Dragon’s Dogma 2 is less than three months away from being released. Just a year and a half ago, this remained a pipe dream for fans of the original action RPG, as ten years had passed without a sequel. Then the June 2022 announcement came and they could finally rejoice.
In a new interview published in the latest issue of PLAY magazine, Dragon’s Dogma 2 director Hideaki Itsuno apologized to fans for the long wait and assured that, if it had been up to him, he’d have done a sequel right away.
I really wanted to be able to make a sequel right after the game came out, so sorry for making everyone wait so long. I’ve been so grateful to see so many fans appreciate the quality of the game and support it for so many years. Having fans support the game – both inside Capcom and out! – is definitely something that helped push the project toward realization.
To be fair, Itsuno previously said something a bit different. In February 2019, just ahead of the release of Devil May Cry V, the game designer explained he had been given the choice to make either a Dragon’s Dogma game or a Devil May Cry game and he picked the latter. So, he could have done it earlier; he just didn’t choose to.
Anyway, one of the main features of Dragon’s Dogma 2 will be the improved lifelike reactions of the Pawns, the player’s faithful NPC companions. On this topic, Itsuno-san said in the interview:
We worked to increase not just the number of different voice lines for the pawns but also the variety of different situations they would respond to so that you really feel that it’s your unique Arisen who raised this particular pawn and that they are a true friend who is by your side on your adventure, giving you words of advice and encouragement. Thanks to the last ten years of technological advancement, we were able to achieve that, I think.
In true CAPCOM fashion, Dragon’s Dogma 2 won’t be taking itself too seriously, either.
We held multi-day sessions where the team came up with ideas for things that could happen in the game, and the funniest ideas were always the ones people came up with when our work kept us up late at night. When we actually went to implement those ideas, we put aside the question of ‘Can we really put something this silly in the game?’ and put as many of them as possible in it. I hope you enjoy experiencing all these fun moments when you play the game!
Hideaki Itsuno also stated that the development team endeavored to make each vocation (the game’s term for class) more unique and special in this sequel.
More information about Dragon’s Dogma 2 is sure to be forthcoming, given the proximity of its launch. Stay tuned for more.
