The first playable Presidential Bash brings together all 45 people who have held the American presidency. Cleveland and Trump each occupy one fighter slot covering both terms. The goal is a historical fantasy arcade fighter with a recognizable personality for every member of the cast.
The game began with the Fighting in the Streets combat system. Presidential Bash now has its own catalog of 90 regular signature specials and 45 supers. Washington's Delaware Crossing rushes low, then mid; his Standard of Resolve reads and returns an incoming attack. Lincoln has a railsplitter arc and frontier clinch. Roosevelt carries Big Stick overhead pressure into an armored Bull Moose charge. FDR's New Deal and Fireside techniques stay grounded and seated.
Those ideas use 18 mechanic families, including counters, returning projectiles, command grabs, delayed traps, low terrain zones and advancing strings. Ninety painted props make the attacks readable in play. The move guide explains commands, useful ranges and the opportunities an opponent can punish.
Try them in Practice: Player 1 uses B for Special 1, N for Special 2, and X for a Super when meter is available. Arcade quarter-circle commands and controller inputs are also supported.
The 24 historical arenas use 72 painted scenery planes. Distant landmarks, middle scenery and near objects scroll at different rates, while the sky remains separate. That separation lets the Sun and Moon rise and set behind the landscape, with changing light, weather and sunset glare across the fight.
Yellowstone adds a timed geyser: quiet steam, rising water, a full eruption and falling spray. Its two emitters belong to the distant and middle scenery, so the effect follows the same parallax and illumination as the park around it.
The title painting reimagines The Apotheosis of Washington, the 1865 fresco in the U.S. Capitol dome, as a wide painted fantasy scene. Its illuminated gold lettering, navy leather panels and illustrated laurel borders set the visual tone for the menus. Explore the original Capitol fresco ↗
The game's Executive Entrance and Presidential Clash instrumentals were created and arranged in Suno Studio for this project's orchestral brass, marching snare and arcade rhythm.
Good character art needs to hold together from one drawing to the next. The current cast has 720 base action poses, with an additional 24-frame motion set for nine presidents: Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, FDR, Kennedy, Obama, Trump and Biden.
Roosevelt's latest pass addresses two visible problems. His old high-knee walk has become a low, guarded combat shuffle with steadier pelvis alignment and an easier cadence. His new idle has four distinct breathing and guard poses on a slower loop. The walk and attack drawings keep their established size and placement when the idle changes.
Every selected frame is isolated before packing into its game texture. Neighboring hands, boots and effects stay with their own drawing, and the native painted pixels are preserved. The character's physical stature remains fixed; an oversized head is corrected in the artwork.
Next in development
More dedicated body animation for the remaining presidents, bespoke signature action sequences, and balance playtesting are the next areas to refine. The current signatures already have simulated damage, guard and parry checks, but competitive balance needs time in real matches. This is a playable first release with room to grow.
