Week in Review Issue #31

[Rocket Raccoon]

The Week in Review Edition #31
8/11- 8/15

Banner by @ Venus of the Desert Bloom

Staff
Writers:
@ Venus of the Desert Bloom
@TumblrFamous
@---
@Opossum
@Mario_and_Sonic_Guy
@Frostwraith
@MaskO'Gears
@BigAxle
@ Rocket Raccoon

Editor:
@Aerodrome


I would like to say a big and huge thank you to:

@BigAxle for the Shulk Potential Newcomer Analysis and writing the PotD article for Friday.
@ Rocket Raccoon for posting up the Week in Review Issue #31

Previous Issues
[collapse=Previous Issues]
To view the previous issues
Issue #1
Issue #2
Issue #3
Issue #4
Issue #5
Issue #6
Issue #7
Issue #8
Issue #9
Issue #10
Issue #11
Issue #12
Issue #13
Issue #13 Direct
Issue #14
Issue #15
Issue #16
Issue #17
Issue #18
Issue #19
Issue #20
Issue #21
Issue #22
E3 in Review
Issue #23
Issue #24
Issue #25
Issue #26
Issue #27
Issue #28
Issue #29
Issue #30
[/collapse]

Want to help or contribute?
[collapse=Rules and Other Infos]This is the first edition of "The Week in Review". The Week in Review will be a series of articles I have made throughout the week concerning the Pic of Day through using posts, threads, and MiiVerse to pool information and opinions about Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and 3DS . However, the articles are not only limited to my own observation but to those of the larger Smash 4 community. Users are encouraged to submit articles and observations as well as opinions concerning the pictures that were updated throughout the week. I will explain how you can contribute later.

So what can you expect from this thread? On Friday, I will update the thread with a new article which will contain the Pic of the Day, other relevant images, information, I will also be pulling out interesting and thought provoking posts that have popped up throughout the week on the various threads such as the Wii U Discussion thread, 3DS Discussion Thread, MiiVerse Photo Thread, Roster Discussion Thread, character support threads as well as the Super Smash Bros, Wii U/3DS Backroom thus linking them altogether. In addition, I will also be adding up any information that Sakurai has revealed outside of the website/MiiVerse such as interviews and news articles.

I will open the thread on the weekend for people to talk about how the week went and comment on the articles. However, I will be closing the thread on Monday in order to prevent premature discussion about the weeks updates. I will be operating on Japanese Standard Time since both myself and Sakurai (OMG both of us in the same sentence?!?!?!) live on JST. View the JST Page in order to fully understand how time works.

Additionally, while this thread will focus on solely the Pic of the Day, I will sometimes allow pieces to be written about Smashboards, the Smash Community, MiiVerse, or Sakurai information. Additionally, once we have more information regarding the nature of the character, I will allow a user to write up an in-depth analysis of a character, veteran or newcomer. So come show your stuff!

Why is this thread needed?

We do have various discussion threads pertaining to various aspects of Smash. However, this is less of a discussion thread and more like a newsletter. I intend to present the facts and portray an unbiased review of the week. It will also serve as a hub to collect information, pictures, and articles that have been released in a weekly format thus allowing users to review the past weeks for better understanding how to predict future updates or to comb through information in an effective manner. It will also serve as a place to users to present their information, opinions, and observations in a semi-academical format. More information is listed below. If you see an interesting, funny, thought-provoking, or ridiculous post either on the SWF or on MiiVerse, PM me about it and I will include it! If you want me to remove you from a certain Tag, PM me and I will take you off.

Also, I wanted to use this space to allow users to be creative and constructive in speculating Smash in a more journalistic manner. I will not edit any posts except if they are inappropriate, bypass the censor, hateful in nature, or irrelevant.

How can I help?

You can contribute to this thread in many ways.
1) You can serve as a guest writer. This is done by contacting me via PM and apply to be a guest writer for the current week. I am able to allow or refuse the guest writer based on past credentials and reputation within the Smash 4 community so please keep that in mind.

After approval, I can either give you a piece to write OR you can choose one yourself. It should be focused on a particular Pic of the Day. Please promptly let me know which one you intend to. If I do not hear from you within a day, I will not accept an article. The article itself should be professionally written with little to no grammar or spelling mistakes. Any sources should be cited with a link to direct readers. While I understand some updates may be hard to write for, please write at least two paragraphs for each update. Unless it is an update of Luigi's nose but I am sure someone can find some Freudian psycho-analysis about that update. Please refer to the first edition post about how to write an article (though I am pretty sure many journalist/lit majors can do a much better job than I can lol).

2) You can help me gather posts that are excellent or at least interesting in nature. PM me any posts concerning a particular update and I will then add it to the articles. I frequent the above mentioned threads on a daily basis but I obviously miss things so I am heavily dependent on everyone getting me those great and thought-provoking posts. I want this thread to showcase what the brilliant minds in the Smash 4 community can do!

3) While you can discuss past and future weeks, please refrain from dissecting or analyzing the previous/future weeks and save that for the current week.

4) Could someone be a dear and make a banner for this thread. It's not urgent but a banner would be grand.[/collapse]

Table of Contents

Spoiler

1.1 Day #1: Oh hey Meta Knight...waitta minute...
2.1 Day #2: Capture the Special Flag
3.1 Day #3: Brawl Salt: Meta Knight Appears!
4.1 Day #4: Natural Beating
5.1 Day #5: Super Smash Lunch Box for 3DS
6.1 Week Overview
7.1 Week in Review Interview:
8.1 Potential Newcomer Analysis: Shulk
10.1 Franchise Analysis: Xenoblade
11.1 Sakurai's Diary
12.1 Editorial of the Week
13.1 We Want YOU to Vote! Results
14.1 Help Wanted

Oh hey there Meta Knight...waitta minute...
8.11.14
Day #1: Monday
Writer: @ Venus of the Desert Bloom

​

Sakurai trolled fans hard today with a PotD featuring Mii's but showcasing that they can have equipable masks on. Most shocking was the left mask:

Pic of the day. "Hello! I'm Samus, the intergalactic bounty hunter!" "And I am Meta Knight, joining the battle!!"

If the quote didn't inform you, Mii's can wear a Meta Knight's mask though this reveal was a bit more shocking due to the fact that the character, Meta Knight, has yet to be confirmed as a returning veteran. With a month and a day before the games release and no Meta knight; his fans have begun to worry if he will return. Meta Knight was widely considered to be OP due to character balancing issues and is something that people can constantly requested - nerfing the character. It is interesting to note that the fact a Meta Knight mask was revealed before the character. This is something that hasn't happened yet and could potentially be an indiciation to could be revealed next (or possibly be axed).

It also appears that players can wear a Samus helmet in addition. However, one thing that interested me was the outfit the Mii is wearing. It doesn't seem to correlate with Tron-like outfits seen here:
​

It is unknown if this is a Samus inspired outfit for simply a color change/mix-and-match of out outfits something that hasn't been confirmed but widely speculated. Masks and other head gear seem to be able to be put on Mii's without it obstructing the costumes.
​

The Hunter hat and Top hat doesn't obstruct the characters outfits
​

However,as mentioned before, it is unknown if the right Mii's outfit comes along with the Samus mask thus making it a complete set. It doesn't appear to be the case for the left Mii. This raises the questions to what kind of Nintendo-themed costume designs will appear in the game? There can be a lot of considering the nature of the Mii's and the costumes.

Here are a few ideas:

• Mario's hat
• Mario's overalls
• Luigi's hat
• Luigi's overalls
• Peach's crown
• Peach's jewelery
• A Bowser hat (maybe the Mii's face is visible from the mouth)
• Bowser's spiked bracelets
• Rosalina's crown
• Rosalina's jewelery
• Donkey Kong's tie
• Diddy Kong's hat
• Yoshi hat (kinda like Bowser)
• Wario's Hat (if confirmed)
• Link's hat
• Link's ears
• Zelda's circlet
• Zelda's jewelery
• Toon Link's hat
• Shiek's mask and hat
  
• Zero Suit Samus' boots (just for show)
• Pit's olive branch head decorations
• Pit's wings (wouldn't have any impact on gameplay)
• Palutena's circlet
• Palutena's brooch
• Pikachu hat
• Charizard hat
• Greninja hat
• Lucario hat
• King Dedede's hat
• Fox's visor piece
• Marth's circlet
• Marth's cape
• Ike's bandana
• Ike's cape
• Robin's jacket
• Lucina's circlet
• Lucina's cape
• Olimar's helmet
• Little Mac's boxing gloves
• Pac-Man mask
• Sonic Mask
• Mega Man's helmet

While a lot of those are probably unlikely, I personally think that the following are fairly likely:

• Shiek's mask and hat
• Mario and Luigi's caps
• Peach and Rosalina's crowns
• Link and Toon Link's hats
• Fox's eye visor
• Olimar's helmet
• Diddy Kong's hat
• Mega Man's helmet

They just scream to be included. It is amazing at how much content is being included for the Mii's and the levels of customization for them. While a good majority of people dislike the Mii's, I for one am excited to see how much content and customization is including for the Mii's in order to make them fun and interesting. Maybe not competitively viable but still a joy to play as/fight against.

Here are what people had to say at this recent trolling:

This man never fails to out-troll himself.

PotDs are more for the comedy than the news itself lately

@Hokori

The last few PotD's have been extremely troll.

I approve.

@Aerodrome

that suit the samus mii is wearing though..

@im just peachy

I just love all the different costumes you can have for your Miis.

(Congratulations! Your Meta Knight evolved into a Mii!)

@Shin F.

I hope that one of the taunts involves switching the mii's face to a mii of one of the other fighters. That would be amazing.

@Drazile

I want there to bea Ridley mask POTD just so Miiverse can go up in flames.

@Ragna22

Woah, we all know that changing MetaKnight was really necessary but that's overwhelming!! His hitboxes will be very strange in comparison to Brawl! XD

Hehe, anyways, Sakurai is a magnificent troll and maybe MetaKnight gets his presentation later in the week...

@JUr

​

Things Confirmed for Monday:

1. Mii's can wear masks
2. There is a Meta Knight and Samus mask.


Capture the Special Flag
8.12.14
Day #2: Tuesday
Writer:@Venus of the Desert Bloom

​

Tuesday gave us some more information concerning the "Special Flag". The Special Flag is from various Namco series and first appeared in the Rally series. In some games, it is only a collectable items while, in others, it gives extra points. This is not the first time it has appeared in a Nintendo game as with was in Star Fox: Assault which was also developed by Namco.

Here is how the Special Flag appears in Namco games.​

According to Sakurai, it functions much like in the games where it gives points:

Pic of the day. If you manage to raise this Special Flag for long enough, an additional KO count will be added to your score in a time match, or you'll get an extra stock for a stock match. When this appears on the stage, the fight for the flag becomes a fierce battle of tactics, which makes things pretty interesting.

It appears that the Special Flag will give the player who holds it the longest a point or a stock; depending on whether it is a stock or timed match. If it is a stock match, it will award the player with an addition; stock thus an additional life. In a Timed Match, it adds an additional kill point. Sakurai stated that this will have a big impact in various strategies and appears to an Item, like the Dragoon parts or the Hammer, that causes the players to make a mad scramble to. It has a profound impact to the score; especially if a Special Flag was to appear right before a match ends in a Timed Match or when both players have one stock each. The Special Flag may not appear during this time due to this possibility but nothing is confirmed.

This also marks a PotD featuring Pac Man who has been strangely absent from the PoTD but it's fitting considering the item is from Namco.

Here are what some had to say about the Special Flag:

#BANNED LOL

@Warchamp7

So there finally is a way to get a new stock

@PsychoIncarnate

Capture the Flag, huh? That 'S' is gonna stand for 'Salt' if it changes the outcome of any future Nintendo tournaments.

@Hokori

i would've like a green mushroom more...

@Sobreviviente

Finally we know what the Special Flag does. Ever since Pac-Man's reveal trailer, I always thought the Special Flag had a different function than acting as an Assist Trophy for Namco characters (like many people believed). I must say, I rather like this item's function. Now people no longer have to borrow lives from their teammates--at least not always.

@Altais

This is one of the more fair and fun items shown in the series thus far. If you mean to imply that there are some "#banned" items alongside "completely fair" ones, you're out of it. This is new information. Not every day or week can be a new character. Consider that there are, in all likelihood, just not that many characters in the game. A roster of 45-48 is not unreasonable coming off of Brawl's 39. With 36 characters shown already and unlockables being hidden from the public eye for the time being, expecting more than "filler" updates the majority of the time is a sure-fire setup for disappointment.

kink-link5

Things Confirmed for Tuesday:

1. The Special Flag can give another stock in Stock Matches or a kill point in Timed Matches.

Brawl Salt: Meta Knight Appears!
8.13.14
Day #4: Wednesday
Writer:@Venus of the Desert Bloom

​

Wednesday was a nice surprise for Super Smash Bros. fans! After a longer wait than usual, fans were awarded for staying up late with a veteran reveal! Meta Knight is confirmed to return to Super Smash Bros. While fans never doubted his return, some felt that Meta Knight shouldn't return due to how "cheap and OP" he was in Brawl. It appears that Meta Knight will have quite a few changes and not just asthetically. Here is what Sakurai had to say about Meta Knight:

Pic of the day. "Looks like there was an impostor in the earlier posts, so I introduced him to my sword!" ...I'll leave it up to your imagination if he really said that or not. The veteran hero, Meta Knight, returns to battle!! We didn't forget the Battleship Halberd either!!

​

He also had this to say

Meta Knight's Up Special Move, Shuttle Loop, changed quite a bit in this game. The glide is gone, and the attack slashes opponents twice while spinning in a large loop. This has turned into a highly technical and effective move.

Humor aside, Monday did sort of confirm the masked anti-hero as returning. And he does return with some differences but Sakurai did not elaborate what these differences were exactly. One major difference in his move "Shuttle Loop". In Super Smash Bros Brawl, Shuttle Loop was his Up Special:

Meta Knight jumps into the air with his sword pointed upwards, goes into a loop and glides forward with his blade extended. The Shuttle Loop does around 9% of damage, and has good knockback, making it one of Meta Knight's few finishing moves. The ground Shuttle Loop has vertical knockback and invincibility frames at the beginning of the move and the air version has strong horizontal knockback, being a solid edge-guarding move due its high base knockback. The initial upswing of the Shuttle Loop is mostly used at the end of Meta Knight's combos.

http://www.ssbwiki.com/Shuttle_Loop

However, since gliding was done away with for the Wii U and 3DS versions, this obviously has an impact on how his recovery and Up Special is. This is also true for other gliding characters such as Pit and Charizard. Instead of hitting the opponent once while performing the loop and gliding, he performs a large loop that can hit twice before ending. The firs thit must do some sort of hit stun in order for the second hit to land but Sakurai stated this was a "highly technical and affective move" which seems bit of a strange comment considering how powerful Meta Knight was in Brawl. However, fans were unsure if this change in fact nerfs Meta Knight as shuttle loop was an effective and powerful attack. There are sure to be other changes for Meta Knight waiting to be shown and we for sure see some changes o Meta Knight in the future.

While unconfirmed, Meta Knight could potentially display battle damage the more and more he gets damaged. Some users pointed out that he displays scratches to his boots, gauntlets, and shoulder paids as mask the more he becomes damaged. Here are some pictures for evidence:

http://smashboards.com/threads/battle-damage-confirmed.364279/#post-17289343
@GMSTerror

However....

small battle damage details on his armor to make him less cartoonish

http://www.ssbwiki.com/Meta_Knight_(SSB4)

Again nothing is confirmed yet and it could just be graphical differences. However, Little Mac's bandages seem in various pictures may be an indication that battle damage will appear but only on certain characters.

