Nitro+ Blasters Dengeki Interview Translation #ニトブラ

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I'm bored, and Dengeki has an interview about Nitroplus Blasters up that goes over some system mechanics. Let's translate! TRANSLATOR'S NOTE: "Heroine" basically means "waifu."

Source: http://dengekionline.com/elem/000/000/984/984580/

"Will 'Nitroplus Blasters' have male characters? An interview with the developer about unannounced characters and system mechanics"

"Nitroplus Blasters: Heroines' Infinite Duel," brought to us by Examu/Nitroplus, is currently having a location test today (12/28).

This game was revived from Nitroplus's 10th anniversary project, "Nitroplus Fighting Game (working title)," originally announced in 2008. Heroines from multiple Nitroplus series, such as "Phantom," "Vampirdzhija Vjedogonia," and "FullMetal Daemon Muramasa" join together to battle it out.

Since its location test is happening right now, we were able to get an interview with the director, Examu's Kazuma Hayashi [TL Note: I hope that's how his name is read]. We asked about the remaining cast, system mechanics, and recommended characters, so anyone interested in going to a loketest tomorrow (12/29), please read on.

*There Are Plans for Five More Playable Characters*

—First off, please tell us who handles what parts of the game's development between Examu and Nitroplus.

Most of the development comes from Examu. Nitroplus supervises the characters' animations and lines as well as their theme song arrangements.

—There are five characters and ten partners playable in the loketest version. Will we see more?

Well, in the current loketest build, there are ten playable character slots and 16 partner slots (laughs), so we plan to add more soon enough.

—Is there a chance you'll add more characters after filling those slots?

I won't say there's no chance of us going over ten characters, but that'll depend on the state of its development later on. You can select two partner characters in this game, so we want to add a lot of characters.

—The game has "Heroines' Infinite Duel" in the title, so this may be a difficult question, but when I think of Nitroplus, I tend to think of their male characters. "Nitro+Royale -Heroines' Duel-" had Kong Taoluo from "Kikokugai" playable, but is there any chance of male characters being added in this game?

Nitroplus does have many popular male characters, but this game is "Heroines' Infinite Duel," so we're not too sure about adding male characters right now (laughs). The original "Nitro Royale" was about heroines fighting each other, so we're going with that idea.

—I see. I'm looking forward to see which female characters will be chosen for the final five slots. Well, now that I've played the game, I noticed the game's speed was relatively fast.

Yeah. We took special care to make movement feel fun and snappy. It's a different speed from "Arcana Heart," but once you're used to it, it shouldn't feel too fast.

—Partner characters always producing attacking when called and not disappearing when attacked creates a very offensive style of play, but it still feels refreshing. Were you taking special care with that, too?

It may sound strange for a game meant to be beginner-oriented, but it was the result of our desire to make it easy to play and buttons easy to press. Partners in "Aquapazza" disappeared when attacked, so it made players unfamiliar with the game unsure of when to use them. They could call them, sure, but sometimes they'd get hit and disappear without doing anything. In this game, partners will always perform their attack when called, so you should feel free to call them whenever you like.

Also, in "Aquapazza," we thought of partner attacks as special moves, but in this game, we've added some partners with the strength of super moves. Some characters might have a lower number of uses than another, but they're stronger to make up for it.

There's a "Banishing Guard" you can perform by pressing D when guarding, but it doesn't cost meter or require the strict timing that parrying does - just keeping it held will clash your opponent's attack [TL: 相殺 typically means "clash" in any other game, so I'm assuming]. We took special care to make the Partner and Banishing Guard buttons easy to press.

Having a partner call cancel a player's actions, allowing the player to move right into something else is another result of this idea.

—Being able to call a partner to cancel your actions should help in developing combo extensions and give high level players something to chew on.

Yeah. You have partners, but you can also press A+B+C to activate an "Infinite Blast," which also functions as a cancel when attacking. Incidentally, the D button's "Escape Action" allows you to cancel any normal action, but being in Infinite Blast mode allows you to use it during special attacks, too.

We included many ways to extend combos, so we hope the more obsessive players enjoy it. Proration is fairly strict under normal circumstances, so you probably won't be able to connect combos as much as you can in "Arcana Heart." But you can do some real damage if you use partners and Infinite Blasts well, so there's something players can go into Training Mode with. You can choose two partners, so I think combo research will be pretty interesting.

—I didn't expect the Partner Guage to start at 0 when rounds begin.

