Transformasaurus is a 16-bit sidescrolling platformer game made exclusively for the Nintendo Switch, starring a adolescent boy with the ability to turn into a miniature dinosaur, being targeted by the insane, massive group of species known as Collectors which wish to take his abilities for personal use. The game is going to be released late 2018.
Plot[]
Timothy "Timmy" Renx, alias being "Rex", or more informally "Transformasaurus", is a boy with the strange ability to turn into a sized down dinosaur, due to a strange mutation in his genes. While his superpower doesn't come in handy often, it comes to use when a strange portal emerges in the sky, releasing an entire planet, which begins to orbit Earth. This planet is home to the "Collectors", a broad term for a large group of creatures that have one goal- collect a specimen of every creature's DNA.
When Earth sees that they want to collect mankind's genes, they decide to fight back and actually seem to make them flee. Then they see Rex's ability to turn into prehistoric reptiles, and it's the most unique thing they've seen. They want to kidnap him, and steal all of his genes to modify them and give their top species this trait.
Doing so will destroy Timothy, though. That's why he can't let them. Now, the only way to defeat them is to destroy the alien boss. But doing so will require hard work- a full-world adventure to the portal at the other side of the earth being raided by these creatures, and then travel to their homeworld to infiltrate their forces.
Will our hero succeed? Who knows.
Gameplay[]
The gameplay is sidescrolling in a 2.5d landscape. The controls are similar to a Smash Bros. game, with various jabs and tilts being availible for both Timothy and each dinosaur form to use. Timmy can travel between areas, though the cost for moving on to the next one requires a certain amount of Mission Fragments and Boss Fragments to power through.
Speaking of missions, each world has a bunch of missions which can be given to you by NPCs or by the game itself. Each mission has a different number of fragments rewarded, based on the difficulty- easy ones like "rescue my cat from the tree!" will give you 1, but others like "rescue my cat from that runaway monster!" will give you more.
A health bar, consisting of 4 hearts (which can be gained over time) will determine your survival in many cases, and a "Dino Bar" which charges fairly quickly, will make sure you don't spam transformation- certain species-specific actions like flying like a Pterodactyl will drain it, and if it runs to 0 than you'll jump out of dino form.
There's also tokens which will by earned from defeating enemies and bosses which will allow you to buy upgrades and items to put in your inventory- by the way, while Dinosaurs give you power and special abilities, Timmy is the only one able to hold weapons like the Grappling Hooks. Weapons can be equipped with dual weilding, and will be controlled with the left and right triggers.
Special zones called "Giant Zones" are in certain areas, were you become huge in a certain section of the world (always in T-Rex form no matter which dino form you have on), where usually you can battle large enemies and stomp through small environments as a huge character!
Shop[]
This shop section will list where you'll find each buyable item, plus the cost and effects of them. You can buy items mostly with Coins found around the world, but some will also require some materials to use.
WeaponZ[]
Run by the paranoid Michael, this place sells weapons for every possible situation. You can buy many weapons that Timmy can use during combat.
Areas[]
Tokyo
Tokyo is a part-tutorial world, and the starting point of this game. Tokyo is being bombarded with enemies based on the spawn of an alien boss known as- Godzilla? More on that in a bit. Stomping your way through this world will be pretty easy- cars passing can be bounced on, and its pretty free-spirited when it comes to exploration- there's basically another level jumping from skyscraper to skyscraper!
Its boss, Godzilla, gives us some explanation to the backstory of the big evil monster. Godzilla is actually a Collector who was mutated in an attempt to make a bootlegged version of Timothy's special dino gene, and is now a giant lizard who lives underwater in the city of Tokyo, appearing every once and awhile to ravage the area.
Going into Giant form to battle Godzilla is no easy task- even when you're huge, he still doubles your size. You must duck, jump and dodge his many attacks while making sure to do much damage on your own.
Characters[]
amazing artwork by Exotoro (t∣b∣c)!
Timothy "Timmy" Renx
....is our 16 year old hero, who has the strange ability to turn into a miniature dino, you know that by now. Along with the short brown hair, he wears a long-sleeved black shirt with green sleeves with a hexagonal pattern, as well as long black gym pants. He's pretty kindhearted though cocky- sometimes before battling a boss, he will yap on about how crappy they are, sometimes breaking the fourth wall- and happens to always get sidetracked. Learn more about his abilities in the Gameplay section. He has a little bit of a crush on Mina.
