King Hippo for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

[SEGAGameBoy]

First Appearance: Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! - September 18, 1987 (NES, Famicom, PlayChoice-10, Virtual Console)

Who?
King Hippo is a Punch-Out character. One of the most iconic Punch-Out characters to be exact! He is from the fictional Hippo Island. His age, weight, and height are all unknown. In the Title Defense mode of the Wii Version, he has a manhole covering his weak spot (his stomach). So, maybe that could be one of his alternates if he gets in. He appeared in the animated series, Captain N: The Video Game Master and had a cameo appearance in the comic book, Scott Pilgrim & the Infinite Sadness as a boss.

Reviews
The only Punch-Out game that has a rating is Punch-Out for the Wii. I guess it's because all the others were for the arcade, so you couldn't really review them.
Here's IGN reviewing Punch-Out for the Wii: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-DAaDZ8mTjY
Here's The Irate Gamer reviewing the original Punch-Out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J1tA5J8gNZs
Here's Battle Geek Plus reviewing Super Punch-Out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iZnFvl2cEt0

Role in Smash?
Well, originally in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Little Mac was an Assist Trophy and a trophy. In Super Smash Bros. for Wii U/3DS, he graduated from Assist Trophy to playable character. He even got his own stage: Boxing Ring. There's also a bunch of trophies:
Both Versions
Little Mac & Alt.
Doc Louis
Glass Joe
Bald Bull
Mr. Sandman
Wii U Version
Giga Mac
Von Kaiser
Piston Hondo
Don Flamenco
King Hippo
Great Tiger
Soda Popinski
In the upcoming Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Little Mac and Boxing Ring are returning (obviously) and the Music from Little Mac's reveal trailer will be a Soundtrack. Here's hoping King Hippo will possibly be playable!
Why King Hippo? What would he even play like?
Well, King Hippo is a heavyweight villain. Something Smash is kinda lacking. I know we have Ridley, and that King K. Rool is heavily rumored. Dark Samus is kinda rumored as an Echo Fighter. But, what about King Hippo? Will we ever get another Punch-Out Representative? Probably not. But hey! A guy can dream right? I feel like King Hippo could be like Little Mac, fighting-style wise. He's great on the ground, but weak in the air. And considering how fat he is, he could be around Ganondorf's weight.
What are his chances?
They're kinda average. King Hippo placed third in most iconic Punch-Out characters with Mike Tyson coming in second, and Soda Popinski in first. So, yeah. King Hippo might not happen. But, there's still a chance. Ever since we got Cloud and Ryu, anything can happen!
What are Sakurai's thoughts on Punch-Out?
This is what he said:
Sakurai: You know what sansho is, of course.

Interviewer: He’s green too, isn’t he (laughs).

Sakurai: When I requested the pixel artwork from one of the designers for Little Mac’s newcomer page, we could never get it just right.. [Little Mac] turned into some strange old man.

Interviewer: Like, “who is this?” (laughs)

Sakurai: I explained, checked what the designer had finished and asked them to re-do it. After around 5-6 attempts it still wasn’t finished so I added my own pixel art.

Interviewer: From the man himself. (laughs). That’s a very interesting anecdote.

Sakurai: The pixel art for the first Punch Out!! is amazing. The fact that Mr. Shigeru Miyamoto drew them is also amazing.

Interviewer: He drew it himself?

Sakurai: I heard for wireframe Little Mac, he used big graph paper and drew it one by one.

Interviewer: That’s a lot of detail!
Sakurai: At that time and even today, when you look at it you can tell he did a great job with it

What's holding King Hippo back?
Well, we have Bowser, Ganondorf, and Ridley. And King K. Rool, like I said, is heavily rumored. They said he would be revealed along with 2 other characters this month. So, it's July 24. When are they going to announce them? Also, people might think "We have enough heavyweight villains!" So, I'd say his chances are somewhere in the middle.

Supporters
Cap'n Jack
GoodGrief741
MrBill0327
Oddball
Pizza Robo
RadEpicGaming
SEGAGameBoy (Me!)
Souldin

 

[GoodGrief741]

Hell yeah. Punch-Out is too good a franchise to not get another character, and the characters are all awesome, but if there’s only one more, it should be Hippo.

 

[SEGAGameBoy]

Hell yeah. Punch-Out is too good a franchise to not get another character, and the characters are all awesome, but if there’s only one more, it should be Hippo.

Added!

 

[MrBill0327]

Add me too the list I have supported king hippo for a long time

 

[SEGAGameBoy]

Add me too the list I have supported king hippo for a long time

Added!

