MIGHTY BOSS MONDA--ER, THURSDAY: Constructing Mighty No. 4!

Happy new year, Mighty Beckers!

And what better way to kick off 2014 than with a tribute to our new year’s number, 4 -- Mighty No. 4, that is! (What, you didn’t think we’d forgotten about the two Mighty No. bosses we’ve yet to introduce, did you?!)

Eagle-eyed Beckers may remember sneaking a surprise glimpse at No. 4 in our Kickstarter finale livestream, but here’s the full rundown and formal reveal of his design, courtesy of director Koji Imaeda and lead character designer Kimo Kimo!

PHASE 1: DUMPS LIKE A TRUCK

Imaeda: The core design theme for Mighty No. 4 was set as “Earth” -- but not that he would control earth in an elemental-type way. The idea was more than he would use brute strength to flatten ground, sweeping away hordes of encroaching enemies and clearing the way for the other Mighty Nos. to proceed. Each of the Mighty Nos. is a powerful fighter on their own, of course, but they are also part of a team, so recently we’ve been thinking of different ways they might have cooperated to fight together. “Hey, maybe No. X and No. Y could pair up for this really awesome attack that combines this skill with that one!” -- that sort of thing. Hopefully we can incorporate some of these ideas into the game itself.

Kimo Kimo: 4 is actually the first Mighty No. I created a complete sketch for and showed to Inafune. Because the theme was all about “Earth” and power/strength, I gave No. 4 the feel of construction machinery -- head like a dump truck, the body of a big crane, bulldozer-like feet and excavator-scoop hands. Ever since I was a kid I’ve loved construction trucks and stuff like that, so I really felt this boss had the potential to be my favorite design.

At the time, the design for Mighty No. 5 wasn’t complete, so I gave No. 4 a similar color scheme to the one 5 ended up with: green, with red highlights. I was going for a tank-like feel.

PHASE 2: INAFUNE’S CONSTRUCT-IVE CRITICISM

After reviewing the initial sketches, big boss Keiji Inafune chimed in with his comments.

Inafune: He looks dumb (as in, not smart) -- that’s no good. And the design over his eyes, where it looks like eyebrows...it’s like something a kid would draw. Also, his chest looks so much like a car, some people might think he can transform -- let’s change that to a tire. And maybe we can put tires on the shoulders, too, and move the shoulder joints to the outside -- I’ve been wanting to have a character like that. Overall, give him a harder and tougher look.

Kimo Kimo: Because (Mighty No. 9 main hero) Beck has a rounded design, I was thinking all the Mighty Nos. should be round as much as possible to match -- but getting across a “hard” look with curved lines was proving difficult, so I had to get a bunch of idea sketches from Inafune.

Inafune: We’re adding a lot more detail on the arms, so let’s simplify the chest design a bit. And we don’t need all the big armor on the shoulders. Let’s go with yellow for his color, and how about putting his number on his chest? (This eventually led to the idea of putting the number of each Mighty No. on their body somewhere.)

PHASE 3: OVERALL: GREAT!

So we know what Inafune and Kimo Kimo think -- how about you? Let us know your thoughts on No. 4 or anything else at any of the usual spots: Twitter, Facebook, and of course the official forums! And hey, while you’re on our backer-only message boards, why not stop by our new Mighty Showcase fan-art section (opening today!) and share some designs of your own! Maybe Imaeda’s comments about how the Mighty Nos. could work together might stir up some ideas...?

Hope to see you there! Until next time, Beckers! (￣^￣)ゞ
-Dina (Mighty No. 1046), Koji Imaeda (Mighty No. 610), KimoKimo (Mighty No. 299), Mark (Mighty No. 84), and the Mighty No. 9 Team