Raidou Collab Famitsu Interview
This interview was conducted and published by Hige Megane Hasebe-san (subsequently, Hasebe) at Famitsu.
Additionally, thanks to Famitsu for the images used. You can find a link to the interview here: https://www.famitsu.com/article/202507/47168
TL by User:Prymnis. Once again, please do let me know if something seems off. Thank you to User:Reika for what's essentially the template.
In this article, we held an interview with Producer Sabatoma Iwasaki (subsequently, Iwasaki) about the event as well as his enthusiasm for it!
Behind the Scenes of the Raidou Remastered Collab: Preperations were Underway Long Before the Announcement
Hasebe: How did this time's collaboration happen?
Iwasaki: It has become a tradition to have a collaboration each summer during the Half Anniversary for Dx2. However, it can become a bit monotonous when its a regular occurrence, so we've tried to liven things up by combining it with Enishi Matsuri (Mainline SMT Collabs), which had been quite the hit with everyone.
However, rather than doing a collaboration with the mainline series and holding an Enishi Matsuri, we wanted to collaborate with a spin-off with hopes of future expansion. When we consulted ATLUS about it, we were told about Raidou Remastered, about which no info had been released to the public at the time.
This was something beyond what we had hoped for, and ATLUS also approached us and told us they wanted to make the event more exciting than ever, so we decided to go ahead with it.
Hasebe: It must have been quite the shock to hold a collaboration with a game that hadn't even been announced yet.
Iwasaki: We had only spoken to them about collaborating with a spin-off of some kind, so it was really surprising to hear that Raidou Remastered was currently in development.
Hasebe: Since how long ago have you been planning this collaboration, given that its been in the works even before Raidou Remastered's announcement?
Iwasaki: We first consulted ATLUS in March of 2024, so its been in the works for about a year and a half. And since it was decided so early, we had longer to work on this than we had for most collaborations, so the collaboration character Raidou Kuzunoha & Gouto are a real masterpiece that took significantly more money, time and effort to create than normal demons do.
Hasebe: So what kind of a character will Raidou & Gouto appear as in Dx2? Tell us about their specs and abilities.
Iwasaki: In this collab, the real Raidou Kuzunoha XIV himself will appear. As Raidou is a Devil Summoner, in Dx2, he fights by summoning demons using the Buddy demon mechanic.
Hasebe: Was the Buddy demon mechanic something that was thought up for this celebration? Or was it planned from the beginning?
Iwasaki: There was a concept in place for Enishi Matsuri, but it would likely have been delayed if not for this collaboration. And because we were collabing with Raidou Remastered, the game designers were very enthusiastic, and we were able to achieve a system of high quality.
Hasebe: Tell us about Raidou & Gouto's specs, and about the Buddy demons too.
Iwasaki: Raidou & Gouto are attackers with extremely high offensive power. They can summon Yoshitsune and Moh Shuvuu, and switch between them to fight.
The specs (stats, presumably) themselves are very high, but I want to bring some attention to the new attack type that is "Special Attack". Special Attacks are neither Physical nor Magic, and can ignore enemy Phys DEF, Mag DEF and Damage Reduction. It doesn't matter how high their defenses are, or whether they have 100% Damage Reduction, Special Attacks can ignore these and continue to deal damage.
Summon: Yoshitsune is a Buddy demon skill inspired by Hassou Tobi. Its a powerful attack that hits a total of 9 times when activated. As far as I can remember, this attack has one of the highest number of hits out of any single target attack in the game. In addition to his high attack power, the fact that its a Special Attack allows Raidou & Gouto to launch multiple attacks that ignore enemy defense, making them an exhilarating character to use.
Also, Special Attacks will consume HP rather than consuming MP. Thus, its activation is even more simple than MP consumption is. And since Summon: Moh Shuvuu allows Raidou & Gouto is recover HP for themselves, it is important to switch between the Offensive Yoshitsune and the Defensive Moh Shuvuu. You can maintain high HP and continue to throw out strong attacks, making Raidou & Gouto versatile if used properly.
Hasebe: They sound a little too strong (lol). Were they difficult to balance?
Iwasaki: If you look at the specs alone, they may seem too strong. However, since the current Dx2 meta is one where the Defensive side is strong (TL note: I loled), we felt that we needed something this strong to create an exhilarating experience for the Offensive side, and even allow newer players to be able to enjoy the game.
To be honest, it was challenging, we carefully adjusted the game from the perspective of "Can you defeat enemies as the attacker?" Rest assured that we've made changes to ensure that a wide range of players will be able to enjoy the game while at the same time, achieving Raidou's overwhelming firepower.
Hasebe: The character's name is "Raidou Kuzunoha & Gouto", but will Gouto be joining the battle?
Iwasaki: Gouto will also appear, and we've put a lot of effort into creating his 3D model too. However, he will not fight and will instead be a watchful presence close by.
The idea was that Raidou & Gouto should be together. In the story, fittingly, Gouto appears riding atop Raidou's shoulder. There were difficulties faced during production and supervision, but we put in our best efforts, so keep an eye on Gouto's animations.