In addition, it could be only for his screen KO and may not actually appear during gameplay.​

And as we know from the Smash Direct, the Helberd appears again as a Wii U veteran stage and serves as the home stage for Meta Knight.

Here is the photo gallery of the pictures shown on the Meta Knight character page:

Here are what fans had to say about the Meta Knight reveal:

Meta Knight da bess.

@BigAxle

Oh joy, i wonder if they change anything else beside his up B...

@Tristan_win

I swear, he better be fixed this time around. He was easily my most hated character because he was so overpowered.

@Mr. Seven

Just like with every other character, Meta Knight looks more glorious than ever in HD...

@KingofPhantoms47

Guys, now that Shuttle Loop works differently he can no longer jump to near the bottom of the edge of Final Destination and use Shuttle Loop to both KO his opponent and land safely back onstage.

That was one of the most common tactics and it's been taken away now. Sakurai is indirectly showing a nerf, which is good news (but I hope they don't overnerf him to oblivion )

@EdgeTheLucas

He can't plank Uairs or Glide anymore. I have a feeling he'll be pretty balanced this time. Just give his Tornado a bit more landing-lag and nerf his priority a slight bit and we'll be fine

@SupremeSuperiorStick

​

Congrats Metaknight fans! This is exciting! Glad to have a character reveal in a PotD.

Okay, Sakurai, it's my turn, where's Falco? lol​

@Iron Angel

​

YEAH! HE'S BACK! The king of sword badassery! The one and only Meta Knight, let the salt flow from the Brawl haters' tears as they fail to realize he's not going to be broken because of this game's focus on balance!

But seriously, MK's my favorite Kirby character, it's good to see him returning, and that badass render!

@D-idara

Looks like the nerfing begins.

But seriously, I jumped with joy when he was announced. I'm glad that one of my favorites came back.

@Sol0ke

Am I the only one loving the metal look on his mask and gloves? It's such a minor detail, but it makes him look that much better. Also, more villains!

@Garteam

I actually expected a post revealing him yesterday like this, but the day wait wasn't bad haha. Great to see him back! Can't wait too see what other changes he may have.

@Ryan.

Anyone who thinks that MK will still be broken in i think is fooling themselves. With the option to now have patched updates i'm sure that he won't be as strong overall as he was before. Though i'm interested to see what other changes they made to him. Though i have a feeling his attacks will appear slower due to the fact that smash 4 seems to be focusing a lot of making attacks more fluid and less blocky like they seemed to be in brawl.

@kid craft 24/sonic master

On the one hand, I want some other vet (Ganondorf) revealed soon, but on the other hand, I am very curious to hear about other changes that Meta Knight has received... Oh so torn.

@DaDavid

YESSSSS!!!!!!! I LOVE meta knight he is like the batman of nintendo!

@Helmslock

​

Things Confirmed for Wednesday:

1. Meta Knight confirmed to return as a veteran character.
2. His Shuttle Loop move has changed so he performs two hits but cannot glide.

Natural Beating
8.14.14
Day #5: Thursday
Writer:

The game changer of Smash 4 is customizable moves, and today's update showcased two of those abilities in action for the third party character, Mega Man! Today showcased two abilities, described by Sakurai in his Miiverse post:

Pic of the day. Here's Beat! And Plant Barrier!! These are some of Mega Man's custom special moves. You might also be able to use some signature boss-like moves from the Mega Man series, too.

Plant Barrier and Beat are two of Mega Man's special moves that are customizable alternates. Plant Barrier appears to be a Down Special, and Beat is appearing to be an up special. Plant Barrier was one of the Robot Master abilities in Mega Man 6, obtained from Plant Man, and Beat is from Mega Man 5 onwards.

Plant Man, in his leafy glory, Followed by Mega Man using the Plant Barrier. Note: His armor is similar enough to the Rush outfits that Sakurai was able to homage it!

Plant Barrier is quite fitting for Mega Man's down special as is, seeing how it's very similar in properties to the Leaf Shield, from Wood Man. In Mega Man 6, it originally couldn't be thrown; however, in further games featuring the Plant Barrier, it's possible to throw the weapon. As a potential change in properties, the weapon could potentially be a more defensive tool, as it normally takes many hits to vanish.

With this in mind, it's likely that the Skull Barrier from Mega Man 4 is the other Down Special for Mega Man.

Skull Man, followed by the Skull Barrier.

Whereas the Leaf Shield and the Plant Barrier are more defensive, the Skull Barrier is a tad more versatile as a shield, but it can't take as many hits. Mega Man does not stop when he uses the ability (unlike the other two) and is a direct homage to the Leaf Barrier, but it cannot be thrown, acting as a spike. With Sakurai teasing more Robot Master abilities, this is very possible.


As for the other move revealed, it's one of Mega Man's other Robotic allies, Beat the Bird! In the regular games, Beat's role has changed often; In some games, he attacks enemies, but in others, he saves Mega Man from falling into a pit, directly homaged by Mega Man 7. This is the more iconic action of Beat, as it's seen more often than not that this is how he's portrayed as of late.

Beat in action.

This move will likely carry Mega Man for a short amount of time, but allow him to still attack to some extent. It's great to see Sakurai giving custom moves that actually are interesting to some characters, despite them being banned in online play.

Here's what a few of you had to say about Plant Barrier and Beat:

I promised to myself that I wouldn't be using custom moves to avoid unbalanced gameplay. But screw that! Sakurai has blessed us!

@NekuShikazu

Customize your Megaman. You see guys? Megaman Universe came back after all.

In all seriousness though, Search Snake from Megaman 3 should totally be one of his neutral specials.

@Ragna22

It's happening!
I wonder what custom up B #3 will be though. Rush jet? the ball weapon thing from MM8?

@Protom

Careful that you don't lose your helmet there Mega Man.

@Mario_and_Sonic_Guy

Things Confirmed for Thursday
1. Plant Barrier is a Down Custom Special for Mega Man.
2. Beat is a Up Custom Special for Mega Man.
3. More of Mega Man's customizable moves are Robot Master Weapons.

Super Smash Lunch Box for 3DS
8.15.14
Day #5: Friday
Writer: @ Venus of the Desert Bloom

​

We got another look at Smash Run and what makes it actually tick. According to Sakurai:

Pic of the day. Here's the place you equip powers for Smash Run. Pack a good mix of them like a lunch box, and off you go! You can change how your powers are set up by touching their icons and dragging them.

Sakurai also posted a second comment:

If you hit the X Button, it will randomly fill up the remaining weight allowance with powers. You can keep changing the line-up as many times as you please. The level of a power is proportional to its strength, number of uses, and weight. Organizing them might be easier if you label your favorite powers with a ★.

This is a nice little tidbit on how to add power ups to characters in Smash Run. Sakurai also added several helpful features as randomly filling in the various power-ups for those who want a more difficult challenge or those who just can't decide on what to pick. Additionally, you can label your most used powers with the ★ thus making it even easier to locate and include your favorite power ups. This menu seems to appear prior to the start of Smash Run indicated by the red "Start" button.

Smash Run is a new mode on the 3DS version that puts your character into a gigantic level and pits you against various enemies found in the Nintendo universe as well as within other 3rd party universes. As you go through the stage, you can get extra power ups that further increases your characters fighting potential that you can carry into the final match between the other players.

On the top screen we can see various power ups that players can take into Smash Run. These include:

• Power Bomb
• Launch Ring
• Strong Kick
• Auto-recovery
• Back Shield
• Spinning Blades
• Rocket Belt

Some of these are actual items such as the Back Shield and Rocket Belt and seem to grant the player their use when activated. To the right, it shows that the item was equipped and just how heavy that item is with the Power Bomb being the heaviest. This matches up with the 25/25 wight number on the bottom screen. The icons are selected and packed into the Smash Run lunch box where the player can rearrange them by dragging and dropping them. The number in the icon may allude to how many uses it has which also shows in the icons description. This is an easy way to identify how many uses a certain items. Overall, this is a nifty new menu that really helps with starting out on Smash Run!

Here are a few responses:

He's certainly taking all the best elements from KI: U. I'm excited for smash run =D

@Phaazoid

I'm surprised no else noticed this, but "Power Bomb" is an equip-able power. Back Shield and Rocket Belt are also equip-able, which incidentally are also items.

It makes me wonder if Power Bomb is an item that Sakurai has yet to reveal...

FYI, the "Power Bomb" item I'm thinking of is a weapon Samus uses in the Metroid series. A single Power Bomb typically engulfs an entire room in an explosion. It seems like it would be an item that would make sense to be in Smash Bros.

@CCD23

So with all the high notes over the last month...this week ends on one a few cents flat.

Still interesting, though. Seems like Sakurai didn't want to mess with the whole grid setup for the powers this time around...

@Delzethin

Auto Recovery? What? This is all in depth stuff. I love it. Can't wait for the game to come out!

@*Risen*

Overview:

1. Players are able to add power ups prior to Smash Run starting.
2. There is a weight system that restricts from over-packing.
3. The Rocket Belt and Back Shield are items as well as power ups for Smash Run

THANKS FOR READING!!!

Monday trolled fans a bit with a PotD featuring now only a Samus Mask but a Meta Knight Mask. At the time, Meta Knight was not a confirmed veteran but Wednesday showed us, right? On Wednesday, Meta Knight was officially confirmed along with his Up B "Shuttle Lopp" being changed as well. Meta Knight is also confirmed to not have his glicing mechanic back. Back tracking to Tuesday, Sakurai talked a bit about the Special Flag and how it can award players who hold it an extra stock or point. Moving forward, Thursday confirmed two of Mega Man's Custom Moves - Beat as his Up Special and Plant Barrier as his Down B. Mega Man will have other customizable features as well from other bosses. Friday showed us the beginning menu for Smash Run. Players are able to add and organize power ups and fit them into the "lunch box". They can only carry a certain amount of items.​

 

[Rocket Raccoon]

Interview of the Week
@Aerodrome

​

Aerdrome is the our friendly user turned moderator turned super moderator turned senator! He can be seen checking a wide variety of sites and is generally visible in most areas of the forums. Coming from the Land Down Under, Aerdrome is a vocal member of the Australian Smash scene. Other than his witty humor and transparent attitude, Aerodrome helps out users who are having problems with the site and approaches it with a welcome "Hey bro, let's talk" attitude. I know him from the avatars he usually has which will switch between interesting pieces of artwork to League of Legends characters to anime basketball to what you see above. I hope you enjoy this interview and check back next time for another interview!!

1) How long have you been a member on Smashboards and why did you join? When were you made a moderator? When were you made a Super MOd? And when were you made a Senator? What were your thoughts?

I've been a member of Smashboards since early 2009, originally I discovered Smashboards through the Brawl Prima guide (which was terrible by the way). My intent was to troll the community here, but I ended up contributing instead. I was drafted as a moderator for Brawl King Dedede subforums on March 4th, 2012, promoted to super moderator on August 11th, 2013, and promoted again to Senator on February 16th, 2014.

I was baffled that they made me a moderator in the first place, although I had experience moderating before it wasn't like the upper staff knew that. At any rate I was happy that I'd been given the opportunity to moderate here.

2) What is your favorite part of Smashboards? What is your least favorite part?

I think my favourite part of Smashboards is that I can be around relatively like-minded people. We're all connected by a common thread; that we all love Smash Bros.

My least favourite part is that I have to do things. I'm inherently a lazy guy who procrastinates a lot, so it feels really bad when I watch all these requests from users pile up and the only response I can give to people who are asking me to do things is "soon".

3) Will you be getting Super Smash Bros. for Wii U or 3DS?

Both! I'm actually importing a pretty pink 3DS from Japan just so I can play Smash 4 in mid September.

4) Who are your Mains in 64/Melee/Brawl? Who do you plan to main in Smash 4?

I've never played 64 or Melee seriously, but I did use Jigglypuff a lot in 64 and Sheik in Melee. I played Brawl competitively since the game basically came out where I mained Zelda for the first half of Brawl's lifespan until I realised that it was no longer possible to do very well with her because of the advancements in the metagame.

So I picked up Wolf and Peach. I still occasionally use Zelda against bad players though.

5) Who is your most wanted newcomer for Smash 4? More than one answer is ok.

Uh. I don't really know. My most wanted newcomer was Palutena, but then they confirmed her. So, hopefully Ridley's in? I dunno.

6) What stages would you like to see included in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U/3DS? Past stages included?

Any neutral stage ever. I dislike stages with hazards or weird ledges like Pokemon Stadium 1 or Lylat Cruise.

I'd like to see Spear Pillar back, although I think that was replaced by that new Pokemon Stage. Uh... N's Castle? Or was it Lumoise City? One of those two.

7) What would you like to see improved or expanded from Super Smash Bros. Brawl?

For the love of God, please balance the game properly Sakurai. Brawl and Melee were both horribly balanced games, and I really hope that with Bandai-Namco on board that they can finally get this right. I'm not asking for everyone to be equal, just the difference between Fox and Kirby or Meta Knight and Ganondorf to be significantly smaller in this game.

What is your best/favorite Smash Bros. moment/memory?

OCEAN beating M2K. Brawl was completely dominated but the mentality that the only viable characters were Meta Knight, Snake, Diddy Kong and friends. No one expected OCEAN to win using R.O.B. of all characters, but he did and it was completely unprecedented.

It was ultimate hype <3

9) Where did your username come from? What is your avatar of?

Username means "airport" really. I like planes. Please do not judge me.

Avatar is a panel from a webcomic I read very occasionally. I like this particular panel because the artist captured three key emotions (guilt, shame and sadness) really well that I can sort of relate to. The character in question is an atoner of sort, and I find myself attracted to characters like these.

10) How is the Australian Smash Scene? Do you participate in it often? Please feel free to talk in detail about it as I feel some of the readers do not know much about it.

Australian Smash scene is... interesting to say the least. I go to local tournaments every month to participate and help the scene grow. The Australian scene has its own set of unique challenges since some of the players are nowhere near as well behaved on the internet than they are in real life. Also in my local area the Melee players and Brawl players do not get along very well to say the least.

Other than that, it acts as a pretty normal group. I don't really expect American scenes to be much different.

11) Who is your favorite LoL character? What is do you like most about that series?

My favourite League of Legends character is Fiora. My reasons for liking her is because she's an attractive, French fencer chick (an honorable reason, I know). The other reason is because she fits my offensive playstyle. See, in video games, I like to hit things, and she's very good at hitting things.

The reason I like League of Legends is because it's a moderately difficult PvP team game where I can play with my friends online. I rarely play it unless my friends are though because honestly, chatting (or yelling!) with my friends over Skype is honestly rather hilarious.

12) What do you find yourself drinking at night? I know we have similar taste in drinks.

Literally anything. Mostly whiskey/scotch and rum though.

That said, I haven't had anything to drink for a few weeks after an accident that involved a large quantity of consumed alcohol and a toaster (Please do not ask).

13) Please tell us one thing about yourself that we may not know?

I've eaten a lot of weird stuff (think snails, crocodile, Skippy the kangaroo etc) but not the really weird stuff (think sheep brains).

I also help people with frame data related things in all Smash games as well.

I don't know what else to put here, I'm a pretty one dimensional guy.

Thank you based Aerodrome for taking the time to fill out this interview! Check back for another one next week!​

 

[Rocket Raccoon]

Top 11 Newcomers
Writer: MaskO’Gears​

​

In Super Smash Bros, there is nothing that excites fans like the characters, or more accurately, the newcomers. While I myself and many other fans enjoy the stages, music, and mechanics, at the end of the day, characters end up being the most discussed. Who’s likely, who’s unlikely, and how the would play. So far, we’ve had eleven newcomers revealed for Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and 3DS. Of them all, people will have their favorites. Recently, I reached out to the Official Character Discussion Thread and asked them; How do the newcomers rank? The results are now in, with opinions from both the users that responded, and the WiR’s opinions. So without any more delay…

(Note: These results are based on averages, and not on any one list. It is in no way intended to be any one user’s list, and as such, any resemblance is purely coincidental.)
​

11
Mii Fighters

Introduced at E3 2014, the Mii Fighters are currently the least-liked newcomer, perhaps due to their inclusion as generic fighters, as opposed to a previously established character. Some expressed their liking of the Mii Fighters… as representatives of humanoid characters that would never make it in Smash on their own. Another general complaint went into the development time for the Mii Fighters, and not the characters themselves.

The Miis originated from the Wii franchise, as an avatar for the character. They are used in multiple games, including Tomodachi Life and Wii Sports.

-Wii U Mii Creator-​

The Mii Fighters themselves are equally customizable, with three distinct classes of movesets to choose from. The Brawler specializes in quick and close up combat, the Swordfighter uses their graceful and deadly attacks to zone opponents, and the Gunner is equipped with a multitude of mysterious technology to attack from a distance.

-Impressions-​

I used to despise the idea of Miis being in Smash Bros., but the way Sakurai went about implementing them made me love the idea. The three different types of Mii Fighter and the customizations options that come with each one make me very excited to put my own Mii in Smash Bros. My favorite Mii Fighter is the Mii Gunner.

@Swamp Castle

I really hate miis, I'm just glad you can't use them online. I would've rather seen the long development time put into them on someone more interesting.

@ihskeyp

I accept the Miis. They deserve to be in. But wasting time making three characters, and then completely unique custom moves. Sakurai said it perfectly: they have the same amount of movesets equal to 9 characters. Such a waste. I don't hate the inclusion, but I really don't like how they put in SO much effort.

@TumblrFamous

10
Wii Fit Trainer

Perhaps the most surprising inclusion so far, the Wii Fit Trainer was revealed at E3 2013 with mixed response. But despite her low ranking here, most have come to except her unique moveset, citing her quick and precise attacks, along with her interesting specials.

Originating from Wii Fit, an extremely popular exercise game for the Wii console. Selling over 22 million copies, the game featured a unique controler.. the Wii Balance Board. Within the game, players were instructed by a male or female mannequin, the ‘Trainer’.

-Wii Fit-​

Taking heavy inspiration from the game, the Wii Fit Trainer (male and female alternate costumes are available) uses a variety of healthy moves to attack her/his opponents. This includes stretching and yoga poses, making Wii FIt Trainer an entertaining character to watch.

-Impressions-​

I grew up on many things video games weren't there in my life until later. Some of the few games I played were Wii party type games withy family Wii wit was a common sighting in my house especially the yoga my mom would be in front of the TV striking all of the poses. We can say that the Wii fit trainer was kinda like part of our family. When I heard she was in ssb4 I was kinda skeptical. How would a character like her be viable for the game? Then I saw her play striking yoga poses for moves and all of the fun hulahoops for recovery remind me of those days on the Wii and of some of my first video games I got into more fighting like games and shooters a few years back and ssb like two years ago. I never would have thought that one of those Wii characters would get in even with the game being a Nintendo game. I love her quirkiness and just what she reminds me of and this is why she is at the top of the list.

@solarunity6

She's a cool and brilliant addition, but she's just so bland in terms of moveset, in my opinion. Easily overshadowed by other newcomers.

@GOLD3NLOTUS

I was initially in a state of disbelief when I got the text from one of my friends that Wii Fit Trainer was a character, but over time, I grew accepting of her and am willing to try her out.

@GoldenYuiitusin

9
Lucina

If anything must be said about the newcomers of SSB4, it must be that we have had quite the number of surprising characters. Lucina is no different. Revealed on the special July 14th character announcement, Lucina comes in at ninth place on average. This character has really had a mixed response, as fans have both expressed their love or dislike of Lucina. This is due to the fact that her entire moveset is exactly the same as Marth.. making her a clone character. Sakurai recently revealed that she was a last-minute addition to the roster, moving from a mere alt. costume of Marth to her own slot on the character select screen.

Lucina hails from Fire Emblem: Awakening, a strategy game for the 3DS. An important character in her own right, her identity as the daughter of Chrom, the main lord of the game, is hidden through the first part of the game as ‘Marth’, a mysterious sword fighter from the future.

-Lucina’s in-game model from FE:A-​

Despite being a clone, Lucina has two unique features. First, she is shorter than Marth, and secondly, she lacks a ‘tipper’, or sweetspot at the end of her sword, Falchion. Instead, the damage is evenly dispersed throughout the blade, perhaps making Lucina more of an offensive character than Marth.

-Impressions-​

Marth is fun. To me she only has two noticeable differences. I've got nothing against worthy clones. Falco's the man after all.

@Espio264

I honestly think she should of stayed a costume.

@SegaNintendoUbisoft

I love this new creative direction this Smash is going. The newcomers drip with flavor and represent a variety of playstyles. I do not hate the idea of clones, anymore. That said, Lucina was not going to beat out the more dynamic cast for me. However, she is an interesting minimalist clone. Take away Marth's mechanic that defines his spacing game and you have a completely different style of fighting.

@Bowserlick

8
Palutena

The goddess of Light and eternal diva Palutena takes a surprising 8th place on our list. Revealed at E3 2014, Palutena exhibits a unique moveset that involves customization, much like the Miis. Her fans loved her inclusion, but her low ranking was exhibited as a lack of information on her moveset.

Palutena first appeared in the 1986 NES game, Kid Icarus, where she was the captive of the evil Medusa. Latter, she would appear in a stronger role in Kid Icarus: Uprising for the 3DS.

-The ‘Best’ ending of Kid Icarus-​

Appearing as a heavyweight character in SSB4, Palutena’s specials (and some Smash attacks) consist of the Powers from Kid Icarus: Uprising, and like the Powers in the game, can be changed. A small selection of the confirmed Powers include Reflective Barrier (Reflects projectiles), Angelic Missile (Simular to Luigi’s Green Missile), and a Counter move.

-Impressions-​

First, I didn't care for Palutena at all. I didn't get hyped from her reveal trailer, she seemed like a lifeless character, nothing interesting. But now, the more we DON'T know about her (she's hardly been in any PotD's or the like), the more interesting she gets. And I've also grown to appreciate her style: she's a pretty impressive looking character. Her many special moves also intrigue me, and, well, just my overall interest towards her has skyrocketed.

@Staarih

After Brawl was out for at least a month, I told a friend that I wanted Palutena in the next smash. He just stood there laughing at me. And I knew that Sakurai would remember him working on Uprising.

@CliffJumper

I was rooting for Magnus, but I'm glad KI got someone new at all. I loved all of the characters in Uprising, and Palutena was no exception, so I'm glad her personality is being brought into the fray. Plus, I like that her moveset is comprised of the powers Pit can use.

@SpindaMaster

100% - As I said a million times, she's the only one I wanted, and she delivered. I even gotten used to her powers gimmick quickly. I guess it's because my main priority was get getting revealed first.
The only sadness I have for her is the lack of PotD and info she's been getting. It would be nice if she'd get more attention in that aspect. But at least she's in, so no worries from me (unless she becomes a low tier).

@Admiral Pit

7
Villager

Arguably the first character revealed for Super Smash Bros. 4, the Villager settles in at 7th place. Villager brings a wacky moveset to the game, using fireworks, manual labor, and produce to attack his (or her) enemies. This, along with an interesting airgame, makes Villager a welcome addition to the Smash roster.

The Villager is a simple, a formerly innocent avatar of the play in the Animal Crossing series. Through a short questionnaire, the looks and gender of the Villager is chosen. Players then use their new identity to perform daily tasks, such as house decorating, bug collecting, and general upkeep of the village they call home.

-Image from Animal Crossing: City Folk-​

In Smash Bros., the Villager uses the same daily task to attack enemies. From a net for a grab, to simply opening an umbrella as a side tilt, the Villager remains as another unique newcomer. Humorously, something else came from the Villager’s inclusion…

The initial reveal for the Villager quickly became an internet phenomenon; due to his constant smile and variety of weapons associated with stereotypical serial killers, such as a shovel and axe, many smashers and outside observers claimed that the Villager was actually a dangerous psychopath. The Wii Fit Trainer was also given this treatment, though this was much less widespread than the Villager's.

-Impressions-​

I like the idea of beating people up with everyday items. Also everything he does just screams his franchise. I like the charm he brings to the game based around beating the living daylights out of people.

@solarunity6

An Animal Crossing character was LONG overdue, and Villager is the perfect choice. I know that most people wanted Tom Nook, or K.K. Slider, but I think Villager does a better job of representing the Animal Crossing series with his moveset than those two. Also, I love his moveset. It's wacky, looks usable, and does a fantastic job of utilizing the tools. Plus, I love that Sakurai's fears of him losing his "innocent image" came true to the fullest extent.

@SpindaMaster

I rather would have had Tom Nook if I'd be honest, but its still a nice addition. His moveset looks fun as hell, and the fact that he can store just about anything in his pocket for later use, including friggin summons (like the one used by Zelda) cemented my love for this character.

@Dromader

Villager is super fun, his moveset is troll-y and quirky and represents Animal Crossing as a whole! He fits right in with the cast and was arguably HAD to be in.

@SpaceJell0

6
Mega Man

Revealed as the first 3rd party character for SSB4, Mega Man makes a much appreciated appearance. Representing the Mega Man franchise as a whole, the Blue Bomber takes a majority of his moves from the Robot Master powers that he acquired from various games. Other details, such as the Mega Upper and Wall Jumping are taken from Marvel VS. Capcom and Mega Man X, respectively. Fans praised his faithful inclusion, but generally ranked him lower, perhaps due to the fact that we’ve seen many newcomer since his reveal.

Created by Dr. Light as a simple robot, Rock offered to upgrade himself into a weapon after the evil Dr. Wily intended to use six Robot Masters, stolen from Dr. Light, an acquaintance of his. Rock, now known as Mega Man, defeated Dr. Wily, and continued to do so whenever trouble arose.

-Mega Man 2 Opening Title-​

Projectiles are Mega Man’s choice of weapon. His jab combo, side tilt, side smash, and most of his specials are medium ranged projectiles, from the simple Mega Buster to the devastating Crash Bomber. This makes Mega Man an interesting zoner, choosing to keep his opponents at a distance, then rushing in with a quick finishing attack.

-Impressions-​

Mega Man is fantastically put together in this game. Capcom and Sakurai's team did amazing with him. I'm only more surprised at myself for not having considered the possibility that he could seamlessly transition between robot master powers. I felt if he were in, he would have moves that strictly used Dr. Light's technology (was expecting Rush to be an integral part of his arsenal). It's nice to be proven wrong here

@~Krystal~

One of the best reveals in this whole Smash pre-release experience. He looks like he controls exactly like the NES games, and I am happy about that.

@Glaciacott

If this were a list of "who looks the most/least fun to play," and I weren't accounting for other merit, Mega Man would be #11 hands down. The only reason he made it this high is because the fan request was real.

@Niala

The super fighting robot! His massive game of keep away looks like it'll be quite a bit of fun, but I'm worried that he's going to be too annoying to fight. If I'm significantly better than my opponent I want to use flashy characters to win, and Megaman definitely lacks that. In serious battles I'll be interested to see how he does.

@The Nerd

5
Little Mac​

​

Little Mac brings the heat in 5th place. Largely considered a shoe-in by both fans and non-fans, his inclusion was a great treat but not entirely a surprise for some. Prior to being revealed, many felt he would fit best as a grounded fighter with strong and powerful punches but an overall weak air game. In addition, some more experimental move set speculators suggested he can switch between various styles of boxing to confuse his opponents. While he didn't get a stance change mechanic, he is extremely strong on the ground and can punish those who venture to close to him but has a horrible recovery and air game that keeps him mostly to the ground.

Little Mac first appeared in Punch-Out for the arcade which was then brought to the NES and named "ike Tyson's Punch-Out!! which saw great success. The game also appeared on the SNES with Super Punch-Out!! though minus the Mike Tyson part. However, the game felt into obscurity and missed it's chances of being on the Nintendo 64 and Gamecube consoles until Little Mac was included as an Assist Trophy in Super Smash Bros. Brawl and a subsequent reboot on the Wii.

Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!!​

As mentioned before, Little Mac is a beast on the ground and can utilize many different types of attacks. He also has a unique Power Mete above his damage percentage icon which increases the more damage he takes and dishes out. Once it reaches the end, it signifies that Little Mac can release his K.O. Punch which causes an immediate KO. While extremely powerful, Little Mac is sometimes KO'd himself before he can utilize it.

-Impressions-
​

At first, I was one of those guys that didn't want Little Mac. "All he does is punch." Yeah, I said that. Even now, I don't really care for him too much, but the trailer that he brought with him hyped me enough to say, "Wow, this guy looks like a beast!" Also, I know we'll get some good music with him being in the game.

@Rockaphin

Great from a character inclusion standpoint, but man does it look like he sucks bad. I do still have a fondness of him since his moveset is pretty cool, but I don't think he will be very good.

@Wariofan1

I love Punch Out so much. I can't get enough Punch Out. My dad played Punch Out back in the 80's, which one day caused me to buy the game on the Virtual Console. I was not disappointed. A fighter/puzzle hybrid, Punch Out requires you to memorize patterns and tells from the opponents to become champion of the WVBA. I'm rambling on here, but Punch Out is easily one of my favorite games of all time. Imagine being me, watching the February Direct live and squirming in my seat trying to hold my excitement that Little Mac, possibly my most wanted newcomer, had finally joined the fray. Not only does his inclusion make me thrilled, but his playstyle is right up my alley. I love being in the air as much as the next guy, but a quick up close brawler like Mac is definitely someone that I could main. No matter who is revealed in the upcoming months, nobody will beat Mac for me.

@Louie G.

I was thrilled to see Little Mac, he's a good addition. I just focus primarily on Aerial Fighters, and he completely diminishes that possibility. He does have the looks, don't get me wrong.

@TumblrFamous

Smash, the fighting game without a character that can actually fight. It always intrigued me that there was not one member of the roster who actually "fights" in their game. Of course there were always swordsmen and whatnot; albeit, I wanted a character that could fight with their fists, "the fist is mightier than the sword." A man's man. Little Mac is that character. I have no connection to Punch Out!! but he was most certainly one of my most wanted characters and I intend to main him. His dude bro-esque design is aesthetically pleasing and his trailer was reminiscent of older Smash reveals (subjectively speaking, of course). He reinvigorated my faith in the game and his play-style of complete and absolute rush-down is amazing!

@MorbidAltruism

4
Pac-Man​

Pac Man is the third Third Party guest revealed for Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and 3DS. His reveal came not as much of a surprise considering a feel different factors:

• Namco's involvement in the development of Smash 4
• Even without Namco's involvement, a popular and iconic character
• Leaked by Gematsu as a newcomer; leaked to appear at E3 2014

However, his reveal came with excitement by Namco and Pac Man fans. Many detractors felt Pac Man wouldn't be able to fight but it appears that Pac Man utilizes a variety of items and gadgets that were taken from Namco intellectual properties and incorporated into his move set.

