There’s little doubt there’s a live action boom going on right now. Everything from flying elephants (Dumbo) to stretchy pirates (One Piece) to rom-coms (My Love Story!!) has a live action released or in the works.
Meanwhile, lots of video games are being remade or ported to modern systems (Crash Bandicoot, Final Fantasy VII). Heck, there are even consoles being made to look like mini versions of the original and come bundled with some of the system’s greatest hits (NES Classic, PlayStation Classic).
But somehow, when I expected these two concepts to cross, I imagined more video game live action adaptations a la Ace Attorney or Tomb Raider. I wasn’t quite expecting this:
All images from Gematsu.
No, you aren’t looking at game-to-TV images. These are all from the upcoming game Root Letter: Last Answer.
The original Root Letter is a visual novel that was released in 2016 on PlayStation 4 and Vita. It was later ported to PCs and mobile devices the following year.
Recently, a “live action project” was announced, which some articles assumed was a TV series or a movie version. Instead, it’s actually a remake-slash-enhanced-port.
Some of the changes are natural for an enhanced port: making it easier to skip scenes already viewed, better inventory system, and extra scenarios. But it also includes a “Drama Mode” where the manga-style illustrations are instead replaced with real people. Ninety actors have been brought on to portray the characters, so it’s obvious that the developer, Kadokawa Games, is putting a big emphasis on this feature.
So, is this a ground-breaking idea, or is the whole thing just crazy?
I remember when the first visuals of Xenosaga Episode II were released. If you’ve never seen the game, the sequel is set immediately after its predecessor. The protagonist, Shion, goes from looking like this
To this.
There must have been enough backlash to this change of style, as developer Monolith Soft would later rebalance the realistic vs. anime style for the series’ third game. I know I was upset when I first saw Episode II, as it was the anime visuals that drew me into Xenosaga in the first place.
And that was my initial reaction here: I’m sure a majority of visual novel players are also interested in other Japanese media like anime and light novels, so surely they’d be used to the typical game sprites.
On the other hand, Kadokawa Games is doing something different. It’s getting attention. I can’t see this style being hugely popular in gal/otome game markets where the voice cast is a major part of the attraction, but drama and mysteries? Survival games? Those are better possibilities. Sure, the reactions in Ace Attorney are hilarious, but imagine some of the endings of the Zero Escape series with real people looking as if they’ve been doused with blood. I could also see the potential with virtual reality. As VR becomes more popular, could using actual actors make it easier for players to dive into the story? Instead of hanging out with purple-haired girls with big eyes, it would be like talking to someone who could live down the street.
I don’t know if going with real actors will actually save time or money versus outsourcing CGs, and I can see issues with scheduling or “aging out” if a developer wants to do a sequel. But in some genres, lots of money is being spent to make games look as real as possible, and using a set might lead to less development time.
But still, I am a manga fan for a reason. I like some of the crazy colored hair and the exaggerated expressions. Of course Kadokawa would have to do something major if they’re re-releasing a game after only two years (including again on the PS4, although with a Switch port as well), but I don’t know if anyone’s going to rush out and buy Root Letter: Last Answer just because some actors are cosplaying, but it will be interesting to see if any new IPs will also feature — or only include — a Drama Mode.