House of Happiness

"My name is Aria Stadtfeld, I'm 20 years old and I was supposed to end the university but someone random sent me into the government to learn about "morals", and they f*cked up my life with it, I hated it since, but they chose me with my boss Thalia as the one who will end some "Happiness", but why Happiness?, apparently, Happiness while is one of the good emotions, it is also apparently a name of a criminal something. They sent me without ANY COMBAT TRAINING, I'm just as pessimistic as you, my dear friend who plays this game. But I have a prediction that I would learn a lot from you and my friends, and I suddenly met a guy named Robin, who apparently wants to save his family or something like that, he suddenly found me and Thalia without any reason and we're friends in the short time. Then, more story about myself and my friends its already in your disc or... something? We end...? They're... Happy Zombies?! And Remember Guys, some extreme drugs are bad!"

- Aria Stadtfeld, Game's Opening

House of Happiness (ハピネスのシタデル Happiness Citadel?) is an Horror Beat'em Up Video Game by In-Verse for Nintendo Wii U, the game's title is an irony, since the happiness is the main source of "evil" in the game.

It is inspired in Goichi Suda's games and Gen Urobuchi's Directional works.

The main songs are Happy Go Lucky Me by Paul Evans, Oh Happy Day by the Edwin Hawkings Singers, and I don't want to Set the World on Fire by The Ink Spots.

This series is a part of an exclusive deal to the Wii U console, its spin off is House of Happiness: Lost Innocence which is set in Japan rather than in the US. A fighting spin off is planned, this time is going to be multiplatform.

Story
A 20-year-old girl named Aria Stadtfeld, becomes an agent sent by the US government to track down a famous international organization led by a mysterious server. But she needs to combat all of her enemies but she has little to no battle experience and only has a baton and inert elements for fight, however, this inexperienced girl is aided by an older man with the name of Robin, who knows that his twin brother is captured by the organization, and Thalia, a former criminal then Aria's boss. The three will face in a city who is happy but this is just a façade like the double edged weapon.

Gameplay
It plays like Suda 51's games in general like Killer7, Lollipop Chainsaw, No More Heroes and Killer is Dead, but with a unique twist, there's also a bar known as the good and evil bar. As how Acts, nice or aggressive, Like Daze Before Christmas.

The Wii U Gamepad can be used for three things: Weapon List, Skill List and a "portable" version when not using the TV.

The weapons in this game are pretty varied, but some of them are limited to one of the three characters, for example, Aria can't use Firearms and swords, Robin can't use the Baton or the Bow, and Thalia Can't use knifes or Spray balls.

The graphics are almost in black and white with a particular cel-shading mode, however, some aspects such as the Man with the Fez's mask is yellow, the eye colors of the characters, and Aria's red hair and some others are colored.

Aria Stadtfeld (アリア·シュタットフェルト)
Voiced by: Philece Sampler / Satomi Arai Aria is a 20 year old redhead who uses glasses and has a rabbit-like teeth, and also she talks in a strange accent. She's a newbie agent in the government and has little to no combat experience. She uses many things as weapons such as chairs, tables, but has a baton as a main weapon. She's often scared by things easily, but tries to overcome it, also she has an affinity for the scary things despite her ironic fear. Her mission is tracking down Happiness.

Robin (ロビン)
Voiced by: Robin Atkin Downes / Takaya Kuroda A man who wants to find his twin brother who disappeared without a trace. He has a nice attitude despite his physical strength. However, he has a rivalry of sorts with Curly, who apparently captured him. His surname and many things about him are unknown, but many members of the House of Happiness "know" about him. His younger brother is named Xavier, and is in cahoots with Thalia despite the latter only calls herself a fan.

Thalia Saunders (サリア·サンダース)
Voiced by: Vanessa Marshall / Rumi Ochiai Aria's boss, in contrast of Aria, she doesn't have remorse against any criminal. She was a former member of Happiness before she was arrested by drugs dealing and coercion, during 15 years, she changed her perspective a lot and now views Happiness as her enemies, and she apparently has feelings for Robin, however, she only says that she's only a fan of his antics.

