- Honkai verse lead Shaoji and Fate/Stay Night author Kinoku Nasu discussed the Honkai Star Rail x Fate/Stay Night collab in a recent interview.
- During the interview, Kinoku Nasu praised Genshin Impact for being the first-generation game that brought a shift to mobile gaming.
- According to the legendary author, Genshin Impact closed the gap between console and mobile games, leading to the release of more similar games.
Honkai Star Rail’s collaboration with Fate/Stay Night is only days away from release. Ahead of the collaboration, Denfami Nicogamer has shared a one-on-one interview between the leaders of both franchises— Honkai-verse’s writing lead Shaoji and the legendary author Kinoko Nasu. During the interview, Nasu was asked about the recent generation shift to mobile games. To this, the legendary author of countless TYPE-MOON masterpieces gave credit to Genshin Impact for closing the gap between mobile and console gaming.
Kinoko Nasu Praises Genshin Impact in Latest Interview
Kinoko Nasu spoke in great detail about the struggle of developing an engaging mobile game back in the day. He recalled how mobile games were once seen as little more than “time-wasters” compared to console games.
If console games were like hour-and-a-half-long feature films, mobile games were more like four-panel comics—entertaining, but over in a flash.
The author continued on the evolution of mobile games since then. “By the era of Chain Chronicle, Granblue Fantasy, and FGO, they had reached a level comparable to weekly serialized manga,” he clarified.
According to Kinoko Nasu, the ‘rich and lavish’ aspects of a console had to be challenged through daily playability and features that built connections between players outside the game itself. That is until the release of Genshin Impact.
Whether by luck or misfortune, the long-standing gap in gameplay depth between mobile and console games—to put it bluntly, the “one-tier-below” disadvantage—was closed. After Genshin Impact, newer mobile games began achieving a level of quality that could rival console games. This marks the first point of generational shift.
I cannot help but agree with Kinoko Nasu. Ever since Genshin Impact’s release, we have started to see high-quality games that bridge the gap between console and mobile. More gacha games such as Wuthering Waves, Honkai Star Rail, Tower of Fantasy, and Zenless Zone Zero followed Genshin’s lead, releasing just within the next five years.
More is yet to follow, with games like Ananta and Neverness to Everness promising an even greater quality and gameplay experience. Although we have yet to see how they actually turn out.
Mobile gaming is heading in a great direction, and hopefully, with more powerful devices, we may just see every new game releasing on mobile, consoles, and PC at the same time. But before that, get ready for the Honkai Star Rail x Fate/Stay Night collab characters who are set to arrive soon on the banners.
Share your thoughts about Kinoko Nasu’s statement about the generational shift of mobile gaming, down in the comments.
This interview was originally arranged by the Japanese media outlet Denfami Nicogamer, with the Japanese version published on July 8, 2025, at around 11:00 AM UTC+8. You can check out the original article here.
