Character Exploration Thread - Day 79: Axel Stone (Streets of Rage)

[Janx_uwu]

What are some of your favorite Sonic songs not yet in Smash that you’d like to see if Eggman gets in?

I feel like we got robbed when it comes to Sonic music in Smash. For the most part they just included the main vocal theme from (almost) every mainline game. Personally I would love to see some more level themes like Stardust Speedway Bad Future, Frog Forrest, Metal Harbor, Sweet Mountain, and Crisis City (Act 1 Generations). But there are quite a few vocal themes I want and half of them are from Black Knight. What I'm Made Of, All Hail Shadow, Dreams of an Absolution, Fight The Knight, With Me, The Palace That Was Found, and a Forces avatar theme or so would be what I would add.
Also, Right There Ride On is literally missing from Smash Ultimate, so that one too.

How would his trailer play out?

I really love this idea by Wario Wario Wario from the Direct A Trailer thread. But here's mine:
We're watching a Nintendo Direct, E3 or otherwise. It's fairly early and there's no Smash reveal, so nothing much is expected yet. But then, in the middle of a transition, the screen glitches and this appears.

Then we hear E.G.G.M.A.N. playing in the background, followed by this booming theatrical voice:
"Citizens of Earth! Lend me your ears."
Then we see Dr. Eggman, in his actual announcement background like from SA2.
"I, Dr. Eggman, have come to make an announcement. I have been asked by Sakurai-san to be the next fighter in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate! I am truly grateful for this invitation." He pulls out the smash invitation, which has an upside-down smash symbol and looks homemade. "I've always wanted to expand the Eggman Empire beyond the limits of my own dimension, and this is the perfect opportunity. Watch out, Smashers!" Dr. Eggman flashes an Adventure-styled pose for his splash screen.
We see some gameplay of Eggman, as per the usual, with his theme song continuing to play.
Not sure what they could have for an end bit, but maybe something involving Sonic crashing into the broadcast and accusing Eggman of faking his invitation, followed by a "Technical Difficulties, Please Stand By" joke, where it ends.

 

[Paraster]

Overall, Eggman isn't a character that speaks to me personally (the only Sonic characters that'd legitimately excite me would be Blaze and Silver), but I do see the appeal. He's an iconic villain and would be fairly unique as a fighter.

I think putting him in a version of his mech from Sonic Adventure 2 would make the most sense, given it's grounded (subjecting his hovercraft to gravity would be arbitrary and weird, at least to me) and reflects the first (or at least most iconic) time he was playable.

I think GolisoPower 's Space Colony ARK Final Smash idea is great. I think it could be a neat half cinematic/half in-game Final Smash like Pyra and Mythra's; show the laser firing before it shoots across the stage.

Also, am I the only one who'd be ecstatic to see more music from Sonic and the Secret Rings specifically added?

31. Back 2 Back

Oh my god, I heard parts of this song in a SiivaGunner rip ages ago and could never figure out what the original song was.

 

[PeridotGX]

Oh my god, I heard parts of this song in a SiivaGunner rip ages ago and could never figure out what the original song was.

I couldn't tell you what rip, but same! I thought it was a Jet Set Radio song, but i guess it's sonic. Speaking of silva, here are some of Robotniks highest quality rips.

- YouTube

Enjoy the videos and music that you love, upload original content and share it all with friends, family and the world on YouTube.

www.youtube.com

- YouTube

Enjoy the videos and music that you love, upload original content and share it all with friends, family and the world on YouTube.

www.youtube.com

- YouTube

Enjoy the videos and music that you love, upload original content and share it all with friends, family and the world on YouTube.

www.youtube.com

- YouTube

Enjoy the videos and music that you love, upload original content and share it all with friends, family and the world on YouTube.

www.youtube.com

 

[ahemtoday]

You bring a good point. I didn't consider the animation when I came to my Eggmobile conclusion-I was more so considering it in a thematic sense. I just would rather include the mech that has appeared in almost every game that Eggman does, as I feel it does a better job representing him than the Egg Walker-even if it's just an Eggmobile with legs. That being said, I do have some suggestions for how the Eggmobile could work in terms of animation.
The running animation could have the Eggmobile lean forward with a bit of very subtle squash-and-stretch, as well as jet boosters on the back, to convey his speed. When he jumps, jets would instead come out from the bottom. For his crouch, Eggman could simply drop his Eggmobile onto the ground, which would be a pretty funny animation.
And to solve the problem of Eggman's upper body not being completely visible, we could take slight inspiration from Sonic Adventure's iteration and give him a somewhat reclined chair, a slightly less spherical design, and a windshield (transparent, unlike the one in the below image).

