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[Thick Thighs Save Lives]

Speaking to VGC in his first media interview since leaving Capcom, Itsuno said he wasn't surprised that the game didn't have universal appeal, since he designed it that way.

"I made the game not like a Nintendo one to be liked by all the people, but for a certain type of audience, so it's normal if some people outside that target audience don't like the game," he said. "However, people who enjoyed the game really loved it, appreciated the details and work. I'm very proud of it."

Itsuno said he ultimately decided to leave Capcom because he didn't want to continue making sequels to Devil May Cry and Dragon's Dogma, and that he felt the offer to create an original AAA game at Lightspeed could be "my last big opportunity".

Itsuno is now building a 'triple-A action game'. Earlier this week, Lightspeed announced the opening of a second Japanese studio in Osaka – the hometown of Capcom – and the hiring of several other Devil May Cry and Street Fighter veterans.

"For me, based on my age, this is my last chance," Itsuno told VGC. "The gaming industry has decreased the number of AAA releases, and I was asked to create a new AAA [by Lightspeed]. I'm not young anymore, so more than 'now it's the right moment,' it's more like, 'this is my last chance' to challenge myself.

"For Capcom, creating Devil May Cry and Dragon's Dogma sequels is always going to be the top priority, and keeping in mind that making a game takes 4 to 5 years, this might be my last big opportunity."

Itsuno suggested he'd decided to leave Capcom during the development of Dragon's Dogma 2, but stayed until development on the title was completed.

"I held several talks while I was working on Dragon Dogma 2, but at that time, I didn't even think of leaving while making the game," he said. "I wanted to finish it and after release, there still was some work to do, so I decided to go to the new studio once I was done with all of that."

Director reflects on Dragon’s Dogma 2: ‘I didn’t make a Nintendo game designed to be liked by everyone’ | VGC

Hideaki Itsuno says he’s proud of Dragon’s Dogma 2, but not surprised by mixed reaction…

www.videogameschronicle.com

 

[Punished Miku]

I still have to play it. Got it on sale. I wasn't wowed enough by the footage for a day 1 purchase, but haven't formed my final opinion.

Bigger story here in my opinion is that he says he had to leave Capcom to make anything new. Get ready for REmake Veronica, REmake Zero, Monster Hunter 20, and Devil May Cry Remake.

 

[Hudo]

As much as I like Itsuno and as much as I like DD1 (with Dark Arisen). Not aiming to make a "Nintendo game" doesn't explain why it's worse than DD1 in some aspects and why it feels like it was rushed. Too many and too samey monsters out in the wild, no big dungeons, story and especially the ending feels flat (all this political intrigue is teased and shown but nothing comes out of it.). Performance, especially on PC, is still ass to this day. Gear progression feels worse than in DD1 (and there is also fewer gear in total, that's at least my impression). No notice boards...
Combat is better, the classes feel more distinct and fleshed out. Fewer bosses, but better designed (imho). I really do hope that Capcom will release a "Dark Arisen style" expansion to DD2. I think it would really benefit from it. DD2 is not a bad game, but it's also not a great one. And it's not because he didn't design it for everyone, but rather because they either lacked resources and/or time.

 

[Heisenberg007]

I still have to play it. Got it on sale. I wasn't wowed enough by the footage for a day 1 purchase, but haven't formed my final opinion.

Bigger story here in my opinion is that he says he had to leave Capcom to make anything new. Get ready for REmake Veronica, REmake Zero, Monster Hunter 20, and Devil May Cry Remake.

Capcom has been the remake and sequels factory for a long time now.

 

[Roman Empire]

Capcom has been the remake and sequels factory for a long time now.

The newer IPs from Capcom are Dragon's Dogma (2012), Kunitsugami (2024), Pragmata (2026). They are the kings of playing it safe without annual franchises.

 

[Pejo]

He has no idea why people disliked DD2 if he truly believes what he's saying here. It felt like a mini-Shenmue in that he got a chance to make something special and half-assed it and squandered the opportunity. Likely he already knew he was leaving after the game released, so he phoned it in or pushed the majority of the design onto the next generation of dev team members to help them out.

