Between former Armored Core producer Kenichiro Tsukuda and Macross 7 creator Shoji Kawamori,

has some top-tier mech talent working on it.

In an interview with 4Gamer , Tsukuda and Kawamori discuss how they approached the design of the mechs in the game, and howcame to be, to begin with. We've translated specific portions of the interview that discuss these topics.

Regarding the game's creation,

Kawamori reveals that the goal was always to create a mech game for the Nintendo Switch right from the conceptualization stage.

"First, I brought up the idea of developing a game for the Nintendo Switch," Kawamori says.

"When I talked with the members of my production team about what we could do on this new hardware, they said they wanted to make a Switch-oriented 'mecha game'."

"From there, we decided to take on the challenge of making a mecha action game which would make full use of the hardware's specs and have graphics that have never been seen before."

4Gamer:

Ever since the announcement, instead of the word "robot," you've been using the word "mecha," correct?





Tsukuda:

It's hard to explain, but one of the reasons for this would be the difference in meaning between Japan and overseas. In Japan, the word "robot" is used in a wide sense, but originally it points to something that moves on its own, whether it is human-shaped or not.





4Gamer:

I believe that many people in Japan also associate it with human-shaped weapons you ride in.





Tsukuda:

It isn't really a matter of which is right or wrong, but in this title the Arsenals, which refers to an outer gear, are close to an exoskeleton or powered suit, so we felt that rather than "robot" the word "mecha" would be more apt.





4Gamer:

I see. You just said that Arsenals are close to a powered suit, but they are 5 metres tall, correct? How did you come to settle upon this size?





Tsukuda:

Compared to the other objects in the game—humans, towns, tanks and other weapons—what size would make the battles the most spectacular? This is something we discussed among the development team before asking Kawamori-san to work on the designs.





4Gamer:

Kawamori-san, how did the proposal come to you? Was there already a fixed design concept?





Kawamori:

It evolved as the project progressed, but at the very start the proposal was "what about a full medieval armour with a modern feel to it?"





4Gamer:

Aside from the medieval armour feel, the muscular design [of the Arsenals] really stands out.

Kawamori:

This musculature is the key characteristic of the Arsenals' design. Upon considering what would best convey this title's personality, I felt that instead of creating a fully-armoured look, setting the armoured parts over the more muscular, fleshy parts would make for a better design.





Tsukuda:

The Arsenals are designed around concepts such as "wearing them to fight," being able to equip several weapons, or being able to switch weapons during fights. The global image I gave to Kawamori-san was... a mecha that would move like a human being, despite all the heavy weapons it was equipped with.





Kawamori: