{"id":1920706,"date":"2026-05-06T12:01:02","date_gmt":"2026-05-06T09:01:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1920706"},"modified":"2026-05-06T12:01:02","modified_gmt":"2026-05-06T09:01:02","slug":"paranormasight-director-takanari-ishiyama-believes-high-quality-indie-games-are-helping-smaller-projects-from-big-publishers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1920706","title":{"rendered":"Paranormasight director Takanari Ishiyama believes high-quality indie games are helping smaller projects from big publishers"},"content":{"rendered":"<article class=\"article \" data-ads=\"true\" data-article-type=\"news\" data-article-group=\"news\" data-paywalled=\"false\" data-premium=\"false\" data-sponsored=\"false\" data-type=\"article\">\n<header class=\"article_header\" data-component=\"article-header\">\n<div class=\"breadcrumbs\">\n<nav class=\"nav_breadcrumbs\" data-component=\"nav-breadcrumbs\" aria-label=\"Breadcrumb\">\n<ul class=\"nav-links\">\n<li>\n                <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/\" data-active=\"false\"><br \/>\n                      Home<br \/>\n                <\/a>\n            <\/li>\n<li>\n                <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/news\" data-active=\"false\"><br \/>\n                      News<br \/>\n                <\/a>\n            <\/li>\n<li>\n                <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/games\/paranormasight-the-mermaids-curse\" data-active=\"false\"><br \/>\n                      Paranormasight: The Mermaid&#8217;s Curse<br \/>\n                <\/a>\n            <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/nav><\/div>\n<div class=\"headline_details\" id=\"main-content\">\n<h1 class=\"title\">Paranormasight director Takanari Ishiyama believes high-quality indie games are helping smaller projects from big publishers<\/h1>\n<p class=\"strapline\">Sighted.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"headline_asset\">\n<figure class=\"headline_image_wrapper\">\n<p>        <img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"headline_image\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/Paranormasight_Mermaid's-Curse_conversation.jpg?width=570&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;dpr=3&amp;auto=webp\" alt=\"Paranormasight: The Mermaid's Curse dialogue scene\" loading=\"eager\" data-uri=\"Paranormasight_Mermaid's-Curse_conversation.jpg\" data-lightbox width=\"570\" height=\"356\"><figcaption>\n          <span class=\"attribution\">Image credit: <cite>Square Enix<\/cite><\/span><br \/>\n        <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"metadata\">\n<div class=\"avatar\">\n<p>    <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Fran Ruiz avatar\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/fran-j-ruiz-author.png?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"180\" height=\"180\"><\/p>\n<p>  <img alt=\"Fran Ruiz avatar\" data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"fran-j-ruiz-author.png\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"180\" height=\"180\">\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"text\">\n<div class=\"byline\">\n                  <span class=\"article_type\" data-slug=\"news\"><br \/>\n                    News<br \/>\n                  <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"by\">by<\/span> <span class=\"author\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/authors\/fran-ruiz\">Fran Ruiz<\/a><\/span>                    <span class=\"job_title\"><br \/>\n                      Contributor<br \/>\n                    <\/span>\n            <\/div>\n<div class=\"published_at\">\nPublished on <time datetime=\"2026-05-06T12:01:02+00:00\">May 6, 2026<\/time>              <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"mypop-header-wrapper\">\n<p><button class=\"mypop-button button wide\" data-state=\"follow\" data-type=\"tag\" data-uuid=\"49e4fcc1-7957-42f5-946f-9d2c15526b8b\" data-name=\"Paranormasight: The Mermaidu0027s Curse\" data-follow-text=\"Follow Paranormasight: The Mermaidu0026#39;s Curse\" data-unfollow-text=\"Following Paranormasight: The Mermaidu0026#39;s Curse\" data-aria-follow-text=\"Follow Paranormasight: The Mermaidu0027s Curse\" data-aria-unfollow-text=\"Following Paranormasight: The Mermaidu0027s Curse\" data-popup=\"true\" data-force-login=\"true\" aria-label=\"Follow Paranormasight: The Mermaid's Curse\" title=\"Follow Paranormasight: The Mermaid's Curse\"><br \/>\n  Follow Paranormasight: The Mermaid&#8217;s Curse<br \/>\n<\/button>          <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"article_body\" data-component=\"article-content\">\n<div class=\"article_body_content article-styling\">\n<p>The two Paranormasight games, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/games\/paranormasight-the-seven-mysteries-of-honjo\">The Seven Mysteries of Honjo<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/games\/paranormasight-the-mermaids-curse\">The Mermaid&#8217;s Curse<\/a>, are among the most celebrated horror visual novels in recent years. Though it might be shocking to many, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/companies\/square-enix\">Square Enix<\/a> is behind their development and publishing, and now their main creative is thanking indies for their success.