Project Sedge

[Shrikeswind]

Just a fighter I'm working on. Description shortly, not much time to start.

EDIT: Sorry for the wait. Anyways.

Project Sedge is a cross-over fighting game. Unlike most fighting games, you aren't limited by the position of your enemy and there are elements of platformers involved, namely the cliffs and extra platforms, like with Smash Bros. A difference is in how the stages are laid out. Rather than just two dimensions, the foreground is layered, so you can walk on one of five different parts of platforms with different map lay-outs (to use an example from Melee, being able to stand on one of the Great Fox's wings in Corneria as well as being able to stand on the long platform from nose to tail, effectively making two short platforms in front as well as the main platforms you already use.) The result: An added semi-dimension.

The plot-line is a bit screwloose because for one thing, being a crossover game, it features a bunch of characters who shouldn't actually have ever seen each other, and for a second, it still manages a serious tone at the same time. I'll get in on the actual details shortly.

Characters: There are 8 characters available from the beginning, and you can unlock 8 more later on. Here are the eight starters, but the secret characters are secret, so I'll never tell.

Mario	Goku	Sonic	Aang
DK	Bugs Bunny	Pikachu	Robin

Each of these characters has 5 special attacks, like in Brawl. The fifth attack takes on the form of the Final in that a certain requirement must be met prior to use, in this case, a bar must be charged before the button may be hit. These attacks are generally well-suited to the character, i.e., Mario's Fireballs or Robin's Birdarang. The characters also have a taunt that also suits the character, yet another pair of examples, Bugs chews a carrot and says "What's up Doc?" or DK beats his chest with a roar.

Plot: 7 evil characters from seven of the eight series band together to destroy their targets. These characters are Freeza, Dr. Eggman, Princess Azula, Giovanni, Slade, King K. Rool, and a secret other villain. The first two things they do: Capture the Dark Legends to be bent to their will and hire an expert bounty hunter in the attempt to destroy their targets. Their next targets? That being explained in the game is unimportant.

[Shrikeswind]

Levels 1-5

Level 1: Mushroom Kingdom

The Mushroom Kingdom is, seriously, a complete clone of the first 4 levels of Super Mario Bros., except all fused together, and with a prequel: There are five levels prior as well. Mario must make his way across the Mushroom Kingdom from his house to Peach's Castle, where Bowser Jr. is holding the place down. After defeating Bowser Jr., you must race after Bowser to his fortress, where the real game begins.

Level 1 Bosses

Stage 1
Hammer Bros.: The Hammer Bros. work excellently as a tag-team, but praise God you aren't alone. An AI Luigi joins you in the battle, supplimenting your firepower with his own mushroom powers. While never playable, Luigi is a useful character to get used to, in later levels, tag-teams are going to happen with characters in your roster.

Stage 2
Lemmy & Iggy: Lemmy & Iggy are another tag-team you'll have to take on, this time however, you're on your own, as Luigi's holding down base. The trick to this? For one thing, they're lighter than the other Koopalings. For another, you have the aerial advantage. Use the sky and your greater power to your advantage and let them get cocky and they're all yours.

Stage 3
Larry: Larry is your first ever actual duel. Larry uses speed and power, and is heavier than the previous two (though not by much.) Yet again, the sky is your friend, so bitch out aerial attacks.

Stage 4
Roy: Roy is a powerhouse, no way around it. Heavy and strong, he's also incredibly slow. It's easy to run him ragged, a hit and run strategy, however, is the must.

Stage 5
Morton: Morton is like Roy, powerful, but he's got a new advantage: He's close to your stats. You don't actually have any advantages or disadvantages over Morton, so instead, take it easy and use your skill rather than your stats.

Stage 6
Ludwig: Ludwig is the most powerful of the Koopalings, but also the slowest. His weight is average, making him a very challenging character. Just keep your speed up for Ludwig, you'll get him.

Stage 7
Wendy: Wendy is the negative to Ludwig: Fastest, but weakest. This drastically changes the strategy needed: Rather than using your speed, your power is your advantage over Wendy.

Stage 8
Bowser Jr.: Junior will be easy after fighting his siblings, he's statistically similar to Larry, but a bit slower and stronger. Don't waste too much time, however, because unlike in the other battles, the time limit is drastically reduced as the castle's self-destruct sequence initiates.

