Melty Blood is a staple in the fighting game community. The appearance of Melty Blood: Type Lumina might have even come as a surprise. But it’s here, offering a new opportunity for people to join its community. To help get a better idea of how it came together, Siliconera spoke with Delightworks Public Relations Manager Inaho Hirata about its development.
Jenni Lada, Siliconera: When did development begin on Melty Blood: Type Lumina?
Inaho Hirata, Delightworks: Between the developer, French-Bread, and TYPE-MOON had suggested that they wanted to make a new TYPE-MOON fighting game quite awhile ago, but the timing didn’t work out well, and nothing came of it.
But when the schedule for Tsukihime -A piece of blue glass moon- neared conclusion, we decided to start development of Melty Blood: Type Lumina.
How soon into development did you know it would be a worldwide release? How did this influence design decisions?
Hirata: The Melty Blood series has long been enjoyed by fans all over the world. With that in mind, we had the idea of a simultaneous worldwide release on the table from the start of planning. We wanted to share the latest Melty Blood with all of our fans, everywhere, from the onset.
So there really weren’t any major changes to our game design decisions in that regard.
The original had multiple revisions. How did the balance updates and roster additions to it affect Melty Blood: Type Lumina?
Hirata: Considering how long the series has run for, I think that everyone will have different ideas for what a Melty Blood game is like depending on when they started playing and what titles they have played. That’s why we started out by dissecting and reassembling the “spirit” of Melty Blood. We wanted to create a game that all of our fans would recognize as a part of all the titles released so far.
On that note, Melty Blood: Type Lumina faced another critical issue; we had to make something new, while still retaining the good parts of the existing series. I wanted to create something that had been “reborn” with a future, as a new game, and do it without changing the playing experience at the heart of it.
As a result, we made sure that the Melty Blood: Type Lumina battle system was developed in a way that retained the core elements of that “Melty Blood spirit”. It still has the casual controls that allowed you to freely control your character, as well as the shields and clashing special techniques that had played a big part in what fans around the world liked about Melty Blood
How similar do characters feel to Melty Blood Actress Again Current Code?
Hirata: I would say that, in this title, we’ve built on the strengths shown in the performances of most characters in the series so far, as well as adjusted anything that felt too complex, making them easier to play.
For example, Red Arcueid has the same key moves and playstyle as in the past, but she’s more visually graceful. With that shift, we’ve also made adjustments to highlight certain elements of Archetype: Earth. We made sure that her traits shown in battle align with her personality and story.
In this sense, Arcueid is one of the characters who changed a lot. Arcueid’s appeal in past titles was her technical side, pressuring opponents with varied combos and rapid attacks. But she’s a bit more responsive and easier to control in this title. I encourage anyone who struggled with her controls in the past to try her out in this game.
Also, the core character visual designs for Arcueid and Ciel have changed a lot, while the characters linked to the Tohno family, such as Akiha Tohno, Hisui, and Kohaku, have had mostly minor outfit changes. These are another aspect players should definitely check out in the game!
How did you determine which returning characters would show up for Melty Blood: Type Lumina?
Hirata: Basically, TYPE-MOON and the developers at French-Bread discussed and decided together on which characters to include.
The setting for this title is the world of Tsukihime – A piece of blue glass moon-, a visual novel released in August 2021 in Japan. In addition to characters from that title, we also chose characters that are definitely present in and around Souya, the setting for the story of Tsukihime, at the time the game takes place in.
When Melty Blood: Type Lumina was released on September 30, 2021, it featured 14 characters, including two new fighters with Noel and Vlov, as well as Saber, crossing over from TYPE-MOON’s Fate series.
TYPE-MOON agreed to include Saber in Melty Blood: Type Lumina as an acknowledgement of French-Bread’s passion for the project.
Noel, a new character from the Tsukihime remake appears. What’s Noel’s role in Melty Blood: Type Lumina? And also, does her connection to Ciel have any impact on her attacks or abilities?
Hirata: Noel is balanced to be a character that’s easy for beginners to handle at the request of Kinoko Nasu from TYPE-MOON. Her massive halberd gives her good reach, but she’s also agile and capable in close-range combat. Overall, she’s easier to use even if you haven’t played a Melty Blood game before. However, her personality goes both ways; she is sort of weak against strong foes and overwhelming against weak ones.This makes her performance enjoyable for beginners. But you are approached at close range, you will need a technique to counterattack, If she may also still be a challenge for some people.
As for her connection to Ciel, while their abilities don’t actually change, Noel and Ciel have a special dialogue before and after battles when they fight.
Volv appears in Melty Blood: Type Lumina. How did his appearance influence his battle style in-game?
Hirata: Vlov was designed as a classic, no-nonsense vampire from Tsukihime. He shows up as a threat at the start of Tsukihime -A piece of blue glass moon-, the basis for this game, so he’s kind of like a boss character. His battle style basically recreates his fighting style in the original story. He mostly uses projectiles, so it can be hard to get close to him, but he can also fight up close with his massive blade. That makes him quite strong in a way that’s quite easy to see. He’s straightforward to play, but that simplicity means you need a good sense for how to use him effectively.
What can you tell us about the Melty Blood: Type Lumina version of Saber, her battle style, and her role in this fighting game?
Hirata: Saber is joining the Melty Blood series in a crossover from TYPE-MOON’s Fate series. They made the original visual novel for both series, and Saber is the face of the Fate series.
Her battle style is head-on offense using her sword for reach and her speed to close the gaps with her opponents instantly. She’s also a western-style knight, unlike the characters from Tsukihime, which expands our range as a fighting game.
I hope everyone plays the game and gets to see her story and interactions with the other characters!
Over the years, Melty Blood games received quite a bit of support years after launch. How do you intend to support Melty Blood: Type Lumina?
Hirata: For every title in the series until now, we’ve launched the overseas version after the Japanese release. But with Melty Blood: Type Lumina, we went with a simultaneous worldwide release. That means no one is late to the starting line, anywhere. We’re hoping that will please our international fans, who often felt left out in the past.
The Melty Blood series also has a long history and an active community with both volunteer events and tournaments all over the world, and it feels like the excitement really isn’t restrained by borders. We’re using rollback netcode for this release, making global online play easier and creating a great setting for online events, too. So I hope all of our fans
everywhere will join us in creating a fun setting for everyone who enjoys the Melty Blood series to come together.
We’ll also keep the game evolving with updates going forward, and support the title so that everyone can continue to have fun with it.
Editor’s Note: This interview was lightly edited for clarity.
Melty Blood: Type Lumina is available for the Nintendo Switch, PS4, Xbox One, and PC.
Published: Dec 18, 2021 03:00 pm