NEO: The World Ends With You Crossover Details in New Trailer

REYNATIS Creative Producer TAKUMI and three key members of the NEO: The World Ends With You development team, Creative Producer and Character Designer Tetsuya Nomura, Producer Tomohiko Hirano, and the Series Director Tatsuya Kando discuss the upcoming NEO: The World Ends With You collaboration with REYNATIS, such as what drives game creators, Tetsuya Nomura's advice for young creators, and more.

• This article was originally published on the NIS America website. You can find the original content at the following link: REYNATIS x NEO: The World Ends With You Interview.

With both games sharing a modern-day Shibuya setting with fantasy elements, the REYNATIS x NEO: The World Ends With You collaboration is a match made in heaven. And it all began with the passion of REYNATIS'Creative Producer TAKUMI and his admiration for Tetsuya Nomura, the game creator involved in the Kingdom Hearts series, along with a multitude of other projects.

For this interview, Denfamicogamer sought to find out what drew TAKUMI to Tetusya Nomura's works and NEO: The World Ends With You, resulting in the following roundtable discussion about how the collaboration came about.

Please enjoy the translated version below!

A young creator's passion that transcended company boundaries

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—— I think it's rare for a collaboration to overcome the barrier of two different companies both working in the console games market. To start us off, how were you first told about this collaboration, Mr. Nomura?

Tetsuya Nomura (hereafter Nomura) Hirano here told me that “Someone wants to discuss doing a collaboration,” and I took a look at the planning documents. I thought, “Wow. They sure going for it.” (laughs)

All (laughs)

Nomura TAKUMI's overflowing enthusiasm was evident from the very detailed planning documents.

Being confronted with his affection towards The World Ends With You made me want to participate in the collaboration and want it to succeed. So, I told Hirano, “Do what you can to help him out.”

Isobe Takumi (hereafter TAKUMI) It's an honor to hear you say that.

REYNATIS is a game that's set in Shibuya, but even though various shops and landmarks appear [in the game] under their real names, when I think of Shibuya, I just think of the one in The World Ends With You. I thought, “Even if it doesn't work out, I should still offer my proposal,” and that's what kicked this off.

—— The companies making REYNATIS and NEO: The World Ends With You are different, so how were you able to reach out to them with your proposal? Did you have some connection to someone who was on theThe World Ends With You team?

TAKUMI No, I didn't have any connections, so I didn't have an “in” to propose the collaboration.

I talked to [FURYU Corporation's] sales staff and, by chance, they had a connection to Square Enix's marketing person, who then introduced me to Mr. Hirano.

Tomohiko Hirano (hereafter Hirano) When I first heard about it, I really felt TAKUMI's passion and enthusiasm. Then, I was really surprised when I saw the planning documents.

—— Wow, really? When you first spoke to Mr. Hirano, did you have some kind of plan in mind to get him on board to make this collaboration a reality?

TAKUMI At that point, I just took the planning document with all the information I could include in it and put everything out in the open. It wasn't anything businesslike. It really was just me presenting it like, “I really like The World Ends With You!”

Hirano I can say this now, but during that meeting, I said, “If you want to do a collaboration that involves Shibuya, there are other more famous works [than The World Ends With You], so you don't need to sugarcoat anything.”

But TAKUMI said forcefully, “I want to do a collaboration with The World Ends With You!” That made me think, “He must really be a fan of ours…” (laughs)

TAKUMI Precisely. I am a fan. (laughs)

Since Kingdom Hearts, I've played practically all of your titles. I encountered your games in my formative years, so I was greatly influenced by them.

—— So that's how this collaboration came to be. Naturally, you must have been really fired up then, right, TAKUMI?

TAKUMI I was. Abundantly so. So much so that people said I was only this fired up when working on the NEO: The World Ends With You collaboration.

Also, I didn't just want this collaboration to include simple elements. I wanted to have a deeply involved collaboration that the fans would be satisfied with, so I had the initial development schedule lengthened.

From not wanting to do a “haphazard collaboration” to one where both works are deeply intertwined

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—— So, this began with TAKUMI's enthusiasm. What would you say is the main draw for this REYNATIS and NEO: The World Ends With You collaboration?

