Cobalt Champions: First Strike

Cobalt Champions: First Strike is a 2016 Baby Waffle game developed by Inora for the The V2. Inspired by retro Baby Waffle games (or Umbrellas, if you're an uncultured swine), the game is both an attempt to pay tribute to those games, and bring some more unique features to the genre. It probably won't work.

The game's a side project that will be worked on throughout the second half of the year, and is the start of a possible franchise. Reception for the game has been (TBA). And no, I'm totally not going to regret making this.

Gameplay

Core Gameplay

Cobalt Champions: First Strike is a 2D fighting game that pulls elements from several other 2D fighting games (because Sr.Wario is a hack fraud). The core of the game is a high-speed, flashy, kinetic fighting game resembling the popular Marvel vs. Capcom series, where players will take control of a character and fight to the death against an opponent with light, medium, and heavy attacks, and pull off successful chains to fill up a Star Meter, which, depending on what Cobalt Star you've equipped, will allow the character to use their unique Star Moves.

However, one significant difference inspired by the Super Smash Bros. series is that special moves are rather simple to pull off and require a mere button press to use, with four different directional special moves for each character. Another feature taken from that series are the large, platform-filled stages that each have different hazards and conditions related to them, with Injustice style interactive elements.

The game's main gimmick are Card Decks (inspired by the first draft of Fighters of Lapis 7). Each character has various Cards, and upon collecting their Card, you can unlock them. Stages, badges, Cobalt Stars, and even parts of the game's story mode are all based upon how many Card Decks you've completed, as these things are unlocked in bulk when you complete a Card Deck. The game starts you with a handful of characters, badges, stages, Cobalt Stars, and story labeled as the Cobalt Champions deck. Collecting another Card for a character you've already unlocked will upgrade them and open up new alternate costumes and moves.

Badges and Cobalt Stars are the other two big features. Badges work as the game's items, and each character has a number of Badge Points that determine how many Badges they can wear at a time. Badges can't ever be permanently kept, and are randomly dropped in stages for use in that particular battle.  Cobalt Stars however, are always kept in the character's inventory, and are equipped before every battle. Depending on which Cobalt Star you pick, that will determine your character's Star Move for that battle. These features were inspired by the Paper Mario series.

Game Modes

The game mode tables are inspired by Masses, a way better game. Go check it out, then come back. I'll wait. Seriously.

Mode	Description
	The game's primary mode, First Strike has you and an opponent battling it out to the death. The mode features heavy customization, you can turn on/off several gimmicks and make the match very complex or barebones simple if you like. First Strike can be played with a computer, against friends, or against scrublords on the internet. There's even a cool tournament feature where you can easily set up competitive bouts. Who would play this baby game competitively in the first place though?
	The game's story mode. It's sorted into various episodes, which are unlocked based upon which Card Decks you've completed, making it a rather expansive mode once you've unlocked every episode. This mode features a world map, where you can visit different levels and battle through them. There's some light platforming and minigames to mix things up, as well as different enemies and the game's dangerous boss battles. Besides the levels, there's a shop where you can buy power-ups from Charlieton, and various random side missions that will earn you a wide variety of rewards. This mode is single player.
	An unlockable mode that's only available upon completing every episode of Champion Hunter. The game combines various modes from other fighting games. Selecting a team of three characters, you'll venture into a giant world map and battle every character and boss in the game. As you progress, more rewards will appear. This mode has three difficulties, Pleb, Casual, and Scrublord. The harder it gets, the better and more plentiful rewards are. This mode is single player.
	A mode that is unlocked from the start and is inspired by Team Kirby Clash from Kirby: Planet Robobot. With a band of four characters, you'll venture into various areas. Each area has a host of random battles, enemies, new bosses, and a lot of loot to pick up. You can earn XP here to upgrade the stats of your characters. This mode can be played with computers, friends, or even online.
	This mode is unlocked after completing every episode of Champion Hunter and takes the player to a giant theater, where THEY'RE the new entertainment. Here, you'll fight through 30 different teams of enemies, each with different strengths and weaknesses, even with some new enemies. Each match has a random condition you MUST comply with to advance. Upon completing this mode, you'll unlock the Classic Baddies Card Deck. This mode is single player.
	In Dungeons & Douchebags (ha, what a clever name!), the player and 3 other party members will enter a giant labyrinth and are forced to find the exit to prevail. Each room in this massive maze is randomly generated, featuring minigames, puzzles, enemies, and even bosses, as well as Moogle shop rooms and rare treasure rooms. Upon reaching the end, you'll all collect a random rare card. This mode can be played with computers, friends, or online.
	Moneybags, everyone's favorite foreign bear shopkeeper from a dead series (and the only one of those, too), will sell you things here for money you've earned. Hey, at least he's not charging you gems to progress. Cards are Moneybag's primary good, but he also has a lot of little bonus goodies you can buy for The Vault like songs, concept art, and tips.
	The Vault, also known as all the shit that's not important enough to get their own sections. We just went with The Vault, because it's shorter. Hey, we have a budget here! You can listen to songs you've bought (and import songs to use in the game), view Tattle Log entries, concept art, and tips, as well as customize the game settings like brightness and volume.

