Thanks for trying out the game! We're excited about this latest version of the demo, as we've made a ton of tweaks and improvements with the help of our Kickstarter funding. The stage graphics have been completely overhauled, Lilac and Carol's moves have been polished, we've upgraded to widescreen, and the game is overall less tedious and more fast-paced.
We hope you get a kick out of the demo!
:: Starting the Game
Double click FP.exe to start the game. When you reach the title screen, you may want to explore the Options menu first to customize the controls or set up your game pad.
If the game screen flickers or doesn't display properly, try double clicking FP_noDX.bat to run the game without hardware acceleration. If you receive an error message that says "Cannot load joystick2.mfx", move xinput1_3.dll into your system directory (which is usually located in C:\Windows\system32). Scroll down to the FAQ section for more information on startup issues.
:: Controls
The default controls are as follows:
Z Button A (jumping)
X Button B (attacking)
C Button C (special attack)
Left arrow Move left
Right arrow Move right
Up arrow Look up/climb ladder
Down arrow Crouch/climb ladder
F5 1x window size
F6 2x window size
F7 3x window size
Most of these controls can be customized by going to OPTIONS on the main screen.
:: Directional Button
- Hold down LEFT or RIGHT to move your character left or right.
- While standing still, hold UP for a few seconds to pan the screen upwards. Hold DOWN and your character will crouch down.
:: Button A
- Press A while on the ground to jump. The longer you hold the button down, the higher your character will jump.
- Press and hold A while underwater to swim upwards. Let go of the A button to swim downwards.
:: Button B
- Press B to use your basic attack. Refer to the Characters section below for more information.
:: Button C
- Press C to use your special ability. Refer to the Characters section below for more information.
:: Sash Lilac
Lilac is the main heroine in Freedom Planet. She is very fast and agile, and her attacks are strong. However, she must travel through some of the most challenging obstacles in the game. She has an Energy meter which is displayed at the top-left corner of the screen.
HAIR WHIP
Press B to attack enemies with Lilac's strands of hair.
KICK
Hold DOWN to crouch and press B to attack enemies with a low kick.
RISING SLASH
While standing or running on the ground, hold UP and press B to attack enemies with a powerful uppercut. It's slower than her HAIR WHIP, but stronger and easier to hit things with.
DRAGON CYCLONE
When Lilac's Energy meter is full and starts to blink white, press A while in the air to perform the DRAGON CYCLONE. Lilac will spin rapidly like a tornado, damaging enemies on either side of her and allowing her to float for a short distance. She can also use this ability by pressing DOWN while running on the ground.
(Here's a fun trick: Try using the DRAGON CYCLONE right after you jump on a spring! You'll soar through the air much higher than usual!)
DRAGON BOOST
When Lilac's Energy meter is full and starts to blink white, press C to boost forward at high speed. Lilac will soar through the air and bounce against any walls she hits. While Lilac is charging the boost, you can hold UP or DOWN to change which direction she'll boost in.
:: Carol Tea
Carol is Lilac's best friend. She can attack very quickly, scale walls and even drive a motorcycle, but she depends on the environment to use some of her abilities. She has an Energy meter which is displayed at the top-left corner of the screen.
POUNCING
Press A while jumping in the air to pounce. You can also hold DOWN to crouch and press A to pounce. This does not damage enemies, but it helps you pick up speed quickly after standing still.
WALL JUMP
Carol can scale walls by repeatedly jumping off of them. To do this, hold A and LEFT, or A and RIGHT, to jump towards a wall. Keep holding the directional button and Carol will attach herself to the wall. Press and hold A to jump off of the wall.
PUNCHING
Press B to punch. Carol will punch faster when attacking enemies.
WILD KICK
Press and hold C to perform a WILD KICK. Carol will attack enemies with a flurry of rapid-fire kicks. As long as the button is held down, her energy will be depleted, and she stops kicking when it is empty.
JUMP PADS
Carol can use JUMP PADS. These special floor pieces are marked with blinking red lights. To use a JUMP PAD, stand on top of it and press A. Carol will immediately jump to the next JUMP PAD. Keep pressing A and she will jump through all of the JUMP PADS in sequence. Press A as soon as you land on a JUMP PAD or else you'll fall!
DRIVING
When Carol collects a FUEL TANK, she will take out her motorcycle and start driving! The motorcycle doubles Carol's top speed and lets her climb walls and ladders very quickly. To stop using the motorcycle, stand still and press C.
AIR BOOST
While driving the motorcycle, press A while in the air to jump a second time. This makes it easier for Carol to reach ledges and jump over hazards while driving.
NITRO BOOST
While driving the motorcycle, press C while moving along the ground to boost forward at high speed. This move depletes her entire Energy Meter.
:: FAQ
Q: Will Freedom Planet run on Mac or Linux?
A: We have a Mac version of the demo available on our website. We do not have support for Linux at the moment, but you might be able to get the Windows version of the game to work by installing Wine on your Linux computer. You can find out more about this program at www.winehq.org.
Q: When I try to run the game, I get the following message: "Cannot load joystick2.mfx. This object might need an external program or library not yet installed."
A: Make sure that xinput1_3.dll in your system directory (which is usually located in C:\Windows\system32). The file should be included with Freedom Planet, but if not, you should be able to download it on the Internet. If the message remains, try disabling your firewall. If that doesn't work, update your system to the latest version of DirectX.
Q: The screen flickers a lot while playing, or I can hear sound effects but the screen is completely blank.
A: You can try running the game in different display modes to see if it solves the problem. To do this in Windows, create a shortcut, then right-click on it and select Properties. In the Target field, after the file path, enter one of the following commands:
/DIB => forces standard graphic mode
/DIB3 => forces standard graphic mode, 256 colors
/DIB4 => forces standard graphic mode, 16 millions of colors, 24 bits
/DIB6 => forces standard graphic mode, 32768 colors
/DIB7 => forces standard graphic mode, 65536 colors
/DIB8 => forces standard graphic mode, 16 millions of colors, 32 bits
/DDRAW => forces DirectDraw + VRAM mode
/NOVR => no VRAM in DirectDraw mode
If none of these work, your video card drivers may not be compatible with Freedom Planet. Modern Nvidia drivers are known to cause this problem. If you're using the latest version of your drivers, try downgrading them to see if there is any difference.