Pac Man is an iconic video game mascot from Namco. He has been around since 1980 - before the time many of the users if not all were born. He has weathered the years and gone through various updates and revisions to the current form he takes now. His games were a maze-like adventure game which involved the player navigating Pac Man through a series of maxes eating pallets and fruits while avoiding ghosts. When he eats a large Power Pellet, he is given the power to devour the ghosts for extra points. Once all of the pellets are eaten, he can advance to the next level.

Pac Man​

As mentioned before, he is able to eat pellets as a well to perform attacks, change to his retro cheese wedge shape for attacks, as well as utilize a variety of items and gadgets from Namco IPs such as:

• Bonus Fruit, a move where he summons 8-bit fruit, and Galaxian Starships. This has been confirmed to be his neutral special. [3]
• A move where he turns into his ball form and chomps on a chain of pac-dots. The player appears to be able to control the path of the dots, therefore controlling the direction of the move.
• A move where he spawns a Fire Hydrant that shoots water with a push effect. It can also be launched with an attack into players.
• A jab consisting of two punches followed by a kick.
• His up air appears to be the aerial flip kick from Pac-Man World 2.
• A move, likely his down air, that involves Pac-Man stomping multiple times downward, much like Lucas's down air in Brawl.
• Turns into his ball form and dashes forward, possibly a dash attack.
• Multiple moves that spawn 8-bit ghosts, likely his smash attacks.
• A move where Pac-Man is punching straight upward could possibly be his Up-Smash.
• A move where a tractor beam similar to the one used by the Boss Galaga is emitted from Pac-Man's hand.
• A move where Pac-Man spawns a trampoline from the Namco game Mappy that can be bounced on by other players, similarly to Sonic's Spring Jump and Mega Man's Rush Coil. The trampoline will remain where it was spawned, even in midair, and will change color from blue to yellow to red each time it is used. If the trampoline is red when it is used, it will break and the player will enter a helpless state as they fall.
• Namco Roulette, an up taunt where he summons classic Namco items, characters, and enemies, similar to Bonus Fruit, including those from Galaga, Mappy, Dig Dug, and Xevious.
• There is also a taunt where Pac-Man is laying on his stomach with one hand holding his head, and kicking his feet back and forward, while two ghost along with colorful music notes hover over his head.
• A move, most likely a directional final smash, where Pac-Man turns into a giant 2-D version of his 8-bit form and goes straight forward.
• Pac-Man can wall jump. [4]

http://www.ssbwiki.com/Pac-Man_(SSB4)

-Impressions-
​

he just genuinely excited me, I was really hoping for him, too and I was super glad he was put in. I'm very glad he got the spot since he deserves it more than anyone else from Namco, and fits in perfectly.

@GunGunW

Don't really care all that much for Pac-Man, I knew he was very likely but yah....

@Kikwi-Kiwi

People question his addition to the roster, and all of I have to say is, does the grandfather of gaming really not deserve a spot. There's no doubt that Namco's involvement increased his chances, but he's Pac-Man for crying out loud.

@SegaNintendoUbisoft

I love Pac-Man. He's a classic, and fully deserves his place in the game. And he takes from his Pac-Man World design! In addition, he just oozes personality. To those who criticize the ghost usage, it's not the first time the ghosts weren't antagonistic toward him. If only he was more of a summoner than we thought he was.

@Opossum

Love me some Pac-Man! A great, really unique moveset, can't wait to main him! (unless Paper Mario, Bandana Dee, or Mach Rider get in.)

@Cobalsh

3
Greninja

Greninja is the Ninja Pokemon and is a dual Water/Dark type Pokemon. It is the evolved form of Froakie; one of the starters in the Kalo Region in Pokemon X and Y. Within Smash, it plays much like a ninja would though utilize water-based attacks. It can form shurikens made of water and utilize stealth based attacks.

It first appeared in Pokemon X and Y through a leak prior to release and many were hyped due to it's tongue scarf. It quickly became a fan favorite and, upon release, grew he more popular due to it Protean hidden ability which allows it to change it's typing to the move type it just used. This is a very helpful ability to have and quickly catapulted Greninja to even higher levels of stardom.

Pokemon X and Y
​

As mentioned prior, Greninja is capable of using various moves that are found in his move set in the game such as Water Shuriken, Shadow Sneak, and Substitute. It even utilizes two attacks in it's Final Smash: Mat Block and potentially Close Combat. In terms of gameplay, he is very aerial and mobile with great jumping abilities. He has become a fan favorite at the various demos.

- Impressions -

​

Such a lame pick, from such a lame game in a great franchise. It breaks me that Gen 6 gets any representation at all. I guess it's better than Gen 5, but still. There are other Pokemon that I like much, much better.
He doesn't even have a real gimmick which is even more lame.

@The Light Music Club

I am a big Pokemon fan and Greninja is a very interesting choice, as well as looking quite fun to play as.

@DJ3DS

Little too random for me, but hey; he stopped us getting the dull Brawl + Mewtwo Pokemon option I was dreading. Thanks Greninja!

@YoshiandToad

Honestly, it's mostly because I like down-to-earth characters. and by that I mean not like but characters with very simple movesets. greninja fits right in to this category, and he looks awesome.

@legendofrob1

Great design, great moveset potential and from what I played at Best Buy, he's a very fun character to play as. He was my starter in Y version and gets and amazing competitive ability. Was very excited to see his trailer

@Xenorange

Me, being a hardcore Pokémon-fan, get excited with even the slightest of Pokémon news. I was a Zoroark-supporter and always thought X/Y were too new to have representatives of... but low and behold, we got Greninja. And I was pumped!! After the initial surprise and shock I was happy to see that Greninja was indeed quite a good-looking character, being fast and nimble, just the way I like my characters. Super excited for his inclusion!

@Staarih

Out of all newcomers Greninja is the only one with a unique moveset I'm interested in, and that's enough to boost him over everyone else, despite him being a somewhat lousy Pokémon addition imo. He's still the best 6th Gen rep they could choose though as he's one of the few cool ones that was introduced.

@Wariofan1

2
Rosalina and Luma

Rosalina and Luma was the first newcomer introduced after Wii Fit Trainer back in June. Almost a whole 6 months in between each other and was the start of the avalanche of new characters. She has a unique and technical game play design that is attributed to a "puppeteer" play style. She and Luma move conjointly but she is able to utilize Luma to execute attacks close or far away from her as well as team up for attacks.

Rosalina is one of the newer characters in the Super Mario Bros. universe, appearing first in Super Mario Galaxy for the Wii. Following Super Mario Galaxy 1 and 2, she has been featured int he many spin off games including Mario Kart and Mario Party as well as Super Mario 3D Land for the Wii U as a secret character. Nintendo seems to be pushing Rosalina into the forefront as a major Mario character.

Rosalina and her Luma's in Super Mario Galaxy
​

Most of her attacks will correspond to Luma which allows them to execute double the attack whether they are close or far away from each other. They can also set up combos and strategies to trap and corner players into a wall of punishment. This technical and challenging play style has really captured fans attention which is remarkable considering prior to her reveal - many dismissed her as just being a Peach clone. However, Sakurai obviously went out of the way to make Rosalina a truly unique and interesting character.

- Impressions -​

Rosalina provides an interesting playstyle being puppet master and would love to give her a shot

@CrusherMania1592

I don't feel a 5th Mario rep was necessary and also felt other Mario reps were more deserving. She does have a unique move-set though, that's good.

@Shoulda

This is such a wonderful new playstyle for Smash Bros. I think Rosalina will be one of the best characters in Smash history given her incredible versatility. Even though she's very gimmicky, she feels way more fun to play than the Ice Climbers or Olimar did.

@ThatWasPeachy

Also a character I had mixed feelings on at first, but after seeing her amazing puppeteer playstyle, I was in love (with her playstyle, I mean... Heh heh). She seems like a very precise character who needs to be played by someone with a lot of skill and practice. I'm positive that Rosalina will become a competitive favorite and I'm willing to put in the practice to wreck everyone with her. While my #1 will be the first character I play as next Smash, Rosalina can very well be my main.

@Louie G.

Out of all the confirmed newcomers, Rosalina has basically been the character who gave me the biggest hype. I've often thought that Rosalina could be a unique fighter, and the inclusion of the Luma adds to her uniqueness. I'll probably have a lot of fun utilizing Rosalina, and her puppeteer elements.

@Mario_and_Sonic_Guy

1
Robin

Coming in first place in the Top 11 Newcomers is the avatar of Fire Emblem: Awakening, Robin. Both a strategist, a sword fighter, a mage, and a lover - Robin was a huge....gigantic surprise for mostly everyone. This could be due to many were expecting Shulk, a Gematsu character, to be shown due to the Gematsu/Sal leak. However, the July Monday reveal really shook the fan base and pushed Robin up to the 1st spot. However, this alone didn't boost his/her popularity as many were requested a swordfighter mage character; specifically one from Fire Emblem. As well, many were asking for some female swordfighters. We got both: a character that utilizes magic and sword fighting as well as a sword fighting/mage female. It is confirmed that Robin has both a male and female skin; much like the Wii Fit Trainer and the Villager.

The Create an Avatar screen in Fire Emblem: Awakening​

Robin is capable of using Tomes to deal elemental damage to enemies. Some of these tomes include Thunder, Arcfire, Elwind, Nosferatu, and others. Thunder can be charged into various forms such as Elthunder, Arcthunder, and Thoron. While Nosferatu isn't in his move pool in the game, Sakurai stated that is the magic of Smash Bros. - not everything is exactly canon. He/she also possesses the Levin Sword which has magical properties however within time and use; it can break in which Robin must use the most weaker Brozne Sword until it can heal itself. Robin is a very unique and challenging fighter that has a lot magical and skills at his or her disposal.

- Impressions -
​

Not much history with the character, but he looks like he has a lot of cool mechanics up his sleeves with the tomes and limited-use sword.

@Dromader

A swordsman, and a spellcaster? Robin looks to be quite interesting with those tomes of his. However, I've never really been a Fire Emblem fan, so I don't have much of an opinion on this.

@Mario_and_Sonic_Guy

Words cannot describe this one properly.

But to put it simply, before Robin was revealed, everyone believed that the Gematsu leak was absolute gospel. Everyone believed that Chrom was a shoo-in. Everyone said that Robin was impossible, wake up and face reality, you're totally in denial, how can you not understand that?

It was an incredible moment when Robin was finally revealed and proved to everyone that anything can change.

@False Sense

Ike blew me away in Brawl. I feel like Robin's gonna do the same. The mixing of sword and tomes is intriguing as well. Plus he brought his attractive sister to the party .

@Espio264

I am not a fan of how over-represented Fire Emblem is getting. But I admit I did favor Robin (or any tactician) high above any other Fire Emblem character (especially lord). So when I saw him, I let out a sigh of relief.

@shinhed-echi

An elemental mage. Finally. I dreaded a boring Fire Emblem representative, but instead was delivered this crazy combatant. Do you go all-in right away or save your juice. Looks really fun (and as a side note speaks of the other elements of FE that are ignored in Smash).

@Bowserlick

They definitely seem to have a fun moveset, and they also represent Fire Emblem even better than I could have imagined. (Never though weapons breaking would ever be part of Smash) I was also a large supporter of him for a while until he started becoming extremely popular around here, that's when I started supporting Lucina. Also, they were the final killing stone for Chrom, which I definitely enjoyed. (I'm glad Chrom showed up in some form though.)

@ScatmansWorld25

That concludes the Week in Review's 11 Top Newcomers! Thank you for everyone who participated and gave your feedback! We couldn't of done it with you you
​

 

[Rocket Raccoon]

Behold The Power of the Monado!
Potential Newcomer: Shulk Analysis
Writer: @BigAxle

You've probably heard of this guy one way or another; through the Gematsu Leak, as a Xenoblade fan, or by pure interest! I'll walk you through this spoiler-free run-down on Shulk!

Introduction: Who is Shulk?

Shulk is the main character of a series called Xenoblade Chronicles (Originally called Monado: Beginning of the World). The title was changed to add Xeno as tribute to the game's director, Tetsuya Takahashi, who was the director of all previous games in the Xeno series. Shulk is from the Homs race (which is essentially the human race) and is 18 years old. He is a bit of a methodical man, thinking over situations carefully, and is a bookworm. In addition, early in the game he obtains the iconic Monado, the large red sword he wields in battle. This allows him to damage some enemies in the game, Mechon, under normal means.

Shulk's main attire is his Colony 9 Outfit. This is what he appears in in most artwork for the game.

History In Smash & Playability
Shulk and Xenoblade Chronicles as a whole has had no content in Super Smash Bros. as a series. This is due to the series not being introducted until after Brawl, the latest game to be released in the series. He's in a similar boat with some characters, such as Dillon as a result. But whereas Dillon became an assist trophy, Shulk has a much better shot at playability.

Well, much like some single-series representatives before they were revealed (like Wii Fit Trainer, guest characters, etc.), Shulk has absolutely no content in Smash Bros for 3DS and Wii U, and previous games (as Xenoblade was released in 2010 in Japan, years after Brawl had released). Some may cry foul as this is a sign he will not show up, but many characters, like Olimar, have no sign or hinting that they may appear and will appear as a newcomer with their own content and stage close to release.

However, Shulk is a character who not only has had some hinting of an appearance in Smash for 3DS and Wii U, but has a large following and request count to boot! He's been hinted in a couple of ways, such as:
-The Beam Sword getting a change from the previous design (as the beam potentially could look too similar to the Monado's)
-Shulk's voice actor hinting about an game he is working on that comes out "this fall", that also has not been announced (his work on Dragon Age: Inquisition and Xenoblade Chronicles X was already announced at the time of this statement, and XBX comes out in 2015)

Shulk, in addition, is a very unique fighter despite wielding a sword. This will be explained in the next section.

Fighting Style
Shulk's main weapon of choice is the Monado, a mystical blade filled with power. However, unlike his sword, a gigantic blade of incredible power, Shulk is a glass cannon in Xenoblade, with quick speed and low defenses. He has the third lowest health (under normal circumstances) out of all of the party members you can get in the game.

A handful of newcomers thus far have been speed characters, such as Little Mac and Greninja. However, whereas Little Mac is a ground fighter, and Greninja is a technical speed character, Shulk is a pure powerhouse with low defenses. This can attribute to a general playstyle that focuses on doing tons of damage, but punishes you for getting hit. This kind of playstyle in specific (a punishable character with raw power and lots of speed) isn't always particularly common in fighting games, and with Shulk's Monado, it turns into a potentially unique character.

Shulk's main mechanic in Xenoblade is his Talent Art: Activate Monado. This allows him to utilize a special pool of moves he normally does not have access to, but he can only use them once. This style of playset can be seen in Project M, with Lucario gaining the ability to use a special attack once he attacks an opponent and inflicts enough %. Because of the striking power of some of his moves, it's likely that he will be easily punishable before he launches an attack (much like Big Band from Skullgirls) but when he isn't attacking, he'll likely be very quick and hard to hit.

MOVESETS
Here's a Moveset by @FirstBlade that portrays Shulk as a rushdown character.
​

Spoiler

My Shulk moveset is finally complete! Sorry about the wait guys, but I had midterms and other stuff to get to.

