User:Aidanzapunk/Character concepts/Universes

With the exception of Shadow and Tails (who are from the Sonic the Hedgehog universe) and Chun-Li (who is from the Street Fighter universe), each character on my character concepts page hails from a new (coincidentally, non-Nintendo) universe; Shovel Knight and Cuphead, despite being existing universes, are also listed here as their symbols are unique to the userspace. This page acts as a parallel to our own universe pages, for those curious about each franchise listed on my page; however, it only goes into detail about the franchise itself, giving a brief summary of its creation (mainly pulled from Wikipedia).

Fairy Tail (フェアリーテイル, Fairy Tail)

Fairy Tail (universe)
Publisher(s)	Kodansha
Designer(s)	Hiro Mashima
Genre(s)	Action, Adventure, Fantasy
Console/platform of origin	Manga
First installment	Fairy Tail (manga, 2006)
Latest installment	Fairy Tail (video game, 2020)
Article on Wikipedia	Fairy Tail (universe)

After finishing his previous work, Rave Master, Hiro Mashima found the story sentimental and sad at the same time, so he wanted the storyline of Fairy Tail to have a "lot of fun [for everyone]". When originally creating the series, Mashima was inspired by magicians and wizards. He based Natsu's motion sickness on one of his friends, who gets sick when taking taxis together. When naming Natsu, Mashima thought western fantasy names would be unfamiliar to Japanese audiences. When writing individual chapters of Fairy Tail, Mashima takes a five-day process: on Monday, the script and storyboards are written. On Tuesday, Mashima writes rough sketches. From Wednesday to Friday, he finishes the drawing and inking on the chapters. Mashima usually begins new chapters after completing the previous ones. For the characters of the series, Mashima drew upon people he has known in his life. In establishing the father-son relationship between Natsu and Igneel, Mashima cited his father's death when he was a child as an influence. Mashima based the humorous aspects of the series on his daily life and jokes his assistants would make.

Written and illustrated by Hiro Mashima, Fairy Tail has been serialized in the manga anthology Weekly Shōnen Magazine beginning on August 2, 2006. The individual chapters have been collected and published into tankōbon volumes by Kodansha since December 15, 2006. The series was licensed for an English-language release in North America by Del Rey Manga. The company released the first volume of the series on March 25, 2008 and continued until the release of the 12th volume in September 2010. After Del Rey Manga shut down, Kodansha Comics USA acquired the license and began publishing Fairy Tail volumes in May 2011. 51 English-language volumes have been published.

A-1 Pictures and Satelight produced an anime adaptation of the manga. The anime, also titled Fairy Tail and directed by Shinji Ishihira, premiered on TV Tokyo on October 12, 2009. The series ended its run on March 30, 2013, with reruns beginning to air on April 4, 2013 under the title "Fairy Tail Best!". Forty-one DVD volumes containing four episodes each have been released. The Southeast Asian network Animax Asia aired the series locally in English. On January 18, 2011, British anime distributor Manga Entertainment announced on Twitter that the company would release the anime series in bilingual format at the end of the year. On April 21, 2011, they had confirmed that the first volume with 12 episodes would be released in February 2012; however, they later announced that the first volume would be released on March 5, 2012. In 2011, North American anime distributor Funimation Entertainment announced that they had acquired the first season of the ongoing series. The series made its North American television debut on November 22, 2011 on the Funimation Channel. The anime is also licensed by AnimeLab in Australia and New Zealand is streaming in simulcast on their website as it airs in Japan. On July 11, 2013, Mashima announced a sequel series of the anime had been greenlit. The sequel series was officially confirmed in Weekly Shōnen Magazine on December 28, 2013 with a special edition chapter. The sequel is produced by A-1 Pictures and Bridge, featuring character designs by Shinji Takeuchi; the original series' voice actors also returned to the project along with director Shinji Ishihira and writer Masashi Sogo. The official website for the sequel was launched on January 7, 2014. The series premiered on TV Tokyo on April 5, 2014, being simulcast by Funimation Entertainment.

Ace Attorney (逆転裁判, Turnabout Trial)

Ace Attorney (universe)
Developer(s)	Capcom
Publisher(s)	Capcom
Genre(s)	Adventure, visual novel
Console/platform of origin	Game Boy Advance
First installment	Gyakuten Saiban (2001)
Latest installment	Dai Gyakuten Saiban 2: Naruhodō Ryūnosuke no Kakugo (2017)
Article on Wikipedia	Ace Attorney (universe)

The games in the Ace Attorney series are primarily adventure games, though they require the player to collect evidence and to present it to the witnesses when they are in court. The game is presented primarily using animated two-dimensional manga-like sprites (although from Dual Destinies onward 3D models with a similar style are used), with text dialog, sound effects, and minimal spoken clips to simulate speech. Each game is made up of four or five cases with the games and the cases have some interconnection, recurring minor characters or similar crime elements. The game can be saved and resumed from any point.

