Skullgirls Encore has gained a new character. Lab Zero Games has released Eliza, a fighter based on Egyptian mythological themes combined with the jazzy Skullgirls’ style. Eliza is the third DLC character released since Lab Zero successfully raised funds in early 2013 through Indiegogo to add five new characters to the game’s roster. She comes with a story mode as well as her “Bath of Tefnut” stage in which to fight. Lab Zero’s CEO Peter Bartholow has described Eliza as the game’s most “varied and dynamic” character due to her ability to summon bodyguards and dislodge her skeletal parasite to fight on her behalf.
“Eliza’s story mode is our most comprehensive yet. With more than 80 pieces of art, it dives deep into Skullgirls’ lore and reveals a lot of the inner workings of the Skullgirls universe. Definitely not to be missed!”
Eliza is free for Skullgirls owners as long as they grab her within the next three months. She is available on Steam for PC and the PlayStation Network for PlayStation 3. The Xbox 360 version of Eliza is forthcoming.
It turns out that the answer, according to this Twitter exchange between a player of Skullgirls Encore and developer Lab Zero Games, is that people who see the above screen have probably not paid for the game.
“So I got this message after beating story with both Para and Cere and I have no idea what it means…”
“Oh that? It means you should probably buy the game instead of pirate it. o:)”
Bravo, Lab Zero.
Big Band, the first male fighter in Skullgirls Encore is now available as DLC. Big Band is the second of five characters funded through developer Lab Zero’s crowd-sourcing efforts in 2013. Per Lab Zero’s commitment to fans during the funding drive, Big Band is free for a limited time to current owners of Skullgirls Encore.
Once a cop known as Ben Birdland, he fell flat when he got on the wrong side of New Meridian’s corrupt police force. Birdland was broken and bent out of shape by his former colleagues, but was tuned up by Dr. Avian and ASG Lab 8. Now he is armed with a full ensemble of pneumatic weaponry, making him the full fortissimo instrument of justice: “Big Band.”
Big Band is available on Steam for the PC version of Skullgirls. He will be available on the PlayStation Network pending a compatibility update.
Lab Zero has added a new character to Skullgirls. Fukua is a recolored “clone” of Filia that uses much of her animation set. The character is a tongue-in-cheek homage to the palette-swapped characters that many fighting game franchises have used as a development shortcut. In particular, the announcement video seems to skewer the newest character revealed by Capcom for Ultra Street Fighter 4 which was Decapre, a clone of Cammy. Fukua was added to the beta and main versions of Skullgirls yesterday.
What started as an April Fools’ joke may be more permanent. Undead Lab’s Peter Bartholow says that they are leaving it up to the community to decide on whether or not to keep Fukua in the game.
Skullgirls Encore, the upcoming re-release of Skullgirls, will include an optional mode inspired by Typing of the Dead. During a Twitch livestream, design director Mike Zaimont announced that Lab Zero Games will add “Typing of the Skullgirls Encore” mode in the new version of the game. The mode will require players to quickly type out words when using a super-move. Bonuses to damage will depend on the player’s accuracy and speed when typing out the challenge. The option will be available in Story, Arcade and Versus modes, but not Tournament or Online.
Skullgirls is re-launching as Skullgirls Encore in January due to a split between Lab Zero Games and Konami.