Stage 9
Bowser: The final boss for the Mushroom Kingdom is Lord Bowser. Weight and power are his forte, being completely maxed (topping even Ludwig by far,) while his speed and jumping skills are drastically reduced. Use your speed and the sky above to take Bowser to the hole. And if all else fails, that axe at the stage's end could finalize your battle.

Level 2: The Underground
Bowser flees with the Princess after Mario defeats him and spirits her away in his Koopa Clown Car. You hound him across a stretch of desert, but you eventually lose him and are forced into using the Sewer Systems.

Level 2 Bosses

Stage 1
Fire Bro.: The Fire Bro. is like the Hammer Bros., except he's got a hint of Sumo in him. Take him out quick, he hasn't as much speed as the brothers you fought on your way to the Castle.

Stage 2
Monty Mole: Monty Mole guards the Warp Pipe to the surface. Power is his advantage, so use his lost speed to your advantage.

Stage 3
Goku: After the long trek through the underground and fighting Monty Mole, you have a short walk to go before you meet the Saiyan warrior. Powerful and heavy yet slow, Goku is dangerous, but you do still have speed at your advantage. Use it.

Level 3: Ba Seng Se
That Warp Pipe really did take you far, though you didn't notice. Mario finds himself in the desert, fighting Goku. The fight with Goku ends when they notice a large broken-down drill near a giant wall.

Level 3 Bosses

Stage 1
Charizard: Charizard is a fire-breathing dragon set on you by unknown sources. Mario fights him. Charizard's primarily quick and aerial while he's never a grounder, so forcing him to the ground and hitting him hard is the best option.

Stage 2
Venusaur & Blastoise: Venusaur is a dinosaur with a flower on his back while Blastoise is basically Bowser with water. Mario and Goku fight them both, Mario controlled by AI. Venusaur is great with ground-fighting with his high weight and falling speed, while Blastoise is in his element going slow and strong. Take out Venusaur by forcing him into the air, and Blastoise by picking up the pace.

Stage 3
Bowser: After the Starter Trio go down, Bowser will attack again. Use the same strategy you used before if you fight as Mario, as Goku, use your skills over your stats, since Goku's closer to Bowser in that regard. Unlike in the last fight, however, you can't just grab an axe and finish the battle, so instead, try and use the rest of the scene to your advantage.

Stage 4
Azula: Azula will attack you after Bowser goes down, particularly, you are Mario again. Take to the skies, she's best on the ground.

Stage 5
Azula: After a quick cut-scene, Goku fights Azula. Use his specials, she's particularly light, so a well-placed Hasshuken followed up with a Kamehameha should take her down quick.

Level 4: DK Island
DK is taking a nap when he hears the sound of explosions. He wakes up lazily and looks down his tree-house to the banana horde below. Nothing particularly strange, but he investigated anyways. He went to the horde to find his bananas had been taken! He rushed off into the jungle, following the poorly disguised trail to an unconcious Kritter. Upon waking him up, the Kritter rushed off, shouting about his jeep. DK followed the Kritter to find a large empty jeep at the shore while a ship was sailing into the distance, bananas in tow. DK immediately began to swim after it.

Level 4 Bosses

Stage 1
Kritter: Kritter fights rather physically, but he has an advantage over your simian warrior: He has several motive moves, particularly, his Klap Trap Cannon. He's more aerial and faster than the ape, but he's also weaker and lighter. Use his lower weight to your advantage and don't let him use any specials on you.

Stage 2
Truly Gnawty: Truly Gnawty is a Gnawty, as his name implies. He guards the path to the ship, where he fights DK from his millstone. He uses rolling attacks, boulders, stalagmites, and high springing jumps to attack. His weight and speed are high, however, he's weak and isn't very good in the air, not to mention his horrible traction. Edge-traps make this fight simple.

Stage 3
Queen B.: Queen B. is a Zinger. She's a new style of character in that she flies, not walks. Keep it simple: She's one of the few bosses who has a weak spot and a blocked spot. Hit her from below, because she'll hurt you from above. Be careful of her Super Attack, though, she turns red and goes berzerk, hounding you down, in which case, you get hurt no matter where you hit her. She's also one of the few bosses with the HP system instead of weight. Drop her down to 0 and you win.

