Famitsu 7th Anniversary Fate/Grand Order Interview with Nasu and Takeuchi
Revisiting problems in the development structure that have remained unresolved for years.
Famitsu : This year has been really busy for Mr. Nasu as the huge "Avalon le Fae" (Lostbelt 6) and the first half of the "Tsukihime" remake have been released.
Nasu : It is...and it will continue to be so as long as FGO is up and running. This year I also worked on Lostbelt 7 and curated Lostbelt 6.5, and compared to last year, I had less work, but I'm still fighting for my life. But as everyone has already guessed, I took a break from February 25 to March 2.
Famitsu: Can I guess from the date that this hiatus is related to Elden Ring? (laughs). Are you satisfied with the game?
Nasu: I had something like this: “In front of my eyes is the perfect game that I dreamed of since childhood, what should I do, let work continue to absorb all my time?! If I don't dive into it now, what's the point of it anyway?" Although even during the break, I edited some things. Only my own writing was on hiatus so I could delve deeper into game research.
Famitsu: It must have refreshed you well. How was your year, Mr. Takeuchi?
Takeuchi: As we all know, "Avalon le Fae" became critical for Nasu, but it was the same for me as one of the members of the development team. In addition, we at Type-Moon worked with FGO on Tsukihime as well, so by the end of development I felt pretty burnt out.
Famitsu: Yes, that's what parallel development of two projects can lead to.
Takeuchi: Also, although it didn't affect Type-Moon much, we moved the developers from DelightWorks to Lasengle, and in the process we revised the development structure. We have planned the workflow in such a way as to remove unnecessary burden from unnecessary parts, which allows us to extend this project for a long time.
Nasu: For the past 6 years, no staff member has been able to provide assistance outside of their specific sector. We have always believed that this system is problematic and constantly asked to fix it, but this is all to no avail even now.
Famitsu : It must have been difficult to change something in the company environment when the work flow is non-stop.
Takeuchi: "Avalon le Fae" was a good opportunity to talk about it, as it is our biggest project. We can't avoid it if we want FGO to reach its natural ending.
Nasu: And at this point, we decided to rearrange the work plan. So that we don't have to deal with overtime, we had to develop some kind of model to ease the burden on each person. Only at the end of last year, our six-year wish was fulfilled, but these consequences are not yet reflected in the game, but I was pleased with the new start I received.
Famitsu: It looks like "Avalon le Fae" was a turning point for both the development of "FGO" and its history.
Nasu: As for what comes out after "Avalon le Fae", we have implemented things that we would not be able to implement if the working conditions did not improve in parallel with the development of "Avalon le Fae".
Famitsu : We've been seeing a lot of additions and improvements to the gameplay lately. Is this also related to restructuring?
Nasu : Gameplay doesn't change even with team changes. I mean, gameplay changes happen every year. It's silly to think that you can change the gameplay just by typing a new team. All the changes happened because the things that were done in advance were brought to the end.
Takeuchi: Yes, this is exactly the moment when what we prepared finally took shape.
Nasu : For example, if it weren't for some delays, skill coins (additional skills) would have been implemented since the release of the second part.
Famitsu : I see, so you just add it to the game every time you get an opportunity.
Nasu : But I should add, we didn't spend all of last year on these little details. We are working on much more radical changes. There are also things that we wouldn't want to touch, as it could upset the balance of the game, but they are too outdated to be left as they are now. I believe that some things need to be changed, no matter what difficulties they may bring.
Takeuchi: Each of us would like to fix those aspects of the game that are outdated in a bad way. And when the fruits of these desires come together, then we can see major changes in the gameplay.
Pros and cons of disclosure
Famitsu : Moving on, could you tell us about the most memorable events of the past year?
Nasu: I don't think my answer will be a revelation, but I think Gudaguda was the most amazing event. It was well choreographed, had a tightly connected plot, and a great cast. The players liked it too. But I think "Traum" did the best job. Since it came out as Lostbelt 6.5, it had to live up to a high standard of storytelling, and I think it did a great job.
Famitsu: Takasugi Shinsaku appeared in Gudaguda as an NPC. Was it always planned like this?
