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Appearance
Samus' powered armor remains the same as portrayed in Metroid: Other M (MOM hereafter). The appearance has been refined with the pauldrons being slightly smaller, the rib cage being a bit more ridged, and the waist being a bit wider. The color of the armor has been matted to give more of a metallic appearance and there are also a bit of scuffs to portray Samus' experience in battle.
Changes
Jabs have improved hit stun.
Charge Shot can be fired multiple times while Samus is running.
Charge Shot charges slightly faster.
Charge Shot has additional beams, including the wave, ice, and plasma beams. See Charge Shot for details.
Samus' dashes faster (1.504 → 2.1).
Samus is now 4th heaviest just below Bowser, Donkey Kong, and King Dedede.
Samus now has an extra jump, totaling in three (3) jumps before using her up special.
Samus once again has lagless landing as she did in Super Smash Bros. Brawl (SSBB hereafter).
Samus now can perform both a tether and non-tether grab, the latter when close.
Standard attacks Jab (A)
Jabs remain the same overall, with the exception of hit stun, which has been improved. Since Super Smash Bros. 64 (SSB64 hereafter), Samus' jabs have lacked significant hit stun, allowing her opponent to simply ignore the fact that he/she's been hit. Instead, Samus has had to rely on "hit-and-run" tactics, that is, having to simply do a single jab and then backing off. While this can work, it really limits Samus' options of being in close-combat, forcing her to fight from a distance. Not only is Samus competent in close-combat in MOM, she even says herself, "I'm happy to engage the enemy hand-to-hand. The augmented power of my suit lends me extra power in combat". For this reason, the hit stun of Samus' jabs have been improved in order to make her a well-rounded character.
Speed Boost (Dash + A)
This dash attack now has an extended hitbox where the bow shock is located. This allows Samus to hit at a safe distance if she uses Speed Boost early. Since the bow shock surrounds Samus, she can even hit her opponent if he/she is hanging on the ledge as long as her opponent no longer has invincibility frames. Since the "Two Frame Punish" is still present in Super Smash Bros. Fray (SSBF hereafter), Samus can even use this to her advantage.
Axe Kick (Up + A)
The Axe Kick remains as it was portrayed in Super Smash Bros. Wii U (SSB4 hereafter) with its ability to KO aerial opponents, as well as hitting those who hang onto the ledge when their invincibility frames are no longer active. What has been removed is the ability to tech out of this attack, since this is performed commonly, though unintentionally, in SSB4. If the opponent shields this attack, he/she will be pushed away, just as they will in SSB4.
Roundhouse (Forward + A)
This attack has returned to being 7 frames instead of 8, which caused a bit of unnecessary latency. Sourspots are still present where her thigh and body are located. Diagonal attacks remain the same with high roundhouse kicks doing additional damage and knockback, while low roundhouse kicks don't do as much of either.
Napalm (Down + A)
Napalm once again enjoys its original damage of 14% as it was in SSBB, rather than 12% in SSB4. Its knockback growth has also returned to 60, rather than 48, allowing Samus to once again KO her opponents vertically. Samus can also perform Flamethrower (forward air) to Napalm, making this a true combo. Although SSBB was known for lacking true combos, it was possible (although difficult) to perform this true combo. In SSBF, the combo is easier to perform.
Counter Attack (L or R + A)
Since I didn't want to replace any controls to make a counter attack possible for Samus, and since a lot of characters are being able to counter these days, I thought Samus deserved to do this as well, considering she can in MOM. In order to do this, however, direct attacks must be perfectly shield and then immediately followed up with the neutral standard attack. If the player perfectly shields, but fails to follow up immediately with the neutral standard attack, nothing will happen.
Counter attack is only useful like most counter attacks in SSB in that countering is only effective if the opponent is close enough to be punished. While it would be possible to perform counter attack if an indirect attack like a projectile was perfectly shielded, it would be meaningless to perform, and since extra frames would be performed for Samus to do her counter attack animation, it would be a poor choice to even attempt.
Smash attacks Flamethrower (Up + A)
This smash attack has been slightly improved. While the previous titles had an arc where it wasn't made possible to easily hit targets of a medium stature and impossible to hit targets of a small size whenever Samus stood next to them, the flame is extended slightly and Samus' arm cannon begins pointing at 315° angle and ends at a 153° angle. This allows Samus to at least hit her opponent, regardless of size, as long as her opponent is in front of her. This attack still retains its usefulness against taller and larger opponents, as well as those who are above Samus.
Cannon Thrust (Forward + A)
This is another smash attack that has been improved. Its frames have gone from 10 to 8. The fireball produced at the end of the cannon is a sweetspot and deals more damage and knockback compared to if the opponent is closer. The rest of the arm cannon up to the pauldron is a hit box. There is also no longer any whiffing, which has been a common problem for Samus' forward smash. Just like the roundhouse kick, cannon thrust can be angled up or down with an upward hit dealing more damage and knockback, while the downward hit deals less of the two. If Samus happens to charge her cannon thrust, the fireball at the end will greatly increase in damage and knockback.
Boost Ball (Down + A)
The sweep kick has been removed, and instead, Samus transforms into her morph ball mode and uses boost ball to hit the opponent in either direction. This attack causes opponents to be launched at a 25° angle and can KO. There is a 50% chance the opponent will slip and fall if the opponent is hit somewhat at a distance from Samus. This can allow Samus to tech-chase.
Aerial attacks Spin Kick (A)
Although SSB4 patched up this once lousy attack, it returns as one of Samus' most effective off-stage strategies. It maintains its quick speed and kill power. Spin kick is a safer alternative to cannon bash for those who want to risk a little off the stage, but not too much. The spin kick is mostly effective against those who are tall or large, but this doesn't mean medium to small characters cannot be harmed by this attack if they're in the air. Spin kick is, in fact, a useful attack for those who are mainly aerial.
Drill Kick (Up + A)
Drill kick has many uses. Opponents who shield will receive consecutive hits, minimizing the shield during the process. Samus may also use this attack while falling. One good method is to perform this attack while landing behind the opponent, allowing Samus to follow up with another attack. Drill kick to screw attack is equally effective if the opponent is baited into thinking he/she can attack after blocking the drill kick. A good, true combo is using the drill kick twice in the air against the opponent, and then following up with a screw attack. This can potentially KO.
Flamethrower (Forward + A)
Like drill kick, flamethrower can be used as a combo by setting up with a down throw from a tether grab to a double flamethrower. Samus can keep herself at a distance as she'll have control as to whether or not to continue moving forward or backing up. This attack can be useful against opponents who have a tendency to jump up from the ledge as their way to return to the stage. The disjointed hit box allows Samus to retain spacing, although this attack may not be effective against those with longer disjointed hit boxes like Marth.
Back Kick (Back + A)
This aerial attack has a sweetspot and sourspot. It can be used safely, due to the length of Samus' leg. One method is to perform a short hop back aerial while maintaining distance. If the attack lands, it is sure to be a sweetspot. Although one might expect a sourspot to not be as useful, this attack still has its uses off the stage as it can cause the opponent to ricochet off the stage and end up being too far to recover.
Cannon Bash (Down + A)
This attack is still one of Samus' best kill moves off the stage. It no longer has a hit box that causes the opponent to be launched diagonally downward, but instead directly spikes the opponent. If used on stage, this attack is best performed by spacing oneself to avoid landing in front of the opponent, or simply dashing, performing a short hop and using cannon bash as Samus lands behind her opponent. This may also be a useful pressuring tool, as the opponent may end up shielding and be unsure what to do. Of course, OoS can be performed to counter this.
Grapple Beam (Z or L or R + A)
In both SSBB and SSB4, the grapple beam, often called "z-air", has been Samus' most effective tool. It still remains as the best spacing tool in SSBF. It has both a sweet- and sourspot, with the tipper dealing 7% damage and a higher knockback. Otherwise, the sourspot only deals 3% damage, but it doesn't suffer from staling. Anyone who picks up Samus must be sure to utilize this attack.
Special attacks Charge Shot (B)
The Charge Shot comes in four (4) different forms to represent the Metroid series. All of these can be fired while Samus is moving, just as her canonical incarnation. Although this idea was originally thought of for future Super Smash Bros. (SSB hereafter) games that might involve Customs, I decided to implement this feature in a different way, similarly to the way Olimar or Shulk utilize their different abilities. In order to do this this, I have decided that for Samus to transition her beams from one beam to another, she must fully charge the Charge Shot and then release it before being able to use the next beam. It goes in the order of Charge Shot, Wave Shot, Ice Shot, and Plasma Shot. I shall now discuss this in detail.
Charge Shot will remain as is. It is the primary neutral special capable of KO'ing opponents. It will retain its speed as portrayed in SSB4 and keep the knockback growth of 62 as well. Wave Shot travels in a wavy pattern, covering more width. This not only can be used against opponents who may hang on the ledge, but because of the width it can cover, it may be a bit more difficult to avoid. Wave Shot also possess the ability to stun opponents, similarly to the way Zero Suit Samus' Paralyzer stuns opponents. Although this neutral special isn't known for KO'ing, if the opponent is not hit while stunned, he/she may be launched at a 60° angle. One final feature is that if the Wave Shot is even partially charged, unless it is perfectly shielded, shield stun will occur.
Ice Shot travels slowly, making it easier to dodge. However, this neutral special makes up for speed in a threefold manner. First, it travels like Dense Charge Shot, allowing Samus to actually walk with the beam. Second, there can be a total of three on stage. Third, it does the obvious. While uncharged shots can freeze, this is more of a nuisance than anything else, as Samus' opponent will freeze and immediately break out. Although Ice Shot isn't necessarily a KO move, it can end up doing so accidentally. It behaves like the Freezie item in that opponents are launched at an 80° angle. If an opponent is at high percent and is hit by this beam in the air, he/she will end up being star KO'ed.
Plasma Shot has a burning effect, similarly to any other fiery attack in all SSB games. While one might have expected the Plasma Shot to be the most powerful when it comes to KO'ing, it actually lacks significant knockback. It behaves more like Falco's Blaster. Its main purpose is to simply deal a lot of damage in a short period of time. Whereas the Charge Shot deals 26% damage when fully charged, the Plasma Shot deals 30% damage. It also eats up shields, making it similar to Marth and Lucina's Shield Breaker. It doesn't break shields, but it can if Samus' opponent continues to attempt shielding.
Screw Attack (Up + B)
The screw attack retains its ability to KO. It has been modified with a new feature to prevent the opponent from accidentally falling out as it has been the case in all previous titles. What this means is that the screw attack has a vacuum effect, i.e., it pulls in nearby opponents, somewhat similarly to Ganondorf's Volcano Kick. The effect is slightly better than Ganondorf's, however, to ensure the opponent from falling out or getting nicked.
Another new feature to the screw attack is Samus' ability to avoid being helpless. This is similar to what Bayonetta can do. While it is possible for Samus to end up being helpless after using the screw attack, this can be prevented as long as she has an extra jump. To illustrate, if Samus jumped into the air, and then jump again while in the air, and then used the screw attack, since she now has an additional jump, she would be able to avoid helplessness. On the other hand, if she used three (3) jumps and then the screw attack, she'd be vulnerable.
Finally, this last feature for the screw attack is based on SA-X's ability to launch herself forward with the screw attack. Since SA-X would be a perfect copy of Samus, this means Samus should be able to do the same thing. Thus, Samus can use screw attack to launch herself horizontally while on the ground or even in the air. This can be useful in mixing up Samus' approach.
Missile/Super Missile (Forward/Forward + B)
Samus can perform short hop homing missile cancel (SHHMC), since she once again has lagless landing. This allows her to fire up to at least three (3) homing missiles at once. These homing missiles are given more precision in angling, making them more efficient at hitting their target. The benefit of this is that the opponent will be required to deal with these missiles while Samus can follow up with z-air or a charge shot.
Super missiles retain their appearance, but they're once again capable of KO'ing like they were in SSBM. The speed of super missiles have also been slightly increased. These can also use SHHMC, but there can only be two (2) on stage, not because Samus can't launch more afterwards, but because these missiles will be gone before a third super missile can be launched.
Bomb/Five-Bomb Drop (Down + B)
Bombs have received their proximity effect again, making it so that if the opponent comes into direct contact with bombs, they will blow up. While in double hit in SSBB and SSB4 are noticeable, these bombs will retain their indistinguishable double hit like in SSBM. Blowing up on contact will make bombs more useful in preventing opponents from approaching, as well as for edge-guarding, since they won't rely on a time limit to explode.
A new feature allows Samus to drop five bombs instead of one. This can only be performed if the Charge Shot is fully charged. (Five-Bomb Drop will also work if the Wave, Ice, or Plasma Shot are fully charged as well.) When these bombs are released, they will slightly launch upward before dropping. This can be especially useful for edge-guarding, since the opponent will have to deal with more than one bomb if he/she is below the stage.
Throws Non-tether Grab Beam Barrage (L or R + A)
When Samus grabs her opponent without the use of the grapple beam, she will attack with her arm cannon while holding her opponent with her left hand. Each shot is 1 frame and can be fired rapid succession.
Blast Off (L or R + Up)
Samus will launch her opponent into the air and follow up with multiple beams, juggling her opponent
Lethal Strike (L or R + Forward)
Samus will quickly take her left arm and hook it around her opponent's neck, perform 360°, only to come back around, drop to the ground, and point the muzzle of her arm cannon at her opponent's face, following up with a fully charged shot.
Stunner (L or R + Backward)
Samus will do a back somersault, grabbing her opponent under the arms with her legs. Upon landing, the opponent will strike the ground and Samus will blast a fully charged shot as she does another back somersault away from her opponent.
Overblast (L or R + Down)
Samus will jump onto her opponent, placing her feet on his/her shoulders, firing a fully charged shot as she leaps away.
Tether Grab Chozo Chop (L or R + A)
Samus will rapidly strike her opponent with her left hand. Each strike is 1 frame.
Return Stroke (L or R + Up)
Samus will toss her opponent upward. This throw has been improved with more knock-back.
Plasma Pulse (L or R + Forward)
This throw remains the same as its predecessors.
Lethal Lightning (L or R + Backward)
Samus will begin to spin as her opponent is hooked to the end of the grapple beam, and once released, will be launched away. This throw is capable of KO'ing at around 100% for medium weight characters. Heavier characters can be defeated at around 130%.
Static Slam (L or R + Down)
This throw retains its angle, damage, as well as knock-back to allow Samus to follow up with combos ranging from up throws to forward throws.
FinalSmash HyperBeam(B)
I decided to get rid of the Zero Laser and use the hyper beam instead. A single beam produces 50% damage, making this Samus' most powerful attack. It retains its prismatic appearance as portrayed in Super Metroid. It also has considerably high knockback equivalent to that of a Bob-Omb. The duration of this final smash is 15 seconds.
Beets
I don't want to be rude, but if you want to make a set that will be acknowledged by the group, you should do it in a writing format. Detail is key for set making, and I'm afraid neither of your sets so far are detailed in any way. They're very vague, and don't really have anything to tell us how the character would play.
A set can't just be a singular, vague idea like Muffet is, there needs to be cohesion between all the moves. Its pretty obvious you whipped this one up quickly, but you need to take your time when coming up with them. This is mostly a writing project after all, and Smash has some serious strict guidelines to follow.
The way you describe Muffet's attacks in the singular paragraph you give us makes them all look exactly the same, and I can tell you she would not be fun to play as if she was in Smash. The mechanic of her pulling in opponents when she hits them with any attack is also seriously op.
The specials (All 6 of them) are just generic pictures without any details. One of them is Chun-Li and Zangeif for some reason. I wouldn't even call your drawings bad, honestly, they're decent for quick little doodles.
You write this like a prompt, like this is something that the people here would try to add on to. But that's not what MYM is about. MYM is about building up your own identity through your sets, and being as creative as you possibly can. If someone here wanted to make a Muffet set, and I know there's at least one person, then they would come up with something unique and workable... hopefully.
I hope I'm not coming off as mean here, because we could always do with more new faces. My point is that you need to, well, write something up. Even if it turns out bad, you can keep trying until you make something good. I've been around for years and I only managed to get my first good sets out this contest!
The best advice I can offer is to read some more sets. Find a character you like (Preferably not one already done this contest) and try to come up with something for them. Best of luck, and I hope you take this advice to heart.
I have finally gotten around to patching my movesets! Plague Knight and Shovel Knight have undergone some beneficial changes, be sure to check them out! Also, stay tuned for more movesets from me!
Appearance
Urbosa is outfitted in Gerudo clothing. She wields the Scimitar of the Seven in her right hand and the Daybreak Shield in her left. She towers most characters in height, which is further accentuated from her high-heels.
Changes
None.
Standard attacks Scimitar Slash (A)
Due to the lightweight blade, Urbosa's slash attacks are 2 frames in duration. This neutral, standard attack can be performed consecutively. Its disjointed hitbox offers Urbosa some safety for attacking at a distance. The first slash causes 5% damage, followed by 3% for the second, and 1% for the third, totaling up to 9% damage if all strikes land. Scimitar slash has decent hit stun to ensure the likelihood of three slashes connecting.
Seal Surf (Dash + A)
A sand seal will leap out from under the ground with Urbosa grabbing onto the reins while using her shield to surf. This attack is safe, since the sand seal will be in front of Urbosa, acting as a disjointed hit box. If this attack is blocked or dodged, Urbosa will continue moving forward until the player stops this attack either by shielding or pushing on the analog stick in the opposite direction. On the other hand, striking the sand seal will only slow it down. It comes out in one of two colors. If it's red, it'll only cause 5% damage. If it's yellow, it'll cause 10% damage. The reason for this is because the red kind are tamed and the yellow are wild.
(Up + A)
(Forward + A)
(Down + A)
Smash attacks Lightning Rod (Up + A)
In a way, this attack isn't necessarily meant for attacking, although it can be. Urbosa will raise her right arm, causing lightning to strike down at her blade, electrifying it. This attack can be performed if the opponent is above Urbosa. If an opponent is above Urbosa during this time, he or she will receive 15% damage. The purpose of this smash attack is to temporarily electrify Urbosa's scimitar so that it produces additional damage. This is applicable to any and all attacks performed by Urbosa that involve using her scimitar. Lightning Rod will add an extra 3% damage. This temporary attack boost will last for 15 seconds, or until the opponent has been hit five times, with or without shielding. Dodging won't affect this boost's duration.
(Forward + A)
Discharge (Down + A)
This attack is effective against opponents who liberally roll, which is how any downward smash attack should be. Urbosa will take both hands to hold her scimitar and strike the ground. This attack is somewhat similar to Pikachu's forward smash, except the electrical discharge will come from both sides of Urbosa. This attack will produce 15% damage and like Pikachu's forward smash, it has a pretty good knockback capable of killing in triple-digit percentages.
Aerial attacks (A)
(Up + A)
(Forward + A)
(Back + A)
(Down + A)
Special attacks (B)
Gerudo Gale (Up + B)
Similar in appearance to Wii Fit Trainer's Super Hoop, Urbosa will produce a gale in the former of a whirlwind, lifting her up as her arms reach above her head. The tip of her scimitar is a sweet spot, so it's a bit of a risk to attempt to counter this disjointed hit box with a down air. Gerudo Gale has a vacuum effect somewhat akin to Samus' screw attack, allowing both the debris and sparks of electricity to cause damage. If the opponent is caught into this attack, he or she will receive 1% damage per hit.
While Urbosa performs this attack, she'll be capable of altering the trajectory of this attack. Just like the Super Hoop, tapping B continuously will slightly increase the diameter of this attack, as well as the vacuum effect and damage as the size of the debris increases and the sparks build up. The opponent who is caught in this attack will be lifted upward and eventually come into contact with the tip of the scimitar, which will launch the opponent upward, producing a total of 15% damage. Because the tip has a sweet spot, this attack can perform a star KO at higher damage.
Scimitar Sling (Forward + B)
Once the scimitar is thrown, a grapple made up of electricity will be attached from the hilt of the blade to the ball of plasma in Urbosa's hand, since lightning is plasma. While the scimitar will not be electrified, coming into contact with the electrical grapple will briefly stun the opponent. The length of this attack is about an equal distance to Samus' z-air. Scimitar sling works by stabbing into the opponent, similar to a grapple, with the blade producing 15% damage. During this time, tapping B will send electricity through the blade, electrifying it. This will cause 3% damage.
If Urbosa misses, the electrical grapple will still cause 3% damage if the opponent comes into contact with the electricity. While this is an attack, Urbosa can use scimitar sling while she's off the stage, allowing her to tether to the edge of the stage to recover through electromagnetic force. Although she won't be able to attack during this time, the electrical grapple is still capable of causing 3% damage.
Urbosa's Fury (Down + B)
A bolt of lightning will strike the ground, causing electricity to course along the ground in both directions. If the opponent is close, this lightning bolt will angle to connect to the opponent. A single strike will cause 15% damage, while the electricity coursing on the ground will only produce 5% damage. If the opponent is at a reasonably high percent, a single strike can KO, due to its good knockback. This attack is useful when the opponent is off the stage.
Urbosa's Fury can also be fully charged, but at the expense of leaving Urbosa open to attack. If she is hit during this time, she will receive double damage and knockback. Should Urbosa succeed in fully charging this attack, three lightning bolts will strike on the stage, increasing additional damage of up to 30% per bolt with the coursing electricity causing 10% damage. This makes Urbosa's Fury both risky and rewarding.
Throws (L or R + A)
(L or R + Up)
(L or R + Forward)
(L or R + Backward)
Gerudo Grapple (L or R + Down)
FinalSmash DivineBeastVahNaboris(B)
Taunts
Snap, Crackle, Pop (Up on the d-pad)
Urbosa will snap her fingers. This is one of the few taunts that can cause damage if the opponent is close.
Over the course of her life, Ororo Munroe has been trained as a juvenile thief, worshiped as a goddess, and hated as a mutant. Since Charles Xavier enlisted her to join the X-Men, Storm has grown as a warrior and as a leader.
Her control over the climate has been honed through constant training and numerous battles, and her arsenal of elemental powers, from shattering lightning strikes to freezing winds, make her a force of nature to be feared and respected.
ATTRIBUTES
STATS: Storm is as swift and light as the winds themselves while airborne, but has poor ground speed as she chooses to hover majestically above the floor. Slightly shorter than Cyclops if standing on the ground, she is comparable to Bayonetta in stature overall.
Weight:74 () Dash Speed:1.45 () Air Speed:1.3 () Fall Speed:1.05 (~) Gravity: 0.06 () Jump: 40 Ground (), 50 Air ()
Rolls:Great Wall Jump:No
GUARD: Shield Squall Blocking with Storm is fairly normal, summoning a bubble shield and all except for the first few frames of inputting block. From frames 1-3, Storm summons a swirling vortex of wind that wraps around herself that further bolsters her defenses! This wind is really only potent at close range, with characters needing to essentially be touching Storm's shield to be affected, but if in range they will be forcibly pushed away about 1/3 a platformeither forwards or back. The wind can affect pretty much anything that is moveable as well, with Items, traps, and so on being able to be pushed away from Storm as she calls upon the winds for aid!
Storm's rolls also carry a slight wind effect, as she rushes backwards or forwards with the aid of air currents. Pushing back against the air to propel herself, Storm will slightly push foes in the opposite direction she rolls, while a minor effect it can still affect the spacing game and make her rolls even better than at face value.
POWER TYPE: CLASSIC Storm's Power Meter is divided into three separate bars, each filled by gaining 15 Power:
||||||||||||||| ||||||||||||||| |||||||||||||||
Like all Classic power types, Storm can spend her power dynamically. She can spend a single bar at a time, or store power to unleash potent Level 2-3 moves!
Power
Each character has a meter referred to as "Power". This fills as you play and is linked to various effects and special moves. In general, Power is gained via landing attacks as well as being hit, but the latter at a very reduced rate.
Power is gained equal to0.6x percent dealtwith attacks that do not spend power, and 0.2x of damage taken / blocked. Characters often have other ways of gaining power as well.
CLASSICpower types are reminiscent of fighting game characters who have different levels of meter. Separated into 3 bars, CLASSICtypes can either spend power 1 Bar at a time, or 2-3 at a time for tiered effects!
With a total of 45 power points to build up, a CLASSICcharacter needs to either:
Deal75% damage (25% per Bar)
Take/Shield225% damage (75% per Bar)
SPECIALS
Shield Special: Typhoon A much more dramatic version of her normal shield, for the cost of 1 Bar you can summon a powerful Typhoon!
Spinning in place as powerful winds sweep around her, Storm levitates a bit higher off the ground as a vortex rises up around herself as she cries out "Typhoon, come to my aid!". The vortex reaches out barely to either side, but grows swiftly to be about 3 times her own height as anyone and anything in range gets sucked in and shot upwards! Enemies caught up by the Typhoon take multiple hits, adding up to 10% as they are dragged upwards and spit out with medium/weak power, but the Typhoon's strength is in defense, not offense.
The Typhoon will draw in any items, physical projectiles or traps within a platform's reach on either side and shoot them skyward, absorb energy projectiles harmlessly, and all the while granting Storm invulnerability on frames 1-4. Foes who attempt to challenge the power of the Typhoon while it picks up all this debris will be bombarded with them if applicable, each dealing 1/2 the damage they would have normally as foes come in contact with the swirling items. In a sense, you can use Typhoons to clear the battlefield around you pretty efficiently.
Getting a read on a foe, or causing disruption in a hectic multi-man battle, can be quite rewarding here as you can punish their attempts to close in on you. While the Typhoon is punishable after the 1st 4 frames to either trades or simply being hit by a long reaching strike, if Storm manages to get a clean hit the foe is going for a ride where she then has minimal end lag to follow up, with the entire move lasting from frames 1-20 and with only 10 frames of end lag. Even without any debris to batter them with, a foe swept into the air is in a precarious position vs the Weather Witch as her potent aerial game and specials can make short work of anyone who enters her domain!
Neutral B: Twister Raising both arms up and back behind herself, Storm begins to summon wind around her hands as she enters a charge-up stance. Lasting for as long as you hold the input, Storm actually draws foes towards her very slightly as she charges, and with the ability to cancel via shield/roll you can do some small tricks with spacing here.
After about a second, Storm will automatically stop charging up and gain a small, swirling "aura" of wind at her feet to indicate she has a stored Twister on deck! Twisters are Storm's go-to projectile for directly controlling horizontal space, ranging in size from half her height to her full height and dealing 6-12% worth of multi hit before popping the foe up and out at a 45* angle with weak/medium power. Twisters will grow in size and power exponentially with charge, but never really travel that much differently with an uncharged Twister traveling about 2 platforms over it's 80 frame duration, and a charged Twister traveling 2.5 over the same duration. This allows Storm herself to follow behind a Twister after her end lag briefly, having about ~50 frames to follow up on any foes hit before it dissipates. There can only be one Twister on screen at a time, though after firing one she can go right into charging another if she chooses.
Twisters are transcendent to most move interactions, seeing as you cannot really "clank" wind, though other wind attacks can influence them! For a simple example, we can look at her Shield Squall and Typhoon with their respective Push/Pull attributes. If Storm were to run up and shield/roll near a Twister, the resulting Push will extend the life of the vortex by letting it move an extra 1/4~1/2 a platform based on the Twister's charge before disappearing. Conversely, Typhoon's suction will keep the Twister in place for the Typhoon's duration before it resumes its path, and can even trap a victim in both multi-hits if they get sandwiched between! Storm has more wind-related tricks up her sleeves for later, but these are two basic examples.
If you want even more bang for your buck, you can always try Circling the Control stick as you charge up a Twister! This tornado-like motion will be mirrored by Storm performing fancier moves with her arms as she conjures up the wind's energies, and in turn cost 1 Bar, and is indicated by a much faster wind current sweeping around her feet when stored. Spending energy severely cuts down on the time needed to charge up a Twister to a mere 30 frames down from 60, and in turn makes the resulting tornado projectile travel slightly faster with it being able to travel for 3 platforms, and deal 16% damage. The casting animation is also slightly shorter for Storm, allowing her to act after 20 frames as opposed to 30, making the Twister overall much safer and able to be chased by Storm.
Twisters are great projectiles for commanding space in front of herself, able to linger for quite a while and trap foes for you to follow up or simply bide your time to set up other effects. Though they are not perfect mind you. Despite Storm being able to move about after firing, she is still rather punishable when firing a Twister at close range as they really do not provide any stopping power vs trades or other projectiles since they don't clank. Twisters do cross-up shields, going by shielding foes swiftly, but again at close range this can be a liability as running up and shield-grabbing Storm if you predict her firing a Twister can be quite beneficial. Then again, if you are not fast on the draw, Storm can shield and push you back in return, getting to safety.
Side B: Lightning Bolt Looking out towards the stage, and raising a hand ominously as her eyes glow bright white, Storm will either cry out, or say "Stay Back!", "Lightning!", or "Nature's wrath!" as she then summons a diagonal bolt of Lightning from off-screen!
