Angels of Battle [戦の使徒] Game Sample - PC/Doujin
GS: You looking for some high-quality freeware?
Viewers: Of course!
GS: Want it to have some interesting history?
Viewers: Sure, it wouldn't hurt!
GS: You like fighting games?
Viewers: YEAH!!
GS: Want it to use a modified version of the now-ancient FM2nd engine?
Viewers: Hmmm... tell us more!
With so many engines these days being capable of so much, it's not too often you still find games using the ol' FM2nd engine. M.U.G.E.N. has evolved, Unity has made it easier to make games on par with modern professional works, and FM2nd has a lot of well-documented issues that pose significant hurdles for most people, but you couldn't tell that to the creators of "Angels of Battle". Why is that? Well, they are no strangers to the FM engines... not FM2nd or FM95. In fact, what if I told you that the people responsible for this made one of the most famous FM2nd games of all time and developed this title in almost total secrecy for over fifteen years? You'd be right to be baffled, but the game is at a state that I can show it off, but the story of the game is as interesting as the game itself.
Over twenty years ago, way back in 2000, existed a FM95 game called "Fighters Kyodotai", a wacky fighting game that drew inspiration from all sorts of places and featured characters from other Doujin works such as "Blader Crisis" to characters from Doraemon and more. Developed by Alicuu and what would later be known as "Neo Team FK" and "FK Digital", they went on to make "Fighters Kyodotai Flash" and their magnum opus, "SCWU:GT" or "Super Cosplay War Ultra: Genkai Toppa" before rising to near-commercial level fame with the release of their first promising original work, "Chaos Code". Due to tragic events, one of the driving forces behind CC, Michael Lin (aka GIANT Michael) passed away from illness and it took a huge toll on his brother, Mickey, causing FK Digital to ultimately cease operations and shut down. At this time, "Angels of Battle" had already started the planning phase but took a back seat to focus on the success of Chaos Code and development was slow. It is a heartbreaking story that I've shared in the past, which you can read at:
https://www.gematsu.com/2020/02/fk-di...
The dream didn't die however; there was a fire burning from some of FK Digital's staunchest supporters and one last quarter-circle motion burning in their hearts that has been gradually clawing its way to the surface, and development began to grow upon Michael's death to honor his memory and contributions to the fighting community. Not only that, the latest Chaos Code has now continued development and AoB is being shared with the world free of charge much like the works that marked their humble origins. It is my proud honor to share "Angels of Battle" with you all today.
AoB has your usual FM2nd trappings: a Arcade (soon to be Story) mode and a Versus mode (which is a practice mode if both players press button 6). It tells the tale of gifted humans who manifest abilities known as the "Power of Will" who are out to combat a race known as the "Divine Beings" who wish to subjugate mankind, and can use their powers for good or evil. It features a four-button attack scheme (light-medium-heavy-sp) with counters, grabs (and grab escapes), special moves, EX attacks and super moves, and prioritizes combos. One mechanic that is somewhat unique to the game is known as the "Border Violation" system (which is also the new name of the team responsible for this game). In Layman's terms, you can think of it somewhat as a combination of Darkstalker's "Dark Force Power" with Chaos Striker's "Chaos Heat" -- characters can execute multiple supers for a limited amount of time and also gain character-specific buffs. For example, Eve can tap into the full power of her will and becomes a tokusatsu super heroine where all her super moves are upgraded. Zeiko will gain super armor. Elvi will slow down time and make all her attacks unblockable. Things of that nature.
Once the BV runs out, the character will be in a temporary "Overloaded" state where they can't accumulate or perform any super moves or EX attacks, but it is not a huge penalty. Mechanically, each character is varied and the action is fast-paced. The game currently sports Yinan and Erus from SCWU as a guests with more work on the way. The graphics are stunning for a freeware FM2nd release with particular attention to the backgrounds and the music is equally as great (the current final boss theme is also in Magicus). Overall, the team should be very proud of this... I think Micheal would be.
This is a video of the game in action with a basic special exhibition. You can get it at:
https://bvtaisei.itch.io/angels-of-ba...
Enjoy.
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