Ed: Hello, everybody. This is Eddie V. from Boss Rush Network. I am at the NIS America booth at PAX East 2026. I’m with the producer, Masura Saito of Brigandine Abyss, a new entry in the Brigandine series. Hello, Mr. Saito, how are you doing?

Saito: Doing well.

Ed: How did you get into video games? 

Saito: When I was twenty years old, I started working in the game industry as a salesman. I worked as a salesman for about ten years. After that, I worked as a developer, a promoter, and so on. I’ve worked in a lot of different companies. 

I eventually moved on to working with other departments, such as promotion, also doing development, and gradually over time, I’ve worked with several different companies on entertainment products. 

Ed: Were you a part of the arcade scene in Japan? With today’s technology, would you make an arcade game based on the titles you have produced? 

Saito: I like arcade games. I’ve never actually been involved in the development of arcade games.  I can’t think of anything that I’ve worked on that I would particularly want to make into an arcade title.

Ed: The first Brigandine title was released 28 years ago on the PlayStation 1. This entry in the series, Brigandine Abyss, continues its legacy. How do you feel about its legacy, and what vision do you have for the future of the series?

Saito: So first, let me just say I’m really, really pleased that we’ve been able to continue the Brigandine series. I’m genuinely grateful to Happynet for actually allowing us to move forward with this additional project in the series.

I’ve really enjoyed working; as far as my vision for the future goes is up in the air. As for now, I’ve enjoyed working on Brigandine Abyss very much.

Ed: Now I know this question isn’t on the sheet, but do you think Fire Emblem: Awakening has popularized the JRP strategy series? 

Saito: I definitely feel like Fire Emblem had a big impact on the reason why games in this strategy genre have become so popular in recent years. I am also a big fan of Fire Emblem.

Ed: Yes, that’s good. I wanted to know. Can you explain the premise of Brigandine Abyss?

Saito: Brigandine Abyss is a story about the new Abyssal Empire. So essentially, the story starts out with basically an evil empire that used to exist coming back to the forefront. With this evil empire, there are several other nations that seek to stand opposed to it, and they all have their different reasons for doing so. Our story focuses on six of those different nations. 

Ed: With six campaigns in the game, are you excited for players to experience each character’s journey and which storylines they will engage with? 

Saito: With six campaigns, I am excited for players to experience each character’s journey and story and to get feedback from those players. Yes, I would love to. I really hope that they will find the story very interesting to them so that they’ll want to come back and experience the other characters’ scenarios.

Each one offers a different, unique perspective, and they’re very individualized. So once you complete one, I really hope that you’ll come back and check out the others over the course of time. 

Ed: Is there a storyline that you can’t wait for players to get to? Even though you don’t have to spoil anything, are there any moments to be like, “Oh, I cannot wait for players to experience this.”

Saito: I’ve talked about this in previous interviews, but this time it’s a different story. So, well, there is one scenario that involves a kingdom of fairies. There’s a girl who essentially has been raised among the fairies to the point where now she seeks answers on the mystery of why she thinks she’s a fairy even though she’s a human. 

You’re fighting against various characters in the process. I think that’s interesting. There’s a mystery behind her background and how she ended up in that position in the first place, and why she thinks that she’s a fairy.  As the story progresses, you get a little more insight into that mystery until it is finally revealed. I think she’s one of those characters who is very pure and innocent. I think a lot of people will find her story very interesting. 

Ed: Yes, I think a lot of people will because finding a community is always important in gaming. I wonder, with Brigandine Abyss, do you think there is a community out there now that the genre is popular? 

Saito: Well, in games, you have to find a community. You have to find a character that you want to be with. There are many deep stories about this character. I’m looking forward to it. 

Ed: Do you expect the community of Brigandine to expand further with this game?

Saito:  Yes, we are planning to expand the community of Brigandine. The game itself is a very unique story. So I think it’s okay to have you play the game from this Morikan Abyss.

I definitely think people will find themselves very welcomed by this new title; both players who have experienced the series before, as well as newcomers, will find themselves very welcomed by this new title because each game in the series- the original Brigandine, the sequel, and this title, they all stand on their own. They’re independent stories. 

You don’t have to play the previous ones in order to understand the characters of the story. So you can just jump right in, and I think that makes it a really good onboarding point for new fans to bring more people into the community 

Ed: Would you like to do a remaster or remake of the first two games? Would that be something that HappyNet would be excited to do if they were able to? Do you have any plans to remake the first game?

Saito:  So I would love to be able to bring, me personally, would love to be able to bring the original title back in some sort of a remake or remastered fashion. The previous title, The Legend of Runersia, is probably not likely to be remastered, considering how recently it came out. 

I would love to remaster that as well, but there are several issues that would prevent me from doing so. So apologies there; I would not be able to do that. 

