Time for another Steam game! I’m pretty sure we can all relate to this: You see a game that interests you – maybe it looks nice, maybe it’s curiosity, maybe you just don’t want to lose the link because you want to buy it once you’ve got money to spend… Some games get added to your wishlist, others leave it. In the end, you have a few dozen games you wish you could afford, so you end up purchasing only the cheaper ones… even if they’re in the 5$ to 20$ price range.
I was never into that series, but I see its appeal. One could say it disqualifies me from talking about a game that is all about this sort of show... but I disagree! |
Good thing there was this conveniently empty field so close to the city, huh? |
Today’s game takes place directly in the camp and
colorful world of Sentai shows. Or rather, it’s a game about making a Sentai
show. Managing the resources, equipment, advertising, costumes, and the actors’
paychecks. That’s the management sim part. The action RPG comes in the next
part, where the actors film their show – using regular punch attacks, weapon
attacks, and special moves, all taking attack, defense, HP into consideration.
Actually, the game kicks it up a notch, with equipment affecting the number of
squares each character can move, their critical hit chance, their counterattack
chance, and many other factors that make you wonder if they’re attempting to
emulate tabletop RPGs as well.
Actually, that’s exactly what it feels like: A mix between tabletop and video game RPGs. Gear up,
prepare your tight Ranger costumes – with helmets – and meet me in the
fantastic and often not-so-fantastic world of TV show production!
This looks like a very professional set. It should be a satisfying place to work in... but nope! Let's start our own! |
"This thing looks too high-tech to be just a prop." "That's exactly why they make it so real-looking!" |
We have our own set. Now, we can decide what the
actors looks like; up till now, they were always in costume. There’s the five
classic Sentai roles: The lead (leader), the techie (inventor), the assault
(tough attacker), the scout (speedy one) and the assist (healer/white mage).
You can pick the actor for every role (taking into account the salary demanded, and the stat changes each actor brings into the role), and then set
a name and a defining color for each actor’s character in the show. The actors?
Among them, we can pick: An anthropomorphic dog, a robot, an alien, a few
Kickstarter backers (yeah, this game exists thanks to Kickstarter – that’s
really awesome), some famous and less famous actors... and loads of referential
humor. However, do not take these decisions lightly – you won’t be able to
change the team once it’s set.
The game will use every single name you’ve set up;
your studio's name, your show’s name, the TV show characters’ names… all will be used.
Even better, you can set up the various catchphrases that become a part of the
show – like the Lead’s battle cry when they go out for some action, and what
they yell when launching their finishing move. That’s really great.
Okay, time for the actual game! First we get the
management simulator part. In it, you have five options:
-Crafting (Buy materials and resources, combine them
to create better materials, and craft them to build weapons, armor, helmet,
boots, etc.)
-Marketing (Hire a Marketing company that will have
some direct effect on your characters’ stats, and also on the rewards at the
end of an episode. After a while, you can use your fans to gain even more
bonuses!)
-Studio (improve the various tools, whether it’s
better microphones, cameras, green screens, work benches… you can even get a
partnership with a local shop to boost audiences! The local KFC parody will be
happy to provide free chicken wings for the team!)
-Mecha (Build your own friggin’ mecha! Okay, a fake
one, since you can build it out of cardboard and stuff… but that’s okay, after
all, it’s just a show, right?)
-Actors (view each actor’s stats and bonuses; change
around their set of special abilities, or modify their equipment)
Always keep in mind the current budget you’ve got. You
cannot overspend the budget you have – but rest assured that you’ll have a
bigger budget with every episode filmed, as your show gains in popularity and
your contracts offer greater rewards.
Talking out-of-character about the show, while acting as their own characters while filming the show, should be a big no-no. And yet, they do it all the time. |
Okay, let’s start with the Opening Episode! I find it
rather comical how the members of the team keep on discussing out-of-character
about the show itself, while they’re literally on-set, filming, and should be
in-character. They bring the art of fourth wall-breaking to unprecedented
heights; Heck, by the end I think they’ll be breaking the 64th wall.
