this was originally going to be my fan15 but that got thoroughly fucked and im only announcing one bit of it now so. let's get into it, shall we?
An Announcement[]
For years now, I've wanted to make a Fantendo crossover. I've tried my hand at it, certainly, but never seen real success.
That changes today.
Inspired by fifteen years of this marvellous, messy, fucked up wonderful hellsite, Piper's Box presents a brand new Fantendo crossover.
A new horizon for my original content stands before me. So why not go over it?
(Shush I know this was basically already announced on the discord)
Featuring a roster of 75 characters and a brand-new story that travels Fantendo's myriad original worlds, Fantendo Smash Bros. New Horizons is a gigantic crossover project I'll be working on over the coming months. I plan for it to feature well-thought out movesets for each of it's 75 playable characters, unique art for them all, and a long story mode that features, even in a small role, every character in the game along with a vast variety more.
This is obviously very ambitious, and I'm buckling in for the long haul. Considering my other commitments with school and similar, don't expect breakneck pace. It'll be worked on, don't get me wrong, but this is an endurance race - not a hurtle towards the finish line.
Sixty five of the seventy five characters have been loosely determined already, and the last ten will be figured out through the wonderful medium of polls. Expect the first of those later this month :3
So, what better to build some hype than some teaser content?
Gameplay[]
A new feature debuting in New Horizons is the Tethered Sphere, a small meter next to the player's percentage bar. The Tethered Sphere is increased as the player deals damage and pulls off combos, with the speed at which it fills determined by how much damage is being dealt. However, if the player stops dealing damage consistently, the Sphere will stop filling, and soon begin to decrease in capacity. When the Tethered Sphere is complete, it shatters, allowing the player a single use of their finishing move. This feature is enabled by default, but can be disabled.
Another prominent feature in New Horizons are Reality Drives. Unlocked through completing objectives with characters or through playing in the game's story mode, each Drive alters the character's moveset and appearance, shifting them into a different character (reffered to as, for example, Unten-B) who maintains a number of similiarities but is made unique by a few fundamental changes. These, thematically, represent the vast variety of realities within the Fantendo multiverse, allowing characters to tap into the nexus of possibility that is alternate reality and become a different version of themself. Each character's Drive is detailed on their page.
Along with these exciting new features, we have some characters to show off!
Unten[]
The blue beorn, saviour of Zeon, fierce warrior, traumatized refugee, failure, hero, farmer? Unten has gone by many names and many titles throughout his existence on the wiki ever since his creation by Plumber - ranging from the original incarnation, to the catalyst of Shattered and the hero of Victory, to the disparate ideas following the collapse of the Fantendoverse Tau. In FSB New Horizons, Unten draws on a number of these aspects, with a design that harkens from the New Fantendoverse's original Unten games and Boundless, and a moveset which calls upon a variety of different sources.
Mechanically, Unten is a fairly balanced fighter, serving as a good introductory character who has a solid baseline but a resonant skill ceiling, making him a favourite for players who want to learn the game's competitive scene. He's not the strongest character in the game, coming it at a B on most tier lists, but certainly can still pack a punch and has simple enough mechanics to be widely accessible to learn.
Unten-B is Farmer Unten, an underappreciated AU concocted by MR Z BRAINZ, where the heroic beorn is a simple farmer tending to his lands, giving up the belts and scarves for a trusty broad-brim hat. Mechanically, Farmer Unten shifts the balanced fighter Unten into a more chaotic, random-oriented character, especially concerning his powerful but hard to use Neutral Special. Farmer Unten is strong but difficult to utilise in a powerful way, with the best pilots able to do incredibly well but inexperienced players likely to do very poorly with the character.
Neutral Special: Lightning Fist[]
Unten charges up his fists with electricity for as long as the button is held and strikes once it is released, with the attack dealing higher damage the longer it is charged. If released the moment it reaches the apex of its power, the move will become paralytic, momentarily stunning opponents and allowing for the player to continue combos.
Side Special: Voltbolt Shot[]
Unten draws an thundercharged crossbow from his belt, and fires a zig-zagging bolt infused with lightning from it. The crossbow bolt deals high damage but has very little knockback. Up to three uses of Voltbolt Shot can be effectively performed in a row, with the bolt's speed increasing each time up to the third, before it drops to the normal speed.
Up Special: Fanti Hook[]
Fanti shoots out from where he is tucked in Unten's backpack and latches on to an entity upward - either the edge of the stage to prevent Unten from falling to his doom, or an opponent. Unten wll be pulled towards the entity, and if they're an opponent, a surge of electricity will zigzag through Fanti and shock them for minor damage.
Down Special: Thunder Wave[]
Unten slams downward, his fists charged with lightning supplied by Fanti, and sends out a thunderclap shockwave. The initial downward slam deals minor damage, but the shockwave that passes out deals heavy knockback to anyone caught in it's range, shoving them back significantly, but not dealing particularly high damage.
