Cotton Fantasy Interview: Developers Share Insight on New Cute-'Em-Up - Article
by Evan Norris , posted on 05 March 2022 / 2,154 Views
The Cotton series has experienced quite a renaissance lately. Last year saw a flashy remake of the franchise's premier game in Cotton Reboot!, plus ports of several hard-to-find titles like Cotton Boomerang, Cotton 100%, and Panorama Cotton. Now, in 2022, more than 30 years after the original game, a brand-new Cotton adventure is on the way to American and European audiences: Cotton Fantasy.
Known as Cotton Rock 'n' Roll in Japan, Fantasy follows series heroines Nata de Cotton and Silk as they embark on yet another colorful adventure. It promises new shoot 'em up mechanics, 6 playable characters (each with different mechanics and attacks), cut-scenes voiced entirely in Japanese, and 16 stages with a mix of vertical, horizontal, and 3D movement.
Ahead of the game's western launch, two of the game's senior developers shared their insight into the game and the Cotton franchise in general with us. They are:
- Shinya Nagatomo, Producer, SUCCESS Corporation
- Toshinobu Kondo, Game Director, Studio Saizensen
Q: Cotton Fantasy represents a brand new Cotton adventure, 30 years after the original game's launch. How do you hope modern audiences will experience the game?
Shinya Nagatomo (SN): I hope people will experience the characteristic cotton cuteness, but with a modern twist in the way they play.
Toshinobu Kondo (TK): I hope they will enjoy it because it contains the good-old-days shooting mode while allowing you to play in a modern way.
Q: Tell me about your approach to the game. How were you able to introduce modernized graphics and gameplay while paying homage to the franchise's arcade roots?
SN: Compared to past arcades, we have reduced the difficulty level and made a game that people will want to play again and again. This is also why the system is different for each character.
TK: In terms of graphics, we decided that 3D was the only way to go, considering the current direction of the game.
Q: Cotton Fantasy borrows a couple of shoot 'em up mechanics from other series, including Psyvariar's "Buzz" system and Sanvien's "Time Attack" mechanic. How did you decide to use these systems?
SN: These systems are used to make people play the game again and again. We had to choose between adding more features, like in the Darius series, or changing the whole system — we chose to change the whole system.
Q: Tell me about some of the special guest characters.
SN: We chose guests from Psyvariar and Sanvein because we wanted to include a past STG from Success. We're making them into girls to match the world of Cotton. I think the setting and background of these girls will be revealed more in the future.
TK: Since we took care of development, we decided to let the characters from our other titles participate in the game. Arrangements have been made so that they are able to fly and shoot a lot of projectiles.
Q: The gameplay trailer promises stages with vertical, horizontal, and 3D movement. How did the rail shooting gameplay of Panorama Cotton inspire this newest game?
SN: As it is Cotton's 30th anniversary, we couldn't avoid the presence of Panorama Cotton and Rainbow Cotton. In recognition of their past history, we decided to include 3D movement similar to Panorama Cotton in the bonus levels. If it all goes well, we are thinking that the next step might be a sequel to Panorama Cotton, so this is also an experiment in that direction.
Q: Last year saw the release of Cotton Reboot!, plus ports of many early games in the series. Now there's a brand new game on the horizon. What inspired you to reinvest in the Cotton franchise after 18 years of inactivity?
SN: I like horizontal STGs and no one else in the company was doing Cotton's IP. In the past, I submitted a proposal to revive Cotton during a call for projects within Success. That proposal was well received and evaluated and the project is now up and running.
Q: Speaking of Cotton Reboot!, it received good critical feedback from many outlets, including VGChartz. Can you speak about its level of commercial success? Are you able to share sales figures?
TK: Cotton Reboot is a different project from ours, so I don't know the details. Sorry about that. Nevertheless, the fact that the Cotton Reboot was so well received was a great inspiration for Rock 'n' Roll.
Q: Where do you think Cotton fits in the landscape of shoot 'em up games, both past and present?
SN: I think Cotton is a work that was innovative in two things: having a cute girl as the main character, and having event cut-scenes in between the game.
Q: Can we expect to see more Cotton games or collections in the future?
SN: I think this depends on how well it sells and how well it is received. I'm looking forward to your support!
Q: What is your personal favorite Cotton game, and why?
SN: My personal favorite has to be the first generation of Cotton — Cotton: Fantastic Night Dreams. I was quite shocked by the worldview.
TK: I like Cotton: Fantastic Night Dreams, the first generation of Cotton, the most. At that time, games with cute girls as the main characters were very rare.
I'd like to thank Toshinobu Kondo and Shinya Nagatomo for their thoughtful answers, and PR Hound for arranging the interview. You can pre-order Cotton Fantasy now from the Strictly Limited Games store. At launch in spring 2022, the game will also be available digitally via the Nintendo eShop and PlayStation Store.
