Zoboomafoo
While walking in the woods one day, Chris and Martin saw something strange: a little leaping lemur who liked to bounce and play. This was Zoboomafoo, a Coquerel's sifaka. Portrayed by a live lemur, a poorly-crafted puppet, a traditionally-animated cartoon character, and a clay figure all in the 22-minute span of every episode of his self-titled show, Zoboomafoo, or Zoboo for short, interacted with Chris and Martin Kratt, two brothers who work as zoologists and nature television hosts. Zoboomafoo was a normal lemur under most circumstances. However, after being fed from the Kratts' animal food machine, he'd be “coaxed” into talking, providing his unenlightened input on the large catalogue of animals that wandered into Animal Junction, the setting of the series. Learning from all of the various animal friends he met, Zoboo learned fantastic facts about the natural world, and that despite all of the differences between creatures, we're really all the same.
While Zoboomafoo isn't a natural fighter and certainly doesn't appear to have a violent bone in his body, his natural energy, inquisitive playfulness, and boundless primate athleticism bestow him with natural physical prowess that lend themselves well to combat. He comes leaping into Smash Bros. with an enthusiastic curiosity about other creatures and a playful attitude, which feature in his moveset.
Statistics
Size ~ 3
Weight ~ 2
Jumping ~ 9
Ground Speed ~ 6
Traction ~ 6
Air Speed ~ 10
Fall Speed ~ 8
Being a lemur, Zoboo is most comfortable with arboreal locomotion, and there's no doubt that he'd be the most mobile fighter in the cast if all matches took place in trees. Unfortunately for the little lemur, that's not the case. However, sifaka lemurs are also excellent leapers. In fact, it's probably the activity that Zoboo enjoys the most, and it grants him the ability to wall-jump and wall-cling, in addition to his natural ability to crawl. Zoboo can even wall-climb! Because his hind legs are developed for powerful jumps, he functions well in the air, and glides through it with ease. His bounding expertise and air speed also bestow him astounding jump length, being able to clear 1/3 of Final Destination with a short-hop; his jump height, while decent, is more lacking. His dash speed isn't the greatest, but it's effective enough to get him out of tight spaces, though he should be relying on jumps for that anyway.
Being an 8-pound lemur lends itself to a weight problem for Zoboo, and his small frame can make approaching difficult. This, of course, should be kept in mind while playing.
Zoboo's Wall-Climbing
The wall-climb is a simple yet significant technique that Zoboo can make use of. While wall-clinging, pressing upward on the joystick causes the lemur to quickly scramble a short distance up the surface, just as he'd climb a tree. However, we all knows walls aren't trees, and their fine surfaces are difficult to cling to. This limits Zoboo's ability to climb indefinitely. After a short scramble only the length of Ganondorf's aerial Flame Choke, Zoboo begins to fall. As such, the wall-climb is not to be abused as an instant savior from death, but is to be appreciated as a small boost to possibly help Zoboo recover should he need just a short distance more, reasoning that becomes apparent after seeing his recovery move. More importantly, it serves as a way to quickly dodge attacks.
Zoboo can also lower himself by pressing downward on the joystick. This causes the lemur to slide the same length down the wall before dropping.
Animations
Idle Stance
Zoboo stands hunched over, arms out in front of him and his knees pointed outward, legs curled. It's a standard way for tree-dwelling primates to keep themselves balanced on a perch or the unsuitably flat ground. Always full of restless energy, he sways back and forth, his tail wiggling around in excitement.
Crouch
Squats down, knees bent, arms held out at his sides. He instinctively swipes his head to scout in front of and behind himself.
Crawl
Zoboo gets down onto his stomach, and crawls by reaching out his right arm to pitch his claws into the ground, then pulling himself forward with his left arm. He applies his tree-climbing prowess to “climb” the ground.
Walk
Zoboo, standing up bipedally, curiously inches forward, shambling sideways, with one leg in front of the other and his front or back facing the screen. He holds up both arms, one in front of himself and the other at his side, which helps him keep balance.
Dash
Putting his great leaping skills to practice, Zoboo bounds forward, hopping off of the ground every time he lands. Leaning forward slightly like a kangaroo, Zoboo kicks off of the ground, raising his arms while in the air and lowering them when touching down. Zoboo actually bounces high enough with each leap that low-flying projectiles (such as Kirby's Final Cutter) and low-sweeping attacks (such as Marth's Down Tilt) can be evaded. While Zoboo's leaping along, he makes sure to make note of this, by constantly repeating “Leap, leap, leap, leap...”
