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

[ahemtoday]

Would Alex Shepherd's clothes work?

View attachment 317738

Th-This is the goofiest thing I've ever seen. What is even the context of this?

 

[Technomage]

Th-This is the goofiest thing I've ever seen. What is even the context of this?

I do not know; all I know is that picture is referred to as "Bogeyman Alex." XD

 

[GolisoPower]

Does Pyramid Head have any other appearances that could work as an alternate outfit? I’m only really familiar with the look posted in this thread.

Well, aside from his classic appearance...

There's also the Christophe Gans design from the movies, which could potentially serve as an Advent Children-style alt.

Although, I dunno if Gans will allow Sakurai to use that particular design, since Konami seems to barely have anything to do with the movies. Then again, the design was used in Silent Hill: Homecoming, so that's kind of a glimmer of hope.

I know spirits have already been discussed, but I;m not the most familiar with Silent Hill: are any of the ones mentioned associated not specifically with 2? Could Pyramid Head have spirits explicitly based on games that don't include him?

To answer your question, some of the candidates brought up here in terms of Spirits (Bubblehead Nurse, James, Mannequins and Mira) are specifically from 2. The rest (Heather, Robbie the Rabbit, Alessa, Harry, Grey Child) are from either the first or third games. Honestly, Silent Hill has a lot of human and Otherworld characters to pull from that could be perfectly used as Spirits.

 

[GolisoPower]

Someone delete this post, please.

 

[Pillow]

Just so we're clear, the blood's gonna go, right?

Nominations: Freddy Fazbear x10

Easily. Unlike other games, Silent Hill is generally focused much more on the psychological aspect of horror over visceral violence.

Yeah, I totally agree. Characters like Jill Valentine and Leon Kennedy are cool and would probably make for fun fighters but I don’t think they capture the feel of a horror game by themselves as well as the monsters. I think Nemesis and Pyramid Head are perfect reps for the genre.

Personally I feel character like Nemesis / Pyramid Head make for much better boss fights and stage hazards than playable characters. The idea of them jumping around so much just seems a tad silly to me so I'd rather see Jill or Heather doing that instead. I think the case is stronger for Pyramid Head though, because as iconic as Nemesis is, he's still a less recognized character than Jill or Leon while the reverse is true for P Head.

Noms:
x5 Amiya
x5 Kerrigan

 

[GolisoPower]

Personally I feel character like Nemesis / Pyramid Head make for much better boss fights and stage hazards than playable characters. The idea of them jumping around so much just seems a tad silly to me so I'd rather see Jill or Heather doing that instead. I think the case is stronger for Pyramid Head though, because as iconic as Nemesis is, he's still a less recognized character than Jill or Leon while the reverse is true for P Head.

Solution to this, hear me out: instead of actually "jumping" per se, Pyramid Head pushes the Great Knife onto the ground to propel himself. It might sound pretty stupid, but I think it's a clever way to circumvent it myself lol

 

[Technomage]

Th-This is the goofiest thing I've ever seen. What is even the context of this?

Well, I just found out the context of the costume, since it's one that Alex can wear:

Silent Hill Homecoming - Boogeyman Costume

brought to you by: MisterComputermade possible with: BLACK-S♥NEmode: New Game (Boogeyman Alex)- this is the very last thing to do in the game, in short, the ...

www.youtube.com

As for the Bogeyman ending mentioned in the vid:

Silent Hill Homecoming - BoogeyMan / Pyramid Head Ending

New HD version of my guide for SH Homecoming, PS3 version.To get this Ending, you must not kill your mother, don't forgive your father and don't save Wheeler...

www.youtube.com

 

[GolisoPower]

Here's a question: what would his reveal tagline be? I've always been a fan of "PYRAMID HEAD Breaks the Silence!" as a slight pun of the title of his series. Or maybe "PYRAMID HEAD Sounds Off!" as a reference to the sirens.

 

[Perkilator]

Here's a question: what would his reveal tagline be? I've always been a fan of "PYRAMID HEAD Breaks the Silence!" as a slight pun of the title of his series. Or maybe "PYRAMID HEAD Sounds Off!" as a reference to the sirens.

