Akira Howard Enlists into Battle! (Astral Chain)

[Dutch Raikuna]

Well sadly the protags of my personal Game of the Year 2019 have been deconfirmed. Here's hoping something to make up for it.

 

[KirbyWorshipper2465]

Sorry lads.

Then again, having only a single game to an IP's name doesn't help much for inclusion chances. Maybe next time.

 

[Strider_Bond00J]

We were robbed, fellow officers... Sakurai I am disappoint... Perhaps we'll get our chance another day...

 

[AmphabulouSnake]

I am very very sad

 

[fogbadge]

geez you all jumped on the pessimism train pretty quickly

 

[NintenRob]

geez you all jumped on the pessimism train pretty quickly

I mean, I don't believe spirits are full deconfirmations, but I think its safe say this means it isn't happening anytime soon.

 

[fogbadge]

I mean, I don't believe spirits are full deconfirmations, but I think its safe say this means it isn't happening anytime soon.

probably not, but sakurai rarely behaves the way fan expect him too.

although that could be because most fans think if the ask randomly to put waluigi in smash thatll somehow work, despite it being unlikely that sakurai would ever read said request

anyway half the support threads are acting as though they got the spirit event

 

[Azcorban]

Basically the Spirit Board means that Akira won't be FP5 for sure. I mean the FPs come with a full spirit board of their own, wouldn't it be weird if they got two sets of spirits for a series with only one game?

But I'm not letting my hopes down for Akira Howard. Who knows if the Fighter(s) after the FP get a stage/spirit board?

 

[BravadoMan_13]

Honestly I'm not that bummed that Astral Chain is getting the spirit board treatment. It's great to see recognition in Smash in some capacity. Maybe Akira Howard could be like the Inklings in terms of the new Nintendo franchise being added to the next title. Who knows. I'm still behind Akira all the way.

 

[Txnafiah]

Personally I wanna see officer Howard (or Akira Howard) for smash. There moveset would be super cool. They could have something similar to the Monato wheel but with legions and for their moves there’s a bunch of material. Their grab could even be a tether with the chain bind. But if they don’t make it as the next or second DLC in the new pass I don’t think they’ll make it into smash as they well lose relevance. They’ve also been represented before. Bayonetta got into the game and she was made by PlatinumGames just like Astral Chain. So I think there’s a good chance.

 

[fogbadge]

Personally I wanna see officer Howard (or Akira Howard) for smash. There moveset would be super cool. They could have something similar to the Monato wheel but with legions and for their moves there’s a bunch of material. Their grab could even be a tether with the chain bind. But if they don’t make it as the next or second DLC in the new pass I don’t think they’ll make it into smash as they well lose relevance. They’ve also been represented before. Bayonetta got into the game and she was made by PlatinumGames just like Astral Chain. So I think there’s a good chance.

well theyre also co owned by nintendo which is another thing in their favour, also relevance isnt that important to smash. also you never know they may make a squeal

 

[ZealousGamer]

I just finished the Story for Astral Chain! I really like Akira/Player Character. I'd love for them to be playable in Smash Brothers Ultimate!

 

[ZealousGamer]

I had a thought; if you could design your own Legion; what would it be?

As Astral Chain is mostly based on Police; I'd base the theme off a Taser. I'd call it the Shock Legion.

 

[chocolatejr9]

I had a thought; if you could design your own Legion; what would it be?

As Astral Chain is mostly based on Police; I'd base the theme off a Taser. I'd call it the Shock Legion.

Only if it had a counterpart called the Awe Legion.

 

[Idon]

Aight, so I found myself super bored and thus made a moveset for my most wanted first party character.
Enjoy I guess, and don't worry, I spoilered it. Took me a long time to make this, so would appreciate your eyes on it.

"The protagonist of Astral Chain, the hot new Nintendo-owned Platinum action game, arrives on the scene! With their X-baton in hand and a little help from their loyal sword legion, they'll be more than a match for anyone! Along with their crushingly powerful kicks and baton strikes, their power is amplified with the combination attacks they can do with their legion. No matter how strong their opponent is, nothing is stronger than the power of justice!"

Spoiler: The Entire Moveset: Warning, gifs,

Spoiler: Miscellaneous Features

Introduction: Exit Gate
A portal from the astral plain opens up and the sword legion flies in from it. It then yanks the astral chain, pulling out Ofc. Howard, who readies to fight while putting away the sword legion.