Collaborating with ATLUS and Challenges during Story Creation
Hasebe: Isn't it rare that ATLUS was developing Raidou Remastered and working on the story of this collab at the same time?
Iwasaki: It is. For the collab, we've created the animations from scratch for Dx2. There was a lot of attention to detail put into it during development, so please, take a look at it.
Hasebe: All of the animations were made by the Dx2 team! Please tell us more about the details you paid special attention to.
Iwasaki: It was all made under the supervision of ATLUS, based on promotional material and videos from Raidou Remastered. We received a lot of feedback like "This doesn't look like how Raidou would move", and we've made repeated refinements and we believe we've reached a level of quality that will satisfy everyone.
Hasebe: It seems like a lot of minute changes have been made.
Iwasaki: We were especially particular about the attack animation. Since they have strong skills, its not likely you'll see it often, but there was a lot of effort put into the sword swing, so please take a look.
Hasebe: Earlier you had mentioned that you and ATLUS had to work together in order to make this project a success, but in what ways, aside from supervision, are they involved?
Iwasaki: Although supervision was primary focus of their involvement, we are also cooperating on the PR side of things for the collab. During the live broadcast for Raidou Remastered, campaign information for Dx2 was announced, and during the live broadcast for Dx2, Raidou Remastered was also announced. We were able to work together more than we ever had before, so it was a great experience.
Hasebe: Was the supervision basically for only the 3D models and animations?
Iwasaki: The creation of the event story was also supervised. We've put a lot more effort into this event story, and we had set up a longer schedule for it as compared to other events, and it is all being intently supervised by ATLUS.
Hasebe: Please do tell us what challenges you've faced and what things you paid particular attention to in the creation of the event story.
Iwasaki: Firstly, this event is one called a Take Back Tokyo event. Up until now, you could not access this type of event in the archives, but since this story is one we put a lot of effort into, we've decided to make it so you will be able to reread it.
Hasebe: What was the hardest part of clearing supervision?
Iwasaki: The hardest part was the story. To give you an idea of exactly how difficult it was, we took five drafts to just write the synopsis. (lol)
Hasebe: The synopsis is the first step before the plot, right? Five retakes is crazy!
Iwasaki: That's right, we really just stumbled at the start line. We were unable to properly summarize parts like why Raidou came to the world of Dx2, what his motivations were, what he was fighting for, so we made many changes. It took a long time to really combine the setting of Dx2 with Raidou Remastered.
Hasebe: Did you discover something new during development?
Iwasaki: I personally believe that being able to understand the character that is Raidou Kuzunoha with greater clarity and higher resolution was something new. We also understood the passion that the ATLUS development team had for Raidou through their supervision and that got us fired up too.
For instance, when you tap the character or demon in Dx2, you'd be able to hear a line from them, but ATLUS requested that "it would be different from Raidou's image if he spoke whenever the player wanted him to", so we made it so that Raidou does not speak even if tapped.
We had been under the impression that, without question, it was good to be able to speak or hear a character's voice or line whenever we wanted, so we learned a lot from ATLUS' perspective and attention to detail. You could see the respect they had for their characters even in such little things.
Highlights and Dx2's Future
Hasebe: When we began, you had mentioned that you had wanted to "collaborate with a spin-off with hopes of future expansion". Can you tell us what is to come for Dx2, especially the coming year? What kinds of actions and policies will you be taking moving forward?
Iwasaki: This year, Dx2 had a policy of having a "chaotic year", and so we took an aggressive approach. Collabing with a spin-off is a sign of this aggressive approach, and was also a big challenge. But it was worth the challenge, since we gained a lot of experience, and we want to make use of that experience.
Dx2 celebrated its 7th Anniversary this January, and we would like to continue to offer new things to our players to make them go "It's been 7 years, and they're still putting out new things!" And to continue to surprise and delight them this way, we will keep challenging ourselves next year, and the year that follows!
Hasebe: I'm also looking forward to seeing these new challenges in the future! But I'd like some more hints! For instance, what month should we look forward to? Please give us some information!
Iwasaki: Well, please keep your eyes peeled for the end of August (TL note: In reference to the Fan Meeting, likely). There's nothing big planned for September, but I would like to talk about future prospects then. I can't tell you what kind of information will be released yet, but pay attention to the coming September. It will likely be revealed in a live broadcast, so please do look forward to it.
Hasebe: Finally, please give us a message for our readers.
Iwasaki: We've put a lot of effort into the production of this collab with Raidou Remastered as the second part of the half anniversary celebrations (TL note: IT IS PART 2!!!!). We've worked hard to make sure that our players can enjoy the game as they get through the summer heat. Certainly do log in and play!
We've worked closely with ATLUS and have gotten a lot of help from them, which has created a high quality collaboration, so I hope fans of ATLUS and those who've played Raidou Remastered can take a look. We are confident we have created something that will meet your expectations, so please look forward to it!
Also, the update that occurs at the same time as this collab will feature increased brand capacity (3500 -> 4000), and the introduction of new features such as Rainbow SP Effects.
The updates are designed such that its easier and more fun for returning players to play, so keep an eye on Dx2 and how it evolves!