There are two phases to each case, Investigation and Courtroom sessions. Investigation includes the ability to visit several key locations in the case and talk to people involved with it while searching for evidence by examining the scene; the second and third game also introduced the "Psyche-Lock," a system through which the defending attorney can break mental barriers to learn the truth from uncooperative witnesses during investigation. Players can present both evidence and, in the second and third games, profiles of people involved with the case.

Courtroom sessions are generally made up of testimonies consisting of statements by witnesses. The player may cross-examine the witness to locate a contradiction by showing a piece of evidence that relates to what the witness has testified. The player may also "Press" the witness, asking the witness to clarify a statement. Sometimes pressing and presenting evidence will lead to additional statements added to the testimony. Presenting evidence successfully may also lead to new lines of testimony altogether and it is almost always the only way to proceed in the game. Occasionally the player will have to specifically prove their allegations, either through presentation of more evidence, or more careful examination of existing evidence. In the fourth game, the game introduces the Perceive system, which is active during some cross-examinations. During testimony, the player can activate the Perceive system to look closely at body language and actions that trigger when the witnesses state something untruthful (for example, their hands may twitch or they may swallow), and thus force the witnesses to respond truthfully. The fifth game introduces the Mood Matrix system, which allows the defense to analyze the given testimony and pinpoint conflicting emotions, signalling contradictions or false memories from witnesses. Using the Mood Matrix allows a witness to get a grip on their emotions and allows them to testify clearly and truthfully.

As the defense, the goal of the player is usually to have a "Not Guilty" verdict handed down to their defendant. Most of the trials in the game last two days, with three as the maximum, between which the player can visit or revisit areas relevant to the trial to obtain more evidence or information. Throughout the trial process the player must determine through the information acquired the true perpetrator of the crime in order to absolve their client of any blame.

Presenting evidence is accompanied by the defense attorney pointing with his finger, as in the game's logo, and shouting "Objection!" (異議あり!), accompanied by a word bubble of the same word, both which have become iconic representation of the series. If the player presents the wrong evidence, attempts to present at the wrong time, or fails other parts of in-court questioning, they lose some measure of acceptance by the judge, represented by exclamation marks in the first game (same for the crossover title with Professor Layton, which uses exclamation marks for the first trial and shield icons for the rest of the trials) and a life bar in subsequent titles (except the crossover title, as previously mentioned). If the player is wrong too many times, the case will be declared over with a guilty verdict for the accused, and the player will have to restart from their last save point or the beginning of the court session.

Additionally, after some trials end, the player may be asked to present a piece of evidence that further explains part of the story. For example, Larry Butz is broken-hearted after he discovers his girlfriend, the victim, was cheating on him. Presenting a certain piece of evidence will make him feel better by understanding more about what she really thought of him.

In the DS remakes, the game utilizes the touchscreen in addition to the normal controls, and also the microphone, allowing the player to shout "Objection!", "Hold it!", "Take that!", "Gotcha!" or "Eureka!" at the appropriate times, though they can also select these options via more common entry methods. The remake of the first game for the DS included a brand new fifth case created specifically for the remake, with additional aspects of gameplay that fully used the DS special features; for example, one could dust for fingerprints by tapping the screen to apply fingerprinting powder, then blowing at the DS microphone gently to blow them away, or by using the 3D capabilities of the DS to render the collected evidence; key details concerning the evidence are often revealed this way. The fourth game of the series, which is the first game developed completely for the DS without a prior GBA release, also includes a number of these elements. In the WiiWare versions, players will be able to fling the Wii Remote forward like Phoenix's finger in order to shout "Objection!"

The two Investigations games, while split into cases, follow a less rigid structure as the events of each case occur prior to the official trial and generally right after the crime has been committed, though feature a similar two-phase approach of investigation and cross-examination. In one phase, the player controls the main character (Edgeworth) in moving around a single room to investigate clues or to talk to witnesses. During this time, Edgeworth may recognize some key facts forming the basis of the games' Logic system. When the player believes two facts are connected, they can "join" these facts to create a new line of reasoning; connecting the wrong pieces will impact Edgeworth's concentration, with too many missed guesses causing the game to be over. Subsequently, Edgeworth will engage with characters through cross-examination, which otherwise is similar to the courtroom version. Other elements of gameplay include "Logic Chess" introduced in the second Investigations game (a metaphorical chess battle which is essentially a timed argument against another character) and crime scene recreation using "Little Thief" in both installments (a holographic device that can project elements as determined by its owner).

League of Legends (リーグ・オブ・レジェンズ, League of Legends)

League of Legends (universe)
File:AidanzapunkLeagueofLegendsLogo.png File:AidanzapunkLeagueofLegendsSymbol.png
Developer(s)	Riot Games
Publisher(s)	Riot Games
Genre(s)	Multiplayer online battle arena
Console/platform of origin	PC
First installment	League of Legends (2009)
Latest installment	Legends of Runeterra (2020)

League of Legends is a 3D, third-person multiplayer online battle arena game. The game consists of two game modes: Summoner's Rift, and Howling Abyss. Players compete in matches, typically lasting 20–60 minutes. In each game mode teams work together to accomplish a terminal objective and achieve a victory condition, either to destroy a central objective (called a Nexus) controlled by the enemy team, or to capture and hold the most strategic points for the longest period of time. Each game mode includes a variety of smaller intermediate objectives that give players and teams advantages in achieving overall victory.