Jump
When jumping straight upward, Zoboo raises his arms and thrusts off of his legs. When jumping backwards, Zoboo turns to the side, holding his arms together, and kicks off of the ground with much force, legs held out straight in front of him. While jumping forward, the lemur leans forward, holding his arms up beside his head, and kicks with great force, legs straight behind him. As he flies forward, he brings his legs forward, bending his knees at his sides, legs curled and feet facing forward.
Aerial Jump
When jumping upward or forward, Zoboomafoo raises his arms and brings his legs apart to push himself ever higher, though his vertical jump distance, while above average, doesn't match his horizontal distance. While jumping backward, he turns around, arms held together at his neck and knees bent.
Shield
Bends his knees slightly, tail sticking up along his back. He places both paws over his head, with one hand covering the top of his head and the other over his snout, blocking his face.
Sidestep
Quickly leaps backward into the background, then returns to the foreground.
Roll
Somersaults forward, paws protecting his face. When rolling backward, the lemur bounds backward by kicking off of the ground with both legs. Has distance to rival Lucario's roll.
Air Dodge
Holding his arms together at his neck, Zoboo twirls around horizontally. He lets out his signature “Woo-ah-ha!” laugh, in excitement at possibly dodging a fatal attack.
Helpless Fall
Like any poor lemur that fails to grab a branch while swinging, poor Zoboo falls back-first, limbs held upward, frantically grasping for something to hold onto.
Edgehang
Zoboo holds onto the edge of the stage with both arms, fingers curled over the rim. He also grasps the bottom of the ledge with his feet, legs curled to provide ample support.
Wall-Cling
Zoboo clings to the wall in typical sifaka fashion, body pressed against the wall, and both hands and feet pressing against it. He holds one arm above his head and the other out beside him, and looks backward, face suspicious of attack.
Wall-Jump
Kicks off of the wall with one leg, arms held outward as if ready to grab onto the next tree branch.
Trip
Failing to make a successful leap, he tumbles forward. Sitting with legs crossed, Zoboo's head dizzily sways, and he scratches his scalp with one arm.
Sleep
Zoboomafoo sleeps by sitting, knees bent and arms resting atop them. He snores, rising his head with each exhale. Immediately upon being put to sleep, Zoboo utters the repetitive phrase: “Sleep, sleep, sleep...”
Special Moves
Neutral Special – Gooble Berry
In the magical world of Zobooland, Zoboomafoo lives with his colorful cast of friends. One such friend is Gooble, who absolutely adores Gooble Berries, sweet fruits that also happen to be a token favorite food for Zoboo himself. Gooble Berries are bouncy and make excellent balls; one of Zoboo's friends, Narchi, has a favorite pastimes of playing catch with them.
Zoboomafo makes use of these berries by tossing them as a projectile. He throws one fist-sized berry at a time, which bounces almost exactly like the fireballs of Super Mario Bros., or a tennis ball. It hops as high as Kirby's height, so smaller characters can duck underneath this projectile. The purple fruit bounces forward at the speed of Pikachu's Thunderjolt until it either hits an enemy or obstacle, bounces off a ledge, or hits the ground 6 times (it will then splatter on the ground and disappear). Another berry cannot be thrown until the last one thrown disappears.
When they hit an opponent, berries splatter, bursting into a mess of pulp and juice. They deal 8% damage and no knockback. However, they have excellent stun, delivering a slight recoil to those they hit. This makes them an ever-present threat, in consideration of their travel speed and pattern of flight.
Up Special – Cling n' Swing
As a lemur, Zoboomafoo loves to swing. Vines, ropes, the show's logo, you name it. When this move is used in the air, a vine appears in Zoboo's hand, running to the top of the screen. The vine swings forward as soon as it comes out, with Zoboo clinging to it near its bottom with all limbs. Moving the length of 3 Bowsers, the vine reaches the end of its swing, and Zoboo lets go, falling from that point as the vine vanishes in a semi-helpless state (much like Sonic). If Zob sweetspots a ledge, however, the move instantly cancels and he doesn't fall. The vine is essentially intangible, as players pass right through it and it lacks a hitbox, but the move can be canceled by opponents who attack the vine with a physical move, sending Zoboo into helpless fall. Three actions can be taken during the short duration of this move.
