| Skultimate Roller Maze | |
| Video games | |
| |
| Platform(s): | Nintendo Wii Nintendo DS~DSi Nintendo 3DS |
| Region(s): | USA Australia Europe |
| Release Date(s): | November 13, 2012 November 15, 2012 November 16, 2012 March 7, 2013 March 13, 2013 March 29, 2013 |
| Developer: | Little Orbit Ivory One |
| Publisher: | Majesco Entertainment |
| Distributor: | Namco Bandai Partners |
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Skultimate Roller Maze is a racing video game for the Nintendo Wii, the Nintendo DS and DSi, and the Nintendo 3DS. The three versions were released on the American, Australian and European markets from November 13, 2012 to March 29, 2013. Skultimate Roller Maze is produced by Little Orbit and the distributor is currently unknown. The background music of the 3DS-exclusive levels is created by Ivory One. The game ties into the Skultimate Roller Maze doll line and the "Friday Night Frights" TV special.
Skultimate Roller Maze belongs to the arcade racing subgenre of racing games. Players can select one to three characters from a roster of three to twelve to win in various types of competition on six or eight tracks. Each character fits into a weight class and each character has a unique ability that can be employed to gain the upper hand in a match.
The trademark for Skultimate Roller Maze was requested on June 25, 2012. The game was formally announced during San Diego Comic-Con International of 2012, and the trailers, one for the Wii and DS versions and one for the 3DS version, were featured as September 2012's Freaky Fab 13 and March 2013's pre-Freaky Fab 13.
Versions[]
Each of the three versions of Skultimate Roller Maze has its pros and cons compared to the other two, although the DS version easily is the lesser compared to the 3DS version.
On a technical level, the DS version and much of the 3DS version are ports of the Wii version. The Wii version has superior graphics, and the racing controls work better. There is also a multiplayer mode on the Wii version, lacking in both handheld versions, which leaves room for up to three players. On the other hand, the handheld versions use the second screen to provide the player with additional information on the current competition's stats.[1]
As for content, the Wii version and DS version were released simultaneously and contain the same characters, tracks, and options. The 3DS version was released almost half a year later and has some additional content, namely two exclusive tracks: the Himalayas and the Scare Ship.[2]
Gameplay[]
Spooky, Creeparific, Scarifying
Single Player (Race, Relay, Quick Race, Timed), Multiplayer, Lockers, Options
The basic gist of any mode is to use a team of three racers to complete three laps around the track faster than the other three teams. Each team has a team captain, which is the first character selected when putting a team together. There is limited gameplay effect to who the team captain is: each track is started by the team captain, but otherwise, the choice only affects who gets to talk before and after a race and who gets to speak for the team upon beating Race. Each team is represented by only one racer at a time, who can be instantly switched out with another. Reasons to switch out a racer include the active one becoming tired and slowing down and therefore the need to let a well-rested racer take over so the other can take a break and the team getting access to different abilities, whether innate or obtained. The first type of innate abilities are the direct ones, divided into Light, Medium, and Strong. Light racers aren't very fast and easily knocked over by other players, but they are ideal for getting around corners. Strong racers are fast and can knock over racers of either other class, but they are terrible for corners. Medium racers fall between Light and Strong racers. The player will have to win races to unlock some playable characters, such as Robecca Steam, Abby Bominable, and many other strong characters.
The second type of innate abilities are the special abilities, of which each character has their own though the effects may be the same. Special abilities cannot be accessed until ten coins have been collected from the track to fill the gauge. Because coins tend to be located in corners and on edges, they are more easily collected by Light racers, though Medium racers are often good for that. Once picked up, coins do not respawn, so prioritizing coin collection before the other teams can get them during the first half of a circuit is advised. Computer-controlled teams do not actively hunt for coins, but they will pick up the ones they find on their route. It doesn't often happen that any computer-controlled team gets enough coins to unleash a special ability of their own, and even rarer is it when they use it against the player's team, even on Scarifying. Coins also don't have a reservoir; if the ability gauge is full and another coin is picked up, that coin is wasted. The filled gauge can be used for any of the three racers of a team, but the desired ability's racer must be the active one for it to be used. Clawd's and Clawdeen's are speed boosts, Frankie's and Operetta's abilities are target-seeking long-range attacks, Draculaura's and Lagoona's abilities are lifts that allow them to both rest and knock over other players, and Robecca's ability leaves a trap in the form of a thick fog.