And if we don't want to use this specific model as a base, there's plenty of other examples of Eggman's upper body being more visible in the Eggmobile. The green hover effect under Eggman in the Heroes one would act well for a jump animation, as well as the wings in Sonic 4's. And in the Sonic 4 render, I really like how the Eggmobile bobs left to right, not just up and down, and it honestly looks pretty lively.

I don't feel as opposed to the Egg Walker as I once did-and I should note that Sonic Adventure 2 is one of my favorite Sonic games, no bias against it-but I still perfer the Eggmobile and I think it can work in terms of animation.

Hm... I think I'm starting to see it, but you'd need to be careful about how you pose him to keep the silhouette clear. For that reason, I actually think it'd be best to go with a backless design, or at least one where the back is below Eggman's shoulders. We need all the space for arm movement up there we can get.

ALLLRRRIGHTY then! Time for a change of pace!
View attachment 315325
Dr. Eggman
Hatches a Master Plan!
I present to you my Eggman Challenger Pack!

Spoiler: Moveset

(loosely based an a concept by @TKOWL )

Intro: Eggman floats down on his Egg Mobile and laughs while facing the camera

Stance/Idle 1: The Egg Mobile floats close to the ground
Idle 2: Eggman chuckles
Idle 3: Eggman twirls his mustache

Notable Palette Swaps:

1. Dr. Eggman
2. Maria Robotnik (blue)
3. Gerald Robotnik (grey)
4. Eggman Nega (black)
5. Classic Eggman (alt)
6. Snively (greeen)
7. Pajama concept art (pink)
8. Eggrobo (alt 2)
   • Note: The Eggrobo has no voice clips

Walk: The Egg Mobile floats along the ground
Dash: The Egg Mobile floats along the ground while the jets fire
Damage: His damage animation from the Classic and Advance games
Jump: The Egg Mobile’s Walker legs spring out, and the jet propels Eggman slightly for the second jump
Crouch: The Walker legs rest on the ground and lower the Egg Mobile

Normal Attacks
Jab: Eggman flurries with robotic claws from the Egg Mobile (2%-3%), then finishes with an uppercut (6%, small knockback)
Forward+A: Eggman attacks with one of the bumpers from the EGG-HVC-001 (6%, OK knockback)
Down+A: Eggman sends out a boxing glove attached to a spring that sends opponents far (9%, OK knockback)
Up+A: Eggman attacks using the pointy tail from the boss of Oil Ocean (9%, OK knockback)

Aerial Attacks
Air+A: Eggman attacks using the flippers from the final boss of Sonic CD (3% each hit, OK knockback)
Air Forward+A: Eggman fires a shot from his energy gun (7%, small knockback)
Air Back + A: Eggman drops some blue toxic water from the back of his Egg Mobile (10%, OK knockback)
Air Up+A: Eggman attacks by clamping the two claws from the Casino Night Zone boss (11%, OK knockback)
Air Down+A: Eggman drops down with a spike at the bottom of the Egg Mobile (8% with a meteor effect, OK knockback)

Dash Attack: Eggman dashes forward with the Egg Walker’s legs (4% each hit, OK knockback)
Edge Attack: Eggman shoots an energy laser (7%, small knockback) and gets back up after hanging on the edge with the Egg Mobile’s robot claws
Get-Up Attack: Eggman briefly summons an Electric Shield (5%, small knockback)

Smash Attacks
Forward+A: Eggman slams the ground with a giant hammer (25%, medium knockback)
Up+A: Eggman attacks by raising a drill from the Marble Garden boss above himself (22%, medium knockback)
Down+A: Eggman fires two fireballs from the bottom of his Egg Mobile and spins them around (15% each hit, OK knockback)

Grab Game
Grab: Eggman uses Big Arms to grab the opponent
Pummel: Eggman slowly squeezes the opponent (5%)
Forwards+Throw: Eggman tosses the opponent forward (9%, OK knockback)
Down+Throw: Eggman hovers up a bit and buries the opponent with a full-force ground slam (15%)
Back+Throw: Eggman throws the opponent behind himself (12%, OK knockback)
Up+Throw: Eggman uses the Phantom Ruby to warp the opponent to above himself (8%, small knockback)

Special Moves
B : Egg Mobile-H; “Take this!” Eggman unleashes a wrecking ball and slams it forward after a brief spin (29%, medium knockback) that can bury opponents on the ground and meteor Smash opponents in the air. By tilting the control stick in the opposite direction, Eggman can do a backflip and attack opponents behind him.
B + Forwards : Egg Mobile-D; Eggman rushes forward in a drill car (15%, OK knockback). The drill itself cancels out the Drill item (and can be released by pressing B again), but travels less of a distance.
B + Up : Phantom Ruby; Eggman uses the powers of the Phantom Ruby to warp in the direction the control stick is tilted; this attacks fighters in a large area (5%, OK knockback) and can either freeze opponents, reverse their controls, or inflict the flower status
B + Down : Laser from M.E.; “Get ready to be schooled!” Using the powers of the Master Emerald, Eggman fires a huge one-hit laser that goes offscreen (35%, far knockback). This attack has a 10-second cooldown between uses, and Eggman can move slowly left or right with super armor before he actually fires the laser.

