When Compile Heart announced that they are making games tailored specifically for the Japanese audience, it was subject to much criticism by fans around the world. Determined to meet this goal, however, a new game, currently known as Galapagos RPG, is in development with the surprising involvement of artist Yoshitaka Amano and composer Nobuo Uematsu, contributors to the earlier Final Fantasy games.
The project title, Galapagos is suggestive to the term, “Galapagos syndrome,” which is the isolation to a specific region of a developed product, whose kind is made to be available and accessible around the globe. JRPGs can be played and appreciated by everyone around the globe, but this one game, among others by Compile Heart, is under development for a specific market.
There’s not much to be said about the trailer other than its series of gritty-looking images drawn by Yoshitaka Amano, and large bold text stating the involvement of Nobuo Uematsu’s new band, The Earthbound Papas. Uematsu previously had a band called The Black Mages. This game will be developed by the Neptunia team, creators of the Hyperdimension Neptunia series.
This will be one of a number of games in recent years that Uematsu and Amano have worked together on, another being Level-5’s Fantasy Life. Unless a localization effort is made by western publishers, it may be displeasing to a lot of their fans around the globe if they will not be able to get a hold of this game.
