"<Screams in Frustration> THAT DOES IT!!! I'm gonna find out who did this, and blast 'em into teeny-tiny LITTLE PIECES!!!!!" - Anton in the opening cutscene, after being robbed, Antonblast
Indiependence
Presents...
Welcome Young Explorers, to the very first episode of Indiependence! On this new show, we will be taking a look into the untapped realm of indie video games. These games were made with a crowdfunded budget, often by teams of only a few individuals, as opposed to the larger budgeted games of the mainstream market.
These titles are often made with creative visuals and art styles that you won't find in normal AAA titles and are often made to pay tribute to the unsung classics of the past. I've taken a liking to these passionate projects in recent years, and I am glad to share some of these unsung dark horses of the market.
To start the series off on a both a literal and figurative bang, we will be taking a look at Antonblast, an explosive side scroller from the small Miami-based studio Summitsphere. Originally designed as an homage to Nintendo's long-dormant Wario Land spinoff to the Mario franchise, Antonblast combines its inspiration's cartoony art style and wit with bits and pieces of other platformers, such as Crash Bandicoot and Sonic, to create an explosive experience. And in the process, it creates one of the most memorable characters I myself have personally seen in a video game in years.
So, prepare to pull up a stool and stand back a few feet from the blast zone, because its Happy Hour!
Seeing Red...
First releasing last December for both Steam and Nintendo Switch, Antonblast begins in a rather strange way. One day, the game's main antagonist-a depiction of Satan with a personality that seems to combine Tim Curry with Ricky Martin-finds out about a man with a red skin tone brighter than his and orders his army of andromorphic moles to "Find out what he loves the most AND TAKE IT FROM HIM!!!". Little does he know that his target is our titular protagonist Anton (Pictured above, to the left); a grumpy, reclusive demolition worker with a John McClane-esque Brooklyn accent and a serious alcohol kick. And "what he loves most" turns out to be a prized collection of cartoonish-looking spirits, and Anton doesn't take to kindly to uninvited company-and especially not theft! Filled with unquenchable rage, Anton takes it upon himself to get back what was taken from him, dragging his green, tomboyish roommate Annie along to blow up anything in their path along the way.
From there, you immediately find yourself in the fictional slum of Boiler City, Florida, surrounded by smog and angular shapes as you complete a tutorial level that introduces all of the basics to you. Many staples of the side-scrolling genre are present, such as jumping and ground pound attacks, alongside the Wario Land-inspired mechanics that are also a major part of this wacky excursion, such as a clutch-dash attack and an aerial hammer spin that doubles as a second jump.
After a timed escape sequence (another mechanic lifted straight from Wario Land), Anton takes an elevator-like contraption to Brulo's Casino, from which he was previously banned from in-universe, where he strikes a deal with namesake and owner Brulo (pictured above, to the right)-a yellow-skinned man who's speech and personality mirrors Beavis and Butt-Head's Principal McVicker-to get rid of Satan's forces, who are causing even more trouble than Anton and Annie ever had, in exchange for the ban being lifted.
From there, the adventure really begins, with Brulo's Casino being the main hub area of the world. As depicted above, this area also includes a small shop run by Brulo, where you can trade in the multiple poker chips scattered about each level-much like the coins of Mario-in order to purchase multiple power-ups that can gain you additional hit points, increase the time limit on the aforementioned level escapes (dubbed "Happy Hour" in-game), or summon an animal companion to collect additional chips for you.
Like an Atom Bomb About to Explode
Throughout Antonblast, you continue to control your choice of either Anton or Annie (you can switch between them in a bathroom at the hub area) as you race through a series of fast-paced levels where practically everything seems to be made out of gunpowder! You will run and jump through a set of diverse locales while putting the hurt on Satan's army, sending them flying to an explosive demise via shoulder-bash, butt-smash, or hammer slam. All of these even come with the added bonus of silly Saturday-morning cartoon sound effects that'll bring laughter to the young and nostalgia to the old. At the climax, you re-acquired one bottle of booze from Anton's collection, and after activating a switch, you are sent running back to the start during a time rush before making your triumphant exit.
