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Monday
Feb062012

Introducing: Bal-Bas-Beta

Bal-Bas-Beta, or BBB for short, is a clockwork automation--a robot of sorts.

Max Geiger built BBB and imbued him with sentience and personality. (The previous B-B-Alpha didn't work out so well.) Although Geiger is well-known for his skill with clockwork parts as well as his knowledge of science and engineering, the creation of BBB raised suspicions in Flagstone because it seemed a bit too advanced. Did Geiger get help from someone? Or from another time period? There are rumors he has communicated with an ancient lost race that had incredibly advanced technology, though most believe that stories of the Vortoss are just stories. (There are also stories that they are a playable faction in the upcoming non-collectable, yes-customizable card game.)

In any case, General Onimaru saw the clockwork man and immediately recognized its military potential. He ordered the production of an entire army of clockwork soldiers. Unfortunately, producing clockwork soldiers requires significant resources so Quince began scouring the Pandalands, Murkwood, the Golden Plains, and other regions for gold, silver, other minerals, lumber, and so on. Geiger suddenly left Flagstone, though his work was continued by Flagstone's new head of R&D, Dr. Beverly "Nova" Villanova.

While BBB is a friendly and inquisitive being, the mass-produced clockwork soliders that came after him lack his charm. BBB hopes to reunite with Geiger someday.

In a fighting game, BBB is a defensive character designed to keep opponents away. He pokes them with extendable arms and fists which he can retract with chains. In Flash Duel, he is also happy at long range:

Rocket Punch means that at a range of 5 (for example), he can attack with a 5 *or* a 4. Most characters would only be able to attack with a 5 in that case.

He has Rocket Punch in Puzzle Strike, too:

In Puzzle Strike, it lets him sneak in a small crash (of just a 1-gem) whenever you would crash at him or attack him with a red chip. His other chips (Upgrade and Cog Engine) allow him access to more expensive chips. That means he can trade up his chips for more better ones, and he also gets a money boost to buy a bit more expensive chips in the first place.

Next time we'll cover Master Menelker, also known as Deathstrike Dragon.

Reader Comments (5)

Wait a second - he is "friendly" and "hopes" to reunite with Geiger one day? So he is a self-aware being with his own personality? I always assumed he was an emotionless machine that just follows orders.

Btw, even his non-chibi version looks kinda cute.

February 10, 2012 | Unregistered CommenterStar Slayer

Will Villanova be making any sort of surprise appearances in another FS game? :3

February 17, 2012 | Unregistered CommenterAkvo

I just read the article you had of being accused of cloning. Although I believe Flash Duel is better + a different game, this artwork/character could be questionable. He looks like Blitzcrank of League of Legends. One of Blitzcranks moves is Rocket-grab and another one is power fist... I thought it'd be worth mentioning. I think you should at least be aware to similarities if you weren't inspired by them. And of course, no one has a monopoly on life like robots that can punch people with rockets.

June 7, 2012 | Unregistered CommenterJeff

Jeff: that is not how the law works and not what cloning means, and is just totally off base in every way.

June 8, 2012 | Registered CommenterSirlin

Jeff: I just wanted you to know that you chose an ironic example since League of Legends' is a knock off of Dota, and Blitzcrank's Rocket Grab is a copy of Pudge's meat hook.

Also, they really don't look that much alike except for the colors.

June 23, 2012 | Unregistered Commenterskeis
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