By pressing upward or downward on the joystick, Zoboo will climb or descend the vine for as long as the input is held. Since Zoboo clings to the bottom of the vine by default, holding down will cause him to drop straight down from the vine, essentially canceling the move, though the vine will continue to swing forward until it reaches the end of its swing before disappearing. Zoboo can also climb up the vine, which allows him to gain vertical height from this recovery. However, there is not enough time for Zoboo to climb more than 5 character spaces up the vine, and the choice to increase vertical recovery comes with a cost: the higher up on the vine Zoboo is, the less horizontal distance he travels, as a simple rule of physics.
Pressing the attack button during this recovery causes Zoboo to jump off of the vine prematurely, all four limbs held out in front of him. While he treats the jump as an innocent thrill, his bared claws are capable of damaging an opponent. 6% damage is dealt to those Zoboo jumps into, and this attack's frames linger for one second, after which he enters helpless fall. Little knockback is given, but this move is capable of killing at the high damage of 230%. This jump has overall high priority, but punishable landing lag.
Pressing the special move button during this move will cause Zoboo to perform his Neutral Special as normal, tossing a Gooble Berry. While the projectile can hit an enemy at point-blank range, its main advantage is the ability to be used as an approach tool while approaching. Otherwise, the Gooble Berries function as they do normally.
When used on the ground, this move varies a bit. Zoboo climbs up a vine that spawns from the top of the screen as normal, but ends just above the ground where Zoboo was standing. Zoboo is then free to climb up and down the vine as he pleases, and can perform any action he can while using the recovery version of this move. Zoboo can cause the vine to vanish and cancel this move by shielding. Opponents can force this move to end by attacking the vine with a physical move, just like with the aerial version, causing Zoboo to helpless fall.
Side Special – Kratts' Closet
Chris and Martin have a pretty large closet, which holds all of the gear they need for their adventures in the field. Haphazardly, the brothers spend more time exploring than they do organizing. Their closet is a complete mess, and every time they decide to gear up, they're met with an avalanche of junk that buries them in their own filth. And Zoboomafoo, well, he knows it.
He's seen it so many times before, he'd be crazy to not consider using it to his advantage in combat. When this move is used, Zaboo spawns a large closet unit, about two Bowsers in height and 1 character space thick, in front of him, with the front facing forward. Instantly appearing clinging to the front of the closet, he pulls open the door, releasing a barrage of random gear (more than could logically fit in the downsized container) from its confines, and the closet disappears. A direct hit deals 28% damage and above-average knockback, killing around 140%. This move functions the same way on the ground and in the air.
This move comes out with a bit of startup, as Zoboo takes about one second to pull open the door. Spilling out a bunch of random gear that act as a single, large, irregularly-shaped hitbox, this attack provides a wide-reaching attack that leaves Zoboo completely safe from the front. On the other hand, however, its slow startup makes it easily telegraphed and punishable in its early frames, so it's not the best attack to just throw out on a whim.
In addition to its initial hitbox, Kratts' Closet leaves behind 3 to 5 pieces of gear after the mass of trash dissolves along with the closet itself. This gear can be anything from scuba flippers to canteens or first-aid kits. They can all be picked up like any normal item and tossed as projectiles, each with varying strength. Like Samus' armor pieces, they disappear more quickly than normal items.
Inflatable Inner Tube – 5% damage; kills at 210%
Scuba Flipper – 8% damage; kills at 180%
Canteen – 12% damage; kills at 150%
Bicycle Helmet – 16% damage; kills at 135%
Kayak Oar – 20% damage; kills at 125%
First-Aid Kit – 15% damage; kills at 115%
Spade – 25% damage; kills at 110%
All leftover gear must be disposed of before the special move can be used again.
Down Special – I Feel Smashish!
Zob, always curious about animals, finds that the best way to understand a creature and really put himself into its shoes is by imitating their behavior. That means, always after exclaiming “I feel (insert animal's name here)-ish!”, copying their movement patterns and behavior. For example, when trying to imitate an elephant, he'd say “I feel elephantish!”. This move sees Zoboo trying to put himself into the perspective of his fellow Smash combatants.
Using this move makes Zoboo look straight forward, eyes glinting. If an enemy is within his eyesight (about 3 character spaces), the lemur backflips and claps his hands triumphantly, shouting “I feel (insert fighter name here)-ish!”. After this point, Zoboomafoo takes on the movement of that character.
