{"id":51756,"date":"2025-09-09T02:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-09-08T17:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/?p=51756"},"modified":"2025-09-10T14:51:41","modified_gmt":"2025-09-10T05:51:41","slug":"from-trials-of-mana-to-romancing-saga-2-japanese-contract-developer-xeen-has-silently-become-a-powerhouse-in-remake-development","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/game-development\/from-trials-of-mana-to-romancing-saga-2-japanese-contract-developer-xeen-has-silently-become-a-powerhouse-in-remake-development\/","title":{"rendered":"From Trials of Mana to Romancing SaGa 2, Japanese contract developer Xeen has silently become a powerhouse in remake development\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Studios doing contract development work for major game companies tend to stay behind the scenes \u2013 and while some get their big breaks, many never gain recognition outside of industry circles. Japanese game developer Xeen<\/strong> has been in the arcade, console and mobile game business for 19 years \u2013 but recently, they\u2019ve seen their popularity grow rapidly, as both clients and players take note of their consistent output of high-quality remakes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most notably, Xeen is the developer behind Square Enix\u2019s Trials of Mana (2020) and Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the Seven (2024). They fully remade both titles, originally top-down pixel-art RPGs, into third-person 3D games, earning high praise from players. Additionally, Xeen is credited<\/a> on titles like Persona 3 Reload, Metaphor: ReFantazio and Paranormasight: The Seven Mysteries of Honjo. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

AUTOMATON recently spoke to Xeen\u2019s president Yosuke Satomi and development lead Tadayuki Akiyama to find out more about the studio and how they\u2019ve made it to where they are now.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Being a contract developer, Xeen had already earned a solid reputation in the industry throughout the years \u2013 largely for its track record of \u201cbug-free development\u201d \u2013 but it didn\u2019t start seeing popularity among general consumers until recently. \u201cMost people had no idea who we were,\u201d Akiyama comments. However, their work on the Trials of Mana and Romancing SaGa 2 remakes changed this. Aside from being allowed to display their logo alongside Square Enix\u2019s, it was the back-to-back positive reception of the remakes that cemented Xeen’s standing.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhile Trials of Mana was well-received and enjoyed as a remake, not many people paid attention to who developed it. But then, when Romancing SaGa 2 came out as the second title, people started to notice that it was made by the same developer, and that\u2019s what gave us more recognition. So naturally, the reaction to Romancing SaGa 2 was bigger, but that was only possible thanks to the success of Trials of Mana before it.\u201d By consecutively releasing two remakes of the same caliber, Xeen essentially proved itself to Square Enix fans. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As for what made these remake resonate with players, Satomi thinks Xeen\u2019s adjustments to game tempo were crucial. \u201cThe remakes had a faster pace. Older games often required a lot more effort to play, and while this is part of what made them attractive, it also made them drag. Nowadays, games are designed to be played smoothly, without much hassle. Striking the right balance between modern game pacing and the spirit of the original was something our team really worked on.\u201d Despite realistically introducing an \u201cincredible amount of changes\u201d to Romancing SaGa 2, Xeen didn\u2019t let fans feel that anything crucial had been tampered with, which could be the secret to a successful remake. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Although it has maintained strong relations with a variety of major publishers throughout the years, the studio is now seeing its own fans for the first time as players look forward to the next project with the name \u201cXeen\u201d behind it. Going forward, the company will continue to pursue both contract development and original projects across multiple devices and genres.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Related article: Romancing SaGa 2 remake developer Xeen is raising a generation of devs who understand the core strengths of Japanese game making<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Interview with Yosuke Satomi and Tadayuki Akiyama, the CEO and development lead of emerging contract developer Xeen. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":51762,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_gspb_post_css":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[64,10],"tags":[17],"class_list":["post-51756","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-game-development","category-interviews","tag-japan-related-news"],"blocksy_meta":[],"yoast_head":"\nFrom Trials of Mana to Romancing SaGa 2, Japanese contract developer Xeen has silently become a powerhouse in remake development\u00a0 - AUTOMATON WEST<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Interview with Yosuke Satomi and Tadayuki Akiyama, the CEO and development lead of emerging contract developer Xeen.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/game-development\/from-trials-of-mana-to-romancing-saga-2-japanese-contract-developer-xeen-has-silently-become-a-powerhouse-in-remake-development\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"From Trials of Mana to Romancing SaGa 2, Japanese contract developer Xeen has silently become a powerhouse in remake development\u00a0 - 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