Intro

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Story Mode: Champion Hunter

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Roster

The game features a rather large roster of (I dunno this is just a placeholder for now) characters, sorted into 15 decks. Wow. There's 2 characters so far.

Cobalt Champions

Character	Description
	Description Playstyle Special Moves Star Moves Badge Points Alternate Costumes Other Look, what were you expecting from a game made by Sr.Wario? Wario is pretty much the definition of a traditional anti-hero, being someone who does good deeds on occasion, but lacks the admirable traits someone like Mario is known for. Boisterous, disgusting, rude, and above all greedy, Wario isn't always likable but he's smarter and stronger than he looks. Waa! Unlocked from default. Extra Wario cards can be bought from Moneybags or found as a commonly-dropped item. Wario is a rather heavy character who can't easily be moved or launched, but has surprisingly good mobility for his weight, at the cost of having no projectile attacks, being instead an up-close character. Standard - Wario Magnetism: Wario pulls out a magnet and uses it to draw in opponents, money, items, and Badges. If an opponent is stuck to his magnet, they'll be vulnerable to a few attacks before they escape. If opponents tap a button rapidly, they'll be freed faster. Side - Dash Attack: Wario charges toward the opponent, shoulder-first. It's pretty easy to dodge but does a decent amount of damage, is pretty fast, and will launch the opponent skyward. A well-timed jump from the opponent will render it useless, although it's also good for getting around quickly even if it misses. Up - Corkscrew Pound: Wario does a Corkscrew into the air, spinning upward to damage enemies repeatedly, and then does a Ground Pound downward in mid-air to do one solid chunk of damage. It takes a while to complete and a single attack to Wario will cancel it, but it can be pretty damn powerful if done uninterrupted. Down - Shake It!: Wario picks up the opponent and shakes them by rapidly jamming the attack button to steal Badges from them, drain their health, and drain their Star Bar. The downside is that opponents who keep their distance will almost never see this attack in action, but it's great for getting up-close. Attack - Bike Strike: Wario runs off-screen and hops onto the Wario Bike. Jam the attack button to rev it up, and then let go when the time goes off to drive towards the opponent at high speeds and do anywhere from a small to massive amount of damage to them based upon how well you executed it. Transformation - Wario-Man: Wario is surrounded by an aura of light, and the player must press the attack button at the right time to turn into the amazing Wario-Man! Depending on how well you pressed it, Wario-Man will either last for a small time or a long time, and this form gives him extra speed, flight, and powered-up attacks. Boost - Metal Wario: Upon completing a button combo successfully, Wario will eat a Power Flower and become Metal Wario, a hulking fighter that takes miniscule damage, cannot be launched, and no attacks will do any knockback to him for a period of time. Fatality - Wario Waft: Wario releases gas that's so awful and putrid that it melts the skin and muscle off of the opponent to instantly kill them, leaving a clean pile of bones behind in their place. 4 (Default) 6 (Extra Card 1) 8 (Extra Card 2) WarioWare Outfit (Default) Shake It! Wario (Extra Card 1) Thief Wario (Extra Card 2) Victory Music: Super Mario Land 3: Wario Land 1-1 Theme Taunt 1 (Default): Wario shakes his butt toward the camera. Taunt 2 (Extra Card 1): Wario absentmindedly picks his nose. Taunt 3 (Extra Card 2): Wario gets out a Game Boy and starts playing it as sound effects from Super Mario Land 2 play.
	Description Playstyle Special Moves Star Moves Badge Points Alternate Costumes Other Goombas seem to get a bad rap. Not all of them are the toothy, easy-to-stomp monsters that assist Bowser, some, like Goombella, are quite sophisticated. A sophomore at the University of Goom, Goombella is an intelligent young woman who has a book that seemingly has information about every monster you'll ever meet, throwing in her own sass and sense of humor along the way. Also, she wants to fuck Mario, but that's not super notable. Unlocked from default. Extra Goombella cards can be bought from Moneybags or found as a commonly-dropped item. Goombella fills the role of the more traditional balanced character, rather than the odd heavyweight Wario. She has decent stats all around, and even though she has no amazing qualities, play style wise, she's a reliable choice through and through, and great for beginners. Standard - Tattle: Goombella pulls out her book and the player must tap the attack button right when the target lines up with the opponent in order to Tattle on them. This isn't just for show though, as it adds Tattle Log entries to The Vault and makes opponents take a slightly increased amount of damage for the rest of the match. Side - Headbonk: Goombella leaps forward, head-first. This attack is easy to avoid but does a good amount of damage and a well-timed button press right before she lands will cause her to do the attack again, this time being impossible to block. Up - Multibonk: Goombella leaps into the air and falls downward, head-first with lots of power. If an opponent is next to her when she does this, she'll be able to repeatedly Headbonk them for as long as the