papagenos
Smash Champion
I Noticed there was no Super Smash Bros Ultimate support thread for Mach Rider and I've been really waving the flag for him/her lately as I believe he/she has a much better shot at getting in this game than most seem to be giving him/her credit for, so here is a support thread for Mach Rider!
Who is Mach Rider?
Mach Rider is the main protagonist of the 1985 NES game of the same name. The game is a "futuristic driving game" and "takes place in the year 2112, and planet Earth has been invaded by evil forces driving vehicles known as Quadrunners. The player controls Mach Rider, who travels from sector to sector on a high-powered superbike, searching for survivors and destroying any enemies in his path." The Mach Rider series has remained mostly dormant but is often considered the spiritual precursor to the F-Zero series and thus Mach Rider the spiritual precursor to captain falcon.
there was an arcade sequel called Vs. Mach Rider. in which as the player completed a level, an image was revealed of a woman with a dagger standing next to Mach Rider's bike. It is unclear whether this is meant to represent Mach Rider's true identity, or if she is a survivor of the resistance. she is not present in the NES original, but this has lead many to believe Mach Rider may secretly be a female protagonist much like Samus in the original Metroid game.
Mach Rider was also the name of a very old toy Nintendo sold back in 1972, this was just a race car with the same name as the series with little resemblance to the character Mach Rider but regardless the name and legacy is a very old part of Nintendo history.
What is Mach Riders connection to the Smash Bros. Series?
Mach Riders main theme music has appeared in the Smash Bros series since Melee and Mach Rider was even considered as a playable character for that game and Sakurai has said he really liked the characters name "Mach Rider". Mach Rider has been both a trophy and a sticker in past Smash Bros games. Sakurai has also mentioned when he asks people from his generation who they'd like to see in smash they usually say someone from Mach Rider or The Mysterious Murasame Castle .
What kind of a play style could Mach Rider have?
Mach Rider could fight on and off his bike. mach rider carries a large gun off of his bike and the bike itself also has guns mounted to it so Mach Rider would likely use a lot of projectiles. Mach Rider could be very fast on his bike while also being a fairly heavy fighter weighed down by armor and heavy weapons. The game also involves oil spills and barrels which could be worked into Mach Riders arsenal somehow. Mach Rider upon crashing breaks apart and then reforms with a very cool animation for a NES game, this could be part of Mach Riders K.O. animation in smash bros much like megamans unique one.
Why is Mach Rider likely to get into Super Smash Bros Ultimate?
There was an interview back in December 2016 where sakurai said he bought a "vifam robot" toy for its gun to model some upcoming game. the gun and even the toy itself look very similar to mach rider and his gun: https://nintendoeverything.com/masahiro-sakurai-bought-a-vifam-figure-as-a-reference-for-his-work/ Now sakurai isnt a 3D programmer needing objects to look at to model for the game, hes a visionary who needs to come up with how characters move and act in the game. if mach rider is always holding his gun he'd need to be able to model how mach rider would look when running, jumping, grabbing etc... while always holding that gun. its a visionary designer tool not a computer programing tool. sakurai isnt getting a toy for every item in the game to 3D model it for instance, thats unnecessary, its about being able to see if an idea for a characters movements will physically work and i can think of no other fighter who would carry around a long barreled gun like this.
Takamaru is an assist trophy in Super Smash Bros Ultimate and so we have no clear front runner for playable retro rep, and sakurai has in the past stated he's considered making mach rider playable which I believe makes him our front runner for retro character (if of course we get one this time). The other highly likely retro rep is excitebiker, though that would be a difficult character to make a moveset for, Mach Rider is much more of a fighter and i propose sakurai could opt to have Mach Rider represent excitebike as well (much the same way Duck Hunt also represents the game Wild Gunman) as both games involve riding on a motorcycle. sounds, animations, and color schemes from excitebike could be fused into Mach Riders playstyle and moveset to create a character that represents both series well.
Here is a video I made explaining my reasoning for why I believe Mach Rider has a good shot at becoming a playable character in Super Smash Bros Ultimate.
