Smashboards Creates: Battle of AGES, a SEGA platform fighter

[Speed Weed]

Hey so on the Discord, we've been doing a lil' side thing of sorts where we make character bios for this game's cast. This post is just to compile all the bios we've made in there for each character. I'll update it as we make more bios there

Spoiler

Spoiler: Playable Characters

Name: Alex Kidd
First Appearance: Alex Kidd in Miracle World (November 1st, 1986)
Series: Alex Kidd
Bio:
"The prince of Radaxian's royal family, Alex was kidnapped as a child and trained in the ancient martial art of Shellcore under Saint Nurari's guidance at Mount Eternal for seven years until he found out about the evil tyrant, Janken the Great's invasion and his true heritage, setting off to rescue his brother Egle, Princess Lora and later on, his father King Thunder in Planet Paperock from Janken's son, Ashra.
Far from your ordinary kid, Alex is packed with quite a rocky punch thanks to his Shellcore abilities which expand the size of his attacks. He can also use various items in battle like Teleport Powder, Magic Capsule B, Power Bracelet, Telepathy Ball and Psychic Wand. And never forget, he's also the master of Rock-Paper-Scissors. JAN! KEN! PON!"

Credit to tonygameman

Name: Ichiban Kasuga
First Appearance: Ryu ga Gotoku Online (November 21, 2018)
Series: Yakuza
Bio: "Hot-headed, loyal, and relentlessly positive, Ichiban Kasuga is the protagonist of Ryu ga Gotoku Online as well as the main Yakuza series starting with Yakuza: Like A Dragon in 2020. After taking the fall and going to prison for a crime he didn't commit, Ichi becomes a free man and finds a world that has moved on without him. Betrayed by his former Yakuza boss, Ichiban ends up homeless and destitute in Isezaki Ijincho. He doesn't let that get him down, as after befriending a fellow homeless guy he makes a pact to become the person he always dreamed of - a hero, like in Dragon Quest! Ichiban sees the world like an RPG, always striving to boost his stats and defeat evil, and with the help of his pro wrestling moves, his friends, and his trusty barbed-wire bat, he just may succeed at clawing his way up from rock bottom."

Credit to Flyboy

Name: Opa-Opa
First Appearance: Fantasy Zone (March 5th, 1986)
Series: Fantasy Zone
Bio: "The Fantasy Zone was under threat by the evil Menon Forces as they were stealing the other planets' currencies to fund a huge fortress. The Space Guild sent Opa-Opa to retrieve supplies back until he found out that his father was the leader, causing the emotional stress as a result that created an evil subconscious ten years later. Despite all of these tragedies, Opa-Opa has proven his position as the protector, always striving to defend his home land whether it's flying through mazes, protecting planets from falling debris and avenging his father's death by the Dark Master.
In battles, Opa-Opa can make use of his natural flight ability by soaring around in the air and blasting enemies off with twin shot bullets and dropping bombs. As he loves shopping, Opa-Opa is able to summon a Shop Balloon to grant himself temporary upgrades with stronger beam weapons, various bombs and jet/rocket engines to become much faster (though it'll be a hard time to control his speed), if he has enough money to buy them."

Credit to tonygameman

Name: Aigis
First Appearance: Persona 3 (July 13th, 2006)
Series: Persona
Bio: “The last remaining Anti-Shadow Suppression Weapon, a series of androids that are capable of summoning a Persona, the manifestation of their other self. After a hard battle renders her inactive for a decade, Aigis awakens following the arrival of S.E.E.S., a high school club dedicated to eradicating creatures born from people’s dark sides: Shadows.
Along the way, not only does she learn more about humanity and emotions, but also about her involvement in the mysterious phenomenon called the Dark Hour.
As a machine built for combat, Aigis is able to shoot bullets from her “fingers”, as well as equip various firearms. Her “Orgia Mode” grants her increased attack and speed but at the cost of leaving her overheated and vulnerable afterward. Her Persona is Pallas Athena of the Chariot Arcana. Rise up!”

Credit to osby

Name: Raidou Kuzunoha
First Appearance: Devil Summoner: Raidou Kuzunoha vs. The Soulless Army (March 2nd, 2006)
Series: Shin Megami Tensei
Bio: "The title of Raidou Kuzunoha is one that’s passed down through generations, reserved for only the most skilled Devil Summoners. This young man, a Yumizuki High student who underwent rigorous training in the art of devil summoning, is the 14th person to have claimed that title. Once his title was earned, the new Raidou was sent out into the capital to protect it from the demonic threats of the Dark Realm. He’s accompanied by the sarcastic talking cat Gouto-Douji, who was assigned to guide Raidou in the ways of the Devil Summoner. Raidou works under the Narumi Detective Agency to investigate supernatural mishaps and put a stop to any pesky demons interfering with the human world. While Raidou’s skills with a katana and revolver are unparalleled, his true power lies within his ability to capture and summon demons using the summoning tubes he has stashed under his cape."

