Assembled by a group of former Mana veterans of the series at the Brownies and was released on February 10, Egglia Rebirth To be a good role playing game on Switch has started working on mobile devices. Egglia, in its first version, was one of the first projects of the company after Shinichi Kameoka left Brownie Brown – the team that worked with the legendary Mother 3 – when it was refactored and renamed by Nintendo.
We recently had the opportunity to interview Shinichi Kameoka, President and CEO of the Brownies, and quizzed him on Egglia Rebirth, his journey to Switch, and his involvement with the always elusive GBA title mentioned above…
Nintendo Life: Your newest Switch game, EGGLIA Rebirth is actually a remake of a mobile game you created in 2017. What kind of changes or improvements can you make with the new version? this game on Switch?
Shinichi Kameoka: One of the big changes from the mobile version, which is of course the touch controls, is to make the console version more like an RPG, with character controls and the ability to move around freely. due around town.
The Switch version can also be played on large TV screens, so we’ve made a lot of adjustments to make up for the mobile version’s lack of detailed and limited animations.
We also wanted to add characters and events that we couldn’t include in the mobile version due to scheduling restrictions, so everything we wanted and we couldn’t include, we added in this release.
There’s also been a lot of tweaking to the combat and crafting systems – so overall, we’ve pretty much changed and adjusted nearly all of the data for the change from mobile to console. control!
Were there any specific challenges you faced when bringing this game to Switch from mobile?
Of course, since we had to make major changes to the controls and UI to make it easier to play on consoles, we spent quite a bit of time working on the transfer.
It was challenging, but we had fun with it – we all enjoyed working to the end.
You used to work for Brownie Brown development studio, but some of the staff and you including you have quit and started your own company called Brownies, correct? We know the team that stayed at Brownie Brown changed their name to 1-Up Studio, but what made you and the team use the name Brownies for your new company?
Nintendo announced that we could continue to use “Brownie Brown” as the company name, but we decided that we wanted a fresh start with new members. So we kept the main color palette of Brownie Brown, and renamed it “Brownies”.
Nintendo told us we could keep using “Brownie Brown” as our company name, but we decided we wanted a fresh start.
Where do the names Brownie Brown and of course Brownies come from?
“Brownies” are hardworking fairies found in Finnish folklore.
There is a fairy tale about an old shoemaker who was so tired that he fell asleep while working, and a fairy finished his shoes – this touching little story was the inspiration. for us.
We also noticed in EGGLIA Rebirth, that there exists a race of people called the Brownies, and we feel we already know the answer but are these people a slightly subtle nod to the origins of the company? your company? Have they appeared in a game before or is this their first?
The “Brownie” fairy we use in our company name often appears in our original works– Egglia isn’t the first time we’ve noticed these cute creatures, though their personalities may be slightly different from those in the original Finnish Folklore.
Are there any specific features or details in EGGLIA Rebirth that you are most proud of?
We’re proud of the story – we feel that it’s profound, despite the appearance of the game.
What type of game or experience inspired you in the development of EGGLIA?
I can’t say there was one big or specific influence on Egglia – it was the culmination of everything that has so far inspired and motivated me to make games.
Given the fact that you’ve worked on many of the original Mana games, we can sense inspiration not only from the artistic side but also how it compares to the world structure of Legend of Mana. Are you hoping to return to the world of EGGLIA again but with new characters and a new style of play?
Many people say that our game is inspired by the Mana series, but I feel it might be more accurate to say that Legend of Mana is the product of Koji Tsuda’s originality – as Koji Tsuda also directed the art. Art for Egglia, I like to say that Egglia also has that Koji Tsuda painting.
it will be interesting if I go back to the world of Egglia and make an action game
Similarly, I think Secret of Mana has a different style, because Tsuda doesn’t participate.
The EGGLIA sequel is doable because the world is already well developed and if I do another one I think it would be interesting if I go back to the Egglia world and do an action game.
Moving on to Mother 3, the game is a collaborative effort between Shigesato Itoi, HAL Labs, and your former workplace, Brownie Brown. Do you recall the time when development Brownie Brown was called in to assist with development? What help did they do in the studio?
I think the reason we were called in was because Brownie Brown is the only company affiliated with Nintendo that has a lot of experience in RPG development. That’s likely why we got a pat on the back when we started developing MOTHER 3 for GBA.
As fun and funny as Mother 3 can be, its story has some extremely dark and ominous tones. Was there ever any push from Nintendo asking you to remove any features or story rhythms? How much creative freedom does the team get from Nintendo?
MOTHER 3’s director is Shigesato Itoi, and although both Nintendo and Brownie Brown made suggestions throughout development, we had no say in the actual decision.
If Mother 3 were to be released today, do you think the game would still retain all of its sensitive themes? Will it be the same game?
This doesn’t just apply to CODE 3, but I believe that, to remake any game that was originally released many years ago (20 years, in the sense of CODE 3), there would have to be some modifications needed. be done.
However, I don’t think there’s any point in remaking a game if it’s going to be completely different or remove the spirit of the original game.
There was one time Itoi-san replaced all the placeholder text… it just completely changed the tone and feel of the whole game. It’s an incredible process to watch unfold.
By the time Mother 3 released, the Nintendo DS had been on store shelves for more than a year. Do you recall any talk about porting games to the Nintendo DS instead of launching on the Game Boy Advance? We imagine that would weaken the morale of the team when the game was originally developed for the N64DD.
Brownie Brown wasn’t involved in the development of the N64 version, so it doesn’t dismay us!
The fact that development of MOTHER 3 was delayed until the DS release was simply because we wanted to spend as much time as possible on its development to make it the best game we’ve seen. we can, so we have no regrets about not sacrificing its quality.
Is there a particular moment in Mother 3’s development that you fondly look back on? Is there a story you would like to share that still brings a smile to your face to this day?
There was one time Itoi-san replaced all the placeholder text we’ve included in the last few months of development, and it just completely changed the tone and feel of the entire game. It’s an incredible process to watch unfold.
Can you give us any clues as to what we’ll see next from the Brownies?
Yes, we are working on our next new game.
I am not involved in this next project as a director, but I am sure that this will be a work that fully embodies the style and spirit of the Brownies aesthetic.
We thank Mr. Kameoka for his time. Egglia Rebirth is out now on the Switch eShop.