Ed: Well, no problem. Maybe sometime in the future we may see something come. Would that be something that you would like to reveal, let’s say, in a Nintendo Direct if it ever came? Just hypothetically. 

Saito: I would love to see it in a Nintendo Direct. 

Ed: There is an elegant element with the music. Can we expect various genres of music in the final game? Will there be a physical soundtrack for us collectors to marvel at or listen to sometime in the future? 

Saito: There are twenty-four countries in the game. There are actually a lot of different genres of music in the game. For example, because there are twenty-four different nations or factions that are represented within the game, some may have orchestral music, some may have rock music. It just kind of depends, and they all have their own main theme. So yeah, there will definitely be several different genres represented. 

Ed: Are you planning to release a soundtrack for the game?

Saito: So, about the question about the physical soundtrack, it’s a little bit difficult for us to say right now, and I can’t make any promises 

Ed: Well, we will wait and see.  Do you and your team feel nervous yet excited for the game’s release? Have you planned a vacation for at least a week to relax after it’s out, lol?

Saito: I definitely don’t take a break. I work all the time. 

Ed: Oh, you have to take a vacation! We need you to take a break! 

Saito: I’m so nervous I can’t take a vacation. I’ve got a lot of stuff on my mind. I’m too nervous. I gotta keep working.

Ed: Okay, okay. Well, I just have a few more questions. HappyNet is known for many forms of media, including TV and film, anime, OVAs, live films, and video games. That’s a lot. How did you and HappyNet approach the idea for Brigandine Abyss, and what can we expect from this title? Any spin-offs or future media planned for this game? 

Saito: So, HappiNet is actually divided into very different divisions. Some work specifically on anime, some that work specifically on movies and film, and some that work on games. So it was the gaming division that ultimately made the decision to move forward with Brigandine Abyss. Sadly, we don’t have any future plans at this time. 

Ed: Well, my next question, Mr. Saito, before we end this discussion, first, I hope I am correct with these titles, but you have produced Metal Saga, Operation Saga, Dark Souls, and Touch Detective. Have you looked back at those titles and have any fond memories?

Saito: I didn’t direct those games. I’m sorry to say. I was a producer on some of them. I have played Metal Saga, Operation Saga, and Dark Souls. 

Now, would you like to hear something about my time working on Touch Detective?

Ed: Yes!

Saito: Actually, I have a better story about Metal Saga, actually.

Ed: Oh, sure, go ahead.

Saito: So, actually, that game had two producers on it, and I became a producer after the original producer. So then we worked together. I used to work in sales before that, so it’s my first time working as a producer in a development business, so I have a lot of memories of that.

So, as far as fond memories, that one’s a big one for me because it’s the first title that I worked on after I came out of sales to work as a producer for the first time. 

Oh, wait, it may not have been the producer; it might have been the director. I had more directing duties on that title in particular. I can’t go into too much detail about this, but basically, there was a lot of, I’ll call it, infighting within the development team, and I was very proud of the fact that I was able to get them all back on the same page. We all became very good friends. 

Development does get challenging because there are many ideas that are going around, and it’s great to see that the team got together under me to get themselves together and create a wonderful game or create these wonderful games. There are many ideas on the team. It happens a lot, honestly.

Ed: My last question is, what is your favorite snack after a week of work? If you can’t eat it, what is your favorite activity to make yourself feel better? 

Saito: I don’t have a favorite snack. I really like rice wine, so as long as I can have my sake, I feel pretty good.

Ed: Well, thank you, Mr. Saito, for this interview. How can people learn more about Brigandine Abyss? 

Saito: Thank you for this interview. If you want to know more about Brigandine Abyss, you can go to Happynet’s site, and you should be able to find the Brigandine page there. So yeah, please check it out. You can also check NlS America’s site as well.

Ed: Is the game available for pre-order and wishlist at this moment?

Saito: Ah, so the Steam page should be up, so you should be able to wishlist it on Steam.  I think pre-orders are still not available quite yet. We’ll let you know as soon as they are.

Ed: Yes, because I would love to get my pre-order in. I really did enjoy my time with the demo, even though I wasn’t playing well. It’s a great learning experience for this. Our founder, Corey, loves Fire Emblem strategy games, and he’s been looking for a game. I think he may like this one. Thank you, Mr.Saito, for this interview.

Saito: You’re welcome. 

Ed: Please go check out the game on Steam. Give it a wish list.  Also, check out NIS America. Thank you, Mr. Saito, for your time.

Saito: Thank you.

Brigadine Abyss is releasing on Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and on Steam. The Deluxe Version will be available for Switch 2 and PlayStation 5. A Limited Edition is on NIS website. Steam version releases August 26th, with console versions releasing August 27th. Demo available now.