Multisoft All-Star Overdrive

Multisoft All-Star Overdrive is the third installment in the Multisoft All-Star series of crossover fighting games, developed by a development team consisting of Bandai, Game Arts, and staff from other developers, and published by Multisoft for the Nintendo Wii U, Playstation 4, and Xbox One. This game takes a big departure from the previous two games in terms of gameplay, making this game more advanced than the others.

Gameplay
As stated before, Multisoft All-Star Overdrive departs itself from the average 2.5D-style gameplay in exchange for a 3D battle system akin to Capcom's Power Stone, though it still keeps the same system from the previous two games. Players can choose from a large selection of characters, each attempting to fight each other until one of the fighter's health bar is empty. The characters in Overdrive include most of the same ones as the predecessors, such as the well-known Koji and Riley. The Power Gauge from the previous two games makes another comeback, but this time, it cannot be filled by attacking or taking damage. Instead, collecting items known as Flash Stones will fill the Power Gauge. Collecting five of them will completely fill the gauge, making it active to perform Flash Attacks.

The characters in Overdrive fight each other using a variety of attacks, that give the player a wider selection than the predecessors. Players execute each move by pressing a button in conjunction with a tilt of the control stick or a press of the D-pad, depending on the mode of control. In addition to basic attacks, characters have access to more powerful moves, known as rage attacks. Each character has four unique moves, which often cause effects besides damage to an opponent.

Characters can use items ranging from projectiles to melee weapons; each has a different effect on the characters around it. Although many items have returned from previous Multisoft All-Star games, new ones have been introduced as well. Some returning items have changed appearance and function. Two varieties of items, Assist Figures and Dimension Drives, temporarily summon guest characters and Dimenbeasts, respectively, that generally aid the summoner. They cannot be controlled by players and are usually invincible.

Group
In addition to the standard multiplayer mode, Overdrive features other multiplayer modes and options in Group mode. Special Evolution Mode, from the previous game, returns as Special Overdrive Mode. In this mode, players are able to battle in matches using special rules for a greater level of customization. Whereas previously standard options such as "Giant Fight" or "Stealth Fight" were limited to one feature per match, players may now select multiple options for a single match. Another returning game type, Tourney mode, enables players to create an elimination-based tournament, where up to 32 players can play, with a large number of game-controlled or human-controlled opponents. A "Rotation" feature has been introduced in Overdrive, which allows up to sixteen players to compete in sequence by switching out winners or losers after each round.

Solo
Like its predecessors, Multisoft All-Star Overdrive includes various modes of play from the previous game designed for a single player. Arcade Mode is obviously a classical approach to the game, in which players fight individual characters in a selected order. Each match features an arena or opponent from a particular series, such as Red the Dragon or Dimenbeasts. Several matches have a unique battle condition, such as a metal opponent, large opponent or a two-on-two team battle. Similar to Arcade Mode are Legend Mode and Boss Attack Mode, where the player has only one life to defeat all of the playable characters and bosses, respectively.

Overdrive features Missions, which are matches with predetermined battle conditions such as defeating opponents within a time limit or reaching a specific goal. New to single-player mode, each of the 41 Events has five difficulty levels, with a distinct high score recorded for each. In addition to the normal set of 41 Events played with a single player, a smaller set of 21 two-player Events is included.

Stadium mode is a collection of objective-oriented minigames, or small games within the game. Returning from the two previous games is the "Target Test!" minigame, in which the player must break ten targets as quickly as possible. Additionally, items scattered across the stage are available for use. In the Frenzy Attack, the player must defeat Frenzy and its clones in a specific time limit, only possible with the use of a Frenzy Gun. Updated from Evolution, all Stadium mode mini games feature cooperative or competitive multiplayer.

Adventure Mode: The Twilight Empress
Multisoft All-Star Overdrive features a new Adventure mode titled "The Twilight Empress" (TTE). This mode features unique character storylines and numerous side-scrolling levels and bosses to fight, as well as cut scenes (animated by White Fox) explaining the plot. TTE introduces a group of antagonists called the Twilight Army, who are led by the Primordial Lord. Some of these enemy characters appeared in previous Multisoft video games, such as Mime Colossus from the Superstar series. TTE boasts a number of original enemies, such as the Dragbike, a robotic unicycle; the Clonoid, a one-eyed, ball-like creature which can replicate itself if left alone; and the Neandark, enemies that fight with a variety of weapons. Though the game is primarily played as a single-player mode, cooperative multiplayer is available. This mode features a mechanism which strengthens the selected character's abilities. They are in the form of collectible sketches that can be applied to the base of the player's character trophies.