Stance: Police Training
Does his default battle stance from the game.

Down Taunt: Legionis
Calls Legion and spirals the chain around himself in a stylish pose yelling "LEGION!"

Up Taunt: Respect
Salutes the enemy yelling before resuming battle stance.

16 Taunt 3
holds his Legatus up to his face, activating it briefly and making his eyes and hair go blue, exclaiming "YOU'RE UNDER ARREST"

1st Victory: Awakening
Leaps into frame with the Sword Legion and slashes downward in an X shape

2nd Victory: Legion Capture
Sends out Legion who who is flung around in a circle by their astral chain before settling behind Officer Howard.

3rd Victory: Case Accepted
Turns around and walks to the camera swiping by a "CASE ACCEPTED" hologram.

Victory Fanfare: Savior
Plays the first few notes of "Savior"

Spoiler: Defensive Moves

Shield: Axe Defense
Holds their legatus up.
N/A
With Legion active, the Sword Legion crosses its arms as the shield becomes a permanent full shield similar to Yoshi's egg and can only be broken and not shield poked.

Parry: Interception
Does a stylish pose that shows off the legatus

Sleeping: Vacation Day
Sits on the floor leaning on his knee while mumbling "5 more minutes..." During this time, a hologram will pop up saying that someone is calling them. If they manage to wake up in time, they'll act shocked, deny the call, and resume fighting.

Backroll: Backflip
Does a backflip backwards

Forward Roll: Cartwheel
Does a side roll forwards

Spot Dodge: Lean back
Does a little lean back

08 Dodge Air: Air Spin
Twists his body to dodge out of the way of attacks:

Get-up attack: AED defibrillator
Unleashes a shockwave from the AED, shocking Ofc. Howard back to life and pushing away any enemy close.

Tech: Legion Assist
Unique to Ofc. Howard, when they have their legion out, they are not only capable of teching in back, forward, and neutral, they can also tech upwards by launching themselves off their Sword legion

Spoiler: Specials

Neutral Special: Call Legion
Ofc. Howard holds up his Legatus and calls the Legion forth, modifying his entire moveset temporarily. It'll only last ~10 seconds before disippating and having to recharge for another 30 seconds. However, it can be turned on and off at will with almost zero lag. However, any turn off will burn the entire gauge and always force a recharge. A new spin on the "power boost" modes of Cloud and Joker. Moments of power must be chosen carefully and deliberately instead of just being hit and given the power.

While in this form, tendrils of blue will streak across Ofc. Howard's face, their eyes will glow blue, and so does their hair. On top of that, their X-baton gains a blocky digital appearance. He'll have blue light trails instead of white ones and any hit with the baton will have an "electric" effect which is purely superflous. Using the Raven costumes will instead make the effects red colored.

Also it has a single frame of invulnerability, which when activated, calls the legion out to immediately counter

Side Special: Send Legion
A multi-part special move that begins with Ofc. Howard sending out their legion a set distance along the same vein of Luma. However, instead of mimicking attacks, it will simply do a followup attack depending on which input is done next, similar to Marth's Dancing Blade.

Side Special; Up followup: Upperslash
Pressing Up and B will make the sword legion do an uppercut with his 2 blade arms, launching the enemy into the air.

Side Special; forward followup: Chain Jump
Pressing forward will have the sword legion yank the chain, pulling Howard forward while he does a flying knee. This also serves well as a recovery option and strikes anyone between the legion and Howard.

Side Special; backward followup: Triple Sword
Pressing back has the legion summon 3 swords that travel the length of the chain

Side Special; downward followup: Round Swords
Pressing down will summon a set of flying blades that hover around the legion which then dissipate when the legion does a spinning attack launching enemies up and away.

Regardless of the action, the Legion then returns to Howard.

Down Special: Slash Stance
A risky maneuver that instantly uses all of the legion gauge. Using it enters into a special stance wherein an additional attack button will make a vertical slice downwards. It doesn't do much damage or knockback, however if the opponent is doing any kind of attack while getting hit, they will automatically get shield broken. This attack is canceleable with shield, but it takes a while to deactivate, making it a risky all-or-nothing attack either way. pressing left or right will do a little repositional hop, but it has no invincibility, making it purely for spacing.

