Earlier this July, TVT Co. and Ratata Arts decided to delay the Early Access release of Ratatan on Steam. While the Patapon successor was delayed mainly due to the overwhelming amount of player feedback for the demo version, producer Kazuto Sakajiri and game designer Hiroyuki Kotani revealed that previously cut content and other features will be included in the release.
In an interview with Famitsu, Sakajiri mentions that several complaints were directed at the demo version’s difficulty, with some describing it as a “Soulslike under the guise of ‘Patapon’.” As such, Sakajiri and the rest of the development team are making adjustments to the difficulty of the Early Access version.
One of the biggest changes coming to Ratatan’s Early Access release is the reintroduction of special moves which were first shown in the game’s Kickstarter announcement movie but were subsequently scrapped during development. After receiving several requests to bring special moves back into the game, the development team settled on a compromise by giving each of the eight available Ratatans a unique skill that would give it a sense of individuality (as opposed to increasing the total number of attacks and inputs). Cobuns, the followers of your chosen Ratatan, will also have special moves of their own.
The addition of special moves meant that Ratatan’s level design and balance had to change. According to Sakajiri, the lead level designer was blue in the face when it was decided that both Ratatans and Cobuns would be getting special moves. To prevent special moves from becoming overpowered, the team had to balance the resources required to perform them.
Aside from difficulty changes and special moves, accessibility features are also being added to the Early Access release. All of the upcoming features and fixes are being compiled into a hefty patch notes list. Sakajiri and Otari attribute the speed at which they can make and execute decisions to the team’s small size, but are well aware of the tight budget and timeline they are working with.
Ratatan is currently in development for PC (Steam), Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4 and 5, and Nintendo Switch.
