Echidna Wars Mini: Revitalized

NOTE:
Unless it was recently fixed, clicking "Run game"
WILL OPEN A NEW WINDOW!
This is the expected behavior and is not a virus. This is MAINLY an issue on itch.io's side with embedding DragonRuby programs, and completely outside my control!
"Echidna Wars Mini" was an HTML game demo constructed by Asimofu and D-Gate prior to the release of "Echidna Wars DX", and was taken down in the wake of the full-game release.
The gameplay is reminiscent of NES classics, especially the Megaman series, which ultimately led to this "Revitalization".
NOTE: Press "K" to toggle 60fps mode.
The original program, at regular speed, ran at 30fps, but I would've rather the game take advantage of the entire processing power the engine could give, so I built it to run at 60fps internally and only render every other frame (to emulate 30fps visuals), unless 60fps mode is enabled. I highly recommend 60fps mode!
You control a party of determined warriors(/ordinary girls living ordinary lives) challenging the invading Echidna army, after their home city was spirited away into an unfamiliar dimension. Should your character fall in battle, you can mash keys to break out of your restraints, or switch to another party member in order to defeat the restraining enemy to rescue your unfortunate teammate. Within each level is an alien purple crystal which must be destroyed in order to properly complete the level.
A few features are still missing, but are likely to be added/tweaked/fixed in the near future, as I continue work on this project.
Here are touched-up original instructions:
How to Play
- How to Operate -
Arrow keys
Character and cursor movement
Z
Shoot / Confirm
X
Jump / Cancel
A
Open/close menu
R
Return to level-select after defeat
S
Pause the game (not implemented - try the menu?)
Q/W
Adjust game speed (not implemented)
1/2
Swap the functions of the Z and X keys
- Story -
A never-ending solar eclipse
The sky lost its brightness, as if the day had been stolen away. Suddenly one day, Ryonazawa City was separated from the world as we knew it, and remains suspended in an alternate world by the magical power of the Echidna forces. The power is focused into so-called "Echidna Stones", if we don't destroy all of them, we'll never be able to return to the regular world.
- Characters -
Milia
[localized as Mirea in-game] is a warrior sent from the world of Battle Maidens to defeat the forces of Echidna. Recently, some Echidna have been integrating into calm city life, leaving our hero with less work to do. She has a sweet tooth, but she's a terrible cook- don't leave her alone in the kitchen!

Milia can hover in the air by holding down the jump button.
Sachiho
[localized the same in-game] is an ordinary wolf-eared girl. She's concerned about the prospect of being a hero, but seems to be adapting quite quickly. She loves meat, and can keep up the fight as long as the promise of meat is in sight. [This section was written very strangely, this may not be the correct meaning.

Sachiho can sneak through narrow gaps by pressing the jump button while holding the down button.
TGO-03
was originally human, before volunteering to become a cyborg, citing "the weakness of my flesh." She loves food, and considers onigiri to be a gift straight from the hands of God.

TGO-03 does not take knockback from enemy attacks.
Echidna were supposed to be invaders who came to prey on humans... but for some reason, a few of them have settled in Ryonazawa, and even acquired citizenship. The others seem to be planning something major...
Pukis
and
Deltas
These mysterious creatures have been showing up in Ryonazawa for some time, and they've all but become an established presence by now. Lots of people find them helpful day to day.
Slime
[Okay, this was really rough. Something about slime, dungeon, and that they crawl out of pipes...]
Jellyfish
Poisonous ghostly creatures that float silently through the air. They don't seem to be liquid-filled, nothing spills out when you kill them.
Earthworm
Knocks down allies with powerful projectiles, and suck them up [not implemented... sorry!!] to swallow them whole. They're huge and densely muscular, and never feel full...
- System -
The goal of the game is to destroy the crystals scattered across each stage to free the world from the Echidna.
Stage Selection-
After selecting the world, you can select a stage
[yellow icon]
completed stage
Try previous stages again if you like!
[red-orange icon]
available stage
There are still crystals here.
[blue-indigo icon]
locked stage
Future stages you haven't unlocked yet.
On the world-select screen, you can press the A button to customize your adventuring party [not implemented... would require more than 3 playable characters, which is a big ask]. If you help people during gameplay, they may join your party.
(On the party formation screen, you can also see each party member's maximum HP, combat level, and unique abilities.) [party formation screen... not implemented]
Party management-
During gameplay, you can press A to open the menu to swap the active character or use a mini Sachiho plush (to recover HP on demand). In the menu, you can see some status effects:
[blue teardrop shape]
"Pinch"
If you take damage, you'll be "in a pinch" for a moment.
[purple "!"]
Restrained
If attacked by an Echidna while "in a pinch", party members will get captured.
[pink stomach shape]
Swallowed
If their HP drops to 0 while restrained, the party member will be swallowed.
[red "X"]
Down
Cannot recover on their own, rescue them quickly! If their HP is brought above 0, they'll be able to fight again!
[dotted pink outline?]
Wipe-out
If a party member's red health bar is exhausted while captured, they'll be... down for the count.
Rescue system-
If your party member gets captured, you may be able to break free by struggling. This has a chance of working, but uses up a lot of HP. If HP reaches 0, the party member will find themselves swallowed whole, so be careful! [a button-mashing system is implemented instead. Press any button X number of times in under Y amount of time to break free.]
In case of an emergency, you can switch party members to try to rescue your fallen teammate. However, so as not to hurt your teammate, damage against the restraining enemy is halved. (Beware of enemies that can still attack while restraining your teammates, beware of enemies that can capture multiple teammates at once!)
When you deal a certain amount of damage [that part not implemented], or defeat the restraining enemy entirely, your teammate will be released, but they won't be able to get up on their own. You'll have to get them to safety (by collecting them)!
(If you leave a restrained, swallowed, or released-but-not-rescued teammate behind, they'll become wiped out and inaccessible until the end of the level. No man left behind!)
If the entire party becomes incapacitated, that spells game over, and you must either try again, or try a different level.
If you find a Puki holding a big red balloon, that's a checkpoint! Shoot the balloon to save your progress through the level- if your party wipes out, you'll return to here- refreshed and ready to go- instead of the beginning of the level.
Your progression is saved to a local file [not web cookies] when exiting a level (whether or not you beat it), meaning the HTML build at the top of the screen will not remember your progress [but the downloadable versions
will
remember!]
- Items -
Rice
A common HP item, restores just 5.
Bone-in meat
An uncommon HP item, restores 20. Collected HP items will heal the active party member first, and then other hurt party members from top to bottom.
Max HP Up
Increases a character's max HP by 10, from a default of 40 up to a limit of 70. (Characters will not pick up a powerup they can't use.)
Power Up
Increases a character's combat ability. Each character can collect a maximum of two (from level 1 to level 3).
Pudding
Instantly restores the entire party's HP.
Sachiho Plush
Collectible to be used from the menu. Restores one character's HP fully, unless they are wiped-out or currently restrained.
Key
[not an implemented item, but WOULD be used for destroying special lock blocks]
Mini Puki
This is a lost Puki child. Maybe something good will happen if we collect them all?
Once more, this game was originally developed by Asimofu and D-Gate, and this "revitalization" was created as an accessible version of lost media, otherwise accessible only through youtube videos or shady, shady websites... All the love goes out to them, for the art and mechanics!