Koei-Tecmo have announced via press release that their upcoming JRPG based on the manga and anime series Fairy Tail – being developed by Atelier studio Gust – has been delayed. Originally due out in March, the game has now been pushed back to June 25 in Europe, and June 26 in North America. 

The developer cites needing more time to polish up the game. The press release also includes a message from the game’s producer, Keisuke Kikuchi, who apologizes for the delay, saying that the team wants to polish up the game as much as it can to offer fans “a truly immersive experience.”

“I am truly sorry for FAIRY TAIL’s delay, and the inconvenience caused to our fans, partners, and stakeholders who are looking forward to this title,” says Kikuchi. “Please allow us to take further time to polish the game to ensure it is as high quality as possible, so we can offer you a truly immersive experience.”

Kikuchi also mentions that Gust will be taking this time to work on improvements for various aspects of the game, including the magic effects, event scene effects, the game balance, and more, and that more details on these improvements will be shared in the coming months.

“We will be working hard to enhance the magic effects, event scene effects, improving the game balance, and more!” he says. “We will talk about the improvements in more detail in the coming months. This delay will allow us to ensure we provide you a much more satisfying game. Thank you for your understanding.”

Fairy Tail will release on its new launch date for the PS4, Switch, and PC. To learn more about the game, make sure to read our interview with Kikuchi through here.

"My thoughts are to maintain the character elements and events of the original, but to add elements to make it more exciting as a game and customizing parts specifically for the game, so there will be original magic and items."

Are you taking any creative freedoms with the game as far as story and the setting are concerned? How closely does Fairy Tail stick to its story material? 

The main story of the game follows the story of the manga and anime. Though, in order to fit the structure of a game, we are making edits to the events and battles by simplifying some but showing others in detail. My thoughts are to maintain the character elements and events of the original, but to add elements to make it more exciting as a game and customizing parts specifically for the game, so there will be original magic and items. We are preparing original character episodes, requests, and story for replayability, so please look forward to it.

What can you tell us about the new story content in the game for characters who didn’t get too much screen time in the anime or the manga?

You can become friends with more than 10 different characters, but characters that appear more than others in the original have been selected.  The characters that you befriend have original episodes in the game, and by leveling up your favourite character(s), you can experience these episodes.

How does Fairy Tail’s friendship mechanic work? As the relationship between two characters grows, how does that manifest in terms of gameplay?

When characters are included as party members, and requests are completed together, the bonds between these characters are deepened. Depending on the stage of the bond, character conversation events take place, the success rate of Magic Chains increase, and the amount of MP used decreases are bonuses that can be earned.

Can you talk about guilds, and how they work in conjunction with progression mechanics and side quests?

When requests are completed, the guild rank increases which means higher ranked requests can be accepted, more chains are linked during battle, and legendary class magic can be executed. In addition, the guild building, such as the request board, goods shop, and research facility can be developed so that there are more things the player can do in the game.

"Mashima-sensei is someone who is overflowing with energy, so we get inspired when working with him. Also, we feel that he is someone who is always thinking about his fans. When he is checking the game, his opinions are based on the viewpoint of what fans would think."

What’s the experience of working with Hiro Mashima been like?

Mashima-sensei is someone who is overflowing with energy, so we get inspired when working with him. Also, we feel that he is someone who is always thinking about his fans. When he is checking the game, his opinions are based on the viewpoint of what fans would think. Also, he has told us that in order to make the game interesting, changing it from the original material is not a problem, so he is open-minded about the work, but also serious about it.

Gust Studios has, of course, garnered a strong fanbase with the Atelier series- for fans of those games, can we expect to see any similar mechanics in Fairy Tail?

The game cycle might be close. In the Atelier series, players explore through each map and collect items, and become stronger by creating items at their atelier, which is their base, and in Fairy Tail players will explore through each map and complete requests, and become stronger by making their guild stronger when at their guild, which is their base. Other than that, for people who have played the Atelier series, the menus and battles may have parts that feel a bit similar.

