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Games that exude extraordinary obsession contain a love for existing works that borders on madness.
In the interview series “Visiting the Origins,” we take a gentle peek into the roots of such game creators.
- Creators who’ve lost sight of what they love
- Those curious about the behind-the-scenes of development
will find this content rich with insights.
This time, we spoke with Michihito Kuroki, combining this with the interview portion of our “Pre-Release Talk” project—an initiative that creates an atmosphere where it’s okay to discuss unreleased games.
Much appreciated!
As part of the game introduction for “Pre-Release Spotlight,” we’ve also written an article introducing his work, Ambitious Road.
Please check that out as well.
For this interview, we drew heavily from Rokusai Katsushika’s roundtable article with SRPGStudio developers.
We’d like to express our gratitude once again.
Introducing Michihito Kuroki
This time’s guest: Michihito Kuroki
—Please introduce yourself!
I’m Michihito Kuroki.
I’m creating a Fire Emblem-like game called Ambitious Road using the game engine SRPG Studio. It’s planned for paid distribution on Steam.
I’ve been using SRPG Studio since its release, but this is my first time completing and releasing a full project.
—Let me throw a light jab! What music do you often listen to while working?
I listen to various things like game BGM, but the genre I listen to most is probably Eurobeat.
I’ve actually loved Initial D since childhood, so I frequently listen to the Eurobeat used in that series. I think it’s because the high-paced beats get me pumped up (laughs).
Aiming for a Fire Emblem-Like Experience
—How would you describe Ambitious Road in one sentence?
It’s a bit more than one sentence, but… it’s “an FE-like SRPG where you control a dark hero.”
In the FE series and many other SRPGs, most protagonists are saints or honorable nice guys (which is natural for major titles), but my protagonist Michel is ambitious, driven by desire, and a playboy.
I portray him as a young man who dreams of distinguishing himself in war and rising as a hero.
—From Rokusai Katsushika’s roundtable, it’s clear you’re a huge fan of the FE series. With that in mind, were there aspects of existing works that left you wanting more?
If so, what were they?
If not, what did you try to create anew in this work?
I don’t particularly feel anything was lacking.
For me, the FE series is absolute, so I play each title with the stance of accepting what’s there.
That feeling hasn’t changed, and I’m still eagerly awaiting the latest release as a fan.
The turning point came when generative AI technology advanced. That dramatically increased what I could do, like generating character portraits and BGM.
Last year, many SRPG Studio works that made full use of AI technology were released.
Seeing everyone competing using this cutting-edge technology, I thought I’d give it a shot too—creating an SRPG fully reflecting my preferences, made by me, for me, optimized for me. That became the concept of this work.
That preference is a protagonist with a dark hero vibe—ambitious, bold, and stylish. Many characters and figures served as the basis for Michel: Lelouch from Code Geass, Light Yagami from Death Note, Reinhard from Legend of the Galactic Heroes, Jerid Messa from Zeta Gundam, among others.
Historical models include Caesar and Napoleon Bonaparte.
Works with such ambitious protagonists are rare not only in the FE series but also in indie games—or at least I haven’t seen any in my observations (though Claude and Edelgard from FE: Three Houses might qualify?).
So I thought, if that’s the case, I have to be the one to make it! That’s what I set out to do differently in this work.
—Unlike the image of classical military chronicles, many characters have quite edgy personalities and speech patterns. Did you hesitate to shift away from traditional military narratives in your expression?
Or did you express it decisively without hesitation?
I had no hesitation about this either.
Why? Because recent FE titles have implemented characters of all varieties that don’t fit the typical war chronicle mold.
For example, in the latest FE Engage, the twin siblings Clan and Fram are portrayed as characters who treat the protagonist Alear like an idol and engage in fan activities.
So I had no reservations about including modern gal-type girls.
As for speech patterns, I’m just adapting expressions to modern standards, and I imagine young people throughout history have used casual speech in their own eras.
Behind the Scenes of Character Design
FE as a Great Textbook
—Designing and differentiating the personalities of over 40 units must be quite challenging. What process did you follow when developing character designs?
This too comes from the great textbook that is the FE series.
The FE series often features recurring “positions”—character archetypes that make you think, “There was a character like this in another game…”
For example, the “Jagen”—an old knight who starts strong but has poor growth rates and gradually gets overtaken by younger units—or the cool, long-haired swordsman who joins after being persuaded by the heroine.
So while I didn’t implement everything, I based my supporting characters on these traditional FE positions while giving core main characters attributes and personalities I couldn’t compromise on.
Especially the four characters on the title screen—I wrote the scenario with the intention of moving the story around these four, and I made sure the surrounding characters had charm that wouldn’t lose to them.
—I found it appealing that the many units who join your army are clearly differentiated not just by personality but also by growth rates and skills. Personally, my favorite is Sarah.
I love her stoic side, of course, but also her role as a “mounted archer with low attack power who can inflict action-disabling debuffs on enemies”—that board control power is fantastic.
Are these performance-based distinctions for each unit also inspired by the FE series?
Sarah actually has a model!
It’s Sue from FE: The Binding Blade.
