Pinoy heavy metal band Slapshock provides main theme for fighting game Bayani

The ferocity of fighting games means they need music with the in-your-face intensity to match. It’s for this reason Ranida Games, the Philippine game development studio behind the fighting game “Bayani,” has entered into a partnership with Filipino heavy metal band Slapshock for the game’s main theme song.

“Bayani: Kanino Ka Kakampi?” is a fighting game featuring reimagined versions of Philippine historical figures such as Jose Rizal and Andres Bonifacio. Slapshock will be using the band’s song “Bandera” in the game. It has already been featured in the game’s most recent trailer.

Slapshock fans will recognize “Bandera” as one of the tracks in the band’s 9th studio album “Atake,” which was released in 2017.

“Slapshock has the music content and genre that we think is suitable for our game,” explained Ranida Games managing partner Walter Manalo. “Likewise, when we approached them, they were receptive of the idea and supportive of what we want with the game, which is reaching out to the young population which their fan base is comprised of and introduce our own local heroes as game characters.”

Lean Ansing (Slapshock lead guitarist), Walter Manalo, Anthony Dacayo II, Jamir Garcia (Slapshock lead vocalist), Ben Banta. Photo: Ranida Games

Patriotism, perseverance, and unity

Slapshock is happy Ranida Games chose “Bandera.”

“We just put a check mark on our bucket list, ” said lead vocalist Jamir Garcia. “We are just overwhelmed with the fact that the people behind the game really trust the song. They see a lot of potential in the song.”

Given its message and its energy, “Bandera” is a perfect fit for the game.

“We want to capture the intensity of the game while we deliver the message of patriotism, perseverance and unity,” said Garcia.

He said that “Bandera” was “something out of the norm for the band.

“It’s not as heavy as a usual Slapshock song, but we wanted to capture an anthemic vibe and we wanted to pay tribute also to our Slap armies [who come] to our shows from different walks of life.”

Garcia and his bandmates have played “Bayani.” While they enjoyed the experience, Garcia believes the game will prove valuable to gamers in one other way: “I think it’s also good that it will educate the gamers about our heroes and history.”

This is actually the second time a Slapshock song has been featured in a game. The first was over a decade ago, when “Without you” was used in promotional material for the legendary MMORPG “Ragnarok Online.”

Heroes incoming

Ranida Games celebrated National Heroes Day this year by launching the official “Bayani” website and holding a week-long special event called Heroi.SM. The event was made possible thanks to a partnership with organizer SM City Masinag and the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA).

As for the game itself, Ranida Games CEO Ben Joseph Banta explained that “the game is currently in late alpha development.”

Six of the seven fighters featured in the official website, however, are already in the early beta state. The team is working on two more: Rio (Apolinario Mabini) and Fernando (Magellan). The latter doesn’t appear on the website, but the image below can be found in the game’s official Facebook page.

Old design (left) vs. new (right)

“Fernando’s character model was completely revamped and Rio has yet to be added to the game,” explained Banta.

The team is also hard at work on the stages.

“Currently, the stages and backgrounds are being developed parallel to one another so exact stages have varying degrees of completion,” said Banta. “Priority is to polish and optimize the backgrounds, so we are allotting a lot more time for them in development.”

“Bayani” will soon be available on Steam. There are plans for future mobile and console releases.

For more information about “Bayani,” visit its official website and Facebook page. — BM, GMA News