I think "Breaks the Silence" has a better ring to it.

 

[SharkLord]

Ooh, here's a question: Assuming we're in a situation where we can get Pyramid Head as a fighter, but also having a separate boss from Silent Hill, are there any other candidates aside from PH himself?

 

[amageish]

Ooh, here's a question: Assuming we're in a situation where we can get Pyramid Head as a fighter, but also having a separate boss from Silent Hill, are there any other candidates aside from PH himself?

The Bubble Head Nurses are probably the next most iconic enemy, but they're also not a singular boss...

I honestly don't know who would be next up on the list... A franchise with deeply-symbolic enemies tend to have a lot of one-offs, unsurprisingly.

 

[GolisoPower]

Ooh, here's a question: Assuming we're in a situation where we can get Pyramid Head as a fighter, but also having a separate boss from Silent Hill, are there any other candidates aside from PH himself?

I'd say Heather could be another candidate. She's by far one of the most popular human characters in the entire Silent Hill franchise, and she's often paired with Pyramid Head in more recent crossovers as a Survivor in Dead by Daylight and a playable character in Dark Deception. This also might sound weird but she's got a magical girl form apparently. I wish I was kidding. Silent Hill can get hilarious when need be.

 

[Commander_Alph]

So what would his playstyle be? Considering he has a giant knife akin to Cloud I feel like making him really sluggish and has a lot of endlag.

 

[Technomage]

Ooh, here's a question: Assuming we're in a situation where we can get Pyramid Head as a fighter, but also having a separate boss from Silent Hill, are there any other candidates aside from PH himself?

What about Incubus, the final boss of the first game?

 

[GolisoPower]

So what would his playstyle be? Considering he has a giant knife akin to Cloud I feel like making him really sluggish and has a lot of endlag.

I imagine Pyramid Head being a super-heavyweight swordfighter with the Great Knife that continuously racks up debuffs on his foes. "If I'm gonna be low-tier, I'll make all of you become low-tier", was the thought I had in mind.

 

[Commander_Alph]

I'd say Heather could be another candidate. She's by far one of the most popular human characters in the entire Silent Hill franchise, and she's often paired with Pyramid Head in more recent crossovers as a Survivor in Dead by Daylight and a playable character in Dark Deception. This also might sound weird but she's got a magical girl form apparently. I wish I was kidding. Silent Hill can get hilarious when need be.

Heather is a good choice but I feel like Silent Hill is the type of horror game that is better represented by the enemy considering that it is mostly grounded with some joke here and there kinda like DBD, also isn't the one from DBD isn't actually Heather but rather Sheryl, what's up with that? is that her other name or something?

 

[chocolatejr9]

Okay, how about this: how will they incorporate the psychological horror aspect of Silent Hill? I imagine the stage will change somehow, but how far can we take this?

 

[Commander_Alph]

Okay, how about this: how will they incorporate the psychological horror aspect of Silent Hill? I imagine the stage will change somehow, but how far can we take this?

first off, what's the mechanic of Silent Hill all about? Is there like a sanity meter or something, we should probably do that first

 

[GolisoPower]

Heather is a good choice but I feel like Silent Hill is the type of horror game that is better represented by the enemy considering that it is mostly grounded with some joke here and there kinda like DBD, also isn't the one from DBD isn't actually Heather but rather Sheryl, what's up with that? is that her other name or something?

It's...rather complicated. Yes, Cheryl and Heather are both names that are attributed to that person. For most of Silent Hill 3 we see Cheryl under the guise of Heather, and in the first game, she was basically the MacGuffin that drove the story and motivated her father Harry. But ultimately, Heather is basically a reincarnated fusion of Alessa and Cheryl in the Good Ending, which SH3 treats as canon.

first off, what's the mechanic of Silent Hill all about? Is there like a sanity meter or something, we should probably do that first

There was the Noise Effect from Silent Hill 2 onwards. It's mostly an aesthetic mechanic, but it's also one that warns players of nearby enemies (the Otherworld monsters). It's been a mechanic that's been prevalent when it comes to adding to its uniqueness and really took advantage of its hardware issues. I dunno how we could implement something like that in Smash, whether it's a part of PH's gimmick or part of the stage's gimmick.