Takeuchi: NPCs are important elements of the story, as they allow it to breathe more life into it and bring more fun to the players. We've been guided by this belief ever since the launch of the game, but after seeing the number of adorable NPCs in Avalon le Fae, we've become more proactive in our desires to make more NPCs. It's only a matter of time. The story of Takasugi and Takechi coincided with the days when we began to follow this new direction.
Famitsu: As far as I know, among them, Takasugi was the one who caused the most outcry.
Takeuchi: It is. We all know that his design is great, but I think it was his fame and role in the story that generated a reaction that exceeded all of our expectations.
Famitsu : "Traum" is another story with many interesting NPCs. Will they be NPCs again in future stories?
Takeuchi: I can't say anything about that yet. We are sincerely glad that players have become attached to NPC characters. Not everyone can be made playable, but I hope to meet the expectations of the audience. We will reassess what we can.
Famitsu : Go ahead, tell us which Servant was the most memorable last year.
Takeuchi: Hmm. There are many of them, but for me the number 1 is still Dark Koyanskaya. Initially, she was supposed to come out as one character, and we already had three of her ascensions ready, but given the dichotomy of light and dark, we decided to split her into two characters and divide the design between them, and then we finalized the empty spaces with a new design.
Famitsu: Yes, Wada Arko's design was fantastic.
Takeuchi: She was supposed to be the centerpiece of both the anniversary and the new year, so I asked Wada to design a really amazing design for her, and I can safely say that what she drew was the pinnacle of the Tamamo variation design. Wada also designed her Beast form and she was incredible too. She's a very memorable character because of how she was able to bring together our memories of traveling through the Lostbelts.
Famitsu: What about you, Mr. Nasu?
Nasu: For me it's the Chung Sisters. Take's Servant was a big dream of mine, and we got a design that fully showcases her strengths. I was seriously worried that we wouldn't be able to replicate this effect on their combat sprites, but the combat team did a great job. Their debut story in the Sea Monsters Crisis event was also very good.
Famitsu : The final CG art was really touching.
Takeuchi: Take put all her heart into the design of these characters. All the staff, including me, wanted to match her feelings. Together with the Chung Sisters, Take also designed Taisui Xingjun, which is essentially an amalgamation of two characters with a child and adult form in one. This is a lot of work for one event.
Famitsu: It's already 4 characters in one event. But what about NPC Konov. Aren't they from Take too?
Takeuchi: It is. Because Taisui and Kona are the same. In the end, we got a well-polished event only thanks to Take, who accepted any requests that any other artist would refuse. The final CG art was requested at the last minute, but she still agreed despite her busy schedule.
Famitsu: "Sea Monsters Crisis" made me think about how difficult it is to write to Morgan. She can solve all problems on her own.
Nasu: When the writer of the event sent me the opening story and I read up to "Morgana Appears", I just thought, "Heh, they decided to use Morgana" and I didn't think too much about it. Later, when I read the finished script, my reaction was different: “Hmm, but it’s quite difficult to write.” The final decision was that Morgana, Ereshkigal and Melt were rewritten by me personally. I think it's too early to add Morgana, but after all is said and done, I think she added a good flavor to this soup.
Famitsu : What a lady who stayed away for the entire event until she got her moment of glory at the very end. It's also unusual that the free Servant was only shown at the very end of this event.
Nasu : I think having a free Servant is the main motivator to get people to participate in the event, so I was worried that people just wouldn't want to play if they didn't know which character they would get. But for Sea Monsters Crisis, we had to hide it. I wanted to hide even the very fact of the existence of a free character, but given the risk of involving players, we did not dare to take this step. We only talked about the availability of a free character for the event.
Famitsu : I see, it looks like it was a bit of a gamble.
Nasu: I was afraid that people would get confused and misunderstand the statement that "The Servant will never reveal his name", but in this case, you have to trust your audience. If they read the story, they will understand our decision.
Takeuchi: Some past events did not provide free Servants, although players expected them. After that, comments from frustrated players poured in non-stop. When we have a free Servant, we have to say it, otherwise we will disappoint the players even more, and we don't want that. However, this time around, keeping secret who the free Servant is worked really well, so we want to try it again.
It was the only chance to add Roland
Famitsu: Now I want to start asking questions about "Avalon le Fae", its de facto side chapter "Tunguska Sanctuary" and 6.5. What was Muramasa's reason for accompanying the group to the Inner Sea of the Planet? Merlin's words were very vague.
