In the latest issue of Next Generation Magazine (issue #50), they had an interview with Climax's President, Hiroshi Naito. The focus of the interview was the highly anticipated (and recently delayed until June 10th) RPG, Climax Landers. Climax is a highly respected company with an excellent track record in the RPG genre including Landstalker and Shining Force 1 and 2 on the Genesis, and Dark Savior on the Saturn.

Next Generation: RPG's are all about telling a story and delivering a convincing atmosphere. What's Landers' theme?

Hiroshi Naito: RPGs often take place in the Middle Ages. For Landers, we included some medieval influences but also some modern touches - convenience stores, for example. Landers is a complex mixture of very different worlds. It's a game you can play many times - you can continue to play it even after finishing the main story.

NG: Final Fantasy VII offered a vast number of locations to explore. Will Landers offer a similar experience?

HN: It's not an RPG where you have a huge world with numerous towns. It's one town that develops around you. There are numerous randomized "Dungeons." In fact, Dungeons are not the dark, underground places you might imagine; they can be temples, forests, etc. It's not like the Shining Darkness world.

NG: You say the game can be played many times, but with only one location, won't the player soon learn all of the game's secrets?

HN: Dungeons change each time you enter them. You enter each Dungeon as a beginner and progressively power up. Your character's abilities will not increase, but the player's skill will develop. You'll gain experience and knowledge about the Dungeon you explored. And if you enter the Dungeon and complete it without dying, the stage will be clear.

NG: How does the player interact with NPC's (non-player characters)?

HN: Although there's only one town, it's inhabited with dozens of people, and each them has a different way of life. As you progress through the game you'll experience their personalities and differences. They'll bring variety to the story.

NG: How are you engineering the game's battle sequences?

HN: We thought very hard about the strategic aspects of combat. Players will fight and try to find solutions, and if those solutions don't work they'll have to find different spells or weapons (to resolve conflicts). But you don't fight to collect money or experience points. Players will have to win battles using their heads.

NG: How do you like developing for Dreamcast? What are the challenges?

HN: Things that were not possible before are easy now because of the Dreamcast's friendly development environment. But because the machine's performance is so high, users are more demanding - they expect more. And that is what's difficult.

NG: Although you won't be using the Dreamcast's modem, how will the VMS work with Landers?

HN: There will be more than 10 games for the VMS - action games and a casino-type game, plus one based on the Tamagotchi concept. Others will be more related to Landers' content, and they'll be very useful to progress in the main game. Also, you can put enemy monsters in the VMS and then reintroduce them to the Dreamcast as your friends.

This game sounds like it could be an excellent experience, but it also sounds very similar to an RPG from Konami on the Playstation, Azure Dreams. One town that grows as you play with randomly created dungeons. Azure Dreams also sounded good on paper but was an extremely repetitive and boring game with a horrible battle system. It sounds as if Climax has gotten around most of these problems but only time will tell. I do have faith though that a company that has made some of my favorite games of all time will be able to pull it off.