7/2025 (Thu.) 23:59)