Nasu: It's because Merlin was betting that Muramasa would end up sacrificing himself. But Muramasa went further than his predictions. Merlin's Human Observation skill still takes a lot of things for granted (laughs).
Famitsu: Are you saying he was thinking a few steps ahead? Arturia Caster was supposed to be the essence of the Holy Sword. Will there be any consequences if Muramasa takes her place?
Nasu: No, Artoria Caster IS the essence. Muramasa just took over the job of putting in the finishing touches... fortifying the Holy Sword. Artoria Caster was later able to accompany Chaldea because she still had the last bits of magical energy she needed to use.
Famitsu: How are Cernunnos and the Priestess of the Beast God doing?
Nasu: I would say that Cernunnos passed away a long time ago and is now enjoying a leisurely retirement in the world of the gods on the other side.
Famitsu: I realized that the Lostbelt version of the priestess was placed in a state where she couldn't die. What happened to her next?
Nasu : I'm sure all of her parts died when we destroyed the human factory. She was already dead as a human, but her bio-functions were used in different sectors of the factory. They just used the corpse, which is ethically normal for fairies. However, a higher life form would indeed get angry at this and lament that the holiness of the soul had been destroyed.
Famitsu: Why was the priestess the only person on Earth to survive the collapse of the continents?
Nasu : Cernunnos said, "I am very worried about this dangerous battle, so I will retreat to Avalon" and took his priestess with him. Later, he thought, “Enough time has passed. The Sword Saint must have already finished that battle. This can't go on forever." So he returned when everything was already destroyed.
Famitsu: Is there an Insect of the Abyss in Human History as well?
Nasu: Good question. It should exist wherever the concept of "hole" exists, but nothing vicious will ever appear there.
Famitsu: Is there any reason why Morgana used to have Arturia Caster's appearance before?
Nasu: Because they are two products with the same model numbers.
Famitsu: So you're saying that when Artoria Caster grows up, she'll look like Morgana?
Nasu : Her appearance changes little by little depending on the environment she grows up in, so I can't say they'll be identical, but at least their standard forms won't differ much from each other.
Famitsu: Another note, Koyanskaya intended to capture the Alien God as her 8th tail. Would she have succeeded if Cernunnos hadn't attacked her?
Nasu: Depends on your interpretation of Alien God, but yes, it can. She can absorb anything that has hair. But only if she becomes a complete Beast. Because she made herself a copy of the source of the chimimore and made the most of those properties of her original.
Famitsu: Why was Koyanskaya so supportive of Muryan?
Nasu:Because she knew they were the same. They were both the only ones of their kind with the superior knowledge and intelligence needed to build a city and a corporation. This community strengthened their friendship. Even so, Koyanskaya imagined that Muryan would curse society in her final act, as it was a logical conclusion from the fact that they are similar. However, Muryan's last desire was not revenge, but the protection of the world in which she lived. And from that moment on, Koyanskaya already felt her defeat. As a sign of respect and admiration for her friendship with Muryan, Koyanskaya chose the path of protecting Chaldea. Koyanskaya did not want to protect Heldea, but she did it for the sake of her friend, so as not to leave her life unrewarded. I'll talk more about this in a new book that I'll be selling at 100 Comiket.
Famitsu: Koyan has so many sprites, including some unplayable ones. Will they be added in the future?
Nasu: We want to add them since people love them, but Koyanskaya has too many fashionable outfits, so we'll have to hold back...
Famitsu : Go ahead, tell us more about the mage of the Wandering Sea who appeared in the epilogue of Tunguska Sanctuary. Is he a Dead Apostle like Nero Chaos from Tsukihime?
Nasu: He's just a mage. Although his body is very close to ageless. The Mage of the Wandering Pestilence was only there for fan service, and we had to show what he looks like, as it would not be very good if he remained forever exclusively in the voice-only.
Famitsu : When was the last time Mr. Takeuchi drew him?
Nasu: A very, very long time ago. Nero Chaos was famous for being completely naked under his cape, but I don't think that would appeal to the current FGO audience. Then I thought “why don’t we give it a more sci-fi look” and we tested several of these outfits. That's all we needed. And we managed to make sure that he could fit into the game without going too far from his Tsukihime incarnation.
