Dropping in for a fight - DeMille for Smash!

FamicomDisk · Mar 21, 2018

(The art used above was done by Gaiamuth on DeviantART!)

After many years, it's time for DeMille, the Gimmick-wielding Dropper, to return to the spotlight in Super Smash Bros.!

DeMille is the protagonist of the obscure, quirky, Japan-exclusive JRPG, Tomato Adventure, released for the Game Boy Advance in 2002. Known as a "Dropper", he lives in a broken school bus in Kobolei Village, located in the Ketchup Kingdom. The Ketchup Kingdom is inhabited only by children, and is filled with a multitude of different locales, from a city made of cake, to a town with mayonnaise-shaped arches. And everyone has one thing in common - they like tomatoes! That is, everyone except for the residents of Kobolei, who, by order of King Avila, are given the label of "Dropper", banished to the village, and locked inside until they change their ways and learn to like tomatoes. On the Ketchup Kingdom's anniversary, however, Kobolei residents can leave the town and go out into the rest of the kingdom for one week. The anniversary happens to be taking place when the game starts, so DeMille and his girlfriend, Pasaran, leave the village to explore the ruins outside of town. But while there, Pasaran is kidnapped by servants of King Avila! DeMille travels to his palace, but it's sealed, and he learns that in order to enter, he must defeat all six of Avila's Super Kids across the kingdom and retrieve a Toy Part from each, using all six to enter. So he sets off, and his adventure begins!

His description on the official Tomato Adventure website reads, "He hates tomatoes. As such, he lives in the remote Kobolei Village, known as a Dropper. Even in serious situations, he remains optimistic and carefree, and is easily flattered."

In Tomato Adventure, DeMille fights using a variety of weapons called Gimmicks, most of which resemble toys. In the game, each weapon has a different mini-game associated with pulling off the attack. For example, one has you select numbers in sequential order, another has you enter button combos quickly, and another is as simple as timing a button press! The difficulty of each weapon's mini-game can be increased or decreased - failing the game gives much lower damage, but if you can complete it, you're rewarded with higher damage - higher difficulties will increase the damage even further. While this kind of fighting wouldn't work in a fighting game, it's not difficult to see how unique DeMille could be! Perhaps one of his specials would increase the damage his moves do, but require more precise timing to hit? Beyond his fighting style, there's also the variety in his attacks - over the course of Tomato Adventure, DeMille can collect 18 different Gimmicks, plus six Extreme Attacks he does together with his allies which could work as a Final Smash. In addition, if they decided to do what they did with Ness and Lucas and give DeMille moves that his allies have, this opens up over 50 Gimmicks for him to wield. Each Gimmick looks wildly different from each other, so the unique nature of his attacks would be visibly apparent. With so many options, it wouldn't be hard to give DeMille a very unique moveset that would be lots of fun to play!

In 2008, Sakurai talked about some criteria he usually uses when choosing characters.
The first one - "The character's inclusion must make people want to play the game." This one is hard to say. Fans of Tomato Adventure would be excited to finally see DeMille again after so long, and many players may think DeMille looks like an interesting character and choose to play him. However, since he comes from such an obscure game, I'll admit that he probably wouldn't pull in many people on his own.
Second - "The character must be unique." DeMille absolutely fits the bill on this - you'll see more about him as you continue reading the post, but he has dozens of unique attacks that could be utilized in Smash, as well as having a unique and eye-catching design.
Third - "The character must fit into the style of Super Smash Bros." This applies to DeMille too - with so many unique attacks and abilities, he'd fit right in with all of the other characters on the roster.
Fourth - "They must contribute to the game balance." I'm sure it wouldn't be too difficult to balance any potential newcomer, and DeMille doesn't fall into a specific, identifiable fighting style, like a swordfighter, meaning his inclusion wouldn't make for "too many swordfighters" or anything similar.
Basically, DeMille fits most of Sakurai's criteria well! So it seems like he'd be a great choice.

As stated above, DeMille has a large and unique pool of moves to choose from, meaning that it would not be hard to give him a diverse and fun moveset. Here's my concept for how DeMille could work if he was in Smash. Most attacks will be based on one of DeMille's Gimmicks - references will be posted next to each move, through videos or images. Each video will have a timestamp next to it, so go to that point in the video to see how it what it's based on!

Entrance

Drives onto the stage in his Snea-car, but the seat ejects with DeMille in it, landing him in his starting position while the car drives off screen. (This references the animation that plays when you fail the Snea-car game - can be seen in this video from 4:03 - 4:07!)

Ground Attacks

Neutral: Delivers two punches with gloves, and then deals an uppercut with an image of a dragon surrounding his fist, sending the opponent backwards diagonally. Each punch deals 2%, and the uppercut deals 5%. (This move can be seen in this video from 0:51 - 0:58!)

Forward Tilt: Throws out his Gear Yoyo once, pulling it in quickly. Deals 8%. (This move can be seen in this video from 0:00 - 0:03!)

Up Tilt: Throws his Gear Yoyo upwards, pulling it back quickly. Deals 8%. (This move can be seen in this video from 0:00 - 0:03!)

Down Tilt: Kicks quickly, spinning around with each A press - similar to Lucas', but he stays closer to the ground. Deals 3% per hit. (Not based on anything in particular!)

Dash Attack: Dives forward, with arms outstretched. Works similarily to Pikachu's dash attack. Deals 10%. (Not based on anything in particular!)

Smash Attacks

Forward: Smashes down with Noisy Face, launching the opponent. Deals 20% uncharged, 25% charged. (This move can be seen in this video from 0:27 - 0:31!)

Up: Puts his hands together and closes his eyes, and brings his head down slowly as he charges the attack. When the attack is released, he stands up straight and bows, releasing the Paper Crane above him, along with some flower petals that are only cosmetic. Deals 13% uncharged, 18% charged. (This move can be seen in this video from 0:33 - 0:39!)

Down: A Pyramid appears on top of his hat, and he closes his eyes and moves his hands up and down as he charges the attack. When released, a triangle appears around him, damaging opponents within it, and then shatters, blasting everyone within it away. Deals 15% uncharged, 20% charged. (This move can be seen in this video from 0:30 - 0:35!)

Aerial Attacks

Neutral: Spins around using his Tanooki Tail. Deals 4% if it it barely hits, or 10% if the opponent is close. (This move can be seen in this video!)

Up: Thrusts a Noisy Face upwards, slamming the opponent. Deals 15%. (This move can be seen in this video from 0:27 - 0:31!)

Forward: Slams a Noisy Face forwards, slamming downwards. If it connects just right, it deals a Meteor Smash! Deals 10%. (This move can be seen in this video from 0:27 - 0:31!)

Back: Kicks backwards. Deals 10%. (Not based on anything in particular!)

Special Attacks

Neutral: When B is held, the Linear Glove appears on DeMille's hand, and begins charging. When released, DeMille shoots the Linear Glove off of his hand, shooting it quickly across the field. Deals 15% uncharged, and 25% charged. (This move can be seen in this video from 0:16 - 0:22!)

Side: Pulls out Chomper, and makes it bite the opponent. Deals the most damage if the opponent is at the tip, right where the mouth is. Deals 10%, or 17% at the tip. (This move can be seen in this video from 0:25 - 0:29!)

Up: DeMille will hop onto his hoverboard, and fly upwards while B is held. He can be moved left and right while riding the board. After a time, the board will stop going up, the rockets will turn off, and it will begin to fall. At any time during the move (including once it begins falling), DeMille can leap upwards and off the the board by pressing A, allowing for a little more height. Does not cause any damage usually, but if DeMille leaps off the board, it will explode once it hits the ground, dealing 5% to an opponent hit by it. (Based on his hoverboard from the game, which isn't an attack - can be seen in this video from 5:52 - 10:30!)

Down: DeMille will pull out Mr. Volcano, who will send a flaming boulder in front of DeMille. The boulder deals 20%, and players will take small amounts of damage if they touch Mr. Volcano. (This move can be seen in this video from 0:05 - 0:10!)

Grabs

Pummel: Headbutts the opponent. Deals 2% per hit.

Up Throw: Picks up the opponent, then uppercuts them, with an image of a dragon surrounding his fist. Deals 7%.

Down Throw: Pushes the opponent to the ground, and then immediately slams them with a Noisy Face. Deals 8%.

Forward Throw: Kicks the opponent forwards. Deals 6%.

Back Throw: Spins the opponent around, and then kicks them from behind. Deals 7%.

Miscellanious Attacks

Getting Up from a Fall: Spins around and kicks, and then hops up. Very similar to Ness and Lucas. Deals 5%.

Ledge Attack: Rolls up over the ledge and kicks downwards. Deals 5%.

Taunts

Up: Takes out a tomato, looks at it hesitantly, and then eats it. He gags, puts an arm over his stomach and covers his mouth, and leans forward, and then closes his eyes, shakes his head, and straightens back up. (This doesn't reference any specific scene or pose, but it references DeMille's dislike of tomatoes.)

Side: Turns to the screen, and then strikes the pose he does in the opening sequence. (The pose in question can be seen on the alternate costumes area of this post, but I'll put them here too for convenience. Here's that pose!)

Down: Closes his eyes, and in a panic, flails his arms and legs around. (This references his panicked animation from Tomato Adventure, which he does fairly often. Check it out at 2:05 in this video!)

