Hyaku Seiken

Story
Seijyuken: ten legendary weapons revered and coveted for centuries. Countless souls have searched, fought, and died just to possess these weapons. When the Ages of “Reason” and “Enlightenment” came about in the 18th Century the Seijyuken were dismissed as little but a myth. But still the true believers continued to search, fight, and die. It wouldn’t be until the 21st Century that the Seijyuken’s existence would finally be proven. Reginald Neville, Head Captain of the North American branch of the paramilitary organization Toku Sentai, had in his employ five Seijyukenshi—wielders of the Seijyuken—and witnessed the weapons’ power firsthand. At first he, too, was a skeptic but upon meeting the five he became a believer. Not only that but he made it his duty to keep an eye on the Seijyukenshi since the five he knew were then early twenty-somethings.

But the underhanded tactics of an invading alien force, Uchuu Guntai Salvaje, led to the desertion of the five Seijyukenshi in 2012. In the following years Reginald has been trying to keep an eye on the five Seijyukenshi while juggling the enormous responsibilities of Toku Sentai but it hasn’t always worked. It’s now 2016 and problems are on the rise the world over. Reginald has had enough. With the go-ahead from Toku Sentai’s HQ in Tokyo and support from the European and Asian Blocs, Reginald launches a worldwide tournament meant to draw out, not only the Seijyukenshi he fired, but the remaining five. His goal: a three-part ultimatum: join Toku Sentai, surrender your weapon, or face the global wrath of Toku Sentai. With this, the Seijyukenshi have no choice but to enter the tournament.

The question is what will they choose?

Gameplay
Hyaku Seiken will have 3D graphics and run on a 2.5D Unreal gameplay engine with the goal of emerging victorious from best-of-three battles. Where Hyaku Seiken differs is that, while it will have 3D graphics it will play like most Arc Fighters.

Characters will be able to use normal hand-to-hand moves and Sei Drives (Specials) via the Punch and Kick Buttons. They use their weapons via the Zan Button, a shoutout to Guilty Gear since “Zan” is short for “Zangeki” which is Japanese for “Slash”. Both normal weapon attacks and Sei Drives can be used with the Zan Button like Punch and Kick. All three of the aforementioned Buttons can be comboed together instead of the multi-style switching from Mortal Kombat, making it easy for beginners. When all three buttons are comboed together it’s called a Hyaku Sei Rondo, like Guilty Gear’s Gatling Combo and Fatal Fury 3-Real Bout Fatal Fury 2 's combo system. Of course, normal attacks and Sei Drives can be comboed into the Hyaku Sei Rondo.

The third Button is Ginga Drive, used for Ginga Drives (Super Moves), like the “D” button from BlazBlue. The name “Ginga” in “Ginga Drive” means “Galaxy” in Japanese which alludes to the accompanying character animation upon activating a Ginga Drive. For instance, the character Dred is associated with the Constellation Leo. When the Ginga Drive is activated, the screen cuts to a starry background where Constellation Leo appears on the screen (with the stars outlined in the shape of a Lion of course) shining brightly for two seconds. This alludes to Saint Seiya (a big influence), Red Earth/Warzard and BlazBlue’s little character symbols that appear behind them upon activating their Drives. The Ginga Drive Button controls two to four Ginga Drives as well as the Hyaku Sei Finish, the game’s Instant Kill. Hyaku Sei Finishes will be non-gory and include the Constellation respective to the character chosen. Punch, Kick, Zan, and Ginga Drive can be comboed together, of course, as can Sei Drives be comboed into Ginga Drives. The Star Gauge is your Super Meter at the bottom which is used for Ginga Drives and Hyaku Sei Finishes.

But not just Arc Games will get in on the fun. From Darkstalkers there will be EX Specials in the form of EX Sei Drives, which are performed by double-tapping Punch, Kick, or Zan and the accompanying direction. They will cost a quarter of the Star Gauge. From Street Fighter III is the Parry, which can be used by tapping forward twice and is free. Throws are performed by pressing Back and Punch/Kick.

