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Behold Studios recently revealed a new game during TGS 2022 called Mahou Senshi Cosplay Club. The indie studio is best known for its successful Kickstarter-funded game, Chroma Squad.
Sticking with the anime theme, Mahou Senshi Cosplay Club will be a turn-based RPG, but instead of Tokusatsu/Power Rangers-style heroes, it will be about cosplaying magical girls. The costumes will give the characters actual powers. Players will design their own costumes in the game.
In a recent interaction with Sportskeeda’s Jason Parker, Saulo Camarotti, CEO and founder of Behold Studios, spoke about what inspired the game, its mechanics, and what anime he’d like to collaborate with.
Saulo Camarotti of Mahou Senshi Cosplay Club discusses the inspiration for their upcoming game
Q. First, it's nice to talk to you again! I see that you're back to creating story-based RPGs! What led to choosing Mahou Senshi Cosplay Club?
Saulo: Yes, it's nice to be back. Thank you for the opportunity.
We're a fan of making games about things that were really important in our childhood, and Magical Girls was a big part of it. Sailor Moon, Sakura Card Captors, and Magic Knight Rayearth are a few examples of TV series that were so exciting to watch as kids, and this led us to be inspired to make a game about it.
We recently came up with the idea of combining cosplaying with this genre, and it all felt very Behold Studios-like games. We felt really inspired!
Q. One of the things you guys are known for is the humor and clever references in Chroma Squad. Is that style of writing going to be featured again, or will Mahou Senshi Cosplay Club be more serious?
Saulo: I guess there will be some changes in the overall style since Chroma Squad was made more than seven years ago. But we're certainly aiming for the exact same type of humor and writing.
We still have basically the same team that created Chroma Squad, with some new people adding to the overall quality of the game. We're very excited about the results.
We have a new writer, Kali de Los Santos, who is leading the story and writing the whole story for us.
Q. What anime and/or conventions inspired the character and story design for Mahou Senshi Cosplay Club?
Saulo: As I mentioned, first of all, the Mahou shoujo from our childhood, especially Sailor Moon and Sakura Card Captors. But since the game is also about cosplaying, we had to go deep into research about cosplaying and cosmaking conventions and contests.
In our game dev experience, we've been visiting gaming conventions such as E3, PAX, Brasil Game Show, Tokyo Game Show, and Gamescom. They're all a part of the inspiration. You can also add Gencon, Dragon Con, Comic Con, and Anime Expo to the list.
Q. As the trailer revealed, players will craft new costumes through a variety of materials. Does each character have a sort of character class, or will changing costume style alter what they can do in battle?
Saulo: We wanted to create an experience where the player creates their own character builds by designing their costumes. So, every time you create a new costume before a show, you can design it visually but also pick the materials and skills to build exactly what you want as a strategy.
The good thing is that as you collect new items in your game progression, you'll have the opportunity to create new and different costumes and try different builds.
Q. The trailer also revealed Magical Pins, which provide different abilities and skills. Can you expand on this system? How will they be unlocked, and how will they enhance a character's moveset?
Saulo: We basically have over 40 pins to collect. They vary in rarity, and each one of them brings you a different skill. It can be passive or active, or even a super powerful special skill. You can find pins in quests throughout the game.
Q. Will the team-based combat featured in Chroma Squad (team-up attacks, group finishers) return in Mahou Senshi Cosplay Club?
Saulo: Yes, but in its own way. The way magical girls fight is a little different from Tokusatsu, so we wanted to still bring teamwork to the game but in a different way.
The combat in this game is more about executing the right skill and taking care of the battle timeline and cooldowns than moving and positioning as it was in Chroma Squad. You'll experience more dynamic and fast-paced battles, for sure.
Q. One of the biggest parts of the Mahou Senshi trope is the transformation sequence. Will the heroes and villains be receiving cutscenes to show off their transformation?
Saulo: Yes, Henshin is indeed a big part of it. We want to highlight it, especially because it's a very special moment to showcase the player's creation.
For now, you can count on seeing a henshin (transformation) for all the costumes you create.
Q. Since one of the key features of the Mahou Senshi Cosplay Club is, of course, cosplay, did you or your team speak to any cosplayers to get advice or feedback to help steer the course of the game?
Saulo: We sure did. Since Chroma Squad and its Kickstarter campaign, we realized how important the niche culture is to their community members. We learned a lot about Tokusatsu at that time because of the people that were willing to help us.
For Mahou Senshi Cosplay Club, we started the research with real-life cosplayers right from the beginning. We do hope to get more aboard and listen to their feedback in the upcoming months.
Q. The trailer for Mahou Senshi Cosplay Club also featured a very catchy, Magical Girl-style song. Who produced/created that?
Saulo: The music was produced in our studio by the amazing Bettina Calmon, and she had the help of Natalia Natchan with the vocals and lyrics.
Q. If you could collaborate with any Mahou Senshi IP (Sailormoon, Magic Knight Rayearth, et cetera) which would it be?
Saulo: Hmmm... that's a good question. It would be really nice to have all the official Sailor Moon costumes.
Mahou Senshi Cosplay Club is coming “soon in 2023” and will bring back the clever writing and action that Behold Studios is known for.
The Mahou Shoujo cosplay-themed tactical RPG will be available on Windows and macOS as of this writing.