Final Smash: Tomato Robot Mk. II

DeMille calls out, "Aresa!", and is sucked upwards by a beam of light. He appears inside a robot cockpit with Aresa - one of his party members from Tomato Adventure - where they high five, and then look through the window, where the battlefield is. A reticle appears, and you can aim it at an opponent similar to the Dragoon. Like the the Dragoon, everyone can continue to move while you aim. Pressing A will cause the robot to attack the selected spot, locking everything in place and dealing several hits with heart-shaped bullets. DeMille will then hop out of the cockpit and return to the battlefield, coming down in another beam of light. If you successfully target a player, it deals 75% to the target. (This is based on an Extreme Attack from Tomato Adventure, which you can see in this video!)

Also, here's a little explanation about how Tomato Adventure's difficulty modifying mechanic could work in Smash! I didn't put it in my moveset, but it's another unique possibility!

DeMille's origin game, Tomato Adventure, is an turn-based RPG with a cool battle mechanic in that each and every attack is associated a unique minigame - completing the game rewards you with higher damage, while failing will give a far lower amount. One of them, for example, requires you to time an A press so your cursor stops within a certain range - another is as simple as mashing A to fill up a bar before time runs out. And there are a ton of them! Each character can equip 4 weapons to use as attacks, so you can pick the minigames you're best at!

But there's another mechanic along with that - you can freely modify the difficulty of each game, going from difficulty Lv 1 to Lv 7, and the higher the difficulty, the higher the damage if you complete it! Playing minigames for every attack wouldn't work in a fast-paced game like Smash, but I think the difficulty modification could be adapted to work really interestingly! My thinking is that one move - maybe his neutral special - would change the "difficulty" of his attacks between Lv 1 and Lv 7. At Lv 1, his attacks would do the same damage everywhere as long as it connects, but at Lv 7, all of his attacks are made weaker and do less knockback, but they all gain a sweet spot similar to Marth's tipper. Hitting with an attack's sweet spot deals far more damage than any attack at Lv 1, and does far more knockback!

It's entirely possible that if he joined the game, he'd come without this mechanic, but it would open up a lot of different ways to play him! Would you play it safe, keep his attacks at Lv 1, and rack up the damage over time? Or will you crank it up to Lv 7 from the beginning and try to hit the sweet spot for every move, netting early kills? Or maybe you'll rack up damage at Lv 1, and then set it to Lv 7 once you're ready to get the KO. It would definitely make DeMille very unique, and there's no mechanic quite like this in Smash!

And here are the GIFs from the moveset, put all together!

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Perkilator from here on SmashBoards made a concept for DeMille's specials!

Special Moves:

B : Linear Glove; DeMille charges up his glove and fires it like a rocket.

B + Forwards : Chomper; DeMille takes out a toy crocodile head and springs it out. It’s reach length is between that of Corrin and Simon Belmont.

B + Up : Hoverboard; DeMille jumps onto his Hoverboard and floats up to recover.

B + Down : Mr. Volcano; DeMille (sort of?) turns into Mr. Volcano and spews volcanic boulders. Opponents take 17% damage from the boulder and MUCH less when touching the Volcano himself.

Final Smash: Doki Doki Train; DeMille pulls out a whistle, and the noise static affects anyone around him. They are then dropped (get it?) into a cinematic attack where the train appears and launches them.

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In addition to the concepts above, others from elsewhere have made their own ideas for DeMille as well. Here are a few I could find!

(From this thread!)
STATUS:
Weight: 2/5
Size: 3/5
Power: 3/5
Jump: 4/5
Speed: 3/5

SPECIAL MOVES:

B: Gear Yo-Yo

(Uses gear-shaped, yo-yo that hits the opponent two times with 6% of attack power. It can only be used for close-range attacking)

Forward+B: Linear Glove

(Sends a projectile toward an opponent, while it returns from the opposite direction of whichever direction it was shot at. It's a bit faster than Samus's Missle. Gives 11% of damage.)

Down+B: Noisy Face

(Swings an iron ball with a face on it toward the ground to bring a pillar of fire out of the ground. Gives 16% of damage. Can only be used for close-range attacking.)

Up+B: Hoverboard (This is not one of his Gimmicks, but he used it in some parts of the RPG. If he was using it in SSBB, then he would use it like an airboard, while he would use a limited amount of fuel to hover for a short time. When on the ground, the fire from the rockets built into the Hoverboard will burst toward both directions at a very short distance, while DeMille will fly upward at a long distance for a short time. When in the air, the Hoverboard will fly upward at a short distance, while DeMille will still be on it, making him fall a bit slower than before.)

Final Smash: Patharan's Song (Patharan (Pasaran in Japan) is his girlfriend. Her song causes a mysterious lighting bolt to strike DeMille to make him invincible and a bit more agile for about 30 seconds.)

Taunt: Looks like this while a question mark appears above him.

Entrance: Hops out of his Snea-Car or hops out of Aresa's Tomato Robot MK. 2, while it flies away (Aresa is one of DeMille's three partners).

(From this page!)
SPECIAL MOVES----------------------------------------

Neutral Special – LINEAR GLOVE - A chargeable attack. if "B" is held, DeMille will throw a punch forward causing his Linear Glove Gimmick to materialize on his hand as this move is charged, DeMille will slowly pull his arm back until it is held vertically- by his shoulder- at this point the Linear Glove will flash alerting the user it's at full power. releasing "B" at this time will cause DeMille to step into a punch that will send the Linear Glove rocketing off his hand and blasting forward leaving a trail of energy behind it this move will travel fast dealing DMG to any foe it makes contact with. DeMille will throw his arm backwards as the Linear Glove appear on his hand again as he exits this animation the Linear Glove dematerializes. If DeMille taps "B" instead of charging the glove, or releases "B" during a charge, DeMille will still follow through with an attack though the gloves power will be reduced to the amount it has been charged.
DMG: 4%-17%

Side Special – CHOMPER - While holding left or right and pressing "B" DeMille will take out his Chomper Gimmick: a crocodile head attached to an extending arm. Clamping the handles down the Chomper flies forward slamming its jaws shut this can deal big DMG causing foes to flinch and if DeMille presses "B" a second time as the jaws close, DeMille will retract the crocodile head and use the device again only to deal another mightier bite to foes dealing more DMG and big knock back.
DMG: 6% (first bite) 12% (second timed bite) 18% (Max DMG)

Down Special – PYRAMET - Holding down and "B" will cause DeMille to take out his Pyramet Gimmick- placing it on his head he begins to move his arms around as he closes his eyes. the antenna on the Gimmick begins to emit a circular glow- nearby foes will begin to receive racking DMG and find that three energy triangles surround them they pass a line of energy between them, connecting the smaller symbols this creates a large symbol which then detonates dealing DMG and knock back. DeMille will continue to use this move as long as "B" is held however if DeMille receives any DMG the Gimmick will fail and the area effect will end. The area effect isn't to big but the effect does activate quickly. the more this move is used the smaller the effected area is. not using this move will allow it to re-charge when it's fully charged, two Gimmick Gears will swirl around DeMille.
DMG: 1% (per second in Pyramet area) 14% (Pyramet attack completed)

Up Special – HOVERBOARD - Pressing up and "B" will cause DeMille to have equipped his Hoverboard- holding down the "B" button will cause DeMille to pull up on the board causing two jets from under the board to propel DeMille upwards this deals no DMG but can grant DeMille great recovery- when the Hoverboard's power is drained DeMille will begin to descend as smoke pours out of the Jets- this Special move does not cause helplessness. this move works a lot like R.O.B.'s Robo Burner.
DMG: 0%

Final Smash – PARSLEY'S SONG- pressing "B" after obtaining the Smash Ball will cause the camera to zoom to DeMille who takes out a record player and he plays the record. like Peach's FS, images appear that boarder the screen of Parsley- DeMille's girlfriend. The song that the record plays is Parsley's Song-it's lovely- suddenly a thick bolt of lightning strikes DeMille! the scene flashes to white- when the white fades we now see DeMille- he is infused with power- Parsley's song has granted him extraordinary strength! for teh duration of DeMille's FS he will be invincible and gain buffs to all his attacks. when the FS is over DeMille will let loose a wave of energy signifying the end of his FS. (After gaining the power from Parsley's Song this theme plays: Season with Amazing Organ)
DMG: ???%

TAUNTS----------------------------------------

Taunt 1 – DeMille will use his Gimmick Yo-yo and play with it for a second before re-entering fighter stance.

Taunt 2 – DeMille will face the camera and hop up and down excitedly "Yeah! Yeah! YEAH!" Then re-enter fighter stance.

Taunt 3 – DeMille will step to the side as one of his friends will pop up from behind him and give him a bit of a cheer, the friend will sink back down behind him and DeMille will re-enter fighter stance. his friends are limited to: Aresa, Sophie, Lyric and Parsley.

(From this page!)
Tilts:

Neutral Combo: Summons the Karate Dog and pulls and pushes on the key to make it punch twice and kick, the dog can take a hit for DeMille as well.

Side Tilt: Summons King Meow, a cat who jumps forward in front of DeMille, can also take a hit.

Up Tilt: Uses the Dragon Gloves to make two upward firey punches above him in an arch.

