{"id":69758,"date":"2026-07-17T23:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-07-17T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/?p=69758"},"modified":"2026-07-17T16:07:47","modified_gmt":"2026-07-17T07:07:47","slug":"developer-of-japanese-butt-controlled-fighting-game-ketsu-battler-genuinely-thought-granblue-creative-director-tetsuya-fukuhara-was-just-kidding-when-he-offered","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/developer-of-japanese-butt-controlled-fighting-game-ketsu-battler-genuinely-thought-granblue-creative-director-tetsuya-fukuhara-was-just-kidding-when-he-offered\/","title":{"rendered":"Developer of Japanese butt-controlled fighting game Ketsu Battler\u00a0genuinely\u00a0thought\u00a0Granblue\u00a0creative director Tetsuya Fukuhara was\u00a0Just\u00a0Kidding\u00a0when he\u00a0offered\u00a0a\u00a0Versus:\u00a0Rising\u00a0collaboration\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Viral 1-on-1 butt-motion controlled fighting game Ketsu Battler <\/strong>has come really far since its December 2024 release on the Nintendo Switch. Though the basic premise of putting a Joy Con in your pants to control fighters with swords in their butts may sound like a one-off gag, the title has since been recognized for its competitive depth<\/a> and even included in GBVS Cygames Cup 2026 and EVO Japan 2026 side-tournaments. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most prominently, Ketsu Battler held an official collaboration with Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising in January 2026, with Beelzebub<\/a> and Narmaya joining the roster as guest fighters. Talking to Famitsu<\/a> ahead of Ketsu Battler\u2019s major Ver 2.0 update, the game\u2019s developer TomozoP (affiliated with KAYAC) talked about how this collaboration came about in the first place. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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According to the developer, the offer came \u201ccompletely out of nowhere,\u201d and he basically considers it a miracle. Tetsuya Fukuhara, the creative director of the Granblue Fantasy IP, approached his team specifically saying he wanted Versus Rising\u2019s Beelzebub and Narmaya to appear in Ketsu Battler. \u201cAt first, I figured it was a joke,\u201d TomozoP says, \u201cbut as discussions progressed, it became clear they were serious about it. That\u2019s when it hit me, \u2018Oh wait, they weren\u2019t kidding\u2019 (laughs).\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When he asked Fukuhara what had led to all of this, he found out it was connected to voice actor Hiroki Yasumoto \u2013 who is known for fighting game roles like Street Fighter\u2019s Guile and BlazBlue\u2019s Azrael \u2013 having played Ketsu Battler during a live streaming show. The rest of the story is even more surreal: \u201cI\u2019d posted on X that, as a longtime BlazBlue fan, I was thrilled that Yasumoto had played our game. Then Toshimichi Mori, who was the producer of BlazBlue at the time, quote-retweeted my post. That was how Mori first learned about Ketsu Battler. He then invited Fukuhara to play it together… which, apparently, is how Fukuhara ended up discovering Ketsu Battler.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u306a\u304b\u304a\u3055\u3093\u6700\u4e0b\u4f4d pic.twitter.com\/BhzlkJ6Hqg<\/a><\/p>— \u798f\u539f\u54f2\u4e5f Tetsuya Fukuhara (@hiyopi) April 19, 2025<\/a><\/blockquote>