Analgesic Productions on developing Angeline Era, console ports, the next game

What the report says

by Mikhail Madnani on 05 September, 2026 A few days ago, Angeline Era from Analgesic Productions launched for consoles worldwide following its PC debut. I had a chance to catch up with both Melos Han-Tani and Marina Kittaka, who form Analgesic Productions, to discuss Angeline Era's design, narrative, discoverability, Falcom, Ys, the console ports, their next game, learning from past releases, and much more.Advertisement. Keep scrolling for moreRPG Site: For those unaware, tell us a little bit about yourself and what you do. Melos: We're Analgesic Productions, which is just Marina Kittaka and I (Melos Han-Tani).

We've been making games together for over a decade - Anodyne 1+2, Even the Ocean, Sephonie. We collaborate on game design, while I handle music/coding and Marina the art. The story sort of changes hands depending on which game we work on, for Angeline Era, Marina worked on that.RPG Site: I first discovered you through Anodyne back when it came to mobile. I've still not played Anodyne 2. Can you discuss how things have changed for Analgesic Productions since the first Anodyne to today? Melos: We're still a team of 2, and we also know a lot more about marketing and game production than we did back then, which is helpful!

We're also older too, which gives a different vibe to being in the indie games world compared to being in our 20s. I think we are more into the idea of research as one of the pillars of making new games, so we've been making more active efforts to research and learn as needed, be that books, life experience, games, etc.RPG Site: When my colleague James started talking about Angeline Era, I didn't even realize it was from you both until I checked the Steam page. The reception has been fantastic and I loved it last year.

Key details

What made you want to do a game that some consider the best homage to classic Ys? Marina: Many action games make my hands hurt from mashing the attack button. I wanted to make a game that felt conceptually simple and physically untaxing, but still full of intensity.Melos: I wanted to make an adventure that could also carry a story, but also stay fresh in the combat aspect of things as I felt like something more around the pace of Anodyne 1 or 2's combat was a bit too slow and Zelda-y. I had been playing Ys in the years leading up to starting Angeline Era and always thought its fast pace was really cool, and was sad that most action games had moved away from its simplicity towards a focus on RPG stat-building or complicated inputs.

I had done a lot of level design for past games but they tended to be applied more to a puzzly context (e.g. a room in Anodyne 1 or 2), so I wanted to see what I could do in a different context. Now I like action games a lot more!RPG Site: What were your inspirations for the narrative? A lot of folks write off stories in games like this, but Angeline Era is special. Marina: One way of describing it is that the writing process began with contemporary ideas and feelings (e.g. the modern ‘tradwife’, romantic notions of Ireland’s past, or Evangelical Christianity’s push/pull relationship with science).

Characters are developed who represent clusters of different themes, and research complicates and contextualizes those themes. In the end, I hope that players can experience the world with fresh eyes, enjoying curiosity.RPG Site: Can you discuss your trip to Ireland and how it helped Angeline Era? Marina: I think it helped us achieve a certain subtlety to the environments and world layout. Games tend to have visually exaggerated biomes to create interest and a feeling of progression throughout the game. With Angeline Era, we wanted to create something a bit more grounded, where the differentiation between spaces is based on level design concepts, narrative, atmospheric qualities, relative prevalence of different plants and creatures, etc.Advertisement.

More from the announcement

Keep scrolling for moreRPG Site: When did you write Tets Kinoshta's character? Marina: Tets was refined throughout the whole course of development, and he was difficult to get right. Earlier drafts of Tets were more immediately morose and questioning. But even though things get complex and difficult for Tets, I think it was important to also show a side of him that is highly driven, caring, and straightforward.RPG Site: I very much appreciate how you trust the players in Angeline Era. What learnings from the Anodyne games and their reception did you take with you when planning Angeline Era's structure?

Marina: There is a lot of room for flexibility in game narrative.