Recently, IGN Japan published an interview with Luo Xiangyu, the creative director of "Showa American Story." It has been two years since the game's initial reveal. Set in an alternate version of Showa Year 66, the game envisions a world where Japan has become an economic superpower and has fully culturally colonized the United States.

This bold design has attracted widespread attention from players since the game's release. The interview touched on the latest developments in the game's production as well as new information about a new character. Let's delve into the details.

New Boss Character Revealed, Blending Japanese and American Features

During the interview, Luo Xiangyu revealed that the new boss character in the game is named "Wuguang." This blond, muscular character combines the traits of an American cowboy and a Japanese samurai. In the game's story, he is the governor of Texas, who plays a crucial role by selling Texas land to Japan. This character is pivotal to the game's world-building.

Pursuit of Realism in Character Design

Luo Xiangyu also mentioned that all characters in the game are first hand-drawn before being rendered into 3D and imported into the game. As mentioned, "Wuguang" was designed with reference to a famous American musician as the prototype. The game currently contains about 5,300 image assets, with 1,200 solely dedicated to character animations, to achieve more realistic character designs.

Development Progress After Upgrading to Unreal Engine 5

"Showa American Story" has recently upgraded its game engine from Unreal 4 to Unreal 5, which has significantly enhanced the visual quality of the game and overall game quality. The development team is actively exploring the full potential of Unreal Engine 5, and the newly revealed "Wuguang" character is a testament to the improved asset quality achievable with this upgrade.

The game is currently in development for PS5/PS4/PC platforms. Although the release date is yet to be determined, it is clear that the development of "Showa American Story" is progressing steadily.