The boss on screen was a Chimera—one of the mid-to-late game bosses.
In this test build, its level was set at 60, accompanied by three smaller mobs.
Ichin's party of four characters was also level 60.
Controlling Velvet, he adjusted her artes, checked her equipment, and without bothering to adjust the AI of the other characters, he started the battle directly.
Having learned action-system design techniques from Capcom's development team, the game's combat flow and the smoothness between attacks were impeccable.
And after two months of fine-tuning, the entire system had improved further—delivering an even more exhilarating combat experience.
Chaining artes into mystic artes, then finishing with a powerful Hi-Ougi—
For Ichin, who directly participated in developing the action system, executing combos was effortless.
He played with a smile the whole time.
Even while comboing the boss, he had time to chat with Umiko.
...
"Umiko, you've played this yourself, right?"
Umiko smiled.
"Of course. Ever since I heard you guys went to consult Capcom's team, I've been looking forward to this game. As the combat system improved bit by bit, I kept testing it myself. Honestly? Whether it's the control feel or the visual impact of the artes, it's absolutely top-tier.
"And after studying it more, even on high difficulty, players can make up for stat or level differences purely through skill. You don't have to brute-force with numbers."
This was something both Ichin and Umiko valued greatly.
Whether it was Tales of Berseria (their remake) or Dark Souls, Ichin always emphasized player control during development.
Yes, Dark Souls had tons of weapons and spells, and yes, players could brute-force fights through leveling…
But most of the time, you still needed actual gameplay skill.
And in Berseria, even though normal mobs could be shredded casually, once players entered boss fights or elite enemy encounters, anyone who ignored the combo system would suddenly find the game much harder.
At this point, Ichin found almost nothing to criticize in the battle system.
Once the remaining characters' artes were finalized, the combat system would be officially complete.
As for boss design, Ichin avoided making bosses outright "cheating"—
Like in Tales of Arise, where almost every boss had a second phase with zero stagger, no matter what players did.
He considered that design "brainless."
Yes, it was easy to develop.
But it completely ignored player experience and long-term reputation.
He fully intended to remake Arise in the future too—but with completely re-evaluated combat and narrative design.
No repeating the mistakes from his memories: flashy visuals and smooth combos paired with terrible design choices elsewhere.
Soon, under Ichin's relentless combos, the Chimera boss couldn't even attack back.
A final Mystic Arte ended the test beautifully.
"Phew~~ that was satisfying."
Putting down the controller, Ichin said with a sigh of pleasure:
"This combat system… I feel like even if we sent it to Capcom's Devil May Cry team right now, they'd praise it."
Umiko crossed her arms confidently.
"Obviously! Our team only lacks experience—our development and learning ability aren't inferior to anyone."
...
After finishing testing, Ichin checked on the art team, chatted with Kou and the others, then went to the Garo development group.
The Garo team's progress was even faster than Berseria's.
The scheduled release date was in summer—about half a year away.
The combat system, following the original tokusatsu's settings, was mostly complete.
Both protagonist and enemy moves had been faithfully recreated, and they spared no expense on special effects.
The game used a linear chapter-based structure.
Each chapter had its own dedicated map, and even within limited map sizes, the team packed in plenty of content—main quests, side quests, optional stories, and exploration elements.
Although they were a game company, many staff members were huge tokusatsu fans.
During Garo's development, their passion exceeded even Ichin's expectations.
The quality and speed were remarkable.
Tōhoku Shinsha had visited multiple times and were extremely satisfied with both the progress and the showcased content.
They even discussed allowing Ichin's team to develop future entries in the series—even if sales weren't strong, as long as quality was high.
Quality wasn't what Ichin worried about.
Sales, however…
Since Garo was a tokusatsu adaptation, its audience was limited.
It would perform decently in Asia, but in the West?
Almost certainly weaker.
Western tokusatsu fans mainly came from old Power Rangers days, and recent years saw little growth.
In the West, superhero films dominated everything.
No matter how good Garo or the classic tokusatsu series were, breaking into that market was extremely difficult.
Even Anno Hideaki's Shin Ultraman—Ichin doubted it would make big waves overseas.
So from the start, he didn't expect high sales.
As long as it reached the projected baseline, he was satisfied.
Tōhoku Shinsha felt the same—this wasn't a "money-making project" as much as a passion project.
...
A few minutes after returning to his office, Hazuki arrived.
"Here—these are the idea drafts we collected from everyone in the company over the past few days."
She handed Ichin a stack of printed documents, then sat across from him, smiling.
"But don't be in a rush to read them.
Take this too—these chocolates are handmade by me~~~"
She handed him a clear gift bag filled with handmade chocolates.
Ichin blinked in surprise, then smiled.
"Hazuki, you made these yourself? Then I have to try them.
Hmm… don't tell me these are your honmei chocolates?"
"Dream on."
She rolled her eyes, watching him pop one chocolate into his mouth.
"So? Any plans with Utaha for Valentine's Day?"
"Not really. We're taking Yukino and Haruno-nee to a hot spring tonight. Just a relaxing outing."
"Ahhh~~ I see."
"What, You wants to come too? You're welcome, you know."
"…I'll think about it."
Just then, the office door opened.
Utaha and Yukino walked in.
"Ichin, Haruno-san can't come tonight."
Utaha said as she held up her phone, smiling.
"Her mom called her home to join a business event."
Ichin raised an eyebrow.
"A business event? On Valentine's Day?"
"Well, she is single."
…Okay.
No comeback for that one.
---
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