Here are some things to keep in mind when an episode
is being filmed:
100 out of 4,000? Let's keep it up, guys! We're 2.5% on the way to the top! |
-The best way to gather an audience, however, is to
complete the director’s instructions. Kind of like episode-centric
achievements, these will make more people talk about the show and watch it.
These instructions range from “let no character die” to “attack the boss on
every turn”, passing by “Let no character go under 50% health”, “Defeat the
boss with a finishing move”, and so on. These can be tricky every now and then,
but they’re worth it.
-The audience you make at the end of an episode will
convert into a certain number of fans. The more popular your show gets, the
more fans you have, and that translates into additional rewards.
I see a squirrel, a pigeon and a turtle. You'd argue that turtles aren't usually among the city vermins, but... let's not drop this chance of making a reference! |
Season 1 sees the group, as an all-new production
team, trying to make a name for themselves on this competitive market. Things
are rough, but they can count on many friends willing to play the part of the
various animal-themed mooks. Not to mention the often utterly ridiculous ideas
for villains. I'd have to be paid a lot of money to wear some of the sillier boss costumes we see here. Of course, not all
monsters die the first time they’re defeated…
Villains turning giant is a common trope of Tokusatsu
series; one that also conveniently explains why they don’t start with the giant
monster. For some unfathomable reason, when certain bosses are defeated for the first
time, they go down… and then teleport away to turn giant. Like a form of second
wind caused by the resurrection. I call bullcrap on that, it makes no sense,
but hey – it’s a staple of that kind of show, therefore our Chroma Squad
follows the trope to a T!
As a result, some of the episodes will include a giant
battle. Instead of the usual isometric RPG battles, we switch to a 2D fight
between the team’s paper mache Mecha and the monster of the week. You select
actions for your mecha – usually trying to create combos out of them – and must
deplete all three of the boss’s life bars. You have only one such life bar, but
if you lose all of your mecha’s Hit Points, you can use your fanbase as a
secondary life bar – literally, being superstars is what saves you! One
slightly annoying, but understandable, aspect of these battles is that your
combo chance starts close to 100% and decreases by 10% with every successful
punch or attack. The odds of getting large combos of 4 or more becomes quite
unlikely as time goes – and your turn ends when you miss or use a very special attack. After the giant monster is defeated, the
stuntmen film the episode’s ending, and then we get the rewards.
Lord Gaga: Can we trust him? I'm not even sure he'd be a good singer, the one Gaga in pop that we currently have is already pretty damn good. |
After a very successful first season, the quintet is
called by a producer who goes by the moniker Lord Gaga (any resemblance in name
with people, famous or not, living or dead, male or female, is either purely
coincidental or a blatantly obvious reference). The guy has a banana hairdo
that would make Elvis Presley blush. He asks to become their manager, having
seen potential in them, and when they accept, he proceeds to install machines
that will boost their ratings. Could they say no? They could, but then again,
they need more renown if they want to make a decent living out of this. I mean,
it’s not like that guy they never heard of before could be, in any way, shape
or form, a malevolent character trying to benefit from this situation, right?
Right…
When we get to a new season in Chroma Squad, the team
receives a new contract – with an amount of money given to them to prepare for
the new challenges, in both TV production and combat. Among others, each new
season gives each team member a new ability, offensive or supportive. I like how in-show
and out of it, every season marks an increase in “power” (buying power, star
power, in-show fighting power).
Season 2 brings us a stronger team… which is still
clearly fighting people in silly costumes. The story of the show is now
building a greater storyline involving monsters summoning portals in order to
bring more of their kind on Earth. Sure, why not. There’s not much else to say
about this one, really; and thus, Season 2 ends. However, with the rise in
popularity of the Chroma Squad TV series (as can be seen in the tweet-like
comments shown to the player after each episode), the grand risk for these
characters is to grow an ego. They can’t simply forget that they started as
mere stuntmen without much of a budget, and they can’t risk letting an inflated
sense of importance turning them into divas!
Let’s continue this in part 2!
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