Hitting down into the ground about 2/3 of a platform in front of herself by default, the Lightning Bolt has a distinct bright white hue as opposed to the blue bolts typically used by Thor. The bolt has incredible range, being a bolt of lightning and all, as it crashes down at a 65* downwards angle from a thundercloud about 6 platforms away when grounded, but if performed in the air the lightning can extend to about 10 platforms distance. You will typically never see the full range of the bolt unless you are on a truly massive stage and zoomed out, but it is safe to assume that the potent natural phenomenon will cover the entire area where summoned for a truly massive attack despite only being about as thick as her leg.
Being struck by lightning is no fun for anybody, and here there are two distinct hit boxes much like a similar Thunderous special move: the bolt and the "strike". You see, Lightning will want to reach ground as fast as possible, often with explosive results. If a foe is in the area marked by a small gust of wind about 2/3 of a platform away from Storm when the lightning strikes, the resulting explosion will deal an impressive 16% damage and very powerful knockback at a 45* angle that can KO at around 110% near edges.This of course covers a huge area when Storm is on the ledge herself vs recovering foes, but without the "strike" hit box you will essentially just either set up an edge guard or even end up helping out the foe recover with the vertical knockback.
The rest of the bolt, starting from the air above and slightly behind Storm and down to the space in front of her, will electrify foes with high hit stun before popping them up at a 75* upwards angle with 11% damage dealt. Despite the very high start up of Side B, about a whopping 35 frames, the end lag combined with the electrical strike means it is actually rather safe on hit since once the bolt vanishes, Storm is essentially free to act! You can often use this as a delayed launcher to strike airborne foes or simply extend a combo as enemies fall above yourself, or attempt to land the explosive hit to try and score a stylish KO.
Going back to the tell tale whirling winds that indicate where the bolt will strike, Storm can also hold Side B for up to a second in order to alter the placement of her lightning.The wind becomes darker and "stormier" along the ground, or at least on the same horizontal plane if off stage, as you hold the input and the resulting lightning will grow in power as well from the 11%/16% strike up to a 15%/22% strike at max charge. The movement is not too fast however, only reaching out from 2/3 of a platform to 1+2/3rds, but you can mix it up by going backwards and forwards to strike behind yourself, on your location, or even in the normal spot to catch opponents. Regardless of where they are summoned, the bolts still rain down at the same 75* angle relative to where they will strike. This of course adds to the casting time quite a bit, and if interrupted early no lightning will be summoned. it can be beneficial to distract foes with a Whirlwind or such beforehand, or just take advantage of the chaos from a multi-man battle to hurl powerful bolts down!
While it may be a common saying that "Lightning never strikes twice", Storm can prove that wrong by spending Power! Upon a successful hit with a Lightning Bolt, Storm can press (Side) B immediately and summon another bolt randomly from the Sky towards the foe! The random direction of origin only applies to the space above the foe, as all additional bolts will angle themselves towards the foe anyways. Each additional lightning bolt will cost 1 Bar of your meter, totaling up to 3 additional bolts and count toward the stale move queue, as well as only be the "standard" bolt regardless of whether or not Storm had charged Side B for the initial hit. This still adds up though, as even a string of 11+10+9+8 = 38%!
This damage can be spread out over multiple foes though in one of two ways. If you had only caught one target in your first lightning bolt, they will be the primary target and spark wildly when struck by additional bolts as they absorb the electricity directly. Other enemies touching this poor soul will be impacted by the strong Strike hit box that normally occurs on the ground! If you happened to catch multiple foes in the initial bolt, the additional bolts will be randomly sent to each of the targets with the same properties as the former example, with other foes still able to be struck by the "strike" hit boxes. Unique to this case though is that the lightning bolts will chain to other targets struck by the initial blast for 1/2 damage! For an example, lets say 3 targets were struck by the initial bolt and then Storm mashes Side B to strike them again. One target will receive the full bolt damage (10% lets say), and then smaller bolts will arc from that target to the others for (5%), and so on. Foes not caught in the initial hit can still be struck by the "Strike" hit boxes on impact with the foe taking the main bolt, or be caught by the arcing chain bolts as well for the lesser damage. This allows Storm to lay on the damage and truly show off her power to command the skies even in 8-man Smash!
Up B: Gale Force Raising both arms up high in a "swooping" motion, Storm either cries out or exclaims "Wind, come to me!", "Gale Force!", or "Power of Winds!" as she summons a powerful gust of wind upwards!
By default, Storm will bring forth a crescent of wind from below herself that reaches up about twice her height before disappearing. The crescent is about 2/3 of a platform wide and will push foes the distance it travels if they are hit by the main crescent with hit stun and 1% damage, and about half that if they avoid that in favor of the column of wind behind said crescent that covers the area for the duration of the move, marked by a whooshing, distorted white graphic. As she summons the wind, Storm can angle the gust either Up by default, Left, Right or Downwards, each with the appropriate hand motion. Downwards angle in particular is of note as from the ground, this will just push wind down and around Storm to forcefully shove enemies to the sides of herself more potently than her Shield, though with much more lag. It goes without saying that the wind hit boxes cannot clank with other hit boxes, though of course interact with physical objects such as traps, characters, items and of course your own Whirlwind.
Whirlwind will be pushed along the distance of your gust swiftly, increasing the range and duration significantly with the Left/Right angles, or even reverse the direction for the remainder of the duration by blowing against it. Upwards Gale Force will actually raise your whirlwind up to a height where it will travel across platforms in the air, and a Downwards draft will simply push it similarly to shield on the ground, or if done from the air actually keep it in place and delay the hit as the down draft stalls the vortex.
Speaking of the air, the wind will also carry Storm just behind the crescent and halt her momentum as a four-way air dash of sorts for her recovery. You can cancel Gale Force with her double jump, allowing for a second use and making her recovery overall incredibly impressive and mechanically diverse given the 4 different angles you can mix and match, if easy to "swat" since the wind won't really be stuffing attacks directly. Even if not directly offensive, the wind still offers some protection against most direct attacks as they will be pushed in front of Storm if they cannot reach her, and the ability to quickly move in each direction freely offers her a lot of freedom in the air to maneuver around foes. Of course this can be potent off stage as well when on the offensive, as directly challenging other foes with a sideways or even downwards gust of wind can gimp them when applied correctly! Just be wary of trading in such a situation as if your jump is burned you lose out on a huge portion of her recovery. The timing is also a bit tricky to aim with the wind appearing at frame 12, though manageable given the disjoint it ultimately provides. Foes can counteract the wind with their own momentum though, often only being nudged if their own recovery moves provide sufficient push against the wind but sometimes that is just enough!
Things change drastically though if Storm puts some Power behind her Gale Force by upping the ante with tiered boosts. By holding the input for up to 60 frames, Storm will begin levitating as the winds she summons become drastically more powerful. In doing so, she will spend 1 Bar / 20 frames as indicated by the winds getting increasingly more violent around herself before releasing Level 1-3 of Gale Force:
Level 1 With 20 frames of charge / 1 Bar spent, the initial "gust" generated by Gale Force is simply boosted a good deal. The crescent of wind now deals 2% damage and covers an area a solid platform wide, and travels 50% more distance to both improve the utility on the ground, as well as the maneuverability and disjoint of Storm's air dashes. With a few bars at her disposal, Storm can certainly fly about any stage by riding these winds!
Level 2 With 40 frames/ 2 bars spent, things change a bit as the benefits of Level 1 remain, as does the wind generated! The area that Storm sends the crescent through nor continuously has the "weak" wind box blowing in said direction over the next 16 seconds. For a visual, this equates to most of the main floor of Battlefield now having a wind effect indicated by whooshing graphics and objects in the background being pushed in said direction. Up and Down both create columns of wind at the same height, despite Down usually just being the area immediately around Storm herself, with Left and Right still emanating from her location. Winds will create a constant pushing force in the direction applied that can benefit Storm by increasing her speed in said direction by Jumping up/slowing her descent, Fast Falling down, or running/drifting through the air left and right. It can also hinder foes as unlike Storm they are not immune to the negatives of the winds! In particular, while Storm moves faster by about 1.2x speed by traveling in the direction of these wind currents, as do foes, they also move 0.8x slower when trying to move against the wind. This can effectively alter the movement dynamics of a match to make somebody who normally outpaces Storm be slower overall than her depending on stage control. Aerial foes will notice the Updrafts/Downdrafts as they either get decreased or increased fall speeds that Storm can take advantage of in different ways, grounded foes will feel the effects of sideways wind currents more directly as their spacing becomes altered. For a visual, a sideways wind current is just about strong enough to push a foe at a speed of about 1 platform / 3 seconds, barring traction and obstacles if standing still. This could easily be enough to make them under/overshoot their running and aerial approaches or retreats!
Wind Attacks are also affected by these currents, either stacking together in the case of her Shield/Roll or altered somewhat in the case of Typhoon, Whirlwind and additional Gale Forces.
Typhoon will either grow exponentially in height by 50% in an Updraft, move side to side about a platform's length when caught in a sideways wind current, or gain less height but get more force and combo-ability by dealing 15% up from 10% in a Downdraft.
Whirlwind behaves similarly with it being boosted upwards on it's path if caught in an Updraft, boost it's speed forward or slow it's speed while keeping the same duration based on which direction the wind blows in a sideways current, or slow it drastically and actually gains a slight increase in damage (1.1x) as it is pushed down, and grown by a Downdraft. In any direction, Charging a Whirlwind also has it's time cut by 1.2x while in a wind current! This decreases the time down to 48 Frames normally, and 24 with a Bar spent rotating the stick for a rather significant improvement.
Gale Force itself is quite interesting as the direct control of the wind offers some advanced techniques based on your inputs. First things first, from the Ground your standard gusts of wind will be boosted if they match the direction of the wind, dealing 1.5x the damage (1.5%), pushing 1.5x as hard and traveling 1.5x as far for considerably better results all around. Level 1 gusts also share these benefits, overall becoming about 3x as effective compared to a powerless Gale Force and can truly shove foes around with ease!
In the Air, not only can Storm naturally ride the wind with her jump being boosted in the direction of her choosing (except Downwards), but she will gain a free, boosted Air-Dash if she chooses to boost through her wind current, pushing her total to 3 per air time combined with her jump. Boosting through a current has a special animation where Storm spins with her arms outstretched to signify the special use, though you can also Up B again into the current in order to gain momentum again though it won't be "free". This can make her ability to shove airborne foes even more deadly than before combined with the natural boost to the wind's push as Storm can go even deeper off stage without worry to blow foes away!
Gale Force summoned in the opposite direction of a Wind Current will clash with the current and create a brief, cylindrical, Cyclone hit box. Created about the same distance away as Marth's F smash from Storm, these Cyclones are as tall as Gale Force's normal hit box and will spin foes touching them rapidly for 5% as the foe's direction is reversed. Just like with Mario's cape, there is no real hit stun as the Cyclone simply swirls the foe around to spit them out in the opposite direction either Up, Down, Left or Right. You can extend combos, gimp or even reverse vertical recoveries with proper timing, or even reflect physical items and projectiles. Setting this up can prove predictable despite it's power, as for best results you will need beneficial wind currents at the sides of the stage either going into the stage or upwards away from the bottom for the gimping reverse hits. Aerial Gale Force air dashes create Cyclones but also carry the boosting effects, making them a bit trickier to time but potentially more powerful.
Lastly, performing a perpendicular Gale Force (Upwards/Downwards in a sideways stream or vice versa) will simply angle the attack or boost with the appropriate angle. Shooting an upwards blast of wind in a sideways stream will still be mostly upwards, while shooting sideways through a vertical stream will still mostly be horizontal and so on, allowing you to mix up your coverage areas greatly.
Costing only two bars, Level 2 Gale Force adds quite a lot of power to a match for the duration, allowing Storm to really dictate the pace of the match quite handily.
Level 3 With 60 frames / 3 bars spent, the most powerful version of Gale Force not only carries the effects of the previous levels, but also Aero-Forms the entire stage!
The entire screen will gain a blustery, windy aura as a global wind will affect everything for 16 seconds in the direction Storm chooses. This wind is about as powerful as Wispy Woods, but on a titanic scale that also affects airborne characters. In effect, this will boost or hinder running speeds, air speeds, falling speeds, jump heights and even knockback in the appropriate directions by a factor of about 1.2x / 0.8x, which also stacks with the Wind Current left behind like with Level 2. Regardless of the direction, Storm is unaffected by the negative aspects of these changes when it comes to moving slower against the wind due to her mastery of the element.
While under the effects of the strong winds, all of Storm's wind-based attacks are boosted by the same 1.2x factor in terms of Speed, Damage, Range and so on that stacks again with their interactions inside the main Wind Currents left by Gale Force. This can mean fully charged Whirlwinds in a mere 36 frames, or 18 with 1 Bar if you manage to wrack up meter, not to mention very powerful Gale Forces at your disposal that can easily shove foes about the stage, or off of it.
It should be mentioned that with another Storm in play, they can benefit from these wind effects too, as would just about any character who can generate wind when it lines up with the direction. Another Storm however can also change the directions of the winds in their favor, overriding the previous wind effects if given the time.
When all said and done, Storm's mastery of the winds and skies, combined with her Lightning and Whirlwinds, can prove to be quite the potent combination. She can hinder foes, push them around, contort the very air space foes want to navigate and soar through the air with ease to make it back to stage. Do not take this mutant lightly, or else you may find yourself blown away!
Down B: Storm Brewing Facing the screen, Storm performs a small twirl and then raises her head and hands up high, calling out "Behold the powers of the Goddess!". During this lengthy period of lag, Storm's eyes glow noticeably white as the top of the screen visibly grows Storm Clouds, and after about a second cause Rain to fall onto the visible screen.
Storm Brewing is your other means of altering the air space to your liking alongside Gale Force, though this method may be more immediately apparent given the climate change from clear skies to a Rainy Day.Similar to Up B as well, Storm Brewing will change between Levels 0-3 based on how much power you feed into it. During the Falcon-Punch like start up animation, pressing B again will cause Storm to add a Bar of power, and subsequently change the level of Storm Brewing you use. Unlike Up B though, the start up animation is always the same length, though what happens upon completion varies tremendously. Rain is the basic form of precipitation available to Storm with No Power available, and gives every solid object a noticeable "wet" texture. Lasting for 6 seconds, wet surfaces and characters have slightly less traction than normal given the slippery nature of water, which in turn makes the effectiveness of her pushing Wind attacks all the more effective as foes slip and slide away with ease!
But, there is a far more dangerous aspect to having the stage and characters soaking wet... do you know why they tel you never to be in a pool during a Thunderstorm? Storm's Lightning Attacks vs soaking foes will deal considerably more Damage as well as gain more Power, about 1.25x normal. Seeing as many of her normals carry an electrical edge to them, this is a considerable boost to both her raw damage output and Power Gain given that the new rate (0.75x Damage) is also working off of a bigger damage number. For a basic example, lets look at her Lightning Bolt. A normal impact will deal 11% with the main bolt, which gives Storm back ~7 Power. A soaked foe will be fried for ~14% and give back ~10 power! Even better if you land the explosive strike hit box, dealing 20% and returning 15 Power, a full bar or more if you Charge Side B! With multiple targets able to be struck by lightning, this can make for huge returns in a multi-man battle. Speaking of that Strike hit box, when Lightning strikes Wet Ground it will electrify the surrounding area. Similar to powered Side B, an area the size of a platform will spark to life and deal 1/2 the bolt's damage (~6.5% fresh) and paralyze opponents momentarily before they are popped up into the air. You can easily follow up on this and greatly increase the threat-zone of Side B, potentially even getting in two separate lightning bolts despite another paralyzing hit simply popping the foe upwards. Paralysis also doesn't count as a direct hit for Powered lightning unfortunately, but the ability to stun in of itself is well worth the trade.
Level 1 - Freezing Rain With 1 Bar able to be drained for Storm Brewing, your Rain converts to Freezing Rain with much harsher looking rain drops that carry a whiter hue than before, as well as slightly darker storm clouds up above. Again lasting for 8 seconds, this Freezing Rain carries the same properties as normal though it now coats the stage in a more "icy sheen" as traction for opponents is reduced even further, down to 0.75x normal.
Over time, characters also gain this icy coating if exposed to the elements for too long. Once chilled, characters will find their movement speed reduced to 0.9x globally. Chilling Wind attacks are especially nasty when exposed to the cold, with all her wind attacks dealing 1.1x more damage vs chilly foes. If a wind hit box did not already deal damage, then it will simply deal 1% or in the case of continual wind, 1% every 2 seconds. Combined with less traction, her wind attacks will do a number on foes in terms of their spacing capabilities.
Level 2 - Hailstorm With 2 Bars available, Storm conjures up even nastier weather up above as brutal pellets of Snow and Hail are added to the mix! The entire screen will have scattered, Mario-fireball sized pellets of hail rain down at random that deal 1% to foes on impact with no hit stun. While insignificant individually, a full blown Hail Storm will often batter and bruise foes who face the weather for long enough! For an example, a character hopping from platform to platform on battlefield will likely take about 22%+ over the 12 second duration of the storm as they repeatedly cross paths with Hail.
Platforms and other outcrops actually provide natural shelter from weather effects for many characters. Given that it all comes from the skies above, pretty much any bonus effect that isn't normal Rain will be blocked by anything that covers the skies. Luckily for Storm, she has the Winds at her beck and call to alleviate this issue. Storm can use Gale Force to push Freezing Rain and Hail about the stage, making it "Rain Sideways" at times or even collect Hail in an updraft for foes to slam into more reliably. Hail that encounters wind currents take longer to fall to the ground and thus more can be concentrated in an area or knocked about to coat the surfaces in slippery ice, while Downdrafts will speed up Hail to pelt foes for 2% damage. Being physical objects of sorts, Hail and Snow can also be picked up by Twister and Typhoon! Vacuuming up the multiple projectiles can add variable damage and added hit stun to each of these vortexes, especially the Typhoon as it can gather up a large sum of hail to become a make-shift Icy Tornado. It won't be uncommon for Storm to gather up a good 15% or so of extra damage per Typhoon this way, spitting the foe into the air where they will come into contact with more Hail and deadly Storm follow ups!
Level 3 - Thunderstorm With all available power at her disposal, 3 Bars will conjure up a powerful Thunderstorm! The screen darkened by black clouds overhead, Freezing Rain and Hail buffet the stage as Thunder grumbles from up above ominously, occasionally flashing Lightning across the sky.
Taking on the effects of all the other storms as always, Thunderstorms will last even longer at 16 seconds. The addition that matters most however is that Storm now has Lightning ready to command! Her Side B greatly benefits from the added electrical energy in the skies, always starting from the top of the screen no matter the distance and taking on a more ferocious appearance. A normal Lightning Bolt is a solid bolt from start to finish, but during a Thunderstorm it branches out at random to create a wide array of miniature bolts through the air! These branches of electricity can effectively triple the horizontal area of a single Lightning Bolt as they scatter left and right off the main line, dealing 1/2 the bolt's damage but otherwise hitting just the same. If these branches make contact with wet ground, they too will create paralyzing shock waves identical to where the main line strikes for 1/2 Bolt damage which can stack with other strikes. The added energy in the air has another benefit, with Lightning Bolts specifically granting 100% of the damage they deal back as Power on top of the normal damage bonuses from rain!
Furthermore, the actual Storm Cloud itself plays a role if characters dare enter it. Surrounding the top of the screen with it's wicked appearance, foes who enter the "Magnifying Glass" outside the main camera will be seen inside of the storm cloud and battered with wind and hail from within to take about 4% / Second. When Storm summons Lightning with Side B, the entire cloud reacts by sparking to life for 10% damage as well as very weak upwards knockback. At that height though, even the littlest bit could spell doom for those who dare challenge nature!
Overall, Storm will often want to have some weather effect in play. Given that this boosts her power generation, it is safe to at least have Rain on the field at all times so she can then gain power back to use Gale Force or other maneuvers. It is not that simple to just toss out though, as the beginning animation for summoning weather is essentially just as interruptible as the Falcon Punch, and Storm needs to complete it entirely to change the atmosphere of a match! Granted, if she catches a foe in a Whirlwind or just pushes them away with Gale Force she can make the space, though it requires effort on her part.
It should also be mentioned what Down B does when Weather is already in play, either by her own use or by another Storm on the field. With the same animation as before, taking as long as a Falcon Punch before the effect kicks in, Storm can regain power while saying "I call upon the power of the Goddess!" as her eyes glow brightly and electricity crackles around herself. Upon uninterrupted completion of this animation, Storm will regain 1 Bar of her meter instantly. If you have the space to pull it off, this can be a great boost to then unleash some fury later on, especially since you can keep doing this non-stop to regain bars. Two Storms in the same match can do this together, either as team synergy or to take advantage of the other Storm's weather effects. The Storm who created weather will also have their Character Portrait gain a cloudy, stormy aura for the duration to indicate ownership, making other Storms feel the negative effects of the weather such as Winds and Hail, while also being unable to abuse Thunderstorm with their lightning. Rain will always grant any Storm the ability to deal more damage and gain more power from Electrical attacks though.
Once the weather is altered, the pace of the match changes for everybody as Storm now gains essentially infinite stage presence combined with Lightning, especially in a Thunderstorm! It is best to try and brave the elements and pressure Storm herself to combat this, though of course time and again Mother Nature seems to be the one who wins vs Man...
SMASHES Side Smash: Lightning Burst Drawing both arms back as she charges up with electrical energy, upon release Storm will put both hands forward in a "Hadouken!" style pose as she unleashes a conical burst of lightning!
This burst covers an area that stretches just in front of her hands, outwards to be about as tall as herself when it begins to dissipate around 1/2 a platform away. Foes caught up in the burst will be electrocuted for 14-20% and paralyzed momentarily before being blasted off at the Sakurai angle with great force, able to KO at around 120%. This paralysis is almost entirely cosmetic as Storm begins her end lag when the foe gets knocked back, but it can be useful in a team setting to allow somebody to tack on an extra hit before they are blasted off! If you do not shock foes however, the end lag can be a bit punishable as Storm recovers.
In the Rain, the paralysis increases to cover a longer time period vs Soaked Foes based on the damage it deals, aka how much it is charged. At base, the rain will push an uncharged F smash to just a bit longer of a time that is noticeable, but you cannot do much about. Fully charged, not only does it deal a great 25%, but it will paralyze foes for a solid 15 frames after Storm is able to act! Off of a decent read, a mid to full charged F smash can deal a great chunk of %, gain a bunch of power and allow you or a friend to lay on even more hurt quickly.
Speaking of a Charge, just like with Twister you can dramatically speed up your charging period with all of Storm's smash attacks with Power! Once a charge is started, you can spin the control stick to have Storm take on a more dramatic "summoning" animation with her hands and glowing eyes to halve the charge timer down from 60 frames to 30 frames. While it is still a significant chunk of time, it is a dramatic change for what you get, especially considering that F smash here will gain you back a whole bar + change on impact!
Up Smash: Jacobs Ladder Facing the screen, Storm raises both her hands in a wide " V " stance as lightning crackles around her, eventually traveling up her arms and bursting at and between her hands in a powerful arc!
The charge period actually has weak hit boxes that deal 0.5% in multiple, shocking hits that can add up to ~5% extra damage before the main arcing strike, with a Powered charge having more erratic electricity to deal double the damage but in less time to still deal about the same overall. The arc hit box on / between Storm's hands reaches an impressive height that can cover a decent portion of platforms above herself, or just general air space and is actually her strongest smash attack as it packs a walloping 18-25% damage and extremely high vertical knockback for a laggy, yet scary KO move.
Despite the hefty lag on both ends, U Smash has a lot going for it. Great range with disjoint in an arc above herself, massive power alongside combo potential with her Lightning and Up B wind juggling, and even a bit of safety while charging. Speaking of Wind, this is a good spot to highlight how it can affect her combo or even KO potential. Obviously, U smashes in Smash carry a bit of momentum when done from a running start. If the wind is at your back, you obviously get a significant distance boost one way or the other to catch foes you have popped up with a powerful hit. The Knockback would then be altered slightly by the prevailing winds which can help or hinder DI for various traps, such as if they wanted to DI in/Left for survival, then the winds pushing them out and right would stall them a bit longer for a possible follow up or vice versa with them trying to DI away and ending up flying further than they'd like! This is more pronounced with Up and Down wind currents though given it directly affects fall speeds. If you U smash somebody in an upwards wind current, their knockback is increased dynamically to the point where you could be KO'ing 15%+ or earlier or even more! In a downdraft it is just the opposite, where it allows for more combo potential as the foe is still in hit stun, but not sent as far as they would normally have gone for you to strike them again.
Down Smash: Hurricane Crouching lightly during her hovering neutral pose, Storm whips up winds around her hands and feet as she charges, and upon release spins rapidly in place with her legs sweeping just off the ground to whip up a localized Hurricane!
The disk shaped whirling cloud whirls around Storm to create a huge, low area of effect that grinds up anyone caught in it with rapid hits that deal 18-25% on either side, before almost gently popping the foe out and away with knockback more like a jab finisher than a smash attack. Foes who come in contact with the "eye" of the Hurricane where Storm is performing the spinning kick, they will take only 10-14% and be sent away with strong, "GTFO" knockback that won't really KO until very high percent. Combined with her kick, the wind hit boxes to either end cover an incredible distance comparable to Shulk's down smash to grind away at foes for decent damage.
Being another wind attack, Down Smash of course also benefits from Gale Force's persistent winds. Like with Typhoon, left or right winds will move Storm left or right to chase down foes with a much greater area of effect. Generally, this will move her about 1/2 the range of the entire move in said direction by the time she stops spinning, which can account for nearly half a stage's floor! An Upwards wind will lift the hurricane up into the air slowly, ending at about the height of Storm herself / a short hop, and dramatically reduce the end lag of the move, where a Downdraft will add more energy to the Hurricane as Storm visibly spins faster and deals 1.2x more damage overall, though with a bit more end lag to compensate. Finally, if you happen to catch a Twister inside of your Hurricane, you will be able to take it for a ride around for the duration as you trap foes in both multi hits, and don't even get started with the addition of Hail in the mix! Overall, D smash can offer up a bunch of damage across multiple foes and a wide area, though its end lag and low power may make other options such as F smash more attractive based on the situation.
STANDARDS Jab: Hover Combo Storm is adept at riding the wind, and will use that to her advantage without second thought! Given that she is hovering at essentially all times, this gives her some leeway with her melee combat to perform some acrobatic moves in place, starting with her jab. A press of A will simply have Storm perform a "chop" in front of her for 2% damage, very quick and like most jabs simply performs hit stun. If A is continually pressed or held, Storm will take the chop's momentum to spin in place and perform a swift spin-kick with an aesthetic wind effect for an additional 4%, followed by a second spin from that momentum for 8% and real "wind" as she angles the strike upwards with some force!
Dealing 14% total, her Jab Combo is decent for just getting foes off of your face and up into the air thanks to the hard last hit and slight "push" at the same 45* angle right near her leg. Despite the speed and the large range of the final hit, Jab's shortcoming is that it has really tiny range in order to start the combo where foes can out prioritize Storm. While she often wants to keep foes at bay, when she is in trouble she can opt for Jab to either keep them out or begin an offensive.
Side Tilt: Gust Kick Again taking advantage of her hovering state, Storm can launch herself forward with a gust of wind to deliver a long ranged kick! Drawing her arms up and forward for some start up lag, upon pushing back, Storm takes a classic "Falcon Kick" type of pose as she rides the winds forward about 2/3 of a platform's length total to strike at foes for 9% damage before stopping her momentum in mid-air. The knockback on the move is deceptive, with it really only "pushing" foes at the Sakurai angle away just far enough to follow up on at low-mid percents for the majority of the strike. However, a hit right as Storm boosts forward with the wind can actually deliver enough force to KO around 130~140%, though the window to hit is very brief.
Like most F tilts, Storm can angle her kick but with the twist of course being the movement options granted. An Upwards F tilt will send Storm into the air about her own height to strike for 8% damage overall, and leave her airborne momentarily which can of course lead into aerials / Up B / etc given the lesser damage output. Downwards F tilt hits harder at 10% damage, though it really only sends Storm just in front of her into the floor, trading range for damage and actually lesser end lag as she simply lands.
