Smashboards Creates: Battle of AGES, a SEGA platform fighter

[YoshiandToad]

Job 48: Arcade Mode

So what would be neat, at least in my opinion, is having a cut scene story motivation plot at the beginning of the Arcade mode, followed by two fights(with a linking cutscene if possible), a series tailored bonus mode for a change of pace, followed by two more regular fights, followed by a 'boss' battle and then a 'final rival'.

To help illustrate this, let's use our newest fighter as an example(please note this is an EXTREMELY rough draft and I feel like we can workshop the real 'stories' better down the line):

Opening Cutscene: Axel Stone hears about the Syndicate rising up again, and immedietly goes off to save the streets once again. His first battle would be against Akira, who is just wandering the streets but looks like trouble, and the two engage in the first battle.

Battle 1: Vs. Akira Yuki
Cutscene slide: As Axel emerges the victor, Sarah attacks him in a cutscene, seeing Akira beaten down for seemingly no reason and mistaking Axel Stone for being a member of J6.

Battle 2: Vs. Sarah Bryant
Cutscene slide: Upon defeating Sarah, Axel continues into the streets.

Bonus mode: Axel enters the Amusement Park stage, and is given a set time to beat as many opponents as possible. Knocking out like...15 gives the player a rare capsule toy as a reward. The stage ends with a Go symbol and Axel walks off.
Cutscene slide: Axel comes across himself. Recognising the doppleganger as 'Break', his robotic copy, Axel sets about putting a stop to this fake copy.

Battle 3: Vs. Axel Stone (Break)
Cutscene slide: After leaving the fake Axel shattered, Axel comes across more robots roaming the streets. Dr. Eggman is deploying robots. Believing Dr. Eggman is responsible for the new 'Break' and a part of the Syndicate, Axel charges in to confront him.

Battle 4: Vs. Dr. Eggman
Cutscene slide: Having defeated Dr. Eggman, Axel now finds himself face to face with Dural, who has arrived to gather data on powerful fighters for J6. Believing Dural is part of the Syndicate, Axel Stone puts up a battle against her.

Boss Battle: Vs. Dural
Cutscene Slide: Having defeated Dural, Axel is now breathing heavily, when he overhears a voice telling him he doesn't approve of hitting women. Axel turns to face Kiryu. Seeing him in the suit, and recognising him as a criminal, Axel engages Kiryu in battle ready to take down the new leader of the Syndicate.

Final fight: Kiryu

Final Cutscene: Adam Hunter arrives on the scene, as Axel notes he's just taken down who he believes to be the new leader of the Syndicate. Adam refutes this statement stating Mr. Y and Ms. Y are still locked up behind bars. Axel looks surprised as Adam states he did manage to take down several high profile wanted criminals (Dr. Eggman, Kiryu) but also attacked civilians and thus he'll have to come down to the station with him himself.

Roll Credits over an image of Axel with Adam's hand on his shoulders.

Again, just an example but hopefully that illustrates my basic idea.

 

[Speed Weed]

Ooooooookay then, I think enough time has passed: YoshiandToad's proposal wins by default.

So here's the Arcade Mode layout:

Each character has their own "story" inbetween rounds:

-Two fights
-A bonus "challenge" tailored to the respective character
-Two more fights
-A boss battle
-A final "rival" battle

With that said, I was thinking we could work on each character's Arcade Mode route once the base game comes to a close - I think it's best for us to save it until the end so we can take full advantage of the content we added.

With that said.....

Job #49: Submit a SEGA character that debuted in the 2000s

And here we are once again, about to add another character! Currently, the only 2000s character we have is Kiryu, so this'll help flesh that side of things out. As for what this decade brought, not only does this cover the rest of the Dreamcast's lifespan, but we begin to enter the modern era of SEGA as well. Keep in mind once again that only characters from series new to this roster can be submitted, aaaaand I think that should be everything! I look forward to seeing everyone's submissions.

 

[osby]

Job #49: AiAi (Super Monkey Ball)



AiAi is the protagonist of Monkey Ball, an arcade game released in 2001, who appeared in all, over 20, games in his series. His franchise is a unique platformer as the players control the stage rather than the characters themselves. Super Monkey Ball is one of SEGA's most popular and successful series and is still going on strongly to this day. AiAi himself would also be a fitting addition to a frantic platform fighter with his distinct marble roll and many items/power-ups he can bring from his games' many mini-games and side modes.

 

[Megadoomer]

If possible, I'm going to re-submit Bayonetta, whose game originally came out in 2009.

Job 25: Bayonetta (Bayonetta)

Since I assume most of us play Smash Bros., I feel like most of you are aware of who Bayonetta is even if you haven't played her games. A witch who hunts angels, Bayonetta takes seemingly everything about the Devil May Cry games up to eleven, resulting in her series consisting some of the best action games out there. The Smash Bros. games only scratch the surface of what she's capable of, though for simplicity's sake, it's probably best if she sticks with her basic moves. (her attacks using the four pistols - two in her hands and two attached to her heels)

The Bayonetta franchise might be something of a cult classic, but for me, Bayonetta 2 was one of the main reasons to buy a Wii U, and it must have done well enough considering that Bayonetta 3 is on the way as a Switch exclusive. (eventually - it's been three and a half years, and all we have to go on is a teaser, though hopefully this E3 will change that)

Bayonetta is stylish, ridiculously over-the-top, and a ton of fun to play as. I feel like any of the Sega characters that are in Smash should probably be here as well, but while a case could probably be made for a few Persona characters aside from Joker (the Persona 3 protagonist, Yu Narukami, Jack Frost, one of the Velvet Room attendants...), Bayonetta seems like the best option to represent the games that Platinum Games made while working for Sega. (no disrespect to Jack from MadWorld/Anarchy Reigns or Sam from Vanquish)

 

[OrpheusTelos]

Job #49: The Demi-Fiend (Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne)

The Demi-Fiend is the silent protagonist of the third mainline Shin Megami Tensei game. He was reborn as a demon with the heart of a human following an apocalyptic event known as The Conception, and is given the opportunity to re-shape the world to his will.

