I have the same thought on the Ink tank, i was hesitant about putting it in at first. I think my big worry was that the Inklings might have been too powerful and so needed something to nerf them but it is a bit of a roundabout solution. It also limits the amount of Ink that can be on the field at one time which could help from a technical standpoint and, again, acts like a nerf.
It's
a solution to the problem, but not the
best solution. Never settle for just "good enough". Rather than limiting uses of moves -- which is really Robin's thing, but more on that later -- why not, say, make the ones that lay down the most ink more of a hassle, and make attacks in general underpowered unless they're in ink -- like Popo without Nana, or Rosalina without Luma? It would simultaneously A) balance the character, B) be more elegant than the ink tank mechanic, and C) tie in wonderfully to the Inkling's central theme and mechanics. I'll be touching on this subject throughout the post, so read all of it before replying to a section individually.
This was a question of being overpowered as well. The idea of the Ink was about giving the inklings a place to hide and move undetected rather than slowing opponents down. It could work in that way but with the amount of ink that the player will want on the field i feel like all opponents would be at a massive disadvantage being constantly hindered. It is hard to say without play testing although one positive is that it would give opponents more of a reason to use their down attacks to destroy the ink.
Like most things in movesetting, it is pretty hard to tell. Nevertheless, we sure can speculate! I think something as simple as reducing movement speed and adding lag to jumps (not attacks; that'd make it a tad broken, since it's even harder to destroy the ink) could go a long way here.
I do not think the Splattershot should be a neutral special as it is such a indispensable part of the moveset that i think it fits the standard moves more. I did debat whether i should have them use the splattershot for their ariel as well but worried there would be to many of their attacks taken up by it.
If it's "indispensable", then what's so bad about having it as a special move? It's available at all times, would have more versatility -- aside from using it in the air, you could also perhaps aim it, walk with it, etc -- and actually fit in well on a special input. I don't really see the Splattershot as "indispensable" anyway -- it's just one of many optional weapon choices in Splatoon.
As for the Inklings character i would disagree. I would say the Inkling is entirely a projectile based character in Splatoon due to the nature of the game as a 3rd person shooter, even if the objective is different from most 3rd person shooters. All of the Inklings moves in that game are ranged with the exception of the rollers. I also disagree that it would take away the focus off the ink, if anything it is easier to spread ink around when it is being fired at range rather than close-quarters. It allows the Inkling to get the ink far ahead of them and then quickly swim through it to reach opponents quicker.
Again, i disagree on the idea that the Inklings are not about projectiles for the reasons above.
Inklings do
use projectiles a lot, but that doesn't mean that it's their central
theme. Things characters do should not be confused with their central theme; otherwise, the moveset often gets cluttered and unfocused. To illustrate this, let's take a look at a Smash moveset.
. We all know the guy. He's clumsy, awkward, and yet strangely charming. His most prominent starring role is in the Luigi's Mansion series, where he uses the Poltergust a lot. So you'd think that he'd use it a lot in Smash, right? Wrong. It's just a Final Smash. Why? Here's why.
Aside from the fact that Smash 64 came out before Luigi's Mansion -- sorta irrelevant I suppose since they've changed Luigi a bunch as-is, but I digress -- the Poltergust is in no way Luigi's central theme as a character. Luigi's theme is being clumsy, awkward, and yet likeable all the way through. That's Luigi. That's his core theme. And that's what Smash plays off of beautifully. His animations, his movement, his recovery, his hitbox placement, everything about him is just...
awkward, but if players
master this awkwardness, then great things can come of it. Heck, he's pretty high on the tiers right now. (inb4 patch) Having the Poltergust as a central theme would, at this point, either A) take away from Luigi's theme of being awkward, or B) make the set lose focus by trying -- and likely failing -- to focus on two different core themes at once, which just doesn't work most of the time.
How does this apply to the Inkling? Simple, just replace being awkward with managing turf -- the core idea of Splatoon's gameplay -- and the Poltergust with projectiles. That's not to say that projectiles couldn't have a decent presence in the Inkling's moveset, but it shouldn't be anything like a central theme.
As for the novelty of the dash attack going in reverse, i think it can only work in range. The main point of a dash attack would be to hit the opponent in front of you but a regular dash with the Inklings, who prioritize in range, would put them at a disadvantage by making them up close and susceptible to grabs. With this particular dash attack you could keep the range but still get the desired effect of attacking someone in front. As for the going backwards with the attack it is part of mind games. If you are being chased by another player it can act as a backwards dodge while having the added benefit of attacking in front. However it can also act as a detriment for players who forget they will go back, pushing the backwards into enemy attacks or bombs.
I don't think that it could
only work as a ranged attack. Heck, the Inkling has some tools that lend itself pretty well to this! I.e., ink and the squid form. Sure, you could simply dash behind someone regularly, but a far better strategy would be to just squid right underneath them, like a dash crouch of some sort. Then, once you're dashing out of range of most attacks, you can leap backwards -- possibly in squid form or something -- dealing damage. If they shield or dodge, however, you will likely get punished. At the same time, you could, rather than using the dash attack, just wait for them to shield or dodge, and then punish. And a bunch of other stuff that you probably know about and I won't get into here.
