Enishi Matsuri Famitsu Interview

This interview was conducted and published by héro-san at Famitsu App. Please give him a follow at: https://twitter.com/cinema_hustler

Additionally, thanks to FamitsuApp for the images used. You can find a link to the interview here: https://app.famitsu.com/article/202503/33652

TL by User:Prymnis. Please do let me know if something seems wrong. Once again, thank you to User:Reika for what's essentially the template.

The Long-awaited Event has Finally Arrived!

Sega's SHIN MEGAMI TENSEI Liberation Dx2 (subsequently, Dx2) is holding an event for the first game in the series, Shin Megami Tensei!

In this interview, we ask Director Sabatoma Iwasaki (subsequently, Iwasaki) details about and his enthusiasm for the upcoming event!

What Kind of Event is "Enishi Matsuri"?

Dx2 Megaten Enishi Matsuri (Festival of Fate)

héro: Could you please give us some details about long-awaited Shin Megami Tensei (subsequently, SMT) event, "Enishi Matsuri"? How is it any different from the typical Release Date Celebrations we have usually gotten? Is it any different from a normal collaboration?

Iwasaki: Yes, this is not a collaboration, but a "Festival of Fate". Characters from SMT are going to be released in Dx2. This will be represented by the general term "Enishi Matsuri" (Festival of Fate). Collaborations are usually one-off events, but this is not the case for this event. This conveys the feeling that the characters will release in Dx2, and this will continue in the future.

Details of the SMT 1 event, "Enishi Matsuri"

héro: Please tell us about the upcoming characters and their features.

Iwasaki: The characters coming up this time are the Hero and the Heroine of SMT 1, who battle along with their demon buddies. These demon buddies are summoned by the Hero and the Heroine, and you will be able to switch between them in battle. In Dx2 terms, it's like being able to switch Active skills in battle! This feature was implemented in the hopes of creating a special kind of feeling for those who played the game back in the day, so that they can reminisce about their experience of fighting in battle while summoning demons.

The Hero

Heroine

héro: I see. In other words, the Hero and the Heroine aren't summoned as demons, but they participate as characters (human beings) and summon demons themselves.

Iwasaki: That's right. There are two different buddies for each character, and you can switch between them in battle, setting them apart greatly from regular demons. In addition, the maximum limit for Mitama infusion and Sin infusion is also higher than the usual, and there is a high level of freedom for the player in adjusting the characters' stats, so you can enjoy building them in your own way. I hope even the little details can make the characters feel special.

A Highly Anticipated Event for the Management and Development Teams

héro: I'm sure there's been plenty of requests for the characters of SMT to come to Dx2, but more than anything, it must've been an earnest wish of the Management. How did this wish come to be?

Iwasaki: Thanks to everyone, Dx2 has finally reached its 7th anniversary, and this was only possible because of the hopes and feelings of all those who have played the game until now. So, the implementation of these characters couldn't just be like the demons that already exist in Dx2, it had to be a special experience. Therefore, to make this happen, we needed to lay the foundations of the game to actually make it possible. And I think it's great that the preparations to make it happen are in place at this time, and the development team is more than capable for it as well.

The Hero and the Heroine in 3D for the First Time

héro: How was ATLUS involved in the supervision of this special event?

Iwasaki: ATLUS has been thorough with its supervision up until now, but when it came to the SMT 1 "Enishi Matsuri", they told me "We'll do it better than we ever did before." (lol) When it actually began, the amount of supervision sessions and hurdles were more than ever before, just like they said it'd be.

héro: Do you have any specific examples?

Iwasaki: Since this is the first time the Hero and the Heroine have ever been in 3D in the series, there was a lot of trial and error involved in the making of their models, from the atmosphere while they're in 3D to how their expressions look based on the angle. Since there's never been any 3D animations before either, ATLUS was really enthusiastic and conscious about their models and movements. We received a lot of thorough feedback, and I could really feel their strong will to give this experience to the fans responsibly.

héro: Do they have any special features when they appear?

