Smashboards Creates: Battle of AGES, a SEGA platform fighter

[Champion of Hyrule]

I don’t know if there’s already been a decision of it’s eligible or not but I guess Angry Birds and Rovio characters are owned by Sega now so maybe there could be a job for them?

 

[Olekidsf]

Maybe one for characters or series that have been suggested a lot but never quite made it past the finish line? Horatio pls

 

[darkvortex]

An Atlus character, a retro rep, a hardware \ amalgam rep all sound good. A western rep is actually be open to if we open it up to SOE properties and Ravio. Mobile could be fun but I have no idea what would be eligible there

 

[Speed Weed]

I don’t know if there’s already been a decision of it’s eligible or not but I guess Angry Birds and Rovio characters are owned by Sega now so maybe there could be a job for them?

.......oh yeah I forgot Rovio. Yeah they'd be eligible, though I definitely don't think they warrant their own job. They could prolly be folded into the western characters or into a general "acquisitions" job that also includes Atlus, Sammy, the western PC studios, Technosoft, Warp, etc.

Anyway, right now I think I'm pretty set on doing Atlus. This would put the season lineup looking something like this:

-Secondary rep
-Non-Megaten Atlus
-???
-Anything goes
-Guest

There'd still be one free slot left....I'm liking the retro rep idea but I also wonder if this would be the spot to throw in one of the weirder job ideas.

I'd also like to potentially suggest a job for a "gimmick" character

 

[Speed Weed]

So after thinking on it, I've narrowed it down to two main options: the retro and amalgam reps.

I'll be putting it down to a poll. However! If you'd still rather see something else, I added a write-in vote. So here we go:

Le vote | StrawPoll

What is your opinion? Vote now: Retro fighter, Amalgam fighter

strawpoll.com

 

[Speed Weed]

Okay, poll's over, the people have decided: Season 4 will feature a job for an "amalgam" fighter, whose moveset pulls from multiple different SEGA games!

This puts our Season 4 lineup looking like this for now:

-Secondary character
-Non-Megaten Atlus
-Amalgam fighter
-Anything goes
-Guest

And with that......I think it's finally time. We are about to enter.....the final stage of Battle of AGES.

Season 4, the last season, is in session!!!!!

Not accounting for any potential minor bonuses (such as clone or joke characters), these are the final characters we'll be adding to the game. So from now on, whenever it's time for these jobs, choose your submissions keeping in mind that this is it. This is the last chance. I want us to make the most of these final slots, really think things through and not make any rash decisions. Try to be smart with your choices. And that will be apparent with our first job........

Job #272: Submit a secondary fighter from a base game series

Just one more time, we're delving deeper into the existing casts of the properties already in our roster. However, we're done with "series voting". For this job, we're going back to the way we used to do it back in the old days - it works more like a regular job now, just submit an individual character instead of a series. With that in mind, what IP are eligible this time???

-Alex Kidd
-Space Channel 5
-Fantasy Zone
-Skies of Arcadia
-NiGHTS
-Bayonetta
-Super Monkey Ball
-The House of the Dead
-Shenmue
-Jet Set Radio
-Wonder Boy
-Golden Axe
-Shinobi
-Shining
-Virtual-ON
-Panzer Dragoon
-Ninja Princess

This is the pool you can pick from. Now HAVE AT IT

-----------------------------

Once more, I'm submitting the Magician. Hoping this is finally his time

"I must admit, I really respect your consistency. But you will never, ever defeat me! Say hello to my masterpiece!"

Thanks for the introduction, Curien.

Job #100 - SEGA Villain: The Magician from The House of the Dead
View attachment 337592
(Listen to this for maximum effect)

Type-0, codenamed "The Magician", is a recurring boss in the House of the Dead franchise. A synthetic humanoid creature with special powers, he's the masterpiece of Dr. Curien, and has had to be fought and defeated by the AMS multiple times.

I've pushed for Rikiya Busujima as the HotD rep in the past - and I'll continue doing so if the Magician doesn't win this prompt - but the latter would probably be my second choice from the series. He's appeared time and time again in the series, being the final boss of the first game and reappearing as a boss in the second and fourth. He possesses fire powers and the ability to teleport and levitate, which could make for one hell of a sick moveset. He's a huge fan-favorite, being easily the most iconic and memorable of the series' bosses. And I think of the villains that are eligible for this job, he in particular would still work really well as a standalone representative for his series, I feel. Also he's just ****ing sick.