No two levels in the game are alike, with each introducing a new mechanic or character transformation exclusive to that locale. Some highlights include Slowroast Sewer, where you will spend time at several points riding a sentient missile-like creature (known as the "Sewer Shark") like a horse, the liminal space-inspired Big Bath, complete with shifting rooms and a transformation into a screaming human torpedo, and The Crimson Factory, where you will be granted access to an awesome jetpack and outrun a giant mechanical replica of Old Scratch himself while making your escape.
Although each level is different, they do share several collectibles, obstacles, and enemies in common. Arrowed platforms can be found that will allow Anton or Annie to jump between the foreground and background in a seamless transition. Boxes will pepper the area and can be broken open to find poker chip currencies or health-replenishing turnips. Green cubes with skulls on the side will serve to impede your progress or block access to certain rare collectibles. And a set of four detonators, each with a card suit on it, will destroy certain sets of blocks that will allow you to enter previously-inaccessible area.
Lastly, after clearing every couple of levels, a door in the casino will be unblocked, granting access to an infrequent, but memorable boss battle, be they with a major ranking mole officer in Satan's army (such as a junkyard brawl with the improvisational Smallbuster) or a strange creature in service to Satan (such Freako Dragon, an Asian-styled dragon made entirely out of pachinko balls). As with any great platform game (or game in general, for that matter) each boss has a distinctive attack pattern to memorize and flashes of personality befitting the game's cartoony tone.
Bringing The Hammer Down
However, just because you've conquered a level doesn't mean you've done everything in Antonblast. No, each level also comes with a few hidden collectibles that you can come back for, each of them providing fun bonuses that boost the game's replay value and charm.
The first is the "Memento." This is a seemingly useless piece of garbage from Annie's collection, usually fitting with the theme of the level. For example, an old, beat-up television set in the aforementioned opening level (which Annie even alludes to during a cutscene before one boss battle).
Next, a set of Cassette Tapes, as depicted in the photo above. These will contain bonus musical tracks that usually don't appear during gameplay. They can be listened to in a special section of the hub world.
Last but not least, the Spray Cans. These will allow you to change the default colors of Anton and Annie, often with a pattern referencing either another character or enemy within the game even another work of fiction entirely (more on that later). Additional Sprays can also be purchased at Brulo's Shop between levels or unlocked automatically via achieving certain goals (one can even be unlocked after collecting all of Annie's Mementos).
There's also a special fourth collectible that will allow you to unlock a special third character to play as, but I'll let you all discover that yourselves!
Finally, there are two special modes that are unlocked for a level after you beat it for the first time. The first is a Time Trial section that echoes titles such as Crash Bandicoot or Pac-Man World. By busting open certain crates to stop a ticking clock, you race through the level in the quickest way possible. Beat the set "Par Times" for additional awards!
The other special mode is the "Combo Chain" mode, where you race against a draining meter that takes away your health once it empties. Keep it filled by performing a chain of actions such as defeating enemies or breaking crates.
What's Up, Doc? (Antonblast's Origins and Influences)
As stated in the intro, Antonblast is the brainchild of the Miami-based Summitsphere; a small team of passionate platformer fans led by Tony Grayson (who also provides the voice of Anton in this game). Their signature Wario-like mascot first came about in an earlier title made by the small development team from the Sunshine State; Antonball, a hybrid of Breakout and the original arcade version of Mario Bros that was eventually redone and re-released as Antonball Deluxe.
"Antonblast was inspired by Wario Land, and gets compared to it a lot," Grayson told Gamemaker.io, reflecting on the transition between the two titles. "But for us, it's more of a Shovel Knight-type game. Antonball Deluxe, on the other hand, has so much Nintendo flavor. It's not very innovative."
And many of these influences can easily be seen within the game's mechanics. Much of Anton and Annie's moves seem directly ripped from the Wario Land titles of old, including the trademark shoulder bash attack. We can also see some influence from Shovel Knight via it's the art style's reliance on retro styles (though in this case, 16-bit instead of 8-bit) and slight Metroidvania elements in its level design. We also previously noted specks of Crash Bandicoot within the game's style, particularly with the crates peppered across each level and notable reliance on replay value. The game's Kickstarter page also noted several other noticeable influences, such as Sonic CD (Anton and Annie's hammer jump taking inspiration from Amy Rose, and the presence of grind rails), Cuphead (Brulo's Shop being a mirror of Pork Rind's Emporium and Saturday morning toon aesthetics, though in this case more in line with the toons of the 90s than the shorts of the pre-WW2 era), and Metroid Dread (again, the Metroidvania elements to the level design).
