Slappy is the mascot of ‘Kid’s Choice Clothing.’ In Dead Rising 2 a psychopath named Brent Ernst dons the costume and attacks Chuck Greene, mistakenly believing that he started the zombie outbreak that killed ‘his girl.’ Brent largely remains in-character as Slappy throughout his fight and preamble, possibly as a result of his loss of sanity, but it’s just as likely it’s his normal personality. Despite representing a children’s mascot, he indiscriminately attacks with makeshift flamethrowers made from items lying around the Kid’s Choice store. He doesn’t’ last for long, but doesn’t go out before reassuring the kids that “Slappy will live forever.”
Size: 9
Weight: 8
Air Speed: 4
Fall Speed: 8
Walk Speed: 3
Dash Speed: 10
The unique aspect of Slappy is his traction, as at times it can seem non-existent because of his roller skates. When Slappy isn’t walking – meaning either running or dashing – he builds momentum, although doesn’t accelerate from his naturally super fast speed. What this momentum means is that when Slappy’s player stops pressing forward, Slappy won’t naturally stop, his movement will continue until the player presses in the opposite direction, as if they wanted to turn, or jumps. The speed of this ‘slide’ is equal to how fast he was going, but he won’t roll forever, petering out after 3-5 seconds depending on how long he was running or dashing. This means you can get off your entire grounded moveset while in movement. The dash attack isn’t affected by any of this in functionality terms, although it does make it slightly redundant as an input.
This one feature aside, Slappy’s stats are fairly normal, aside from his huge Slappy head. This constitutes almost half his total size, the head itself is the size of Kirby on its own and does count as part of his model for hitbox purposes. Minus that, the body is that of a regular human in most other aspects, being a slightly bulkier Snake due to the other clothing on Brent’s body like the gloves and comical shoes. Slappy’s going to need his speed and movement when he’s a big target and borderline combo fodder if he fails to take advantage of his speed instead of rushing into an onslaught. Although it would be all too fitting for Brent to do so.
SPECIALS
Side Special: Flamethrowers
That’s a plural, and these aren’t real flamethrowers. Slappy’s two identical choice weapons are in fact water guns with gasoline canisters attached on top, somehow reworked to shoot fire. When the input is held, both will shoot flames out twice as far as Charizard’s neutral special in a thin projectile, and the same damage (
1% from afar,
2% close). Unlike Charziard or Bowser, Slappy can use the fire when in movement, and can angle them both like Charizard can in Project M. Due to his traction, Slappy can even point his flamethrowers behind him as he rolls forward after a run or dash. The flamethrowers are deadly, but have a familiar weakness – they run out of power and become weak just like Charizard and Bowser, following an identical time frame to the latter, more profound because the flames start with greater reach. The flamethrowers default to shooting straight forward without an angle and have very low lag on either end, but can the move can be easily shielded. The positive of that is allowing Slappy to get in close by dashing at an opponent, and going for an easy grab when he does get close enough.
Up Special: Roundabout
Slappy spins in place, which takes as long as DK’s up special and has only a slightly less big hitbox, dealing 1 hit of
8% in the air, or 3 hits of
2.5% on the ground, dealing light knockback. The recovery is more horizontal than DK’s, at the cost of vertical height – something that Slappy would die for, and making him an easy gimp target on top of every other natural weakness. As an offset, Slappy can extend the duration of the move by a mashing of the special input for a greater vertical recovery, like Luigi’s down special, but coming at the cost of more end lag. As Slappy spins he shoots the two flamethrowers in both directions, their range and power dependant on the weapons’ charge and closeness of the foe, using the same standards as the neutral special for damage. On the ground, the move holds no benefit normally over simply using the flamethrower side special, but if you mash the special input it will put Slappy into the air at the end and therefore send the flames a little further, usually allowing enough time for Slappy to safely land and recoup.