So yeah, no big writeups this time, but the Magician is cool and epic and awesome and it'd be very cool and epic and awesome if he got in, even with how much I've shilled for Busujima

This writeup's outdated (it comes from before even Rikiya was added), but the important bullet points to gleam are as follows:

-Iconic SEGA villain
-Fan-favorite boss
-Great moveset potential
-Rounds out the HotD cast by representing the mainline games and iconic monsters, while also feeling like a natural second choice and not awkward retroactive completionism

He'd be cool

 

[KneeOfJustice99]

"Get up... I'll allow you to die like a warrior."

Job #272: The Final Secondary Fighter
Character Name: Lan Di
Character Series: Shenmue
Character Origin: Shenmue (1999)

One of the leaders of the enigmatic cartel known as the Chi You Men, and the man who killed Ryo Hazuki's father - setting the revenge plot of the Shenmue series into motion - Lan Di is arguably one of SEGA's most iconic and terrifying villains. His sheer presence is unsettling - and his well-rehearsed skill in the deadly Tiger Swallow Style makes him a deeply imposing threat to anyone who would seek to stand in his way. Even 24 years after his first appearance, Lan Di is still a name that strikes fear and righteous fury into the hearts of those who have followed Ryo Hazuki's journey of revenge to this day.

As for his moveset, I would extrapolate what we know of the Tiger Swallow Style (which is based on Yanqingquan, a martial art interestingly used by the Virtua Fighter character Lau Chan), and combine it with a technical moveset with slight inspiration from Ryo's. Lan Di should be a character with a high skill ceiling - rewarding good spacing and effective punishes with powerful, hard-hitting attacks that are up there with some of the strongest characters we have so far. However, this would be countered by the fact that playing him sloppily makes him pretty punishable - but you should feel a sense of dread when you come up against a skilled Lan Di player, and you should know that even one hit could mean your death.

I've suggested him several times before, and my reasoning for his inclusion mostly stays the same - the Shenmue series is a pretty significantly important piece of SEGA's history with a wide variety of potential for additional representation beyond Ryo, the opportunity to play as Lan Di would be a massive draw for fans of the series, and he'd have plenty of moveset potential - but more than anything, he is genuinely a fan-favourite character with a cool design and narrative. Honestly, I think he'd be a good pick at some point, and with Battle of AGES being in its twilight hours, I'd say now is as good a time as any for him to bring his presence to a new audience.

 

[tonygameman]

Going for a re-submission long back.

Job #272: Final Secondary Fighter - Aika (Skies of Arcadia)

Skies of Arcadia, as we all know, is one of Dreamcast's most known cult classics and a RPG game released in 2000, which focuses on Vyse and his friends as the gang of sky pirates called the Blue Rogues, who attempt to stop the Valuan Empire from reviving ancient weapons with the potential to destroy the world.

In fact, we're talking about Vyse's cheerful and spunky close friend, Aika, who is the game's deuteragonist and was orphaned at an early age when her parents were killed, having been saved and taken care for as a foster daughter by Vyse's father, Dyne. While Aika has a bit of a fiery temper, an obsession for obtaining treasure, the inability to swim and a fear of ghosts, she has a strong and energetic personality, and is deeply loyal to those around her, absolutely trusting in Vyse and thinks highly of him after he had rescued her twice during childhood.

Considering that Vyse and Fina appeared in Battle of AGES as a playable character and an assist respectively, I don't see why we wouldn't include a third member of the protagonist trio. All three also appeared together in the Valkyria Chronicles series via the first installment (Vyse and Aika's debut), 2011's Japan-only exclusive Valkyria Chronicles 3 (for Fina) and the anime series.

For her playstyle and moveset possibilities, Aika is quite nimble, able to move quickly despite her light weight and mainly wields the over-sized boomerang as her main weapon by swinging and throwing them at enemies (a reminder that she was created a decade and years before Sticks the Badger), which kind of weapon moveset archetype was not done before in Smash-like games (those special moves like Link's were only secondary weapons). She can also use various elemental magic such as Pyri (fiery explosion), Electrum (lightning bolt), Electrulen (a sphere of electricity that allows her to launch herself like a bullet in any chosen direction), etc. and abilities like:

