Capcom's Ace Attorney series is known for its iconic characters. From Phoenix Wright's memorable pointy hairstyle to Miles Edgeworth's mauve suit and frilly cravat combo, the series' cast of lawyers, victims, judges, witnesses, and more have made long-lasting impressions on the series' fans. Much of this is thanks to Tatsuro Iwamoto, the art director and character designer for the series. Iwamoto now brings his legendary character design skills to another property—the new mobile fighting game TAT Rumble. However, according to Iwamoto, designing the TAT Masters doing battle in TAT Rumble was a very different experience from creating the Ace Attorney cast.
TAT Rumble is the tale of the Twelve Anonymous Tournament, an epic, no-rules martial arts tournament attracting participants from around the world. Players are able to use the newly invented Martial Byte technology to download and absorb the abilities of existing TAT Masters. The TAT Masters, designed by Iwamoto, include the muscular Dorgi, the fashionable Eva, the returning champion King, and more. In an interview with The Best War Games, Iwamoto discussed the creative process behind making TAT Rumble's characters and how it was both similar and different to developing Ace Attorney's prosecutors, defense attorneys, and suspects.
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Iwamoto Focused On Recognizable Silhouettes And Colors
While there are memorable character and color pairings in Ace Attorney, such as Phoenix Wright and his iconic blue jacket, TAT Rumble doubles down on this by giving each character an associated color or two. Eva, for example, is heavily associated with purple; her entire outfit is purple, and the energy she gives off when she uses her super moves in battle also appears as a purple color. Iwamoto explained that this was a key element of character design when creating TAT Rumble:
"Giving characters a personal color and distinct silhouettes is important, but this is something entirely different. It's fun to fully do the things I couldn't do in Ace Attorney."
Recognizable character silhouettes were an element that had appeared in the Ace Attorney games that Iwamoto was once again able to use to great effect in TAT Rumble. Ace Attorney's lawyer characters are known for pointing their fingers dramatically while shouting "Objection!," a pose and image that has become closely associated with the series.
When Phoenix Wright even got to appear in a fighting game himself—in a Marvel vs. Capcom title no less—he was portrayed making the famous finger-pointing pose. TAT Rumble's characters adopt similar poses as they go into battle as part of the Twelve Anonymous Tournament.
Working With A Pixel Art Style Was Very Different For Iwamoto
One major way in which TAT Rumble differs from Ace Attorney is its use of a classic pixel art style, reminiscent of early fighting games such as the very first Street Fighter. While designing characters with this pixelated style was new to Iwamoto, he did have experience creating characters designed to read clearly on a small screen. The original Ace Attorney games were released for the GameBoy Advance, and later for the Nintendo DS (both small-screened handheld devices).
When choosing the design aesthetics for TAT Rumble, Iwamoto and the team chose the classic pixel art style not just for the feelings of nostalgia it evoked, but because it could "ensure clear expression even on small screens." The result is a cast of compelling, instantly memorable characters who will certainly join the roster of fighting game greats. With TAT Rumble now available for iOS and Android and the Ace Attorney Investigations Collection making its way to the West later in 2024, gamers now have even more options to experience Iwamoto's stunning character work than ever before.
TAT Rumble is available now on mobile devices.