Tandang Sora inspired the newest character in Pinoy fighting game ‘BAYANI’

“BAYANI,” a fighting game strongly inspired by Philippine history and mythology, is welcoming a new fighter to its roster: Lolang Tsora, whose stage Balintawak, is also made available. 

Like all the other “BAYANI” characters, Lolang Tsora is based on a historical figure: Melchora Aquino aka Tandang Sora aka the Grand Woman of the Revolution or the Mother of Balintawak. 

Much like the heroine on which she is based, Lolang Tsora is, well, old. And because of her age, she is this slow-moving fighter with low health.

However, she makes up for this with an arsenal of powerful arcane tools that allows her to control the distance between herself and her opponent.

“Tsora’s attacks can be categorized into three distinct magic types: Light Magic that draws power from the Moon and pushes opponents away; Dark Flames that draw from an ethereal Bakunawa and burns enemies; and Combined Light and Dark Magic that hits enemies multiple times for devastating damage,” said Philippine developer Ranida Games.

Her release brings the game’s core roster to eight fighters:

• Joe (Jose Rizal)
• Dre (Andres Bonifacio)
• Oria (Gregoria de Jesús)
• Tonio (Antonio Luna)
• Leon (Emilio Aguinaldo)
• Rio (Apolinario Mabini)
• Fernando (Ferdinand Magellan)
• Lolang Tsora (Melchora Aquino a.k.a. Tandang Sora)

But Ranida Games isn’t done with “BAYANI quite yet.” They plan to release a secret ninth character as free DLC in the future.

In the mean time, Lolang Tsora’s release allows the studio to focus on developing the game’s other features, including Story Mode, an updated Arcade Mode, and an enhanced training room.

“This also means that we can divert more resources to online multiplayer, with a proper lobby,” said game director Robert Cruz. “At this point, rollback netcode is a must so we will have to rethink our multiplayer approach. DLC characters will also still be developed alongside the other features but character creation will no longer be the top priority.”

“This game is our proof that incremental updates and changes can lead to a better product,” said Ranida Games CEO Ben Banta. “The current state of ‘BAYANI’ now is far from what it used to be a couple of years back. The early access phase is very helpful not only for the game but also for us as game developers. It’s been a continuous learning process with the help of the fighting game professionals and player feedback to make the game better.”

For those who wish to try Lola Tsora out, the game is available on Steam.

“BAYANI” was released on Steam Early Access in June 2019. It was part of Indiecade 2018 Showcase and The MIX Indie Game Showcase at Evolution Championship Series 2019 in the USA.

“BAYANI” was the PC Indie Pitch 2nd place winner at both G-Star 2018 and 2019 in Busan, South Korea. It was also one of the finalists at the SEA Game Awards at Level Up KL 2019 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Most recently, “BAYANI” was part of the Indie Arena Booth Online at Gamescom 2020, which was held from August 27 to 30.

A free “BAYANI” demo is available on Itch.io. — LA, GMA News

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