And here is a short animation mock up I made of Mach Rider transitioning from standing to riding using sound effects from the excitebike series as well as Mach Riders own theme song, which is no stranger to the Smash series.
Who is Mach Rider?
Mach Rider is the main protagonist of the 1985 NES game of the same name. The game is a "futuristic driving game" and "takes place in the year 2112, and planet Earth has been invaded by evil forces driving vehicles known as Quadrunners. The player controls Mach Rider, who travels from sector to sector on a high-powered superbike, searching for survivors and destroying any enemies in his path." The Mach Rider series has remained mostly dormant but is often considered the spiritual precursor to the F-Zero series and thus Mach Rider the spiritual precursor to captain falcon.
there was an arcade sequel called Vs. Mach Rider. in which as the player completed a level, an image was revealed of a woman with a dagger standing next to Mach Rider's bike. It is unclear whether this is meant to represent Mach Rider's true identity, or if she is a survivor of the resistance. she is not present in the NES original, but this has lead many to believe Mach Rider may secretly be a female protagonist much like Samus in the original Metroid game.
Mach Rider was also the name of a very old toy Nintendo sold back in 1972, this was just a race car with the same name as the series with little resemblance to the character Mach Rider but regardless the name and legacy is a very old part of Nintendo history.
What is Mach Riders connection to the Smash Bros. Series?
Mach Riders main theme music has appeared in the Smash Bros series since Melee and Mach Rider was even considered as a playable character for that game and Sakurai has said he really liked the characters name "Mach Rider". Mach Rider has been both a trophy and a sticker in past Smash Bros games. Sakurai has also mentioned when he asks people from his generation who they'd like to see in smash they usually say someone from Mach Rider or The Mysterious Murasame Castle .
What kind of a play style could Mach Rider have?
Mach Rider could fight on and off his bike. mach rider carries a large gun off of his bike and the bike itself also has guns mounted to it so Mach Rider would likely use a lot of projectiles. Mach Rider could be very fast on his bike while also being a fairly heavy fighter weighed down by armor and heavy weapons. The game also involves oil spills and barrels which could be worked into Mach Riders arsenal somehow. Mach Rider upon crashing breaks apart and then reforms with a very cool animation for a NES game, this could be part of Mach Riders K.O. animation in smash bros much like megamans unique one.
Why is Mach Rider likely to get into Super Smash Bros Ultimate?
There was an interview back in December 2016 where sakurai said he bought a "vifam robot" toy for its gun to model some upcoming game. the gun and even the toy itself look very similar to mach rider and his gun: https://nintendoeverything.com/masahiro-sakurai-bought-a-vifam-figure-as-a-reference-for-his-work/ Now sakurai isnt a 3D programmer needing objects to look at to model for the game, hes a visionary who needs to come up with how characters move and act in the game. if mach rider is always holding his gun he'd need to be able to model how mach rider would look when running, jumping, grabbing etc... while always holding that gun. its a visionary designer tool not a computer programing tool. sakurai isnt getting a toy for every item in the game to 3D model it for instance, thats unnecessary, its about being able to see if an idea for a characters movements will physically work and i can think of no other fighter who would carry around a long barreled gun like this.
Takamaru is an assist trophy in Super Smash Bros Ultimate and so we have no clear front runner for playable retro rep, and sakurai has in the past stated he's considered making mach rider playable which I believe makes him our front runner for retro character (if of course we get one this time). The other highly likely retro rep is excitebiker, though that would be a difficult character to make a moveset for, Mach Rider is much more of a fighter and i propose sakurai could opt to have Mach Rider represent excitebike as well (much the same way Duck Hunt also represents the game Wild Gunman) as both games involve riding on a motorcycle. sounds, animations, and color schemes from excitebike could be fused into Mach Riders playstyle and moveset to create a character that represents both series well.
Here is a video I made explaining my reasoning for why I believe Mach Rider has a good shot at becoming a playable character in Super Smash Bros Ultimate.
And here is a short animation mock up I made of Mach Rider transitioning from standing to riding using sound effects from the excitebike series as well as Mach Riders own theme song, which is no stranger to the Smash series.
Smash bros. introduced the whole battle duo and ice bending elements to the characters