Final Smash: Death Egg Robot; “Get a load of this!” Using the powers of the Phantom Ruby, Eggman summons the Death Egg Robot. Both of its arms can be controlled with either control stick, and pressing B has Eggman fire both of them towards the screen (40% each, far knockback); if opponents are at 60% or higher, they will suffer a screen K.O.

Gimmick: N/A


Taunts
1: “Yosh…” Eggman pets his Egg Mobile
2: “Time for a change of pace!” Eggman gets out of the Egg Mobile for a sec to do a “Well! What is it?” gesture
1+2: “Ohohoho!” Eggman puts his hand on his chest as he laughs

Winposes
1: “Now you know why I am the best!” Eggman mimics the bad ending from Sonic the Hedgehog
1a: “Try again, Sonic!” (Vs. Sonic)
2: “Hm, ha! The more, the merrier!” The camera pans up from a capsule containing Flickies and moves up to Eggman, with Orbot and Cubot appearing briefly
3: “Yes, yes, yes!” Eggman’s victory animation from Sonic Adventure 2

Applause: Eggman mimics the good ending from Sonic the Hedgehog
Icon: The Sonic series icon
Boxing Ring Title: The Man with the Master Plan
Star K.O.: “You’ll regret thiiiis…!” “I hate that hedgehoooog…!”
Victory Music: E.G.G.M.A.N.
Kirby Hat: Eggman’s glasses and mustache

Spoiler: Stage: Studiopolis Zone

(loosely based on a concept by Alex13Art on DeviantArt)

This stage is one of the four new zones from Sonic Mania...or rather, three of them! Every 40 seconds the Phantom Ruby pops up and changes the stage (with the cycle going from Studiopolis to Press Garden to Mirage Saloon, and then repeat). This applies even for the Omega and Battlefield forms; you can also change the colors to the ones from Encore Mode by holding the L Button when you select this stage.

Spoiler: Song List

1. Green Hill Zone
2. Marble Zone / Star Light Zone
3. Chemical Plant Zone
4. Casino Night Zone
5. Death Egg Robot
6. Palmtree Panic (Present)
7. Stardust Speedway (Past)
8. Stardust Speedway (Bad Future) (JP)
9. Hydrocity Zone
10. Big Arms
11. Mushroom Hill Zone
12. Flying Battery Zone
13. Sky Sanctuary Zone
14. Doomsday Zone
15. The Final Fight
16. Unknown from M.E.
17. Chaos 0, 2, 4
18. Run Through the Speed Highway
19. E.G.G.M.A.N.
20. Rhythm and Balance
21. A Ghost's Pumpkin Soup
22. For True Story
23. Supporting Me
24. Seaside Hill / Ocean Palace
25. Bullet Station
26. Egg Emperor
27. What I'm Made Of
28. Nonaggression
29. Right There, Ride On
30. Metal Scratchin'
31. Back 2 Back
32. Wrapped in Black
33. I Am (All of Me)
34. Crisis City
35. Dreams of an Absolution
36. A New Venture
37. Endless Possibility
38. Vs. Egg Dragoon
39. Tropical Resort
40. Planet Wisp
41. Honeycomb Highway
42. The Deadly Six Theme
43. Sonic Mania Medley
44. Tabloid Jargon
45. Rogues Gallery
46. Built to Rule / Steel Cortex
47. Ruby Delusions
48. Hi-Spec Robo Go!
49. Moonlight Battlefield (Aqua Road)

Spoiler: Classic Mode: Rise of the Eggman Empire

(fights video game heroes)

• Round 1: on Mushroom Kingdom (Airship Theme - Super Mario Bros. 3)
• Round 2: on Wily Castle (Mega Man 4 Medley)
• Round 3: on Midgar (Fight On!)
• Round 4: on Suzaku Castle (M. Bison Stage Type B)
• Round 5: on Dracula's Castle (Out of Time)
• Round 6: on (Egg Emperor)
• Final Round:
  (team battle w/)
• Credits: E.G.G.M.A.N.