TAKUMI First and foremost, I want people to pay attention to the story. I think seeing how the characters of REYNATIS and NEO: The World Ends With You become involved with one another is particularly noteworthy.

Tatsuya Kando (hereunder Kando) The story in this collaboration runs parallel to the events of NEO: The World Ends With You, and we decided to set it at the beginning of the game, shortly after when Rindo first gets involved with the Wicked Twisters.

If I say too much it would spoil it, so I'll keep the details to a minimum, but Rindo and Shoka are antagonistic to one another, and they are transported to another world where they must work together to return to their world. I thought it was an interesting story.

—— For this collaboration, I have the impression that characters don't just make cameos but rather are deeply intertwined with one another. I'm surprised this was approved.

Hirano Seriously speaking, this collaboration is “anything [is ok] within the confines of the contract,” so we [Square Enix] didn't have any hesitation about going with the proposal.

In regards to the nuts and bolts of the collaboration, we received the proposal from TAKUMI, and showed it to both Mr. Nomura and Mr. Kando. We proceeded once we had their approval.

—— How was the content itself decided?

TAKUMI First, I compiled everything that I wanted to do. Then those plans were revised in discussions with Mr. Hirano and Mr. Kando.

Hirano We wanted to make the most of this collaboration, so we made sure to make requests of our own. We worked together with TAKUMI to finalize everything.

Kando Thankfully, we believe that The World Ends With You is a series enthusiastically supported by fans, so we knew a haphazard collaboration wouldn't do. We knew it had to be content we could confidently offer to fans.

Therefore, we made sure that Shoka and the others appeared appropriately in REYNATIS by making sure our own ideas were conveyed. That's how we decided on the content.

—— Was there anything that you had to particularly watch out for from the perspective of [employees on behalf of] Square Enix?

Kando We simply combined REYNATIS and NEO: The World Ends With You, but the worlds [of the games] don't really fit well together, so we had to think about how we could create a situation where neither would overpower what was good about the other.

In the end, we wound up making a “world between the worlds,” which is where this collaboration plays out.

—— So, that's when NEO: The World Ends With You's scenario writer Mr. Ishibashi came to be the scenario writer for this [collaboration], right?

Kando That's correct. TAKUMI had drawn up the foundation for the project, so myself, Mr. Itō the director, and Mr. Ishibashi put the content together.

From there, we fixed the plot to make it adhere to the “rules” of NEO: The World Ends With You, and then had Mr. Ishibashi write the text.

Hirano Incidentally, we were the ones who requested that the BGM be taken straight from NEO: The World Ends With You.

Kando That's right; Mr. Itō had strong feelings about when and where the BGM should be used.

TAKUMI Personally, I was really surprised at just how much we could do in this collaboration. So, as a fan of The World Ends With You, I decided to act as the representative for The World Ends With You fans and was constantly thinking, “What would the fans enjoy?”

As we proceeded, I thought about things like, “I wonder if we could have that one character from NEO: The World Ends With You speak with this character from REYANTIS. ”

From sharing characters to advice, the NEO: The World Ends With You team gave their full support.

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—— It's like the developers of both games came together as one for this collaboration. But TAKUMI, when you made the proposal, did you ever think in your wildest dreams that you would be able to make Rindo and Shoka from NEO: The World Ends With You?

TAKUMI Not at all. I was so happy.

I played The World Ends With You series when it first came out on the Nintendo DS, so as the producer of REYNATIS and as a fan of The World Ends With You, I really wanted to preserve the appeal of each and every character.

To that end, I thought carefully and continuously about how to effectively involve them in REYNATIS.

—— This is a simple question from me, but the graphical assets for Rindo and Shoka were done by FURYU Corporation, right?

TAKUMI No, we basically received all of that data [from Square Enix].

—— Wow, really?!

TAKUMI However, we couldn't use them as-is in the game, so we had to adjust things so that they would work in REYNATIS.

Hirano Basically, we gave them everything we could. I bet TAKUMI was puzzled, wondering, “Why are they offering all this data?” (laughs)

Fortunately, both games run on Unity, so the work [to get the assets adjusted for REYNATIS] was relatively speedy.

TAKUMI I updated them frequently about the progress. I went drinking with Mr. Hirano often, so I had plenty of chances to explain the progress and get advice, which allowed me to proceed with the project without too much worry.