This aerial movement of course means that Storm can perform the attack to zoom off of a ledge, making Down angle an attractive if predictable option when right on the corner. Better yet, technically being a Wind move means she also benefits from Gale Force! The benefits are what you would come to expect by now with Left/Right winds boosting the range of the kick in all it's variants. Updrafts will angle all the types upward to make an Up Angle rise higher but with less horizontal range, normal angle will raise up about half Storm's height, and a down angle actually goes about the same as her normal angle but with the same power dynamics of 8/9/10%. In a Downdraft, the reverse happens as Up angle is now more like a neutral angle, Neutral is more like down, and the down angle may as well be a kick in place, though all versions of the strike now send the opponents struck at a lower 35* angle which could be devastating combined with the wind pushing them down. Despite its range and combo-extending/starting properties, F tilt like with Jab suffers a problem with priority, being that the hit box is a little slow to appear on top of only being on her leg. If you see it coming at close range, most characters can in fact easily shield-grab the kick if not at the absolute end of the move where Storm can quickly act. Something Storms may often do is F tilt -> Back Roll for quick pokes/ spacing games as you can either score a hit, or if that fails push yourself backwards and in turn create a small gust of wind in your wake to avoid retaliation.
Up Tilt: Static Uppercut Reaching down to the ground for a bit of start up, Storm's hand sparks to life with electrical energy as she torques her body and punches upwards, leaving a trail of lightning in her fist's wake!
With a clear sweet/sour spot dynamic made visual by "Fist / Trail", U tilt hits one of two ways. The first being the strong, launching fist hit that knocks opponents up into the air at an 80* angle for 11% and can actually KO at around 120~130%. The trailing electricity from the ground up to where her fist reaches will in turn zap foes for only 7%, and then send them up at a shallower 65*angle up and away with weak-medium power. Despite the lackluster hit, the trail of electricity makes U tilt surprisingly safe given the sheer duration of the hit box, almost making a "wall" in front of Storm for foes to at the very least trade with and be knocked away when trying to attack!
Trading overall range for safety, U tilt is almost like a standing sex-kick that can be invaluable in the Rain for starting a combo without committing to U smash or F smash, and can often lead directly into Lightning Bolts from either hit depending on the Foe and their Percent. Everyone is a bit different here but it usually works!
Down Tilt: Static Discharge Opposite of U tilt, Storm gathers electricity in a raised hand, before slamming her palm down to the floor below!
On impact, the built-up electrical energy disperses forwards to shock anyone standing in front of Storm similarly to when a lightning bolt strikes the ground. Foes struck will take a solid 10% and get launched at a sharp 30* angle out and away from herself that won't really KO, but sends them far enough away to put them in a terrible offstage position or into her more zoning type moves.
While the ground before Storm sparks to life with decent range, equivalent to many "sword" D tilts, this gets boosted if you D tilt onto Wet Ground from Rain. In the rain, the electricity travels even further to cover about a whole platform in total, a huge boost! Although enemies can always just jump to avoid the strike, this could also be exactly what you want as entering the Air is simply entering into Storm's element!
Dash Attack: Lightning Attack From a dash, Storm will fly straight with both arms out as her fists become engulfed in crackling electricity!
As she flies, the rest of her arms / front half will gain electrical arcs, which lasts for the majority of the move until the ending, and creates a sort of "sex kick" similar to F tilt though with a twist. The initial hit of Dash Attack will deal 7% and pop foes up and away at a 50* angle with a bit more knockback than F tilt, which combined with the movement makes it rather safe. For the remaining second or so of dashing, Storm will shock anyone she comes in contact with repeatedly for up to 13% damage before the last hit sends the enemy at the same 50* angle but for much weaker knockback. It is possible to combo the initial strike into the multi hit, but really only vs poor DI and fast falling conditions through either a Downdraft or character physics.
Unlike F tilt, this attack can travel past shields, especially with the winds at your back for increased momentum, though it has considerably more commitment as a miss guarantees Storm going into a very laggy animation that is punishable by aerials from shield / etc. Also like F tilt, you can Dash Attack past a ledge as you fly and are unaffected by gravity until the ending of the move, though overall there is a tad more end lag to the move to compensate the sheer length of the move.
AERIALS Neutral Air: Squall Kick With a dramatic pose, Storm performs the classic "Sex Kick" animation with a windy twist as air quickly circulates around her body during the "strong" portion of the strike!
Dealing between 8% and 5% based on the early/lingering portion of the hit, you will strike foes away at either a shallow 30* with the strong that can KO very well when going deep off stage, or wall / combo folks with your lingering 45* hit given her supreme aerial mobility. With all that Wind circling her, it should be no surprise that Storm has the ability to ride the winds with Nair much like how she boosts forwards with F tilt.
Unlike her other moves, Aerials have a more intimate connection to the wind as she maneuvers through her slip streams for different purposes. In particular, N air has a special dynamic based not on the direction of the wind specifically, but rather the direction Storm is moving in relation to the wind. When traveling With the wind current, Storm opts to travel quickly in the direction of the wind for 1/2 the normal N air duration while the kick is always the Strong Hit! This allows you to travel quickly in 4 directions with a stronger, faster hit but without the real "staying" power of a natural N air. The polar opposite of this is when traveling Against the wind, which causes Storm to halt her momentum for 1.5x the normal N air duration with the whole strike being the Weaker Hit. This causes Storm to essentially be a "trap" where she can then quickly act after actually hitting a foe and cause her to punish spacing, especially since the lingering hit is facing the direction foes are being pushed from. Both versions are a bit tricky to master as you need to be actively moving (IE drifting with the control stick) With or Against the wind. If you simply Nair without any other directional input / N air into the wind, you will do a normal N air.
Up Air: Cyclone Flip Storm performs a graceful flip-kick to strike foes in a huge semi circle from front to back, her foot creating a stream of wind in its wake!
The kick hits for a solid 9% all the way around and is actually a tad slower than you would expect, popping foes straight up no matter where they are stuck for the arc with medium knockback growth that allows for good juggles or high percent KOs near the top of the screen. Interestingly, U air also has a "flub" hit box as Storm completes the 360* flip from just below/behind herself to directly below herself that deals only 5% and sends foes at a nasty 0* angle for gimps. If you don't connect with the main meat of the flip, you can always try for the secondary, semi-spiking hit!
Like with N air, U air also rides the Wind based on if you travel With or Against the current. Traveling With the winds will considerably speed up U air to be more like Falcon or ZSS U air, but lose the "Flub" hit as she quickly flips while traveling in the wind's direction. When Against the wind, U air will halt Storm's momentum as she performs a 360* hit for 7% that either hits upwards on the top half or 0* semi spike at the bottom half (very beginning and end). Covering a great deal of air space during the flip, this like with N air can create a deadly frame trap to combo or gimp with.
Down Air: Tornado Drop Spinning in mid air, winds envelop Storm as she falls through foes and tears through them like a Tornado!
Dealing 15% when all hits connect, D air is your standard "drill" in many respects with a small bit of stall'n'fall thrown in as Storm will fall a bit faster when doing this normally. You'll often want to try and use this as a punish option to try and come back down to the stage alongside downwards Up B, or as a more damaging punish option off of a stray hit when you just want to go for damage. It is especially stylish when combined with your own Twister, doubling up on the spinning hit boxes!
The last aerial to directly benefit from Winds, D air follows a similar pattern to the others. With the wind, D air will no longer fall (unless going down) and instead quickly travel and drag foes in the direction of the wind current somewhat like Megaman's Dash attack in any direction. "Double Down" can even gimp certain foes as you drag them down and continue to push with the wind current, or even go for a super stylish D air -> Downwards Up B! Against the wind, Storm halts all momentum and actually spins for about 1.5x longer in place, dealing up to 20% if all hits connect! While highly damaging, it is also an attractive thus predictable option and like all multihits will lose to stronger single hits when predicted.
Forward Air: Lightning Spark Leaning back, Storm draws a hand back and charges up electrical energy, before thrusting the same hand down and out at a shallow diagonal and shooting a stream of lightning outwards!
Shooting out about the same distance as Ike or Cloud's sword, the electrical disjoint is pretty impressive for a poke. Dealing only 7%, foes struck will be popped up at a relatively diagonal 65* angle up and away rather weakly, allowing you to easily get another F air, N air, U air or pretty much any offensive special move off. With barely any ending lag when airborne, it is an incredibly reliable combo and spacing tool for Storm.
While normally not optimal to do close to the ground as Storm often loses out on valuable range as the electricity stops on surfaces, Rain can alleviate that problem. Not only boosting the damage to ~9%, but upon touching a Wet Surface the electrical energy will discharge just like with D tilt and continue forwards. The current will continue on to match the range of normal F air from when it makes contact, making for an optimal range of about halfway down the bolt to when you land just as the bolt comes out to get the most out of it, though you can always zap Platforms as well. This landing hit has the same properties as the normal strike for 9%, and counts as the same hit to greatly extend the range of this poke when in Weather, but unable to "combo" into both the hits.
Back Air: Thunder Spark With a similar animation to F air, Storm raises her arm straight up into the air and charges up electrical energy, before turning around and forcefully shoving her palm forcefully behind herself horizontally as she shoots a more powerful, crackling bolt of lightning!
With considerably more start up and end lag as Storm charges for longer and has to return to a neutral aerial state, B air at least matches the disjoint of F air's lightning. Better yet, the more charge up also makes for more damage at 9% base, as well as launching the fried foes out at a 45* angle with some decent power! Alongside strong N air this is your other offstage KO option, often getting more secure kills though it is a bit harder to just toss out.
Like with F air, in the Rain you can use this to zap Wet Surfaces. Again, this recreates the hit box on the surface as an extension, though it is significantly harder to take advantage of due to not striking diagonally downwards so Storm will need to hit platforms or come up offstage and strike the floor directly.
THROWS Grab: Vortex Reaching out with both arms in a slightly exaggerated motion, Storm summons a swirling vortex of wind from the ground up that reaches up to about the same size as an uncharged Twister.
This grab is slower than normal and actually starts at a range pretty much between that of a tether and standard grab, making Storm's grab big but not "huge". This of course can be augmented by Winds. As you grab, your grab box will move alongside the wind current you try to summon it in, either moving out towards foes, dragging the grab box closer to, or even behind you, making it rise up taller to snag foes from the air, or flattening the grab and granting it a slightly longer duration (+2 frames) when in a Downdraft.
Once caught, foes are stuck spinning in place by Storm's controlled vortex, and uniquely can only be air grab-released if able. Pressing A at this time will cause Storm to shock the foe with small bits of lightning from her fingertips for 3% damage a pop, a fairly standard if flashy pummel.
Forward: Whirlwind "Pushing" forwards with both hands, Storm sends the Vortex and the foe away from herself for about a platform as the Vortex multi-hits the foe for 4% damage, before bursting in a gust of wind for an additional 3% that pops the foe up and away with medium power.
This essentially deals set knockback that ends up with the foe being about 1.5ish platforms away from where they were grabbed, but of course has variable positioning based on the Winds as well. Traveling alongside the wind's direction will speed up the vortex for more distance, and against the wind of course slows it for less, an Updraft will shoot the foe out higher into the air and at a steeper 55* angle, and a downdraft will cause the foe to spin around in a wider radius as they travel and finally be spit out at a 35* angle. Storm can act pretty much just as the foe gets spit out of the Vortex,allowing her to attempt different followups based on the winds, the character and so on. Hail is always a welcome addition to these type of vortexes as the move will suck up extra % onto the foes, and sending the enemy through others will batter both of them for 5% each time they spin past another character as well as open up opportunities to try and combo into Lightning Bolts or Twisters.
Back: Whirling Tornado "Grabbing" the vortex in front of her, Storm then spins in place slowly as the Vortex actually grows and spins in a wide circle around herself! Transforming into a cyclone even bigger than herself as she completes the second rotation, and having dealt 5% worth of multi hit, the vortex will violently expel the foe backwards at a 40* angle for 6% that can KO at a solid 120%.
Winds behave essentially the same here as with F throw, though the rotation adds a little something extra. As Storm causes the tornado to orbit herself, both she and the tornado will ride along with the wind in the same direction. Moving about half a platform back or forth, along with the Tornado either reaching further or closer to Storm in the rotation, you can vary the release point as well as the ability to strike others with the trapped foe quite a bit, though it is usually best to try B throw when you would be throwing with the wind instead of against it. An Updraft will raise the height of the tornado as well as levitate Storm to send the foe out at a 45* angle and drastically lower Storm's end lag. Finally, a Downdraft will actually stifle the growth of the tornado but cause Storm to perform an extra spin, dealing 7.5% before sending the foe out for another 5% at a 35* angle with a bit less knockback.
Both F and B throw have lengthy animations, yet also can cause wide spread havoc. Each cause an additional 5% to be dealt to both the grabbed victim and anyone they come in contact with as they get flung about, and of course also give plenty of time for team mates or others to smack the foe as they are spun about. They can be quite efficient power gainers in this regard, especially when bolstered by weather effects of Cold and Hail to add to damage!
Up: Thundergust Storm raises her arms up as the vortex spins wildly, getting darker and stormier as it rises up and eventually shocks the foe upwards with an electrical discharge!
This localized thunderstorm will pop foes straight up into the air in front of you based on where the Vortex caught the foe of course. Taking 10% damage, enemies are flung with strong base knockback but little growth, often just out of range of direct follow ups but flung far enough to easily be in danger of Lightning and other juggle attempts. With an Updraft, you can on occasion actually KO floatier characters at around 150-160% with the move combined with the added grab height, and of course Downdrafts offer better combo ability.
Down: Static Storm Pinning the foe onto the floor with harsh winds, Storm hovers above them at a slight angle, and with arms outstretched, rains down electricity from her fingers onto them!
Dealing multiple hits that add up to 8% as the foe writhes on the ground, the final hit will pop the foe up and out behind Storm with medium knockback similar to the final push of F throw, though a tad stronger. You can often follow up on D throw in similar ways to F throw, though with slight differences. The main attractions here are the differences between the foe expecting to be tossed left or right, as well as the benefits of Wind or Rain. In the rain, both U throw and D throw deal 1.25x more damage and grant more power, which is certainly something to consider!
SUMMARY: Weather Goddess Storm is all about control and tremendous stage presence. What she may lack in up close combat, she more than makes up for by being a threat to basically anyone on screen with her massive special moves and mastery of the air itself.
Starting with her specials, each one offers stage control in different ways. Twister allows Storm to control the horizontal space before her with a lingering, multi hitting projectile that of course can be altered in various ways. Lightning Bolts allow control of the vertical space within an area that is select-able by her, and threaten a huge punish on foes which can put fear into their hearts. Typhoon similarly controls the space just around Storm, and negates opposing projectiles and can also counteract some melee approaches. Gale Force can also control direct vertical or horizontal space, but not as well as the others. Upon a successful bait or punish for a foe to try and avoid or get hit by one of her spacing options, she can transition into her strong air game or gain a grab in order to reset and force the situation to play out again in her favor.
Her other specials offer a lot more complexity into Storm's gameplay, and ask of her to choose slightly between mastery of Winds or mastery of Weather. Gale Force feeds into the former, with Storm able to create wind currents, or even alter the entire stage temporarily to change the very physics that characters experience in the air and with her own wind attacks. Storm Brewing offers more direct damage as her electrical moves become much more potent, as well as adding damage to her wind attacks in the form of Frost and Hail. To get to the best parts of either move though will deny access to the other, at least temporarily, due to taking the majority of your Power Bar to use. There are benefits to mixing and matching, of course, and there is enough benefit to go around throughout her moveset to make either style just as viable based on your personal preference.
By commanding the air, you also command the ability to keep foes off the ground and thus off the stage for as long as possible. Storm excels at air combos and keeping the foe at bay, both traits that lead to a great gimping game. That is not to say she does not have stellar damage racking or KO moves, it is just that they require much more finesse or often are sort of one-shot-wonders in her kit. Being so light and floaty herself, it is ironic then that she can often find herself being abused by juggles as well as finding herself KO'ed as early as she can gimp others! Despite her immense presence, Storm is rather fragile once you get in on her and start landing hits. Her moves are often a bit on the slow side when you look past all the flashiness and wind, and often do not have that much disjoint aside from a few key moves. While it may be hard to combo Storm directly, all you need is to catch her slipping only a few times to really spell trouble for her!
Despite her shortcomings, Storm should always be treated with respect as she should also respect the enemies she faces. Sure, laymen and cowards may tremble before her might and be flustered, but worth opponents may be much more capable of weathering her powers. Keep your might in check and use it wisely, and when the time comes be ready to unleash the very powers of nature to show your enemies who Storm really is!
EXTRAS: FINAL SMASH : Perfect Storm Flying high into the background, Storm glows brightly with electricity as the entire screen darkens and the background replaced by storm clouds. Two tornadoes format either side of the screen as torrential rain and hail buffets the space in between, combining the forces of all her weather and wind effects across the stage!
After the animation of Storm flying back and creating the storm alongside her cry of "Prepare to witness the wrath of the Goddess!", you are able to control Storm in the background freely where you can press A or B to summon columns of Lightning onto the stage at her location. These bolts behave just like her Side B but are infinitely faster, able to be fired off every 20 frames. Foes struck take 15% and diagonally upwards knockback that Storm can chase with additional lightning bolts to "ladder" them to death, or at least coerce them towards the tornadoes at either side of the screen which will whip foes randomly either up to the top blastzone, down to the bottom, or off to the sides and certain doom.
After about 10 seconds of this, Storm will fly off the top of the screen and descend to where she began the final smash gracefully.
Up Taunt : Aerial Acrobatics Storm performs some graceful flying maneuvers in place, looping in and out with precision. While not really viable, this can actually move Storm out of the Z axis and allow her to dodge certain attacks!
Side Taunt : Warning With both her arms up, Storm summons a light whirlwind around her body that swirls from head to toe as she says "There is no escape!" In fact, this taunt also has a very close range suction effect to emphasize this, as well as remark to how Storm carries with her the ability to influence the entire stage. Down Taunt : Electric Persona Storm cries out as she strikes a graceful yet menacing pose and Lightning emerges from her fingertips and eyes, alongside her hair behaving a tad crazier.
Tony's Snark: Looking out towards Storm, Iron Man will say "You know, it is amazing that your hair stays like that with all this humidity..."
Entrance : Flashy Flight Storm enters the area with a rumble of thunder as she gracefully whooshes back and forth before landing at her spawn location.
The Princess of Sarasaland takes her trademark tomboyish attitude to the football field.
Having won the Brick Wall award five times in a row, she has the reputation of being a fierce defender.
As she puts aside her flower power for the impenetratable Crystals she won't let anyone through.
In Smash, she utilises her full potential as walling defender and with deadly precision she kicks the ball right in the faces of her opppnents.
Charged-Up Statistics Weight:
Due to Daisy's Striker Armor, she's quite heavy for a female in Smash Bros., tieing with Shulk and Mega Man in 15th place.
Height:
Daisy ties with Peach in height. Due to, well, being Peach's height.
Her battle-ready posture makes up for the lack of heels
Dash Speed:
Daisy's quick legs allow her to dash quite quickly. Although she can't top some of the supernatural beings, or Little Mac, her top speed is the same as Roy.
This does change when Daisy is dribbling, in which case her top speed drops to be slightly above Marth and Lucina's.
Air Speed:
With her armor and lack of air training, her air speed is below average, having an air speed that's tied with her armored compagnion Meta Knight.
Fall Speed:
Daisy's armor, coupled with the fact soccer ain't an air sport give her a fast fall-speed, tied with Bayonetta
Jumps:
A whopping one mid-air jump and not a high one at that, being the same height as Cloud and Villager. That said, she has one of the highest initial jumps in the game, falling between Rosalina's and Diddy Kong's with a value of 41
Wall Jump/Wall Cling:
Daisy's shape and athletic background might give the impression of a good wall jumper, but due to her soccer armor she's not able to do that.
Daisy cannot perform a wall cling ever, not with those legs.
Scoring Specials Neutral B: Ball Drop/Torpedo Strike Ball Drop
When there's no ball on the field, pressing B results in a metallic ball dropping from the sky in front of Daisy, materialising in a puff of smoke just next to her just one head above her.
This deals 7% damage and heavy knockback on its own, killing Mario on the centre of Final Destination at 100%
However, the ball stays around on the field indefinitely, unless its knocked off the stage.
Since it's a metallic ball, it falls as fast as another metal ball, having a fall speed of Meta Knight with the Metal Box effect.
The ball can be kicked, punched, hammered, pikmin'd etcetera around, which makes it fly around the stage, dealing damage to the poor soul softening the blow for the ball.
Daisy especially can use this to her advantage, as she has various kicks and tackles at her disposal to keep the ball in her reach to kick it in the opponents' face when the right opportunity arises
The ball bounces of off shields, walls and opponents slightly, which means Daisy (and of course opponents) can use the ball to perform projectile comboes and this also makes using the ball safer.
What's more, unlike Dedede's Gordos, the ball can't be reflected easily.
In fact, it can only be rebound if it lost most of his momentum.
Anyway, the ball has an unique gimmick of its own, as it changes color per hit.
The ball starts out with a purple rim, which is its weakest form, though it still deals the same damage and knockback as the move that launched it, which can be very dangerous when used in combination with Smashes.
Both the opponents and Daisy can change the ball's color, which adds an incentive for the opponent to interact with the ball and play soccer with Daisy in a way.
When the ball has been hit with 5%, it turns red, adding 3% to each hit when compared to its purple-rimmed brother and dealing slightly more knockback.
After being hit with 10% damage after that, the ball turns orange, adding another 3% to each hit compared to the red ball and a bit of knockback.
After another 15%, the ball turns yellow, with the ball seeing a small increase of 2% across the board.
For the ball's final form, the yellow ball needs to be damaged by 20%, however, there's no damage increase, but the ball's knockback gets obnoxiously high.
The ball is not an item, which means it can't be caught and Z-dropped, in case you were planning on cheating.
These different charge levels have different functions.
The lower levels are used to poke and pile on damage, whereas the higher charge levels are high-risk, high reward kill moves.
While both the opponent and Daisy can use the ball to their advantage, Daisy has multiple advantages over the opponent when it comes to controlling the ball as she automatically dribbles when she runs or close to the ball.
When she does this, the ball automatically clings to her, which means she can roll, spotdodge and shield with the ball, meaning the ball gets invincible as well.
Daisy automatically stops possessing the ball when she jumps and attacks, although the latter kicks the ball away.
She does not stop possessing the ball when she picks up an item.
This possession mechanic does not mean Daisy cannot be hit out of ball control and in fact a ball hit out of ball control is sure to hit Daisy, making it a risky move to constantly have the ball close to your body
If they manage to hit the ball and Daisy is knocked back, not all is lost, as Daisy's down tilt is a mean slide tackle which automatically gives her the ball if she touches it with the hitboxes while sliding opponents away.
On top of that, multiple moves are designed to keep the ball away from the opponent, such as Crystal Smash or Flower Deke, with the latter also preventing the ball from becoming too powerful if the player fears it falls into the wrong hands.
Since the ball also acts as Daisy's core projectile, the ball has various uses.
First of all, it gives a big boost to Daisy's range, which is not only good when Daisy actually shoots the ball to the opponent, but also when she doesn't,
This is because the ball increases Daisy's area of effect, which is the range from which Daisy can damage the opponent.
Since the range is so high, opponents always have to be on their toes.
The danger of the ball alone makes it so opponents can't let their guard down, unless they want a white-rimmer to the face.
The high range of the projectile also add to Daisy's walling and punishing playstyle, as Daisy can knock back and punish opponents from far away if they make a mistake, although Daisy is wide open for counter attack when doing so herself.
In fact, due to the ball having a bit of a bounce-back, Daisy can safely pressure the opponent and potentionally wall them out.
This does allow the opponent to smash the ball into Daisy's face if they happen to regain control of the battle flow, which makes this a dangerous technique, despite the reward if Daisy does keep the ball for herself.
Torpedo Strike
The other part of the move is the one and only Torpedo Strike.
Holding B when there's a ball on the field allows Daisy to charge up a shot, swinging one leg behind her with her arms spread out for balance as a big dahlia-like crown appears behind her, with the petals appearing in clockwise order as she charges up.
The dahlia has no hitbox, being more like Palutena's blue aura crown.
The charge can be cancelled by using the shield button.
If the player presses the button again, Daisy kicks in all her might, dealing damage and knockback depending on how long she charged the move with a maximum of 12%
Of course, as a kick, the move really shines when kicking the ball, as the metallic ball turns into a multi-hitting torpedo, carrying the opponent across the stage.
At max charge, the true power of the Torpedo Strike shines as opponents that get hit by the ball get stunned for a short while
The ball travels horizontally straight after being kicked with this move, allowing for stunning skillshots from far away.
However, despite Daisy's long legs, the kick itself got little range, so even though the move is very potent at killing, it's very dangerous to do so without the ball.
Side B: Flower Deke
Daisy holds her hands at her chest and spins around once swiftly while standing on her toe with her left foot and holding her other leg behind her with her knee bent, before disappearing in a puff of both petals and smoke, with this puff dealing 5% damage and small knockback
She then reappears a few meters in front of her, with the exact distance depending on the ball's charge level up to half of Final Destination, with the lowest charge not going further than a normal roll, and the delay between disappearing and reappearing being similar to Farore's Wind.
While the move itself deals no damage, Daisy can immediately perform a kick when reappearing, which deals 12% damage and sends the ball diagonally downwards if she performed the deke while holding the ball at her leg.
However, this kick clears the ball's charge level back to purple, so while it's a powerful mobility move, it's not always the best way of handling the ball.
This move does not put Daisy in freefall, allowing her to keep comboing the ball.
The best use for this move is to either get the ball when you just kicked it away, although Daisy's ground mobility might suffice, or to keep the ball out of the hands of a greedy opponent. This is where the kick might come in handy, as an opponent with a purple ball is less threatening than one that got its hands on the fully-charged variant.
Of course, one can also use this as a recovery move to make up for her pitful air speed and one might also use it to improve her horizontal mobility in spite of her low air speed and low double jump, although the end lag, comparable to regular landing lag, might make the mobility a bit rough around the edges.
That does not mean it isn't a solid mobility move, compared to her more lineair standard mobility, it just means using this move isn't a substitute for mastering Daisy's awkward mobility.
A more advanced trick is to use the quick spin to prevent the opponent from launching the ball in your face, as the ball turns along with Daisy,
So if you're running towards an opponent with the ball and the opponent tries to Smash the ball away, using Flower Deke turns you and the ball around, meaning the opponent will Smash you, but not the ball, which would've hurt much more, especially if it were to have the famous white rim.
Up B: Crystal Strike
Daisy flies upwards in a trail of blue crystal dust, holding her hand upwards as a blue crystal gaunlet forms around her hand.
If the player presses A, she punches, dealing 8% damage and heavy knockback before becoming helpless
The psychics for this move are pretty unique, as there's no start-up lag before Daisy starts flying and the speed is constant, making it more akin to floating than jumping.
While the trajectory has no curves, it goes as far as Launch Star and can be angled in three directions, a bit like Dragon's Ascent.
The biggest downside of the move is that it's very slow, having a speed similar to Ganondorf's Up B, which means that she's pretty helpless aside from the punch itself.
If the move is done while Daisy possesses the ball, the ball drops down as she loses possession of it.
Down B: Crystal Smash
Daisy flip jumps two Daisies up and one Daisy backwards, causing orange crystals as tall as Daisy to pop out of the ground in a circular pattern around Daisy as she lands.
These crystals deal 8% damage to anyone that touches them and medium knockback.
The more you charge before you jump, the bigger the distance between the two sides of crystals.
Opponents and Daisy can run through the crystals, unlike Pac-Man's Hydrant, although they cannot walk through.
This allows Daisy to keep opponents from advancing the way they want, making Daisy a formidable defensive player.
The walls can also be used to perform trick shots, as the ball bounces towards Daisy if she shoots it against the wall.
Of course, the obstacle can also be used to keep the opponent away from the ball, both when you have it and when you try to catch it before the opponent does.
However, due to the jump backwards, it's more suit as a defensive move in order to keep the opponent away until Daisy has the perfect opportunity to strike.
Crystals can not be spawned in the air through conventional means, but if Daisy lands on a platform the crystals do spawn in the air, where they are not affected by gravity due to the "magic", almost holographic nature of Daisy's crystal smash.
The crystals do not stay around for long, vanishing as early as Sonic's Spring.
However, during the time they do stay, they act like walls, bouncing back the ball and keeping away the opponent, who has to find a new route to the ball.
If the crystals are on the field, Daisy can perform the jump again, though they won't create crystals.
If the move is done is rapid succession, Daisy won't create crystals every time.
Instead, if she performs the move and the previous crystals were on the field five seconds (or less than five seconds) ago, she won't create crystals either.
This is to prevent extreme camping and other abuse, since the jump itself has little start-up and end-lag.
If you have the ball while performing this move, Daisy flip jumps backwards with the ball between her feet.
Although the jump itself deals no damage, it will deal a fixed 7% damage if she has possession of the ball.
On top of that, she can kick the ball straight down, stomping it down like Ganondorf's Down Air for damage depending on the ball's charge, starting at (potentially another) 7% and ending at 15% for a white ball.
