It has been a tough old time for the Skullgirls troop. Not only do they spend their lives perpetually duking it out while wearing entirely restrictive and impractical clothing but several times their future has looked in doubt. But despite changing development teams, publishing problems and some funding issues the franchise has gone from strength to strength.
When the team had to withdraw the original Skullgirls title due to a break with publisher Konami the development took it as an opportunity to soup up their original game. The player response was emphatic; when the developers Lab Zero asked for $150, 000 to finance the expansion they got a whopping $830,000. The result of all that cash was Skullgirls Encore, basically Skullgirls with more stuff. And for many that seemed just fine.
For those that don’t know, Skullgirls and its expanded Encore version are 2D fighting games in the Street Fighter tradition. Based largely on the recent Marvel vs. Capcom title the Skullgirls games make brilliant use of varied game mechanics to utilise a frantic but friendly play style. There’s powers and tag teams and the usual array of story and arcade modes. The games are also well known for their particular art style (and its bosom ladies) designed by artist Alex Ahad.
The original Skullgirls was released in early 2012 on the PlayStation Network and Xbox Live Arcade. After a temporary withdrawal the title was re-released as Skullgirls Encore in March of 2014. A PlayStation 4 and Vita release was announced for later this year and there is also talk of it spearheading the release of the PlayStation TV.
For those that missed the original battle for the Skull Heart they’ll be happy to know that by purchasing this most recent iteration they’ll be getting the original game as well as all the later expansions. It’s not known if there is more DLC to come but with Lab Zero’s previous record there’s a very good chance. Watch this space.