This completely replaces Zob's dashing animation and properties, including traction. By imitating the movement of another character, the player can cleverly pick an alteration that better compliments their game plan or attack patterns. For example, if the player is having trouble landing their dash attack or reverse grab, they could copy Sonic's dash, giving them increased speed. Contrarily, if the player wants to slow down to land some of Zob's more erratic attacks, imitating Ganondorf would be an option as well.
Now, Zoboo isn't the most dedicated role-player out there, and he gets over the rush of meeting a new creature pretty quickly, so this effect doesn't last forever. It's not meant to be the catalyst for a long-term statistical alteration, but rather a simple aid in three areas: mobility, attack-landing, and mixups to mess with the opponent's head, but all in the short-term. The lemur's fighterishness wears off after 25 second periods, though he can of course change his preference at any time during this window by using Down Special again. If Zoboo is KO'd while feeling fighter-ish, he respawns under a fresh slate.
Standard Moves
Jab – Toothbrush
Zob finds toothbrushes rather interesting, and has taken eagerly to giving his elephant friend, Toothbrush, bristly backrubs with the instrument. Of course, since elephants are so large, he needs a big toothbrush to do the job. For this move, Zoboo procures a large, 3-foot-long red toothbrush, and, jutting it straight out, begins pushing and pulling the tool back and forth so long as the attack button is held. Since none of the Smash fighters are elephant-sized, this large brush is a little too much for them. Players hit by the head of brush are scraped with sharp bristles, and lightly tugged back and forth with the movement of the brush. While not difficult to DI out of, this move can usually secure about 18% of damage, with 2% damage done with each stroke. The neck of the brush is a sourspot that only deals 1% damage and minimal stun. The length of the brush offers great poking ability and spacing, but end lag resulting from Zob putting the brush back away makes this move not entirely safe upon block, and a sourspotted hit leaves Zoboo no time to escape a counter-attack.
Ledge Attack – Lemur Lunge
Zob energetically uses his forearms to push himself up over the ledge and 3 inches into the air for a front-flip, letting out his signature laugh. While a low-range move with relatively low damage output, Zob's tail widens this move's hitbox significantly during the spin, dealing low knockback and 2% damage, with a slight increase in knockback and power (3% damage) if the tip of his tail sweetspots. Zob's body is a smaller hitbox with a slight increase in damage output, at 4% damage.
Ledge Attack (Strong) – Feeling Batish
A unique ledge attack that offers up some usefulness in mind games. Zoboo, feeling batish and saying so, swings back underneath the ledge, hanging from the tip with all limbs, almost like a bat. This provides a stall in the attack that other ledge attacks lack. Zob then swings upward quickly, extending all limbs like a bat in flight, dealing 5-6% damage and low knockback. Woo-ah-ha!
Floor Attack – Lemur Loop
Zoboo quickly recovers from his fall, quickly spinning horizontally in a blur of black and white. His extended tail provides some interesting range on this move, whipping foes for 2% damage, or 3% and moderate sting from a tipped sweetspot. Zoboo's body itself deals 4% damage.
Floor Attack (Strong) – Feeling Snakeish
Zoboo, feeling a bit snakeish, restlessly spins around horizontally three times in a quick loop, as if uncoiling himself, providing three hitboxes; one for each turn, though they don't link. A moderate knockback attack that comes out quickly but has a bit of end lag. 6% damage is dealt from one hit. While using this move, he shouts: “I feel snakeish!”
Dash Attack – Feeling Cowish
Zoboo, imitating a bovine, holds his head down and forward, pointing his index fingers out beside his head to mimic horns. Instantaneously, he dashes forward two character spaces, ramming with his imaginary horns and shouting “I feel cowish!”. Pushes enemies a short distance forward, and has a bit of end lag. Unsafe on block, but Zoboo can jump cancel out of this move in its starting frames. It can also be used in a DACUS in conjunction with Up Smash.
Forward Tilt – Feeling Elephantish
Zob stands firmly, and puts one arm in front of his snout like an elephant's trunk, saying that he feels “elephantish!”. He quickly leans forward on his front leg, exaggeratingly flipping his arm downward like an elephant trunk (dealing 6%), then leans backward on his back leg, flipping his arm upward (dealing 7%). The second hit knocks foes upward, allowing for setups at lower percents, such as a wavebounced Gooble Berry. A fast attack with two separate, linking hitboxes, though the first hit can be DI'd out of past 50%.