The reason I gave her Stun Shot was to differentiate her from Renartia, who joins in Chapter 1. Renartia has balanced specs, but Sarah is designed as a speed-focused type with moderate attack power, as you noted. This characteristic matches Sue as well.
However, that creates a lack of firepower, so I struggled with how to differentiate her—the result was a character with strong debuffs. I don’t think there are many like this even in the FE series.
With a 40% chance, it’s high probability but still uncertain, so I think it’s balanced enough not to break the game.
There probably aren’t any completely original characters. Some might be unique to FE through weapon combinations, but I think anyone familiar with the FE series or other SRPGStudio works won’t struggle too much with how to use any character.
The Intent Behind Portraying Protagonist Michel
—To be honest, before playing, I thought protagonist Michel was an “arrogant, overconfident” character. But as I played, I discovered he softens his tone around his father and shows respect even to those below him, which raised my opinion of him.
While highly regarded among his comrades, he’s underestimated by outsiders—there’s a strange grittiness to him.
Regarding his character and how he’s treated in the story, what did you absolutely want to do, and conversely, what did you absolutely want to avoid?
I’m very happy you noticed this.
Yes, Michel certainly has the arrogance mentioned in the opening monologue.
But at the same time, as mentioned by characters in the story, he’s a country gentleman raised in relative comfort for a commoner—there’s a well-bred quality to him.
This creates a contrasting structure with a certain character.
Also, he holds the belief that the most important thing for an officer is the common soldier, and he fully recognizes that these are people who will die on his single command.
I believe it’s from Sun Tzu’s Art of War—there’s a teaching about loving soldiers like infants while not relaxing discipline, and I wanted to portray him as someone who naturally practices this.
What I wanted to avoid when portraying Michel was surrounding him only with yes-men.
This includes nobles who find him irritating, and even within your own army, there are several characters who dislike him.
I wanted to show that his difficulties aren’t limited to the battlefield, and that only by winning over even those who dislike him can he become a true commander.
So quite a few characters appear who hold animosity toward Michel—perhaps to an excessive degree.
And precisely because of this situation, I could freely include convenient characters like the heroine Eliza, who completely affirms Michel and has maxed-out specs, or Gérard the chancellor who becomes his patron.
There’s actually a hidden theme regarding the heroines.
It’s hard to express in one sentence, but it’s something like: no matter what position a man holds, he can’t overcome the charm and strength of women.
Even commanders who act heroically in public cannot control women—they may even be at their mercy. In history, not all heroes behaved as stylish playboys; many great figures have embarrassing episodes involving women (Napoleon being a prime example).
And the protagonists from the works I referenced all behave stylishly and arrogantly while having some endearing quality in different ways. I felt that without such aspects, they’d just be unlikable jerks.
Three Unforgettable Games
—Please tell us about three unforgettable games, along with why you can’t forget them!
I apologize in advance that all of these are from the Fire Emblem series.
Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon
This was my very first Fire Emblem game.
A friend lent it to me when I was in sixth grade, after I got interested in the series through Super Smash Bros. Brawl. Characters like Camus, Minerva and Michalis, and the Whitewing sisters completely burned themselves into my brain with their strength and beauty. I was already a huge fan of Yu-Gi-Oh!, so terms like “Dracoknight” and “Paladin” probably resonated with me on that level as well.
This game became the gateway that led me to buy Radiant Dawn and every Fire Emblem title available on the Virtual Console at the time, including all of the Super Famicom entries. I eventually played through the entire series, including the GBA titles.
Although the game is generally regarded rather poorly by the wider community, for me it remains an absolutely indispensable title.
Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn
After finishing Shadow Dragon, while my excitement for the series was still burning strong, I picked up the then-recently released Radiant Dawn. In hindsight, I probably should have started with Path of Radiance, but I was still young and simply did not think that far ahead.
Even so, the game’s dynamic and realistic portrayal of war and politics — and I want to emphasize that sense of realism in particular — along with its cool characters and flamboyant game balance, struck a tremendous chord with me at the time. I was also a huge fan of the Black Knight.
Like Shadow Dragon, Radiant Dawn is not especially well regarded within the series, but I am not simply being contrarian.
These are genuinely the games I happened to fall in love with.
I suspect that part of the criticism toward Radiant Dawn stems from the expectations surrounding its connections to Path of Radiance, particularly in terms of narrative continuity and unresolved plot threads.
In that sense, perhaps jumping into Radiant Dawn without first playing Path of Radiance allowed me to experience only the strengths of the game.
Of course, even now that I have played Path of Radiance, my feelings toward Radiant Dawn have never changed.
Fire Emblem: Three Houses
This is, in my opinion, the masterpiece of the entire Fire Emblem series. I say that not only because of its quality, but also because of the cultural impact it had.
Following Radiant Dawn and Shadow Dragon, many later Fire Emblem titles leaned toward lighter storytelling and character portrayals in an effort to attract new audiences.
I love those entries as well, and as I mentioned earlier, they have certainly influenced the way I approach character creation. However, when it came to stories that truly “burned themselves into my brain,” I found that older entries such as Genealogy of the Holy War delivered that experience more often.
Then Three Houses was released as the newest title for the Nintendo Switch.