Short of Final Fantasy or Dragon Quest, you’d be hard-pressed to find a JRPG franchise with as much of a storied history as Megami Tensei. Originally starting as an adaptation of the Digital Devil Story series of novels in 1987, the series has since grown into something much bigger, spanning multiple games and spin-offs. One of which happens to be the Persona series, which... we’re on a forum dedicated to a game where Joker is playable, I’m sure I don’t need to explain why that’s a big deal. Shin Megami Tensei is actually the largest branch of the greater Megaten franchise, with the first game releasing in 1992 for the Super Famicom and the latest entry, Shin Megami Tensei V, coming out in November this year. It’s a common misconception that Persona spun off from SMT due to Atlus labeling them as SMT in the west until around Persona 4 Arena and Golden, but in reality they’re both spin-offs of Megami Tensei (confusing, I know).

With a franchise as all-encompassing as SMT, there are a ton of great options to choose from for playable reps. Flynn could be fun and represent the more modern entries, everything about Raidou’s design and play style just screams cool, and even Nemissa would be a neat deep cut that represents the more cyberpunk-ish side of Megaten. Hell I even briefly considered Jack Frost for the 90s submissions because look at him! He’s perfect! How could you say no to a face like that?

Ultimately I decided to go with Demi-Fiend because Nocturne is a pretty major turning point for the franchise. It was the first mainline SMT to be released in the west and really helped define what makes a modern SMT title. It was the first 3D SMT game and also the first game to introduce the press-turn system, which would later become a staple of the franchise. Nocturne was most of the world’s introduction to mainline SMT and really helped it take off outside of Japan. When someone thinks SMT, Nocturne and Demi-Fiend are probably the first thing that comes to mind, and I’m sure we’re all familiar with the “featuring Dante from the Devil May Cry series” memes that spawned from Nocturne. Did I mention that Dante shows up in Nocturne? Because he totally does. It also helps that the game is still relevant thanks to the recent re-release on modern platforms. Outside of Nocturne itself, Demi-Fiend appears as a secret boss in Digital Devil Saga and as a DLC party member in SMT IV: Apocalypse. There’s also a Demi-Fiend costume for Joker in Persona 5: Dancing in Starlight. There’s not much in the way of Demi-Fiend crossing over with other Sega properties since they haven’t really done many crossover games since acquiring Atlus, but the mobile game, Liberation Dx2, has given us some pretty amusing collaboration events between other Sega franchises. Most notable are Bayonetta and Sonic. Do what you will with the information that Sonic is canonically a demon in the SMT universe alongside Guts from Berserk and Dante from the Devil May Cry series.

Demi-Fiend doesn’t have any shortage of moveset potential either. Being half-demon, he has access to just about every physical and magic skill in the game, including a few unique skills of his own. He also has the ability to summon other demons to help him out. The possibilities of what can be done with a Demi-Fiend moveset are near limitless and you’d be hard-pressed to come up with a boring moveset for him.

 

[Mr. Robotto]

Job #49
Beat - Jet Set Radio (June 29, 2000)

Swag incarnate, Beat from the Jet Set Radio series joins the fray! I'm fairly aware I'm not a regular in this thread but I do eye the developments from time to time and I'm frankly surprised this man isn't still in yet.

So for those unaware, who is this rad boy you're looking at? Well this man's name is Beat and he is the main face and protagonist from Jet Set Radiooooooo. There have been many games over the years that focused on creativity, individuality and fighting the establishment, but I believe it's fair to say that they all started with the release of Jet Set Radio back in the summer of 2000. Developed by Smilebit and published by Sega, Jet Set Radio was released on the Dreamcast, and still sticks out as an icon of that particular era. The game received particular praise for its unique soundtrack (god bless Hideki Naganuma), which features hip-hop, funk and jazz songs that appear to use sound samples from past video games, TV and movies. The game allowed players to engage in tricks like rail grinding and wall riding, elements of the game that Beat would most likely bring over with him in a Smash-like Sega game, and became quite the critical success. The game had tons of replay value too, due to the particular game modes like trials.

​

Taking place in the futuristic city of Tokyo-to, players take control of various graffitiing roller skaters, some of those you can see vibing in the gif above. They are contacted by a radio DJ called Professor K, who tasks them with spray painting art across the city to mark their gang's territory in an effort to bring freedom and creativity back to the city. Players travel through different districts inspired by real world cities such as Tokyo and New York. Plenty of locations we can pull from for a stage. And as for possible assists? There are Beat's team members, Professor K, and the infamous antagonist Captain Onishima, among many others.

Jet Set Radio is a game of quite high legacy and praise as it is one of the games that kickstarted SEGA's venture into the 21st century into action with the dreamcast, heck, Beat is even in both Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing and Sega Superstars Tennis. So I believe he has valid arguments for his inclusion in yet another Sega crossover game.

Also, if you weren't aware yet, Jet Set Radio has a banging soundtrack. Take a listen:

Spoiler: Jet Set Radio tracks

A fun fact to end this submission off with: Jet Set Radio was developed by a team of fewer than 25 people. Though that's not all, this was a team whose average age was under 25 years old. In fact, the director, Masayoshi Kikuchi, who had no prior directing experience, initially had difficulty leading the team, relying on trial and error as development progressed. Though despite this, Jet Set Radio was finished after only 10 months of development with huge success. So not only would Beat represent yet another cornerstone of the Dreamcast, but he would represent the new and unorthodox ideas of the youth as well. And well, let's be real, this dude looks like the go-to character for any teenager who picks up the game.

 

[cashregister9]

Job 49

The Football Manager

A God of football.

Football Manager is a franchise that started in 2005 and it represents a facet of SEGA that doesn't have much representation, Their Western developed games, Things like Total War and Company Of Heroes.

In terms of moveset he could use Soccer moves and plays and even summon players to do his dark bidding.

The Football Manager is a character that has appeared in the past in Sonic and SEGA all-stars

Also wouldn't it just be kinda funny?

 

[YoshiandToad]

Job #49: 2000s Sega character

2000s?

You know what time it is then?

That's right it's finally time to talk about the ultimate SEGA All-Star.

A character who despite only really having one game to his name made quite the impact and ended up appearing in a few crossovers.

A character who once raced alongside our very own Sonic the Hedgehog, Dr. Eggman AND Alex Kidd in the Sonic & Sega All-Stars games.

A character who's outfit is frankly ridiculous but incredibly memorable.

A character that haunts Speed Weed 's very conciousness.

