‘POWERFUL’
Power Stone is one of my favorite franchises of all time. It cemented my love of brawlers forevermore, and the second entry in particular is one of my most-played games to date. It also had some pretty legendary talents behind it, like Hideaki Itsuno (of Devil May Cry fame), as well as Takeshi Tezuka, who helped make the series happen in the first place. The Guardian caught up with both of them, drawing out some interesting development facts and the sentiment that they’d like to see the series live on one day.
Istuno says that he’s mostly responsible for the unique 19th century setting, as he wanted to push the “romance” aspect of the period, with influences from Indiana Jones to Jackie Chan. You can see the former very clearly in the sequel with the whole “giant boulder” motif of the Tomb Area stage.
Itsuno also recalls how he used skills he picked up from developing Rival Schools (among other fighters) to really fine-tune the mechanics, but he also shared the same school of thought of Smash Bros. creator Masahiro Sakurai, in that he wanted it to appeal to everyone (mission accomplished). He did this with a large focus on non game-breaking items and a lack of input-specific attacks, adding two layers of accessibility for newcomers.
Tezuka also just comes right out and says that he’d love to see the series on modern platforms, using the ever-popular adage “it would be a great fit on Switch.” What are the odds of that happening? Well Itsuno himself waxes nostalgia for series he’s worked on every few years or so, and already wants to try to get a new Rival Schools off the ground: this is on top of him resurrecting the Devil May Cry series once again with DMC5. Also, the last time we saw a proper Power Stone entry was in PSP form in 2006, so it’s not like this is a hot property on Capcom’s radar.
Still, I believe. Even a remaster of the PSP collection (1+2) on Switch would be a treat: seeing a new generation grab hold of this series would be something. For all my Power Stone friends out there: who was your main? I have to go with my man Ryoma (who basically had the Silver Samurai as his Power Stone-boosted alter ego).
Power Stone: the Dreamcast brawler that foresaw Fortnite and Overwatch [The Guardian]
