Thanks for posting those scans, elbarto!
[NOTE: in this game, "special moves" fall into 3 categories -- Hissatsuwaza [Sure-Kill Techniques] (usually called "special moves" by English-speaking gamers, Hissatsuwaza require a Lever-Button Command (QCF + P, etc.) to perform but don't consume any of the character's Stress Meter), Stress Shoot (these are essentially "Level-1 Super Combos," a powerful attack that requires 1 Level of the character's Stress Meter to perform), and Ippatsu Ougi [One-Shot Mystery] (Secret or Mysterious techniques of a given character's fighting style, these are essentially "Level-2 Super Combos")]
Previously, the scans of the basic character movelist photocopies handed out at the Oosaka playtest had confirmed 3 of Hananokouji Kurara's Hissatsuwaza:
* Dream Mind Boomerang (QCF + P: her projectile attack in which she hurls her Magic Stick at her opponent, as seen in the 1st screenshot on page 1 of elbarto's scans, and at the bottom of the Matrimelee promo poster);
* Dream Turn Attack (QCB + K: her "hurricane kick" style attack in which she spins rapidly, arms outstretched, surrounded by a whirlwind -- not yet shown in any screenshots);
* Miracle Death Kiss (F, HCF + BC: her large "magical kiss" projectile, which (if it hits) causes Kurara to transform into Super Kurara).
Thanks to the playtest reports posted <a href="http://www.interq.or.jp/www1/893/mat_chara.html" target="_blank">HERE</a> (thanks to the_colonel for originally linking to this site on 01/25/2003), it was reported that her Stardust Revolution (her Ippatsu Ougi from previous games in this series) was now her Stress Shoot. Stardust Revolution was her transformation attack, which temporarily changed her opponent into 1 of 2 randomly-selected forms -- either a yellow goose or a pink pig (as has happened to Hattori Saizo in the 2nd screenshot on page 1 of elbarto's scans).
Now, thanks to that 2nd screenshot, we have confirmation of the presence of Kurara's 4th Hissatsuwaza (not included on the playtest movelists):
* Miracle Attack (previously QCB + P: Kurara strikes her opponent with a giant red squeak-hammer).
I haven't seen a description of Kurara's new Ippatsu Ougi yet, but I'm guessing that the 3rd screenshot (with the somewhat disturbing "Franken-pig" creature apparently tramping Keith Wayne) is her Ippatsu Ougi.
Additional notes re: this first page of screenshots:
The caption next to Kurara's illustration refers to her as a 13-year-old. This was her age in the previous games. Either Arcadia is using her age from the previous games in this caption, or this is her official age in Matrimelee, meaning the game appears to take place almost immediately after the events of GI2/PI2 and Gouketsu Gaiden / Power Instinct Legends.
Screenshot 2 is the only pic in this article that shows someone fighting Hattori Saizo. Unfortunately, Saizo is a pig in this image, so we can't see what his sprite design looks like. His new character portrait (previously available on Noise Factory's website, and visible in the upper right corner of this image, next to his health meter) depicts him without his traditional helmet. I've been eager to see Saizo's new sprite because of this change to his previous character designs.
Take a look at the man in the brown suit in the center of the background of screenshot 3. The scarf and belt he wears appear to be very similar to those worn by the various incarnations of the Japanese live-action TV series superhero, Kamen Rider (known in the U.S. as "Masked Rider"). The spotlight shining down on him appears to cast a shadow across the background -- the silhouette appears to be a helmeted figure from the waist up, facing the left side of the screen, with a scarf trailing back toward the right side, and a glowing red mark on his forehead. As a long-time fan of Kamen Rider, I'm curious to see if there's more to this background character's animation than what appears to be shown in this 3rd screenshot.
* * * * *
On to page 2 of elbarto's scans:
Damn! And we all thought Annie Hamilton's character design had undergone a radical change just based on the headshot previously available at Noise Factory's website -- look at that illustration! Arcadia's comment is essentially "this is not the Annie we knew!" and that her style seems to have made a 180-degree transformation (i.e., it's the total opposite of her previous incarnations).
The 1st screenshot shows Annie performing a 2-hit handstand kick against Keith Wayne (btw, very happy to see Keith's new sprite -- I was looking forward to this, based on the headshot illustration at Noise Factory's site). This kick technique appears to be a new addition to her repertoire, as it does not resemble any of her previous techniques.
Captions on the 2nd screenshot indicate that Oyama Reiji has been lit on fire by Annie's attack (hence his sprite's orange coloring). Annie's pose in this image seems to show her preparing to land from her current midair position. It is somewhat reminiscient of the landing postures of other fighting game characters who have Shouryuuken-style uppercut techniques. This makes me wonder if this screenshot is a "post-impact" shot of Annie's Rainbow Rise uppercut Hissatsuwaza (which was included on the playtest movelists).
Captions on the 3rd screenshot indicate that Arcadia believes this to be Annie's Ippatsu Ougi. However, her Stress Meter is still at Level 2, so I wonder.... Then again, as seen on the 3rd page of elbarto's screenshots, the Stress Meter can be filled to at least Level 3 -- perhaps the Meter can go at least to Level 4; so this 3rd image may depict Annie's Meter dropping to Level 2 from Level 4 after activating her Ippatsu Ougi. But, Noise Factory's website seems to indicate that the Stress Meter maxes out at Level 3. Hrm. Perhaps I'll just stop analyzing this photo until after I get to play the game.... Her opponent in this screenshot is Goketsuji Otane (the playable twin in GI/PI, and the boss twin in GI2/PI2).
* * * * *
On to page 3 of elbarto's scans:
I don't recognize Reiji's posture in the 1st screenshot. Perhaps a new attack animation.
The 2nd screenshot points out the Nidan Jump ("2-stage" or "double" jump) feature present throughout the GI/PI series.
The 3rd screenshot was seen previously on Noise Factory's website; it shows the Ikari Bakuhatsu [Anger Explosion] feature (an explosion of energy that surrounds a character at the moment his/her Stress Meter maxes out (which, again, appears to occur at Level 3) and knocks his opponent across the screen, should it contact him/her).
The 4th screenshot was also previously seen on Noise Factory's website; it depicts Reiji's Ippatsu Ougi.
The upper left portion of this page is commentary on the characters shown to be in the game by this article's screenshots. The text goes on to wonder which GI/PI series characters will also be in the game. Apparently, this part of the article was composed prior to the character roster's announcement on Noise Factory's website -- several of the "we wonder if he/she will be in the game" characters have already been confirmed by that site's list, as well as the Oosaka playtest movelist.
Anyway, here's what this portion of the article has to say:
Who the heck are the remaining characters!?
Likely candidates: Angela, Kanji, Osima, Kintaro
Rival candidates / Counter-candidates: Buffalo, Ryuto, Otogiri Remi, Solis R8000
Big hole / Huge deficit: Chuck, Kuroko, Rudolph Gartheimer
Again, some of these characters (Kokuin Kanji and White Buffalo) have already been confirmed to be in the new game. I've already expressed my disappointment at Angela's apparent absence (my fave chara from the GI/PI series). I would like to see an appearance by Solis R8000 (which could work, story-wise -- even though she is from the future, she appeared in GROOVE ON FIGHT via time travel, so why not in Matrimelee, too?). I'd be very surprised if Noise Factory didn't opt to include Kuroko as a hidden character. Atlus seemed to have so much fun with this character in GG/PIL, and I just think that kuroko, in general, are really freakin' cool.
--Chris
<small>[ February 09, 2003, 05:09 PM: Message edited by: Dash no Chris ]</small>
