Interview: Zero Escape's Kotaro Uchikoshi on Ever 17 and Never 7 Finally Coming West

Kōtarō Uchikoshi has garnered something of an international cult fandom. He's known for science fiction-themed adventure games such as Zero Escape and AI: THE SOMNIUM FILES and his collaboration with Danganronpa creator Kazutaka Kodaka to create the independent studio Tookyo Games. He's active on social media in English, filling in character lore, making playful dirty jokes, and sticking up for his choice to include LGBTQ representation in his games.

His most foundational works, however, have long been unavailable in English: the Infinity series, a trilogy of science-fiction visual novels developed by MAGES., along with a spinoff and a reboot. Of these five games, the only one to ever have been released outside of Japan is Ever 17 – until now, with Never 7 and Ever 17 getting a special remaster for PlayStation 4, Steam, and Switch. In celebration, ANN stopped by the Spike Chunsoft offices to chat with him about two games that would set the tone for many of his future works.

ANN: One of the things that you've become known for is your social media usage in English as well as Japanese. Does the relationship between your international and Japanese audiences differ, and do you think that will affect Never 7 and Ever 17 and how they are received?

Uchikoshi: As you might know, I'm not that well known in Japan, but I am more known to overseas fans. Because of that, I utilize [X, formerly known as] Twitter a lot to communicate with fans. I think that Never 7 and Ever 17 have the origins of all the titles that I've worked on. Because of that, I think the fans overseas would really enjoy these titles.

ANN: What are some of the differences between the new versions of the game and the originals?

Uchikoshi: I haven't played the version that's going to be released in March, but there are a lot of things that are refined in this version, so I'm looking forward to playing it.

ANN: Are any of the changes in the games changes that you wanted or asked for?

Uchikoshi: To be honest, I wasn't involved and not in contact with the developers on this release. However, I trust the development team very much, so I'm sure these refinements they made are really good.

ANN: Previously, you said that Never 7 and Ever 17 are the base for your other work. Your games have many recurring motifs, such as time loops and AI. What draws you to these science-fiction concepts?

Uchikoshi: I don't usually write about things that don't seem to come to life, like fantasy, and things like that don't seem to become real. I'm attracted to these topics, but I don't tend to write about them. Topics like artificial intelligence and contagious viruses actually happen in real life. Writing about those things excites me more.

ANN: Viruses are a major plot point in Ever 17 and Virtue's Last Reward. If you were to write either of those stories after the COVID-19 pandemic, would you change anything about them?

Uchikoshi: I may not write a plot with contagious viruses anymore in future titles. After experiencing it firsthand, I don't think there would be anything that could go beyond what we experienced during the pandemic. So, I don't think I'll write about the contagious virus scenarios anymore.

ANN: Because it's no longer science fiction.

Uchikoshi: That's right.

ANN: As visual novels, Never 7 and Ever 17 don't have adventure game segments or puzzles like Zero Escape. If you could add those kinds of elements to Ever 17 and Never 7, would you? What kind of elements would you like to add?

Uchikoshi: In an ideal world, whether it's Never 7 or Ever 17, it should take place in an open world. For example, in Never 7 (it was on an island in the Kanto region, I think), it's a closed place. You should be able to walk around there yourself. I think it would be interesting if you could walk around and enjoy the characters there—and, if there were some around, do things like solve puzzles. Especially in Ever 17, I think it would be interesting to control the characters yourself and move around. And though I bet you've probably already played it, I think it would be really interesting to play it in VR.

ANN: How do you feel that visual novels have evolved over the past 20 years? And how do you feel you've evolved as a writer?

Uchikoshi: First of all, I think the best version of a visual novel is AI: THE SOMNIUM FILES. If you're reading this article and haven't played the game, please do give it a try. I've worked in this industry for 25 years, and I really do like the classic visual novel style where there is a 2D image, and you read the text. I would like to go back to that and create something that's very classic if I get a chance.

ANN: How do you hope Never 7 and Ever 17 will be received by international audiences, since this is the first time Never 7 has been officially released, and a long time since Ever 17?

Uchikoshi: These are titles that I'm really proud of and what made me a little famous, so I hope that everyone overseas will really like it. I'd hoped that they would be adapted into a live-action drama, especially Ever 17, so to be honest, I don't want this title to sell a lot because people would already know the plot and endings. The whole idea of them becoming TV dramas would fail.

ANN: These two games are often considered by foreign fans to be the prototype for your later works, with many similar plot points to subsequent games, such as viruses and time loops. Why did you choose to revisit them? Did you feel you could do them better the second time around?

Uchikoshi: Regarding the virus, I didn't want to have a set enemy. For example, in Never 7, it's the atmosphere that you're against; in Ever 17, it's the water pressure that you're against. Basically, I didn't want to create an antagonist. Another reason is that I dislike pharmaceutical companies because I always had conditions growing up, like asthma and skin conditions. When I take medication, sometimes the symptoms get worse. I don't like the pharmaceutical company for providing those medications. That's one of the reasons I tend to set pharmaceutical companies as antagonists.

More on the development side, I think a lot of video game creators tend to like the idea of the time loop, because when you play a video game, when you die, you go back to the beginning. It's similar to [Nier] Automata. The concept appears in a lot of games, and I think a lot of video game creators tend to be attracted to that subject.

ANN: In your games, though, the game system often becomes part of the plot.

Uchikoshi: I personally value the experience that can only be had in games, so for example, if I make a chapter select flowchart, I want it to be not just a convenient tool but something that has meaning to the overall story. What else…? For example, there are screen tricks that can only be done in games. On the DS, there was a top screen and a bottom screen, right? So, I was always thinking about the fact that there were two screens—I always think about using the game's systems [both hardware and software] when I'm making a game.

ANN: These are the first two games of the Infinity series. Would you like to see all of them remastered and put up?

Uchikoshi: There's one more game in the Infinity series, Remember 11, which is incomplete. If that were to be released in English, I think it would need to be reworked by me or the director, [Takumi] Nakazawa, as part of the team.