12/7/19: Saturday, December 7, 2019
All the Rage
Hello everyone! Parzival back again with yet another blog post, this time centering around a brand new mechanic to the Earthbound series! As I'm sure you're aware, each game in the Mother series has introduced something new to the combat system, such as Earthbound introducing rolling HP or Mother 3 adding rhythm combos. Similarly, in Earthbound Rhapsody, we're planning on introducing a new mechanic, called the Rage Gauge!
The Rage Gauge is a brand-new mechanic to the Mother series partly based off mechanics such as Super Meters from fighting games. The mechanics are simple in execution but can add a whole new level of strategy to fights! Whenever a character takes damage, the meter will slowly fill up. Keep in mind that this will not instantly happen after a hit, but rather over time as a character's HP slowly ticks down. Here's an example of that in action.
When the gauge is full, it's Rage time! The meter will slowly begin to drain. During this time, the character's stats will receive a massive boost. Bash will be replaced by the new move Clobber, which attacks all enemies at once. Each character will also receive a new signature special PSI move (or Curse in the case of Jonesy) that will allow them to have even more utility in battle.
When guarding, HP will decrease at half the normal speed, as per the series norm, but the Rage Gauge speed will not be affected.
There are other ways to increase the speed at which the meter fills. For example, when hit with an enemy's SMAAAASH attack or when dealt mortal damage, the Rage Gauge will go way up!
There's plenty more to showcase on this new mechanic, but we don't want to reveal everything now! That would ruin all the fun, wouldn't it? Keep in mind, this is all in the prototypical phase, and as such nothing is completely finalized yet. Anyway, thanks as always for reading, and we'll see you in February. Have a happy holiday, and a happier New Year!
-Parzival