Shimojo discussed how various developers introduced elements from their favorite genres into the game. He gave examples which included a developer who was a fan of shooters designing the movement system to work in a way that allows players to control their units "down to the perfect centimeter", as well as a developer who was a fan of rhythm games adding a rhythm to how the units move. Intelligent Systems also attempted to cater to those who had a more serious interest in the weapons and the costume designs. As a result, they followed real history in developing these aspects, though making deformed versions of these weapons rather than duplications. The story and setting of the game were designed to not be gritty and serious, but to still be sophisticated.