Credit to OrpheusTelos

Spoiler: Assists

Name: Tee
First Appearance: Puyo Puyo Tetris (February 6, 2014)
Series: Puyo Puyo
Bio: "The captain of the S.S. Tetra and the almighty powerful Tetris King, Tee soars the cosmos with his crew informing reports of any anomalies in the space-time continuum through his best buddy and communications officer O. And, much like other times, in such a peaceful day, with such peace and quiet, something's bound to shatter that peace: intruders! And colorful blobs! The unfortunate coincidences bring Tee's ship on a crash course towards Suzuran High, and it's up to him and Ringo to gather his crew back together, fix his spaceship, and find out who's responsible for this anomaly..."

Credit to YopAlonso

Since this is the first post on a new page, I shall also remind you that submissions for a Shining character have now begun!

 

[Megadoomer]

Since I've submitted a Shining Force character before, I'm going to resubmit Domingo, since I like how out-of-left-field he seems to be.

Domingo (Shining Force)

Shining Force is like Sega's version of Fire Emblem (in terms of gameplay, not in terms of the amount of characters from it that wind up included in this), so I thought I'd try nominating someone from that game. Rather than going with the main character (Max, a tunic-wearing swordsman), I decided to change it up and go with a weirdly-intellectual octopus-like spellcaster.

Domingo can fly, avoiding the "Yoda in Soul Calibur 4" problem where he's too short to hit (he can hover over the ground, with a tentacle drooping to near-ground level to act as a hurtbox), and in addition to attacking with his tentacles, he can cast various spells, such as draining the enemy's soul (which might act similarly to Robin's Nosferatu), lightning magic, and fire magic. His main specialty is ice magic, which he has as soon as he's unlocked.

I thought I'd try nominating a character that's out of left field - it can sometimes be fun to change things up and go with something unexpected. (look at R.O.B., Duck Hunt, and Piranha Plant)

 

[Deleted member]

Toma & Cyrille (Shining Force EXA)


Shining Force EXA is a 2007 game in the Shining Series for the PS2. The game is set in a medieval sort of setting and features two central characters. Toma, a boy raised in the wild and Cyrille, a mage girl raised in the Noswald Empire, one of the two main warring factions in the game's universe. The two first appear to be opposites to each other. Toma is brash and quick tampered but strong sense of justice, and Cyrille is highly intelligent and has a tendency to be cold towards people, but has a hidden caring nature. The two must work together to find a holy sword known as the Shining Force.

They already have crossover status, as they appeared in a pair unit in the first Project x Zone.

In Battle of AGES, they would function almost sort of like Pyra and Mythra in Ultimate, with a switching out mechanic. Toma would be a melee focused fighter, and Cyrille would use spells. There would be a lot of strategy on when to switch.

 

[osby]

Shining protags usually are a bit on the simple side and with many different characters competing, I went with one of the side characters I found fun

Job #148: Lin Xiao-Mei (Shining Hearts)

A Beastman, Xiaomei is a half-cat, half-human, all mischief character who is an unassuming antique seller at day but is a notorious cat thief with endless greed for treasure at night, nicknamed "Black Tail." While she's not someone you can trust to watch over your possessions, she's excellent at keeping her easy-earned loot safe from their rightful owners. Her Monk class is not for a joke as she's a talented martial artist and doesn't shy away from using her claws to her advantage. She's also able to shapeshift into a black cat for reasons.

I think Xiaomei would be a fun, sneaky fighter. She seems popular enough, with multiple mainline games and a crossover fighting game bringing her in playable roles after she had a small role in her first appearance.

 

[OrpheusTelos]

Job #148: Agnum Bulletheart

Agnum is one of the main party members from Shining Resonance. With his flaming hot personality and skill for music, Agnum is a musical mage who steals the spotlight every time he hits the battlefield. Using his Armonic weapon Iglute, a blade shaped like a guitar, he’s able to channel his fiery passion and conjure up powerful fire spells. Although he might seem kinda reckless and hot-headed, Agnum is a surprisingly chill dude who is an incredibly skilled dragoneer. He also enjoys traveling the world as a vagrant.

I’m gonna be real with yall, I have no idea how important Agnum is to Shining Resonance outside of being a main party member. But holy **** does this guy sound like the coolest ************ ever. When I was looking into the Shining series, Shining Resonance immediately caught my attention with the instrument weapons the party members wield, and out of all the potential options, Agnum stood out as someone who looked like a blast to play as. He has a guitar sword that he can slam people with and he can summon fire! Who wouldn’t want to try this guy out?

 

[cashregister9]

Sonia Blanche

The main Heroine of Shining Resonance, She is a knight known for her fast attacks

Shining Resonance is the most recent game

I have only played the demo of this game that is why this is not in depth.

 

[Tankman from Newgrounds]

Fenrir (Shining Blade)

Fenrir is one of Characters from Shining blade game and he is vice-captain of Valeria Liberation force. He is a demi-human that has werewolf look.

He could have unique moveset consisting of moves taken from the game and he could have some attacks revolving about the wolves, like biting or scratching the opponents.