 

[Juliusaurus]

Playable is a neat idea, but I'm not getting my hope up, instead, I'll just hope for this.

Captain N Mii Fighter Costume
Pit (Kid Icarus)
Mega Man
Simon Belmont

Mother Brain AT
King Hippo AT
Eggplant Wizard AT

We're so close...

 

[SEGAGameBoy]

King Hippo does have the potential to be an Assist Trophy. But, I'm hoping he's playable. Would you like to be added?

 

[Juliusaurus]

I'll pass for now. I'm more in support for him as an Assist Trophy. If ever that changes, I'll let ya know. But if the Punch-Out series ever does get a second rep, he'd be a good candidate (though I'd probably just look towards Doc Louis as an Echo, perhaps, a much larger variant of Little Mac anyway, if that can still qualify as an Echo).

 

[Cap'n Jack]

I am a Mac Main, but I think a Mac echo is more likely (Mr. Dream a slower, more powerful Mac with even stronger super armor)

Still, I’d support him

 

[Souldin]

That's strange; this thread isn't listed on the Newcomer Support Thread Directory's list. It would explain why I had a hard time finding it.

In any case, please put me down as a supporter for King Hippo. I was a big supporter for Little Mac back in the day (pre-joining Smashboards though; I discovered this place during SSB4 time) but would love to see even more Punch-Out representation, with King Hippo in my opinion being the ideal choice for a unique 2nd rep for the series.

 

[SEGAGameBoy]

Alright then! Added!

 

[Pizza Robo]

I support King Hippo to be in Smash Bros :D

 

[Oddball]

If Punch-out gets a second character it needs to be the King of Hippo Island.

 

[RadEpicGaming]

First Appearance: Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! - September 18, 1987 (NES, Famicom, PlayChoice-10, Virtual Console)

Who?
King Hippo is a Punch-Out character. One of the most iconic Punch-Out characters to be exact! He is from the fictional Hippo Island. His age, weight, and height are all unknown. In the Title Defense mode of the Wii Version, he has a manhole covering his weak spot (his stomach). So, maybe that could be one of his alternates if he gets in. He appeared in the animated series, Captain N: The Video Game Master and had a cameo appearance in the comic book, Scott Pilgrim & the Infinite Sadness as a boss.

Reviews
The only Punch-Out game that has a rating is Punch-Out for the Wii. I guess it's because all the others were for the arcade, so you couldn't really review them.
Here's IGN reviewing Punch-Out for the Wii: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-DAaDZ8mTjY
Here's The Irate Gamer reviewing the original Punch-Out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J1tA5J8gNZs
Here's Battle Geek Plus reviewing Super Punch-Out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iZnFvl2cEt0

Role in Smash?
Well, originally in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Little Mac was an Assist Trophy and a trophy. In Super Smash Bros. for Wii U/3DS, he graduated from Assist Trophy to playable character. He even got his own stage: Boxing Ring. There's also a bunch of trophies:
Both Versions
Little Mac & Alt.
Doc Louis
Glass Joe
Bald Bull
Mr. Sandman
Wii U Version
Giga Mac
Von Kaiser
Piston Hondo
Don Flamenco
King Hippo
Great Tiger
Soda Popinski
In the upcoming Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Little Mac and Boxing Ring are returning (obviously) and the Music from Little Mac's reveal trailer will be a Soundtrack. Here's hoping King Hippo will possibly be playable!
Why King Hippo? What would he even play like?
Well, King Hippo is a heavyweight villain. Something Smash is kinda lacking. I know we have Ridley, and that King K. Rool is heavily rumored. Dark Samus is kinda rumored as an Echo Fighter. But, what about King Hippo? Will we ever get another Punch-Out Representative? Probably not. But hey! A guy can dream right? I feel like King Hippo could be like Little Mac, fighting-style wise. He's great on the ground, but weak in the air. And considering how fat he is, he could be around Ganondorf's weight.
What are his chances?
They're kinda average. King Hippo placed third in most iconic Punch-Out characters with Mike Tyson coming in second, and Soda Popinski in first. So, yeah. King Hippo might not happen. But, there's still a chance. Ever since we got Cloud and Ryu, anything can happen!
What are Sakurai's thoughts on Punch-Out?
This is what he said:
Sakurai: You know what sansho is, of course.

Interviewer: He’s green too, isn’t he (laughs).

Sakurai: When I requested the pixel artwork from one of the designers for Little Mac’s newcomer page, we could never get it just right.. [Little Mac] turned into some strange old man.