Spoiler: Spirit Board

(Spirit Battles listed here)

1. Dr. Eggman (Fighter) (Fighter Spirit)
2. Classic Dr. Eggman (Fighter Spirit)
3. Classic Sonic (; ★★★)
4. Motobug ( x6; ★)
5. Metal Sonic (; ★★)
6. Knuckles (; ★★★)
7. Mighty & Ray ( ; ★★)
8. Dr. Eggman Nega (Dr. Eggman; ★★★)
9. Black Doom (; ★★)
10. Mephiles the Dark (; ★★★)
11. Erazor Djinn (; ★★)
12. Wisps (; ★★)
13. Orbot and Cubot (Dr. Eggman x3; ★)
14. Zavok (; ★★) -> The Deadly Six (★★★)
15. Sticks (; ★)
16. Hard-Boiled Heaves (Eggrobo x5; ★★★)
17. Rookie (; ★★★)
18. Death Egg Robot (Dr. Eggman; ★★★★)

Noms: Sora x10

I really dig the Egg Walker crouch, and the down-tilt tying into that is great. The Big Arm as the grab is a really good choice.

Like I said in my moveset, when you have a moveset about referencing a whole bunch of separate things you need the specials to feel particularly important, and your moveset does a good job of that. The wrecking ball and drill show up a lot, so they're great choices. I think the focus on the Phantom Ruby is a little weird as something that was only in a couple games, but it was a major part of those two games and I don't know if they're going to do anything else with it yet so I'll let it slide. I love the name of Laser from M.E., but I'm not quite sure what it's a reference to. The move, I mean, not the name.

Oh, here's an Eggman question: could he have classic eggman (Robotnik) as an alt?

Maybe. I'm always a little wary of alts that could look too similar to the main character from a distance, though, so I'm not sure it's a good idea.

 

[Perkilator]

I love the name of Laser from M.E., but I'm not quite sure what it's a reference to. The move, I mean, not the name.

It's based on an attack Eggman does during the last normal boss battle of Sonic & Knuckles.

 

[Commander_Alph]

Is it me or should Eggman get his classic look his Eggmobile should change design to its classic appearance too? I Don't know how different it is compare to the 3D one.

 

[SharkLord]

Is it me or should Eggman get his classic look his Eggmobile should change design to its classic appearance too? Don't knowow different it is compare to the 3D one.

Well, his Sonic Unleashed version looks like this, at least

Going to the more simple classic Eggmobile for the Classic Robotnik design sounds pretty reasonable.

 

[Commander_Alph]

What about his victory theme? Considering new DLC characters have their own victory theme even from the same series like Byleth, Sephiroth and Pyra what would it be?

 

[Perkilator]

What about his victory theme? Considering new DLC characters have their own victory theme even from the same series like Byleth, Sephiroth and Pyra what would it be?

A snippet of E.G.G.M.A.N.

 

[GolisoPower]

Another good question: would Eggman have the usual Victory platform or would he have his own unique background like Sephiroth did? I could imagine him, say, having his victory animations on one of the ships in the Eggman Fleet.

 

[Gengar84]

Well, his Sonic Unleashed version looks like this, at least
View attachment 315362
Going to the more simple classic Eggmobile for the Classic Robotnik design sounds pretty reasonable.

Yeah, I'm mostly familiar with Sonic's Sega Genesis games so if I could choose, I'd love him to have the Eggmobile. I haven't kept up with the series since then much so if more people want his Egg Walker than I'm more than happy to concede.

 

[ZelDan]

Assuming Eggman would be in his Eggmobile completely or mostly atleast, I could see his grabbing opponents by having metal arms/hands pop out of his machine and grabbing opponents (similar to his final boss fight in vanilla Sonic 3).

His dash attack could have the eggmobile grow wheels and charge ahead while a drill is in front of the vehicle, referencing the first battle of Sonic 2.

One idea I had for a victory screen would be to reference those ending screens you'd get in Sonic 1 or 3 if you failed to collect all chaos emeralds. You know, Have Eggman juggling the emeralds and laughing at your face.

And yes, everything I've put forward revolves around the classic Sonic games. I've only played some of the Classic Sonic games and Mania so shrug

 

[Commander_Alph]

Is it possible to have an echo for Eggman? I imagine the only character that could do that is Eggrobo with his alt are all the Hard Boiled Heavies just like Bowser. Jr.

 

[ahemtoday]

Is it possible to have an echo for Eggman? I imagine the only character that could do that is Eggrobo with his alt are all the Hard Boiled Heavies just like Bowser. Jr.

I mean, there's Eggman Nega from the Sonic Rush and Sonic Rivals serieses. He's the third most recurring villain in the series, or so the wiki tells me. In Sonic Rush, his machines are just Eggman's but in different colors. In the Sonic Rivals series, he's got a magic camera that turns stuff into cards, so that could be a different Final Smash, I guess. And apparently the people who make the Olympics games really like him, 'cause he's been in like every single one.