Also there is no particular reason for the Splatterscope. It could be replaced with any charger. I just liked the design in comparison to the regular splat charger. It had a little bit more on it, you know?
I see.
The Inkbrush being all the ariels was mainly to give the Inklings some kind of close-quarters attack. The focus is range but i did not want them to be 100% range. Like i said previously i did think about making the Splattershot an ariel as well but worried it would take too many of the moves. A bit hypocritical i guess when the Inkbrush takes up 4/5 moves true, but you could imagine it as martial arts. The Inklings never perform martial arts in their game and while it could be made up for smash (i know my regular up-tilt is made up for smash) i feel that the Inkbrush is a good equivalent. It is like they have a sword and it would not just be the same move regardless of the button press. The inklings movement and action would be different for each attack - the ariel forward and up are slashes, the back ariel is a stab and the down ariel is a sweep. With it being an inkbrush and not martial arts, it also means that ink can be spread with these moves which is a big focus of their moveset.
The Inkling never performs martial arts in the game, but neither do Luigi, Peach, Yoshi, Link, Rosalina, Luma, Villager, et cetera. Martial arts never hurt, even if the character never used them -- anyone can punch and kick. At least, in a fighting game they can.
It doesn't have to be just punches and kicks, though. Get creative. I'll once again refer to my Inkling moveset. The standards and most aerials are martial arts -- save for Forward Aerial. However, look at the set and you won't see a single punch or kick (with one exception). Instead, the martial arts consist of things unique to Inkling. The jab, ledge attack, back aerial, and pummel all involve slapping people with the two tentacles on the Inkling's head. It's a unique part of the character, and a good way to incorporate martial arts without getting too generic. The forward tilt is that exception I told you about earlier. While it is a kick, it also involves the Inkling's head tentacles -- read the set for more info on that if you're interested. The down aerial and dash attack involve the squid form, another unique form of martial arts. Finally, the rest of the standards and aerials use the Inkling's most unique trait -- its ability to create ink. Whether it's shooting ink out of both palms Spider-Man style at the ground, or shooting it upwards to attack opponents above itself with a windbox, ink is still very present in the standards. A little creativity goes a long way.
Sorry for the odd placement of the ink being destroyed. Maybe i should amend the article to mention it earlier. First off, i actually i agree that down-B may not be the best place for the squid form. My reason for putting it there is that involved going down and i wanted the roller to be the standard special because it involves holding a button down and that was easier to do there. However, thinking about it more, it makes more sense for squid to be a one button transformation so it is quicker to do so i may swap the roller and squid input around. Thanks for bringing it up.
No problem!
Now about the customs, i think they are fine given the nature of customs in smash. The camera does zoom out if you go to far away but i does not zoom in close enough that it becomes nonsensical to be well hidden. Your opponents may realize you are close because it zoomed in but he does not know if you are coming from the front or behind. Besides, if you are getting that close to the opponent then it likely means you are going to attack so the surprise comes from how quickly you act. Suddenly the camera zooms in and you jump out of the ink and open fire before your opponent had time to register that you were even that close. The Kraken on the other hand, fits in with the idea that one custom is a stronger, slower version of your normal attack. While i know the Kraken is a special and so odd as just a regular squid, liberties have been taken before with movesets in smash and i feel that the Inkzooka makes for a better final smash.
Fair enough. It doesn't really matter
too much in the end, since customs are (inexplicably) not given to DLC characters.
It could potentially have you run faster if you are on the ink but i think it detracts from the point of the Ink. The ink is there to help the player land surprise attacks. You would hide in the ink a lot and by pressing an attack button while in the ink will allow you to instantly jump out and perform that attack. This alone makes the Inklings very strong as you can quickly appear and then disappear before your opponents get time to hit you. The main focus of Smash and Splatoon is different so the main focus of the Ink needs to shift accordingly. The hide-and-seek mechanic of the ink blends well into smash but not every move requires its use. In my opinion: better players will use it to its full extent, the quicker and sneaky movements for surprise range attacks while catching opponents off-guard; average players will likely use it just for retreating or dodging incoming projectiles while bad players will not use the ink at all. Rather than force the use of ink in every move, i have left it up to the player to decide how they want to best utilize the Inklings main mechanic.
Yes, the ink is there to help you land surprise attacks. You've got the surprise part covered with the quick, subtle movement, but what about the
attack part of that? The surprise part makes them rather potent, sure, but it is sorta just a dodge roll, except you're vulnerable, less visible, and have more control. In my opinion, that's not really enough to justify a whole mechanic over. You say that the focus of the ink should shift. I agree with this. However, you don't seem to be really shifting the focus of ink here. It's still used for mobility and mobility alone -- whether it be speeding yourself up or slowing opponents down -- just like in Splatoon. That fits Splatoon, since you need to get around quickly in that game, to get to the [uninked turf/splat zone/tower/rainmaker] in order to win. However, in Smash, that is simply not the case. Attacking people is the only way to win here -- given your opponent doesn't self destruct. Thus, if you want ink to be as beneficial and crucial to the Inkling here as it is in Splatoon, you should enhance not only movement, but attacks as well.
