Divekick Primer, part 1

Full review is coming on Tuesday, for now, a primer for those of you just getting started in Divekick. I'll cover around half the cast today, and the rest on Tuesday.

Controls

Two buttons. That's it. No directions, no analogs, just two buttons. On menus, one moves left, the other moves right, and you press both simultaneously to make a selection. Holding any two buttons allows you to remap the controls to fit your style and controller of choice, and any odd menu inputs, such as holding one of the buttons to random select your character, are highlighted nicely on the screen.

In the game itself, one button is labeled dive, and the other is labeled kick. The dive button causes your character to jump("Dive into the air"), while the kick button, when used in the air, causes your character to attack with a sudden change of trajectory. When the kick button is pressed on the ground, however, your character kicks backwards(known as a kickback), giving you a method to create space between you and your opponent, allowing you to fight at your character's optimum range. Both buttons pressed together will cause you to execute a character-specific special move, which one you get depends on whether you are on the ground or in the air.

Systems 

Default options are 5-out-of-9 rounds, 20 seconds. Rounds are won by hitting your opponent(one-hit KOs), or by being closest to the center of the stage than your opponent, being rewarded for standing your ground and controlling more space.

Gems - After selecting your character, you will be asked to select one of four gems. The Dive gem increases your dive height by 10%. The Kick gem increases your kick speed by 10%. The Style gem increases your meter gain by 10%. The YOLO gem increases all stats by 30%, but puts your opponent one round away from winning the game.

Head Shot - Similar to FPS titles, there is greater reward for precision aim. Landing a head shot will (normally) cause the opponent to start the next round concussed.

Concussion - Your character moves much slower, isn't able to jump as high, loses all meter, and cannot gain meter until the daze effect wears off.

Kickfactor - If you manage to fill your entire meter bar, you will enter kickfactor. During kickfactor, you will jump higher and faster, and kick faster. During this time, your meter will drain, with kickfactor wearing off when it is depleted. If you lose a round while in kickfactor, you will have no meter at the start of the next round. During kickfactor, you have access to your character's special moves, regardless of how much meter you currently have remaining. In addition, certain characters also receive a unique bonus in kickfactor.

Characters

Dive 

Dive is a well-rounded character, but he's also very plain. His kick travels down at a 45-degree angle.

Terminal Velocity - Dive's air special makes him fall vertically very fast. Useful for canceling out of poorly spaced kicks, or after using a dive to bait an opponent.

Parabolic Arc - Dive's ground special. A quick, low jump forward. Can be used to gain ground without having to overcommit, to punish a bad kick in a normally safe range, chasing concussions, or just to throw off your opponent.

Kick

Kick doesn't dive as well as his brother, but he makes up for it in speed, both with his kick and his kickback. His kick travels down at a 45-degree angle.

New Angle - Kick's air special, and the fastest kick in the game. It can be used as a much weaker, more committed Terminal Velocity, but is more commonly used to catch an opponent off guard, or to make a punish on a normally unsafe move when your kick just won't reach in time.

Party Starter - Kick's ground special. When used, Kick stomps the ground in front of him, and if your opponent is also grounded, they will be popped into the air, and very briefly suffer the movement restrictions of a concussion. Can be used as an opponent lands to make a difficult punish easier.

Dr. Shoals

Dr. Shoals is often compared to Marvel vs. Capcom 3's version of Doctor Doom, because she also has two kicks that travel at different angles, and can be used in fairly quick succession. Dr. Shoals is also the only character in the game whose kickback does not leave the ground, making her unable to immediately attack afterwards. Her first kick travels at a very flat angle, roughly around 15-degrees, while the second travels much more vertically, somewhere around 75 degrees.

Brilliant Escape - Dr. Shoals' ground special, this causes her to fly up-back as long as the buttons are held, and can be canceled into a kick after you've reached a sufficient height. Great for creating space, avoiding your opponent while they have kickfactor, and for flying off the top of the screen for ambiguous spacing in timeout situations.

Death from Above - Dr. Shoals' air special. When activated, it causes you to fly, and then can be steered left or right using the dive and kick buttons, respectively. Pressing both buttons again will cancel the flight. It can be used to cancel a kick after crossing over the opponent and then canceled into another kick for a way to auto-correct your direction of travel. It can also be used in methods similar to Brilliant Escape.

Mr. N

Mr. N has a very floaty jump, and a very fast kick. He can also kick very close to the ground, making him one of the easiest characters to build meter with. He has a neck pillow which prevents the first headshot against him from causing a concussion. His kick travels downward at around a 60-degree angle.

Marneto - Mr. N's air special, this allows him to hover in place while the buttons are held. It can be used multiple times per jump, meter permitting. It allows him to bait opponents, and can save him if he misjudges an angle of attack.

GTFO - Mr. N's ground special in which he turns and runs away from the opponent for as long as the buttons are held. Great for achieving optimum spacing between yourself and your opponent, and for dodging the more vertical kicks.

Redacted

Redacted is incredibly fast, and jumps very high. Redacted's kick is incredibly similar to the one used by Wolverine in Marvel vs. Capcom 3, and travels downward at around an 80-degree angle.

Cornered Beast - Redacted's air special is a wall jump, allowing her to escape the corner, or to turn a kickback near the screen edge into an offensive opportunity.

Feral Stance - Redacted's ground special makes her crouch down as long as the buttons are held, lowering her vertical hitbox, but widening it overall. This is the only special move in the game that gains meter while in use.

Jefailey

Jefailey is a very unique character, with the size of his head growing with each win. This makes him easier to headshot, but it also makes him floatier, giving him better control of the screen at different angles each round. His kick is a dropkick that needs to be charged, and the longer it's charged, the farther horizontally it will travel.

Disqualified - Jefailey's air special makes him pull out a megaphone and shout into it, causing the word disqualified to travel at a 45-degree angle down-forward as a projectile. If it makes contact with the opponent, all their meter is drained.

Timer Scam - Jefailey's ground special is a taunt that freezes all action for around 2 seconds, while not freezing the timer or meter gain/loss. It can be used to run down the clock while you're closest to the line, to buy time to get a read on your opponent, or to run down their kickfactor.