Down Tilt: Takes out Gear Yo-Yo and throws it on the ground below him, it spins doing grinding damage and launches when DeMille pulls it back.

Dash: Rides on a Banana Snowboard and flips upwards.

Ledge: Uses the Union Bowl to throw a Steel Onion onstage.

Smashes:

Side Smash: Shoots a Recoil Glove which is very fast and has a long distance but doesn't do much knockback.

Up Smash: Holds an Angry Volcano overhead which erupts making a small lava gyser which makes tiny drops of lava fall on the ground around him afterwards.

Down Smash: Takes out Noisy Face, a Kendama-like object, and slams it on the ground, dealing major damage infront of him and lesser quake damage behind him.

Aerials:

Neutral Aerial: Spins the gear yo yo in a complete circle.

Side Aerial: Uses Tail Bun Bun to grow a Tanooki Tail and then swings it twice in front of him.

Back Aerial: Summons a Baby Dragon on his back to blow a small burst of fire behind him, it can also take a hit.

Up Aerial: Puts on a Pyramet, a pyramid shaped hat to create a physic field above him that ensnares opponents and launches them.

Down Aerial: Summons a Paper Crane below him that does small damage but lets him glide a little and can take a hit.

Grabs and Throws:

Grab: Uses Bite-Bite to attempt to grab twice, which can be a benefit and a hazard.

Pummel: Bite-Bite gnaws on opponent

Side Throw: Uses magnehand to magnetize random metal junk onto the opponent doing damage before throwing them diagonally downwards.

Back Throw: Throws backward overhead, as if the opponent was trash.

Up Throw: Simply tosses upwards.

Down Throw: Trips slamming them on the ground,

Special Moves: Turtle Glove, Mecha Mecha Panic, Hoverboard

Entrance: Appears striking a pose until he somehow trips and pretends he never did as he gets up.

It's clear that there are quite a few possibilities for DeMille!

Like all fighters, DeMille comes with eight alternate costumes. Here are eight concepts, each based on a character from Tomato Adventure.

1 - DeMille's default outfit. You've already seen him in this post, but here's another image as reference!

2 - Based on Aresa, DeMille's first party member. Here is a reference image!

3 - Based on Sofubi, DeMille's second party member. Here is a reference image! I considered adding green to DeMille's costume, but ultimately decided to just give him the colors of Sofubi's clothes.

4 - Based on Rereku, DeMille's third and final party member. Here is a reference image!

5 - Based on Pasaran, DeMille's girlfriend. She's the one you're adventuring to save! Here is a reference image!

6 - Based on Celemo, DeMille's neighbor. He gives DeMille his first Gimmick - the Gear Yoyo - and then becomes a joke character for the remainder of the game. Here is a reference image!

7 - Based on the color scheme of Brikky and Grikky, two recurring enemies throughout the game. Here is a reference image! In this art, they look purple and orange, but in the game, all of their sprites are purple and pink, so that's what I went with. To prove I'm not crazy, here's their sprites! They're pink, see?

8 - Based on King Avila, the main antagonist of Tomato Adventure! Here is a reference image! His color scheme is based on a tomato, so you could say this is a tomato costume if you prefer!

When a character is in Smash Bros., other things are expected to follow - namely, a stage and music tracks! Here are a few ideas for what would come with DeMille.

Stages

With all of the locations in Tomato Adventure, there are many possible areas that could become stages if DeMille were to come to Smash. Here are a few that are possible!

-Kobolei Village

This is where all Droppers - and by extension, DeMille - live. In Tomato Adventure, it's located across several cliffs of varying heights, and you travel between them with ladders. The town exit is far above the rest of town, accessed via a taller ladder. DeMille lives on the lowest level. This design could transfer quite well into Smash - the battle could take place on two different heights, with each being a different cliff top. The ladder to the exit wouldn't be necessary, so it could stay in the background, while the bottom two levels act as the battlefield.

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-Oistown

This is a town made of food - most of it is made of cake, and you travel between areas by being swallowed and spat out by snake-shaped passages. Below the town, there are sewers flowing with chocolate, where monsters swim and races are held. This could possibly be a moving level, where the players traverse the town while fighting. If they went this route, then after the players have gone through the whole town, they could hop underground to the sewers, and then traverse those in the opposite direction, eventually surfacing at the start of the town, repeating the loop until the conclusion of the match.

-Hanzo Laboratory

Throughout Tomato Adventure, you obtain many Gimmicks for each of your party members. There are two methods for getting these - the first is optional. You can collect hidden Pacifiers scattered about the world... and then cash them in for Gimmicks! However, you also get Gimmicks from the Hanzo brothers. (Here's an image of one of the brothers! They all look the same beyond color.) Throughout the world, there are six Hanzo labs, and you'll travel to each once as you travel. They each give you Gimmicks, and as such, their labs would be a good spot for a Smash battle! I included an image of all six labs above - while some of them aren't great spots for a fight (too small, not interesting enough), others would be great spots!

My personal pick would be the one in the water - extend the length of it a bit, and it could be an interesting stage where one side can be walked off of, and the other side has water, which you can swim and drown in like normal! The Hanzo brother located in whatever lab gets used could also exit the lab periodically and use some of the Gimmicks they give you in the game, acting as stage hazards. Since DeMille would probably use the ones he gets, the brothers could use the Gimmicks they give to his party members! It could also provide the same sense of fear that an Assist Trophy brings - you'd never know what Gimmick they were about to unleash when they exited the lab, and it could be a weak one, or it could be one that could turn the fight around!

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-Gimmick Palace

Gimmick Palace is the final dungeon of Tomato Adventure. It's where King Avila is waiting, and where Pasaran is imprisoned! It's also a big place full of puzzles and traps that would be fun additions to Smash Bros.! For the entire game, you control DeMille. However, Gimmick Palace has you make use of all of your friends' unique abilities, and you control each of them in unique puzzles! You take control of Aresa in an area where she uses her mechanical know-how to take control of a robot, and de-activate security using it. You control Sofubi in an area where he uses his size to break through panels that allow you to access lower levels of the room. And you control Rereku in an area where he can dig into a spot, and end up at another - like a tunnel! While you wouldn't be doing puzzle solving in Smash, these ideas could be used!

You could start outside and get carried through the palace on a platform that lands in some areas, like Isle Delfino. Or you could simply be transported to different spots, like Castle Siege. Either way, each area could offer unique battles, using the quirks from the original game as fighting opportunities. The robot from Aresa's area could act as an obstacle or a stage boss. Players could destroy the panels in Sofubi's area to move between a number of different levels. And players could hop into holes and get shot out somewhere else, similar to the digging from Rereku's area. In addition, they could make cameo appearances in the background, similar to Tails and Knuckles in Green Hill Zone! They could also incorporate the entrance area - battles could take place on the bridge, and with it being a fairly narrow spot, people could get thrown off easily, making for a tense battle while you're out there. As you'd expect, the Palace also has many other areas in Tomato Adventure, but I feel as though making use of the rooms where you control your allies in the original game would make for the most unique stage.

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-Nampu Lagoon

Nampu Lagoon is a location you visit in Tomato Adventure. With the exception of a single island, the entire place in underwater! But don't worry... as long as you're chewing their special gum, you can breathe just fine! In the original game, you're required to solve a puzzle in the main area to proceed - you have to shoot missiles at octopuses in a specific order. In Smash, the area would be mostly normal - a flat battlefield with some plants scattered about, where you can walk off the edge. But every so often, a missile launcher will appear on the battlefield, aiming either left or right! The first player to attack it will launch a missile out in the direction it's aiming, dealing huge damage to anyone it hits! Despite being underwater, the area has normal physics in Tomato Adventure, so gravity and speed would be normal here in Smash.

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-REM Labyrinth

The REM Labyrinth is a dungeon encountered late into Tomato Adventure. The dungeon's quirk is a simple one! It's a dream world (hence the name), and it's a parallel world dungeon - that is, there's the light sleep version, and a deep sleep version. The two sides affect each other - it's similar to the Light/Dark Worlds of Zelda: A Link to the Past. In the original game, the two sides are mostly used for puzzle-solving purposes, and you can travel between them at will. Since Smash doesn't have you solving puzzles, the mechanic would be used in a different way! The stage would begin its light sleep form - that's the red version. The ground would be normal, and the fight would occur normally. After 20 seconds or so, a black and blue sign with an exclamation mark flickering on it would pop up in the background, indicating the incoming form change. After a few more seconds, the screen would flicker in and out, and the stage would be in its deep sleep form.

That wouldn't be the only change though! All players would be in random new locations, the ground would have pieces missing, and one property of the level would be randomly changed - for example, gravity is stronger or weaker, fighters are made small or big, the fight is put in slow motion or is faster, and etc.! The fight continues in this form for a while. After 30 seconds or so, a blue and red sign with an exclamation mark flickering on it pops up, and a few seconds later, the screen will flicker in and out, bringing the stage back to its light sleep form. This rotation would occur every 30 seconds, with the deep sleep version having a different property altered each time, and the light sleep version always being normal.

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Music

DeMille's victory theme would probably be either the victory theme from Tomato Adventure, or a variation of the game's theme song, Gimmick Chase.

