Time has passed and today is the 4rd
birthday of my blog, already. As per usual i will write about video game that's
very special to me and this time it's Side-Scrolling brawler game. It's Winky Soft's
Guardians / Denjin Makai II (1995)
I can't resist urge to make the
title screen into moving gif. Those 8 characters are the roster and all of them
has dynamic entry so why not make gif out of it? This game only release in JP
version so title "Denjin Makai II" may refers to that small words
above the title and not other version's title. It also suggests that there's
prequel of this game. That's true. The prequel feels little worse and has
smaller roster but still playable nonetheless. What's the plot? My best guess
is: some big conglomerate group that own great military power and technology is
about to do evil plot (most likely world conquest) and it's up for the band of
hero to stop the villains.
Once you put the credit and push
the start button, you're brought into this character selection. You know the
usual trilogy a la Final Fight: one
is fast but weak, another is slow but strong, and the last one is average in
strength and speed? Imagine that trinity is expanded into 8 characters and you
get this roster. In Side-Scrolling brawler/Beat em up game, 8 playable character is hardly common
especially in 90s. Here's some reference: The most characters in Capcom's
Side-Scrolling brawler game: 6 in Dungeons
& Dragons - Shadow of Mystara. In Noise Factory's Sengoku 3, the casts are also 6 person (4 initial + 2 unlockable
ex-boss). While in Noise Factory's Gaia
Crusade, the casts are 7 persons (5
initial + 2 unlockable ex-boss). The most common size of roster in average Beat
em up game is 2 or 4 persons. The only game that compete this game in size of
roster is Gekido Urban Fighter on PS1
or Streets of Rage 3 on Sega
Genesis/Megadrive. So 8 persons roster feels very luxurious. Don't worry about
the quality of characters! 8 of them are pretty distinctive with each other. For
some reason the female casts are located on each ends. Because the game only
contains 5 levels and can be finished in rather short time, i have to replay
some of them to show you all the 8 characters. For the first pick, i go with
Girulian because he looks like the generic blonde guy and also he's ex-final
boss of the prequel. I think he's the "Average" type person because
he looks like the leader of the group because he looks like X-Men's Cyclops if
Scott Summer is blonde and reborn in Anime art. You can see his movelist above
(from left to right): 1) Holding "attack" button and then moving
joystick down then up. 2) Holding "attack" button and then moving joystick
back then forward. 3) Pressing both "attack" and "jump"
button for the usual damage-surrounding move. 4) Pressing both
"attack" and "shoot" button for big special move that drain
your health upon use. and lastly 5) Pressing "shoot" button for semi-projectile/projectile
attack.
Stage 1.
Military Base
Look at them chilling and
smoking. They will never know what hit them.
By that i mean oil drum. Yes. The
control is quite generic: joystick to move your character around, one button to
attack in the direction your character facing, second button to make your
character to jump, and third button for ranged attack. Hitting the enemies
consecutively will produces combo. Pressing attack button will make player pick
up nearby weapon, score item, food item, or even item container that you can
throw at enemy like i do here. There's not much weapons that you can pick here.
Only 3 of them: Sword, Bar, and Bomb. The last is the usual hand grenade that
you throw at enemies to blow them up. Here's the thing about the rest of the
weapon: some character can pick one of them and treat the other as "1000
points" score item. Also the weapon takes different form depends on
character that wield it. For example some sword becomes katana, fencing, or
double edge type. I was hoping the bar will assume form of iron pipe but i
never witness that happens yet.
You can execute running by moving
joystick twice forward and the hold it. After that you can follow up with
either running attack or running jump attack. You can rolling/somersault
sideway by moving joystick up/down twice, which is handy to dodge projectile.
Of course, they deploy evil dogs
to do their ill bidding. So i stab them with this candy cane. It's supposed to
be fencing sword that i mentioned but it looks more resembles mint flavored
candy cane what's with those blue-white stripe and the lack sharp edge of that
thing. Besides provide you with extra range and damage power, sword also grants
you access to new combo and special move. So it's neat idea to get weapon while
the opportunity comes.
After defeating those doberman
and their master, i come in to deal with the first boss. Yes, that big soldier
with grotesque muscular proportion is the first boss and he's loved by his
underling because of it. I feel bad to that guy that manage to make card
pyramid. Also i kind of wonder what synthetic orange looks and taste like.
