RPG Arcade ‘a return to form’ for Island Officials

If you've heard of Island Officials before now, chances are it's due to Orion's Odyssey, an obscure release for Nintendo's digital store that was funded by a Kickstarter campaign some years ago. Since then, they've worked on a host of mobile titles and are now adding RPG Arcade to their portfolio.

The project draws from JRPG formulas and late-90s arcade games, GameZone learned after speaking with Adrian Sandoval of Island Officials. In discussing the influences behind the game's battle system, their aim is evidently to carve an approachable yet involved experience.

"I've been fascinated with the way battle systems have evolved beyond the traditional turn-based format into something more active and action-oriented without losing the more tactical and cerebral gameplay that sets them apart from action games," Sandoval said.

Sandoval, design lead on the project and a longtime fan of JRPGs, is intent on picking up on these facets as RPG Arcade's design document adopts an aesthetic appropriate for mobile. "The quick walk-up-and-play style of the arcade just made sense," he added. "We're planning to go all-in with the slick presentation the many arcade games had in the late 90s."

While in some ways RPG Arcade will be seen as a new venture for the company, Sandoval takes a different view. "I actually see RPG Arcade as a return to form for us," he said after referencing two of the company's other mobile titles, Queen of Space and Fast Flip. "It is a radical departure in genre from Orion's Odyssey," he continued, "but you're going to see a level of depth and presentation that we weren't able to realize on our smaller projects the way we were on our Nintendo DS titles."

The attachment to 90s-era arcade games, combined with the aspirations for JRPG-levels of depth, gives RPG Arcade a well-rooted foundation for its accessible skin. Thinking in big-picture terms, this direction will also pave the way for developments that could spell growth for the company. "We have a lot of plans for the future we can't talk about yet, and RPG Arcade is an exciting glimpse into those plans."

The team will be premiering RPG Arcade at a gaming event in Philadelphia next week, after which point we'll learn more on the project in its current form.