Famitsu: He called Sion the "Bird of the Underworld". Does that mean he knows what's going on in other timelines?
Nasu: He's watching parallel worlds, so he must know. He knows that transformation happens in every timeline when Zion's life ends.
Famitsu: So Sion in "FGO" is a hematophagus and not a vampire?
Nasu: It's a matter of life choice. "Netherworld Bird" here does not mean that she will get the boss design, it means that she will always adhere to the beliefs associated with the moment of her death.
Famitsu : In "Lostbelt 6.5" Roland reappeared, who first appeared in Astolfo's "While Waiting for Roland" interlude. He became playable after 5 years as an NPC.
Nasu : It's because it was our last chance to add Roland to the game (painful laugh). He was already ready a long time ago, but every time we thought: “Do we need him here?”, Since he did not feel like an obligatory participant in the plot. And so, its development stopped at 80%, after that we waited 5 years for the right moment to finally release it.
Famitsu: I thought you just forgot about him (laughs).
Nasu: Lostbelt 6.5 was originally going to be about the French Revolution, but the writer of the chapter suggested that if we wanted to give it our all, he'd like to write a war between multiple Servants. He later decided that paladins needed to be added for this, and we decided at the last minute to add Charlemagne.
Takeuchi: When Roland appeared as an NPC, his game profile was already complete. We just had bad luck getting it into the game all the time. We had a lot of other characters waiting for their release, but Roland was the longest one.
Nasu: Either him or the Red Hare. Jane was also on the starting roster, but her release spanned all the way to "Saber Wars II ~ To The Initial Universe~". Jane, Red Hare and Roland are the three musketeers, they were planned from the beginning but didn't have the right place to add them.
Takeuchi: By the way, to add Roland to the interlude, we had artist Sakamoto Mineji design it in a hurry. And yet, we delayed it for a year...I felt terrible when I told him about Roland's release, and his response was "I drew it 7 years ago." I had no idea that so much time had already passed...
Famitsu : I'd like to ask about the other Servants from Lostbelt 6.5 as well. Will nameless Servants get profiles?
Nasu: I asked the writers about it, and they sent me a rich list of character notes. But since they did not leave their names in history, I would not say that one of them turned out to be some famous hero. They are nothing more than second echelon soldiers who excel in this role but fail to become first echelon soldiers.
Famitsu: Oath-breaking monk Archer hasn't revealed her name, but is there any hope for her future appearance? Maybe at the next event or...
Takeuchi: It won't happen at the next event (laughs).
Famitsu: But do you confirm that her role was an early cameo?
Nasu: Yes. You can imagine how deserted Traum would feel with only class Servants, so we've added a few named ones for variety. We tried to choose figures not too strong, but not too little known. Someone people can recognize by name.
Famitsu : At the end of "Lostbelt 6.5" Holmes met a tragic end, but in a way, it refers to the PV of "Epic of Remnant", am I right?
Nasu: Right. After 3-4 years, my vision of this finally came out. Who called him? Before that, why does the evidence lead to what it was before 2017. These are the main questions players should have asked themselves. But now the audience has solved the case, and their doubts have faded into the background. That is exactly what I was aiming for. But as I watch the PV now, I'm still stunned by how evil Holm's voice sounded... (laughs).
Famitsu: So this twist was planned from the beginning.
Nasu: I believe that in a year you will know why everything had to be the way it is. It all makes sense. But there is one caveat, the turning point with Holmes was supposed to happen in Lostbelt 7. This is one part that deviated from the planned plan.
Famitsu: The appearance of young Moriarty in Lostbelt 6.5 was another big surprise.
Nasu : Actually, his appearance was not planned. He came true as Takeuchi said he wanted to see a younger Moriarty.
Takeuchi: Yep.
Nasu: When we first heard about it, everyone on the writing team had the same reaction. "Young Moriarty? Awesome, but where do we add it? It was hard to find the right moment for him. And this is where the screenwriter of Young Moriarty came up with the image of a real boss for him, who defeats Holmes in Lostbelt 6.5. This is the story of how we said goodbye to Holmes in advance.
