The Creators of 'Iron Saga VS' Express Their Passion for Mighty Mechas
Hey there, I had a chat with Renaud Cormier, Global Media Director at Game Duchy, about their brand new release on Steam – Iron Saga VS. Remember when I checked out this game at last year's Tokyo Game Show? It was pretty awesome; a blend of the emotional depth from Super Robot Wars games and the action packed 2D fighting game style.
Fast forward to now and the game's out, and with it comes an exciting roadmap of content throughout the coming year. I thought it would be great to get to know the people behind the game, so Renaud was kind enough to give me some insight.
"Most of our team at Game Duchy are either mecha fans, fighting game fans, or both. After building up technical know-how with Iron Saga mobile, it made sense to move on to the next logical type of game – a fighting game. It's been a dream for lots of us to finally see our favorite super robots in a modern, easy-to-grasp yet competitive one-on-one fighting game. Joining these classic anime mecha are our own Iron Saga originals, adding some unique fighting styles and weaponry. The growing popularity of units like Kaguya and Qing Long during our open betas, along with fan favorites like Getter Robo and Mazinger Z, really gave us confidence in the beauty of this combination. That's what inspired our latest splash artwork of Kaguya going head-to-head against Getter 1, currently used as the main image in the Steam store."
The design team has been heavily influenced by the Street Fighter series, particularly Street Fighter V. Many of Iron Saga VS's core mechanics reflect this, such as the Flash Counter blending Street Fighter V's Crush Counters and Street Fighter 6's Punish Counters, along with a unique twist – the Arsenal System. Each of our playable mecha has a pair of distinctive, unique move lists, primarily affecting which attacks are used with the "D" button in well... a fashion somewhat similar to Street Fighter V's V-Skill and V-Trigger selection.
They've also picked up ideas from other games, including the King of Fighters and Guilty Gear series. Featuring expanded combo freedom and enhanced air mobility in the final outcome, the mix results in a finely-tuned assembly that resembles classic fighting series while still having its own unique identity. Characters from the game mix popular mecha and pilots from the mobile version, alongside some that add a distinctive visual style and gameplay mechanics. An example would be Nero and its pilot Slokai, the 7th Pope of the Mechanical Vatican, who are already popular among our mobile users.
The studio also took inspiration from Super Robot Wars tactical role-playing games. They aimed to capture the same excitement while keeping the body proportions of each mecha, ensuring they're long enough for close combat animations in a fighting game. The result is a cool, vibrant mecha fighting game that should still keep the classic super robot legacy alive. Besides PC, versions of the game are currently being developed for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation, iOS, and Xbox, with cross-platform play among their objectives.
As for the extra content on the way, I'm pumped about the story mode and the addition of Zeorymer. The latter, a beast in Super Robot Wars J, transforms into Great Zeorymer, which can be pretty scary. So, if you're down for using Final Dancouga to beat up other mecha, grab Iron Saga VS on Steam now.
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- The dream of many team members at Game Duchy, who are either mecha fans, fighting game fans, or both, has finally come true with the release of Iron Saga VS, a modern, competitive one-on-one fighting game that integrates elements from classic anime mecha, such as Getter Robo and Mazinger Z, with their own Iron Saga originals.
- Similar to Street Fighter V, many of Iron Saga VS's core mechanics reflect the influence of the Street Fighter series, including the Flash Counter that blends Crush Counters and Punish Counters from Street Fighter V, with a unique twist - the Arsenal System, where each playable mecha has a pair of distinctive, unique move lists.
- Game Duchy has also been inspired by tactical role-playing games like Super Robot Wars, aiming to capture the same excitement while keeping the body proportions of each mecha suitable for close combat animations in a fighting game, resulting in a cool, vibrant mecha fighting game that should keep the classic super robot legacy alive.