Up Special: Chain Recover
Throws legion into the air who flies up and then yanks Ofc. Howard towards themselves. As this move is vital in general smash gameplay, it is usable without any legion meter, however doing so, will cause 15% damage, punishing desperate recoveries and said feature is also accurate to the games.

Spoiler: Normals

Jab Combo: Baton Rush
Does a 4 hit combo consisting of a left jab, an inwards baton swing, an outwards baton swing, and then a stab upwards.

With Legion active, an additional jab finisher is added wherein the legion does an uppercut slash that launches the opponent upwards.

Forward Tilt: Assault Attack
Launches themselves in a flying kick at the enemy.

With Legion active, it will do a kick side by side with Ofc. Howard.
N/A

Down Tilt: Disarming Sweep
Does a low sweep which sets the enemy up for a combo.
With legion active, a second input throws out the legion who spins across the floor in the z-axis, elongating the range of the sweep.

Up Tilt: Evasive Anti-air Combination
Does a high kick while balancing themselves with their hand before following up with an aerial dropkick. A bit of a difficult angle, but does a ton of damage and knockback.

With Legion active, the sword legion does a drop kick back-to-back with Ofc. Howard increasing its power.
N/A
Dash Attack: Sliding Rush
Football slides into the enemy, going so fast as to create sparks across the ground.

With Legion active, the legion flies above and flies forward along spinning with its blades outstretched, increasing the vertical hitbox of the move as to not just hit the feet.

Spoiler: Smashes

Forward Smash: Charge Attack
Throws the X-baton up and catches it backhanded before rushing forward and doing a horizontal slash forwards.
Howard rushes towards the opponent at lightning speed so while the startup is high, the range and speed of the attack is unparalleled.
Due to how fast he rushes forward, he is completely invulnerable mid-slash and has little endlag after so punishes must be made before he catches the X-baton.

With legion active, the first part of the attack only stuns, while a new second part has been to the smash which involves him holding the baton normally and stabbing forward with Legion stabbing simultaneously. This version is much more powerful, combos from the first part, and launches at a lower angle making recoveries hard and kills early.

Down Smash: Gladiator Kick
Does a spinning axe kick that causes a shock wave on the ground, spiking opponenets hanging on ledge.
N/A
With Legion, the legion stabs the ground, causing an explosion and giving the move some AOE damage and hitting behind

Up Smash: Shine Kick
Does a flip kick. If hit with the front side of the attack, it will launch the opponent straight up. If hit at the apex, it will instead launch the enemy behind.

With legion active, the legion does a flip kick along with Ofc. Howard increasing the power of the attack.
N/A

Spoiler: Aerials

Neutral Aerial: Circular Kick
Does a spinning horizontal kick that hits front and then backwards. Slower than the average nair, but more powerful for it.

With Legion active, the legion stands upside down back to back with Ofc. Howard, completing the circle and making the attack hit both sides at once, twice.
N/A

Forward Aerial: Baton Barrage
Three part forward air which starts with a diagonal right to left down swing, diagonal left to right down swing, finished with a horizontal right to left swing, knocking opponents away.

With Legion active, he fills in the gaps between the attacks with his own attacks, making it truly a 6 hit aerial attack

Back Aerial: Hammer Kick
Ofc. Howard raises his foot over his head in a circular manner and slams his heel over the enemy, spiking them. It's quite a slow move, but that's where the legion comes in

With legion active, the legion does a vertical spin hitting the opponent twice locking them into position for the kick.

Down Aerial: Skull Smasher
Ofc. Howard raises the baton up and then rushes to the ground slamming it to the floor.
N/A
With Legion, the legion mirrors the action increasing its damage.

Up Aerial: Baton uppercut
Ofc. Howard backhands the X-Baton and does a short range upper slash with decent killing power.
N/A
With legion active, he repeats the action from the opposite direction increasing the power even further.

Spoiler: Throws

Grab: Judge
Reaches out with his off-baton hand.
N/A
With Legion active, the grab is enhanced into a tether where the Sword Legion rushes out and grabs the enemy, pulling them in, and binding them to the floor with the astral chains.

