Hello, I’m Bannon Rudis. I’m one of many administrators over at WayForward. WayForward does these Shantae and River Metropolis Ladies video games, amongst many different issues. I’ve personally been making River Metropolis video games for nearly a decade now alongside Arc System Works. I began by reverse-engineering River Metropolis sprites and animations and making an attempt my hardest to determine the right way to animate. This pushed me in direction of my path of recreation growth. However I do know you aren’t right here for me. Marian, one of many new playable characters in River Metropolis Ladies 2, is the principle attraction of this text, so let’s leap proper into it.
Marian has a protracted and storied profession as a damsel in misery. For a lot of many years she was both publicly assaulted on the streets, kidnapped by a shadowy gang of criminals, held hostage in trade for magical stones, or straight up gunned down (although she was later resurrected). Evidently, she’s had it fairly tough. Oh yeah, I virtually forgot to say that her pals, Billy and Jimmy, fought to the dying over who obtained thus far her. It’s a bit a lot.
Marian’s ultimate manufacturing artwork, together with idea artwork exhibiting her heavy-hitting strikes in motion.
Occasions have modified and so has Marian. Not is she the helpless sufferer to those avenue thugs, villains, and maniacal skeleton wizards. Over time, Marian has skilled her physique to reject the sort of bodily and psychological abuse she has unwillingly obtained over the previous a number of many years. Unsolicited punches to her intestine have been merely a faint reminiscence of the outdated Marian.
Two of Marian’s many expressions. One thing mysterious appears to be afoot!
Marian discovered the methods of boxing and wrestling. She didn’t need to be pigeonholed because the “sluggish however highly effective wrestler” sort. Her fast barrage of punches and grappling strikes makes her a really distinctive fighter, however on the identical time very acquainted.
That is Marian as she appeared within the first River Metropolis Ladies. By widespread demand, she’s grown from humble shopkeeper into playable character in RCG2!
Marian’s present River Metropolis Ladies design confirmed up within the first River Metropolis Ladies recreation in 2019. Gamers and followers of the collection immediately gravitated in direction of this new interpretation of Marian. She was a fan favourite and the apparent selection for one of many new playable characters within the sequel. Marian additionally bridges the narrowing hole between the Double Dragon and River Metropolis collection. We ran this by Arc System Works, who’re the license holders, and so they have been very a lot on board with the choice.
A frame-by-frame exploration of one in all Marian’s mighty strikes, the KO Cutter!
Though she is a grappler, she isn’t essentially slower than different characters and he or she has varied strikes that makes her extremely versatile. She is the one playable character that has command grabs. These strikes are nice for doing harm to a single enemy, plus additionally they have loads of splash harm to take out a crowd close to her.
Marian unleashes a combo that launches her enemy into the air, then drives him again to Earth with the Air Pancake.
She additionally has some high-flying strikes that may assist launch her right into a crowd of enemies from above utilizing her Get together Crasher Transfer. This transfer can rapidly launch her ahead to get the drop on enemies which are distant, or be used as an anti-air spinning assault, or should you wait till the final second as she stops spinning, you’ll be able to drop her Elbow Piston particular air assault on unsuspecting foes beneath her.
One other particular is a command seize that solely works if she is in between two enemies in vary. The Thoughts Meld is finished by Marian grabbing an enemy on all sides of her and smashing them face first into one another. If she makes use of the transfer on a single enemy, she’s going to as a substitute Irish Whip them (that foolish transfer in pro-wrestling the place an opponent can’t cease working after being pushed into the ropes). This may enable Marian to assault them whereas they’re susceptible.
Marian proves that two heads are higher than one with the skull-splitting Thoughts Meld, adopted by the KO Cutter!
And at last, there’s her KO Cutter. This transfer is a dashing straight punch that may take out a number of enemies in entrance of her. Or, should you time it proper, the transfer could be charged by holding down the Particular button till it’s robotically unleashed. This may do extra harm and have the additional benefit of bouncing enemies off partitions again to you.
One other helpful transfer in Marian’s arsenal is the Carousel Toss, which not solely damages the thrown enemy, but in addition any foes unfortunate sufficient to get in the way in which!
Marian could be very completely different from the opposite playable characters within the recreation, however she needs to be straightforward sufficient for anybody to choose up and really feel comfy with straight away. Each our new characters, Marian and Provie, have been such enjoyable characters to play as that it made me personally really feel the unique characters wanted an overhaul to their playstyle so they might sustain with how cool the newcomers are. I hope you take pleasure in enjoying as Marian, Provie, and our returning characters (who all obtained a glow up within the sequel) as a lot as we do when it arrives on PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5.
