《Anomalith》编剧Romeo Tanaka谈为何选择“Leon式”坚毅女主而非胆小主角

For its first foray into the third-person shooter genre with survival horror game Anomalith, FuRyu is collaborating with author and scenario writer Romeo Tanaka to craft the game’s characters, worldbuilding and narrative. Tanaka is best known for his work on visual novel games like Cross Channel and Stella of the End, as well as the light novel series Humanity Has Declined. AUTOMATON Japan recently talked to him to find out more about Anomalith’s story and how heroine Reona Minazuki was conceived.

After her friend goes missing in an Anomaly Zone (a kind of natural calamity), 17-year-old Reona Mizuki becomes a Diver for a government-backed agency known as the Anomaly Zone Countermeasures Office. Divers explore Anomaly Zones for data that might help them understand these calamities, giving Reona an excuse to search for her missing friend. During her first dive, Reona awakens to unique powers, allowing her to go where no Diver has gone before to uncover the origin of the Anomaly Zones, find her friend, and learn more about her powers.

According to Tanaka, the story will place Reona in a brutal environment, depicting her way of thinking and decision-making as she navigates harsh circumstances. When creating her, the developers initially debated whether to make Reona feel more like a “professional” or an “amateur.” Depending on how she carried herself, the entire story would change significantly.

Tanaka cites Resident Evil: Requiem’s dual protagonists Leon Kennedy and Grace Ashcroft as examples, explaining that the dilemma was essentially about whether to choose a “Leon-style” or “Grace-style” protagonist. While Leon is a seasoned survivor and can handle himself in a crisis, Grace is much closer to an average person, making her less combat-ready and more susceptible to fear.

As Tanaka explains, if the devs were to go for an “amateur” protagonist like Grace, the game’s focus would have shifted towards building up the horror factor and the threat posed by the otherworldly – which is a direction more suited for pure horror games. Since Anomalith was conceived as a “supernatural action” game from the start – and considering the style of FuRyu games, Tanaka decided that a “cool” protagonist belonging to a more heroic archetype would be the most fitting choice. As a result, Reona was created as a character with “incredible mental fortitude.”

Tanaka also mentioned that the SCP Foundation was listed as one of the references in Anomalith’s early proposals. Using that as a springboard, he developed Reona from the idea “What if a Class-D personnel member had an exceptionally high aptitude for dealing with supernatural phenomena?”

Though Reona is capable and can get overly serious at times, her personality is far from monotonous. Based on what I played in the demo, her interactions with fellow agents at the Anomaly Zone Countermeasures Office show glimpses of her that are otherwise unbecoming of a Diver. Some of her most unexpected reactions come from her conversations with the diver-turned-handler Yuiga Koda, the latter of whom constantly puts up a front of remaining cool under pressure, only for her to panic when things get dicey. Just as Leon Kennedy has his dad jokes, so too does Reona have her moments of levity that make her more relatable to players.

ANOMALITH is set to launch on October 28 for PC (Steam), PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch 2. A free demo is available on all platforms.