Unlike Flower Deke's kick, this does not clear the ball's charge level
Final Smash: Crystal Canyon
Daisy punches the ground with her crystal gaunlet, which causes several giant crystal structures to pop out of the ground.
These crystal structures not only hurt opponents that touch them, they also reflect the hot desert sun that started to shine, dealing heavy damage to any poor soul that were to get stuck in the multihit rays.
Spunky Strong Attacks Jab:
Daisy scoops up with her right foot, stretching out her right leg and both arms.
This deals 2% damage and light knockback, with opponents being knocked towards Daisy,
Then she thrusts up her left knee, knocking up opponents if they hit the upper leg and knocking them fowards slightly if they hit the knee itself, dealing 3% damage.
Finally, she swings back her right leg, before kicking forwards with full force, dealing 4% damage and medium knockback
With the ball, the move can turn into a true walling move as Daisy's front gets protected well by the ball, aside from the ball and the opponent being launched at a fairly horizontal trajectory at the last hit.
Forward Tilt:
Daisy tilts her leg sideways and performs a quick kick with the inside of her foot, swinging her leg to upper leg height
This deals 5% damage and medium knockback.
This move cannot be comboed with and is instead used to defend, as the move as deceivingly big range.
It's also used to pass the ball to the opponent to lure the opponent into smashing the ball to Daisy, giving it an extra charge level.
The move does not launch the ball very high, in fact, it doesn't even leave the ground.
However, this gives it great synergy when used after another move hurt the opponent's shield, as the ball bounces off the shield, ready to be shot again by this move
Up Tilt:
Daisy jumps up a bit, the distance between her leg and the ground being one Bonus Fruit Apple, thrusting her head slightly foward at the apex of her jump for a headbutt.
This knocks up opponents, dealing 6% damage, although the move cannot be comboed with.
A good anti-air or a good way to catch the ball, as this move bops the ball slightly above her.
Down Tilt:
Daisy slides over the floor on her side with her legs stretched out, performing a slide kick, dealing 6% damage and medium knockback and sliding one Battlefield platform.
This kick automatically gives Daisy posession over the ball if she hits it.
If she already had the ball in her possession, she clenches the ball between her leg while sliding, which means the ball cannot be knocked away by opponents.
The move can also be used to catch the ball before the opponent does, as the move automatically knocks away opponents after catching the ball.
Dash Attack:
Daisy spreads out her arms and jumps on the floor, after which she slides on her belly for the lenght of one Battlefield-platform, hitting anyone in the way for 9% damage and medium knockback
If Daisy has the ball while performing this move, she clenches it between her legs before jumping and sliding.
This way, the ball cannot be taken away by the opponent, though the clenching part adds a few frames to the move as she kicks up the ball before holding it with her heels before jumping.
Aggressive Aerials Neutral Air:
Daisy stretches out her right leg at 45 degree angle, damaging opponents that touch her leg for 4% damage and light knockback.
Then she scoops up her leg, damaging opponents for 2% and knocking them slightly upwards, although it's possible opponents fall out of the move before the second hit links with the right DI.
The real power of this move is its duration, with her leg staying out longer than Mario's in his Neutral Air, its range, with Daisy's long leg giving the move around Sheik's Neutral Air's range, but most importantly its usefulness when it comes to obtaining the ball, as the long range of the leg is perfect for catching the ball out of the air, with the scoop being a great way to get the ball in your control for a potential Forward Air.
However, this "combo" cannot be performed out of a short hop due to Daisy's high fall speed, which means she has to leave herself quite vulnerable due to commiting to a full hop, which combined with her slow air speed is quite a commitment.
This move has quite low landing lag, which means it's pretty forgiving if Daisy messes up the timing, although performing this move as a rising aerial is still the way to go, putting up a nice wall for those that try to contest the ball.
Forward Air:
Daisy holds her head to backwards, before slamming her head directly forwards as she's bending her back, delivering a headbutt with her crown.
This deals 12% damage and heavy knockback, killing off-stage at 100%.
If she has the ball, she holds it between her feet again.
However, if she performs a Neutral Air before using this move, the ball gets send up by the Neutral Air and thus can be smashed forward by this move.
This move is quite slow, like Toon Link's Forward Air.
This coupled with her fast fall speed means the timing to perform this move out after the apex out of a short hop is tight and the landing lag is so high it punishes those that dare to and fail.
Back Air:
Daisy kicks backwards with her heel quickly, with her knee before her body, knocking opponents and the ball slightly diagonally backwards hitting opponents for 4% damage.
This move can be comboed into itself and into Up Air at higher percents
This move is also very quick, which means it can be used to quickly kick away the ball from the opponent in the case of a frontal attack.
Speaking of which, if Daisy has the ball in possession while performing this move, the ball rolls over her leg before being flung away by her heel, sending it away in a diagonal upwards direction before it falls down.
This move can be performed twice from a short hop, which opens up possibilities for catching the ball in the air or for flinging it far away quickly.
In fact, since this is the only aerial that can be performed after the apex of the short hop easily, it's the only aerial that can do so, even though the Neutral Air's landing lag is very forgiving.
Up Air:
Daisy bends over backwards and kicks her legs over her head backwards, performing a flip kick like Mario.
This deals 7% damage and medium knockback.
Although it is slower than her back air, this move is more powerful and launches the ball harder.
The move has quite a bit of landing and end lag, but the start up is fairly quick.
Even though this move isn't meant to be performed out of a short hop, it's still a potential combo finisher because of Back Air's ability to combo and Up Air's relatively low start-up.
Another boon to this move is the range.
Whereas Mario pulls in his legs while performing his flip kick. Daisy keeps her legs stretched, giving this move a sword-like arc.
This range gives Daisy the potential to snag her ball out of the air and kick it away from the opponent while quite possibly hitting the opponent itself.
Down Air:
Daisy tilts her leg to be at the same angle as Peach's legs for her Down Air and then kicks downwards.
Opppnents hit are damaged for 8% damage and medium semi-spike knockback
While this move resembles both Sonic's and Sheik's Down Air, this move is not a stall-and-fall.
However, due to Daisy's high fall speed and the fact Daisy can fast-fall during the move, it can act like a stall and fall.
The move's main function, however, is barraging the opponent with the ball as Daisy's high jump and the extreme swiftness of this move allow Daisy to abuse her high jump for aerial strikes, repeatedly kicking the ball downwards to create a wall of hitboxes.
The move is extremely quick and can thus be performed out of a short hop.
When used out of a short hop, Daisy can abuse the fact the ball bounces upwards a bit when it hits the floor to position the ball so that it can both act like a wall of hitboxes and to easily kick it forwards with either jab, forward tilt or Smash.
Striking Smashes Forward Smash:
Daisy charges as she readies a kick, pulling her leg slightly behind her, before striking with her legs forming a 90 degree angle at the end of her punt.
This deals 13% percent damage and heavy knockback, killing at 110%
The ball and the opponents are launched diagonally upwards, allowing Daisy to cover opponents recovering high with one kick, without having to risk her life by going off-stage.
However, this is still pretty risky to do, as a ball falling off-stage loses all its charge.
Like Ganondorf's Up Smash, the Smash is relatively fast to make Smashing the ball relatively safe.
Up Smash
A heavier version of her Up Air, Daisy performs a flip kick
Down Smash:
Daisy readies another kick by swinging her leg all the way behind her back, before striking in one fell kick that goes in a half circle from Daisy's back over the floor to the front, stopping around her knees' height
Opponents that are stuck in the kick are hit both on the initial back swing as well as on the actual kick to the front.
The back swing deals 6% damage, the front swing deals another 6% and medium knockback, generally killing around 130%
Opponents are knocked at a very low angle, as although they aren't knocked to the ground, they fly very low, making tech chases possible.
Due to the knockback of the move, this Smash is best used to shoot the ball, potentionally covering short hops.
Another way to use the peculiar knockback is to cover low recoveries without risking having to go off-stage, as the ball's trajectory potentionally covers the ledge.
Grab Game Grab
Daisy stretches out both arms, holding her thumbs and index fingers like a triangle, like a keeper.
Opponents are held in front of her, using the same animation as of they were thrown by Mr. Game and Watch
Pummel
Daisy kicks the balled opponent up with her knees as a relatively quick pummel that deals 2%
Forward Throw:
Daisy holds the opponent behind her head with both hands, before throwing the opponent forward over her head, like a throw-in in soccer.
This deals 6% damage and is used to get the opponent away quickly, although it does not kill
Back Throw:
Daisy throws the opponent behind her before performing a bicycle kick.
Deals 8% damage and heavy knockback.
Up Throw:
Daisy throws up the opponent in the same vein as she does with her Forward Throw, except the arc is higher.
Deals 6% damage and little knockback, being used to get the opponent up more than to kill them.
Down Throw:
Daisy bends her right knee, ducking a little while rolling the opponent along the floor.
While it does not kill in itself, the opponent can be rolled into a ball, which damages them.
The throw itself deals 7% damage
Princess Playmaker
If Corrin is a sea urchin, Daisy is a fortress as she's a defensive character through and through.
Starting at her ball-mechanic, which gives her unlimited potential to cover several different angles at once from the ranges she wants.
In theory, this creates a character that can have a hitbox at any part of the stage.
In practice however, players need Daisy's trademark level of technical prowess to snipe opponents.
Daisy should play off of this theory to create fear in her opponents and control their movement with the occasional pass, before shooting the ball in their face. This leaves her vulnerable as she loses the fear factor of being able to shoot the ball, as she has to retrieve it before shooting again.
This is where her high mobility comes in.
Between tilts that launch her forward, her high dashing speed, her Side B and her top tier initial jump on top of her extra jump in Crystal Smash, Daisy is able to quickly retrieve the ball.
This does not mean her playstyle consists of high-power volleys all the time.
Sure, when the opponent is in a position to easily get pressured, the ball is versatile enough to deliver said pressure, but in neutral, Daisy's low air speed and high short hops stop her from having the same versatility in her mobility.
Daisy's high coverage gives her a high-risk high reward long range game, but the ball can also be used closer to her body in order to give a volatile disjointed hitbox to whatever move the ball augments.
This is mostly a defensive boon, as the jab with the ball gives a wall that opponents can't simply avoid.
Magellan is the Chief Warden of Impel Down prison, and serves as the main antagonist of the Impel Down arc in One Piece. This prison keeps many of the world's most notorious pirates in jail, in a massive complex that makes Impel Down one of the more impenetrable fortresses in the world. Magellan serves as the de facto leader of the law enforcement in this prison and is canonically one of the strongest and most competent characters in the world of One Piece. He defeats Monkey D. Luffy, Blackbeard and never canonically loses, the protagonists only escaping his prison by tricking him with a disguise. At this time Luffy was not quite yet the stereotypical protagonistic deity you see in these series, that happens post-Time Skip, but Blackbeard is casually tossed aside "off screen" and Magellan barely breaks a sweat taking down both very powerful and otherwise undefeated characters.
Magellan's fruit, the Venom-Venom fruit gives him control over poison. As a Paramecia-type Devil Fruit, makes Magellan immune to all poison and gives him absolute control and an ability to create poison all around his body. His most powerful techniques have Magellan summon his poison in the form of monsters, a giant Hydra and Venom Demon, a giant skull-shaped monster made of poison that Magellan cliams has the power to destroy the entirety of Impel Down. Magellan's poison is in fact so poisonous that anyone who touches it will inevitably die within a matter of minutes. Luffy only survives the fight and as a result manages to escape Impel Down because of a plot device surgery that reduces his life span by years in exchange for removing all the poison that was destroying his body on the inside. This is arguably the closest Luffy has come to death in the series' long history.
Magellan's personality is shown to be not as serious as you'd expect considering his prominent position in the Marine-run prison that polices the world's most dangerous criminals. Due to his Devil Fruit, Magellan has terrible diarrhea that forces him to spend hours a day on the toilet. This stems from him eating rotten/poisoned food that powers up his poison powers, the poison/rottenness apparently giving a unique taste. He is obsessed by his job, as you'd expect, and wears the horns seen in his art both to further his look as a demonic warden but can take them off to use as makeshift knuckle dusters. As he is so powerful Magellan naturally has become very arrogant and assumes that Luffy has died after their fight, and is tricked by Mr. 2 and later his subordinate Shiryu betrays him when he is freed from prison for crimes when he was part of the prison authority. In the end, because of these mistakes and underestimating the scale of the prison escape, Magellan loses his position as Chief Warden to his bumbling subordinate who sucks. This can be seen as purely a punishment for Magellan's mistakes, as the subordinate is a background comic relief character.
STATISTICS
Size: Ganondorf Weight: Samus Ground Speed: Link Air Speed: Bowser Fall Speed: Ganondorf
Magellan is your typical heavyweight, he's a big guy and stands at the height of Ganondorf plus a head taller, and has almost the same width as King Dedede, giving him a massive heavyweight body at the weight of Samus. He's not the absolute heaviest Smash 4 character at 108 weight units, the same as the Koopalings too. The speed he goes at on the ground is slow, but not the worst, he's as middling when it comes to the air or when he falls. In terms of gravity, he has high gravity that makes him harder to KO vertically but drags down on his jumps. Magellan's jumps are comparable to Ganondorf's, weak and clunky. As he also shares Ganondorf's fall speed, his basic jumps and fall speed combo is very comparale to Ganondorf.
SPECIALS
Down Special:Poison Body / Envenom
Magellan takes a constipated pose (for once actually in-character) and over the course of a 3 second charge, his body starts to drip more and more with poison until it becomes fully covered in it. In terms of how this feel to use, it's largely comparable to Ryu's Focus Attack down special. This comes in 5 phases spaced evenly inbetween the first phase, that activates after low start lag, and the last that happens at the very end of the 3 second charge. This can be cancelled with any move, shield or by dodging or rolling out of the quasi-charge. This can be picked up again after, the poison gradually dripping off and returning Magellan to normal, this takes 3x the amount of time it took for Magellan to charge up this state in the first place, so at max will last for 9 seconds.
This has very little start and end lag, but itself has no hitbox unless Magellan reaches the final state, which creates a weak hitbox all around Magellan of poison that deals 5% damage and weak knockback, comparable to Bowser's down aerial shockwave in size and power, merely a GTFO hitbox. When covered in poison, Magellan's movement and agility in general takes a minor hit, as his movement is reduced to 0.9x his normal ground and air speed, but does not affect his jumps. Whenever Magellan is on or over ground, the poison will drip constantly to create a weak poison puddle on the ground as wide as Magellan that does at minimum 1% every 5 seconds, but only lasts for 5 seconds after Magellan has stood there, essentially doing only 1% unless Magellan utilizes it. This is increased to 1% every 4/3/2/1 seconds over the same 5 seconds when Magellan's poison is stronger and more charged. However, over the period of time where Magellan's body has become poison, any foes who come into contact with Magellan will be poisoned themselves.
The poison can stack up for every time foes touch Magellan's body with their body or melee attacks. Every time that an enemy comes in contact with Magellan or Magellan's non-disjointed, non-projectile hitboxes (in essence, his body or melee attacks) they are poisoned, their body tinted purple and they will take 1% damage a second for 5 seconds. This can be refreshed 1 second later if they come in contact with Magellan to refresh the timer. The phase that Magellan is in for his poison will strengthen it against the foe, increasing the damage per second by 0.5%, at max damaging the foe 3% a second for 5 seconds, or a flat 15% damage.
When hit by this stronger poison, the foe's body becomes tinted a stronger purple, but will all be removed after 5 seconds has passed. This damage can be avoided by shielding, instead the foe's shield will be drained for the same damage but without the usual lower damage a shield would take, dealing a straight 1-3% a second, and one tick of damage the frame they put up the shield. The same visual effect of tinting is used on the foe's percent too as they take the damage, as it becomes the same shade of purple they have become due to the poison. What this all does for Magellan's playstyle is naturally make foes much less inclined to attack and combo Magellan. This is at the cost of making himself even more of a heavyweight for mobility. Even if they do back off, Magellan can always go on a counter-attack to keep refreshing and heightening their poison damage, forcing the foe to tank more damage or attempt to camp Magellan.
Neutral Special:Chloroform Ball
Magellan tilts his head back and chews on poison gum inside his mouth, over 0.8x the charge time of Samus' Charge Shot this bubblegum of poison is turned into a ball of poison called the Chloro Ball. The big poison ball is roughly 2/3rds the size as the Charge Shot at any level of charge and travels at the same clip and is also storable. When the Chloro Ball hits a foe, it will deal 6-18% damage and can deal medium to high knockback, but not quite as powerful as the Charge Shot, Magellan thankfully is not nearly as reliant on this for a KO move but it is a nice projectile to have. Magellan spits the Chloro Ball from a uniquely high angle. This can be angled as Magellan tilts his head up or down to spit it in an arc the same as Bowser's Flame Breath neutral special, although this will add some start lag, otherwise the move being slightly faster than the Charge Shot.
Wherever the Chloroform Ball hits, on the foe or a solid surface, the ball will explode into a cloud of gas that resembles the Smoke Bomb item. This deals 1% a second for 3 seconds. In series the Chloroform Ball is just what it sounds like, used as tear gas on prisoners who have grown unruly and is used on the mass escapees in the middle of the Impel Down arc. This translates in Smash to a status effect for the next 3 seconds in an area as big as the Smoke Bomb's smoke effect, slowing them down to 0.85x their usual ground and air speed. On top of this, the foe's start up on their dodges and rolls becomes doubled, making them far more vulnerable to Magellan's attacks. This doesn't affect their attacks at all however, daring them to try and attack Magellan to power through the debuff. As you may have noticed, the reduction in speed to the foe is slightly greater than Magellan's during all his down special phases and effectively gives Magellan a slight edge, but as he is already slow this is unlikely to give him a direct advantage. Only one of these clouds can exist at a time.
when Magellan has his phases charged up, each phase will make the Chloroform Ball slightly bigger and deal slightly more damage, capping at dealing 1.25x the damage and being the same size as Samus' charge shot at the fifth phase. The Chloroform Ball normally is semi-transparent but is filled in with poison once it's shot out and not only does it size/power increase, but its speed is changed too. Due to a very precise and real science, Magellan's poison chemicals cause the Chloroform Ball to actually go slower, at max going at only 0.7x the speed of Charge Shot and letting Magellan use his Chloroform Balls be used to approach easier as he can attack at the same time. However, when charging up the Chloroform Ball, Magellan's own effect will drain 1.5x as fast. Magellan's current phase is all that matters however so Magellan is best off storing a full powered Chloroform Ball then entering his fifth phase to get the most out of the slower, ore powerful Chloroform Ball if he wants to use that.
Side Special:Hydra
Magellan concentrates, causing a Hydra to be summoned over the top of him and extending out of his body like a shadow. The Hydra will bite any foes that are within a battlefield platform-sized area above Magellan, as the Hydra is summoned for 15% damage that KOs heavyweights at 120% at a diagonal angle, a deserved reward for scoring an anti-air hit when the move has such huge lag. The Hydra resembles a giant dragon made of poison and will extend a Ganondorf above Magellan's head, a little wider than him but coiling around in the general area to not take up all of the space. It is totally transcendent besides its attacks/hurtbox and will not even take hitlag when it is hit for damage, though takes no hitstun either. This has 40 frames of start lag, but no end lag and once the Hydra has been summoned it cannot be interrupted during the end lag, which is fairly short. When the Hydra is summoned it will follow around Magellan until it takes 30% damage or 10 seconds passes, glowing red when they’re at low health or about to die. When a Hydra is defeated through damage, Magellan will be forced into lag and interrupt any moves he is in for a short period of flinching knockback.
All of these attacks will be used independent of Magellan's own lag or actions, and are done by pressing s9de special and then a direction. These actions of course take up their own "lag" being that the player still has to input them so are best saved for when Magellan is already in lag. Side special and up makes the Hydra perform its biting attack it used when summoned, which is identical. When side special and forward is pressed, the Hydra will bite forward a Bowser width in a fast attack that deals 9% damage and will KO 20% later than the summoning version. This hits foes in a close range, only hitting foes directly above Magellan, missing most grounded foes. Pressing down introduces the foe to the Hydra's version of the Chloroball, it shoots this out with average lag for a projectile and has the same properties as a mid-charged Aura Sphere for 10% damage. This does not create a poison gas cloud however. This will be angled downwards at foes in front of Magellan on the ground, so can be used to hit foes off stage easier.
By smashing the side special input, Magellan will cause the Hydra to leap forward in a transcendent hitbox that extends a full 1.5 battlefield platforms of space in front of him and deals 15% damage as it bites forward, able to KO at the same percent as its other 15% bite attack. This has a decently low if noticeable amount of start lag and massive end lag, making it extremely easy to punish if whiffed, but unlike his summoning move comes out at good clip.
Once one Hydra is out, Magellan can use Poison Body to summon another Hydra! This will however take progressively longer if others already exist. A second Hydra while one is already out will take 1.5 seconds to summon, and a third will take a full 2 seconds, 3 Hydras are the max amount he can have out at once. These Hydras are not independent of one another in a singles match but instead increases the potential power of every attack one Hydra does on its own. In singles or against one single opponent 2 or 3 Hydras will bite at a foe to deal 12/16% damage and KO at 120/100% on a middleweight character, covering 1.3/1.6x the normal area due to the extra heads. For the projectile, their version of Chloroball will now be buffed to deal 13/15% and have the power of Aura Sphere at 75% or 100% charged, as all the heads focus their power onto creating the Chloro Ball. For the biting move that comes out of smashing side special, the two or three heads will increase the range of the attack by 1.3/1.6x as the heads space out across the area in front of Magellan, but deal the same damage except for in the sweetspots between the heads as they leap out, which now will deal 17% damage and KO 10% earlier. For each extra head here is minor extra start lag to worry about.
The Hydras do count independently for their HP and each time they’re killed, Magellan will recoil for his typical flinching knockback. So while these can be a powerful summon all together, the risk is that the foe will start to beat them up and cause Magellan to go on the back foot as he potentially gets put into 3x the usual flinching knockback or gets interrupted out of his own offensive. Magellan will therefore want to keep track of when the Hydras are low and try to avoid letting them take too much damage. At the same time, baiting the foe into wasting their attacks on them is also always a plus, so long as they don’t die. When the Hydras are summoned during the effects of Poison Body, this will give a bonus 4HP for each phase of it Magellan is in, capping out at 50HP for every Hydra that is summoned, also extending their size very slightly to 1.05x for each stack, capping at 1.25x, increasing their range by this much too. Summoning a Hydra is the opposite of the Chloro Ball as it’s a great move to bait the foe into hitting Magellan and interrupting the summoning process, but obviously is not going to be something he throws out to tank any attacks at a high percent or when it kills his momentum.
When sending the Hydras out to bite at the foe by smashing the move on the ground, Magellan can keep smashing the input during the end lag to separate himself and the Hydra permanently. This only works so long as Magellan himself stays grounded, as a line of purple goop connects him and the Hydra, and when he goes airborne this line is broken and Magellan's Hydra dies in place. The Hydra will stop at the end of its attack and remain standing in place, on the stage or in the air, to use its same attacks on foes completely independent of where Magellan stands, opting to use whatever attack suits its range from the foe. This has the cost of very bad end lag, a full second to separate the Hydra from Magellan. It retains the same HP and duration as before, the only cost is that Magellan has one less Hydra for defensive purposes, this extends the end lag of the bite but will mean when the Hydra is low on HP, it won’t cause Magellan to flinch when it dies. This can be a good way to use up Hydras when they’re no longer useful. This will be used on the lowest HP Hydra when multiple are summoned, defaulting to the oldest when multiple share the same lowest HP number. When on the stage, a Hydra is no longer transcendent and now semi-solid. When it’s walked through, it will slow any enemies down to 0.8x their normal speed and deal 2% poison damage a second. This will stack with Magellan’s poison and can alone be incredibly powerful to force the foe to kill the Hydra, take the poison or cede stage control to Magellan.
Up Special:Venom Road
Magellan’s body becomes spontaneously covered in poison armour as he leaps upwards in the air, the same distance that Ganondorf’s up special goes, dealing 8% damage and okay knockback, but never enough to KO. As he jumps up, Magellan has full super armour but has damage reduction for each phase of Poison Body, 1% per phase, so will take 5% less damage from incoming attacks at the final phase. At the end of his jump, Magellan is not put into helpless and can then use this armour and reduction to counter attack the foe out of their attack. This will put Magellan higher up however so is best used as an anti-air if he wants any use out of Hydras. This is not a bad recovery on its own due to the super armour but as Magellan’s air speed is reduced when in any phase of Envemom, gives him a pretty poor recovery if hit off stage during it unless he’s already close enough to recover. If he hits any Chloro Balls in the air during his ascent these will be absorbed into the attack, making Magellan go to his fifth phase immediately for another full up special that goes the full, same distance into the air. This doesn’t mean much for recovery however it’s very threatening as an anti-air on stage, or rarely can be a lifesaver with a luckily positioned Hydra and foe, as it does work on the Hydra Chloro Ball too.
When there are Hydras summoned or one that is within range of the attack when it’s used, Magellan can press the up special a second time to be absorbed into the body of the Hydra and will travel through the Hydra with a good amount of control over where it takes him. With a similar control scheme to the way that PK Thunder works, Magellan can angle himself to be taken in a variety of direction at once. This is hard to quantify, but with only one Hydra is the equivalent of 0.75x the amount of space that Ness’ PK Thunder can take Ness, but is increased for each Hydra that Magellan has out or he manages to get in range of, increasing the general area he can be taken over in the neck of the Hydra’s. At 2 or 3 Hydras this is increased to 1 and 1.25x the range of PK Thunder. This takes a full second to go through one Hydra to reach the end of their mouth and be spat out, increasing to 1.2 and finally 1.4x seconds to simply follow a normal route in 3 Hydras, but can be sped up by pressing left or right, making Magellan be spit out 0.5 seconds sooner or later. This will however have some negative effects on other ways the move works.
When travelling around in the Hydra, Magellan still has full super armour and damage reduction if he has Poison Body. He is, of course, not free to do any attacks of his own so has to rely on the AI of the Hydra to defend him from being picked at by foes. If the Hydra he is in currently dies, or an extra Hydra dies when he is nearing the end of his Venom Road – for example if he is in the last 0.2 seconds and a second Hydra dies – he will be forced out of the move early and into helpless. Normally when shot out Magellan will be shot out half the distance his up special goes with super armour and damage reduction relative to Poison Body again, with some end lag if he doesn’t catch a ledge. When the move has been sped up or slowed down by pressing left/right, this will instead mean that (sped up) Magellan will not be able to grab the ledge immediately, having the same recovery problem as Cloud as if he does go over a ledge he can’t grab it for a short period and easily punished or (slowed down) Magellan will have greatly increased end lag in the air, only further emphasizing the foe’s ability to punish or destroy his Hydras. This second one however means he can fully abuse the super armour if the foe threw out a Dr. Strangelove nuclear bomb or something.
As Magellan travels around in the Hydras, his body becomes a hitbox that deals 8% damage and decent knockback, able to KO at 150% on midweights. It will hit foes in the direction Magellan was going within the Hydra, so can to some degree be controlled by Magellan. As the Hydras are free to attack during this, it’s plausible Magellan could combo this and their attacks, but this is very difficult to time correctly. The same as always, Magellan can poison foes who hit him when he’s in the Hydra with his Poison Body, and if he can combo them will stack up the poison multiple times too. This is pretty nice too as obviously this recovery state ignores the slowed speed Magellan normally has to withstand. After coming out of a Hydra’s mouth for the end of the attack, a cloudy area will hover over where the Hydras are connected to Hydra’s back, signifying that they can’t be used in this way for the up special for 10 seconds before the transient poison that connects the two is repaired. This can be ignored however if Magellan makes new Hydras who do not suffer the same effect.
SMASHES
Forward Smash:Poison Blowfish
Magellan leans his head back and inhales in his poison into his cheeks, as well as expanding his body to look fatter, before throwing his head forward and spitting out an assortment of poisonous blobs! These are transcendent hitboxes and cannot be reflected. Each blob is the size of a Sticky Bomb. These blobs fly out at different angles, ranging from a mostly horizontal to a sharp downwards arc. The amount of blobs ranges from 3-5 blobs depending on the charge time and each will deal 5% damage, but enough hitstun that at even a medium range, all of the blobs should hit on foes that aren’t tiny. For tiny foes, this is not all good news as the blobs can and will attach to any solid ground or walls they hit, creating the same puddle that Magellan creates passively when he uses Envenom, so in essence can create 3-5 of these puddles on the stage though they do have the same short duration as ever. The knockback varies depending on how many blobs hit, only one will deal medium knockback that will KO at 200%, but at 3 blobs will KO at 170%, and at all five will KO at 140% on middleweights.
