[Released on February 28, 1997! ] "Courons Gate" 25th anniversary studio live release! What is the progress of the new work "Courons Rhizome"? Hiroshi Kimura (director) x Kuniaki Haishima (music) Interview

On February 28, 2022, PlayStation's representative cult adventure game "Cron's Gate", which was released on February 28, 1997, celebrated its 25th anniversary.

To commemorate this, a special site will open on February 26, 2022. A studio live performance of two new songs written by composer Kuniaki Hishima for "Cron's Rhizome", which is being produced as a sequel to "Cron's Gate", has been released.

The theme of this live is "Change and Evolution". Mr. Haishima performed a new song based on this theme, "Minry" and "Syncros ~Fukuso~".

Different from the previous work "Cron's Gate", which reflects the Asian Gothic and Oriental worldview, the two songs, which are more complicatedly intertwined with the times, cultures, and worldviews, are based on the game "Cron's Rhizome". It is easy to imagine that it is a work that depicts a deeper and more chaotic world view.

As you can see the studio live from the link of the video, in this article, along with the photos of the private studio where the recording was done, Mr. Kuniaki Hishima (music) and Mr. Hisashi Kimura after the live (Director of "Courons Rhizome") Please enjoy the interview.

A glimpse of the invisible "Courons Rhizome" through music

──Please explain the song you performed this time.

Hishima: The song I performed today was a song that I sent to Mr. Kimura on my own without knowing the content of the song, and Mr. Kimura even gave it a proper title. After that, he gave me a critique that went down to the point, and it was so wonderful that I was convinced that he was right. So I would be happy if Mr. Kimura could explain the song.

Kimura (laughs). The first song, "Minryu," has a mysterious intro, and I really got the feeling of a dragon vein coming through time and space. "Ring power" is a setting of the previous work "Courons Gate", it is a phenomenon that twins resonate when dragon veins come. This setting also appeared in "Kuron's Rhizome", and this time there is a character called "Twin of Fate", but I got the feeling from the song that Ryumyaku is coming there.

It's a lively song, and I'd like to use it in the second half of the game when the sound is finally coming!

Hinoshima: While I was making it, I didn't have an image of sound power or anything like that, and I was just trying to make a ceremonial song. At first, it starts out like a fun shrine maiden dance, but it gradually enters a different world, and finally the orchestra comes out and it becomes very heavy. Something has come, it's scary. When I tried to make something that was exciting in the second half, they accepted the image properly.

Kimura: It was the same with "Coulomb's Gate", but we didn't have any particular meetings this time either. I thought it would be better not to say anything to the creators, so there was no retake. It's fun to exchange things like, "Oh, you're here."

Hinoshima: That's why it must be synchronized somewhere. It's loudness. I didn't do it at today's live, but in "Courons Rhizome", the Nazi German army appears during the game. Without knowing that, I made a song with the image of a deep dark place in Europe. It's strange. What comes to mind is synchronized.

Kimura: In the first place, the story begins with the European worldview of ``the establishment of the Prussian Royal Academy of Alchemy in 1701''.

Hinoshima: And Nagano Prefecture is also mentioned, isn't it? That's amazing. I don't have any information about what it's all about.

──When I hear the title "Courons Rhizome", I get the same Asian gothic image as the previous work...

Kimura: This time, it felt like evil thoughts were spreading all over the world, so I thought that I could do anything, and that's how it is now.

──And how about the second song, “Syncros ~Fukuso~”?

Kimura: The network gets confused and I end up connecting various Internet-like things such as Coulonet. I gave it the title "Synchros" with the feeling that a bad guy will ride on it. This is a coined word. It has the subtitle "Convergence", but I chose it because the song has an electronic impression. It's very tonal, but there's something unsettling about it.

Hishima: In this recording, I thought about where to take the anxiety that Mr. Kimura felt. This version is different from the sound source I gave to Mr. Kimura before, and I have a sense of unease. Perhaps, this version might be more interesting if used in a game.

When I made this song, I didn't think of it as something electronic, so I made it with the thought that there should be a song like this. The incoming melody is Chinese style. That's where the music hasn't escaped from "Cron's Gate."

Kimura: It has a relaxed feel to it, but it's really nice that there's a danger somewhere. Isn't that the case in the network world as well? If you use it with peace of mind, you will be slandered and uneasy before you know it.

The platform is Steam, and we want to deliver it to game fans all over the world

──Thank you for explaining the live. From here, I would like to ask about the main game, but what is the progress of "Cron's Rhizome" now?

Kimura: Thankfully, we received support from many people through crowdfunding two years ago, and we were able to create a prototype for the time being.

──This time, I think some fans were surprised by the style of walking around the city in real time.

Kimura: These days, movie dungeons (such as "Cron's Gate") are rather difficult. At that time, the company gave me three themes for PlayStation game development: movies, audio, and polygons. The Sony Group was bound to make a game that felt like a PlayStation, so we made it a movie that walks around a dungeon. On the other hand, this time we are making it with a small number of people using assets (material data collection used when creating 3DCG). I happened to find Kowloon City assets, and I'm using them this time.

