Beastkids

Beastkids is a 2D fighting game developed by Entrail Games and co-published by Yellow Seed Games and Square Enix. The game is released through WiiWare in North America first, and then imported internationally. Prior to the game’s development, Entrail Games faced a few setbacks. Because of this, Entrail Games became renamed as Fortress Nine and Square Enix formally requested for the game to be removed from the Wii Shop Channel. The following year, the game has been re-released as Beastkids Frenzy, which was available in the Wii U’s eShop Channel.

Gameplay
The playstyle for Beastkids is a mix of the King of Fighters series and the Capcom Vs. games, using several similar game mechanics like tag team-based combat, support attacks, emergency evasions, etc. The game can be played using different ratios of characters, with each player able to select up to three fighters on their team. The teams are then balanced based on the number of team members. A single character possesses more health and deals more damage, while larger teams gain the ability to perform support attacks and recover health when tagged out.

The game includes a story mode, arcade mode, versus mode, training room, tutorial mode, and online play. On another note, Beastkids offers protection against "unblockable attacks", which occur when a player, for example, uses a low-hitting move and a high-hitting support attack at the same time, making it nearly impossible for the opponent to block. The game attempts to resolve this problem by offering a brief period of unblockable protection after successfully blocking an attack.

Setting
Beastkids mostly takes place in Retroneon City, a country in Earth which, more or less, mocks cartoons and anime from the 90s to the early 2000s, where humans live. Organizations and kids seek an artifact known as the Beast Soul. Every nine years, it can grant the wish of a human child and/or an animal. However, if the wisher with an impure heart claims the soul, their wish will become corrupted and, if the human and animal make a wish together, will become a monster called a Beastkid. Since then, adults hid their children and animals were locked up in hidden kennels.

Elsewhere in a planet called Anthropia, a world where a majority of anthropomorphic animals called Beastmen live, the beastmen were recovering from the Great Feral War, after nine years, until a new Beastkid emerged from Earth and broke the barrier between it and Anthropia. A select few of beastman warriors were chosen to prevent the disaster happening on Earth. The game follows several Beastmen and their human child partners as they defeat Lionel and claim the Beast Soul. Each character has their own motive for seeking the Soul, whether to destroy the artifact or use its power for their own interests.

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Arc the Golden Retriever: The soul of a brave warrior who died during the Great Feral War, Arc traveled to Earth before the other beastmen to find a new vessel. He found one; a Golden Retriever owned by a girl named Louise. He enters this new vessel and, surprisingly, Louise’s dog began to stand on two legs and spoke. Arc told the girl that he is looking for the Beast Soul to wish for his original body back. Louise agrees to help him. Arc is an all-arounder, meaning most of his attacks are basic.

Grant the Tiger: A master swordsman in search of the Beast Soul to wish a cure for his ill mother. He was found by Steven, a boy who is a guitarist and believes he is superior to anyone else. He told Grant to destroy the Beast Soul, despite knowing that his mother’s life is on the line. Grant fights using his sword, but his emergency evasions are slow.

Ryan the Kangaroo: A beastman who is a champion fighter at Anthropia until during the Great Feral War, where his heart stopped functioning and Fortress Nine attempted to replace it with a different heart. As he made his way to Earth, he was found by Sharon, a girl who longs to be a boxing champion, and was trained by her. His wish is for his heart to return. Ryan uses his boxing skills while fighting, which give him quick speed and equal strength, but most of his attacks can be spammed.

Drake the Dragon: The leader of a group known as the Red Claws who lost his sister during the Great Feral War. He volunteered to enter Earth to defeat Lionel. On the way, he found a young orphan boy named Thomas and raised him (disguised, of course). Drake plans to destroy the Beast Soul before anything bad happens. Drake uses his wings to fly after jumping and can also wield a sword during battle. Riley the Squirrel, Drake’s assistant, appears in a few of his special attacks.

Boris the Boar: A former chef from a renowned bakery, destroyed during the times of the Great Feral War. A girl name Lucy found him in her bakery and gave him a few cakes. Soon, he decided to work at Lucy’s bakery. Boris told Lucy everything about the Beast Soul and his objective. Boris fights using knives, cakes, and his own mace, but his emergency evasions are even slower than Grant’s. He is, by far, the slowest character in the roster, but makes up with his high defense and strength

Langley the Gorilla: The king of the Silverback Clan. He lost his arm during the Great Feral War, and Copper and Wilhelmina made a cybernetic arm for him. He headed to Earth and was found by Marilyn, a girl who will die of a sickness. Langley protects her, and he wishes to find a way to save her and himself. Using his mechanical arm, Langley can fire missiles, lasers, and create earthquakes.