...I don't know, though. I'm not really selling myself on it. I feel like Eggman Nega is the sort of character who would only get into a dedicated Sonic fighting game, so to see him here would be odd.

Eggrobo would work, too, and is a little more obviously different from Eggman to the uninformed. I don't think the Hard-Boiled Heavies would make too much sense, though. I recognize there's liberties taken with the Koopalings as well, but it'd just feel strange. Part of it is that there's 7 Koopalings plus Junior makes an even 8 costumes, so it feels like it's meant to be that way. Eggrobo plus the Heavies is six.

 

[Commander_Alph]

I mean, there's Eggman Nega from the Sonic Rush and Sonic Rivals serieses. He's the third most recurring villain in the series, or so the wiki tells me. In Sonic Rush, his machines are just Eggman's but in different colors. In the Sonic Rivals series, he's got a magic camera that turns stuff into cards, so that could be a different Final Smash, I guess. And apparently the people who make the Olympics games really like him, 'cause he's been in like every single one.

I feel having Eggman Nega is a lot worse imo, at least with Dark Pit he's the opposite of Pit who's cheerful but Eggman Nega is identical to Eggman in all field except for his goal, a hatred for Eggman and a lot smarter, it's like having Classic Sonic be Sonic's Echo. As far as Nega goes I think he's just going to be an alternate costume. Even if he's a reoccurring character in the Olympic he is now basically on par with Stick the Badger but she's a recent addition and not as important as even being featured in a mainline Sonic game, although the retcon seems to hurt him a lot.

 

[Janx_uwu]

I personally would perfer Eggrobo as an echo. Mainly because he pretty much takes the place of Eggman in Knuckles' campaign in 3&K. So he can take control of Eggman's machinery and shares body type, but their ideals and goals still align. He's not just an Eggrobo either, he even got into Sonic R way back when. He was basically the Egg Pawn before there were Egg Pawns.

 

[SharkLord]

Alright, I'm finally up. I'm tentatively placing an hour before the next shift. I'm gonna see if we're ready to move on now or if we still have some more discussion left to squeeze out of ol' Eggman.

EDIT: Oh whoop, forgot to place my noms at the beginning. Better late than never; LoL rep x30.

 

[SharkLord]

Ah frick, I forgot to mention the day to the Eggman thread. This probably limited the discussion beyond what it could've been, so I'll post on that thread and extend the discussion by another 12 hours. I think it's only fair that they get to partake in the discussion when every other thread got that chance as well.

 

[PeridotGX]

It's been an hour, and no eggman thread people have posted.

 

[Rie Sonomura]

So yeah I’m ready

who’s next?

 

[Pillow]

I don’t have much else to say about Eggman.

If possible, could you include the total noms list / schedule in the opening thread just for the sake of convenience ?

 

[SharkLord]

Alright, there we go

Spoiler: Noms List

• 50+ noms
• Quote - x85
• LoL rep - x55
• 26-50 noms
• Masked Man - x45
• Agumon - x45
• Euden - x45
• Funky Kong - x40
• Jace x35
• Zegram Grant - x35
• Isaac (TBoI) - x35
• Sora - x35
• 11-25 noms
• Amaterasu - x25
• 2B - x25
• Farmer - x25
• Maxwell - x20
• Frisk - x19
• Estelle Bright - x15
• Pyramid Head x15
• 5-10 noms
• Laharl - x10
• Daitoryo - x10
• Battletoads - x10
• Isaac (Golden Sun) - x10
• Shovel Knight - x10
• Trauma Center Content - x10
• Amiya - x5
• Elma - x5
• Gunvolt - x5
• Octoling - x5
• Jill Stingray - x5
• Chosen Undead - x5
• Astral Chain rep - x5
• Master Hand - x5
• Under 5 noms
• Sans - x2
• Freedy Fazbear - x2
• Alucard - x5
• Jill Valentine - x1
• Fillia - x1
• Danganronpa rep - x1
• Marco Rossi - x1
• Gordon Freeman - x1
• Dart Monkey - x1

Spoiler: Noms List

• Rie Sonomura - x5 (10 total)
• C chocolatejr9 - x5 (10 total)
• Gengar84 - x10 (15 total)
• Paraster - x10 (15 total)
• amageish - x5 (10 total)
• Janx_uwu - x20 (25 total)
• ahemtoday - x10 (15 total)
• GolisoPower - x10 (15 total)
• Perkilator - x25 (30 total)
• PeridotGX - x10 (15 total)
• @Autumn Breeze - x5 (10 total)
• Commander_Alph - x15 (20 total)
• ZelDan - x5 (10 total)

A lot of submissions got a major promotion after Reimu's nom-heavy day. On the flipside, this day's been comparatively chill.