Ann (アン)
A young girl whose appearance is similar to a rag doll. Ann is a girl of average height with pale skin and long red hair with square pieces that frame her face. She has dark red eyes and is rarely seen smiling, even around other people, and has something of a long face shape. She thinks of herself as a doll and sees toys as her only family and friends. She lives in a toy store. Because of her history of moving a lot as a child, Ann became incapable of bonding with people and never found stability in interpersonal relationships. However, she does connect, at a young age, with a teddy bear wich she named Patch. From this contact stems her obsession with toys, and once her first toy Patch it's torn apart, she becomes emotionally and mentally unstable. She has a diary, which she uses as a conduit for her need of contact. There are mentions of possible family abuse or neglect when she was younger on her diary. It is easy to assume that Ann has mental issues such as schizophrenia or a personality disorder. He appearance is based off the doll Raggedy Ann. She's the fourth playable character.

Big Biff (ビッグビフ)
A fat man who acts like a stereotypical hillbilly-thug. He is seen smiling most of the time, demonstrating a more carefree attitude and a "love" for his job. Big Biff is the largest and the tallest boss in the game. He wears a headband with a printed U.S.A. flag, navy T-shirt and large light blue dungarees. He speaks with a heavy Cajun accent. Big Biff loves his mother, wich is in fact a shrunken head that "speaks" to him.

Frederick (フレデリック)
An elderly gentleman and dangerous hunter. Frederick is the cruelest of bosses. Though he cares for his leader, he is very willing to kill him if he has the chance. Frederick is well-dressed, wearing a dark brown suit and red tie. Frederick has grey hair and a mustache. At first, he will try to hunt and kill Aria using a hunting rifle, but later on he will fight using a sword cane.

Jack Blades (ジャック·ブレーズ)
A well-dressed young man with a fedora. Jack has a very quirky personality. His behavior and speech are very camp and flamboyant. He knows what he wants, and goes to all lengths to get it, usually with a smile on his face. He is rather optimistic, but also rather short-tempered. His personality is almost childlike, giving hugs and being generally affectionate, but at the same time unnerving other people with his odd behavior and unpredictability. He uses razor-sharp playing cards in battle.

Torque (トルク)
A Japanese samurai who moved to America to form his own biker gang, showing them the ways of the samurai. Torque is a laid back individual, allowing the wind to guide his every action. However, he's not one to back up on a challenge, willing to die in combat. Torque has tried to commit suicide on many occasions. The reason for this is that he lost his girlfriend on a motorcycle accident. He fights on his motorcycle first. Later on he fights on foot, using his katana.

Hope (ホープ)
A young pop-rock singer and guitarist who seems to be related to the "happiness" in the city. She has white hair and gray blue eyes. She wears a sleeveless black and white top and pants. She also wears black armbands, a collar and boots. She seems to have a short temper. Despite being in cahoots with the Man with the Fez, she seems to have second doubts about his plans.

Enzo (エンツォ)
A man covered in bandages, except his left eye who speaks with a French accent. A paranoid man who lives in the city's psychiatric hospital, he took over the place after the inmates escaped. He kills people who show any kind of emotions relted to happiness as he thinks the city's happiness is some sort of "disease".

Santana (サンタナ)
A rather tall, bulky man wearing a military suit. Santana is the leader of a private militia hired by the mysterious "Man with the Fez". He is a very cold man, thinking of his men as nothing more than expendable, stating that "every war has its causalities". He knows the reason for the "happiness" that radiates in the city, and thinks the happy people are "already death".

Curly (カーリー)
His real name is Curtis (カーティス). A crossdresser man to woman who has connections with the twins. He owns a strip club when it deals with drugs named Smileys. He seems to like Robin, however, The Man with the Fez seems to be his "special one". He's fought two times in the game.

Lissa-777 (リサ-777)
Voiced by: Cindy Robinson / Reiko Takagi Is a cyborg clone of Aria who was introduced a chip to her head with fake memories, believing that she's the "real" Aria. Unlike the original, she uses Wrestling as her main fighting style. Lissa-777's loyalty with the Man with the Fez is almost absolute. Her number name is read as "Three-Seven".

The Man with the Fez (フェズの男)
Voiced by: Troy Baker / Koichi Yamadera A mysterious character that so far has only appeared through video and audio messages. He is described as a man of many mysteries who uses a yellow smile mask and a red fez on his head. He has total control over the political and even criminal works all over the city. He is the main Smiley seller, which he describes as "a candy that gives smiles to the little children", revealed later to be Robin's brother Xavier. The Final boss.

