Arc System Works Express Interest in New Next-Gen Fighting Game Series

Arc System Works, developers of the beloved Guilty Gear and the divisive BlazBlue series, have come forward expressing interest in creating a new fighting game series for the PlayStation 4. Through a translation provided by Shoryuken.com, an interview with Arc System Works’ Toshimichi Mori explains that the Guilty Gear series was developed with the Dreamcast in mind, while BlazBlue was created for the PlayStation 3.

Fan reaction seems to be optimistic, but guarded. The Guilty Gear series is generally regarded as one of the best fighting game series. When BlazBlue was released, it created a bit of friction within the community. Some complaints stem from BlazBlue being a slower game with easier inputs, and being easier to master (this was intentional, as they wanted to bring in new players). Others say that the character balance isn’t as good as Guilty Gear’s balance. Most fans, however, agree that the character designs in BlazBlue are much less imaginative and varied than in the Guilty Gear series. Though both ‘anime fighting games’ feature trope-laden casts, many believe that BlazBlue took it to a clichéd extreme. As such, many fans are hoping that the new game’s character designs lean more towards Guilty Gear’s approach.

As divisive as BlazBlue was, Arc System Works reached more mainstream success when they teamed up with Atlus and developed Persona 4 Arena. The game has been so successful that it will be featured at EVO this year, one of the largest fighting game tournaments in the world.

As a fan of almost all of Arc System Works’ games (Battle Fantasia didn’t really click with me), I’m excited to see what the next generation brings.