Its strengths have already been discussed extensively, so I will not repeat them here. What shocked me the most was seeing friends who had previously said that Fire Emblem was “not for them” suddenly become interested in the game, pick it up, and become completely absorbed by it.
As members of the Harry Potter generation, they said the academy setting — where classmates are divided into houses and eventually find themselves in conflict — resonated deeply with them.
That was the moment I realized this game stood apart from previous Fire Emblem titles in a very significant way, and that is why it remains unforgettable to me.
The Two Works That Changed My Life
―― Outside of games, could you talk about the two works that “drove you mad,” and explain both the elements you wanted to incorporate into this project and the aspects you deliberately chose to make different?
Legend of the Galactic Heroes
What I incorporated from it were the realistic depictions of military organizations and politics, its ensemble storytelling, and its elegant, compelling portrayals of male characters. It would not be an exaggeration to say that nearly every archetype of the “cool and charismatic man” can be found somewhere within that series. It is a masterpiece that captivated not only me, but countless fans of military fiction.
What I intentionally changed, however, was the inclusion of a large number of female characters. It is not that Legend of the Galactic Heroes lacks compelling women — the characters it does depict are all fascinating — but in terms of sheer numbers, female characters are relatively scarce.
Strong and beautiful female characters are indispensable to the SRPG genre, and the stories surrounding the women connected to Michelle form one of the central pillars of this work. In that regard, my project differs greatly from Legend of the Galactic Heroes.
Napoleon: Shishi no Jidai / Hadou Shingeki
This is a masterpiece manga by Tetsuya Hasegawa depicting the life of Napoleon Bonaparte. Through this work, I developed a deep appreciation for the history of the Napoleonic era.
So rather than borrowing directly from the manga itself, it would be more accurate to say that I absorbed Napoleon’s life and worldview through this work and incorporated those influences into my own creation.
I was also strongly influenced by Ridley Scott’s 2023 film Napoleon, which places a much stronger emphasis on romantic conflict and turbulent relationships between men and women. That aspect greatly influenced the romantic elements in my own work.
As for what I did not incorporate, the original works possess a very masculine atmosphere, whereas my own project intentionally tones that down.
Even though my setting leans toward a more realistic medieval or early modern style, it is still ultimately an original fantasy work. If I find a character compelling, I strongly want them to shine regardless of gender.
Michihito Kuroki’s Ambition
―― After playing this game, I felt that the title Ambitious reflected not only Michelle’s ambitions as a protagonist, but also your own ambition to create “an SRPG unlike anything before.” Would you mind sharing your ambitions for the future?
First of all, my immediate sales goal is one million yen…
I deliberately wanted a somewhat worldly goal to mirror the protagonist. laughs
Beyond that, I would love to expand globally through localization — in English, and if possible, French as well.
In addition, an upgraded version of SRPG Studio titled SRPG Studio EX is scheduled to release this autumn.
If possible, I would love to create a side story set in the world of Ambitious Road using SRPG Studio EX.
A Message to the Readers
―― Finally, do you have a message for our readers?
First of all, I would like to sincerely thank Kaburanai for giving me this opportunity, Rokkusai Katsushika for introducing me to Kaburanai, and of course all of the readers. Thank you very much!
Ambitious Road is a work that contains everything I have encountered throughout my twenty-nine years of life. In many ways, it serves as a culmination of my twenties, and even as a kind of personal history.
I will be turning thirty this December, and it makes me very happy to know that, while still in my twenties, I have been able to leave even the smallest mark upon the world through this project.
It will still take some time before the game is complete, but I am determined to shape it into a finished work and release it to the world. I sincerely hope for your continued support.
――Thank you so much!!
Closing Thoughts
So then — what did you think?
Could you feel Michihito Kuroki’s burning passion for military epics and his deep love and respect for the Fire Emblem series?
Once again, my sincere thanks to Michihito Kuroki for taking the time to answer these questions, as well as to Rokkusai Katsushika for introducing us.
I have also written a feature article introducing Ambitious Road, so I hope you will take a look at that as well.
At Visiting Your Origins, I plan to continue speaking with indie game creators in the future.
(And if you are an indie developer reading this and thinking, “I might be interested,” I would be delighted if you contacted me through the inquiry form.)
For the previous installment of Visiting Your Origins, I interviewed Tsukucchau-Ojisan, creator of the chain-reaction puzzle game Dungeon Bomber. If you are interested in a creative approach that builds games by reverse-engineering player needs through feedback, I highly recommend checking it out.
Visiting Your Origins #2 — Interview with Tsukucchau-Ojisan: Discovering “What Players Truly Needed” Through Feedback – Kaburanai Games
And with that —
Enjoy your gaming life!!
Thank you very much for reading all the way to the end!!
A Message to Game Developers
In the project Pre-Release Spotlight, I create preview articles and interview features for unreleased titles based on hands-on experiences with demo or Early Access builds, with a particular focus on exploring why a game is enjoyable at its core.
The goal is to establish the precedent that “this is a game worth talking about,” and in doing so, help plant the seeds of a future fan community.
If you are interested, please feel free to contact me through the form below.