Other songs that could be included:
Prepared for Battle (the regular battle theme!)
Iron Chef (theme for non-Super Kid boss fights!)
...And Into the Super Kid's Fire (theme for Super Kid boss fights - could possibly be merged together with the pre-battle music for Super Kids!)
Mixing it Up in Gimica Card (theme for the first form of the final boss!)
Season with Amazing Organ (a recurring theme for one area of the game!)
On the Chopping Block (the final boss theme!)
Savory Kobolei Village (the Kobolei Village theme!)
Full of Mayonen Land (the Mayonen Land theme!)
Gimmick Palace's Flavor (theme for Gimmick Palace, the final dungeon!)

There are others that would work too, of course, but these are a few of the songs I thought might show up with DeMille. The full soundtrack can be found here, so let me know if there are any songs in there that you think would be good additions to Smash!

As with any character, there are points against the idea of DeMille appearing in Smash. Here are some of those, as well as responses.

DeMille is a Japan-exclusive character! He's only had one game, and it's 16 years old! Why would they include such a niche and unknown character?
This is, without a doubt, the biggest detriment to DeMille entering Smash Bros. He's very obscure - not only is his game exclusive to Japan, but Nintendo has made next to no mention of the game since its release. However, exclusivity to Japan didn't stop Marth, Roy, or Lucas, and all three of them are now popular characters in the series.
Regarding DeMille's obscurity, remember that characters like the Ice Climbers and Pit were introduced to Smash. The Ice Climbers still have just one game, and Pit, at the time of Brawl's release, had just two games, with the most recent one coming out almost 20 years prior. Despite this, they both became popular quickly (though Pit did later get a new game), and if DeMille joined in, he'd likely amass a similar following after people started to play as him!

Nintendo has done next to nothing with DeMille, Tomato Adventure, or its other characters. Why would they start now?
Another fair point, but like above - Nintendo didn't do anything with the Ice Climbers after their game released, and then they suddenly appeared in Melee. Likewise, while the Duck Hunt Dog was infamous for his laughing in Duck Hunt, Nintendo didn't really do much with Duck Hunt... and then suddenly, he appeared in Smash 4. Smash Bros. is a series that celebrates Nintendo's history, both the well-known and obscure aspects of it, and including DeMille would be celebrating an obscure character from Nintendo's history, just like with the Ice Climbers and Pit when they were first introduced.

There are also points which make DeMille's chances at appearing seem more favorable!

-AlphaDream began recruiting new graphic designers in July 2018. The site's recruitment page features a brand-new piece of artwork of DeMille and Pasaran, featuring updated designs and a new art style! Check it out below.

This seems to indicate that a game featuring them is in the works! If so, DeMille would have modern relevance again, and depending on how the game does, his obscurity could fade away!

-During the development of Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Sakurai had a poll where Japanese fans could send in messages, suggesting characters, attacks, stages, and more. Sakurai then chose some of his favorites, and posted them to the site. Most of the characters on there only appeared once, but DeMille was suggested twice, both with very detailed and expansive descriptions of concepts and ideas for how he could play. You can check out a list of suggestions here. Very important to note - 22 characters appeared more than once. Of these 22, 8 have become playable in either Brawl or Smash 4, and a whopping 19/22 have shown up in some capacity, be it as a trophy, an assist trophy, a costume, an item referencing them, a stage boss, or otherwise. Only three characters - DeMille, Oguma, and Sukapon - have yet to appear in any capacity. Could Smash Ultimate finally be their time to shine? (Sukapon has been confirmed as an Assist Trophy. Read the next point in DeMille's favor for more details!) Here are both of the suggestions for DeMille.

No. 283
Nickname - Spring Breeze
Post Topic - Character Suggestions

The moment I saw the site, I got the same feeling as when I start a new game for the first time, or when I go to a festival. When I told my friends about it over the holidays, it became
a popular topic. I felt that, like festivals, this is a rare event...! I'd like for the veteran character, Zelda, to return. I remember kicking my opponents with the Lightning Kick.

On a different note, please let DeMille, the protagonist of "Tomato Adventure", join as a participating character. I doubt it's possible, but unlike my brother and sister, I'm not giving up yet. Even though suggesting characters is the topic of discussion, there are already so many characters... Despite the cutesy design of the characters and packaging, I think it's a very good and interesting game. There are many bosses, many areas, and lots of enemies to defeat and mysteries to solve! DeMille has lots of crazy adventures, and I want to see that courageous character once again. He's got a lot of Gimmicks, but I think that's OK! Just imagine him grabbing the Smash Ball and using the Tomato Robot Mk. II - thinking about him appearing as a character makes me feel incredibly excited, and he'd be a unique character, using his Gimmicks to fight. He's unique, so it'd be a shame to leave him so obscure. SSBB, let the sun rise for DeMille once again!

Thanks for letting us participate in this event. I'm sorry for writing such a long request while you're busy working. Please keep up the hard work, and be sure to take care of yourself. I'm really looking forward to the game!

No. 246
Nickname - Yes Gimmicker
Post Topic - Character Suggestions

Hello, how are you? I'm writing today to ask if you could please put DeMille, the hero of Tomato Adventure, into Smash Bros. as soon as possible.

...It's probably impossible, I'm sorry.

But after hearing about the new Super Smash Bros. Brawl information, I started to think about DeMille fighting in the world of SSBB. DeMille could fight using many of his colorful Gimmicks. And for his Final Smash, there are many amazing moves he could use (Tomato Robot Mk. II, gluttonous Sofubi, Patharan's Song, etc.) What a thing to imagine! It makes me feel like I'm riding a roller coaster - my heart pounding - just before it reaches the top. It's so exciting that I get knots in my stomach!

DeMille and his game aren't too well-known, but lots of people remember his commercial, "Tomatomatomato Ketchupupu?". [NOTE: You can see the commercial here!] Did people think it was a commercial for ketchup or tomatoes? (I did the first few times I saw it.) I think it was a very fun game, and I'm sure that everyone who played it has memories of getting stuck and grinding in the Gimmick Palace, and singing and dancing while listening to the final boss' theme. A few people are probably still singing and dancing to it today!

It would be unfortunate for this "game of ketchup" to fade away. But maybe it could see the light again on the big stage known as SSBB... I doubt he'll have another game, so at the very least, he could be a character in Smash (is there enough time?) Sorry for the long message, and thanks for considering DeMille.

-In the previous point, I brought up the possibility that Super Smash Bros. Ultimate could be where the final three characters from the Brawl poll who appeared multiple times - DeMille, Oguma, and Sukapon - could show up. During E3 2018, Sukapon was confirmed as an Assist Trophy. This means that characters from Brawl's list are still showing up, two games later! With Sukapon confirmed, this leaves just two characters left - DeMille and Oguma! If they do more from the Brawl list than just Sukapon... then DeMille's got a very good chance of showing up in some capacity!

-While Tomato Adventure itself hasn't been referenced or mentioned by Nintendo much since its release, it got re-released on the Japanese Wii U Virtual Console in 2015!

-The company behind Tomato Adventure, AlphaDream, is owned by Nintendo, and they're still putting out games frequently today, though they're almost all Mario and Luigi games. Since DeMille is the protagonist of one of the company's few original game concepts, he could be added to thank AlphaDream for their hard work over the years!

-On the topic of AlphaDream, they've recently been remaking the Mario and Luigi games. If they ever decide to remake Tomato Adventure, DeMille could be added to Smash to promote. Or it could go the other way around - DeMille gets added as a classic GBA character, and then based on how the fans like him, they remake his game following that. [AlphaDream may be working on a new game featuring DeMille! See the first point in his favor for more details.]

Want to show your support for DeMille, or see what others have done? This is the place!

Here are some signature icons! Feel free to put one in your signature... or several, if you feel so inclined! Each icon has two versions - one where the header text reads "SSBU", short for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, and another that reads "SSB5" instead if you prefer the numbered name. Pick whichever style you prefer!

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate header:

Super Smash Bros. 5 header:

(The third icon in each row uses fan art by Sakura-mochi from NicoNico!)

------------

Here are a few pages where people have shown support for DeMille entering Smash:
-A support thread made by parrothead during the development of Brawl!
-A support thread made by FirstBlade during the development of Smash 4!
-Evilwaluigi on DeviantART made this piece of art, showing some concepts for DeMille if he were to enter Smash!
-Professorfandango on DeviantART made this piece of fan art, showing off some concepts for special moves. He also made this artwork, which doesn't showcase moves but is instead fan art of the character.
-Gaiamuth on DeviantART created this piece of fan art, inspired by the Smashified team!

--------

Here are a couple of bonus things about DeMille and his game that don't really fit anywhere else in this post - videos, music, and etc.!

-The TV commercial for Tomato Adventure is pretty weird! Check it out!
-Clyde "Tomato" Mandelin played through the game, translating it live. Check out his series here!
-YouTube user Gameonion made this fantastic remix of the game's final boss theme!

--------

You might like DeMille, and maybe you even want to see him in Smash (I sure hope so!) But who else feels that way? Check out the list of supporters here!

~DeMille's Supporters~
~There are 19 of us so far!~

LokiTheFlameshied
S SEGAGameBoy

Pizza Robo

ShadowYoshi04
C chocolatejr9

hposter

Post below if you'd like to be added to the supporter list!