The enemy variety sucked, the class skills were reductive and were a step back from the first game, the exploration was surface level and disappointing. I have lots of issues with how DD2 ended up, but not being "Nintendo" enough isn't even on that list.

 

[Gonzito]

The game was repetitive, had a big lack of enemy variety, the story and dialogues were an insult to the players intelligence and the open world navigation was just tedious. Its a good looking game and the combat is good but all in all it was a failure in my book

 

[BennyBlanco]

The game was repetitive, had a big lack of enemy variety, the story and dialogues were an insult to the players intelligence and the open world navigation was just tedious. Its a good looking game and the combat is good but all in all it was a failure in my book

The way they handled traversal was so bad. It just made the game boring.

 

[mèx]

He's right. The exploration and sense of adventure in that game is incredibly well done.

I hope he can make another banger with his new studio.

 

[Ziglax]

I'm the target audience, DD1 is one of my favorite game, and DD2 was a terrible disappointment. At minimum it needed 1 more year to bake and be at the same level of the first game, and maybe another one or two to be at Elden Ring-level potential.
Playing the game, it's pretty evident it's unfinished.

 

[ungalo]

As much as I like Itsuno and as much as I like DD1 (with Dark Arisen). Not aiming to make a "Nintendo game" doesn't explain why it's worse than DD1 in some aspects and why it feels like it was rushed. Too many and too samey monsters out in the wild, no big dungeons, story and especially the ending feels flat (all this political intrigue is teased and shown but nothing comes out of it.).

Frankly it seems easy to understand, it's too much for Capcom to make an open world action RPG (especially with the level of interaction Dragon's Dogma has). They tried but in the end what makes sense for them is relatively short development cycle. They were not going to sacrifice everything for this franchise that doesn't really appeal to a large player base.

I hope he's going to make a real action game that's constrained and replayable, will definitely be there to play that.

 

[Denton]

Delusional. It is precisely the people in the target demo who dislike the game the most.

 

[GymWolf]

The absolute bravery of saying i didn't pulled a nintendo when the game is stupidly fucking easy like wilds to cater to casuals is actually impressive

Next time make an actual good game that doesn't run like shit and people are gonna like it, it's not that deep brah.

 

[TintoConCasera]

They made the same mistakes as in DD1, mainly the piss poor difficulty and blatant cut corners everywhere while also introducing some new ones, like the story being axed half-way through or none of the characters having any personality.

Game deserved way better. More time, more budget, and specially a director that understands why DD fans liked the first game so much.

 

[DaciaJC]

"I made the game not like a Nintendo one to be liked by all the people, but for a certain type of audience, so it's normal if some people outside that target audience don't like the game," he said.

Apparently fans of the first game weren't the target audience.

 

[Reizo Ryuu]

I love DD and DD2, it could've been better and I'm still pining for an expansion, but I loved what I played.

 

[Ziglax]

Given the total radio silence from Capcom, the director bailing out and disappointing sales, DD2 probably won't even have the opportunity to be "saved" like DD1 did with the Dark Arisen DLC.

 

[hououinkyouma00]

Apparently fans of the first game weren't the target audience.

I loved the first one but fell off the sequel after like 5-10 hours or so.

As I get older I have less tolerance for stuff like having to trek across the entire map over and over for every quest while getting in a fight every 30 fucking seconds. That's not even adding in the fact that I'd get into a fight with something and a troll would show up and then a fucking griffin or something shows up and I'm getting my asshole stun locked over and over and over again.

 

[Team Skoda]

He could've at the very least dropped a hard mode for us instead of making it even easier. You become OP before the first run is done.

I'm just glad it still exists. No, it's not perfect, but glad Capcom and him had the opportunity to give us more of what was a massive void. Let the Dark Arisen director take the reigns of the series and we'll be good. (If he's still there)

 

[dorkimoe]

i picked this up a little late (never played the first either) i really enjoyed everything except the fast travel. Also feel like i just went city to city, should i just roam the woods?

 

[Valt7786]

I saw all of DD2's flaws, and they do stand out, like the story and enemy variety. But that first playthrough and its sense of exploration and wonder were something special to me. I loved it, despite its obvious issues. I wish they'd given it more updates and announced a DLC by now to fix some of these issues though. But Capcom did say it was one of their major franchises now so maaaaybe a DD3 can be the game everyone wants it to be.