Up Tilt – Feeling Flying Squirrelish
Facing the screen, Zoboo, bursting with excitement in the thrill of combat, hops up 3 inches into the air, legs spread and arms outstretched, similarly to a flying squirrel, which he shouts he feels like. This creates an interesting hitbox, with Zob's rising legs, lowering arms, and upward-thrusting head all provide damage (5% from his limbs and 8% from his head). Foes hit by one of Zob's limbs are sent a short distance diagonally upward in the direction opposite of Zob's side. Headbutted enemies are sent a short distance upward. Some end lag withholds this move from becoming spammable, but it can link at low percentages. Attacks aimed low are able to be avoided through precise use of this move's timing.
Down Tilt – Feeling Coati-ish
Mimicking his digging friends, the coati, Zoboo kneels low and paws at the ground with both arms in an alternating pattern. Opponents hit in front of Zoboo's claws are tripped, while those directly contacting his hands are sent behind Zoboo as he shovels dirt behind him. While this attack has a bit of end lag, if the opponent does not DI correctly, Zob can quickly turn and attack, possibly landing Kratts' Closet. A distanced hit deals 7% damage, while a direct hit deals 12%.
Forward Smash – Feeling Kangarooish
Zob lets us know he's feeling very much like a kangaroo and, reeling back while supporting himself with his hands, kicks both legs forward forcefully. Has a .50-second startup, but unleashes the attack frames quickly. This move has an unorthodox property in that rather than knock the opponent through the air, those who are hit slide along the ground, with their distance determined by that character's weight and traction, as well as by their percentage and the charge time of this attack. This move can be dangerous at high percentages, as it may cause opponents to quickly slide off of a ledge and fly in a downward angle. Deals 11% uncharged and 20% fully charged.
Up Smash – Narchi
This attack summons Narchi, one of Zob's friends from Zobooland. .30 seconds after appearing, Narchi, with his trumpet-like nose pointed straight upward, uses his schnoz to blow a Gooble Berry straight upward, with distance determined by charge time. The Gooble Berry is launched at the speed of Pit's arrows, flying straight up and either colliding with a hurtbox or falling back down to the ground at half its rise speed, splattering on the ground (or an unsuspecting opponent's head).
A Gooble Berry from Narchi has more sting than one simply thrown by Zoboo, and kills at about 180%. Uncharged, this attack deals 10% damage and travels 3 character spaces upward before falling. Damage output and distance are increased to 17% and 10 character spaces when fully charged. Damage output is lessened by one percent and knockback is lowered significantly from a falling berry. This move serves as Zob's key anti-air attack and can also be used to KO, especially off the top of the screen. Coupled with thrown berries, it can be an effective pressuring tool, especially when used in a DACUS.
Down Smash – Noggindrill
Zoboo summons Noggindrill, another friend from Zobooland, in front of him, facing the screen. .40-seconds after spawning, Noggindrill flips upside down and spins, burrowing into the stage. If used on a platform, Noggindrill passes right through it and continues into the stage. Zob hangs onto Nogg, who pulls him into the stage for .60-seconds before popping back out before disappearing (if Zob is attacked during these frames, the attack is canceled). During both his entrance and exit from the ground, Nogg acts as a hitbox, and during the first part of the attack, his spinning body has unique properties that reflect projectiles and launch foes at an upward angle. During the second part of the attack, Nogg's pointed head spears opponents straight upward. An uncharged attack deals 10% on the first hit and 13% on the second, while a fully charged attack deals 15% on the first hit and 22% on the second.
Noggindrill's purpose is to be used as a tool of evasion and reflection, and for launching foes away to a safe distance, not KO'ing them.
Neutral Aerial - Tailspin
“Woo-ha-haa!” Zob excitedly performs a backflip thrice in one fluid motion. His extended tail greatly improves the range of this move. Unlike similar moves in his repertoire, the tail part of this attack deals no knockback and only the most minuscule of stun, hitting thrice for up to 6% damage. If the tip of the tail sweetspots, however, the opponent is whipped away in whatever direction the tail was traveling when it connected. Zob's body itself has average knockback with 8% damage. The attack has some sour landing lag.
