Twisted Fables: Epic Collection

From Diemension Games:

Twisted Fables is a fast-paced fairy tale fighting game inspired by old-school 2D arcade fighters. In Twisted Fables, players take on the roles of beloved heroines from some of history’s most famous stories, myths, and legends. Plucked from their traditional settings, the women find themselves thrown into worlds filled with cybernetic assassins, magical manipulations, and malevolent darkness. These are not the classic characters you remember, but rather superpowered fables drawn from their own lands to battle across sweeping, bizarre alternate dimensions and realities.

Driven by deck-building, Twisted Fables is a game for two players in 1v1 Mode or four players in 2v2 Mode. Each warrior in the game will strengthen her abilities, learn potent new skills, unlock devastating special powers, and use unique asymmetric strategies to defeat her opponents. The various specializations a fable can choose from not only provide fantastically flexible tactical choices but also offer one more layer of depth and surprise to this frenetic, frantic fighter. Twisted Fables brings a highly interactive experience to deck-builders that you’ll want to come back to again and again.

Twisted Fables has adapted ten of the world’s most beloved heroines from fairy tales, fables, and myth and turned their stories on their heads. Now Snow White has changed from a helpless princess to an undead sorceress, Red Riding Hood has evolved from a hunted girl to a cybernetic assassin, and Sleeping Beauty has metamorphosed from dreaming of her prince to exacting vengeance on her captors. While a grain of the original tales remains, the worlds, stories, and spirits sprouting from it are wildly different, leading to a multiverse of breathtaking vistas and mighty warriors, reflected in-game by 100 beautiful illustrations.

Many DBGs don't require much interaction outside of a player's turn, while most fighting games often depend on movement and a simple "highest number wins" mechanic. Twisted Fables, however, relies on both swift, decisive decisions and deep strategies, with the players defending against and interacting with each other even when it's the opponent's turn.

Twisted Fables also relies on position and movement between opponents. Snow White can poison her nemesis as she maneuvers around her, for instance, while Red Riding Hood can knock back her target, hovering just out of hitting range while she pelts her with firepower. Mulan can throw her enemy behind her and pummel her into a corner, while Kaguya can interrupt her attacker with counterattacks. You will have to constantly watch your opponent's strategy and position to counter it effectively. (And watch out for those Epic cards! If the other player unlocks one at the wrong time, it could spell disaster for you!)

Every character in Twisted Fables has distinct styles and strategies. No two fables act the same. Match Girl, for instance, can stuff her opponent's deck with matches (which essentially function as "wishes" she grants to the other player.) These cards have no adverse effects on their faces and are even helpful early in the game. But if her target allows these immediate, short-term benefits to pile up, then she will become nothing more than a puppet for the Match Girl's infernal whims.

In addition to the general direction a fable leans in, her skill card decks represent three divergent paths, allowing you to specialize in one type of skill or spread yourself across all three. This progression provides many unique and compelling strategies for each game, with the option to play a fable differently every playthrough. Furthermore, each skill card must be matched with a specific type of basic card (each of which has three different levels), making the same skill card more or less powerful depending on the card it's paired with when played. This mechanic simulates the constantly changing situations and positions in a fighting game, recreating the often chaotic back-and-forth feeling of the best fighters.

In Relic Mode, players can discard a skill card from their hands to use the Relic cards on the board. This mode offers new strategies to consider beyond just your position or your opponent’s next move: Now, you can also plan around which Relic card would best benefit you – or which one you really don’t want your opponent to get. This mechanic allows for an even more heightened level of interactivity and strategy than that provided in the base game.

A standard game of Twisted Fables focuses on the battle between you and your opponent, along with all the entailing tactics. However, in 2v2 mode, you not only have two potential opponents but a teammate, opening up countless new strategies and even more frenetic combat. Fables will leap between the twin fighting tracks, swapping with their teammates to create devastating combos and unique defenses against their enemies. Finally, add in Relic Mode for the ultimate frenzied battle!

This collection includes the Standard Edition core game, the "Dark Machinations" expansion, the "Flood and Flame" expansion, the "2v2 Upgrade Pack" and the Miniature boxes "1" and "2".