 

[SharkLord]

So what would his playstyle be? Considering he has a giant knife akin to Cloud I feel like making him really sluggish and has a lot of endlag.

We've already established him to be a super-heavyweight, but aside from that I remember a moveset pitch from a while back where he dealt massive damage but had trouble actually taking a stock. He was described as a tormenter; He'll worsen your mental state, but he can't actually kill you on his own.

 

[Cutie Gwen]

Damn, of all the days to miss an alert

I'd personally prefer a Resident Evil character as a horror rep, but I wouldn't mind Pyramid Head.



That said, you think Sakurai could make him an Assist Trophy if he couldn't be an actual fighter, for whatever reason?

Easily, Black Knight's AT gets the same idea down

Noms: Cadence x5, Neku x5



Pyramid Head strikes me as incredibly slow and lumbering; would he be roughly Incineroar speed or could he be faster than he seems? And what would his up special be?

PH would HAVE to be slow, the knife is supposed to be symbolic for the guilt dragging James down, hence why the Pyramid Heads with spears are faster

That sounds really interesting. I don’t think we’ve ever really had a character based on debuffs and that mechanic seems perfect for a psychological horror game like Silent Hill. I’m definitely interested to hear more if you come up with any specifics.



Here’s another question, what’s up with his head? Is there a reason he has a giant pyramid shaped helmet or is that his actual head?

As previously said it's very ambiguous but the underside of the helmet has the same texture as flesh in the game iirc, though I'm pretty sure plenty of spinoffs have used it as a straight helmet

I did come up with an assist trophy concept for Pyramid Head once, so I'll share it. It's nothing groundbreaking, but it works, I guess.



It would basically have Pyramid Head walk around sluggishly across the stage with his sword in tow. If someone gets close, he hits the fighter with his sword. It would have great range and launch very far, as well as dealing dealing 50% damage. There is a rare chance for Pyramid Head to insta-kill as well. It may sound broken, but as I stated, Pyramid Head would be rather sluggish.



Despite nomming this character, I do have a question: How could a Silent Hill stage work? I love me my stages!

A traveling stage would be ideal, showing off various places inside the town. How they do the stage transition is easy, use the iconic fog to fill up the stage and when it fades away, you're somewhere else, like Castle Siege

I know spirits have already been discussed, but I;m not the most familiar with Silent Hill: are any of the ones mentioned associated not specifically with 2? Could Pyramid Head have spirits explicitly based on games that don't include him?

2's the fan favourite but as the guy's the mascot, it makes sense to include more than 2 and the original game and 3 are more popular in Japan iirc so Pyramid Head should absolutely bring more than just his games

Ooh, here's a question: Assuming we're in a situation where we can get Pyramid Head as a fighter, but also having a separate boss from Silent Hill, are there any other candidates aside from PH himself?

The series is loaded with all sorts of freaky monsters but I guess the final bosses would work best. The freakest one I can think of has no goddamn place considering how ****ed up it is, that being the Abstract Daddy. Very NSFW that one

first off, what's the mechanic of Silent Hill all about? Is there like a sanity meter or something, we should probably do that first

There's no gameplay mechanic but the monsters and things you see are usually very personalized, James saw Pyramid Head smothering Mannequins, the sexy nurses, etc, Eddie saw everything like a meatlocker with butchered animals, Angela saw everything on fire and the Abstract Daddy with disgusting imageries of sexual assault and the little girl saw nothing as she didn't commit a grave sin that the town could punish her for. This can't work in the context of Smash for understandable reasons

 

[Hydreigonfan01]

I did come up with an assist trophy concept for Pyramid Head once, so I'll share it. It's nothing groundbreaking, but it works, I guess.