In all game modes, players control characters called champions, chosen or assigned every match, who each have a set of unique abilities. Champions begin every match at a low level (level one for Summoner's Rift and Twisted Treeline, and level three for Crystal Scar and Howling Abyss), and then gain experience over the course of the match to achieve a maximum level of 18. Gaining champion levels in matches allows players to unlock their champion's special abilities and augment them in a number of ways unique to each character. Players also begin each match with a low amount of gold, and can earn additional gold throughout the match in a variety of ways: by killing non-player characters known as minions and monsters, by killing or helping to kill enemy players, by destroying enemy structures, passively over time, and through unique item interactions or champion abilities. This gold can then be spent throughout the match to buy in-game items that further augment each champion's abilities and game play in a variety of ways. Champion experience, gold earned, and items bought are specific to each match and do not carry over to subsequent matches. Thus, all players begin each match on more-or-less equal footing relative to their opposing team.

Across matches, players also earn rewards that are specific to the individual, and augment matches played. Player experience is earned by playing matches over time on a particular account. Player accounts begin at level one and progress through a maximum level of 30. As a player progresses they unlock various maps and game modes not available to new players, as well as an additional two abilities to be used in matches, known as summoner spells. Players also unlock Runes and Masteries, which can be used to provide small bonuses to a player's champion in battle.

All game modes use automated matchmaking based on the Elo formula, with proprietary adjustments. A player's behavior is tracked between matches, and players that display poor behavior may be subject to varying sanctions. These are delivered by an automated system, and range from warnings, to chat restriction, to temporary and permanent bans from the game. This system replaced an earlier system, called the Tribunal, which sent game logs to the community to collectively decide whether a player's behavior was sanctionable. Permanent bans were still reviewed manually.

Shovel Knight (ショべルナイト, Shovel Knight)

Shovel Knight (universe)
Developer(s)	Yacht Club Games Nitrome VINE
Publisher(s)	Yacht Club Games Nintendo (Treasure Trove, JP)
Designer(s)	Sean Velasco
Genre(s)	Action, platform
Console/platform of origin	Microsoft Windows, Nintendo 3DS, Wii U
First installment	Shovel Knight (2014)
Latest installment	Shovel Knight: King of Cards/Shovel Knight Showdown (2019)
Article on Wikipedia	Shovel Knight (universe)

Shovel Knight is a 2D side-scrolling platform game presented in 8-bit graphics in which players control the eponymous protagonist as he collects treasure and fights against the Order of No Quarter. Shovel Knight's main means of attack is his shovel, which he can either use to attack enemies head on and dig up treasure, or aim below him whilst jumping to bounce on enemies, similar to the pogo jump from DuckTales or the downward thrust from Zelda II: The Adventure of Link. By finding a salesman hidden in most levels, the player can purchase secondary items that can be used with a limited supply of magic. These include long range projectiles, gloves that can punch through dirt blocks, and a locket that makes the player invincible for a brief period.

Aside from the main quest, which involves fighting through each level and defeating the boss at the end in order to progress through the world map, players are encouraged to collect as much treasure as possible. Treasure can be obtained by defeating enemies, finding chests, digging through the environment, and finding note sheets which also unlock music tracks. Any money earned can be spent in villages on various items, such as upgrades to health and magic, secondary items sold by the salesman, and armor and shovel upgrades that grant bonus skills. While the player does have infinite lives, dying will cause the player to lose some of their money, though the player can recover it by collecting the flying sacks that appear around where the player last died. For added challenge, players can also choose to destroy checkpoints to earn more treasure at the risk of being sent back further should they die.

Miraculous Ladybug (ミラキュラス レディバグ & シャノワール, Miraculous: Ladybug & Chat Noir)

Miraculous Ladybug (universe)
File:AidanzapunkMiraculousLadybugLogo.png File:AidanzapunkMiraculousLadybugSymbol.png
Genre(s)	Action, Magical girl, Animated
Console/platform of origin	Television
First installment	Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir: Season 1 (2015)
Latest installment	Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir: Season 3 (2018)

Set in modern-day Paris, the series focuses on teenage Marinette Dupain-Cheng and her classmate and crush Adrien Agreste. When evil arises, Marinette transforms into her secret superhero persona Ladybug, while Adrien transforms into his superhero persona Cat Noir, using powerful objects known as the Miraculous. Oblivious to each other's true identities, the two work together to protect Paris from the mysterious villain Hawk Moth, who covets and attempts to steal their powers by using his akuma, butterflies infused with black energy, to influence and transform everyday citizens into supervillains.

