Cry On

 was a cancelled action role-playing game in development by Mistwalker and Cavia for Xbox 360. Mistwalker founder Hironobu Sakaguchi acted as co-producer and writer, "Drakengard" artist Kimihiko Fujisaka was designing the characters, while composer Nobuo Uematsu was attached to the project. The storyline was based in a fantasy world equivalent to the Middle Ages, where humans begin using a race called the Bogles for war. The plot would have followed lead protagonist Sally and her companion Bogle that could speak human language. The gameplay and narrative would have been designed evoked emotion, and Sakagushi was experimenting with different control schemes for each playstyle.
"Cry On" was announced in 2005, shortly after the creation of publisher AQ Interactive as one of several next-generation titles. It had a budget of ¥1 billion and projected production time of up to two years. Following a prolonged media silence, AQ Interactive announced its cancellation in 2008, attributing it to current and projected market conditions. Reactions to its cancellation were generally negative. Sakaguchi reused designs in his later title "Terra Battle", and shared a concept trailer in 2014. Sakaguchi, Fujisaka and Uematsu would collaborate on "The Last Story".
Concept and premise.
"Cry On" was an action role-playing game set in a fantasy world themed after the Middle Ages. The narrative would have centered around the relationship between humans and small stone creatures called Bogles, which acted as protective charms. Some humans seek to use Bogles as weapons by restoring their ability to become giants. Players would take on the role of Sally, a girl with the power to restore Bogles to giant size, and she would be accompanied by a Bogle who spoke human languages. Gameplay would have been divided between longer areas controlling Sally, and shorter sections using the Bogle. Each section would have had a different gameplay focus, and planned but undefined puzzle elements were featured.
Production.
"Cry On" was being co-developed for the Xbox 360 by Mistwalker and Cavia, and set to be published by AQ Interactive. Mistwalker was a then-new studio working on multiple 360 projects including "Blue Dragon" and "Lost Odyssey", while Cavia was known for the "Drakengard" series. Mistwalker founder Hironobu Sakaguchi, known for his work on the "Final Fantasy" series, was co-producer and scenario writer. The second producer was Takuya Iwasaki, who had worked on original "Drakengard" as line producer. The characters were being designed by "Drakengard" artist Kimihiko Fujisaka, and the music was being composed by Sakaguchi's recurring collaborator Nobuo Uematsu. Uematsu, inspired by the game's themes, said that he would create an emotional and melancholy score.
The game was Sakaguchi's first time creating an action RPG. He estimated that production would require between 1.5 and two years of development time. AQ Interactive allotted a budget of ¥1 billion (equivalent to US$8.5 million). According to a later statement from an artist who worked on the game, a version was also being developed for PlayStation 3. Commenting on the gameplay, Iwasaki said he aimed to combine Sakaguchi's knowledge of RPGs with Cavia's previous experience developing action titles. During production, Sakaguchi was experimenting with multiple types of control scheme, including the possiblity of using both controller sticks to manipulate the Bogle's actions. It was planned to have a playtime of between thirty to forty hours.
As with his other projects, Sakaguchi wanted the game to prompt emotion from players. When announced, Sakaguchi said the scenario was roughly half-finished. The central theme was the evoking of tears, in the context of both sadness and joy. The visuals made use of cel-shading, with Sakaguchi noting that it was not the typical cel-shading used in video games of the time. While it looked like 2D animation, all graphics were 3D and made use of a special visual filter dubbed "Fujisaka shader" which produced the effect of drawn sketches in motion. Commenting on Fujisaka's designs, Sakaguchi praised them as bringing dignity alongside the theme of sadness.
"Cry On" was announced to the public in December 2005. It was shown off using a concept trailer, detailing its animation style, and gameplay and theme concepts. It was one of several next-generation game titles announced by AQ Interactive following its formation earlier that year, alongside Cavia's "Bullet Witch" and "Vampire Rain" from Artoon. It was Mistwalker's fourth announced project within 2005 following "Blue Dragon", "Lost Odyssey" and the Nintendo DS title "".
Cancellation and legacy.
In December 2008, AQ Interactive announced that "Cry On" had been cancelled. The company made the decision after "analyzing the current market environment and forecasts for the future". Several websites reacted to the cancellation with disappointment. Between its announcement in 2005 and its cancellation in 2008, nothing was heard of the title and "IGN"s John Tanaka referred to it as vaporware. Kyle Hilliard of "Game Informer" compared the game's scenario, and general situation of development hell, to "The Last Guardian". In a 2014 interview, Sakaguchi said he has no plans to revive or revisit "Cry On". Also in 2014, Sakaguchi released the original concept trailer through his Youtube channel.
In a 2009 post on the Mistwalker website, Sakaguchi said that regretted being unable to tell the game's story. Fujisaka, who joined Mistwalker as an in-house artist, posted concept art for "Cry On" on Mistwalker's website, both apologizing for its lack of release and feeling a lack of polish in the artwork. When "Cry On" was mentioned in a 2009 interview, Uematsu felt glad it was cancelled as he was overworked during that period. Sakaguchi, Fujisaka and Uematsu would all collaborate on Mistwalker's next project, "The Last Story" for the Wii. Some enemy designs from "Cry On" were reused by Sakaguchi in the 2014 mobile game "Terra Battle".