• Alpha Storm - Aika spins her boomerang in-front of herself, summoning a vortex of flames forward that deals multi-hitting damage before launching an enemy.
• Delta Shield - Aika channels her energy, forming an anti-magic shield around herself and her allies for a short period of time. The shield can block and direct all magical attacks back at enemies.
• Lambda Burst - After charging, Aika tosses four small yellow energy-infused boomerangs forward that deal more damage than the normal boomerang. When they hit the ground, a geyser of flames will emerge from the ground and deal big damage, launching enemies upwards.
• Epsilon Mirror - Aika creates a mirror-like aura that temporarily renders herself invulnerable for a short period of time. The aura can reflect projectiles that hits her body towards enemies, though in the original game, she's unable to act while using this ability.
• Omega Psyclone - Aika's most powerful Super Move, which involves her using the powers of the Red Moon to make her boomerang glow in yellow energy, before tossing it upwards as it becomes sort of a star and then jumps, rolling in the air after grabbing it. She then tosses 6 copies of her boomerang to make a hexagon on the ground after rolling, making the ground break and summon lava from it as boomerangs return to Aika, before she finishes by throwing a star at enemies, blowing up the lava platform they're standing in.

 

[darkvortex]

Rodin
The Bartender at the Gates of Hell and a renowned weaponsmith and weapons dealer. A fallen Angel who was kicked down to hell for being part of a rebellion. He is the one who supplies Bayonetta with new weapons and upgrades. But he's not just a shopkeep, and is a capable fighter in his own right. He is a hidden super boss in all three games and had been playable too.

Bayonetta is a really popular series and a big seller. We could use some more modern faces. Bayonetta might not need a second character persay, but sometimes it's okay to a add a character just because they're cool. Rodin is a really popular and fun character from the series. He'd be a brawler with a lot of heavy punches and would also use his Infinite One from. The weapons he makes could also be used with a possible crafting gimmick.

 

[Tankman from Newgrounds]

Death Adder (Golden Axe - 1989, SEGA)

Who is Death Adder?​

Death Adder is the main antagonist of SEGA's beat'em up video game series "Golden Axe", which was loosely inspired by Conan the Barbarian movies (due to fantasy-like setting), Double Dragon (one of most popular beat'em up series) and Street Fighter (1987) game.
Death Adder is a descendant of evil giants who survived the war between many gods and he seeks to conquer the whole world with his power.
In the first game, many years before first game's events, he tricked humans in order to get the Golden Axe and use it's power to start the era of darkness.
Later when he destroyed the Firewood kingdom, he imprisoned royal family from Southwood kingdom.
During the battle in Southwood castle, he was revealed to be a serpent (death adder snake I guess?) and he called other snakes to attack the heroic trio (Ax Battler, Tyris and Gilius).
After his defeat, he perished and the world was saved from the evil.

In second game, he re-emerged from darkness in act of revenge for getting defeated by Trio and he caused the destruction across the land of Yuria.
After defeating him, his castle started to crumble down and he managed to get on dragon's back and challenges the quartet once more. He tried to use his deadly spell, but it was interrupted by Gilius, who attacked him by striking his axe into Adder's head. They both die as they fall down and cause the explosion of spell, killing them.

In "Golden Axe: Duel", many people believed that he died along with Gilius, but he survived as a spirit and he rose again to cause terror in Yuria.

He also appeared in Ax Battler: Legend of Golden Axe (He appears in the darkness) and Golden Axe: Beast Rider as main antagonist.

How he could work in platfighter?​

Well, Death Adder isn't a stranger for fighting games, since he appeared in "Golden Axel duel" as playable character and he could borrow a lot of moves from the game. Also we can even moves from his boss fights throughtout the games, plus we might give him some original moves to make his moveset more creative.
Also his default design would be based on Golden Axe (1989) appearance, but it also takes tweaks from different games.

In terms of stats, he would be heavyweight rushdown fighter with no ability to air dash.

Why Death Adder as villain character?​

The reason why I chose Death Adder for Battle of AGES, because we haven't got a heavyweight character for while and it would totally make sense to have another heavyweight character in. Plus Golden Axe (1989) is one of popular SEGA arcade games and it feels odd to have only Gilius as Golden Axe character in roster.
Also Golden Axe fans really love this character and it would bring many SEGA fans joy if he was a playable character in the game.

Also his presence would make sense since he is no strange to crossovers since he appeared in SEGA Heroes game and it would be fun to see Death Adder slaying down a dragon (Panzer Dragoon).

 

[ssbashworld]

Hayashi (Jet Set Radio)

The police chief of Jet Set Radio Future. Not sure what our timeline is for this project but if it matches reallife now is the perfect time for new JSR content with the recent release of spiritual successor Bomb Rush Cyberfunk. Thought about Goji Rokkaku although I think i nominated him as a boss before & still think he would fit better in that role.

We do have police as an assist but they only grab & tackle from what i see & they can offer so much more represented through there leader often utilizing various technologies & vehicles to try to stop the many gangs in their city. Went with Hayashi instead of Captain Onishima since i felt the futuristic tone would be more interesting plus JSRF focused a bit more on the combat side of the conflict possibly making the idea easier to realize & slightly more fitting.

 

[Megadoomer]

I'm going to nominate Jeanne from Bayonetta again.

I'm also going to submit Jeanne from Bayonetta.

The protagonist's rival, best friend, and possibly more than that, Jeanne grew up in the same Umbra Witch clan as Bayonetta, and she has the same fighting style as a result. She's more serious than Bayonetta, and something of a daredevil.

Jeanne is nearly identical to Bayonetta in terms of gameplay in their source material, with some minor changes that could be reflected here (takes more damage, hits harder, and has tighter timing for Witch Time). As a result, she'd be a moveset clone of Bayonetta.

Jeanne seems like an easy enough addition - she's important to the series (one of the major villains in the first game, her predicament sets off the second game, and she's playable in both of them), and she'd be less taxing on our hypothetical developers due to being a moveset clone.

It's worth noting that she doesn't have to be a clone (I think this roster has avoided clone characters so far); there are so many weapons and attacks in the Bayonetta series that she could have a different moveset. (in her boss fights, she often uses a katana called Angel Slayer along with her guns All 4 One)

 

[YoshiandToad]

Job #272: Tom-Tom (Wonder Boy)

Tom-Tom, the skateboarding stone axe throwing caveboy.

Sometimes known as Boy, sometimes as Bocke(confusing matters with the sequel's character, Book), sometimes even simply as 'Wonder Boy'.

Whilst we have the adorable Asha representing the series already, it's not a stretch to suggest that Tom-Tom is arguably an even bigger face of the franchise.

Tom-Tom kickstarted the series off and has a very interesting history starting as an arcade title before being adapted for the SG-1000 the better known Master System and Game Gear versions as well as being adapted into Adventure Island and Tom-Tom himself being turned into a new character known as Master Higgins in the west. Brazil once again, similarly to other Master System titles, got a reskin based on a popular Brazillian comic, Monica's Gang.

Since then Tom-Tom's cameos with fellow Sega stars have been exteremely limited due to a confusing ownership of the character, missing out on making the cut for Sonic and Sega All-Stars Racing.
He was also set to be an obtainable character in the cancelled mobile title Sega Blast Heroes alongside Sakura, Alex Kidd, Amigo, Beat, Gum and Selvaria Bles and was shown in screenshots but the game never made it to launch. Seems a shame he never got to hang out with his fellow Sega stars despite being planned twice and I feel we should fix this.

With the recent resurgance of the Wonder Boy titles popularity thanks to high quality remakes, I feel like Wonder Boy could easily be argued for a second character. Who better for that job than this stone axe throwing caveboy who started it all, bookending the series with both the first and last Wonder Boy protagonists on Sega consoles in Battle of Ages?

 

[cashregister9]

Fei-yen (Virtual-On)

Fei-yen is arguably the most popular character from Virtual-On and like the other characters in Virtual-on she has her own unique moves and abilities. Like a bowgun and her own types of beams. But also she could share some gimmicks and other parts with Temjin.

I mostly just think Virtual-On has enough variety to warrant another rep.

 

[Olekidsf]

I'm gonna be honest, ever since lurking in this thread way back in the Shining round (sorry I should've been more active aaaaa) I've felt like it was kind of a bummer that Bowie ended up being chosen as the obvious Marth-type classic pick to represent the series when so many wild and out there options were presented. Not to say I disagree with the pick or think he didn't end up as an interesting addition mind you, but the over all feeling I got was that the series seemed like it had a lot of potential for that could be represented, such that having one character, assist, and stage from the classic series doesn't really do it justice.

Anyhow, that's why I wanted to bring back one of the cooler characters that was suggested in that round, Agnum Bulletheart from Shining Resonance:

To quote the original user who suggested him:

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?

That...basically summarizes my position as well lol. I love the concept of music-based fighters who combine instruments with weapons, and well, he just seems like a cool take on the idea.

I'll add that Shining Resonance seems like it was a significant game for the series, as it's remake - Shining Resonance Refrain - is the first to have been localized for the west since the series went dark here after the release of Shining Force EXA in 2007. In a way I also like how, relative to Bowie, he shows off the complete opposite end of a series that covers of a wide spectrum of different vibes and types of RPGs across it's many entries.

(Sorry if it's frowned upon to basically resubmit someone else's post like this, but aaaaa it was bothering me that nobody was giving Shining another shot!)