That's right, the time is finally here to say good morning to...

Job #49: Vyse (Skies of Arcadia)

Vyse, for those not in the know, is the main protagonist of the excellent air pirate themed JRPG, Skies of Arcadia.

Drawing inspiration from his game, we could have Vyse be able to buff himself via 'Focus', using magic and physical attacks, unleashing special attacks like the Rain of Swords, Pirate's Wrath, Cutlass Fury, Skull Shield and Counterstrike.
Summon crewmates to aid him via crew attacks or even call upon one of his ships to attack the opponent with cannon fire.

Assist wise we have Aika, Fina, Drachma, Gilder and Enrique to fall back on.

Stage wise the game has some gorgeous locations from Pirate Island, to the decks of the many air ships.

Vyse appeared in Valkyria Chronicles which could make for an interesting alt as well as Legends introducing Vize who could make for a solid colour palette.

 

[Speed Weed]

Job #49: 2000s Sega character

2000s?

You know what time it is then?


View attachment 324268

That's right it's finally time to talk about the ultimate SEGA All-Star.

A character who despite only really having one game to his name made quite the impact and ended up appearing in a few crossovers.

A character who once raced alongside our very own Sonic the Hedgehog, Dr. Eggman AND Alex Kidd in the Sonic & Sega All-Stars games.

A character who's outfit is frankly ridiculous but incredibly memorable.

A character that haunts Speed Weed 's very conciousness.

That's right, the time is finally here to say good morning to...

Job #49: Vyse (Skies of Arcadia)

View attachment 324270
Vyse, for those not in the know, is the main protagonist of the excellent air pirate themed JRPG, Skies of Arcadia.

Drawing inspiration from his game, we could have Vyse be able to buff himself via 'Focus', using magic and physical attacks, unleashing special attacks like the Rain of Swords, Pirate's Wrath, Cutlass Fury, Skull Shield and Counterstrike.
Summon crewmates to aid him via crew attacks or even call upon one of his ships to attack the opponent with cannon fire.

Assist wise we have Aika, Fina, Drachma, Gilder and Enrique to fall back on.

Stage wise the game has some gorgeous locations from Pirate Island, to the decks of the many air ships.

Vyse appeared in Valkyria Chronicles which could make for an interesting alt as well as Legends introducing Vize who could make for a solid colour palette.

I'll have you know that was the single most tense buildup I have ever experienced in my entire life

 

[Champion of Hyrule]

Job #49: Yu Narukami

Yu is the main protagonist of Persona 4, released on my birthday in 2008 not the same year though He would be good representation for not only the Persona series, but also the PS2 era as well as series not directly made by Sega. It’s not hard to imagine how he would fight given he’s already in fighting games and has a katana, I imagine he could even have a persona mechanic pretty much identical to Smash Ultimate’s joker persona mechanic only with Izanagi. I feel like he would be a good rep for Persona over Joker given his game has more of a legacy and more time to become a classic. It’s also really beloved and has only gotten more popular after it got added to Steam.

 

[King Sonnn DeDeDoo]

Just want to say that this current task has a lot of really good choices.
- - -

Anyway my submission is Alicia Melchiott from Valkyria Chronicles (2008)

Valkyria Chronicles is a critically acclaimed tactical rpg series set in a fictional world reminiscent of 1930s Europe during WWII, where Alicia Melchiott and her allies from Squad 7 defend their country of Gallia from the invading Empire from the east.

Alicia can be considered the deuteragonist to Welkin, but she would be chosen over him as he is largely confined to piloting a tank which would not be suitable as a fighter (but could easily aid Alicia with off screen artillery attacks and stat boosting orders, just like in the source material) As a scout, Alicia is equipped with a 5 shot rifle, a stick grenade, a ragnaid first aid kit, and potentially high power super moves if the developers don't care about spoilers.

Also if Vyse gets picked, he needs his Valkyria Chronicles costume. They just decided to put him in Valkyria Chronicles as one of the soldiers you can use and it's great

 

[Speed Weed]

Submissions are still going for a bit longer, I'm just here to say that all the music we've added so far has now been added to the OP.

It was an extremely painful experience that I never wish to relive again. But I did it!

 

[Speed Weed]

Alright, I think enough time has gone on now.

First off, that thingy with all the series we have. I decided to space it out a little and not post it between Opa-Opa and Axel, but then I forgot to post it when this job came up so here it is now:

Series mainly repped by characters: Sonic, Virtua Fighter, Alex Kidd, Yakuza, Sakura Wars, Space Channel 5, Fantasy Zone, Streets of Rage

Series mainly repped by stages: OutRun

Series mainly repped by assists: Mushiking, Virtua Cop

Series mainly repped by items so far: early SEGA arcade machines in general (through the Periscope item), Golden Axe, Seaman, Bayonetta

Series mainly repped by VMU RPG mooks so far: 7th Dragon, Billy Hatcher, ChuChu Rocket, Ecco the Dolphin, House of the Dead, NiGHTS, Phantasy Star, Shinobi, Space Harrier, ToeJam and Earl, Valkyria Chronicles, Doki Doki Penguin Land, Pengo

Series mainly repped by music so far: Pit Pot, Teddy Boy Blues, Scud Race/SEGA Super GT, Hang-On, Power Drift, Virtua Racing

Series mainly repped by Capsule Toys so far: Rhythm Thief, Arabian Fight, SEGA Rally, Cyber Troopers Virtual-ON, After Burner, Galaxy Force, Girl's Garden, 16t, Dynamite Düx, Zaxxon, Congo Bongo

With that out of the way, voting has begun!

AiAi ( osby )
Bayonetta ( Megadoomer )
Demi-Fiend ( OrpheusTelos ) MUITO REAL
Beat ( Mr. Robotto )
Football Manager ( cashregister9 )
Vyse ( YoshiandToad )
Yu Narukami ( Champion of Hyrule )
Alicia Melchiott ( King Sonnn DeDeDoo )

Vote for your top 3 picks - your own submission can only be put in third place.

