How Important ARE "Uniqueness" and "Originality?"

[asia_catdog_blue]

It seems that many Smash Fans are really more wanting characters to be "unique" and "original."


I'm not saying they're not needed, but I don't think it should be the "one all, end all" decision to decide what makes a character a playable fighter. To me, a playable fighter in Smash should fit these terms.

1. The fighter's abilities are true to the source material. What the characters do in their own games should be what they do in Smash(which is why I'm annoyed at Ness and Lucas).

2. The character should fight in a way that is logical. Basic "A: Moves should almost always be about using your arms(punching, slapping, scratching), legs(running, kicking, stomping), and using their weapon of choice(what ever it may be; maybe even two). I wasn't fond of Mega Man shooting with weak pellets, and I really wanted Bowser Jr. to fight like Donatello(the Koopalings can keep the clown car).

3.The character should be fun to play as, as well as not suck in battle. Sonic was fun to play as in Brawl, but he wasn't that much of a viable fighter, was he?

I think it would have been better if Rock's Mega Buster were reguarded as both the Standard & Forward B Specials. Not only it would allow Rock fo fight better at close range while keeping his "Jump 'n' Shoot" Man status at the same time, but I think it would be a nice nod to the original SSB, where fighters only had 3 Special Moves instead of 4. And remember, customize moves exist, so Rock could have many weapons at his arsenal to choose from and change.

I just don't think that shooting really helps the guy in battles, especially Single-Button Battles.

Also, while many of Mega Man's other moveset's can still remain intact, I still would have love him to have that sweet uppercut from MVC1. That and this Weak Attack Combo.

xfiremhdev.deviantart.com/art/Megaman-combo-484379040

Hell, I would have love for him to have the Wire Adapter to be his grapple and tether recovery. Super Arm be Front Throw(think Kong Carry), Tornado Hold be Up Throw, so many missed opportunities.

So, yeah. I'm just more of the mundane, practical, and accuracy. It movesets may seem boring(though, I wouldn't want is too boring like Sonic's), but if it works, it works, and I like it that way!

There are many variations of punching and kicking. There's also the occasional karate chop. It's called having a fighting style.

Fox Mccloud ultilized this well with his basic moves. They were pretty similar to Taekwondo. Mario's is a variation of karate and street fighting. Samus uses survival arts and flexibility. DK and Diddy's are more Beast and "Fu" based. Bowser and R.O.B. uses wrestling moves. Shiek uses Ninjustu, etc.

I just want to see more of that along WITH what the characters are associated with from there source material. That's all I'm asking.

 

[KingTeo]

Well regarding your first point, captain Falcon and Fox's movesets were created from absolutely nothing.

521

 

[Nielicus]

I don't think they have to stay true to source material, only draw inspiration from it. If they took solely moves from source material the characters would be boring as **** and if this game was logical, it would be even worst. Tbh your ideas are terrible to me lmfaooo

 

[Raido]

A unique moveset is a plus, but not a must. If a newcomer has a unique moveset, it's a good thing. If he just has 2 unique moves, still fine. If he plays very similar to somebody else but is very iconic, he is still a good addition to the game.

 

[guedes the brawler]

nope, neither are.

Case in point: ike. Ike was unique, sure, but "Mighty Glacier with a lot of range" is something both Link and Dedede do, too; his attacks were all pretty basic. and he was the most popular newcomer overall, especially with the causal fans. How many of those used olimar or Rob instead?

being unique is just one thing, and ANYONE can be unique.


What people really care about:

*Aesthetics - Heroic, Badass characters generally are more popular than girly, weird, cutesy or evil characters.
*Offense and Speed - The more powerful and/or fast your character is, the more popular they can be. Balance and Defense-oriented playstyles tend to fall flat to most non-competitive smashers.
*Fun - If the character is fun to play as, why not?



it's one of the reasons i think sakurai should've went with Chrom, especially if he revived Roy's playstyle in him.

 

[Nielicus]

nope, neither are.

Case in point: ike. Ike was unique, sure, but "Mighty Glacier with a lot of range" is something both Link and Dedede do, too; his attacks were all pretty basic. and he was the most popular newcomer overall, especially with the causal fans. How many of those used olimar or Rob instead?

being unique is just one thing, and ANYONE can be unique.