Neutral Special: Fire Spitter
This is another makeshift flamethrower, this time a combination of a spitball gun and ‘tiki torch,’ shooting fireballs that explode on contact with any foe or surface. The gun can be aimed in three directions: straight forward, upward in a lobbing arc or sharply upward letting the fireball go up and land right in front of Slappy after a brief air time. The fireballs are as big as Mario’s but travel at the speed of Falco’s laser, a very laggy second breaking up any consecutive firing, making this a strictly long-range or predatory move. The fireball explodes on contact and deals foes
6% damage and medium knockback. The delayed aerial version is much more relevant because of how weak Slappy tends to be in the air, and this move gives him another disjointed hitbox to use in an approach. If Slappy can focus his flamethrowers in side special on the fire spitter projectile, it will grow and become more powerful, capping out at the power of a bob-omb if it gets flamed for over a second long. This naturally pressures the foe into approaching Slappy if he’s not run low on flames yet and can easily reach the projectile while it’s still in flight. Given he can also change the angle of his weapons, this means he can approach at the same time for a good deal of mix-up.
Down Special: Slappy Meal Prize
Slappy puts a hand behind his back and quickly pulls out an item from hammerspace. If no other input is pressed, he will do the respective move associated with that item, but by further presses of down special, he will instead take out the next in the cycle. This can be foregone by simply pressing the stated directional input after first inputting the down special. Whatever item was last used becomes the new default first item. If he comes to the ledge while cycling through, Slappy will stop at it, very possible with his movement. The default order starts at the gasoline and cycles on respectively after in the order as follows:
Down Input: Kaboom
After presenting one of his flamethrowers, he detaches one of their gasoline canisters, Slappy quickly pours its content onto the floor in a haphazard fashion. This coats the ground in gasoline in a puddle the size of a platform below Slappy, making the floor slippery as if it was Brawl’s ice for 15 seconds. Opponents now slip and slide, just like happy Slappy who isn’t affected by the gasoline! He does, however, take a considerable hit elsewhere. Any attack that made use of the flamethrowers is changed considerably, one of the flamethrowers now used up entirely and not shooting any fire for a time. The result of this varies depending on the move – in the side special, this halves the power of the flames, while in the up special, it means that only one side of Slappy is being sprayed with fire at a time, leaving him open to a foe to gimp or approach. This negative effect lasts for as long as the puddle, 15 seconds.
Gasoline being gasoline, this has other effects other than just making the floor slippery. For as long as it’s active, any fire element that touches the gas will ignite it in flames that rise up a character width in size, spreading to the full width of the puddle and lasting a further 10 seconds, dealing constant
1% damage and flinching knockback. This can be DI’d out of, but it’s much harder from the middle of the puddle, meaning that the ideal situation for Slappy is planting the foe there and then using a fire-based attack. It’s possible to use the down special twice to use up both flamethrowers with a small break in-between, wait for the earlier one to regain power, then use a doubly-wide gas puddle to make the most out of the flames.
By performing the move in the air over a foe, they will become coated in the gasoline, visually represented by a translucent slime covering their model. This makes them slip and slide as if they were on ice, whenever on ground, and slightly reduces both air control and jump height, the effect lasting 10 seconds. When coming into contact with fire, the foe catches alight, taking
2% a second for 5 seconds and flinching knockback once a second too. They also act as a fire hitbox themselves, potentially lighting up gasoline puddles or hurting other opponents on the field, something to which Slappy is immune if his fire was what did it, giving him a big edge.
Left Input: Explosive Temper
Taken from the Kid’s Choice store, Slappy takes out a stick of dynamite and lights it before throwing it in a straight trajectory. While Slappy lights the dynamite, this can be angled and has a drastic effect on the move. By angling up, Slappy will throw the dynamite into the air, it coming down in a trajectory similar to Snake’s weakest grenade throw. Angling low has Slappy roll the dynamite across the floor, whereas no angling or has him toss it straight forward. After 5 seconds, the dynamite explodes, dealing
20% damage and KO potential at 125% in a party-ball sized area. If Slappy ‘cancels’ the attack by shielding, he can carry it around as a throwable item, but be warned that the dynamite will explode and deal him 10% damage, as well as high vertical knockback like Snake’s grenade after the 5 seconds are up. When it explodes, Slappy’s entire body becomes a hitbox that deals the dynamite’s damage and knockback for a brief period, making it very easy to gimp an opponent. It has to be well timed however, as an opponent can hit him out of the move. This can be used off-stage when relegated to an item in this way.
If the dynamite hits anything fire-based it will prematurely explode. This makes it very dangerous for foes that are near fire-based traps or even on fire themselves due to the gasoline. Slappy can obviously very easily flame the dynamite by simply targeting it in various moves, or pull it along with him in moves like his down tilt to pressure a foe. Although it does affect him if he self-destructs with the dynamite, Slappy is not affected by naturally-exploded dynamite not in his hands as an item. Dynamite can be picked up and thrown again like Snake’s grenades, but this is dangerous as it will explode if it comes into contact with any fire, this actually does affect Slappy too.