Unlike other game modes, TTE has a team system for the characters, with a limited choice of characters at the beginning of the mode. Others join the team as the game progresses, while some characters may leave the team temporarily. Most characters start off with their own teams, but the teams merge occasionally until they become a unified team by the end of the game. In cooperative multi-player, once one player loses a life, an ally can take his or her place until the number of lives run out. If there are no lives left and player one is defeated, the game is interrupted, with the choice of starting again from the previous "door" the player passed through or quitting.

Vault
Returning from Evolution are figures of video game characters and objects that give brief histories or descriptions of their subjects, such as Koji and Red, or other characters and items that appear in their respective series. A minigame, the Figure Ball, replaces the lottery machine from Evolution as the primary method of obtaining trophies. The Figure Ball is a machine that acts like a pinball machine, like Multisoft's pinball games from the past, with figures occasionally appearing on the board. Coins can be used to bet on the victor of online battles via Spectator mode. Figures unavailable in Figure Ball mode are obtained by using an item called the Figure Stand on weakened enemy characters and bosses within The Twilight Empress. Figures obtained in this manner may contain information on the backstory of the Twilight Empress.

In addition to figures, players can now collect sketches of video game artwork. Players can place sketches and figures onto virtual backgrounds and take snapshots, which can be sent to other players via internet. Sketches can be applied to characters to power up their abilities during the Twilight Emperor.

Other sketches or figures which cannot be collected through the Figure Ball minigame, Twilight Emperor, or Vs. matches can be unlocked from the Challenges menu, an interactive display which catalogs unlocked features and items in gridded windows. Once a window has been broken and its contents are unlocked, horizontally adjacent windows display the conditions necessary to unlock them.

Overdrive contains remakes of several Multisoft games, named "Tales", which mostly feature characters playable in Overdrive. Along with Tales comes the inclusion of the Chronicles section, a library of previous Multisoft games which lists games either previously made or published by Multisoft on the consoles. New games appear when certain characters, figures or sketches related to the game are unlocked.

On that note, Overdrive includes an original video animation (OVA) animated by White Fox titled "Twilight Origins." This OVA explains the creation of the GIL robots, Lunar Cells and the Twilight Cage, as well as the events prior to the game's main story mode.

List of characters
Multisoft All-Star Overdrive allows the player to select from 47 characters. Some are new, but others return from Evolution—in some cases updated or refined, either in appearance, fighting capabilities, or both. For example, Red and Riley have adopted original designs exclusive to this game. While Drew, Dai, and many of the Evolution ZX exclusives are the first few characters to not return from a previous game (despite still appearing as sketches or figures), one noticeable surprise is that the protagonist of the previous two games, Hina Frost, has also been removed. Malik Brooks, the creator and founder of Multisoft, said that he purposely removed Hina from the roster to make a type of saga, in which "Hina Frost no longer leads the Multisoft heroes, but is instead against them in a different form." Wataru Kanzuki, the character from Multisoft x Cartoon Network, takes her place.

Some previously represented series have had more characters added to Overdrive. Alex Dawn of the Superstar series and Philippe of Blazing Metal make their first appearance in the Multisoft All-Star series. Other newcomers are the first to represent their series. These include characters such as Sol Drake, representing Velvet Hunters for the first time since its arcade-only release, Sasha of the Skeleton Princess series, and Topper from Toy Frenzy. DC's Batman, Petropolis's Thunder Storminski, and Erla Vahn of O.K. Buster are the first third-party characters to appear in the Multisoft All-Star series.