...I'm beginning to think I might need some people to help out with the schedules, alerting the nominated character's support threads, and nom collection. I was busy today, so the schedule shift was way late.

Anyways, now we go on to a general Rhythm Heaven rep.

Nomination: LoL rep x5

 

[Rie Sonomura]

I do worry about the future of RH. I know Tsunku had cancer of the vocal chords which led to him getting them surgically removed, but I hope he can still make more someday. I would have liked to see RH content as far back as Smash 4. Especially the music.

nominations:
Elma x3
Trauma Center Content x2

 

[GolisoPower]

Rhythm Heaven is a franchise I never played in my life, but one that I'm surprised doesn't have playable representation. Rhythm games are something not represented in Smash with playable fighters whatsoever, so having their first-party rhythm game being the character they made is a fun one.

The real question is how it would work: there's Karate Joe, and there's the Chorus Kids, Karate Joe for the reason that he's got some modicum of combat experience, and Chorus Kids because they were the subject of the now-infamous Gematsu leak (Which had Shulk, Palutena, Pac-Man, Mii Fighters, Chrom and Chorus Kids, the second-to-last of which ironically enough would be in Smash Ultimate). It's hard to think which one would make it in in this hypothetical scenario.

Noms:
Chosen Undead x15

 

[Perkilator]

I don't play Rhythm Heaven, so I can't really say I care about it as much as other people do.

...Not sure what else to say, tbh.

Noms: Sora x30

 

[Janx_uwu]

Over in the Infinite thread, we chose Barista as our RH character. We gave her a mechanic where, after pressing the button to activate a move, you can press the same button to increase the power of the attack-kinda like Super Mario RPG. (I believe it was Ahemtoday who submitted this, though my memory is foggy). I feel like this is a pretty good way to implement the rhythm aspect of Rhythm Heaven, but what would you guys have in mind?
Noms:
Master Hand x5
Mega Man X x15
Nathan Drake x5

 

[chocolatejr9]

So, who would the Rythym Heaven rep be? I've heard a bunch of suggestions.

Nominations: Euden x10

 

[PeridotGX]

Doing the "how to buy" for Nintendo characters is so much easier. There's a Rhythm Heaven on 3DS, you can buy it for thirty bones digitally. I wouldn't reccomnd trying to get it physically, second hand copies are going crazy hamburger for both it and older RH games.

Noms: Maxwell x15

 

[amageish]

Rhythm Heaven is, frankly, a bizarre series when it comes to Smash representation, at least in my eyes. It's such a bright franchise with amazing music, with this being reflected by Rhythm Heaven having the most... Spirits of any universe without a fighter? Representing a musical IP with more PNG files than music... It's a weird choice, in my opinion at least...

If we're getting content, I think it'd be best to follow in the footsteps of Game and Watch of all things. The character serves as an avatar who can pull out whatever items/characters/abstract-concepts they need from across the franchise (I personally like the idea of the Barista doing this for some quadrupedal representation, but you could use anyone really - Marshal, Rhythm Girl, Tibby, the Monkeys, Karate Joe, whoever). The stage is transforming and rushes you from place to place, potentially with one of the songs being a medley that plays an appropriate song for whatever area it currently is in. That way you can cover as much ground as possible as get all around the world of rhythm heaven.

I think the biggest challenge of Rhythm Heaven comes from the possibility of a rhythm-based fighter ability, as this could result in a nightmareish situation where the character is functionally stronger/weaker based on the BPM of whatever music track is currently playing. The best solution to this is probably having a visually-centric combo-focused character to put rhythm at the core of how the character feels without actually having to stick to a constant beat throughout the game?

Noms: Farmer x 10

 

[Gengar84]

I’ve never played a Rhythm Heaven game so I’m not sure how much I can contribute to the conversation. I know there was a supposed leak for Smash 4 stating that the Chorus Kids were supposed to make it in but were scrapped during development. I’m not sure how much validity that leak ended up having in the end but it did seem to drive a lot of support at the time for the Chorus Kids. If we were to get a Rhythm Heaven character, would you guys want Chorus Kids or is there another character that would fit better that was just overlooked at the time?

x15 Zegram Ghart

 

[Guynamednelson]

Would Working Dough's layout work as a stage?

 

[Deleted member]

Nominating Funky Kong x10

Rhythm Heaven is a series I wish was already in Smash. There’s so much great music and moveset potential there, it’s kind of surprising we haven’t seen a fighter yet considering it feels like such a Sakurai pick. As far as how rhythm would actually work in a moveset, it’s pretty simple to just copy Incineroar’s side special but for a lot more moves & with added audio cue SFX. Maybe different moves could interact with each other to change said cue when strung together? Like it would be hard to have a cue for a quick aerial, but if you could cancel it into a second aerial you could add the timing to that. It’s kind of hard to parse out and visualize but I’m sure it could work.

