Somnambula ZX

Somnambula ZX is a 2020 side scrolling action platformer for the Nintendo Switch. An ancient race of malevolent cyborgs has overtaken Equestria, mechanized Somnambula's fellow Pillars, and stole Star Swirl's body for the cyborgs' leader to possess. Of course, Somny wasn't captured and starts fighting back to restore her fellow Pillars.

Gameplay
Somnambula is the only PIllar playable from the start. Star Swirl isn't playable because the Big Bad steals his body in the prologue and doesn't leave him until after the pre-final boss fight against the possessed Star Swirl. To unlock the other Pillars, defeat their mechanized boss versions. All Pillars have at least one attack that staggers guarding enemies and leaves said enemies open to subsequent attacks.

The level structure is as follows: First the intro stage, then the four levels with the mechanized Pillars as bosses, then a typical massive Metroidvania-like open world (you can go anywhere. The five playable Pillars are already perfect here, so they won't get any new weapons), then after defeating all the Metroidvania world's eight main bosses (unlocking them requires collecting boss tokens), the final stage (you fight all the bosses again there).

Bosses have much more hit points than in the ZX games, but have no mercy invincibility. The final boss also goes through eight phases. First, he uses Star Swirl's body. Then after Star Swirl is unpossessed, the final boss takes on five other forms that each can only be harmed by a different Pillar. After form six, the final boss then combines his previous forms into one. Then after that form is defeated, he becomes a giant with much more health than all other bosses. To counter this, Star Swirl casts a spell that increases the power of all other Pillars and all five player Pillars attack the final boss at once.

Common
Left Analog Stick - Walk left and right. Hold Down to duck. Climb ladders with Up and Down. Double tap left or right to dash. When jumping on a wall, hold the Left Analog Stick towards the wall to cling to it.

B - Jump.

Y - Ranged weapon (hold to charge).

R - Melee weapon (shaking the Joycons also works). Hold R to charge.

X - Change characters.

A - Super Art (when Super energy is full). You're invincible during the Super Art.

L - Dash.

Somnambula
Double Jump - Press B in the air.

Air Dash - Press L in the air. Also hits enemies once.

Spin Dash - Hold Down while dashing to roll Somny into a ball wearing her headdress and sticking her wings and tail out. In this form, she will fit through small spaces and repeatedly damage enemies upon contact (she doesn't take collision damage while curled up). Jump during the spin dash to keep the ball form and attack in the air.

Three-slash pole combo - R 3 times (unchanged in the air). Last hit breaks guards.

Charged slash - Hold and release R (also works in air). Long horizontal range. Breaks guards.

Pole Twirl - Down + Hold R on ground. Deflects small shots and repeatedly damages enemies.

Wing Spin Attack - Down + Hold R in air. Somny balls up and spins with her wings open to attack enemies repeatedly. Also deflects small shots.

Sonic Boom - Down + Charge R (also works in air). A pole slash that shoots a short-ranged guard-breaking wave forward. Blows out fires and toxic gases.

Dash Slash - R while dashing. Can also break guards.

Wing Spiral - Up + R. Somnambula performs a Shoryuken that shoots a blast of air upward. Puts out fires and blows out toxic gases. Using this with Down, Down+Forward, Forward, R increases the Shoryuken's height and attack power.

Riser Pole - Charge Up + R. This high-jumping pole uppercut breaks guards at startup and shoots a crescent of air forward. The air crescent also puts out fires and blows out toxic gases.

Pogo Jump - Down + B in air. Just like Scrooge McDuck from DuckTales, Somny can use her pole as a pogo stick to jump higher, destroy enemies below her (including guarding ones), and safely cross spikes and lava.

Pharaoh Shot - Y. Pharaoh Man's weapon in Mega Man 4. This fireball can be aimed in any direction. Can burn ice, vines, and cobwebs. Extra effective against ice enemies. Can be charged (while it's charging, it floats above your head to destroy enemies above you). Lights dark rooms (even more so when charged). To quickly shoot a charged Pharaoh Shot forward, press Down, Forward, Y.

Super Art: Pharaoh Wave. Pharaoh Man's weapon in Mega Man: The Power Fighters. Somnambula stands upright and thrusts her forehooves to both sides of her, shooting one fire wave left and another right.

Rockhoof
Heavyweight - Rockhoof doesn't fall back when damaged. He can also weigh down floor switches.

Goomba Stomp - Rockhoof is the only Pillar who can jump on enemies normally without hurting himself. In fact, he hurts them instead (this also breaks their guards).

Golf Swing - Y. A stone block appears in front of Rockhoof, then he hits it away with his shovel. Stand still to hit a bouncing block. Hold Forward to hit the block in a low arc with a long horizontal distance. Hold Up to hit the block in a high arc. And hold Down to hit a block that slides across the floor. Breaks spikes, puts out fires, and also counts as a melee attack. Can be charged so when the blocks hit an enemy or wall, the blocks will split into eight small ones that each do little damage.

Shovel Swing - R. Rather than a three-slash combo, Rockhoof has a single slower but powerful slash that destroys cracked walls and knocks small enemies into others. Can be charged to damage guarding enemies.

Shovel Uppercut - Up + R. Can break guards at startup, but not when rising. Charge to increase the horizontal distance and damage.

Shovel Smash - Press Down + R while jumping. Rockhoof sticks his shovel below him and darts straight down. This is an invincible and unguardable attack that also breaks spikes. When Rockhoof lands from this, two stars will appear on each side of him: One on the left, and one on the right. These also damage enemies.

