We talk to the game's developer about Legend of the Dragon on Wii and PSP.
February 7, 2007 | 5:57 PM PSTWe recently had the chance to talk one-on-one with Game Factory about its upcoming Wii fighter, Legend of the Dragon. Check out our interview with the game’s producer, Richard Rispoli, below.
Q: Thanks for taking the time to talk to us about Legend of the Dragon. First up, can you explain to our readers who you are and what your role is in the development of this title?
My name is Richard Rispoli and I am a producer at Neko Entertainement in charge of the Legend of the Dragon title. We developed the PSP/Wii version of LOTD for the Game Factory. When we started 18 months ago, the show was not out yet, so we had the chance to work with some very early material from LOTD.
Q: Some of our readers are probably not-so-familiar with the Legend of the Dragon universe and world. Can you explain to them what the series is all about?
Legend of the Dragon is an animated series that is very popular in Europe. I believe that it is broadcast in the US on the Jetix channel. The show takes place in China where the main characters are perfecting their martial arts skills. They become more powerful by acquiring magic bracelets that give them the ability to change into mystical warriors. Each hero becomes assigned to protect one of the 12 Chinese zodiacal signs temples against several enemies that want to take over. As an example, Ang becomes the golden dragon and Ming is the Rat guardian.
Q: Game Factory announced Legend of the Dragon was in development back in December, but other than a few tidbits of information about the game, not much was said. Is this going to be a fighting game or an adventure game?
This is a pure arcade style fighting game. We did put a lot of effort into making moves and combos looking real. It is cell-shaded and has the usual-suspect versus and single player fighting modes that we are all familiar with. We did add a quest mode that will challenge the players with a series of dictated ways of wining the fights in order to boost their physical and magical abilities. This power-up system blends a touch of RPG into the core gameplay of this title. There is a unique fighting system that we call the cast spelling system that has never been seen in a fighting game before that you control by storing a key sequence of buttons to create a spell....
Q: What can you tell us about the game’s storyline? What’s it about?
The game’s story line is very similar to the plotline of the TV show. The Legend of the Dragon story begins against the backdrop of China’s sacred temples and just as a new Golden Dragon is selected. The Golden Dragon is the honourable title given to the chosen warrior set to fight the evil Zodiac Master, Woo Yin.
Each of the 12 Chinese zodiac signs has its own temple protected by a guardian; all guardians have individual powers unique to their zodiac symbol to help them defend their temple. The Zodiac Master – Woo Yin - plans to capture these powers; with them he will be unstoppable in his fight for the dark side to reign over China.
Q: What kinds of areas and locales will you see in Legend of the Dragon? Can you give us a couple of examples?
The fights take place in battle arenas. There are 18 of them. They are all inspired or taken directly from the show. You will find indoor and outdoor settings with weather variations. Different temples such as the monkeys, horse, ox or rabbit based on each character’s identity. Some indoor areas will found the player evolving in a forest or a mountain environment as an example. All of the battle arenas include destructible items.
Q: We know there are 18 different characters to play as in the game and each wears his or her own wristband that allows him or her to transform into a different mystical warrior. Can you give us a few examples of the different mystical warrior transformations we’ll see in Legend of the Dragon?
Well, all transformations are really visually impact full and unleash the animal within each of the characters. For example, Ming, who is a female character rather short in height transforms into a Rat guardian with hand-claws and a really long pony tail instead of Nails and a tail. Lo-Wang transforms into the Rooster guardian, he is a Ninja-like of rooster with a special Mohawk on top of his head and a special armor featuring sharp cutting blades positioned on the forearms and calves of his body.
Q: In what kinds of ways does Legend of the Dragon utilize the Wii-mote? Can you explain the details of the control setup?
The Wii-mote will be utilized in two aspects of the fighting mechanics (Spell casting / Defense and attack mode). It is mainly used for all movements related to fighting. The A & B buttons are used for punching and Kicking, Grabbing and guarding will be performed by twisting the remote on the side or moving the Wii-mote vertically. Shaking the controller will be also used in the Spell casting system.
Q: We played Dragon Ball Z on Wii with the Wii controller and nunchuck and found the controls were pretty decent. Still, they weren’t “revolutionary” and at times felt more complicated than a normal control scheme. Are there any games in the current Wii library that have inspired you in one way or another in regards to Wii controls? Also, what are you doing to make sure the controls are easy enough for younger players to understand and yet deep enough for older gamers to keep them entertained?