When Envenom is up, this will cause the blobs to take on the properties of a Sticky Bomb item. This means that instead of exploding on solid ground or a wall, the blob will stick to it for 1-5 seconds, a second for every phase that Magellan is in. If a foe touches the orb, they will take the 5% damage as the blob explodes. If this timer expires the blob will explode as it dies out, covering the same area in a puddle as it would normally or damaging any foes that come in contact for a more powerful 7% damage. Before they explode, these blobs will start to glow red to show they are about to explode. Magellan can increase the amount of damage these poison Sticky Bombs do by firing his Chloro Ball into them, increasing their size to 1.5x that of a Sticky Bomb with one average-charge Chloro Ball and making it deal 1.5x its normal damage, increasing its knockback. This will even delay the explosion another 5 seconds, but obviously is quite a commitment.
The poison blobs won’t explode on contact or stick to Hydras, but any form of them will interact with the Hydras in a unique way if Magellan angles the move upward or downwards. The poison blobs look slightly different when shot, a little lighter or darker shade than they are normally. Instead of being used up, poison blobs will travel through the Hydras the same way that Magellan does when he uses Venom Road, his up special. The orbs will travel through the body of a Hydra and are an active hitbox for the duration of this, exploding if a foe touches this portion of the Hydra and turning the Hydra’s body into a temporary hitbox of sorts. When they reach the end of the Hydra, an up angled blob will then be used to shoot out a Chloro Ball the next time a Hydra uses that move, this is the up angled version. This will increase the power of their attack by up to 5%, more if more blobs get stuck in the Hydra’s throat so to speak. A down angled version will instead cause the Hydra to drool the darker tone of poison, creating a constant puddle underneath it like Magellan’s that lasts for 2 seconds for every blob the Hydra had in its mouth. For as long as it’s drooling, its biting attacks will deal an additional 3% damage and knockback will be increased as well.
For the start up of the attack, Magellan takes on quasi-counter properties as he has strong armour the frames for the duration of the charge time until the projectiles are actually fired. This doesn’t mean a whole lot, but in this same period of time any attacks landed on Magellan will cause him to fire his blobs instead as a Counter against the foe, skipping the charge and any lag to immediately counter-attack by firing one stream of poison in a disjointed hitbox the size of Bowser’s max fire breath in front of him, dealing 11-15% damage, more depending on how much charge Magellan had. This is not affected by the attack the foe used, but is only activated if they used an attack that dealt 5% or more. This may not always seem favourable, and it’s not, but Magellan also has very little end lag when this happens and is given a “kickback” when he spits out this stream, pushing him back to a safer distance of half a battlefield platform so the foe can’t continue to attack.
The strength of this poison is improved when Magellan has been charging a Chloro Ball in his mouth, the neutral special. Can only imagine what it smells like inside of Magellan’s mouth. The Chloro Ball will make the stream deal an extra 1-5% damage and will not make it any larger as a hitbox, but its stronger poison will make the poison linger as a cloud for up to 3 seconds after the initial attack, over that time dealing reduced damage. With minimal charge, this only lasts for half a second and very quickly degrades to dealing miniscule damage of 1%, but this same degradation is applied after that so at 3 seconds, will deal scaling damage that can still be very powerful after only just being spit out by Magellan. The cost of this is that Magellan uses up any charge he had for his Chloro Ball neutral special, but this can be very beneficial, especially when Magellan doesn’t want the foe to attack him with Envenom down and get out his poison blobs projectiles, forcing the foe to awkwardly attack overhead, which is great if he has Hydras summoned, or to try and dodge around his blobs when they come out.
Down Smash:Poison Wall
Magellan throws up his hands for the charge period as they become more covered in poison over time, or the poison already on his body from Envenom becomes focused into his arms, and then slams them down creating a massive pillar of poison in front of him! This is a little taller than Magellan and slightly thinner, so is a massive disjointed hitbox and deals 15-21% damage, able to KO uncharged at 165% on middleweights. The wall lingers for an average amount of time for a disjointed hitbox in Smash 4. The start lag is fairly slow on this move and the end lag is only marginally better, definitely hinging on whether the huge range manages to land on the foe before they get one in on Magellan, but he may not particularly mind if he’s got Envenom up unlike Palutena’s up smash. This is based on Magellan’s ability to cover the doors of Impel Down in poison to block escaping prisoners.
Envenom will cause the wall to carry on as a semi-solid wall after the attack is done for 1-5 seconds depending on the phase and if the input is held into the end lag, using up all the Envenom to do so. This wall has only 25HP but even when destroyed will dissolve into one of Magellan’s puddles so is not a total loss. As a semi-solid wall, it has the same properties as one of Magellan’s Hydras when it’s separated, as foes can move through it but are slowed down to 0.8x their normal movement speed, but this does not stack with other walls or Hydras to completely ruin a foe’s movement speed. Despite being semi-solid, Poison Blowfish AKA the forward smash will pass right through it, however it will buff the damage and size of the poison blobs just slightly, making them 1.1x as big and deal an extra 2% damage if they pass through the wall.
The wall or normal version of the move will have a unique effect on Hydras. The wall will cause any Hydras to be absorbed into the wall and for the duration of the wall, will now be able to move itself within the reach of the wall as if it was all Magellan’s back. This effectively increases the range of Magellan’s Hydras to a size comparable to himself when the pillar is almost as big as him, the Hydra moving around it to get as close as it can to enemies. The wall and Hydra combine HP, but the wall’s HP is carried over so that once the wall’s HP is dealt in damage, the Hydra will return to normal and be interrupted out of any attack it was doing, and any extra damage dealt beyond the HP of the wall will be detracted from the Hydra. When the normal, non-wall version of the move is used, the Hydra will simply be taken to the top of the pillar for a moment and gradually lower itself back to the ground after it’s over, essentially forcing it high into the air, so can be used to move it on top of platforms or to make the Hydra into more of an anti-air.
The attack portion of the move has different damage to the wall itself, as at a very close range Magellan will hit the foe with his fists and deal 10-14% damage. This will either pitfall the foe into the ground, or spikes them off stage if he managed to hit them at the ledge or off a platform. Cloud and Little Mac are a little screwed, though besides them and their recoveries that have punishable windows during their up specials, most characters won’t care much about the aerial version. The pitfall is unique however as the foe is not just pitfalled into the ground, but will be pitfalled into the poison pillar! Over the course of their pitfall, pitfalling the foe for the same amount of time as WFT’s weak (and random) jab pitfall, the foe will be carried upward through the pillar which now will last for as long as the foe is pitfalled. They will go up a Ganondorf in height for every second, but are unlikely to be in it for a full second unless at a super high percent. Once they break out, what this means is they end up being in the air above Magellan and easy to attack with Hydras and Magellan’s various anti-airs, or lets Magellan get into the air too for an air-to-air attack.
Up Smash:Poison Cloud
Magellan arcs his head up and charges up poison in his mouth, then exhumes a cloud of poison out of his mouth, covering an area as big as Villager’s fireworks up smash! This start up animation is distinct from forward smash with how he leans back his head and doesn’t puff up his body. This will deal constant hits of damage for a total of 12-16%, slightly more than Villager’s move, and deals more knockback as a result but is still not a powerful KO move as it sends the foe at a slim diagonal angle. This has the least start lag of the three smashes, but is still on the slow side, hardly as fast as Ganondorf’s up smash but does have the least end lag of the three smashes, so purely for speed is the best. It does not however have any of the defensive properties of the other two smashes and obviously is the least powerful. What it does have going for it however is the entire move will poison the foe the same way that Envenom will, adding one tick of poison to the foe, and at mid-max charge will poison them for two stacks if they’re hit by more than half/one quarter of the hits.
The move is a perfect combo to help the Hydras hit the foe as it has a long duration with all the hits and as a result hitlag. The move will also power up any of Magellan’s stray set up that happens to be passing over, having the same effect on his Chloro Balls that the poison wall has on his forward smash projectiles and buffing them to deal an extra 2% damage as well as increasing their size to 1.1.x that of normal. This extends to those Chloro Balls spit out by his Hydras. His Sticky Bomb’d forward smash orbs, Hydra and Poison Wall will for the duration of the Poison Cloud, be given an extra 12-16%, letting them withstand the foes’ attacks until the move ends. This won’t just add HP to them however, and is essentially temporary armour as if their HP is below that number and Poison Cloud stops, they will “die” on the spot. This isn’t always such a bad thing though as Magellan can use this to delay their death for his benefit, making the poison orb explode later, his walls and Hydras dissolve into puddles later on too. This can make it more difficult for foes on a stage with platforms who want to casually kill a Hydra above Magellan then attack him head on, forcing them to attack Magellan directly or tank a hit from the Hydra.
The Poison Cloud lives up to its name, creating a fog of poison in that area depending on how much the move is charged. This is in an area as big as Bowser around the middle of the hitbox and lasts for 3-5 seconds after the move is used, obscuring that area. This does not fully obscure however, merely adding an effect that slightly makes the area 'wobble' in place. The poison fog will dissipate if nothing else happens and deal a passive 1% poison damage to foes who stand in it. However, the Poison Cloud will grow stronger if any poison moves are used within the cloud by Magellan, making it strengthen and become a stronger poison, starting to lightly obscure the area as if it was a full fog and deals a greater 1.5-2.5% damage. Every poison move used, which is most of Magellan's set, will add another 0.5% damage to the Cloud and every "phase" of his Poison Body counts as a move, letting him charge it up passively over 3 seconds if he chooses, but has no defence in this case. The down smash Poison Wall has the same effect, instead adding another tick of poison to the cloud as long as it exists within the cloud.
At the end of the 3-5 seconds, the Poison Cloud when it has been powered up to do more damage will not simply dissipate, but take in all the poison it just absorbed and create a small explosion as it dies out. This deals only 3-5% damage, but deals a high amount of wind hitbox as all the poison gas blow out from the centre in all directions, able to push around both Magellan and foes. This is stronger to foes standing at the centre of the cloud to be pushed a full battlefield platform, whereas those stood at the very edge only take the same wind knockback they'd take from the end of Bowser's Flame breath. At the very centre, any characters will instead be harder to hit away, as they are held in place weakly by the knockback going on all sides. This can be particularly useful for Magellan on top of his armour and Poison Body. The amount of variables for the cloud and its explosion means that it has many uses. Magellan can use it to defensively back off from the foe, or be pushed towards them, be pushed towards the ledge, or even push characters slightly into the air or towards the ground if they're above or below.
STANDARDS
Jab:Poison Boxing Gloves
Magellan swings out his fists in front of him, a bigger version of the Villager's jab essentially, and deals 3% damage a hit in a slow jab that has no KO potential. This has low start lag and end lag, making it one of Magellan's fastest moves. This is one of the better moves to use at close range if only to poison the foe with Envenom even if Magellan ends up doing not a ton of damage, as because it deals knockback greater than Villager's version, is even worse at actually keeping the foe in the jab until it ends. Despite the minimal amount of jab "stun" this deals, it's still a great move to hold the foe in place for a moment and let the Hydras get an attack in on them. The jab does fail against super low opponents such as ducking Kirby/Jigglypuff but as the Hydras are independent, they at least will punish those characters during their end lag if they attack Magellan with a down tilt.
When Magellan has Envenom charged up, he can channel poison into his fists by holding the jab rather than tapping it, gradually making his fists become poisoned. This takes 2-5 punches, faster if there are more phases of Envenom, for the firsts to become fully poisoned, and will deal up to 1.5% more damage per hit as a result, as well as poisoning the foe using Envenom's mechanics. This will also increase the actual size of Magellan's fists to hit lower foes such as the ones just mentioned or other characters such as MegaMan or Cloud who can attempt to slip underneath the jab using their down tilts. At the same time, this will use up the Envenom so that Magellan's hurtbox besides his fist loses its poison quality until after end lag so if the foe does manage to dodge the punches, they can counter Magellan's actual body with no repercussions! As a side note using this on a foe on top of a poison wall or Hydra, it will be much easier to combo into itself as a result of their reduced DI/movement.
The Hydras will not lose out on the party if they're free to attack. Working like Bayonetta's Bullet Artes, Magellan can hold out the jab button after the move's end lag to command the Hydra to attack for their own version of a Jab. The Hydra will bite forward directly in front of Magellan, hitting a Bowser jab-sized hitbox for 3% damage as it bites three times, the last dealing good knockback for a jab finisher, while Magellan commands it with a fist, locked into lag himself. At the end of the move Magellan will return to his normal stance with above-average jab end lag. This is not that easy to combo into out of a jab normally unless Magellan can make use of his set up like other Hydras, walls, his forward smash or poison clouds, but is possible when the foe is slowed or at a low percent. The extreme range of the move is nice enough that it's usable off of ledge to the same extent as Bayonetta's smashes, a decent gimping tool but one that is extremely telegraphed. It can be used without the jab pretty much by just ending on one jab punch, at that point Magellan is basically just pointing his fist forward to command the Hydra in terms of animation.
When there's more than one Hydra summoned, this Hydra Jab changes a bit to incorporate the others. Instead of a normal jab, the Hydras will perform a slower jab where they attempt to bite at the foe in a grab hitbox. This is much slower than Magellan's grab is but gives him one that is longer range. If it lands, the Hydra that grabs the foe will bite onto them and carry them into the air, dealing 1% damage 4 times a second, forcing the foe to mash out at grab difficulty, but Magellan is stuck in a grab state at this point. The other Hydras over the course of a long throw animation will bite at the foe as they're held in place, dealing 5% or 8% damage for 1/2 other Hydras, able to KO the foe at 0.85/0.95x the strength of Mewtwo's up throw. The angle will change depending on what Hydra bites the foe at the end, angled upward if it's the middle one, or slightly diagonal for the other two, choosing an angle in the middle for 2 Hydras. This can be avoided if the foe mashes out before the bite happens, leaving them and Magellan in a mostly neutral state, though Magellan has a couple frames advantage.
Dash Attack:Villain Shoulder Charge
Magellan does the signature Ganondorf dash attack, coming to a full stop rather than going any distance, but this allows him to put even more strength behind his shoulder. This makes the attack deal 2% damage more than Ganondorf's dash attack. Don't worry Shoulder Charge aficionados, as that speed boost can be gained back if Magellan charges into a Chloro Ball, letting Magellan leap forward 0.5-1.25x as far as Ganondorf's own move depending on the power of the Chloro Ball, but using up the Chloro Ball at the same time. This move normally has no super armour, but at the cost of a Chloro Ball, this is given as well and amounts to the same as Ganondorf's at mid-max Chloro Ball, but is weaker Strong Armour at levels below that. This can be an especially nice move to use into Poison Walls or Hydra as they don't slow down Magellan and essentially lets him speed through the bumps that hold up foes, almost like he's chasing an escaped prisoner slowed down by all his traps.
When Envenom is up, Magellan has a similar effect to his jab where one part of his body is covered in poison but others are not. During the first half of the charge, Magellan's front side is covered in poison and will pass on the effects of Envenom, while at the end the poison will disperse throughout Magellan's body, but during the end lag before returning to normal will flow to and protect his back instead. This will gives its own damage reduction from 1-5% for the duration of the poison armour, more reduction for every phase of Envenom Magellan has, but works for both halves of the shoulder charge. At the start of the move, any foes that attack from the front will be punished, while any that rolled or dodged to get behind Magellan will be further punished. This poison armour will deal two stacks of poison at once to foes that hit it, far more punishing than the normal passive Envemom effect.
Forward Tilt:Closed Fist
Magellan pulls back his fist and then launches it forward with an open palm full of poison! This deals 7% damage and merely average knockback. The most relevant part of this for a KO is that it scales very well, and besides that is another one of Magellan's token fast moves besides his jab to make full use of his counter-hitting Envenom. The start lag is very fast, while the end lag is merely above-average for fastness. The knockback of this move is not very conducive for KOs either as it is the same terrible angle as Bowser's forward smash pre-Smash 4, but once the foe hits 170% at middleweights becomes a good panic button to try and land if they're being that slippery. This is the opposite of the poison armour on dash attack, fist of all bringing the same poison armour behind Magellan if he has Envenom, then bringing it forward for the punch at the end, and works logically the opposite way the dash attack does for how you'd want to use it on foes. This naturally only works when Envenom is on.
The punch has a unique effect on any poison walls standing around, as Magellan will channel the poison from his open palm to the wall and cause it to explode forwards if the button is held after the move, just like the way he can command Hydras out of his jab. Over a short period of lag, Magellan will cause the wall to harden and then explode forward, dealing 7% damage in a short area in front of where the wall used to be and medium damage, mostly good for positioning the foe or as a defensive gambit. However the move is hugely boosted if Magellan manages to land this move on a foe trapped within the wall, as they are trapped and frozen in place. This becomes a much flashier looking animation as the frozen foe is then caught up in the explosion and dealt 10% damage, able to KO at 150%. This will work when the foe is pitfalled from the down smash as a direct combo, bu only when they're at an even higher percent than 150% making it arguable whether it's even the best use of Magellan's time instead of just pure damage or charging up his other moves instead. For lightweights using it to KO is probably correct though and a very nice reward for landing the down smash.
When the move is used on Chloro Balls, Magellan will absorb them back into his first, giving a couple of effects. One, a short burst of super armour for just a few frames after absorbing the Chloro Ball as his body shines in a bright purple goo, though it is very short lived this makes the move into a counter in its own right. Two, the forward tilt is cancelled entirely and has no end lag letting Magellan follow into any other move if a foe is in range, making the move have basically no risk and becomes an absolutely broken move if this was a remotely easy state to get into, but Magellan has to catch up with his Chloro Ball to do this. The amount of frames of super armour is extended for more than minimally-charged Chloro Balls, going up to 15 frames of super armour at a fully charged Chloro Ball. Not a bad move to use around Hydras either of course, what with the Chloro Balls they can throw out too.
Up Tilt:Poison Uppercut
Magellan swings his fist into the air in a standard uppercut motion, leaving a trail of purple poison behind it in the air, this uppercut deals 6% damage and light upward knockback. This is more of a juggle type of up tilt than a KOing one, but does lend itself well to hitting the foe into the Hydras or into Magellan's up smash at low percents, although far from guaranteed. If the foe is hit at the right percent, it's possible to force them to go behind Magellan or be hit by his Hydra or up smash, given the Hydra is in the correct range. This is much easier with multiple Hydras to cover more range, the more Hydras there are, the more range, and the more the foe is forced to DI hard in a predictable fashion. When the foe is hit up too far to directly combo, Magellan can still try and hit them with various anti-airs like his angled Chloro Ball, Venom Road or even his jab or down smash if they get low enough to the ground, or are going for the ledge.
Holding the move again like a Bullet Artes follow-up, the Hydras will be commanded to follow with their own attack. They will swoop up just in front of Magellan and then go vertically up, having not a whole lot of lag on top of the core move. This deals 6% for one Hydra, or 8/10% for 2/3 Hydra heads doing the same action. This is only for the first hit of the move as the foe is hit much higher into the air at a small diagonal angle, this won't KO but will create tons of space between Magellan and the foe. This can also help to hit foes in front of Magellan camping on platforms. The more powerful part of the move is the second hit, as the Hydras straighten up and bite straight upwards a Ganondorf height for 8/11/13% damage for 1/2/3 Hydras, able to KO at 160% with one head or 15% lower for each additional Hydra used. This does however scale pretty badly for end lag, leaving Magellan horribly open if it whiffs, and will fail to connect if the foe is hit by the first hit. This means that it's pretty much limited to only when the foe is extremely low percent or high enough percent that the up tilt itself will hit them into the second Hydra hit.
The Hydras will get a huge boost using this move in front of a wall or a separated Hydra standing in front of Magellan. They will skip the first hit and dive right into the wall or merge with the Hydra for the duration of their attack. Resembling Magellan, they are absorbed into the middle of the poison and travel in a bubble of poison where they deal 6% as they go along. The Hydras burst out of the top of the wall/Hydra and deal their normal damage as they leap up as if they just started the bite! If another Hydra is there, they will add their head to the others and this can then deal up to 15% damage and KO at a much stronger 115%.
Down Tilt:Goop Burst
Magellan builds up poison in leg and then kicks the ground, causing a geyser of poison to erupt! The kick is a very weak 2% damage and flinching just to hit into the geyser, which deals 5 hits of 1.5%, finally hitting the foe up a straight 90 degrees into the air. This gives Magellan a few frames as the foe is in hitstun to get an advantage on the foe as they return to the stage, oveall dealing up to 9% damage. The geyser is half the size of Palutena's up smash and is similar to the up smash in terms of what it accomplishes for Magellan's playstyle, holding the foe in place for the Hydra's attacks but not for nearly as long so is not as effective for that purposes. This is much better at the ledge however as it has faster start up and has a little less end lag, making it less risky. For the duration of the move, Envenom will give strong armour to the leg and 0.5-2.5% damage reduction depending on the phase of Envenom.
The geyser itself can be altered when Magellan holds the move out like his other tilts, Magellan will instead keep channel poison through the ground so that the geyser becomes sludge-like. This will cause the geyser to linger as a mudslide for as long as Magellan holds the button. Magellan sees a brown version of this every morning! The geyser will now deal constant 1% damage to any foes that touch it and some flinching, but not enough to just stun them in place and cancelling the move now deals Magellan massive damage. The point of this is then what happens when it is cancelled, as the sludge pile collapses on both sides, pushing sludge out a huge 0.75x battlefield platform distance and dealing a much greater 7% damage, with no knockback, only any natural hitstun. This can push the foe off stage for a gimp, push them into the forward smash poison blobs, push them into Hydras... or push them into Magellan so they get poisoned! This is a pretty definitive move for what Magellan is about, leaving himself open but Magellan is not concerned for his own safety. It's the foe who's at risk.
AERIALS
Neutral Aerial:Poison Rapids
Magellan braces himself and causes a circle of poisonous ooze to surround him, rushing around in a circular hitbox similar to how other neutral aerials look/work. Over the course of the rapids, there are actually 8 active hitboxes each dealing 3% damage, so if a foe is a background boss or somehow big enough to get hit by all these at once, this is one of those aerials that can do an insane amount of damage, in this case 24% damage. This won't ever KO however, but will deal massively scaling base knockback, to the point that at a plausible 4 hits at once, a foe will be sent with strong knockback at a radial angle. This makes it one of Magellan's most versatile moves for pure spacing issues, and lets him combo the foe around the ground/his walls, knock them high enough for his Hydras, and so on, a very important all-around tool.
This move has decently low lag, but terrible ending lag, so is best reserved for the air. Despite the low lag, the move does have a longer duration and is Magellan's go-to sex kick in the air. As the move sours, it will instead deal 2% a hit, and finally 1% a hit at the end of the move. The poison changes colour to a more faded poison at this point, but isn't all bad. At 2%, the poison deals low enough knockback it is much better to combo. At 1%, the poison will deal less damage due to lingering, but will now have turned rotten due to being left out for too long. This will now poison the foe the same as a stack from Envenom, dealing the usual poison damage, actually making it deal more damage than normal, especially good if more than one hit can land. This makes all versions of the Sex Kick useful in their own right.
When Magellan has Hydras out, he can hold out the move similarly to Bullet Artes and command the Hydras to circle him like the poison does. They will chase around Magellan at equal distances from each other, or start from the top of Magellan's hitbox and travel around him, each head a hitbox that deals 9% damage and hig knockback, the head now being around the size of Mario as a hitbox. This will KO at 150%, and with 3 Hydras this is a powerful KO move. However it comes at the cost of the Hydras being in lag as they return to their positions for a full second after the move ends, leaving it to Magellan to protect them for once, and they are just as vulnerable to attack during this aerial. When passing over other sources of poison, the Hydras will speed up going around Magellan's body and deal 11% damage, allowing them to get into position up to 1.5x faster if the move is used in the middle of a Poison Cloud or a poison wall. This can put them out of sync slightly to cover over more parts of the stream at different parts of the attack, which can be used to Magellan's advantage, or used by the foe to poke through his usual defences.
When used into the move's bad landing lag, Magellan will have a unique hitbox occur the same way Falco's forward aerial works for example, though a good bit flashier. In front of or behind Magellan depending on how early/late the move was when cancelled in ending lag, a small burst of poison will wash over a third battlefield platform wide area, as tall as a Freezie with a similar appearance and deal 3% damage with a good chance to trip foes. This can be tricky to predict if landed in the middle of the move, and is another example of the Poison Cloud making things easier for Magellan to obfuscate his moves. When the Hydras are out, they instead will bite forward the same distance across the ground one-by-one if they pass over the ground, going either forward or backward from Magellan's landing. They will go off the stage and not curl around the ledge, dealing 6% and low knockback to foes they pass over, and push them to the edge of their hitbox. This mostly works greatly as a way to cover the landing lag, but will again leave the Hydras unable to attack for a second, at an even later time than normal, leaivng Magellan open. As usual though this isn't that bad when Magellan might want to bait attacks from opponents.
Forward Aerial:Poison Dunk
Magellan holds his fists behind himself briefly then delivers an axe handle, bringing both hands overhead and bashes any foes over the head! This is an animation very similar to DK's forward aerial, and delivers the same damage and knockback to the foe, only with slight reductions on both fronts, but roughly the same lag, only a bit more back-loaded with more start lag/less end lag. This is another powerful gimping option for Magellan, but is pretty necessary when you consider his pretty awful recovery that relies heavily on him having the Hydras out, in that sense this is only insurance against foes who want to challenge him off stage. It's pretty slow too, but does have the same range as DK's move, so Magellan is definitely something of a presence in the air with this and the neutral aerial.
This is a good move to try and force the foe to counter, as it has a high enough amount of lag it should be easy to see coming. Foes who don't have a plethora of disjointed hitboxes or projectiles should be forced to counter Magellan and get poisoned by Envenom, and if they don't they'll still let him get close enough to touch and get off his Envenom too. When the move hits against shields or the poison walls, Magellan can cancel the move with a second input press to send himself at a small kickback the same as the one in his forward smash, making the shield a pretty ineffective defence against the attack, while damaging the shield. This is only possible when using up Envenom, using up the entire effect but dealing up to an extra 1-5% on the foe's shield that is not reduced by the normal shield damage formula. This in all makes it a great move to force a reaction from the foe, if not immediately to Magellan's benefit then a good way to test what way they do react.
Envenom and its phases will give Magellan's fists a poisonous aura that scales with the phases, giving an extra little bit of range to the move comparable to Ganondorf's moves from Brawl to Smash 4. This not only gives range, but has another effect when Magellan lands during the move. Normally the move has bad landing lag like the neutral aerial, but landing during the move with Envenom will cause Magellan to grab the ground as normal to get up, but at the same time send out a weak shockwave of poison across the ground in both directions. This is comparable to Bowser's down aerial shockwave, but unlike the one in his neutral special, will deal inverted knockback. This will drag the foe towards Magellan and leave both characters in a neutral frame state. This at most distances will pull in the foe close enough to be touching Magellan, and potentially get poisoned by his Envemom if it's up.
Up Aerial:Rising Tide
Magellan claps his hands together above his head, although he doesn't quite clap and instead the hands barely miss each other in midair to go the other direction. The hands deals 8% damage with medium-strong knockback as they pass by each other and a weak wind hitbox of poisoned air. Swat those peasantly prison escapees! This has average KO powe for an up aerial, but decent scaling to make it above average, and has relatively decent start and end lag, but is mostly good for its very low landing lag, especially in comparison to the neutral and forward aerial. Before the hands clap together, they are a sourspot that deals 5% and weak upwards knockback perfect for a juggle. Envenom makes this an even more appealing juggle as it stacks on far more damage anyway, and at that point is fast enough it's a good move to throw out, essential for the way that Envenom works.
The wind hitbox interacts with Magellan's Poison Cloud from up smash, causing it to be pushed upwards. This can move it up 1-3 Bowsers depending on how close Magellan was to the cloud, and will stop it making everything within the cloud invisible. After being moved, for a further second the poison cloud will become especially volatile from its sudden movement. This causes the entire cloud to erupt into an explosive cloud of poison, the size of Bowser that deals rapid hits for 7% and low upwards knockback. This is another great way to hold the foe in place to hit with the Hydra, but as it will end up being so high is hard to follow up on. This is not all the foe has to worry about however, as over the course of the active hitbox, the cloud will rain down poison onto the ground in the form of rain. Anyone hit by this rain will be dealt the Poison Body effect and takes a passive 1% damage. This creates a puddle on the ground the same as the one Magellan passively creates with Envenom.
Back Aerial:Horn's Edge
Magellan finally takes out his very important weapon, his demon horns, and punches them backwards! This has a bit more range to it, but otherwise is pretty comparable to Ganondorf's back aerial for lag and does 14% damage, a little less damage. This won't poison the foe as it's not a direct part of Magellan's body, but will deal some extra hitlag the same way Wolf's forward tilt did in Brawl, to keep the foe in place for a little longer. This has good landing lag so is fairly risk averse for when Magellan is triyng to fight more directly, but deals enough knockback that it doubles as a decent aerial KO move. The end of the horn points slightly upwards, and the angle of the knockback is too, making it a poor gimping move but makes it harder for the foe to get to the ledge safely too.