Forward Aerial – Monkey Bars
A rope-fashioned set of monkey bars, a favorite structure of Zob's from Animal Junction, spawns above the lemur (somehow supporting itself in midair), who grabs on and instantly begins moving along them, with his legs curled up against his body and his feet held forward. With his legs held out like this, Zob's claws provide a weak hitbox that pushes enemies he climbs into a short distance forward and deals 6-7% damage. There are four“bars” in this set of monkey bars, which each corresponding to one character space. After traveling this short distance, Zob drops off. Paired with Cling N' Swing, this provides Zob with excellent horizontal mobility.
During the 1.5 seconds that this move is active, the monkey bars serve as a platform for other players. Zoboomafoo can only use this move once before landing.
Back Aerial – Rope Swing
A short rope, 4 character spaces in length, spawns in Zob's arms, hanging from seemingly nothing. Clinging to the rope with all limbs, the lemur sways backward, swinging the rope in the direction opposite that which he was facing. The sudden force from the jerking of the rope turns Zoboo's body into a hitbox, smacking foes away with decent knockback, killing at 160%. This moves the player 1 character space, and after the short swing, Zob lets go of the rope, which disappears, and falls. Deals 12-13% damage and has a cooldown amounting to 1 second.
Up Aerial – Lemur Lunge
Zoboo spreads all of his limbs, taking on a pose similar to a skydiver, and jerks upwards into the air one character space. This move lacks a hitbox; rather than an attack, it is used to add to Zob's catalogue of maneuverability options. Cooldown on this move is a lengthy 1.2 seconds, preventing infinite stalling in midair; out of a full double jump, Zob can fit only 3 uses of this move before landing.
Used in conjunction with normal air-dodging, Zob becomes a reliably difficult target to attack in the air, somewhat ameliorating his vulnerability on the ground.
Down Aerial – Rope Slide
Similar to his Back Aerial, Zob spawns a rope of equivalent proportions, holding onto the structure as he quickly slides down its short length, rapidly spinning around its circumference. Zob's entire body acts as a hitbox, with a slight vacuum effect. Dealing 12% damage, this move acts a shifter, moving opponents upward to the top of the rope while Zob descends to its bottom. A high cooldown period separates this move from a reuse by 1 second.
Grab Game
Grab – Super Claws
Zob's Super Claws, an accessory created by the Kratts that augments the strength and dexterity of his normal claws, are equipped while he grabs. Leaning forward very slightly, Zoboo attempts to grab down with both arms. This is a rather short-ranged, clumsy, and slow grab, though its pivot version is much faster, albeit with an improved, though still low range problem.
Pummel – Tooth Comb
Lemurs have tooth combs in their lower jaws, a bar of joined, pointed teeth used in grooming one another. Zoboo learned about this application from the Kratts, and uses his tooth comb to scrape the player's scalp, grooming their hair (or where their hair would be). Adds 1-2% per hit, and is relatively fast for a pummel.
Forward Throw – Swing Kick
A short rope spawns in Zob's hands, and he swings forward, kicking the enemy in the way. This pushes the opponent forward with Zob, but after moving 3 character spaces, he lets go of the rope, and the enemy is released, sent forward with 9% damage. While this throw can KO near the edge of the screen, it is also useful as a form of mobility, as it moves Zob almost as much as the grabbed opponent.
Back Throw – Slimantha
Zob's friend, Slimantha, a slippery herptile, spawns behind Zob and, using her slimey feet, slides along the ground behind Zob before stopping 1/5 the length of Final Destination and disappearing. Acting as a hitbox while sliding, Slimantha deals very low knockback and 5% damage to opponents she might contact. This process takes .70 seconds. Slimantha's slimey feet leave behind a slippery trail that Zob playfully “skates” across, still holding onto the opponent. At the end of the trail, Zob slips and tumbles forward, releasing the opponent, who is sent flying. A better kill move than Forward Throw, killing at 130% on most stages. This is also an alternative way for Zob to move around, though the slip at the end and the startup time make this option a risky one in hectic situations.
Up Throw – Vine Flip
A sloping vine, roughly U-shaped and somehow suspended in thin air, spawns above Zob, who hops up and hangs on with his legs, holding the opponent in his arms. Gymnastically spinning upon the vine once, Zoboo lets go of the held foe at the height of his swing, launching them into the air. This throw deals 13% and kills at 170%.
If the player inputs a jump command at the height of his swing, Zob sends himself spiraling into the air along with his thrown opponent, reaching a height of 4 characters spaces and performing a showcase of rapid backflips. During this maneuver, Zoboo can slightly alter the trajectory of his landing.
