Before I provide you with the update, I have removed the colored dots that represent universes to make things easy. Here is the very first update on my BBTAG music to Skullgirls chart.
The character section of this chart during MvC1 mode has an update that makes it clear; not only some songs have been changed while the section is renamed to playable characters to clarify things as I taken Marie, assigned to Awakening the Chaos off. Ice cream loving child and salty sister Umbrella (and the thunderous and monsterous Living Weapon, Hungern) has been revealed as DLC2 of the Season Pass and the 16th playable character to fill in the hole of the Skullgirls story, thus putting an end to the salt once and for all and evening things out to come with a possibility to play Active Angel upon her entrance. In fact, she is one of the characters in my wish list to have her playable debut she deserves for the general story mode DLC I want.
Since 2005, Umbrella was a candidate for the base roster, but she couldn't make it because they ran out of time, so they have given us a base roster of eight characters that are all female. For Annie, she couldn't earn her playable debut in the first place because she wasn't one of the crowdfunded 2nd Encore DLC characters. Where it stands now, after almost a decade since release, both Annie and Umbrella have finally earned their playable debut to Skullgirls through its first ever Season Pass with Justice Sword and Active Angel on the docket. Those two are included in several artworks and Umbrella is included in the 2nd Encore art and that's the small reason why I wanted her to be a playable character.
Every playable Skullgirls character has a sigil, poster, action shot, line up shot, story and a Mobile exclusive Marquee Ability. Now, every playable Skullgirls character must have a BBTAG character theme to be played upon their entrance and during their character tutorials and trials. Since I'm hearing that Umbrella has an upbeat nature fit for a child and she is fun to animate, the only BBTAG character theme to assign her to is Active Angel, and that is because of its upbeat and cheery cadence.
Another reason why I wanted Umbrella to make her playable debut is much more obvious and bigger. Parasoul is one of the playable characters in the base roster that is the eldest daughter of the royal family and has her defenseless little sister that couldn't become one in the first place. That is until she has been announced as one of the playable characters in the Season 1 Pass after over nine and a half years since release, alongside Annie to make Umbrella a salty sidekick of a sister.
Their above action shots with the Black Egrets in the background and their themes I labelled on the lower left hand corner of them as a garnishment consisting of Missions for the Brilliant Executor and Active Angel indicate that these guys are more than just sisters. They are the Canopy Kingdom's finest princesses, although Umbrella won't have moves that involve Egret soldiers in her moveset. Honestly, it is starting to feel like Grindr since I threw in yellow and blue labels.
Thanks to BBTAG music being much more unprecedented than with the mainline BlazBlue games, Parasoul is assigned to a Persona 4 Arena theme while Umbrella is still assigned to a BlazBlue theme despite shifting to BBTAG music and that's a good thing.
As a tradition, it's time for not one but two fun facts on how Missions for the Brilliant Executor and Active Angel fit well with the princesses of the royal family. These will concern the fabled Canopy Kingdom and how the Grand War changed the world forever. Now, listen up. *ahem*
Alright, so... you know how the last fun fact had a BlazBlue joke? Well, that's where Umbrella comes in. Assigned to Active Angel. You see, Umbrella is more cheery and upbeat than any child in every which way. Like, Platinum the Trinity kind of cheery and upbeat, which makes Active Angel a cherry on top to garnish a princess with an upbeat personality, on both the mainline BlazBlue music period and on the BBTAG music period.
Back then, since Skullgirls first came out over nine years ago, an Indiegogo campaign was made to give the game five DLC characters Squigly, Big Band, Eliza, Beowulf and Robo-Fortune with Overwhelm Despair, MOTOR HEAD, SUSANOOH, A Pure-Hearted Beast and Heartful Cry as cherries on top during the BBTAG music period. And there's a clone character, Fukua, who is an evil version of Filia. But Umbrella was not happy that she isn't one of them and she is getting saltier and saltier.
She dreamed of joining a team that involves Beowulf and Annie to make Team Secret of Mana to make Square Enix proud. And now, her dream will be a reality because Umbrella is officially confirmed as the next Season 1 Pass character with Active Angel as a cherry on top and she is totes happy. This is a swell deal and all, but the salt doesn't stop there.
