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| Developer(s) | 
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| Platform(s) |  
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| Genre(s) | Strategy | |||
| Release Date(s) | March 27th, 20YB | |||
| Age Rating(s) | 
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| Media Included | V² Disc, Nintendo Switch cartridage | |||
Nintendo All-Stars Chess is a strategy game developed by Toroko and published by Nintendo. It was published for The V² and Nintendo Switch. The game is based off the game of chess, although it also features a checkers mode. Players choose a faction of chess pieces that are based off various Nintendo franchises and can play a normal game of chess or chose to replace pieces with Hero Pieces from various Nintendo characters, which add a new dimension to the chess playing game. These Hero Pieces are based off the fairy pieces that sometimes appear in chess and have a long legacy in the game.
In addition to chess and checkers, the game also features a single player story campaign called Weapons and Wishes, which features the return of Super Mario RPG villian Smithy. Geno and Rosalina gather the heroes from Nintendo worlds to help put a stop to him as well to restore the shattered Star Road so that wishes can be made again.
Modes[]
Chess[]
Chess is the main mode of the game. Two players chose a faction of chess pieces to use in the game and then face off in the chess game. Various rules can be set and players can also swap out pieces for Hero Pieces, which have wildly different functions. You can challenge CPUS, local players, or take it online against online opponents. Chess also features two additional submodes, which are detailed below.
Survival[]
In this mode, you are tasked to survive a certain amount of terms against an endless army of chess pieces with a gray coloration. The enemy pieces in this mode do not abide by the traditional chess set-up; you may be tasked to survive against a entire army of pawns, knights, bishops, rooks, queens, and queens. There is a ton of challenges against different types of armies in this mode, which have variable turn limits and variable armies. You can also set up a custom challenge for yourself.
Starholder[]
In this mode of chess, you are tasked to keep a Star Piece on your side until the turn limit is up. The star piece appears in the center of the map and you must capture it to collect it. Unlike traditional chess, if your piece is captured, it only loses the star piece and still appears on the board, usually moved aside. The turn limit varies and you can set up to have up to seven Star Pieces appear instead, with the winner being the person that collected the most Star Pieces by the end of the turn limit.
Checkers[]
Checkers is the much simpler game that follows the rules of Checkers. You can chose any Nintendo character that appears in the game as your avatar in this game, although they are merely aesthetic. You can challenge CPUS, local players, or take it online against online opponents.
Weapons and Wishes[]
A single player story mode that takes you through an epic war in the worlds of Nintendo through games of chess. The story-line revolves around the return of Smithy, the villain of Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars and the destruction he brings to the worlds of Nintendo as he creates weapons and alliances with Nintendo's greatest villains. Geno and Rosalina band together the heroes of this universe to stop Smithy and to restore the shattered Star Road.
       WEAPONS AND WISHES
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 CHAPTER 0:
MEET ME ON STAR ROAD |
In this prologue, Rosalina and Geno meet on Star Road. Geno tells Rosalina of a vision he was told from Shulk about the shattering of Star Road by the return of Smithy. The two proceed to plan on how to counter Smithy, with Rosalina and Geno agreeing to not get Mario involved if they don't have to, stating he deserves a break from this kind of thing and that his non-involvement is somehow important to Geno's plan. Rosalina sets off to find a new main hero to lead the charge against Smithy and to find Mr. Game and Watch, who is incredibly valuable due to his lack of morality and Shadow Bugs.
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 CHAPTER 1:
THE CONVERGENCE STRIKE |
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 CHAPTER 2:
FROM THE HILT |
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 ARMIES FROM DARKNESS |
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 CHAPTER 4:
BRIGHT BLUE |
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 CHAPTER 5:
AXEM RANGERS GO! |
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 CHAPTER 6:
GALLANT GREEN |
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CHAPTER 7:
STREET SHARKS |
TBA
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CHAPTER 8:
ODD ORANGE |
TBA
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Rules of Chess[]
There are 64 tiles (8x8 grid) and each player gets a total of 16 pieces. These include one king, one queen, two rooks, two knights, two bishops, and eight pawns. Each of the six piece types moves differently, with the most powerful being the queen and the least powerful the pawn.