The usual grabbing mechanic is
here. Get very close to enemy to initiate grab. You can do secondary grab move
by pressing "attack" button while grabbing an enemy up to 2 times
(the third time will knock them away). You can throw them to left or right by
pressing "attack" button and holding joystick left or right. There's
also more powerful throw/grapple by pressing "jump" and then
"attack" button. As for the boss, he likes to twist his own muscles
in inhuman way but not difficult to deal with. Also i manage to slam him
against the wall. Quite hilarious.
He feels stressed and humiliated
then he breaks down the floor thus making him and the cameraman fall. But he
will returns as regular enemy once in a while in future, mind you.
Before the stages except for
first and final stage, you can choose between 2 options of stage by moving
joystick left or right although the stage bosses remain the same. For 2nd
stages we get: Long Bridge and Linear Railway. I will keep choosing the first
option. And before showing my playthrough on final stage i will show you the
alternative stages while showing you the other character.
Stage 2-A.
Long Bridge
The stage start with a blast! A
group of shield bearer that makes perfect human barricade, being blow out
by bunch of grenades (presumably thrown by the heroes) while their peers
hanging out leisurely without a hint of explosive terror unfold nearby.
The score items are gem, stack of
cash, a safe (!), and Funko Pop miniature doll of the character. Like
here for example: is doll of Kurokishi. What baffles me is, you do not
get higher score if you pick the doll of your current character. But that just
my minor complaint.
Then i find abandoned cat on cardboard
box while occasionally meow-ing for help. To the rescue! Picking up kitty worth
2000 points. Here's another reason why i love this game.
Then a field commander come to
pick me up and i ride on top of his van. Then bonus stage happens! This gallery
shooter is pretty easy. My targets may prepare their weapon but they don't
actually fire it. Maybe the idea of enemies shooting at the player in this
section is discarded for some technical reason. Even so they take lots of
bullet to go down. The section isn't bad. The targets move considerably fast
for shootout in speeding vehicle. So i shoot at those enemy soldiers, combat
vehicles, and for some reason a couple of civilian. I feel bad shooting at them.
I take it back. That guy flips
the bird at me. You deserve this triangle laser barrage, bastard! Because the
action is fast in motion, i never notice that rude gesture before. Speaking of
rude.
The 2nd boss stage is Ninja who
like to create his clones while in gesture that tell you to be quite. It's
milder, but still rude nonetheless. Obviously, you can't hurt him if you keep
beating his clone. Once you manage to get clean hit on him, he will vanish and
replaced with log. Later her will stab you from above. It's like Hanzo
Hattori's (from Samurai Shodown)
Utsusemi Chizan. You have 3 option to counter this. 1) If you throw him, he
can't do that ninja trick at all. 2) Running attack will allow you to attack
him safely 3) You have to perform forward combo, executed by doing combo while
holding joystick forward. Your finisher combo most likely allow you to pass
safely his stabbing from above.
Stage 3-A.
Forest Zone
On this forest level, i kick Ksitigarbha
(Buddha statue that sets on roadside or graveyards)...
...the giant bell falls on me.
This is why you should be nice to any good deity, reader.
It seems sheers number of
soldiers doesn't work well against me. So one of them take initiative to chop down
tree that hopefully hits me. It doesn't work wonder because it's obviously
telegraphed to me. Instead, it hits my enemies. Soldier_specialcompleted-assistedkill01.wav
Okay. This is very ludicrous. Who
dare drop large basin at me, huh? Obviously Winky Soft
Look at that lass who arrogantly watches her friend
kicked by me while sitting on her (sleeping) fat friend! Speaking of kick, you
have not 2 combo type (like in Capcom Beat em Up games: one with strong blow
finisher and another with throw finisher). But 4 of them! They're: neutral,
forward, up, and down. 1) Neutral combo which is executed by doing usual combo
without any joystick input, deals generally good damage and minimizes your
character's movement during combo. 2) Forward combo that i mentioned before,
has maximum forward movement and it's ideal for more aggressive combat. 3) Up
combo which is executed by doing combo while holding joystick "up",
usually with anti-air finisher. 4) Down combo which is executed by doing combo
while holding joystick "down", is the combo with the shortest chain and
range. It's good to deal enemies in quickest manner.