You see, a long time ago, Umbrella was a wee toddler. She had a big sister, Parasoul, who was younger. They were raised by Queen Nancy and King Franz Renoir. Together, they ruled the Canopy Kingdom as symbols of justice, royalty and order.
Years later, Umbrella has donned her rain gear and is armed with Hungern, a monsterous and thunderous living umbrella that eats everything and shoots bubbles crafted from a tortoise shell and the body of a cow, I guess. Hungern can eat anything. Pizza, chicken, fries, hamburgers and everything. Even trash. Since Hungern is a voracious best friend to Umbrella, she comes with an ingame UI element that shows Hungern's fullness meter separated into four levels that fills up when eating opponents and depletes when shooting bubbles, in which Active Angel is benefitted. And no one is more cheery and upbeat than Umbrella Renoir. Give her a Platinum the Trinity palette to benefit that.
In fact, Umbrella is so cheery that at night when you're at the movie theater, you look at candies and slushies to think of her. Nice.
Anyway, the Skullgirl's appearance has triggered Umbrella to follow her and Parasoul is not only tasked to defeat the Skullgirl, but to save her sister from becoming the Skullgirl. If she does, it'll irreversibly defile all of that bright and cheery mood, creating a dark and gloomy mood, which Active Angel won't fit well with.
And that's not a small endeavor. If Umbrella gets the Skullgirl palette and voice pack as her Season 1 Pass-exclusive content, consequences would be dire if equipped at the same time. And even though Umbrella is equipped with the Skullgirl palette and voice pack in game, Active Angel stays, and I can't even make a dark and gloomy version of it. You better watch out because Hungern can eat anyone alive. That and can rain down his acids on them before devouring and this is a cinematic lv. 5 super dubbed Feeding Frenzy, perfect for Umbrella to have harder than my reputation drops. That's maximum salt right there! Basically, Umbrella likes to have fun and play in her stage that is an amusement park and Active Angel is a perfect fit for her stage.
If her story entails being her big sister's salty sidekick because when the Skullgirl appears, Umbrella wanted to fight alongside Parasoul, but she had to be locked up in their castle, which is just fragile, the true story starts. Don't feel bad, Umbrella. I'm sure you won't be locked up in your castle any longer now that you are making your playable debut. So if you see a child that looks like Umbrella in real life, just say hi, or give her an autograph. Don't molest her or you'll end up in jail like other pedophiles because she is a child. Yeah.
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Alright, so... you know how there are multiple universes in BBTAG? Well, that's where Parasoul comes in. Assigned to Missions for the Brilliant Executor. You see, with great power comes great responsibility. I mean... justice. So years ago, Parasoul spent her younger age as Sergeant of the Canopy Kingdom's elite military force, the Black Egrets, doing military stuff. Target practice, bossing people around, putting bad guys into custody. Umbrella is her little sister that was a wee toddler and I'm sure you remembered her. They were raised by Queen Nancy and King Franz Renoir. Together, they rule the Canopy Kingdom as symbols of justice, royalty and order.
Years passed and Parasoul donned her black suit and earned Krieg, her umbrella that shoots and leaves napalm tears crafted from a tortoise shell and the body of a cow, I guess. With these tools, Parasoul became Commander to call forth her Egret soldiers ingame and became Mitsuru Kirijo with an umbrella and Missions for the Brilliant Executor would be the cherry on top thanks to the shift to BBTAG music. She also bears a sigil of an upside down cross to make Jesus Christ jealous.
If it's good enough with how Active Angel is a perfect fit for Umbrella because of her bright and cheery personality, Missions for the Brilliant Executor is a perfect garnishment to fit well with a Princess with a brilliant personality that wears a black suit. Made because Mitsuru Kirijo wears her black suit in Persona 4 Arena and is brilliant. Nobody will be more brilliant than Parasoul Renoir. Plus, you think of her when you see cars parked outside of the movie theater during the night.