For completionists who enjoy diving into side content as much as main quests, roughly how many hours of gameplay will Fairy Tail offer in total?

It depends on how the game is played, but there is around 70 hours of gameplay.

Do you have any plans to launch on the Xbox One?

We have heard requests since we announced development of the game, but there are no plans at this current moment.

How will the PS4 Pro version turn out in terms of resolution and frame rate?

The resolution is 1080p. The frame rate is variable, but we anticipate a maximum of 60fps.

"It depends on how the game is played, but there is around 70 hours of gameplay."

How is the game running on the original PS4, frame rate and resolution wise?

The resolution for this is also 1080p. The frame rate is variable, and we anticipate 30fps to 60fps.

The PS5 is confirmed to have an SSD. From a development perspective, how will this help you to improve game performance in the future?

I think that for customers, the unnecessary loading time will be eliminated and the range of depictions will be increased, such as cinematics that go back and forth between multiple scenes, but I think that it is necessary to give players some time/breaks during gameplay, so I think that it will become necessary to devise ways in game design to intentionally prepare these moments of time/breaks.

The PS5 will have a Zen 2 CPU processor which is a major leap over the CPUs found in the PS4 and Xbox One. From a development perspective, how will this help you in developing games of the future?

I am glad that it will greatly broaden the range of depictions and operations, so I look forward to being able to have more natural depictions, and especially those that feel realistic, as if you are there. But, the higher level of depictions will also consume clock speed, so I am also preparing myself that things may not go according to expectations.

Xbox Scarlett features GDDR6 memory. How will this increase in memory bandwidth help you in the future?

This is also similar to the previous question, that the bandwidth is a bottleneck for the type of depictions that couldn’t be processed up until now, so I look forward to these issues becoming largely resolved.

"In the Atelier series, players explore through each map and collect items, and become stronger by creating items at their atelier, which is their base, and in Fairy Tail players will explore through each map and complete requests, and become stronger by making their guild stronger when at their guild, which is their base."

Backwards compatibility is a big feature PS5. How will it help your past library to evolve and grow?

For game franchises, people who have played past games in the series can now fill out their collection, and for people who are buying the PS hardware for the first time are able to see past titles, so I think it is very good for adding to the longevity of games.

Developers across the industry have shared their two cents on next gen consoles and the hardware advancements they will bring, and what impact they will have on the way games are made and played. It’ll be a while yet before we find out just how much of what’s been said can be put into practice, but there’s no denying that developers are excited about the prospects for a variety of reasons.

For instance, there’s Gust, the studio working on the upcoming Koei-Tecmo published Fairy Tail, an RPG based on the popular manga and anime. Speaking with GamingBolt, the game’s producer, Keisuke Kikuchi, talked about the PS5 and its SSD and its new Zen 2 CPU, and what we can expect to see by way of improvements thanks to those aspects of the hardware.

According to Kikuchi, the SSD is something that will not only eliminate load times, but will also help developers make more elaborate cinematics. That said, he feels, games will have to find new ways to allow downtime during gameplay, in order to maintain proper pacing in games.

“I think that for customers, the unnecessary loading time will be eliminated and the range of depictions will be increased, such as cinematics that go back and forth between multiple scenes,” he said, “but I think that it is necessary to give players some time/breaks during gameplay, so I think that it will become necessary to devise ways in game design to intentionally prepare these moments of time/breaks.”

As far as the PS5’s processor is concerned, Kikuchi is expecting it to enable developers to make more natural depictions of environments, and hence, more believable and realistic worlds and settings.

“I am glad that it will greatly broaden the range of depictions and operations, so I look forward to being able to have more natural depictions, and especially those that feel realistic, as if you are there,” Kikuchu said. “But, the higher level of depictions will also consume clock speed, so I am also preparing myself that things may not go according to expectations.”

Fairy Tail is due out on PS4, Nintendo Switch, and PC next year. Stay tuned to GamingBolt for our full interview with Kikuchi.