<\/p>\n<p>Takanari Ishiyama, writer and director on both games, explained how he and the development team have approached both games in an email interview for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.polygon.com\/square-enix-paranormasight-mermaid-curse-honjo\/\">Polygon<\/a>, as well as how he feels about the challenges of getting smaller games for niche audiences.<\/p>\n<figure>\n<div class=\"primis_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"primis_video\">\n<p><span class=\"embed_placeholder\" data-type=\"targeting\"><br \/>\n<span class=\"message\">To see this content please enable targeting cookies.<\/span><br \/>\n<button class=\"optanon-show-settings link\"><br \/>\nManage cookie settings<\/button><\/span> <\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption>Paranormasight: The Mermaid&#8217;s Curse &#8211; Official Reveal Trailer<a class=\"video\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=BERruasX-oo\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Watch on YouTube<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&#8220;High-quality indie games have started to stand out, bringing greater attention to smaller-scale titles as well,&#8221; Ishiyama told the site. &#8220;The Paranormasight series doesn\u2019t aim to do anything new or groundbreaking; rather, it focuses on carefully crafting traditional games and ensuring they\u2019re genuinely entertaining&#8221;, he added.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"injection_placeholder\" data-position=\"1\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p>As pointed out by Polygon&#8217;s piece, Paranormasight getting a sequel was noteworthy considering <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hd.square-enix.com\/eng\/ir\/library\/pdf\/ar_2024en.pdf\">Square Enix&#8217;s 2024 comments<\/a>, which pointed to the publisher doing &#8220;quality over quantity&#8221; after a few high-profile disappointments. The first Paranormasight was top-shelf stuff from a creative standpoint, but sales numbers were never released, so you can see why we were surprised by The Mermaid&#8217;s Curse&#8217;s reveal and fast launch.<\/p>\n<p>Ishiyama&#8217;s personal analysis might have some truth to it. Over time, it&#8217;s become increasingly clear players are paying close attention to the indie space, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/slay-the-spire-2-sells-more-than-silksong-hades-2\">with some of the biggest winners when it comes to finances in recent years being made by small studios<\/a>. Even if Square Enix isn&#8217;t a small publisher, games like Paranormasight partially run on that low-budget, focused energy, which allows them to potentially make a splash in the same spaces.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/paranormasight-the-seven-mysteries-of-honjo-review-spooky-goings-on-in-tokyo\">Eurogamer&#8217;s review of Paranormasight: The Seven Mysteries of Honjo<\/a> called it &#8220;a mystery, a puzzle, and a ghost story that&#8217;s genuinely haunted by the player on the other side of the screen&#8221;. Both entries have landed &#8216;<a href=\"https:\/\/store.steampowered.com\/app\/2106840\/PARANORMASIGHT_The_Seven_Mysteries_of_Honjo\/\">Overwhelmingly Positive<\/a>&#8216; and &#8216;<a href=\"https:\/\/store.steampowered.com\/app\/2701440\/PARANORMASIGHT_The_Mermaids_Curse\/\">Very Positive<\/a>&#8216; user ratings on Steam.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"preferred-source\" data-component=\"preferred-source\">\nLove Eurogamer.net? Make us a <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/preferences\/source?q=https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\">Preferred Source on Google<\/a> and catch more of our coverage in your feeds.  <\/div>\n<\/article>\n<div class=\"article_body\" data-component=\"article-content\">\n<div class=\"article_body_content article-styling\">\n<p>The two Paranormasight games, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/games\/paranormasight-the-seven-mysteries-of-honjo\">The Seven Mysteries of Honjo<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/games\/paranormasight-the-mermaids-curse\">The Mermaid&#8217;s Curse<\/a>, are among the most celebrated horror visual novels in recent years. Though it might be shocking to many, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/companies\/square-enix\">Square Enix<\/a> is behind their development and publishing, and now their main creative is thanking indies for their success.