(I didn't played the games or I don' have any interest, so this submission is short and sweet)

 

[YoshiandToad]

Job #148: Jin and Bail (Shining Force Feather)

A relatively obscure title, Shining Force Feather never made it outside of Japan and didn't sell particularly amazingly. However, the relative obscurity, combined with the really fun character designs which sharply contrast with the softer looking cast of modern Shining and the gameplay of being able to combo into one another are enough to interest me.

The protagonists of Shining Force Feather are Jin(the swordsman with a skull belt and the edgy black and red colour scheme) and his childhood buddy Bail (the bronze skinned pretty boy centaur there) who are a troublesome pair of treasure hunters.

One day whilst exploring some ruins they happened to come across an android known as Alfin(the innocent looking girl on Jin's arm), who registers Jin as her new master, asking him to help her find ancient relics, whilst Jin himself wishes to sell the relics off for profit. Through a series of surprising events, Jin and Bail end up getting more party members and end up as heroes rather than rambuctious rogues.

In Battle of Ages, these boorish bash brothers have each others back, and are more than happy to team up in battle to overwhelm their foes. They're not your typical heroes and if you're expecting anything other than pragmatism, you might be in for a surprise.

They act as a duel unit, with each being able to summon the other into battle, swapping between each other to perform a stream of unrelenting attacks.

Despite my looking into it I can't quite work out whether Alfin herself is a party member that actually fights, so I'm leaving her out of this for the time being.

 

[PuyoWitch]

I'm loving the Shining Resonance love. I'm going to admit: I didn't really have a good experience with the first Shining Force and Shining in the Dark when I played them, nor did I care for the GBA games, but I respect the heck out of II and Shining Resonance. I'm a sucker for Media.Vision's games ever since I played Wild Arms. I've actually been watching a longplay of this game, and I want to talk about three of its characters here.

Sonia Blanche

The main Heroine of Shining Resonance, She is a knight known for her fast attacks

Shining Resonance is the most recent game

I have only played the demo of this game that is why this is not in depth.

Sonia's really cool, actually. For a few quick reasons why she's neat:
-Lots of quick and powerful sword strikes with buffs/debuffs.
-There's an animation she does where she comes to a grinding halt with her heels that I really like (good for you for pulling it off, but girl, what are you doing).
-Everyone in the game actually has a musical theme, and has a weapon/instrument, so that sword she has is used to play the Violin. So she's really good at making it sound good while hitting it with a sword.
-Says "I'm feelin' it" like Shulk
-She is actually the Princess of her country but takes up being a knight due to boredom and fighting for her kingdom.
-Just a real sweetheart and loves justice.

Job #148: Agnum Bulletheart

View attachment 345044

Agnum is one of the main party members from Shining Resonance. With his flaming hot personality and skill for music, Agnum is a musical mage who steals the spotlight every time he hits the battlefield. Using his Armonic weapon Iglute, a blade shaped like a guitar, he’s able to channel his fiery passion and conjure up powerful fire spells. Although he might seem kinda reckless and hot-headed, Agnum is a surprisingly chill dude who is an incredibly skilled dragoneer. He also enjoys traveling the world as a vagrant.

I’m gonna be real with yall, I have no idea how important Agnum is to Shining Resonance outside of being a main party member. But holy ** does this guy sound like the coolest ********** ever. When I was looking into the Shining series, Shining Resonance immediately caught my attention with the instrument weapons the party members wield, and out of all the potential options, Agnum stood out as someone who looked like a blast to play as. He has a guitar sword that he can slam people with and he can summon fire! Who wouldn’t want to try this guy out?

I was debating between this guy and the person below for my write-up, so I'm glad he's already gotten nominated. Please, just watch this guy's intro cutscene:

- 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

Lastly, I'll throw out this guy

Job #148: Jinis Aion/Jinas the Dragonslayer (Shining Force Resonance)

With the ability to take down a dragon in a single hit, it's easy to see why Jinas has earned his nickname of "The Dragonslayer". From place to place, he walks with his giant katana that's covered in dried blood, looking to kill every single dragon being weaponized by the game's main antagonist, the empire. By that description, you would assume he is one of our party's top allies, but not so, as he has no side in the war between kingdoms that's the focus of Shining Resonance. Neither side knows much about him besides the fact he's extremely strong, and not quite human. Without getting into spoilers, his only goal seems to be killing every last dragon he can (our main character included since he can turn into one). He may be noble and honorable, but deep down he's edgy and short-tempered.

I'll also post his introduction because it's cool:

- 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

So, this guy was one of the main antagonists of the initial game, but he was promoted to being a playable character from the beginning of the game in Refrain. You can even go on dates with him, just like any of your other party members, that spawns out of him training you. I didn't watch a lot of it due to spoilers, but getting to date him is especially funny to me because from what I've seen he just really sort of hates us in-game. He's up there in terms of fun edgelord characters, in an unironic way, I would say. Beyond his personality, though, he's a rival to you and your party throughout the game, and he's got a hook as a really good, long-range sword fighter with superhuman speed.

