Skullgirls: Characters

Skullgirls, the new indie company Lab Zero, is one of those indie games that have made a huge impact in the lives of gamers and managed to garner fans in the thousands. To put it into perspective, they recently had a fundraiser to try and add in a new character. They got over 125000 dollars (it costs quite a bit to make a new character) in the course of a day or so. Now they've reached the end and managed to pay enough for 3 new characters, as well as new stories, levels, music, and voice overs. Seriously, its nucking futs.

Anyway, I've been interested in this game for some time now and even donated some money to get some cool stuff, mostly some music, background wallpaper and a code that will allow me to play the game on Steam. So, to get myself into the mood, as well as anybody else who decided to read this post, I'll be giving some short descriptions on the playable characters of this game, as well as the upcoming DLC characters confirmed to be playable
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The story itself takes place in a world with humans, parasites, cyborgs, animal hybrids and the dangerous creature known as the Skullgirl. In short, mass destruction ensued and the Skullgirl disappeared. It was born of the Skull Heart, an artifact that can grant anyone their wish, but if they weren't pure of heart, they would become a Skullgirl as well. That's not even getting into the fact that there is a mafia who wants to control everything and an Anti-Skullgirl facility who use children to try and combat the Skullgirl. So yeah, their world kinda sucks to an extent.

Right off the bat we have Filia, who you can consider to be the default protagonist of the game. Once an ordinary school girl, she awoke one day with amensia and a parasite attached to her head (you know, the usual stuff). This parasite, known as Samson, acts as a somewhat selfish aide to help Filia get her memories back, most likely through means of the Skull Heart. Until that time, he's hanging out in her hair. Good times right there.

Anyway, from what I've gathered, she plays very much like Ryu from Street Fighter, though lacking a proper projectile move. She is definitely the easiest character to get a hold on compared to the others and can dominate in a fight rather handily if played smart. Still, she can be pretty forgettable and is often overlooked.

Cerebella is what you can get when you cross a Playboy bunny with acrobatic skills fit for the circus and a super-strong hat. Aside from being a headliner for her circus troupe, she also serves as a leg-breaker for the Medici mob family, specifically Vitale Medici. He served as a father figure of sorts to her, having her do certain jobs to help the Medicis. She follows mainly out of love and doesn't really see the suffering the family has caused.

Gameplay-wise, definitely a power character, kinda like Zangief from Street Fighter or Potemkin from Guilty Gear. She doesn't need to be fast, just hit the character enough times to get a win. This is the kind of character I myself would be most comfortable with, if that I would rather use a few simple moves than elaborate combos to try and defeat a person. Course, that kinda extends beyond just a single character.

Oh boy, talk about opening up a fake peanut can of spring-loaded worms. A war orphan who had her eyes gouged out, Peacock was transformed by the members of the Anti-Skullgirls science group into a weapon to combat the Skullgirl itself. The technology implanted in her body, as well as a mindset now obsessed with old school cartoons, granted Peacock untold power which can pretty much be borderline reality warping. It doesn't help that a mock movie poster involves the phrase 'The Murder-Go-Round broke Down'.

Thanks to that love of black and white cartoons, most of Peacock's moves are random to watch, but dangerous when on the receiving end. This includes, but not limited too: a knife gun (that stabs more than shoots), a pirate cannon, a set of bombs named Lenny and George, a burlap sack that can capture opponents, and a terrifying beam of energy through her hat. Yeah, Peacock doesn't mess around.

Parasoul has a heavy burden on her shoulders. Not only is she a member of an elite group of solders known as the Black Egrets, whose duty involves protecting the Canopy Kingdom as well as princess of said kingdom, but her mother is the current Skullgirl. All the more reason she needs to step up her game and prevent the Skullgirl from destroying the world.

Fitting for a princess bred for war, Parasoul has some useful tools (and soldiers) on standby to win a fight. With the technological umbrella known as Krieg and a Mauser pistol, she has a mix of 'swordplay' and 'gunplay' to keep an enemy off balance. Black Egret soldiers will aide in different ways, like protecting her from an attack or using a sniper riffle to hit from afar. Still, Parasoul is a tricky character to use, with a difficulty curve that can get you frustrated quickly if you're not too careful.