Hirano That's right. When he would show me the progress, I would say things like, “This part isn't really The World Ends With You -like,” so once he fixed it, I would send it around internally for approval.

Nomura Mr. Hirano, they're gonna headhunt you.

All (laughs)

—— By the way, what, to you, is “ The World Ends With You -like?”

TAKUMI For me, the big appeal of Mr. Nomura's works is that they are set in the real world, with fantasy elements.

I think The World Ends With You is the title that best exemplifies that, so that's what I consider “ The World Ends With You -like.”

—— What did you think at Square Enix once you saw the finished collaboration?

Kando The World Ends With You is unique for its thickly drawn 2D black lines, so we thought, “How do we replicate that look with polygons?” Keeping that in mind is how we got NEO: The World Ends With You.

We were a little uncertain about how blending that unique touch with REYNATIS'more realistic style would turn out.

However, when we saw the finished product we thought, “Hey, that doesn't look unnatural at all.” The enemies–Noise–also retained that touch in battle, so we had no objections from our side about the finished product.

—— Mr. Nomura, was there anything that stood out to you?

Nomura In terms of the graphics, the deepness/saturation of the colors stood out to me, so I mentioned that. Other than that, I thought, “If we're really going all out with this, it should be voiced.”

Hirano When we were first approached about the collaboration, REYNATIS itself was already pretty far along in development.

The story for this collaboration is implemented as a kind of substory, but I heard that there wouldn't be enough time in the schedule to include additional voice acting. I'm sure TAKUMI wishes we could have done even more than we did…

Takumi We'll do it in REYNATIS 2.

Kando That was quick!

All (laughs)

REYNATIS — a game created from TAKUMI's interpretation of Shibuya

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—— Mr. Hirano and Mr. Kando, could you tell us your first impressions of REYNATIS?

Kando …"He's sure going for it."

Hirano That's what I just said! (laughs)

Kando I think there are several games out there that use Shibuya as a setting, each with their own interpretation of Shibuya. Even though TAKUMI respects The World Ends With You, his personal interpretation of Shibuya is what makes REYNATIS. My first impression was that if we could combine his work with our own, it would be very interesting.

Nomura Don't you think it's human nature to want someone to succeed in their passion when they present it to you in such a straightforward and honest manner? If there was some kind of ulterior motive, I don't think he would have been so upfront with how he approached us.

—— So, you think such honesty is rare?

Hirano Yeah, we don't even hear about something like that at our own company.

Nomura I thought TAKUMI's straightforwardness and humility were great.

—— I see. The look of a town can change quite a lot in a five to 10 year timeframe, so I think there are differences between the Shibuya of NEO: The World Ends With You and REYNATIS. When you were reviewing the project, did you feel anything in particular about this [aspect]?

Hirano It's not just the look of Shibuya between NEO: The World Ends With You and REYNATIS, but the impression of the town itself. The setting of Shibuya in NEO: The World Ends With You is during the day, whereas I would say it's nighttime for REYNATIS. Furthermore, I would say another big point of difference between the two is that NEO: The World Ends With You is more of an anime-style, while REYNATIS is going for something more photorealistic.

—— The difference between night and day, I see. TAKUMI, did you intend to portray Shibuya at night?

Takumi The concept for the wizards in REYNATIS is that they are oppressed and must live in the shadows, not allowing their identities to be known by normal people. Since this was the setup, it made sense for wizards to have to move around at night.

—— In the Shibuya of both REYNATIS and NEO: The World Ends With You, real-world shops make an appearance. I'm sure getting the adequeite permissions to do that was difficult. Did you ask Square Enix for some pointers on how to go about that, TAKUMI?

Takumi I did ask Mr. Hirano about that at the beginning.

Hirano However, there are more real-world shops in REYNATIS than there are in NEO: The World Ends With You, so you can chalk that up to TAKUMI's hard work.

Takumi Well, the actual buildings and number of shops in Shibuya at the time were completely different, so it's not possible to do a total comparison, but I appreciate the praise. Still, everyone on the development team helped out a lot, so I would give them the lion's share of the credit for their hard work.

Hirano I'm sure getting permission from that many shops was really difficult.