---------

So that's all for this post! Hopefully I've introduced some of you to a new character, and hopefully he looks cool enough that you'd also like to see him in Smash! He's probably not the most likely newcomer, but it'd be awesome if he was able to join Smash! Feel free to post below with questions, thoughts, comments, or anything else! If you want to show your support, feel free to submit a moveset, a signature icon, or something else, and I can add it to the opening post!

Thanks for reading!

GoodGrief741 · Mar 21, 2018

Will support, if only so that the fan translation will finally get made (the exposure from Smash Bros. will surely help). Also, he seems fun and the moveset potential is kinda cool.

slambros · Mar 21, 2018

I'll support this. It'd shake things up, that nuch is for sure.

Though it must be stated: in terms of Game Boy Advance representation, DeMille is in direct competition with Isaac...

FamicomDisk · Mar 21, 2018

GoodGrief741 said:
Will support, if only so that the fan translation will finally get made (the exposure from Smash Bros. will surely help). Also, he seems fun and the moveset potential is kinda cool.

Yeah, I expect there to be a fan translation someday - honestly somewhat surprised that there hasn't been one yet! Clyde Mandelin "Tomato" (professional translator who has also done fan projects like the Mother 3 translation) played through the game on the stream he does with his wife, and he translated the game live. He also released a small patch for the game that translates some menu stuff, as well as some tools from his short time working on the game. Would probably be possible for a translation team to use his work as a base for getting started! I hope it happens sometime - I'd love for everyone to be able to play the game.

Thanks for the support!

slambros said:
I'll support this. It'd shake things up, that nuch is for sure.

Though it must be stated: in terms of Game Boy Advance representation, DeMille is in direct competition with Isaac...

You may be right, which makes me a bit sad - Isaac is my most-wanted character after DeMille, so I'd love to see them both come in. There aren't too many characters in Smash that originate from the GBA, so maybe DeMille and Isaac could both join in Smash 5? We can hope!

Thanks for the support!

SquashiniKun · Mar 21, 2018

Gonna support, i'm always a fan of obscure nintendo characters getting into smash.

FamicomDisk · Mar 21, 2018

SquashiniKun said:
Gonna support, i'm always a fan of obscure nintendo characters getting into smash.

Nice! I've always liked that, too - it allows people to learn about new games and characters that they might not have otherwise, and it's cool to look back at Nintendo's history with Smash.

Thanks for the support!

pupNapoleon · Mar 21, 2018

Quite a lengthy opening.

Definitely made me curious as to who he is- he looks like a fun character from a game you made sound very inviting.

FamicomDisk · Mar 21, 2018

DukeNapoleon said:
Quite a lengthy opening.

Definitely made me curious as to who he is- he looks like a fun character from a game you made sound very inviting.

Yeah, it is quite lengthy, huh?

DeMille is a pretty obscure character, so to get people interested in supporting him, there had to be enough substance and information in my post to catch people's eyes and introduce them to the character well enough so they know who I'm talking about and feel interested themselves. And I had a lot of fun with it - it was nice to spruce up the post a bit with the headers and graphics.

And if you're curious about him, I guess it's doing its job, haha! I definitely think he's a fun character, so I'm happy to see others feeling the same way.

FamicomDisk · Mar 23, 2018

Updated the opening post with two new stage concepts - a Hanzo laboratory, and the Gimmick Palace - as well as an additional point in DeMille's favor. The stages have several image references like before, so you should be able to get an idea of what I'm talking about. Check them out, and let me know what you think!

And once again, feel free to let me know if you've got any ideas for Tomato Adventure in Smash! I'd be more than happy to add them to the opening post. I plan on adding concepts for Assist Trophies, regular trophies, and other types of possible Smash representation soon, so feel free to hop on board and add some of your own!

Wonks · Apr 6, 2018

You put in an incredible amount of work with this thread/original post--kudos!

FamicomDisk · Apr 6, 2018

Wonks said:
You put in an incredible amount of work with this thread/original post--kudos!

Thank you! I had a lot of fun with it - as my most wanted newcomer, I really wanted to start with a bang, adding lots of graphics and ideas to catch people's eyes, and hopefully get them interested in supporting him too. And if I was going to make a support thread, I figured I should go all the way with it! I appreciate the compliment, happy to hear that people like the effort I put into it.

~ Valkyrie ~ · Apr 7, 2018

I have quite a soft spot for Tomato Adventure, and fondly remember playing the game a long long years back. I think the very premise of it along Gimmicks had me wanna do my own take with various kids having toys of their own while going on a long, whimsical journey.

I remember once supporting Demille, but dunno exactly if I wanna put my money on him at the moment. But I'll be here sending my cheers on your way!

FamicomDisk · Apr 7, 2018

~ Valkyrie ~ said:
I have quite a soft spot for Tomato Adventure, and fondly remember playing the game a long long years back. I think the very premise of it along Gimmicks had me wanna do my own take with various kids having toys of their own while going on a long, whimsical journey.

I remember once supporting Demille, but dunno exactly if I wanna put my money on him at the moment. But I'll be here sending my cheers on your way!

Yeah, I like the concept of the Gimmicks too! I've always found unconventional weapons fun - looking just at Smash itself, Ness uses a bat, Pac-Man throws fruit, and Diddy Kong uses peanuts, among others. Gimmicks, being based off of toys, would fit the bill in terms of unusual weapons! I would've liked seeing your take on a similar concept.

And thank you for the cheers! I added you to the supporter list.

smashkirby · Apr 27, 2018

I support DeMille! I'd love to see him in Smash!

FamicomDisk · Apr 27, 2018

smashkirby said:
I support DeMille! I'd love to see him in Smash!

Awesome, thank you! I’m happy to see more support.

I’ve added you to the support list!

Sheng Long · May 1, 2018

Count me in as well. I've always found Tomato Adventure to be interesting after I found out about it (forgot how I did though). I really want to play it however that's for sure and I think DeMille has great potential as well to be a unique character!

FamicomDisk · May 1, 2018

Sheng Long said:
Count me in as well. I've always found Tomato Adventure to be interesting after I found out about it (forgot how I did though). I really want to play it however that's for sure and I think DeMille has great potential as well to be a unique character!

Thank you for the support! You've been added to the list.

I've always liked finding out about obscure games like this one, but I honestly think it's kind of surprising that there's such a small following for it. It's made by the same team who made the Mario and Luigi games, and many members of their staff are formerly Square staff that worked on Mario RPG. It seems like the kind of game that would've had a cult following!

Also, I linked to it in my moveset as reference, but I figured that I should probably post the video of DeMille's attacks so everyone can see what other things he could do and maybe make some moveset ideas!

He also has a video on the Tanooki Tail move (which he forgot to put in the above video), as well as the six Extreme Attacks that could be used as Final Smashes - Mecha Panic, Tomato Robot Mk. II, Sunny Sometimes??, Gulp Choco, Mole Rush, and Pasaran's Song. If you want to know a bit more about DeMille's potential, give these a watch!

FamicomDisk · Jun 4, 2018

Alright! The opening post has been updated with two new stage concepts - Nampu Lagoon, and REM Labyrinth. I was particularily pleased with my ideas for the latter, so give them a look! They're in the OP, but here they are again for easy viewing.

-Nampu Lagoon

Nampu Lagoon is a location you visit in Tomato Adventure. With the exception of a single island, the entire place in underwater! But don't worry... as long as you're chewing their special gum, you can breathe just fine! In the original game, you're required to solve a puzzle in the main area to proceed - you have to shoot missiles at octopuses in a specific order. In Smash, the area would be mostly normal - a flat battlefield with some plants scattered about, where you can walk off the edge. But every so often, a missile launcher will appear on the battlefield, aiming either left or right! The first player to attack it will launch a missile out in the direction it's aiming, dealing huge damage to anyone it hits! Despite being underwater, the area has normal physics in Tomato Adventure, so gravity and speed would be normal here in Smash.

--------------

-REM Labyrinth

The REM Labyrinth is a dungeon encountered late into Tomato Adventure. The dungeon's quirk is a simple one! It's a dream world (hence the name), and it's a parallel world dungeon - that is, there's the light sleep version, and a deep sleep version. The two sides affect each other - it's similar to the Light/Dark Worlds of Zelda: A Link to the Past. In the original game, the two sides are mostly used for puzzle-solving purposes, and you can travel between them at will. Since Smash doesn't have you solving puzzles, the mechanic would be used in a different way! The stage would begin its light sleep form - that's the red version. The ground would be normal, and the fight would occur normally. After 20 seconds or so, a black and blue sign with an exclamation mark flickering on it would pop up in the background, indicating the incoming form change. After a few more seconds, the screen would flicker in and out, and the stage would be in its deep sleep form.

That wouldn't be the only change though! All players would be in random new locations, the ground would have pieces missing, and one property of the level would be randomly changed - for example, gravity is stronger or weaker, fighters are made small or big, the fight is put in slow motion or is faster, and etc.! The fight continues in this form for a while. After 30 seconds or so, a blue and red sign with an exclamation mark flickering on it pops up, and a few seconds later, the screen will flicker in and out, bringing the stage back to its light sleep form. This rotation would occur every 30 seconds, with the deep sleep version having a different property altered each time, and the light sleep version always being normal.

