Hello, tanukis!
First of all, I’d like to thank you all for playing Tanuki Justice, and for all of the reviews, opinions, and comments that you have left! I appreciate every last bit of feedback. It feels amazing and exhilarating to see people enjoying a game I’ve created!
Now, you know as well as me, that a big part of Tanuki Justice are the boss battles at the end of each level. They’re a culmination of all of your hard work, a satisfying finish, and the last spike of adrenaline before you get to take a breath at the start of the next stage. In this devlog I’m going to shed some light on my inspirations and thought process when designing bosses for TJ.
The 2 main goals I tried to achieve with my boss designs were simplicity and variety. My aesthetic inspirations came mainly from different Japanese sources. Some from history, some from mythology, and some from fiction. After mixing and matching them with some animals and beasts all I had to do was give them some of that special Tanuki flavor and they fit right into the game. Now let’s take a closer look at each of them.
Neko Warrior
If you look real close you’ll see that this one was inspired by Zankuro Minazuki’s outfit in Samurai Shodown. Add a bit of that Tanuki magic and poof - he’s a cat now. Since he’s the first boss, I kept it simple. I was mostly thinking of Ghosts n’ Goblins when designing his fight.
Chikara & Meiyo
Here I looked to real-life inspirations and decided to use Japanese macaques as a base for the bosses. It was a simple idea: you just finished the forest stage, what do you fight? Monkeys! I also think that in general, it’s always a good idea to include that jumping pattern in a platformer.
Waterfall Guardian
This one is simply a big Japanese turtle with a more fantastical, Tanuki-Justice-kinda face. After the jumping monkeys, I figured it was time for a change of pace, so this boss sits in place, perched atop a huge waterfall, raining hell down upon those who dare challenge him.
Vicious Ninja Panda
Here I took a bit of creative liberty as pandas are not in fact from Japan but from China. I wanted a rival character since I think those are always fun to have. After the giant turtle, it’s time for you to battle someone your own size and using the same weapon as you. But be careful - it’s not about what weapon you use, but how you use it.
Centipede of Doom
With this one, I took Ōmukade, a giant, man-eating centipede from Japanese mythology, and added some personal changes. It’s a perfect finish to the ghastly level that precedes it. Much like in the level, you have to watch your step but also avoid the barrage of projectiles in a pattern similar to that of the skeletons’.
Wolfenfortz
For this boss, I again look to Samurai Shodown for inspiration. His clothes are inspired by Shiro Tokisada Amakusa’s outfit. Since he’s the penultimate boss, I wanted to make him challenging and he has probably the most “shoot ‘em up” bullet patterns in the game. Can you avoid them all?
Habu Demon
And finally! The last boss. In my opinion, it’s always satisfying to finish off a game with a big, scary monster. So that’s what I did! His face was inspired by Hannya, a “demon” mask worn in traditional Japanese plays. And a demon he is! When I designed this fight, I really wanted it to be a spectacle worthy of the final boss. You have enemies attacking you from every angle, as Habu launches magical attacks at you, and all of that in a rapidly changing environment. Tremble at his roar!
Thank you for reading! That’s all from me for now. I’m happy I got to share with you a bit of my creative process.
Which boss was your favorite? Do you have any questions? Do you want to share your ramen recipe? Leave a comment below! Also, don’t hesitate to leave feedback on Steam forum or via Steam review!
Until next time, my tanukis!
Cheers,
Wonderboy Bobi
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1406250/Tanuki_Justice/