Cry On

Cry On (Japanese: クライオン, Hepburn: Kurai On) is a cancelled video game by Final Fantasy creator Hironobu Sakaguchi and his development team Mistwalker. Announced as an upcoming project in 2005 for the Xbox 360, the game's cancellation was later announced in 2008. In late 2014, Sakaguchi released a concept trailer of work done on the game.

Cry On
Developer(s)Mistwalker
Cavia
Publisher(s)AQ Interactive
Director(s)Hironobu Sakaguchi
Producer(s)Hironobu Sakaguchi
Artist(s)Kimihiko Fujisaka
Writer(s)Hironobu Sakaguchi
Composer(s)Nobuo Uematsu
Platform(s)Xbox 360
Release
  • JP: Cancelled
Genre(s)Role-playing
Mode(s)Single-player

Synopsis

Setting and themes

The game's setting was to take place in the Middle Ages, centering on the relationship between humans and small creatures called "Bogles".[1] Similar to the concept of a familiar spirit, the Bogle act as "protective charms" that assist humans in their daily lives.[1] However, some humans want to take advantage of this relationship; Bogles were once large giants in the past, and humans have found a way to transform them into giants again, with the intention of waging wars by using them.[1]

As the title suggests, a recurring theme of the game was to be on the evoking of tears, in the context of both sadness and joy.[2] Sakaguchi stated the title was also reflective of his desired response to the game; his goal with the story was to make the player of the game cry themselves.[3]

Story

The story specifically follows the character Sally, who has the only Bogle in the world that can speak human language.[1] Her father, the King, bestows upon her the ability to transform her Bogle into a giant, and alter its appearance and abilities depending on what other items are connected to it.[1] The player follows Sally as she traverses the countryside with her Bogle, customizing it as she goes, and using it to maneuver through her terrain.[1] Scenarios outlined included situations where only Bogle's abilities could help save people from escaping death, or using Bogle's strength to raise a ship out of water.[1]

Gameplay

The game would be split between the player controlling two characters: the young human female, Sally, and her giant, Bogle, with emphasis being placed on how differently the terrain would be traversed between the two.[1] In addition to the vast differences in their sizes, Sally's gameplay was to be more based around puzzle-solving and japanese role-playing game-based exploration, while Bogle's gameplay was to be more action-oriented, with him providing all of the game's fighting and battling.[1][4] For every fifteen minutes of Sally gameplay, the player would control the Bogle for only a single minute.[1] Multiple control schemes were being considered, with one having a dual analogue stick set up, using one for player control and another for pulling, grabbing, and raising objects.[1]

Development

The game was first announced in December 2005 as the fourth upcoming game being worked on by developer Mistwalker, in addition to Blue Dragon, Lost Odyssey, and ASH: Archaic Sealed Heat.[5] The game would be produced and written by Mistwalker head Hironobu Sakaguchi.[6] He recruited music composer Nobuo Uematsu for the game's music; the two had worked together previously while together at SquareSoft working on Final Fantasy up until the series ninth installment.[7] Uematsu announced rough plans to create the music in the second half of 2006, with Blue Dragon and Lost Odyssey's music taking precedence.[8] The game was also announced to be in co-development with another Japanese video game company, Cavia.[6] Most notably, character design would be handled by Kimihiko Fujisaka, who had previously worked on character design in Drakengard.[5][6] The game on a whole was intended to have a cel shaded art style, though different than much of the cel shaded games on the market at the time, more comparable to the work of a Hayao Miyazaki film.[1]

Sakaguchi estimated that the game's creation would require between 1.5 and 2 years of development time.[1] Despite this, 2007 came and went without any further information on the game, and three years after its initial announcement, on December 25, 2008, the game was cancelled, with Mistwalker citing "poor economic conditions".[9] Some work had been created on the project; Sakaguchi stated that approximately 50% of the game's scenario had been finished.[6] Six years after its cancellation, on December 26, 2014, Sakaguchi released a trailer of the game, without any commentary on it whatsoever.[10]

Reception and aftermath

Many journalists expressed disappointment in the game's cancellation. Game Informer compared the game's scenario, and general situation of development hell, to Sony's oft-delayed The Last Guardian.[10] Sakaguchi continued to create Japanese role-playing games with Mistwalker and Uematsu, releasing 2012's The Last Story for the Wii and 2014's Terra Battle for iOS and Android.[7]

References
  1. "Japan's Most Popular Developer Speaks". IGN.
  2. "Cry On". IGN.
  3. "Mistwalker Developing Three iOS Games, More News Coming Via Facebook". Siliconera.
  4. "Mistwalker head shares trailer for canceled JRPG, Cry On". Joystiq.
  5. "RPGamer - News Bulletin - Mistwalker Unveils Another Title". Archived from the original on 2014-12-31. Retrieved 2014-12-31.
  6. "Final Fantasy Creator Shows Off Cancelled RPG Cry On". IGN.
  7. "Final Fantasy creator teases fans with a look at canceled game Cry On". Polygon.
  8. "RPGFan - Exclusive Interview Feature: Interview #2: Nobuo Uematsu, Smileplease".
  9. "Here's what Mistwalker's canceled RPG looked like".
  10. "Hironobu Sakaguchi's Trailer For Mistwalker's Cancelled Cry On Recalls The Last Guardian". www.GameInformer.com.
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