The 3rd stage boss is giant robot with laser beam eye,
gatling gun that fires mini rockets, extending punches, and drones that either
reflect laser from the boss or freeze you upon contact. Obviously, his weaponry
mostly stationed on his front but if you attack him from behind too much he
will give you quick back elbow strike. My only advice besides attacking from
behind is: using hit-and-run tactic by using running attack or running jump
attack. He's big target so you can most likely hit him even if you jump very
high.
Stage 4-A.
Subway
Imagine this couple having their first date in this
subway mall. They are nervous that they don't know what to do for first time so
they stare at each other silently. When suddenly evil soldiers that ride drone
come in to break the silent and the couple know what to do: run away while
flailing their arms. The drones are quite annoying enemies because when
defeated they explode and the explosion can hurt you. I don't like that
hand-like statue of children fashion in this era. It reminds me of that hand
demons from Ghouls n Ghosts.
Girulian has ability to perform clothesline drop by
pressing both "attack" and "jump" button while running
nearby enemy. The desperation move input is not only for the "clearing
nearby enemies" move. You can use it while jumping, running, or even while
grabbing enemy for different special move that depends on character you play
as. Also i like to tell you another thing that important. Most special move
(including the desperation move) costs you some energy. The energy bar is
located right below your health bar. You can execute special move even beyond
the energy bar but it will cost some of your health and the energy bar is fully
replenished. There's 2 way to recover energy: 1) Hitting enemies with
non-special move. 2) Charging your energy by standing idly for a moment. The
first way recovers energy the least but you can fend off enemies while doing
so. The latter recovers energy the most and fastest but leaves you vulnerable.
The idle moment require to charge your energy is pretty brisk though.
Using your character's shot also costs you energy. I
want to say that Girulian does the optic blast like X-Men's Cyclops but it seem
he shoot his laser from his wristband instead. Nonetheless, the laser is useful
to deal big damage to all enemies in front of him.
Then Girulian decides to break
the floor beneath him to escape from surrounding enemies and drop into this
subway section. Then he has to fight not one but two futuristic ED-209 which
were transported via train on background. You can break the cannons on the
train even they are nothing but destructible decoration. It's just cool to
destroy these cannons with your punch/kick/laser beam.
Giant soldier with inhuman
proportion, ninja, and super hi-tech giant robot can't stop me. Thus they send
this mutant abomination to get rid of me. It has head of nautilus, shell of
turtle's, legs of lobster's, and tail of an oversized prawn. Plus a pair of sea
snake's head. It seems someone at developer's team had a horrible seafood
accident the night before they design this stage boss. The main problem doesn't
come from the main body, mostly. Those sea snake's heads that can go and bite
everywhere is the main problem. Much like that big ugly alien in Alien Storm, he's quite susceptible to attack from backside.But for safer method: use the hit-and-run tactic with running attack or jumping attack.
Surprise! Surprise! This boss
stage has second form where it loose most of its limb while retains the jaw
pair. Now it doesn't have either front or back part anymore, its body now is
symmetric and equal. So attacking it from behind is no longer efficient. In this
form the snake heads become more aggressive and has ability to spit explosive
fireball while the main body occasionally jumps really high and will drops at
you. Girulian is defeated so Skullbyule get his turn. That fetal position is
his running attack: sideway rolling cannonball, if you will. It doesn't deal
big damage once. It hits multiple time, instead. And i can use it to attack
enemies that currently lie down. Nothing more humiliating than some giant
mutant rolls on you like some kind mattress on elementary gym class. Before we
move on to final level, i will go through alternative stage on previous levels
first.
Stage 2-B.
Linear Railway
Here's Rou does his desperation
attack which looks like him does ribbon ballet but with electrocuted whip with sickle
end. Graceful as it may be, it's deadly nonetheless. Rou probably possesses the
widest desperation attack. Rou is another "average" type character
and judging by his looks and moveset, he's exorcist. His shoot attack is
talisman papers he throws nearby that will lock enemies in place for awhile.
Unfortunately, his punches are considerably short so enemies more likely slip
away from his combo.
Some super special move is
desperation attack but stronger like Girulian has. While the other is big powerful
ranged attack like Rou's here. It will be very wrong if you unleash the super
special move that cost some of my health and it doesn't hit anyone like me here.
