Friends to the End DLC

[Fimbulvinter]

Wayforward has released details of the Sky, Bolo, and Rottytops DLC storyline.

Source: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1236620800/shantae-half-genie-hero/posts/2034571?ref=backer_project_update
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Friends to the End takes place chronologically in the middle of Shantae’s storyline. Unlike the (possibly embellished) tale of Pirate Queen’s Quest, this new mode would be considered “official cannon”, and fills in a part of the narrative that we, as the audience, were previously not witness to.

Shantae has been turned to evil by the foul Risky Boots by way of a polarity-swapping machine, and is reborn as Nega-Shantae! Sky, Bolo, and Rottytops must enter Shantae’s mind in order to rescue her consciousness from the “Nightmare Realm”; a series of twisted memories designed to swallow Shantae whole.

This will not be an easy task for the three adventurers, who lack both genie magic, and the ability to get along.

This translates into a brand new mode with three new heroes, a whole new story, and altered memories (revamped versions of existing levels) to explore and conquer. The icing on the cake is a new final level, and a showdown against Nega-Shantae.

* * *

For Friends to the End, you’ll be controlling Sky, Bolo, and Rotty all at the same time, swapping freely between heroes. Each hero has a special ability that is useful for overcoming certain obstacles, but players are given a wide berth as to which character they want to use for the most part. Let’s take a look at each character!

Sky is quick and agile, and can make long jumps by using her bird Wrench as a glider. Sky attacks by throwing seagulls, which are somewhat weak, but can hit at long range. Her special ability is to toss eggs, which explode into instant platforms! Finally, she can spend Dream Magic to summon an orbiting flock of birds for extra defense! Sky is definitely the best character!

Bolo deals heavy damage with his spiked Bolo Chain, which offers medium range and decent speed. He can also fire a Spring Claw at odd angles to knock away annoying airborne enemies. His special ability is to latch onto certain objects with his Spring Claw, which lets him to swing around freely like some sort of bionic ninja! To hit distant enemies, Bolo spends Dream Magic to toss a pong-style Spike Ball, which bounces diagonally at high speed. Bolo is definitely the best character!

Rotty attacks by removing her zombie leg and using it as a club, dealing massive damage at short range. Her special move is the Head Toss. Rotty can aim her head freely in any direction, and toss it through certain barriers and over or under obstacles. Anywhere her head safely lands, she can reform. By spending Dream Magic, Rottytops can eat a brain to replenish her Hearts! Rottytops is definitely the best character!


From a design perspective, Friends to the End differs from Shantae and Risky’s modes in that the power up system exists “in the field”. There are no menus or inventory to manage. Collecting Gems will cause a hero to LEVEL UP, increasing their attack speed and damage dealt. Getting hit by enemies incurs a penalty, dropping the power level. Enemies and Bosses have been tailored around these new concepts, dropping health and Gems to feed the player’s needs. You could say that "Friends to the End" is part puzzle game, part action game, and part player management.


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According to Wayforward, the DLC is finished and awaiting platform approval. Sounds like it's going to be a bit meatier than Risky Mode.

[Tedgie]

oh boy

[Shadow Esper]

So it's basically Trine.

[DigitalGameLand]

cant wait!

[SolHerald]

Definitely looking forward to this; but I do have to say that it being done so quickly after the Risky dlc is slightly worrisome. While I enjoyed it, Risky's dlc suffered from not having enough new content, so I was hoping they would take their time with this dlc and add a decent amount of new content.

Anyways, having the three characters together seems like an interesting idea.

[Magikabula]

Well, I won't be lining up to fork over another 10 bucks for it.

[Dravvad]

Well, I'm hoping it's something actually better than Risky's DLC - and Risky's DLC still has this crash issue going on for months that they're ignoring: http://steamcommunity.com/app/253840/discussions/0/1473095331498302994/

[SKay]

I noticed the mode has been added to the menu but it's not actually been finished yet? What a tease D:

[Fimbulvinter]

Originally posted by AkaTheSkay:

I noticed the mode has been added to the menu but it's not actually been finished yet? What a tease D:

They did that with Risky Mode too. Along with an update to the achievements list for the FttE content, it looks like launch isn't going to be far off.

[Zork Nemesis]

Originally posted by Fimbulvinter:

Originally posted by AkaTheSkay:

I noticed the mode has been added to the menu but it's not actually been finished yet? What a tease D:

They did that with Risky Mode too. Along with an update to the achievements list for the FttE content, it looks like launch isn't going to be far off.

Are they doing what they did with Risky again where kickstarter backers will have exclusive access to it for a few days perhaps?

[Miraglyth]

Kickstarter backer here, no key yet. Looks like they've just jumped the gun a bit on updating the game before the keys are ready to send out.

[Melodia]

Originally posted by Miraglyth:

Kickstarter backer here, no key yet. Looks like they've just jumped the gun a bit on updating the game before the keys are ready to send out.

They haven't jumped anything. This is exactly what happened with Risky mode.

[Miraglyth]

Originally posted by Melodia:

They haven't jumped anything. This is exactly what happened with Risky mode.

I remember, but that just means they jumped the gun with Risky mode too...

[Shadow Esper]

Originally posted by Miraglyth:

Originally posted by Melodia:

They haven't jumped anything. This is exactly what happened with Risky mode.

I remember, but that just means they jumped the gun with Risky mode too...

Are you implying they don't learn from past mistakes?

[Melodia]

What mistake? I see nothing wrong here. They updated it early so they are ready to go when it's released. These responses boggle me.

[Fimbulvinter]

Originally posted by Melodia:

What mistake? I see nothing wrong here. They updated it early so they are ready to go when it's released. These responses boggle me.

Indeed. This isn't any different to pre-loading a game prior to actual launch, but with the background UI stuff. If the DLC is finished and is awaiting platform specific approvals as the above info release states, then why shouldn't they get everything else ready while they wait?