As reported last week, for the first three months following release, Azure Striker Gunvolt comes with a free 8-bit game, titled Mighty Gunvolt, which features both GV and Mighty No. 9’s Beck as playable characters, alongside GalGun’s Ekoro. In a new developer diary video, Inti Creates CEO Takuya Aizu and Comcept’s Keiji Inafune talk about how Mighty Gunvolt came about, and what kind of downloadable content is being prepared for the game.
“It was Mr. Aizu’s idea,” Inafune says, when the subject of the free Mighty Gunvolt giveaway is brought up. “Real generous of him, wasn’t it? I wouldn’t have given it for free, but Inti Creates? They’re different.”
He continues, “Both Mighty No. 9 and Gunvolt were developed by them at the same time. Mighty No. 9’s a big deal for many Inti staff members, so they were all keen on the idea. Both have that familiar feel of classic 8-bit games, so why not reinterpret them as actual 8-bit games?”
“It was just a neat idea at first, but Inti took it all the way. Props to Mr. Aizu for that.”
Aizu replies, “Well, talking to Mr. Inafune about it did get us excited, and if we were excited, I was sure the fans would love it.”
“I go a long way back with Mr. Aizu and his team,” Inafune says. “We started in 8-bit games and wanted to see an 8-bit Mighty [game]. Gunvolt gave us that opportunity. There was more stuff we wanted to put in, but the final product is a very solid game.”
The two developers then briefly discuss upcoming downloadable content for Mighty Gunvolt, which is currently being worked on by Inti Creates.
“Well, the DLC content is still under development, so there’s not much I can say yet,” Aizu says. That said, Aizu does specify that additional stages are being worked on. Inafune adds that he would like to see DLC stages that can only be cleared with Beck, the protagonist of Mighty No. 9, to which Aizu replies that he does think that would be fun.
“You’re getting a first taste of Beck,” Inafune says. “I think fans would really want that.”
Both developers also say it’s likely that Azure Striker Gunvolt will see a sequel at some point in the future, although they encourage fans to write in with their thoughts on the matter regardless.