Obtained abilities come in the form of items acquired by skating into coffins spread around the track. These do respawn, and each racer can hold one item, and there are eight to obtain: Spirit Staffs, iCoffins, Fearbooks, Skates, Pixie Wings, Coffins, Oil Buckets, and Cleaning Supplies. Spirit Staffs, when used, are worth three coins on the ability gauge. They are more valuable during the second half of a circuit because most (easy to get) coins are already gathered by then. iCoffins summon Spectra, who randomly targets another player for a photo, temporarily incapacitating them due to the flash. Fearbooks can be shot at other racers before the user, making them fall over. They do not seek out targets, and if they don't hit another racer, they will bounce off the walls for a while, and on build-in tracks are likely to hit the user eventually. Fearbooks can be gathered alone, in pairs, or three at once if lucky. The one other item that can be gathered in random quantities are Skates, which provide a speed boost. Speed boosts do not add up, so having a speed boost active when crossing a speed platform makes the platform have no effect. Another speed boost can be gotten from Pixie Wings, which are not as fast but leave the user more in control of corners than Skates do. Coffins, Oil Buckets, and Cleaning Supplies are all traps that can be left for any racer unlucky enough to skate into them, which can be the user themself if no one else triggered them and they complete a lap. Coffins, recognizable from item coffins because they are a darker shade of purple and upside down, gobble up their victims and spit them out after a short while. Oil Buckets have the same effect as Fearbooks. And Cleaning Supplies make the victim lose control, and they either need to brake, or they will fall over or bump into a wall or fall off the track.
It is generally wise to not have more than one Strong racer in a team, especially for corner-heavy tracks like Skull Shores and Monster High School. The speed and strength do not make up for the lack of track control. This isn't to say Strong racers can't do corners, but they require more skill. There's no option to drift in Skultimate Roller Maze, so for a Strong racer to round a corner, they need to either slow down by occasionally letting the forward button go and proceed cautiously or hit the brake and at the same time turn into a new direction. Letting go off the brake then will allow for a quick restart.
There are six tracks available in the Wii and DS versions of Skultimate Roller Maze and eight in the 3DS version.
Characters[]
| Character | Class | Ability | Description |
| Abbey Bominable | Medium | Cold Shoulder | Quick to freeze out the competition, this creeptastic competitor has icy-cool moves on the SKRM track. |
| Clawdeen Wolf | Medium | Full Moon | At her best when the moon is full, this clawsome player has mad skills on the SKRM track. |
| Clawd Wolf | Strong | Beast Mode | As SKRM team captain, this furrious leader is a fierce competitor. |
| Deuce Gorgon | Strong | Stone Gaze | With rock-solid SKRM skills, this team leader is as hard to contain as a slithering snake. |
| Draculaura | Light | Bat Call | She may not be the beast skater on the team, but she's got fangtastic spirit. |
| Frankie Stein | Light | Electric Kiss | Always willing to lend a hand to the team, she's ready to put every spark of energy into the game. |
| Gillington Webber | Light | Slick | He may not always make a splash on the SKRM track, but this fresh-water player has some slippery moves. |
| Heath Burns | Medium | Prometheus | A bit unpredictable, this fiery competitor heats up the SKRM track. |
| Lagoona Blue | Light | Tidal Wave | Even though she's a fish out of water, she's making waves on the SKRM track. |
| Operetta | Strong | Perfect Pitch | A fast and fierce competitor, she puts the rock in roller skating! |
| Robecca Steam | Medium | Steamed | This fangtastic SKRM pro has the steam to lead the team to victory! |
| Rochelle Goyle | Strong | Rockstar | This freaky-fab competitor is a rock-solid player who never just wants to watch the game from above. |
Tracks[]
| Scaris | Gloom Beach | Monster High Stadium | Skull Shores |
| Monster High School | Granite City | Himalayas (3DS only[2]) | Scare Ship (3DS only[2]) |
Unlockables[]
Though the game features few racers, few tracks, and few play modes, there are relatively many unlockables because most characters and tracks are locked when the game is launched for the first time. There are two means to unlocks: by fulfilling the game's requirements and winning competitions in order or by inserting codes. The codes are to be entered at the Lockers screen and are always only five letters long.
Prizes[]
Robecca Steam is the first character to be unlocked. One has to place first in Race on the Spooky difficulty setting, but higher works too to unlock her.
Deuce Gorgon is the second character to be unlocked. As with Robecca, one has to place first in Race on the Spooky difficulty setting. Unlike Robecca's case, finishing on a higher level does not work.
Rochelle Goyle is the third character to be unlocked. One has to place first in Relay on the Spooky difficulty setting.
By finishing Race on Scarifying, all laps other than Scaris, which is unlocked by default, are unlocked for Quick races, and Granite City specifically is unlocked for Timed races.