The pointed end of the horn is a sweetspot that deals 1.5x damage to shields, as well as 16% damage to foes, the same as Ganondorf's back aerial. Usually the move does slightly less knockback too, but is buffed to the full power of Ganondorf's version with the sweetspot, making it very powerful on Magellan as opposed to Ganondorf. There is also a sourspot if Magellan is very close to a foe, impaling the horn on the foe and dealing 5% damage, but leaving the foe in place for a short amount of flinching knockback, or stunned like Ryu's Focus Attack for a similarly short amount of time, lending itself well to follow ups. This is only as powerful as a quarter-charged Focus Attack, so is not too powerful, nonetheless this gives Magellan a massive advantage. This sour spot will poke through shields literally and let Magellan land his sweetspot on the foe's body. This acts as a direct shield poke and lets Magellan land the sweetspot on the foe's body, ignoring their shield at super close range. This is a good mix up for when the foe is expecting the Chloro Ball or neutral aerial, which are reasonable to try and shield.
Down Aerial:Demon Slam
Magellan braces himself in midair and then falls with his legs braced upward for a typical stall-then-fall down aerial. Foes hit by his feet will be dealt a powerful spike for 12% damage and of comparable strength to DK’s down aerial at the start, with a similar amount of lag and difficulty to land, only with slightly more end lag. The move is a decent way to get the foe above Magellan on the stage too when hitting them off the ground, to get them above him for his Hydras or to get them in range of his Poison Cloud, among other things in his poisonous repertoire. During the stalling part of the stall-then-fall, the Envenom phases will contribute super armour to the frames, then gradually a frame longer of the start lag frames, at five phases giving 5 frames of super armour to the start lag of the move. This makes it a perfect move to use to trade or simply get out of awkward positions, but without Envenom has all the usual negatives associated with slow stall-then-falls. This is of course a pretty nice move as well to use on top of Poison Clouds or separated Hydras as the foe can’t follow Magellan after the fact too well.
Magellan will create a shockwave effect when he hits the ground after the fall due to his weight and size, causing the earth to shake in an area 1.5x his width that deals 2% and weak flinching knockback, merely enough to cause a frame neutral state with opponents. Otherwise, or against shields, opponents will be able to punish the move. Against shields however the actual falling part of the move, that deals 14% damage, will deal considerable shield damage and stun. If the foe was already poisoned, this may just put them over the edge of a shield break when the Envenom poison goes through the usual resistances that shields have to damage. The shield stun also makes it more likely that Magellan will cause the shield to take another tick of poison damage. The shockwave will cause a small splash of any puddle that Magellan lands on to go either side of him dealing 1% damage and poisoning any foes who get hit by it, comparable to a half-sized version of the G&W down special when fully charged. This will not deal any knockback however, but if Magellan is in Envenom himself, will easily allow him to get at least a couple of stacks of poison on the foe within a couple of seconds despite not landing the down aerial in earnest.
When Magellan is falling with his Hydras out, they can still attack during the fall and will ignore the gravity of the situation. Their bites have far more range technically when falling, so if the foe was in range at the beginning can do a bit of a hit-and-run attack. Their projectile will be fired from the point they were, but when they fall, this means the projectile likely ends up going over the heads of foes. This is actually good to keep them grounded or force them to use their jumps to get over the projectile to punish Magellan. At the end of the move if Magellan hits the ground he can do a Bullet Artes-type follow-up to cause his Hydras to pound the ground themselves to make their own shockwave. One Hydra creates a 0.5x Magellan width shockwave in front of him for 3% damage and the same flinching knockback as his shockwave, for a solid frame advantage, two Hydras do it on both sides for the same effect. Three Hydras will slam the ground on the same level as Magellan for the same width shockwave as his, but it will be a powerful enough quake it lingers for 10 frames after that too, making it hard to spot dodge. This is pretty nice as dodging tends to be the best way to deal with Magellan as an opponent.
On a poison wall or separated Hydra, Magellan shows he has no mercy on his own poison creations by crushing them under his massive girth. This creates a massive disjointed splashing hitbox that deals 7% damage on either side of Magellan, with merely GTFO knockback but over a large area. When Magellan this the ground, this splash will extend 1.3x that of the G&W down special compared to his normal puddle splash and deal 12% damage with strong knockback, comparable to the first hit of his down aerial alone. This gives him very strong stage presence when above the walls or Hydras. A similar effect happens on poison blobs from forward smash, Magellan crushing them and causing them to explode. A difference there is Magellan can make them explode for 1.5x the damage if he lands more on one side of them than the other, causing the entire explosion to happen on the other side of him. This can then be pretty nice to follow into a forward tilt to read the foe’s reaction if they manage to defend against this, reading their dodge or roll.
GRAB GAME
Grab:Arrest
Magellan grabs out at the foe with both arms in a wide ranging but slow grab, average speed for a grab but with some of the best range. This can even grab foes in the air because of Magellan’s height although it will not be able to grab foes with exceptionally low crouches, best examples being Jigglypuff and Kirby. This is helped by the fact that crouching should prevent those characters from being able to react to the Hydras who will likely try and attack them as they crouch, so is not as much of a negative for Magellan as similarly high existing grabs in Smash 4. Whenever the foe is grabbed, this will count towards the foe touching Magellan's hurtbox and therefore pass on any poisoning effects from Poison Body automatically so long as the foe is grabbed.
Magellan has an alternate grab available when he has Hydras active above him, by holding the grab Magellan will command Hydras to perform a tether grab, biting out and grabbing forward in long-ranged tether. The size of the grab hitbox grows slightly for each additional Hydra, as all of their mouths become part of the grab hitbox, more than making up for his "high" normal grab. Once grabbed, the Hydras will dig into the foe and drag them back to Magellan to activate his normal grab game. In terms of speed, this is about average for Smash 4 tether grabs, but combined with his normal grab gives Magellan a great secondary grab option. In contrast to the normal attacks of Hydras, this takes up the same lag as Magellan.
Pummel:No Resistance
Magellan grabs the foe around their arm, a limb or simply by a chunk of their body and squeezes tightly, causing them to flinch in place and take 2.5% damage at a below-average speed for Smash 4 pummels. Despite the speed, this is easily one of the best pummels in Smash 4 due to the damage, which is on the very high end of Smash 4 while below the highest of Dr. Mario's at 3.6%. For every pummel that Magellan lands on the foe, they are given a unique poison aura and create their own puddle the same as Magellan's from Poison Body that are 1.5x the width of the foe. This damage does not stack with Magellan's poison puddles, and are only created after the foe escapes from grab or is thrown. This essentially lets Magellan pressure the foe to get into the air to go into his strong anti-air and Hydra part of his playstyle. The foe creates puddles for longer the more pummels are landed, lasting for 0.5 seconds per pummel, increasing to up to 2 seconds per pummel at the strongest form of Poison Body.
Holding the input down will instead make Magellan command his Hydras to attack the foe by simply pointing at them as they're grabbed by the other hand. This will make the Hydra drop down and gnaw away at the foe, splashing its poison around to appear as though it was blood. One Hydra will deal a steady 2% damage in an average speed pummel, this can be increased to 3% and finally 4% damage when a second or third Hydra is commanded. The downside of Hydras being used in the pummel is that they cannot be used in throws once used for the grab, Magellan instead throwing the foe by himself as the Hydras recuperate back into their normal place. The Hydras will also take a good second to recover and end up standing right in front of Magellan if the grab victim escapes. Magellan has the same grab release neutral state as any other character, but gives him a unique vulnerability for his Hydras if they are used in the pummel, making them easy prey for a foe who mashes out early.
Forward Throw:Crush
Magellan grabs the foe and picks them off the ground if physics allow it, headbutting them three times, the first two dealing 3% damage and the last deals 5% and strong knockback. This is not a strong KO throw but is the go-to "set up" throw as it will always create a good amount of distance between Magellan and the grab victim, and as it deals 3 hits of damage will count for three ticks of Poison Body poisoning on a foe without any fuss off a grab. The reason it will never be good for a KO is it sends the foe at a diagonal, the least productive KOing angle, but is again great for making space and positioning the foe, plus the 11% damage overall is decent, making it an overall useful throw.
When a Hydra has been used up in the pummel, it can add its own usefulness to the move in a non-attacking form. By holding the forward throw's direction, Magellan will not do his final headbutt and instead leap into the now horizontal Hydra to do a quick version of his Venom Road. This will make Magellan burst forward in the middle of the Hydra and out of its mouth, travelling two battlefield platforms fast enough to catch most foes at a low percentage. If he hits the foe, it will deal the same damage as the final headbutt but at an almost flat angle for a great semi-spike angle, great off-stage. As the hits are at a diagonal, this will helpfully enough end up putting Magellan beneath the foe in the air. This varies depending on the character he's fighting, but sacrifices the last hit of the throw to be able to do low percent follow ups or simply position Magellan once the throw is over. When there's more Hydras, this extends the amount Magellan can travel by 1.5x or 2x for 2 or 3 Hydra heads, giving him a great ability to follow up on his throws and punish even at high percents after the throw is over. This does all leave the foe and Magellan in frame neutrality however, so is not all that abusable, but once again Magellan definitely does not mind trading hits with his Poison Body and potential for super armour or Hydras to get in hits.
The pummel and normal Hydras can be combined if only one of them is used to do a unique combo where the Hydras headbutt the foe in different orders. Timed correctly as the Hydra deals its tick of damage, fairly precise to land, it will fling the foe up to the height of the Hydra who then delivers its headbutt, adding on an extra 3% from the initial Hydra's fling. This will give the foe even more height to end up higher in the air. After that's done Magellan can shoot himself out of the first Hydra only losing out in terms of some lag as he ends up behind the foe. The height of this fling is extended from one Ganondorf height to two with two pummel Hydras, and the power of the headbutt is increased by 1.5x with two normal Hydras not used up in pummel, giving Magellan a choice of KO power or anti-air punish for options. This is fairly risky in of itself however as there is a window for the foe to escape during the short fling animation, this will leave Magellan at a slight frame disadvantage so can lead to unforced erroris if Magellan gets too greedy pummelling with his Hydras before he throws.
Held Forward Throw:Headbutt
When the Hydras are available, Magellan can hold forward to command them to throw a foe instead! The Hydras will bash their heads down onto the hapless foe, dealing 5% damage for each Hydra head that's available. When there are more Hydras, they will strum their heads and the later ones hit the foe shortly after, technically during the hitlag. This mostly just makes the throw slightly flashier, but can extend its duration for the sake of dealing yet more damage when the foe is stood on a puddle, taking poison damage, or with other factors. This is a much stronger KO throw potentially than Magellan's normal version as it scales to the point it's as strong as the average KOing back throw, but still not quite to that level, it's enough to KO middleweights at around 135%, somewhat ridiculous for a forward throw.
This comes at a cost however, as each Hydra will deal itself 5% damage when it headbutts the foe. If the Hydra manages to deplete its HP to 0 with this attack, they will die performing the attack, but this itself causing a small poison explosion that deals another 8% damage. This will end the throw early, but deals great knockback that can KO at 160%. Depending on the Hydra that died, this will send the foe at a different angle - the first Hydra sends the foe at 80 degrees, the second at 65 degrees and the third at 45 degrees. Magellan can delay or manipulate his Hydras to send a foe at the preferable angle if he wants to destroy his Hydras mid-throw. This can add up to a ridiculous 18% damage if Magellan perfectly plays three Hydras clocking in as his most powerful throw, not taking the pummels into account, though he can't use his Hydras up for this perfect scenario so the damage doesn't climb too insanely high.
Up Throw:Hell Raiser
Magellan grabs the foe by the arm and tosses them into the air above him for 3% damage, then puts up an arm to shoot out a wave of poison above his head for another 5 hits of 1% damage with a final 5% hit as the foe is blasted away for strong knockback. This doesn't contend with his Hydra fthrow for power, but is still his second strongest KO throw after back throw, able to realistically KO around 180% on an average weight character. The multihit quality of the move, while not relevant for Poison Body, does make it a good sustained hit for hitting the foe into Stage Hazards, or Magellan's own set up like his Poison Cloud, which all will only contribute to the end knockback of the throw and the knockback it deals. Normally this will carry the foe up 1 Ganondorf height into the air as it deals them damage, but as Poison Body is stronger this will buff the power of the poison wave and make it appear to have extra volume. This will make the poison wave deal up to 5 more hits, ultimately dealing 13 hits of 1% at the very most. The power of the throw is then slightly increased, eventually carrying them up 2 Ganondorf heights at the maximum and all contributing to a lower KO percentage, equivalent to reducing the KO percent to 165%.
The power of the move can be uniquely buffed if the direction is held to use up Magellan's Poison Body effect. This shoots up a cloud of poison that is created at the same time as the wave of poison, leaving a huge amount of passive cloudy poison in the air for 5 seconds. This deals a passive 1% a second in an area half the size of a smart bomb explosion. This can help Magellan to meet that 165% cap even without Poison Body, but obviously comes at the cost of sacrificing Magellan's other set up for an attempt at a KO throw or simply damaging the foe or playing for stage domination. As Magellan doesn't have to exert himself so much from Poison Body though, this will free him up from the end lag of the throw, giving him almost no lag at all when enough set up is used, essentially becoming lagless. While this may be useful for making up the lost set up, the more prudent option is to use this to pressure the foe as they fall and only set up if the foe is outright KO'd by the up throw.
Held Up Throw:Running Water
When Hydras are free to be used in the throw, Magellan will do the same animation but have all available Hydras instead leap up into the sky instead of his waves of poison. The Hydra will deal hits of 1%, 1.5% or 2% for 1, 2 or 3 available Hydras, dealing 5 hits until they reach a set distance, then bite down on the foe for 5-7% damage. This is one of Magellan's best options for damage out of a throw without any of the inherent dangers of the forward throw and as it brings the foe high into the sky, makes the move KO roughly 10% lower at 170% compared to the usual, without having to sacrifice any set up. The trade off here is that unlike in his set up using throw here, Magellan finds himself in even more end lag, fairly paralyzed after the end of the throw more in line with other very powerful up throws so that he absolutely cannot follow up, as the Hydras return and he recovers. More Hydras in this case simply means more damage and more damage over a longer throw to take advantage of Poison Clouds or outside damage, not translating to much of KO percent bonus.
Magellan can command the Hydras to continue hitting the foe higher into the air by holding the input, instead skipping the bite and dealing up to 4 additional hits as the Hydras pass through the foe and carry them up to twice as far, going even further than the max distance of his powered up normal throw. These high knockback, low damage hits benefit hugely from Rage and at high Rage, Magellan can use this as his go-to, if slightly cheap KO throw from high platforms, certainly deserved if he managed to get Hydras into play at the same time. Like the forward throw, this will deal the same damage to the Hydras that they deal out, and if they die, will explode in a small but guaranteed hitbox for 3% damage and low knockback. This can be just what Magellan needs to put the foe over the blastzone. The final bite hitbox doesn't have this same effect, as the Hydras bite the foe rather than kamikaze attacking them with their body, so Magellan can opt for one or the other.
Down Throw:Impale
Magellan grabs the foe by the face and slams them into the ground, dealing 4% or more if there is anything damaging on the ground to add to it, abusing the foe's throw super armour. After that Magellan jumps and slams against the foe in a pseudo body slam that launches the foe off the ground at a similar angle to Bowser's up throw, only harder to get follow ups off, dealing 7%. This is the go-to combo throw when not at a super low percent or with Hydras available, and with Poison Body does allow for a couple of hits to further poison the foe when they touch Magellan, especially with the long duration of the throw spacing the poisoning further apart compared to the basic forward throw. The low knockback of the foe also at super low percents is low enough to put the foe into range for the Hydras after the throw is over, unlike all other throws, but they then enter lag to do any attacks so works mostly as a pressure move.
When Magellan has Poison Body active, body slamming into the ground will cause a small tidal wave of poison, a poisonwave, to expand out from the impact point and hit the thrown foe. This buffs the body slam to deal 10%, but instead sends the foe at a sharper angle into the air with slightly more knockback. This makes this harder to combo out of ever still more comparable to the original Bowser up throw (which is pretty bad) but aside from dealing slightly more damage, this will leave a poison puddle on that portion of the ground. Any poison puddle already on the ground will create a poisonwave as Magellan slams into it, buffing the attack's damage while not changing the knockback, making it no worse of a combo attack while keeping the higher damage. The higher angle of the poison wave will work better into attacks with the Hydras at least, as foes end up above Magellan for a follow up by Hydras, even when Magellan can't do it himself.
Held Down Throw:Ravage
When Hydras are available, they will all dive into the foe biting them in an explosion of poison after Magellan slams them into the ground, dealing 5%, 8% or 11% for 1, 2 or 3 Hydras, and additional knockback as a result that makes the move far worse for a follow-up. The positive besides the damage is that when the Hydras will splash poison all around the foe as they crush them underneath the Hydras. The splash of poison will coat everything in a 0.25x, 0.4x or 0.55x smart bomb explosion-sized area of the throw, more for more Hydras, so that all these areas are covered by Magellan's poison puddles, lasting for a far longer 7, 9 or 11 seconds for 1, 2 or 3 Hydras so that it's relevant for foes when they get back to the ground. This will extend the length of time that the Poison Cloud is around by half of what the puddle's own duration. This will also give the throw's own damage in the form of HP to the defences of both the poison walls and add half that damage to any poison blobs in the way, essentially being the opposite of the sacrificial forward throw.
Magellan can press down again as Hydras explode on the foe to make them glow red and cause self damage on purpose, dealing a huge amount of this to themselves. If a Hydra dies during the move, they will add another 3% damage as the explosion is bigger, and if all 3 Hydras die, they deal a tremendous 20% damage, but will get rid of them too. This will start to KO despite the low angle of the knockback in a comparable way to the original broken Charizard down throw, right down to the appearance, with similar power at 2/3 Hydras. This does mean having enough management knowledge to keep up with them getting low enough to die using this, as Magellan has to time it correctly, an earlier Hydra dying as it explodes hitting the foe away out of the throw if they don't do extra damage/hitstun to keep them in. This can be something of a balancing act in the middle of a match, well worth it when mastered.
Back Throw:Impale
Magellan drags the foe into the air and holds them with disdain in a Flame Choke animation, then spins them around and slams them into the ground behind him dealing 13% damage and high angled, high knockback. The foe will explode in poison energy as they're held by Magellan and he takes his time to slam them, all in all giving enough time to deal the foe 2 hits of his Poison Body at the same time, giving a good buff to his eventual throw's knockback once he finally hits them against the ground. At best this reduces the KO percent needed by 15%, and already will KO at 180% at default, making it one of his stronger KO options at higher levels of Poison Body. It doesn't use up the effect or have any other straggling effects on Magellan so definitely fits the moniker of his killer back throw.
Magellan's throw changes when he throws the foe against a puddle and "techs" when the foe lands on the ground. The puddle will pulsate back and forth, dealing high hitstun and forcing the foe to land into prone instead. Magellan does have plenty of time to prepare for the tech so is pretty prepared for the tech timing when it comes down to it, but the foe can tech this too. The foe will not be proned and instead released immediately in the air. Magellan can simply not do this version of the throw to mindgame the foe, mostly confusing the foe if they expect they're going to have to try and immediately react to Magellan as they tech into the air near him compared to when they're trying to recover. This isn't actually bad enough to just make them put in a wrong input, but works as an intended mindgame should in putting the foe in the wrong mindset once they're out of the throw.
Held Back Throw:Hydra Dinner
The Hydra snap at the foe after Magellan grabs and swings them by the legs into the air, the throw dealing 3% damage then the Hydra another 7% damage and slightly less knockback than the normal back throw. The lower knockback is obviously not always a bad thing as it lets Magellan more easily do a follow up, inverting the purpose of the back throw a tiny bit at very low percents or against other heavyweights. The single Hydra will at least release the foe a slightly further distance away making it a better gimping throw at the ledge.
Two or three Hydras will change this move entirely, as the two Hydras fight over the foe biting them at two or three ends. This deals 5 or 10 hits of 1% as the Hydras pull the foe in their direction, either left/right or left/up/right depending on if there are two or three Hydras. At the end of the move, the Hydra that was created first or the one with the highest HP will win this struggle as they pull the foe away, toss them up into the air and bite into their corpse for a final 5% damage. The Hydras will all position themselves so that this hits the foe backwards, but will send them from a varying distance depending on what Hydra wins. Magellan could try and manipulate this to put the foe further away for KOs, or closer for combos, but mostly can just work out of this what he wants and be happy with the massive damage it deals.
FINAL SMASH
Venom Demon:Hell's Judgement
Magellan throws out his arms in a power pose, summoning a massive monstrosity of poison that towers over Magellan the size of Giga Bowser. This is called the Venom Demon, and is many times the power of a Hydra. Any foe that comes into contact with the Venom Demon will immediately be heavily poisoned and dealt 5% a second as well as having their ground and aerial speed reduced by half and half their max shield health, and this can be refreshed whenever they touch the Venom Demon, initially lasting for a full 10 seconds. The Venom Demon has the same moves as the Hydra, but in addition gets a punching move similar to Dedede's forward smash where it slams against the ground, dealing 30% damage and having the same knockback as that move. It can also attempt to grab a foe, throw them into its mouth and pummel them as they're chewed up, dealing constant 3% damage for up to 30%, and if the foe reaches 100% or higher will consume them, healing Magellan for 50% as well.
The Venom Demon will follow around Magellan the same as the Hydra for 10 seconds, but gives some passive buffs to Magellan too. As long as it's active, Magellan has a constant phase 5 Poison Body active and constant armour too. This gives him 5% damage reduction and super armour against any moves that deal 15% or less, and makes him mash out of grab hitboxes twice as fast. Magellan's moves that use Hydras will be treated as if they have 3 Hydras with the Venom Demon around, who will on top of those numbers deal 1.5x the usual damage and has 3x the range of the 3 Hydras too. This will besides his own unique OHKO grab give ridiculously low KO throw percents. Magellan's pummel instead has him let the Venom Demon chew down on the foe for 5% damage a hit in an average pummel for speed, letting him use his Hydra throws without caring about the usual rules for Hydras being spent on pummel. The venom Demon is immune to damage for the duration of its lifespan. When it dies, it will explode poison in a smart bomb sized area of the stage that lasts for 11 seconds, dealing a buffed 3% damage a second to foes who stand on it as it bubbles away as if it's acid burning away the stage.
The Space Bridge is an important object in the Transformers mythos. Space Bridges are capable of instantly transporting matter from one place to the other (More specifically, Earth and Cybertron), but require massive amounts of power to do so. Most Decepticon plans in Generation 1 required the use of Space Bridges, whether it be to bring in new troops from Cybertron, or to bring resources back and forth. That was years ago, however. Major advances in trans-dimensional travel have been made over time, resulting in the ultimate support weapon: The Portable Space Bridge.
The Portable Space Bridge resembles a normal Space Bridge, as pictured above. However, when spawned on the stage, it will be placed on its side, in order to make it more noticeable to players. It acts as a reskin of the Assist Trophy, but with a bit of extra lag to its start-up. Instead of the player holding the Space Bridge above their head to activate it, they will throw it to the ground, where it will activate. The Space Bridge will light up, creating a column of light that will then quickly disappear, revealing the assist character.
The Portable Space Bridge can summon 9 different assist characters, and they are:
Lugnut
Even without the GLORIOUS presence of Megatron in Primax 999.21 Kappa, his loyal servant Lugnut is here to continue his glory! All Space Bridge support characters have an equivalent to a level 3 AI, and have their own unique attacks as well. Lugnut is BIG, bigger than any other Decepticon fighter, and that's in both height and width. Though, he is more thick than he is tall. He's also slow, and is a more aggressive fighter, directly going after the nearest opponent.
Lugnut's main weapon is his war hammer, which he uses to smash opponents into scrap. His main attack is a heavy 3-hit combo, which has massive reach, but is also incredibly laggy and slow. The first hit is a swing to the left that deals 7% damage, the second is a swing to the right that deals another 7% damage, and the final hit is an overhead slam that deals 10% damage. The first two hits are much faster than the final hit, though the final hit has the best knockback, capable of KOing opponents at 120%.
His other main attack has him transforming into his bomber plan Alternate Mode, and taking flight. He remains as slow in the air as he is on the ground, but this only helps him. This attack has Lugnut drop a barrage of bombs onto the stage, in a ridiculously rapid manner. The bombs are small, missile shaped, and instantly explode whenever they touch something that isn't the player who summoned them. The explosions aren't amazingly powerful, only being 1/4th the size of a Bob-Omb explosion and dealing 4% damage each. The real threat of this move comes from Lugnut being able to drop so many of them, the maximum being around 14 bombs in a move that takes two seconds to complete. Their knockback is also much weaker than most explosive attacks in the game.
All Space Bridge support units have a hidden secret to them. When the correct Decepticon summons them, they will activate a new ability. For Lugnut, Blitzwing is required to activate this ability. When summoned, Lugnut will turn to Blitzwing, and let out a mechanical roar. Lugnut then raises his fist into the air, it gaining a large red button at its tip. He then slams his arm into the ground, creating a massive explosion. This is his patented P.o.K.E., or Punch of Kill Everything.
The explosion acts like a souped up Smart Bomb, gradually moving outwards at a slow pace. It even exceeds the Smart Bomb's power, as the explosion can cover the entirety of Battlefield if used directly in the center of it. The big difference is that it only deals rapid hits of 1%, and while that can add up to a ridiculous 100% if the opponent is caught in it from the start, it probably won't happen. The punch has a ridiculous amount of start-up lag, allowing opponents enough time to safely get out of the way for a bit. It also does not deal knockback, the opponents are instead just dropped back onto the stage with the damage they took. The explosion ends almost as soon as the attack passes by the top platform of Battlefield.
Blitzwing won't be harmed by the explosion, but he also can't move during it, and must use the aftermath of the attack to his advantage. Once the explosion ends, Lugnut will let out a hearty laugh, yell "HAIL MEGATRON!" and vanish back into the Space Bridge.
Liz Eird
Honestly I was having trouble believing you would actually do something like this up until you actually posted it, but wow. You might actually be the most invested in "MYM lore" of anyone and I gotta love that. The actual set at least partially delivered on the hype with its very enjoyable base concepts, but I do have a couple concerns to get out of the way. I ultimately do find the set probably starts to focus in too hard on breaking shields after a certain point, and with how these effects just stack by hitting the opponent and no other prerequisite I worry a little about how much she can shut down shields. That being said the shield effects getting too strong and redundant pales in comparison to the ice throw. Its nice to address that specific playstyle as a thing, but the sheer lengths the throw goes to countering it are kind of ridiculous, especially when it lets her instant kill constructs. Maybe just make it double damage, that seems extreme. Its probably a result of using the status effect gimmick on absolutely every input and needing to make a different one, you did about as well as you could under those circumstances but it results in the set being kind of overloaded and having things that don't really contribute much of anything constructive(the fact that there are sub branches on the animated slime is plenty cool and I don't want it removed, but its a level of superfluous that I wonder is really relevant or interesting when not on paper).
All that aside, I do really like what the set goes for, creating a fully aggressive counterpart to go with the entirely defensive Lizard and the still very setup oriented Iguana. The playstyle is pretty deep especially with the self-affliction and mirrors the sets of mine it seeks to emulate in interesting ways, and I do really enjoy how creative the hexes get. I did say the set got superfluous at times but its not like it fails to flow, doing interesting things off giving the opponent a similar affliction to her own and setting up a huge counter for her to use. Her options have enough risk to them that while the set does feel a bit too strong with it afflicting statuses on every move it doesn't feel especially OP, and you're very careful to not deny the opponent too many options. It comes together as a very fun and unique rushdown character and safely the best status effect stacker we've had, given how awkward that genre is. I really can't stress how much I enjoy the background and extras too, its not 100% the direction I would've expanded the universe but honestly your interpretation of Cyluth as a character is about as good as I could ask for and it has so many fun references scattered throughout. The effort you put in was appreciated, thank you for this Kat(even if its no longer my favorite set this contest, blame Magellan).
Storm
This set feels kind of experimental for you in how it tries to tackle move interactions and flashy magic in a way you don't usually do, and the result is actually kinda cool. Storm's specials set up some potentially very powerful wind and weather effects based on the weather which can be further enhanced by their synergy, what with how the hail can be carried around by Storm's air currents. It creates a pretty interesting choice as to how to invest the power meter, and there's a lot of variety and depth gotten out of the attacks by working with the wind/thunder/rain. While the interactions here don't each seek to add a ton of depth, the way that the balance between each of them is handled is admirable and gives reasons to use wind attacks in each direction of air stream. I'll admit at times I feel the playstyle when not having to do with the many buffs the set provides doesn't feel quite as focused or interesting as the Beast's, probably because I don't think you've really done a set like this before, but I kinda wish there was a bit more substance to the moves beyond "it interacts with the buff in X way". Still, a good effort out of you JOE and I imagine it'll get even better once Jamie or Froy goes through it with a fine tooth comb like they usually do.
