Therefore, the character is envisioned as a "jack of all trades" in a vein similar to Link while skewing more towards offense than the defensive Link. While his blade has noticeably less range than other sword fighters (Katanas are shorter than the European broadswords and rapiers which inspire the swords used by Link and Marth; at most he has Marth's vBrawl range), this is made up for by the speed of his attacks as well as his projectiles. What's more, Takamaru's combat design could also be expanded upon based on his historic inspiration, the edo period samurai, allowing the Project M developers a chance to create a unique swordsman based around the concept of stances based on whether or not his blade is drawn and at the ready or sheathed and "drawn from the hip" for fast lethal blows. As a samurai prodigy, it's not a stretch to believe that Takamaru would be one proficient in a number of styles of eastern swordsmanship ranging from kendo (which relies primarily on thrusts, sweeps and overhead swings from a fully brandished katana) to iaido/battoujutsu (the style of swordplay where the practitioner draws the blade from the sheathe and attacks in one fluid motion before returning the blade to its sheathe). As such, with this move set, the goal is to offer a choice of tactics players can juggle between to remain potent in any number of match ups.
The character base for Takamaru would actually be Link. On top of providing the necessary articles to be referenced for his projectiles, the relationship between the two brother series cannot be understated. Whereas Johnny was the biggest influence on my ideas for Lyn,
Baiken, another Guilty Gear character, Bishamon from the Darkstalkers fighting game series, and Kenshin Himura of the Rurouni Kenshin anime series served as the greatest inspirations for my ideas for Takamaru.
Running speed: Between Marth and PM Pit (Closer to Marth)
Wall Jump: Yes
Wall Cling: No
Tether: No
Reflector: Yes (First draw of Forward Smash)
Fall Speed: Fast
Weight Class: Lightweight
Jump heights: Average (think Fox)
Sheathed Sword Stance
Jab: Takamaru jabs the butt of the sword from left to right. Pressing jab again has him do it again from right to left. The third jab has Takamaru draw his sword, thrusting it by the butt of the hilt forward at an opponent's midsection before deftly sheathing it again.
F-Tilt: Takamaru turns his back on an opponent before thrusting his sword forward at them.
Think of Baiken's S guard cancel attack from Guilty Gear. This attack can also be angled.
D-Tilt:
Takamaru crouches on one knee and sweeps his sheathed blade forward along the ground to hit his opponent's ankle. Can be rapid fired.
U-Tilt:
Takamaru flicks/draws his sword hilt out and upward near himself hitting an opponent with the butt of the blade. This launches opponents for juggles. "...I wasn't finished speaking."
F-Smash:
Takamaru does a two step Battoujutsu styled draw similar in style to Himura Kenshin's final attack in the Rurouni Kenshin series. The second swing is generated with a second press of the A button.
D-Smash: Takamaru unsheathes his sword and drops on one knee stabbing the ground in front of himself. A quake is then generated in a small area on both sides of himself launching opponents upward somewhat. (Think PM Wario's down smash)
U-Smash: Takamaru does a short hop knee kick that launches upward before drawing his sword in a solid attack arc above himself then sheathing his sword before landing. This attack arc is similar to Meta Knight's Up Smash.
N-Air: Takamaru performs a single hit spinning draw slash from left to right with great force. The momentum of this draw spins Takamaru around allowing the attack to create a ring around himself. (Think of Dante's jumping heavy attack in Marvel vs. Capcom 3 or Roy's N-Air performed by Takamaru unsheathing his sword with the momentum from the draw spinning him around once before he re-sheathes the sword.)
F-Air:
Takamaru draws his sword and slashes a straight horizontal arc in front of himself before quickly sheathing his sword. (Note: Moves referenced in links are not an indication of how I perceive their actual distances.) Can be used for carry combos but does not have a lot of active frames.
B-Air: Takamaru performs a somersault in the air slashing from under to behind himself in a manner similar to
Baiken's H guard cancel attack from Guilty Gear.
U-Air: Takamaru sweeps his katana above his head after a draw. This is similar in nature to
Baiken's Youzansen.
D-Air: (
Ryu Tsui Sen) Takamaru does a midair flip looking down for a second before drawing his sword straight downward in a power streaking movement and re-sheathing. The attack has a very small range and active time but is a true spike.
Dash Attack: Takamaru draws his sword, swings, and resheathes it in a complete spin. (
Think of Zero's Shippuga from Mega Man X4.)
Neutral B:
Draw/Sheathe - Whenever Takamaru presses this button, he either draws his sword from his sheathe for the duration of the stock or until the B button is pressed again, which has him re-sheathe his katana. Takamaru's normals are all changed (the jabs, tilts, aerials and Smash attacks listed in the move set above are all shared with this Takamaru, but upon sheathing his sword, the normals laid out in the move set above become available. You can also cancel his Smash attacks on their ending frames with this maneuver allowing you to switch stances for greater flexibility in the middle of pressure and combo situations.
Drawn Sword Stance:
- Takamaru exchanges attack speed and power for better reach and pokes in this stance
- Takamaru also moves slightly slower traveling with the sword out versus having it sheathed
- Takamaru's projectile game might be a bit muted with the sword out
Jab: Takamaru punches the opponent with the butt of the sword.
F-Tilt: Takamaru stabs his blade outward at about eye level, turning the sword on its flat end, before performing a sweeping horizontal slash from left to right in front of himself. This move can be angled. (
Think of a standing version of Bishamon's crouching heavy punch attack in Darkstalkers)
D-Tilt: Takamaru crouches on one knee, stabs his sword forward and swings his sword slashing at an opponent's heels. (
Think of Bishamon's crouching heavy punch attack in Darkstalkers)
U-Tilt: (
Ryu Sho Sen) Takamaru raises his blade straight out in the air performs a small hop with his empty hand supporting the back of the blade in a manner similar to Ike's u-tilt.
