A newly translated interview (originally posted in Japanese by Den Fami Nico Gamer) about Fighting EX Layer has been released on #JPFGC, featuring Nishitana and Harada. This interview is massive, including going back to talk about Nishitana’s design decisions on Street Fighter 2 and plenty more about the fighting game genre. If you have a love for the fighting game genre and a decent chunk of free time, this interview is full of interesting bits and is well worth a read.
One of the more interesting subjects in the lengthy article involves Tekken producer Katshuhiro Harada’s involvement in Fighting EX Layer. For example, it may only have been Harada’s comment that got Skullomania into the upcoming fighting title in the first place:
Nishitani: […] Even though Harada was telling us how popular Skullomania was, we always thought of him as a sort of “joke character” who played a minor role.
But when we went overseas and set up the playable demo without Skullomania in it, person after person who came to the booth would ask, “Is Skullomania going to be in this?” and I realized how popular he really was.
Harada: They also don’t see him as a serious character, you know? But he has a heroic sense to him. The interesting thing about the reaction at EVO was that usually an audience’s excitement will peak about 20 to 30 seconds after the trailer starts, but once Skullomania appeared on screen everyone’s excitement levels suddenly went to MAX. *laughs*
Harada also speaks about how he’s hoping Fighting EX Layer will stand out compared to other fighting games:
Harada: Yes. It was a rude way of saying it, but I asked them, “Now what are you going to do?” Mihara responded with, “We’re thinking about the main mechanics.” When I heard that design was “the ability to control the same character in different styles,” I thought, “Maybe this will be a good match for the current generation.”
Fighting games are a very severe type of game where “the only thing you’re supposed to train is yourself.” After training your physical execution and gaining experience, the results of the match rely entirely on yourself. But with this new system, I have a feeling there may various other ways you can aim for the top. Something like, “instead of just doing push-ups all day, you now have a tool called a tennis racquet.”
There is a lot more at the interview link, so make sure to read through it when you have some free time! It’s a worthy read. Or if you can read Japanese, take a look at the original interview!
What are you looking forward to in Fighting EX Layer?
[Source: #JPFGC, Den Fami Nico Gamer]
