“We want new, younger fans to enjoy GetsuFumaDen as a new IP” Interview with Shin Murato, Producer at Konami

Konami, which developed and produced distinctive games such as Castlevania – Silent Hill – Contra – Metal Gear and many other great games, returns to revive GetsuFumaDen, which was released first in 1987 on the Family Computer only in Japan.  And now, after nearly 34 years, Konami announced a sequel with a RogueVania system that features distinctive artistic graphics and soundtrack.

We had the opportunity to meet Shin Murato, producer at Konami Digital Entertainment who worked on Castlevania: Circle of the Moon – Goemon: Mononoke Sugoroku. And he answered some of our questions regarding GetsuFumaDen.

Hello Murato-san, most of the gamers were surprised that Konami decided to make sequel for GetsuFumaDen? Tell us the story behind this decision?

We noticed a few years ago how relatively small indie projects became popular with nice art and game system, and how big titles using Japanese themes were becoming popular too. We wanted to plan a game with low-middle price range and high artistic/game system and with Japanese taste. “GetsuFumaDen” fit this perfectly and was a masterpiece with no sequel and only in Japan. Plus, many of our team are fans of “GetsuFumaDen” and wanted to work with the title. Therefore, we thought we could use this IP for fun project and start making the concept of “GetsuFumaDen: Undying Moon”.

GetsuFumaDen released on the Wii 2009, 3DS 2013 and Wii U 2015 and now it’s coming to Nintendo Switch as a new title. Is there a story behind that with Nintendo also?

The indies that I talked about at the previous question are supported and expected by many users of Nintendo Switch. Of course, it is not all about Nintendo Switch, but we thought it is the platform that matches this title from the beginning.

What are the main points that the developing team brought and improve in Undying Moon?

It is important to know that this title is a new game, not remaster of the original game, even if it uses KONAMI’s old IP. We kept the 2D action of the original for players that enjoyed that game, but other elements are new. We want new, younger fans to enjoy this title as a new IP.

Let’s talk about the average time to finish Undying Moon for the normal players?

GetsuFumaDen will take approximately 15 hours to clear for first-time players. It can take 60+ hours for full completion. As this is game is roguelike, we hope players will enjoy spending more time playing again and again.

Usually on this type of games the soundtrack plays a very important factor for increasing the exciting elements on the game. Are we expecting something special this time?

Regarding the development of music of this title, Satsuma-biwa artist, Nishihara Kakushin who has the same world view matching the theme of this title and a famous guitarist, Oumura Shin who has the outstanding technique participate in. Also, we arranged the popular music from the original game into the modern version and use that for the essential part of GetsuFumaDen: Undying Moon. As for the new songs, we add the elements that enhance the charm of each stage. We believe the sound element is one of the selling points of this title.

Is there any special edition or collector edition in a plan to release on day one?

Unfortunately, regarding the official launch, we don’t have any details to share about this now.

Before the last question, tell us the hardest factor faced the developing team during preparing this sequel?

In order to express the hellish style of Japanese painting that this work was aiming for, it was necessary to calculate the distant view, middle view, and near view of the background, which is the most important element, as well as the character. As a result, it was necessary to put a lot of effort into effects such as flames and smoke as well as the background model. In addition, we asked Guru-Guru, who cooperated with the production, to devise a great deal to realize such a pictorial composition that looks like a hellish picture with randomly composed stage parts.

The last question is about Konami and you have all the rights to answer or not, is there a re-direction for Konami to return for core video game development after focusing on mobile games and card games?

Unfortunately, I can’t answer to this question.

Thank you again for giving us this opportunity and looking forward to play your game on day on release.

Thank you for your interest in GetsuFumaDen!

GetsuFumaDen: Undying Moon is being developed by GuruGuru in cooperation with Konami. coming to Nintendo Switch in 2022 and Windows PC later this year in a Steam Early Access period.