Up Input: Giant Stuffed Rabbit
Slappy takes out an item found in his story, a giant cuddly toy, and drops it on stage in front of him, making a comical squeak and dealing
1% damage. The rabbit is a huge item-like presence, being as big as Luigi and wide as Kirby, it’s only destroyed by depleting its 30HP or attacking it off-stage, the rabbit having properties of the sandbag, so it’s a real slog. Dropping the rabbit off-stage and somehow hitting the foe has a surprising gimp effect, but it’s about as useful as Luigi’s down taunt in practice due to its slow fall speed and laughably predictable nature.
The surprising amount of HP makes the rabbit a great temporary wall against foes. The rabbit can be slid off-stage, potentially taking pressuring a foe to jump over it or attack Slappy, with not much time due to Slappy’s speed. The rabbit can be set on fire by Slappy, dealing any foe nearby, as well as itself, constant
1% damage, eventually being consumed by flames and dissipating after 15 seconds. It’s very easy to roll or throw a stick of dynamite into a rabbit, which does destroy the toy, but ensures that the dynamite will go off when it reaches this makeshift wall and destroy everything around it.
The flaming rabbit is an interesting wall to use against foes, as they cannot simply bat it away without using disjointed moves, and they can no longer directly pass by it without being damaged by flames. It’s also highly dangerous to them on top of a gasoline puddle. The rabbit will pass on its fire, and the bonus here to Slappy is he no longer even needs to angle his flamethrowers down – he simply has to aim at the rabbit straight ahead, making it easy to snipe the foe and start a vicious fire at the same time. The rabbit doesn’t last for a long time when it has caught fire, but it’s more than enough to push the foe into it and combo into a finisher as they get constantly flinched by the flames.
Right Input: Happy Festival Fireworks
Slappy takes out a firework, lights it and lets it go. The firework travels straight up vertically, forward or diagonally (the default) depending on directional input while lighting the firework, as in the dynamite. The firework can travel up to a final destination width in distance before it explodes, unlike the dynamite it will explode if it hits any surface, character or solid object. It goes at the very fast speed of Fox’s laser.The firework deals 3 hits of
4% and flinching for 2 seconds, as it has an expectedly flashy explosion.
The firework is unique in that it can be used in tandem with other items from Slappy Meal Prize by pressing the down special again just before Slappy lets go of the firework, after it has been angled (or not angled, potentially), This doubles the start lag to around a second long. The results differ depending on the combination.
The gasoline is pulled along upside down and pours gasoline as it goes, although only “enough” gasoline to cover one platform on the ground. Slappy’s firework is reduced by one quarter of its speed carry the gasoline, reducing its distance equally. It this is used to say, drop gasoline from a vertical firework, the gasoline can be ignited in midair for the same effect as on the ground, igniting and staying in the air for 5 seconds, the same goes for other aerial methods of dropping gasoline. Any neutral special fireballs that travel through this rain of fire increase in size as if they are being hit by a flamethrower or any other passive fire source. Foes caught in gasoline are as always drenched in it. If the gasoline canister is hit by a fire attack during this time, or if the firework hits a solid object and explodes itself, the canister explodes for the same range, damage and knockback as a Bob-Omb.
For the rabbit, the firework can barely carry it, reducing the firework’s usual speed and distance travelled by half. This is very straightforward, dragging the wall like rabbit across the stage and the firework hanging over the top, making it hard for the opponent to jump over. When the firework explodes, it sets the rabbit alight. It will also drop the rabbit if it was taken off-stage, creating a big fiery projectile to any foes below it. If not useful on its own, slowing down the firework has its own uses for follow-ups.
The dynamite and firework is an interesting combination as it basically works as the most direct combo – the firework explodes and the dynamite is carried into the explosion, igniting itself, creating a barrage of fire in that general area. The dynamite also doesn’t reduce the firework’s range or speed. This can be a deadly KO move if used right, but with the longer start up and how easily dodged such a fast projectile is, it’s the most risky one, if not used as part of an approach or other pre-prepared function.