Down Throw – Duck!
Zoboo always knows to duck when a delivery bird brings a letter, though when the bird actually ends up being an actual duck, it's a special ocassion indeed. This throw's input causes Zoboo to release his hold on the opponent and shout “Duck!”. A bird, randomly generated from several varieties, appears in the air 4 characters spaces above and behind Zoboo, swooping downward to fly into Zoboo, possibly dealing damage. If the player crouches, however, Zoboo will duck, causing the bird to swoop just over his head and fly upward into the enemy, knocking them upward a short distance. The bird flies through the opponent and continues upward at an incline until it leaves the screen, acting as a hitbox the entire time. Different birds have different effectiveness.
Falcon – 10% damage; flies most quickly
Vulture – 12% damage; flies most slowly
Barn Owl – 8% damage; moderate speed
Duck – 20% damage; improved knockback
The first three bird varieties have a 30% chance of appearing, with the duck appearing 10% of the time.
Final Smash
Baby Zoboomafoosaurus
A friend from Zobooland, Baby Zoboomafoosaurus appears on-screen, sized at about half of Groudon's frame, whining in his Barney Gumble-like voice about being hungry and wanting his mommy. Zoboo, as usual, takes it upon himself to placate the infant dinosaur. By tossing Gooble Berries, the player causes Baby Zoboomafoosaurs to gleefully charge in the direction of the fruit, plowing through any other players in the way and dealing 25% damage. BZ is essentially one giant hitbox, and can deal more knockback than normal by hitting enemies with its tail when it turns around. By shooting berries into the air with Up Smash, the player can also get the dino to jump into the air, preventing opponents from simply air-camping to avoid the Final Smash. While the dinosaur's legs often aren't enough to net it a berry bouncing away at twice its speed, it is still possible for it to reach a berry (the player can always through a berry AT the baby). When it does reach a berry, Baby Zoboomafoosaurus gives a big chomp, swallowing the treat whole. Players hit by this large bite are dealt more damage than if they had just been charged (50%), and suffer very high knockback. This Final Smash lasts for about 15 seconds.
Extras
Entrance
A digitized rotoscoping of a real Coquerel's sifaka hops onto the stage from off-screen, and while chewing on a piece of mango, spins around like a record, shouting “Zo-boo-mafoooooo!”. The rotoscoped lemur emerges from the blurred spinning as the recognizable Zoboomafoo puppet.
Up Taunt
Turning to face the screen, Zob's eyes widen as he enthusiastically utters his catchphrase, “Mangatsika!” Zoboo uses this Malagasy word for “cold” as a euphemism for “cool!”
Side Taunt
Zob stands bow-legged, tail drooping. Scratching the back of his head with one arm, he exasperatingly mutters “I meant to do that.”
Down Taunt
Zoboo, turning his neck to view the screen, restlessly jerks his neck back to the action, and hops once in glee. “Woo-hah!”
Victory 1
Zob sticks both arms out, swaying them in a circle in front of himself while he shakes his head in a frantic victory dance.
Victory 2
Zoboo quizzically looks at the camera, eyes wide in disbelief at seeing his own victory. "Leapin' lemurs!" he utters to the players, "I can't believe my mind!”
Victory 3
Zoboo tries to procure food from the chute of Animal Junction's Food Machine, suspended in midair. As usual, the machine is jammed, and after sticking his face up the chute to try and see if he can see anything, a surplus of food falls through the dispensary and into Zob's face, knocking him on his back and burying him in a stream of food coming from the machine.
Codec Conversation
Snake: This is some kind of animal. What'dyou call this thing?
Otacon: An animal?
Snake: Who could it be, this animal who I did see? Can you help me guess this mystery?
Otacon: Uh...sure. Describe it for me, and I'll try and find out what it is.
Snake: Well, it has a furry body, with long legs and a spindly tail. I wanna say I know the name, but I'm drawing a blank.
Otacon: Long legs and a spindly tail. Are there any others details?
Snake: Yeah, it's got dark fur surrounding white fur. Big eyes on the front of its face, and a short snout.
Otacon: Who could it be?
Snake: Do you know who it is?
Otacon: Oh! I know! It's a lemur! And that lemur's name is Zoboomafoo.
Snake: Zoboomafoo?
