Japanese developers Inti Creates announces surprise Steam release
The sequel to the classic reboot, Blaster Master Zero 2, released earlier this year on the Nintendo Switch, is slated for a late November release on Steam.
Future DLC plans for Dragon Marked For Death were also announced. This includes two new classes, the Oracle and the Bandit, and a major overhaul on the existing job classes. As of this writing, the release date for this free DLC is to be determined.
During the first day of the Anime NYC convention, a panel was held by Inti Creates to those in attendance. The panel, Creating Satisfying, Character-Based Gameplay Experiences, gave an in-depth look on how the legendary developer breathes life into each of their characters from their various games. Using Mighty Gunvolt Burst as a reference point, the game which was initially a crossover between Mighty No 9 and Gunvolt Burst. Eventually, Ekoro from Gal*Gun was the first DLC released for the game. Over the course of the game’s lifespan, there were nine playable characters in total. Each of whom played different from each other. Thus, each character made sure no two methods of busting baddies were the same as each character had a “soul” to them and weren’t “cut and dry” clones.
Inti Creates during the panel would go on to say that each team who works on a specific project are not allowed to look at other teams for their progress. This was a rule that was enforced, as one team who would see progress another team made, would realize that their character is too like the other team’s developing character. Due to the hesitation, the team would be quick to scrap ideas and force themselves to not make their characters too like anyone else’s, even if they lost the original vision of their character.
Citing it as a recipe for lowered morale and increased delays, the tactic of each individual team tunneled to their own ideas and goals without outside interference meant that each team could work in confidence. Eventually it was said that each team found something appeasing that another team did and would brainstorm on what it would be like if their characters would be in the games that they worked on.
In this regard, each character is not just a character that a player controls, but rather, a testament to each individual team’s ideas which came into fruition. Every time a character, whether it’s from a third-party source or from within Inti Creates, makes a guest appearance in a different game, it’s a gesture of appreciation from within the company themselves. Each character was created with heart and soul, something that Inti Creates takes great pride in.
Inti Creates made a surprise announcement of the Steam port to the sequel of the hit reboot, Blaster Master Zero 2, for a November 29th 2019 release date. Keeping the tradition alive, Day 1 DLC included Copen, but in his Luminous Avenger iX incarnation.
If one considers the release date of iX, September 26th 2019, and the Steam release of Blaster Master Zero 2 a mere two months after, then the two separate teams who worked on their respective games liked the finished product of Blaster Master Zero 2 so much that they wanted their character,Copen, to be included in the Steam release.
For those who have been fans of Inti Creates since the Megaman Zero days, to their rise to the top as one of the premiere self-sufficient indie devs in the world with Mighty Gunvolt, one thing is for certain. Inti Creates establishes a work environment that seeks to bring out the best in each team without the worry of second guessing themselves. That encouragement is enough to ensure their product is the best that it can be as it is what they envisioned from the start.
The steam page for Blaster Master Zero 2 can be checked out below. Those who purchase the game can obtain the Copen DLC two weeks after its release date.
