The inner workings of Yoko Taro's head are an enigma that very few people in the video game industry can ever fully comprehend. That has never been truer than today, as Nier's creator prepares to develop a new mobile game in which Sega and some of the company's iconic characters will be the villains.
The 404 Game Re:set will not only transform "everything upside down," but also continues to pursue the core concept of being a world "by Sega, for Sega," while also transforming some of the company's characters into "a Cast of beauties."
The term "Cast" is used here to denote the various female representations of Sega's past catalog of games. These will include representations from Out Run, After Burner, Virtua Fighter, and Virtua Cop, all of which will be fully voiced by Japanese illustrator Yuugen at a later date.
Taro is serving as the game's artistic director, describing the game as a "distorted world where Sega reigns at the top of the world and controls everything." The Sega State is the controlling force in the game's world that is attempting to deceive people and conceal the truth.
Taro said in a teaser for VGC, "I thought Sega should be there." "It's a world that imagines that if things went well for Sega but then became out of control, it might end like this."
The mobile game is expected to launch for Android and iOS sometime later this year in Japan, but there aren't many details on what the game will be like. The only reference we have for gameplay is the term "gacha gems," which is used on the pre-register pages for the game and a few pictures.
404 Game Re:set will likely be a game about collecting the various Sega-themed girls via gacha mechanics and then using them to defend the game's creator through RPG and social gameplay.
404 Game Re:set will not be released outside of Japan, but given how popular Taro's projects have been and the game's unique—if strange—conception, there should be at least some interest in seeing how the story unfolds.