Pummel: Jury
Hits the opponent with the back of the baton like Link and the Master Sword
N/A
With Legion active, they are full baton swings mixed with the legion doing swings as well.

Up Throw: Executioner
Howard does a diagonal flip kick, knocking the opponent into the air.

With Legion active, the kick launches a set distance into the Legion who then does a bicycle kick, launching the opponent at an aggressive angle downwards horizontally, making it extremely difficult for most characters to recover, while also killing earlier if facing the right direction.

Forward Throw: Convict
Howard slashes away while jumping back.

With legion active, he will followup by throwing the legion forward via the chain which stabs the target.

Back Throw: Pardon
Leaps past and does a circular horizontal kick to the back of the enemy's head.

With legion active, the legion ducks under the kick and does a horizontal slash in the opposite direction.

Down Throw: Retrial
Ofc. Howard slams the opponent with the X-baton downwards, bouncing them up.

If Legion is active, the legion leaps over and slams the opponent again, bouncing them a second time.

Spoiler: Final Smash; WARNING SPOILERS

When Close: Prime Execution
The Sword Legion lets out a loud roar shockwave. Anyone hit is transported to the Astral Plain wherein Ofc. Howard does a complex combination attack featuring all the Legions that were not included. First Howard rides on the Beast Legion, impaling them on the Gladius X-Baton. Then he flips them up and calls forth the ARMS Legion which juggles the opponent in a flurry of punches. Afterwards, while the opponent is still in the air, Howard summons the Arrow Legion wherein they simultaneously shoot a light arrow at them. Then, the Axe Legion is summoned who slams the opponent back on the floor. Finally, he summons the original Sword legion who wraps the opponent up in the astral chain, finishing with a simultaneous stab, which inexplicably causes a giant explosion knocking them away

When Far: Legionic Fusion
If no one is near, Ofc. Howard instead rips out the legion core of the legatus and slams it into his chest, the core dissolving into his heart. This activates his fusion with the legion and transforms him into a giant beast that rushes forward in a flash of light slamming the first person or people with an uppercut claw slash that knocks them to the center of the stage wherein they are assaulted by a barrage of claw slashes, kicks, and energy blasts. When finished, the fusion claws them downwards, bouncing them off the floor of the stage, and into the sky above.

Bonus Content:

Spoiler: Music Tracks (No Links)

01 Savior
02 Emergency
03 Awakening
04 Central City (Combat Phase)
05 Invaders from Another World
06 Astral Plane (Combat Phase)
07 Maison Forest (Combat Phase)
08 Ark Mall (Combat Phase)
09 Homonculus A
10 Harmony Square Station (Combat Phase)
11 Legion Assault
12 Zone 09 Daytime (Combat Phase)
13 Suspense
14 Holy Order of the Digital Hermit
15 Hermit training
16 Chimera Takedown
17 Homonculus B
18 Homonculus Y
19 Jena Anderson
20 Jena (Rebellion and Salvation)
21 Jena (Catastrophe)
22 Grand Avenue (Combat Phase)
23 Rush!!
24 Zone 09 Night (Combat Phase)
25 Ark Sewer Mangement (Combat Phase)
26 Madness
27 Sector V Night (Combat Phase)
28 Case Trial
29 Dark Hero (Male)
30 Dark Hero (Female)
31 Aegis Research Institute (Combat Phase)
32 The Only One
33 Yoseph Calvert
34 Noah Core
35 Noah Prime
36 The Answer

Spoiler: Alternate Costumes:

Spoiler: Stage

The Ark and Astral Plane
A shifting stage that starts on the neon blue city rooftops of the Ark which then transitions to the somber red tones of the Astral Plane:

pssst, OP, if you're still there, could you add this to the main thread and credit me? It's looking kinda barren right now and I think this might make the thread look more enticing.

 

[ZealousGamer]

Most of those are pretty good. However, I'd think there would be more Legion variety. I could easily see the Arrow Legion getting a lot of use.

 

[Speed Weed]

slap me on that support list
i haven't managed to get my hands on the game yet, but i really like their design and they look like they can do a lot of cool ****

 

[CboyC95]

Would anyone count this for stage music?

 

[ZealousGamer]

I like "Savior" personally.