Veterans

 * Koji Nagare (Delta Cross)
 * Judy Autumn (Delta Cross)
 * Fuyuko Tachibana (Delta Cross)
 * Billy Scotch (Superstar)
 * Kelly Valentine (Superstar)
 * Prince Draco (Superstar)
 * Red (Red the Dragon)
 * Tawna (Red the Dragon)
 * Ragnar (Red the Dragon)
 * Byron Turner (Alien Killer)
 * Vanessa (Aegis)
 * Elthesia (Aegis)
 * Meika Negai (Crown of Flowers)
 * Rook (Realm Souls)
 * Len (Realm Souls)
 * Riley Jays (Star Maidens)
 * Saturn (The Adventures of Saturn)
 * Shiro Sakamoto (Dimenbeasts)
 * Tommy White (Bomb Strike)
 * Nugget & Tender (Nugget the Chicken)

Newcomers
Wataru Kanzaki: An introverted young man who once saved the Multisoft universe (as well as another) from the God King. When he hears of Hina's disappearance, he sets off to find her. He fights with his usual daggers and green flames, as well as chain whips. (Flash Attack: X-Fission)

Magmus: A robotic dragon who has encountered the criminal syndicate Red X many times. Along with Synas and some others, he was able to take them down time and time again. Magmus has his moveset based on his appearance in Delta Cross 4. (Flash Attack: Bio Laser)

Alex Dawn: A former scientist who also tends to run into Billy in the middle of her schemes. Alex uses her Dawn Buggy in battle, but she can summon her own inventions in her specials. (Flash Attack: K.O. Missile)

Sol Drake: A red-haired teen who is the descendant of Suzaku. Along with Lee, Faye, and Guy, he helped a woman named Kristi defeat a race of demons called Velvets. Most of Sol's attacks are close-ranged, but he still excels in defense. (Flash Attack: Phoenix Rage)

Winona: The princess of the Talisman Kingdom. When her world first succumbed to the Anti-Souls, she joined Rook and his friends to save the worlds from those monsters. Winona uses her physical magic from Realm Souls Gaiden 2, and can have Baron tag in during her attacks (Flash Attack: Fire Dance)

Topper: A fellow toy that is the host of a series of miniature games. Aside from his previous rivalry with the action figure Stoke, he brings happiness to the other toys and his owner Timmy. Topper is the smallest character in the game, but he has greater attack power. (Flash Attack: Fat Slug)

Barry Black: Like Tommy, a Blitzbomber pilot who attends certain adventures, his Black Phoenix as his only source of protection. At first, he and Tommy were not at the best terms, becoming rivals because of this. To differentiate himself from Tommy, Barry has his own set of moves from his Blitzbomber to fight. (Flash Attack: Nuclear Drill)

Kidd Baxton: An American engineer who built K.Y.O. and other gadgets. With the help of Dai, Li, and Dragoon, he stopped BIOMIND from using machines to infect the entire world with Crossgenes. What Kidd lacks in strength he makes up for with defense and ranged attacks (Flash Attack: Ultra Gravity Control)

Breaker Ishida: A rookie wrestler who entered the Belt of Victory tournament to make a name for himself. Through several obstacles, he made it to where he is now, as a champion wrestler. Breaker excels in both speed and power and can easily plow through opponents with his rush down, high risk moves. (Flash Attack: World Champion)

Lucia Stacey: One of the surviving members of the Spatial Syndicate, a group that hunts down alien zombies. She relied on most of her survival skills to fight against the alien zombies on a distant planet. Lucia uses the weapons she uses in her origin game. (Flash Attack: Spaceship Blaster)

Sasha: The daughter of a trickster skeleton who rules the kingdom of the dead. However, she became known as a hero for saving her kingdom from the greedy Zombie Prince. Sasha can summon her partners in a few of her special attacks. (Flash Attack: Coffin Smash)

Haruka Saikawa: A tomboyish Dimension Traveller who was investigating the causes of the transcrossing of Dimenbeasts. She is assisted by Evetile, the stoic ice Dimenbeast, and later the other Dimenbeast Tamers. Even though she has her dimensional abilities, Haruka still relies on Evetile for most of her attacks. (Flash Attack: Yukioujou)

Veterans

 * Yoritaka (Delta Cross)
 * Jiro Nagare (Delta Cross)
 * Buster (Superstar)
 * Christie Reynolds (Star Maidens)
 * Dirge (Core Holders)
 * Jitsuko Mikazuki (Dimenbeasts)
 * General Grey (Free Will)
 * Rocket Majin (Digital-X)
 * Kato Wyvol (Cross Serpent)
 * Super Shooter (Super Shot)

