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Ganryu 2: Hakuma Kojiro is an exceptional side-scrolling hack-and-slash sequel to the 1999 NeoGeo MVS arcade game. It brings a wide variety of stages, challenging bosses, and secrets to unlock. Sportskeeda's Jason Parker recently sat down with one of the developers of the recent release.
The two talked about the challenges of working on the sequel, inspiration when designing the game, and if a third Ganryu game could be on the books someday.
Ganryu 2's developers talk about why they decided to create a sequel to a NeoGeo classic
When PixelHeart took over the VISCO studio, Sami (CEO of PixelHeart) offered us to choose between the licenses to make a new game, sequel or reboot. As a big fan/player of retro-gaming, Julien and I were like a child in front of a candy store. We decided to go with Ganryu, which was probably the closest to what we played when we were young.
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Q. The two games do still feel similar when it comes to game philosophy and design, but Ganryu 2 has a much faster pace. What influenced this design change?
The people. Ganryu is a great game but nowadays, players want nervous gameplay. We also wanted to have more modern gameplay, without losing the original touch. We couldn't go as far as making a Dead Cells, for example, but making the game faster and more nervous was mandatory. We also want to allow players to move through levels very quickly if they had enough skill for it.
Q. When I play Ganryu 2, it reminds me of several other Ninja/action games of my youth. For example, Ninja Gaiden, Strider, and Shinobi. Were any mechanics or gameplay choices inspired by these games?
When we make a game, we can't start from scratch, erase all video game history, and reinvent the wheel. This is even more true when creating a retro game, and even more when working on the continuation of an existing license.
People aren't just looking for a new game to play. They have to see all the references to their good old games before. And, as retro gamers and fans, we can't ignore our own experience and culture. If we liked something in a game, we would try to add it in one of ours, in our own way.
So yeah, Ninja Gaiden, Strider and Shinobi were an influence for both of us for the graphics and the game mechanics. Probably the best known is Shinobi III. I think anyone who's played that game can see that the special phases of Ganryu 2 are very inspired by this game.
Q. Were there any particular challenges in getting permission to create a Ganryu 2 game from the original rights holders?
Not at all. VISCO members (our seniors) were very happy to see a new team's rendition of what may be a sequel to Ganryu. They were very open-minded and very encouraging. Many thanks to them!
Q. It feels like the game may have also been designed with speedrunning in mind, with how quickly a player can slash and jump through many of the stages. Is that true?
This question makes me really happy! Indeed, although the game can be difficult the first time we play it, each Stage is designed to be speedrunned if we jump and attack with kunais or the sword at the right time.
This was the goal of level design and difficulty balance. If we couldn't speedrun a Stage without getting hit, we would lower the difficulty, move or modify the enemies, change a few things here and there, until we were able to. Somehow, I find the game much easier running through the Stages.
Q. Ganryu 2 features a lot of familiar arcade tropes in one place. What was discussed when it came to the planning of the stages of the game?
We wanted the players to feel like they were playing on an arcade machine. Ganryu was originally a NeoGeo game, which was like a home arcade machine. We wanted to respect that and make Ganryu 2 in line with that desire.
From there, what represents an arcade machine? Lives, gameovers, the score and a raised difficulty.
Q. The game itself is pretty over-the-top when it comes to stage design as well. Are there particular moments you as the developer are excited to see players experience?
Yesterday, I was watching videos on YouTube and suddenly I saw a video called "Ganryu 2 Playthrough - No Death - 100%." The player has literally unlocked all the trophies in a single run. I was so amazed and happy to see that someone had already made this kind of video and played the game the way we designed it: by speedrunning it. It's very grateful. A big thank you to this player!
Q. On that note, is there a boss that was the most fun to design in the game?
I can't really speak for the rest of the team. But personally, the funniest boss to design, animate, and code was the fourth boss. I am Game Designer, Level Designer and Game Developer. But not at all a graphic designer. At one point, our graphic designer (Julien Rocca) was very busy, so I had to find him a quick boss to produce for him.
He made the spider's head, the corpse and two parts of a leg. I animated everything myself, whether it's the movement of the legs or anything else, by programming. I needed the boss patterns to not require any work from the designer. So everything in this boss is designed to be "no graphics."
In a nutshell, I had five or six sprites, without animations, and I needed to make a boss with them. It was very challenging, interesting and fun to do!
Q. Is there going to be any extra content for Ganryu 2, or is it complete as is?
We would like to add a boss rush in the game. And personally, I would like to add an extra stage for people who are able to complete the game by finding all five Hanafudas in a row. I don't know yet if we will have enough time to do it. But that would be awesome.
Q. Is there a Ganryu 3 in the works or has Kojiro's shadow finally been defeated once and for all?
Ganryu 2 is a short game and we didn't have much time to produce it. We wanted a shorter project after Golden Force, which was a bigger project. We still have a lot of ideas, features, game mechanics and bosses that we couldn't fit into this game. Will there be a Ganryu 3? Sure! The real question is, "When?" If we do, it will be a bigger and richer project.
Ganryu 2 released on April 21, 2022, and is a sequel to the hit 1999 NeoGeo MVS title Musashi Ganryuki. The sequel can be played on PC, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.
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