STANDARDS
Jab: Rock Em Sock Em Mascot
A one-two punch, Slappy’s punches one fist after another to deal two instances of
4% damage, the second hit dealing low knockback. This isn’t particularly strong, but at low percentages this can be taken advantage of by following up with the side or neutral special projectiles if the foe comes into range, which is likely if they aren’t hit too far away. The range on this move, only slightly helped by making use of the flamethrowers, makes that it difficult to make a more complex approach like that. This necessitates that Slappy use it during his sliding approach, and even then it’s more usable as a surprise mix-up versus other more powerful moves. It’s a good move to have in the arsenal when both flamethrowers are fully functioning, or maybe not if the foe is low enough on percentage.
Dash Attack: Desperation Headbutt
Slappy hunkers down and uses his giant head as a battering ram against the foe. The sheer weightiness of the head gives Slappy grab armour. The attack deals
12%, but can be boosted slightly if Slappy was going faster at the start of the move, potentially topping out at 18% damage. Knockback is similar, only being able to KO at 200% normally, but when Slappy is going faster will KO at 150-200%. For the duration of the move, Slappy’s head is given super armour against attacks that deal up to 12%, but is vulnerable from the back. Given he can slide away after, that’s not too big a problem. If Slappy wants to approach an overly defensive foe and zone them out, this move is very useful for that. The move becomes more useful when on slippery ground as the foe can no longer properly time a dodge, so is forced to shield or jump, leaving them open for a grab or anti-aerial. The one problem with this move is that it needs a good amount of land to use on considering how fast Slappy can go, and he will burn out if he runs into a ledge, stopping awkwardly in place with bad ending lag.
Forward Tilt: Toy Solider Salute
Sliding forward on one of his roller skates, Slappy spins one of his flamethrowers similar to Pit’s side special, dealing 3 hits of
4%. The initial leap forward deals 5% damage to foes very close to Slappy and combos into the rest of the move. As he spins the flamethrower, fire is shot from the end of the weapon, but only about a quarter as far as in his side special, but more than powerful enough from this range to be very dangerous. The fire deals further damage (dependant on distance, see side special) and momentary hitstun, being a direct combo into the more powerful attack where the flamethrower is being spun. At the end of the attack, the foe is sent off for medium knockback that can KO around 200%, but this can be cancelled into a far more damaging combo. If Slappy has a full canister of flames, the fire can reach the ground and ignite the gasoline, trapping the foe in the walls of flame. If Slappy is sliding, he can potentially use this move to push the foe into the middle of his gas trap and set it on fire, accomplishing a usually very tricky combination to stack huge damage on the foe.
Down Tilt: Charging Stop
Slappy kicks his rollerskate into the ground in front of him, dealing
5% damage and low knockback, with surprising range because of his oversized footwear. This move changes severely depending on Slappy’s momentum. The animation doesn’t change, but a new effect is had, as Slappy comes to a halt by stomping into the ground, creating sparks on the ground, or an unpleasant sludge if used on surfaces like his own gasoline. If a foe is caught in the move when Slappy is coming to a stop like this, instead of one hit, it can hit 2-3 times instead, and the ending knockback is increased to KO at 180% or 170% , increasing greatly in power. This is brought to a greater extreme on oil or other slippery surfaces, as Slappy doesn’t ever stop, the foe taking up to five hits and this can KO as low as 150%.
Up Tilt: Yo-Yo Head
Putting that noggin to good use, Slappy headbutts just like Dedede’s up tilt, only without the hammer to lead on, and thus making it a lot more goofy and unsafe looking. Foes hit by the headbutt are dealt
12% damage, and knockback comparable to Dedede’s up tilt, which is very powerful for the input. The range of the move is huge, given Slappy’s giant head. Slappy can sustain such a risky move on his own footing, but on slippery ground, and without hitting a foe, he will fall over into a unique prone that puts his head first, turning it into a hitbox for as long as he’s sliding across the ground. The head deals constant hits of
3% damage and hitstun, although can be DI’d out of easily. This is more a good approach to avoid projectiles, as the head negates any knockback dealt by moves dealing 5% or less. Slappy’s prone attack is unique from this mode, using his head once again as a weapon to bull horn forward before getting back up, dealing 9% damage and low knockback, but being a very capable KO move at around 200% when he’s over 100% himself in percentage.