By the way, our hero jump out of the train and drop to this amusement
facility...
...and ends up fighting the ninja in
virtual reality room. I like that he keep jumping into background before
fighting me and wears appropriate accessories with the virtual stage. In wild
west stage, he wears cowboy hat and revolver. In horror stage, he wears
Frankenstein monster's mask. Lastly in alien planet stage, he wears astronaut
helmet.
Then the bonus stage occurs after
defeating the ninja. Instead of speeding combat vehicle (and rude civilian),
you get to shoot thematic target such as cowboy, zombies, or space ostriches
(?). For some reason, the usual grunts
also within this virtual stages too.
Stage 3-B.
Chinatown
The stage starts with miniature
building recreation place dubbed as "Gulliver's Journey" where i
destroy mini Taj Mahal palace to reveal a pair of soldiers doing hanky-panky.
What makes them really surprised is the sudden appearance Tulks the living
muscles. It's understandable though. To be honest, Tulks' design is unsettling
to me. He wears practically nothing but thong. And he holster his gun on his
crotch area, for God's Sake!
Ok. That's harsh of me to say
that. Let's see then. He's clearly The "Strong" type character. He
has various grapple as you expect from him that's a wrestler, from jumping
backbreaker to German suplex. He's one of character that possesses special
grapple by pressing both "Attack" and "Button" together
while grabbing an enemy and do mind that it cost some of your energy. The
special grapple is where he rolling backward along with his opponent and sets
both of them aflame and later throw them really hard. Also i discover that he
has air throw! Spy_positivevocalization03.wav
Near the exit of Gulliver's
Journey place, you will find this Taco vendor that peacefully attend his cart
while smoking. Until you (or enemy) smash it and he freaks out really bad and
funny that his expression could be the same level of "The Scream"
painting by Edvard Munch. But i feel bad for him.
After defeating the giant robot,
Tulks proudly shows his well-built muscles in public. Their expression become
sour. The old man begins to remember his trip on some nudist beach because he
looks at Tulks' nearly-naked buttock. That dog is the only sensible one to decide to look
away from him. A few moment later, the authority takes Tulks into custody for
public indecency even though he saves The Chinatown from evil militaries.
Stage 4-B.
Bayside
P. Belva can grabs 2 enemies and
his special grab is big swing that can clear enemies around. Here's the story
when i was junior high schooler: i was at the arcade section of water park and
i saw Beat em Up arcade on its attraction mode where a yellow robot performs
spinning piledriver and i'm very sold with the idea. Of course, the game is
this one and the yellow robot is P. Belva here. That's the reason he is my
main. P. Belva is another "Powerhouse" type but he's the most nimble
one because his dash is fast and he has ability to double jump! Those cans is
special item that related to energy bar. One replenishes energy to fullest. The
other grants you unlimited energy. While another one gives you
"Special" status that makes your character's name blinking. Some said
that during that occasion you can unleash some super secret special move but
unfortunately i don't know how to pull it or at least i can't discover it by
myself.
Then i meet soldiers that do Super Sentai style pose. Usually, i just interrupt them harshly but this time i
let them finish it for show.
The 4th boss get some dramatic
cutscene before the fight. No, i don't get mad that he stole my kill. It's just
me charging my energy for the fight.
Zeldia's
turn
Zeldia get her own demonstration
that not tied to specific stage because i'm run out of stage to show. Zeldia,
the angel with Vega's claw is the "Speedster" character. She can't
pick bar but she can performs slashing wave while equipped with sword. It's
executed by pressing both "Attack" and "Jump" button while
running.
Her special grab is kind of
brutal where she flies above while carrying her opponent and then plummet them
to the ground while drilling them with her claws. It resembles Jedah Dohma's
(from Vampire Savior) Ira Spinta
move. Like P. Belva, she can perform another grapple move by moving joystick
forward twice and then press "attack" button. P. Belva drag his
opponent's head to the ground. While in Zeldia's case, she chokes her
opponent's neck with her thighs and push them forward. This grapple move
probably what Shermie (from King of
Fighter) does.
P. Belva has double jump while
Zeldia has ability to float (that drain energy overtime) by pressing and
holding "jump" button while
jumping. Releasing the "jump" button while makes her flies across the
screen and pressing "attack" button will readies her claw thus he can
skewer everyone along the screen. Medic_positivevocalization01.wav
Believe it or not. In prequel,
Zeldia is a mutant monster akin to Skullbyule that can breathes fire. In the
ending, she leaves her monstrous body like a butterfly leaving its cocoon and
become what she's now.