In-game, his speed is so fast it looks like he actually looks like he teleports, he has several moves involving elemental damage, and a self-heal tied to his MP. As a playable character, I'd say he'd be a cross between Marth and Sephiroth.

 

[Flyboy]

Job #148: Bowie (Shining Force II)

Bowie is the protagonist of Shining Force II, released in 1994 for the Sega Genesis and considered to be in the conversation as one of the best games ever made. At least, my friend Austin certainly thought so, which is why I ended up playing it and definitely a major part of the reason I have a real fondness for it. In this game, Bowie leads the titular Shining Force, a group working under the king initially consisting of Chester, a centaur knight, and Sarah, a healer.

At the start of the game, Bowie has the unique Swordsman class as he begins as a lowly adventurer, but as he matures and the story continues, he promotes into the Hero class come level 20. I figure half of his alts would be his younger version and the other half his older version. As a Hero, Bowie wields the mystical Force Sword, a powerful heavy blade of legend, and he learns the Bolt spell, a massive lightning strike. Both of these would be in his moveset regardless of costume.

Bowie also knows the spell Egress, a quick escape spell that allows the party to exit any battle without penalty. I feel that incorporating this as a special would balance out his slower sword strikes with a very quick dodge or way to get out of danger and plan his next move.

Along with heavy strikes and his lightning magic, an idea to consider is that as Shining Force II is a tactical RPG, party members could factor in Bowie's moveset. I wanted to differentiate this from Ichiban's "party members show up as part of attacks" moveset I submitted, so how I see it working is his neutral-special is a command menu that allows you to assign a party member to Bowie that has the potential to change several of his specials whenever they're "equipped" or provide other buffs depending (and of course they'd appear in his specials and the UI as well). My ideas therefore were:

• Chester in his Pegasus Knight form, allowing Bowie to take advantage of the winged centaur's tremendous recovery and long-ranged lance attacks.
  
• Sarah, the elf mage, granting Bowie temporary use of her healing powers as well as the ability to remove any negative status effects inflicted by items or attacks such as slow or poison. Bowie's Bolt spell also gains the ability to temporarily reduce an enemy player's speed.

• Slade, the rat thief that stole the Jewels of Light and Evil to kickstart the game's central conflict, providing increased dash speed and allowing Bowie to steal an item the opponent is holding with a buff to his grab.

• May, a centaur ranger that fires long-range arrows that don't do much damage but can be used with Bowie's Egress spell to play keepaway and deliver chip damage.

• And finally Sheela, the Master Monk, a former healer who trained in martial arts after the death of her husband so she could beat the hell out of some demons. She buffs Bowie's physical attacks and adds some major knockback, a reference to her primary spell, Blast.

Each party member would of course have some kind of cooldown, meaning that you have to strategize and decide who you wish to take into battle with you and when while also balancing Bowie's slower but heavier hits.

All in all, I just think Shining Force II is a cool game even if it's a bit on the simple side in terms of plot, and I just think Bowie and the Shining Force are neat!

 

[Speed Weed]

I think it's about time we kick off voting!

Here are our candidates:

Domingo ( Megadoomer )
Toma and Cyrille (@Darkonedagger)
Lin Xiao-Mei ( osby )
Agnum Bulletheart ( OrpheusTelos )
Sonia Blanche ( cashregister9 )
Fenrir ( Tankman from Newgrounds )
Jin and Bail ( YoshiandToad )
Jinas Aion ( PuyoWitch )
Bowie ( Flyboy )

Vote for your top 3 picks - keep your own submission in third place if you're going to self-vote.

 

[Champion of Hyrule]

1. Bowie
2. Towa & Cyrille
3. Sonia

 

[OrpheusTelos]

1. Bowie
2. Sonia
3. Agnum

 

[Deleted member]

1. Bowie
2. Sonia
3. Towa & Cyrille

 

[Flyboy]

1. Toma & Cyrille - So, I know being the Project X Zone pair may to some make them seem less enticing, but I really do think a protagonist or deuteragonist spot should happen, at least for Shining's first rep, and I think the idea of a character that can switch between two characters, one with a Cloud-sized sword and the other with full on magic use, is an enticing hook both mechanically and when looking at roster group shots. I like them.

2. Agnum Bulletheart - If I didn't have my heart set on giving my top spot to the protagonist pair, this guy would be my number one. If nothing else I would love to see him get in as DLC if he doesn't this round. He's like a JRPG Sol Badguy. He plays the guitar sword before he fights. He's so darn cool. Instant favorite.

3. Bowie - Self-vote, but I can't help it...I just like him

I think this round is full of super interesting potential picks and I like that we took the time to flesh out our own knowledge of the series and handled it with the care it deserved. Big fan of plenty of other picks, especially Sonia and Jinas.

 

[Tankman from Newgrounds]

My votes:
1. Bowie (A Classic character and Marth of SEGA)
2. Toma and Cyrille (I hope they could work as Duo or Stance)
3. Fenrir (He looks cool, come on)

 

[tonygameman]

1. Bowie
2. Agnum Bulletheart (modern rep)
3. Toma and Cyrille

 

[osby]

1. Toma and Cyrille
2. Agnum Bulletheart
3. Jin and Bail
   

 

[YoshiandToad]

1. Bowie (and friends)
2. Sonia (Agnum's cool too, I just prefer the way she plays)

Edit: Nope, having to change the third vote.