Well, at this stage Fighting games using the specifics of the Wii controls are not really abundant. We have not played DBZ and really tried our own approach with this game’s controls. With Legend of the Dragon, we did not try to be revolutionary but implement the Wii new control system the best way possible when fighting with the characters. I think that by only using the motion sensor capability in really critical moments of a fight we achieved great implementation. If you use it in all the combos and moves and magic attacks, there are just too many different combinations and moves to remember and that makes it hard to play. We did keep a lot of the usual controller settings for the combos and kept the controls sensor feature to the basics of the mechanics as described above.
Q: Does the game use the Wii-mote speaker in any ways?
So far it is not planned, but maybe we'll have the time to implement this...
Q: So far, what has the Wii development process been like? In what kinds of ways has it been different than a typical or traditional game console project? Do you like working on Wii more or less than a normal console?
The Wii development process is not very different from any other console, the challenge was to get to know what to do with this Wii-mote. As soon as we received the development kit, it was obvious that we could easily do what we had in mind. The PSP version was already working quite well, so we only had to adapt and change the controls that are specific to the Wii.
Q: What’s different about the Wii title and the PSP versions?
Actually not much, the Wii graphics will be a little bit better, but the PSP version will have an exclusive bonus.
Q: Does the game have any multiplayer modes to talk about? Co-op or versus, perhaps? If so, can you tell us about the multiplayer support?
Yes, 3 multiplayer modes will enhance the game’s longevity and provide hours of fun for gamers. There is a versus mode (2 players basic one on one fighting), a Team mode (2 players) where each player creates a team of characters. Once one character is dead, the next one in the team fights. In game fight is similar to a versus mode. And lastly a Tag Mode (2-4 players) where each team is composed of two characters. In game fight is similar to a versus mode, but the player can decide to switch character at any time. When a character is not used, he recovers slowly his life.
Q: Is there anything else you’d like to tell our readers about?
Yes, after more than a year working on this title I'm very sure every fan of the show will enjoy playing the game. We've spent a lot of time working the animation and the graphics... and we are very proud of the result.
Thanks for your time.
Q: Thanks for taking the time to talk to us about Legend of the Dragon. First up, can you explain to our readers who you are and what your role is in the development of this title?
My name is Richard Rispoli and I am a producer at Neko Entertainement in charge of the Legend of the Dragon title. We developed the PSP/Wii version of LOTD for the Game Factory. When we started 18 months ago, the show was not out yet, so we had the chance to work with some very early material from LOTD.
Q: Some of our readers are probably not-so-familiar with the Legend of the Dragon universe and world. Can you explain to them what the series is all about?
Legend of the Dragon is an animated series that is very popular in Europe. I believe that it is broadcast in the US on the Jetix channel. The show takes place in China where the main characters are perfecting their martial arts skills. They become more powerful by acquiring magic bracelets that give them the ability to change into mystical warriors. Each hero becomes assigned to protect one of the 12 Chinese zodiacal signs temples against several enemies that want to take over. As an example, Ang becomes the golden dragon and Ming is the Rat guardian.
Q: Game Factory announced Legend of the Dragon was in development back in December, but other than a few tidbits of information about the game, not much was said. Is this going to be a fighting game or an adventure game?
This is a pure arcade style fighting game. We did put a lot of effort into making moves and combos looking real. It is cell-shaded and has the usual-suspect versus and single player fighting modes that we are all familiar with. We did add a quest mode that will challenge the players with a series of dictated ways of wining the fights in order to boost their physical and magical abilities. This power-up system blends a touch of RPG into the core gameplay of this title. There is a unique fighting system that we call the cast spelling system that has never been seen in a fighting game before that you control by storing a key sequence of buttons to create a spell....
Q: What can you tell us about the game’s storyline? What’s it about?
The game’s story line is very similar to the plotline of the TV show. The Legend of the Dragon story begins against the backdrop of China’s sacred temples and just as a new Golden Dragon is selected. The Golden Dragon is the honourable title given to the chosen warrior set to fight the evil Zodiac Master, Woo Yin.