You see, the best thing about Missions for the Brilliant Executor fitting well with Parasoul is that not only seeing her in game made me think of Reno 911! and think of her as a cop since she can call forth her Egret soldiers in game, beat up and apprehend bad guys with her pool balls, sonic breasts and KFC combos, courtesy of what Umbrella said. You know, like Batman, but with a napalm-fueled umbrella. And by apprehend, I mean put bad guys into custody, including Scythana, following that felony involving the attack of the Renoir Family Grand War Memorial in Canopolis, which is kind of funny.
It's also because since Parasoul is the Commander of an elite military force similar to the elite military force first appeared in Sonic Adventure 2, the G.U.N., she and her Egret soldiers partake on missions consisting of defeating the Skullgirl and saving her little sister from becoming the Skullgirl and she executes commands for her Egret soldiers and she is brilliant, hence the name of the theme. Well, Parasoul never executed a single person and she is not a cop, but royalty and justice are the key reasons why she can apprehend and prosecute bad guys without the need to kill. Sure, she can go all Solid Snake from Metal Gear Solid and have a meeting with the Central Intelligence Agency at Canopolis, but this Commander and her Egret soldiers like to execute military missions like she and her soldiers are working at the US Army, probably. And since women can't portray James Bond, she is all that to be basically an agent. But she isn't.
I mean, she is so brilliant at calling forth her Egret soldiers in game that she and her soldiers could be simultaneously shooting a beam together and Beam Brigade is gonna be her cinematic lv. 5 super, which would be brilliant. Forget Special Forces. Commander Parasoul of the Black Egrets in her Persona 4 Arena Mitsuru Kirijo palette, reporting for duty!
And since her little sister Umbrella is making her playable debut to Skullgirls, she will side with her big sister, beat up thugs and become Robin with a monsterous living umbrella. And that's not all. Umbrella will also side with Beowulf and Annie to establish Team Secret of Mana, but Parasoul senpai noticed her and wouldn't allow it. Dang, Parasoul, I never realized how fragile of a big sister and Commander of the military you are.
These are the above fun facts on how Missions for the Brilliant Executor and Active Angel fit perfectly with two of the finest princesses of the Canopy Kingdom. Plus, they are both unbelievable for them. This quip for the themes that the Renoir sisters are assigned to is obvious below.
"There are available Missions for the Brilliant Executor and her military friends to partake on, but instead, this ecstatic and Active Angel wants ice cream."
Again, this is the new arc of listening to other games' music. I said that because BBTAG is a magical team-based fighting game that has characters from BlazBlue, Persona 4 Arena, Under Night In-Birth, RWBY and the EX universes and uses a jukebox feature that has over 60 battle themes as I said before.
Just look at how nifty they Renoir sisters look in their palettes that depict BBTAG characters. Here's Parasoul in her Misturu Kirijo palette and Umbrella in her Platinum the Trinity palette. Pretty nifty, huh?
So far, we got Filia and Painwheel, Peacock and Big Band, Beowulf and Annie, and Parasoul and Umbrella playable together. Now, the only duos left are Cerebella and Feng, and Ms. Fortune and Minette to be playable together so that the Skullgirls hero and sidekick duo collection will be complete. We might get a hero and sidekick story mode where we choose which hero and sidekick duo to play as.
This is like the old customs on the vs. Capcom games, like Marvel vs. Capcom, Capcom vs. SNK and Tatsunoko vs. Capcom and wanting more of them, like Square Enix vs. Capcom and Bandai Namco vs. Capcom. And of course, Nickelodeon vs. Capcom, even though it's not one of the vs. Capcom games that interests me. It's a terrific deal. Even Banjo-Kazooie isn't one of them. And it's not because Nintendo and Microsoft own all rights to the franchise since they joined Smash Ultimate.
So I'm thinking that Parasoul and Umbrella are the Batman and Robin while Cerebella and Feng are the Blue Beetle and Firestorm. So what DC pair Ms. Fortune and Minette are? I don't know. The Flash and Green Lantern, maybe? But I know one thing for sure. I am supporting Feng and Minette real hard now that we are getting more characters. Screw you to heck, Mike Zaimont.
