Line #62 VideoGame/Antonblast


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16	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/keyart_min.png]]
17	[[caption-width-right:350:Anton's ready to [[{{Pun}} have a blast]].]]
18
19	->''"It's Happy Hour!"''
20
21	''ANTONBLAST'' is an upcoming 2D {{Platformer}} developed by Summitsphere for Platform/{{Steam}} and Platform/NintendoSwitch. It is currently scheduled for a November 12, 2024 release.
22
23	The story follows ''VideoGame/AntonballDeluxe'' protagonist Dynamite Anton, an [[TheAlcoholic alcoholic]] destruction worker who prides himself on his collection of vintage alcoholic spirits. One day {{Satan}} steals said collection, sending an absolutely LIVID Anton on a RoaringRampageOfRevenge. Joined by his crazy co-worker Dynamite Annie and armed with a large hammer, Anton sets out across the Backburner Peninsula where he destroys everything in his path in order to reclaim his stolen booze, teach {{Satan}} a lesson, and blow up {{Hell}} itself.
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25	Taking influence [[VideoGame/SonicCD from]] [[VideoGame/CrashBandicoot a]] [[VideoGame/{{Cuphead}} wide]] [[VideoGame/MetroidDread variety]] of action platformers, the gameplay structure of ''ANTONBLAST'' is most similar to the ''VideoGame/WarioLand'' series; specifically ''VideoGame/WarioLand4''. Upon reaching the end of a level, Anton arms an explosive and must make a mad dash back to the start of the level before the entire stage goes boom. Anton is equipped with a variety of demolition-themed moves, including a "clutch" hammer dash and a devastating hammer bounce, both of which he'll need to annihilate the massive variety of obstacles in his way -- anything from knocking out small girders to leveling entire buildings.
26
27	The game was funded through a [[https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/summitsphere/antonblast Kickstarter campaign]], earning 144,741 USD (almost twice the initial funding goal of $75,000). The Kickstarter included a demo for one of the early levels that has since been delisted. A second demo, The Dynamite Demo, was released in June 2023 on Steam; an updated version of the demo was released in October 2023 on Steam and April 2024 on Nintendo Switch.
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29	'''Trailers''': [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GEuT3k1Y2ts Kickstarter Announcement Trailer]], [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=11Tp59wD1LI "Life with Anton" Dynamite Demo Trailer]], [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vcPxHhwdkZk "Meet n Beat the Bossbusters" Trailer]], [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6nnjueEx8Gw Release Date Trailer]]
30
31	----
32	!!This game contains examples of:
33	* AdvancingWallOfDoom: The Bossbusters' blimp serves as one during Boiler City's Happy Hour, plowing through terrain and dropping Anton to a penalty area if he can't outrun it.
34	* TheAlcoholic: Anton is a drunkard who will literally destroy {{Hell}} itself to get his stolen alcohol back.
35	* {{Antepiece}}: In Boiler City, a secret area hidden above Brulo's elevator (labeled the Smoke Spot) has a series of floating crates leading to a large poker chip. Later in the level, another series of crates leads to a slot machine on the top of a building, and the sewers have a sequence that leads to a Heartbeet crate and chips. Carefully placing your jumps to get to these items are meant to prepare the player for Happy Hour, which has an even longer series of crates for Anton to hop along while outrunning the Bossbusters' blimp.
36	* AnthropomorphicFood: The Spirits are depicted as having faces with big beards just like Anton himself. In some stages they're replaced with boba tea cups with a face that resembles Annie's.
37	* ArcSymbol: Various different interactable objects (Such as the pipes in Boiler City, and the falling totems in Sinnamon Springs) have a pentagram embedded on them, which makes sense, as the game's BigBad is {{Satan}}.
38	* ArtEvolution: Anton and the rest of his world have undergone a redesign between ''VideoGame/AntonballDeluxe'' and this game, which makes them look less [[{{VideoGame/WarioLand}} Wario-like]], instead taking on a more distinctive, cartoony look.
39	* AxCrazy: Anton is happy to destroy everything in his path in his quest to retrieve his Spirits collection. Annie similarly joins in, despite having no real stake in Anton’s quest, simply for the chance to wreak havoc.