The driving force behind game development: The desire to make others happy

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—— Continuing the conversation, I'd like to ask you a personal question, TAKUMI. What would you say your motivation is for creating games?

Takumi Ever since I was small, I always felt like I could make my own toys if I wasn't able to buy any. I would have my friends check out the things I had made and enjoyed watching them play with them. Looking back at that now, I strongly feel that the joy in that is my motivation.

—— So, what would you say is at the core of your creative drive?

Takumi I've always felt that there are many people who want to express themselves but aren't able to do so. "The nail that sticks up gets hammered down," as they say. [Editor's note: This is common Japanese proverb.]

That's a theme and concept for REYNATIS, but [the thought that], "Hey everyone, it's alright to express your individuality, and you can go as wild as you'd like with it," was also at the heart [of it]. Other than that, I have to say that I like things with a dark atmosphere. I guess I have a longing to be more like a light character, hence my appearance.

All (laughs)

—— By the way, when you first met Mr. Nomura, did you have the same pink hair as you do now?

Takumi I think I did…

—— In that case, were you surprised by that, Mr. Nomura?

Nomura Mr. Kazushige Nojima, who is the Scenario Writer for REYNATIS, wrote on X (formerly Twitter), "Every time I meet him, his hair is a different color," so I wasn't surprised.

Kando That's true! I feel like every time we had a remote meeting, his hair was a different color. (laughs)

—— It seems that Mr. Isobe's hair proclivities were a well-known entity even then. This next question is for Mr. Nomura: What is your motivation for making games?

Nomura Seriously speaking, since I was young I've had many ideas building up for things I've wanted to create. But no matter how hard you try, games take years to come together, right? So that means you just end up with a bunch of ideas. Right now, I'm trying to bring as many of those to fruition as I can.

And, the core of what keeps me involved in creative works is the desire to "make others happy."

When I was in school, I used to draw manga in class and have my friends read it. On my days off, I would sketch out plans for table-top games on paper and take them to school with me. I loved when others enjoyed something that I had made.

No lies in creative works with modern-day settings

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—— Since we have this opportunity, I'd like to ask about "input" in regards to game development. TAKUMI, what kind of things do you take note of?

Takumi I don't really think, "I should absorb this!" Rather, if I come across something that makes me feel "I can use this," in my daily life, I write that down, so I've built up a stock of things.

Nomura I watch a lot of movies. I actually went and saw one today.

—— What did you watch?

Nomura Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol.

—— What kinds of genres do you usually watch?

Nomura A variety. My favorite [genre] is horror. I'm subscribed to pretty much every subscription service out there, and I watch a lot of horror on all of them.

Takumi Interesting. What's your favorite?

Nomura I've been watching them for such a long time, I don't remember all of the names. When I was sorting my collection at home, I found out that I had three copies of the same movie. (laughs) Of what I do remember, I guess Sinister. Basically, I like POV fake documentaries.

Takumi Oh, that's cool!

Nomura Recently, I also watched Marui Video.

—— Why do you like fake documentaries?

Nomura Many of the games that I make are set in the modern day, and this is related to that, but I really don't like lies in creative works.

A truely scary horror movie doesn't exist. As you watch, you end up thinking, "this is just fiction," so there's nothing really scary.

So, that feeling of reality in a fake documentary provides that creepy feeling I'm after. Recently, I thought Incantation and The Medium were really good.

Takumi This is a Japanese TV show, but do you know Amasso no Ganbare Okusama!? It seems like a variety show at first blush, but actually, something pretty shocking happens… I thought I was just watching a variety TV show, so I was really surprised. It was super interesting.

Nomura Huh. I guess I know the twist now.

To keep making games, "prioritize your creative vision"

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—— TAKUMI, when you first met Mr. Nomura, what did you talk about?

Takumi Let's see. The reason I decided to become a game creator was because of Kingdom Hearts. You could say that Mr. Nomura is a key person in my life, and someone I greatly admire and respect, so I couldn't really do much more than greet him.

So, in order to break the ice, I told him that, as a fan, I had really wanted to play Final Fantasy Versus XIII. (laughs)

I wondered how Mr. Nomura felt about that as a creator, so I thought that I could get a sense of his thoughts through that topic.