Tatiana Fitzgerald (タチアナ·フィッツジェラルド)
Voiced by: Linda Cardellini / Megumi Ogata A Friendly and Lazy Merchant who is close friends with Aria, she has a lust for money, she often calls the player to pay challenges in her Market, for new weapons or price cuts, etc. She has a punk styled hair.

Colt (コルト)
Thalia's incompetent distant cousin, a man who is shown drunk a lot, he has little to no sanity and hopes that Happiness will end. Robin calls him a nuisance.

Robin's Brother (ロビンの弟)
Robin's disappeared younger brother. Robin claims that Happiness captured him.

Senga the Bear "Flashing Fang" (クマのセンガ)
A talking teddy bear, he sports a ribbon and is ally of convenience with Aria. Always with a lollipop on his "mouth". Revealed to be Lizandro Douglas. Aria's Older Twin Brother.

Lizandro Douglas (リサンドロ·ダグラス)
Voiced by: Reuben Langdon / Fuminori Komatsu The real Antagonist of the game and the fifth playable character, he's a manipulative and cruel young man, whose appearance is androgynous and pretty. He has black hair and red eyes. He manipulated Robin's brother and turned him into the man with the Fez, the older Twin of Aria. He's the true final boss in Tatiana's challenges.

Aria's

 * Baton (Main)
 * Chair
 * Table
 * Computers

Robin's

 * Ray Gun (Main)
 * Bowling Ball (16 pounds.)
 * Jets.
 * Bazookas

Thalia's
And more Unlockables and Secret weapons can be found in the game.
 * Twin Sabers (Main)
 * Rollers
 * Skateboard
 * Knuckles

Alternate Costumes
Everyone has a set with alternate costumes, some of them affect their hair and eye color.

Aria

 * Schoolgirl
 * Casual
 * Cheerleader
 * Happy Zombie
 * Scarecrow
 * In-Verse Girls Style.

Robin

 * Elegant clothing
 * Cowboy
 * Casual
 * Jack Pumpkinhead
 * Bear Suit
 * Golf Suit

Thalia

 * Flamenco Dress
 * Dorothy Gale
 * Karate Suit
 * Wrestler Diva Suit
 * Muse Suit
 * French Suit

From Nin-ten-doh's (DLC Post-Launch)

 * Mario Plumber Style (Mario for Aria, Robin for Wario, Luigi for Thalia)
 * Paula Jones-Polestar (Aria)
 * "Marth"  Lucina (Aria)
 * Fox McCloud (Aria)
 * Captain Falcon (Robin)
 * Ganondorf Dragmire (Robin)
 * Toad (Robin)
 * Pikachu (Thalia)
 * Link (Thalia)
 * Ness (Thalia)

Spin-off

 * See also: House of Happiness: Lost Innocence 

A spin-off based in the series is in development for the Wii U.

Theme Songs
(All songs belong to their respective authors and labels)
 * Happy Go Lucky Me - Paul Evans (Intro Movie)
 * Oh Happy Day - The Edwin Hawkings Singers (Ending Song)
 * I don't want to Set the World on Fire by The Ink Spots (Happiness Trailer theme)



House of Happiness: Smiley Edition
It was confirmed that a Special Edition called "Smiley Edition" is on the works. The only confirmed things is that there's a code with all DLC Costumes for Free and Ann and Lizandro as Playables, and also the Covers are different per version. And also will have two new modes, Kiddy and Irony.

Uncensored CERO Z edition for Japanese Versions.

Trivia

 * The game's title is basically a pun and an irony.
 * It uses Cel-shaded graphics, and the text is based on Text-based bubbles like Conker's Bad Fur Day.
 * The Good and Evil Bar is Based on Good Santa and Anti-Claus of an aforementioned Game, But is limited to Aria, if Aria eats a "Happy Candy", she'll become a merciless character.
 * The Soundtrack is inspired in the works of composers such as Hideyuki Fukasawa, Kow Ohtani, etc. With the OST being basically happy songs, with happy lyrics in some of the tracks.
 * This is the first game that takes place outside of the "In-Verse", and takes place in some sort of real earth.
 * The bosses were made and conceptualized by redrojo17 of Deviantart.