Classic SNK gets in on the game with Sidestep. Used by pressing R1, Sidestep allows you to do just that by shifting planes like in Fatal Fury 1 through Real Bout Fatal Fury 2, which gives you the option of either moving back to the first plane (Down + R1) or Sway, sneaking behind your opponent (Forward + R1). Sway will automatically take you back to the first plane. When an opponent Sways behind you, you can about-face by pressing Forward but some characters will have Back Attacks. Like Parry, both Sidestep and Sway are free.

For traditional defense you just press Back or Down and Back to guard like Street Fighter, King of Fighters, Tekken, Guilty Gear, and others. There will also be Air Guard. There will be a Guard Gauge underneath the lifebar which will deplete the more you guard, making Parry and Sidestep essential to avoid the dreaded Guard Break.

To get around you can Walk (Forward or Back) Dash (double tap Forward), Back Dash (double tap Back), Jump (Up), and Air Dash (double tap Forward in air).

All these moves are commonplace but, of course, some characters will have special abilities like holds and special movements.

Characters
Now we get to the meat of the game, the fighters. There are ten default and four Hidden Bosses a la Street Fighter II. There will also be Hidden Characters that are unlocked after meeting certain conditions. The characters are listed by their name followed by their Constellation and Weapon in parenthesis.

The Seijyukenshi (Default)

 * Antonio Holman (Qing Long/Seiryutou)-An African-American and the main protagonist. Also the nephew of Reginald and one of the five Seijyukenshi he fired. Currently making a very humble living as an author in rural North Carolina.
 * Mizuki Kusanagi (Xuan Wu/Genbutou)-The Japanese-born best friend of Antonio who used to work with him in Toku America. Now a single mother of two living in Intriguer City, North Carolina and kindergarten teacher.
 * Clayton Siler (Zhu Que/Suzaku Talons)-Friend of Antonio and Mizuki, third son of crime boss Jonathan Siler and former Toku America officer. He’s unemployed and lives with his older sister, Swedish-born Ingrid, in rural North Carolina. But his dream is to be a Pro Wrestler.
 * Victoria Roberts (Bai Hu/Byakko Claws)-Born in South Africa to a Black mother and White-English father and raised in England. She’s the Benimaru/Robert to Antonio’s Kyo/Ryo and former Toku America officer. She used to manage the Johannesburg branch of her father’s bank but quit to help find her little brother, Steven.
 * Cao Meihua (Monoceros/Qilin Bang)-Native of Hebei, China, and the youngest member of the five who were fired from Toku America by Reginald and is close friend of Antonio, Mizuki, and Clayton (she and Victoria don’t get along). She’s also the youngest daughter of Sentai Asia Head Captain Cao Mengde and currently works as a chef at her aunt’s Chinese restaurant.
 * Dred Neville (Leo/Nemea Guantlets)-Guinevere’s African-American bodyguard and son of Reginald. He’s also a former soldier in the US Army who served in the early days of the Afghanistan Conflict and occasionally moonlights on the Greensboro Boxing Circuit.
 * Guinevere Long (Draco/Wyvern Tear)-White-English heiress to the Long Scientific Conglomerate, an American company founded by her father, Chicago-born White-American David Long. Currently a college student at the University of North Carolina Greensboro looking for a degree in Biological Engineering so she can inherit her destiny.
 * Moriya Kusanagi (Corvus/YataZashi)-Mizuki’s older brother and Guinevere’s personal tutor. He is a high-school history teacher regularly and a professional Ninja by blood.
 * Natalya Komarova (Cygnus/Etain Spear)-A big-name Russian singing idol hugely popular in the whole of Europe. She was born to a human pro-wrestler father and Swan-type Beastman mother, the same alien race that invaded in 2012.
 * Jamal Al-Rashid (Aquila/Roc Scimitar)-A Saudi Arabia-born Imam currently living in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Runs an antique shop during day and is a former Saudi RAF soldier who went home and became a family man to a wife and two children.