Lockers[]
| Abbey Bominable | Chill |
| Deuce Gorgon | Snake |
| Robecca Steam | Gears |
| Scaris | Merci |
| Skull Shores | Skull |
Story[]
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Select[]
| Clawd | Do you think it's fair picking the strongest and fastest player in the game? Yeah, me too. | X |
| Clawdeen | Clearly you wanna win and look good doing it. | Yes, I am fashionable, fast, and freakishly fabulous. |
| Deuce | Huh, you know a winner when you see one! | Rock solid win coming up! |
| Draculaura | Ohh, totes! | Are you excited? |
| Frankie | Voltage! I won't let you down. | Yay! This is gonna be totally electric! |
| Lagoona | You made the right choice. I won't let you down! | Thanks, mate! Can't wait to stand in the winner's circle! |
| Operetta | You've got a number one hit on your hands now. | You've got good taste. I can see that right away! |
| Robecca | I shall endeavor to perform flawlessly. | Why, I'm delighted you would choose me! |
Deselect[]
| Clawd | When you want to win, you can choose me again. | It's all ghoul. I wanted to get a snack anyway. |
| Clawdeen | Really? Okay, it's your funeral. | You've got something against fashionable werewolves? |
| Deuce | Guess we don't see eye to eye on this. | Whatever, dude. |
| Draculaura | I guess you don't believe in me after all. | We never even played! |
| Frankie | Oh, bolts! | Ah, buzzkill! |
| Lagoona | No worries, love, it's all good. | Alright, love, I'll be here if you need me. |
| Operetta | That's alright, darlin'. Just holler if you need me. | Getdunnit! I was all tuned up to race today. |
| Robecca | Right then. I'll keep the boiler stoked until I'm needed. | I trust this will not tarnish my image? |
Wait[]
| Clawd | Any monster want to go in on ten pizzas? | X |
| Clawdeen | Does this outfit make me look gorgeous? | Wonder if I have to change my hair color. |
| Deuce | Huh, wonder if Clawd has any food over there. Yo, Clawd! | How you doin'? |
| Draculaura | Erh-erhm! I better go get ready for my driver's test. | I better go get ready for my driver's test. |
| Frankie | Don't worry about me. I went to the charger before we started. | I should use this time to catch up on my nap time. |
| Lagoona | If you see Gil, tell him to text me, would ya? | Wonder what the surf's like today. |
| Operetta | I knew I should've brought a fishing pole with me. | I'm happier than a zombie squirrel in a grave full a' acorns. |
| Robecca | I just cannot shake the feeling that I'm late for something. | How long, exactly, does it take to learn patience? |
Race[]
| Player | Opponent | Opponent - Quote | Player - Quote | Player (Win) - Quote | Opponent (Lose) - Quote |
| Clawd | Abbey | Abbey think Wolf boy slow like grandmother yak. Care to prove Abbey wrong? | You can't run with this lead wolf. | The sweet smell of victory! | Better luck next time, Wolf boy. |
| Clawdeen | Hey big bro! Whatcha gonna say when you get beat by your little sister? | Two words – little sister. | That's why I'm the big brother! | How embarrassing is it to get beaten by your younger sister? | |
| Deuce | Hey, bro – hope there's no hard feelings after I beat you. | That's weak sauce, bro. | Hey, bro – you'll beat me next time – or not. | Dude – looks like I struck first. | |
| Draculaura | You're so scary sweet it's sad you can't win. | Whatever you say, ghoulfriend. | Hey, ghoul – that fun racing against you. | It's okay, sweetie. I'm sure you'll have another chance to beat me. | |
| Frankie | I'm really charged up to beat you! | Just make sure you don't fall apart. | That's what I'm howling about! | I guess I bolted right past you to the finish line. | |
| Gillington | I'm so fast you're going to think you're skating upstream. | You need to come up for air, bro. | Nice race dude – but it was my day today. | Is that sweat or did I splash you when I won? | |
| Heath | Your chances of beating The Heathster? Slim and none. | You can't burn what you can't catch. | Maybe you'll get me next time. | Hey, bro, hope your fur's okay after I burned past you. | |
| Lagoona | I will give you a chance to beat me – you won't – but you can still have the chance. | You might want to jump back in the pool. | Today I was just faster, ghoul. | While you were busy howling I was busy winning. | |
| Operetta | The only way you'll win is if you're fleas hop off and help push. | You're going to be singing a song called "I Lost to Clawd". | Thanks for playing but it was my turn in the spotlight. | I reckon that was a pretty good race – for me. | |
| Robecca | Ladies first. Werewolves second. | You'll need more than steam to catch up to me. | That's a full blown victory for me. | I am delighted by your competitive spirit and that I won. | |
| Rochelle | You are the big monster on campus but I am the fast monster on skates – so I shall win. | It's going to be hard to stay with me. | Was it hard to lose to me? | You were a worthy opponent but it seems I have prevailed. | |