Zeldia is "speed" type
character that has various grapple move and ability to stab everyone in
straight line while flying. No wonder she's another my main.
Stage 5.
Central City
So here we are at final stage. I
mentioned Skullbyule before in Final
Fight review and he's "Strong" character and also my main. So my
mains are total 3. Skullbyule refuses to pick any melee weapon. But once he pick
grenade, he can emit explosion from his claw and no one else can do that! Demoman_specialcompleted11.wav
When you press "jump"
button while your character grabbing enemies, they usually vault over or
jumping along their opponent. But Skullbyule is different. He launches his
enemy upward and then he readies his horn to stab them. That looks hurt.
I forgot to mention that there's
enemy driving jeep from behind in Forest Zone and he's back in this stage. I
didn't know before that i can destroy them with my claw's blast. Heavy_specialcompleted03.wav
Skullbyule's shot is hornets.
Even better. Mutant hornets! They're more vicious than your regular hornets.
They seek any enemies nearby. If you know "Insect Swarm" plasmid in
Bioshock, you know how fierce Skullbyule's projectile attack is.
Dogs and some mutants like to
grab you and you can break free from them by pressing both "attack"
and "jump" button but it's different from desperation attack. In
Skullbyule's case, he gives anyone who dare to grab him a swift kick. If you
look closely, his feet is hoof. You can imagine how hard his kick is, then.
There's soldiers who hop between
crocodile mutants to reach this floor. One of them get eaten by the mutant. R.I.P
nameless mook.
Then we arrive at elevator
section. Some of the enemies, drop from above. While other slide along the rail
like that bloke. They got style.
After defeating another dozen of
drone and soldier, i encounter a stereo boss fight. Spy_sf12_badmagic04.wav
Luckily this is the only boss
rush in this game.
Skullbyule takes temporary
retreat so Jinrei continues the mission. He's ninja so he's the
"Speedster" character. He's more assuring ninja than Guy, because
Jinrei can throw shurikens around like real ninjas do. He's my brother's main
and i kind of like him too especially when i discover that he has air throw! He
has good jab's reach/move speed ratio, he has faster movement speed than Rou. Meanwhile
Rou is too slow to compensate his short reach. As for the final boss, he's
another shifty blonde guy with moustache like Rugal Bernstein (from King of Fighter). He uses his massive
flying chair against me. You only need to watch for the pair of tentacle heads.
He's like the first form stage 4 boss only -you know- flying.
Then his chair fuses with himself and become this
monster. His move is: 1) He plunges his arm to the ground and ground spikes
shoot out from the ground, which predates what Alex Mercer (from Prototype) can do. 2) He grabs your face
and repulse you to the ground. The last move is the most damaging one and also
very rude. My strategy is: keep running jump attack or jumping attack at him
like in previous phase.
Then he's absorbed with giant mutant on background
and the final phase is on! Here he looks like massaging the ground. The move
may looks silly but it's damaging you if you get too close to those hands. The
final boss can also shoots laser from his mouth and creates whirling blades
from his hands. Again, the key to deal damage on him in relatively safe manner
is: running jump attack or jumping attack.
Suddenly a giant beam erupts from the center of the
area that knocks Jinrei out. Now that he's out of commission, Kurokishi takes
turn now. She's the sexy female character and the "Average" type ones.
She can unleash sonic boom by pressing both "attack" and
"jump" button while jumping. (Late) Charlie Nash will be proud of
this fact.
After destroying the final boss, Kurokishi exits the
stage through hole in center of the stage. Then she's on extraction helicopter
and blowing kiss at you. The field commander isn't impressed with that
4th-wall-breaking flirty action. He's serious man. Another complaint is there's
no story exposition unlike in prequel. No plot text. Only this successful
extraction cutscene. But that just my minor complaint.
What baffles me is that strange
building (which -i'm sure- is the evil HQ) doesn't explode. Not even small
burst! Nothing at all.