I've just stumbled across an ENGLISH artbook of Shining Force Feather(the Japanese exclusive title...not sure why this book exists but it's kinda awesome it does) which has interviews, explainations and a whole heap more info on the cast that no where on the net seems to have documented?

As a result, third vote is going to a self vote:

3. Jin and Bail...AND Alfin.

Turns out, for those that are curious, that Alfin(the android girl in my submission) actually has six different alternative modes that allow her to access different magic. Therefore this duo character is now a trio character.

For those curious the forms names and elements are:

• Flamme (Fire)
• Wasser (Water)
• Anemos (Wind)
• Tonitrus (Lightning)
• Luce (Light)
• Umbrio (Shadow)

 

[cashregister9]

1. Toma
2. Jin & Bail
3. Sonia

 

[Speed Weed]

Allllllrighty then, I think it's time we check out the results. Drumroll please......

Domingo: 0 points
Toma/Cyrille: 15 points
Lin: 0 points
Agnum: 7 points
Sonia: 8 points
Fenrir: 1 points
Jin/Bail: 4 points
Jinas: 0 points
Bowie: 19 points

Indeed, you can see how things have turned out: our Shining rep and the next character to join this roster will be Bowie!!!!

So of course now we're gonna start doing Shining stuff. Starting with:

Job #149: Submit a moveset for Bowie

give my mans a moveset

Here's the Sacred Moveset Format:

-General playstyle overview
-Notable normal attacks
-Specials and All-Star Move
-Misc. info, such as taunts, palette swaps and victory animations

 

[Flyboy]

Job #149: Bowie Moveset

General playstyle overview: Bowie on the surface seems to be a basic heavy swordsman, and indeed his normals reflect that. His swings are slow but powerful and as a knight he wields the Force Sword, a blade of legend. However, he has some major tricks up his sleeve and as the commander of the Shining Force these tricks make him a very cerebral character based around spacing, planning, and utilizing your resources effectively. If you rush into a battle with Bowie, you may be able to survive on strength alone for a time, but eventually his large hurtbox and lag will catch up to you.

The two main tactics in Bowie's arsenal are the Egress spell and the Combat menu. Egress is a special escape spell that allows for Bowie the retreat from melee combat and settle on a part of the stage some distance away, allowing time to regroup and to get out of potentially perilous situations before it's too late. The Combat menu is a special menu that allows Bowie to assign various party members to himself. These party members can provide buffs or change specials to switch up Bowie's playstyle, and each has a cooldown period, meaning to effectively use them the player must strategize as best they can to pick the right tools for the right situations.

The party members Bowie brings into battle are. from left-to-right:

• Sarah, the Priest - An elf and one of Bowie's starting companions who possesses healing magic. When equipped, Bowie's Egress spell is changed to a rapid-healing spell.
  
  
• Chester, the Pegasus Knight - A centaur and Bowie's other initial traveling companion. When equipped, Bowie's normals have increased range and his recovery is replaced with Chester swooping him to safety, which has significantly improved height and range at the cost of being fairly low-damage if the opponent makes contact with Chester's lance.
  
  
• Slade, the Thief - A wererat and the unwitting cause of the conflict that drives the plot as he stole the jewels Bowie and friends are tasked to retrieve. When equipped, Bowie's dash speed increases and his grab damage is buffed. If the enemy is holding an item, grabbing them will allow Bowie to steal the item for himself with Slade's help.
  
  
• May, the Ranger - A centaur originally from the country who moved to the city looking for adventure. She specializes in long-range attacks, and when equipped Bowie's Bolt side-special will be replaced with May firing off a volley of arrows. They are not strong but they do a lot of chip damage at long range with low lag.
  
  
• Sheela, the Master Monk - A human former priest who swears revenge on the evil lord who killed her fiancé. Abandoning her healing ways, Sheela has since turned her body into a weapon and focuses on physical strength. When equipped, Bowie's normals receive a large damage boost as well as knockback boost as Sheela will cast her signature spell, Blast, to aid.

Notable normals:
Bowie uses strong sword strikes as a heavy sword user. While not the flashiest fighter, he is known to strike critical blows with his sword of legend, meaning a fully charged normal may be enough to cause a strong KO.

Specials:
Neutral - Unit Select
Brings up a menu from which Bowie can select a unit to equip. It is themed after the Combat Menu from Shining Force II and when a party member is out to battle their picture appears next to Bowie's in the UI, in Shining Force II sprite style.

Side - Bolt
Bowie summons a lightning bolt in front of him to strike the ground. Chargeable to determine distance and strength.

When May is out to battle this is replaced with her sending a volley of arrows across the stage that cause little damage and no knockback but can prove to be a major annoyance easily if enough strike an enemy unawares.

