Arc Loop Sandwich: →

(Picture of all the boss stages)

I wanted to look at the core systems and do a game analysis of one of my favorite games: Furi

What is Furi? (2016, by Gamebakers)

Wikipedia's Definition: “Furi is a fast-paced action game with elements of hack and slash, shoot ‘em up (twin stick and bullet hell) and consists entirely of boss fights.”

My Definition: Furi is a boss rush bullet hell fighter with an excellent EDM soundtrack. 

The Core System I wanted to look at in Furi is the multi-phase combat when fighting these jailors. This multi-phase system is made up of two smaller systems: Bullet Hell and Close Quarters Combat.

Core Systems: Multi-Phase Combat

Bosses (called Jailors in-game) will have phases to their combat. What each phase consists of and how many they have vary from boss to boss. Most bosses will have both bullet hell and close-quarters phases. There are only two bosses that have only bullet hell or close quarters. 

Core System: Bullet Hell

Bosses will shoot you with “bullets”. Some bullets can be canceled by your shots or turned into healing orbs. Some of these shots have special properties like tracking, or being invincible to your shoots, but parriable by your sword. 

Instead of bullets, bosses can create “waves” along the ground. Shooting will not be effective and requires you to dodge into the gaps.

Finally, some bosses will have a combination of the two. 

Core Systems: Close Quarters Combat

During your boss battle, you may enter close combat.

You enter a small arena defined by the blue ring that you cannot walk beyond. You lose the ability to use your gun. You will have to fight the boss using 4 abilities: dash, slash, parry, and charge.

A boss will have signals to their moves to indicate whether you should parry or dash correspondence to that attack.

Core System: Intermeshing of Bullet hell and Close-Quarters

A very important intermesh between the two combat systems is how the player is able to heal. You can heal by either: shooting the green bullets and picking up the orb, or parrying attacks. I think having a way to heal during both phases allows the player to play to their strengths to defeat bosses. 

A player that can track a lot of projectiles can focus on healing more during the bullet hell phase than the close combat phase. 

And a player that excels at quick reactions and parrying, will be more proficient in healing by parrying than attempting to navigate a projectile. 

I wanted to look at an important mechanic that is necessary for the player during the two phases, Dashing.

Core System: Dashing

One piece of content from both core systems that is really unique (in my opinion) is the dash. The dash is available in both phases, but their usage is different during each one. 

Dashing during the bullet hell phase has to be quick because all bosses' projectiles move at the same speed in comparison to other bosses. Dashing during this phase is all about positioning and surviving. You will have to dash, even if there is no threat, to ensure that you are positioned correctly for the next dash you have to take.

Dashing during the close combat phase is extremely reactionary. All bosses have unique close-quarters moves that aren’t repeated by other bosses. The timing and safe space from the attack are all varied. Delayed dashes are much more important during this phase than the bullet hell.

Side note: You cannot delay dash in the bullet hell phase. 

Player Profiles

• Speedrunners: There are achievements and a specific mode which allows the player to speedrun the game. These players used the charge mechanic a lot more than the regular player. 

• Mastery: There are achievements and practice tools for the players to master their skills against certain bosses. These players practice parrying and dodging a lot because achieving S rank in a fight requires you to not get hit.

• Onnamusha: Onnamusha is a DLC available for the game that gives the player an option to play a different version of the main character that has different abilities and stats. New mechanics like Star, Storm, and Spark are available to the character. (Never really tried these too much, I cannot speak much in terms of personal experience.)

The Loops and Arcs in Furi

Core Systems: Attack, Parry, Dodge, Bullet Hell Phase, Close Quarters Combat Phase

Smallest Loop: Parry, attack. This usually occurs in close-quarters combat. You parry all the boss’ attacks until your opportunity to attack arrives and you deal damage.

Biggest Loop: Enter Bullet Hell phase, Enter Close Quarters Combat Phase. You dodge and shoot your gun to deal damage and control projectiles until the boss loses their first bar of health, once they lose it, you have a small time frame to get close and melee them to enter close-quarters combat. Once in close-quarters combat, you must attack, dodge, and parry (charging is an optional mechanic) to bring down the boss’ second health bar. Once you do, you usually re-enter the bullet hell phase and you repeat until the boss has no more health bars.

Smaller Sequences of Arcs: Getting info dumped every time you move from jailor arena to jailor arena is a constant arc sequence that occurs.

Arc Loop Sandwich: The whole game itself is an arc loop sandwich. Each boss loops their phases of combat, where you then arc to the next boss and are told world lore and fluff about the next boss, where you then repeat the loops of combat again until you reach the end of the game.