The original concept for Ladybug was conceived by Thomas Astruc around 2005. One day, after meeting a young woman who was wearing a ladybug shirt and working with her, Thomas played around the idea of a ladybug, soon creating a sticky note with the design of Ladybug. Thinking that the character worked well, Thomas began to develop this character with new drawings (like as seen with fake comic book covers called "The Mini Menace Ladybug") and constructed the universe around her, inspired by comic universes like Marvel. He continued to develop his idea until he met Jeremy Zag, a producer at Zagtoon, who allowed Thomas to do what he thought best with it.

There were many changes that Ladybug went through during development. The series was originally meant to be for older audiences like teens and young adults, having political stories and a darker tone. However, explained by writing director Sébastien Thibaudeau, "some elements hindered its perception and no one really knew why", so the crew worked on making it lighter for a younger audience. Toei Animation helped to create an animated promotional video showing footage of what the show would be like in order to showcase the show as an anime, but eventually, it was decided to make the series in CGI. There was also a point in time where producers encouraged making Ladybug and Cat Noir a part of a superhero team, but it didn't help sell the show, and the superhero team idea was dropped because of it.

Astruc created the show by drawing ideas and concepts from Franco-Belgian comics, American comics, and Japanese animation. He found inspiration for Ladybug from Amélie Poulain, Spider-Man, and Sailor Moon. He and his team wanted to create a show that reflected the romance and beauty of France, and they aimed for it to have superheroes that appeal to young girls while not falling into the clichés of female characters.

Skullgirls (スカルガールズ, Skullgirls)

Skullgirls (universe)
Developer(s)	Reverge Labs, Lab Zero Games
Publisher(s)	Autumn Games, Konami
Designer(s)	Mike Zaimont
Genre(s)	Fighting
Console/platform of origin	PlayStation 3
First installment	Skullgirls (2012)
Latest installment	Skullgirls Mobile (2018)
Article on Wikipedia	Skullgirls (universe)

The engine and playstyle for Skullgirls were intentionally modeled after Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes, incorporating several similar game mechanics such as tag team-based combat, character assists, snapbacks, and delayed hyper combos. The game can be played using different ratios of characters, with each player able to select up to three fighters on their team. The teams are then balanced based on the number of team members. A single character possesses more health and deals more damage, while larger teams gain the ability to perform character assists and recover health when tagged out. Players can also customize their character assist attacks.

The game includes a story mode, arcade mode, versus mode, training room, tutorial mode, and online play using the GGPO networking library. Skullgirls includes various unique features to address system and balance problems, such as infinite combo detection. When the game detects a looping combo through monitoring the players' attacks, the other player can break free of the infinite by hitting any button. In addition, Skullgirls offers protection against "unblockable attacks", which occur when a player, for example, uses a low-hitting move and a high-hitting assist attack at the same time, making it nearly impossible for the opponent to block. The game attempts to remedy the issue by offering a brief period of unblockable protection after successfully blocking any attack.

At release, Skullgirls Encore saw numerous gameplay adjustments and additions, including character balance tweaks, faster gameplay, an online training mode, and a stun meter designed to limit lengthy combos without compromising creativity. A new local game mode called "Typing of the Skullgirls", a mode inspired by games like The Typing of the Dead, was also added. When enabled, teams automatically generate meter and all attacks deal negligible damage. Super moves give typing prompts to the player, awarding damage for typing accuracy.

In addition to fully voiced story modes and cross-platform play across the entire PlayStation family, Skullgirls 2nd Encore introduced challenges, where players fight against opponents under unique battle conditions; trials, which test players' skills by having them perform combos; and survival mode, which pits players against endless waves of enemies.

Skullgirls takes place in the fictional Canopy Kingdom, a country reminiscent of 1940s postwar America. In a corrupt and war-torn world, several individuals and organizations seek to obtain an artifact known as the Skull Heart. Once every seven years, the Skull Heart grants one woman's wish. However, if a woman with an impure soul attempts to use the Heart, her wish will be corrupted and she will be transformed into a monster known as the Skullgirl. Hundreds have sought after the Skull Heart, yet none of its wielders have been deemed worthy and spared of its curse.

Seven years following the Grand War, a battle fought between three nations, the newest Skullgirl, Marie, has emerged and begun to terrorize the Canopy Kingdom. The game follows several fighters and their journeys to confront Marie and claim the Skull Heart. Each character has their own motive for seeking the Heart, whether to destroy the artifact or use its power for their own interests.

The Skullgirls roster initially consisted of eight playable characters: Filia, Cerebella, Peacock, Parasoul, Ms. Fortune, Painwheel, Valentine, and Double. Following the conclusion of the game's Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign, an additional five downloadable characters were developed: Squigly, Big Band, Eliza, Beowulf, and Robo-Fortune. On April 1, 2014, a clone of Filia, named Fukua, was added to the game. The character was intended to be a temporary inclusion for April Fools' Day, but was kept in response to fan feedback.

