Destrega

Destrega (デストレーガ) is the second 3D fighting game developed by Omega Force, the first being Dynasty Warriors. It borrows elements from its earlier title, yet adds the idea of long distance energy blasts and a faster combo system. Destrega plays in a similar manner as the quasi shooting-fighting game series, Psychic Force, which was popular in Japan's video game arcades with its sequel during 1998.

Akihiro Suzuki and Kenichi Ogasawara were the game's director and designer, respectively. The character designs had been done by Hiroshi Kikkawa who also worked on other Koei-related titles like Kessen II and Crimson Sea. MASA was involved in the game's music production.

During an interview with Gpara for Dynasty Warriors Vol. 2, Akihiro Suzuki was asked about his thoughts and participation regarding Destrega. He stated the staff's main goal for the title was to make an interesting game that felt like a "3D movie". Suzuki reflected that the development team were still getting acquainted with using 3D models and admitted that the camera work and other mechanics didn't give quite the punch they were aiming for. Even so, he said the members of the development team still consider Destrega to be a masterpiece. Suzuki revealed that the simplicity of the game's battle system -one that anyone could easily play and enjoy with only a few buttons- became his backbone philosophy for the Dynasty Warriors series.

Story
Long ago, beings with omnipresent powers graced the land and offered man with the chance for prosperity. Humanity feared yet respected the entities, accepting them as their masters. Yet man could not discard their lust for power and demanded for power to be given to them. The entities gave them the tools they so desired and man abused them, sending an end to their once peaceful empire in a single year. Civilization suffered and the artifacts of power were lost.

1,000 years later, civilization has been rebuilt and was ruled under the Empire of Ipsen. When the ancient book of Zamu'el was unearthed into the world, it retold the wonders of these artifacts of power and once more ignited man's dreams for conquest. Eleven years before the start of the game, a war erupted over the artifacts —late dubbed "Relics". During the insurrection, the Empire's royal family falls and the Prime Minister Zauber reigns supreme. Utilizing cruel tactics on his quest for domination, Zauber wants to hunt down the sole threat against him: the Strega.

Gameplay

 * There are two main methods of fighting which is structured based on the distances between opponents. In each case, is the quickest yet weakest, undefined is the slowest but powerful, and  is a defensive maneuver with medium speed.
 * Short-ranged attacks - is good for quick combos; undefined deals a powerful attack.  allows a sidestep blow, which automatically shifts the player's character for an evasive attack.  and undefined can be chained together to create different combos whereas  is a standalone move that varies depending on whether the player is facing the opponent or not.
 * Long-ranged or aerial attacks - The magical part within fights with weaker effects based on the distance between both fighters. Attacks are known as Fast (速, ), Power (力, undefined), and Span (散 Scatter,). When these are attacks are used, the characters calls out each attack as Till (Tidu in the English version), Est, and Foh respectively.
 * Fast attacks shoot a single burst of energy forward.
 * Power will perform a unique energy wave with greater results.
 * Span unleashes a wide ranged attack on the field.
 * In the event that two long ranged attacks simultaneously face off against one another, Fast will be stronger than Power; Power overpowers Span, and Span beats Fast.
 * Fast, Power, and Span attacks can be implemented in a combo sequences dubbed "Level Attacks". The Level 1 attacks are merely the player tapping the button once. Level 2 Attacks require two magical attacks within a chain (i.e:, ), and Level 3 Attacks demands three magical attacks (i.e: undefined, undefined, undefined). In the case of Level 3 Attacks, players can perform a wide range of combos to deliver different variations of each spell.
 * Characters also have a Special Attack with all three magical buttons in one sequence (i.e:, , undefined). It is treated in the same manner as a Level 3 Attack, yet Specials will enable different tasks unique to each character. Like regular magic attacks, they can also be used while in mid-air.
 * Each magical attack in the game drains the Charge Bar, a bar located underneath a character's lifebar. Fast takes a small amount from the Charge Bar, Power snatches a medium amount, and Span saps the most of the three. The health of the Charge Bar is indicated through four stages of color (blue, green, yellow, red) with blue being the best for any magic combination and red disabling any magic attack. Green allows Level 2 Attacks and yellow permits Level 1 Attacks. It recharges naturally, but the player needs to refrain from casting magic for a time.
 * Characters can freely roam the environment for each match, encouraging players to use the surrounding terrain to their advantage. They can jump down stairs to dodge a magical blast from their foe or hop up a pedestal to deliver a physical blow to charging fighters. Tapping performs a small jump and holding  unleashes a higher jump. R1 causes the player's character to dash in a straight line in either four directions of the directional pad.
 * Holding down L1 is a simple method for blocking body blows, but it will not be as effective against long-ranged attacks. Quickly tapping L1 before certain projectiles hit grants the player a chance to deflect their trajectory. Players who wish to properly block a magical attack without taking damage will need to create a Charge Guard. The maneuver can be done by pressing either magical attack button with a block ( or or undefined + L1), draining the Charge Bar as long as the barrier is activated. Charge Guards can also be done during jumps. Repeatedly tapping L1 after taking a hit has the blown back character flip to their feet.
 * Each character can activate a jumping barrage of magical attacks in an ability called Charge Jump. Simply start any magic combination on the ground and then jump ( or or undefined + ). Whist in the air, the player can follow up with a chain of magical attacks until the Charge Bar depletes.
 * To close the distance between long-ranged fighters, players may want to initiate a Charge Dash ( or or undefined + R1). The character dashes forward with a protective barrier around them, which automatically deflects weaker magical attacks and slightly damages the opponent upon contact.