<\/p>\n<p>Takanari Ishiyama, writer and director on both games, explained how he and the development team have approached both games in an email interview for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.polygon.com\/square-enix-paranormasight-mermaid-curse-honjo\/\">Polygon<\/a>, as well as how he feels about the challenges of getting smaller games for niche audiences.<\/p>\n<figure>\n<div class=\"primis_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"primis_video\">\n<p><span class=\"embed_placeholder\" data-type=\"targeting\"><br \/>\n<span class=\"message\">To see this content please enable targeting cookies.<\/span><br \/>\n<button class=\"optanon-show-settings link\"><br \/>\nManage cookie settings<\/button><\/span> <\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption>Paranormasight: The Mermaid&#8217;s Curse &#8211; Official Reveal Trailer<a class=\"video\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=BERruasX-oo\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Watch on YouTube<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&#8220;High-quality indie games have started to stand out, bringing greater attention to smaller-scale titles as well,&#8221; Ishiyama told the site. &#8220;The Paranormasight series doesn\u2019t aim to do anything new or groundbreaking; rather, it focuses on carefully crafting traditional games and ensuring they\u2019re genuinely entertaining&#8221;, he added.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"injection_placeholder\" data-position=\"1\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p>As pointed out by Polygon&#8217;s piece, Paranormasight getting a sequel was noteworthy considering <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hd.square-enix.com\/eng\/ir\/library\/pdf\/ar_2024en.pdf\">Square Enix&#8217;s 2024 comments<\/a>, which pointed to the publisher doing &#8220;quality over quantity&#8221; after a few high-profile disappointments. The first Paranormasight was top-shelf stuff from a creative standpoint, but sales numbers were never released, so you can see why we were surprised by The Mermaid&#8217;s Curse&#8217;s reveal and fast launch.<\/p>\n<p>Ishiyama&#8217;s personal analysis might have some truth to it. Over time, it&#8217;s become increasingly clear players are paying close attention to the indie space, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/slay-the-spire-2-sells-more-than-silksong-hades-2\">with some of the biggest winners when it comes to finances in recent years being made by small studios<\/a>. Even if Square Enix isn&#8217;t a small publisher, games like Paranormasight partially run on that low-budget, focused energy, which allows them to potentially make a splash in the same spaces.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/paranormasight-the-seven-mysteries-of-honjo-review-spooky-goings-on-in-tokyo\">Eurogamer&#8217;s review of Paranormasight: The Seven Mysteries of Honjo<\/a> called it &#8220;a mystery, a puzzle, and a ghost story that&#8217;s genuinely haunted by the player on the other side of the screen&#8221;. Both entries have landed &#8216;<a href=\"https:\/\/store.steampowered.com\/app\/2106840\/PARANORMASIGHT_The_Seven_Mysteries_of_Honjo\/\">Overwhelmingly Positive<\/a>&#8216; and &#8216;<a href=\"https:\/\/store.steampowered.com\/app\/2701440\/PARANORMASIGHT_The_Mermaids_Curse\/\">Very Positive<\/a>&#8216; user ratings on Steam.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Home News Paranormasight: The Mermaid&#8217;s Curse Paranormasight director Takanari Ishiyama believes high-quality indie games are helping smaller projects from big publishers Sighted. Image credit: Square Enix News by Fran Ruiz Contributor Published on May 6, 2026 Follow Paranormasight: The Mermaid&#8217;s Curse The two Paranormasight games, The Seven Mysteries of Honjo and The Mermaid&#8217;s Curse, are [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,253],"class_list":["post-1920706","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-eurogamer-net"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1920706","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1920706"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1920706\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1920706"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1920706"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1920706"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}