| Clawdeen | Abbey | ??? | ??? | ??? | ??? |
| Clawd | ??? | ??? | ??? | ??? | |
| Deuce | ??? | ??? | ??? | ??? | |
| Draculaura | ??? | ??? | ??? | ??? | |
| Frankie | ??? | ??? | ??? | ??? | |
| Gillington | ??? | ??? | ??? | ??? | |
| Heath | After The Heathster wins maybe he'll show you how to be a real skater. | You know what happens when you challenge me... right? | ??? | There's no shame in losing to The Heathster. | |
| Lagoona | ??? | ??? | ??? | ??? | |
| Operetta | Race me? You must have a hankerin' for a loss then. | I've heard that song before. | Did you say something? I couldn't hear you over my victory howl. | ??? | |
| Robecca | ??? | ??? | ??? | ??? | |
| Rochelle | ??? | ??? | ??? | ??? | |
| Draculaura | Abbey | Do you think you can hang with Abbey? | I'm not worried. | Oooh, beating you was like icing on the cake. | ??? |
| Clawd | Just because you're my ghoulfriend doesn't mean I'm taking it easy on you. | You're cute when you get all challengy. | Don't feel bad, maybe we can play some fetch later. | ??? | |
| Clawdeen | Love your lipstick ghoulfriend – what's that color called, Second Place Red? | I'm not fanging around this time! | You were wearing the perfect second place outfit today. | ??? | |
| Deuce | ??? | ??? | ??? | ??? | |
| Frankie | I kind of feel bad I'm going to beat you in this race. | Stitch 'em up and let's go. | You're so scary sweet it hurt my fangs to beat you. | ??? | |
| Gillington | I'll be fresh off a win when you see me again. | Then let's find the starting line. | ??? | Thanks for not getting batty after I beat you. | |
| Heath | You better be wearing your sunscream 'cause The Heathster is going to burn past you. | Hello, my name's Draculaura and I'll be your fire extinguisher for today. | Hmph... I have nothing to say to you except WINNER! | ??? | |
| Lagoona | ??? | ??? | ??? | ??? | |
| Operetta | Bless your heart, darlin'. You're so scary sweet it'll be a shame for you to lose. | Sing your song to some other monster. | I had to play to my strengths to beat you. | ??? | |
| Robecca | You were so kind the last time we met perhaps I can return the favor after my victory. | As if. | When I said "Let's catch up" I wasn't talking about the track. | You skate well but in this race I skated better. | |
| Rochelle | I am distressed that my coming victory against you could cause you to hang up your skates. | That's not going to happen. | Let's hang out some time and talk about my win. | ??? | |
| Frankie | Heath | Come on and race me – there's no shame in losing to The Heathster. | I can't believe even you believe that, Heath. | ??? | You looked burned out – did my win do that? |
| Robecca | Clawd | Think you've got enough steam to keep up with me? | Let us go and find out. | You, sir, are a fine skater and a good loser. | ??? |
| Heath | You ready to lose to The Heathster? | I shall not engage you in such banter – to the racetrack! | ??? | Was I riveting to watch when I went by you to the finish line? | |
| Frankie | Hope you don't fall apart after I win. | Against you that is highly unlikely. | That was truly a riveting win! | ??? | |
| Gillington | Looks lake you're going to have to settle for finishing behind me. | So you say. | Thank you for the excellent race. Perhaps you shall prevail next time. | It's possible my win left you rusty. |
Notes[]
- If left alone, the video game will play a trailer for "Friday Night Frights".
- Some sound files, in particular Draculaura's, are from other media. "Are you excited?" is from "Franken-Styled", "Sorry, sweetie" is from "Friday Night Frights".
- The Spirit Staff was a plot-focus item during Volume 2 of the webisodes and first mentioned in "Screech to the Beach".
- Despite having prominent roles in "Friday Night Frights" and Skultimate Roller Maze outfits, Ghoulia, Cleo, and Manny are not present in the video game whatsoever.
- With the exception of Granite City and the Scare Ship, all tracks depict a location featured in the franchise at least before the release of the 3DS version of the video game. Granite City was referred multiple times in "Friday Night Frights", though, as the home of Monster High's main opposing team. The Scare Ship, which design evokes Robecca Steam, uniquely has had no other role in the franchise.
- The talk Robecca and Draculaura have before the match when the player controls Robecca refers to either the events of "Friday Night Frights" or those of Robecca's Between Classes diary.
- The talk Clawdeen and Heath have before the match when the player controls Clawdeen refers to the events of the Volume 1 webisode "Fur Will Fly".
Gallery[]
References[]
External links[]
- Skultimate Roller Maze at Little Orbit.com
- Skultimate Roller Maze website
- Lace Up Your Skates for the All New Monster High Skultimate Roller Maze Video Game!
- Monster High: Skultimate Roller Maze review at The Digital Fix
- Monster High: Skultimate Roller Maze review at Clash Entertainment
- Monster High: Skultimate Roller Maze review at 4O5