Each of the 12 Chinese zodiac signs has its own temple protected by a guardian; all guardians have individual powers unique to their zodiac symbol to help them defend their temple. The Zodiac Master – Woo Yin - plans to capture these powers; with them he will be unstoppable in his fight for the dark side to reign over China.
Q: What kinds of areas and locales will you see in Legend of the Dragon? Can you give us a couple of examples?
The fights take place in battle arenas. There are 18 of them. They are all inspired or taken directly from the show. You will find indoor and outdoor settings with weather variations. Different temples such as the monkeys, horse, ox or rabbit based on each character’s identity. Some indoor areas will found the player evolving in a forest or a mountain environment as an example. All of the battle arenas include destructible items.
Q: We know there are 18 different characters to play as in the game and each wears his or her own wristband that allows him or her to transform into a different mystical warrior. Can you give us a few examples of the different mystical warrior transformations we’ll see in Legend of the Dragon?
Well, all transformations are really visually impact full and unleash the animal within each of the characters. For example, Ming, who is a female character rather short in height transforms into a Rat guardian with hand-claws and a really long pony tail instead of Nails and a tail. Lo-Wang transforms into the Rooster guardian, he is a Ninja-like of rooster with a special Mohawk on top of his head and a special armor featuring sharp cutting blades positioned on the forearms and calves of his body.
Q: In what kinds of ways does Legend of the Dragon utilize the Wii-mote? Can you explain the details of the control setup?
The Wii-mote will be utilized in two aspects of the fighting mechanics (Spell casting / Defense and attack mode). It is mainly used for all movements related to fighting. The A & B buttons are used for punching and Kicking, Grabbing and guarding will be performed by twisting the remote on the side or moving the Wii-mote vertically. Shaking the controller will be also used in the Spell casting system.
Q: We played Dragon Ball Z on Wii with the Wii controller and nunchuck and found the controls were pretty decent. Still, they weren’t “revolutionary” and at times felt more complicated than a normal control scheme. Are there any games in the current Wii library that have inspired you in one way or another in regards to Wii controls? Also, what are you doing to make sure the controls are easy enough for younger players to understand and yet deep enough for older gamers to keep them entertained?
Well, at this stage Fighting games using the specifics of the Wii controls are not really abundant. We have not played DBZ and really tried our own approach with this game’s controls. With Legend of the Dragon, we did not try to be revolutionary but implement the Wii new control system the best way possible when fighting with the characters. I think that by only using the motion sensor capability in really critical moments of a fight we achieved great implementation. If you use it in all the combos and moves and magic attacks, there are just too many different combinations and moves to remember and that makes it hard to play. We did keep a lot of the usual controller settings for the combos and kept the controls sensor feature to the basics of the mechanics as described above.
Q: Does the game use the Wii-mote speaker in any ways?
So far it is not planned, but maybe we'll have the time to implement this...
Q: So far, what has the Wii development process been like? In what kinds of ways has it been different than a typical or traditional game console project? Do you like working on Wii more or less than a normal console?
The Wii development process is not very different from any other console, the challenge was to get to know what to do with this Wii-mote. As soon as we received the development kit, it was obvious that we could easily do what we had in mind. The PSP version was already working quite well, so we only had to adapt and change the controls that are specific to the Wii.
Q: What’s different about the Wii title and the PSP versions?
Actually not much, the Wii graphics will be a little bit better, but the PSP version will have an exclusive bonus.
Q: Does the game have any multiplayer modes to talk about? Co-op or versus, perhaps? If so, can you tell us about the multiplayer support?
Yes, 3 multiplayer modes will enhance the game’s longevity and provide hours of fun for gamers. There is a versus mode (2 players basic one on one fighting), a Team mode (2 players) where each player creates a team of characters. Once one character is dead, the next one in the team fights. In game fight is similar to a versus mode. And lastly a Tag Mode (2-4 players) where each team is composed of two characters. In game fight is similar to a versus mode, but the player can decide to switch character at any time. When a character is not used, he recovers slowly his life.
Q: Is there anything else you’d like to tell our readers about?
Yes, after more than a year working on this title I'm very sure every fan of the show will enjoy playing the game. We've spent a lot of time working the animation and the graphics... and we are very proud of the result.
Thanks for your time.