 

[SharkLord]

Over in the Infinite thread, we chose Barista as our RH character. We gave her a mechanic where, after pressing the button to activate a move, you can press the same button to increase the power of the attack-kinda like Super Mario RPG. (I believe it was Ahemtoday who submitted this, though my memory is foggy). I feel like this is a pretty good way to implement the rhythm aspect of Rhythm Heaven, but what would you guys have in mind?
Noms:
Master Hand x5
Mega Man X x15
Nathan Drake x5

Yeah, I remember Barista. I mostly went with them because A: There was a compelling argument for them being a consistent character with in specific games and the series as a whole, and B: Doggo.

 

[ahemtoday]

Incidentally, was Barista my suggestion? I feel like it mighta been, but it could easily have been someone else's...

Over in the Infinite thread, we chose Barista as our RH character. We gave her a mechanic where, after pressing the button to activate a move, you can press the same button to increase the power of the attack-kinda like Super Mario RPG. (I believe it was Ahemtoday who submitted this, though my memory is foggy). I feel like this is a pretty good way to implement the rhythm aspect of Rhythm Heaven, but what would you guys have in mind?
Noms:
Master Hand x5
Mega Man X x15
Nathan Drake x5

Ah, no, my moveset had a mechanic where you could set your own tempo, if memory serves. I think the one we went with was Krookodilian's.

In hindsight, I'm not sure on the tempo idea. I was trying to get a moveset that went to the music without actually having to go to the music, but I feel like I made something a little screwy.

My moveset did have Big Rock Finish as the forward throw, though. The barista played you like a guitar. I'm proud of that one.

Nominating Funky Kong x10

Rhythm Heaven is a series I wish was already in Smash. There’s so much great music and moveset potential there, it’s kind of surprising we haven’t seen a fighter yet considering it feels like such a Sakurai pick. As far as how rhythm would actually work in a moveset, it’s pretty simple to just copy Incineroar’s side special but for a lot more moves & with added audio cue SFX. Maybe different moves could interact with each other to change said cue when strung together? Like it would be hard to have a cue for a quick aerial, but if you could cancel it into a second aerial you could add the timing to that. It’s kind of hard to parse out and visualize but I’m sure it could work.

The Alolan Whip idea is definitely the most common one I see, but I'm not quite sure about it. I don't know if Oops! All Rekkas really captures the feel of playing Rhythm Heaven when once one attack ends, the next attack's rhythm will have no relation to it. It's more like something I would expect out of a Mario RPG character.

 

[Paraster]

Noms:
Quote x5
Isaac (TBoI) x10

When it comes to rhythm game characters, I'd rather have Cadence from Crypt of the NecroDancer, but Rhythm Heaven is colorful and goofy enough that I wouldn't say no.

As a contributor to the Smash Infinite thread, I remember there being a lot of debate over our RH rep--not just which character, but I specifically remember multiple people arguing for or against the fighter's moves relying on summoning other RH characters. (Personally, I don't remember how I felt at the time, but now I'd say I'd prefer to minimize summoning to just specials or something.)

 

[Ramen Tengoku]

I think one of the first things when discussing RH in Smash that we need to talk about is who'd be the ideal rep. Unlike most series, there really isn't a defacto mascot, with serval characters gaining fairly equal notoriety among the fanbase over the years. Honestly there's quite a bit, but here's the main ones I consistently see brought up.

From left to right, notable cannidates include but are not limited to:

Spoiler: Karate Joe

Karate Joe
Trying to to follow in his father's footsteps, Karate Joe trains to become a karate master, punching and kicking various objects such as flower pots, soccer balls and lightbulbs that come flying towards the screen. One variation or another of his rhythm game, Karate Man appears in every game in the series and even holds the distinction of having the very first rhythm game in the series debut Rhythm Tengoku.

Spoiler: Rhythm Girl

Rhythm Girl
A notable trend throughout the series seems to be a girl littering the title screens, menus and a couple rhythm games throughout the series. The most consistent being a blackhaired one in a matching red dress and shoes, notably being the star of the rhythm game Tap Trial, which has been playable in three out of the four games in the series. Being a bit of blank slate, serveal people find Rhythm Girl a very ideal way to represent RH's serval objects and characters without things feeling off.

Spoiler: The Barista

The Barista
The Barista is a small dog who runs a cafe and is basically your guide throughout the series. Being featured outside of rhythm games, lots of fans say Barista would be another ideal choice when representing the entire series properly. Heck, like already mentioned, ended up chosing him as our RH rep during the Smash Ultimate Sequel Project here on Smashboards.