Toku America (Unlockable Bosses)

 * Raincloud (Ursa Major/Bear Bone Club)-A full-blooded Cherokee Indian and member of the Eastern Band of Cherokee in the North Carolina mountains. Joined Toku America to help people and find her missing tribespeople, taken by what she believes to be “Evil Spirits”.
 * Jose Cortez (Hydrus/Quetzalcoatl Plume)-A native of Veracruz, Mexico and former owner of a Mexican restaurant chain spread throughout Texas and the Southeastern USA. Joined Toku America to keep future Latinos from joining gangs like his slain friends. He has a past with Victoria.
 * Claudia Vieira (Aranea/Widow String)-A native of Sao Paulo, Brazil, raised in New York City after she and her parents fled the dangerous part of Sao Paulo that they lived in. Joined Toku America out of her personal sense of justice. She’s Reginald’s right-hand woman and the Billy Kane to his Geese Howard.
 * Reginald Neville (Hercules/Bare Fists)-The final boss and Head Captain of Toku America. He’s a former Greensboro PD officer and 5th Dan Karateka who now practices Raijinken, a legendary style of Japanese martial arts. Also a lover of Japanese culture. Has a second form, Raijin, which he activates after he’s beaten in the first round.

Hidden Characters

 * Cao Lianhua (Grus/Jian)-Meihua's older sister and Toku Asia Lieutenant invited by Reginald to compete in the tournament.
 * Marie Froehlich (Scutum/Zweihander)-Swiss-German Knight and Toku Europe Officer and member of Toku Europe's special ops team Manus Europa. She, too, was personally invited by Reginald.
 * Ingrid Karlsson-Siler (Ophiuchus/Viking Longsword and Bow & Arrow)-Clayton's Swedish-born older sister by a year who currently lives as a published author with her brother. She was invited by Reginald but was on a writing roll and didn't want to break it so she declined.
 * Beet Buster (No Constellation/Cyber Axes)-A Canadian Cyborg and the first General of H.U.M. When he was human he was a wrestler/football player and childhood friend of Clayton.
 * Gold Guardian Horus (No Constellation/Cyber Khopesh)-An Egyptian Cyborg and the second General of H.U.M. When he was human he was an Egyptologist who joined H.U.M. out of rage at ISIS destroying priceless monuments in Syria and Iraq.
 * Steel Angel Calliel (No Constellation/Cyber Rapier)-An Italian Cyborg and H.U.M.'s Second in Command. Little is known about her human life other than the fact that she is from Venice, Italy. She is not what she seems.
 * Deoxia (No Constellation/Bio Blade and Phazers)-The Big Bad of Hyaku Seiken and leader and founder of H.U.M. She destroyed her records when she became Deoxia but is known to be a genius scientist when she was human.

