| ⌭Saga | ||
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| Developer(s) | Existence Software | |
| Genre(s) | Umbrella, action beat 'em up | |
| First Game | Tome 57 | |
Cylindricity Saga, stylized as ⌭Saga, is a series of umbrella hack-and-slash video games. Set within its own continuity, the series borrows characters from other series, combining some characters' incarnations to create simple amalgamations that encompass as much of a character's history as possible while still being only a single character.
The series can be seen as somewhat of a successor to one of Jake's earlier works, the Rose Warriors series, though is vastly different and is not meant to replace it. The series is highly influenced by the Dynasty Warriors series, and most titles in the series utilize similar gameplay; though the Science Adventure series by 5pb. and Nitroplus serves as another large inspiration for the series' story.
The ⌭Saga is the first of three series to be included in the Bola Parasola.
Titles[]
Chronology[]
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As evident by the seemingly random numbers placed in the titles of most games, the games do not follow a simple chronological history. While the main titles all follow along the path of a single story, the order in which events take place do not match up with the games' release, nor do the events of a single game necessarily follow directly after those of another game. For instance, the introduction of Tome 57 takes place before the events of Omen 76, despite that game taking place prior to the aforementioned Tome 57. The confusing chronology of the series is thought to stem from the fact that the plot of the first three main titles in the series as originally to take place solely in a single title, though its growth eventually forced it to be spread out over three. Though not all games in the series feature the same gameplay and may be considered by some to be spin-offs, they are all canon to one another in some way. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Gameplay[]
The titles in the ⌭Saga are action beat 'em up spin-offs of Koei Tecmo's long-running Warriors titles. Unlike many other games, but like the Warriors franchise, players must take on large hoards of enemies at a single time, as opposed to one-on-one or small groups. In order to combat enemies, players must use various combo attacks, primarily done through combinations of buttons. Every character has a unique weapon (or weapons, in some cases), each with its own set of combo attacks.
There are two major types of attacks. There are standard attacks and more powerful "strong attacks". Standard attacks do little damage, but can be chained together for combos, while the strong attacks end combos with more powerful attacks.
Defeating enemies (or collecting certain power-ups) fills up the yellow Special Attack gauge. Once filled completely, the player can unleash an incredibly strong attack known as a Special Attack. Special Attacks deal more damage than strong attacks, and usually cover an extended range. However, there exists a fourth attack that can be activated through the Darkness Gauge. Upon filling the Darkness Gauge completely, the player can activate Awakening. In Awakening mode, the character's attacks and movements are quickened for a short duration of time, with every attack dealing 2x its normal damage output. After the Darkness Gauge fully drains, the character will activate an attack known as an Apocalypse Attack, though pressing the Special Attack button any time during the duration of Awakening mode can also activate a slightly weakened variant of this attack. The Darkness Gauger is filled by doing combos, with the amount filled being determined by the longevity of the combo.
Another big part of the attacking process is the ability to lock on to enemies. Larger enemies with more health, or other Warriors, can be locked-on to. While locked-on to an enemy, the camera will rotate around so the player is always capable of seeing that enemy.
Every warrior has its own unique weapon(s) with which they can fight enemies. Weapons can be categorized into one of several different Elements, with each type having different attributes that affect their attacks.
- ♠ Fire Element weapons deal out more damage, and certain attacks will light enemies on fire when defeated, creating explosions as they land.
- ♥ Earth Element weapons have a larger range of attack, and have a better chance of breaking through an opposing warrior's defences.
- ♦ Voltaic Element weapons, known in some games as ♦ Air, increase the amount of damage and knockback dealt to airborne enemies, and may temporarily stun foes on the ground.
- ♣ Water Element weapons have attacks that will cause fighters to take small amounts of damage over time that can not defeat enemies but lower their health to 1 HP.
- ♫ Light Element weapons increase the amount of damage dealt to opponents depending on the amount of enemies the warrior's attack hits; with the more enemies that are attacked at once increasing the damage output.
- ♪ Darkness Element weapons increase the amount of damage dealt to opponents depending on the amount of enemies the warrior's attack hits; with the fewer enemies that are attacked at once increasing the damage output.
- ♯ Plasma Element weapons increase the amount of damage dealt to opponents depending on their current KO count. In addition, enemies that are defeated may occasionally fill the warrior's Darkness Gauge as opposed to Special Attack Gauge.
- ★ Magic Element weapons, introduced in Sepia 10\24, deal less damage than other weapons do, but petrify nearby enemies, slowing or completely stopping their movements depending on the amount of health they have. Enemies that are defeated explode with a spider web effect to slightly slow down any nearby enemies.
- ◎ Hollow Element weapons, which appear solely in Imitation shi, have no specific attributes. They deal the same amount of damage to all foes, and have no aftereffects. If combined with Skill Cards infused with elemental properties, they take on that elemental property instead of creating Choice Attributes. Additionally, if a Hollow card is applied to a Hollow weapon, nothing will happen.
Additionally, using the Skill Cards that appear in some of the series' titles, players can combine two different elements to create a ✦ Choice Attribute. Choice Attributes combine the effects of two elements, making a specific weapon stronger than others of its kind, even should it have the same star rating. All the different Choice Attributes are as follow:
| Element | ||||||||||
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| Fire | Earth | Voltaic | Water | Light | Darkness | Plasma | Magic | Hollow | ||
| Element | Fire | Fire+ | Molten | Firework | Mist | Holy | Death | Nuclear | Magma | Fire |
| Earth | Molten | Earth+ | Love | Neptune | Fissure | Nether | Poison | Quake | Earth | |
| Voltaic | Firework | Love | Voltaic+ | Storm | Hurricane | Fog | Rust | Thunder | Voltaic | |
| Water | Mist | Neptune | Storm | Water+ | Rainbow | Ice | Hydrogen | Corrosion | Water | |
| Light | Holy | Fissure | Hurricane | Rainbow | Light+ | Twilight | Cosmic | Charm | Light | |
| Darkness | Death | Nether | Fog | Ice | Twilight | Darkness+ | Gravity | Venom | Darkness | |
| Plasma | Nuclear | Poison | Rust | Hydrogen | Cosmic | Gravity | Plasma+ | Ectoplasm | Plasma | |
| Magic | Magma | Quake | Thunder | Corrosion | Charm | Venom | Ectoplasm | Magic+ | Magic | |
| Hollow | Fire | Earth | Voltaic | Water | Light | Darkness | Plasma | Magic | Hollow | |
Being defensive is also important as to conserve health so one is not defeated. The warrior can take on a defensive stance, which lowers the amount of damage taken as long as the guard is not broken by stronger attacks. The player can dodge in any direction, which, if timed correctly, can be used to fully avoid taking damage from attacks.
Warriors can also sprint, which is activated after running a set distance. While sprinting through large hoards of weaker enemies, the chances of being attacked by weaker enemies are decreased, as their attack animations are usually slow enough to miss the player. Warriors are also capable of jumping, with each weapon having a single string of aerial combos, and a strong attack that throws them back to the ground.
Trivia[]
- Before being named the ⌭Saga, several other names were brainstormed for the series' name. Such names include Irregularity.∄ (Irregularity.does not exist), i1 (imaginary number 1), and Overture µ (Overture micro). The name "⌭Saga" was chosen due to the series' theme of repetition.
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| ⌭Saga · Rose Warriors · Omega Fracture Imitation SH4 · Negative Charge · Omen 76 · Ruptured Sect · Sepia 10\24 · Tome 57 · Viva la Rose Warriors |