 

[Techno_Inked]

Fully enjoyed Dragon's Dogma 2. But the classes could've been done better and I felt the game needed more enemy types as well as more secrets to uncover.

 

[Neilg]

DD2 feels like he wanted to fix a lot of mistakes with the first... but then they spent 6 months longer than they should have refining some things, capcom told him no more budget and they had to cut a ton of content that wasn't fully implemented. Leaving it a game that's just as flawed as the first, in some aspects more so.
So much potential in what the series stands for but it needed a bigger team, and a bigger budget.

I'm not surprised a studio offering him a proper AAA budget to jump ship and make what he wants was a tempting offer. And he's right, aftera few compromised titles, this is his chance to prove what he can do.

 

[mayham2199]

I liked the game a lot but there were a lot of issues with it.

 

[semiconscious]

dude: 'dragonsplague'? really?...

 

[The_hunter]

The technical state this game is in on the PRO is so bad I can't even play it.

I love DMC and fantasy, so it would appear to be a match made in heaven, but I can't play the game when the walls are vibrating and the grass is very blurry.

 

[RavageX]

He has no idea why people disliked DD2 if he truly believes what he's saying here. It felt like a mini-Shenmue in that he got a chance to make something special and half-assed it and squandered the opportunity. Likely he already knew he was leaving after the game released, so he phoned it in or pushed the majority of the design onto the next generation of dev team members to help them out.

The enemy variety sucked, the class skills were reductive and were a step back from the first game, the exploration was surface level and disappointing. I have lots of issues with how DD2 ended up, but not being "Nintendo" enough isn't even on that list.

That is exactly what happened. That's exactly what the game feels like, someone who had an idea/focus then just gave up part of the way through. Kinda like when some people give their two week notice at a job, then do the bare minimum.

 

[Fbh]

GAF convinced me to skip this game, at least for now.
I liked the original but it was a flawed game with a lot of issues. What made the idea of a sequel exciting was that with all the feedback they got from the original (from both fans and critics) they could make an awesome sequel that built on what worked in the original while fixing what didn't.

Instead, from everything I've read and seen about the game, it just seems like they doubled down on all the issues, while adding new ones.

 

[MagiusNecros]

He is proud of DMC5. DD2 not so much. Being proud of DD2 is a bullshit statement considering it's objectively worse on multiple levels then even DD1(I'm talking before Dark Arisen). Bro had 12 years to perfect and achieve what he wanted for his original vision and still couldn't do it since he blew his budget on DMC5 and only had a fraction of said budget and staff for DD2 which later was the corpse that MH Wilds was built off of.

I certainly wouldn't be proud of the slower combat, the bad enemy AI, lack of enemy variety, the nonexistent story, the lack of urgency that makes Grigori laugh, the ugly characters compared to the characters you got from the same dude from DMC5, the bad voice selection with Arisen and Pawns and the only alteration being pitch...like the first game.

Exploration was nice though...but it's a one and done and there is little reason to return to DD2...meanwhile I can play DDDA over and over and over again and love it every time.

This video at this timestamp pretty much goes over the gist of what the game is actually about and gives you some insight into the big picture about the dev hell that is Dragon's Dogma.

 

[powder]

What a cop out. "I made the game mid on purpose for the real heads." Sounds like he was halfway out the door part way through development.

All the fight encounters just felt copy and pasted and the performance was clunky. I never played the original but in some ways this felt like it had the bones of an older game that got shoved into RE Engine just to end up bloated and repetitive. Sad.

 

[Arsic]

I still have to play it. Got it on sale. I wasn't wowed enough by the footage for a day 1 purchase, but haven't formed my final opinion.

Bigger story here in my opinion is that he says he had to leave Capcom to make anything new. Get ready for REmake Veronica, REmake Zero, Monster Hunter 20, and Devil May Cry Remake.

Yet they are making Pragmata and Onimusha. Put out that tower defense game last year, and exo primal too.

Capcom is the only company making new IPs, doing remakes, and sequels.

They are doing it all, and I want it all from them.

