Siliconera recently got a chance to interview Mighty No. 9’s associate producer Nick Yu.
In this interview he talks about the 3DS version of the game, their partnership with Deep Silver and more.
You can find some of the main Q&A below:
On the 3DS version:
Right, so the 3DS version, as well as the PlayStation Vita version, is being handled by a different company called Engine Software, a developer based in the Netherlands. They’re handling the porting work. Well, it’s not really porting work anymore. We actually had to rebuild the game from scratch because of the difference between the console versions and the handheld versions.
On whether there will be any features missing in the handheld versions:
It’ll be exactly the same. Naturally, there might be little bit of a graphical downgrade just because it’s on a handheld, but the gameplay and everything else is intact.
On why dash was added to the game:
In the older games, you wanted to stay far away from your enemy. The goal was to stay safe and not die. However, in this game, we wanted to get people to get up close and personal with enemies, perhaps even force them to get close to enemies, that way the gameplay itself becomes much faster. No you’re not waiting for the enemy, you have to move toward it yourself. Once you get the hang of the dash mechanism, you sort of get trigger-happy with it right? That’s what we want the players to feel.
On why Beck saves bosses rather than destroy them:
Inafune really wanted to focus on the story of each Robot in this title. That’s why the Mighty No. 9’s aren’t just robots, they’re a team, a team that’s competing in the same tournament. They’re the brothers and sisters of Beck. Inafune wanted to stress that they’re not your enemies, but your allies and friends. Hopefully, in the sequel, or DLC, or whatever form, we can explore that relationship a bit more.
On DLC:
Actually, because of the partnership with Deep Silver, we are able to bring one of the DLC, the one introducing the new playable character, Ray. The players can play her stage, and after defeating her, they can play through the entire single player story mode as Ray. Her gameplay is totally different from what Beck and Call’s gameplay is, and players can expect an interesting twist with her.
On whether there are any plans to bring Ray into co-op mode:
Not right now, but that’s something to think about!
On how Concept started working with Deep Silver:
The whole working with publishers talk began at last year’s Tokyo Game Show. Even before that we got quite a few offers from different publishers, but after comparing several of the deals, Deep Silver’s was the best. Their approach was very fair, and we felt that there was a lot of potential working with them, so that’s how it happened.
On whether Concept is already looking ahead to what will come after Mighty No. 9:
We have some things in mind, yeah!
On whether those plans involve Deep Silver:
I mean, the relationship is going so well right now, why wouldn’t it? Definitely, if we wanted to do something, they’re the first ones that we’re going to talk with.