I'll drop in my vote as well:

1. Vyse (he's my favorite SEGA character, of course I'm voting for him)
2. Beat (Jet Set Radio is pretty epic. understand understand)
3. Bayonetta (she just Makes Sense)

I'll also give out an honorable mention to Football Manager, who I think would be an incredible character but, like, we've just now passed the 10-character milestone. Again, top-notch suggestion, but I don't think we should add him this soon

 

[cashregister9]

1. Alicia
2. Bayonetta
3. Beat

 

[Champion of Hyrule]

1. Beat
2. Football Manager
3. Yu

 

[YoshiandToad]

1. AiAi
2. Alicia
3. Vyse

I've struggled picking between Alicia and Beat. Left it to a coin flip and Alicia won.

 

[Flyboy]

1. Football Manager
2. Alicia
3. Vyse

I really, really wish we could add them all. This is an amazing lineup

 

[OrpheusTelos]

1. Beat (UNDERSTAND UNDERSTAND)
2. Bayonetta (She’s way too awesome not to include. Plus I think there’s plenty we could do to separate her from her Smash incarnation)
3. Demi-Fiend (Shameless self-vote)

This is probably the hardest vote so far. All of the decade submissions have been bangers so far, but the 2000s especially has been really good. Probably because this is the era I’m most familiar with and the one I grew up with lol.

MUITO REAL

Speaking of, there is one submission I wanna make for a VMU RPG mook if that’s okay:

Mothman (Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner - 1995)

Now this project is flawless

 

[tonygameman]

1. Vyse
2. AiAi
3. Football Manager

 

[Megadoomer]

1. Vyse (I haven't played Skies of Arcadia, mostly because the Gamecube version is so dang expensive, but it seems like a series that could use more love)
2. Yu (Persona 4 was great; I don't know what else to say)
3. Bayonetta (I nominated her, and I liked the series so much that I bought a Wii U for Bayonetta 2)

 

[Mr. Robotto]

1. Demi-Fiend
2. Vyse
3. AiAi

 

[osby]

1. Bayonetta. Self-explanatory. She's kickass and even if she's already in Smash, there's a lot more she can do to show off her other skills.
2. Vyse. He just makes sense to me. He would have a unique home stage, has a unique dual-wield and we don't have an RPG character yet. Plus, he's a pirate.
3. Football Manager. I unironically want to see this. Would be cool to have a sports-based fighter.

 

[King Sonnn DeDeDoo]

i'd love to see all these characters make it eventually

1. Beat
2. Yu
3. Alicia

 

[Speed Weed]

Voting will close in 2 hours

 

[Speed Weed]

OK: voting is closed!

Let's look at the results:

AiAi: 5 points
Bayo: 9 points
Demi-Fiend: 4 points
Beat: 14 points
Football Manager: 6 points
Vyse: 15 points
Yu: 5 points
Alicia: 8 points

This was a tough round. Every candidate had a right to make it in, and it was pretty hard to tell who could end up winning with this strong of a lineup. However, a victor eventually came out: and as such, I am extremely pleased to announce that the next character to join Battle of AGES is Vyse!!!

I swear I didn't rig the vote.

Now, you might expect us to get to covering his moveset, and that is what we'll do after this, but we've been doing all this crazy **** lately, so I think it's time we take a breather:

Discussion Period #2: Who are your most wanted characters for this project?

Discussion periods aren't just for influencing the direction of the project: they can also just be for casual conversation and getting to know the thread's opinions on stuff. I did already ask this question on the thread's Discord, but A. it's good to be able to get more opinions than just the ones from the people on the server, and B. we've added quite a few characters since then, so we could benefit from an updated perspective. Again, this isn't some crazy secret plan to subtly influence the course of the project based on what you guys say - this really is just for us to chill and talk about who we want to see. It'll be fun, it's a nice break!

I'll be dropping my own take in a while as well, but first, I have to update everything for Vyse's inclusion and then also just have some time to myself. Have a good one.

honestly as happy as I am for Vyse's inclusion it does feel kinda wrong that we added him before adding any Phantasy Star character lol

 

[Flyboy]

I have so many most-wanted characters for this project...I love Sega dearly. I'm glad that We have Kiryu, Vyse, an SOR rep, and Eggman already in but I really want to see Ichiban Kasuga, Football Manager, the Gunstar Heroes, Alis Landale, Arle Nadja, and more.

I would love to see some really cool guests, ones that are Sega-affiliated, too, like Hatsune Miku or Moonwalker Michael Jackson. I also would love some Sega CD representation - I have a soft spot for that little weird trainwreck. Gillian Seed for Battle of Ages let's goooo

I just want fun, iconic, and clever choices. Sega has such a good roster even outside of the usual crossover subjects and I want to see people get creative!

 

[OrpheusTelos]

My most wanted characters from franchises that aren’t in yet are actually characters that we just got done going over: Beat and Demi-Fiend. Jet Set Radio is probably in my top 5 favorite Sega games of all time and there’s nothing that Beat could bring that I wouldn’t absolutely adore. His moveset could be insanely creative with the graffiti and rollerblade tricks, the stage could be one of the most visually striking in the game, and I’m sure most of us can agree that Jet Set Radio music is a must for this game. With how much Sega loves to put JSR content in crossovers it’d just feel wrong if Beat were missing.

As far as Demi-Fiend is concerned, I just love SMT and think it’s way too important to Atlus’ legacy to ignore. I imagine we’re probably gonna walk away with at least one Persona rep, but SMT proper deserves some love too. I’d be cool with anyone SMT, but Demi-Fiend just makes the Most Sense considering Nocturne’s place in the franchise.

I also just wanna see some really weird/unconventional/out of left field picks. Things like your Football Managers or Segata Sanshiros or Wild Woodies. Those kinds of picks add a lot of charm and to a crossover roster and while there’s still a few mainstays I wanna see added before we get WIIIIIIILD with our choices, a game like this could use some deep cuts for the die-hard Sega-Heads.

For second characters, Knuckles is My Boy so I’d be ecstatic for him to join. Majima would’ve been my pick for a second Yakuza rep if he wasn’t killed so early, but Ichiban seems cool so I’d be down with him. Aigis would be awesome if we ever get Joker or Yu, but that’s contingent on whether or not we’re considering Persona and SMT separate entities. If not, I’d rather have Demi-Fiend for variety sake.

Honestly it’s hard to go wrong with Sega franchises. I think all of our choices have been amazing so far and the past few submissions have been really hard to pick. Between this thread and revisiting All-Stars Transformed recently, I’m pretty sad there hasn’t been an actual Sega crossover fighting game yet.