Newcomers
Gil: A neon-blue robot based on the mascot from the Multisoft Comics. In this game, he is one of a series of robots made by Hina long before her disappearance, forced to follow his creator's very orders, which led to him being the Primordial Lord. Gil has a special type of moveset which almost copies some of the cast's movesets. (Flash Attack: Matter Laser)

Pond Dasher: A young member of the Galactic Space Forces, training ever since she was a toddler. She has entered the Delta Cross tournament to improve her training and witness the experience. Pond is a lightweight character that can be bound to jumping off stage via misuse. (Flash Attack: Sky Rabbit)

Gin: A reincarnation of the Space Emperor Adi. He was born to hate the Star Maidens for killing his successor, so he took it upon himself to defeat the Star Maidens for his personal revenge. Gin is the only character that can levitate across the stages. (Flash Attack: Silver Meteor)

Rex: A vicious hunter from the Neolithic Era. Thanks to the core he possesses, he regains the passion for hunting, to the point where he has no need for weapons. Rex is slower than his rival Dirge, but his power at least makes up for his lack of speed. (Flash Attack: Primal Slashes)

Mao Jian: A Chinese maiden who had personal feelings for Li Fon since his disappearance. She was forced to fight the Virus Blitz along with Lai, Kiki, and Bao, but had her mind freed by Li. Mao wields a saw blade during battle, and is considered the quickest next to Tomoko. (Flash Attack: Petal Storm)

Takumi: A young boy who was experimented on his arm by Ficts, but escaped from them the moment they were about to run more tests. The remnant got to the rest of his body, but Asuna managed to snap him out of it. Takumi can use his Remnant arm to lock onto his opponents. (Flash Attack: Fict Armor)

Batman: A guest character from DC's "Batman" series. He is a vigilante who has saved Gotham City from countless threats. Batman plays as he does in Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe and the Injustice series, where he uses most of his gadgets. (Flash Attack: Batplane)

Thunder Storminski: A guest character from Clash Arts' "Petropolis" series. A coyote beastman from the Petro Islands, he fought against many villains, even supernatural beings since ancient times. Thunder plays as if he was in the Petropolis fighting games. (Flash Attack: Tri-Chimera)

Erla Vahn: A guest character from Clash Arts' "O.K. Buster" series. A young wizard-in-training, she uses most of the techniques she has learned from her old master and put them to use against mystical beings. Erla can use her magical combo techniques from the O.K. Buster games to fight. (Flash Attack: Blossom Heart)

Assist Characters

 * Kim Smith (Delta Cross)
 * Ring Gal (Delta Cross)
 * Lobo (Delta Cross)
 * Rusty Graham (Delta Cross)
 * Snail Sloth (Superstar)
 * Special Stage Spencer (Superstar)
 * Hex Magus (Aegis)
 * Sasha Rolando (Star Maidens)
 * Zeki (Realm Souls)
 * Natalie Redder (Bomb Strike)
 * Kengin & Orientyrant (Dimenbeasts)
 * Kriss (Core Holders)
 * Michael Falls (Cross Serpent)
 * Faye Natasha (Velvet Hunters)
 * Fireball (Fireball)
 * Ruta (Sun Pharaoh)
 * Rainbow Blobs (Blobs)
 * Sergeant Cannon (Cannon Moles)
 * Ryan (Gale of Magic)
 * Shiln & Carla (Gamma Wings)
 * Aka Owens (Gunner Tribe)
 * Mimi Akiyoshi (Step Craze)
 * The Joker (DC Comics)
 * Soul Squareshell (Petropolis)
 * Serpent-Cherub (O.K. Buster)