By the way, you know how the Adventures of Batman & Robin is a thing? Well, thanks to Umbrella finally making her playable debut to Skullgirls, the Adventures of Parasoul & Umbrella will be a thing as soon as Umbrella is officially released on 2nd Encore and on Mobile, of never being pulled into the Regime by Superman again. Together, they'll leave the castle and kick butt across New Meridian in the name of justice. You know, like Batman and Robin? They leave the Batcave and kick butt across Gotham City in the name of justice? It's a thin line between the Renoirs and the Waynes.
Well, the Renoir sisters don't have capes or grappling hooks and New Meridian is not Gotham City. Although they do have art deco buildings that New York City has. But what they do have is their umbrellas and their castle is their Batcave. If there is a trio team that involves the Renoir sisters, the real fun starts. Forget Batarangs and Birdarangs. Krieg tears and Hungern bubbles are what they at in evacuating the Canopy Square Garden and taking down Scythana. Now that's an action-packed DC film I'd watch, which would be freaking awesome, but I think there is an unknown destiny between the Renoir sisters that the world may never know.
That being said, I expect a lot of Umbrella gameplay in action so I can play Active Angel upon her entrance after a death and as a point character at the beginning of the match on the Player 2 side while watching streams like I did with playing Justice Sword upon Annie's entrance after a death and as a point character at the beginning of the match on the Player 2 side while watching streams, although I'm not a Skullgirls PC player yet. Justice Sword is unbelievable. So will Active Angel.
Here's a gameplay outline on how will Umbrella play. First off, she is a small character with huge swings from her thunderous and monsterous Living Weapon, Hungern, which is involved in most of her attacks. As the match goes on after performing certain actions, Hungern gets hungrier. If he is starving, the normal attacks that involve him slows down, but stronger when devouring opponents. But when Hungern is overstuffed, moves that involve him conjure something from the depths from his stomach. Please note while Umbrella is very early in development, her gameplay outline is heavily subject to change after further development and testing, though it states that Umbrella players must manage Hungern's hunger gauge.
There are a lot of ecstatic people who are seriously itching to try Umbrella out and since she is coming to both 2nd Encore and Mobile simultaneously, they are gonna try her out earlier than ever because according to the devs of Hidden Variable, to try Umbrella out, like the 2nd Encore DLC characters from the campaign, Umbrella will have her Alpha phase. To gain access to it, players must own the Season Pass on Steam.
In the Alpha phase, players who own the Season Pass on Steam will gain access to playing an incomplete Umbrella that includes sketchy frames, meaning that she is still early in development, as well as a sneek peek at her stage, but she won't be available al a carte until her Beta phase. Similar to playing Justice Sword upon Annie's entrance after the death of a teammate and as a point character at the beginning of the match while watching streams, it is the perfect opportunity to play Active Angel upon Umbrella's entrance after the death of a teammate and as a point character at the beginning of the match while watching streams regardless of her incomplete status because a character's Alpha phase will launch with the specified theme to be played upon their entrance.
A character's Alpha phase will launch with the following goals that are already met.
-Basic attack animations
-Character sigil
-Action and lineup shots
-Character sigil
-Action and lineup shots
-Temporary banner for NMO Arena
-Distortion Finish outline of a victim animation
-BlazBlue Cross Tag Battle character theme to be played upon their entrance (i.e. Active Angel on Umbrella's entrance)
In order for a character to enter Beta phase, they must have the following goals met.
-Fully recorded and integrated voice acting
-Complete moveset consisting of several unique attacks, 6-7 special moves and 3 Distortion Drives
-All sketchy animations and frames fully tied down and colored
-Complete moveset consisting of several unique attacks, 6-7 special moves and 3 Distortion Drives
-All sketchy animations and frames fully tied down and colored
-Fully integrated and tuned up unique sound and visual effects
-Official banner for NMO Arena
-An early version of their stage for a certain character
Because Umbrella is gonna be played during the Alpha phase by players who own the Season Pass on Steam while some of her animations are sketchy and not yet fully completed, she will be legal in select Skullgirls tournaments until her Beta phase, in which Umbrella will be legal in most Skullgirls tournaments, because once a character enters Beta, they will be available a la carte in digital stores and will be legal in most tournaments. Getting the sketchy frames tied down and colored takes a long time, but not with a little teamwork, it doesn't.
