Excalibur! - Kuros rescues Smash!

[Will]

I just remembered this character's existence. He's pretty much that obscure.

WHO IS KUROS?​

From the Books of Excalibur, the Hero Knight Kuros is the main protagonist of the Wizards & Warriors series. It was developed by Rare and published by Akklaim, first released in 1987 on the NES. If you're surprised to hear about this game's existence, I don't blame you. If you want a complete timeline of games, it isn't that long of a list:

Wizards & Warriors (NES, 1987)
Wizards & Warriors II: Ironsword (NES, 1989)
Wizards & Warriors X: The Fortress of Fear (Gameboy, 1990)
Wizards & Warriors III: Kuros - Vision of Power (NES, 1992)
​

Kuros does not have much of a backstory. His purpose is to defeat the evil wizard Malkil, who likes to spend his days kidnapping numerous princesses and maidens for Kuros to rescue and save the day. Like many late 80s knights, his plot device sword is the Brightsword, a weapon capable of slaying any man, beast, demon, and member of the undead.

WHY KUROS?​

I believe that Kuros, being one of the Nintendo/Rare lovechilds, is a response that can be used for those who want similarly suited characters in Smash. This includes the Dragonborn from Elder Scrolls and the Chosen Undead from Dark Souls. He can also be considered a rival for Arthur from Ghosts & Goblins for a more medieval-themed character. This is because of their similar moveset potential and designs, but Kuros has the upper hand in Nintendo status.

Wizards & Warriors is also often hailed along the likes of Earthbound as a cult classic series. A diamond in the rough, if you will.

WHY NOT KUROS?​

Let's start with the obvious. Kuros hasn't been relevant in uh, let me count here... 26 YEARS. That's a long time. Compared to other obscure characters like Takamaru or Prince Sable, they've had nods and straight-up mentions in one way or another. Kuros hasn't been mentioned since the last game he was in. However, he was in a cartoon show called The Power Team. It was a cartoon that coincided with a show about reviewing video games. It was pretty weird.

Also, it is unsure whether Nintendo completely owns the property or if it is all Rare's, meaning it would have to go through Microsoft to get approval of.

Kuros' alternate appearance may conflict with a recent newcomer, of which I will clarify pretty soon. Otherwise, the lack of relevancy and attention really is the big hitter against him.

WHAT CAN KUROS DO?​

Kuros seems like your average knight, but he has special equipment and spells up his sleeve! Unfortunately, since there's not a lot of footage of the games, it'll be hard to show pictures of the spells in question. I may update them at a future time, but I will just stick with vivid descriptions for now.

• Firesmite Spell generates a projectile that explodes into flames similar to how a grenade functions.
• Windblade Spell shoots air projectiles that fire in a zigzag pattern.
• Veil of Slumber Spell slows down enemies and their projectiles(think of it like Bayonetta's Witch Time)
• The Wand of Wonder freezes enemies in place
• The Cloak of Darkness temporarily renders Kuros invisible

These are mere examples. In Wizards & Warriors III, Kuros gains the ability to switch classes from a Warrior, a Thief, and a Wizard. The Warrior is self-explanatory, though he gains a double axe and a shield that reflects projectiles. A thief can hold crowbars and throwing daggers that act as boomerangs. And Wizards can cast numerous spells and even levitate. Kuros can alternate between these classes for certain actions on a whim (though in Smash he doesn't have to transform into these classes as he does in his games), allowing for versatility. However, all three hold Kuros' biggest ability: Brandishing. Brandished weapons allow Kuros to shoot projectiles up or in front of him from the weapon he possesses. This can add range to his standard attacks and make aggressive players cautious.

Kuros' Final Smash would be nothing but the Dragon Tooth Spell. In Wizards & Warriors II, this spell allowed Kuros to turn his enemies into food to replenish his own health. And in Smash, he can use it to crunch down on any unlucky fool who crosses its path and damage them (or even KO them past 100%) while healing him at the same time.

ANYTHING ELSE?​

Kuros in-game is shown to be a fully armored knight. In the following spoiler, it lists every single different color palette shown of him.

Spoiler

Silver and Blue

Gold

Red

Pink

Purple (Left) and Green/Orange (Right)

Purple and Blue

However, much like how there's a barbarian Simon to the Kojima Simon, there's a barbarian Kuros to the knight Kuros. He shows up in promotional material just as much as the knight version does in the games. The following spoiler presents those as well. However, since we don't want the two mixed up, it's unlikely to be utilized.

Spoiler

The soundtrack of the games are also pretty neat.

Spoiler: Big List of Bangers

CONCLUSION​

If you're a fan of both obscure characters and retro characters, but also disinterested in current knights and warriors being presented, Kuros may be up your alley. He's definitely one of the most obscure Nintendo characters to exist, and it's highly doubtful for him to be recognized. But there can always be a miracle, right?

 

[Aurane]

I can get behind this.

 

[MacDaddyNook]

If we get Fabio from the Ironsword boxart as an alt, I'm in.

Honestly, with Microsoft bringing a new Battletoads game, I would love for them to revive Wizard and Warriors also.

 

[SEGAGameBoy]

Never played it before. I support!

 

[Oddball]

Kuros... now that's a character we haven't heard from in a long time.

It's not like his games were even good back in the day. Yet for some reason, they were popular enough to get multiple sequals.

Oh, what the heck. Why nnot include him. If nothing else, a regular non-anime looking knight would be a welcome change of pace. Even with Especially with his weird acorn shaped helmet.

 

[Mushroomguy12]

Super Rare Dudes art.

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