Professor Layton (レイトン教授, Professor Layton)

Professor Layton (universe)
Developer(s)	Level-5
Publisher(s)	Level-5, Nintendo
Designer(s)	Akihiro Hino
Genre(s)	Puzzle, Adventure
Console/platform of origin	Nintendo DS
First installment	Professor Layton and the Curious Village (2007)
Latest installment	Layton's Mystery Journey (2017)
Article on Wikipedia	Professor Layton (universe)

Professor Layton was a direct result of Akihiro Hino's childhood love of Akira Tago's popular Atama no Taisou series of puzzle books, which have sold more than 12 million copies to date in Japan.

The main character in the Professor Layton games is Professor Hershel Layton, a renowned archaeologist and a well-mannered gentleman. He is called to solve various mysteries in different places. Professor Layton is always accompanied by his apprentice Luke Triton, a cheerful and curious boy who brings a touch of humor to the story of Layton. According to Hino, Layton is partly inspired by the character of Phoenix Wright of the Ace Attorney series. Wanting to improve over what he saw as "bad points" in Phoenix's character, he was able to develop Professor Layton.

The game is essentially a collection of puzzles with exploration sections between them. The player (as Professor Layton, Luke and other characters) explore their environments in a point-and-click adventure game fashion using the DS's touchscreen. This can be used to talk with non-player characters, learn more about the environment, moving between different areas, or to find hint coins that are used during puzzles. Often, when interacting with a person or object, the player will be presented with a puzzle, valued at a number of "picarats", a type of currency within the game. Solving the puzzle correctly will earn the player that many picarats, but a wrong answer will reduce the value a small amount on subsequent attempts down to a minimal picarat number. In order to progress the plot, the player is required to solve specific puzzles, or to solve a minimum number of puzzles or gain a minimum amount of picarats. When the player leaves an area due to progression of the plot, puzzles they have yet to find or solve are collected and placed into a "Puzzle Shack" owned by a fictional character known as "Granny Riddleton", where they can return and attempt to resolve later. Curious Village contains 135 puzzles, Diabolical Box contains 153 puzzles, Unwound Future contains 168 (the later two having another special puzzle obtained via the use of codes found in the previous game), Last Specter contains 170 and Miracle Mask contains 150.

The puzzles take the form of brain teasers and are only loosely tied to the plot. All puzzles were created for this series by Akira Tago, who is famous for his best-selling Mental Gymnastics series. They take the forms of math problems, logic puzzles, mazes, sliding-block puzzles, and brain teasers. The games give the player the opportunity to bring up a translucent memo screen they can write on using the stylus to work out their answer before submission. If the player is stuck, they may spend one hint coin to receive a hint. Each puzzle has three hints available, and within Unwound Future, the game introduces "super hints" that nearly solve the puzzle for the player but which can only be bought with two hint coins and after the three other hints have been revealed. The puzzles are not timed, though for puzzles such as mazes or sliding blocks, the player may be challenged to complete the puzzle in a limited number of moves.

Each game features an additional set of three unique meta-puzzles that can be accessed at any time through "Layton's Trunk". These puzzles generally require the player to complete specific puzzles in the game to receive items to use within the meta puzzle; for example, Curious Village gives the player furniture as a reward for some puzzles, which then must be placed within a set of apartments to Layton's and Luke's exacting desires in the meta puzzle; the meta puzzle cannot be solved completely until all the furniture has been collected. Completing the game also opens a number of series of more difficult puzzles to be solved, including one that involves a curiously heavily-locked door that the player may encounter during the game. Until its cancellation in 2014, the games could use the DS Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection features to connect to Nintendo world network and unlock additional puzzles for play for a number of weeks after each game's release.

In 2017, a new title, Layton's Mystery Journey: Katrielle and the Millionaire's Conspiracy, was released for the Nintendo 3DS. The game received a slight makeover; as Akira Tago had passed away in 2016, puzzles were instead designed by Kuniaki Iwanami. The game follows Professor Layton's daughter, Katrielle Layton, as she solves puzzles in London with Sherl, a talking amnesiac dog, and Ernest Greeves, Katrielle's ever-eager assistant. Unlike previous Layton titles, the game is split up into twelve distinct cases, with one overall theme, rather than one continuous story separated by chapters.

Rurouni Kenshin (るろうに剣心 -明治剣客浪漫譚-, Rurouni Kenshin: Meiji Swordsman Romantic Story)

Rurouni Kenshin (universe)
File:AidanzapunkRurouniKenshinLogo.png File:AidanzapunkRurouniKenshinSymbol.png
Publisher(s)	Shueisha
Designer(s)	Nobuhiro Watsuki
Genre(s)	Chanbara
Console/platform of origin	Manga
First installment	Rurouni Kenshin (1994)
Latest installment	Rurouni Kenshin: The Hokkaido Arc (2017)
Article on Wikipedia	Rurouni Kenshin (universe)

During his childhood, Watsuki used to practice kendo which influenced him in the making from the series. Although, Watsuki developed various one-shots prior to the official serialization from the series, he mentioned he based the series from Crescent Moon in the Warring States, a story which introduced Kenshin's fighting style and his teacher. While naming the characters, he based some of their names from places he used to live such as Misao Makimachi's "Makimachi" and Sanjō Tsubame, who are named after places from Niigata.