Fan Finisher: Electric Catalyst[]
Unten rises into the air, and Fanti sticks out like a lightning rod. From around him, thunder crackles as alternate dimension formes of Unten's past manifest themselves around him and start striking at any nearby opponents with alternate versions of Unten's moves, all slightly altered. This lasts for a few seconds before the stormclouds dissipate. (A full list of these alternate formes will be available on the page).
Taunts[]
- Unten shoots a ball of electricity up, which detonates into harmless sparks right above his head.
- Unten makes an obscene gesture covered up from the camera by Fanti's interference.
- Unten tosses up his crossbow in the air before catching it and tucking it away in his belt.
Unten-B Forme: Farmer Unten[]
- Unten's lightning attacks are all preceded by him eating a Blumph fruit
- There is no Fanti, and Unten's overall design is reminiscient of Farmer Unten by MR Z BRAINZ
- Unten's Neutral Special and Up Special change
Neutral Special-B: Pluck Up[]
Unten pulls a plant from out of the ground, which he then holds like an item. He can choose to either throw it as a simple projectile, which ricochets off the first thing it hits, or consume it, which will then give him a random bonus, inspired by a select item. Unten can only be under the effects of one of these temporary bonuses at once. (A full list of these consumable plants will be available on the page).
Up Special-B: Pitchfork Pummel[]
Unten throws his trusty pitchfork before sailing towards whereever it landed, leaving a trail of farmer's goodies behind - these goodies serve as traps for anyone who passes through them, stunning and dealing minor damage, before dissapearing afterward as they tumble away. The pitchfork itself deals very minor damage but pierces any opponents.
S.O.D.A.[]
The last of his kind, S.O.D.A. is the final remnant of the long defunct Flowda Co in the world of MR Z BRAINZ's Starshards, a 2015 beat-em-up where S.O.D.A. is playable. Chipper and in good spirits despite his decayed form and the company that made him's collapse, S.O.D.A. aims to continue the lineage of his company, serving as it's only current employee. He's recognisable across the world of Starshards due to his presence in Flowda Co's commercials for it's premiere product - Flow Soda, an incredibly popular drink with a few adverse side effects - such as organ failure.
Slow moving and heavy, S.O.D.A. aims to wear down his opponents in a game of toxic attrition. All of his standard attacks inflict the Flow Soda status effect, which increases opponent's propensity to gain percentage, and his defensive style makes him well-suited to hunkering down and wearing away his foes over time. S.O.D.A. is considered a tricky character to learn and trickier to master, but generally places in A in most tier lists.
S.O.D.A.-B is Worm S.O.D.A., who stems from an alternate reality where the chipper vending robot has been taken over by one of Starshards' antagonists, the evil Worm. Piloting the entirely wiped S.O.D.A., it shifts the character's gameplay into a much more aggressive stance, incentivising trying to deal as much damage as possible in as short time as possible to take advantage of Worm S.O.D.A.'s unique passive, encouraging reckless, high-risk high-reward gameplay from the player.
Neutral Special: Flow Soda[]
S.O.D.A. produces a can of Flow Soda, and begins to shake it for as long as the player holds the attack button, the can rapidly shifting flavours as it goes. When it's let go, S.O.D.A. tosses the can forward and it explodes, with a different effect based on which flavour it had when thrown. This deals moderate damage, but the most powerful facet is the random Flowda effect (all the flavours will be listed on the page).
Side Special: Sizzling Goop[]
S.O.D.A. drops a barrel of Flow Soda on the ground, which cracks open and spills out a brand new acid flavour mix, which sits on the ground and sizzles. The acid soda acts as a stage hazard of sorts, slowing and damaging any opponent who steps inside the area. While it has no knockback of any form, the damage dealt is rapid and the effect lingers slightly. It lasts for about three seconds, and only one can exist at once.
Up Special: Interdimensional Mixture[]
S.O.D.A. downs an all-new Flowda Co product - Interdimensional Cola. From there, he is swallowed up into a localised portal, and another one opens directly above him in the direction the up stick is slanted in. Alternatively, S.O.D.A. can choose not to pass through the portal, and instead it will briefly linger and teleport any entity that goes through, dealing minor damage in the process of transportation.
Down Special: Dome Strike[]
S.O.D.A. shoots a small bolt of homing lightning from his dome, which zigzags around the stage chasing the nearest foe until it either smacks into the ground or hits a foe. The lightning is briefly paralysing, able to stun the foe such that S.O.D.A. can get in a good amount of hits. Despite this, the lightning deals very minor damage on its own, and scales downward in stun time at a fast pace when used on repeat.
