"MELTY BLOOD," also known as "Tsukihime Fighting," is actually quite a unique presence within the traditional 2D fighting game community.
This kind of"specialness" is largely related to its player community composition—these users are often fighting game players, but even more so, fans of "TYPE-MOON." Their base may not be large, but they are incredibly loyal. And their affection for "My love for "MELTY BLOOD" stems not only from the depth of its fighting game design and its fast-paced, exhilarating combat, but also from the way it completes the nostalgia for the original characters' relationships, moves, and special attack animations.
And just recently,"The latest entry in the "MELTY BLOOD" series has been announced,"MELTY BLOOD: TWI-LUMINA"—Surprisingly, in addition to gameplay and production staff similar to the previous title, this game also adds a story mode that closely resembles the original Tsukihime."Story Mode," allowing players to enjoy the story and battles in a way that closely resembles the original Tsukihime.
And this year'sAt "Tokyo Game Show 2026," the publisher ANIPLEX also brought this title to the event. Joining them was the game's director and battle designer, Mr. Kamonari Serizawa—who had previously participated in the development of several "The development of the "MELTY BLOOD" series works has been essential to the series' evolution and growth over the past decade.
Below is the original text of this interview:
Mr. Kamonari Serizawa
Q:Previously indemoduring the, you staged a Shiki Tohnoand Vlov·battle against Archetype: Earth,That actually alsois from the original Tsukihimeina segment of the story—Excuse me, in MELTY BLOOD: TWI-LUMINA,At what point in time does the story take place?thoseHow does the dream-related plot unfold?introducefrom the original routes?
Serizawa:Regarding where this story falls on the timeline—I'm sorry, but I can't reveal that at the moment. However, I personally believe it will be a very interesting story for Tsukihime fans, with quite appealing settings, so please look forward to it.
Q: In MELTY BLOOD: TWI-LUMINA,storymode isbya scenario written by Mr. Kinoko Nasu himself. How muchhow much content? Does it progress with Shiki Tohno as the protagonist, or will there be multiple protagonists like before?
Serizawa:Regarding the storythe length of the mode, actually playing through it takesabout 20 hours, which is quite substantial. Basically,, players primarily control the protagonist Shiki Tohno to advance the story. You can think of it as a mode where you play as Shiki.
Q:In "MELTY BLOOD: In TYPE LUMINA, the shield and shield counter have undergone repeated adjustments.—Combining these experiences, how was the shield design considered for this title?
Serizawa:Regarding the combat aspect, we will continue to update and adjust it in the future. As for the shield, I felt the previous game's shield was slightly complex. Therefore, our approach for this title is to make it easier to understand and clearer.
But this doesn't mean we're making the game simple or naive; rather, we want it to be easy to understand no matter what—so that various types of players can enjoy it without stress. That's the mindset we adopted during development.
Q:InIn the previous game, many characters'"Last Arc" (Last Arc)had a high activation threshold, but those animations were something everyone wanted to see. Will this title adjustLast Arcwhile lowering the activation threshold for these animations,implementsome simplified designs?
Serizawa:As youAs you said, the previous game'sLast Arc is the ultimate move, which is also the biggest highlight, so the activation conditions were designed to be quite strict at the time. But it would be a pity if the animations we worked so hard to create were rarely seen. I can't go into specifics right now, but we are aiming towardseasier to see, easier to use, and allow more players to experience the direction of Last Arc, making adjustments.
Q:Nowadaysfighting gamesthere is an issue with differing habits among new and old players, and players from different eras,In the past, games had high operational barriers and large amounts of text, but current players generally lack such patience. If you were to recommend this title to new players, from what angle would you suggest or attract them?
Serizawa:This is a difficult question to answer. Players come in various types; some want to play slowly and carefully, while others want to push through quickly and enjoyably. A single match in a fighting game is actually very short, often decided within a minute or two, and then repeated. Come to think of it, for young people who want to see results immediately, this might actually be a very suitable type of game.
On the other hand, the volume of the story portion in this game will be quite substantial. Since continuously playing fighting matches can be tiring, and battling several times in a short period is also exhausting, I believe it's important to have a mode that allows for slower-paced play to balance the rhythm.
Moreover, not just the combat, but the script portion of this game also features a large amount of detailed staging, constantly interspersing unprecedented situations and scenes—as mentioned earlier, there will even be special battles. We are working hard to develop this into a game that players won't easily tire of.