Mage: The Ascension in Arcus Prima Arena

A spinoff fighting game from the popular RPG. Released only (and in fact, the only release) for the abortive Panasonic QT console, MTAIAPA is now a rare and highly sought-after game among enthusiasts.

In the story mode, after another acrimonious dispute between the inhabitants of Marmo and Sybilla blasts a hole in the pericarp, the dragon Taihu declares that one ruler for the realm must be chosen, by tournament. Meanwhile, various foes and frenemies of the chantry enter through the security breach.

Characters

Base Game

Cara Stang

Unlock Condition: Available at start.

Title: The Not-A-Lasombra Lacerator

Style: Kunst des Fechtens

Default Costume: Black catsuit

Special Moves:

Rip the Man Body: Blades of darkness messily slash the enemy.

Domination: Cara forms a sigil. If the enemy is caught, they are paralysed.

Form of Creatures: Cara becomes a wolf (ground) or dire owl (air) and rushes the enemy.

Finisher: Cara's shadow erupts with tentacles to pin the enemy, and she drinks their blood.

Alternate Costumes:

Silver catsuit

Rubber dress

Quaesitor robes (note: this causes Cara to use an alternate finisher, where the loser is dominated, and commits suicide)

Transylvanian cape

Catherine West

Unlock Condition: Complete game with Cara.

Title: The Princess of Egypt

Style: Pharaoh's Army

Default Costume: Librarian

Special Moves:

Monta Mayhem: Monta becomes a crinos were-Tanuki and clobbers the enemy.

Desert Sun: Ra fires a solar laser across the screen.

Happy Tree Friends: A swarm of adorable minor spirits shields Cathy from harm.

Finisher: The enemy is weighed in a scale, then devoured by Ammit.

Alternate Costumes:

Victorian dress

Egyptian priestess

Katherine

Catherine (secret code unlock)

Christopher Westin

Unlock Condition: Available at start.

Title: The Too-Straightlaced Terminator

Style: Various (primarily Pankration)

Default Costume: Black SWAT Gear.

Special Moves:

Always Prepared: Switches stances between unarmed, shield, and edged weapon (normally a knife). Attacks and moves change dependent on current weapon.

Brofist: Westin's cyber-arm glows, and he punches the enemy across the screen.

Crimson Leaf: Westin attacks the enemy from a down position.

Improvise: Westin smashes the enemy's face into the scenery.

Grinding Wheel: Westin kicks a downed enemy. A lot.

Finishers:

Fire In The Hole: Westin knocks the enemy out and throws a grenade onto the body.

Point Blank Shot: Westin draws his gun and shoots the enemy.

Stealth Takedown: Westin disappears into the background, sneaks up upon the enemy, and breaks his or her neck.

Alternate Costumes:

Agent: Trenchcoated SF0 Cyborg

Devil Dog: Modern military equipment

Dr. Westin, MD: Doctor's outfit. Stealth takedown strangles the enemy with the stethoscope instead.

Fisherman: Black wetsuit + night vision goggles

Hitman: Black suit, red tie, shades and a shaved head.

Hobo Westin: Army pants, beaten-up jacket, fingerless hobo gloves. Unshaven.

Legacy: Hoplite armour

This Is Madness: Loincloth, greaves, and Greek Helmet.

Treadstone: Yellow turtleneck sweater and jeans.

Eli Lorentz

Unlock Condition: Beat game as Mari.

Title: Exceptional Eccentric Etherite Enforcer

Style: Gadget-fu and Applied Medicine

Default Costume: Reinforced Lab Coat with shades and gloves

Special Moves:

Friend in Need: [counter] Eli moves behind cover while one of his allies takes a cheap shot at the enemy. Possibilities include Natalya, Genjo, Lin Siegen, a Zol, or a cyber-bug

Cavitation Cannon: Eli draws an jury-rigged device and charges it up, then fires a blast that bores through blocks

Nano-Dart: Eli fires a knockout dart into the enemy, leaving them vulnerable.

MacGyver Surprise: Eli ducks into the background, then pulls out a weapon that depends on the stage.

Finisher: Show a final clash, then the enemy finisher and victory screen, then fades to Eli watching the enemy lying sedated in a stasis cell. He walks away with a wicked grin on his face, laughing.

Alternate Costumes:

Captain Cavitation, with cape and mask

Derek Maxwell, with tunneling gear and ragged coat

Darrin Clarke, teenager with goggles and junior technician uniform

Continuum Watch Agent armor

Captain Nemo-style formal wear

Elizabeth Allegheny

Unlock Condition: Beat game as Cathy or Kana.

Title: The Deuce of Deuces Dissembler

Style: Quicksilver Hand of Dreams (supposedly)

Default Costume: Jeans & joker-motif shirt

Special Moves:

It's Mightier!: [counter] Liz ducks out of the way and jabs the enemy in the face with a pen.

Trap Cards: Liz scatters cards on the ground. If the enemy runs on them, they slip and fall.

Tech Technique: Liz draws a laser pistol, pulls the trigger, then hastily throws it at the enemy. It explodes.

Finisher: Liz wins arbitrarily, then wakes up.

Alternate Costumes:

Harlequin

Shrine maiden

School uniform

Etherite minidress

Wheelchair

Marilia Caldwell

Unlock Condition: Beat game as Cara.

