Beyond Color Swapping
Until the late 80s, the beat ’em up genre had secondary heroes with a color swap technique due to the limitations on the hardwares¹. However, Golden Axe, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and Final Fight, released consecutively in 1989, overcame this technological limitation and set the standard for characters to look different from each other.
I want to highlight one of the groundbreaking titles: Final Fight. This game introduced the iconic and influential character, Mike Haggar, who set a new standard for beat ’em up games, and he paved the way for the famous “Big Guys!”
The first things that come to my mind from the old times are; Mike Haggar from Final Fight (1989), Baby Head from Captain Commando (1991), Hawk from Vendetta (1991), Max Thunder from Streets of Rage 2 (1992), Colossus from X-Men (1992), Mess O’Bradovich from Cadillacs and Dinosaurs (1993), Major Dutch Schaefer from Aliens vs. Predator (1994)
When we get closer to our current timeline, we have Ricardo from Fight’N Rage (2017), Connor from The Takeover (2019), Floyd Iraia from Streets of Rage 4 (2020), Dolphin from Mayhem Brawler (2021), Aros Helgason from Jitsu Squad (2022), Megadon from Dawn of Monsters (2022) and Miller from Final Vendetta (2022).
¹ One exception that comes to mind is Ninja Warrior from 1978.
Big Guys of Both Worlds
In my first Dev Diary, I mentioned that the game would follow two timelines with a 20-year gap. Additionally, I discussed including four playable characters in each timeline, a total of eight.
Stellar will be in the past, and She Wolf will be in the present timeline. These two characters will also take on all-rounder roles in their respective teams as a fighting style. If it’s your first time reading this news, click the link below for previous Dev Diaries.
Mayhem Brawler II: Best of Both Worlds - Dev DiariesThis Dev Diary will focus on the role of grappler/tank Big Guys on both timelines.
Past Big Guy: Antonio “Apex Hunter” Petrozza
I have two reasons for choosing the Apex Hunter as my playable hunter, who embodies my evil uncle stereotype in the first game.
Firstly, She Wolf become the fan favorite unexpectedly. This led Christina and her uncle Antonio “Apex Hunter” Petrozza, to have a much more influential role in the story.
The second reason is our beloved Mayhem Brawler speedrunners. Because Chainfield Prison is the fastest route to the finish, Apex Hunter became the most-fought boss by far.
I could not ignore these facts! So, I added 20 years younger version of Apex Hunter to Stellar’s team as the big guy. I am sure many of you are curious about why such an asshole like Antoino Petrozza joined the legendary Stronghold officer Stellar’s team. With no spoilers, I can only say Apex Hunter was more of an anti-hero than a villain back in the day.
Apex Hunter is going to combine werewolf ferocity with the grappler fighting style. He excites me the most among the playable characters, to be honest.
Present Big Guy: Oliver “Beastmaster” Henderson
I can confess that I was trolling the story by adding a wereboar in a world full of charismatic werewolves and intimidating werecrocs.
Well, Beastmaster was famous for being one of the most avoided bosses in the first game.
The officers who played the first game will remember that Oliver, who has solid fan-boy potential, was a lackey of Lady Vermin. This time Oliver will diehard support She Wolf, the mayoral competitor for Mayhem City. WHAT!? Oh, did I forget to mention She Wolf’s nomination? It seems like you didn’t catch it on from her new outfit. 😉
The Beastmaster has a fighting style involving grappling, which he combines with slapstick movements that utilize his body weight. Of course, his loyal wild boars, Be and Bop, can also display some exciting special abilities with their contribution. Yeah, Be and Bop!
“HA! HA! HAA! Meet Be and Bop! Got the reference?”
Well, What About the Progress?
The game’s release has been delayed by six months due to the Witchcraft Update for Mayhem Brawler and our ongoing research and development for online gameplay for the sequel.
We are currently in a crunch for two expos we are preparing for, and we will show features as much as possible in the demo. Our team has plans to attend Mobidictum on September 4-5 and Gaming Istanbul on September 22-24. Of course, we will have a booth for Mayhem Brawler II: Best of Both Worlds and we invite everyone in Istanbul to join us.
— Your friendly neighborhood developer Serkan Özay