"In Shine City, the anti-gravity ball game has long been illegal. The group who kept playing was dubbed the Lethal League."
- Steam store page
What is it?
Gameplay
Lethal League Blaze is a fighting game where you never hit the other person (directly at least)
You hit the ball (to make it 'yours') and damage the anyone else in its path, think of it as dodgeball!
You can hit, bunt, or throw the ball after your oponent hits the ball. The one you use depends on what your oponent used, making a kind of rock-paper-scissors sort of situation.
Hitting the ball will happen most of the time though.
The game gets very fast very quickly, since every hit of the ball speeds it up. Be prepared to predict where a bounce will make the ball go!
Lore
The main sport in the game is considered illegal due to its high chance of injury and the fact the ball is made from recycled police drones. All playable characters are part of the 'lethal league', an underground group dedicated to keep the sport alive.
In story mode, the main aspect is the tournament. I wont spoil what happens here, but basically the event manadges to be streamed to the public and consequences happen.
"Pfft. Hardly worth my time."
- Ivory Puppet: Killer (Latch)
Characters
About
Each character in this game has their own special abilities and are also, visually, increbily well designed.
They also have different angles after hitting the ball!
My favorite characters (and our examples for today) are Latch and Candyman:
Latch
"Latch is a crocodile outfitted with a mechanical tail. His personality is calculated, his movement is raw."
Latch's special ability is that he can eat the ball, which temporarily removes it from play and can throw your oponent's timing off. Also especially useful for relocating the ball to a better spot.
He is also able to wall-climb and cling to walls, though i dont use it a lot.
I absolutely LOVE his design, and they way he's animated ingame is pure eye candy! My personal favorite skin of his is "L.2 Full Mecha B" (bottom image on the right)!
He's my main, and i rarely play anyone else :P
Candyman
"Candyman is a tap-dancing dandy with a big yellow head. He’s jazzy, expressive and crazy. Always enjoying himself too..."
Candyman's special ability is called candy-ball, and it basically makes the ball loop-around the stage instead of bouncing off the walls (think of the asteroids game)
He can loop-around himself by sliding into the wall (aka crouching with momentum). Very easy way to mess with people! Hes also called Cancyman in the steam emoticons :)
I actually like his design even MORE than latch (probably because of my obsession with object heads), but i prefer Latch's playstyle more. My favorite skin of his is probably "Black Licorice" (bottom image on the right), though i change it up a lot!
He's my secondary, however its been a while since i played as him.
"Funky fresh beats!"
- Ain’t nothing like a funky beat
Songs
Banger soundtrack
LLB has one the best soundtracks ive ever heard in a videogame. They are bangers, and fit the game really well!
Here are some examples of the funky-est of beats:
- Scream - by Bignic
- Ordinary Days V2 - by Klaus Veen
- Snibbit - by Klaus Veen
- Ain't Nothin' like A Funky Beat - by Hideki Naganuma
- Thuggin - by Doctor Lazer
"Hahaha! The critical error was you!"
- Switch
Anything else?
It's not the original!
Lethal League Blaze is actually not the first game in the franchise! Its a huge upgrade on the formula, but the main mechanics came from Lethal Legue :D
LL1 was a 2D game, but in comparison its missing a lot of things, most importantly the grab (that can counter parries), the double jump and the HP!
I would reccomend playing LLB over LL1, but feel free to check out both if you can!
Links
Lethal League - Steam (also known as LL1)
HOW TO BE AN IMPROVER 202 Guide (some really good tips, though you probably want to get used to the game first)
Character Angles Guide (helpful to understand how to deal with certain characters)