Up - Rising Slash
Bowie leaps upwards with his greatsword and pauses for a moment in the air before bringing it down in a strong strike similar to his classic attack animation.

When Chester is out to battle, this is replaced with the pegasus knight carrying him to safety, with Chester's lance having a small hitbox if any enemy is unlucky enough to get caught by it.

Down - Egress
Bowie focuses briefly and is whisked to safety in a flash, with direction and distance based on length of the press and direction held after input. Has a cooldown timer. When Sarah is out for battle, this is replaced with a rapid-healing spell.

All Star Move: All Units - Charge!

Bowie rears back and raises his sword to the sky, calling for aid. Rohde appears with the Caravan and from it every playable party member in Shining Force II and then some comes streaming out of it to cause a massive army to stampede across the stage. Imagine Tron Bonne's Lunch Rush from Marvel vs. Capcom 2 but with more centaurs and beast men and soldiers.

Misc. Info:
Bowie has two sets of alts, one for his young Swordsman class self as seen at the start of the game and one for his Hero class as seen at the end. His palettes would likely be based on other Shining protagonists as well as notable party members.

Pet tortoise and fellow party member Kiwi appears in one of his taunts!

And one of his victory animations features a cameo from the Phoenix, Peter.

 

[Speed Weed]

Alright, Flyboy's moveset wins by default!!!

Moving on:

Job #150: Submit a Shining stage

now bear my artic blast

 

[Tankman from Newgrounds]

Job 150:
"Granseal"

Granseal is one of notable locations from Shining series, especialy in "Shining Force II: The ancient sealing".
It's a Kingdom and capital city with high walls and it locates on Continent known as Grans Island, which it draws it's name for kingdom seen on the picture.
It was founded at the conclusion of Shining Force Gaiden: Final Conflict. Granseal is central to the plot of Shining Force II.

The layout is similar to Castle Siege and Hyrule Castle, but it's both combined.
(I'll edit it later)

 

[Flyboy]

Job #150: Castle of the Ancients (Shining Force)

In the original Shining Force, the Castle of the Ancients is the final dungeon. It is an impressive structure in the world of Granseal and is also home to a fearsome colossus that guards the entrance to the throne room where the party faces against Darksol and the Dark Dragon.

The players start outside of the throne room in a 3D rendered interpretation of the great castle, a grand and imposing structure, and the Colossus stands in the background as the players fight. He eventually comes to life to serve as a stage hazard, attacking the foreground before Max shows up in the background to deliver a finishing blow. After his defeat, the stage transitions into the throne room itself, depicting a fierce battle between the original Shining Force and Darksol in the classic behind-the-back battle animation style of old school Shining games. The platform layout changes, too.

Once Darksol is defeated by Max and his party, the Dark Dragon arises, with the platform layout shifting a third time to depict a more ruined throne room. Stage hazards return, with the Dark Dragon's attacks able to hit the stage opponents are fighting on.

Following the Dark Dragon's defeat, the stage returns to outside the throne room and the cycle continues.

 

[Speed Weed]

Alright, time to kick off the vote!

Here are our candidates:

Granseal ( Tankman from Newgrounds )
Castle of the Ancients ( Flyboy )

Here's the poll:

Le vote - StrawPoll

What is your opinion? Vote now: Granseal, Castle of the Ancients

strawpoll.com

 

[Speed Weed]

Alright, voting is over: Castle of the Ancients will be our Shining stage!

Moving on, and we're doing two jobs at once:

Job #151: Submit a tracklist for Castle of the Ancients

Just make sure to keep it to a maximum of 16 tracks or else I will cry

Job #152: Submit a Shining assist

now bear my arctic blast

Do please keep in mind that this will disqualify the character who wins for the base game

 

[Megadoomer]

Shining assist: Jack Torrance

Caretaker of the Overlook hotel, it seems weird that Jack wasn't selected as the playable character, but... wait, wrong Shining.

Shining assist: Max (Shining Force 1)

As the protagonist of the first game, it seems like Max could be an assist, at least. An amnesiac swordsman and the implied ancestor of Bowie, Max seeks to avenge the kingdom of Guardia after the forces of Runefaust ransack it.

Aside from his sword, Max has the unique spell Supernova, which strikes the opponent with some kind of orbital laser. Perhaps his assist could tie into that, or maybe he could just stick to sword strikes.

 

[osby]

Job #152: Adam (Shining Force EXA)

An optional party member, Adam is a Guardian who serves as the Robo-Soldier of your party with high defenses and powerful crowd control tools. He was in a corrupted state when the party found him and he joins them after getting his senses back. Adam is immensely intelligent but this comes at the expanse of lacking human-like emotions and empathy. He's not really an important party member but he's a low priority in terms of playable character options go and I like his design.

Aside from attacking by turning his hand into a drill and launching long-distance attacks with his built-in cannons, Adam can also deal electric damage to multiple enemies with Spak magic, possibly paralyzing them in place. He has high stamina but can be defeated if he takes enough damage. His super armor helps him a bit in that regard.

 

[Qwerty UIOP]

OK so I am new here but let's see what I can do.

