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Kao the Kangaroo Punches his way into Smash! (also the Kao Social)

smash puffle

Smash Ace
Joined
Feb 13, 2010
Messages
747
Location
Guatemala


Who is this cute little guy?
This is Kao the Kangaroo. He is the titular character of the platforming series of the same name.
The first title was released in the year 2000 for Dreamcast and PC, and a Gameboy Advance version was released over a year later. A sequel, commonly known as Kao Round 2 was released in 2005 on PS2, Gamecube and Xbox. This is the most well known title due to it being across all console platforms at that time. The third title, Kao: Mystery of the Volcano was only released on PC with no english release, and as such it is the least known game in the trilogy.
This series, despite being very obscure is well known for being from mediocre to very decent, as claimed by various critics at the time these games were new.
These are 3D platformers where you control Kao himself, a cute kangaroo using his trusty boxing gloves, to punch and platform your way across savannas, forests, pirate bays and mysterious islands in order to save Kao's family and friends from the evil Hunter named.. Hunter... yeah.
The trilogy was developed by Tate Interactive, a polish studio who's still active to this day. The Kao series on the other hand... is not. It only had 3 games with a couple of ports and that's it.

Such an obscure character in Smash? Really?
Kao and his series is really, really obscure, let alone being inactive for more than 10 years, also aside from his mixed quality in his games, so of course his chances on being in Super Smash Bros. are pretty much nonexistent. He's not anywhere near as memorable as Crash or Rayman either.
That being said, this is a speculation thread. It is meant to be fun to imagine out there characters that have either mayor chances or little to no chances of being included in the game.
So, let's forget about that detail for a moment and make a big "what if", if Kao had actual chances of being in Smash, and what exactly would he bring to the table.

What would he do in Smash then?
As a boxing kangaroo with gloves, he would be a very athletic fighter with good movility on the ground and high jumping ability. He would also be able to do some quick punching on the ground just like Little Mac, but not as strong and not as quick. Instead, unlike Little Mac, Kao has good movility in the air, and is able to pack a punch airbone with decent coverage, letting him to get combos much easier than Mac.
His specials would relate to his main moves from his games, of course. He's able to lock onto enemies and throw a throwing punch to his opponents from a distance. His up special would be the flyinig helmet he gets in the second game, or the glider he gets in the third game... or a mix of both. His down special would be his ground pound move.
As for looks, his most iconic look is his look from Round 2, but there can also be a color referencing his original banana colored self without shorts and shoes, and another set of skins based on his look in the third game.

Can I support him?
Of course! Feel free to do so. As well you're also free to not support him, I will understand.


Moveset:
Moveset made by me.

Stats:
Weight:
Heavier than Pikachu, lighter than Diddy Kong
Walk Speed: Average
Run Speed: A little slower than Pikachu
Jump Height: Almost as high as Luigi
Fall Speed: Faster than Mario's
Size: About the size of Luigi (counting his ears)
Crawl: No
Wall Jump: No
Wall Cling: No
Tether Grab: No

Entrance: Pelican
One of his pelican friends from the second game holds Kao in the air and drops him to the stage.

Standing animation: His standing animation from the second game.

Idle 1: He looks around while he uses his hands like a pair of binoculars similar to the second game.
Idle 2: He waves at the screen waiting for the player just like the first game.

Walk: Just like all of his games. It is also his running animation from all his games if the player is holding the analogue stick all the way.

Run: He runs like a kangaroo. On his games to do this you'll need a power-up or some scripted chase sequence.

Jumps: Simple string of double jumps exacly like his games. As a kangaroo, his first jump will go pretty high.

Swimming animation: Standard swimming animation... BUT. When he summerges into the water, he expands his neck so his head always goes above the water. (Look it up)
He will not be able to hold it for very long of course.

Jabs:
He does the same 3 punch move he does in the second game.

Dash Attack:
He does the roll move he does in the second and third game.

Tilts:
Side Tilt:
He does his two-punch attack from the first game.
Up Tilt: He swings around his ears like two whips. This references the second game how he uses his ears to grab nets and such.
Down Tilt: He does the tail attack from the first game.

Aerials:
Neutral Air:
He does the tail attack from the second game.
Forward Air: Does a right hook.
Back Air: Swings his tail from the back.
Up Air: Swings both of his ears as a single hit.
Down Air: Does his ground pound move from the second game. It is able to spike foes. It is a dangerous move if you don't land he hit and theres no ground to land on leading you to lose a stock.

Grabs:
Pummel:
Punches with a standard punch.
Forward Throw: Pushes the opponent and Kao kicks out his foe with his kangaroo feet.
Back Throw: Grabs his opponent, pushes it to the back and swings his tail.
Up Throw: Grabs the opponent and throws it with all his might.
Down Throw: Puts his opponent on the ground and stomps on it.

Smash Attacks:
Forward Smash:
Does a strong punch to the torso.
Up Smash: Does a spinning uppercut.
Down Smash: Does a strong stomp attack.