40	* AutobotsRockOut: [[CollapsingLair Happy Hour]] is accompanied by [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DvOb276Dqmk Outta My Way ...It's Happy Hour!]], a triumphant rock track.
41	* TheBartender: The long-suffering Brulo, who has revoked Anton’s lifetime ban from his casino on the condition he rids it of its hellspawn infestation.
42	* BigBad: {{Satan}} stealing Anton’s booze is what kicks off and motivates the plot.
43	* BigBallOfViolence: As shown in a [=YouTube=] Short, at one point in her boss fight, Smallbuster rebuilds her mecha. But all the rebuilding is obscured by a smoke cloud.
44	* BloodKnight: Annie joins in on Anton’s quest, despite the two not getting along, simply for the sake of the destruction and mayhem she'd get to cause.
45	* BucketHelmet:
46	** One of the Bossbusters, Tallbuster, wears a bucket on his head. Unusually, said bucket is worn right-way-up, unlike most instances of this trope.
47	** Smallbuster wears a mug as a helmet due to her small size.
48	* CartoonBomb: A bomb with a face is present in the title of the game. Ballbuster also [[ThrowDownTheBomblet throws]] cartoon bombs at you during his boss fight.
49	* CharacterCatchphrase: Anton has "IT'S HAPPY HOUR!", said at the start of [[CollapsingLair Happy Hour]]. It's also associated with him in-universe, as in the Living with Anton trailer, Anton mentions children bugging him into saying the line.
50	* CollapsingLair: Each level ends with a [[TimedMission timed]] sequence labeled as a Happy Hour. Your goal is to escape the level before the explosives you just armed blow the place to bits.
51	* ContinuityNod: Several to the ''Antonball'' games:
52	** One of the combo rankings is "Ballin'", with the icon being framed in an identical fashion to the logo for ''Antonball Deluxe''. Punchballs also appear as throwable items in some stages.
53	** Blocks made of red, blue, and green bricks, the colors of the breakable bricks in ''Antonball Deluxe'', appear throughout the game.
54	** The Red Room in Boiler City is titled "Classic Bounce Training", referencing the Classic Ball Training mode in ''Antonball Deluxe''. Another part of the level shows graffiti of a Ballbuster having an OhCrap reaction to an incoming ball, referencing ''Antonball''.
55	* CrateExpectations: The game is full of crates, including the classic wooden kind, stronger steel ones, pulsating green explosive ones, ''entire freaking prefabs...''
56	* CrosshairAware: The spots where Tallbuster's [[ThrowDownTheBomblet bombs]] and Smallbuster's missiles will land during their boss fights are marked with red crosshairs.
57	* CuteAndPsycho: Annie is cute as a button and only joins Anton so she can engage in violence.
58	* DefeatEqualsExplosion: Enemies explode when defeated.
59	* TheDevilIsALoser: {{Satan}} steals Anton’s prized spirits collection because he was insecure about Anton having redder skin than him and assumed that his spirits were the key to that.
60	* DownloadableContent: The creators have teased in the kickstarter about two DLC campaigns, one starring Danton and Nina, and one starring Brulo. They will be part of the game if the kickstarter earns 175 thousand, and 200 thousand dollars respectively.
61	* DownTheDrain: Boiler City has sections of levels that take place in the sewers.
62	* EverythingBreaks: The game allows you to destroy everything in your path. Boxes? Smash them. Girders? Bring them down. Entire buildings? Level them.
63	* ExcusePlot: {{Satan}} stole your booze. Destroy everything in your path to get it back.
64	* FacePlant: Weaponized as Anton's Antomic Bomb move. Triggering it after jumping makes him drop face-first like a GroundPound, and landing on an explosive crate with it turns the move into an ActionBomb.
65	* FlamingDevil: {{Satan}} is described as flamboyant and steals Anton’s alcohol because he wants a better tan.
66	* FloatingLimbs: The Jewel Ghoul, a boss showcased in the release date trailer, is a purple giant who lacks arms, and instead has floating hands that they punch you with.