Being fascinated by the Shinsengumi, Watsuki designed the characters by basing their characteristics to that of the real Shinsengumi members and also used fictional representation of them and other historical characters from the Bakumatsu period of Japan. The historical characters were considered to be a hard task by Watsuki. Due to problems with the characterization from Sagara Sōzō, Watsuki decided to illustrate Saitō Hajime in his own style avoiding the historical figure. He felt very good with Saitō's character having noted he fit very well in the manga. However, Watsuki mentioned that many Japanese fans of the Shinsengumi complained about the personality of Saitō, as he was made sadistic.

When questioned about the series' theme being Kenshin's self-redemption, Watsuki mentioned that when he was young he used to read shōjo and that it influenced his writing of Rurouni Kenshin. He added that he wanted to make a story different from other comics as he considers the main character Kenshin is neither a good nor evil character. Since volume 7, Watsuki mentioned the series took a more adult tone due to the various conflicts in the story, but commented it was influenced by the shōjo manga he read. Through the series' development, Watsuki was deciding if Kamiya Kaoru's character was going to die prior to the end. However, he later decided to keep Kaoru alive as he came to the conclusion he wanted a happy ending and that the manga is aimed at young readers. Watsuki said he was an "infatuated" type of person rather than a "passionate" kind of person, so therefore Rurouni Kenshin is a "Meiji Swordsman Story" as opposed to being a "Meiji Love Story."

When the manga series started to be published in Weekly Shōnen Jump, Watsuki had little hope in the development of the series. He planned to finish the story in approximately 30 chapters, ending with Kenshin's departure from Tokyo in a similar manner to the one from volume 7. Kenshin's enemies would have been people from Kyoto who would send an assassin to kill Kenshin. When the Oniwabanshū were introduced during the serialization, Watsuki noted that the series could be longer as he had created various main characters. In that time, there was a survey, and the series had become very popular.

When the series reached seven volumes, Watsuki's boss suggested him that it was time to make a longer story-arc, which resulted in the creation of the fights between Kenshin and Makoto Shishio. The arc was only meant to be serialized for one year, but it ended up being one year-and-a-half long. This arc was also done to develop Kenshin's character as he considered him not to have a weak point. Watsuki commented that his artistic skills were honed with this arc, as he could draw everything he wanted to. The last arc from the manga was meant to be much shorter, but it turned out to be a fairly long one as he could not present it in a simplistic manner. This arc was originally made by Watsuki prior to the series' start, having already thought about how would Kenshin's scar had been made. Watsuki also planned to create a Hokkaido arc and a sequel, but felt it would be better to start with another manga and so ended the series with the last arc he made.

Ninja Sex Party (ニンジャー・セックス・パーティー, Ninja Sex Party)

Ninja Sex Party (universe)
Genre(s)	Comedy rock, synthpop, electronic
First installment	NSFW (2011)
Latest installment	Cool Patrol (2018)
Article on Wikipedia	Ninja Sex Party (universe)

Dan Avidan, who previously sang in bands such as The Northern Hues and Skyhill, initially conceptualized the band. In need of a band member, Avidan was introduced to Brian Wecht, who was the musical director of a comedy troupe in New York, by a mutual friend at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre, Julie Katz, a member of Wecht's comedy troupe (who would later be featured in their music video "The Decision"), to whom Avidan had asked if she knew any musicians. The band was formed in February/March 2009 with Avidan going by his stage-name/character "Danny Sexbang" and Wecht going by "Ninja Brian". However, the character "Danny Sexbang" was originally named "Danny Sweetnuts" before being changed to "Sexbang" as Avidan felt the name seemed "stronger."

Inspired by The Lonely Island and Flight of the Conchords, Ninja Sex Party was about "a Jewish superhero who wears a unitard, with his best friend who's a ninja, and together they sing songs about dicks, and try to hit [unsuccessfully] on women."

They began performing together that summer, appearing in various film festivals, including SXSW, Dragon Con, and the LACS. They have been awarded "Best Comedy Video" by Industry Power Play, as well as the "Trophy of Awesomeness" on Vimeo's video website. They won "Best Comedy Video Short" and "Best Comedy Song" in Improvisation News' 2010 INNY Awards. Their video "Sex Training" also appeared on the Comedy page of The Huffington Post. All their early music videos were directed, shot, and edited by Jim Turner, who was the only person paid for his involvement; all other people participating were friends working for free.

In 2011, they released their first album, NSFW, on iTunes, which contained both original songs, and all of their previously released songs on YouTube.