I also figured I'd add a silly little Tomato Adventure thing to the OP that I didn't have there yet - that thing is the game's commercial, which was pretty weird! Even though the game itself is obscure, the commercial is apparently pretty notorious in Japan... and understandably so! If you're curious, take a look here! Because it didn't fit anywhere else, I made a small new section in the OP for miscellanious stuff like videos and remixes and whatnot, and threw in Clyde "Tomato" Mandelin's live translation series, as well as a fantastic remix of the final boss theme made by Gameonion on YouTube. So give those a look if you're interested!

-----

And lastly, I realized that I hadn't looked closely at users in the previous support threads... so I went into the previous two support threads for DeMille! Those thread didn't have support lists, so instead I went through and found users who said they liked/supported him, and are still active now! So:

From Parrohead's Brawl thread:

SmashChu

Not on my most wanted list, but Im good with almost any characters
Nice addition, and thanks for the gifs.

FrozenRoy

This guy is just made of to much PURE AND EPIC AWESOME to not be in.

Demiru for brawl!

PsychoIncarnate

http://youtube.com/watch?v=a2XnxI04MhM&mode=related&search=

After that video, I support Demille more than ever!

Thirdkoopa

Hmm good job with this, I'm hoping demiru/demille makes the cut as i'm writing a support thread for him at nsider I Think he would be good to rep the new japan-only's while one more japan-only retro or retro get's added.

From FirstBlade's Smash 4 thread:

RouffWestie

Literally my most wanted newcomer.

BluePikmin11

Demille would be cool I just wish this was fully translated so I can play it for myself.

Crap-Zapper

I have been for a long time thinking about Demille. I support.

And of course, while neither of them are active, I can't leave out the two who created those threads, P parrothead and

FirstBlade , on the off chance that they return to the site!

Would any of you want to be added to this support list?

PsychoIncarnate · Jun 5, 2018

I don't actually remember anything about Demille, I'm pretty sure that comment was from the Brawl support thread.

That gameplay looks kind of like the Mario Luigi series gameplay

Crap-Zapper · Jun 5, 2018

You've done your digging, that's for sure.

Once supported, always supported, and I do think that it would be interesting to see him, or the franchise in some way for Smash.
I remember all talk about him during the 4th was absent, so I sort of forgot to think about him during that time. Awesome first post.

FamicomDisk · Jun 5, 2018

PsychoIncarnate said:
I don't actually remember anything about Demille, I'm pretty sure that comment was from the Brawl support thread.

That gameplay looks kind of like the Mario Luigi series gameplay

Yeah, your post was from back in Brawl! Reading through the thread from back then, you seemed to support him.

The similarities to the Mario and Luigi series make sense - not only is it made by the same team, but Tomato Adventure's two-person battles loosely inspired the Mario and Luigi series' battle system! Showing this even more, in fact, two versions of Tomato Adventure's title theme are in the data for Superstar Saga, which they probably used for testing the game's music!

And since the team that made these games were former Square staff that worked on Mario RPG, a few other interesting facts come up - the director of Mario RPG also directed Tomato Adventure, for example!

Crap-Zapper said:
You've done your digging, that's for sure.

Once supported, always supported, and I do think that it would be interesting to see him, or the franchise in some way for Smash.
I remember all talk about him during the 4th was absent, so I sort of forgot to think about him during that time. Awesome first post.

Yeah, I agree! It's a game that's way too underrated, and its quirky content would fit perfectly into Smash. I'd love to see an Assist Trophy, a regular trophy, music... or really anything from the game!

And thank you for the support! You've been added to the support list.

FamicomDisk · Jun 12, 2018

Well, that was certainly an exciting day! I've got two things to say in regards to DeMille.

First up - something in the announcements today stuck out to me as a good sign for DeMille! During the Assist Trophy announcements, one in particular was notable!

That's right, it's Sukapon from the Japan-exclusive Famicom game, Joy Mecha Fight! But why does this stand out? Well, if you've read through the opening post, you may have noticed the points in his favor section, where I talked about the Japanese poll done during Brawl. I actually misunderstood this poll! The final list didn't contain every suggestion - it actually contained the ones that Sakurai liked, meaning that not only did DeMille get multiple requests, but Sakurai liked the DeMille ones enough to include two of them! I edited the opening post to reflect this.

But that's not the main thing here - the most important part from the opening post is, "Very important to note - 22 characters appeared more than once [in the poll]. Of these 22, 8 have become playable in either Brawl or Smash 4, and a whopping 19/22 have shown up in some capacity, be it as a trophy, an assist trophy, a costume, an item referencing them, a stage boss, or otherwise. Only three characters - DeMille, Oguma, and Sukapon - have yet to appear in any capacity. Could Smash Ultimate finally be their time to shine? "

...And then today, we see Sukapon out of nowhere as an Assist Trophy! So if they're planning to go through more of the characters who appeared multiple times in the poll like they did in Brawl and Smash 4, that leaves the remaining two... which means DeMille could have a very good shot at appearing in some form - hopefully playable! Certainly got me excited.

I added this new detail to the opening post as a point in his favor!

-----

And the second thing - while a lot less cool - is that I added some updated signature icons to the opening post! These ones say "SSBU" instead of "SSB5", following the announcement of the game's full name, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate!

If you prefer the numbered name, though, I still left the ones that say "SSB5"! I actually noticed that there was one pixel on the black outline on "5" that was slightly transparent, and while I doubt anybody noticed, it's fixed now!

I'm thinking of making some more signature icons soon for some more variety, so keep an eye out for that!

LokiTheFlameshied · Jun 15, 2018

Literally top of my list. Hell at this point I'd be okay with a trophy, just to know he is known. It sucks to think suck a fun important character is unknown to most people. And why is he not known? Because AlphaDream never released it outside Japan. To this day I can only assume it is due to a crippling fear of money. It'd be great if they laid off the Mario and Luigi franchise(you know, the one that has been pretty lackluster the past few years) and just remastered Tomato Adventure for a worldwide release, because(despite my above statement) the M&L franchise is really popular. So releasing the game that series comes from? Done deal.

FamicomDisk · Jun 15, 2018

LokiTheFlameshied said:
Literally top of my list. Hell at this point I'd be okay with a trophy, just to know he is known. It sucks to think suck a fun important character is unknown to most people.

Yeah, I agree! I feel like Tomato Adventure would've been decently popular if it had been released outside of Japan, or at the very least, it feels like the kind of game that would've gathered a cult following over the years. It's got fun characters, quirky areas and scenarios, and a simple but interesting story, and is similar in some areas to the Mario and Luigi and Mother games, all of which are popular now! It deserves a second shot.

And thanks for the support! I'm happy to hear he's your most-wanted character! You've been added to the support list.

LokiTheFlameshied · Jun 15, 2018

FamicomDisk said:
Yeah, I agree! I feel like Tomato Adventure would've been decently popular if it had been released outside of Japan, or at the very least, it feels like the kind of game that would've gathered a cult following over the years. It's got fun characters, quirky areas and scenarios, and a simple but interesting story, and is similar in some areas to the Mario and Luigi and Mother games, all of which are popular now! It deserves a second shot.

And thanks for the support! I'm happy to hear he's your most-wanted character! You've been added to the support list.

Cool!...I'm new here. What does that mean?

FamicomDisk · Jun 15, 2018

LokiTheFlameshied said:
Cool!...I'm new here. What does that mean?

The support list? If you take a look at the opening post, there's a list towards the bottom where I've added all users who support DeMille. Most support threads have one - it just shows who's supporting that character!

Welcome to the site, by the way! I'm happy you came to this thread first, haha!

LokiTheFlameshied · Jun 15, 2018

Understood. Usopp himself couldn't make a shot this long, but it is nice to see others in favor of such a fun character. Also, that tagline is lit!

FamicomDisk · Jun 15, 2018

LokiTheFlameshied said:
Understood. Usopp himself couldn't make a shot this long, but it is nice to see others in favor of such a fun character. Also, that tagline is lit!

Hey, you never know! We could get surprised. There are things that help his chances, so we’ll have to see!

And thank you!

FamicomDisk · Jul 8, 2018

So I've got something potentially big to share!

AlphaDream (the company behind Tomato Adventure, Mario and Luigi, etc.) recently started hiring for a new position at the company. Specifically, they're hiring graphic designers for projects on the Switch, PS4, and mobile. This isn't big news in itself - companies hire people all the time. I decided to check out the new recruitment page out of curiousity, though, and I took a look at the graphic designer recruitment link...

...and holy crap, that's DeMille and Pasaran! Not only is this brand new art, but both of them have minor design changes - DeMille's got what looks to be a fully white dress shirt with a pink tie, instead of the blue shirt with white sleeves and puff ball he had in the original, and his hat's falling off, revealing cat-like ears that the original game never showed! Pasaran's also got black leggings now, rather than the original's pink, and both of them have much smaller feet now, too. It's also in a bit of a new art style - the original used pretty thick outlines and simple shading, whereas this art uses thin lines and heavier shading and effects.

So not only did they make a brand new piece of art, but they updated the characters' designs! I can't imagine they'd do that for a 16-year old game, so could this mean they're remaking the original, and/or making a sequel to it? As a big fan of the original game, I know that there's no point where the two of them ride a board like this, so maybe it's a sequel? Or perhaps it could be a side mode in a remake, similiar to Bowser's Minions in the Superstar Saga remake. If it is a sequel, then I would have to assume they'd release a remake of the original as well, considering how long it's been since its release. Maybe a two-in-one pack that has both a sequel and a remake of the first game?