67	* FollowTheMoney: Poker chips often indicate where to go. Occasionally there are even chips shaped in an arrow formation.
68	* GelatinousTrampoline: Cinnamon Springs has round jelly of various colors that bounce the player around.
69	* GlassCannon: Anton is capable of ''insane'' levels of destruction, but can only take three hits before being tossed back to a checkpoint.
70	* GlassSmackAndSlide: When Anton's health reaches 0, Anton is slammed against the screen.
71	* GottaCatchThemAll: The goal of each level is to find one of Anton’s stolen prized spirits.
72	* HailfirePeaks:
73	** Boiler City is an urban landscape typical of a GatelessGhetto level, but also contains the sewers of a DownTheDrain level.
74	** The first half of Cinnamon Springs contains the candy motif of a LevelAte (of the 'Level entirely made of candy' variety) and the lava and rocks of a LethalLavaLand. The second half instead mixes LevelAte with a {{Wutai}} landscape.
75	* HeartsAreHealth: Heart-shaped beetroots (called [[PunnyName Heartbeets]]) found in crates, serve as the way to restore health. When grabbed, they get sent to the top left of the screen where they get turned into playing cards. Bosses instead have cards with Ballbuster faces on them.
76	* {{Hell}}: The eventual goal of the game is to reach Heck and blow it off the map.
77	* HornsOfBarbarism: One of the bosses, Maulbuster, wears a viking helmet.
78	* HumongousHeadedHammer: Anton carries a hammer with the head more than half the size of himself.
79	* IdiosyncraticComboLevels: Combo names start at 10 with "Yeah!" "Ahhh!!" or "Okay!" and end with "Eateateat!!!" at 100.
80	* InspirationNod:
81	** One of the major inspirations for the game is ''VideoGame/CrashBandicoot'', and it shows in the bustable crates, tornado transformation, the voice-over in the title screen mimicking that of ''VideoGame/CrashBandicoot3Warped'', and even the game's ads using the same font featured in the logo of ''VideoGame/CrashBandicoot2CortexStrikesBack''. Graffiti of Crash also appears on one of the buildings in Boiler City.
82	** The ''VideoGame/VirtualBoyWarioLand'' influence (dual layer gameplay, jump pads) is referenced through the Red Rooms, secret areas that have a monochrome pinkish-red palette as if the game was being played on a Platform/VirtualBoy.
83	* JokeOfTheButt: Several of Satan's pre-level taunt sprites in the demo have his comically-oversized rear displayed prominently.
84	* MadeOfExplodium: Just about everything explodes on account of the game’s focus on wreaking havoc and wrecking everything in your path.
85	* MoleMiner: The Ballbusters from ''Antonball'' return to make a nusiance of themselves alongside their deadlier leaders, the Bossbusters.
86	* NonHumanHead: The Jewel Ghoul, one of the bosses showcased in the release date trailer, is a giant with a purple gem for a head that you need to attack to damage them. They also have a partner with a cyan-colored gem for a head.
87	* NominalHero: Both protagonists are only fighting {{Satan}} for purely selfish reasons: Anton to get his spirits back, Annie for the chance to wreak havoc.
88	%%No evidence that this happens in every level so far * OncePerEpisode: [[CollapsingLair Happy Hour]] is triggered by, through some map element, Anton being sent hurtling into the detonator's plunger in both stages of the second demo.
89	* PlungerDetonator: Pressing down large color-coded plunger detonators will blow up blocks with matching color. There's also one at the end of each level that starts [[CollapsingLair Happy Hour]].
90	* QuirkyMinibossSquad: The Bossbusters are one of these, being a bunch of goofy moles who work for Satan.
91	* RemixedLevel: Cinnamon Springs is the same place as Fudge Mountain from ''Antonball Deluxe'', but instead of snow and slippery terrain, the area was turned into a fiery pit of crags and lava. Though it could also be a neighboring area.
92	* RewardingVandalism: Breaking wooden crates and colorful bricks yields chips and temporarily increase combo meter. Most other breakable objects just increase combo meter.
93	* RollingAttack: Crouching while moving downhill causes the player to roll, destroying enemies and breakable objects that get in the way.
