Famitsu interviewed the King of Fighters XIV Producer Yasuyuki Oda, revealing a wealth of new information about the game's content, gameplay, inspiration and graphics.

Thanks to Professor from Madman's Cafe, we now have a full English translation of the interview, with a handy summary (posted below) highlighting the key points:

Summary:

  • All 50 characters will be playable at launch/release. Roster is already solid.
  • Additional characters/DLC is undecided
  • All voices have already been recorded. Some VAs will be different from before due to various circumstances.
  • Online will feature a 3vs3 mode where 6 players each control a character when it's their turn. Same characters will be allowed (at current planning stage).
  • Development went full throttle in spring 2014.
  • Project started out after company CEO suddenly said in 2013, "We're gonna be #1 in [fighting] games again!".
  • Oda comes from the former SNK R&D Division 1, aka the "Fatal Fury/Art of Fighting dev team".
  • A bunch of other staff from R&D Division 1 have also returned to work on the game; the dev team is a mix of seasoned and new staff
  • All the returning staff have been active in the front line, meaning no washed out staff.
  • Game is returning to its roots in terms of graphics with "sharp looks on the characters"
  • Attention is being given to game balance and controls
  • Fighting game aspect for both offline and online are priority, but single player/story mode experience will also be given focus
  • Whether game will be updated by versions (ala Street Fighter 4) or go by sequels (KOF15, 16) is still undecided, but it'll be the beginning of another new saga in terms of storyline

Despite mixed opinions on the visuals, it's great to see a return of the original KOF staff, as well as so much general passion for this new iteration.

The fully translated interview can be found here. It's quite the insightful read-through so do check it out.