Playstyle: I designed this Shulk as a mix of a rushdown and power up character in a sense. The rushdown roots comes from the fact that he can have a relatively easy time approaching with the Monado for physical attacks due to his long reach and medium speed as well as the fact that he is quite powerful. He can be very dangerous at close ranges especially. The power up influence comes mostly from the Monado itself as it allows for a change in his special moves for a short amount of time (I go into more detail below). For the most part he is a pretty fast, agile character who has average jumping ability making him pretty well rounded. His attacks are also quite powerful, but not heavy hitter powerful (Ganondorf, Bowser, Samus, etc.) Regarding his weight, he is pretty middle of the pack leaning towards the heavy side (think Ivysaur). Regardless, he has okay jumping skills and some recovery options.

Moveset:
Weight: 6
Speed: 7
Jump: 5
Power: 8

Crouch? Yes
Crawl? Yes
Wall Jump? No
Wall Cling? No

Jab: Downward slice, upward slice, jumping slice
Dash attack: Swings Monado sideways with one hand, ending with it slightly outstretched in front of him
F-Tilt: Jabs Monado forward
U-Tilt: Upwards vertical swipe
D-Tilt: Low Monado swipe

N-Air: Twirls Monado in hand quickly. Reflective properties.
F-Air: "Air Slash"- a leaning downwards strike, slows enemy for split second allowing for follow-up (the opponent is stuck in a slow knockback animation)
B-Air: Turns around while swinging Monado behind him
U-Air: An upwards "flip kick" with Monado outstretched
D-Air: A horizontal strike below him, quickly shifting him to a "headfirst plunge" position

F-Smash: Shulk jumps forward and slams the Monado into the ground at the end of his leap.
U-Smash: Does a single side to side slice above him. The Monado pulses with electric like energy at the peak of the swipe.
D-Smash: Shulk spins around very quickly with Monado outstretched sending out 2 traveling beams of energy one either side of him as he does so. Ranged smash. VERY long range.

Grab: Grabs with 2 hands (one is still on the Monado)
Pummel: Knees opponent
F-Throw: Hits opponent in back of the head with hilt pushing them forward in the process
B-Throw: Kicks opponent backwards
U-Throw:Throws opponent upwards and hits them with an upward Monado strike. Multi-hit.
D-Throw: Slams opponent down on to the ground and brings the Monado down on top of them. Multi-hit.

Specials:
B: Slit Edge- The Monado glows a bluish hue as Shulk slices it forward. The exact direction of the blade can be controlled. Using it in succession causes the damage to increase on this move for up to 5 times. Charging this move allows for a blue wide hitting shockwave that also increases with consecutive uses when it makes contact with another character. The shockwave can hit all surrounding opponents close enough even if they aren't hit by the blade itself.
Over B: Stream Edge: Shulk's Monado once again glows a light blue as he swings it forward. A large horizontal cut like beam appears in front of him cutting through anybody in front of him (stretches about 1.5 Fox Illusion's). Comes out very quickly. Knockback is delayed slightly for opponents.
Up B: Air Slash- Shulk appears to warp to another location because of how fast he moves. The attack always goes upward, but the slope of his ascent can be angled. Shulk will slice diagonally directly where he shows up. If the attack connects with another character their descent will be suspended in slow motion for a split second (stuck in a slow knockback animation) allowing for follow up hits and combos. Shulk is not put into a helpless state when using this move but is unable to use this move again until he touches solid ground.
Down B: Activate Monado- Shulk activates the Monado for a short amount of time which completely changes his specials and powers him up. Shulk moves faster thanks to Monado Speed and his new specials are more powerful than his regular ones. Damage to him is slightly lessened due to Monado Armour. His normal attacks have a slight 2% increase in damage as well.

Monado Specials: (The Monado power up lasts for about 75 seconds. Once the slight power-up is done it takes at least 2 minutes for it to recharge with in a hidden gauge.)
B: Monado Purge- Using the Monado, Shulk shoots a green Ether blast forwards that explodes on contact with an opponent and pushes them backwards. This move weakens slightly as it is used in a succession over 5 times (5 MPurge's in a row). This move can be charged to release a bigger blast that does more damage and knockback.
Over B: Monado Eater- Shulk charges a dark purple ether shot and shoots it at his opponents. It can be angled at his opponents and travels the length of Final Destination no matter. It is extremely fast and hard to dodge and cuts straight through opponents pushing them upwards when it hits them.
Up B: Monado Speed- Shulk rushes off in the input direction cutting straight through anybody he hits. It goes farther than Air Slash.
Down B: Monado Cyclone- A chargeable move. It can be tapped quickly for a small vortex of golden particles that disappears quickly or charged for a larger vortex that can stay up to 5 seconds (depending on how long you charge it). A fully charged one also releases a powerful explosion at the end. This move forms a sort of protective shield around Shulk in a sense. It causes damage while also blowing characters near him away (making it perfect for edgeguarding). Weak projectiles like uncharged Charge Shots are blocked by the windy barrier.

Final Smash (Idea #1)- Monado Buster- This is probably the most common final smash idea for Shulk and works pretty much how it does in Xenoblade. Shulk's sword grows about 7x as long and glows a dark purple, he lifts it towards the sky and smashes it down towards the ground in which it extends a little longer than Final Destination. Anyone hit, is given massive damage and launched towards the side the Monado was facing. This is almost a guaranteed KO. Of course this, would happen pretty quickly so opponents would have to be on their toes to dodge this (like Marth's Critical Hit)

Final Smash (Idea #2)- Vision- Shulk has a vision of a Mechon (a MISER) using a powerful swiping attack on the stage. Seconds later, a gigantic Mechon appears and Shulk evades the attack using Monado Speed. Everyone else, on the stage can easily be hit by the Mechon's swipe which is powerful enough to KO under 50%. Of course, it can be evaded, but the attack covers a wide distance and is extremely fast, so timing would be crucial here (Or of course an opponent can get as far as possible from the stage).

Entrance: Shulk appears in a rush of blue light smilar to the effects of Monado Speed
Side Taunt: Gets into battle stance and says "The enemy's weak but don't drop your guard"
Up Taunt: Holds Monado up and says "The future doesn't belong to you!"
Down Taunt: Monado glows purple as if conducting Monado Enchant while Shulk holds it out to his side and says "You're not invincible"

​

Another Moveset by @BluePikmin11 with a style focusing on a talent gauge meter:

Spoiler

SHULK: The Wielder of the Monado

Shulk relies on lots of moves and attacks he has to defeat opponents with his unique Talent Gauge Meter, similar to Little Mac's power meter, only it's used for many, different attacks. His talent gauge on the top left corner of Shulk's percentage bar, as shown below:

This gauge will slowly increase to white as you unleash many attacks to the opponent. It's important to know that you fill this bar so you can get access to even more powerful attacks. Getting hit by the opponent or being KOed does not reset the talent gauge. When the gauge is full, you gain access to the following moves by using the Activate Monado Move:

(Neutral-B) : Cancels out the Talent Move. If pressed twice quickly, it will activate Monado Buster, which is a powerful long-ranged Melee attack with a long start up time.
(Down-B) :Monado Shield: Gains a temporary 12 second shield that increases Shulk's defense by x 2.0. Also gives super armor too.
(Up-B) : Monado Speed: Increases the speed of Shulk and his agility to roll dodge x2.0 farther with other dodge properties being able to be canceled. It also doubles Shulk's lacking jump height and makes Air Slash twice the better recovery.
(Side-B): Monado Purge: Is able to hit from a distance and cancel out any defensive properties. (Even for someone that has the Starman) This cannot help him recover however.

His regular Arts are these, these arts have a different charging time and there will be noticable signs when Shulk is ready to unleash the special moves (additional small art icons on top Shulk's percentage bar):
Neutral-B: Doubles the amount for filling in the Talent Gauge when using attacks, but costs a constant inflict of 1-2% until damage is 17-18%. Also activate Monado Mode.
Up-B: Air Slash: Sends Shulk into a slightly but relatively horizontal distance. Not the most useful recovery out of all characters.
Side-B: Shadow Eye: Increase Shulk's Strength by x1.25 and turns him invisible.
Doubles the amount for filling in the Talent Gauge when using attacks, but costs a constant inflict of 1-2% until damage is 17-18%.
Down-B: Light Heal: Heals Shulk with 15%.

By learning how to properly use him, players will be rewarded, that is the simple goal really. Try to dodge at the right times, as he is a heavyweight and pretty tall and has a horrible recovery.

Normal Attacks:
Jab: Shulk slashes the opponent from left to right slowly then ends with straightforward strike.
F-Tilt: Shulk unleashes his Slit Edge, which can stun the opponent so you can attack for a combo. (It can also break shields better than most attacks)
D-Tilt: Shulk gracefully swings his sword at a slight diagonal direction to the bottom ground, not the most useful except for a Meteor Smash.
U-Tilt: Shulk air-punches his sword, doesn't do much except cancel small projectiles from above.
Dash: Shulk swiftly swings his sword sideways at slight diagonal downward direction, can also cancel properties if done right. Has slight ending lag in the after use.

Air Attacks:
Neutral Air: Shulk swings his Monado in a 360 turn, it's pretty slow, but relatively powerful.
F-Air: Shulk carries his sword from the top and swings downward for a powerful strike. Has slight starting lag.
B-Air: Shulk swiftly swings his Monado sideways back, slightly low KO potential.
D-Air: Shulk aggressively swings his sword downwards at 180 degrees to hit the opponent, great KO potential but has slight start lag.
U-Air: Shulk swings his Monado upward at 30 degrees, it's not Shulk's greatest attack to use but it has great vertical melee range.

Throws:
F-Throw: Shulk spins his opponent and throws them at a relatively short distance.
B-Throw: Shulk spins his opponent and throws them backwards at a relatively short distance.
U-Throw: Shulk tosses the opponent up in the air and swings his Monado upward for quick spacing.
D-Throw: Shulk lays the opponent down a slashes his Monado down to knock the opponent up in the air.

Smash Attacks:
F-Smash: Shulk activates his Back Slash: if hit from behind the damages increases to x1.5.
U-Smash: Shulk activates his Stream Edge, which springs out a short ranged upward attack to the opponent.
D-Smash: Shulk activates his Shaker Edge, which causes the opponent to trip if hit by it.

LINKS
Want to discuss Shulk? Go to the Heir to the Monado Thread!
http://smashboards.com/threads/heir-to-the-monado-shulk-for-ssb4.324326/
WIP​

 

[Rocket Raccoon]

Franchise Analysis: Xenoblade Chronicles​

By @ Venus of the Desert Bloom

​

Xenoblade Chronicles is a critically acclaimed flagship series from the studio Monolith Soft who was responsible behind the Xenosaga and Baiten Kaidos. While it saw a limited release in the West, it was very well-received in it(s home country of Japan and considered the best JRPG (Japanese Role Playing Game) on the Wii and, arguably, in all of Nintendo history. Critics praise the story, characters, the world, and the gameplay; citing a successful departure from the traditional RPG elements and incorporating various new elements. However, it did receive some negative criticism in the graphics were sub-par; even for the Wii and considered it to be Game Cube level. However, defenders of Xenoblade argue back that while graphics are important, they are not key to what makes a game great and there is a certain charm to be had with the graphics employed in Xenoblade.

The titular character in Xenoblade Chronicles is Shulk, a teenage boy knowledgeable in machines. He resides on the land of Bionis which is unique that it isn't continent exactly, but rather, a gigantic dead god. This god is big enough to sustain life forms, habitats, and environments. Shulk soon comes into contact with the Monado, a beautiful yet mysterious sword that gives Shulk many different abilities; one of which is being able to see into the future and predict an outcome. The story focuses on Shulk and his comrades as they take part in the Mechon War in an effort to turn the tides. However, during thier journey, they find out the mysteries of the Monado, about Shulk, and the world Bionis.

Despite being just one game, Xenoblade Chronicles is heavily requested to appear in Super Smash Bros. with Shulk enjoying a large amount of fan support. In addition, the Gematsu leak is also good boost to his credibility (regardless if you think the leak is dead or not). Detractors believe that Xenoblade Chronicles does not deserve representation in Smash due to it being a new series from a recently acquired !st party developer/studio as well as currently it is at one. Many cite that characters such as Ridley, Mewtwo, King K. Rool, Dixie Kong, Isaac, and others deserve to be in Smash over Shulk or another Xenoblade character. However, supporters state that Monolith Soft is an important studio to Nintendo and they deserve some spot light as it helps promote the studio and gains Nintendo's attention. Likewise, they cite the success of Operation Rainfall which was a grassroots net-based movement to bring Xenoblade Chronicles and two other JRPG's on the Wii from Japan to the West. Lastly, the confirmation that the newest Monolith Soft game "Xenoblade Chronicles X" brings hope to Shulk supporters as it not only confirms another game but that it could be a continuation of Xenoblade Chronicles thus including Shulk.

I have said Shulk at least 10 or so times so let's go into Shulk and some other potential characters for Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and 3DS

Potential Xenoblade Newcomers​

Shulk​

​

Shulk is by far the most likely and requested Xenoblade Chronicles character, Not only is he the main character but also the face of the series though this may not be true for Xenoblade Chronicles X. Shulk was listed as a newcomer in Gematsu/Sal Romano's leak which led many of his supports to take that as truth and wait for un unveiling. He was teased to be shown in the Monday Reveal Trailer last month by Sal Romano but this was not the case as Robin, Lucina, and Captain Falcon were shown instead. Then again, this could of been a quick change of plans on Sakurai's part and, for all we know, he may have been planned to be shown originally. So what makes Shulk popular/likely?

• Mascot of Xenoblade Chronicles
• Unique and fun move set
• While a sword fighter utilizes Arts and technical attacks
• Representative of Xenoblade Chronicles thus ensuring there will be content from the franchise
• Recency seems to be the buzz word for the roster this time around and Shulk is the definition of the word

However, he does have his cons:

• Not considered a Nintendo super star
• Too many sword fighters; especially with the addition of Robin and Lucina
• Too new
• Xenoblade Chronicles does not deserve/warrant to be included in the game

So how would Shulk exactly play like? There are plenty of articles and ideas floating around Smashboards and the internet. For starters, here is a Youtube video detailing how Shulk could appear in a playable capacity:

Warning: some mature language​

The video mostly summed up a playable Shulk like this:

• Incorporate the "Tension System" which measures Shulk's performance in abttle based on his profile display icon. The angrier Shulk appears on the profile icon, the more stronger he becomes but a more quieter Shulk means a weaker Shulk. While some may dismiss this as impossible, we already have confirmation that the Super Smash Bros. icon and damage percentages display can be changed to accommodate characters i.e. Little Mac and his Star KO system, Shulk may have something similar too. To read more about the Tension System, visit this link below:
• His Smashes and Specials incorporate his Arts with various differences. His smashes could have secondary effects such as dazing opponents or slowing them down. There could also be an attack, Stream Edge, which could shorten the cool down period in between specials.
• Which brings to the videos third point, "Cooldowns". Xenoblade incorporates Cooldown to stop players from spamming attacks. The video suggests that depending how much players charge up the attack which would affect the cool down period.
• For his Final Smash, Shulk could call upon his friends to aid in his attacks or unlock the full potential of the Monado thus eliminating the need for cooldown periods.

The video focuses on Shulk becoming a very technical character that requires good timing and a strategy to tackle opponents.

I also went to the Shulk support thread to see what sort of move sets I could find and I found a lot The thread is brimming with information, ideas. and concepts concerning the character. Here is a move set for Shulk:

My Shulk moveset is finally complete! Sorry about the wait guys, but I had midterms and other stuff to get to.