Winky Soft's Guardians / Denjin Makai II (1995) is a wonderful Side Scrolling
Brawler. I even dare say it's better than Alien
Vs Predator (1994), because the roster and moveset is bigger. The reason
why the developer team goes wild with the moveset because of energy bar
inclusion. It allows the player to unleash various special moves without
feeling too overpowered. Moreover, you can replenish the energy bar in rather
easy way. Most of arcade game has lots of stages and feel overly long plus
steep difficulty curve. Feels like the game wants to strip your quarter after
quarter in unhealthy way. While this game only has 5 stages that's pretty brief
even to take account of final stage is longer than other stage with pretty
friendly difficulty curve. It seems the attraction point of this game is the
replayability value even though it's very uncommon for arcade game to think
about replayability. The factors that determine the game's replayability is: 1)
Relatively short gameplay. 2) Big roster. 3) Big moveset (including unwritten
special moves). 4) Alternative routes.
Not only the heroes, but also the
enemies have some character on them. They're not some mindless thug that too
focus on beating you. They have life. They hang out. They strike some cool
pose. They laid back. They make dynamic entrance and such. My other minor
complaint is there's no lifebar for the lesser enemies so i can't make
strategic goon management during the fight. As for the boss fight, they can be
tricky to defeat except for the first boss. And the efficient strategy to
defeat them kind of monotone: jumping attack or running jump attack. The weapon
and moveset is unique for each character and worth to conduct experiment on
them.
Here's the summary of the roster:
·
Powerhouse type: the beefcake, the robot, and the mutant
·
Average type: the cyclops, the cheesecake, and the exorcist
·
Speedster type: the angel, and the ninja
Everyone can deal great damage in
short period. Even the speedsters, thanks to their fast attack speed. I think
Rou is the least good on whole roster. The moveset is useful all around. The back
attack is swift and intuitive enough to strike anyone that creep you from
behind. It's executed by pressing "attack" button and holding
joystick backward. The drop jump attack (executed by by pressing
"attack" button and holding joystick "down" while jumping)
can be used to deliver extra punishment to downed enemies. Because the desperation
move only cost energy instead of health, you can use it more often without
worry unlike in other game. On the other hand, the shot command cost hefty
energy. So use it sparingly. I forget to tell you that you can block by holding
"attack" button. It's pretty useful defensive method but i forget to
apply it because i'm busy beating enemies to death most of the time. The bonus
stage is simple yet fun. The graphic may looks shabby but at least better than
crayon-like graphic in Mug Smasher.
The music is pretty good.
Guardians /
Denjin Makai II (1995) is the best non-Capcom
made Side Scrolling Brawler. So it's definitely get my AAA recommendation.
I'm saying that not only because of my nostalgic sentiment but also the
gameplay itself is very fun for its genre. Because i have always been Side
Scrolling Brawler connoisseur, you can trust me for recommended Beat Em Up
games! Really.
Lastly, i want to say that thank
you from the deep of my heart and soul for reading my articles up to this date.
I really appreciate you, reader.
As much as i want to ramble (mostly) about video
game, i decide that i will take a break for about 2 weeks. Please, understand!
And thank you very much.
Revision:
Wait! I should do the
character stat analysis for this game. It’s my most favorite non-Capcom Side
Scrolling Brawler, after all. I arrange the characters in alphabetical order.
So, here it is:
First, we got Girulian. He
was the final boss in prequel. No idea why he’s now in protagonist side. Among
the balanced character, Girulian has the biggest attack power thanks to his
quite tough muscle and his strong extraordinary power that allow him to imbue
fire on his attack and shoot laser from his eyes. So, his primary stats:
Strength (at 3.5/5). He has some level aptitude in acrobatic with his spinning
flip side hop and he prefer his sword is fencing sword which speaks dexterity
than strength. So, I can assume his secondary stats: Dexterity (at 2.5/5). It’s
quite fun to play as him what’s with his relatively high attack power and
ability to shoot wide laser in instance.
Second is Jinrei. He’s my brother’s main. He moves and attacks
the fastest. Thus, his primary stats: Agility (at 4.5/5). He has Intelligence
3/5 because he’s adept with Ninpo or -should I say- Ninja magic. He can lift
enemy really high on his grab but his attack power is not great. So, I can
assume his strength is 2.5/5. His ranged weapon is a several shuriken which
doesn’t deal lot of damage but useful to knock group of enemies around swiftly.
