If you play the Dragon Quest series (which could be called the starting point for Japanese role-playing games), you know that it usually offers an emotional roller coaster ride featuring both subtle moments, more bombastic scenes, and comedy. Achieving that balance in a believable way that engages fans isn't always easy, however, and Dragon Quest veteran Jin Fujisawa now shares in an interview with The Change (via Automaton) what he learned from the series' founder, Yuji Horii.
Fujisawa, who directed both Dragon Quest 9 and 10, used to believe that the story was always the most important element for an engaging role-playing game, but Horii had a different perspective on the matter. Fujisawa explains:
"Horii-san would say, It's not about the storyline, the experience is what matters. You start by thinking about what kind of experience you want the player to go through."
As a concrete example of what he means, he cites Dragon Quest V: Hand of the Heavenly Bride, in which you, as the player, must choose whom you want to marry, a decision that requires careful thought:
"It's precisely because the core of that event is the powerful experience of earnestly choosing a marriage partner that a unique story emerges for each player."
He admits that it took him a while to embrace this philosophy, and at first he actually resisted the idea. Today, however, he has realised that Horii was absolutely right:
"[Horii is] is someone who wants to create things no one's ever seen before, things that subvert expectations and make people go, Wait, what? That's possible? When you're young, it's easy to get caught up in wanting to make people cry, but moving people through surprise is far more difficult. And when people are emotionally stirred by surprise, that's when they truly feel happiness."
Fujisawa left Square Enix in 2018 after 20 years with the company, and today he is the general director at Daiyonkyokai (The Fourth Boundary). Incidentally, Dragon Age will celebrate its 40th anniversary in 2026, so we're likely to hear more about the series in the coming months.