Ever since 2015, Netmarble’s Marvel Future Fight has entertained fans with its 3-on-3 team-based combat and role-playing tactics. And it’s done this with a selection of over 100 characters that players have gotten use to since its release. But now things are being shaken up with the introduction of its newest character, a 10-year old by the name of Crescent.
Videos by ComicBook.com
She may be young, but this heroine, grew up in Korea and has since bonded with a mysterious artifact, which enables her to summon a “half-moon” bear spirit. This gives her powerful abilities that makes her a lot more powerful than she appears to be.
There’s a lot that goes into building a new character for Future Fight. To get a better idea of how process works, we sat down with game director Min-kyun Kim and art director Jee-hyung Lee, discussing how big her role is in the game, as well as what might be coming next!
Making a New Character “Fit” in the Future Fight Universe
First off, what’s probably the most challenging aspect when it comes to adding a new character to Marvel Future Fight? Finding the right balance for the character? The right “fit”?
Jee-hyung Lee: As we know, there are a lot of super heroes in the Marvel Universe. They all have their own personality and characteristics. We always work with our friends at Marvel Games to try to create something different so that each original hero has a sense of newness without an overlap of previously existing concepts. This was a difficult process.
Min-Kyun Kim: Balance and harmony among existing super heroes are very important factors we focus on. However, the most important part for us is the composition of the character’s ability and skills to properly express the personality of the character. This time, we have put a lot of effort into expressing the unique abilities that only Crescent & Io have.
What can you tell us about Crescent and what she brings to the table?
Min-Kyun Kim: In Korea, many children learn Taekwondo since childhood. Crescent is an example of this, and if you look at Crescent, you might think of your niece, your sister, or your daughter. I think it is fun to create a sense of attachment to a character like Crescent. In addition, I think players will have a lot of fun playing Marvel Future Fight with Io.
How is Morgan Le Fay involved with her storyline? We know she’s being introduced to Marvel Future Fight as well? Will we see clashes between the two? Will White Fox somehow get included as well, or is she separate?
Min-Kyun Kim: In this update, we talk about Crescent’s story mostly happening in Korea. And we’ve also added White Fox, as she is another Korean superheroine. We thought it would be extremely interesting to create a story where existing superheroes and original Marvel Future Fight characters appear together.
Through the story, you can see Crescent, White Fox, Captain America (Sharon Rogers) and Luna Snow fight together against evil. Also, we thought Morgan Le Fay, who uses strong magical powers, is the right villain to challenge them.
The Mysterious Artifact, and Its Impact
How did you come up with Crescent’s initial design? Can you tell us about this mysterious “mystical artifact” that Dan Bi finds?
Jee-hyung Lee: The Netmarble Monster art team collaborated with Marvel Games’ Danny Koo, Isabel Hsu and Bill Rosemann to design Crescent & Io, and one of our team members, Yong-joon Cho, came up with the initial idea and design. Since she is a superheroine from Korea, I wanted her appearance to convey Korean culture and emotion.
Crescent’s uniform is inspired by a Korean traditional costume called a ‘Hanbok’, and she uses skills based on the Korean traditional martial art Taekwondo. Io, her protector, is a half-moon bear that is one of the animals that traditionally represents Korea. After applying various designs based on these concepts, Crescent and Io were created. In the case of the mysterious artifact, which is a mask, Morgan Le Fay created the mask for the purpose of summoning her minions. The mask was used by Dan Bi (Crescent) incidentally, and summoned Io.
What kind of abilities does Crescent utilize in Future Fight?
Min-Kyun Kim: Crescent can summon Io, the spirit of a half-moon bear when she wears the mysterious mask. Io attacks enemies through copying Crescent’s fighting movements, and Io also can use various abilities such as Phasing, Magical Absorption, Super Strength and Supernatural Roar. Basically, Crescent is a little girl who does not have any superhuman ability, but she is able to use her Taekwondo skills with Io through the power of the mysterious mask. One ability they have is they can absorb the enemy’s attack and turn it against them in a more powerful attack, so players can defeat very strong enemies.
Have you seen any sort of inquiries about possibly including Crescent in a Marvel Comics story in the future, or are you sticking with the Future Fight realm for now?
Min-Kyun Kim: We always hope Marvel Future Fight‘s original superheroes will be added to the Marvel Universe in their comic books. So we’ll have to wait to see!
What’s Coming Next For Future Fight?
Do you see potential for adding even more original characters to Future Fight? Or are you focusing on expanding with Crescent’s abilities for the time being?
Min-Kyun Kim: Crescent and Io have just arrived to the Marvel Future Fight Universe, so there is no specific plan yet. But like other superheroes, we will add new skills, uniforms and stories for Crescent & Io in the future. We also have plans to keep creating new original superheroes in the future.
Do you play much of Marvel Future Fight yourself? If so, do you have a particular favorite character?
Min-Kyun Kim: I do play! Actually, I play every day and always try to find new content needed to be added from the players’ points of view. I want to have all the great superheroes in my collection, so I am nurturing various characters. I have quite a lot of Tier-2 superheroes. As a user, I also prefer powerful ones, but it’s hard to pick just one.
Jee-hyung Lee: It’s hard to choose because there are so many charming superheroes. I prefer energy-based attacking superheroes with strong combat powers, such as Cable, Jean Grey, and Scarlet Witch. This type of hero usually has splendid skill effects. I also like rapid attackers offering fast fighting experience. Among them, I can proudly say Deadpool is the best, without doubt. He is such a cool character. I also like Thanos because he offers a unique experience and I enjoy using his counter punch in PVP, when he wears the Avengers: Infinity War uniform.
Finally, what’s next when it comes to working within Marvel’s universe? Or is it too soon to ask yet?
Min-Kyun Kim: From the classic characters to the newest ones, we are planning to introduce more of Marvel Comics’ diverse superheroes and their stories to Marvel Future Fight players.
You can try out Crescent in Marvel Future Fight, which is available now for iOS and Android/Google Play.