Stages
Stages will be real-world locales to give the game a little credibility and will shift to different times of day according to the round a la Fatal Fury 2 to Real Bout Fatal Fury and King of Fighters '98. The stages are assembled in order of the characters listed above. The titles come from Street Fighter IV’s stage titles.
 * 1) Reflections (Day to Night): Verdant Field, North Carolina, USA
 * 2) Past and Present (Midday to Night): Shitennoji, Osaka, Japan.
 * 3) Christian in Hell Minor (Cloudy Day to Night): Devil’s Tramping Ground, North Carolina, USA.
 * 4) Life in Perspective (Clear Day to Starry Night): God’s Window, South Africa.
 * 5) Historic Retreat (Day to Night): Mountain Retreat, Hebei Province, China.
 * 6) Downtown Brawlin’ (Midday to Night): Downtown Greensboro, North Carolina, USA.
 * 7) Arthurian Lore (Day to Night): Tintagel Castle, England, United Kingdom
 * 8) Sengoku Legacy (Midday to Night): Osaka Castle, Osaka, Japan.
 * 9) Lenin to Peter’s (Night to Morning): St. Petersburg, Russia
 * 10) Holy City the 2nd(Morning to Night): Medina, Saudia Arabia
 * 11) On Cherokee Land (Morning to Dusk): Cherokee, North Carolina, USA
 * 12) Mi Casa, Mi Corazon (Day to Night): Heroica Cordoba, Veracruz, Mexico
 * 13) Beauty in Struggle (Evening to Night): Vila Madalena, Sao Paulo, Brazil. Dragon-Kid's fighter Tomas Christiano from Battle Rhythm (a fellow Sao Paulo native) makes a cameo in the Night portion of the stage dancing with his models.
 * 14) Gate City Showdown (Moonlight Night to Cloudy Morning): Greensboro, North Carolina, USA
 * 15) Old Town, New Blood (Afternoon to Night): Baoding, Hebei Province, China
 * 16) Finance and Fisticuffs (Evening to Night): Zurich, Switzerland.
 * 17) Contrast (Day to Night): Haga, Goteborg, Sweden
 * 18) Oh, Canada (Day to Night): Rural Ontario Province, Canada
 * 19) Ancient and Modern (Day to Night): Memphis, Egypt
 * 20) Hidden Agendas in the Mist (Misty Night to Morning): Venice, Italy
 * 21) Natural Selection (Calm to Red Alert): H.U.M. Lab, Rural Ontario Province, Canada.

Game Modes
·        Arcade Mode-It’s not a fighting game without an Arcade Mode in my humble opinion. After all, not everybody’s an Online Warrior. Like every Arcade Mode before you select your fighter and, after an introduction, engage the others in a ten-man ladder. The first nine are selected randomly and then you fight your Rival, which is chosen according to character. There will be special winquotes after every battle (which I will list on the profiles) and Rival Battles will be theatrical.

Once you’ve vanquished your rival, Raincloud, Jose, Claudia and Reginald appear in that order no matter which of the Seijyukenshi you pick. Wins against the first three bosses will result in special winquotes like before. The fight against Reginald will follow suit with meeting Seth in SFIV except there will be a conversation unique to every situation versus just Seth talking.

When you unlock and play with the Bosses the ladder will go differently near the end. Instead of mirror matches (I hate mirror matches) the Boss you pick will face Victoria, Clayton, Mizuki, or Antonio in a Rival Battle situation before facing Reginald right after. But only Raincloud, Jose, and Claudia will face Reginald as the Final Boss. When playing with Reginald, Antonio will be the Final Boss.

·        Versus Mode-Self-explanatory. You can play against CPU or Human here and winquotes will be the same as Arcade Mode plus mirror match winquotes for those who happen to like the same character.

·        Time Attack-Try to climb the ladder with the fastest time. The Bosses’ ladders will follow Arcade Mode in that you will fight the four Seijyukenshi.

·        Survival-Try to survive an endless gauntlet of opponents for the highest score. Unlike Arcade and Time Attack there will be no set formula, you fight everybody all the time until you die. It will follow the Garou: MOTW survival where there will be health and time items. Like old-school survival, there is one difficulty that starts off easy and gets more complicated as you go.

·        Training-Where you select your fighter and hone your skills against your selected opponent in whatever stage you like. Training will be as detailed as most modern Training Modes.

·        Tutorial-A special tutorial that you can play and review as many times as you like.

·        Trails-These are character-specific trails concerning Specials, Ginga Drives, combos, and cancels.

·        Gallery-View character profiles, listen to music, and view Rival Battle and Boss Battle cutscenes.

·        Online-I’m a Story/Casual Warrior but I know a LOT of people love Online so here it is. You find a match, join a lobby, or enter a tournament. Cross-play between all systems will be added. Broadband is required. Rage-Quitters will be served with an automatic loss, no exceptions. If your internet is bad you might be best not playing fighting games with it.

·        Options-Adjust settings like sound options, game options, and controls.