Copper the Red-Tailed Hawk: A mercenary archer who works alongside the Council. He managed to get away from Lionel and now he wants to find the Beast Soul for himself. His first target, however, was a boy named Kurt. He asked the boy to accompany him on his search for the Beast Soul. Red fights using his bow and arrows, each arrow having a different effect.

Kagami the Blob: Disguised as a mouse nun working for the Council, Kagami is an expert shapeshifter. Kagami is also the one responsible for freeing the animals and making Lionel escape. She arrived on Earth alongside Red to dispose of the Beast Soul. But there is something Kagami wishes for once she uses the Soul. Kagami shape shifts as most the fighters to mimic their attacks.

DLC
Connor the Raccoon: A hunter that is raised by Beastmen in the wildest portion of Anthropia. However, he was scarred after the Great Feral War ended and saw the portal to Earth as his entry to somewhere else. He was healed by a human girl named Chelsea, who kept him in return. Then, they saw Lionel in the sky, and Connor and Chelsea must defeat him. Connor’s playstyle is a bit more advanced than the other characters and his emergency evasions are worth mastering.

Aria the Arachnid: A famous opera singer known for her gorgeous voice. She entered the portal to Earth and met with a teenager named Richard, who is part of a band group. She is also said to have a history with Ryan the Kangaroo. Aria fights with webs, and her harmonizing voice can paralyze her opponents.

Brando the Cobra: A talented actor adored by many beastmen. But despite all of this, he has a greedy lust for blood which he needs to make him young. On Earth, he believes there’s more fresh blood for him to rejuvenate him until he met a woman named Rachel. His wish is for everyone to be reduced into blood. Brando uses magic as his attacks and Aubin and Hors assist him in battle.

Teresa the Butterfly: A beautiful beastwoman who always keeps herself gorgeous. She is a fashionista on Anthropia, which explains most of her good looks. A little girl name Sally saw her arriving to Earth, and befriended her. Teresa’s mission, however, was to find the Beast Soul and take it back to Anthropia. Teresa can fight using grapples, pollen balls, and…makeup?

Mecha-Boris: A robotic clone of the original Boris. Wilhelmina programmed him to hunt down the Beast Soul at Earth, also to prove that this robot prototype can do better than Copper's “foolish pig drawings.” Aside from having half of Boris’ moveset, Mecha-Boris has a “self-destruct mode” installed. If activated, the meter starts to decrease and his speed increases.

Cra the Dark Retriever: A clone of Arc the Golden Retriever. He was planned to be an April-Fool’s joke character and his influences with the plot are non-canon.

Final Boss
Lionel the Human-Manticore: Once a normal human boy, Lionel escaped from his home thanks to Kagami. Lionel wished for the Beast Soul to disappear forever, but something happened; he, along with a lion, eagle, and a scorpion, were in a trance and fused to become who he is now. Lionel is the final boss of the game, and has three phrases; Manticore, Human, and Soul.

Soundtrack
The Beastkids Original Soundtrack consists of 34 songs. The album features music by Yoko Shimomura, Andy Sturmer, Lolita Ritmanis. A month before the game’s release, Entrail Games announced that they had enlisted Shimomura, who was known for composing music for the Kingdom Hearts series, as well as the Mario & Luigi games, to help with the music for Beastkids. They believed that Shimomura’s mixture of mysterious themes, cheery music, and action tunes would suit the game’s “cartoony” style. When Entrail Games requested Shimomura to make “cartoony” music, she also “went with a more action approach with drama and suspense.”

Voice Cast

 * Arc: Jason Ritter
 * Grant: Jamieson Price
 * Ryan: Gideon Emery
 * Drake: Dan Woren
 * Riley: Dee Bradley Baker
 * Boris: John DiMaggio
 * Langley: Keith David
 * Copper: Crispin Freeman
 * Kagami: Susan Eisenberg
 * Connor: Liam O‘Brien
 * Aria: Karen Strassman
 * Brando: Steve Blum
 * Aubin: Mike Pollock
 * Hors: Michael McConnohie
 * Terese: Marina Sirits
 * Mecha-Boris: John DiMaggio
 * Cra: Yuri Lowenthal
 * Louise: Carolyn Lawrence
 * Steven: Sean Astin
 * Sharon: Carrie Keranen
 * Thomas: Tara Strong
 * Lucy: Jennifer Hale
 * Marilyn: Amanda C. Miller
 * Kurt: Michael Reisz
 * Chelsea: Heather Hogan
 * Richard: Phil LaMarr
 * Rachel: Tara Platt
 * Sally: Stephanie Sheh
 * Lionel: Amy Palant