Third is the cheesecake:
Kurokishi. She has less attack power than Girulian but he can shoot sonic boom
like projectile in mid-air and fire plasma ball from her cybernetic arm. The
former executed by pressing both attack and jump buttons while jumping. While
the latter executed by pressing both same buttons while running. I assume, she
has 2 main stats with same level of quality: Strength and Dexterity (at 3/5). Her
gun shoots wide freezing ray. It deals small damage but the main purpose is to
freeze enemies in wide area on her front side.
Now to analyze my most
favorite character in the game: P. Belva. He’s the robot does the spinning
piledriver that attracted my interest Aeon ago. That was the love at first
sight on this game. He’s one of the powerhouse characters so his primer stats:
Strength at 4/5. He's quite slow but he has ability to double jump and his dash
is fairly quick. That swiftness is more down to dexterity rather than agility. So,
his secondary stats: Dexterity at 3.5/5. He’s most likely the swiftest among
the powerhouse characters. His gun doesn’t much to speak. It is gun come out
from his arm that shoots bullets at rapid speed in front of him. However, while
you hold down the shoot button and wiggle joystick on up or down direction, you
can shoot bit to the sides
Next is Rou. He’s exorcist.
Any magic caster should have Intelligence as their primary stats. So, his
primary stats: Intelligence at 4.5/5. Since he’s another balanced guy, his
secondary stats: 3.5/5. Rou is the least fun to play as, because his jab is
short and his shoot attack is talisman papers that can immobilize enemies
temporarily but deals smallest damage. Maybe his meant to be support character
than as main force. He’s the only character that can use both sword and bar
weapon. So, that counts as something. Also, he can shoot cabled hook that can
electrifies enemies.
Next on the list is:
Skullbyule. He probably has the weirdest design in history of Beat-em-up game
besides Alien Green from Battle Circuit. They probably don’t mind
hanging out together on lunch or something. Skullbyule is meant to replace
Zeldia as mutant monster on the roster. At a glance, you should know that he’s
intimidating strong giant. That alone should convince you that his main stats:
Strength at 5/5. His jab is very weird which is he shoots out his tongue. But
it’s fast. His running attack is: he curling sideway dealing small damage on
multiple hits. It may lack on attack power but you can use it to attack enemies
on the ground. He can’t use neither sword nor bar weapon. However, once he
picks up hand grenade, his claw can shoot short explosion over and over again
as long as he doesn’t lose the hand grenade. His shoot attack is the best in my
opinion. He sends out several mutant hornets to sting enemies around.
Next is my least favorite
character because he’s naked man: Tulks. I mean Skullbyule also naked but he’s
monster. So, his nudity is ignorable unless his genitalia are shown but
thankfully that doesn’t happen. He’s another powerhouse character but he’s less
impressive than Skullbyule because he still consists of flesh and mortal muscle
compared to mutated chitin and tough horn that Skullbyule has. So, his main
stats: Strength (at 4.5/5). He’s adept at wrestling technique and he has
capability to flip in mid-air. So, I think his dexterity is 3/5 which is 0.5
more than the famous Mike “Metro City Mayor” Haggar from Final Fight.
He’s the slowest yet the stiffest powerhouse character. His jab is as short as
Rou’s. He has high prowess on throw and grapple. His shoot attack is
scattergun/small shotgun that he holsters at his crotch area. I repeat. AT HIS
CROTCH AREA! He’s that kind of stupid rare sicko who like to put his gun that
he just shot with barrels still hot, very close to his genitalia! Quite often,
you can see his 70%-bared ass when you play as him. If you don’t mind his
perverseness, he’s character that can deal big amount of damage as big as his
shamelessness.
The last but no mean the least is Zeldia. I may
hint this before. In prequel, Zeldia is used to be mutant monster of the group.
But in the event of the epilogue of the previous game, her monstrous form was mere
cocoon and she hatched from it as beautiful winged girl. She’s slower than
Jinrei but he has ability to levitate and fly high. So, her main stats: Agility
(at 4/5). On her throw, she’s able to take her opponent fly and then either she
simply slams them or corkscrew stabs them with her claws. That mean her
secondary stats: Strength at 3/5. Her shot attack is rapid handgun that she
automatically shoots to up and down plane. You can consider it like P. Belva’s
shoot attack that automatically strafe. But it shoots less bullets with lower
energy cost.