Playstyle: I designed this Shulk as a mix of a rushdown and power up character in a sense. The rushdown roots comes from the fact that he can have a relatively easy time approaching with the Monado for physical attacks due to his long reach and medium speed as well as the fact that he is quite powerful. He can be very dangerous at close ranges especially. The power up influence comes mostly from the Monado itself as it allows for a change in his special moves for a short amount of time (I go into more detail below). For the most part he is a pretty fast, agile character who has average jumping ability making him pretty well rounded. His attacks are also quite powerful, but not heavy hitter powerful (Ganondorf, Bowser, Samus, etc.) Regarding his weight, he is pretty middle of the pack leaning towards the heavy side (think Ivysaur). Regardless, he has okay jumping skills and some recovery options.

Moveset:
Weight: 6
Speed: 7
Jump: 5
Power: 8

Crouch? Yes
Crawl? Yes
Wall Jump? No
Wall Cling? No

Jab: Downward slice, upward slice, jumping slice
Dash attack: Swings Monado sideways with one hand, ending with it slightly outstretched in front of him
F-Tilt: Jabs Monado forward
U-Tilt: Upwards vertical swipe
D-Tilt: Low Monado swipe

N-Air: Twirls Monado in hand quickly. Reflective properties.
F-Air: "Air Slash"- a leaning downwards strike, slows enemy for split second allowing for follow-up (the opponent is stuck in a slow knockback animation)
B-Air: Turns around while swinging Monado behind him
U-Air: An upwards "flip kick" with Monado outstretched
D-Air: A horizontal strike below him, quickly shifting him to a "headfirst plunge" position

F-Smash: Shulk jumps forward and slams the Monado into the ground at the end of his leap.
U-Smash: Does a single side to side slice above him. The Monado pulses with electric like energy at the peak of the swipe.
D-Smash: Shulk spins around very quickly with Monado outstretched sending out 2 traveling beams of energy one either side of him as he does so. Ranged smash. VERY long range.

Grab: Grabs with 2 hands (one is still on the Monado)
Pummel: Knees opponent
F-Throw: Hits opponent in back of the head with hilt pushing them forward in the process
B-Throw: Kicks opponent backwards
U-Throw:Throws opponent upwards and hits them with an upward Monado strike. Multi-hit.
D-Throw: Slams opponent down on to the ground and brings the Monado down on top of them. Multi-hit.

Specials:
B: Slit Edge- The Monado glows a bluish hue as Shulk slices it forward. The exact direction of the blade can be controlled. Using it in succession causes the damage to increase on this move for up to 5 times. Charging this move allows for a blue wide hitting shockwave that also increases with consecutive uses when it makes contact with another character. The shockwave can hit all surrounding opponents close enough even if they aren't hit by the blade itself.
Over B: Stream Edge: Shulk's Monado once again glows a light blue as he swings it forward. A large horizontal cut like beam appears in front of him cutting through anybody in front of him (stretches about 1.5 Fox Illusion's). Comes out very quickly. Knockback is delayed slightly for opponents.
Up B: Air Slash- Shulk appears to warp to another location because of how fast he moves. The attack always goes upward, but the slope of his ascent can be angled. Shulk will slice diagonally directly where he shows up. If the attack connects with another character their descent will be suspended in slow motion for a split second (stuck in a slow knockback animation) allowing for follow up hits and combos. Shulk is not put into a helpless state when using this move but is unable to use this move again until he touches solid ground.
Down B: Activate Monado- Shulk activates the Monado for a short amount of time which completely changes his specials and powers him up. Shulk moves faster thanks to Monado Speed and his new specials are more powerful than his regular ones. Damage to him is slightly lessened due to Monado Armour. His normal attacks have a slight 2% increase in damage as well.

Monado Specials: (The Monado power up lasts for about 75 seconds. Once the slight power-up is done it takes at least 2 minutes for it to recharge with in a hidden gauge.)
B: Monado Purge- Using the Monado, Shulk shoots a green Ether blast forwards that explodes on contact with an opponent and pushes them backwards. This move weakens slightly as it is used in a succession over 5 times (5 MPurge's in a row). This move can be charged to release a bigger blast that does more damage and knockback.
Over B: Monado Eater- Shulk charges a dark purple ether shot and shoots it at his opponents. It can be angled at his opponents and travels the length of Final Destination no matter. It is extremely fast and hard to dodge and cuts straight through opponents pushing them upwards when it hits them.
Up B: Monado Speed- Shulk rushes off in the input direction cutting straight through anybody he hits. It goes farther than Air Slash.
Down B: Monado Cyclone- A chargeable move. It can be tapped quickly for a small vortex of golden particles that disappears quickly or charged for a larger vortex that can stay up to 5 seconds (depending on how long you charge it). A fully charged one also releases a powerful explosion at the end. This move forms a sort of protective shield around Shulk in a sense. It causes damage while also blowing characters near him away (making it perfect for edgeguarding). Weak projectiles like uncharged Charge Shots are blocked by the windy barrier.

Final Smash (Idea #1)- Monado Buster- This is probably the most common final smash idea for Shulk and works pretty much how it does in Xenoblade. Shulk's sword grows about 7x as long and glows a dark purple, he lifts it towards the sky and smashes it down towards the ground in which it extends a little longer than Final Destination. Anyone hit, is given massive damage and launched towards the side the Monado was facing. This is almost a guaranteed KO. Of course this, would happen pretty quickly so opponents would have to be on their toes to dodge this (like Marth's Critical Hit)

Final Smash (Idea #2)- Vision- Shulk has a vision of a Mechon (a MISER) using a powerful swiping attack on the stage. Seconds later, a gigantic Mechon appears and Shulk evades the attack using Monado Speed. Everyone else, on the stage can easily be hit by the Mechon's swipe which is powerful enough to KO under 50%. Of course, it can be evaded, but the attack covers a wide distance and is extremely fast, so timing would be crucial here (Or of course an opponent can get as far as possible from the stage).

Entrance: Shulk appears in a rush of blue light smilar to the effects of Monado Speed
Side Taunt: Gets into battle stance and says "The enemy's weak but don't drop your guard"
Up Taunt: Holds Monado up and says "The future doesn't belong to you!"
Down Taunt: Monado glows purple as if conducting Monado Enchant while Shulk holds it out to his side and says "You're not invincible"

@FirstBlade
http://smashboards.com/threads/heir-to-the-monado-shulk-for-ssb4.324326/

Shulk also would be capable of several unique costumes:

Grace Top
http://xenoblade.wikia.com/wiki/Grace_Top

Swimming Oil
http://xenoblade.wikia.com/wiki/Swimming_Oil

Jungle Top
http://xenoblade.wikia.com/wiki/Jungle_Top

Battle Armor
http://xenoblade.wikia.com/wiki/Battle_Armour

Quark Armor
http://xenoblade.wikia.com/wiki/Quark_Armour

Warrior Plate
http://xenoblade.wikia.com/wiki/Warrior_Plate

M100 Plate
http://xenoblade.wikia.com/wiki/M100_Plate​

Shulk proves to be a popular choice for a playable character, highly requested, highly popular, and could prove to be a very technical fighter if incorporated right. He may not enjoy the support levels of Ridley or Mewtwo nor the the fan demand of Mega Man pre-E3 but he is still a rising star in Nintendo and has quite the following supporting him.

While Xenoblade boasts a wide variety of characters, Shulk is easily the breadwinner of the potential characters. However, what other characters could potentially be featured? Since Xenoblade Chronicles is both a newer and smaller series, it is unlikely it will get an additional newcomer. Still, I would like to propose a few ideas.

Fiora​

Fiora is Shulk's childhood friends and his primary romanic interest throughout the game. While she is largely a secondary character, events surrounding her greatly affect Shulk throughout the game and prove to be the reason why he fights. I could go further into the character but that may spoil the game for those reading this so I will stop there.

She is easily one of the more popular character of the Xenoblade franchise aside from Shulk and is very iconic within the game but is she iconic enough to appear in Super Smash Bros.? At most, she would make for a good Assist Trophy but what sort of attacks would she do; playable or otherwise.

Gimmick - has a "tension meter" much like the Tension Mechanic in Xenoblade. The more successful hits she lands, the higher it gets and the more knockback power she gets. Missing or

getting shielded against reduces the meter.

Normal B: Double Wind - a two-hit strike. Guaranteed to raise Tension when it lands.
Up B: Air Fang. Fiora slashes in an upward jump and then downward. Can be used in mid-air as a recovery move, it would act like Kirby's Up B, also having the same vulnerability. Be

sure to aim it!
Side B: Spear Blade. Fiora dashes past, dealing damage to the enemy.
Down B: Cross Impact. Fiora kicks the enemy twice. In midair, functions somewhat like Captain Falcon's Falcon Kick, but doing a 2nd attack in the form of a backflip (forward flip?)

after she lands.

Normal A: Attacks once with one of her blades. Press A again to attack again with the other blade.
(could use input on other attacks like her Fair and Dair etc)

Side Smash: Double Blade. Can do more damage as a back attack.
Up Smash: Mag Storm. Shocks all enemies around her.
Down Smash: Sword Drones. Launches swords in a radius around her

Final Smash: Final Cross. Fiora focuses red light around her chest, saying "Final..." and then launches it in a spiral shouting "CROOOOOOOOOSS!" Deals steady damage to all caught in

it and has decent launch power. It should be noted that when Fiora grabs a Smash Ball, her Tension meter is automatically maxed out, as is the condition for her to use that attack

in Xenoblade.

Victory screen:
1.) Fiora stows away her blades, yawns and says "So tired..."
2.) Fiora strikes a pose and says "Let's press on, and on, and ON!"
3.) Something with Meyneth taking over and speaking? Not so sure on this one

Entry animation: Fiora flies in with Face Nemesis, then opens the pilot seat and hops out.

Kirby hat: Has Fiora's hair and her Ether 1 visor (as seen in the image in the OP). Standard B is also Double Wind.

Taunts: unsure
Alt costumes: Power armor set 1, Speed Armor set 1, Attack armor set 1 (her default is Ether set 1)

@Rie Sonomura



She would be a very quick and agile fighter reminiscent of Shiek but able to incorporate some of her arts. These include:

• Double Blade
• Healing Energy
• Spear Blade
• Cross Impact
• Speed Shift
• Double Wind
• Shutdown
• Air Fang
• Power Smash
• Screw Edge
• Hidden Thorn
• Lacerate
• Final Cross

In addition, there could be a different way for a playable Fiora but it contains massive spoilers so proceed only if you don't want to be spoiled:

Spoiler

After being resurrected as a Mechonis, she could utilize more robotic/cybernetic attacks such as electrical and explosive attacks. In the game, she utilizes drones such as: Cannon Drones, Gun Drones, Sword Drones, and Shield Drones. These could act much like how the Luma's do for Rosalina but, instead, are completely detached from Fiora thus not allowing her to control the drones herself. Some other attacks could include:

• Power Drain
• Zero Gravity
• Lock On
• Ether Drain
• Mag Storm
• Guard Shift
• Gear Shift
• Or even call upon her Mechon form "Face Mechon" as a Final Smash.

Both Fiora and Mechon Fiora could appear, as either as Fiora being the default and Mechon Fiora being an lat costume yet different attacks. However, this is opposite of what Sakurai stated in terms of Marth and Lucina.

All in all, Fiora would be an interesting character to incorporate; especially if her other form is considered. She could alternate between quick and direct attacks that can negatively affect opponents.

To discuss more about Fiora, visit her support page! Caution: There are spoilers!​

Dunban

Dunban is the older brother of Fiora and a member of Shulk's party. He was a previous wielder of the Monado but, due to its power, it left his left arm all but paralyzed but he is still capable of wielding a katana. Despite his important in the beginning of the story, he is largely a minor secondary character as well as a sword wielding - something that people think the roster is over-saturated with. He does have his arts that could benefit him but even so - it may not improve his chances. Here are the arts he can use:

• Blinding Blossom
• Gale Slash
• Electric Gutbuster
• Peerless
• Worldy Slash
• Battle Eye
• Steel Strike
• Serene Heart
• Final Flicker
• Jaws of Death
• Tempest Kick
• Heat Haze
• Spirit Breaker
• Soaring Tempest
• Thunder
• Demon Slayer

Dunban could be an interesting and unique fighter if the player is able to chain attacks together and the attacks have different properties depending on what attack was used prior. This is especially true in Xenoblade Chronicles as an attack such as when Electric Gutbuster induces Break on a target if Gale Strike is performed. However, his lack of popularity and requests as well as average importance to the series as a whole does not make him a very likely candidate.

Metal Face

Probably one of the largest arguments against Metal Face is something Ridley faces: it is too big. Metal Face is one of the primary antagonists of Xenoblade Chronicles and is the reason why Shulk started his journey. It is a ruthless killing machine capable of performing brutal slicing attacks, firing laser beams, and able to transform into a jet. While it may seem it would fit the Stage Boss role better, a playable Metal Face would be an interesting addition as it would be a mechanized villain with powerful slicing attacks that have a far reach and super armor but suffer from animation lags and start ups. Among some of his attacks he could perform:

• a powerful slicing attack
• a stabbing attack where he strikes the ground
• a special where he fires his massive gun
• he performs a series of slashes
• he twirls dealing several hits
• performs a charge attack and slams into the ground
• transforms into his jet form and fires a powerful electrical attack

Again, he may be a bit too large - even larger than Ridley but it oculd be possible to downsize him into a more acceptable form while maintainig what makes Metal Face...Metal Face. He could be included into a class I feel could be represented in Super Smash Bros,m the Huge class. Bowser and Donkey coulgt be considered as Heavyweights or Large characters. A huge character, such as Ridley, Metal Face, and other larger than life characters could be Supereights or Huge characters. Despite this, he is a very unlikely character but he may have a chance in games to come...maybe.

There are other characters that could also be playable such as Reyn, Sharla, Rikki, Melia, Egil, and even Zanza though none of these characters could really become playable - especially with a playable Shulk still not confirmed.

Assist Trophies

​

While Xenoblade Chronicles could easily have it's mascot as a playable character, it could also just as easily have Shulk as an Assist Trophy. Shulk detractors feel that would be an appropriate way to include Shulk into Super Smash Bros. If Shulk was to be included solely as an Assist Trophy, he would most likely lengthen his Monado and perform Monado Buster to great area wide damage. The attack would only require one hit before Shulk vanishing; dealing large amounts of knock back and maybe even secondary debuffing effects.

Now if Shulk is made playable:

Fiora

Fiora would make a great Assist Trophy though she would probably be featured in her default form. She could deal several knife attacks to opponents; slicing them and dashing to the other side of the stage. Finally, she could perform one final attack before vanishing.

If she was in her other spoiler-heavy form:

Spoiler

She could summon her mechon and cause ruination to the stage; firing of various missiles, lasers, and even drones to deal damage. She would appear in the background much like Luigi and Hoho does as Pokeball Pokemon.

Reyn

Reyn could also be an interesting character as an Assist Trophy. He could appear onto the stage and deal several attacks with his gun lance. He could possibly stand his ground and use his gun to attack players from far away or slash at opponents who stray near. It could certainly be an effective Assist Trophy as the player can simply hide behind Reyn while he defends the player/

Dunban

Dunban performs Blossom Dance; dealing damage in a certain area. Once he attacks one player, he connects to another player that is close by with another attack thus chaining his attacks together. If he attacks an opponent but there usn't another opponent nearby, he stops his assault.

Riki

Riki could appear on the stage and actually do two types of attacks: Hero Time and Lurgy. With Hero Time, he buffs the player or team who summoned him while debuffing the opponents with Lurgy.