According to Grayson, Summitsphere attempted to get at least 30 different publishers involved, before ultimately turning to crowdfunding and self-publishing their new title. They managed to receive endorsements from many other well-respected individuals within the community, including the developers of fellow Wario Land-inspired indie game (and potential future topic of Indiependence) Pizza Tower.
A Happy Hour Platformer
With all of this in mind, it's not hard to see why Antonblast has managed to make waves across the indie community. Like many different titles in the Indie scene, Antonblast came from a sincere place and has managed to craft itself into a humble little success story. It has managed to take the mechanics from the classics of yesteryear and create something new and engaging with them. It even has the potential to introduce classic game styles to a new, younger audience, in addition to letting us crusty old gamers relive the best days of our youth, when we didn't have to worry about death, taxes, and existential dread!
But that's not even half of it! In addition to crafting a solid and engaging gameplay experience, Antonblast has also managed to sneak in a few cheeky callbacks to the works of popular culture that no doubt raised its development team. Several of the notable sprays not only grant the colors of some of the game's other NPCs, but also pay tribute to many nostalgic works of fiction from the 1990s and 2000s, such as the ones you see up above. Yes, that's Anton and Annie in the colors of Shrek and Donkey (with a small description even directly quoting the movie), and that's only one of the many obscure examples of nostalgic references that'll get the old fuzzy inside and the young introduced to classics to appreciate!
There was even one call back to Cartoon Network's The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy that left me pleasantly surprised!
Each level is not only distinct in their settings and gimmicks, but as you can see from the above images, are also bright, flashy, and soaked in stunning colors. Some surprisingly artistic detail can also be seen, such as the aforementioned card suit blocks leaving small splotches of their color where they once stood after detonation. Many character animations also call back to the squash and stretch cartoons from multiple generations. Several Looney Tunes-esque sight gags pepper the expressions of each character; eyes literally leap out of a character's skull as they experience shock and surprise, defeat animations for Anton and Annie range from fizzling out like a deflating balloon to being left an ash-colored stump with eyes, and enemy screams become visible onomatopoeia as they fling towards an explosive demise.
Of course, none of that would matter if the characters themselves didn't stand out in personality as well. Anton himself epitomizes the very definition of a grumpy, cartoonish anti-hero. Combining a Yosemite-Sam styled design with a propensity for destruction and reluctance befitting of John McClane, Anton's angry scowl gives way for goofy animations that make him an entertaining watch-and a solid player avatar! Annie also introduces some of her own quirks with her gremlin-like design and apathetic speaking tone. Every boss and enemy design is compelling and quirky, be they major bosses or mere mooks. Even the more incidental NPCs who get little screen time have plenty of personality, including the aforementioned Brulo, the recurring unintentional target of Anton's destructive actions Danton the Carpenter, and Danton's seldom-seen wife Nina. All of this is highlighted by minimal, but well-directed voice work provided by many of the developers themselves doing double duty, with each character's voice and personality going together the peanut butter and chocolate!
"There aren't that many destructive platformers, weirdly enough," Tony said to Gamemaker.io, describing the inspiration behind the mise-en-scene of Antonblast,"You would think that was something more games would do-we have the technology and to move and not have static environments. But that wasn't really a thing, so, boom, I found my angle. There's Anton, that's what he does; he breaks stuff."
A Happy Hour Masterpiece
So, in the end, Antonblast is a perfect entry into the quickly growing pantheon of Indie masterpieces. It combines style and substance in order to create a memorable experience that not only should be seen by the masses, but it deserves to become a well-remembered work of electronic madness that's remembered fondly by many for years to come. It's explosive (both literally and figuratively) personality has the potential to put a smile on anyone's face, and its future certainly deserves to be a bright one!
And it may just be bright, when speaking on potential future projects with his company, Tony Grayson had this to say;
"We have very big plans. We're looking at helping other developers publish and bring their games to console. There are a few titles we want to announce, which will be coming hopefully soon. You may or may not see more Anton titles in the future."
And if those projects are even half as fun as Antonblast, then that's a future I'm certainly looking forward to.
But what about you? Have you played Antonblast yourself? Are you interested in picking it up for yourself after reading this? What would you like to see in a potential sequel? Share your thought in the comments section below. And don't forget to have a BLAST!!!
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