I've thought of yet another moveset for him.
The Big Idea that permeates this entire thing is that all his specials are the basic element spells that Brian could hold and charge up to advance it from LVL 1 to 3. Pretty much just like how Hero can do it with his side and up-B, with the exception that Brian can move normally while he charges them. Trade-off is that they go up in strength slower, and Brian only has 15MP to work with. Just like in the game, LVL1 spells will cost 1MP, LVL2 2MP, LVL3 3MP. Brian can regain MP by moving while not charging a spell.
Neutral B: Wind cutter. Depending on how long it is charged, Brian will fire off 1 to 6 wind cutters. They home in on targets. LVL1 will have just one that goes in the direction Brian is facing, LVL2 will have 2 go in the direction he is facing while one starts off behind him before homing kicks in, and LVL3 will have 4 go in his direction while 2 starts behind. Minimal knockback, and maybe the few that start behind him will have no knockback at all.
Side B: Rock. A large rock forms in the air above Brian, falling in the direction he's facing after he let's it go. Increase in LVL causes an increase in size (and maybe knockback?), but not damage. Large knockback. I'm unsure if the rock should stay fixed in the spot Brian started conjuring it in before it is loosed, or if it should follow and float above his head. I'm thinking the former.
Down B: Fireball. (I know it's heresy to have the C-Up button thing go to the Down-B role) Fireballs are fired in the direction Brian is facing. An increase in LVL increases how many fireballs go. They are all fired simultaneously. Slight homing, medium knockback.
Up B: Water pillar. A pillar of water erupts from Brian's feet, knocking him and nearby enemies up into the air. An increase in LVL increases the size and launch height, but not damage. Medium knockback.
The general idea here is to facilitate a mid-range short combo potential. Ideally, Brian could keep his enemies at an arm's reach and rack up the damage.
I'm unsure what all of his normal attacks could be. I have some, though:
Jab: a single swipe with his staff with relatively high knockback. Think Ganondorf's jab. There is an unused animation in Quest 64's cartridge that has exactly the animation I have in mind; he swipes his staff straight left to right at his-face-height and it has a relatively long-ish wind-down.
Side tilt: The melee. The same one Brian does in Quest 64. However, did you know that the Japanese version had an additional swing? If you timed your A press right when Brian hits them, he'd follow it up with a second smack. I'm thinking this would be a good addition to his kit here. Think Snake's side tilt double presser.
Down tilt: ... not sure. Maybe here would be a good spot to add some light spell-work to his normal kit. Perhaps a puff from one of Quest 64's cloud spells, like Wind Bomb, Hot Steam, or Ice Wall? Or make something up. Elemental magic should be flexible, I believe.
Actually, I just had an idea! What if some of his normal abilities used spells, but what element he uses depends on the last special used? Like if the last thing he used was Fireball, and he then did down tilt, there's a puff of hot steam? I'm not sure if this should have any impact besides visual, but I like the idea.
Right, back to it. Up tilt: ... still no clue. Open to suggestions. This whole thing is.
Forward smash: All right this is where the idea above could shine. Brian stabs the pointy end of his staff to the ground, and casts a spell depending on what element he used last. Now, this could a simple thing. Like If he used fire, he casts fire pillar, but we could go a little crazy and have element mixing. Depending on the last three spells cast, Brian will use a different spell on his smash attacks. Water water wind? Ice knife. (that was the combination, right?) Fire fire earth? Magma bomb. (that was the combo right?)
Now, that idea is a little crazy. It could be a nightmare to balance and implement in a way that's fun to play and fun to play against. Maybe the MP gauge could round it out, but I don't know. But I think this idea has ran away from me, so I'm gonna wrap it up and move on.
Smash attacks? Depending on the last specials used, and what smash attack is being used, different things happen.
Aerials? Not sure. Maybe make froward air cast a spell based on the above system?
Final smash? Still not sure. Best spells to pick from here would be Extinction, Power Staff, Ultimate Wind, Windwalk, Avalanche, Magic Barrier, Some Big Heal, and Walking Water(? Invalidity, maybe?). Maybe some kind of random selection system, or a manual selection, or maybe just stick with one, I don't know.
I may not have a full move set in my head, but I do have Taunts!
You know that animation Brian does in Quest 64 when you hit A or Z with nothing in front of him? That.
Brian thumps his staff on the ground, causing a quake, twice, and then thrusts it into the air, causing wind to rage around him briefly.
Brian 'presents' a clump of ice in a hand overflowing with water to the space in front of him, then whips the hand back outstretched behind him while his body surges in fire.
And one of his victory screens must be his victory animation from Quest 64. There's no choice here. It must be done.
I very much rambled about this, but they're all ideas. I think the charging specials with the MP bar that you can regain by moving is a good idea, but the smashes with the spell malarkey is a volatile concept.