"There's no way we can do that!"
Even Nagoshi was opposed to the plan. He and the staff had both put everything they had into RGG1, and were left practically running on fumes. The idea of a sequel hadn't yet even crossed their minds.
When making a sequel, they wanted it to be 1.5x the size of the first game. The players wouldn't just accept the same thing all over again. If it was released a year later, they wouldn't even have ten months for the development period. Making a sequel of 1.5x the size in only ten months seemed absolutely impossible. But Kikuchi said calmly to Nagoshi:
"This fire we've kindled will go out with surprising ease. If we don't do it next year, there's no point."
When the project had first begun, it had been Kikuchi who was the first one to show understanding. During the rough development period they had worked as comrades, both pouring in their sweat and tears. His words were more persuasive than anything else. Nagoshi had decided.
"Okay. Before we say it can't be done in ten months, let's think of a way we can make it in that time."
A special plan to make a sequel in ten months. The conclusion Nagoshi and Kikuchi arrived at was a method called "parallel progression".
Generally when games are being made, the first thing to do is write the scenario and make up the storyboards. Next, when character motions are complete, camerawork is set up, lighting is placed to illuminate the characters, and music is put onto the cutscenes - everything progressing in a straight line. If motion, camerawork, lighting and music were all to be carried out simultaneously in four branches by separate teams, it would lead to a reduction in development time. However, it would quadruple the effort required from people in supervisory roles, such as the director and producer. Nagoshi, Kikuchi and Yokoyama were on a horrific schedule. Even still, Nagoshi said, "If our suffering allows this game to be made, so be it," and decided to go along with parallel progression.
This is how development on RGG2 began.
Unlike the way it had been during RGG1's development, strange changes began to happen at the workplace: a hint of pride showed in the eyes of each of the staff working there.
In 2004, the game industry was filled with bright topics. Amongst those were the bitter memories of Sega's past withdrawal from the home console market. It left a dark shadow hanging over the hearts of the employees.
This was at the time when the Ryu ga Gotoku project began. At the very beginning, Nagoshi's proposal was viewed with scepticism by the company. "Is Nagoshi's team really okay?" Whilst withstanding these rumours, the staff created RGG1. This game, upon which they worked so diligently, would later grow into a notable work that aimed to be a big hit. To both Sega and the staff who worked on it, it was the first bright ray of light in a long time.
The pride of having worked on such a notable title, uncommon in recent years. The voices of people who were drawn in by it - "This game is amazing", "It was fun" - cheered them on. It gave them the motivation to go for the short development time of just ten months.
As a setting for the sequel, a new town in Osaka was added. It was determined that if they were going to surpass the previous game's enchanting drama, they should head from Tokyo to Osaka, with its large red light district. The battle sections, popular in the first game, were also upgraded. So as to produce a richer variety of moves, the staff all contributed ideas. The workload was twice that of the last game, but the work area was filled with a bright energy.