HERO v HERO

Two kingdoms inhabit the sky, feeling the ripples of the ARMOR War from ages ago.
As echoes from centuries past re-emerge, heroes from across the world converge.

HERO v HERO is a hybrid fighter set in my (currently unreleased) fantasy story: HERO x HERO. Unlike many fighting games, it can be played in two major styles:

• Platform: Rack up damage on your opponents and send them flying off the stage!
• Traditional: Defeat your opponent by depleting their health!

This is a VERY work-in-progress prototype. I’m just one programmer, and it’ll take a long time for this project to reach full playability, though I do intend on seeing this through to the finish line.

Current features include...

• Eight-player multiplayer, with keyboard and gamepad support!
• Computer-controlled opponents!
• Two gamemodes!
• Four fighters!
  • (Five w/ clones)
• Six stages!

FIGHTERS

Alex Smith
"He can't defeat the bad guy... but he'll protect the one who can."

Alex is a heavy knight that, despite his lack of powers, makes do with his trusty sword and shield... (mainly his shield, he doesn't like to hurt people) ...with which he takes on all manners of obstacles.

• Neutral Special: Magic Blade
  • Alex charges up what little magic he has into his sword.
  • Using this move again allows Alex to create a gigantic magical blade to swing down with a massive arc in front of him.
• Side Special: Shield Surf
  • Alex flips forwards onto his shield, bouncing on anyone below him.
• Up Special: Blastroot Burst
  • Alex flips onto his shield, before a Blastroot attached to the bottom sends him flying upwards.
• Down Special: Shield Bash
  • Alex braces himself with a super-armoured stance, before bashing forwards with his shield.

Ruby Kabashima
"The coolest ninja around, training since childhood to protect Hiyama!"

Ruby is a lightweight ninja that leaps and soars over the stage with his powerful Wind Magic. Almost all of his special moves are focused on movement, and his Wind Zone stage control allows him to chain them together without any limit.

• Neutral Special: Gale Razor
  • Ruby charges up wind energy to prepare this move.
  • Ruby jumps up and unleashes a powerful downwards slash.
• Side Special: Flippies
  • Ruby jumps up, flipping in an arc.
  • These flips can be cancelled into aerial attacks, and they don't put Ruby into pratfall.
• Up Special: Wind Dash
  • Ruby strikes a pose, before leaping in the input direction.
• Down Special: Wind Zone
  • Ruby creates a temporary bubble of wind that refreshes his Flippies and prevents pratfall while he's inside.

Kusaka Kabashima
"The fearless Dynamo, at your service!

Kusaka is a heavy brawler, whose high-risk high-reward moveset makes her an absolute threat to anyone right in front of her. She has a reusable movement ability in her Forward Special, but she needs energy from her signature meter to use it.

• Gimmick: Energy
  • Some of Kusaka's moves require Energy to use.
  • Kusaka gains Energy by dealing or receiving damage, or through her Neutral or Down Specials.
• Neutral Special: Catch!
  • Kusaka throws out the palm of her hand, allowing her to nullify and counter enemy attacks.
  • This attack, if hit, restores 1 Energy.
• Side Special: Bolt Burst
  • Kusaka bursts forwards, launching anyone nearby with her.
  • This attack requires 1 Energy.
• Up Special: Discharge Uppercut
  • Kusaka burns all of her energy in one massive uppercut, dealing more damage and knockback depending on the energy expended.
  • This attack uses all of her Energy.
• Down Special: Overclock
  • Kusaka, after a lengthy animation, starts burning her own health in exchange for passively regenerating Energy.
• Getup Special: "IMPROVISED ULTIMATE MOVE: DYNAMO HEADBUTT!"
  • Kusaka charges up from the ground and rockets towards her opponent, dealing immense damage!
  • This attack requires 1 Energy.

Helias Rael
"An ancient war hero, revived to finish his mission."

Helias is a diverse zoner with a multitude of different projectiles to choose from. From arcing fireballs to a gigantic sun to a bolt of lightning, Helias has plenty of ways to dish out justice from afar... but he's not afraid to get up close if he has to.

• Neutral Special: Fireball
  • Helias blasts up to two fireballs towards his opponent.
• Side Special: Rageful Throw
  • Helias flies forward, grabs his opponent, and throws them away.
• Up Special: Solar Judgement
  • Helias flies up, and if Special is held, begins to charge up a sun-like projectile over his head.
  • Helias can throw this sun in a downwards arc, dealing major damage if it hits.
  • This move can be dodge-cancelled to store it's charge.
  • It also charges passively when Helias deals or receives damage.
• Down Special: Lightning Strike
  • Helias focuses his energy... before striking anyone in front of him with a powerful blast of lightning!
  • By pressing Special, Helias can cancel the charge-up into a stunning punch.

[BONUS] Pathmaker Ruby
"A free-spirited, fun-loving ninja. He loves good music, fun fights and most of all, wall-running."

Pathmaker Ruby is the game's test character, created to help develop the core systems. He has a varied moveset with many different weapons from Pathmaker.

• Neutral Special: Pistol
  • For his Neutral Special, he wields a gun.
• Side Special: Drill Dash
  • Ruby dashes forwards, spinning his Dual Katanas in an aggressive multi-hit attack.
• Up Special: Discharge Uppercut
  • Ruby uses the Dynamo Gauntlets to punch up into the sky.
• Down Special: Mechanicrafter Slam
  • Ruby pulls out the Mechanicrafter and slams it with all his might into his opponent.

Check out Pathmaker here!

References

Pathmaker. (2024). PC, Web [Game]. Godalming: Smash_Bash

Kenney (2025) Input Prompts · Kenney. Available at: https://kenney.nl/assets/input-prompts (Accessed: 2 August 2025).

All other work and assets are owned and created by William Bashford. No Generative AI was used in the making of this game.