Shining Force Assist: The Four Greater Devils

For those of you who don't know who they are, the Four Greater Devils are major antagonists in Shining Force 2. Most of these guys won't be attackable and will just be on the battlefield calling down attacks.They will appear randomly each time you choose it

If Zalbard appears, lightning bolts will shoot from the sky leaving your opponent stunned if struck

If Cameela appears, you will get an effect similar to if you eat Curry with your players mouth on fire and such

If Geshp appears(Yes that is how it's spelt), your opponent will be frozen in place for a little bit leaving you a window of opportunity to go ham on them

If Odd Eye appears, he will act like Lyn waiting for an opportunity to strike but he is the only one of the devils that your opponent can damage

Note: Sorry if there is no images I am not sure how to do them yet.

 

[Tankman from Newgrounds]

New Shining Force assist:
Fenrir (Shining Blade)

Fenrir is one of Characters from Shining blade game and he is vice-captain of Valeria Liberation force. He is a demi-human that has werewolf look.

When summoned, he could use his attacks like in his game like he could use his claws or he could bite opponents.
Also, he could run and jump around the stage and animations are taken from Shining Blade.

(I know I know I always submit Assists that are damage-based, but come on, this is a fighting game and Assist can be damage-based tho)

 

[Qwerty UIOP]

Virtua Fighter Capsule Toys:

Kage-Maru
First Appearance: Virtua Fighter
System of Origin: Arcade

Pai Chan
First Appearance: Virtua Fighter
System of Origin:Arcade

Jeffry McWild
First Appearance: Virtua Fighter
System of Origin: Arcade

 

[osby]

I might as well add some side characters as capsule toys:

• Shiva
  • Series: Streets of Rage
  • First Appearance: Streets of Rage 2 (December 20, 1992)
  • System Debut: Mega Drive/Genesis
  • An old teacher of Kempo who turned into a member of the Syndicate Crime Organization and the nefarious Mr. X's right-hand man/bodyguard. A man of few words, Shiva later reforms upon his defeat at the hands of Axel Stone and his friends, opening his own dojo and starting to educate people in the ways of martial arts again. He's talented in the ways of controlling his spiritual energy, such as creating his shadow clones.
• Iris Chateaubriand
  • Series: Sakura Wars
  • First Appearance: Sakura Taisen (September 9, 1996)
  • System Debut: SEGA Saturn
  • A young girl who had a troubled upbringing due to her potent psychic powers. Due to her unique talents such as teleportation, healing and telekinesis, she was able to serve as a member of the Flower Division despite her age preventing from actually fighting with a weapon. Iris sometimes gets scared of her own psionic capabilities and gets withdrawn but is able to carry on thanks to her teammates and especially leader Ogami, whom she has a puppy crush on.
• Coco★Tapioca
  • Series: Space Channel 5
  • First Appearance: Space Channel 5 (December 16, 1999)
  • System Debut: SEGA Dreamcast
  • A robot hypnotized to invade the Space Port 9 and can seemingly be only defeated by dance. It has a lot of tricks up to its sleeve such shooting homing beams from its horns and sending yellow Submorolians from its mouth. With a ginormous purplink (purple pink) body and noodly arms that can deliver its signature attack Coco★Tapioca Dynamite Punch without mercy makes it a galactic threat only a reporter with unparalleled moves can beat.

 

[Qwerty UIOP]

Guys I was wondering if you can help me make a new thread. I looked but could not find the right button.

 

[YoshiandToad]

Job #152: Yuma Ilburn

Yuma Ilburn is the protagonist of Shining Resonance (and Shining Resonance Refrain).

Upon being summoned, Yuma will hestiantly defend his summoner with his sword, sticking close to the fighter who summoned him the entire time. Yuma does above average damage, but will not leave his fighter's side, so players may need to guide Yuma to where they want him to attack.

However the real fun comes if summoned when the summoner is at low HP. If summoned then, Yuma will behave in much the same way as he did before...but if the fighter is attacked whilst Yuma is out, Yuma will have a breakdown and transform into the Shining Dragon to defend his summoner:

In this form, Yuma deals ridiculous damage, capable of sending foes flying and knocking huge chunks of health off in a few claw slashes and tail swipes and if hit your opponents will feel like they've just been hit by an All-Star level move.

The downsides are not only do you need to get hit whilst low on health with Yuma out and NOT get KO'd, Yuma also hasn't got complete control of the Shining Dragon that resides within him still, and will occasionally commit friendly fire, so the summoner may want to get some distance as soon as they can after Yuma's transformation. Yuma will always first go for the oppoenent, giving you a short window to escape.

 

[PuyoWitch]

Job #152: Dylan and Misty (Shining Hearts)

Dylan and Misty (nickname for Mistral) are two pirate captains from Shining Hearts. Dylan is a powerful and hot-blooded "Wolf of the Sea" who is the pirate captain of the Arc Buccaneers, and Misty is the greedy and deceitful leader of the Seiren Pirates. The two are known by their weapons, for Misty, her umbrella that she wields like a rapier, and Dylan, a cutlass for each hand. In addition to being major characters in Shining Hearts, with Dylan as a member of your main party, they were also playable fighters in Blade Arcus from Shining, a fighting game that combines the worlds of numerous Shining games.

