BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle released today and producer Toshimichi Mori had a lot to share in an interview with Forbes, including characters he’d like to see from RWBY and others on his wishlist.
Here’s what Mori had to say when asked if he had any other ideas for the RWBY series, including a couple characters he’d like to see added into BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle:
“Oh yeah, I love RWBY. I think it’s a great property and has a great story. So my love for RWBY hasn’t changed at all. That’s a really difficult question. I mean, I’d love to see Penny in the game. Penny and Adam. Definitely.
“Naturally, everything had to go through me, everything. I had a lot of suggestions, especially for Ruby and Weiss. However, once we got to Blake and Yang, I think my team really started to understand what I was looking for. So it didn’t require as much feedback.”
“I’m sure there might be a strong voice from fans overseas to see more RWBY characters, but if I focus too much on what the fans want, then it will take me away from developing what I want to develop. Do you create what people want? Or what you, as a developer, want to create? And, I like to think that there is a “want” from fans of whatever it is I develop next. There’s a lot to think about… I can’t say what my next step is. I have my own content and I want to put it into action one day too.
“Personally, I just make whatever it is I want to make at the time. When we first started making BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle, I wanted to make a tag-team game. But will I make tag-team games forever? That’s a different conversation.
“I’m a fan of the genre, so I’ll probably continue to make it in some form or another. But I know the fans want to pull me in a certain direction, and not to mention the company. They dictate a lot of what I can do. So, if what I want to make and what the fans want are in line, that’s really the best case scenario. But, let’s talk about other IPs. That’s a whole different story. It’s nice, but not the end-game.”
When asked what he’s been playing recently, Mori shared his enthusiasm for NieR: Automata, especially for its protagonists 2B and 9S:
“As far as playing games go… recently, right? I’ve been playing Nier: Automata again. Of course, I beat it a while ago on PS4, but I saw it on Steam. On sale. That game is really well done. I’ve still got a lot to learn from it.
“Hey, we should release 2B and 9S on BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle. Yeah, that would be good. I would want to play that. Should I ask them? Haha.”
Lastly, when asked about future plans at the end of the interview, Mori went back to more on NieR:
“I mentioned it a little earlier, too, but Nier. That would be an amazing project to work on. 2B and 9S would be amazing additions. Why didn’t I think of that sooner? I should try asking him though, really.
“But, having said all of that, and having created BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle, if you go down the path of collaborations, it’s endless really. So, I still want to be very mindful of creating my own content. I hope you all stay tuned and look forward to what we make next.”
BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle is available worldwide on PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, and PC.