Specials:
Neutral Special:
Boomerang
Kao in the second game is able to throw boomerangs at foes. Unlike Link's boomerangs, Kao's don't come back at him if they hit an opponent. If they don't hit anything, the boomerang will indeed come back, but it won't return to Kao, instead, they follow a fixed trajectory.

Side Special: Flying Punch
In his games, Kao can lock up to an enemy and throw a flying punch at foes. In Kao 1 it is a power up, but in the other games it is a main form of attack. It works similarly in Smash. You can lock up to other fighters and move left and right but can't jump. You do this by holding the B button until you let go. The longer you hold the button, the longer and stronger the move will be.

Up Special: Flying Helmet/Paraglider
Kao gets a big uplift from his special helmet. In this first state, the helmet does some damage in his jumping animation, and the second state would involve his paraglider from the third game, so he could fall slowly like Mr. Game & Watch, but his glider could work similarly to Peach's except without doing any damage.

Down Special: Dynamite
He drops either a bar or a whole string of dynamite. It is random what it could be. Unlike Link, Kao will not grab the explosive. The item is grabable though, and has a shorter time limit than Link's bombs. The strentgh of the explosive depends on the amount of dynamite attached.

Final Smash: Volcano
Kao's plane from the third game shows up and Kao rides it and flies off, a volcano suddenly shows up and starts erupting. Fireballs come from the sky as a result and players are set to avoid them, which is pretty difficult. Then a big volcanic rock on fire falls from the sky and explodes on impact.
Kao later returns to the battlefield safe and sound.

Taunts:
Up Taunt:
He pulls out a jump rope and starts jumping around. This references one of his idle animations from the second game.
Side Taunt: Starts happily strolling around in place. This references his strolling animation from the second game, which happens after he beats a set of enemies.
Down Taunt: Raises his arm, looks at the screen, and says "I'll do my best!" in that cute childish Australian voice.

Victory Animations:
VA1:
Happily strolls to the camera and says "I did it!" in that cute kangaroo voice.
VA2: Does one of his idle animations from the second game where he flexes his muscles and starts chuckling like the cute kangaroo he is.
VA3: He pulls his alarm clock from the first game, looks at the time and runs off for a new adventure.


Stock Icons:
These are styled in the style of Smash Bros. Ultimate. They're all based on his designs from all 3 games.
The icon itself references the life icon in the first game.
(Kao Round 2)
(Kao 1)
(Kao: Mystery of the Volcano)


Supporter List:
Supporters so far:
smash puffle (me)
Tomatoboxer
SEGAGameBoy
Shado-will
chocolatejr9


Thank you for reading and have a nice day! :)
 
Last edited:

smash puffle

Smash Ace
Joined
Feb 13, 2010
Messages
747
Location
Guatemala
I updated the original post to include a moveset for this little guy made by me.
EDIT: I also updated the OP with Ultimate styled stock icons.
 
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Shado-will

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I loved Kao Round 2 as a kid, and I just found out this existed. Even though I know he has practically no chance at all for DLC, it would be appreciated if I could be added to the supporters list.
 
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chocolatejr9

Smash Hero
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Sep 30, 2018
Messages
8,261
Eh, I'm a sucker for obscure platformers, even if I never played his games. I'll support.

Also, does anyone know who owns the rights to Kao the Kangaroo? I've been having thoughts about THQ Nordic buying the rights to this series (I trust them, they actually CARE about the IPs they buy), and I was wondering if that's even possible.
 

Shado-will

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All I know is that Tate Interactive made the games, they most likely still own Kao but who knows. I hope he gets a reboot someday, but it's probably not likely.
 
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smash puffle

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Tate just made an official Discord server, and they made a separate channel specifically for Kao to discuss about him, show your love for the character and other things like that.
 

smash puffle

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chocolatejr9

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Good news guys! Kao Round 2 is coming to Steam!
And it's only $2! These guys are the heroes we need...
 

smash puffle

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Guybrush20X6

Creator of Lego Theory
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BIG KAO NEWS! A new Kao the Kangaroo game is now in development, this is amazing!
Nice.

It's always good to see 3D platformers get some more love.
 

smash puffle

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I'm gonna be honest with you guys... I don't know how to feel about this new design. I know thats a recurring thing that happens with platformer mascots and all like with Crash, but at least Crash still looks like Crash. I dunno, will see if this design grows on me.
 

Shado-will

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I'm gonna be honest with you guys... I don't know how to feel about this new design. I know thats a recurring thing that happens with platformer mascots and all like with Crash, but at least Crash still looks like Crash. I dunno, will see if this design grows on me.
Yeah, I feel the same to be honest. When they first showed off a silhouette of his new design in one of their earlier tweets, I had already noticed a big difference between this one and the old ones. I understand the design change though, since it's been a while since the last game. He definitely looks a lot older now, which kinda takes away from his adorableness. That being said, I don't hate the new design, but I much prefer the ones from Round 2 and Mystery of the Volcano.
 

chocolatejr9

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smash puffle

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Happy 20th anniversary to Kao the Kangaroo!
 
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