Super Art: Triple Geyser. Terry Bogard's Super Desperation Move from the Fatal Fury series. Rockhoof slams his shovel into the floor, creating three fire pillars in front of him. Can only be used on the ground.

Mage Meadowbrook
Healer's Mask - Meadowbrook automatically puts this on to safely walk through toxic gases.

Rocket Jump - Press B in the air. Meadowbrook detonates a potion bomb below her to double jump. Also breaks guards.

Slide - Down while dashing. This breaks guards.

Science Lab - Down + X. Meadowbrook opens a menu to change her potions' attributes:

-Fire potion: This lights enemies on fire for a damage over time effect. It's also extra effective against ice enemies.

-Bomb potion: This explodes when it hits an enemy. Great against grouped enemies.

-Ice potion: Freezes enemies, doing extra damage to electric enemies and stunning enemies that aren't fiery or icy. Can freeze waterfalls and lava.

-Lightning potion: Electrocutes enemies, breaking their guard, doing extra damage to fire enemies, and stunning enemies that aren't icy or electrical. Can put out fires and power machinery.

Hadouken - Down, Forward, Y (can in air). This projectile from Street Fighter has the same attributes as the potion equipped. Meadowbrook throws big Hadoukens like in the Marvel vs. Capcom series.

Potion Throw - Y. Can be aimed in any direction (you can aim straight down in the air, but not on the ground), but not rapid fired. Charge to throw three potions in a spread pattern.

Mine potion: Down + Y on the ground. The potion will sit on the floor, harming any enemy that touches it. Stand near the potion and press Down + Y again to roll it across the floor.

Hoof strikes - Mash R. Three punches, a rapid kick, then a buck. While Meadowbrook's melee attacks are weaker than those of her fellow Pillars, her rapid kick stunlocks any non-boss enemy and her buck breaks guards.

Shoryuken - Up + R (also works in air). The jumping uppercut from Street Fighter. Charge for more power and height and the attributes of your current potion. Forward, Down, Down+Forward, Y is also a shortcut for the charged version.

Dive Kick - Down + B in air or Down + R in air. Knocks enemies downward (and potentially into others) and lets Meadowbrook bounce off them. Charge Down + R for increased damage and the potion attributes.

Super Art: Potion drink. Meadowbrook is the only Pillar whose Super Art does not damage enemies. Instead, it heals her for 12 HP.

Flash Magnus
Double Jump - Press B in the air.

Air Dash - Press L in the air. Also hits enemies once.

Up Guard - Hold Up to guard against attacks from above (this also lets you pass through falling streams of lava and toxic slime).

Stars And Stripes - Jump while holding Up to strike enemies from below with your shield. Breaks guards. Down, Forward, R also works.

Shield Slash - Press R (three hit combo). Can be aimed up and also used in the air. Last hit breaks guards. Down, Forward, Y also works.

Charging Star - Just dash while holding Y or R. Your shield will push enemies away and damage them. Down, Forward, R also works.

Shield Boomerang - While you hold Y, Flash will hold his shield in front of him, deflecting small shots and stopping melee attacks from small enemies. However, he still needs to avoid projectiles and enemies bigger than him. When this is charged, release Y to throw the shield as a boomerang (hold Up or Down to make it arc in the determined direction). This breaks guards.

Exploding Shield - Hold R. When the charge is complete, Flash will automatically hold his shield in front of him and it will glow red. Any enemy that touches the shield at this time will get caught in the shield's explosion. Feel free to yell "I'M BUCKING INVINCIBLE" while using this. Breaks guards.

Spike Shield - Flash automatically presses his shield against spikes and lava when touching them, preventing any damage from either.

Shield Jump - Press Down while jumping. Flash will position his shield below him to jump on enemies. Breaks guards and puts out fires. Unlike Somnambula however, he doesn't bounce up when he lands on the floor.

Super Art - Orbit Shield. Flash's shield will orbit him for five seconds, damaging any enemies it touches.

Mistmane
Ethereal Dash - Mistmane is invincible during her dash.

Light Spell - When in dark rooms, playing as Mistmane increases visibility.

Air Dash - Press L in the air. Has a longer range than Somnambula's and Flash's, and also damages enemies repeatedly.

Magic Slash - R 3x. Mistmane swings a forehoof in front of her and a short-ranged magic wave cuts enemies in front of her. Yes, this is also a three-slash combo (unchanged in the air). The combo finisher shoots out a guard-breaking sonic boom projectile.

Dash Slash - R while dashing. Can break guards.

Homing Shot - Hold R and Mistmane will automatically shoot laser shots at enemies within firing range (indicated by a large triangle in front of her).

Wave Buster - Y. This shot travels in a sine wave that goes through enemies and walls alike.

Twin Wave Buster - Y short charge. A small laser accompanied by two simultaneous wave buster shots.

Charge Shot - Y longer charge. Large, passes through even guarding enemies, and breaks guards.

Dual Charge Shot - Charge Y for even longer. Mega Man X3's. First is a spiral shot that splits in two diagonal ones when it hits something, then the Level 3 charge shot. Just like X, Mistmane can combine the two charge shots into a spread of five.

Aim - Hold any direction. Unlike Mega Man, Mistmane can aim in any direction.

Super Art - Rakuhouha. Mistmane stomps, yells "Get ready!", and shoots nine powerful magic bolts in a fanning pattern. Can only be used on the ground.