Itsuno probably just had a shit idea for a new IP, or they see better use of him to spearhead a new DMC project. Which, after DD2, it's a good thing he's gone.

Hopefully the new DMC is in better hands so you don't get a boring 23 fps slide show like DD2.

 

[Jinzo Prime]

He is proud of DMC5. DD2 not so much. Being proud of DD2 is a bullshit statement considering it's objectively worse on multiple levels then even DD1(I'm talking before Dark Arisen). Bro had 12 years to perfect and achieve what he wanted for his original vision and still couldn't do it since he blew his budget on DMC5 and only had a fraction of said budget and staff for DD2 which later was the corpse that MH Wilds was built off of.

I certainly wouldn't be proud of the slower combat, the bad enemy AI, lack of enemy variety, the nonexistent story, the lack of urgency that makes Grigori laugh, the ugly characters compared to the characters you got from the same dude from DMC5, the bad voice selection with Arisen and Pawns and the only alteration being pitch...like the first game.

Exploration was nice though...but it's a one and done and there is little reason to return to DD2...meanwhile I can play DDDA over and over and over again and love it every time.

This video at this timestamp pretty much goes over the gist of what the game is actually about and gives you some insight into the big picture about the dev hell that is Dragon's Dogma.

I had no idea Dragon's Dogma was pitched in the year 2000, before Monster Hunter. That would strongly imply that Capcom stole Itsuno's ideas and made a game they wanted instead.

I always wondered why Dragon's Dogma was made by the DMC team not the MonHun team, when the two series share so much.

Now I'm really interested in what Lightspeed puts out.

 

[MagiusNecros]

I had no idea Dragon's Dogma was pitched in the year 2000, before Monster Hunter. That would strongly imply that Capcom stole Itsuno's ideas and made a game they wanted instead.

I always wondered why Dragon's Dogma was made by the DMC team not the MonHun team, when the two series share so much.

Now I'm really interested in what Lightspeed puts out.

We shall see.

But that timeline really just shows how badly they treated Itsuno.

Favoritism towards the CEO's son. And they greenlight what may as well be a plagiarized version of his idea.

Gets put on DMC2 which was one of the worst iterations in DMC history.

Only gets to make Dogma because Capcom out of ideas. Does well.

MH4 copies the climb monster mechanic a year later.

Itsuno gets put on DmC and wants to quit.

Tries to quit and is told no and is given appeasement in make what you want.

Wants to make DMC5 and DD2. DMC5 first due to the damage the appalling DmC remake created.

Decides to make DD2 as a secret hate letter to Capcom's Remake culture. Leaves.

Insult to injury that Wilds is pretty much the same as DD2. DD2 may as well be a MH Wilds beta test.

Forms own company to be able to actually try to make what he wants without Capcom restricting or undermining him.

Interesting times ahead.

----------

As far as Dogma though...put Kinoshita on it. But I think Capcom will treat Dogma like this

 

[Jinzo Prime]

We shall see.

But that timeline really just shows how badly they treated Itsuno.

Favoritism towards the CEO's son. And they greenlight what may as well be a plagiarized version of his idea.

Gets put on DMC2 which was one of the worst iterations in DMC history.

Only gets to make Dogma because Capcom out of ideas. Does well.

MH4 copies the climb monster mechanic a year later.

Itsuno gets put on DmC and wants to quit.

Tries to quit and is told no and is given appeasement in make what you want.

Wants to make DMC5 and DD2. DMC5 first due to the damage the appalling DmC remake created.

Decides to make DD2 as a secret hate letter to Capcom's Remake culture. Leaves.

Insult to injury that Wilds is pretty much the same as DD2. DD2 may as well be a MH Wilds beta test.

Forms own company to be able to actually try to make what he wants without Capcom restricting or undermining him.

Interesting times ahead.

----------

As far as Dogma though...put Kinoshita on it. But I think Capcom will treat Dogma like this

I just didn't realize how good Itsuno was because I didn't give him enough credit for Devil May Cry and Monster Hunter. I'm really starting to see why so many talented people end up leaving Capcom. It's crazy how many companies and devs are former Capcom.

