Sheik with weapons?

[Jotari]

So I've never liked that Sheik was in Smash Bros. Oh it seemed fine in Melee, but even by Brawl it seemed weird to have a character in the game was is just a disguise of another character used a grand total of one time. By SSB4 I was actively campaigning to have Sheik replaced by Impa. Obvious that was never on the radar for Ultimate with its everybody is back philosophy. Though unlike much of Sheik's existence, the choice doesn't seem nearly as terrible to me now, as finally after almost twenty years, Breath of the Wild actually have us some indications of how Sheikah actually fight. So there's some potential there for a moveset inspired by more than a single recovery.

Of course, this turns me into a bit of a hypocrite as for a long time I was adamantly against Ganondorf getting a weapon in fear it would change his moveset. Though now they have done so with his Smash attacks and I'm reasonably satisfied with that, as he still feels like the same character as in other Smash games. So I'm kind of curious as to what Sheik mains actually think about the suggestion of giving Sheik weapons on some moves. And unlike sweeping sword strikes for Ganondorf, I actually feel like this could be done for Sheik. The Eightfold Sword could be shortened and added to many of her attacks. She could use both it and the Eightfold Long blade for her down smash, striking each side and maybe giving more range to one side. Even her down aerial could be a diving attack with the Serpentine Spear. The only attack I'd personally want to outright change rather than modding to fit a weapon would be Sheik's neutral aerial, which I'd make a downward aiming projectile using the Phrenic Bow, mainly because I like the idea of Sheik replicating the jump animation Yiga archers make. Then again I'm not sure how useful the current aerial is for setting up combos, so maybe that wouldn't be the best choice for maintaining gameplay fidelity.

Anyway as someone who actually plays Sheik, what are your thoughts? Do you think adding weapons would be awkward on Sheik? Do you prefer Sheik using a knife hand instead of an actual knife? Or would you be up for redoing the entire moveset and adding stuff like spear attacks? Tell me what you think.

 

[Aquamentii]

I'm now picturing Sheik but with Byleth's forward smash and it makes me chuckle, but I don't think I would appreciate that change overall. As far as using a knife/needles for a little bit of range/disjoint, I feel like such a change would come at the cost of some speed on her moves, which I don't want.

 

[Jotari]

I'm now picturing Sheik but with Byleth's forward smash and it makes me chuckle, but I don't think I would appreciate that change overall. As far as using a knife/needles for a little bit of range/disjoint, I feel like such a change would come at the cost of some speed on her moves, which I don't want.

That was one of my concerns with Ganondorf, that the extra range would come at a cost of power, but the sword smash attacks they did give him ended up being just as powerful as his old Smashes.

 

[Idon]

Nah, pulling weapons out of hammerspace is stupid looking.

At most I'd keep the entire moveset the same but give her the dagger she carries on her back for her hand strikes.

 

[Jotari]

Going back to this, as I'm kind of talking about it over in Zelda with light arrows for her Smash Attacks (and to a lesser extent, Ganondorf), I think weapons could work for Sheik's Smash Attacks specifically. As they're stationary moves, utilizing weapons less interrupts the flow of the moveset. Sheiks's smashes also just look kind of underwhelming to me, imo.

I'm also still kind of attached the Yiga Bow Jump animation for a neutral aerial, though still unsure of how attached Sheik players are to the current neutral air. I think the forward air gets all of the attention.