It would basically have Pyramid Head walk around sluggishly across the stage with his sword in tow. If someone gets close, he hits the fighter with his sword. It would have great range and launch very far, as well as dealing dealing 50% damage. There is a rare chance for Pyramid Head to insta-kill as well. It may sound broken, but as I stated, Pyramid Head would be rather sluggish.

Despite nomming this character, I do have a question: How could a Silent Hill stage work? I love me my stages!

Feel like that AT would be very similar to Black Knight though.

 

[Gengar84]

Feel like that AT would be very similar to Black Knight though.

Yeah they do sound pretty similar but I don’t really think there’s anything wrong with that. Even if they function similarly, the visuals would give them a completely different feel.

 

[Technomage]

Has PH's Classic Mode been discussed yet? If not, then what'd his CM route be like? Here's my idea:

1) Kirby (to reference Robbie the Rabbit, since both are cute pink mascots); Bunny Hoods spawn
2) Zero Suit Samus (to reference Cybil Bennett)
3) ???
4) ???
5) ???
6) Snake (animal-pattern costume), followed by Pyramid Head (Bogeyman Alex costume), referencing Alex Shepherd and his transformation into a Bogeyman in his game's Bad ending
7) The typical bonus stage
8) Zelda (white costume), followed by Ridley (red costume), referencing both the Incubator and Incubus, respectively

Any ideas for #3-5?

 

[Gengar84]

The assist trophy suggestion gave me another idea. I think Pyramid Head would make for an amazing stage boss in a Silent Hill stage if he wasn’t able to get in as a character.

I haven’t played Silent Hill so I’m not entirely sure how faithful it is but here’s my idea:

Every so often, the stage becomes covered in fog and Pyramid Head appears and acts pretty much the same as the assist trophy idea but he always one hit kills like the boss in New Pork City. He’d be really slow and easy to avoid but it would definitely add a sense of fear to the stage. The stage would also have to be large enough that he isn’t too intrusive like Yellow Devil. Would something like that work well?

 

[GolisoPower]

Has PH's Classic Mode been discussed yet? If not, then what'd his CM route be like? Here's my idea:

1) Kirby (to reference Robbie the Rabbit, since both are cute pink mascots); Bunny Hoods spawn
2) Zero Suit Samus (to reference Cybil Bennett)
3) ???
4) ???
5) ???
6) Snake (animal-pattern costume), followed by Pyramid Head (Bogeyman Alex costume), referencing Alex Shepherd and his transformation into a Bogeyman in his game's Bad ending
7) The typical bonus stage
8) Zelda (white costume), followed by Ridley (red costume), referencing both the Incubator and Incubus, respectively

Any ideas for #3-5?

3) Ridley x3 (to reference the Air Screamers)
4) Bayonetta (to reference Bubblehead Nurses)
5) Link (to reference the Missionary)

That's my ideas for your Classic Mode, at least. What I have in mind is:

Pyramid Head: Smash's Judgement (Faces off against characters with canonical guilt):
Round 1: (Teamed up with red ) (Referencing Aerith's death)
Round 2: (Teamed up with grey ) (Referencing Masked Man)
Round 3: (Teamed up with black ) (Referencing what had happened with Big Boss)
Round 4: (Teamed up with green ) (Referencing James McCloud)
Round 5: (Teamed up with ) (Referencing Link's failed mission to stop the Calamity.)
Round 6: (Teamed up with ) (Referencing Ridley's penchant for coming back from the dead + the death of Samus's parents)
BONUS ROUND
FINAL ROUND: Dracula (Teamed up with Alucard Assist Trophy) (Loosely referencing the finale fight of Season 2 of the Castlevania TV show)

I've been mainly trying to stick to the main roster, as much as I'd love to add a Mythra fight with him paired up with Fox to represent Milt, but so far, the only DLC characters included in Classic Modes are usually Mirror Matches. Funnily enough, I also need ideas for the remaining rounds lol

 

[ahemtoday]

Has PH's Classic Mode been discussed yet? If not, then what'd his CM route be like? Here's my idea:

1) Kirby (to reference Robbie the Rabbit, since both are cute pink mascots); Bunny Hoods spawn
2) Zero Suit Samus (to reference Cybil Bennett)
3) ???
4) ???
5) ???
6) Snake (animal-pattern costume), followed by Pyramid Head (Bogeyman Alex costume), referencing Alex Shepherd and his transformation into a Bogeyman in his game's Bad ending
7) The typical bonus stage
8) Zelda (white costume), followed by Ridley (red costume), referencing both the Incubator and Incubus, respectively

Any ideas for #3-5?

