Unicorn Overlordis something of an anomaly. Mashing up an SRPG with RTS elements isn’t the most natural concept, but something about Vanillaware’s love letter to ‘90s classics hits home in a wonderful way. I spoke with veteran producer Akiyasu Yamamoto, to gain some key insights into the development process and the future of Unicorn Overlord.
As a lifelong fan of the genre, I instantly noted Unicorn Overlord’s similarities to Ogre Battle, ad Yamamato confirmed that Unicorn Overlord’s roots “lie in the simulation RPGs of the ‘90s," particularly drawing inspiration from those with a bird’s eye perspective and 2D sprite work. Sure enough, Unicorn Overlord feels like a throwback to a certain golden era of SRPGs that peaked pre-millennium with the Ogre Battle series and Final Fantasy Tactics, “created by people who were in awe of the simulation RPGs of 30 years ago, who have longed and craved for such works … Unicorn Overlord respects those SRPGs, but goes back a bit further to their origins and is more of a war game. I believe that this work is the result of the evolutionary path of RTS, a lineage that did not take root in the Japanese video game market, and which ceased to exist in the 1990s, and which has now been dug up in the 2020s.”
Yamamoto attributes the success of the fantasy setting in video games to tabletop roleplaying and war games, both of which are classic exponents of medieval fantasy stories, characters, and worlds. “What separates tabletop RPGs from war games is the presence or absence of characterisation, and characterisation is probably the appeal of RPGs in general,” he tells me. Combining compelling characters with the satisfaction derived from demanding strategic challenges makes for a perfect storm.
Careful not to lean too heavily on character-centric dramas, Unicorn Overlord was crafted to set the player’s imagination aflame. Relationships and dynamics are largely only hinted at, and it’s up to us, the players, to fill in the gaps. Yamamoto says “the team would be happy if the gaming experience that captivates us is carried on in this way” and admits he has the headcanon that “the bond between Rex and Travis is supplemented with more drama than is expressed in the in-game text.”
This is supported heavily by the rapport conversations - there isn’t a huge amount of them, but those we do see are natural, mostly believable scenarios you could imagine of a small army marching towards liberation. The intentional lack of characterisation scenes (relative to those that drive the political narrative onward) makes the cast even more compelling, as you’re bound to expand naturally on what little you know of these interesting characters.
Unfortunately, some of this army fell before a sword was thrust, as Yamamoto details the game’s cut content. “Troubadours with musical instruments, dancers who support others with dancing, and musketeers who handle musket guns” were among those not included in the final release. While there’s plenty of diversity within the game when it comes to characters and classes, it would have been another depth of strategy to include more ranged and support options to play around with.
Nevertheless, both director Takafumi Noma and main planner Wataru Nakanishi say there is “not much to regret” and that Unicorn Overlord is “the ‘ideal’ that [they] have devoted their lives to create” - though they do regret having to “drop the idea of bits of character’s armour breaking off as the character took more damage”, a mechanic seen in games like Fire Emblem: Fates, SoulCalibur, and Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 (to varying degrees of outright fanservice).
Indeed, don’t hold out any hopes of such content being introduced in the future - Yamamoto tells me, “We have achieved everything that we aimed to do, so there are currently no plans to create additional downloadable content for this title.” It is a complete product, their “carefully shaped precious stone,” as Yamamoto calls it, a description well-earned.