Spoiler: Chorus Kids

Chorus Kids
The stars of the rhythm game Glee Club featured in Rhythm Heaven DS (the first game in the series to make it overseas btw), the Chorus Kids are trio of children who try to put on a singing performance. Since their debut, they've essentially become series staples. Other characters within their species have appeared in other games such as Marshal, Cam, and Miss Ribbon in Fever.

One thing I need to bring up regarding the Chorus Kids and Smash, is their notable presence in a heavily discussed rumor running up to Smash 4's release known as the Gematsu Leak, which ended up correctly predicting the inclusions of several playable characters. That being said, the Chorus Kids, along with Chrom, were the only two on the list that didn't made it in. However, with getting every other character right, Chrom confirmed by Sakurai being considered before being scrapped for Robin, along with data being found in Smash 4's files pointing to potentially scrapped RH character, there's a decent chance the Gematsu Leak was legitimate, albeit outdated information, meaning Chorus Kids could've likely been the intended characters to represent RH in 4.

Spoiler: Wrestler & Reporter

Wrestler & Reporter
If you're aware of any RH rhythm gane even without having played the series, there's a good chance it's Ringside. Focusing on a wrestler getting interviewed by a news reporter during a match, it became a notable source of countless parodies and was far and away the breakout rhythm game of Rhythm Heaven Fever, giving it's stars, the Wrestler and Reporter a consistent series presence, despite having one rhythm game to their name.

Spoiler: Tibby

Tibby
Rhythm Heaven Megamix on the 3DS was the first game in the franchise to feature a branching story, and with it, came a protagonist in the form of an afro sporting bear, Tibby. Like Barista before him, being featured outside of the rhythm games on top of being the defacto protagonist of his game makes him a fairly popular cannidate for Smash among fans in terms of representng the series properly

There's serveal other characters the fanbase tends to bring up, like Marshal or The Wandering Samurai, but these are the main 6 I tend to see thrown around and as such I think I'd give a rundown for.

Nominations: Story of Seasons Farmer x5

 

[Neosonic97]

And it turns out I didn't notice this thread for a while and ended up missing both the days of Reimu and Eggman. God damn it!

For a Rhythm-based gimmick, I have actually experienced something like that in another fighting game.

Specifically, Dissidia Final Fantasy's version of Squall Leonhart, the main character of Final Fantasy 8. In DFF, Squall's unique ability, referred to in NT as Trigger, makes it so that while his attacks worked fine if you just inputted them normally, they also had a mechanic where you could time button presses during your attacks to deal extra damage- typically when each attack connected, which was actually based on the timing-based mechanics of his original limit break in FF8.

Something like that would probably work for a Rhythm Heaven rep.

 

[Deleted member]

The Alolan Whip idea is definitely the most common one I see, but I'm not quite sure about it. I don't know if Oops! All Rekkas really captures the feel of playing Rhythm Heaven when once one attack ends, the next attack's rhythm will have no relation to it. It's more like something I would expect out of a Mario RPG character.

I mean, my post literally says chaining different moves could change cues...

 

[ahemtoday]

I mean, my post literally says chaining different moves could change cues...

I'm not really sure what that... means, is the problem. It sounds like you use forward air after neutral air and you get a different move with a different rhythm. But I'm not sure how that really solves it. Sure, you cancel at the end of an attack in a rhythm and you connect the two, I get it. That's a good solution - but I don't get the changing cues bit. Cues in Rhythm Heaven don't change based on what came before them. The Karate Man pot gets thrown and gets hit one beat later, and that doesn't change if it happens right after you kick a bomb. It just sounds way more complicated than it needs to me without really being based on much, if I'm understanding you right. Which... I'm probably not.

 

[amageish]

Would Working Dough's layout work as a stage?

I feel like a transforming stage (be it Flat-Zone-style or maybe Warioware style) is the best way to go, but that definitely is an iconic area easily transformed into a stage, which isn't exactly true of every area from Rhythm Heaven... I feel like fighting on Monkey Watch may be too challenging to do practically haha.

And it turns out I didn't notice this thread for a while and ended up missing both the days of Reimu and Eggman. God damn it!

For a Rhythm-based gimmick, I have actually experienced something like that in another fighting game.

Specifically, Dissidia Final Fantasy's version of Squall Leonhart, the main character of Final Fantasy 8. In DFF, Squall's unique ability, referred to in NT as Trigger, makes it so that while his attacks worked fine if you just inputted them normally, they also had a mechanic where you could time button presses during your attacks to deal extra damage- typically when each attack connected, which was actually based on the timing-based mechanics of his original limit break in FF8.

Something like that would probably work for a Rhythm Heaven rep.

This is a pretty solid solution, I think! Maybe have some sort of "Combo' indicator? Idk if that'd make them seem more rhythm-y or more generic fighting game-y though, as combos are in both...