Nomura When we met [that first time] we didn't talk about game development at all, did we? I think we talked about how I was easier to talk to than you thought.

—— (laughs) Even though he said that to you, I'm sure you were still very nervous, right, TAKUMI?

Takumi Yes, I was.

—— Well, Mr. Nomura is a legendary game creator that you had admired since childhood, so it stands to reason that you would be nervous. By the way, how old are you right now, TAKUMI?

Takumi 31.

—— You're very young! How do all of you feel about young game creators like TAKUMI?

Kando I feel that there is a large variety [of different young creators].

Nomura Thinking about myself, I was able to do the most in my 30s. So, TAKUMI, these next ten years will be very important for you.

—— Why do you think your thirties are so important, Mr. Nomura?

Nomura Because everything you experience in your twenties becomes of use to you in your thirties. Plus, you still have the energy to pull all-nighters. Now that I'm old, all-nighters aren't happening. (laughs)

Hirano Isn't it a bit too early to be calling yourself "old"?

Kando Well, we are right on the verge of retirement age.

Nomura We're at the point where [we're thinking], "How many more games can I get out before I retire?" In your thirties, you have stamina and enthusiasm, and you have many things you've seen and experienced. Because of that, you can pour your utmost into making what you want.

—— I'd like to hear if you have any advice for what TAKUMI and other young creators should do.

Nomura I might have some ulterior motives in saying this, but you'll gradually trend towards making things that aren't good, so focus on your creative vision.

It's important to keep the feelings of wanting to prioritize your creative vision and proving its validity with your own ability.

TAKUMI, please make REYNATIS 2!

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—— We've talked about things directly related to REYNATIS, as well as things that are not today. Thank you all for giving us your thoughts. To wind things down, please give a message to the fans waiting for the results of your REYNATIS collaboration.

Kando Shibuya has been depicted in various ways, and NEO: The World Ends With You is a title that features Shibuya from our team's perspective.

I'm personally interested in seeing TAKUKMI's Shibuya, and I can't wait to play REYNATIS.

I want fans of NEO: The World Ends With You to see just how that Shibuya has found its way into REYNATIS.

Hirano I've personally already got to play a bit of it due to the collaboration with the main game, and I feel that the players will enjoy what's there.

I think anyone interested in REYNATIS is ok to keep their anticipation levels high.

Nomura This collaboration was born from TAKUMI's enthusiasm. We took on that enthusiasm and did everything we could to assist. I'm sure everyone will understand that we didn't take this on half-heartedly, so I'm truly hoping that it is well-received.

It would be great if fans of The World Ends With You fans enjoyed REYNATIS, and I would be very happy if REYNATIS fans became interested in The World Ends With You because of it.

Hirano That's right. Everyone, please check out the The World Ends With You games as well!

Takumi For this collaboration, we were able to overcome the hurdle of being in different companies and were able to make a good game thanks to everyone's collaborative efforts. I'm very grateful for that.

As a fan of the wonderful The World Ends With You games, and as a representative of those other fans, I thought about how happy I would be if something like this happened, and channeled that thought throughout the whole collaboration. I hope that everyone will enjoy it, along with REYNATIS.

Nomura If this game does well, I would like for TAKUMI to make a REYNATIS 2. Then, even better things might happen.

—— I have a feeling that because of this collaboration, more creators will come knocking on your door, Mr. Nomura. How do you feel about that?

Nomura So long as I'm around, feel free to knock. I can't say the same for after I retire, though. (laughs)

All (laughs)

Hirano We talked about TAKUMI's age a while ago. It's really rare for someone to be both a producer and a director at 31 years old, and to come to us with so much passion.

There might be other creators who feel hesitant to do something like that, so I think it shows just how valuable TAKUMI's talent is.

Takumi Thank you very much! A while ago, Mr. Nomura, you mentioned that it's not just about money and status, but also making something good. I hope that you continue to do just that.

Nomura Well, money is pretty important. (laughs)

All (laughs)

—— I don't think anyone believes that. (laughs) Thank you all very much for today!

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Interview by Denfamicogamer. REYNATIS was under development and equipment, job roles, and functions referenced in this interview may be subject to change. © FURYU Corporation. Licensed to and published by NIS America, Inc.