I have a feeling ShoK helped Subtle out on this one. ShoK is a professional who worked on Vampire Savior and Arcana Heart 2, and is more notoriously known as the guy who did Monster. He’s friends with Subtle, and both the Monster and Akatsuki arcade games are being pushed through Examu.
It’s NEVER too early! 
Besides, it’s all the rest of us, who don’t stand to be able to even TOUCH the game until/if it gets a port can do. :sad:
Word? He worked on Savior, as well? Learn something new every day…
Well, in any case, if Examu is helping them both, than that just hopefully translates to the fact that both games should hopefully get decent arcade play time, and then (ideally) PS2 ports some time in the future. :wgrin:
So, update on the board: Fujita quoted me Y2400 for the shipping via EMS, which means the total price would be Y180,000 + Y2,400, or 182,400 yen (roughly $1758 US).
Call me stupid, but I honestly didn’t think they’d change so much from the doujin release to the arcade release. Not so much the tweaking of the system and characters, but it seems like half of everything was redrawn. It’s practically Akatsuki 2.0. Also, the orange blood doesn’t look near as bad as I thought it might. It’s nothing like SamShoII’s alien green blood. I’m actually slightly miffed that there are only vids of the less-flashy characters right now. I wanna see the new Sai elbow some faces!
$20 says Anonyms BANG BANG YOUR DEAD canteloupe-sized bullets will be broken.
Za intabyuu with Subtle, now in engrish (not a literal (but probably an awful) translation, but you’ll get the point…i hope), w/out the “hi-hi, bye-bye” parts. Sorry for the typos.
Q1.What kind of fighting game is Akatsuki Blitzkampf Ausf.Achse (ABK:AA)?
A1.An extremely simple one, that takes both from classic 2D fightings and modern ones.
Q2.What audience does ABK:AA target?
A2.Since it was aimed at simplicity as well as stressing deep mindgame, i think it’s potentially suitable to be played by everyone - from beginners to experts, from students to businessmen.
Q3.In game’s title, what does “Ausf.Achse” mean?
A3.“Ausf”, in german language, denotes weapon’s pattern number and is short for “Ausfhrung”. “Achse” means “axis” in german. If joined together, in the context of the game it would mean “Axle Type”, you can think of it as “A-class”. It’s somewhat the same as “alpha-bravo-charlie” within the radio alphabet. Needless to say, that in the beginning it was chosen because of single-character “A” and “AC” arcade versions are denoted with.
Q4.What kind of story does ABK:AA tell?
A4.It’s centered around the secret “Blitz Engine” weapon, brought forth when an inexhaustible supply of electrical energy had been developed during WW2, and the battle of those connected with it in the past and modern agents after the technology.
Q5.Are there any recommended characters?
A5.First of all, it becomes important to choose a character, as in this game each one was created with strong individuality. But when it comes for recommendations for everyone, then of course it would be Akatsuki, the protagonist. Because he can deal with every situation and is an overall standard character, i think it’s ok to get the general idea of the game by playing him. I also recommended him, as a rather combo-friendly character, to those seeking fun.
Another choise would be, for example, Fritz. He’s a character that can deal tons of damage with ohe-hit moves, a rarity these days. There’s some freshness in this kind of moves. Since this alternative requires timing skills, i recommend it to those who prefer such a play style.
Q6.The ABK series also had doujin titles in the past, which one gave the most troubles with development?
A6.In short, it’s “own hands are not enough”, but, to make matters worse, during the arcade development time restricitions were added to this statement.
Q7.During the development of the ABK series, were there any interesting moments?
A7.There was an accident in the final stages of the arcade version development, when a fire alarm went off close to the place i worked at. I expected some troubles with development, but surely not of this kind. At once i had to hide all of the data and machine parts, and after i went out to find out about the source of fire, it, naturally, turned out to be a joke.
Q8.Following the steps of Melty Blood, ABK from a doujin game turned into an arcade title. Any details on how it happened?
A8.Last year, in April, a little while after the distribution of ABK had begun, i was invited to the ABK tourney, where many times i came along the conversations regarding ABK’s transformation into an arcade title. Shortly after being presented to this development “proposal”, i was confused with how to use the NAOMI board, but the results of studying it somehow led me to the decision that it seems possible.
Q9.From now on will you concentrate on developing the arcade version, without the doujin production?
A9.It’s undecided, as of now. I think it will be decided depending on how the arcade version will perform. One way or another, i’ll resume the interrupted (since i have to make sure all machines are operational) planning for the arcade version.
Q10.Well then, in conclusion, one word to all of the ABK:AA players, please.
A10.First of all, try this game out. It all depends on players whether this series will live on or not.
Am I the only one that thinks that the redone Sai and Soldat stages look really good? I really hope they make an AC patch for the PC version. ;-;
If Subtle Style really is rolling with EXAMU and their new board, then I would think that a PS2 port would probably be first on the menu. Then maybe they’ll just release a new version of the game for the PC, much like how the case was done with Melty Blood: AC.
The game is good, I played it on the PC last year. I saw it in the arcades last weekend. No one was playing it. The problem isn’t the game, its the community. Who wants to play a game no one plays? The problem creates itself.
Well it barely had a community to begin with.
So let’s hope things develop from here I hope.
;3
Playing Perfecti should be a good enough reason to play this game!
Couldn’t agree more.
They gave Fritz momiji no kagura.
That is all.
(also there’s 8 new ko-hatsu vids)
5, actually. They’re from the same toruney.
Can someone upload those vids to Youtube? All I get is black screen with no sound whenever I try to watch them. Despite having the latest codecs and whatnot.
Wow, perfecti looks super fun. Been playing Kanae for the PC version, but i’ll gladly make that switch…
Man I hope they update the PC version of this. That Women with the machine gun on a stick looks badass.
Man Sai got graphical buffs and system debuffs =) =(
I mean I’m happy that Sai is going to be even more cool to watch, but he didn’t get anything. Though it seems like almost no one got anything that really makes a big difference. Seems so anyway.
VEINTICINCO LUGARES GUEEEEEEEEEEEY
where are my hot sai vids?
praying to see this game in our local Arcade center