Hello, everyone. It's Kou from FHW.
Today, we would like to present part #5 of an in-depth interview with 
Quang, the original creator of “Phoenotopia.” The interviewer is 
Ochoko, "Phoenotopia Strategy Memo. ( フェノトピア攻略メモ。)" blogger who is also considered to be a representative of the Japanese Phoenotopia fans.
Also, Phoenotopia's composer 
Will Cho makes an appearance.
Interview list is available here→
フェノトピア開発者様にインタビューさせていただきました！
Interview(#5)
Ochoko I also have a question about the music.
I enjoy listening to the Phoenotopia soundtrack while working, and all the songs are lovely. Also, those who have cleared the game share their favorite songs, and it’s not just one. It’s a variety of songs. By the way, what is your favorite song, Quang? Also, I would like to ask the composer what genres of music influenced them while composing tracks?
Quang My favorite song has got to be "Overworld Aether." It's the song that appears when you get the 100% ending. That song was supposed to be used for the sequel, but then the development took too long and so we refocused on recreating the first game instead. One day, that song will get the proper stage it deserves!
（※
KOU Back in 2015, Quang began to work on a sequel to Phoenotopia's FLASH version. However, after deciding that developing a sequel from scratch would be difficult, and not knowing if the first game was popular enough, it was finally decided that a "remake" of the first game should be made instead. (Below is footage of the Phoenotopia 2 prototype from 2015 that we received, so please feel free to check it out.)
Will Cho
For the soundtrack, Quang would send me song recommendations from other games to help describe how he wanted the music to sound. Thanks to that I was introduced to great soundtracks from games like Wild Arms, Tower of Heaven, and Paper Mario. Aside from that, there were many game soundtracks I enjoyed listening to while growing up, so I tried to incorporate elements I liked into my own songs. For example, Chrono Cross's acoustic guitar, lighthearted piano from Kirby's Epic Yarn, upbeat battle music from song arrangements by S.S.H, rock organ from Tales of Phantasia, and so on.
Ochoko I like the battle music for the first battle against the last boss.
My interpretation is that the electronic sound in the song's first half conveys Gail's confusion and conflict against the enemy’s will. In contrast, the second half has a powerful and beautiful piano melody that expresses Gail's resolution and will.
Please tell me if you have any thoughts on this composition.
Will Cho When creating this song, I had intended for the first half to evoke feelings of despair until a glimmer of hope arrived as Gail's theme played in the second half. But I really like your interpretation of the electronic sound clashing against the piano as a parallel to *last boss* and Gail also fighting! To be honest, I didn't think of that at all! Another trivia: the intro for *the last boss* sounds similar to the original Flash game's Chase song as a homage.
Ochoko Another question I have is that the song in PV (promotional video) is an original song that wasn’t featured in the game, right? Could you tell me if you had some episode moments, like some pros or cons about this song?
Will Cho Yes, this song was composed specifically for the trailer. The main focus was the feeling of "adventure"; we wanted to invite players to join Gale on a grand adventure and experience the world of Phoenotopia Awakening! One interesting fact: originally the trailer was going to start with a sad story overview before cutting to the trailer we know today. The intro was eventually scrapped from the final trailer, but I found the intro I had composed back then. Maybe I should upload it?
Quang Please no! That trailer is really cringey to me now, haha
Ochoko This next question relates to a big spoiler….
(To be continued in #6)
Afterwords
So what do you think of「Phoenotopia」Long Interview＃5?
Here are the Phoeotopia: Awakening store pages. Feel free to check them out if you are interested!
