CubeTales: Sparks of War
Cubetales: Sparks of War is a spinoff that takes place shortly before CubeTales 3: Flames of Destruction.
Story
Cecilia notices that the fuel prices are rising at an unheard of rate, and decides to investigate. She determines that the energy conglomerate Gren is to blame, artificially raising the price by withholding fuel stock to artificially create scarcity. Cecilia decides to travel from planet to planet, taking out Gren's robotic forces along the way. On the exoplanet TE-105-100, commonly known as Crimson, Cecilia encounters a man who identifies himself as Dr. Serin Spyke. Cecilia then proceeds to destroy the giant mech Spyke was piloting, presumably killing him in the resulting explosion. Cecilia is about to head home before receiving a call from Cobalt.
Gameplay
While it still borrows many ideas from CubeTales: The Beginning and CubeTales 2: Revelations, this is a much more fast-paced game than its predecessors. Cecilia has similar basic platforming abilities to Cobalt, however her gameplay is more combat focused. Alongside gaining a dash that consumes energy from a slowly replenishing meter, she also wields a custom made gun called the Fuschia Cannon. The Fuschia Cannon can be fitted with multiple different firing modes that are found within levels, however only the laser mode is required to complete the game. Upgrades persist between play sessions, allowing you to replay the game with all weapons unlocked from the start similar to a NG+. Levels are similar to CubeTales 2: Revelations, with the difference of boasting higher enemy counts and lower environmental hazard counts. Health and energy pickups can be found throughout the levels and from destroyed enemies, which can also overheal and overcharge your HP and EN respectively.
Trivia
- The game was initially created as a joke poking fun at the rising costs of living during the COVID-19 pandemic, but was eventually considered a mainline entry.
- The final boss mech at the end of the game used to resemble a blocky version of Gigachad with somewhat chibi proportions. It even had the number 1969 on its lower abdomen as a reference to the art project that the original photo was a part of.
- The "Crimson" locations were first introduced in this game. The word crimson was one of many covertly inserted JoJo's Bizarre Adventure references in the game.