SMASHES
Forward Smash: Fire Sprinkler
Slappy aims his two flamethrowers up and shoots fire in a slightly diagonal trajectory, so that it comes raining down a platform ahead. Anyone in front of Slappy will be carried along slightly by the stream, working as a basic forward smash in this sense. Anyone hit by the stream will take constant
1% damage, racking up to at most
45% if hit by all of it (though is as practical to hit with entirely as Yoshi's down air), and flinching for the duration – though this is useless as Slappy is stuck in the move for most of the time this is happening. Aside from obvious things like messing up certain recoveries or zoning, this move has other very helpful purposes. As it’s coming down from the sky, it can hit several targets at once – whether it’s dynamite, gasoline or the opponent, and keeps the foe in place if only momentarily so that Slappy can make sure they can’t prepare for his approach later.
When the flames come down, they come down in a Kirby-wide area. Charge time increases the size of this area up to DK width, and also the amount of time the rain of fire continues. At minimum it lasts for 2 seconds, maxing out at 5 seconds. The downside of this is that as Slappy charges the move more, it drains his flamethrowers of their power. If Slappy isn’t managing his flames correctly, then charging the move simply has no benefit as it fails to add anything to the move’s range or duration. If a foe is kept in the move and fails to DI out of it, they will also be dealt knockback at the end that can KO at 200%, very deadly if Slappy manages to keep them with him as he slides towards a stop at the edge of the stage.
Down Smash: Wacky Hammer
This move shares a name with a generic hammer in Dead Rising 2 but doesn’t resemble it, being a novelty mallet on par with Dedede’s hammer in size, if not slightly larger. Slappy takes out said mallet and swings it in front then behind, brushing against the ground like Dedede’s down smash. Both hits deal
16-20% damage and little knockback at low percentages, but with great knockback growth that leads to a KO from this move at 210%. This used in motion makes rolling or spot dodging difficult, and the attacks does good pushback to shields, meaning a frame-neutral standing at best for a defensive foe. At lower percentages, a foe is hit weakly enough into the air Slappy can easily follow up with an up tilt, up special or up smash, each having an ideal scenario if he can correctly guess the foe’s DI. The knockback is slightly diagonal, encouraging a suitably Slappy approach, and the angle becomes more sharply diagonal at higher percentages, skewing the usual disadvantage that brings for combos, but also being a more reliable KO off-stage at super high percentages. The move is also a good for opponents hogging the ledge.
Using the move over any source of fire has Slappy’s mallet become temporarily covered in flames, increasing the damage by 10% and reducing the percentage needed to KO by 15%. The move also gains a small amount of super armour during the initial few frames. A useful application of this move is simply rushing into a fire, as the charging animation has the mallet ready on the ground, and coming out the other end with a fiery mallet. If another character or minion is hit into another by this move, the second character takes
10-14% damage and medium-high knockback (this is dependant on the foe’s percentage who is hit by the initial attack), and can KO at 150% if the first foe is at a super high percentage. The rabbit can be used for this too, although only hitting the foe away with low knockback. It’s possible, if more amusing than practical, to start a chain reaction of flaming mallets, rabbits, gasoline and opponents starting with this attack.
Up Smash: Slap-In-The-Box
Slappy hunches down, covering his head with his hands as he charges, before springing up. When Slappy jumps up, he deals
18-23% damage and knockback that can KO from 200-175%. The charge determine how high Slappy jumps, and he can jump up to a Falcon Boost height into the air, and this can be used to go off-stage, maintaining any momentum from the ground. This is significant for Slappy, as he has plenty of ways to attack a foe beneath him, and without a non-risky, strong vertical recovery, starting from a high point off-stage and travelling far due to the momentum gives Slappy a chance to air fight a foe without committing fatally to it. This move has a special 0.3 second buffer, added to lag if not used, that allows for the player to press the standard button repeatedly after charge, causing Slappy to jump again up to two times. This reduces the initial damage and knockback considerable – damage goes down to
9-12%, knockback only lobs the foe lowly into the air. The second jump does equal damage and knockback to the first. The last mimics the damage, but Slappy puts more spring into his step, making this final jump a powerful KO move, working around 115%. The downside to this is simply finding the space on stage to get in all three jumps, but if you do have the room, the knockback combos into itself automatically.