 

[tonygameman]

On a discussion period's subject, thus far (a long list), my most wanted characters are like:

• NIGHTS (NiGHTS into Dreams; top of the list since Opa-Opa made it in)
• Ristar (Ristar)
• Shou Amabane (Burning Rangers)
  • Tillis would appear as an alt or a swappable character like Pyra & Mythra.
• Amigo (Samba de Amigo; while we have Ulala, I do believe in a proper rhythm rep)
• Temjin or Fei-Yen (Cyber Troopers Virtual-On)
• Princess Kurumi (Ninja Princess; would represent a SG-1000 era besides classic arcade)
• Agent G (The House of the Dead)
  • With Thomas Rogan, James Taylor and Gary Stewart appearing as alts.
  • For moveset potential, G has more weapons than just handguns, such as hand grenades, a minigun, crossbow, etc.
  • And his All-Star Move would exactly mimic his game series' genre similarly to Zero Suit Samus and Snake's Final Smashes in SSB4/Brawl, with various enemies such as zombies swarming on opponents.
• Joe Musashi (Shinobi)
• Alis Landale or Nei (Phantasy Star; with Rolf, Rhys and Chaz Ashley as alts for former)
• Taro Yamada (Rent-A-Hero; with Hiroko as an alt - thanks for your post below, Speed Weed !)
• Gunstar Red & Blue (Gunstar Heroes)
  • Maybe swap with each other like Pyra & Mythra, considering free/fixed shots and multiple weapon combinations?
  • Their designs would be an amalgamation of original Genesis and new Super Heroes artworks, with Red being male.
• Sparkster (Rocket Knight Adventures; third-party guest. A whole Frogger situation earlier may affect his chances - here's some playthroughs)
  • The first two games were exclusively released on SEGA Genesis/Mega Drive, with a spin-off on SNES and a reboot released in 2010.
  • Is one of the 1990's video game mascots who followed a trend of anthropomorphic animals after Sonic made his debut, and actually succeeded compared to Bubsy and others.
  • The series' soundtrack itself is quite underrated and slaps hard; take the first stage, boss theme and SNES's Lakeside as examples.
  • Got his very own story arc among other SEGA classics (being the only included series not created by them) on Sonic the Comic.
  • Essentially different from a ordinary swordsman type thanks to his jet-pack which allows him to use various techniques like shooting projectiles/energy beams (works for a potential gimmick), hanging with his tail (can be used for attacks and even whip it to grab ledges mid-air), a giant boxing mech and Super Sonic-like transformation.

 

[Megadoomer]

Considering that I've nominated her twice, I don't think it's a surprise that my most wanted for this is Bayonetta, but one series that I'd like to see get a character is Gunstar Heroes.

As far as I know, Sega owns it (I don't think that Treasure owns the games/franchises that they make, kind of like Platinum Games), and whether it's Gunstar Red or Blue (who'd play identically to each other) or Gunstar Green (who could use attacks based on his transforming robot from his boss fight, albeit smaller in scale)...

...I think the game could have plenty to work with, and it's a lot of fun so I'd like to see it included somehow.

In terms of additional characters from series that are already in the game, Majima and Knuckles would be great to have.

 

[King Sonnn DeDeDoo]

my top 3 characters are:

Beat: I love the style of Jet Set Radio, It has shaped my taste in music and it's powerful artistic legacy continues to inspire fans and developers way after the short lived series.
Tails: Probably an inevitability but still I'm very attached to Tails, back when I first played Sonic 2 I played only as Tails. Something about his nerdy little brother personality stuck a cord with me, and I loved how much he tries to set out to be his own in the Adventure games.
Alicia: Valkyria Chronicles is a great game, love the aesthetic of the world and she can represent the setting and gameplay well.

Others I'd like:
AiAi
Bayo
Demi-Fiend
Football Manager
Yu
Nights
Joe Musashi
Round out the Sonic roster (Knuckles, Shadow, Amy)
Hornet (I want to see the car fight again like in fighters megamix)

More of a concept, but in the past decade or so SEGA has become one of the biggest names in strategy games, with series such as Total War, Endless Space/Legend, Company of Heroes, and Total War: Warhammer. I'm not even sure who would be a good pick from here or if there even is, but still part of me wants to see a rep from SEGA's pretty robust strategy game line up. A dumb part of me wants to have a Warhammer/Warhammer 40K character just because it would be a funny crossover.

 

[cashregister9]

Sakura was my most wanted but there are so many other fun SEGA characters that would be cool like Football Manager, BD Joe, Amigo, Yu, NiGHTS, Centurion, Zobio & Zobiko, Ichiban, Hornet, Alis, Kurumi and Gemini to name a few.

 

[osby]

We already added Sonic, Ulala, Kiryu, and Akira but there are still a lot of SEGA characters I'd love to see in here.

• Amy and Tails. There are other Sonic characters I like but most of them feel more suited for assist roles. (Big, Cream, Rouge, etc.)
• Bayonetta. Said this before, I love her and her games.
• A Persona/MegaTen character. I'm not too picky on this one but someone from Persona 3 or 4 would be amazing.
• AiAi. This is my "I spent more money than I'd want to admit on Super Monkey Ball machines in arcades" pick. Also, he's just adorable.
• Hotsuma. Most people would prefer Joe Musashi but I've always found him cooler. And he could have really cool mechanics with his Akujiki.
• A Golden Axe character. Preferably, Tyris or Gilius. This series just has great designs that would be fit really well into this game.
• Zobio and Zobiko. These two are a meme pick for most but I think they're really cute. Also, House of the Dead is another of my arcade favorites.
• Someone from Resonance of Fate. My pick would be Leanne but this game is so underrated, any kind of major content would make my day.
• Ichiban Kasuga. He's great, definitely my pick for a second Yakuza character.
• Hatsune Miku. As far as I care, she counts.

Yeah, I know that's a lot. Looking at other people's posts, there are a lot of other good picks. Goes to show how many memorable characters SEGA has. Gives me hope that the final roster will make most of the participants happy.

Honorable mentions: Amigo, Shadow, Selvaria Bles, a 7th Dragon character, B.D. Joe, Ryo Hazuki, Pai Chan. I also really want post-2000s SEGA to get some notable representation, seeing how it usually gets shafted in crossovers.

