Q&As// Opoona Developers

SPOnG: The entire game is said to be controlled via the Wii Nunchuk. How will gameplay work in both battle and adventure modes, and in what ways do they use the accelerometers in the hardware?

Sachiko Sugimura: The RPG is a highly popular genre among game fans in Japan. This time, we wanted also to appeal to people who don’t play games very much. Nunchuk has only two buttons and one control stick – which enable users to play casually while relaxing, eating, or in any form just by one hand. That is the reason we concentrate on taking full advantage of Nunchuk and we don’t use the accelerometers.



SPOnG: There are many environments that Opoona can travel to. What types of landscapes can we expect to see in the game and how long will it take players to see all Opoona has to offer?

Shintaro Majima: From the modern, futuristic dome city to wild nature, mysterious ruins, floating saint shrine and to a labyrinth of the dark… there are a variety of landscapes you will see in Opoona.

We aim to find the most attractive blend of some reality and some imagination. There are also modern art pieces here and there in Landroll. They are planned by the modern art creator, Tatsuo Majima, (brother of Shintaro Majima) and you will enjoy it as a little virtual museum.

Please allow yourself about good 30-40 hours to travel thoroughly in Opoona’s world.


SPOnG: Can you explain a little about ‘Tomodachi Levels’? You can gain abilities and adventures from building relationships, but what kinds of scenarios we can expect to maintain bonds with other characters?

Sachiko Sugimura: First, it is important that you try to get to know people on your own. Talk to people when visiting new places, make an effort to have yourself understood and to understand people. By keep doing that, you will become “Tomodachi” with someone in the course of time.

The next step after becoming “Tomodachi” with someone is to gain trust from Tomodachi. If the Tomodachi is your boss at work, you will gain trust by completing tasks as expected, and if the Tomodachi is a person who has troubles in his love affair, he will be grateful if you help solve problems.

For example, the marine specialist “Sea Master” protects “Shachiruka”, the species under fear of extinction. In such case, participate in protect activities such as finding food for Shachiruka in order to deepen the relationship.


SPOnG: There are different jobs such as ‘detective’ and ‘idol’ that Opoona can undertake during the course of the game. How will the missions/adventures for these different assigned jobs vary from one another?

Sachiko Sugimura: Depending on the job, the experience varies very much – the different place to work and the activity itself. We can compare it to a game system – In accordance with the difference in jobs, there are different play features similar to the games such as:

“Adventure game (puzzle or problem solving)”
“Simulation game”
“Action game”

There are main jobs and additional jobs. Main jobs are the person’s primary job, which everyone on Landroll must have – such as “Landroll guard”. It is up to the players whether they would like to have jobs other than their main job. But it will certainly help to have licenses for such additional jobs, in order to get involved in more activities and get chances to explore bigger part of the planet.

It is also helpful to get additional licenses that, by obtaining licenses; the player can gain more ability. There are many ability parameters, which don’t change by simply levelling up through battles.