Cartoon Network Presents Vampire Brigade, known in Japanese as simply Vampire Brigade (ヴァンパイア旅団, Vu~anpaia Ryodan) is a Cartoon Network crossover game. The game was produced by Sega and Cartoon Network Japan. It is rated E 10+ for mild suggestive themes, mild animated blood, and cartoon violence. It is for the Wii U, Nintendo 3DS, and PlayStation 3.
Synopsis[]
On October 31, 2008, an evil marshmallow bunny named Bun-Bun tried to enslave the people of Earth with his Underworld army of candy monsters. Although he was melted in hot cocoa by the Underfist team, he's made a recovery, and now he's out for revenge. He's already captured most of the members of Underfist, leaving only Irwin behind. But that doesn't mean Bun-Bun will triumph; it's time to form a new team. Irwin must now team up with Marceline, Mandark, and Princess to save Underfist and all of the citizens of CN City. Together, their team is known as the Vampire Brigade, and they are the epitome of the "Dark is Not Evil" mentality!
Characters[]
Playable[]
Irwin[]
Irwin is a teenage mummy-vampire nerd. He is one of the most essential members of the Underfist team, and the only member left who can stop Bun-Bun. He has decided that the best way to stop Bun-Bun is to form a new branch of the Underfist team: the Vampire Brigade. He is Marceline's boyfriend, as well as her best friend (aside from Princess Bubblegum, of course). Both he and Marceline lead the Vampire Brigade, with Irwin being more of strategist.
Marceline[]
Marceline is the musically-talented Vampire Queen from the Land of Ooo. She loves Irwin deeply, and can be overly protective of him sometimes. She came up with the Vampire Brigade's name, and she and Irwin lead the team, Marceline being the fastest runner. She also has the ability to float and turn into a bat monster, allowing her to get to high places.
Mandark[]
A former villain and mega-nerd, Susan "Mandark" Astronominov is the team genius. He is able to analyze enemies' weaknesses, provide valuable information, and give helpful gameplay tips. He is able to use his inventions to assist in combat, and he has special technology that was made for the Brigade, which he calls "VampTech". He is very close to Princess.
Princess[]
Princess Morbucks, like Mandark, is a former villain. She is the team's best member when it comes to offense attacks, being surprisingly strong and able to utilize lasers. She has a crush on Mandark, and while he does return those feelings, he typically has to tell her to "keep it professional for now".
Non-Playable[]
Bun-Bun[]
Bun-Bun is an evil marshmallow bunny. One Halloween, he tried to take over the world with his candy army, but ultimately failed when he was defeated by Underfist. Although he was melted in hot cocoa, he now seems perfectly healthy (physically speaking), and he wants revenge on the Underfist team for ruining his plans. He has captured all the Underfist members except for Irwin, who he wishes to dispose of once and for all...permanently. (Wouldn't "once and for all" kind of imply permanently?)
Underfist[]
This team is made up of Hoss Delgado, General Skarr, Fred Fredburger, Jeff the Spider, and Irwin. All but Irwin have been captured by Bun-Bun, and now the Vampire Brigade must rescue them.
CN Citizens[]
Other Cartoon Network characters make appearances as citizens of CN City. The player can talk to them, and they can occasionally give hints regarding missions and gameplay. Occasionally, the player will receive a mission that requires the player to help one of these citizens.
Gameplay Mechanics[]
Switching Characters[]
During the game, there are times when the player will have to switch characters. This will be indicated a bat-based logo: Marceline's logo is a bat with horns instead of ears, Irwin's is a bandaged bat, Mandark's is a bat with glasses, and Princess's is a bat with a crown. Irwin is used for puzzles and strategy-based minigames, and is the default character for most missions; Marceline is used to get to high areas, as well as flying across areas that can't be jumped across; Princess is used for fighting harder enemies and some bosses; and Mandark is used for stealth-based situations.
Puzzles and Minigames[]
Occasionally, the player will have to solve a puzzle or play a minigame to proceed during a mission. The puzzles are typically based around Cartoon Network trivia, and the minigames are based around using the character's powers to defend him/herself. Since most of these games are based around knowledge and strategy, the player typically has to use Irwin to play them.
Trivia[]
- The music for some missions sounds similar to "Walk Like an Egyptian" by The Bangles.
- Marceline can sometimes be heard humming the song "Little Big Things", a song performed by her voice actress Olivia Olson.
- While the Vampire Brigade is based mostly around vampires, each member has a secondary monster motif:
- Irwin's is a mummy, as he is half-mummy and has some mummy-based powers.
- Marceline's is a demon, as she is half-demon and has a demon for a father.
- Mandark's is a mad scientist, as he is a mad scientist himself.
- Princess's is a werewolf queen; while the werewolf part of her motif is not directly based on her, it does symbolize her strength and heavily offensive moveset, as well as her rough nature. On the other hand, the queen part is based on her name being a royal status.
- When left idle, Mandark will sometimes repair a small robot. The robot bears a resemblance to a smaller version of Robot Jones.
- If Marceline talks to Buttercup after completing her mission, Buttercup will say, "You know Marceline, I think you and the Brigade should start a band. That boyfriend of yours...He kinda sounds like Amy Lee." This is a reference to the band Evanescence, specifically to lead singer Amy Lee.
- This is also an inside reference; on Cartoon Network's Friday's block, Amy Lee appeared as a guest star, even performing a tribute song to Cartoon Network.