Either way, something seems to be in the works!

I'm really excited for that on its own, but I also wonder what this could mean for DeMille and Smash! If he finally gets a new game after 16 years, then he would have modern relevance again, and if it does well, his obscurity could be gone too! I'm very excited to see what happens. Edited this new info into the opening post as a point in his favor!

GoodGrief741 · Jul 8, 2018

FamicomDisk said:
So I've got something potentially big to share!

AlphaDream (the company behind Tomato Adventure, Mario and Luigi, etc.) recently started hiring for a new position at the company. Specifically, they're hiring graphic designers for projects on the Switch, PS4, and mobile. This isn't big news in itself - companies hire people all the time. I decided to check out the new recruitment page out of curiousity, though, and I took a look at the graphic designer recruitment link...

...and holy crap, that's DeMille and Pasaran! Not only is this brand new art, but both of them have minor design changes - DeMille's got what looks to be a fully white dress shirt with a pink tie, instead of the blue shirt with white sleeves and puff ball he had in the original, and his hat's falling off, revealing cat-like ears that the original game never showed! Pasaran's also got black leggings now, rather than the original's pink, and both of them have much smaller feet now, too. It's also in a bit of a new art style - the original used pretty thick outlines and simple shading, whereas this art uses thin lines and heavier shading and effects.

So not only did they make a brand new piece of art, but they updated the characters' designs! I can't imagine they'd do that for a 16-year old game, so could this mean they're remaking the original, and/or making a sequel to it? As a big fan of the original game, I know that there's no point where the two of them ride a board like this, so maybe it's a sequel? Or perhaps it could be a side mode in a remake, similiar to Bowser's Minions in the Superstar Saga remake. If it is a sequel, then I would have to assume they'd release a remake of the original as well, considering how long it's been since its release. Maybe a two-in-one pack that has both a sequel and a remake of the first game?

Either way, something seems to be in the works! I'm really excited for that on its own, but I also wonder what this could mean for DeMille and Smash! If he finally gets a new game after 16 years, then he would have modern relevance again, and if it does well, his obscurity could be gone too! I'm very excited to see what happens. Edited this new info into the opening post as a point in his favor!

We definitely need to look into what’s going on. The skeptic in me is screaming that it’s old artwork and we should look for concept art for the game, but at the same time... could it be?

FamicomDisk · Jul 8, 2018

GoodGrief741 said:
We definitely need to look into what’s going on. The skeptic in me is screaming that it’s old artwork and we should look for concept art for the game, but at the same time... could it be?

That would be my first thought too, but the original game’s art style is substantially different from this one! Take a look at the original game’s character page on the official site, which has art of many of the game’s important characters. You can see that the colors are usually solid and simple, with shading typically consisting of one other color. You can poke around the site a bit more to see more - this page has a small scene with the party looking at a Hanzo brother, showing another example of how simplistic the game’s artwork was, with solid colors and simple shading.

You also suggested that it could be concept art - that's a good idea! However, it's worth noting that Tomato Adventure started out as a Game Boy Color game called "Gimmick Land", but moved to the Game Boy Advance during development. Not much is known about the GBC version of the game - however, two blurry screenshots are out there. Check them out here! Even though they're blurry, you can see in the first screenshot that DeMille has his blue shirt with the white sleeves and puff ball. And since the design was finalized during the GBC days, I don't think it can be concept art - I've never seen a GBC game with artwork that impressive! AlphaDream's previous game, Koto Battle, had art like this, and it came out just under a year before Tomato Adventure did! I can't see such a massive jump in quality happening so soon.

The artwork on the new page also looks far more impressive than the art the original game had, with the electricity having a glow, the eyes having visible color gradients, and far more complex lighting and shading everywhere. It looks to me like it's as detailed as modern Mario and Luigi art - take a look at this one and this one! Luigi's electricity in the second one, for example, shows a similar kind of glow to the electricity in the background of the art! The original Superstar Saga doesn't have effects like this in its art, either.

I definitely understand the skepticism, with how long it's been since they did something with the game, but... compare the two, and the difference is quite noticeable. I can't think of any reason they'd have such cool new art, along with cool new designs, if they weren't doing something with them!

VS

GoodGrief741 · Jul 9, 2018

FamicomDisk said:
That would be my first thought too, but the original game’s art style is substantially different from this one! Take a look at the original game’s character page on the official site, which has art of many of the game’s important characters. You can see that the colors are usually solid and simple, with shading typically consisting of one other color. You can poke around the site a bit more to see more - this page has a small scene with the party looking at a Hanzo brother, showing another example of how simplistic the game’s artwork was, with solid colors and simple shading.

You also suggested that it could be concept art - that's a good idea! However, it's worth noting that Tomato Adventure started out as a Game Boy Color game called "Gimmick Land", but moved to the Game Boy Advance during development. Not much is known about the GBC version of the game - however, two blurry screenshots are out there. Check them out here! Even though they're blurry, you can see in the first screenshot that DeMille has his blue shirt with the white sleeves and puff ball. And since the design was finalized during the GBC days, I don't think it can be concept art - I've never seen a GBC game with artwork that impressive! AlphaDream's previous game, Koto Battle, had art like this, and it came out just under a year before Tomato Adventure did! I can't see such a massive jump in quality happening so soon.

The artwork on the new page also looks far more impressive than the art the original game had, with the electricity having a glow, the eyes having visible color gradients, and far more complex lighting and shading everywhere. It looks to me like it's as detailed as modern Mario and Luigi art - take a look at this one and this one! Luigi's electricity in the second one, for example, shows a similar kind of glow to the electricity in the background of the art! The original Superstar Saga doesn't have effects like this in its art, either.

I definitely understand the skepticism, with how long it's been since they did something with the game, but... compare the two, and the difference is quite noticeable. I can't think of any reason they'd have such cool new art, along with cool new designs, if they weren't doing something with them!

VS

Good research! Now that you mention it, I can see the similarity between the new artwork and recent art from the Mario & Luigi games. It seems pretty conclusive that that is, indeed, new artwork. Could the best possible scenario be going on?

I guess if we’re stretching, it could be some practice art, that just happened to be using one of their older characters. Honestly, despite how incredible it would be, it actually seems likelier that something’s going on with the Tomato Adventure IP, but what? Obviously it’s not a huge IP, but even then, would they make such an obvious mistake and leak a project they’re working on? It probably isn’t a Switch port, as that wouldn’t require new art, but if it’s a sequel or a remaster, would they slip up this badly?

Or... *shudders* maybe it’s a phone game...

FamicomDisk · Jul 9, 2018

GoodGrief741 said:
Good research! Now that you mention it, I can see the similarity between the new artwork and recent art from the Mario & Luigi games. It seems pretty conclusive that that is, indeed, new artwork. Could the best possible scenario be going on?

I guess if we’re stretching, it could be some practice art, that just happened to be using one of their older characters. Honestly, despite how incredible it would be, it actually seems likelier that something’s going on with the Tomato Adventure IP, but what? Obviously it’s not a huge IP, but even then, would they make such an obvious mistake and leak a project they’re working on? It probably isn’t a Switch port, as that wouldn’t require new art, but if it’s a sequel or a remaster, would they slip up this badly?

Or... *shudders* maybe it’s a phone game...

I’m thinking that the art being there might be an intentional little hint towards a project - most people aren’t going to check a company’s recruitment page, so they pop that in there for people to find. It won’t get seen by most people, but it’s there for those who do! I thought about it being practice art, but with both of them having updated designs I doubt that’s the case.

It also doesn’t make it clear exactly what it is - people who know the characters will be excited, but what is it? A remake? A sequel? It doesn’t make that clear, so it gets people excited and talking ahead of its announcement! The game is pretty obscure, after all, so most people will just see an artist doing art and think, “Yep, that’s what they do!”, with the fans being the excited ones!

AlphaDream doesn’t have any projects announced for the Switch yet, but they’re recruiting people on this page for projects, while specifically mentioning the Switch as one of their upcoming platforms. I think that one of their first Switch games could be something related to Tomato Adventure!

Or maybe... “Introducing AlphaDream’s first gacha game!”

(But seriously, I can’t see this being one of the mobile projects!)

smashkirby · Jul 9, 2018

FamicomDisk said:
So I've got something potentially big to share!

AlphaDream (the company behind Tomato Adventure, Mario and Luigi, etc.) recently started hiring for a new position at the company. Specifically, they're hiring graphic designers for projects on the Switch, PS4, and mobile. This isn't big news in itself - companies hire people all the time. I decided to check out the new recruitment page out of curiousity, though, and I took a look at the graphic designer recruitment link...

...and holy crap, that's DeMille and Pasaran! Not only is this brand new art, but both of them have minor design changes - DeMille's got what looks to be a fully white dress shirt with a pink tie, instead of the blue shirt with white sleeves and puff ball he had in the original, and his hat's falling off, revealing cat-like ears that the original game never showed! Pasaran's also got black leggings now, rather than the original's pink, and both of them have much smaller feet now, too. It's also in a bit of a new art style - the original used pretty thick outlines and simple shading, whereas this art uses thin lines and heavier shading and effects.