Bosses

 * God King (Multisoft All-Star)
 * Goddess Queen (Multisoft All-Star)
 * Experion (Delta Cross 4)
 * Mime Colossus (Superstar Duality)
 * Kikaigon (Dimenbeasts)
 * Gorgon the Snake (Red the Dragon)
 * Torubog (Alien Killer 2)
 * Skull Torubog (Alien Killer 2)
 * Tuturibomber: A giant turtle robot that is built like a tank. Kato, Kidd, and Len were the first to witness him across the desert. Tuturibomber can shift from his tank form to his monster form, which he uses to fight. In his tank form, he is much more compact, only being able to attack by either firing the missiles on his back, or simply by ramming into his foe at a high speed. He is also quite agile in his simian form, capable of performing extremely large jumps, leading to the possibility that his jumps are jet propelled.
 * Chromia: A robot formed from the Super Shooter clones. They were formed right after Erla knocked the Super Shooter clones out of the Falship's control room. Chromia's armor is comprised of, like its namesake, chrome, making less damage. It has a weakpoint in its chest that can be revealed after tiring it out a few times. It rotates 180 degrees to change its attack strategy. The wheels it pivots on are the Yin and Yang symbols from Chinese philosophies, symbolizing balance and juxtaposition of two forces.
 * Rebus: the leader of the Twilight Cage, the main antagonist and final boss of The Twilight Empress. Her plan was to cut World of Multisoft into pieces and take them to the Twilight Cage for her world. However, she herself cannot leave the Twilight Cage, which is why she created the Twilight Army to act in his stead. Rebus took over the Primordial Islands, the home of the Gilbots, and forced them to serve her under the threat of annihilation. Rebus first discovered that Super Shooter had Lunar Cells in him, so she captured him to harness the power, and thus the Twilight Army was created. Rebus studied and took control of the master of the Multisoft world, God King, who enlisted the help of Jiro, Prince Draco, Alex Dawn, Elthesia, and Gin. These five would track down any fighters that would stand in the way of Rebus' ambitions. It was later revealed that Rebus was originally Hina Frost, the protagonist of the previous two games, forced to succumb to the Lunar Cells she harnessed upon entering the Twilight Cage. (explained in the OVA)

Stages
There are 45 stages in the game, 35 stages which are new to the game and 10 stages returning, enhanced, from Multisoft All-Star Evolution.

New stages

 * Battlefield (Original)
 * End of the World (Original)
 * Arvilyn (Delta Cross 3)
 * Rusty's Pit Stop (Delta Cross 3 Accel)
 * Neon Stadium (Delta Cross 4)
 * Vegas Palace (Delta Cross 4)
 * Flame Factorty (Delta Cross 4)
 * Mecha Ocean (Red X)
 * Kingdom Hills (Superstar Duality)
 * Diamond Funhouse (Superstar Mania)
 * Jelly Beachside (Superstar Racing: Nitro Speed)
 * Alex's Airship (Superstar Advance)
 * Windmill Plains (Superstar Universe)
 * Gregory's Mansion (Crown of Flowers)
 * Ghoul's Pyramid (Red Heroes 2)
 * Tartarus' Dungeon (Red: The Finale)
 * Drejen Nest (Alien Killer 2)
 * Wilkop's Cave (Alien Killer 2)
 * Paradox Tower (Realm Souls Pocket Memories)
 * Maidens' War (Star Maidens Astra)
 * Angelic Isles (Dimenbeasts)
 * World Tower (Dimenbeasts 2)
 * Silver Airport (Blazing Metal)
 * Sasha's Castle (Skeleton Princess)
 * Pin Park (Nugget & Tender)
 * Tyosuta Building (Cross Serpent: Victory Burst)
 * Super Shot + (Super Shot +)
 * Velvet Block Party (Velvet Hunters)
 * Voltage Media Store (Toy Frenzy)
 * Red Lava Zone (Bomb Strike Legacy)
 * Lively Town (My Life)
 * The Dream (Multisoft Comics)
 * Gotham City (Batman)
 * Hilltop Heights (Petropolis 7)
 * Lucifer's castle (O.K. Buster Tri)

Evolution stages

 * Neon Stadium (Delta Cross 2)
 * Beast Island (Superstar World)
 * Tangled City (Crown of Flowers)
 * Elvin's Fortress (Red the Dragon)
 * Planet 43 Triax (Alien Killer)
 * Cross City (Realm Souls)
 * Uniplus Central (Star Maidens)
 * Coil Peak (Dimenbeasts)
 * Violet Forest (Core Holders)
 * Katako Festival (Super Bomb Strike)