The goal of the game is to get to a checkmate. This is done through capturing the king piece or making them unable to move further.
King[]
The King can move once in any direction on any given turn and cannot move in a direction that allows him to be captured.
The King has a unique strategy involving Rooks that is known as Castling, in which the king moves two squares toward one of its rooks and then the rook is placed on the square over which the King crossed. Castling is allowed only when neither the King nor the castling Rook previously moved, no squares between them are occupied, the king is not in check, and the King will not move across or end its movement on a square that is under enemy attack.
Uniquely, any Hero Piece can take on the title of King when they replace the piece. This acts a stack to their movement and powers, although this only means that when they are captured the game is lost.
Queen[]
The Queen is considered the most powerful base piece in chess, and for a good reason. The Queen can move in any of the eight directions (north, east, south, west, and all diagonals in between) and across the entire board if allowed. She has to stop near occupied spaces with more than two pieces in her direction. The queen captures by occupying the square on which an enemy piece sits.
Rook[]
The Rook is similar to the Queen in that it can move as far it wants, but only in the four cardinal directions (north, south, east, and west). As with captures by other pieces, the Rook captures by occupying the square on which the enemy piece sits. The Rook also participates, with the King, in a special move called Castling. The Rook is relatively useless at the start of the game due to the amount of places that are occupied, limiting it's movement greatly. However, in the endgame it becomes much more powerful.
Bishop[]
The Bishop has no restrictions in distance for each move, but is limited to diagonal movement. This is similar to the Rook in terms of how it works, but only in the diagonal directions. As with captures by other pieces, the Bishop captures by occupying the square on which the enemy piece resided. It tends to be a more underrated piece due to it's less-useful movement.
Knight[]
The Knight utilizes a very different movement that is unusual among chess pieces. It moves to a square that is two squares away horizontally and one square vertically, or two squares vertically and one square horizontally. The complete move therefore looks like the letter "L". Unlike all other standard chess pieces, the knight can "jump over" all other pieces (of either color) to its destination square. The Knight's power to jump over pieces makes it interestingly powerful during the beginning of the game, although it's unorthodox movement makes it less useful compared to more straightforward pieces.
Pawn[]
The Pawn is by far the weakest piece in chess and is the most plentiful out of all the pieces in chess, with each player getting an entire row of pawns at the start of the game. Pawns cannot move backwards, and can only move once in a given direction. At the start of the game, they can move twice. When they reach the end of the board on the opponent's side, they can be promoted to become another piece. When playing with Hero Pieces, this includes Hero Pieces.
Chess Factions[]
Basic White[]
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Basic Black[]
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Mushroom Kingdom[]
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Bowser's Kingdom[]
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Black Sugar Gang[]
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Hyrule[]
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Ganon's Forces[]
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Town and City[]
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Palutena's Army[]
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Underworld Army[]
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Forces of Nature[]
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Order of Heroes[]
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Emblian Empire[]
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The Sharks[]
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Classic Mode[]
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Subspace Army[]
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Retro Ensemble[]
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Dream Warriors[]
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Hero Pieces[]
Mario Series[]
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Mario is a Hero Piece that is capable of moving up to two spaces in any direction. Mario captures another piece by occupying the space it's in. Mario can also jump over other pieces similar to a Knight.
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Luigi is a Hero Piece that can moves up to a square that is two squares away horizontally and one square vertically, or two squares vertically and one square horizontally, in a L-shape, although Luigi can stop anywhere in between. Similar to a Knight, he can also leap over enemy and ally pieces.
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Peach acts similar to a Queen piece, but with the additional functionality in that she can also jump over ally pieces, but is cannot interact with enemy pieces similar to a King piece.
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Bowser acts similar to a Rook piece in that he can move in all four cardinal directions and can jump over other pieces, whether they be allied with him or a foe.
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Rosalina can move one space in any direction, as well as jump over ally and enemy pieces. When she is next to another piece, she adds a Launch Star to their space that allows them to jump over two additional spaces.
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Pauline can move in the four cardinal directions freely, but moves only one space while attempting to go into a diagonal direction. She can only jump over opponents while moving in the cardinal directions, but can capture enemy pieces diagonally.
