In an exclusive interview with Famitsu, Pokemon Masters producer Yuu Sasaki talked about the story, sync pair teams, as well as how microtransactions will work in the game.
Here are the highlights below:
You mentioned that the goal in the story is to win the World Pokemon Masters , but will there also be post-game gameplay features as well?
Yuu Sasaki, producer: “Actually, at the time of release, there are 18 chapters planned in the story, but up to this point, it’s still the final selection process for the WPM. After this, the story will shift towards the finals. We hope players will enjoy the journey along the way. That said, we’re planning to add deep gameplay modes such as co-op battles with other players, so we hope players will look forward to this.”
There are many trainers from across the series appearing in this game. When in the timeline does this take place?
Sasaki: “Regarding this, we hope you’ll play the game for yourself and find out.”
Do each of the Sync Pairs have a reason why they have come to Pasio to compete in the WPM?
Sasaki: “Yes, of course. For some of them, they will talk about what brought them here in their Sync Pair Stories, original stories that are available for each Sync Pair.”
Will story conversations change depending on your team?
Sasaki: “No, at release, there aren’t set to be any diverging conversations based on your team.”
Can we really make the Sync Pair teams that show up in the trailer?
Sasaki: “Yes, you can. However, not every Sync Pair showing up in the trailer is available at release. Furthermore, we plan on adding many Sync Pair teams in the story. Not just classic teams anyone can imagine, but also team-ups that are a bit surprising.” (laughs)
Out of the pre-release info shown so far, we see not just Brock with Onix, but also Brock with Tyranitar. His clothes were different too. Are there other characters like this?
Sasaki: “This is one of the game’s features, special costumes known as Sygna Suits. They will have different Pokemon buddies with them, and apart from Brock, there are several other characters with them.”
Oh, yeah, Brock had Tyranitar with him, didn’t he?
Sasaki: “For Sygna Suit versions, the condition that must be fulfilled is that they are bringing around Pokemon that they had in the main Pokemon series. Sygna Suit Brock’s Tyranitar was seen in Pokemon Black 2/White 2, and it had the image of being very strong, so we made it his partner.”
I’d like to hear more about how Sync Pairs are obtained.
Sasaki: “They become friends via the story, and there are also other ways to get them. And by going to Sync Pair Search, you can spend Diamonds in-game to ally with a random Sync Pair. Diamonds are earned via gameplay, but can also be bought at a price.”
Has the game been balanced so that you can have fun even without Sync Pair Search?
Sasaki: “We’ve made sure to keep that in mind. Like I mentioned, there are many Sync Pairs that join by going through the story, and while this game (at the time of release) has up to 5* Sync Pairs, every Sync Pair is able to be made into 5* rarity, so ally Sync Pairs can be able to be used forever. The Pokemon series is a game series beloved by people of a wide range of ages. We have suitably kept in mind to make the game design so that all Pokemon fans can play this game for a long time without worry, no matter which generation you are from.”
Pokemon Masters will come to Android and Apple iOS devices worldwide in summer 2019. People in Singapore can start playing a preview version on July 24, 2019, with a Canadian preview version arriving “soon.” Check out a bunch of in-depth tutorial videos on how to play here.
