Just felt it was time to announce a project I've been working on. As you may be able to tell from the title, the character in question is the protagonist of an anime series called Saint Seiya, which you might also know from it's unfortunate alternative title: Knights of the Zodiac.
There are a lot of Saint Seiya characters available in MUGEN already. The biggest issue I have with the ones I've tried is that they're pretty much broken. Not only that, but it seems to be a standard habit to give them a 30-second-or-more startup for every super move, just because "that's the way it is in the anime!". It gets old in the anime too, people... no need to be so literal in a fighting game, it ruins the pacing.
I'm hoping to change the bad rep Saint Seiya has in MUGEN by creating a CVS/KOF-ish version of the character with flashy, yet tight and non-stupid/overpowered moves. I've got the movelist all planned out already, but I'm still looking for a coder who might share an interest in bringing a decent version of this character to life. If no one's interested, I'll have to learn how to code from scratch and do it myself, of course...
Planned Movelist:
Spoiler, click to toggle visibilty
Basics:
- 2 punches and 2 kicks (weak and strong)
- Dashes.
- Dodges (a la KOF98's "Advanced" mode)
- Super Jump (KOF-styled, NOT MVC).
- Air Block (only when jumping backwards)
Special Moves:
- Ryuseiken: Seiya will throw a single meteor.
*The beam does NOT have full-screen range. Closest move would be the Ryo's Ko'ou Ken in KOF96 (i.e., long startup, although with a bit more travel).
*The meteor can be shot forward (typical projectile), or diagonally upwards (anti-air, a la SSF4 Gouki, although at a 45 degree angle).
- Rolling Crush: Seiya will grab the oponent and lift him up into the air. He will then turn upside down with the opponent mid-air and crush him against the ground, spinning.
*Close-range grab special move. Closest move would be Ralf and Clark's Argentine Backbreaker (except that the player flies with the opponent and let's go of him just before hitting the ground). The properties of the move are exactly the same as the Argentine Backbreaker in KOF98 onwards
Super Moves:
- Pegasus Ryuseiken (1 stock): Seiya will throw a full barrage of meteors in front of him.
*The move does not have full screen range. Closest thing would be Moriya's "Kassatsu Izayoi Gekka" from Last Blade 2, although with a bit more range. No holding the button down to delay the move, though.
*Startup takes a second while Seiya does his "pointing at the stars in the Pegasus Constellation" move (again, ONE second, not 30. Also, opponent is not frozen in place, so he can attack Seiya, causing him to cancel the move and waste the super bar).
- Pegasus Rolling Crush (1 stock): Same as Rolling crush, except that the move has added range, since Seiya will dash towards the opponent. If the move hits, he will then do a flashier version of the move.
*Closest move would be Orochi Yashiro's "Odoru Daichi" move, with half-screen range
*Move is unblockable and cannot be avoided with any type of dodge. Move can be avoided by jumping, or can be interrupted if Seiya is hit before he reaches the opponent.
- Pegasus Suiseiken (2 stocks): Seiya will throw a huge comet punch forward that hits once for big damage (minimal when blocked)
*Closest move is Orochi Yashiro's "Hoeru Daichi".
Move has some startup time, and just like Pegasus RyuSeiken, it can be interrupted during this time.
*NOT DECIDED YET UNLESS I CAN GUARANTEE IT'S NOT ABUSABLE: Move may be charged, exactly like the "Hoeru Daichi", so that it becomes unblockable when fully charged.
Hidden Super Move:
- Sagittarius Arrow (3 stocks + 15% or less health): Seiya's cosmos will explode, causing a nearby opponent to be launched into the air. If the move connects, it will start a short cinematic in which Seiya's cloth disappears and is replaced with the Sagittarius cloth. Seiya will then shoot an arrow at the opponent while he's still mid-air, causing quite a bit of damage.
*Closest Move (visually, not damage-wise) is Potemkin's Instant Kill move "Magnum Opera", from Guilty Gear (where the explosion has to hit to trigger the rest of the move).
Here are some sprites I've been working on (note that the colors are flat, since I'm still animating. This is NOT the actual palette, nor does it represent the total number of colors that are going to be available in the palette!)
I'm still working on the stance... the arms look nice but the body lacks movement.
This is actually a combination of both the weak and strong punches. I'm planning to make the former cancellable into the latter, so I made sure the transition was smooth.