Honestly, I've never really been a fan of Classic Modes that are just kind of... "Spirit Battles, but with less mechanics".

Pyramid Head: Smash's Judgement (Faces off against characters with canonical guilt):
Round 1: (Teamed up with red ) (Referencing Aerith's death)
Round 2: (Teamed up with grey ) (Referencing Masked Man)
Round 3: (Teamed up with black ) (Referencing what had happened with Big Boss)
Round 4: ???
Round 5: ???
Round 6: ???
BONUS ROUND
FINAL ROUND: Dracula (Teamed up with Alucard Assist Trophy) (Loosely referencing the finale fight of the Castlevania TV show)

I've been mainly trying to stick to the main roster, as much as I'd love to add a Mythra fight with him paired up with Fox to represent Milt, but so far, the only DLC characters included in Classic Modes are usually Mirror Matches. Funnily enough, I also need ideas for the remaining rounds lol

I love this concept for a Classic Mode. Unfortunately, I'm looking at the list of fighters and I have absolutely no clue who else could be on it. Maybe, uh, Fox with James McCloud?

 

[GolisoPower]

This might not sound feasible (Or make sense to the die-hard Silent Hill fan), but what do you guys think of the idea of James being hidden somewhere in the stages whenever Pyramid Head is fighting? It would be a fun little Easter egg and let's be honest: the idea of James watching the monster that's haunting him squaring off against the Ganondorf would be sort of hilarious.

 

[PeridotGX]

3) Ridley x3 (to reference the Air Screamers)
4) Bayonetta (to reference Bubblehead Nurses)
5) Link (to reference the Missionary)

That's my ideas for your Classic Mode, at least. What I have in mind is:

Pyramid Head: Smash's Judgement (Faces off against characters with canonical guilt):
Round 1: (Teamed up with red ) (Referencing Aerith's death)
Round 2: (Teamed up with grey ) (Referencing Masked Man)
Round 3: (Teamed up with black ) (Referencing what had happened with Big Boss)
Round 4: (Teamed up with green ) (Referencing James McCloud)
Round 5: ???
Round 6: ???
BONUS ROUND
FINAL ROUND: Dracula (Teamed up with Alucard Assist Trophy) (Loosely referencing the finale fight of Season 2 of the Castlevania TV show)

I've been mainly trying to stick to the main roster, as much as I'd love to add a Mythra fight with him paired up with Fox to represent Milt, but so far, the only DLC characters included in Classic Modes are usually Mirror Matches. Funnily enough, I also need ideas for the remaining rounds lol

Perhaps Link with an allied Ganondorf (refrencing his failure to stop the calamity) and Samus with an allied Ridley (refrencing his chronic inability to stay dead, plus the death of her parents)

 

[Eldrake]

This might not sound feasible (Or make sense to the die-hard Silent Hill fan), but what do you guys think of the idea of James being hidden somewhere in the stages whenever Pyramid Head is fighting? It would be a fun little Easter egg and let's be honest: the idea of James watching the monster that's haunting him squaring off against the Ganondorf would be sort of hilarious.

Pyramid Head: [Getting smacked around by Pichu or Isabelle]
James: what the hell is going on

 

[SharkLord]

Quick note, the discussion's still going strong so we're extending the day

 

[amageish]

You know what else is a repressed horror? A nomination list with a lot of being creepily close to the top 7!

Seriously, our current top 7 is actually a top 4 due to ties for 3rd and 4th place...