So not only did they make a brand new piece of art, but they updated the characters' designs! I can't imagine they'd do that for a 16-year old game, so could this mean they're remaking the original, and/or making a sequel to it? As a big fan of the original game, I know that there's no point where the two of them ride a board like this, so maybe it's a sequel? Or perhaps it could be a side mode in a remake, similar to Bowser's Minions in the Superstar Saga remake. If it is a sequel, then I would have to assume they'd release a remake of the original as well, considering how long it's been since its release. Maybe a two-in-one pack that has both a sequel and a remake of the first game?

Either way, something seems to be in the works! I'm really excited for that on its own, but I also wonder what this could mean for DeMille and Smash! If he finally gets a new game after 16 years, then he would have modern relevance again, and if it does well, his obscurity could be gone too! I'm very excited to see what happens. Edited this new info into the opening post as a point in his favor!

Holy cow! Is this for real?! PLEASE let it be real!

FamicomDisk · Jul 10, 2018

smashkirby said:
Holy cow! Is this for real?! PLEASE let it be real!

Yeah, it is real! You can check it out for yourself on the recruitment section of AlphaDream’s site! Scroll down a bit and you’ll see it. The picture has been there for two days now so I’m thinking it’s there intentionally, but in the off chance that it’s a mistake they still haven’t noticed, I have it saved so I can re-post it, just in case! So if you check the page and it’s not there anymore, feel free to let me know!

After seeing the image yesterday, I decided to take a look back and see if there was anything that could hint towards AlphaDream working on an original IP again. And I actually ended up finding a 2016 interview between AlphaDream and GameInformer that seems to indicate that they’ve been thinking about it! The interview in question is here, and the important part is:

“Would AlphaDream ever consider making a pure Paper Mario RPG? Or would they be more interested in making an original game like Tomato Adventure again?

AlphaDream: We have not thought about making a Paper Mario RPG. That series is designed in the style of Intelligent Systems, and we think that if we made a Paper Mario game it would be "not quite right". While we would like to continue making more games in the Mario & Luigi series along with exploring new challenges, we are thinking about expanding our repertoire with original titles as well.”

So with that interview happening in 2016, it seems plausible that such a project could have a lot of work done on it by now! And it makes sense to think that while they remake Bowser’s Inside Story for the 3DS, they’re probably also working on Switch projects. With Tomato Adventure being one of their few existing properties, it makes sense that they’d go back to it since they said they’d have an interest in working on more original titles! So I’m thinking this art might be throwing a bone to existing fans. It’s still kind of hard to believe, but the more I see, the more I’m thinking this is going to happen!

LokiTheFlameshied · Jul 13, 2018

FamicomDisk said:
That would be my first thought too, but the original game’s art style is substantially different from this one! Take a look at the original game’s character page on the official site, which has art of many of the game’s important characters. You can see that the colors are usually solid and simple, with shading typically consisting of one other color. You can poke around the site a bit more to see more - this page has a small scene with the party looking at a Hanzo brother, showing another example of how simplistic the game’s artwork was, with solid colors and simple shading.

You also suggested that it could be concept art - that's a good idea! However, it's worth noting that Tomato Adventure started out as a Game Boy Color game called "Gimmick Land", but moved to the Game Boy Advance during development. Not much is known about the GBC version of the game - however, two blurry screenshots are out there. Check them out here! Even though they're blurry, you can see in the first screenshot that DeMille has his blue shirt with the white sleeves and puff ball. And since the design was finalized during the GBC days, I don't think it can be concept art - I've never seen a GBC game with artwork that impressive! AlphaDream's previous game, Koto Battle, had art like this, and it came out just under a year before Tomato Adventure did! I can't see such a massive jump in quality happening so soon.

The artwork on the new page also looks far more impressive than the art the original game had, with the electricity having a glow, the eyes having visible color gradients, and far more complex lighting and shading everywhere. It looks to me like it's as detailed as modern Mario and Luigi art - take a look at this one and this one! Luigi's electricity in the second one, for example, shows a similar kind of glow to the electricity in the background of the art! The original Superstar Saga doesn't have effects like this in its art, either.

I definitely understand the skepticism, with how long it's been since they did something with the game, but... compare the two, and the difference is quite noticeable. I can't think of any reason they'd have such cool new art, along with cool new designs, if they weren't doing something with them!

VS

LokiTheFlameshied · Jul 13, 2018

FamicomDisk said:
Yeah, it is real! You can check it out for yourself on the recruitment section of AlphaDream’s site! Scroll down a bit and you’ll see it. The picture has been there for two days now so I’m thinking it’s there intentionally, but in the off chance that it’s a mistake they still haven’t noticed, I have it saved so I can re-post it, just in case! So if you check the page and it’s not there anymore, feel free to let me know!

After seeing the image yesterday, I decided to take a look back and see if there was anything that could hint towards AlphaDream working on an original IP again. And I actually ended up finding a 2016 interview between AlphaDream and GameInformer that seems to indicate that they’ve been thinking about it! The interview in question is here, and the important part is:

“Would AlphaDream ever consider making a pure Paper Mario RPG? Or would they be more interested in making an original game like Tomato Adventure again?

AlphaDream: We have not thought about making a Paper Mario RPG. That series is designed in the style of Intelligent Systems, and we think that if we made a Paper Mario game it would be "not quite right". While we would like to continue making more games in the Mario & Luigi series along with exploring new challenges, we are thinking about expanding our repertoire with original titles as well.”

So with that interview happening in 2016, it seems plausible that such a project could have a lot of work done on it by now! And it makes sense to think that while they remake Bowser’s Inside Story for the 3DS, they’re probably also working on Switch projects. With Tomato Adventure being one of their few existing properties, it makes sense that they’d go back to it since they said they’d have an interest in working on more original titles! So I’m thinking this art might be throwing a bone to existing fans. It’s still kind of hard to believe, but the more I see, the more I’m thinking this is going to happen!

Messed that up lol, but yeah I saw it and it definitely got me excited. If only because it means that AlphaDream could finally do something else besides M&L. I could see them finally, FINALLY remaking Tomato Adventure for a Worldwide release. Update the graphics, make the many games accessible for a western audience. Sounds pretty simple. Of course, I also want them to maybe make a new IP, I'm always glad when a developer is able to do something from the norm(wish Gamefreak would follow suit). Still I saw the updated artwork and it just made me happy that they still acknowledge their old IP. For real though Demille is a cat?! I mean I kind of see it, but I just always thought he was a rabbit? A weird reimagining?

FamicomDisk · Jul 14, 2018

LokiTheFlameshied said:
Messed that up lol, but yeah I saw it and it definitely got me excited. If only because it means that AlphaDream could finally do something else besides M&L. I could see them finally, FINALLY remaking Tomato Adventure for a Worldwide release. Update the graphics, make the many games accessible for a western audience. Sounds pretty simple.

Yeah, and they could definitely use their Mario and Luigi lineup as part of the marketing for the game! "The game that inspired Mario and Luigi's gameplay... remade and available outside of Japan for the first time!", or even something as simple as "A new game from the team behind Mario and Luigi!" The M+L series is very popular, and while it being a Mario game obviously helps, I think Tomato Adventure has the potential to gain some popularity nowadays, especially if they get those fans on board! Back when it first released, the only game AlphaDream had made was Koto Battle. But now they've got a bunch of games that people love! They can definitely use that to their advantage.

Also, Nintendo RPGs tend to be pretty popular nowadays! For example, Mother and Golden Sun are pretty popular cult classics, and Xenoblade is going strong right now! So I feel like Tomato Adventure deserves a second shot.

LokiTheFlameshied said:
Still I saw the updated artwork and it just made me happy that they still acknowledge their old IP. For real though Demille is a cat?! I mean I kind of see it, but I just always thought he was a rabbit? A weird reimagining?

Yeah, I always thought he was a rabbit too! I assumed his hat was shaped to fit his ears. He's also got a rabbit-like tail (you can see it in scenes where he turns away from the camera, like this one!) But then again, Tomato Adventure has a lot of characters that don't make it quite clear what they are - I don't think I could tell you what Pasaran, Aresa, or Sofubi are supposed to be either!

I guess they just make their own kinds of creatures, and DeMille happens to have cat-like ears.

SEGAGameBoy · Jul 16, 2018

Never played it before. I support!

FamicomDisk · Jul 16, 2018

SEGAGameBoy said:
Never played it before. I support!

That’s what I like to hear! Thanks for the support! You’ve been added to the support list. Since you’ve never played the game, feel free to shoot over any questions you might have! I’d be happy to answer, and hopefully give you a better idea of how the game and its characters could work in Smash.

By the way, this brings us to 10 supporters! It’s not a huge number, but for a character that’s as obscure as DeMille is, I think we’re doing pretty well. So thank you to everyone who’s supported so far! I hope we get many more supporters down the line.

By the way, for a topic of discussion, I was wondering - assuming that the new art is actually for a new game with new designs, which design do you think DeMille would have if he joined Smash? His original design, or the new one? On the one hand, if he’s in a new game, then the new design would be the one new players would be familiar with, but on the other hand, his original design is how fans of his game have seen him for many years, so it’s more iconic among them. We’ve seen them use older designs in Smash before, like with Pac-Man, so neither situation is out of the question. What do you guys think?

Dropping in for a fight - DeMille for Smash!

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