 

[Captain Shwampy]

Zachs (Shining Soul II)

Zachs/Sachs is one of the 8 Warriors you can play as in Shining Soul II, A game developed by Grasshopper Manufacturer including Suda 51 himself. The game sets you off on journey looking for a princess and bringing balance with darkness and light after Gillespie the Dark Sorcerer ruins everything.

Originally I was gonna go with Toma and Cyrille as the modern Shining Force rep but I decided to go with a wolfling from a modern era Shining due to immense potential. Like most character in this race, they avoid cumbersome armor in favor of striking quick and striking sure making them have poor defense but very powerful attack power. Zachs/Sachs in particular can use claws and knives making him a rushdown character similar to Nei. However were gonna add a bit more for his moveset and take inspiration from other wolflings. He gains Duga from Shining Force EXA abilities like Wolf Rampage (fire breath) and wolf leap (high jumping attacks). We wont keep him limited to claws and knives, but also like Doyle from Holy Ark and Killy from the Doomblade manga He uses a blade as well making him a full blown Berserker fighter. His VA will be Kazuya Nakai, who voiced Duga from Shining Force EXA but most famously Zoro from One piece.


Now here comes the twist! Zachs animations will look similar to the Centurion from Altered Beast and also copy his move set including the WereWolfs rush kick, the WereBears spin jump, and the WereTigers up and down kick.

Zachs All star move will be using the soul of the Atom Dragon

Launching a hellish inferno at the opponents includes also Zachs posing in the iconic Altered Beast transformation screen before summoning the beast.

 

[osby]

Job #272: Hotsuma (Shinobi)

With Shinobi (2002) being effectively a soft reboot for the series, Hotsuma could play entirely different than Joe Musashi and he's quite popular on his own, to boot. Shinobi isn't one of SEGA's most popular or relevant franchises but I feel like both style of games it had were notable and different enough to warrant their own playable characters.

 

[Speed Weed]

Alright, we got a lot of submissions and I feel we have a really good lineup, so I'll be closing the vote.

Here are your options:

The Magician Type-0 (me)
Lan Di ( KneeOfJustice99 )
Aika ( tonygameman )
Rodin ( D darkvortex )
Death Adder ( Tankman from Newgrounds )
Captain Hayashi ( ssbashworld )
Jeanne ( Megadoomer )
Tom-Tom ( YoshiandToad )
Fei-Yen ( cashregister9 )
Agnum Bulletheart ( Olekidsf )
Zachs ( Captain Shwampy )
Hotsuma ( osby )

Vote for your top 3 picks - you can self-vote, but only in third place.

This bears repeating again, but we're in our last season, every choice counts, please put some thought into your picks. Consider what would be best, be smart, keep an open mind (I feel we've lately had a problem of people exclusively voting for what they personally like or are already familiar with at the expense of other very deserving options), we have very few slots left and need to put some thought into our picks.

 

[Tankman from Newgrounds]

1. Aika
2. Lan Di
3. Death Adder

 

[ssbashworld]

Death Adder
Aika
Captain Hayashi

HM - Fei-yen, lots of good choices though

 

[osby]

1. Tom-Tom (He was my preferred Wonder Boy character and even if the series is not that big, I'd love to see him)
2. The Magician Type-0 (He's long been overdue, tbh)
3. Agnum Bulletheart (I think modern Shining can really use a character. Agnum is an unconventional pick but also a fun one so why not?)

 

[darkvortex]

1. The Magician Type-0 (some HOTD representation that's not from a spin off could be cool and I just think he'd be a lot of fun)
2. Agnum Bulletheart (Shining could use a character from its more modern era and he seems like a really cool lad)
3. Lan Di (Shenmue is an iconic, important game and I just think Lan Di would be really cool)

shout out to Aika, Death Adder, Tom-Tom, Fei-Yen, and Hotsuma. This was really hard

 

[Flyboy]

1. Agnum Bulletheart
2. The Magician
3. Lan Di

 

[Olekidsf]

1. Aika (yes I’m a big enough skies of Arcadia fangirl to choose her over my own submission, sorry lol. It’d be a dream come true to have all the main three cast members in with vyse already playable and fina an assist)
2. Agnum Bulletheart
3, Tom-Tom (It was a really tough choice to make this third selection cuz there were sooo many good ideas in this round. I’d love to have another classic Sega villain like Lan Di, Death Adder, or The Magician, but personally I think Tom-Tom sounds like a lot of fun and it just feels right to have him finally get his chance to join a roster of Sega all-stars after missing the boat twice)

 

[Captain Shwampy]

1. Magician
2. Fei-Yen
3. Hotsuma

 

[KneeOfJustice99]

Honestly, this one wasn't easy. There's a lot of really fun submissions here that I think would genuinely be really cool!