When they're summoned, a rush of water will come in from both sides of the stage signaling their respective pirate ship's arrivals. The ships themselves don't have a hitbox, so don't be afraid to touch them, but this also means they can't save you from being knocked off the stage. However, be warned, as these two are not here to "assist" you in the fight. They only want one and one thing only: your stage, and they will fight one another to have control over it!

The two would stand on the decks of their pirate ships on either side and start off by firing cannonballs at the other's ship. Pay close attention to where they are on the screen and avoid getting in their range. Sounds pretty simple, right? There's just one more thing...

The grand finale has both captains crossing swords (and Umbrella) in the middle of the stage in an X (marks the spot) motion. The two will jump off the side of their ships before meeting in the middle. Don't get caught between them, or you may wind up in Davy Jones' locker.

This assist is unique because while it is powerful, it can assist both summoner and opponents alike, making it very risky. Just the life of a pirate!

 

[Qwerty UIOP]

I guess because no one else is going to do it...

Castle of the Ancients Tracklist:

"Battle 1" - Shining Force
Town - Shining Force
The Worthy Rival - Shining Force
"Wandering Warriors" - Shining Force 2
Elven Town - Shining Force 2
Mountain Battle - Shining Force 2
"Ready for War" - Shining Force 2
"The Ancient Temple", - Shining in the Darkness
"Searching for Princess Claire" - Shining in the Darkness
"Fateful Battle" - Shining in the Darkness
Map Theme - Landstalker

Thanks for the help MegaDoomer! I appreciate it.

 

[Megadoomer]

I guess because no one else is going to do it...

Castle of the Ancients Tracklist:

Note: I don't know how to submit the links to listen but Speed Weed for you I wrote down which game each song comes from if you would like to find a link.

Title - Shining Force
Battle 1 - Shining Force
Town - Shining Force
Circus Tent Battle - Shining Force
Staff Roll - Shining Force
Wandering Warriors - Shining Force 2
Ready for War - Shining Force 2
Searching for Princess Clarie - Shining in the Darkness
Fateful Battle - Shining in the Darkness
Landstalker Main Theme - Landstalker

To add links, you highlight the part that you want to turn into a link, click on the chain button in the menu (in between the part where you change the font size and the part where you post an image), and paste a Youtube link into the part that says URL.

(this might not work as well if you're on mobile)

It should turn out something like this:

Battle 1 - Shining Force (not sure if that's the specific song that you wanted to use here, but it's what I found on Youtube)

Alternatively, you can just copy Youtube links and paste them next to the titles, like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=coIDVznPWB0&ab_channel=supersaiyan13100

 

[Qwerty UIOP]

Jet Set Radio Capsule Toys

Gum
Debut: Jet Set Radio
System Debut: Dreamcast

DJ Professor K
Debut: Jet Set Radio
System Debut: Dreamcast

Captain Onishima
Debut: Jet Set Radio
System Debut: Dreamcast

 

[Flyboy]

Job 151: Castle of the Ancients Tracklist
1. Battle 1/Battle 2 Medley (Shining Force II)
2. Final Battle (Shining Force II)
3. Fateful Battle (Shining In The Darkness)
4. Main Theme/World Map Medley (Shining Force)
5. Battle 6 (Dark Dragon) (New Remix) (Shining Force)
6. Final Boss (Book 3) (Shining Force CD)
7. Dance of Life and Death (Shining The Holy Ark)
8. A Leader's Capacity (Shining Hearts)
9. Defensive Battle 2 (Shining Force EXA)
10. Saikyou no Hakai Kishi (Shining Resonance)
11. Shinkoku no Kensei (Shining Resonance)
12. Gekitou no Hate ni (Shining Resonance)
13. Battle Theme 2 (Shining Resonance)
14. Crusader of Centy Battle Theme Medley (Battle 1/Battle 2/Battle 3) (Crusader of Centy)
15. Mega Drive Adventure Medley*
16. Main Theme (Gain Ground)

The Mega Drive Adventure Medley consists of a new remix featuring Treasure Hunter Nigel (Landstalker), Burning Cave (Beyond Oasis/The Story of Thor), and Title Theme & Light Song (Sword of Vermilion)

Job 152: Domingo (Shining Force)

Domingo is a recurring character in Shining Force I, Gaiden, and the remakes of both. He is a magical creature, created by a magician and hatching from an egg. Being the progeny of a magician, he has great and powerful spells and a somewhat highbrow personality as a result. When summoned to aid, Domingo would cast one of his Freeze spells to ice an opponent down, allowing the player to get in and attack with a strong move. or get away and plan a further strategy.

The reason I went with Domingo specifically was two-fold - first, because Shining and Shining Force often has non-human and unusual creatures as party members, and because he also serves as an ice-based assist which my other idea, Noon, also was. Domingo won out for variety's sake. I mean, look at him.