Key Takeaways
- Megaton Musashi W: Wired offers a deep storyline to complement mecha battle gameplay for an enhanced gaming experience.
- The goal is to expand the series internationally, using both the game and the anime adaptation to introduce Megaton Musashi to a wider audience.
- The game allows for luck to play a significant role in winning matches, adding an element of unpredictability and making it newcomer-friendly.
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I recently visited Tokyo, Japan to check out Megaton Musashi W: Wired, and to speak with Level-5 CEO Akihiro Hino about the upcoming launch. The Megaton Musashi series has been around for a few years in Japan and even has a TV adaptation, but Wired marks the first time that the series has gone worldwide. It’s an enhanced version of the original Megaton Musashi, which adds a “deep storyline” to complement the mecha battle gameplay, offering up what the team refers to as the first “complete” version of the game.
This is based on an in-person interview translated from Japanese to English.
Hino explained to us that the anime’s story is not yet as complete as the game's. Although Level-5 is mainly involved in the gaming side of things, the goal was to introduce the series to as many people as possible, and as “anime is easier to get into,” the team felt the anime might reach a wider audience. Now, it’s time to broaden their target audience internationally.
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“In Japan, many people have played and loved this game for a long time, but we want to have more people, not only Japanese people but people overseas, enjoy this game. That is why we decided now it was time to finally release it worldwide,” Hino tells me. While the storyline is being marketed as “complete”, he tells us the team “definitely have plans to continue the game and the story in the future”.
The Megaton Musashi World Cup
Level-5 recently hosted a Megaton Musashi W: Wired World Cup in Japan where game media outlets from eight different countries from around the world competed to claim the title of World Champ. I competed to represent the United Kingdom on behalf of TheGamer and we'll be posting the results on April 30, 2024.
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Bringing The Mecha Genre West
Mecha anime, manga, and games are hugely popular in Japan, and have been increasingly embraced by the West in the past decade or so. As a result, Hino tells me that the aim of Megaton Musashi W: Wired is not to shy away from embracing its Japanese culture, but to introduce it to people from all over the world.
“Mecha might not always be the most popular genre outside [of Japan] but this time, the point was not to create something specifically tailored [to the West],” he says. “We want people to know Japanese culture and to know aspects of Japanese culture they might enjoy, though they might not be familiar with it. Instead of making excuses, the idea is just to throw it at the Western audiences.
“A good example would be samurai. It’s known, but it’s a very core cultural aspect of Japan. That was the point this time, rather than trying to think, ‘How do I fit into this?’ it’s unapologetically introducing Japan.”
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Over the years, Megaton Musashi has collaborated with many popular series to bring well-known mechs into the game, including Mazinger Z, Getter Robo, and Combattler V, with many of these featuring in Wired too. “I’ve always liked robots since I was a kid,” Hino tells me. “The first robot toy I bought when I was a kid was called the Mazinger Z. I’ve always had memories of it and I was very moved by it. The mechs you see in the series draw inspiration from the mecha I grew up seeing.”
As for the dream collaboration? Hino looks Westward and picks out Disney and Star Wars.
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Megaton Musashi references other inspirations in more ways than just collaborations. For example, the name of the main mech (called rogues in the game) comes from the famed historical Japanese swordsman Miyamoto Musashi. Hino also points to the rogue Arthur as an example of where the team took a legendary swordsman as inspiration, likely referring to King Arthur, while the rogue Yoshitune gets its name from the famed Japanese warlord.
“We have not exactly borrowed, but we have combined a lot of personage in Japanese history who are known to be strong, whether real or fictional, and combined them to make the mecha names,” he tells me.
The Megaton Musashi W: Wired World Cup In Japan
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As with most creatives, inspiration also runs deep in Hino’s career, pointing to Bizarre Dream and The Black Onyx as games he especially loved during his childhood, and tells us that Dragon Quest inspired him to enter the industry, “I realised that games can move people and I wanted to make a game that moved people.”
In terms of how Wired might move people, Hino hopes the plot might resonate with players. It focuses on people who fall in love with others from different planets and the challenges they have to overcome for the sake of their intergalactic love.
“I think it’s a story that touches people from all over the world. People who can fight to save the Earth are not from the same place. They come from different stars, have different cultures, and have been raised in different ways, but they must cooperate to save the Earth. As a theme, that might ring true with a lot of people.”
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This philosophy is perfect for the multiplayer aspect of Wired. Hino tells us that the main goal is teamwork and the fun of collaboration, rather than triumphing over their opponents: “I don’t really care about winning or losing; I enjoy it. It’s fun to play as a team against an enemy team.”
Newcomer-Friendly
Even as newcomers to the game, my team still managed to secure a few wins and that’s part of what makes Wired so appealing. Whichever mech you pick, however good or bad your setup is, you still have a chance to win. For example, when a team is losing, they have a greater chance of discovering an overpowered special move in one of the boxes on the battlefield to help turn the tide of battle - the mech equivalent of a blue shell.
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Skill and setups can matter, of course, and Wired offers an in-depth system where you can customise your mech to match your strategy, but even with the perfect customisation and strategy, it’s never a guaranteed win. Luck plays a huge part, with Hino telling us, “Right down to the clock, you never know who’ll win because even if you’re winning the entire match, just in the last few seconds, you could totally turn the tables.”
Whether you think you’ll be good at it or not, luck might be on your side and you might just snatch the win from your opponents. But more importantly, you’ll have fun either way. Working out strategies with your team, fine-tuning your setups to best suit your needs, and then just letting loose on the battlefield feels like a victory, even if you don’t necessarily get MVP for the match.
Megaton Musashi W: Wired launches today, April 25, for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and PC.
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