Level 5: The Fire Kingdom
DK follows his target to the Fire Kingdom through a series of mazes, yet he's still unaware of who's responsible for stealing his bananas (at least, for a while.)

Level 5 Bosses

Stage 1
Admiral Zhao: DK must take on Admiral Zhao. The Admiral is a powerhouse, but of course, he's no match for the relative speed and raw power of the great ape you are. Admiral Zhao plays dirty, however, using your biggest weakness (the air) against you, so cover your weakness with well-placed claps and Primal Spins.

Stage 2
Prince Zuko: Prince Zuko is a speedy character, but he doesn't have much power to cover his weaknesses. The Gorilla Fist is really a good friend here, but try to combo him first with several Simian Slams.

Stage 3
Princess Azula: After getting Zuko out of the way, DK learns who's responsible for the banana theft after climbing a roof. Coincidentally, this roof was that of the Capital City's main palace, where Princess Azula was giving a speech about how the banana shortage is no more, as she found an island full of them. To much fear, she finds herself facing your wrath. Due to the fear, her stats are decreased a bit, but that doesn't make her any less dangerous. Use your biggest Hay-makers, and don't be afraid of the Ape Smash if you want to let fly the Gorilla Fist.

Stage 4
Donkey Kong: Of course, someone's got to get Azula down from the building the ape brings her up. After all, everyone wants to kick her ass. Mario has made his way to the Fire Nation with Goku in tow. As Mario, make your way up the building as Donkey Kong throws barrels down at you. Hm. Where have we seen this before? After you reach the ape, you see a cut-scene where Azula escapes, but DK joins the crew.

Stage 5
Fire Lord Ozai: Of course you've pissed him off. You've just penetrated the Fire Nation as a gorilla trying to take down his daughter, defeating his admiral in the process. Mario steps up for the ape, but Goku steps up for the plumber. Ozai, in his rage, attacks all three. Ozai is exceptional of a fighter, having speed, power, and aerial skills at his disposal (maxing out every stat.) DK will keep him grounded, if DK's the choice, this is Goku's job. Goku will keep him from getting in close to you, if Goku's picked, Mario takes this job. Thankfully, everyone but you are invincible for the course of the battle, so let them distract Ozai while you rev up a 9. Mario's is perhaps the most useful attack, Super Red Fire's long range and wide attack radius, added to the attack's power, allows the attack to be a real weapon against him. It's always a bad plan to try this with DK, who's Kongo Blitz requires getting close and without any defenses. Goku is a good second choice, because he can dodge the Fire Lord's attacks easier.

Stage 6
Elmer Fudd: A gunshot is heard after Ozai is taken down, leaving Mario out of the ringing as he's reduced to soot. Immediately after, a powerful ball of energy hits the floor under the hunter, knocking him into the fight. The characters (and Mario's eyes) turn to see Bugs standing there with an Acme Laser Blaster in his hands. The fight ensues between Bugs and Elmer. Elmer's powerful, but he's also slow, so you have the advantage of speed.

[IVIr.G]

Pretty good, unusual, but good.

[Shrikeswind]

Thank you.

Next update: Moves

Moves are used with 6 different buttons. These buttons are 2, 3, 5, 6, 8, and 9. These perform several actions.

2: 2 performs the Down Special. These are defensive moves that attack to both sides or add protection to the character. An example would be Mario's Tornado.
3: 3 is the Taunt. These are useless moves intended only to give the enemy a good ol' ribbing. No strategic value, just fun to do.
5: 5 is the Neutral Special. These moves have no set standard, so they can do alot of different things. An example would be Goku's Kamehameha.
6: 6 is the Side Special. These moves are generally quick attacks out in front of the character. An example would be Aang's Air Scooter.
8: 8 is the Up Special. These moves are useful in recovery as well as to keep an air-borne enemy out of the way. An example would be Sonic's Sonic Spin.
9: 9 is the Super Attack. These are really powerful moves that generally take no strategic value to use, they're just freakin' amazing. An example would be Pikachu's Volt Tackle.

Alot of these moves add a strategic value to the battle because of things they do, for example, DK's Ape Smash can bury opponents, or Robin's Birdarang can hit twice. Some moves are really particular on this sort of thing and have less effect on the damage percentages and more effect on what it does to the target. A good example (due to the amount of these kinds of strategic moves) is Robin.