1. Magician Type-0. Even aside from being a very fun character with an interesting design who I imagine would be incredibly fun to play as, I think Magician's warranted. Considering the sheer importance of The House of the Dead as a part of SEGA's history, plus the opportunity to play as one of the single most iconic characters from that series, it'd be great to see him here as a headlining inclusion. Others seem to have echoed the sentiment of him feeling almost overdue at this point, so I don't think I need to delve too deeply into that. He's just... cool, plus a genuinely solid choice.
2. Agnum Bulletheart. I'll admit I don't know all too much about the Shining series, but the research I've quickly thrown together in an attempt to determine what it's all about indicates to me at least that a modern rep for the series makes sense. It's one of SEGA's more long-running titles, plus Agnum's own design and general vibe seems really fun and unique!
3. Tom-Tom. Honestly, this isn't a pick that even crossed my mind... but the more I actually think about it, the more it begins to make sense. I think it'd also generally just be really cool to see him finally crossing over and such, but it's also cool given he's a reoccurring character from the series on top of that. That being said, he also just seems like he'd be really fun.

Shoutouts to Fei-Yen, Aika and Hotsuma in particular, they came really close to nabbing the third spot - but honestly, submissions were really interesting all around here!

 

[Megadoomer]

1. Lan-Di
2. The Magician
3. Jeanne

 

[tonygameman]

1. Magician Type-0 (he really deserves this one; it's been so long overdue)
2. Tom-Tom
3. Zachs

 

[YoshiandToad]

1. Lan Di
Shenmue fans have had it rough.
I feel like Battle of Ages would be the ONLY chance many Shenmue fans will ever come close to seeing a true battle between Ryo and the man who killed his father. It's been almost a quarter of a decade and this series is no closer to having a satisfying payoff than it was back in 1999.

Plus, more cynically and from a game producer perspective, we've seen what Shenmue 3 fans did for the kickstarter, so there's no way Lan Di doesn't sell this DLC pack even on his own.

2. Hotsuma
Honestly I don't know much about Shinobi, but even with my Shinobi ignorance I know full well that Hotsuma is a fan favourite and would be a good choice. We're quite low on Shinobi content still.

3. Tom-Tom
A shameless self vote, but after reading about Tom-Tom's bizarre and chequered past I feel he's not only a great piece of Sega history, but video game history too. The fact he's the face of a Sega franchise can't possibly hurt either, and he has that kid friendly but ass kickingly hard appeal that Sega is somewhat known for.

Honourable Mentions:
Aika(I know she's niche but she was my most used character in both Valkyria Chronicles AND Skies of Arcadia, I just can't justify her as the last major pick. My sibling even has a giant Aika statue at their home so we're big fans)
The Magician Type 0(a fine antagonist, I just like the above more)
Death Adder (the same as above really)

 

[HyperSomari64]

1. Tom-Tom
2. Magician
3. Fei-Yen

 

[Champion of Hyrule]

1. Magician
2. Aika
3. Lan-Di

 

[Qwerty UIOP]

1. Death Adder
2. Tom Tom
3. Magician

 

[Speed Weed]

Alright, the votes are in. Let's take a look.

Magician: 24 points
Lan Di: 11 points
Aika: 10 points
Rodin: 0 points
Adder: 7 points
Hayashi: 1 points
Jeanne: 1 points
Tom: 14 points
Fei-Yen: 3 points
Agnum: 9 points
Zachs: 1 points
Hotsuma: 3 points

And there we have it: kicking off the final season of Battle of AGES, it's the one, the only, The Magician is finally in!!!!!

Now then.....I'm not pulling out the next jobs just yet. This is because the way we've set up this pass is kind of wonky in terms of not really allowing for us to do things the way we used to, so I'll have to have a think on how we approach this. I should come up with something soon enough though. Watch this space.

 

[Speed Weed]

Okay, so I have Come To A Decision (tm).

Basically, the reason things got kind of wonky is because usually the pattern for these seasons is we have two additional reps and two new series', and the stage/assist lineup reflects that, with two slots reserved for the two newbies, one for any base game series and one for a miscellaneous IP. However, this season bucks this trend, as we're most likely to end up adding three new series' this time. So I'd have to approach things in another way.