Sharla

Sharla opens fire and shoots the player or team who summoned her. The ammunition is "Healing Bullet" and heals some of the players damage. Much like how food does. There is no knock back from being shot and doesn't affect the player in any way other than for healing. However, she can miss and potentially hit another player, possibly an opponent. Therefore, the player must keep themselves lined up with her shot. One potential strategy is to wait till she takes aim and then quickly knock the player who summoned her away, thus taking the healing bullet from them.

Melia

Melia appears and performs Elemental Discharge. It will fire one of 5 elemental attacks at random: Fire, Lightning, Ice, Wind, Earth, and Water. She only summons one and then vanishes but each one has its own characteristics:

• Fire does lingering burning damage
• Lightning paralyizes opponents
• Ice can freeze opponents and induces tripping
• Wind has very high knock back
• Earth can bury opponents
• Water slows down opponents and decreases attack strength

There are plenty of other potential Assist Trophy ideas for Xenoblade Chronicles including various characters such as Dickson, Egil, Alvis, Metalface, Xord, Juju, and many others. However, I feel the team party character have the best chances.

Stages​

​

The world of Xenoblade is a rich and diverse with plenty of unique environments, various lifeforms, and unique cultures; despite it all being located on two dead giant gods. There hasn't been much news regarding stages from franchises on exclusive consoles appearing in the different versions i.e. there hasn't been a Pikmin or Wii Fit stage for the 3DS. While the Kalos Pokemon League does appear on the Wii U version, Pokemon still has representation on the Wii and Wii U. Xenoblade does not have representation on the 3DS. That being said, I am going to treat it like there will be a 3DS stage for Xenoblade. Here are some ideas for the Wii U version:

Xenoblade - Wii U Stages​

Gaur Plains

​

Possibly the first name that pops into the head for a Xenoblade stage is Gaur Plains. This is an extremely expansive field teaming with various creatures and landforms. Jutting out from the ground are immense rock formations. This is actually located on Bionis' Leg which may seem strange for some of you. The region experiences various types of weather ranging from storms, rain, wind, and sunshine. The stage could just be on the flat ground looking straight at the rock arches while having walk-off sides or possibly a hill, like where the buggy was found. Alternatively, there could just be a rock formation that is slightly raised and overlooks the plains. As mentioned before, the stage could potentially have a weather system where the weather affects game play. Likewise, it can also incorporate a night and day cycle. In terms of stage hazards, it would probably incorporate the various creatures found in Gaur Plains such as:

An Ardun

• Fine Fliers (day)
• Spear Tarkins (Day)
• Vollif (Day)
• Ponio (Day)
• Armo (Day)
• Ardun (Day)
• Light Wisps (Night)

A boss could appear on this stage such as Xord or Metal Face Xord has more of an affinity to Gaur Plains and, therefore, is more likely to make an appearance. However, Metal Face is more popular and widely recognized compared to Xord. Gaur Plains is an excellent choice for a stage to represent Xenoblade Chronicles due to its iconic and beautiful setting.

Galahad Fortress​

Galahad Fortress is the fortress that protects the Mechons from the Homes and is the base of operations for Egil and his Mechons. It is during a fight between Shulk and the party against Egil that the fortress is destroyed and falls down below. This stage could be fought on a platform within the fortress and Egil attacking in his Faced Mechon, Yaldabaoth.

Yaldabaoth​

Egil manages to destroy the fortress while attacking the players. Alternatively, Metal Face could be the one attacking causing the platforms to crumble and fall to the ground below thus putting the players into a free fall while trying to dodge falling debris.

Please note that these are spoilers​

Alcamoth

The largest city and capital of Bionis, Alcamoth. It is a large city situated over the Eyrth Sea and is the home to the High Entia, a proud and noble race that stands at the top of the evolutionarily chain. Shulk and the other cast members find themselves here but imprisoned for carrying the Monado. However, are freed and help the city fight against a terrible enemy called the Telethia.

One of many kinds of Telethia​

This stage could be fought on a platform as it tours around the city; visiting places such as: Fountain of Hope, Fountain of Eternity, Imperial Palace, Whitewing Palace, Sky Terrace, etc. However, it could also be fought on top of the glass in front picture and, in time, give way to fight onto the streets below. The stage could potentially be devoid of stage hazards but could include the Telethia attack but could be a big spoiler for those who have yet to get that far into the game.

Xenoblade - 3DS Stages​

Colony 9

Colony 9 is the hometown for Shulk, Fiora, Dunban, Reyn, and Dickson. At the start of the game, it suffered an invasion from the Mechonis but was able to repel the attack thanks to the power of the Monado. It his here that Shulk first meets Metal Face and sets him off on his adventure to end the Mechon War and get revenge. While the stage would do well on the Wii U, I feel that it would best serve the 3DS as it would be a smaller, more compact stage. Gaur Plains would best serve as the Wii U stage while Colony 9, IMO, would be best for the 3DS.

The stage could be fought on an area overlooking the colony or even on the buildings themselves. People are milling about their businesses until the Mechons attack; being led by Metal Face. Fires erupt from the buildings and people start screaming in the background below as Mechons ravage the Colony and the Defense Force fights back. Metal Face lurks in the distance but notices the players and charges forward to attack from the background.

Complete with blood on his claws​

Prison Island

Prison Island is a large tower that is said to hold a god captive. The stage itself could be located on the Prison Terrace where, in the background a gigantic purple giant is held captive. He is looking forward at the fight and trying to free himself from his shackles. The stage itself could be a single elevated platform or fought on the terrace itself.

The Giant could even shout words to encourage Shulk if he is on the stage!​

After some time, the Mechon attack being led by Metal Face and the Face Nemesis could arrive, silencing the giant and attacking the stage. It is an important part as Metal Face is fought here as well who actually pilots Metal Face and the Face Nemesis. It is an important stage to the Xenoblade story and could be well incorporated into the 3DS.

Bionis' Interior

The Bionis' Interior is an area within Bionis and is covered in various fungus and vegetative growth. It is an important part of Xenoblade but not as important as Colony 9 and Prison Island. Still it would be an unique and fun stage to play on. It cought be fought on various floating platforms of vegetative growth. Stage hazard wise, it could include various enemies found within the area such as Telethia but it would do well not to include any of them. Lorithia could be a Stage Boss, turning various players into uncontrollable Telethia but this seems unlikely.

Smash Run Enemies

While we have yet to see any Xenoblade Smash Run enemies, Sakurai may be holding them until the games release or until Shulk/Xenoblade content is revealed. Here are some ideas for Xenoblade Smash Run enemies:

Telethia (Aora, Arel, Asara, etc)

Tirkin (Acher, Spear, Trainer)

Krabble (Stone, Colony, Desert, etc)

Gogol (Sloth, Envy, Gluttony)

Vang (Air, Storm)

Bunnit (Wood, Junk, Arm)

Voliff (Ugly, Satorl)

Ardun (Berserk)

Torta (Mount, Carbon)

Mechon (M42, M51, M32, M84, etc)

There are tons of potential Xenoblade enemies that can be used in Smash Run; especially the Mechons.

Trophies
​

There is a rumor that Mechon trophies were found in Smash Run but there is no proof that these may exist. Here are a list of potential trophies for the Xenoblade series:

• Shulk
• Shulk Final Smash (if playable)
• Shulk Altnerate Costumes (if they appear)
• Fiora
• Meyneth/Fiora
  
• Dunban
• Reyn
• Riki
• Sharla
• Melia
• Dickson
• Alvis
• Egil
• Metal Face
• Xord
• Faced Nemesis
• Yaldabaoth
• Nopon
  
• Hom
• High Entia
• Machina
• Zanza
• Monado
• Monado II
  
• Bionis and Mechonis
• Gaur Plains
• Colony 9
• Galahad Fortress
• Alcamoth
• Prison Island
• Bionis Interior
• Variois Xenoblade enemies found in Smash Run

Music

Talking about Xenoblade is not complete without mentioning it's soundtrack. Xenoblade Chronicles boasts an amazing soundtrack with over 90 tracks that vary in styles and environments. The entire soundtrack can be found on youtuve:
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL27F152DC309340A5

Here are some notable tracks that I personally love:

General tracks

Stage Specific

Colony 9

Gaur Plain

Alcamoth

Prison Island

Galahad Fortress

Bionis Interior

In Conclusion...

​

Xenoblade Chronicles is an important albeit new franchise to Nintendo from a recently integrated developer. Recency seems to be the buzz word for character inclusion as we got Wii Fit Trainer, Greninja, Lucina, Robin, and Rosalina and Luma who all seem to be popular currently. Bearing that in mind, Shulk would be an excellent addition and the perfect character representative. As well, Xenoblade content seems perfectly made for Smash - rich and amazing. Everything from the locations, characters, enemies, and music. Even if Shulk does not appear in Smash as a playable character, I feel we will see some good Xenoblade content inclusion such as assist trophies, stages, trophies, and music.

 

[Rocket Raccoon]

Editorial of the Week
​

Do you want your voice known on Smashboards? Do you have an opinion that you just want to talk about? This is your chance! The Editorial of the Week is a place to talk about anything you would like! Everything from Smashboards , Smash Bros., Nintendo, the roster, video gaming, or anything else! First come, first serve basis!

Contact myself or another WiR writing staff member for more information

 

[Rocket Raccoon]

We Want YOU to Vote Results!
@ Venus of the Desert Bloom
What aspect of Super Smash Bros. is the most important to you?

​

Fans tends to disagree on many key factors that makes Super Smash Bros. Everything from the roster to game play speed or what franchises should get more content. There is always something that each smasher finds more important. Last weeks poll asked readers what aspect of the game they find the most important. Here is how they tallied up as of August 17th:

What aspect of Super Smash Bros. is the most important to you?
Edit

1. Game play and mechanics
   23 vote(s)
   39.7%
2. The Roster (including character balance)
   33 vote(s)
   56.9%
3. Stages
   0 vote(s)
   0.0%
4. Items (including AT and PokeBalls)
   0 vote(s)
   0.0%
5. Game Modes
   0 vote(s)
   0.0%
6. Collectables
   1 vote(s)
   1.7%
7. Cuztomization
   0 vote(s)
   0.0%
8. Other (Please let us know!)
   1 vote(s)
   1.7%

An overwhelming amount of people voted for the roster which is understandable given it is a very important factor of the Smash experience. The characters are what many fans go crazy for and, given the amount of support threads in the Character Discussion; characters are a driving force behind Smash Bros. The character got 1st place with 33 votes or 56.9% of the total votes. That is more than half of them. Trailing behind in 2nd place was Game play and mechanics. This includes things like game speed, advanced techniques, meta game, and all of the Smash lingo that goes with the meta game. Stages, Items, Game MOdes, and Customization didn't get any votes while Collectables and Other both got 1 vote. The other vote was this:

So, I assume I can post (I hope, but delete this if I couldn't).

There should be another choice in the poll for "general representations". I selected other, but that's what I care the most. Basically, everything, but the elements proper to the game itself (like gameplay or modes if the said mode is proper to smash only).

It mostly has to do with how well the game represents so much franchise. The situation that is particular with smash is details. Since at least melee, the representation was so detailed that you could almost feel playing the other games. Great bay stage in melee is a perfect example of how detailed it can go. You could see the complete moon fall with the giants cutscene at the end of Majora's Mask. To go that for for decoration in the background is worth mentioning.

I could talk a lot about how mostly everything that is made to reflect something from another games are doing it so well. It's impressive to be that much accurate, but what also matters is how broad it represents Nintendo and third parties.

That's why it's not just the roster, but also stages, music, items, assist and pokeballs, events and finally the lowest level; trophies.

I use the term "general repping" to something that can be told as the whole picture. You do not just look at one series at a time, but the consistency in how broad it intended to be. This requires you to look from an overall perspective how series are repped and their degree which would make the game feel even more like Nintendo's home. What I realised is that one of the main intent of this series is to actually feel like a home for Nintendo and their series with some third party as guests.

What this means is that if I spot some elements that are really obscure or, are really far from the main series (from a subjective perspective of course), I can expect the general repping to be broad which would make most of the game better. If however I don't see this happening that much, I expect that it limits some series to be repped which would mean less contents. It's rare for me to have an issue with the quality of the elements themselves, but their place is what I would have issue with quality if it has one.

For example, Mario is playable. Having him in this role and not having any variation of his main theme included in the game isn't something I would call "good" repping. It shows that it would forget some elements that just would make so much sense to be there. I stated an obvious example, but you could do those comparison everywhere.

So, when I see this game having stuff like smash run enemies, more characters to be likely, lots of stages, 3ds version confirmed to have broader repping in trophies, tons of new items; THAT'S what I like to hear. It shows me that the game is really broad in the representation which would mean that lots of series would get more than before and in overall, more content and I'm confident on the quality side so far like I am with every smash game. Overall, the quality of the whole game is upgraded because of this since it makes a more enjoyable experience.

So far, I have no questions concerning the presence of some elements and absence expect those who are obvious (like kirby stage, it may be for an unknown reason that it's not revealed). In fact, it got so far that I don't even know where it would stop. Prince sable as trophy, wft playable, little mac from captain rainbow as trophy and even THE thing I wanted so much, Paper Mario getting more than trophies and get at least a stage and 2 music. Those are very promising and I can't wait to know how it would end.

So, would you mind adding general representation as a new choice? I think I'm not the only one that care just for the roster.

Aldaro brings up an interesting point about the idea of repping or the representation of a series. That can include everything from characters and character movesets, stages, graphics, items/assist/trophies/pokeballs/music, and other elements. I do consider representation to be an important part of Super Smash Bros. but it is too general for the results I was looking for. I was hoping to find something that may give me an indication on what people focus on when it comes to Smash i.e. what people are looking for when looking at early information regarding the Japanese release next month.

Through this poll, people are obviously most focused on the character and character balance within the game as well as game play and mechanics.

We Want YOU to vote!

Do you think Meta Knight should be buffed, nerfed, tweaked, or kept the same?​

Meta Knight was a beast in Smash Bros. Great moves, quick attacks, fast and agile movement, basically four different recovery options, multiple jumps, great air game, etc. This has led the character to be the only one banned in tournaments. Some had called out that Meta Knight be nerfed to make him less OP and to balance out the roster. Other said he just needs a bit of tweaking but he is an example how characters should be. Others don't want Sakurai to touch their S tier favorite. What do you think? With Meta Knight's recent reveal, how do you feel Meta Knight should be in the next Smash?

1. I think he needs more buffs.
2. I think he needs more nerfs.
3. He doesn't need either, just a little bit of tweaking.
5. He is fine how he was in Brawl. Just buff all of the other characters.
6. He doesn't need to be buff or nerfed. He should retain his top Tier level.

 

[Rocket Raccoon]

Misc Information/Requests
The WiR is a huge commitment for me. I typically spend anywhere from an hour to 5 hours of my day making sure the WiR is as good as it can be. But I do have a job that I constantly have to prepare and study for as long as taking online classes myself and studying Japanese to further my career. Not to mention I have a social life, a wife, and commitments that conflicts with the WiR.

Therefore, I depend A LOT on outside help. If you would like to help write a WiR, please contact me via Private Message and we can work out the details. If you have any idea or would like to contribute something different, I am open to ideas. For example, the veteran analysis was entirely @APC99’s idea. I could also use some help in finding quotes, watching threads, and proofreading. If you see some interesting posts that you think may help me in writing the WiR, simply quote it in a Private Message or quote/tag me in your post on that thread. That way, I am sure to read it and within its context.