Robin's 8 move, High Kick, is fairly simple: A high jumping kick. Not exactly strategic against enemies and doesn't do a ton of damage (though it rates up there,) but it does allow for him to recover well. His 6 move, Bo Smash, is a really strategic move. The move is weak in comparison to even Mario's Cape, but it has something special about it: In the air and at ledges, it can be used as a spike, and on the ground, it reduces the enemy's recovery time for excellent combos. His 5 attack, Birdarang, is relatively weak but can hit twice. His 2 attack, the Bomb Disc, has him pull out a throwing item, a bomb, that he can throw whenever he feels like. It's fairly powerful, but more importantly, it has different ranges based on the next button pressed. His Super, Electric Disc, deals a fairly low damage in comparsion to other attacks, but it can stun enemies for a while (if they survive, it still does have heavy knockback) for Robin to get in there and pull off rapid combos.

Other characters, such as Goku, have moves that can draw the battle out a bit, but get alot of power when they're ready. Goku in particular is mentioned for he has the most with two. The Kamehameha is a powerful charging beam attack assigned to 5. It can really pummel an enemy if he charges it long enough, but this can make a battle longer while he's defenseless, charging up his beam. His 2 move, Genki Dama, is similar to this. The more time used, the more force he can add to the move because of the amount of souls he can contact. On releasing 2, he retains the amount of charge he could attain, then on the next press, he fires it. Goku shares the spotlight of charging characters with DK, who's Gorilla Fist can also plow through enemies after he charges it, Bugs, who's Acme Laser can get rather powerful the longer the 5 button is held, and Sonic, who's Sonic Roll gains more speed the longer the 2 button is held.

Villains and bosses also have strategic moves, for example, Elmer Fudd can stun you with the Acme Shotgun if the bullet hits as you crumble into soot, or Giovanni's Nidoking's Roar, which throws enemies far but nothing more. Villains and bosses also have taunts, except for a couple, for example, Queen B., Truly Gnawty, and Fire Lord Ozai. Don't worry about them too much, though, except for Azula, because her taunt can hurt you slightly, like Luigi's could in the Smash series, but it's quicker.

[Shrikeswind]

What I'd like to talk about today is...

Bugs Bunny

Bugs is a really useful character in the game. His speed is quite high, but he really shines in aerial combat. However, he's relatively weak and light, so he's best suited for stronger characters than anything else.

8: Rabbit Jump
Bugs does a powerful upwards headbutt. On the way down, he'll drop like a rock with a falling kick.

2: Rabbit Hole
Bugs spins rapidly, damaging anyone nearby. Bugs tunnels into the ground, then pops up on another layer in a headbutt that sends anyone in the way flying.

3: Carrot Munch
Bugs gnaws on a carrot and says "What's up Doc?"

[Shrikeswind]

What I'd like to talk about today is...

The Orang-utan Gang

The Orang-utan Gang is comprised of three characters. You fight them frequently, starting in Level 6, and you always fight them in a three-on-one setting, you versus all three of them. The Gang is composed of...

Manky Kong
Manky Kong is the team's fastest member, but also the worst in the air. Manky Kong is the leader of the team, as well. After being defeated in a 1-on-3 battle in Pokemon Stadium, Manky Kong has developed a grudge against your team.

Primeape
Primeape is the team's most powerful member, but also the slowest. Primeape is a vicious monkey who uses his strength and anger against you. Like the team leader, Manky Kong, Primeape hates your team since his failure at Pokemon Stadium.

Ukiki
Ukiki is the team's most aerial member, but also the weakest. Ukiki is a surprisingly chipper monkey, but his many aerial moves will leave you annoyed at him. Ukiki doesn't hold any grudge against your team, rather, he enjoys fighting your team.

Majorly, the Orang-utan Gang is a skill checker, and every 3 levels since Level 6, you'll fight them. They get progressively stronger, and if you can't handle the Gang, your game automatically saves and sends you out to train before handling them again, rather than sending you back to the last save point you activated like every other boss. Use this training to your advantage, because after every Gang fight, the game gets harder, meaning also that the Gang is going to be the first indicator of the challenges ahead.