Prof. Mina
, known as Min to Timmy, is our hero's best friend- they've known eachother since they were babies. Min is a NEEERD, in Timmy's words, but she's a pretty helpful sidekick. Being a really good scientist, you can find her in worlds and will allow you to alter your DNA to change your dinosaur transformation, and created the trusty hammer that Timothy wields in human form. She sports part-green, part-pink (dyed, mostly because she's weeaboo) hair a little on the shorter side, and a lab coat along with shades. She tends to go on and on about things but is a kinder soul than Timmy, that's for sure.
Michael
.....is the shopkeeper of WeaponZ and is a good friend to Timmy even before the attacks. He's a relatively nice guy, though he is a little.... nutty. He is constantly paranoid about everything, from an alien outbreak (wua wua wuaaaaA) to a mad scientist ant. That being said, he sells tools for ANYTHING- from minibazookas for mini evil ants to giant bazookas for huge evil ants. He has messy blonde hair and darker under-eyes, as well as a purple-colored plaid vest over a black shirt.
EWWW, its the terrible.....
Zick
....he makes me SICK! He's the main villain of this game, the leader of these Collectors. The twerp (kid friendly) will taunt you through his giant megaphone throughout the game, and is the final boss. Long paragraph short- he's a dic- doo-doo head! His stupid green alien face, his overweight body stuck in a red spandex and his black pants and his stupid ray gun! Everything is terrible!
Dinosaurs[]
These genetic modifications to Transformasaurus can change the reptile he changes into.
| Dino | Description | Cost |
|---|---|---|
 thanks to AgentMuffin (t∣b∣c) for the art! Mini Rex |
Unlocked by default The default modification. While it still exerts the same force as a normal T-Rex, it's mini because of game reasons. Its main attacks consist of bites- very strong bites, which not only are very powerful but can destroy some materials. Doing a jump and dive attack is one of his most powerful ones, but the slide in the ground might make him stuck for a bit. His stats are all around- but don't expect to be grabbing anything anytime soon. |
Free! |
| Pterodactyl | Gives you less attack and land speed but boosts jump, gives you a double jump and allows you to glide after jumping. They have a whole arsenal of air attacks, including picking up enemies and dropping them on each other. The "Nosedive" is one attack, which allows you to dive into the ground and create a small shockwave. | Fossilized Wing |
| Anklyosaurus | Makes you a tank, to say the least. Extremely high defense and attack but he can't move quickly at all, and his jump is extremely low. Not only can he stomp his feet and bite but he can also swing around his clubbed tail, doing extreme damage and knockback. His tail can be fully control, and whipping it around can repel elemental forces and projectiles, too! | Fossilized Club |
| Velociraptor | This feathered force is a glass cannon- very low defense, but extremely fast, has a good jump and high attack, too! While running, he can release a flurry of swipes in his way, cutting through enemies! He also has a "flash" ability, which can be comparable to Fox McCloud's dash ability, though it deals low damage. When I said low defense, I mean REALLY low defense. | Fossilized Feather |
| Dragon-Dino | Yeah, I know, I know, a dragon ISN'T a dinosaur. But this is no ordinary dragon- this is a crossbreed between the Mini T-Rex and a Tiny Dragon! This dragon is, surprisingly, slower than the Mini Rex and has slightly lower defense too- however, its tiny wings allow it to levitate in midair (no higher than normal) and breathe fire on enemies! | Sub-Draconic Scale |
Enemies[]
| Enemy | Description | Stats |
|---|---|---|
| ZipZap | The "Basic" enemy, like Goombas or Waddle Dees. ZipZaps are pretty quick flying insect aliens but can only do a little bit of damage. They are very very common and spawn in swarms of 3 or more. Look out. |
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| Pollorifue | A firey chicken that will breathe fire ONLY on dinosaurs. ONLY ON DINOSAURS! Usually he attacks never, but now that a dinosaur is jumping around, they're on a rampage. Breathing beams of fire, they're pretty weak in health but can attack from a distance. They also go solo but can lay eggs that spawn other chickens if you don't kill them quick enough. |
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| Errur | Little minions that are split across two worlds, so they appear as pixels to you. They can pick you up and toss you away. They also have higher health so be careful. |
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Trivia[]
- Timothy's last name is a combination of "Rex" and the Switch's former title, the "NX", and is pronounced rencks.
- REX is a replacement for a concept of a 16-bit beat-em-up formulated before.