We thought it would be more exciting if partners became usable midway through a match rather than having them called constantly from the beginning. If we're getting detailed, the current build gives the partner guages different amounts of time to fill before they first become usable and after they've been used once. We don't know where this system will ultimately lead, but there are characters that you can use almost immediately as well as characters that can see a fair amount of use after a little bit of waiting, so each partner has their own peculiarities.

*You Can Spend 3 Bars To Use Never Before Seen Specials!*

—I felt that the super meter, the "Power Guage," was easy to fill.

We're still tweaking that, so I can't say how it will end up, but right now, it fills up the most if you're being attacked, especially if you use Banishing Guards to clash attacks. Your guage will automatically fill when you activate an Infinite Blast, so if you use it well, you can max out your guage.

They weren't available in the loketest, but when your guage is at MAX, you can use an awesome special move. I think you'll all enjoy them when they're added.

—So there are more special moves! I'm excited. What was the intent behind resetting the Power Guage every round?

This is the first Examu game where meter doesn't carry over between rounds. The Power Guage, Infinite Blast Guage, and Partner Guage all reset between rounds - we think it'd hurt the game if they carried over.

I've heard many people say that managing meter in recent games is a pain, so I wanted people to spend all their meter on the current round to make each round more intense. That also means that it builds quicker, so you'll have to watch out.

Using an Infinite Blast at the round start to build meter is a good tactic. Using it within a combo shortens the time that it's active, so some may see a con in doing so. Those who like to rush, rush, and rush down may just want to keep that cancel as an option if they're in a position to win by pressing with combos and strings, so it gives players multiple ways to play.

—Holding the E button produces a Heavy Action that knocks opponents away. How should it be used?

Holding a Heavy Action is a way to get past an opponent's defense, but since it can be Banishing Guarded, it's a layer of tactics between offense and defense. For example, Saya's Heavy Action launches - it never knocks back. I think they can be used for both combos and pressure. But it takes a while for them to come out, so you have to keep in mind just how much they can be used for breaking defense.

—How about the Variable Rush that allows custom combos?

Variable Rush is activated but pressing buttons at the same time [TL: What buttons? idk (*´Д｀)], so it can be activated regardless of character direction. And given its relatively long startup invincibility, it serves as a good option to mash [TL: lit. "abare"]. Just press whatever buttons you like to get a Ranbu-esque super. It deals good damage, so it works well for comebacks too. People not used to fighting games should have fun using this to start with.

Also, pressing each button will produce a different combo. Mashing the B button will end in a launcher that you'll automatically jump along with, so you can go right into an air combo. There's actually more than just A→A→A, B→B→B, and C→C→C - pressing A→B→C will perform a different combo, so it'll be interesting to see what people can connect. It activates even if your opponent blocks it, so it's possible to mix them up midway. [TL: I assume 相手をゆさぶる means you can since it doesn't say "immediately die"]

*How Should You Use The Developers' Recommended Characters?*

—Mr. Hayashi, what characters do you recommend?

I can't say too much since we're still in development, but Mora is fairly straightforward, so she should be easy to play. But she doesn't have any projectiles, so she might be difficult to play compared to characters like Ein. Ein is a fast character, but she also has relatively low health.

—Who should be their partners?

Partners with high damage, like Another Blood, can be called only a few times, so new players should pick a character with a short cooldown and a long cooldown. For example, a character you can call as often as you like (such as Natsumi Aibara or Kaigen Ishima) with a character who can only be called a few times (such as Another Blood or Dragon).

Characters like Another Blood are the best way to end combos to deal damage, while short cooldown characters are good choices to use in neutral. If Kaigen scores a hit, your opponent will crumple, allowing you to begin a combo or wait for a knockdown.

Saya is a difficult character if you let her get in, so reversing the situation with Sakura's counter is a good idea. Sakura's counter is pretty strong right now, but that may change as development goes on. Development is about 40% done, so there will be plenty of balance to go along with the bells and whistles. As such, we ask anyone who goes to the loketest to please fill out the survey so we can reference them as development continues.

—I felt Al's projectiles in the previous version were abnormally strong.

Yeah, true (laughs). But the loketest version was changed slightly - I think one of the changes had something to do with that.

—Let's end with a message to those awaiting its arcade release.

The loketest version is still in development, but it should be a game you can easily pick up and play if you've touched a modern game or two. The game's fast and features ↓/→A+B super motions similar to Arcana Heart, so it shouldn't be too hard to get into. I'd like it if you could give it a try to see what kind of game it is.

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