Spoiler: The Noms List

50+ noms
Freddy Fazbear - x122
Amiya - x95
Battletoads - x90
Crash Bandicoot - x90
Neku Sakuraba - x85
Magus (Chrono Trigger) - x85
Cadence - x85
Imperial (Etrian Odyssey) - x80
Chosen Undead - x80
Maxwell - x75
Gran/Djeeta - x70
Amaterasu - x65
Sarah Kerrigan - x55
Filia (Skullgirls) - x50

26-50 noms
Estelle Bright - x45
Endo Mamoru - x45
Frisk - x44
2B - x40
Saber - x40
Elma - x38
Maxwell - x35

11-25 noms
Octoling - x25
Black Mage - x20
Master Hand - x20
Laharl - x20
Hearthstone Innkeeper - x20
Mega Man X - x15
Isaac (Golden Sun) - x15
Shovel Knight - x15
Astral Chain rep - x15
Trauma Center Content - x12

5-10 noms
Daitoryo - x10
Saber - x10
Ryza - x10
Bubsy - x10
Ryza - x10
Chibi-Robo - x5
9-volt - x5
Gunvolt - x5
Jill Stingray - x5
Nathan Drake - x5

 

[Pillow]

Are we allowed to talk about the characters potential as a boss / stage hazard? If so, how do you guys think a Pyramid Head boss fight in Smash should go and how do you guys envision the Silent Hill stage to look like?

The really cool thing about the series, as far as Smash goes, is even if we don't get a playable character both the location of Silent Hill and Pyramid Head are super iconic and are definite contenders to come standalone similar to how Rathalos did.

 

[GolisoPower]

Are we allowed to talk about the characters potential as a boss / stage hazard? If so, how do you guys think a Pyramid Head boss fight in Smash should go and how do you guys envision the Silent Hill stage to look like?

The really cool thing about the series, as far as Smash goes, is even if we don't get a playable character both the location of Silent Hill and Pyramid Head are super iconic and are definite contenders to come standalone similar to how Rathalos did.

Honestly, Pyramid Head has the good things going when it comes to being a potential Boss, too. It'd probably be the spear variant of Pyramid Head instead of the potential Great Knife version that's playable though, just for distinction. I imagine for a potential Pyramid Head boss fight, there'd be two of them that you fight at once, much like Master Hand and Crazy Hand.

 

[Gengar84]

I think the only real issue with Pyramid Head being a typical boss is that I imagine he’s roughly human sized. Most bosses tend to be much bigger than the player. Although they did scale up Dracula so it’s probably not that big of a problem.

 

[ahemtoday]

I think the only real issue with Pyramid Head being a typical boss is that I imagine he’s roughly human sized. Most bosses tend to be much bigger than the player. Although they did scale up Dracula so it’s probably not that big of a problem.

They didn't actually scale up Dracula that much.

Dude's just massive.

 

[Gengar84]

They didn't actually scale up Dracula that much.
View attachment 317839
Dude's just massive.

Wow, I didn’t realize that. Pyramid Head would definitely be a first as far as scaling goes unless I’m also totally off about his size too lol.

 

[Pillow]

Wow, I didn’t realize that. Pyramid Head would definitely be a first as far as scaling goes unless I’m also totally off about his size too lol.

Despite his body he’s still clearly a monster. Scaling him up should be fine, though I don’t see any issue with smaller sized bosses either.

 

[DanganZilla5]

I'm finally joining in on the fun. I just haven't had the drive to participate in this thread until now.

There was the Noise Effect from Silent Hill 2 onwards. It's mostly an aesthetic mechanic, but it's also one that warns players of nearby enemies (the Otherworld monsters). It's been a mechanic that's been prevalent when it comes to adding to its uniqueness and really took advantage of its hardware issues. I dunno how we could implement something like that in Smash, whether it's a part of PH's gimmick or part of the stage's gimmick.

I'd imagine they could make the various monsters stage hazards where they pop out from the side or the background, perform an attack, then leave. The noise can help players prepare for a surprise attack and it adds that extra layer of atmosphere and suspense to the stage which fits well with the vibe of the gameplay.

 

[Commander_Alph]

Feel a little quite.. a bit silent if you will