 

[Phoenixio]

With how Astral Chain is one of the few games making it into the 1-million-units-sold list, and with most of the titles on that list being Mario games or already represented titles (soon ARMS, Animal Crossing, Xenoblade), I think we can still hope. It'd be a great way to bolster the sales for the game even more, considering its unusual success, and the characters are super cool and unique. They'd be perfect for Fighter Pass 2, now that they've established their place on the Nintendo market.

 

[fogbadge]

With how Astral Chain is one of the few games making it into the 1-million-units-sold list, and with most of the titles on that list being Mario games or already represented titles (soon ARMS, Animal Crossing, Xenoblade), I think we can still hope. It'd be a great way to bolster the sales for the game even more, considering its unusual success, and the characters are super cool and unique. They'd be perfect for Fighter Pass 2, now that they've established their place on the Nintendo market.

there are a lot of nintendo games outside of mario to reach 1 million

 

[Phoenixio]

there are a lot of nintendo games outside of mario to reach 1 million

Actually, no. There's a total of 32 games that passed that threshold, most of which are Mario, Zelda and Pokemon games. In the top 16, there's 8 games that can be considered Mario games.

As I said earlier, there are notable franchises that also made it, like Animal Crossings, Donkey Kong Tropical Freeze, Splatoon, ARMS, and the likes, but those are already represented in Smash. There aren't a lot that aren't: 1-2 Switch, Ring Fit Adventures, Octopath Traveler, and Astral Chain. There's Minecraft as well, but it's a third party from a major competitor, and Enter the Gungeon, which is an indie game, so their chances are a bit lower, all things considered.

 

[fogbadge]

Actually, no. There's a total of 32 games that passed that threshold, most of which are Mario, Zelda and Pokemon games. In the top 16, there's 8 games that can be considered Mario games.

As I said earlier, there are notable franchises that also made it, like Animal Crossings, Donkey Kong Tropical Freeze, Splatoon, ARMS, and the likes, but those are already represented in Smash. There aren't a lot that aren't: 1-2 Switch, Ring Fit Adventures, Octopath Traveler, and Astral Chain. There's Minecraft as well, but it's a third party from a major competitor, and Enter the Gungeon, which is an indie game, so their chances are a bit lower, all things considered.

octopath traveller is 3rd party, wii fit and wii sports sold over a million as did fire emblem, duck hunt, brain age, nintendogs, kirby, labo, excite bike, punch out, ice climber, pikmin, star fox, f-zero, big brain academy, wave race, pilotwings, golden sun, tomodaci life, style savvy, rhythm paradise, art academy, kid icarus

i dont know where you got only 32 from but selling over a million copies isnt not much of an aberration

 

[Phoenixio]

i dont know where you got only 32 from but selling over a million copies isnt not much of an aberration

It's because you're talking about every game ever. I was talking about Switch games. The list in question. Since those are the best selling Switch games, I think the few non-represented franchises on there have quite a bit of chance to get in. Some might say they're not as established as older series, but there's also something to be said about new IPs getting that successful over such a short amount of time.

 

[fogbadge]

It's because you're talking about every game ever. I was talking about Switch games. The list in question. Since those are the best selling Switch games, I think the few non-represented franchises on there have quite a bit of chance to get in. Some might say they're not as established as older series, but there's also something to be said about new IPs getting that successful over such a short amount of time.

you never once made that clarification you just said game not switch game

 

[Phoenixio]

you never once made that clarification you just said game not switch game

It was fairly obvious from the context, and especially with how this list has been discussed extensively lately on these forums. As you said, there's tons of games that sold more than a million, all platforms considered, so my comment would have made no sense otherwise.

 

[fogbadge]

It was fairly obvious from the context, and especially with how this list has been discussed extensively lately on these forums. As you said, there's tons of games that sold more than a million, all platforms considered, so my comment would have made no sense otherwise.

but there was zero context, you made no reference to the best selling switch list nor that it was specifically that it was switch games you were talking about and it was the start of a new topic in this thread not connected to most recent things said, there was nothing to suggest thats what you were talking about. and there have been loads of topics talked about on here a lot so that doesnt really help

 

[Phoenixio]

but there was zero context, you made no reference to the best selling switch list nor that it was specifically that it was switch games you were talking about and it was the start of a new topic in this thread not connected to most recent things said, there was nothing to suggest thats what you were talking about. and there have been loads of topics talked about on here a lot so that doesnt really help

But you could have figured it all out easily. And then from my second message, you knew it was a list of 32, with very specific information about the non-represented franchises, all of which were Switch exclusives. At that point it was an easy read between the lines.