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Geno is a Hero piece can move like a Knight or a Rook, but also grants Knights next to him the ability to move a like a Bishop.
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Culex acts as a Queen Piece with Castling properties for King pieces. Additionally, he can move like a Knight. However, he cannot move backwards until he reaches the edge of the board.
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Wario Series[]
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Wario is a Hero Piece that is capable of moving to any 1 space in any direction. However, Wario can only capture diagonally, however he can capture multiple pieces in a single turn. This is known as a charge function.
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Captain Syrup is able to move 1 space in any given direction. Like Wario, she can "charge" cardinally to capture pieces and can capture multiple pieces in a single turn.
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Zelda Series[]
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Link is a Hero Piece that is capable of moving in the four cardinal directions a total of three spaces per turn. If a Queen is on the map, Link is also able to teleport to her last location after she moves if he isn't played beforehand.
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Zelda is able to move like a Queen piece, but has the restrictions of a Pawn in that she cannot move backwards until she reaches the end of the board. She is categorized as a Queen piece for other pieces functionality.
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Sheik is able to move like a Queen piece, but acts like a Knight when she has to move backwards. She is categorized as a Queen piece for other pieces functionality.
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Ganondorf is only able to move two spaces in front of him and cannot move inbetween. He can jump over ally pieces.
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Saria is a Hero Piece that moves forward one diagonal square without capturing, or captures by jumping diagonally over an opponent's piece.
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Urbosa is a Hero Piece that combines the powers of a Queen and a Knight. Urbosa can move like a Queen in that she can move in any direction freely, but also utilize the Knight's strange movement to leap over pieces.
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Sidon is a Hero Piece that can only move once in the east and west directions, but can go as far as he wants in the north and south directions. He can also move three spaces diagonally and jump over pieces this way.
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Animal Crossing Series[]
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Villager is a hero piece that can move in all 8 directions a single space at a time. They capture opponents by hopping over them.
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Resetti is a very weird Hero piece can only move by hopping over other pieces (which requires both a chess piece of either faction and a open space), although he can capture enemy pieces this way. If multiple pieces are lined up in a way that Resetti can hop over them, he can do it as many times as he's allowed to in a single turn.
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Ankha is a Hero Piece that moves like a Knight while moving in the enemy faction's direction, but can move like a Queen when going back to her allied faction's direction.
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Kid Icarus Series[]
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Pit is a Hero Piece that can move like a Rook going in the enemy's direction, but moves like a Bishop when going back to his faction's direction.
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Pitoo (or Dark Pit) is a Hero Piece that can move like a Bishop going in the enemy's direction, but moves like a Rook when going back to his faction's direction.
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Palutena is a Hero Piece that moves like a Queen but cannot be closer than a single space away from her allies. She can be as close as wants with enemy pieces.
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Hades is a Hero Piece that moves like a Queen but cannot be closer than a single space away from his enemies. He can be as close as wants with ally pieces.
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Medusa is a unique Hero Piece that petrifies enemy pieces around her, making them unable to move until she moves away from them. She cannot capture a King piece with this method and she can only stay stationary for up to two turns. She moves like a Knight.
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Eggplant Wizard is a Hero Piece that moves once in a any direction. When he is near other pieces, at the start of their turn, they always act like a Pawn with their movement.
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Phosphora is a Hero Piece that can "zip" to any space that is more than a space away from her, requiring her to move more than one space when moving. She can also only move an upwards of 6 squares.
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Fire Emblem Series[]
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Marth is a hero piece can move in any direction for a total of two spaces, except when going diagonal, in which he can move up to three spaces. He also can allow Pawn pieces to go backwards if they are next to his space.
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Lucina is a hero piece can move in any direction for a total of two spaces. She also can allow Pawn pieces to go backwards two spaces if they are next to her space.
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Tharja is a Hero piece able to move one space in any diagonal direction, or can move two spaces in the cardinal direction, then has to move one space diagonally. Tharja is unique in how she captures- she cannot directly capture opponents if she moves during a turn, but can capture opponents at the start of a turn instead of moving, which have to be one space away from her. If she captures a foe, she cannot move until the next turn.