Iwasaki: Yes, there are. Their rarity display, their summon, battle entry, death and revival animations, their archetype names, etc. will all be different from the usual. We payed special attention to their battle entry, death and revival animations. For example, they aren't actually summoned in Dx2, so they're there in battle from the start. When they die, they don't disappear, but instead kneel on the spot. And their revival animation is them standing up from that pose, so please check it out.

héro: Were there any aspects of development that you found enjoyable or difficult?

Iwasaki: As I mentioned earlier, the archetype names, which are usually demon or god related, were renamed specifically for the characters. It was pretty fun to think about a proper name for the archetypes while including the unique aspects of archetypes in Dx2. Also, the process of choosing demons as buddies was closely supervised by ATLUS, so narrowing the number down to 2 (per character) was both fun and difficult as we also had to keep in mind the players who played the game way back then since we wanted them to able to reminisce about their experiences of that time.

Aiming for an Experience that Brings out Memories and Nostalgia

héro: Since this is their first appearance in 3D, I imagine you had to have gone through some difficulties in your effort to be precise.

Iwasaki: As I said earlier, this is their first appearance in 3D, and that of course also includes their animations in 3D. So, the teams involved were working on improving these characters' resolution, and asked questions like "What kind of personality does this character have?", "This character wouldn't move like this, would they?" It was both fun and difficult to understand these characters' personalities from the few sources we had at the time. Since they are also protagonists, we thought it would be weird if they talked too much, and were careful about their involvement in the (event) story. This is the product of respecting these characters' heroic traits, who let the results do the talking for them.

héro: What points of the "Enishi Matsuri" should we pay attention to?

Iwasaki: This time, we want the players to enjoy Dx2 with characters from the original game rather than just the demons. We asked ATLUS for more cooperation than ever before so the players can get the feeling "I played it like this back then". The whole development team also worked really hard, so we hope that you get a special kind of emotion that's different from the usual demons. In addition, we've prepared various fun things like a campaign and login bonuses, so we hope to continue to enjoy Dx2.

An Extravagant Campaign for New and Returning Players!

héro: Do you get anything particularly special from the campaign or the login bonuses?

Iwasaki: Yes! Since this is the first long-awaited appearance of SMT characters, we've prepared a more extravagant campaign than usual for new and returning players so many people can play again at this time. We believe that this is necessary to get the hype started for Dx2's 10th anniversary, so we made it lavish in order to appeal to many more people. We hope you can tell people around you that now's the time to play!

The Vision and Message of "Enishi Matsuri"

héro: Returning to what we discussed earlier, regarding the future of "Enishi Festival". Since you mentioned it will continue on in the future, does that mean it won't end with just Shin Megami Tensei as the sole work (of collaboration)?

Iwasaki: Yes, I would like for the "Enishi Festival" to continue on, and it won't be just limited to Shin Megami Tensei, I hope you look forward to it! (TL note: IwasakiP doesn't specify whether SMT refers to the 1st game or the series as a whole, the wording is ambiguous but leans towards the former, especially since Hero refers to it as "the sole work" instead of "the sole series". Thank you to User:Reika for help with translation here. Send them 200 billion dollars in gift cards.)

héro: Does that mean other long-awaited characters will also join the fray someday? If that's the case, it might encourage people who quit to come back. Please give us some parting words for the players.

Iwasaki: This time's SMT 1 "Enishi Matsuri" is the event that marks the start of the "chaotic year" we talked about in the previous interview. We hope you can come along, as the chaos will continue, so please enjoy the SMT 1 "Enishi Matsuri"! We've also received a comment from ATLUS, so please take a look!

A Message from ATLUS Co., Ltd.

The "Dx2 Enishi Matsuri - Shin Megami Tensei x Dx2 Megaten" event will finally be held.

For ATLUS, Shin Megami Tensei is an extremely important title, and for its appearance in Dx2, we put a lot more effort into the supervision of the game in order to make all players happy.

The Hero and the Heroine have also finally been rendered in 3D. We felt a great sense of accomplishment when we saw the finished character models. We believe the content will be enjoyable for all fans.

Certainly, we hope you can enjoy this event.