Yu Yu Hakusho: Dark Tournament Character Design Dive
UVS Games Design Team
Greetings Dark Tournament Contestants!
It has been a blast seeing all of our content creators previewing the main characters and kits from our upcoming Yu Yu Hakusho Dark Tournament set. You can see all of their videos here. We would like to give everyone a quick breakdown and thoughts from the design team on all of the characters coming to UniVersus.
Team Masho
By Tim Frie
The enigmatic Team Masho is comprised of elemental focused shinobi. The fighters represented as playable characters in this set are the upbeat Jin and the stoic and aloof Toya. Both share the Void symbol and focus on a gameplan of control over the speed of attacks. The leader of Team Masho, Risho, however is represented in the attack Risho’s Meteor. His card may not possess the same focus as the other two, but definitely evokes the elemental power of Earth.
Jin controls the power of the wind, manipulating attack speeds, and keeping an ace in the hole. The most powerful member of Team Masho, this demon doesn’t like anyone telling him what to do, and refuses to fight until he chooses to enter the ring. Jin can react within a split second of seeing an attack to speed it up or slow it down. And if the attack is slow enough, he can cancel an aspect of that attack, limiting its offensive power. Constantly flying around, this fighter will be tough to pin down!
Toya possesses mastery over cold and deadly ice. Patient and cunning, Toya waits for just the right time to strike. Using his ice to lock his opponent into place or to ward off enemy aggression, Toya can utilize a very powerful speed modifying ability each turn. Combined with his extreme skill at defense, this shinobi will be great at a poke and backswing strategy.
Team Rokuyukai
By Clint Badger and Matt Smith
The first round of the Dark Tournament introduces us to Team Rokuyakai, a ragtag group of low level demons eager to build a name for themselves. What the team lacks in strength they make up for with trickery and offbeat maneuvers, committing the rival’s foundations in an effort to disrupt their plans.
Appearing as a playful child, Rinku is the first to represent the team. Playing with his rivals, Rinku treats his opponents as a toy until he finds it necessary to unleash his true weapons, his eight Serpent Yo-Yos. Once Rinku builds up tempo, his momentum will continue to deliver a barrage of blows from his yo-yos, and Rinku can show you that “Around the World” can take on a whole new meaning in a fight!
The unexpectedly honorable Chu is the battle thirsty leader of Team Rokuyukai. Chu likes to disrupt his rival’s expectations using his off-balanced Drunken fighting style. He enjoys finding a fighter of even skill and taking them on in a Knife Edge Death-Match, which according to an elated Rinku, Chu has never lost! He left an impact on Yusuke during the Dark Tournament, and Chu’s play style can certainly make an impact on your local play scene.
Zeru’s Flames are difficult to wield and imprecise in their nature, so excellent utilization of Team Rokuyukai’s abilities may be necessary to completely overwhelm your opponent with flames. Make sure to have your Team Huddle ready when attempting this flashy move!
Team Uraotogi
By Clint Badger
Semi Finalist Team Uraotogi is composed of fighters who wield powerful artifacts given to them by the team’s leader, Suzuki. They may not hold much allegiance to each other, but they are each a force to be reckoned with in their own rights.
Kuro Momotaro hits the arena first, transforming his body into a half-beast of his choosing based on the opponent he faces. Kuro can choose between defensive, speed, and damage to start the game and will only grow in power from there! Be careful not to try to do the same move twice, as Kuro’s armor will memorize the feeling and pain of your attack and make him nearly immune to it from repeated uses. Kuro may just end up running circles around you as a wolf if you aren’t ready for his speed!
Shishiwakamaru is the clear crowd favorite. Hordes of lady demons gleefully shout their support for him as he fights, and he takes great pleasure in their admiration as he primarily fights for fame. Whether he is ejecting an opponent from the arena with his Cape of No Return or skillfully defeating opponents in combat with his Banshee Shriek Sword, Shishiwakamaru is always prepared to win a match in the flashiest way possible.
The Beautiful Suzuki is devoted to proving himself as the strongest fighter in the demon realm. He spends most of the Dark Tournament disguising himself as a mustachioed old man, for the sake of transforming into his clown-like form to surprise his opponents and spectators. Beautiful Suzuki is one who has many tricks at his disposal, and is certainly a genius of craftsmanship, having designed all of the tools and weapons that his team uses, so you should keep an eye out when fighting him. You never know what schemes he has brewing, so you should never assume that he doesn’t have the right block for the right situation!
Team Toguro
By Shane Duckworth
Team Toguro comes to the tournament looking for a fight! As one of the finalists in the tournament will they get the fight they are looking for though?