Magellan
So if you didn't catch from my Liz comment, I'm a pretty big fan of Magellan, and I'm glad I am given how hyped up this character is. I can't say I've seen Impel Down yet but I can certainly see why this character is so exciting, and its a good opportunity for Smady to get back into his classic style of poison set. Don't think he's done one of those since... L'Belle, was it? Magellan has a much deeper focus on this stuff than any set before him, avoiding tackiness in that sometimes it just lets poison damage be poison damage, and invests in stacking it as much as possible. Everything about Magellan is poisonous, including just touching him if he has his poisonous coating active, and several of his attacks play into that. Some of them just make the opponent bump into Magellan a lot, while others are focused on giving Magellan advantageous damage trades. Its actually a really sophisticated melee game, reminding me a lot of Artorias in some ways even if its less risk-reward heavy, and the throws really push it to the limit in that regard.
Of course, that's not to say the set doesn't have stuff beyond its melee game, which it does, even if its not quite as heavy of a focus. Magellan's stage control game gives him some interesting things to combine with his existing attack patterns like some goop bombs and walls, but the most exciting by far is the hydras. A minion attached to Magellan's body is a really rad concept I don't think has really been done before, or at least nearly this well, and while I said the set's melee game doesn't have the risk-reward elements of something like Artorias, that's not entirely true as the balancing mechanic on the hydras is fascinating. I really struggle to find much to nitpick about this set, I guess a few interactions here and there border on superfluous but he definitely needs to be kind of wacky given the nature of the character. Not to mention they're still plenty fun and I feel they actually do contribute plenty, so its a pretty moot complaint. He might do tons of damage and trade well but his slowness and poor recovery prevent him from being OP, so what can I actually complain about here? I guess Down Tilt's toilet humor might've been a bit too gross? I dunno, it was at least character appropriate. I wasn't 100% sure the set fulfilled on the ambitious potential this character offered at first, but I came away realizing its really good the more I thought about it.
Advance notes:
1. Unless specified otherwise, KO percents assume the target is Mario standing at the exact centre of Final Destination with Rage as a non-factor. Moves are also assumed to be totally fresh for the purpose of KO percents, but damage values are listed as they would be perceived in Training Mode (thus omitting the 1.05x damage increase for freshness). This naturally means that with ideal conditions these KO percents can be reduced significantly.
2. I'm very insistent on using "from" terminology in regards to KO percents if the target needs to be at the listed percent before the move connects. If a move is listed as KOing "at" a particular percent, assume that the listed percent is post-hit.
After far too long, a newchallenger approaches!
The Mechanical Marvel Magearna
Magearna, the Artificial Pokémon and #801 in the National Pokédex, joins the battle! A marvel of arcane science invented 500 years ago as a gift for a king's daughter, Magearna is highly intelligent (and really quite sassy) but unable to truly speak. Its body is merely a vessel; its true self is the Soul-Heart in its chest. Its dull grey colouration is the result of the ravages of time, as its body isn't a self-repairing mechanism; its original colouration was red, white, and gold. Though Magearna is gentle by nature, the Soul-Heart — an artificial soul created with life energy gathered from hundreds of Pokémon — was originally designed in part to supply power to a terrifying war machine. Frightened by what he had created, the inventor of the Soul-Heart instead gave it a mechanized body and named it Magearna.
The reason Magearna is so gentle is because it can sense the Aura of living things, and thus is able to read even their innermost emotions and can analyze their physical health at a glance. That said, Magearna would very much like everyone to get along nicely, and it is not at all afraid to express its displeasure when people refuse to cooperate and respect each other. Magearna can also retract its entire upper body into its Pokéball-shaped base, becoming just a simple round sphere!
Magearna has a very feminine personality. It likes to dress up in girly clothes and becomes bitter and mopey if someone makes a comment about its weight. (It weighs 177.5 pounds! "Geeeee… na!" *switch, clunk* Oh! Uh… Sorry Magearna! Come out, okay? "NA!" Oh, great.) It cannot speak human languages, so when angered or upset it complains in pretty much the Pokémon equivalent of R2D2 beeps.
In Smash, Magearna makes use of a powerful cannon built into her right arm to fire a variety of beam attacks. Her signature technique, Fleur Cannon, uses a massive amount of energy and leaves her power systems drained, greatly reducing her damage output. But that's okay, because she is one of the only Pokémon to learn the move Heart Swap, and can use it to swap the power drain to one of her foes instead! In addition, the Soul-Heart boosts her damage output every time another fighter is KO'd.
Statistics:
Weight: 102 (Mega Man)
Height: Mega Man (though her build leaves her not quite as wide as his stance)
Walking Speed: 1.05 (Lucario)
Running Speed: 1.3 (Zelda)
Aerial Speed: 1.1 (Mega Man)
Ground Traction: 0.0505 (Pit)
Aerial Control: Mega Man
Ground Jump Height: 27.8 (Link)
Midair Jump Height: 33.36 (between Robin and Olimar)
Short Hop Height: 13 (Roy)
Fall Speed and Fast-Fall Speed: 1.75 and 2.8 (Sheik)
Gravity: 0.084 (Lucario)
Movement abilities: Magearna can crawl. For her crouch, Magearna collapses down into her pokéball form, reducing her height to about half of usual. For her crawl, Magearna rolls around while still in her ball form. For a crawl, it's pretty decently fast, almost as fast as her walk.
As you can see, Magearna is quite clumsy on the ground in terms of movement. Her air speed is marginally faster than her walk speed and only a bit slower than her run, and though her ground traction is poor and her dash-turn is slow and clunky she can turn on a dime in the air. That's not to say she has no business ever being on the ground, however, as her ground attacks are a force to be reckoned with, and she has ways to patch up that abysmal ground speed.
Mechanic:Soul-Heart
Magearna's signature ability in the Pokémon games is simply called Soul-Heart, and allows her to boost her Special Attack every time another Pokémon on the field is KO'd by absorbing the life energy they release into their surroundings.
This effect is translated to Smash as well. Every time another character in the match is KO'd, Magearna gains a stack of Soul-Heart, capping at 3 stacks. Each stack of Soul-Heart a character has increases their damage output by +0.12x. (So at 1 stack, they'll deal 1.12x damage, at 2 stacks 1.24x, and a 3 stacks 1.36x.) There'll be more to do with these later on, but for now, it's just a fun way for Magearna's shenanigans to snowball, and for her to do 1v2 comebacks in team matches.
Any character that has Soul-Heart stacks loses them if they're KO'd. Soul-Heart stacks are marked on the character's HUD by an icon to the left of their percent. The icon is of a small pink-and-blue flame, marked with anywhere from x1 to x3 in the bottom-right corner of the icon depending on the number of stacks.
SpecialMoves:
NeutralSpecial:Moonblast/Fleur Cannon
With a tap of the Special button, Magearna extends her right arm forward, and her hand and forearm fold away and open out to reveal a hidden arm cannon. A sphere of pink light gathers at the tip of the arm cannon and begins to grow in size, much like Samus's Charge Shot. Magearna can store the charge by shielding or dodging and can resume the charge later. When Moonblast reaches full charge after 140 frames, Magearna stores it automatically. Unlike Samus's Charge Shot, Moonblast can be charged in the air; Magearna has no aerial control while charging but retains momentum as normal. The sphere of light at the tip of Magearna's arm cannon is a hitbox while she's charging, dealing rapid hits of 0.5% damage each in a similar manner to Aura Sphere's charging hitbox. Each hit of the move's charging hitbox that connects with a character (or other living (or at least animate) entity, such as a Mr. Saturn, a cucco, a Hot Head, Luma, etc.) advances the charge by 4 frames as the Soul-Heart absorbs the target's life energy into the sphere of light, which isn't huge but can make for a noticeable decrease in the charge time.
Tapping the Special button while charging causes Magearna to fire off the Moonblast at its current level of charge. When Moonblast is fully charged, Magearna can unleash the shot with a single tap of the Special button without requiring her to be in her charging stance. Additionally, if Magearna does not have a fully charged Moonblast stored, pressing and holding the Special button causes her to fire Moonblast at its current level of charge without having to first enter her charging stance. The projectile varies in size with charge, overall matching an Aura Sphere from a Lucario at 0% with even stocks in terms of size. Regardless of the level of charge, Moonblast travels at the speed of a fully-charged Aura Sphere (again from a 0% Lucario with even stocks), but its range varies from 1.5 BFPs to the entire length of Final Destination's main platform depending on charge. Its damage ranges from 4–20%, and it causes Sakurai Angle knockback that is mere flinching from an uncharged shot and KOs from 110% from a fully-charged shot.
Pressing and holding the Special button while Magearna has a fully charged Moonblast stored instead results in a different move: Magearna's signature Fleur Cannon. This attack takes the form of a pink laser, about twice as thick as Magearna's forearm. It deals multiple hits, pierces through multiple foes, has truly massive range at about 1.5x Final Destination's length, comes out slightly faster than Moonblast does, and has slightly less endlag than Moonblast (although the laser's long duration more than makes up for that last point should it whiff). It deals 7 hits of 2% damage each, followed by a final hit for 11% and 35° angle knockback capable of KOing from 90%. In addition, its damage output is increased by +0.15x per Soul-Heart stack Magearna possesses, instead of the standard +0.12x, for a potential maximum of 37.7% damage! However, such power comes at a cost. Firing the Fleur Cannon causes a huge energy drain to Magearna's systems, reducing all of her damage output to 0.7x the normal amount for a whopping 10 seconds! However, if Magearna has Soul-Heart stacks, these will be expended to reduce the severity of the effect. If Magearna has 2 or more Soul-Heart stacks, 2 will be expended and she will suffer no further debuff. With only 1 Soul-Heart stack, the debuff decreases in severity to 0.8x damage for 7 seconds. The presence of the Fleur Cannon debuff is indicated by an icon on the HUD, to the left of the character's percent, along with a number to the left of that displaying the remaining duration in seconds. The icon is of a dark red lightning bolt, with either one or two downward arrows in the bottom right depending on the severity of the effect. The arrow is bright red for the less severe debuff, while the arrows for the more severe debuff are pure black.
DownSpecial:Autotomize
Magearna stops in place for a moment, and the sound of whirring gears is heard as the lower half of her poké ball-shaped "dress" folds away, leaving her with a shorter hemispherical dress that allows her legs a greater range of motion. All in all, this takes about 25 frames to perform, though the last 5 frames or so of that are just endlag.
The increased flexibility afforded by the shorter dress grants Magearna greater mobility: a 1.3x increase to her walk speed that brings it up to just 0.010 slower than Sonic's (this multiplier applies to her crawl speed as well), a 1.45x increase to her dash speed that brings it up to 0.005 faster than Palutena's, and a 1.1x increase to her air speed that brings it up to match Wario's. Unfortunately, it seems that the law of conservation of mass doesn't fully apply in Smash Bros., and the decreased mass of her shorter dress multiplies her weight by 0.8x (bringing it down to match Falco's) and her traction by 0.85x (bringing it down to just the tiniest bit above Yoshi's). Though her traction is worsened, her dash-turn is quicker and her initial acceleration out of a turn is improved, as the increased flexibility lets her more easily adjust her footing. Magearna's animations change to reflect the use of this increased flexibility: she has a longer stride when walking and running, her dash is lower to the ground as she leans forward slightly, and her dash-turn has a more dynamic look to it with her bracing her feet properly during the turn.
Immediately upon usage, Autotomize goes into an 18 second cooldown before it can be used again. The stat changes granted by Autotomize last for 10 seconds. When the Autotomize status wears off, or Magearna loses the status by some other means, her dress fills out back to its normal length without Magearna experiencing any form of lag. If Magearna acquires Autotomize status by some means other than using Autotomize, the changes to her dress and animations occur as normal, though Magearna does not suffer any lag for it.
The presence of Autotomize status, as well as its duration in seconds, is marked by a small icon on the character's HUD to the left of their percent, with the number of seconds remaining displayed to the left of the icon. The icon is a purple triple arrow pointing to the right, looking a bit like a boost panel in some racing games.
Magearna still goes completely into her ball form for her crouch and crawl as well as during some attacks, though the statistical changes from Autotomize remain in effect even in these cases. It doesn't make sense to me either; just roll with it.
SideSpecial:Heart Swap
Magearna faces toward the screen and crosses her arms over the Soul-Heart in her chest for a short (15 frames or so) moment as a heart-shaped burst of pink energy overlays her body. Then she thrusts her arms out to either side, and a circular shockwave of pink energy expands outward in all directions. At full distance, the shockwave's radius is 1/3rd of a Battlefield platform. Similarly to Tabuu's Off Waves in Brawl, the timing to sidestep dodge this shockwave is deceptively easy if you're ready for it, as only the leading edge of the shockwave is a hitbox; and despite the fact that the shockwave appears to linger a bit at the edge of its range as it fades, it's no longer a hitbox at that time. If the shockwave does not connect, Magearna can act a good 25 frames after the shockwave has completely faded, giving this move endlag on the level of your average Forward Smash.
The shockwave itself is a ranged grab hitbox, unable to be stopped by either shields or reflectors. A character, be they friend or foe, hit by the shockwave is stopped in place in their flinch animation (though it will not flinch a sleeping or dazed character; a character under such an effect instead stops on the current frame of the animation) as a pink heart-shaped energy burst appears over their body identical to the one overlapping Magearna. (Magearna herself stops in place as well, but does not flinch.) Then, the one overlapping their body flies in a straight line to Magearna, as the one overlapping Magearna's body flies in a straight line to them. The move then concludes with little lag on Magearna's part as the target takes a set, small amount of Sakurai Angle knockback that leaves them with a small frame disadvantage. Allies may be hit by Heart Swap too, even if Team Attack is off, but they do not take knockback at the end of the move (so they're actually able to act again earlier than Magearna is), and are super-armoured during the command grab. Magearna herself is also super-armoured during the command grab regardless of whether she hits an ally or a foe, in order to make it not too easy to interrupt its animation. Heart Swap cannot grab more than one character at a time; the shockwave hitbox becomes inactive immediately upon successfully grabbing a character. If it hits more than one character at the same time, it prioritizes foes first, then characters in front of Magearna, then finally picks one at random if none of the listed priorities resolve it.
A character grabbed by Heart Swap switches status effects with Magearna. The DoT flower created by a Lip's Stick, invisibility granted by an effect such as the (not in Smash 4) Cloaking Device, size changes caused by Super or Poison Mushrooms, targeted time slow caused by a Timer or Bayonetta's Witch Time, etc. that apply to Magearna are removed from her and instead applied to her target, and vice versa. Magearna obviously is unable to use Heart Swap while asleep or dazed, but such an effect can be transferred from another character to Magearna if she uses Heart Swap on them, putting her under the status condition as soon as Magearna would normally be able to act out of the move. (But really, why would she do that?) If Magearna gains such a condition in this way while airborne, she tumbles uncontrollably to the ground and enters the stun state immediately upon landing. Freeze and burial states, along with other similar effects where the character is more physically trapped than they are stunned, cannot be transferred. In addition, even though helpless fall is, for all intents and purposes, a status effect, Heart Swap ignores it.
Character-specific status effects are also transferable, such as Shulk's Monado Arts, Palutena's Lightweight, and Magearna's own Soul-Heart boosts, Fleur Cannon debuffs, Autotomize, etc.. (The animation changes from Autotomize do not occur for characters other than Magearna.) Status effects with a permanent or non-time-based duration, such as Cloud's Limit Break attribute changes and Lucario's Aura, are also transferable, but these automatically swap back to their rightful owners after 8 seconds (unless the status effect/mechanic specifies otherwise in some manner). For the record, Kirby's Copy Abilities and similar moveset-changing abilities are not considered status effects unless identified as such in the set.
Magearna's Soul-Heart behaves a little differently. Each stack of Soul-Heart boost produced by Magearna's mechanic is thereafter entirely independent of the mechanic, so Magearna gaining another stack of Soul-Heart has no effect on any stacks of Soul-Heart that have been Heart Swapped off to other characters, and stacks of Soul-Heart boost do not automatically return to Magearna after 8 seconds pass.
Any status effect that is Heart Swapped resets its duration to its highest value, but only once per instance of the effect. For example: Say the foe has a move that applies a damage over time effect with a base duration of 7 seconds, but hitting another specific move increases the duration by 2 seconds. If the foe hits Magearna with the status effect, then 1 second passes before they hit her with the move that increases the duration by 2 seconds, then the effect has a remaining duration of 8 seconds. Because this is higher than the base duration, this becomes the effect's "highest duration", and is what the effect's duration will be set to if Magearna Heart Swaps it onto another character.
UpSpecial:Magnet Rise
Magearna charges herself with electricity for a very short moment, then begins to levitate! On the ground, she'll just pop very slightly into the air and continue to hover just above the ground. In the air, she'll slow her fall on activation, but not stop completely. It also takes longer for the move to start up if it's used in the air compared to when it's used on the ground. Magearna has free flight while this move is active, in a manner distinctly reminiscent of Pit's old Wings of Pegasus Up Special from Brawl, though she is able to perform attacks in the air without interrupting her flight. When the move is used from the ground, there's a bit of lag before Magearna can initiate free flight, largely just there to make it less likely that Magearna will accidentally start flying when she wants to be hovering. Magearna cannot land during this move, instead entering the near-ground hovering state that she enters when she uses the move on the ground. The move has limited charge, enough for 9 seconds of near-ground hovering or 3 seconds of free flight. The move can be deactivated at will simply by inputting Up Special again while it is active, even if Magearna is in the middle of another action; if this is done while hovering near the ground, Magearna will land back on the ground almost instantly. As a note, deactivating Magnet Rise in this way leaves Magearna hanging immobile in the air for an instant as it stops all horizontal and vertical momentum, though this isn't huge or anything. Additionally, inputting a jump while hovering near the ground will cause Magearna to cancel the move and jump from the ground. Magearna cannot air dodge during Magnet Rise, although she can still cancel out of charging Moonblast with an air dodge input. If Magearna gets hit by any attack that causes hitstun while Magnet Rise is active, she'll be knocked out of the move (but she can just reactivate it, assuming she has sufficient remaining charge). Magnet Rise recharges while Magearna is on the ground, taking 2 seconds to go from 0 to full charge.
While hovering just over the ground during Magnet Rise, Magearna is in all ways airborne, except that she will not fall any further, and has access to her ground jump as described above. Hovering just over the ground in this manner is sufficient to refresh her midair jump. She is not affected by her ground traction due to being airborne, and Magnet Rise is quick enough to initiate that momentum can be retained from the ground. The ability to use aerials essentially at ground level, as well as the ability to charge Moonblast in the air at ground level, is immensely valuable to Magearna and opens up her combo potential and neutral game drastically. Intelligent and moderate use of Magnet Rise is key to Magearna's movement in neutral. It's a good way to get around when Autotomize is on cooldown, too. Do be aware that Magearna lacks both her shield and her air dodge while Magnet Rise is active, of course.
Like the Wings of Pegasus in Brawl, using this move in the air and flying straight downward is in fact a very slightly faster way to get to ground level than fast-falling is, particularly since Magearna can interrupt her jump's ascent with it. Also like the Wings of Pegasus, ascending with this move is faster and gets greater distance overall if it's done from the ground than if it's done in the air, since Magearna doesn't start with downward momentum. If Magearna's goal is just to go upward, she'll get better height from a grounded Magnet Rise than from a jump, midair jump, and aerial Magnet Rise.
SmashAttacks:
ForwardSmash:Charge Beam
Magearna steps back before the charge window, then afterwards spins forward a step and unleashes from her arm cannon a series of diamond-shaped bolts of yellow electricity. Similar in animation and hitbox properties to Mii Gunner's same input, this deals slightly greater damage, 10–14% over multiple hits depending on charge, with the last hit dealing the vast majority of the damage. It is significantly faster than Gunner's FSmash in terms of both startup and endlag, but is much weaker in KO power than the aforementioned move, KOing from 180% near the ledge.
If Charge Beam hits a foe (or their shield, or any other sort of thing with a hurtbox really), Magearna will gain a slight electric-yellow glow with small arcs of electricity occasionally criss-crossing her body. This indicates that Magearna has entered a Power Charge state. Power Charge increases damage output, but also causes the attacker to take recoil damage. At this basic level of Power Charge, attacks deal 1.09x damage but cause 0.12x their (newly boosted) damage output in recoil to the attacker. For projectile and trap-laying moves, all of this recoil damage is taken upfront when the projectile or trap is spawned. For melee attacks, half of the recoil damage is taken when the hitbox comes out and the other half is taken if/when the hitbox connects. Performing a grab with a Power Charge effect active causes recoil damage as if the grab were a melee attack that deals 2% damage. If the grab itself is damaging and deals more than 2% damage, it calculates recoil using its own damage value instead. A projectile grab causes recoil damage as if it were a projectile dealing 2% damage or its own damage output (if any), whichever is greater. Minions created by a Power Charged move inflict increased damage with whatever attack they make as part of being summoned (if any), but are not themselves buffed as a trap or projectile would be. Recoil damage from a minion-summoning move is also calculated based on the damage of the attack the minion does as part of summoning (if any), in addition to any hitbox the summoning move itself has. As a mostly-cosmetic side effect, all melee attacks that normally deal battering or slashing damage instead cause a very slight paralysis effect while the attacker is under the effects of Power Charge. Power Charge stacks multiplicatively with other modifiers to damage output, such as Soul-Heart stacks or Fleur Cannon's debuff. This basic level of Power Charge lasts for 5 seconds. The presence of Power Charge, as well as its remaining duration measured in seconds, is marked by an icon on the character's HUD, to the right of their %, with a number to the right of it. The icon for Power Charge shows a lightning bolt with a green up arrow in the bottom-right corner.
There are higher levels of Power Charge than just that, however. If Magearna is suffering a debuff from having used Fleur Cannon and she hits with Charge Beam, the strain on her system prevents her from expelling as much of the attack's electrical buildup, leaving her with a stronger Power Charge. The less intense version of Fleur Cannon's debuff, caused if Magearna had one Soul-Heart stack when she used Fleur Cannon, results in an Overcharge instead of a basic Power Charge. Overcharge has the character glow more intensely and have more sparks around them, and causes attacks to deal 1.18x damage, but cause 0.24x their damage output as recoil damage. It also lasts 8 seconds instead of a mere 5. It is otherwise identical to Power Charge. Its HUD icon is like that of Power Charge, but shows two partially-overlapping up arrows that are blue instead of green.
The more intense version of Fleur Cannon's debuff results in a Supercharge instead of a basic Power Charge or an Overcharge. Damage multiplier is 1.36x, and recoil is 0.45x the attack's damage output. Supercharge also gives melee attacks a slightly — but noticeably — more powerful paralysis effect than a basic Power Charge or Overcharge does, which can open up some combo potential in select cases. Supercharge lasts 12 seconds, and its HUD icon has three partially-overlapping up arrows that are purple instead of green or blue.
Because the trigger for higher levels of Power Charge is tied to Fleur Cannon's debuff, it takes a bit of creativity to make the most of them. Waiting until near the end of the debuff's duration is of course ideal if Magearna wants to use higher levels of Power Charge for herself. Magearna can simply deal with the painful debuff all that time… or she can Heart Swap it off to the foe, and then Heart Swap it back to herself just in time to then land a Charge Beam and get the Overcharge/Supercharge. If Heart Swap didn't cause enough hitstun to almost combo into Charge Beam, this would be horribly predictable. As it is, it's still a bit predictable, which can make actually getting the Charge Beam within the limited remaining time difficult.
An alternative, of course, is for Magearna to just go straight for a Supercharge after giving herself the Fleur Cannon debuff, and then Heart Swap both of these onto the foe. This horrific combination results in the foe dealing slightly less than normal damage and taking huge recoil with every attack they attempt. Magearna can then Autotomize and lead the foe on a wild goose chase, or take the fight to them while they're reluctant to make any more attacks than is strictly necessary.
UpSmash:Iron Head
Finally, we come to the first "normal" move in Magearna's arsenal. Her Up Smash, Iron Head, is visually similar to Pichu's Up Smash in Melee, though unlike Pichu's it is not angled to partially face the screen except during the startup and charge. Magearna leans back during the attack's charge and startup, putting her head in the background if she's facing right or the foreground if she's facing left. During this time, her head is also intangible to prevent this defensive measure from being ruined by 2D stages such as Duck Hunt. When the charge is released, Magearna shifts her posture slightly so that she's facing perfectly straight along the X-axis, then smashes forward with an overhead-arcing headbutt for 11–15.4% and 85° angle knockback that can KO from 135% uncharged. There's a short period where Magearna's head is vulnerable as she shifts her posture, but her head is again intangible during the hitbox's 3-frame duration as well as the frame before the hitbox comes out. The attack comes out fairly quickly and has moderate endlag (as opposed to the exceedingly short endlag that Mario's Up Smash has).
The very front tip of the headbutt's arc is a sweetspot of sorts, causing the same damage but having different knockback properties (as well as a unique, harsh-sounding metal "clang!" sound effect on hit). Against airborne foes, it causes strong knockback at a semi-spike angle, capable of KOing from 110% uncharged. Against grounded foes, it causes set knockback downward and away, pushing the foe back with extended hitstun; this is an ideal combo tool, able to be followed up with such things as jab, FSmash, DTilt, or even a grab. If the attack is fully charged, the set knockback increases, lengthening the hitstun and allowing the move to combo into FTilt, Dash Attack, or an uncharged USmash (which can be sweetspotted as well).
With a Power Charge in effect, the sweetspot has a greater paralysis effect than normal against airborne opponents. The paralysis the USmash sweetspot causes to an airborne foe allows Magearna to combo into FSmash (at mid-low percents), Fleur Cannon (at high percents), or a short-hopped FAir (works at low to mid percents). With a Supercharge, Magearna can even combo into FTilt or Moonblast at low percents.
DownSmash:Gyro Ball
Magearna retracts into her ball form. If the move is charged, she spins laterally in place like a top (or like a gyroscope), dealing rapid hits of 1% with absolutely no hitlag and weak diagonally outward knockback to foes that come into contact with her while she's charging. When the move is released, she whirls around in a manner similar to Wario's DSmash, but remaining upright. Her whirling motion describes three concentric circles, with the first rotation having the most reach and the last rotation the least. She deals 12–16.8% on contact during the first rotation, 9–12.6% during the second rotation, and 5–7% during the third rotation. Each hit causes 30° angle knockback, ordinarily strong enough that each hit cannot combo into the next, and enough to cover the attack's lag despite its lengthy duration even if hitting a low-percent foe. Though it deals slightly less damage than Wario's same input, it has slightly greater KO power and very slightly shorter endlag.
If Magearna is Supercharged, it's possible at point-blank range for the 1st hit to combo into the 2nd due to the paralysis effect. (Because the 2nd hit's paralysis effect won't override that of the first hit, the third hit will not combo.) This is pretty impressive raw damage output (28.56% Supercharged with no other modifiers), but it has to be to be worth the significant (14.382% Supercharged with no other modifiers) recoil damage as each of the attack's 3 hits causes recoil damage to Magearna.
If Magearna is Autotomized, all hits of this attack (including charging hits) deal 0.75x damage, but Magearna is able to slowly move to the left or right during the charge and attack. In addition, the knockback of the 1st and 2nd hits is reduced even further than the reduction in damage would suggest, allowing Magearna to combo the three hits together at low percents for a total of 19.5% uncharged.
An Autotomized target takes 1.33x damage from all hits of Gyro Ball, including charging hits. They also take significantly increased base knockback from all hits of the attack other than the charging hits, making it impossible for an Autotomized Magearna to perform the combo described in the above paragraph. Still, combine this with the decrease in weight that Autotomize inflicts, and a foe can be KO'd at frighteningly early percents! It should be noted that because this damage boost is in the form of a defence decrease on the target, it does not affect the recoil damage Magearna takes from performing Gyro Ball while affected by any level of Power Charge.
Grab:Grass Knot
Magearna's right hand folds in, and out from her arm pops not an arm cannon, but a bouquet of gracidea flowers. How nice! Or perhaps not. The leaves of the flowers in the bouquet promptly extend forward to try to snag a foe, giving Magearna a grab with some considerable reach but above-average startup, though it is not on the level of a tether grab in either aspect.
For her pummel, Magearna hip-checks the foe, smashing them with her heavy steel dress in a slow pummel that deals 3% a pop.