 

[MagiusNecros]

I just didn't realize how good Itsuno was because I didn't give him enough credit for Devil May Cry and Monster Hunter. I'm really starting to see why so many talented people end up leaving Capcom. It's crazy how many companies and devs are former Capcom.

It's a similar situation when Inafune left and Megaman spontaneously died on the spot. And only Indies like Gravity Circuit or devs like Inti Creates keep the Megaman Soul alive.

I think likewise that Itsuno leaving means Dragon's Dogma and maybe Devil May Cry might also be dead in the water. I think DMC has a chance to survive though.

And Capcom is not doing itself any favors by pulling an MH Rise 2 and caring very little about how MH Wilds is doing. How poor as a game Wilds is in comparison to World is baffling.

I think the only Capcom game I'm looking forward to is RE9 and that might be it from me. Onimusha and Pragmata aren't doing much for me.

 

[Jinzo Prime]

It's a similar situation when Inafune left and Megaman spontaneously died on the spot. And only Indies like Gravity Circuit or devs like Inti Creates keep the Megaman Soul alive.

I think likewise that Itsuno leaving means Dragon's Dogma and maybe Devil May Cry might also be dead in the water. I think DMC has a chance to survive though.

And Capcom is not doing itself any favors by pulling an MH Rise 2 and caring very little about how MH Wilds is doing. How poor as a game Wilds is in comparison to World is baffling.

I think the only Capcom game I'm looking forward to is RE9 and that might be it from me. Onimusha and Pragmata aren't doing much for me.

I'm in for Pragmata, but I'm happy I skipped MH Wilds. Capcom has too many games in dev right now and their already released titles are sitting unpatched and broken. I can't beleive they announced MH Stories 3 while Wilds and Dogma are in the state they're in.

 

[MagiusNecros]

I'm in for Pragmata, but I'm happy I skipped MH Wilds. Capcom has too many games in dev right now and their already released titles are sitting unpatched and broken. I can't beleive they announced MH Stories 3 while Wilds and Dogma are in the state they're in.

They released them too soon to push up their end of Fiscal Year Profit Margins. I hope RE9 is ready to go on all cylinders because they seem to be using Resident Evil for the same tactic this time.

 

[Mister Wolf]

We told him to add co-op. He didnt listen. The rest is history.

 

[GermanZepp]

Played 20 hours and dropped. Not worthy of my time. the game suck balls. And this is coming from someone who loved the first one.

 

[Wilhelm_85]

I still enjoyed it a lot, but it kind of felt like a step down from the first one when I was hoping for a big jump forward.

 

[TintoConCasera]

Friendly reminder that anyone who wants more Dogma can jump into Dragon's Dogma Online. There's a server tuned up to remove all the grind and be more friendly for solo play. Game's enormous, lots of variety and can even have a full ofnparty of you and your own pawns.

Thread 'Dragon's Dogma Online'

Mar 11, 2025

Just wanted to bring this to your attention: Dragon's Dogma Online has been revived, it's fully playable and currently has multiple servers that offer different approaches to the game:

• DDON Server: basically the closest to the original.
• Dogma Rising: smaller server, with a few more custom tweaks. They've blunt some of the MMO grindiness to give a more pure Dragons Dogma experience. Leveling seems faster, and money/blood orbs seem more readily available.

I've tried Dogma Rising...

• TintoConCasera
• Replies: 32
• Forum: Gaming Discussion

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[Shtof]

It was a really good game and felt fresh in a lot of ways.
Too bad the tech was not up to speed.
Could've been a real masterpiece, but still, one of the most interesting games in the last few years.

 

[MagiusNecros]

Friendly reminder that anyone who wants more Dogma can jump into Dragon's Dogma Online.

Time to post the things. Embrace the real DD2.

 

[vkbest]

I loved the first one, I have beaten it three times. The second one didn't click with me. I will try it again in the future.

 

[WhamBamThankYouMaam]

I was quite looking forward to it, but the game performance was just not good enough for me to buy it.

 

[JayK47]

Due to the poor reception, I just removed this from my wishlist. They seem to have stop supporting it and it still has a lot of issues. I do not have time to play half baked games that do not value your time.

 

[nemiroff]

Really wanted to love this one but it ended up surprisingly shallow and repetitive.