Celeste (セレステ, Celeste)

Celeste (universe)
Developer(s)	Matt Makes Games
Publisher(s)	Matt Makes Games
Designer(s)	Matt Thorson
Console/platform of origin	Linux, macOS, Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One
First installment	Celeste (2018)
Latest installment	Celeste (2018)

Noel Berry (Skytorn) and Matt Thorson (TowerFall) created a prototype of Celeste in four days during a game jam, now named Celeste Classic. The result was a difficult platformer with 30 levels for the Pico-8 fantasy video game console designed for speedrunning and precision reflexes. Kill Screen noted that the game was a departure from Thorson's TowerFall, and had more in common with the game mechanics of his older games and Super Mario Maker work. The developers also took inspiration from difficult, Super Nintendo-era platformers. Berry and Thorson developed the game into a standalone release with over 200 rooms spread between eight chapters. They livestreamed parts of their development process on Twitch. The game was also demoed at the 2016 PAX West Indie Megabooth. Celeste released on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Windows, Linux and macOS on January 25, 2018. The original Pico-8 prototype is included in the game as an unlockable minigame. The game is set to receive a limited collector's edition. Thorson stated that he plans to release a set of "farewell levels" for Celeste some time in 2019.

Celeste is a platform game in which players control a girl named Madeline as she makes her way up a mountain while avoiding various deadly obstacles. Along with jumping and climbing up walls for a limited amount of time, Madeline has the ability to perform a mid-air dash in the eight cardinal and intercardinal directions. This move can only be performed once and must be replenished by either landing on the ground, hitting certain objects such as replenishing crystals, or moving to a new screen (although the player is granted a second dash later on in the game). Throughout each level, the player will encounter additional mechanics, such as springs that launch the player or feathers that allow brief flight, and deadly objects such as spikes which kill Madeline (returning her to the start of the section). Players can also access an Assist Mode, where they can change some attributes about the game's physics. Some of these include: infinite air-dashes, invincibility, or slowing the game's speed. Hidden throughout each level are optional strawberries, obtained through challenging platforming or puzzle solving sections, which slightly affect the game's ending depending on how many are collected. Additionally, there are cassette tapes which unlock harder "B-Side" variations of certain levels, and crystal hearts used to access post-game content. Beating all the B-Sides then unlocks the "C-Side" versions, which consists of very hard but short variations upon the levels. Upon clearing all "C-Sides", the player can access the Variants menu. The Variants menu allows players to change the game's physics in a way similar to the game's Assist Mode. Some of these "variant" settings include: speeding the game up, 360 degree dashing, and low friction to all flat surfaces. These settings serve to make the game either more challenging or more fun. The original Celeste Classic Pico-8 prototype can also be found as a hidden minigame.

Cuphead (カップヘッド, Cuphead)

Cuphead (universe)
Developer(s)	StudioMDHR
Publisher(s)	StudioMDHR
Genre(s)	Run-and-gun platformer
Console/platform of origin	Xbox One Microsoft Windows
First installment	Cuphead (2017)
Latest installment	Cuphead: Tesla Edition (2019)

Cuphead was the first game by StudioMDHR, a Canadian indie game development studio consisting of brothers Chad and Jared Moldenhauer. Additional animation work was contributed by Jake Clark, with programming lead by Eric Billingsley. Its development began in 2010 using the Unity game engine, and it was developed from the brother's homes in Oakville, Ontario and Regina, Saskatchewan, respectively. The game was inspired by cartoons produced by the Fleischer and Walt Disney animation studios, along with cartoonists Ub Iwerks, Grim Natwick, and Willard Bowsky. Chad Moldenhauer called Fleischer Studios "the magnetic north of his art style", and particularly sought to mimic their "subversive and surrealist" elements.

The Moldenhauers watched 1930s-era cartoons in their youth, which Chad Moldenhauer describes as happenstance, based on gifts and VHS compilations. Among other siblings in their Regina, Saskatchewan childhood home, the two shared aesthetic taste and interest in gameplay. They attempted a game in the style of Cuphead in 2000, but lacked the tools to continue. The brothers decided to try again following the success of the indie game Super Meat Boy, which released in 2010. The character that became Cuphead descended from a 1936 Japanese propaganda animated film where a man with a teacup for a head morphs into a tank. The Moldenhauers emulated the animation because they found it strange, and "right away it stuck". Before settling on him as the main character, the brothers had created around 150 different character designs, including a kappa in a tophat and characters with a plate or fork for a head.

The animation techniques behind Cuphead are similar to that of the 1930s cartoons. Chad Moldenhauer, who had previously worked in graphic design, would hand-draw the animations and paint the backgrounds using watercolors, colorizing them in Photoshop. The gameplay runs at a framerate of 60, while the animation runs at 24, which is a film standard. Chad Moldenhauer also saw his process with its human imperfections as a reaction to the perfectionism of pixel art. Jared Moldenhauer worked on other aspects of the game, though they would discuss gameplay design together. Their studio hired a Romanian developer, a Brooklyn animator, and an Ontario jazz musician for the project. They sought to keep the recording processes of the time period as if the team were developing in that era. The score for the game was composed by Kristofer Maddigan, and consists of 51 tracks performed by jazz and big band musicians.

