Yuji Naka's Prope, Kadokawa Games Working On New Wii/3DS Flying Title

The legendary developer behind Sonic the Hedgehog and Nights: Into Dreams, Yuji Naka, is working on a new flight-based game for the Wii and Nintendo 3DS with his studio, Prope and publisher Kadokawa Games. The latest issue of Japan's Weekly Famitsu magazine (translated by Andriasang) includes a four-page spread describing the Wii version of Tenku no Kishi Rodea (which translates to "Rodea, Knight of the Heavens"). Naka, is listed as "executive director" on the title, which uses the Wii Remote pointer to guide a flying robot named Rodea through a sky-kingdom full of obstacles and enemies. Naka said Rodea, which has been in development since Fall 2009, came out of a prototype created when the studio split into two smaller teams after the cancellation of another project. He added that he hoped the title's simple controls would contrast with other flight-based games, which he feels can get too complicated. Kadokawa Games, an outgrowth of major Japanese book publisher Kadokawa Shoten, has partnered with Prope to publish the game. The developer and publisher reportedly worked closely via daily meetings that guided the direction of the game from a spy action title to its current more cartoony, character-driven form. The Famitsu article mentions a single-player story being developed by Tales of the Abyss scribe Takumi Miyajima and also hints at a four-player multiplayer mode. The piece also mentions a 3DS version of the title, but doesn't go into any details on that game. No release details are available for either version. Well-known for his work with Sega's Sonic Team, Naka left the company in 2008 to start his own development house, Prope. The developer is responsible for 2009's innovative, box-tapping Wii title Let's Tap and 2010's DS and Wii puzzle platformer Ivy The Kiwi?