Ultimately....I've decided to play it safe and just cut the base series stages/assists jobs, because in my opinion at least they've been some of the sloggiest and least fun jobs in these seasons. I like the idea of beefing up these series' representation, but I just haven't particularly enjoyed the turnout of these jobs, they're usually very slow-going, and the last one we did got relatively few votes and the results wound up feeling.....not particularly necessary? It kind of felt like we were doing it for the sake of it and it just wasn't living up to its potential, and the more I think about it the more I kinda just don't want to do it this time. I actually did have an idea I liked, which was to do a job for "a stage thematically connected to Magician in some way" that could be from any series, returning or new or just HOTD itself. But again.....3 new series'. We most likely will not have the space for something like that, unfortunately.

However! To compensate, I've decided to bring in another bit of bonus season content for us to do this time. We'll get to it in a bit, but first up:

Job #273: Submit a moveset for the Magician

Once again, we'll be leaving it open for anyone who desires to share their take on magic man. Now onto the bit of bonus content:

Job #274: Submit up to two minigames based on SEGA properties

Minigames are back! We did three of these in base, and haven't revisited the concept since. I felt it'd be fun to add a couple more, and I decided we'll be adding two more to make it a nice 5. I'll be letting everyone submit up to two, and the main stipulations are that they be based on actual SEGA games and that, in a similar way to Smash's minigames and the ones in some of the Sumo Digital SEGA crossovers, they use the normal gameplay as a base and shake it up in some way instead of going for full-on shifts into completely different genres. now have at it

 

[darkvortex]

Sega Bass Fishing
After all that fighting, the Sega all stars need to take some time off and relax, and what better way than some good old fashioned fishing. Sonic, Beat, Joker, Kiryu and all your Sega favourites will be decked out in custom fishing gear and will take to the water. You'll need to use your attack button to put the rod out and your special button to pull when you get a bite. Characters may have special abilities such as Bayo using her wicked weeve for a longer pull or sonic using his speed

You can catch a normal bass, but there's also special fish you can catch, the Chopper badnik from Sonic, Mofish from House of the Dead, Killer Fish from Alex Kidd, and even the Seaman. These rack up extra points. Be careful though, as powerful beasts roam the occen, and you wouldn't want to risk an attack from Sonic Adventure 's Chaos or Occen Hunter's Rahab.

For a fun bonus they're joined by the fisherman from Sega Bass fishing and Big the Cat, who hang out on the boat.

 

[KneeOfJustice99]

Spoiler: ignore this

Job #274:

Spoiler: ignore this

Minigame Name: Puyo Puyo
Minigame Origin: Puyo Puyo

Okay, so just outright including a puzzle game amongst a fighting game might seem like a weird choice, but I think it'd work well. Similar to in the Puyo Puyo series, you get unique little character portraits at the bottom of the character you're playing as. Furthermore, each one has unique "Puyo" shapes depending on the origin of the character - for instance, Sonic would get rings instead of Puyo, and so forth. Not only this, but you could even have a couple of opponents to go up against that are unique to this mode - akin to mooks!

As for whether I'd suggest including a unique skill/ability for each character... it's possible, but I'd personally suggest it'd be better to keep things simple. That said, it'd be pretty cool for you to be able to win certain awards like in-game currency or even unique Capsule Toys from this game mode. Plus, it'd be a great way of including some of SEGA's more puzzle-oriented characters, like Swirly the Snake from SEGA Swirl, or the Goddess from Columns.

 

[Captain Shwampy]

O-Souji Shichau zo!/I'll Clean You Up!

Sakura mopping minigame from Sakura Wars. Select a SEGA character to mop up a floor in a never ending randomized map. Avoid obstacles and SEGA enemies like Puyos, Kapukapus, Chuchus, Motobugs, Rappies, etc. The longer and more points you gain the faster and more obstacles appear. Capsule toys and currency can be collected.

 

[YoshiandToad]

Job #274:

Minigame 1: Wonderland Wars

Coming from the Japanese arcade classic, Wonderland Wars, this mini game has much the same basic premise; a 4 vs 4 tower destruction game!

The only difference is that whilst Wonderland Wars is a MOBA title, this minigame uses Battle of Ages' platform fighter mechanics.

This minigame can be played single player, 1 vs 1, 2 vs 2, 4 vs. CPU or even 1 vs. 3 with the CPU filling in the team slots.

• Players must destroy the enemies towers whilst protecting their own.
• Once the enemies towers are destroyed, the castle will be accessible. Destroy that to claim victory!
• CPU team members can be given orders to attack, guard or support.
  • "Attack" will cause them to focus on attacking the nearest enemy tower
  • "Guard" will have them protect the nearest ally tower, attacking any enemies that come close.
  • "Support" will have them follow the player who gave the order and join in with whatever they're doing, be it attacking or guarding. Think like how Tails in Sonic the Hedgehog 2 will copy Sonic's movements.
• Assists can be selected to help destroy towers, or guard.