94	* RunningGag: The game’s social medias love posting an art piece of Anton and [[VideoGame/PizzaTower Peppino Spaghetti]] [[FanDisservice messily french kissing]] whenever the latter’s game is brought up.
95	* {{Satan}}: The BigBad is Satan himself.
96	* ScreenShake: Destroying objects causes screen to shake. The screen similarly also shakes constantly during Happy Hour.
97	* ShoutOut: Several in the Dynamite Demo.
98	** One of the combo rankings is "Play It Loud", a clear reference to Nintendo's Play It Loud campaign in the mid-to-late '90s.
99	** Another combo ranking is "Aaahh!!!", which is done in the same style as the logo of ''WesternAnimation/AaahhRealMonsters''.
100	** Annie's pose when jumping from the foreground and background is the same pose Franchise/{{Sonic\|TheHedgehog}} makes on the ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure'' box-art.
101	** Thanks to the Life with Anton trailer, it is confirmed that he is raising a pink hedgehog girl, a clear reference to [[Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog Amy Rose]].
102	** Several songs on the soundtrack have the same "Title...Purpose" naming scheme as the stage tracks for ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure'' and ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure2''.
103	* SpeedEchoes: Characters leave trails when going fast.
104	* SpringsSpringsEverywhere: Manually activated springboards transport Anton between the foreground and background layer.
105	* StealthPun: Anton is an alcoholic who uses a large hammer as a weapon. In other words, he’s hammered the entire game.
106	* StockSoundEffect: Stock cartoon sound effects are used a lot.
107	** Stock explosion sounds are heard whenever anything [[StuffBlowingUp explodes]], in other words, very often.
108	** A stock casino sound effect is heard whenever collected poker chips get added to your total.
109	** When the player holds the down button while spinning mid-air, the stock slowmotion spin sound effect starts to play.
110	* SuspiciouslyCrackedWall: If a surface is cracked, it usually means it can be broken.
111	* TattooedCrook: Brawlbuster, one of the bosses, has a heart tattoo on his shoulder and is, like the other moles, working for the literal devil.
112	* ThrowDownTheBomblet: Tallbuster's boss fight has him throw {{Cartoon Bomb}}s at you from his hot tub as shown in the Bossbuster reveal livestream.
113	* TitleScream:
114	** The logo for Summitsphere in both the startup splash screen and ads for the game is accompanied by a raspy voice screaming "SUMMIT!", referencing American TV spots for Creator/{{Sega}} games in the '90s.
115	** The game itself has a deep-voiced narrator yell "Anton...BLAST!" on the title screen, accompanied by the logo falling in and harming Anton.
116	* TopHeavyGuy: Being a demolition worker who wields a giant hammer, Anton naturally has a broader torso and bigger arms in comparison to his smaller, skinnier legs.
117	* TrashTheSet: The objective of the game's non-boss levels is to hit a detonator to blow up the level and escape before the bombs go off.
118	* TravelingPipeBulge: When Anton enters a pipe, a bulge in the pipe is clearly seen.
119	* VariableMix: When entering Boiler City sewers, the soundtrack becomes more subdued.
120	* VideoGameDashing: Anton's default method of attack and to move around quickly is dashing. Unique in that if you keep tapping the dash button in rhythm, it gets progressively faster. The developers have compared it to ''VideoGame/CrashTeamRacing'' boost mechanics.
121	* VideoGameSliding: Crouching during a dash will make the player slide for a short while. Longer if there is no headroom to stand up.
122	* VocalEvolution: In the game's trailers and cutscenes, Anton sounds noticeably raspier than in the trailers for ''Antonball Deluxe''.
123	* WaddlingHead: One of the enemy types is a turnip with stubby limbs and a beak.
124	* WaterGeyserVolley: In Cinnamon Springs, there are water geysers that can be used to travel upwards. Some of them are initially blocked by destructible objects.
125	* WretchedHive: Boiler City is described as seedy and certainly looks run down.
126	* {{Wutai}}: The second half of Cinnamon Springs is a feudal Japan-themed village… which seemingly exists in the same time period as [[GatelessGhetto Boiler City]].

Context VideoGame / Antonblast