AERIALS
Neutral Aerial: Confetti Spill
After briefly tucking his arms under his chest, Slappy extends them out as an outburst of poppers and confetti pour out in all directions from his body. This acts as the typical neutral aerial, all-around hitbox, just with some extra flash, dealing 3 hits of
4% damage and medium knockback, although pretty laggy and, as with most of these sorts of neutral aerials, very hard to use close to the ground. The all around coverage at least gives Slappy some much needed defence and range with his awkward body shape in the air. If the move is used in the way of a firework, it will redirect it, its new trajectory dependant on where it hit Slappy, going in the opposite direction. If fire hits the confetti for the brief moment its active, a very temporary ring of fire is created, dealing a further string of 1% five times and then medium knockback that can KO at 250%. If you can get between a foe and a moving fire, or move the foe into fire first and carry momentum with you to catch them with say, up smash, it’s possible to combo into the end of this move off stage, where the weak knockback may accomplish something.
Forward Aerial: Crossfire
Slappy grabs his flamethrowers by the tip and swings them like bats, hitting any foe that gets in the way with the gas canister ends. This is two hitboxes that both deal
5% damage and two frames of hitstun, enough to easily combo into itself, before sending the foe off for low knockback. This will KO around the 200% mark if off stage, sending the foe off at a low vertical angle which is highly beneficial in the air. The move has good range, although not by Slappy’s at this point high standards, and is effective at stalling for a bit to hit with some other set-up, or delay for various obvious reasons. The important part is simply the low vertical knockback, which allows for an easy bounce off the stage if on stage, but not at such an angle that it will send them too high. This is very effective for Slappy’s style of low-altitude fighting. Although not specifically set off by fire alone, if Slappy uses this move on an explosion, the gas canister will both ignite for a powerful explosion that does twice the damage and knockback of a bob-omb blast, in a party ball range. This exhausts both canisters, but is an excellent, sure-fire KO on a foe if you manage to hit a firework or something, and while Slappy does the knockback from this one, his positioning means he takes it strictly horizontally. Of note is the long duration of a firework explosion and the fact it normally does no knockback, which can now be turned into a very powerful KO move. If used facing away from the blast zone off-stage, it isn’t hard to recover a fair distance off the other side from above the stage.
Back Aerial: Headstart
Slappy awkwardly kicks one of his feet backward, extending a good distance due to his roller skate, dealing
7% damage and medium knockback, which can only KO when the foe goes above 200%. The move has a sourspot in the last half of the frames of animation that deals only
2% damage, and about five frames of hitstun. This is put to any use however, if Slappy initiates landing lag with this move. By pressing forward or back in this small time frame, Slappy will swing the leg forward to go into a full dash immediately, with slightly more lag if he has to turn around first. This foregoes the otherwise poor landing lag. The sourspot actually comes in use here too, as Slappy gains the frame advantage on the foe he’s about to rush up on. When Slappy is such a big target, a high-ranged move to initiate from the air-to-ground is important, especially with his back to an opponent.
Down Aerial: Fall Sale
As is typical for a down aerial, Slappy makes use of a stall ‘n’ fall, turning his body slightly to get the most of the range and then stomping down with his roller skates. When Slappy hits a foe, they’re dealt
8% damage and medium knockback, but if used off-stage, it’s a sure KO. It also bumps Slappy up a small distance when landed. But to get to that point is difficult when Slappy is so screwed by being below the stage, and fully exhausts his up special to recover from a failed gimp. He needs the extra vertical boost from a successful hit to really survive. The positive of this is when combined with certain items from earlier. Dynamite or a rocket that gets caught under Slappy during the move is pulled off its trajectory for the duration of the move. The firework, if it goes off, will give Slappy the normal boost from hitting a foe, while the much more difficulty dynamite will give a much larger boost that can be very advantageous. This is as good a reason as any to combo the dynamite and firework, or firework and something else to slow it down, as it opens up Slappy to gimp very well.
Up Aerial: Happy Slappy Headbutt
Slappy takes a page out of Lucas’ book and performs a powerful headbutt in midair, dealing
12% damage and knockback that can KO from 160%. His giant head gives the move tremendous range. There’s a good deal of lag on either end of the move, making it riskier than Lucas’ version. Due to the huge range of the move, it’s best used directly below a foe whereby it’s possible to outrange a down air or other moves that don’t have much range. Slappy can pressure a foe in the air easily to get them in position using projectiles, or simply rush below them using his naturally high speed. The move’s straightforwardness makes it the optimal choice if trying to take advantage of a foe trying to dodge aerial projectiles as well, potentially outright getting a KO or hitting the foe back into what they were trying to avoid.