Famitsu : Mr. Takeuchi, why did you want to make a younger Moriarty?
Takeuchi: When we had a meeting to discuss future Servants, we brought up the topic of releasing alternate versions of existing characters, and that idea was brought up there. Two words were enough for "Young Moriarty" to get possible design ideas in Wright's head. Moriarty turned out to be quite a piquant character in his younger years.
Nasu: Young still has one important role to play. I will keep silent about it for now, but sooner or later you will see it.
Takeuchi: He's one of my favorites. Wright's characters always have sexy bodies and are wonderful attention-getters, and Young Moriarty is no exception. I think he's a character that will make all fans of Wright's male characters go crazy.
A very simple story. Lostbelt 7 was written by Kinoko Nasu.
Famitsu: If you don't have anything else to add, before moving on to the future FGO, I'd like to ask you about this year's summer event.
Nasu: After years of ghost stories, treasure hunts, and other non-standard motives, I want to go back to basics. Beautiful ocean, blue skies and a fun amusement park.
Famitsu : Mr. Takeuchi, is he lying?
Takeuchi: (laughs)
Nasu: It's the ocean! But not the kind of ocean you can swim in, BUT it looks very beautiful in contrast to the blue sky. It will be a pleasant event. The location has already been shown in the game.
Famitsu: I must have missed it. Also, sum up the results of the current year.
Nasu: It will become clear to you when you see the logo and name. This year we'll tell a story about how to still have fun at a beach resort. No hidden masterminds like last summer and no theme changes like on ServaFes. However, every Servant featured there, even the most traditional looking one, will have a big surprise. Another important thing is that there will be 3 SSRs at once. We couldn't fit our entire CCP roster into just two slots, so we made a third one. Look forward to this.
Takeuchi: Also in "FGO" there will be a woman who looks a lot like Proto-Merlin from Arcade (laughs), and at the same time Merlin will appear in Arcade.
Nasu: It's an exchange. Proto-Merlin is the daughter who, shortly before the pandemic, we married into the Arcade family, as we wanted to promote Arcade, but enough time has passed, so we decided that she could also come out on mobile devices.
Famitsu: Many players are looking forward to it.
Takeuchi: I'm not trying to hint at a plot, but I hope you enjoy it. And I hope that this location will be something that you have not thought about before.
Nasu : Summer events are designed to simulate a great summer festival for those players who, due to their busy schedule, cannot afford to go to the beach or climb mountains in real life. There is a minus in this, because the more we do them, the less suitable situations we have for the next events (laughs). We are already thinking about what type of recreation we can use for the coming years.
Famitsu: Looking forward to it! Moving on, I'd like to talk about what's coming in Lostbelt 7.
Nasu: I may be starting to sound like a broken record, but the overall storyline is going to be REALLY simple.
Takeuchi: Of course, everything will be simple after "Avalon le Fae" (laughs). But don't worry, we have some interesting plans for Lostbelt 7.
Nasu : I really didn't want to talk about it ahead of time, but it doesn't matter anymore, so I'll say it. The author of "Lostbelt 7" is Nasu. I kept quiet about it because if a potential personal tragedy had happened before May of this year, then I would not have been able to write "Lostbelt 7" and I would have had to delegate this work to someone else.
Famitsu : I'm very excited knowing that this will be Nasu's work. It will be madness, since Rasputin and ORT will be there.
Nasu : No, I just said everything will be fine (laughs). Avalon le Fae was the exception and it won't happen again. "Avalon le Fae" is just one of Nasu's top 3 craziest projects and I can't make it a standard if I want it to work in the long run.
Famitsu : I'm just wildly excited when I imagine how it will all look like. What can we expect from Year 8 of FGO?
Takeuchi: For this year, we are working hard on Lostbelt 7. As Nasu said, we are putting in a completely different effort than for Avalon le Fae. What happens after Lostbelt 8 has been a subject of discussion since last year, and now we are 100% sure in which direction we will go. We are finally in the position from which we can make the final push towards the climax. We're working hard, and we hope this is clear enough to the players.
Nasu: The upcoming Lostbelt 7, like Singularity 7 as a whole, is the semi-final point for the traveled journey and all the premonitions of the plot become visible. If nothing fundamental changes, then I believe that the final will not come as a surprise to those who have been playing the game for 8 years. I want to introduce a different kind of laughter of delight, so that it can give a lot of pleasure even after the effect of novelty is gone. Development is really stressful and everyone puts their energy into it.