The outline of the release that is subject to change is how it works; Umbrella's Alpha phase will lead up to her Early Access Beta phase where she will be available both in the Season Pass and a la carte with all of her animations that are fully colored and finished, as well as her complete moveset, fully voiced gameplay and bevies of planned general gameplay changes coming in Q3 of this year, similar to Annie, but that might change that her story might be available in Early Access.
Once they are finished with tuning and adjustments and a bevy of Beta changes have been finalized and transferred into the retail version, the only phase left is her official launch on Steam, PS4 and Switch that comes with her story and content, including her Japanese voice and trials coming in Q4 of this year, similar to Annie's full release, which is on the horizon and that's when the Adventures of Parasoul & Umbrella becomes a thing. We might have hints to DLC3 by then. Just two more characters to go. A bonus fifth character will be confirmed if the Season 1 Pass sells well.
To ease the wait for the Alpha phase, the devs of Future Club, the developer that is basically the same Lab Zero Games without the involvement of Mike Z have confirmed that they are doing weekly animation streams so we can see how Umbrella is shaping out to be Parasoul's salty sidekick of a sister in development.
It is unclear that the remaining characters to come out next year in 2022 will have their development streams, but we know that every future character must have an Alpha phase, so future characters will have theirs and as I said before, they will come with a sneak peek of their BBTAG character theme that I will play upon their entrance at launch. Well, not a sneak peek, but more like a full listening.
I was surprised that Annie didn't have her Alpha phase because she was developed much further to go straight into her Beta phase. But hey, Justice Sword and Active Angel are where they at. It's a special occasion.
That being said, we got eight characters in the base roster and eight more characters and that makes it 16 total. It is only a matter of time before two more TBA characters get released to make it 18 playable characters.
Also, a warning to all adults: if you try to draw a naked Umbrella or whatever as a special occasion to celebrate her playable debut to Skullgirls, you will be exposed as a pedophile, an adult that does sexual remarks on underage people. If they expose you as a pedophile, there's no getting out of it and the only place you will be going to is jail for all eternity and they will no longer be your friend. This is the worst of all felonies that could get you in maximum trouble to cause your friends to become your enemies, so don't do it.
Not only some songs have been changed in the stage section during MvC2 mode. Umbrella's stage, officially called Boardwalk, also assigned to Active Angel has also been added to the stage section. As a cherry on top, Awakening the Chaos actually fits well with Final Atrium to better reflect the fight against Marie.
Umbrella is no longer in my wish list because she has been revealed as DLC2 of the Season Pass and I have added a couple of characters I wanted in my wish list, making it 17.
And finally, this section formerly known as special solo matches are now lore-based solo matches. Several character themes assigned to certain lore-based solo matches have been added. I have decided to do away with playing Blood Pain for when there is a mirror match. The same goes for when we go to Class Notes for me to relegate to MvC1 mode.
Even though, I'm not sure if Reincarnation fits well with Parasoul vs. Umbrella or not. I better consider that before I finalize it. I mean, they are the finest sisters of the Canopy Kingdom, per se. Honestly, I'm starting to feel like I'm pulling a DC vs. Capcom-style listing when making and updating charts.
Also, I think there is a little fun fact within the lore-based solo matches department. I told you how in JUSTICE fits well with Beowulf vs. Annie. Now let's go over Filia vs. Fukua, assigned to God of War. This song I believe fits well with it, although none of the characters have voice lines specific to Fukua. It is similar to other fated battles, like Ryu vs. Akuma in Street Fighter, Hakumen vs. Susanoo in BlazBlue, Cyborg vs. Grid in Injustice, etc.
That's the prime example of fated battles and there is a challenge that entails that match. Notice this? Once Robo-Fortune is one of the 2nd Encore DLC characters, what do we get? Ms. Fortune vs. Robo-Fortune, assigned to Fatal Judge. Yeah, nice touch on that department, huh? I don't think so.
Well, this wraps up the update on my BBTAG music to Skullgirls chart. Another update on my chart will be posted.
