I recently had a chance to speak with Robert Boyd of Zeboyd Games, about Cosmic Star Heroine’s upcoming port for the Switch along with some of their other games. Take a look below.
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JB: CSH is obviously inspired by many classic 16 bit RPGs such as the Phantasy Star series on Genesis/Mega Drive, but am I correct in thinking that the Sega CD and Turbo Grafx RPGs also influenced the game?
RB: Yes, the cutscenes in particularly were heavily inspired by the anime-style cutscenes you’d see on the Sega CD & TurboGrafx-CD. Besides the obvious Phantasy Star & Chrono Trigger influences, Lunar: Eternal Blue was a huge influence on the game in creating its tone (that mix of serious events combined with lighthearted humor). And the game’s name came from merging Cosmic Fantasy & Phantasy Star together minus the Fantasy/Phantasy.
JB: What changed in your game design philosophy between Cthulhu Saves The World and CSH?
RB: With Cthulhu Saves the World, our goal was more to make a good classic game minus the annoying bits. We still do that with Cosmic Star Heroine, but we’re also trying to move past those classic RPGs and focus on the underlying structures in RPGs and how we can reinvent them. This manifests most clearly with our combat system which isn’t really like any other game in the genre.
JB: How was the reception when the game first launched? How do you expect it to be received on the Switch?
RB: At launch, the general reception was very positive although some people had issues with bugs that we hurried to fix with patches soon after launch. I expect the Switch reception to be similar minus the bug issues and with the added advantage of the game lending itself really well to a portable platform thanks to its fast pace.
JB: How did the partnership between Zeboyd and Limited Run Games come about?
RB: Limited Run Games actually came to us right when they were getting started. I believe we were either the first or second outside developer that signed up with them which is amusing since we didn’t actually release until after they had already done dozens of releases. Later, when we were trying to get the game on the Switch, they offered to not only publish on Switch but to port it as well so it was an easy choice to go with them.
JB: What is the most attractive aspect of the Switch to you when it comes to game design?
RB: I love that it doubles as both a console & a portable system with a lot more power than the Vita or 3DS. Although I own a PS4 & a gaming laptop, I care much more about portability than having the best graphics – the fact that I can play games like Mario Odyssey & Octopath Traveler on a portable system boggles my mind. And as a developer of games with retro aesthetics, I love the system since it has more than enough power & memory for the stuff we do.
JB: How do you think CSH will stand out on the Switch?
RB: I think it will stand out on the Switch, because there’s not really anything that looks like it. There’s no VC (and the classic games that have been ported to the Switch are mostly arcade-style) and what other turn-based RPGs are already on the system are mostly a lot more expensive than our $15 USD price tag. My hope is that the advanced 16-bit visual style that we have will catch people’s eyes enough to make them want to try it out and then after playing it, they’ll love it so much that they’ll tell their friends.
JB: What were some of the challenges in porting the game?
RB: The main challenge with porting the game is that Nintendo simply didn’t want to deal with a small developer like us so in the end, we had to go with a publisher (Limited Run Games). Odd though it may sound, the hardest part of the Switch port was probably the Vita port – the Vita port required heavy optimization just to get it to run at all, so all that optimization work was already done & didn’t need to be worried about when the time came to port it to the Switch. As a result, the Switch version of the game runs fantastically with 60 fps & short load times.
JB: Have you thought about also bringing your older games to Switch?
RB: No plans to port the Penny Arcade games since they were a collaboration with another company and we don’t have the rights to the first 2 games, but we are considering if there’s anything we can do with Breath of Death VII & Cthulhu Saves the World.
JB: Again about your older games, have you thought about making a full sequel to Cthulhu saves the World?
RB: Yes, I’ve had a few ideas for a Cthulhu Saves the World sequel (including one where the gaming multiverse becomes corrupted & Cthulhu has to go into other video games to get them from stealing his limelight) but we aren’t actually working on a sequel at this time.
JB: What kind of game would you like to design next?
RB: Still focused on turn-based RPGs! Our current plan is to make Rx Machina – a comical RPG where you work at a hospital that uses miniaturizing mechs to enter patients and heal them by blowing up the diseases.
JB: Is there any major goal you have with your games when you start making them?
RB: Our goal with each game is to identify weaknesses with our past games and improve upon them. Like with Cosmic Star Heroine, a big focus was to make more interesting scenarios and I think we’ve succeeded.
JB: Is there anything you would like to say to the readers of Real Otaku Gamer?
RB: Thanks for all your support & I hope you enjoy Cosmic Star Heroine!
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We thank Zeboyd Games for taking the time to speak with us.
You can follow them on twitter @Zeboydgames, @bill_at_zeboyd and @werezompire
Cosmic Star Heroines releases on Switch tomorrow.