Interviewer: Like, “who is this?” (laughs)

Sakurai: I explained, checked what the designer had finished and asked them to re-do it. After around 5-6 attempts it still wasn’t finished so I added my own pixel art.

Interviewer: From the man himself. (laughs). That’s a very interesting anecdote.

Sakurai: The pixel art for the first Punch Out!! is amazing. The fact that Mr. Shigeru Miyamoto drew them is also amazing.

Interviewer: He drew it himself?

Sakurai: I heard for wireframe Little Mac, he used big graph paper and drew it one by one.

Interviewer: That’s a lot of detail!
Sakurai: At that time and even today, when you look at it you can tell he did a great job with it

What's holding King Hippo back?
Well, we have Bowser, Ganondorf, and Ridley. And King K. Rool, like I said, is heavily rumored. They said he would be revealed along with 2 other characters this month. So, it's July 24. When are they going to announce them? Also, people might think "We have enough heavyweight villains!" So, I'd say his chances are somewhere in the middle.

Supporters
Cap'n Jack
GoodGrief741
MrBill0327
Oddball
Pizza Robo
SEGAGameBoy (Me!)
Souldin

RadEpicGamer

 

[RadEpicGaming]

I vote for him I already support cooking mama and now king hippo is my second

 

[Doomguy46]

I support!

 

[DarthEnderX]

Supported.

If I can't get him as playable, I at least want him and Eggplant Wizard as Assist Trophies.

And of course a Captain N Mii Gunner costume.

 

[Oddball]

He also really needs to have a blue skinned alternate costume.

 

[MAtgSy]

Ah, there's already a thread for him.

It's not a 100% even fit, but King Hippo could be a semi-echo/clone of K. Rool. Both are large, fat, & wear crowns. Plus K. Rool has at least move involving a boxing glove. For Hippo's version of down B, the manhole cover appears on his belly. The blunderbuss & chopter pack would be weirder fit admittedly.

 

[Jomosensual]

He should have at least been a boss

 

[DarthEnderX]

It's not a 100% even fit, but King Hippo could be a semi-echo/clone of K. Rool.

Echoes/clones shouldn't be from different series.

Ganondorf is the only one we have, and that desperately needs to change.

 

[Oddball]

I went ahead and did some color schemes for King Hippo. I wanted to use Mad Clown from the SNES game given their similiar body types but Clown's facepaint didn't work with Hippo's unique facial features.

 

[RetrogamerMax]

I had no idea Hippo had a support thread. I definitely support.

Hell yeah. Punch-Out is too good a franchise to not get another character, and the characters are all awesome, but if there’s only one more, it should be Hippo.

Him or Soda Poppinski.

Ah, there's already a thread for him.

It's not a 100% even fit, but King Hippo could be a semi-echo/clone of K. Rool. Both are large, fat, & wear crowns. Plus K. Rool has at least move involving a boxing glove. For Hippo's version of down B, the manhole cover appears on his belly. The blunderbuss & chopter pack would be weirder fit admittedly.

In no way could King Hippo ever be a Echo of K. Rool. Actually, there really isn't any character that could be K. Rool's Echo. He is just that unique.

 

[DarthEnderX]

In no way could King Hippo ever be a Echo of K. Rool.

I agree, but, if anyone could, it'd be King Hippo.

They have the same size, same body shape, they both wear crowns, so they can both Crownarang, and KH could easily replicate Gut Check by using the manhole cover from his TD mode.

 

[RetrogamerMax]

I agree, but, if anyone could, it'd be King Hippo.

They have the same size, same body shape, they both wear crowns, so they can both Crownarang, and KH could easily replicate Gut Check by using the manhole cover from his TD mode.

But you see Mac even when he is in the air punches so I can't see Hippo air kicking people like K. Rool. And they would have to take K. Rool's Blunderbuss and Jetpack out of Hippo's moveset and exchange those moves with another fighter. Who? I don't know.

 

[DarthEnderX]

And they would have to take K. Rool's Blunderbuss and Jetpack out of Hippo's moveset and exchange those moves with another fighter. Who? I don't know.

Or just give him new ones.

Like his recovery could be like Incineroar's Alolan Whip, where he summons ring ropes(or his hammock), only instead of throwing his enemy into them, he bounces himself off them.

 

[RetrogamerMax]

Or just give him new ones.

Like his recovery could be like Incineroar's Alolan Whip, where he summons ring ropes, only instead of throwing his enemy into them, he bounces himself off them.

New Specials would have to be implemented. I think it could happen though. Ganondorf in Melee while being a clone of Captain Falcon, had one move that was unique that wasn't taken from Falcon or any other character in the game and that was his Forward Air. Unlike Falcon where he does his knee of justice, Ganondorf just punches in Forward Air and he had that before they turned him into a semi-clone later on.