1P Battle
Classic arcade mode that allows a single player to face the others.

Story Mode
Full voiced story mode that follows the characters and tells the game's story. Also features pre-scripted battles in which players may lose due to storyline purposes.

VS
Standard versus mode between two players. Any stage may be chosen in this mode.

Team Battle
Lets players create several teams of fighters to fight against one another. Teams can be formed with a minimum of three and can be maxed out at six. Life will be regenerated for the winner of each round. A single player can fight against a CPU opponent or their friends in this mode.

Time Attack
Finish a run with a 1P Battle format in record time.

Endurance
The game's survival mode. A single player tries to outlast a flood of enemies.

Practice
Solo practice mode available for beginners and advanced players to test out combos and characters.

Options
Place to adjust controls, difficulty, sound, and record scores from other modes. An extra option is available to view brief character biographies and a video game tutorial.

Characters
Zamu'el is the name of the ancient country mentioned in the prologue, which destroyed itself due to civil war and a relentless quest for strength. Its history is given brief mentions throughout the game to draw a parallel to Zauber's relentless acts of calamity.

Each character either possess Strega powers or will rely on ancient Relics -magical weapons- to produce analogous results.


 * Gradd
 * Celia
 * Tieme
 * Couger
 * Anjie
 * Milena
 * Zauber
 * Rohzen
 * Fahlma
 * Raone
 * Doyle
 * Reyus
 * Relics


 * Hilda (ヒルダ) - Voiced by Misa Nakanishi (Japanese), Candice Signa (English). A kind elderly woman of the mountain village where Gradd was living in the beginning. Fatally wounded by the Relics raiding her home, she lives long enough to warn the young man of the danger and dies in his arms.


 * Glossary
 * Strega - People who can create magic without the assistance of Relics. In ancient times, Strega were the ones who created Relics and consequently sealed them away after the fall of Zamu'el. Eleven years ago, three Strega were aware of history repeating itself and tried to appeal to the Emperor of Ipsen to stop relying on them. The Relics' powers prevailed over their warnings and the three Strega were ordered to be executed at once for treason. As the three Strega fled, Zauber used the opportunity to murder the imperial family. He then used the three Strega as a scapegoat for his actions and ignited the other country lords into war. Once Zauber gains supremacy over most of his opponents, he dictates a manhunt for Strega to forever silence them.
 * Resistance - Once Zauber began to declare himself as the main man of power, various resistance groups took up arms to fight the tyrant. Their ranks vary from former soldiers of the Ipsen Empire, foreigners from afar, or commoners who simply disagree with Zauber's methods. Overthrowing the villain, however, is the only goal that each group shares. Due to the Strega incident eleven years in the past, many wouldn't hesitate to kill Strega once they have learned their identity.
 * Imperial Family - The royal family of the Ipsen Empire was the previously prosperous leaders of the continent. Upon the introduction of Relics into society, the Emperor became arrogant with the power granted to him and ordered the death of the three Strega who opposed him. Not soon after, the Emperor and most of the royal family were slaughtered in an uprising. His loyal politicians also shared the same fate. The few survivors are now closely watched by Zauber.
 * Prime Minister's Forces - Thanks to the possession of Relics, Zauber has the power to easily annihilate any force that rises against him. Obedient followers for his cause face the ultimatum of slavery or death. To finance his military campaigns, Zauber overtaxes the people and leads with an iron-fist. He possesses the Master Relic, which is the main power source for all other Relics. The Strega hope to band together with the other resistance forces in order to destroy it.

Allusions

 * It is possible to unlock Dynasty Warriors character skins if the player perfectly completes the 1P Battle Mode with no losses for each available fighter. They can be selected within any mode by pressing the R2 trigger (L2 trigger in Japanese version). The Dynasty Warriors cast do not retain their old movesets and are purely cosmetic changes for the Destrega cast.
 * An alternate interpretation of Princess Anzeal's nickname is "Ange". Ange is a common nickname shared among the protagonists in Ruby Party's Angelique and Neo Angelique series.

Image Song

 * Morning Light
 * Performed by Emiko Nishiyama