I asked the Chinese staff who worked with me at my previous company to do the graphics. Would you say your title is technical artist? Unity, the game engine I'm using this time, can't be just an engineer, nor can an artist, you have to be able to do both. There aren't many people in that position, but I met the right person.

──Has the scenario been completed yet?

Kimura: The first draft of the scenario was published two years ago, and the specifications have been cut out from there. After that, I'm asking a development company that I matched with Lancers to create a system. System development is about 60-70% complete.

For character face graphics, there is an online service where AI can create faces by combining photos and materials for face parts, which is also interesting. As you play around with it more and more and make faces, you'll get a nice road person.

──The use of Lancers, assets, online services, etc. is very modern. "Cron's Gate" drew a picture of the future of the Internet world in the mid-1990s, but "Cron's Rhizome" incorporates a picture of the network services and future in 2022. The techniques and expressions used have changed, but I don't think the essence has changed between the previous work and this one.

Kimura: I feel like my functions are being expanded on the Internet. Talking about the contents of the game, the depiction of the network this time is metaverse-like, but by the time the game comes out, new things may be born from the net.

──What will be the platform?

Kimura: We are thinking of Steam as the platform. The PS5 didn't sell as well as I expected, and the game didn't work with the Switch specs, so I decided to release it on Steam.

──Steam has users all over the world, so I think it will be easier for people who have never played "Cron's Gate" to access "Cron's Rhizome".

Kimura: It's just that the translation is difficult (laughs). At the time of "Courons Gate", I made an English translation. Sojii-san was there, right? The character says, "It's my brother!", but if you say it in English, you'll say, "I'm brother!" I feel that it is difficult to reproduce in translation.

Haishima: This is the same for "Cron's Rhizome", but the world view and characters of "Cron's" have a charm that other games don't have. Nowadays, all the games that are played around the world are killing games, aren't they? There is a peculiar nuance to "Courons" in the midst of what is mostly decided. It's great that it's now available to be played all over the world.

──When do you think it will be released?

Kimura: Next year. We hope to release the early access version of the Steam version by March 2023.

──Honestly, as someone who was looking forward to "Courons Gate", I don't mind being kept waiting (laughs).

Kimura: I've already written 250,000 characters of text, and I'm at a loss as to how to put it in (laughs).

Ultimately, I'm thinking of making "Cron's Rhizome" a Creative Commons license (a license that allows the appropriate reuse of copyrighted material). Whether it's an anime, a manga, a game, or a novel, I want everyone to be free.

──It's a development like "Cthulhu Mythos".

Kimura: That's right.

Don't just sit back and let the fans take a bite

──"Courons Gate" is the 25th anniversary this year. A quarter of a century has passed since its release.

Hinoshima: You've become a grandfather.

Kimura (laughs).

Hinoshima: It's amazing that you've kept it for 25 years. I think "Courons Gate" is a game that will remain in history. If it's just originality, it's at the top level in the world. Taking over that DNA, Mr. Kimura is starting to create a completely new thing called "Courons Rhizome". I am also looking forward to this.

Kimura: It's said to be one of the world's three greatest games. "Courons", "Baroque" and "Garage".

──It's a symbol of the era when we searched for new game expressions with 3DCG.

Hishima 　The performance of computers has improved and it became possible to create amazing things, so my talent exploded all at once. That era was truly a gaming renaissance. The games from that time are still going on and people are having fun. I'm also looking forward to "Rhizome".

Since this year is the 25th anniversary of the release, it would be nice if we could do an event that connects "Cron's Gate" and "Rhizome".

──This time, we have adopted a visualized production style, soliciting investment from fans through crowdfunding and reporting progress to supporters.

Kimura: The idea is to have the fans become accomplices. I think it's better to say that you're interested in one, instead of just standing by and cultivating the mindset of the fans. It's been 25 years since the previous work, so I'm sure there are many people out there, but in 2014, when I held my first fan event in Odaiba called "Minna de Ohajimeshiki", I was hooked after it was released. A lot of people came. However, when Clone's Gate was released, I didn't have the means to reach out to those people. I didn't even reach it, so when I thought about how to reach it, I thought I'd make you an accomplice. There were people who wanted to participate in "Courons" a little more actively, so I wondered if such a thing would be okay.

Another thing, I found out when I sent the crowdfunding return gift, but the ratio of fans in the Tokyo metropolitan area was less than half of the total. When limited to the 23 wards, it is only in the 10% range. It turns out that fans are scattered all over Japan.

That's why it's difficult for them to participate in an event in Tokyo. On the contrary, I felt that SNS such as Twitter and the Internet were easier to access.

──The fact that they are connected over a network that transcends time and distance is also very typical of Coulombs, isn't it? Finally, Mr. Kimura, what kind of year do you want to make the 25th anniversary year?

Kimura On February 28, 2022, "Courons Gate" will celebrate its 25th anniversary. I've been working on game design and scenarios for 25 years, so I'm evolving, but from the user's point of view, it may be a change. So, there may be various gaps, so I hope it will be a year where I can skillfully fill in those gaps and connect them to the next one.

──I'm looking forward to it!

On the special site, in addition to commentary on the songs by Hiroshi Kimura, there is also an interview between Kimura and Hishima on the theme of "change and evolution" in 2025. Don't miss it!