Four key staff members from 3rd Birthday talked to Famitsu.com about their upcoming PSP title.
Yoshinori Kitase, Hajime Tabata, Motomu Toriyama and Iasmu Kamikokuryo are the producer, director, scenario writer and art director.
Here are a few notable bits of information from the interview.
From Cellphone to PSP
The game was originally going to be developed for cellphones only. But the decision was made to become a PSP title mainly because the quality of the graphics and other special effects could not be done on a cellphone. They also wanted to market the game globally in lieu of just being available in Japan.
Genre
3rd Birthday has been known to be a third-person shooter. Hajime Tabata, the director said that it’s more like an “action-RPG”. He went on to say that ” You use guns, but it’s not something where you aim and fire at enemies. Instead, it’s “lock-on action,” where you use a lock-on button to lock on to enemies”
Overdrive
The main character, Aya can let her consciousness take over the bodies of NPC soldiers. When you use Overdrive you can ump instantly from one NPC soldier to another. Then you can control that NPC. This skill is an important part of the game and story.
Take Off Your Clothes?
Parasite Eve was notable for the shower scene Aya was in. In this game Aya’s clothes will tear off during battle. Tabata stated clothing is part of your equipment. So the more durable the clothes you wear the less skin will be revealed.
Multiplayer?
Tabata said 3rd Birthday is a “top class single player game.” Whether this means there is no multiplayer in the game remains to be seen. Although this does suggest the game is just a solo experience.
Development
The game is so far only 50% complete Tabata said.
Judging by the comment above it seems as if 3rd Birthday will not be out soon. What we do know is that it is a PSP exclusive and we’ll keep you updated when a release date is finally announced.