Secondly, I want to open to three Requests I have for people. If you are interested in helping out, please put "____________ Submission" so I know what you are applying for.


Little Mac Newcomer Analysis

Are you planning on maining Mac? Was he one of your most wanted characters? Or are you interested in writing about him? I am looking for a capable writer to help cover the Little Mac analysis.

If you want to write up a analysis on Little Mac, hit me up on PM.​

Greninja Character Analysis

Did you give Greninja a try at the demo? Are you planning on maining the ninja water-type frog? If so, how about write a newcomer analysis for the Week in Review? If you are interested, contact myself or another Week in Review staff member about writing one!

Potential Character Analysis: Ghirahim

Ghirahim is the main antagonist of Skyward Sword and considered the fore bearer of the conflict that resides in Hyrule. While he isn't extremely likely, he has a lot of potential to be had in Super Smash Bros. Ate you fan of the fabulous character and want to see him included? Write a potential newcomer analysis for him!

Stage Analysis​

Are you interested in writing about stages? Feel free to contact me and apply to write about a Stage Analysis!

Here is a list that you can choose from!​

1. Balloon Fight

2. Find Mii

3. Pac Maze

4. Paper Mario

5. N's Castle/Unova League

6. Garden of Hope

7. Palutena's Castle

8. Pac Land

9. Kalos League

​

Let me know if you are able to write an analysis for either one of these stages!​

 

[dimensionsword64]

You kinda have the character popularity list twice. Also, some of the comments on Meta Knight's return are in Tuesday's article.

But disregarding that, great review as always!

 

[Venus of the Desert Bloom]

All fixed.

 

[Andyjoe522]

Only one complaint. Where it's listing Shulk's potential alt outfits, that isn't Shulk's Jungle Top. That's a picture of Fiora's Battle armor. I can't find a separate picture of just the jungle top, but I can give you a picture of the full jungle set.

Spoiler: large image, along with some rather minor end game spoilers, though you should be fine so long as you don't know the context

 

[mario123007]

Top 11 Newcomers
Writer: MaskO’Gears​

​

In Super Smash Bros, there is nothing that excites fans like the characters, or more accurately, the newcomers. While I myself and many other fans enjoy the stages, music, and mechanics, at the end of the day, characters end up being the most discussed. Who’s likely, who’s unlikely, and how the would play. So far, we’ve had eleven newcomers revealed for Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and 3DS. Of them all, people will have their favorites. Recently, I reached out to the Official Character Discussion Thread and asked them; How do the newcomers rank? The results are now in, with opinions from both the users that responded, and the WiR’s opinions. So without any more delay…

(Note: These results are based on averages, and not on any one list. It is in no way intended to be any one user’s list, and as such, any resemblance is purely coincidental.)
​

11
Mii Fighters

Introduced at E3 2014, the Mii Fighters are currently the least-liked newcomer, perhaps due to their inclusion as generic fighters, as opposed to a previously established character. Some expressed their liking of the Mii Fighters… as representatives of humanoid characters that would never make it in Smash on their own. Another general complaint went into the development time for the Mii Fighters, and not the characters themselves.

The Miis originated from the Wii franchise, as an avatar for the character. They are used in multiple games, including Tomodachi Life and Wii Sports.

-Wii U Mii Creator-​

The Mii Fighters themselves are equally customizable, with three distinct classes of movesets to choose from. The Brawler specializes in quick and close up combat, the Swordfighter uses their graceful and deadly attacks to zone opponents, and the Gunner is equipped with a multitude of mysterious technology to attack from a distance.

-Impressions-​

@Swamp Castle


@ihskeyp


@TumblrFamous

10
Wii Fit Trainer

Perhaps the most surprising inclusion so far, the Wii Fit Trainer was revealed at E3 2013 with mixed response. But despite her low ranking here, most have come to except her unique moveset, citing her quick and precise attacks, along with her interesting specials.

Originating from Wii Fit, an extremely popular exercise game for the Wii console. Selling over 22 million copies, the game featured a unique controler.. the Wii Balance Board. Within the game, players were instructed by a male or female mannequin, the ‘Trainer’.

-Wii Fit-​

Taking heavy inspiration from the game, the Wii Fit Trainer (male and female alternate costumes are available) uses a variety of healthy moves to attack her/his opponents. This includes stretching and yoga poses, making Wii FIt Trainer an entertaining character to watch.

-Impressions-​

@solarunity6


@GOLD3NLOTUS


@GoldenYuiitusin

9
Lucina

If anything must be said about the newcomers of SSB4, it must be that we have had quite the number of surprising characters. Lucina is no different. Revealed on the special July 14th character announcement, Lucina comes in at ninth place on average. This character has really had a mixed response, as fans have both expressed their love or dislike of Lucina. This is due to the fact that her entire moveset is exactly the same as Marth.. making her a clone character. Sakurai recently revealed that she was a last-minute addition to the roster, moving from a mere alt. costume of Marth to her own slot on the character select screen.

Lucina hails from Fire Emblem: Awakening, a strategy game for the 3DS. An important character in her own right, her identity as the daughter of Chrom, the main lord of the game, is hidden through the first part of the game as ‘Marth’, a mysterious sword fighter from the future.

-Lucina’s in-game model from FE:A-​

Despite being a clone, Lucina has two unique features. First, she is shorter than Marth, and secondly, she lacks a ‘tipper’, or sweetspot at the end of her sword, Falchion. Instead, the damage is evenly dispersed throughout the blade, perhaps making Lucina more of an offensive character than Marth.

-Impressions-​

@Espio264


@SegaNintendoUbisoft


@Bowserlick

8
Palutena

The goddess of Light and eternal diva Palutena takes a surprising 8th place on our list. Revealed at E3 2014, Palutena exhibits a unique moveset that involves customization, much like the Miis. Her fans loved her inclusion, but her low ranking was exhibited as a lack of information on her moveset.

Palutena first appeared in the 1986 NES game, Kid Icarus, where she was the captive of the evil Medusa. Latter, she would appear in a stronger role in Kid Icarus: Uprising for the 3DS.

-The ‘Best’ ending of Kid Icarus-​

Appearing as a heavyweight character in SSB4, Palutena’s specials (and some Smash attacks) consist of the Powers from Kid Icarus: Uprising, and like the Powers in the game, can be changed. A small selection of the confirmed Powers include Reflective Barrier (Reflects projectiles), Angelic Missile (Simular to Luigi’s Green Missile), and a Counter move.

-Impressions-​

@Staarih


@CliffJumper


@SpindaMaster

@Admiral Pit

7
Villager

Arguably the first character revealed for Super Smash Bros. 4, the Villager settles in at 7th place. Villager brings a wacky moveset to the game, using fireworks, manual labor, and produce to attack his (or her) enemies. This, along with an interesting airgame, makes Villager a welcome addition to the Smash roster.

The Villager is a simple, a formerly innocent avatar of the play in the Animal Crossing series. Through a short questionnaire, the looks and gender of the Villager is chosen. Players then use their new identity to perform daily tasks, such as house decorating, bug collecting, and general upkeep of the village they call home.

-Image from Animal Crossing: City Folk-​

In Smash Bros., the Villager uses the same daily task to attack enemies. From a net for a grab, to simply opening an umbrella as a side tilt, the Villager remains as another unique newcomer. Humorously, something else came from the Villager’s inclusion…

-Impressions-​

@solarunity6


@SpindaMaster


@Dromader


@SpaceJell0

6
Mega Man

Revealed as the first 3rd party character for SSB4, Mega Man makes a much appreciated appearance. Representing the Mega Man franchise as a whole, the Blue Bomber takes a majority of his moves from the Robot Master powers that he acquired from various games. Other details, such as the Mega Upper and Wall Jumping are taken from Marvel VS. Capcom and Mega Man X, respectively. Fans praised his faithful inclusion, but generally ranked him lower, perhaps due to the fact that we’ve seen many newcomer since his reveal.

Created by Dr. Light as a simple robot, Rock offered to upgrade himself into a weapon after the evil Dr. Wily intended to use six Robot Masters, stolen from Dr. Light, an acquaintance of his. Rock, now known as Mega Man, defeated Dr. Wily, and continued to do so whenever trouble arose.

-Mega Man 2 Opening Title-​

Projectiles are Mega Man’s choice of weapon. His jab combo, side tilt, side smash, and most of his specials are medium ranged projectiles, from the simple Mega Buster to the devastating Crash Bomber. This makes Mega Man an interesting zoner, choosing to keep his opponents at a distance, then rushing in with a quick finishing attack.

-Impressions-​

@~Krystal~


@Glaciacott


@Niala


@The Nerd

5
Little Mac​

​

Little Mac brings the heat in 5th place. Largely considered a shoe-in by both fans and non-fans, his inclusion was a great treat but not entirely a surprise for some. Prior to being revealed, many felt he would fit best as a grounded fighter with strong and powerful punches but an overall weak air game. In addition, some more experimental move set speculators suggested he can switch between various styles of boxing to confuse his opponents. While he didn't get a stance change mechanic, he is extremely strong on the ground and can punish those who venture to close to him but has a horrible recovery and air game that keeps him mostly to the ground.

Little Mac first appeared in Punch-Out for the arcade which was then brought to the NES and named "ike Tyson's Punch-Out!! which saw great success. The game also appeared on the SNES with Super Punch-Out!! though minus the Mike Tyson part. However, the game felt into obscurity and missed it's chances of being on the Nintendo 64 and Gamecube consoles until Little Mac was included as an Assist Trophy in Super Smash Bros. Brawl and a subsequent reboot on the Wii.

Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!!​

As mentioned before, Little Mac is a beast on the ground and can utilize many different types of attacks. He also has a unique Power Mete above his damage percentage icon which increases the more damage he takes and dishes out. Once it reaches the end, it signifies that Little Mac can release his K.O. Punch which causes an immediate KO. While extremely powerful, Little Mac is sometimes KO'd himself before he can utilize it.

-Impressions-
​

@Rockaphin


@Wariofan1


@Louie G.


@TumblrFamous


@MorbidAltruism

4
Pac-Man​

Pac Man is the third Third Party guest revealed for Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and 3DS. His reveal came not as much of a surprise considering a feel different factors:

• Namco's involvement in the development of Smash 4
• Even without Namco's involvement, a popular and iconic character
• Leaked by Gematsu as a newcomer; leaked to appear at E3 2014

However, his reveal came with excitement by Namco and Pac Man fans. Many detractors felt Pac Man wouldn't be able to fight but it appears that Pac Man utilizes a variety of items and gadgets that were taken from Namco intellectual properties and incorporated into his move set.

Pac Man is an iconic video game mascot from Namco. He has been around since 1980 - before the time many of the users if not all were born. He has weathered the years and gone through various updates and revisions to the current form he takes now. His games were a maze-like adventure game which involved the player navigating Pac Man through a series of maxes eating pallets and fruits while avoiding ghosts. When he eats a large Power Pellet, he is given the power to devour the ghosts for extra points. Once all of the pellets are eaten, he can advance to the next level.

Pac Man​

As mentioned before, he is able to eat pellets as a well to perform attacks, change to his retro cheese wedge shape for attacks, as well as utilize a variety of items and gadgets from Namco IPs such as:


http://www.ssbwiki.com/Pac-Man_(SSB4)

-Impressions-
​

@GunGunW


@Kikwi-Kiwi


@SegaNintendoUbisoft


@Opossum


@Cobalsh

3
Greninja

Greninja is the Ninja Pokemon and is a dual Water/Dark type Pokemon. It is the evolved form of Froakie; one of the starters in the Kalo Region in Pokemon X and Y. Within Smash, it plays much like a ninja would though utilize water-based attacks. It can form shurikens made of water and utilize stealth based attacks.

It first appeared in Pokemon X and Y through a leak prior to release and many were hyped due to it's tongue scarf. It quickly became a fan favorite and, upon release, grew he more popular due to it Protean hidden ability which allows it to change it's typing to the move type it just used. This is a very helpful ability to have and quickly catapulted Greninja to even higher levels of stardom.

Pokemon X and Y
​

As mentioned prior, Greninja is capable of using various moves that are found in his move set in the game such as Water Shuriken, Shadow Sneak, and Substitute. It even utilizes two attacks in it's Final Smash: Mat Block and potentially Close Combat. In terms of gameplay, he is very aerial and mobile with great jumping abilities. He has become a fan favorite at the various demos.

- Impressions -

​

@The Light Music Club

@DJ3DS


@YoshiandToad

@legendofrob1


@Xenorange


@Staarih


@Wariofan1

2
Rosalina and Luma

Rosalina and Luma was the first newcomer introduced after Wii Fit Trainer back in June. Almost a whole 6 months in between each other and was the start of the avalanche of new characters. She has a unique and technical game play design that is attributed to a "puppeteer" play style. She and Luma move conjointly but she is able to utilize Luma to execute attacks close or far away from her as well as team up for attacks.

Rosalina is one of the newer characters in the Super Mario Bros. universe, appearing first in Super Mario Galaxy for the Wii. Following Super Mario Galaxy 1 and 2, she has been featured int he many spin off games including Mario Kart and Mario Party as well as Super Mario 3D Land for the Wii U as a secret character. Nintendo seems to be pushing Rosalina into the forefront as a major Mario character.

Rosalina and her Luma's in Super Mario Galaxy
​

Most of her attacks will correspond to Luma which allows them to execute double the attack whether they are close or far away from each other. They can also set up combos and strategies to trap and corner players into a wall of punishment. This technical and challenging play style has really captured fans attention which is remarkable considering prior to her reveal - many dismissed her as just being a Peach clone. However, Sakurai obviously went out of the way to make Rosalina a truly unique and interesting character.

- Impressions -​

@CrusherMania1592


@Shoulda


@ThatWasPeachy


@Louie G.


@Mario_and_Sonic_Guy

1
Robin

Coming in first place in the Top 11 Newcomers is the avatar of Fire Emblem: Awakening, Robin. Both a strategist, a sword fighter, a mage, and a lover - Robin was a huge....gigantic surprise for mostly everyone. This could be due to many were expecting Shulk, a Gematsu character, to be shown due to the Gematsu/Sal leak. However, the July Monday reveal really shook the fan base and pushed Robin up to the 1st spot. However, this alone didn't boost his/her popularity as many were requested a swordfighter mage character; specifically one from Fire Emblem. As well, many were asking for some female swordfighters. We got both: a character that utilizes magic and sword fighting as well as a sword fighting/mage female. It is confirmed that Robin has both a male and female skin; much like the Wii Fit Trainer and the Villager.

The Create an Avatar screen in Fire Emblem: Awakening​

Robin is capable of using Tomes to deal elemental damage to enemies. Some of these tomes include Thunder, Arcfire, Elwind, Nosferatu, and others. Thunder can be charged into various forms such as Elthunder, Arcthunder, and Thoron. While Nosferatu isn't in his move pool in the game, Sakurai stated that is the magic of Smash Bros. - not everything is exactly canon. He/she also possesses the Levin Sword which has magical properties however within time and use; it can break in which Robin must use the most weaker Brozne Sword until it can heal itself. Robin is a very unique and challenging fighter that has a lot magical and skills at his or her disposal.

- Impressions -
​

@Dromader


@Mario_and_Sonic_Guy


@False Sense


@Espio264


@shinhed-echi


@Bowserlick


@ScatmansWorld25

That concludes the Week in Review's 11 Top Newcomers! Thank you for everyone who participated and gave your feedback! We couldn't of done it with you you
​

Gosh.... what a nice analysis!