player presses the attack button at the right time. If you miss though, Goombella will be stunned for a few seconds, leaving her open for attack. Down - Rally Wink: Goombella winks at the crowd, a heart surrounding her. This will allow her to do double damage to enemies for a few seconds, but if the move is interrupted, it'll have no effect. Attack - Art Attack: Goombella pulls out the Ruby Crystal Star, freezing the opponent in place. The player must use the control stick to draw circles around opponents to do damage to them repeatedly until time runs out and the opponents are unfrozen. Transformation - Badge Power: Goombella pulls out a ? Block and hits it repeatedly, giving her three random Badges. Boost - Sweet Feast: Goombella pulls out the Sapphire Crystal Star and must flick the control stick to the left repeatedly to drop bonuses onto herself. This allows her to heal a large amount, boost her other stats, and will instantly cure any negative Status Effects. Fatality - Showstopper: Goombella pulls out the Garnet Crystal Star and holes in the fabric of time and space start to rip open the stage, sucking the opponents inside and then closing, trapping them alone in space until they eventually starve to death. 3 (Default) 6 (Extra Card 1) 9 (Extra Card 2) Goombario Hat (Default) Goombaria Bow (Extra Card 1) 8-Bit Goombella (Extra Card 2) Victory Music: Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door Level Up Theme Taunt 1 (Default): Goombella blows a kiss to the audience. Taunt 2 (Extra Card 1): Goombella furiously writes notes down. Taunt 3 (Extra Card 2): Goombella holds up a random Crystal Star.
	Description Playstyle Special Moves Star Moves Badge Points Alternate Costumes Other The blow thrower. Independent flower. Magic emerald holder. Born on Angel Island (an island in the heavens), Knuckles is the last of the echidnas (sort of, it's complicated) and the guardian of the powerful Master Emerald. Being isolated for much of his life, he can be gullible and naive but he's strong-willed and takes his job very seriously. Knuckles would never be found chuckling, he'd rather flex his muscles. Unlocked from default. Extra Knuckles cards can be bought from Moneybags or found as a commonly-dropped item. Knuckles is a heavyweight who packs a big punch and isn't too slow on his feet either. His main weakness is that he's a very up-close character and his moves don't hit very fast, so your timing and strategy will determine if you can win with him or not. He can also glide to get around quickly, and stick to walls. Standard - Fire Dunk: Knuckles punches forward, hurling a fireball toward the opponent. The attack is rather slow to do, but pretty fast and powerful once it's started. It also has a chance of setting the opponent on fire. This can be done twice in a row before it needs to recharge. Side - Screwdriver Attack: Knuckles glides forwards and spins around, fire surrounding him, to hit the opponent repeatedly. Each individual hit doesn't do much damage, but done together, it can be very powerful, and if every hit lands the opponent will be set on fire. Up - Spiral Upper: Knuckles does a powerful uppercut that surrounds his fists in flames. It's good to get some air and excellent up-close, hurling the opponent upward, damaging them, and possibly setting them on fire. Down - Drill Claw: Knuckles digs into the ground. Badges and goodies can be found under the ground, but the main use for this move is to avoid getting hit and taking damage from very powerful moves. It can also be done in mid-air to drill downwards and do massive damage to the opponent, but this is difficult to time correctly. Attack - Maximum Heat: Knuckles glides around at high speeds, a red streak behind him. He'll attack the opponent several times before using a devastating firey punch to do massive damage to them. Transformation - Hyper Knuckles: Knuckles uses the seven Super Emeralds and turns pink, doubling his speed, attack, and making him invincible for a period of time. He can also fly rather than glide in this form. Boost - Super Knuckles: Knuckles is surrounded by a golden bubble that will cure any negative status effects, slowly heal him, and allow him to glide for twice as long for a period of time. Fatality - Thunder Arrow: Knuckles punches forward with his right fist and says "Take this!", summoning a barrage of thunder bolts to rain down on the opponent. Fried, they then fall over dead. 5 (Default) 6 (Extra Card 1) 7 (Extra Card 2) Classic Knuckles (Default) Mecha Knuckles (Extra Card 1) Boom Knuckles (Extra Card 2) Victory Music: Unknown from M.E. (Sonic Adventure Version) Taunt 1 (Default): Knuckles performs his signature punch combo toward the camera. Taunt 2 (Extra Card 1): Knuckles flexes his muscles. Taunt 3 (Extra Card 2): Knuckles digs up a random Sonic the Hedgehog 3 item and chucks it off the stage.

Stages

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Badges

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Cobalt Stars

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Enemies

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Cobalt Theater

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Champion's Quest

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Minigames

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Tattle Log

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Reception

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Trivia

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