You can pretty much see that Ms. Fortune carries a lot of scares, but with good reason. She was part of a group called the Fishbone Gang, who attempted to steal an item called the Life Gem that would grant immortality to the person. During the steal, Fortune ended up swallowing it before the Medici found them and killed every member of the gang. The catgirl managed to survive, though her body was still a bit of a wreck. Now she has sworn revenge against the Medici for taking the lives of her friends in the Fishbone Gang.

Thanks to the Life Gem infused, its pretty hard to kill Ms. Fortune. At the very least, you can knock her out. She puts that gem's power to use, being able to use her limbs for long range attacks, entrap her enemies in her own veins, and even decapitate herself and continue fighting without her head. Just be glad she isn't the most disgusting fighter in the game, cause it can get much worse than you think.

To put it simple, Painwheel's life sucks majorly. Once an ordinary school girl, she was captured and taken to Lab Zero to become an Anti-Skullgirl weapon. The result was an unstable child with incredible rage and power at her finger tips. The success of this experiment was notable, but Painwheel just wants to return to normal as quickly as she can. After all, she never asked for this (Deus Ex line through in for good measure).

As can be expected, Painwheel is equipped with some nasty stuff thanks to Lab Zero. With a synthetic parasite and a drive system, she is a berzerker ready to be unleashed. Large blades pop out of her body, mostly from the legs and arms, and that large blade hanging from her back is nothing to sneeze at as well. Compared to Peacock, who also became an Anti-Skullgirl weapon, Painwheel doesn't joke around, either in or outside of a match.

Valentine is what she looks like: a ninja doctor. Unfortunately, her motives are far from altruistic. If anything, she is actually one of the bad guys. She works with the Skullgirl of sorts, mostly with a partner named Double (she's coming up next), but prefers focusing on her medical practices. After all, she helped to create Painwheel, so that should give you an idea that she doesn't have too much good intentions.

As expected, she plays much as you would expect from a doctor who moonlights as a ninja. Scalpel knives, a hacksaw for a sword, even using syringes to poison her opponent in different ways. There are also some ninja techniques as well, such as a doppleganger trick which allows you to counter and attack and avoid damage, as well as something called an 'Izuna Drop'. In short, grab enemy, launch into air, then drop them onto the ground like they were nothing.

God, Double is just a can of Lovecraftian worms mixed with nightmare crap and body horror. Her entire background and motivation is a mystery. At the most, she works for the Skullgirl, but might have her own goals in mind. Otherwise, be afraid of her. Be very afraid of her.

Her moveset is equally strange, as she doesn't necessarily fight as herself. In actuality, she takes the form of other characters that use her moves instead, like punching as Cerebella or summoning Ms. Fortune heads to attack her opponent. Really, its a kind of fighting style that needs to be seen in action to believe.

The first confirmed DLC character is simply known as Squigly. Coming from a long line of opera singers, Squigly was killed and served as one of the Skullgirl's undead servants the last time she was around. She was killed once more, but the Skullgirl's recent activities prompted her to come back. Thanks to the parasite known as Leviathan, she retains her individuality and seeks to stop the Skullgirl herself.

There hasn't been too much in terms of gameplay I've seen of Squigly, mostly just talked about. From what I could find, it seems that Squigly and Leviathan have a more cooperative relationship with one another compared to Filia and Samson. While Samson is more dominating and aggressive, Leviathan does his best working along with Squigly, like dance partners would. Expect some long range attacks and sound-based maneuvers that compliment the opera singer and parasite combo.

Big Band serves as the second DLC character, making him the first playable male fighter in the game. A survivor from Grand War, he was encased in what amounts to a musical iron lung. He works for the Anti-Skullgirls Lab and is a firm believer of their cause. He would eventually take a more physical approach to the dilemma, even if his equipment might be a bit outdated.

Considering his musical equipment and great size, Big Band is a tough but slow fighter. Expect him to be busting out some musical notes through either that giant sax on his back or from some equipment tucked beneath his coat (not like that). Also remember the fact that he is injured and needs that iron lung to survive. So when the big guy is kicking your ass in the game, its pretty fair to say he is barely fighting at full strength.











There is also this DLC character named Robo-Fortune, but 3 guesses says you got a good idea what to expect from the character.



..and that about wraps it up here. Hope you find this info interesting enough to give Skullgirls a chance. Until next time...

Skullgirls belongs to Lab Zero Games.