Marvelous held its first early demo event for Peach Ball: Senran Kagura in Tokyo the other day, and producer Kenichiro Takaki talked about making a pinball game, reaction from overseas fans, and more in an interview with 4Gamer.
4Gamer: What were your thoughts on the demonstration event?
Kenichiro Takaki: “Peach Ball: Senran Kagura is a different genre from the usual action game, so I was curious to see the reaction, but everyone appeared to have gathered quicker than they do for usual events, so that told me they were looking forward to it.
Pinball games are quite rare in Japan, so it would make me happy to spread its joys for the people in Japan today.”
What are some instances of struggle that went into making a pinball game that is also Senran Kagura?
Kenichiro Takaki: “I really love pinball, so it’s something I’ve always wanted to do. However, the rules are difficult, and I wanted to show off what makes it catchy while matching with Senran Kagura. It is very Senran Kagura in a sense that it will make it easy for you to know what parts to hit with the ball, such as ‘Please hit the breasts.’
Pinball machines don’t have moving objects, so we put our minds together to figure out how to make it happen in a game.”
The game features five characters including Asuka and Yumi. Please tell us how you decided on the girls.
Kenichiro Takaki: “While I do wish I could have them all in there, they were selected based on the ones I personally like, fan demand, and characters that would make a good fit to pinball game characteristics.”
What’s the reaction from overseas fans that live in countries where pinball games are more common?
Kenichiro Takaki: “They were really surprised, like ‘Those Japanese ideas are crazy!’ or ‘That’s not normal right?!’ I think they’re looking forward to it. We’ve increased the number of fans overseas the past few years, so it’d make me happy to see their reactions a bit from Peach Ball: Senran Kagura.”
What is there to enjoy for those who aren’t familiar with pinball?
Kenichi Takaki: “When it comes to pinball, I believe that are some parts you can’t fully enjoy unless you know the rules. However, Peach Ball: Senran Kagura will have your tasks on the right part of the screen. You can practically just start out randomly hitting the ball around to get a feel for what works and naturally learn the rules on the go.”
In the anime’s second season, there was a scene that reminded us of Senran Kagura: Peach Beach Splash. Do you have any plans to put elements from Peach Ball: Senran Kagura into the anime?
Kenichiro Takaki: “The anime’s second season will continue with its original story development, and we’ll keep hitting it with references from past titles. However, we’ll just have to see about that. For now all I can say is please look forward to it. [laughs]”
The Tokyo event took place on November 17, and the next one will be at Osaka on November 24 from 1:00pm JST to 6:00pm JST at the Joshin Disc Pier Nipponbashi, and December 1 from 1:00pm JST to 6:00pm JSTat the WonderGOO Nagoya Osu.
Peach Ball: Senran Kagura releases for Nintendo Switch in Japan on December 13, 2018.
Published: Nov 19, 2018 03:00 pm