Fairy Tail 2 Interview With Original Creator and Producer of the Sequel

ign.com:

Fairy Tail 2, the PlayStation 5／PlayStation 4／Nintendo Switch／Steam title which allows players to relive the climax of the highly popular magical battle fantasy series Fairy Tail, was released on December 13, 2024 (December 12 in Japan and Asia). To commemorate the release, we conducted a special interview with Hiro Mashima, the creator of the original Fairy Tail series, and Hiroshi Kataoka, the producer of the game Fairy Tail 2!

IGN: Thank you both for taking time out of your busy schedules to join us today! As Fairy Tail 2 was released on the 12th (in Japan and Asia), to begin with, could you tell us about how this title began – how it was proposed (by Koei Tecmo) to Mashima-sensei?

Kataoka: Four years ago in 2020 we released the first Fairy Tail game, but it only covered up until the Tartaros Arc. The final chapter, the Alvarez Empire Arc, remained as pivotal and unfinished ‘homework’ from the previous game, and we felt that the most exciting part absolutely had to be adapted, but it took us a lot of time to think about the best way to adapt it into a game. Once we had more or less settled on the content that we thought would work, we presented our proposal of the game outline which included both the main story and an original storyline. How did you feel when you first saw it, Mashima-sensei?

Mashima-sensei: When I saw the proposal this time, while it was an RPG, there were action game-like elements which made me very happy.

Kataoka: This time there can be a chain of combos in battles, so the way it plays is close to an action game.

Mashima-sensei: Yes, the combat system has changed from the previous game! I think it’s really cool.

Kataoka: I think that one of the strengths of RPGs is being able to take the time to showcase grand, elaborate moves. However, since this game incorporates action-like elements and features fast-paced battles, we faced many challenges in enhancing the visual impact of linking combos without disrupting the gameplay flow. We were able receive