Otacon: Yes! Zoboomafoo! He's a great leaper, and he puts that to his advantage to try and separate himself and pick off his opponents from a distance. Lemurs aren't the most capable of fighters, so they have to rely on their agility and their wits.
Snake: Well then, it looks like it's just me, and you, and Zoboomafoo.
Playstyle
So, what do we know about Zoboomafoo? We've established that he's most at home in the air, a domain closer to his arboreal home than the ground. While he's not entirely ineffective fighting on the ground, Zoboo is set back by some underwhelming startup and end frames on many ground moves, which also trend toward being easily punished out of a shield. While not incredibly handicapped on the ground, Zob has all the more reason to be in the air as much as possible, as it gives him not only his best approach options (a short-hopped or wavebounced Gooble Berry is a lot more reliable than one tossed from the ground, for example), but his best spacing options. The key word with Zob is actually a surprising one: annoyance.
Zoboo is all about annoyance. Gooble Berries, while small, can occupy quite a bit of space, as there can be several in play at once thanks to Neutral Special and Up Smash. Because Zob can also throw berries while approaching or camping in midair with Up Special he can put an astouding amount of pressure on opponents. He can safely approach while attacking, or back off and bait/harass opponents from his grounded Up Special. Kratts' Closet is a constant threat that can be difficult to see coming, and can be deceptive to dodge while dealing with the pressures of Gooble Berries, which should always be on the field and active for maximum pressure, as they're essentially on par with Mario's Fireballs and Falco's lasers as approaching, interference, and annoyance tools. Because Zob spends the majority of his time spacing, mixing in a close-range Kratts' Closet every so often can be very successful at taking opponents by surprise.
But Zoboo isn't just annoying in terms of approaches and spacing; he's also a frustrating survivalist, making use of a repertoire of great distance-hopping motions that propel him in all directions. Mixing up different movement patterns – downward with Down Air, upwards with Up Air (especially great in conjunction with air dodging), forward with Forward Air – can be very helpful in dodging attacks, and projectiles in particular. Noggindrill gives Zoboo a quick escape while on the ground as well, in addition to doubling as an attack. Coupled with various moves that allow Zob to leap over attacks, including his own dash, it becomes clear to see that the character truly has quite a few options that allow him to negate his foe's attempts to deal damage. Mixing up attacks and movement techniques – and the line between the two is often blurred – is essential for making Zob such a potent mix-up fighter. Zoboo can augment his maneuverability with his Down Special move, giving him new options to mix up his DACUS' characteristics and outperform his opponents movement-wise. Bluntly stated, Zoboo is a character specifically designed to be annoying, constantly avoiding attacks and pestering his opponent from afar with his own spacing tools; it's not really his fault, it's just an effective combination of natural lemur behavior and his own playfulness. Lemurs aren't that big and strong; they rely on speed and outmaneuvering to wear their aggressors out.
It may sound moronic, but Zoboomafoo's voice aids to his playstyle, even if very slightly. The motormouth protosimian is almost constantly yapping away. Over the course of a long match (and Zob tends to make matches long), while it may sound ludicrous, there are only a certain amount of “Woo-ah-has,” “mangatsikas,” and utterances of feeling animalish that most players can take before they want to rip Zob's high-pitched vocal chords from his throat. In concert with his actual moves and playstyle, his voice can possibly serve as the straw to break the proverbial camel's back, and send his opponent into a rage consisting of an inability to overcome pressure and a thought-process consisting of vengeful offense in place of real technique.
That's not to say that Zob can't be put into tight spots himself; his underwhelming vertical movement and horizontally-focused recovery options make playing off-stage dangerous for him. Up Special can be canceled by opponents, and since Zoboomafoo's recovery options are rather limited in pattern, it doesn't take much foresight for a foe to easily gimp the lemur. Being knocked below the stage is especially troublesome for Zob, who has only a small opportunity at moving himself upward. Aside from Up Smash, Zob also has trouble with anti-air, and is very vulnerable from above, which is why using a grounded Up Special is so crucial, to get above the opponent. Since Up Air lacks a hitbox, Zoboomafoo can be easily meteor smashed or spiked if he allows his opponents to do so. While he can go toe-to-toe with opponents and win while airborne, it's another story entirely for those who are still able to dominate the air more than he can. While Zoboo is a bit lacking in some areas, just like every creature, he's got his own strengths that certainly compensate for his weaknesses.