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Corrin is a Hero Piece that moves like a Rook, but has the ability to allow Pawns to go backwards a single space back if they are next to her.
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Ike is a Hero Piece that can move freely on the diagonal directions, but is limited to going a single space in the cardinal directions. He also allows Pawns to move backwards a single space if he is near them.
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Black Knight is a Hero Piece that can move freely on the cardinal directions, but is limited to going a single space in the diagonal directions. He also allows Pawns to move backwards a single space if he is near them.
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Hinoka is a Hero piece that moves like a Rook and can move like a Knight, but in order to capture other pieces, she has to move like a Knight.
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Camilla is a Hero piece that moves like a Bishop and can move like a Knight, but in order to capture other pieces, she has to move like a Knight.
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Super Smash Bros. Series[]
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Dragon Queen's movement changes each turn. She initially starts off as a Queen piece, then next turn a Rook piece, then the turn after that a Bishop piece before looping back to Queen piece the turn after that.
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Master Hand is a Hero Piece that can move in any of the cardinal directions freely, but must stop a space before any occupied space. He cannot directly capture pieces on the same turn as him moving, although he can capture any piece in front of him at the start of a turn.
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Crazy Hand is a Hero Piece that can move in any of the diagonal directions but cannot capture unless he is directly next to a piece at the start of the next turn, when he has not moved yet. Much like Master Hand, he cannot capture and move in the same turn.
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Galeem is a strange Hero Piece that moves like a King and cannot capture opponents while moving. However, at the start of the next turn, any pieces directly next to him are considered captured. Galeem cannot move where there are opponent pieces during his turns.
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Dharkon can only move diagonally twice per turn. At the start of a turn, any pieces next to Dharkon are considered captured, just like Galeem.
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Axem Rangers[]
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Axem Red is a Hero Piece that is capable of moving up to two spaces in any direction. Axem Red captures another piece by occupying the space it's in. Axem Red can also jump over other pieces similar to a Knight. The functionality of Axem Red is identical to Mario's Hero Piece.
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Axem Green is a Hero Piece that can moves up to a square that is two squares away horizontally and one square vertically, or two squares vertically and one square horizontally, in a L-shape, although Axem Green can stop anywhere in between. Similar to a Knight, he can also leap over enemy and ally pieces. The functionality of Axem Green is identical to Luigi's Hero Piece.
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Axem Pink acts similar to a Queen piece, but with the additional functionality in that she can also jump over ally pieces, but is cannot interact with enemy pieces similar to a King piece. The functionality of Axem Pink is identical to Peach's Hero Piece.
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Axem Black is a Hero piece can move like a Knight or a Rook, but also grants Knights next to him the ability to move a like a Bishop. The functionality of Axem Black is identical to Geno's Hero Piece.
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Axem Yellow is a Hero Piece that is capable of moving to any 1 space in any direction. However, Axem Yellow can only capture diagonally, however he can capture multiple pieces in a single turn. This is known as a charge function. The functionality of Axem Yellow is identical to Wario's Hero Piece.
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Smithy and Smithy's Gang[]
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Smithy is a unique Hero piece in that he moves like a King, but has a health counter that requires him to be captured up to three times before he is actually captured.
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Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- Credits:
- The game's hero pieces are primarily inspired by fairy chess pieces, which are unorthodox chess pieces not used in traditional chess but may be used in a variant of it. Some of these chess pieces were created with the fact it was a video game in mind, such as Rosalina's Hero Piece, which would be hard to keep track of in a real chess game. You can read more about fairy chess pieces here.
- During development, it seems that hero pieces would have had icons inspired by how fairy chess pieces are usually depicted, as an upside down pawn can be found in the game code. In the final product, sprites and icons were utilized instead to depict these hero icons, giving each a unique look.
- Hero pieces were also inspired by DOTA and real-time strategy games, which sometimes utilize super-powered hero characters in addition to generic mooks as part of a player's controllable army.
- The generic Shark character sprite that is used for the artwork of the game is altered from the original. The original game utilized a black costume with red lips- not unlike depictions of blackface. For this game, their color scheme was changed to resemble the blue tones utilized in the clay model of the Yes Man Jr. to remove any possible and unintended connotations.