What people really care about:

*Aesthetics - Heroic, Badass characters generally are more popular than girly, weird, cutesy or evil characters.
*Offense and Speed - The more powerful and/or fast your character is, the more popular they can be. Balance and Defense-oriented playstyles tend to fall flat to most non-competitive smashers.
*Fun - If the character is fun to play as, why not?



it's one of the reasons i think sakurai should've went with Chrom, especially if he revived Roy's playstyle in him.

Robin and Lucina >>>>>>>>>>>> Chrom. Robin offers a new and fun play style while Lucina was a very popular character. While Chrom was popular, I don't think he could offer much difference from Marth and Ike, and Sakurai obvi thinks the same

 

[BubbaDuke]

I'm glad Robin got in, but I would've gone with Chrom over Lucina. I feel like Lucina got in to put another female on the roster.

 

[guedes the brawler]

Robin and Lucina >>>>>>>>>>>> Chrom. Robin offers a new and fun play style while Lucina was a very popular character. While Chrom was popular, I don't think he could offer much difference from Marth and Ike, and Sakurai obvi thinks the same

well, considering how little of Robin's potential was actually used in smahs, maybe.

it isn't hard, though. heck, he could literally be Roy with a different model and that alreayd unique by itself since ther eis nothing quite like it.

 

[True Blue Warrior]

For the record, I wouldn't have really minded Chrom as a playable character.

 

[TeamEvil]

I think unique and original characters are very important. Imagine going into a smash bros game having no prior knowledge of the characters, who would you pick first? Whoever caught your eye. Not to mention that when a character has a move set hat is unique it does make them fun to play as. (As long as it's not too weird)

 

[the8thark]

I think unique and original characters are very important. Imagine going into a smash bros game having no prior knowledge of the characters, who would you pick first? Whoever caught your eye. Not to mention that when a character has a move set hat is unique it does make them fun to play as. (As long as it's not too weird)

You'd pick no one. As you'd not have bought the game. The game being based on Nintendo IPs we all have known and love for 20+ years is the main drawcard for SSB. People buy SSB because they know the characters and they get to play as their favourites.

 

[Mr G W]

Making characters with unique mechanics is always a risk.

If it is well done, they become very interesting characters to use although due to being harder to balance with the game standards they tend to be either overpowered or underpowered.

 

[Malkior7]

I think both a very important to game like SSB. If most of the fighters didn't have uniqueness or originality to their move sets then the game itself wouldn't be very unique

 

[Verde Coeden Scalesworth]

Their video game "source" is irrelevant as long as they can be made very fun to play as(unless they were a clone add in, where that can vary, but since every clone, IMO, plays great, well...). It's good to look at various sources for ideas to make them somewhat original, thus, giving the fanbase something cool and new to play with.

Of course, who the character is has some importance too. Semi-clones are fine(Lucas, Jigglypuff in their debut appearance) too, as they still bring something unique to the table. All clones are last minute additions.

Keep in mind that if a unique character is cut, unless a character plays near identical to them in a later game, they will always be unique and will always bring something different to the table. Mewtwo is a major example of pure uniqueness that has zero replacements that play anywhere close to his style. Quite literally nobody can cause the Dizzy status to a single character with a move outside of using their Final Smash(Wario Man) or breaking a shield. He's pretty much our only true stun-based character we ever had. Most of his moves revolve around that. Now, it is true that Zero Suit Samus has stun-based abilities, but that's not her core gameplay. She's a fast attacker with a single stun move that can be useful. However, it's nothing like Disable anyway. We did get a Deflector again with one of Mii Fighter's customs, I think, so Confusion finally got remade. I am unsure if it's a deflector, though. It has similar properties otherwise.

 

[Arcadenik]

Well regarding your first point, captain Falcon and Fox's movesets were created from absolutely nothing.

521

Always thought that Captain Falcon's moves came from one of the Dragon King characters... and Fox's moveset was based off Arwings.

 

[False Sense]

So, is this discussion for how important those qualities are to fans, or how important they are to Sakurai?

And why am I not surprised that Robin vs. Chrom is being brought up again?

 

[True Blue Warrior]

So, is this discussion for how important those qualities are to fans, or how important they are to Sakurai?

And why am I not surprised that Robin vs. Chrom is being brought up again?

Even with permadeath, Chrom still gets mentioned.

 

[Arcadenik]

So, is this discussion for how important those qualities are to fans, or how important they are to Sakurai?

And why am I not surprised that Robin vs. Chrom is being brought up again?

Personally, I think that what fans want and what Sakurai wants are not the same.

What the fans want are characters who are not clones (originality).

What Sakurai wants is characters who bring something new on the table (uniqueness).