 

[Mr. Stevenson]

I’m all in for King Hippo.
Still can’t believe it took four Smash Brothers entries for Little Mac to get in the roster, imo he should’ve been part of the original Smash 64 crew.

Anyways, since Mike Tyson is and will always be a pipe dream, yes, King Hippo is definitely the best option for a Punch-Out villain.

I do wonder if they’ll implement the vulnerability of his belly in the game. Maybe they could have it being covered by a frying pan like in the Punch Out Wii game, and it would work kind of like King K.rool’s body armor where if you hit it enough times, you’ll break it thus making him more vulnerable in the front.

 

[Handy Man]

I support King Hippo. If Punch-Out got another representative, it would definitely be him in my opinion. With an appearance in Captain N, as well as being among the most iconic characters in the series alongside Little Mac, Glass Joe, and Bald Bull, he would fit well into Smash. He would be another fun heavyweight character with a goofy personality, and it would be cool to see if he would use anything from his title defense fight, like the manhole cover. Out of all the characters I still want, King Hippo may not get many requests at all, but he's among my top five most wanted. He's up there with Phoenix Wright, Dixie Kong, Paper Mario, and Crash Bandicoot in my opinion. I do not think Punch-Out will get any more representatives any time soon, but I will pop off so hard if King Hippo is ever added to Smash.

 

[Oddball]

I do wonder if they’ll implement the vulnerability of his belly in the game. Maybe they could have it being covered by a frying pan like in the Punch Out Wii game, and it would work kind of like King K.rool’s body armor where if you hit it enough times, you’ll break it thus making him more vulnerable in the front.

If anything, I'd save the manhole cover for a shield special move, but even then I don't think it's required.

Just makes sure he has lots of punches, maybe a belly bounce attack or two, and a taunt where his pants fall down and you're set.

 

[Gaming-101]

Hi so this is my new account. I haven’t really been on SmashBoards in a while, so yeah this is my new account and I‘m really excited for an ARMS character finally being in Smash! I don’t really care who it is, i’m just glad that a character from this game is being playable!

 

[RealLuigisWearPink]

Somehow never knew this was here! I'm down for King Hippo

 

[Oddball]

Hi so this is my new account. I haven’t really been on SmashBoards in a while, so yeah this is my new account and I‘m really excited for an ARMS character finally being in Smash! I don’t really care who it is, i’m just glad that a character from this game is being playable!

You ... might be in the wrong topic.

 

[Gaming-101]

No I know I’m not. I’m just saying. My main point is that this is SEGAGameBoy. This is my new account.

 

[Oddball]

Looking at this image here, I've gotten an idea for King Hippo's stage.


A crudely made boxing ring (constructed from thick rope and bamboo poles and such) on a small tropical island. basically it would be a combination of Little Mac's stage and Tortimer Island.

 

[Mr. Stevenson]

Gotta say, of all the famous Nintendo characters that aren’t popular picks out there, I really find it criminal that King Hippo is one of them.

Punch-Out is clearly more than big enough to earn a second character in the roster and thankfully people have already made themselves be heard with Little Mac’s demand back in Smash 4, so why not King Hippo now, who’s arguably the most iconic opponent in the series?​

 

[Oddball]

Playable is a neat idea, but I'm not getting my hope up, instead, I'll just hope for this.

Captain N Mii Fighter Costume
Pit (Kid Icarus)
Mega Man
Simon Belmont

Mother Brain AT
King Hippo AT
Eggplant Wizard AT

We're so close...

If he gets in, this would be a good opportunity to sneak in a Captain N Mii. Maybe even an Eggplant Wizard Mii for Swordfighter like they did with Ashley.

 

[DarthEnderX]

Hell yes. Captain N Mii Gunner and Eggplant Wizard AT.

 

[ninjahmos]

I think it would be pretty interesting to see King Hippo in Smash. I also think Doc Louis would make a nice Echo Fighter, or at least semi-clone, for Little Mac. (Although it’s probably too late for that NOW.) BTW Some of you may or may not have already seen this, but in case anybody’s interested, I made a petition for Nintendo and Next Level Games to make a reboot of the SNES iteration of Punch-Out!!, known as Super Punch-Out!! Here it is: https://www.change.org/p/nintendo-and-next-level-games-make-a-switch-reboot-of-super-punch-out

 

[DarthEnderX]

I just want them to make a sequel to Wii Punch-Out with the Super Punch-Out characters.