Team Asobi says that while “almost 100%” of their most desired iconic Sony characters made it to Astro Bot, they find it “difficult to comment” on why Square Enix characters were missing.
Speaking to journalist Stephen Totilo, Team Asobi studio head Nicolas Doucet said that despite expecting “maybe half” of the characters the team approached to get the green light, the majority “of the partners They just raised their hand and said, “Absolutely.”
However, not all the characters on the list made it in. When asked why there wasn't a Cloud cameo in Final Fantasy 7, for example, or indeed anyone from Nier or Kingdom Hearts, Doucet simply said “I really respect it.”[s] the choice of each publisher”.
“It is difficult to comment [why Square Enix didn’t approve any cameos]”Doucet explained. “We really respect each editor's choice.”
Recognizing the delicate balance between accessible characters that almost every player would recognize and “deep cuts” that fewer people may remember, Doucet said the team accepted that “at that point, you're talking to fewer people,” but wanted to include more. dark characters because players who know them “may have the best memories.”
Sony and Team Asobi recently gave us a first look at the upcoming (and free) Astro Bot DLC add-on.
This DLC will include five new online speedrunning levels, as well as 10 new bots to rescue. While Team Asobi hasn't revealed them all, we did get to see the bot version of Stellar Blade's Eve (a bot we suspected would appear) and a Helldivers 2 Helldiver in the new trailer.
For more on Team Asobi's charming platformer, some of us at Eurogamer have compiled our favorite Astro Bot moments here.