The Moldenhauers described Cuphead as having a difficult, "retro game" core for its emphasis on gameplay over plot. Kill Screen described the developers as "obsessed" with run and gun fundamentals of "animations and exploits and hitboxes". Over the development process, they have made multiple revisions to many gameplay elements, including how gameplay actions feel at the edges of platforms and how long players are disabled after receiving damage. They planned multiple difficulty levels, and chose to abandon a typical damsel in distress plot for one where Cuphead perpetually creates trouble for himself. The developers planned to surpass the Guinness World Record for number of boss battles in a run and gun game by having over 30 to the record's 25. The game's implementation and visual design, combined with the limited number of people available to work on the game, proved to be StudioMDHR's biggest challenge, so the Moldenhauers had to go the extra mile to bring the game to life, even remortgaging their house in order to finance the project.

Kingdom Hearts (キングダム ハーツ, Kingdom Hearts)

Kingdom Hearts (universe)
File:AidanzapunkKingdomHeartsLogo.png File:AidanzapunkKingdomHeartsSymbol.png
Developer(s)	Square Enix (formerly Squaresoft) Jupiter h.a.n.d. BitGroove Inc. Success
Publisher(s)	Square Enix (formerly Squaresoft) Disney Interactive Studios
Genre(s)	Action role-playing, hack and slash
Console/platform of origin	PlayStation 2
First installment	Kingdom Hearts (2002)
Latest installment	Kingdom Hearts III (2019)
Article on Wikipedia	Kingdom Hearts (universe)

The initial idea for Kingdom Hearts began with a discussion between Shinji Hashimoto and Hironobu Sakaguchi about Super Mario 64. They were planning to make a game with freedom of movement in three dimensions like Super Mario 64 but lamented that only characters as popular as Disney's could rival a Mario game. Tetsuya Nomura, overhearing their conversation, volunteered to lead the project and the two producers agreed to let him direct. A chance meeting between Hashimoto and a Disney executive in an elevator—Square and Disney had previously worked in the same building in Japan—allowed Hashimoto to pitch the idea directly to Disney. Development began in February 2000 with Nomura as director and Hashimoto as producer. While Nomura had done previous work in the Final Fantasy series as monster designer and graphic director, he did not gain widespread recognition until he was the lead character designer for Final Fantasy VII. Kingdom Hearts marked his transition into a directorial position, though he also served as the game's character designer. Scenarios were provided by Kazushige Nojima who was a scenario writer for Square from Final Fantasy VII until he left in 2003. Originally, the development focused on the gameplay with a simple story to appeal to Disney's target age range. After Kingdom Hearts executive producer Hironobu Sakaguchi told Nomura the game would be a failure if it did not aim for the same level as the Final Fantasy series, he began to develop the story further. In June 2013, Nomura stated the name of the game came from him thinking about Disney Theme Parks, especially Animal Kingdom. However, Nomura could not get the IP with just "Kingdom", so the development team began to think about "heart" as a core part of the story, so they decided to combine the two to form "Kingdom Hearts".

Nomura placed a secret trailer in Kingdom Hearts in hopes that fans would want a sequel. He was unsure if fans would want a sequel and felt that if they did not, then it would be best to leave certain events in the first game unexplained. After Kingdom Hearts Final Mix was completed, development for Kingdom Hearts II began. There were several obstacles to clear before development could begin on a sequel. One was the development team's desire to showcase Mickey Mouse more; Mickey's inclusion in the first game was restricted to a very small role. Nomura had planned for the sequel to take place a year after the first and originally intended for the events of that year to be left unexplained. To bridge the gap between the two games, Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories was developed. Nomura was hesitant about releasing a game on the Game Boy Advance because he felt the 3D graphics of the original game would not translate well into 2D. He changed his position after hearing that children wanted to play Kingdom Hearts on the handheld system.

Though Disney gave Nomura freedom in the characters and worlds used for the games, he and his staff tried to stay within the established roles of characters and boundaries of the worlds. Nomura has stated that though many of the Disney characters are not normally dark and serious, there were not many challenges making them so for the story, and despite this, their personalities shine because they maintain their own characteristics. He also felt managing and keeping multiple worlds was problematic. When deciding which worlds to include in the game, the development staff tried to take into account worlds with Disney characters that would be interesting and made an effort to minimize any overlap in the overall look and feel of each world.

The inclusion of specific Final Fantasy characters was based on the opinions of both fans and staff. Another criterion for inclusion was whether the staff felt the characters would fit into the storyline and in the Kingdom Hearts universe. Initially, Nomura was hesitant to use characters he did not design, because he was unfamiliar with the backstory of such characters. For Kingdom Hearts II, he changed his mind after receiving pressure from his staff. Throughout the development of the games, Nomura has often left certain events and connections between characters unexplained until the release of future games. Nomura does this because he feels that games should have room for fans to speculate and use their imagination. He has stated that with speculation, even though a game gets old, people can still be happy with it.