I'm not saying that the use of ink should be
forced, but that doesn't mean that it can't
assist attacks. Let's talk about themes again. Let's look at Robin, Olimar, Rosalina, and the Ice Climbers. These four characters, along with the Inkling, all have something in common. See it? They all focus around managing some sort of resource. Whether it's tomes or a teammate, Inkling's ink actually has quite a few parallels in the world of Smash. Knowing this, let's see how these characters' resources -- their core themes -- are
used in their movesets, so that we can find out where the Inkling fits in. We'll go in order.
Olimar. You need his Pikmin for his smashes, aerials, grab game, and one of his specials. However, his standards, nair, and recovery are left intact whether or not you have Pikmin. This is important. Olimar is severely nerfed without Pikmin, but he's not completely useless. He's got the best time on the ground in this situation, since A) he has all his standards available to him, and B) that's where his Pikmin Pluck can be used. He uses his standards to get rid of opponents while he gets his resource back. His recovery helps him get back
to the stage and pluck Pikmin. If Olimar needed Pikmin for his recovery, then he'd be worthless once his Pikmin were dispatched. However, the recovery instead adds another layer to the management of resources by rewarding having
fewer Pikmin in your squad. This leads to an interesting decision -- do you keep your Pikmin for attacks once you get back at the cost of a worse -- and riskier -- recovery, or do you sacrifice them confident that you can get them back once you land? In summary, Olimar is a character who
wants Pikmin -- and does indeed
need them in order to win, but he's not worthless without them, as he can get them back easily enough depending on the situation.
Next up, we have Robin. He can only use each tome so many times, and then he can't use that move until they regenerate. His specials are self-explanatory, and what I said about Olimar still having his standards and such also applies here. What I'm more interested in are the aerials. They very much tie into his resource management -- the Levin sword can only be used X amount of times, but powers up Robin's attacks. The resource isn't
necessary for the attacks; rather, it
enhances the attacks. If you have a Levin sword, your aerials -- and smashes for that matter -- are more powerful, but they can still be used without it. In summary, Robin's aerials and smashes are better if he has the Levin sword, but he can still use them without it -- just a much worse version.
Finally, we have the duo of duos, Rosaluma and the Ice Climbers. I'll group these guys -- and gals -- together, since the basic idea is the same. You have a teammate, who enhances your attacks by attacking alongside you, but if you lose them, you're far below average. A similar idea to what I said for Robin applies here. These characters are far better off with their teammates, with their moves being powered up dramatically, and both have more options beyond that -- Rosaluma by using the Luma Shot to use Luma remotely and at a distance, or the Ice Climbers with desynching and all that.
So that's great and all, but how exactly does this apply to the Inkling? Well, I feel that these characters can all help us understand how the Inkling should interact with ink. It should be a valuable resource, something that every Inkling player will want to use. It should greatly aid gameplay, from mobility to attack power, range, etc, and the Inkling should be usable, albeit underpowered, without it. Maybe a few moves should be exclusive to ink, but most of them should be usable outside of it, albeit severely nerfed. While it may seem like we're copying these characters a bit, the nature of ink itself makes Inkling very unique. Ink is essentially a zone that Inkling controls. Whereas tomes, Pikmin, and partners follow you wherever you go, the ink is stationary. Thus, Inkling's poor mobility without ink becomes a crucial part of the playstyle, as it becomes a challenge to get back to your ink if you're on the other side of the stage, or in the air. Speaking of which, aerial combat. Seeing as how ink can only exist on the ground (and walls and ceilings), Inkling should be rather bad in the air. Not quite as much so as Little Mac, but it shouldn't be a strong point by any means. The majority of the moves should also play into the ink mechanic. Aside from the basic "this attack is stronger if you're in ink", attacks should also spread ink themselves. At least, a lot of them should. The weapons are obvious in this regard; they spread ink no matter what. But what if the standards only spread ink if you're already
in ink? Then it becomes much easier to expand your territory if there's already some in the area, much like how the added mobility helps you to accomplish this in Splatoon. Even if the move is just a kick or something, what if the ink from the ground stuck on the foot and got sprayed forward, just like how you shake your roller in Splatoon? Needless to say, there's a lot of potential here. And that's one of the reasons why the Inkling is my most wanted DLC character.
In conclusion, the Inkling should be a character that wants ink on the ground at all times. Without ink, it has poor mobility, attack power, and some trouble spreading ink. In ink, however, attack power is greatly increased, mobility is enhanced, the opponent is slower and more vulnerable, it's easier to spread more ink, and in short, you've got the home field advantage. While projectiles should have a presence in the moveset, they shouldn't be the focus, as they're not the central theme. Rather, the ink should be the biggest part of the character, as it's both unique and true to the Inkling's game and character. At the end of the day, though, no matter what moveset they have, I think we can all agree that the Inkling would be really freakin' cool in Smash Bros.
But thank you for the criticism, it helped me realize something that can make future moveset ideas better and more accurate to how Sakurai might make them.
No problem!
I really enjoyed writing this post, analyzing things, and all that.
MrNantendo , some criticisms:
