RPGFan recently had the opportunity to sit down with Masami Watanabe, president of Flight Plan for an exclusive interview. The Gifu-based studio has been responsible for the development of the Black/Matrix and Summon Night series as well as the critically acclaimed strategy RPG Dragon Shadow Spell.

The concept behind Flight Plan's newest project, Poison Pink is apparently dark fantasy. This design choice was made deliberately to set the new IP apart from the Summon Night series with its cute character designs. A key feature of Poison Pink will be capturing devils. When certain conditions are met, these evil creatures will join your party. However, they can also be turned into weapons.

Asked about the mysterious new Summon Night installment currently in the works for PlayStation 2, Watanabe told us we should expect an action RPG. Since all main series installments thus far have been strategy RPGs, the newest installment probably is a gaiden like Summon Night Twin Age, which was released in August.

Asked about the possibility of a new Black/Matrix game, Watanabe sounded skeptical. He explained that his company once had discussions with Interchannel Holon about a new game, but back then Flight Plan was busy working on other projects. Afterwards, Interchannel Holon sold the division in charge of Black/Matrix to GungHo Online Entertainment.

In addition to Poison Pink and the new Summon Night game, a third title is apparently in development at Flight Plan. Like Dragon Shadow Spell, it will be distributed by the company itself. Flight Plan was also looking into creating a sequel to Dragon Shadow Spell, even though no specifics have been decided yet.

As for next-gen development, the Flight Plan president said his company was currently looking into how to develop what type of game for next-generation consoles. Only once the company has completed its research, planning and development will commence.

For the full interview with Masami Watanabe, keep your eyes peeled on RPGFan in the coming weeks.