F-Smash:
Takamaru assumes a kendo-ka's stance before making a quick step forward swinging his blade over his head and down straight in front of himself.
Down Smash: Takamaru spins in place, slashing the ankle of opponents on both sides.
Up Smash:
Takamaru swings his sword from under himself upward in an arc ending the motion with a 30 degree stab into the air.
Neutral Air: Takamaru assumes a hopping pose while extending his blade downward. This move remains active until Takamaru touches the ground. (Sex blade?) (
Think of Baiken's jumping heavy slash from Guilty Gear.)
U-Air: Takamaru spins his blade like a propeller in a manner similar to Pit's neutral air attack. Takamaru holds his sword above himself as he does this however. (Think Dante's Prop Shredder attack in Marvel vs Capcom 3 or the Devil May Cry series)
D-Air: Takamaru drops out of the air with a single hit Helm Splitter.
F-Air: Takamaru slashes the air in front of himself horizontally in an X cross shape.
Dash Attack: (
Gattotsu) Takamaru in mid run reaches back and stabs his blade forward, his momentum allowing him to slide somewhat.
Forward B:
Fireballs - Takamaru can launch will-o-wisp style fireballs that travel straight forward with this move. Their range is limited but they do good stun. Holding B generates a larger wisp made of multiple fireballs that moves forward in a coil motion before exploding and scattering in a cross like pattern. This is in reference to the Rook Shogi piece power up ("Circle of Fate" in the new Virtual Console release) found in his games which allowed players to throw projectiles in all four directions simultaneously. You cannot store this charge (think of Samus' Charge Shot) however one the animation ends Takamaru can dash behind the fully charged projectile (dash cancel the end of the animation).
Downward B:
Throwing Knives & Windmill Swords - When the stick is tapped before B is pressed for this move, Takamaru pulls out a single throwing knife. These knives disappear after traveling a certain range after being tossed in a set direction. When the stick is flicked or "smashed" before pressing B, Takamaru pulls out a Windmill Sword projectile. These frisbee like blades travel full screen forward generating a whirling hit box cyclone that pushes people as it damages them.
Holding the B button a set amount of time has Takamaru generate two more of the projectile selected (Knives or Windmill Swords) for a total of three that he will throw all at once. When carrying the max number of projectiles (three), Takamaru throws the projectiles in ways to control greater area of the screen. Throwing knives are thrown in a fan like spread forward (one straight forward in the direction tossed, one diagonally downward and one diagonally upward). This is in reference to the Spread Shot power up from his game. Windmill Swords are thrown in the direction selected as a set stacked on top of one another. This reflects the attributes of the King Shogi piece ("Triple Shot" power up as it's called in the new Virtual Console release) upgrade on his projectiles.
Upward B:
Invisibility Scroll:
After a short animation of an invisibility scroll unrolling (think of Sentan Hakuja from Bleach; the unfurling scroll could do light contact damage), Takamaru slams his palm down on it and "teleports" a set distance in this state before reappearing. Holding the control stick in a given direction determines the trajectory of this move. When moving along the ground, a small cartoon-like circle shadow gives players a visual cue to track his movement. When used in the air, after disappearing in the initial tuft of smoke, a small scattering of sakura petals help players to tell where he is as he moves through the air. (Think of Fox's Fire Fox or Smash 4 Pit's Wings of Icarus; Takamaru charges then leaps in a direction set by the control stick before becoming invisible a la Shiek's Up B)
Spot Dodge: Takamaru leans to the side hand on his hilt looking attentively at whatever just passed him by.
Air Dodge: Takamaru is wrapped into his invisibility scroll as Sakura petals show where he is headed before the cloak is cast off.
Grab: Takamaru reaches out for the opponent with one hand outstretched.
Pummel: Takamaru jabs the butt end of his katana at the character's midsection.
Forward throw: Takamaru does a turn around back kick hitting the opponent square in their jaw launching them forward.
Back throw: Takamaru performs a turn around sword draw slice after positioning himself behind the opponent's back.
Up throw: Takamaru throws an clay bomb explosive downward that launches the opponent into the air.
Down Throw: Takamaru jumps on top, stomps once (think Kirby's down throw with a single kick down) and jumps off landing on the other side of the now downed opponent.
Final Smash:
Inazuma Lightning:
After donning the Kabuto Helmet power up (thus appearing in a state of visible intangibility), Takamaru stabs his katana into the air where it is struck by lightning. This burst of lightning is large (think Pikachu's Volt Tackle burst) and can be used three times in total while moving about in this state. During this Final Smash, the
Invincibility Theme from Mysterious Murasame Castle plays in the background.
Other Animations:
Knockdown: Takamaru lands face in ground. His feet twitch every now and again similar to his damage animation from the Famicom title.
Broken Shield: Takamaru teeters in place alternating one foot with the other
Crouch: Takamaru sits seiza style with his dominant hand in drawing range of his sword.
Up Taunt: Takamaru draws his blade and swings it twice in a lightning fast manner before posing in the Famicom box art pose
Side Taunt: A small circle shadow appears in front of Takamaru who then looks down. A tanooki appears (with the SMB3 sound effect) before him and the two give each other a nod in approval before the tanooki vanishes again.
Down Taunt: Takamaru seats himself on the ground in seiza style and meditates calmly.
). I don't know much about Takemaru so I can't exactly critique anything but the moveset is very detailed and nothing seemed out of the ordinary. I wish I could give your post 10 likes but you have to settle for one 
