Since its announcement a few years back, we've been keeping a close eye on Blazing Strike — a really promising 2D fighter. And now that we're fast approaching the game's 17th October launch, we managed to grab an interview with Mark Chung, the project's creator and main developer.
Push Square: To start with, can you give us a brief overview of what Blazing Strike is, for those who may not know?
Mark Chung, Developer: Blazing Strike is a retro style pixel art based 2D fighting game with a unique set of gameplay mechanics. Rush System, which is the core of the game’s mechanics, allows players for a fast paced combat. Players can choose from a colorful cast of 14+ characters with a unique toolset.
Can you tell us a little more about Blazing Strike's systems and mechanics?
Rush System is a meter-based system where many of the gameplay mechanics like dashing, enhanced normals and specials, as well as the all new Rush combos are tied to. By using and managing the Rush Meter, players can move faster, jump higher, attack faster and stronger, and also use the character’s unique Rush Ability.
When the meter is poorly managed and goes empty for an extended period of time, the character can go into a groggy state, which allows for a high damaging counter attack.
Do you see Blazing Strike as a homage to classic fighting games, or something that can hopefully stand beside them? Or maybe both?
I think it’s both. While the classic fighting games gave me the inspiration, I ultimately decided to create a whole new fighting game because I envisioned a different path to a 2D fighting game genre.
Are we right in thinking Blazing Strike has been in development for around five years? Can you give us any insight into what the development process has been like?
Six to be more exact. The development process has been quite lonely for the most part, as I worked on the game by myself. Of course, there were people who helped and contributed, and I couldn’t have done it without them. But at the end of the day, it was just me trying to keep the development machine running.
How does it feel to be so close to release after working on the game for so long?
I’d have to say bittersweet.
As mentioned, Blazing Strike obviously takes inspiration from classic 2D fighters, but are there any modern or current fighting games that you're a fan of? Have these more modern games influenced Blazing Strike as well?
I would have to say Guilty Gear Xrd is the last modern fighter that I somewhat sank my teeth into. However, I did check out most of the modern fighters that came after, for research purposes. My idea for the game system was already very unique and specific that it really didn’t make sense to borrow from the modern fighting games.
We love the look and style of Blazing Strike's characters — just how important do you think character designs are in a fighting game? Are they perhaps the most important element of all, at least on a surface level?
First of all, thank you. I believe character design plays a crucial role in fighting games. While it may not be the most important element, it’s something a fighting game simply can’t do without. The magic happens when a well-designed character and engaging gameplay come together, creating a special connection with players.
'Accessibility' has been a big talking point for fighting games over recent years. Do you think fighting games could be doing more to welcome less experienced players, or is that inherent learning curve just part of the genre's identity?
To me, accessibility is a bit of a strange concept. I never felt that fighting games were more difficult to get into than other genres. In my humble opinion, the 1v1 format makes it tough to achieve small victories, which are important for casual players. Even if they fail a mission or lose a team battle, players stay motivated if they’ve experienced even the tiniest wins along the way and had fun doing it.
In the past, fighting games offered this too, especially when kids were at the arcades battling against coin-hungry CPUs. That served as a gateway—once players had fun against the CPU, they were ready to compete with others because they already knew how to play.
If that’s the case, then one way to address the issue might be to create a strong single-player mode, where players feel like that’s the main game, with the human vs. human competition serving as a side dish.
Do you have any post-launch plans for Blazing Strike?
We have lots of things planned for Blazing Strike. Regular updates (one of the first being crossplay), additional characters and modes, QOL features, character palette editor, and more!
And finally, do you have anything you'd like to say to our readers?
I really hope you enjoy Blazing Strike and thanks for your time.
Huge thanks to Mark Chung for taking the time to answer our questions. Special thanks to Claire Woodyard and the team at Bastion for making this interview possible.
Blazing Strike is set to release for PS5 and PS4 on the 17th October, but are will you be diving into this new, old-school fighter? Don't drop your combo in the comments section below.
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Comments 13
Cool interview. The game looks interesting though, like old SNK games. I would try it if it have a demo for PS4/5.
Also. It's nice to see fighting games enter the 2nd golden era. But sadly without Soul Calibur, VF, DOA, and Bloody Roar...