Famitsu: So we can assume that "Lostbelt 7" will provide answers to all the mysteries of the second part?
Nasu: Not exactly an answer, but it will give you a good idea of the big picture. After it, there will be the last chapter, so some doubts must remain. But I believe that Lostbelt 7 will reveal the main plot of the whole situation, and to be precise, the plan for solving it, which no one has considered before.
Famitsu : By the way, starting with "Lostbelt 5", you add an extra ".5" chapter between each chapter. Does this story have chapter 7.5?
Nasu: You'll find out when you complete Lostbelt 7. Please be patient. All I can say is, remember my words from the post-Lostbelt 5 interview: "We're finally past one third." “Don't think that you are already halfway there”… (laughs).
Famitsu : In the last interview, you mentioned two scenarios after the second part (Option A - the continuation of the story of the second part; Option B - the final ending of the Chaldea story and after it a new story will begin). Are there any changes in your current plans?
Nasu: Not really. Personally, I want to choose option A, but it all depends on how the audience reacts to it, so God knows what will actually happen.
Famitsu : Tell me about what you do outside of FGO. Can you tell us anything about the console port of Mahoutsukai no Yoru, the second half of Tsukihime or Fate/EXTRA Record?
Nasu: I would like Takeuchi to tell ME this.
Takeuchi: Good (laughs). "Mahoutsukai no Yoru" takes precedence over "Tsukihime", so work on it is progressing at a steady pace. "Mahoutsukai no Yoru" is based on a novel by Nasu that he wrote at the age of 20, and since I first read it, my dream is to spread this story to a large audience so that as many people as possible can enjoy this work. The anime adaptation is just one of many projects I'm looking at to increase my reach, but it's important to enjoy the game first. "Tsukihime" and "Fate/EXTRA Record" are still being developed under the cover of secrecy, so please stay tuned for future announcements!
What are the highest level Servants that Nasu and Takeuchi have?
Famitsu : Sorry for the abrupt change of topic, but tell us which of your Servants have reached level 120 or which of your Servants would you like to level up to 120?
Nasu : Level 120 is a distant dream~ (laughs). In general, I think that leveling a character above 100 is only for those who are really interested in it, but I try to level all Mooncancers to 100 or higher. BB - 100, Kiara - 100, Jinako - 100. Getting the Mooncancers to 100 is my grail theme, my personal oath. But level 120... it's not easy.
Famitsu : I know, I still only have one 120.
Takeuchi: We were trying to turn the mechanic into a near-infinite journey, so to be honest, I'm amazed at the number of players who have reached level 120.
Famitsu: By the way, who do you train, Takeuchi?
Takeuchi: My Arturia is still at level 116.
Nasu: If you're just spending AP every day without eating a single apple, then your character should be around level 114 - 116. At least that's how it is for me.
Takeuchi: I'm tired of pouring in so many experience cards with no visible progress.
Nasu: You're at ease with your Arturia. I can't speed up the leveling process for Extra Classes as there are no specific experience cards for them.
Famitsu : One should strive for Super Success.
Takeuchi : Yes, it really seems like periods of increased Super Success are your only chance.
Famitsu : I noticed that we have new ways to get Holy Grails, but Grail Forging was one of the mechanics that caught me by surprise. The game does not tell anything about the principles of its work and the history behind its addition. Do you have something to say?
Nasu: There's no lore behind this. It's just that with the increase in the number of Servants, the players have more favorites, and our resources should match this. The game has been around for more than 5 years, so we should prepare for the fact that we will have more opportunities to provide the Grails. But they are still special items, so we wanted to limit them to 1 per event, but still have a special procedure to get more. What we wanted from Forging was to give the players the feeling that this is not something they have purchased, but something they have made themselves.
Famitsu : What we personally did... And this is not another of the things from Leonardo da Vinci.
Nasu: I think that the Master is simply melting down his resources that he has accumulated over time. As I have repeatedly mentioned the Holy Grails in "FGO", they are nothing more than copied code, so there is no special magical secret in them.
Translated by: