Interview with Nami Tamaki: The theme song for “Sky Fortress: Odyssey” is a divine song with a fast pace and punch. She also discusses her thoughts on how she got hooked on this title after experiencing it.
G-CONG NETWORK’s new game “Sky Fortress: Odyssey”. We asked Nami Tamaki, who sings the theme song “New Sky”, to talk about the song, highlights of the music video, and her impressions after actually playing the game.
—How did you decide to sing the theme song for “Sky Fortress: Odyssey”?
Nami Tamaki: The producer had seen the TV animation “Gundam SEED” and when he was thinking about who should sing the theme song for the Japanese version of “Sky Fortress: Odyssey”, he asked me to sing it. “Sky Fortress: Odyssey” is a beautiful animation, and I immediately said, “Please let me sing it!”
—Many Chinese game makers are influenced by Japanese anime and games of the 2000s, so it seems that you have many fans.
Nami Tamaki: I’m really grateful for that. Being able to work with people who have listened to my music is one of the moments that make me feel glad that I have been a singer for 20 years.
—What was your impression when you first heard the theme song “New Sky” for this work?
Nami Tamaki: I listened to the song from the beginning. It is a very grand song, and the strings and other elements are dramatically developed. I was excited to see how my current voice would fit in with it. However, I didn’t know that much about the game at the time, so I was thinking that keywords such as “beluga whale” and “compass” were probably related to the game in various ways.
—At that point, how were you briefed on what kind of work “Sky Fortress: Odyssey” was?
Nami Tamaki: “It’s a bullet-hell shooter!” That’s what I was told. I was impressed by the character illustrations and other materials shown to me and said, “The drawings are really good!” I was impressed by the illustrations, which Japanese people love to see. I was drawn to the game and wanted to play it and see it in action as soon as possible, and I was also curious about what kind of story would be depicted in the game.
—Toshiyuki O’mori, who was in charge of the music, commented that “New Sky” has an overall groove and a very up-tempo beat that folds in on itself. How did you feel when you actually sang it?
Nami Tamaki: I was impressed by the detailed requests I received this time. For example, there were requests to add breath at the end of phrases such as “ho” in “hoshi” and “to” in “toki” and to leave a lingering sound. I had never received such detailed requests before, but I thought there was something intended there, so I practiced to express it.
—That’s how well “New Sky” was envisioned from the beginning on the development side, were there any requests from you?
Nami Tamaki: Rather than making any suggestions, I sang the song first. From there, we made adjustments little by little.
—What did you find the most difficult part of singing “New Sky”?
Nami Tamaki: In the D-melody, there was a request to “make it sound more human, just as you are, rather than trying to be something you are not”, (just be careful not to make it sound bad). That was very difficult.
Even if you sing in a way that doesn’t sound lame, there is a possibility that some listeners might find it lame, right? But you don’t know that until you try it. But I don’t think it’s getting lame (laughs).
—Personally, it has a great sense of speed and power, I was impressed with the theme song!
Nami Tamaki: That’s right. So I was hoping to get into the groove of the song. I think I did my best to respond to the particular requests.
—Did the recording itself go fairly smoothly?
Nami Tamaki: At first, I sang the opening, “Kakeru New Sky,” with a lot of force, but we had to re-record it in a softer tone with a little more breath. Since it was the opening, I tried to make it powerful, right? It was written in the request, like …… (laughs). But, you know, you have to try something!
—What do you feel is the impact of game songs on users?
Nami Tamaki: I’m sure everyone has game songs that remain in their memories throughout their lives. Just by listening to the opening of a game that you have a strong emotional attachment to, or a game song played in a commercial, you can go back to your childhood when you were immersed in that game. Maybe it is because I’m also a gamer, but I think game songs are connected to the work plus my own history.
—In the case of smartphone apps, the theme song is often a greeting or a gateway to the users, isn’t it?
Nami Tamaki: The impression of the game is determined by the theme song. If the song is a bit gloomy, you get the impression that the game has a dark atmosphere. Pre-registration is important for app games, and I think the theme song has as big an impact on the impression as the atmosphere of the illustrations.
—On a personal note, “New Sky” is an exciting adventure that begins with the game’s images and Tamaki’s voice, with a sense of speed as if you are going through the sky.
Nami Tamaki: I’m glad to hear you say so. “New Sky” has two numbers, number 1 and number 2, and the sense of speed increases the most from the final D melody to the chorus. It felt really good to sing. I hope you will listen to the music video not only to the first and second numbers, but also to the whole song!
—I think I would get really excited if there was a stage in the game where “New Sky” is played.
Nami Tamaki: I feel like I’m getting better at it, and the energy comes out of me. I think singing has great power.
—Please give us a message on how you would like your fans to listen to “New Sky”.
Nami Tamaki: I was able to play the game after recording the song. When you listen to the song after playing the game, you can see how each lyric, such as “Spreading out the map in my head, changing zeros to ones as I go forward,” is linked to the game, which makes the song even more profound.
My favorite scene in the music video is not me but the animation scene (laughs), but the D-melody from “Sad and frustrated” to the chorus, where Ethan and his friends are fighting against the giant Anubis. I was so excited before I started playing. I want you to see the rest of the song as well, but it’s a very exciting and exciting point.
Of course, I want you to see Nami Tamaki singing with her band, but the lyrics are also displayed in the music video, so I would be more than happy if you could play the song while humming the lyrics.
—What genre do you like to play?
Nami Tamaki: FPS mainly. Maybe I like to shoot (laughs). I played Famicom and Super Nintendo when I was a child, and after I started living alone, I got really into playing online games. I like the process of fighting and getting stronger.
—What do you think about playing “Sky Fortress: Odyssey”?
Nami Tamaki: I haven’t played many smartphone apps before, but I’ve found myself playing Sky Fortress: Odyssey non-stop. So I think I really like it. I almost wanted to pay for it even if it was a trial environment (laughs).
—The action and shooting elements are built in, aren’t they?
Nami Tamaki: The controls are simple, just moving up and down, but from the beginning, to avoid enemy attacks.
—It seems to be more difficult, but it can be operated by intuitive enemies, so it is easy for action beginners to get into it.
Nami Tamaki: That’s right. Also, it has an auto function, so I could use auto after a certain amount of training. If you think that auto is uninteresting, this game’s auto is quite good. They dodge enemy bullets well, so I was able to learn a lot just by watching them.
—Tamaki-san, it seems that this work was first explained to you as a bullet-hell shooter, but there are many aspects that are different from bullet-hell shooters, aren’t there?
Nami Tamaki: It is both action and shooting, and in a sense, there is a way to enjoy finding a puzzle-like strategy.
—The parkour action is impressive in this work, but how does it fit when you play it?
Nami Tamaki: It moves exactly as I operate it. Even when there are a lot of bombs or something and you have to move quickly, it moves surprisingly smoothly. However, when I was moving up and down violently, sometimes some of my friends were not following me, so I would like to improve my play skills so that everyone can act on the same step.
—Anyone who enjoys adventure-based anime will love this work.
Nami Tamaki: The setting of the early adventure, Jade Country, is a fusion of Japanese style and steampunk, I thought it was very easy for Japanese players to get into.
—It starts with a royal development in terms of the story. The male protagonist, Ethan, meets the female protagonist, Tricia, and they go on an adventure around the world. Do you like the royal roadmap, Tamaki-san?
Nami Tamaki: I like it! I still feel good about it. I want to use Ethan and Tricia preferentially because they are both easy to use.
—Who are the other characters you are interested in?
Nami Tamaki: The enemy Phoenix. He rides a motorcycle and wears a black steampunk corset-like thing, which is my favorite visual. I like him a lot. As for my friends, it’s Nemo in a military uniform playing the shield role. I like strong women, like Aya. As I play, I think I will like more and more characters.
As for male characters, I like Kaider simply because of his face (laughs). He is cool.
—I think if you like Nemo, you’ll like Brunhild too.
Nami Tamaki: Brunhild is so good! There are so many cute characters. Although her rarity is B, I also like Franka and others.
—”Sky Fortress: Odyssey” is also unique in that a large number of characters have appeared in the game from the beginning of the service.
Nami Tamaki: I’m surprised that so many characters appear in the gacha from the beginning. It’s hard to decide which character I want to play (laughs). For the time being, I am prioritizing the characters with the highest rarity, but I would like to develop various characters when I have more time.
—Your favorite flying phoenix is not yet available as a companion, but there are some enemy characters that can be joined in the gacha.
Nami Tamaki: Like James, the cop who first tries to catch Ethan and his friends in the “New Sky” music video.
—There are various episodes about the characters, and there are plenty of onboard conversations to keep you interested in watching.
Nami Tamaki: Especially the amount of conversations in the main story is amazing. The amount of voices in the story is so large that I felt like I was watching an anime.
—I’m wondering if there is a way to make the composition of the characters more thoughtful.
Nami Tamaki: Up to five players can be organized, but I’m trying to decide how many attackers, shields, and healers should be in each group. For some reason, I have decided that there should be at least two attackers (laughs).
—I usually choose two shield players in the vanguard, two attackers, and a healer. However, depending on the stage, there were times when it was easier to eliminate enemies more quickly by using more attackers.
Nami Tamaki: I have the same composition. However, as long as you don’t get hit by attacks, it doesn’t matter, so if you are good, you can have five attackers. There are many characters in the game, so I’m looking forward to seeing many of my original compositions on SNS, and I’m also looking forward to fighting in pseudo-PvP in the game.
—This work has many challenging and side-trip elements that can be done in addition to the main storyline, doesn’t it?
Nami Tamaki: By expanding the cabin of the beluga whale, various functions were released. You can also use the drill to dig mines and browse books in the library. I’m just starting with the ones marked with “!”. There are so many different elements in the game.
—I’m sure there are various events that occur on the world map as well.
Nami Tamaki: I was impressed that in addition to the usual stages, there are daily missions and pseudo PvP-like activities, as well as quizzes and puzzles that test your knowledge and IQ in addition to your action skills.
—There are also a wide variety of elements for character growth.
Nami Tamaki: In addition to level and awakening, you can also raise abilities through training. We could also raise the trust level of certain characters to gain bonuses.
—Other than that, you can also strengthen the equipment for each character.
Nami Tamaki: There are still many elements of training that I am unaware of. I train the members of my organization in a well-balanced way, but with so many training elements, perhaps it is possible to concentrate on training a particular character first.
—Even characters with low rarity can greatly increase their abilities by collecting friendship points and awakening them, so I think there are many opportunities to use characters other than high rarity characters in the early stages.
Nami Tamaki: There is a unique way to collect friendship points other than when they are dubbed from the gacha. When you select keywords such as “older sister,” “senior,” “glasses,” “hat,” or “long” in the public relations office and communicate with them, you will receive the corresponding character’s friendship level at random.
—I was surprised at how many rewards I could get for logging in, clearing stages, and achieving certain conditions.
Nami Tamaki: I was surprised at how many rewards I received just for logging in, clearing stages, meeting certain conditions, etc. I didn’t pay for the test version, but even so I thought, “Is it really worth it?”
You can enjoy the intuitive action with simple controls, and you will be rewarded with a lot of rewards, so I would like to encourage you to play this game at least once. I hope you will give “Sky Fortress: Odyssey” your attention along with the theme song “New Sky” that I sing.