Bloody Roar: Primal Fury is GameCube's first true fighting game, featuring combo-heavy control mechanics and destructable 3D environments. We were a bit surprised that developer Eighting chose GameCube as the platform for this latest sequel in the Bloody Roar series. After all, Nintendo platforms haven't recently been known to have a good library of fighting games. So, we went straight to the developers for some answers. Tune in as we chat with Kenji Fukuya, Director of Primal Fury about development choices, GameCube hardware, and more.

IGNcube: How big is the core Bloody Roar: Primal Fury development team? Kenji Fukuya: The core team is made up of about 20 programmers and 3D artists.IGNcube: When did Eighting begin work on Bloody Roar: Primal Fury? Fukuya-san: The work on Primal Fury began almost a year ago, shortly after work on Bloody Roar 3 for the PS 2 wrapped up.IGNcube: There were very few fighters on the Nintendo 64, why the sudden interest to bring that genre to Nintendo's successor console, GameCube?Fukuya-san: The lack of fighting games on the N64, and so far on the GameCube as well, is a real shame. The decision to move ahead with Bloody Roar on the GameCube was mostly based on the hardware spec itself. With the advanced lighting abilities, complex shading schemes, and pure graphics throughout of the new hardware, we knew any Bloody Roar created for the GameCube would be the most beautiful Bloody Roar to date.IGNcube: Was Bloody Roar considered for Xbox? If so, why did you decide to bring it to GameCube instead? Fukuya-san: No, Primal Fury was always destined for the GameCube. We were very excited about the GameCube's architecture and felt that it should be the platform for our next Bloody Roar game.IGNcube: What type of fighting mechanics does Bloody Roar: Primal Fury rely on? Could you, perhaps, compare and contrast it to franchises such as Street Fighter, Tekken, and Virtua Fighter? Fukuya-san: Bloody Roar: Primal Fury offers something for everyone. The basic control layout is simple - with only one kick button, one punch button, one block button, and the beastorize button, even someone new to Bloody Roar can pick it up and get the hang of it after just a few rounds. On the other hand, longtime fans of the series should have lots of fun with some of the new gameplay features that have been added. My personal favorite is the new ability to morph into hyper-beast form at any time -- the only catch is that if your beast gauge is too low, you will take a big health hit when you morph. This one took a while to balance, but it was well worth it.

IGNcube: What differences are there between Bloody Roar 3 and Bloody Roar: Primal Fury? Have you improved on the basic controls any? What other extra additions will we see? Fukuya-san: Though we¿ve tweaked the control plenty, the basic controls have not changed. Otherwise, Bloody Roar: Primal Fury has seven brand new fighting arenas and three re-modeled versions of arenas from Bloody Roar 3. The arenas are also much more interactive, with multiple fighting rings and walls that can break at any time during a match. Two new secret characters have been added and all 14 characters from Bloody Roar 3 have return completely re-modeled.IGNcube: How do the destructible environments come into play? Can they be used to a player's advantage, or are they just for show? Fukuya-san: Since it is now possible to break down a wall and launch your opponent out of the ring for a ringout victory, the destructible environments will definitely change how you play the game. However, since each environment is constructed differently and the characters all have varying strengths, executing this tactic is not simple -- it¿s a new challenge with each character in each arena.IGNcube: What kind of visual improvements have been made with Bloody Roar: Primal Fury over the PS2 original? Fukuya-san: Visually there is no comparison. While I'm very happy with how Bloody Roar 3 looks and plays, the graphics in Bloody Roar: Primal Fury are just awesome. The easiest way to see this it is to check out the screen shots and movies -- characters and environments are smoother and far more detailed, all of the motions were reviewed and recreated and are now far more natural, and the shading and lighting is more realistic than ever before.IGNcube: Did you take advantage of GameCube's 480p progressive scan display capability?Fukuya-san: Though Bloody Roar: Primal Fury would look incredible with via progressive scan, we weren¿t able to include this feature this time around.

IGNcube: In general, what do like and/or dislike about the GameCube hardware? Fukuya-san: The best part is just how much smoother and less aliased you can make everything, including characters, environments and objects.IGNcube: How do you feel about creating a fighting game on the GameCube control? Did you have any problems with it? And, what do you like about it?Fukuya-san: The combo system was simplified slightly to remove any cases where the player would have to press two buttons at once, but in the end, this really streamlined the whole control system and improved the game. A system for handling sloppy input (slight input mistakes) was also incorporated to make the game really playable with the analog stick. This went far more smoothly than anticipated, and the game plays really well with the stick or the + key.IGNcube: If Bloody Roar: Primal Fury does well on GameCube, will we see a sequel on Nintendo's system? Fukuya-san: We shall see, won't we? [smiles]IGNcube: Finally, now that you've worked with the GameCube, are you interested in creating any other types of games on the system? Fukuya-san: Working on the GameCube was terrific. I¿d jump at the opportunity to do another game on this hardware.IGNcube: Thank you for your time.