Iconic Final Fantasy Illustrator Yoshitaka Amano Inks an Original Design for Smartphone Resident Evil Spin-Off

For nearly three decades, Shinji Hashimoto held the role of Final Fantasy brand manager within Square Enix. However, in 2022, he made a move and joined Sony instead.

The intricate business setup of the Japanese electronics producer has its gaming publisher, Aniplex, positioned within the broader Sony Music Entertainment group. It is here that Hashimoto has built his career.

The initial undertaking he’s involved with? It’s a mobile game titled “Survival Unit”, which is a strategic spin-off of the Resident Evil series, developed jointly with the South Korean mobile gaming company, JoyCity, and the original series creators, Capcom.

It’s evident that Hashimoto is drawing upon his experiences at Square Enix for this project, as he’s enlisted Yoshitaka Amano – a renowned Final Fantasy artist – to design a new character named Mortem, who seems destined to play the role of the primary adversary in the game.

Here’s what the press release says:

Amano’s design evokes a psychological feeling of fear, with an unsettling atmosphere that clings to the uncharted territories. His distinctive perspective contributes a chilling additional dimension to the Resident Evil lore.”

“The designs by Amano instill a sense of dread – a haunting ambiance that pervades the shadows of the unknown. With his original approach, he brings a spine-tingling element to the Resident Evil universe.

This game is set in an alternate reality during the timeline of Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil 3, with its services expected to begin by the end of this year.

The game possesses typical features of contemporary mobile games, with players constructing their mansion over time and acquiring new characters using a mechanism similar to gacha.

Here’s a little more information on how it plays:

Popular characters like Leon S. Kennedy, Claire Redfield, and Jill Valentine make their comeback, giving gamers the opportunity to assemble squads that span multiple games. Each character offers distinct abilities and characteristics, creating a variety of strategic options and presenting an exciting new adventure for long-time players.

Based on the brief glimpses we’ve seen thus far, it appears to share some similarities with X-COM, notably a grid-based navigation system. However, we anticipate that the overall gameplay will be significantly more straightforward.

Our primary concern thus far is that it appears overly reminiscent of mobile games. While we’re currently in an age where games such as Genshin Impact and Honkai: Star Rail boast exceptional visuals, this one seems to lean more towards text-heavy and less dynamic designs. It has a feel that harks back to smartphone games from about a decade ago.

We’re optimistic that the end result will coalesce, as a strategic approach to Resident Evil certainly seems intriguing on its own.

What do you think about Resident Evil Survival Unit? Would you give it a go? Share your ideas on how to stop the spread of the T-virus in the comments.

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2025-07-12 16:06