 

[Speed Weed]

Aight, I went off to take care of some stuff, then chilled a bit, then went to sleep, but I'm ready to talk about my wants now! I'm a diehard SEGA-head myself so I have, uh, a lot to say here.

-First off, who did I already get? The three wants of mine that are already in this roster are Opa-Opa, Axel and Vyse (Vyse in particular having been my #1 most wanted for the project). And we added them all in a row. Suffice to say I've gotten a pretty good deal lately lol

-After that, there's some characters that while I do want them, I'm not as active in my support of them because they're probably getting in anyway. These would be Beat, Ryo Hazuki and Joe Musashi. Jet Set Radio has incredible vibes, Shenmue is too important to exclude, and Shinobi is just a really good series. go ninja go ninja go

-As for additional series reps, some of the ones I'd like to see from the series we currently have include Jacky Bryant, Blaze Fielding and a second Sakura Wars rep. Jacky's my favorite VF character and he got robbed in SEGA Heroes, but we also only have one slot left from the series, so I'm not so sure about going for another Bryant now. While I wouldn't exactly put Sakura Wars among my favorite SEGA franchises or anything, I do really like the cast! And Blaze is just Epic (TM).

-So Phantasy Star has always been a must for this roster, but now that we have Vyse, it's, like, a must must. And while Alis will be the first thing to come to mind for most, I'm personally a full proponent of the idea of Nei as the representative for the classic side of the series. I just vibe with the idea of her inclusion on so many levels: she's got a really cool design, would have a sick moveset, and is an iconic fan favorite in her own right. She just works.

-OK so we should totally add Temjin. Virtual-ON is a really cool series, and I'm a bit taken aback by how often I see it just kinda...get the shaft. Not by SEGA themselves necessarily, they acknowledge its existence quite often, but people just kind of...ignore it a lot of the time. I barely see it in any fan rosters, I barely see it get any mention in online discussion of SEGA's legacy franchises - and it's weird because, like, it's not like it's super obscure or anything, it's a noteworthy classic IP that for some reason just gets ignored by most people. So including Temjin I think would be a pretty good move to show that yes, we Know Our ****. Plus, mechs are awesome. We dig giant robots.

-So, House of the Dead! Cool series, eh? Discussion on what representative the series could have in such a roster is often divided: Agent G is the most iconic protagonist from the mainline games, but the mainline human protagonists in general can come off as, well, not exactly the most interesting option. The other frequently brought-up option is Zobio and Zobiko, who have gained notoriety for their appearance in All-Stars Racing and just generally being a fun couple. However, they also have their own cons in that they're not exactly the best representation of what the series has to offer aside from the fact that they're zombies I guess. Both of these are very much valid options, but personally, when it comes to House of the Dead representation, I'm pulling for the CHAD Rikiya Busujima, from the series' beat-em-up spinoff, Zombie Revenge. He's pretty much become my go-to rep for the series whenever I try to do fan rosters that involve SEGA, because he's just so cool. His design makes him stand out so much from the other HotD characters, and in terms of moveset, holy ****. Besides the usual regular guns that all the HotD protags have, he can use martial arts, he can use machine guns, he can use flamethrowers, and so much more - one of his attacks just makes you ****ing explode. I feel like he also acts as a perfect middle ground in the divide between HotD reps - he's more interesting design and moveset-wise than G, while still doing a better job at representing what the series is all about than the zombie couple does. Also - not only is he already kind of an ensemble darkhorse within the franchise's cast by himself, but SEGA themselves give him a surprising amount of love! He's legit the specific House of the Dead character I've seen them acknowledge the most in recent years - even moreso than any mainline character. That's kinda crazy. He was all over the place in the SEGA 60th anniversary stuff, he got to appear in Project X Zone, this man has gone places! Taking all of these things into consideration, weirdly enough, I think Busujima works really well as a representative for the series despite being such a niche character. You bet your sweet bippy I'm submitting him one of these days.

These were the big 3 characters I'm interested in pushing right now. Now here are some of my more lowkey wants:

-Even if Opa-Opa has already given me my fill of characters from the Fantasy Zone Cinematic Universe (TM), I still would not at all be opposed to Harrier getting in. What can I say? He's pretty epic.

-So ya want an obscure Sonic Team character? Screw Billy, we should add mother****ing Shou Amabane. Burning Rangers has always really interested me, and more Saturn reps can't hurt! Plus, imagine the bangers we can add.

-So aside from VF, there's two other SEGA fighting game series I'd be interested in seeing: Fighting Vipers and Last Bronx. The former does have quite the following and a decent chance of getting in here, but the latter is much more obscure. Either way, I'd be happy with any character from either.

-yall all I'm saying is that if we add a non-Persona MegaTen character it should totally be Raidou

-So I've kept on running my mouth about classic SEGA stuff, but what about their modern output? First off, I think Selvaria Bles would be really ****ing cool. Aside from that, two smaller characters I'd really enjoy seeing would be Phantom R and Jack Cayman. I'll admit I'm not as interested in SEGA's Big Modern Franchises as I am in the classics - I do really like Monkey Ball and Yakuza, Valkyria Chronicles gets some points from me for the Skies of Arcadia connections, and I did use to be a Persona fan though I'm much less interested in the series nowadays, but that's about it. However, looking at the more niche side of their modern output, both Rhythm Thief and MadWorld have always really struck a chord with me for some reason. Both would be great.

-Now here's my Weird Pick: Taro Yamada a.k.a. Rent A Hero. This guy seems to be something of a cult fave when it comes to SEGA's more obscure stuff, and frankly I think he'd be an excellent choice if we're to have a few weirdos in our roster! He may have only had two games - one of which is a remake of the other, and neither of which left Japan - but I see his series get brought up surprisingly often for how obscure it is, and he even got to appear in Fighters Megamix! His series puts a big emphasis on The Funny, which could give him quite the boost in the personality factor, and in general, it'd be really cool to have, like, a flashy toku-inspired fighter in this roster. He'd just be fun.

-In terms of guests, I am 100% for Moonwalker MJ. hee hee

-And of course...we gotta add Segata Sanshiro.