First to destroy the castle wins.

 

[YoshiandToad]

Job #274: Minigame 2: Basketball Nightmare

Come on and slam. And welcome to the jam.

Based on the Master System title of the same name that released basically everywhere but Japan and America, for Battle of Ages Basketball Nightmare is a 4 vs 4 basketball mini game where players will compete on the court using their Battle of Ages movesets to send the ball flying into their net.

This minigame can be played up to 4 players on a team for the "Nightmare Tournament" mode or upto 2 v 2 for the vs. mode.

• Nightmare Tournament pitches the player(s) against 6 NPC opponent teams to gain the title of King(or Queen) of the court.
• Players will automatically dribble the ball as they move.
• To pass, the player must hit the throw button whilst holding the ball.
• To shoot the player must hit their attack button whilst holding the ball.
• To steal the ball, a player without the ball must attack the player who has the ball or attack to pick up the ball when it's in the air.
• When the ball is in the air, players may use their special attacks to send the ball flying wildly.
• Special Basketballs give additional points.
  The regular ball can be changed by walking through a power up:
  • The ChuChu Ball will transform the ball into a ChuChu. When thrown, a trail of ChuChus will follow it from where the player. This means that if you manage to shoot it from the mid court and score a field goal, you'll nab a 3 X multiplier on the amount of ChuChus between you and the hoop!
  • When scoring with the Puyo Ball, your opponent's hoop will be temporarily clogged with a garbage Puyo preventing them from scoring any points at all! On top of that you'll automatically get a 4 x multiplier on the shot's points.
  • The Mighty Ball will transform the basketball into Mighty the Armadillo. Whilst in this form the basketball can smash through opponents, making blocking impossible when fired with an attack. Use it to turn basketball into a fully contact sport and send them flying! Mighty won't net additional points but can be scored with. That no one can block him might make him useful in a tight game!
  • The Egg Ball will transform the ball into a giant egg from Billy Hatcher which turns a dribble into an egg roll. Much like the Mighty Ball this one is used for crushing opponents on the court. Any hapless opponent that comes into contact with the rolled egg will become embedded temporarily in the ground, allowing for free movement. This ball when shot will hatch into a regular basketball, which doesn't net many additional points but will allow you a free shot on the hoop after all your opponents are buried!
  • The Monkey Ball will automatically place the player with the ball inside a Monkey Ball making stealing the ball from them an impossible task! You'll also drop banana peels in your wake causing the opponent to slip up.
  • The Pin Ball will turn the basketball into a richocheting pinball. Even better this basketball power up lasts a total of 20 second(unless another power up is picked up), and scoring additional baskets will net you additional points with the multiplier being the point score distance. Score once at a 3 point distance, you get 3 points. Score with the Pin Ball again at a 3 point distance and you'll get 9 points! Get ANOTHER 3 pointer and you'll get 27 points! Get YET ANOTHER 3 point distance and you'll rack up a ridiculous 81 points! Get those multipliers!
  • The Miracle Ball will transform the ball into a ball of pure sparkling star energy. This ball gives a 50x multiplier bonus when scored, will fill up the player's All-Star gauge allowing them to clear the court of opponents and will also boost the attack stats of the player who has the ball allowing for damaging combos if you wish to use them! FIND THE MIRACLE BALL!

At the end of the timer, whoever has the highest score wins.

In Nightmare Tournament, whoever wins proceeds into the next round of the tournament.

Additional jobs should this win:
For Nightmare Tournament, we can do as we have for Burning Rangers and Crazy Taxi and select some NPCs for the teams as well as their unique courts. We'd need 6 teams of 4.

I'd recommend trying to give them a consistent theme for each team however. Whilst Basketball Nightmare had teams of werewolves, vampires, tengu, etc, we can select themes for our teams.

Example theme: "Basketball Knightsmare" - Prince Egle(Pit Pot), Sir Lancelot(Shadow the Hedgehog, Sonic series), Sir Tongara de Pepperouchau III (Clockwork Knight) and Mae (Shining Force I-doubles up as an extra pun because she's a female centaur, aka a Knight Mare). Court would be themed after a castle, again Shining Force could be a great place to look into for this.

These guys wouldn't have an All-Star moves but could have like one attack each for shooting and stealing the ball.

 

[darkvortex]

Ignore this.