Younger Toguro won a previous Dark Tournament with his brother and they wished to be transformed into powerful demons. With his newfound demonic strength, he searches for an opponent who is worthy of fighting him at 100% of his power. Younger Toguro has cards that grant powerful effects as his rival builds more and more foundations. He even has tools to give them free foundations to help achieve the fight he intensely craves!
Elder Toguro is a shapeshifter capable of transforming his body into various kinds of weapons and tools. This is represented with his incredible ability to play any attack from his discard pile during his turn. As the fight goes on, the number of options available to him increases as his discard pile fills up. He makes for a very fun toolbox-style character, materializing the perfect attack for many different scenarios. His other ability that swaps speed and damage represents him being able to shift his vital organs through his body. This can make one of his high damage attacks suddenly difficult to block, while on defense this can turn a lethal attack into not much of a threat at all!
Bui possesses enormous demonic energy and chooses to wear armor to conceal it. His first ability represents him taking off pieces of armor, destroying one face up foundation to build two face down. His second ability makes his attacks faster and stronger for each face down foundation he has. As he continually sheds armor, Bui’s attacks will eventually become so massive, capable of overwhelming any opponent!
Karasu loves to fight with bombs and other explosives that he creates using his demon energy. Unlike Younger Toguro who would rather have both players fight with lots of foundations, Karasu would rather sadistically limit the playing field by destroying as many of both players’ foundations as possible. The more explosions that happen in a turn, the stronger his attacks get!
Team Urameshi
Jeremy Ray
The Dark Tournaments special guests Team Urameshi is here! The team features a diverse blend of fighters, using both human spirit energy and demonic might. Let’s talk about our tournament heroes!
Yusuke Urameshi: The leader of the team. Yusuke grows as a fighter and a leader throughout the tournament. This time around, Yusuke has improved his mastery of spirit based techniques and added some new tricks to his book. Being able to find the right tool for the job on offense or defense, cards like Double Spirit Blast carry the offensive load. While cards like Absorbed Energy Spirit Strike and Yusuke’s Spirit Wave give him much needed defensive edge. Yusuke will do whatever it takes to protect his friends and win the Dark Tournament.
Genkai: Yusuke’s mentor and the mysterious masked fighter. Genkai’s understanding of combat and energy make her formidable at any age. Genkai may not have the strength she possessed in her youth, but she has the wisdom to choose her spots and take advantage of her opponents weaknesses. Using cards like Genkai’s Spirit Shotgun and Genkai’s Spirit Gun she can set up favorable offensive situations. All while leveraging her card advantage tools to protect herself from her opposition. Genkai is at the Dark Tournament on a mission to prepare Yusuke for anything that could get in his path, especially a certain someone from her past.
Kuwabara: “A mulberry is a tree and Kuwabara is a man”. Kuwabara is here to support his friends, impress his love, and defeat evil. Kuwabara’s toughness is always on display, and in a battle of wills, he always finds a way to come out on top. Kuwabara grows as a fighter and friend throughout the tournament. Thinking on the fly and creating new and innovative ways to use his spirit energy to overcome obstacles. With cards like Double Sword Style and Bending Blade to give him flexible options. When the going gets tough, he gets tougher with a Desperate Slash. Kuwabara has what it takes to will himself and his friends to victory in the Dark tournament.
Kurama: The demon reborn as a human has always been unusual, but his friendship with his teammates drives him to fight even with his life on the line. What no one could have expected was the effects of the Idun Box, turning him back into his original Demon form, the legendary Youko. In his Youko form, Kurama uses a variety of deadly plants to overwhelm his opposition’s defenses with dangerous attacks like Ojigi Plant Strike. As Kurama he relies on his incredible strategic mind and his signature Rose Whip Barrage. Kurama is willing to put it all on the line to win the Dark Tournament.
Hiei: The demon Hiei was once an enemy of Yusuke Urameshi, but now he is here as an ally to help win the Dark Tournament. Hiei has taken on a dangerous journey, attempting to master the incredible power of the Dragon of the Darkness Flame. This journey causes him great injury, limiting the use of one of his arms throughout the tournament, but it also grants him a nearly unstoppable power that ordinary defenses have no chance of resisting. The Dragon isn’t the only ability his growing mastery grants him, with cards like Double Fists of the Mortal Flame and Sword of the Darkness Flame, he has many ways to defeat his foes, but when things get tough, the Dragon lies ready to blast through opposition.
Be sure to join in the Dark Tournament yourself! Local Game Stores all over the world will be hosting their event when the set launches on February 23rd. You can find events near you on the UGN!
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