Title: The Overbearing Onyx Overlord

Style: "Use my hands? Like some sleeper?"

Default Costume: Gothic lolita

Special Moves:

Fireball: Quarter-circle forward + punch

Angel of Thunder: Lightning falls across the screen

Mirror Shield: A ghostly angel redirects attacks at the enemy

Finisher: The screen explodes.

Alternate Costumes:

Goth

Ghost

Onyx Overlord

Crowley hat

Tweenager (reduced hitbox and lifebar)

Shu Izanagi

Unlock Condition: Beat the game as any character.

Title:

Style: Kobudō Ninjutsu

Default costume:Black loose body suit, arm/leg wrappings, sandals.

Unique Moves:

Meditation: Shu can meditate to regain Special Meter.

Dual Sword Style: Shu attacks with two swords, dealing double normal chip damage.

Acrobatic Art: Shu is capable of great rolls and jumps, clearing double to triple the range of a normal character without accruing paradox damage.

Specials:

Spitting Cobra: Shu spits a shuriken from his mouth at short range. Can be used to break combos.

Soft Fist: Shu disarms an enemy of their weapon, temporarily decreasing their damage output and increasing his.

Strike the Blade: Shu attacks with a fierce sword combo that inflicts a cumulative bleed DoT with each strike.

Finisher: Shu and the enemy rush at each other, then the screen flashes white and fades in on Shu meditating while the enemy's corpse lies to the side, pierced by several swords.

Alternate Costumes:

Iteration X Cyborg

Traditional Regalia + Spear (This replaces the Strike the Blade move with a screen length spear attack- which can be leaped over, but not parried or dodged back from)

Shu-Ko (Must beat the game with the Kana+Liz ending to unlock)

Daiklave Type Shu (Attempt to block unblockable Void Walker laser attack on the Realm of the Jade Dragon level. Doing so will cause his normal swords to break, apply a penalty to damage output for the rest of the stage, but allow him to claim the Daiklave Claidmell during the boss fight, which unlocks the costume and an alternate moveset)

Xia Yu Lan

Unlock Condition: Beat game as Shu.

Title: The Unpurchasable (really) Underground

Style: White Crane

Default Costume: Black hoodie

Special Moves:

United Front: Han Yi Ling tags in and attacks the enemy in tandem.

Death Between Instants: Yu Lan hyperaccelerates and crosses the screen to attack.

Sword Phantom: A flick of the sword creates a false image of Yu Lan.

Dongfeng: Yu Lan throws her sword at the enemy.

Finisher: Yu Lan vanishes into the background, then emerges to shoulder-tap and decapitate the enemy. (note: in the Pentex Plant level, she instead kicks the enemy into an acid vat (1st victory) or a giant fan (2nd victory)

Alternate Costumes:

Hello Kitty hoodie

PLA fatigues

Han Yi Ling

Cardboard powersuit cosplay

Interlopers DLC

Vali Bartal

Unlock Condition: Game Over Once while playing Mari or Cara

Title: Ferocious Fearsome Feline

Style: Chainsaw + RAWRRRRR-slash-kill

Default Costume: Tanned black-haired man in a duster / Giant Cheetahman / Lanky cheetah

Special Moves:

Embrace the Beast: Shifts between forms

Flamesaw: Ignites his chainsaw for more damage, only usable in human form.

Sidestep Consquences: [dodge] Vali steps into the umbra to dodge a shot

Finisher: Vali rushes the enemies and either tears out their throat or cuts them in half with the chainsaw, depending on form

Alternate Costumes:

Black Leopard

Murder Weasel

Ren Dyler

Ichijo Watanabe

Unlock Condition: Game Over Once while playing as Vali

Title: The Hysterical Hardcore Hacker

Style: Guns. Lots of Guns.

Default Costume: Cyberpunk trenchcoat and cyber shades

Special Moves:

Can't Stop the Signal: Ichi hacks into the game, making his attacks temporarily unblockable

Get me out of here!: [dodge] Ichi dives away from the enemy and into the other side of the screen

Decoy Boats: [counter] Ichi create several decoy Ichis of himself, which move in random directions

Short Circuit: Electricity arcs from the background to attack the enemy

Finisher: Ichi looks at his palmtop, panics and runs off screen. A giant hazard from the stage environment then kills the enemy

Alternate Costumes:

Crossdown domehead version

Nimrod techno armor

Kiyoshi Nakamura

School Uniform

Natalya

Unlock Condition: Beat game as Eli.

Title: The Better-Half Biomechanic

Style: Applied medicine

Default Costume: Labcoat (Etherite)

Special Moves/Finisher: Natalya is primarily a reskin of Eli, but has a greater emphasis on kicks and team attacks with Euclid.

Alternate Costumes:

Labcoat (Technocratic)

Badanov dress

Guro

Unlock Condition: Beat game as Maya.

Title: The Mean Old Mage-Killer

Style: Metal*Psychic Warfare

Default Costume: Green fire cyberdemon

Special Moves:

Urban Decay: Guro stamps his foot, and rubble falls from the top of the screen.

Sin City: [throw] Prehensile wires erupt and attack the enemy with needles, knives, stiletto heels and 90s comic books.

Hellraiser: Screen-length beam.

Finisher: Guro possesses the enemy.

Alternate Costumes:

Meiji-era (steampunk)

Yu Lan