There's probably still some I'm forgetting, tbh. But in general, my biggest want for not just the roster, but the project as a whole, is for this to be fun. My biggest problem with most of the rosters I see is that a lot of them feel like they were just made by some dude who went to SEGA's Wikipedia page and pulled from there. So much of it just feels like either checking off boxes or throwing in everything and the kitchen sink, so I really want us to come out of here with a fun, well put-together roster that feels like it was made how it actually was made - by a bunch of SEGA nerds ****ing around on a niche message board. Like, we've already had so much fun, not just when it comes to the characters that actually get in, but also the submissions and other forms of content. I wanna see all the cool characters and stages, all the crazy deep cut assists and Capsule Toys, there's so much fun one can have with a SEGA-themed Smash clone, and we already have such a variety of IP represented. By the end of all this, I just want us to go nuts - with the roster, with everything. We're not even a third of the way through the base roster and I'm already convinced that this was an amazing idea.

also we should add Deku from Fighters Megamix cause he's the closest SEGA character to Amingo

 

[tonygameman]

-Now here's my Weird Pick: Taro Yamada a.k.a. Rent A Hero. This guy seems to be something of a cult fave when it comes to SEGA's more obscure stuff, and frankly I think he'd be an excellent choice if we're to have a few weirdos in our roster! He may have only had two games - one of which is a remake of the other, and neither of which left Japan - but I see his series get brought up surprisingly often for how obscure it is, and he even got to appear in Fighters Megamix! His series puts a big emphasis on The Funny, which could give him quite the boost in the personality factor, and in general, it'd be really cool to have, like, a flashy toku-inspired fighter in this roster. He'd just be fun.

Now you won me over, I was almost starting to forget about Rent-A-Hero. That remake was released on Xbox (with online capabilities) & Dreamcast, with the same engine as Spikeout and had an attempted English localization on a former console which got cancelled (even though it can be found on Internet). From what I heard, Steve Pink was about to direct the movie adaptation five years ago, but we didn't get more news alongside other SEGA projects (except Paramount's Sonic). A idea of people renting hero suits was later revived by SEGA in a Nintendo 3DS game called Hero Bank.

On his appearance in Fighters Megamix, Taro can also use projectiles and has an additional handicap via battery symbols which deplete during a fight, making his armor disappear which renders Taro unable to use a number of moves and take more damage. This would work for a gimmick, except that his armor would return when re-spawning after losing his stock. He even fought Segata Sanshiro himself, who is a dojo owner in the remake, to learn new combat moves (a original game is considered "action role-playing" with a 2D fighting game format instead of standard turn-based battles).

Also, Hiroko from the remake would also appear as Taro's alternate costume, akin to many Smash characters with female alts and her popularity on appearing in promotional material and supposed to have a bigger part in the sequel or starring in her own game, but neither has ever been made at the time.

 

[YoshiandToad]

Most wanteds eh? I got very lucky with Alex Kidd already, and Axel Stone and Vyse are two of the other huge desires of mine. Still, there's always more for rampant desire:

• Tails
  Not exactly a deep cut type of character but I absolutely adore Tails to the point I'd say after Alex Kidd he's by far my favourite Sega character.
  Other Sonic characters I really like are currently included in some way (Sonic, Eggman, Rouge and Big oddly enough) leaving only Tails without a home in this game thus far for me. Tails' focus on aerial combat and inventions could be very cool. I feel like we could get some more interesting references into his moveset via the inventions side of things too.
  Also Tails' Adventure is such an underrated Metroidvania style title and I highly recommend downloading it on the 3DS before the eshop goes down next year if you've never played it.
  
  
• Gunstar Red/Blue
  I thought I was the only one who'd put forth the Gunstar Heroes, but it's really heartwarming to see so many others loved this run and gun title as much as I did. I feel like it's some of Treasure's best work, and considering they managed to even make a great game out of the McDonalds license, that's saying something. If I could only have one...I'd probably go with Red just because Red's playstyle is traditionally shooting on the move, whilst Blue is more precise...and the genre is Run and Gun. I imagine very few would care if Blue did a run and shot a gun though.
  
  
• Psycho Fox
  Okay now THIS is a deeper cut. I assume many of you are familiar with Decap Attack?
  Well before that, Vic Tokai made a very similar game on the Master System called 'Psycho Fox'(named after his psychic powers not...the unfortunate implications Psycho has in the west. Japan just liked using Psycho instead of Psychic I guess).
  
  When I say it was very similar, I mean a lot of Decap's game mechanics are straight ported from Psycho Fox. Psycho Fox sets himself apart from Chuck by being able to not only perform the same basic moves as him such as a throwable ally that works like a weapon, but also transform himself into three other animal forms with the help of a 'Psycho Stick' allowing for drastic stat alterations:
  
  • Tiger form gives Psycho Fox(and yes that is his name) a huge boost in speed, allowing for longer jumps although his high jump is lower than the regular form.
  • Monkey form gives him superior jumping skills, improving his aerial abilities at the cost of every other department being slightly worse than Psycho Fox's base form.
  • Hippo form makes him heavier and slower but also allows him to smash through obstacles that the other forms simply do not. However outside of pure power, his other stats such as speed and jump are the worst of the four forms.
    
    I'm sure a lot of people have their own idea for stance fighters, but Psycho Fox is one of the earliest examples I can remember of having it in the gameplay. It's a largely forgotten Master System title I have incredibly strong nostalgia for...and I just prefer it overall to Decap Attack, sorry Chuck. There's actually tons of Master System titles I'm secretly rooting for, but Psycho Fox is amongst the top...and most obscure.
    
• Ecco the Dolphin
  Yes, I am serious. Ecco is a realistic looking dolphin and I think the aquatic mammal would make for a fantastic lethal joke character.
  For those not in the know Ecco has canonically fought off aliens, travelled through time, gained the ability to shape shift into other species such as a seagull, a shark or a whole shoal of fish, talked to what I can only assume are basically gods.
  
  
• Spike (and Spike Jr)
  Another really obscure Sega series, but SpikeOut is the best arcade beat em up title that you never got to play. SpikeOut itself was revolutionary at the time for allowing multiple arcade cabinets to hook up and interact over a distance. As for the characters in question, Spike is a street fighter of some variety that carries his toddler child on his back. When he takes too much damage, Spike Jr flies off which is always hilarious, but then joins his father in fighting alongside him.
  
  Here's a pic, it's pretty cute:
  
  
  
  Spike Jr's attacks don't seem to do much damage if any, but this father-son duo won me over.