GRAB GAME
Grab: Hugging Mascot
Slappy holsters both flamethrowers between his arms, and crushes both hands on either side of a hapless foe, in a slow-ish grab. The slowness is offset massively by dashing into a grab, whereby the usual sliding applies, Slappy and the foe persistently rolling across the stage. This can be deadly as a turnaround if Slappy manages to pull a foe all the way from one end of the stage to another, but requires either a high percentage foe (which would be needed to KO them off-stage regardless) or some intelligent mix-up to regrab again at some point. While Slappy does slide during his grab, the throws change this up considerably – in any case the range on Slappy’s throw is essentially greater than even Snake’s boost grab in practice, and an amazing option when bombarding the foe with your projectiles or other attacks.
Pummel: Hot Wheels
Slappy pushes down on the foe and kicks childishly at them with his roller skates (think Snake’s down aerial on the ground), dealing
2% a pummel, and fairly fast. Obviously, this has another effect in motion, dealing
3% instead, but also slowing down Slappy. Other throws will speed him back up, making for an actually decent mindgame, but sometimes Slappy really does want to stop and get off a throw in a particular area. This is actually a useful move on objects that aren’t immovable but can stop Slappy on his way, such as his own rabbit or sandbag-like items, slowly pushing them all forward instead of being outright stopped.
Backward Throw: Spin
Again taking a flamboyant turn as in his up special, Slappy spins around while holding the foe and reverses direction, dealing
6% damage to them as he crushes them against the floor, causing them to be released in that direction, dealing low knockback. This has a totally different effect in motion, as Slappy's momentum shifts and the foe is still sent flying, but can easily be re-grabbed as Slappy continues sliding in their direction. On gasoline, Slappy will comically slip around and go into a Mario back throw style animation, where he accidentally is able to spin several times all the way around and toss the foe behind him for
10% and KO at 200%. The extra duration caused by the extended animation allows Slappy to slide further back, taking full advantage of a momentum shift that should allow him to get much nearer to that side's ledge.
Up Throw: Waterfall
Getting out his flamethrower for the final time, Slappy throws the foe overhead and fires his flamethrower, zapping them in place for a couple seconds of freeze frames before they're dealt medium knockback, which can KO off the top at around 200%. The damage is dealt in four instances, first three hits dealing
2% and the last
3%. The delay, whether in motion or used while, for example, dynamite or a firework is in motion, allows for Slappy to take advantage of his set up, as the foe is held impossibly at a distance by the fire, the distance determined by how much fire he has left in his gasoline tank. At max, it's a full platform, allowing him to detonate any number of explosives that get in the way. With little-to-no gasoline, the foe collapses into prone instead.
Down Throw: Slappy Merchandising
Slappy takes out a Slappy Mask (trademark) and forces it onto the foe, then knees them away for the actual attack, dealing
7% damage. The Slappy mask is actually a fully-rounded mask that is put over the top of the opponent’s head, sometimes making it comically large to fit the character. This annoying feature now delays foes attacks that extend upward as they pass over it, the mask surviving 3 hits until it is destroyed, or takes 20% from 1-2 attacks. The mask will extend the opponent’s hurtbox for as long as it’s on, and that can be indefinitely if Slappy manages to regrab the foe or pressure them. In the short term, even a pro-active foe is forced to choose to either waste time putting out a few awkward up tilts or what have you, or trying to remain aggressive and simply not use anti-air on Slappy, when being hit from below in the air is one of his biggest weaknesses.
Forward Throw: Fire Power
Slappy turns his back to the foe, hunches down to get the most of his roller skates and fires both flamethrowers, acting as they do in his side special, and dealing constant
1% damage to the foe as they bump along. This unique pose actually does accelerate beyond Slappy usual cap. This makes Slappy go 1.5x as fast as usual, and can push him off stage, taking the foe with him for the duration of the grab until the foe can escape. Once off-stage though, the foe automatically gets released from grab. That doesn't mean they stop being pushed necessarily though, as they still have to hit Slappy, who also is released from the move but continues at his previous speed until stopped by himself or an outside force. Because the foe ends up below Slappy in this instance, having a mask stacked on top of them can be great to get a quick hit in as the mask lags their upward attacks, allowing Slappy to recover or even gimp.
Don't worry kids, the next Dead Rising movement is coming soon!