SHUTEN ORDER Creators Open Up About Its Secrets

Spike Chunsoft's SHUTEN ORDER's promises to combine five different gameplay styles with intrigue, mystery, and psychadelia. With the game about to release, Anime News Network was given the opportunity to sit down with three members of its development—director Takumi Nakazawa (Never7, Ever17), writer Kazutaka Kodaka (Rain Code, Danganronpa), and artist simadoriru (Danganronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls)—to ask them about the game's influences and themes.

SHUTEN ORDER revolves around players navigating five different play-modes (romance adventure, extreme escape, mystery, stealth action-horror, and multiple-perspective). What was the impetus behind combining so many different modes into one game?

Takumi Nakazawa: The idea of combining five different types of adventure games into one was conceived by [Kazutaka] Kodaka when he wrote the initial plot. In this work, Kodaka aimed to create an adventure game in a straightforward way. However, to avoid a lack of originality, he came up with a system that lets players experience a different genre of adventure game in each scenario. Additionally, the themes of religion and dismemberment murders play a major role in this title. The five types of adventure games fit well with the unique world and the dismembered bodies in the story. From an overall perspective, this results in a very convincing and cohesive game design.

What kind of lessons have you learned throughout the development of your previous games (specifically, the Danganronpa games and The Hundred Line), and how did this shape the development of SHUTEN ORDER?

Kazutaka Kodaka: I believe this work shares the same fun of gradually unraveling various mysteries, like in Danganronpa or The Hundred Line. Since the protagonist is not a high school student, there is less crude humor. I think it's a strange story with a touch of the occult.

What influenced the character design in SHUTEN ORDER?

simadoriru: I was influenced by Tadanori Yokoo when creating the atmosphere of the town and other settings. While vivid colors usually give a bright, pop impression, they can also create a sudden sense of eeriness and otherworldliness. We aimed to capture that kind of atmosphere for the cult members as well.

Was there an aspect of the game that you struggled with implementing or balancing?

Nakazawa: The hardest part was the stealth action element in the Ministry of Security route. We struggled with level design, balance, and debugging. For the Ministry of Justice route, the challenge was how to differentiate the investigation and deduction gameplay from existing mystery adventure games. The Ministry of Health route was tough because it combined several elements: 3D map exploration, logic puzzles, live commentary, and a convincing narrative. Initially, the Ministry of Education route's scenario and gameplay were both not that interesting, so we went through many revisions before we were satisfied. For the Ministry of Science route, we put a lot of effort into designing the flowchart to make it enjoyable even when switching between scenes. This route is especially story-focused, but I think it also offers a unique gameplay experience. Since each route belongs to a different genre, each had its own unique challenges.

For players fresh off of The Hundred Line, what might they find of interest in SHUTEN ORDER by way of similar themes?

Kodaka: Since it's a mystery, I think you'll feel a sense of surprise.

Nakazawa: Having each route belong to a different genre was challenging, but it also allowed us to switch our mindset each time, which kept the development process interesting. That said, since the concept was to bring together different genres into a single game, both the scenario and the gameplay systems had to be refined through a process of trial and error. I remember feeling a strong sense of satisfaction when each route gradually came together and reached a level where it's fun and the appeal became clear, and the overall game started to take shape beautifully. It was at that moment that I truly felt this was not just a collection of five adventure games, but a single, unified work called SHUTEN ORDER.

"Shuten" in Japanese can mean "final point" but also alludes to the folkloric oni, Shuten-Doji. Is there any significant hint regarding the game's story and its title? (Note: The kanji used for "shuten" in the Japanese title is written as "end of heaven," but phonetically identical to "final point." In Japanese, "Shuten" would be pronounced with a long "u," as opposed to the short "u" used in "Shuten-Doji.")

Kodaka: I don't want to answer too much to avoid spoilers, but at least Shuten-doji is not involved at all. Although it is an occult-themed story.

Who was your favorite character in SHUTEN ORDER?

Nakazawa: I like all of them, including the five ministers, the protagonist Rei, and even the cult leader before they were killed and lost their memory. It's hard to choose just one favorite. I'm sure many players will feel the same way when they finish the game.

simadoriru: The two angels are my favorites. Please try being suspicious of them and relying on them.

Do you have any final words for your fans in America?

Nakazawa: SHUTEN ORDER combines five adventure games into one, resulting in a game with a unique flavor. Perhaps players will have a strange impression while playing. Even though it's one game, it feels different every time you start over. It's like touching a mysterious object that looks completely different depending on the angle from where you're looking. It's a nostalgic yet new adventure game that has never been seen before. I hope many people will play it. And once you've played it, please share your impressions on social media, including your progress. I'm sure everyone will have slightly different impressions, which will be interesting.

simadoriru: I've been to America twice before, and was surprised at the complete differences between the East and West coasts. I was captivated and explored many different places. I hope your experience in SHUTEN ORDER will be just as captivating for you.

Many thanks to Spike Chunsoft for extending the opportunity to us, and for Nakazawa-san, Kodaka-san and simadoriru-san for taking the time to speak with us!