All other series I'm less into the likely character but more want to see the series get a fighter:

• Super Monkey Ball: AiAi is the obvious pick as the face, but I'd not be opposed to the more physically focused GonGon or martial arts mastery of YanYan.
  
  
• Jet Set Radio: Beat is the obvious pick, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't prefer both Gum and Corn/Tab to him, as they both end up as starting original GG members in both games whilst Beat gets swapped out for YoYo as the starter character in Future, needing to be recruited like all the other members. Beat is the leader of the GGs in the OG title, but Corn/Tab takes that role in the alt universe sequel.
  
  
• Valkyria Chronicles: Loving what I've played so far but I'd be hard pressed to pick a favourite. I know Selvaria is the fan favourite but I'm not quite at the point where I've seen a lot of her yet. Alicia and Welkin are both pretty enjoyable too.
  
  
• House of the Dead: In a tricky spot with this as I'm more of a fan of the spinoff squad:
  
  G in The House of the Dead Overkill for example seems like a different character from G in the main games but Overkill G is probably my favourite protagonist overall. I know the common consensus is a regular human is pretty dull, but I imagine an Overkill G using the keyboard from Typing of the Dead as an All-Star move to mow down opponents with typed out sentences being changed to gunfire, driving a tiny ice cream truck, wrestling with 'Mutants' and beating them down with melee weaponry or shooting tiny targets to set up traps all with a serious and cool collected face could still bring a lot of humour.
  
  Then we have Zobio and Zobiko who whilst fairly minor allow us to rep HotD with zombies. And also they're just a lot of fun. The Star is also pretty fantastic in Loving Deads. Heck, everyone's pretty wonderful in Loving Deads. I wish this had recieved a Wii release or something. It's genuinely great and I have no clue why Sega didn't consider it.
  
  Dr. Curien himself could be used as an excuse to throw loads of boss creatures and shoutouts into a moveset too. Whilst he doesn't look too smart by the end of the first title, he does return in...glorious fashion which could make for an insane All-Star Move.

There's also a few series I think would make for better stages or assists. For example Two Point Hospital I feel would make for an amazing stage, but doesn't lend itself well to a fighter.

ChuChu Rocket is super cool but I'm unsure if I need them as a fighter...unless we had them all stacked on top of one another like a Dr. Goomba Tower. That could be pretty fun, but I'd be equally happy with an assist option.

Billy Hatcher and Amigo also fall in this category where they'd be nice to see for me in some major context, but not neccessarily as a fighter.

 

[YoshiandToad]

Oh, and I forgot about it but Wonder Boy needs some love.

Although I'm stuck between Tom-Tom and Asha. I'm sure some would love to see Shion, Book and Jin too.

 

[Flyboy]

I have to second Nei and Asha! Great picks that I definitely vibe with. Last month's issue of Retro Gamer had a great article on Monster World IV, actually.

 

[Speed Weed]

Alright, Vyse moveset stuff is gonna start tomorrow morning (for context, it's currently late at night where I be). But before that, although this post has nothing to do with the current topic, there's something incredible that I have to share with all of you.

So a while back, I expressed interest in sometimes just coming in and sharing fun tidbits about SEGA history - especially their music albums. Cause honestly, SEGA has an insane backlog of albums featuring their music, and plenty of the ones that aren't just "(X game)'s soundtrack" are genuinely interesting to discuss. And sure enough, I did get to talk about one of them: the Segacon duology of albums, released in 2001 - a huge trip through the history of classic SEGA, spanning a total of a little over 100 tracks, which were also a really well put together selection, with a really good mixture of both classics (such as Let Mom Sleep, the OutRun OST, and Let's Go Away) and deep cuts (such as Folly Fall from Napple Tale, Bright Rays from Space Harrier 3-D, and the beginner's course theme from Indy 500). I'd recommend listening to both, they're a really good time.

But that was the only piece of SEGA music history I talked about since. There were a few I did consider talking about, and I might still do so in the future, but never got around to it since. All that talk of beginning to share cool pieces of SEGA music history? Never panned out.

But that changes today. Because today, I have unearthed something beautiful. Something that absolutely needs to be shared with the world. Guys, gals and non-binary pals, I present to you: SING!! SEGA Game Music presented by B.B. Queens - an album released in 1992.

- YouTube

Enjoy the videos and music that you love, upload original content and share it all with friends, family and the world on YouTube.

youtu.be

This album is proof that God exists.

OK, but what is it? Well, it's essentially a collection of vocal remixes of tracks from games by both SEGA and Game Arts, sung in English by Japanese vocalists. It is a life-changing experience.

I actually did know of this album's existence before, but this is the first time I really sat down and listened to it. This was not one of the things I meant to cover at first, but as soon as I heard it, I knew I needed to share this with this thread. This was too good to keep to myself. What's interesting about this album is that if you inserted the CD in, well, the SEGA CD, you'd gain access to a special port of Teddy Boy Blues where you could have any of the tracks from the album as background music, so that's kinda cool.

While all of the tracks are a thing of beauty, special mention goes to what I would consider the star of the show here - a vocal remix of the After Burner theme, titled "Burnin' Love".

I think I can safely say, without any hyperbole whatsoever, that Burnin' Love is the single greatest thing ever recorded in the history of everything.

- YouTube

Enjoy the videos and music that you love, upload original content and share it all with friends, family and the world on YouTube.

youtu.be

(also, fun fact: the first track in the album, despite being credited as coming from Teddy Boy Blues, actually comes from a cancelled game titled SEGASonic Bros.!)

 

[AirMac1]

Why wasn’t I told that people have replied? I have notifications on.

Anyway, my most wanted character is Axel from Crazy Taxi, since I love that series of games. Also, some obscure characters would be cool.

 

[Speed Weed]

Aight, so after going to sleep and then listening to Burnin' Love 200 more times afterwards, it's finally time for me to start up the usual jobs again! This was a pretty fun time, ngl, but it's time to go back to what we usually do:

Job #50: Submit a moveset for Vyse

So we were meant to do this right after Vyse won the 2000s vote, but I decided to pause things for a bit and take a breather - but now it's time to finally cover just what Vyse will do on the battlefield. Ya know how movesets work by now, so uhhhhhh do your best!