I could have specified earlier it was about the Switch for those who wouldn't have figured it out, but it's been made clear since, and it feels like you're just witch hunting for me to say you were right at this point. You could easily deduce from the way I wrote it that I was not referring to this much longer list that doesn't even cover 1 million units because it's too little... More extensive list.

 

[fogbadge]

But you could have figured it all out easily. And then from my second message, you knew it was a list of 32, with very specific information about the non-represented franchises, all of which were Switch exclusives. At that point it was an easy read between the lines.

I could have specified earlier it was about the Switch for those who wouldn't have figured it out, but it's been made clear since, and it feels like you're just witch hunting for me to say you were right at this point. You could easily deduce from the way I wrote it that I was not referring to this much longer list that doesn't even cover 1 million units because it's too little... More extensive list.

no it isnt this is a text based format where things like reading between line and tone are lost easily, you need to be clear. this is not a witch hunt this is me suggesting you be clear in future, rather than just entering a thread, leave out half the context of what you were talking about and expect everyone to know what you were talking about. this has got nothing to do with right or wrong and everything to do with you needing to learn to be clear

 

[ZealousGamer]

OK. Enough arguing. Let's get back to how we'd want Officer Howard presented. If fact; there is a good question; what should we call this character? Akira is the Secondary Protagonist. Not the Primary. I'd call them "Officer Howard". However; "Legionis" is fine too.

 

[fogbadge]

OK. Enough arguing. Let's get back to how we'd want Officer Howard presented. If fact; there is a good question; what should we call this character? Akira is the Secondary Protagonist. Not the Primary. I'd call them "Officer Howard". However; "Legionis" is fine too.

i think legionis makes most sense they did seem to get called it a lot

 

[ZealousGamer]

I know it's a silly thought; is anyone worried that Nintendo won't use Officer Howard/Legionis because of the sensitivity of policing right now? I know Japan (seemingly) has a good relationship with their cops; but there are worldwide protest right now.

 

[fogbadge]

I know it's a silly thought; is anyone worried that Nintendo won't use Officer Howard/Legionis because of the sensitivity of policing right now? I know Japan (seemingly) has a good relationship with their cops; but there are worldwide protest right now.

well dlc was planned before this set of protests started so i wouldnt have thought so

 

[ZealousGamer]

That is true.

 

[ZealousGamer]

How do you think the Officer Howard/Legionis announcement trailer will go? Who would they fight? How would it start? I kind of doubt it'd be voiced. Would Joker (from what I understand he is a thief) be featured in the potential trailer?

*I'll edit this so I'm not over posting; What do think would be Officer Howard's entrance? The Bike? The Helicopter? Astral Gate?

 

[ZealousGamer]

Min Min is the playable ARMS character! This means that Spirits do NOT deconfirm! (Not that is a surprise but it is now official).

This means Officer Howard/Legionis can (hopefully) make it in!

 

[fogbadge]

Min Min is the playable ARMS character! This means that Spirits do NOT deconfirm! (Not that is a surprise but it is now official).

This means Officer Howard/Legionis can (hopefully) make it in!

im guessing some people are gonna say dlc spirits dont count in this "rule" break so be ready for that

 

[ZealousGamer]

Wouldn't be surprised. I'm still pretty excited as Min Min is very unique. Officer Howard/Legionis could have a VERY interesting moveset. I'm thinking that all 5 Legions can be used.

 

[Idon]

Wouldn't be surprised. I'm still pretty excited as Min Min is very unique. Officer Howard/Legionis could have a VERY interesting moveset. I'm thinking that all 5 Legions can be used.

That sounds like an unfeasibly large amount of work, especially with beast legion since he's land locked and can't float like the other legions. IMO, if Ofc. Howard gets in, he'll definitely stick to the sword legion with at most arrow legion backing him up.

 

[ZealousGamer]

I'm guessing Sword Legion will be used the most but I think the other Legions can be used. Sword Legion and Arrow Legion for majority special attacks, Arm Legion for grapple, Beast Legion for a dash, Axe Legion counter?