Fan Finisher: Commercial Break[]
S.O.D.A. fires a large, homing pod which latches onto the nearest opponent. Then, the screen transitions into a Flow Soda commerical starring S.O.D.A., where the opponent is trapped in a vat of Flow Soda's most workplace unsafe mixture and takes a large amount of damage. With enough attacks, the vat can be escaped, but S.O.D.A. is invulnerable during this period of time, and the soda will spill out and continue to deal damage.
Taunts[]
- S.O.D.A. cracks open a can of Flow Soda with a refreshing hiss
- S.O.D.A. shoots out some small fireworks which explode to read "Buy Flow Soda Today!"
- S.O.D.A. plays a little jingle, doing a small dance while soda cans rattle around him
S.O.D.A. B-Forme: Worm S.O.D.A.[]
- S.O.D.A.'s colour scheme is changed to be primarily blue and black, resembling Worm
- From time to time, Worm pops out of S.O.D.A.'s dome and scowls
- S.O.D.A. receives a new passive and has his Neutral Special changed
Passive-B: Elemental Evil[]
S.O.D.A.'s attacks are all tinged with evil elemental energy, which can be seen in every one of his attacks. Whenever S.O.D.A. lands an attack, a special meter above his head is filled up slightly, although it will lower after a long period of no attacks. The higher this meter is, the stronger S.O.D.A.'s attacks become, but he also becomes much more vulnerable to knockback.
Neutral Special-B: Worm Flavour[]
S.O.D.A. pulls out a can of the all-new Worm Flavour of Flow Soda (sponsored by Worm!). He cracks the can and throws it, where it will land on the ground and shudder for about two seconds before exploding in a fountain of energy. This energy deals moderate damage, but has very strong upward knockback and serves as a powerfull finishing attack.
Story[]
We open onto a ruined apartment building, with several fires blazing in the background. It's very dilapidated, seemingly abandoned for a long period of time, and an explosion has left much of it's roof annihilated. In the background, frequent gunfire can be heard, interspersed with loud explosions and far-off screams. A skyscraper sits at the peak of a crumbling skyline, in a state of decay itself. This is a dying city, despite best efforts otherwise.
A tall figure steps out of the ruined building, wielding a weapon that appears to be a flaming fusion between a sword and a chainsaw. His skin is pitch black, with spiky hair, a red jacket, yellow eyes, and a devilish smile. He looks lightly splattered with blood.
???: Another productive day of Marauder clean up!
From behind him, a blonde woman wearing heavy white armour and wielding two wrist mounted energy blades steps out as well, glaring at the man
???: We're not meant to be having fun with this, Redge.
Redge: Oh, lighten up, Storm. It's not like having a few laughs can't hurt. This isn't my fucking fault, so if I have to clean it up, I'm going to enjoy myself. Really, Shine should be doing it.
Storm: You are- ugh. Nevermind. Let's head back to base.
Redge: ...you mean my apartment? Your fancy tower won't do much for you anymore.
Storm: Yes.
Redge cackles, and Storm facepalms, starting to walk off. He stays laughing for a good few seconds, before picking up the pace to catch up with her.
Redge: Race you!
He darts off, and Storm facepalms once more, but not for long - she quickly starts chasing after him, a determined look on her face. The two race through Neo York City's streets, Redge cackling the whole while, before coming to a halt as they notice something before them. Standing in the middle of the street is a deactivated AKA Juggernaut, unmoving. It certainly wasn't there before. Instinctively, Redge readies his blade, the Cauterizer becoming consumed in flame, but Storm raises a hand to stop him.
Redge: Uh, Storm, last time we encountered one of these things it wrecked Lane's old place. Shouldn't we, you know, be taking this bitch down?
Storm: That was under Euthany, remember? The AKA is on our side now. Here, I should be able to send it back to one of our bases, see if the scientists can make good use of it.'
Without waiting for a response, she strides towards the robot, and starts to say a code comprised of seemingly nonsensical numbers and letters, reciting it by heart. A few moments pass, before the robot's lights switch on, glowing a soft blue. Storm sighs in relief, causing Redge to snicker behind her. She turns to him, annoyed, but is suddenly illuminated in red from the Juggernaut, which rises to it's feat and begins to turn around.
Storm: Oh, shut u- oh. That's not good.
Our two heroes take a step back as the machine swivels, revealing painted-on symbols in the colours of a Marauder gang, and a makeshift platform established on it's head. On the platform stands a short half-demon girl, who is wielding a large cannon. She grins erratically at Redge and Storm, and the machine leaps into action.
???: Finally, you've arrived! Do you have any idea how long I've been waiting?
Redge dodges a swing from the juggernaut, and snarls, taking a step back.
Redge: Who even are you?
???: Oh, silly me! I'm Tiffany, and I'd say nice to meet you, but you won't be making it out of this one!
We cut to darkness, and the game's logo appears.
Conclusion[]
This is a shitty presentation but! Who gives a fuck. Get excited, I hope!