Looks interesting but will have to wait and see.
Great interview. Nice to hear them mention the single player campaign as the main mode, and the multiplayer as a "side dish". That's how I've always thought of it, but that's sadly a less fashionable view these days.
I'll pick this up at some point, it seems worth supporting.
It's "unique" mechanic is effectively the Drive Guage from SF6.
@MrPeanutbutterz stuff like that existed all the way back to SNK era fighting games.
@mountain_spider But it sounds exactly like SF6's system.
And Darkstalkers 3 was the first game to introduce super meter burn to enhance specials, not any SNK title.
@MrPeanutbutterz that's not the point, the point of me mentioning SNK because it existed all the way back to the Neo Geo era. It's not a streetfighter 6 thing. It always existed all the way back when Neo Geo was a thing and arcade cabinets were common. I'm not talking about current SNK titled I'm talking about way back NEO GEO that had SNK games like World heroes, world heroes perfect , Fatal Fury series, Art of fighting, Samurai showdown etc dark stalkers didn't even exist streetfighter one came out way later and then streetfighter 2. Older 2-D fighting games had that a long time ago. Including things like super armor. The point of that comment to say that those types of things always existed back in the 2D arcade/Neo Geo system era. Using the comparison of streetfighter 6 sort of implies like they came up with that specific thing when really it's all been borrowed from previous fighting games in the past.
@mountain_spider So which SNK title had a preset meter that was used for enhancing normals, dashing, etc. that existed independently from the super meter?
Again, super meter burn for ex-special moves started with Darkstalkers 3, which is newer than most of the games you mentioned so they quite clearly didn't have that first.
@MrPeanutbutterz You're original comment called out streetfighter 6 I clarified that it existed way before street fighter six and gave an example of neo Geo SNK games from the past which came way before SF6. Your comment basically said:
"It's "unique" mechanic is effectively the Drive Guage from SF6."
Now you're arguing about who did it first lol like dark stalker, both within one to two year of each other. Clearly your sidestepping the issue because someone clarify that those mechanics are old not SF6. Anyone reading your comment would assume that you're implying that it's ripping off streetfighter 6. Funny because I don't remember ever saying Neo Geo did it first. I simply said that it's old mechanic and used one example if I would've said dark stalker 3, then you wouldn't have anything to say.
@mountain_spider No, you said it existed all the way back in the SNK era. That in itself makes no sense as the SNK era kicked off after Capcom got the ball rolling.
Again - which SNK game from the early to mid 1990s had a meter independent from the super meter that was used to enhance specials, dash, etc.? Once you tell me which one I'll happily look it up online and conceded that you are correct. Until such time that you can furnish such proof, then I think you are wrong.
@MrPeanutbutterz you're moving the goal post once again I said SNK era even clarified Neo geo time frame to avoid it getting confused with current SNK. That is early 90s.
I remember specifically you talking about going to the arcade in a previous comment with your mom, if somebody mentions to you the SNK era which is clearly associated with arcade cabinets. That era is associated from everything like streetfighter one, the art of fighting, Samurai Showdown, and that one game. I think it was called killer instinct from Nintendo and mk etc. By me saying SNK era+ bring up Neo Geo, I'm clearly not talking about 2024 modern SNK I'm talking about older ones pretty much directly telling you that that type of move that you posted about being street fighter six oriented was very old and has been done before. You're shifting it to dark stalker three did it first. ??? DS3 came out in 1997 that implemented that mechanic. Thats clearly not 2024 sf6.
Your original comment implies that it was stolen or used in SF6. You can't expect people to read you're mind on what exactly you're trying to say. It implies that it's not a new mechanic because streetfighter six did it. This is the reason I commented to you that it was very old from this Neo Geo era and SNK. Anybody who went to the arcade would know what the Neo Geo / SNK era is. This wasn't a discussion about who did it first like how you're trying to imply. The average person doesn't even know what Neo Geo / SNK era is, but an arcade person would know, especially if you're on a gaming form and clearly was there at that time 90s.
Been interested in this game for a while, but going to need a demo.
I was definitely interested early on, but watching recent gameplay footage the animation and sound just aren't there. With so many amazing fighting games to play right now, I will not settle, especially for $40usd.
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