Reynatis aims to be accepted as a purely Japanese RPG, without adapting to overseas audiences, director says 

FuRyu’s upcoming fantasy action RPG Reynatis is being directed and produced by Takumi Isobe, the young creator behind 2022’s Trinity Trigger. With two ambitious trailers out and a Western release officially confirmed, Isobe recently gave insights into how Reynatis is being received overseas, as well as his goals as the game’s creator. 

While set in a realistic modern-day Shibuya, Reynatis overflows with influences from JRPG series such as Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy and The World Ends with You (which the game is officially collaborating with). Isobe has been vocal about his passion for these Square Enix series and, as recently disclosed in an interview with Denfaminicogamer, that he wants Reynatis to become the next new thing for (now adult) gamers who grew up playing and loving fantasy RPGs like FF and KH.  

Just as his main influences would suggest, Isobe is aiming for a tangible “JRPG” flavor with Reynatis. The creator was pleasantly surprised by how the response to the game’s announcement outside Japan has far exceeded his expectations (it seems Reynatis’ first trailer was a particular sensation in France, according to Nintendo). The director also notes, “I wanted players overseas to see Reynatis as a Japanese RPG (JRPG), which is why I didn’t go to lengths to target overseas audiences. This resulted in a positive response, which I’m very grateful for.” 

Explaining his definition of a JPRG, Isobe describes “a complex game with many twists and turns,” where characters’ fates are intertwined in ways unbeknownst to themselves (think sudden enemy identity reveals), as well as a rich cast of cute and anime-reminiscent characters. 

Interestingly, another goal of Isobe’s with Reynatis is to depict a kind of edgy coolness adults often feel embarrassed to openly like. As an example, he cites the character of Sasuke from the manga and anime series Naruto. The director also brings up the Japanese term “chūnibyō” which is used colloquially to refer to the edginess of teenagers (often referred to as “cringe” among English-speakers). It seems Reynatis will bring some unapologetic edginess along with its JRPG goodness. 

Reynatis is scheduled to be released on September 27 for the PC (Steam), Nintendo Switch, PS4 and PS5.