ForwardThrow:Pain Split
If Magearna's grabbed foe is at a lower % than she is, she holds them close to her body for a little under half a second as a light shines from the Soul-Heart and she and the victim of the grab are surrounded by the sort of faint green aura that typically represents HP restoration in video games. As this occurs, Magearna heals an amount equal to 1/8th the current percent difference between her and her foe, and the foe receives damage equal to the amount Magearna healed; this is perfectly capable of both healing and dealing damage in minuscule decimals, rather than rounding. Then, Magearna punches the foe away with her left hand for a further 3% and middling mostly-horizontal knockback that mainly serves to reset the situation.
If Magearna's % is lower than that of the grabbed foe, she skips straight to the ending punch to launch the foe. In stamina matches or vs. other entities that have HP/stamina such as minions, it checks how much stamina they've lost/how much stamina Magearna has lost compared to the maximum in the same way that it would normally check % taken. In such conditions, the amount that Magearna can heal is capped at the current stamina of her target.
If Magearna has grabbed an ally (such as in a team match), this move is initiated with a pummel input. If the grabbed ally has higher % than Magearna, the grabbed ally heals an amount equal to 1/8th of the difference, and Magearna takes damage equal to the amount her ally just healed. If the grabbed ally has lower % than Magearna, then she'll heal off of them as she would off of a foe, so be careful of that. Magearna won't punch an ally away after using Pain Split on them, however, so she's free to use it repeatedly (though of course, diminishing returns are a thing). Inputting any throw on a grabbed ally causes Magearna to release them from the grab harmlessly, with little lag on her part and no lag at all on the ally's part. This is faster for both parties than if the ally actually mashes out of the grab.
The variable healing/damage of Pain Split is not modified by any multiplier to Magearna's damage output. It ignores Soul-Heart boosts, Power Charge effects, Fleur Cannon's debuff, and anything else of that nature. Only the ending punch on the throw is modified by these things, which also means only the ending punch of the throw causes recoil to Magearna if she has a Power Charge effect active.
DownThrow:Guard Siphon
Magearna arches her back in a stereotypical anime power-up pose as a light shines from the Soul-Heart. Specks of energy the same shade of pink as a Smash Bros. bubble shield are drawn from the grabbed foe into Magearna as the foe takes 8 rapid hits of 0.25% damage, and then Magearna collapses into her ball form in midair and spins rapidly, unleashing a bubble shield-coloured shockwave in all directions, bouncing the foe diagonally off of the ground at her feet and dealing them 6% damage. Magearna then emerges from her ball form during the throw's endlag, which is short enough for this throw to combo into FAir at low-mid %s, but not quite enough to true combo into Moonblast or FleurCannon.
The victim of the throw has their maximum shield HP reduced by 10 (50 > 40, generally) and their shield regen halved, while Magearna has her maximum shield HP increased by 10 (50 > 60) and her shield regen multiplied by 1.5x. Both of these effects last for 12 seconds. As one may expect, these effects can be Heart Swapped around if Magearna so desires. Both effects are marked with icons on the HUD similar to other status effects in Magearna's set. The shield buff is marked with a green bubble icon, while the shield debuff is marked with a red bubble icon.
UpThrow:Soul Siphon
Magearna grips the foe with her off hand and switches to her cannon with her right arm, then shoves the barrel of the cannon into the foe's chest. The foe twitches in pain as light blue-green energy is drawn from their body into the cannon, dealing 4 hits of 0.25%, then Magearna uppercuts them with the cannon for 1.5% before unleashing a shotgun blast of sparkling silver light for a further 3.5% and upward knockback with a low growth rate, good for combos. Oh, but I should clarify: these are the base damage values for this throw, which you'll basically never see. The energy Magearna drains from the foe is actually life force, granting her a temporary stack of Soul-Heart. This FalseSoul-Heart stack behaves in all ways as a normal Soul-Heart stack, except that it lasts for only 5 seconds, rather than permanently, and a character may have no more than one FalseSoul-Heart stack at a time. The FalseSoul-Heart stack becomes active after the first 4 hits of this throw. The HUD indicator for Soul-Heart stacks gains a number showing the remaining duration in seconds to the left of it while the FalseSoul-Heart stack is active.
As was briefly mentioned above, this is also Magearna's combo throw, letting her immediately capitalize on the damage boost it grants. The FalseSoul-Heart stack also allows Magearna to access Charge Beam's Overcharge effect without having to first have another character be KO'd, and without wasting such a precious resource as Soul-Heart stacks.
BackThrow:Sniper Eye
Magearna tosses the foe at a mid-high angle behind her for 5%, then follows through with a 180° spin to face toward the foe and switches to her arm cannon, charging the cannon with silver energy as she points it at the foe. She'll continue to charge as long as the throw input is held, for up to a second. When the input is released or maximum charge is reached, she'll fire a quick beam of silver light at the foe she threw. It deals 7–11.8% depending on charge, and 40° angle knockback capable of KOing from 160–110% depending on charge if near the ledge. It does not pierce. The beam is not guaranteed to hit regardless of whether it is charged or not, but clever timing can bait an air dodge (or the lack thereof) to help ensure that it connects.
StandardAttacks:
Jab:Mirror Shot
Magearna points her right arm forward, reveals the hidden arm cannon within, and braces herself before opening fire with a rapid barrage of beams of silver light in a repeating jab. Each beam travels half a BFP and deals 1% damage and very weak Sakurai Angle knockback with enough hitlag + hitstun to combo into the following beam. This sounds incredibly OP, right? Well, there's a catch: as the jab is held out, the shots begin to scatter, becoming further and further off-target the longer the jab is held out. They can even scatter into the foreground and background, where they obviously can't hit anything! The net result of this is that the longer the jab is held out, the easier it is to escape from it at long ranges especially. At near-max range Magearna can generally get 5% off guaranteed before it becomes escapable (though this depends on the size of the foe), while up close it's possible to get 9% fairly consistently. At point-blank range — that is, the foe is directly touching the barrel of Magearna's arm cannon — it is obviously impossible for a beam to miss, so depending on the opponent's size and weight Magearna could potentially get a massive 14% off of this move!
When the A button is released, Magearna fires one final, slightly wider beam straight forward for 3% damage and mid-weak Sakurai Angle knockback that won't KO until over 325%.
DashAttack:Volt Switch
Magearna draws both arms back during the startup (during which she continues to dash forward), then thrusts both hands forward and generates a small explosion of electricity. The explosion is centred just a touch in front of her hands and has a diameter of about 3/4s Magearna's height. The blast of electricity deals 12% and medium knockback diagonally up and away that scales poorly but can still KO from 200% without Rage. It combos quite nicely into Moonblast at mid-high percents on most characters (barring extreme outliers like Jigglypuff, who flies too high for Magearna to follow up), and with a fully-charged Moonblast this is an efficient KO setup if Magearna has stage control.
The electric explosion Magearna produces causes recoil that pushes her back half a BFP assuming normal traction. The attack's endlag completes slightly before Magearna finishes the movement caused by the recoil, allowing her to carry a small amount of momentum into the air with a jump, or into a sliding shield, or into a dash to reach her max dash speed more quickly. Though Volt Switch is ostensibly a disjointed melee attack and not a projectile, the blast will not follow Magearna as she recoils backward, and its hitbox lingers for a couple frames, making Volt Switch an effective way to get some space in addition to being a solid punish tool. Because the blast is an entirely separate entity from Magearna despite not counting as a projectile, Magearna doesn't experience hitlag when it does, which makes it a bit less unsafe on shield than it would be otherwise.
Tapping backward on the Control Stick during the attack's startup causes Magearna to turn around immediately before unleashing the blast of electricity. The direction of her movement during the startup does not change, however, so she'll slide in the opposite direction to the one she's about to attack in. Volt Switch used this way still recoils Magearna away from the explosion. Reversed Volt Switch is an effective option for burst movement in certain circumstances, though it is generally a little too laggy to just be thrown out whenever. It's especially useful in conjunction with Magnet Rise, allowing her to extend the momentum and cover a much greater distance while remaining at ground level.
Because Magearna continues moving forward at her dash speed during the startup, any modifier to her dash speed (such as an Autotomize boost) will change the distance Magearna covers during the startup accordingly. Additionally, any modifier to her traction (such as the traction nerf caused by Autotomize) will change the distance covered by Volt Switch's recoil accordingly.
ForwardTilt:Flash Cannon
Much like Smash Attacks, Magearna's tilts can all be charged. The maximum charge time is 1 second, though the specifics beyond that can vary from move to move.
For her Forward Tilt, Magearna points her arm cannon forward before charging, gathering specks of silvery energy into the cannon. When the charge is released, Magearna shifts her stance very slightly and fires an orb of silvery energy straight forward. The orb is tiny when uncharged, about the size of a deku nut. Fully charged, it reaches the size of an uncharged Mega Man FSmash shot. It travels at a speed similar to Mega Man's fully charged FSmash, regardless of charge. Its range varies from 3 BFP to 5 BFP depending on charge, and it deals 10–17% depending on charge along with Sakurai Angle knockback capable of KOing from 140–95% depending on charge. This attack is slightly — but notably — slower than FSmash in both startup and endlag, but is more damaging, has much greater range and KOs earlier. It lacks the ability to catch spotdodges the way Charge Beam can, however.
Flash Cannon can be angled up or down to angle the shot 30° in the respective direction. The ability to angle downward can be used to edgeguard, even though the angle's a bit shallow for that purpose. In teams especially, however, both upward and downward angles can help compensate for Magearna's lack of arcing projectiles. A high platform can be used to snipe down at foes over an ally's head, while the upward angle can be used to anti-air foes coming at an ally, as well as restrict a foe's movement in conjunction with an ally's attack.
Flash Cannon is a simple, reasonably high-powered projectile option for Magearna. It'll tend to see use at longer ranges, while her Forward Aerial is more useful up close.
UpTilt:Thunderbolt
Magearna looks upward, reveals the arm cannon in her right arm, and points it straight up. She holds it pointed upward during the 1-second charge period, as electricity sparks around the cannon for sporadic hits of 1% and flinching. When the charge is released, Magearna fires a thin bolt of electricity from the cannon that instantly travels 0.5–1 BFP straight upward depending on charge, and lingers for a moment. The bolt deals 8–11.2% depending on charge and mid-weak upward knockback that combos into itself at low percents. Its ability to link into itself improves with charge, despite the increase in damage and knockback, because the hitlag increases disproportionately quickly with charge. Contrary to appearances, it's not quite a projectile, and the lingering hit will follow Magearna if she's moving. Despite the fact that it follows Magearna in this manner and the hitbox will of course instantly end if the attack is interrupted, it behaves similarly to Volt Switch in that the lightning bolt itself takes hitlag separately from Magearna. In addition, the arm cannon itself flares with electricity as it fires, creating a hitbox that just about covers Magearna's head, right arm, and shoulders, plus a tiny little bit to her left and right. It's a little like the grounded hitbox of Marth's Up Smash in terms of its horizontal reach, so it doesn't have much of it at all.
Though Thunderbolt has an exceedingly precise hitbox, lacking the horizontal reach of Iron Head, it has incredible vertical range and is very fast both to start and to end. It's obviously not as fast as Mario's Up Tilt, of course, but it doesn't need to be. Against some of the very fastest fast-fallers such as Fox, it's even possible to link a couple point-blank Thunderbolts into an Iron Head at very low percents. Fully charged, at point-blank it can link into an Iron Head just about whenever.
DownTilt:Boost Ball
Magearna remains in her ball form as the move charges, and a whirring sound is heard, almost like an engine revving up. When the charge is released, Magearna rolls forward at speed, leaving a visible burst of displaced air as a visual effect. The distance the roll covers varies depending on charge, from the same distance as Cloud's Down Tilt when uncharged to 1.5x that at full charge. It deals 7–9.8% depending on charge. The knockback starts out at a low diagonal early in the roll, and the angle gets higher as Magearna travels. Hitting a foe early in the roll is ideal for leading into ground attacks or Magnet Rise-assisted near-ground aerials, while hitting late in the roll is ideal for aerial follow-ups. Magearna has 6% heavy armour during most of the roll, and for just a few frames before the hitbox comes out. The move comes out relatively quickly but has endlag that's just enough to be very punishable on a whiff, much like Cloud's same input.
AerialAttacks:
Like Magearna's tilts, all of her aerial attacks can be charged by holding the attack button (or by holding the C-Stick if you C-Stick your aerials). The maximum charge time is 1.5 seconds for a 1.4x damage multiplier; you'll note that this is weaker than a Smash Attack due to requiring more charge for the same reward. Magearna cannot influence her lateral aerial movement while charging, forcing her to commit to a degree.
ForwardAerial:Aurora Beam
Magearna's bread-and-butter aerial has her point her arm cannon forward quickly and, after the charge period, unleash a spiraling double-helix beam of rainbow light straight forward. It travels 1–4 BFP depending on charge, moving at the speed of Mii Gunner's FAir. Like Flash Cannon, this breaks the normal charge formula, dealing 7–12% depending on charge along with middling Sakurai Angle knockback that can KO from 290% uncharged. The beam doesn't really linger much, and the tail of the beam is a sourspot dealing half the damage and reduced knockback. The sourspot is also piercing, however, so hitting with the tail of the beam won't interrupt its travel. It's quick to come out, has pretty short endlag for a projectile, and has a generous autocancel window. It also pushes Magearna back slightly, with the strength of the recoil increasing the more the move is charged. Though it doesn't really combo into anything, it's a great tool for projectile pressure, for camping, and for tacking on extra damage on a disadvantaged foe when a combo opportunity doesn't present itself or at the end of a combo. As a result of its simplicity and versatility, it's quite likely to see frequent usage.
Like Flash Cannon, Aurora Beam can be angled 30° up or down. This makes it useful for attacking grounded opponents from the air, giving Magearna a little more variety in the angles she can attack from with her projectiles. The angle of the recoil adjusts to match, meaning firing downward pushes Magearna back and slightly upward, and firing upward pushes Magearna back and slightly downward.
Aurora Beam's generous autocancel can be used in conjunction with the ability to cancel Magnet Rise even in the middle of another move, letting Magearna fire an Aurora Beam near the ground and then cancel Magnet Rise to reduce the move's endlag by a not-insignificant amount. This does come at the cost of making Magearna less able to fade back during what endlag there is, however, since cancelling Magnet Rise halts all momentum. As such, it's best used aggressively, such as to follow up with a Flash Cannon or Charge Beam to keep the pressure up.
NeutralAerial:Spin Ball
A simple attack in which Magearna retreats into ball form and whirls in place, in a manner similar to Sonic's Neutral Aerial. It lasts for some time but is still a great tool to combo with. The early hit deals 7–9.8% and mostly upward knockback that's good for aerial follow-ups using a midair jump, such as Aurora Beam or another Neutral Aerial. For the most part, it won't KO until 270% at the earliest. The late hit deals only 4–5.6% and has a much more horizontal knockback angle with weaker knockback that will not KO even at 400% barring extreme circumstances, which can be very useful in conjunction with Magnet Rise's near-ground hover. For example, while hovering, Magearna can combo late NAir into Moonblast's charging hitbox. Charging Neutral Aerial is mostly only useful to slightly adjust the knockback strength, potentially making combos work at earlier percents than normal. Due to NAir's lack of reach, the move will mainly see use when Magearna already has the advantage or with a good read.
BackAerial:Psybeam
Magearna spins partway around to point her right arm behind her as she reveals her arm cannon. From the arm cannon emerges a beam composed of rings of psychic energy that spreads out in a cone. It covers about 1/3rd of a BFP in horizontal range from the end of the arm cannon, and at its widest point it is as tall as Magearna herself when uncharged. The beam deals 10–14% depending on charge, and Sakurai Angle knockback with very weak base but high growth, similar in many ways to Mario's Back Aerial. It's slower than the aforementioned move in terms of startup, endlag, and landing lag, but while it doesn't much combo into anything it doesn't particularly need to; its massive coverage makes it an effective wall of pain aerial either way, and it's still fast enough for strings.
DownAerial:Focus Blast
Magearna holds both arms straight up as if charging a Spirit Bomb, which is essentially what she's doing. However, the arm cannon in her right arm is revealed during this posture, as that's what she's actually using to focus the energy. As Magearna charges, she generates a massive ball of brownish-red energy overhead. It starts the size of a fully-charged Charge Shot, and as the move is charged it eventually grows to 1.5x that size. When the charge is released, Magearna points her arm cannon straight down below her, and fires! The massive bullet made of pure fighting spirit travels straight down with infinite range at approximately the speed of Toon Link's Down Aerial, passing through foes it hits and dealing 10–14% depending on charge. Its knockback is a strong semi-spike if the projectile connects even the slightest bit off-centre. If it connects dead-on, it's a Meteor Smash. The horizontal knockback can KO from 160% uncharged, while the Meteor Smash is a very powerful gimping tool. When the Focus Blast projectile hits the ground, it explodes in a dome-shaped blast with a diameter of 0.5–0.75 BFP depending on charge. The explosion deals 12–16.8% depending on charge and Sakurai Angle knockback capable of KOing from 140% uncharged. The projectile can combo into the landing explosion at very low percents if the foe is at ground level, or can combo at just about any percent if you hit with the Meteor Smash sweetspot.
Though Focus Blast has somewhat slow startup and bad endlag with awful landing lag, it's nonetheless a powerful attack in conjunction with Magnet Rise. Not only can this allow Magearna to bombard foes from above, it can also serve as a substitute Down Smash while hovering near the ground. Like Mega Man's Down Aerial, Magearna halts her vertical momentum completely for a short moment during the attack's startup (but after the charge window).
UpAerial:Solar Beam
Magearna holds her right arm straight up, reveals the arm cannon hidden within, and begins to gather specks of blue-green light into the tip of the cannon. After about 1/3rd of a second of startup uncharged, Magearna fires a thin beam of blue-green light straight upward. The beam travels anywhere from 1 BFP to 2 BFP depending on charge, and does so near-instantly (but not quite instantly, and the speed at which it extends does not increase with charge). The beam is a projectile in much the same way that Lucario's ranged Force Palm is a projectile, and lingers for almost half a second after reaching its maximum extension. It deals 14–19.6% depending on charge, with strong upward knockback that can KO from 130% uncharged. The knockback has a slight horizontal angle to it depending on whether it hits more to the foe's left or right side. Despite its long duration, it cannot hit the same foe more than once. Due to its absurd duration, this attack is massively punishable… but also incredible at sweeping a wide area above Magearna in conjunction with Magnet Rise, since she can continue to drift to the left or right while it's active.
Magearna can cause the beam to cut out instantly by tapping the shield button while it's out, adding 1/3rd of the beam's remaining duration to the attack's otherwise-short endlag. This mainly serves to make Solar Beam actually usable in the air without assistance from Magnet Rise.
Playstyle
Magearna is a classic zoner for the most part. She has a number of tools to frustrate foes and keep them at bay while chipping away at them. Magnet Rise in particular is wonderful, allowing Magearna to throw projectiles at the foe while retreating. Even ignoring its actual primary effect for the moment, Heart Swap is an effective tool for breaking a foe's defences, being a ranged command grab that flinches the foe while having little endlag. While Magearna's melee kit is lacking, she has the tools — in the form of Down Tilt, Dash Attack, Neutral Aerial, Moonblast charge, Iron Head, and Gyro Ball — to exploit an opening, chew the foe up, and spit 'em back out. Magearna mostly wants to keep her distance, except to get in a quick combo or use her throws. What Magearna lacks is the ability to set up a defensive emplacement and attack from safety within it like so many other camping characters do.
Now onto what Magearna does that makes her unique: status effects. Magearna's Neutral Special, Down Special, Forward Smash, Down Throw, and Up Throw all produce status effects with different uses either on Magearna or on other fighters. Heart Swap, of course, can achieve this, and Side Special is pretty much Magearna's core special for that reason. Up Throw's status effect is the simplest, and primarily only useful for Magearna or one of her teammates. To get the most mileage out of each individual Up Throw in a team match, it might be best to keep it for yourself until the duration is almost up before Heart Swapping it to an ally for them to use. Another use for Up Throw is to access Overcharge by triggering the lesser of Fleur Cannon's debuffs, then hitting with Charge Beam. It can also be used in conjunction with a true Soul-Heart stack to increase Fleur Cannon's power and also prevent Fleur Cannon's debuff from triggering at all.
Speaking of Fleur Cannon, it's a doubly threatening move: Firstly, it is a very powerful and long-ranged projectile with piercing properties. Secondly, it gives Magearna a debuff that she can hand off to the foe. But using it is a commitment, because it forces Magearna to charge NSpec again, and forces Magearna into a somewhat flowchart-y pattern that is potentially very predictable and exploitable. And using it with Soul-Heart stacks removes them completely, and they're a very limited resource in 1v1 matches especially.
A wonderful combination, if Magearna can land it, is to fire Fleur Cannon, hit with Charge Beam while debuffed, and then Heart Swap the resulting combination of status effects to a foe. This is predictable, and attempts to make it less predictable can be costly due to self-damage, but its effects are devastating if successful. Suddenly, even attacking becomes a painful prospect for the foe, potentially allowing Magearna to go all-in, or allowing her to play keepaway even more effectively than normal if a foe becomes reckless.
Of course, there's nothing wrong with Magearna using Power Charge for herself. Even the higher-level, disproportionately costly versions can be useful to finish off a foe early or as a desperate gambit when Magearna is already at KO %, especially since some of that extra percent gained from self-damage can be shoved back onto the foe at the beginning of their next stock with her Forward Throw.
Autotomize seems useless to transfer to a foe, but it makes the foe lighter, and can also potentially act as a form of interface screw against an inexperienced opponent. A foe is mostly going to expect Magearna to keep Autotomize for herself or her allies, so they're a little less likely to be looking out for a Heart Swap leading into a KO move.
Trading status effects around isn't all free and easy, however. Magearna can't pick and choose what she wants to swap: Heart Swap is all or nothing. This can necessitate some juggling, potentially even accepting a negative status effect off of the foe temporarily or giving them a positive status effect so Magearna can take it back just a little later. Such hot-swapping is risky business, but can be very rewarding to pull off.
Magearna is at her most effective in team matches. She can even out percents between herself and her ally to save one of them from KO percent in a pinch, and trade her various buffs off to an ally for them to use. Heart Swap also resets the duration of status effects the first time they're swapped, letting Magearna use her buffs herself and then recycle them by handing them to a friend. In addition, against foes that utilize negative status effects, Magearna can trade such effects back to the foe, or even take them off of an ally before then foisting them on the foe. Her main weakness in teams is a lack of arcing projectiles, which makes her unable to lob projectiles at foes while her ally takes point. Either a stage with platforms or an ally who can provide platform constructs of their own can help with this a little, letting her fire Flash Cannons down at the foe.
Final Smash:The Flying Fortress of Azoth
With the power of the Smash Ball (and without a villain trying to control it for his own ends), Magearna has full control over Nikola's Flying Fortress! Magearna fires a grappling hook from her arm cannon straight upward, then quickly pulls herself offscreen. Then, from offscreen, the massive flying fortress lowers itself into view in the background. The bottom of the fortress opens to reveal its main cannon, which begins to glow with the pink light of a Fleur Cannon attack.
A targeting reticle appears near the centre of the stage. It can be maneouvred around using the Control Stick, but it controls somewhat similarly to Pikachu's Volt Tackle and so is a little unwieldy if moved at high speed. After 5 seconds are up, the cannon fires automatically. It's up to Magearna to ensure that the reticle is over a foe when that happens, although the reticle does have a small amount of automatic tracking.
The blast of the cannon when it finally fires comes out nearly instantaneously, a massive pink laser about as wide as Bowser that causes a huge explosion on hitting a foe or the stage. A direct hit deals 60% and radial knockback that KOs from 20%, while hitting with only the explosion deals 20% and radial knockback that KOs from 60%. This absurd power even by Final Smash standards is justified by the skill required to aim it.
After firing, the fortress flies forward overhead (and off-camera) and Magearna plummets down from it onto the stage, hiding in her ball form to protect herself from the impact. She deals 10% and middling Sakurai Angle knockback to anyone she hits during her fall, and creates a small crater on landing as a visual effect.
Entrance: Magearna rolls onto the stage in ball form, emerges from it, and bows respectfully to her opponent.
Dodges: For her sidestep dodge, Magearna suddenly retracts into ball form, then emerges after a bit. It behaves a bit differently from your normal sidestep dodge in that Magearna is invincible instead of intangible. Though this change is mostly cosmetic, it makes Magearna more able to defend allies in a team match and also makes her sidestep dodge slightly more difficult to intercept, because simply leaving a long-duration lingering hit as she comes out of the dodge doesn't work unless the attack does multiple hits. Her air dodge is pretty much the same thing but in the air.
Her back roll has her leap backward in a backstep, but since she can't make the landing she retreats into ball form to roll to her feet. With Autotomize active, however, her back roll animation has her simply do a longer backstep and not need to ball up at all. It's a bit faster than her normal roll.
Her forward roll is similar to her back roll normally (she just sorta twists to face the other way as she does the backstep), but the animation changes with Autotomize active to be similar to Lucario's forward roll.
Taunts: Side Taunt: Magearna holds her right arm forward and reveals the bouquet of flowers hidden within. A soothing aroma wafts forward, represented by green specks of light, filling a Bowser-sized area in front of Magearna. All characters within the area heal 1%, but Magearna herself is not affected. Overall, the taunt takes about as long as Greninja's geyser taunt to complete. Down Taunt: Magearna cheers, then gives a happy round of applause. With Autotomize active, Magearna jumps for joy instead of just pumping an arm in the air. Up Taunt: Magearna puts her hands on her hips and glares forward with glowing eyes, chattering angrily. She's impressively expressive for a Pokémon with a face incapable of much in the way of motion.
Winanimations: Winpose1: Magearna is seen eating a poképuff. She pauses in her eating as she notices the camera, then gives an inquisitive head tilt. (Yep. Somehow Magearna is able to eat, and to taste, using that little mouth of hers, despite her body being little more than a doll the Soul-Heart controls. How does that work, you ask? Quite well, actually.) Win pose2: Magearna turns away from the camera with a dismissive wave of her arm and walks away offscreen…. Win pose3: Magearna does a polite curtsy, then waves to the camera.
Loseanimation: Magearna claps her little hands together very quickly, in a manner similar to Mega Man.
Sleep: Magearna sleeps in her ball form, rocking gently from side to side.
Daze: Magearna staggers and twitches as both her eyes and the Soul-Heart flicker alarmingly.
Alternatecostumes: Magearna has both her modern grey-pink and classic gold/red/white colour schemes as available costumes, along with 3 alternate palettes based on each of them. The "modern" palettes are mythril (blue-silver), a copper/green colouration suggesting rusting copper, and a grey/ruddy brown colouration suggesting rusting iron.
The "classic" palettes are her Shiny form (the black/yellow/white colour scheme shown below), a slightly darker-toned alteration of her classic colour scheme, and an orange-gold/pink colouration.
KirbyHat: Kirby gains Magearna's "skin" colour, matching the alt colour of the Magearna he copied, as well as Magearna's ears and the gear around her head. His eyes change to resemble Magearna's, again matching the alt colour. He gains access to Magearna's Neutral Special, Moonblast/Fleur Cannon.
Match-ups:
Jestro loves minions, and loves to hand out debuffs to his foes as well. Magearna can clear a wave of Jestro's minions with a single piercing Fleur Cannon, and then hand off the move's debuff — along with many others — to Jestro or one of his stronger minions. In particular, giving Jestro a Power Charge of any level is punishing to him even without the Fleur Cannon debuff, as he does very little in the way of direct attacking and it will cause all of his minion summons to damage him in the process, since they all have attacks they make as part of summoning.
When damaged, Magearna loves weak monsters. A globlin at 5 HP is a globlin that hasn't been damaged at all, and Pain Split works off of damage taken. Magearna at 40% can Pain Split a globlin and heal 5%, and she can be almost as low as 16% and still kill a globlin with a single Forward Throw due to the throw's finishing punch, allowing her to recover a small amount of health off of it still. A heavily damaged Magearna can go full vampire mode and drain any and all weak monsters Jestro provides in order to recover health. She can also harvest False Soul-Heart stacks and Guard Siphon effects off of monsters.
This matchup isn't all fun and games for Magearna. In fact, it's actually disadvantageous overall, despite all of the unique options it offers for Magearna. Jestro has numerous ways of making copies of the foe, and Magearna's kit full of projectile normals can make this painful for her to deal with. Additionally, Magearna's already low speed means she very definitely does not appreciate the effects of Ash Attackers or the Book of Fear, and since these status effects have such short durations it's difficult to make anything off of trading them back to Jestro or his monsters. (However, it should be noted that remaining in the Book of Fear's area of effect keeps refreshing the status effect, effectively increasing its highest duration by as long as Magearna was in the area and letting her get more out of trading it to a foe.) And, of course, there's the fact that Jestro and his absurd quantity of potentially very durable minions can easily flood the entire stage with area of effect attacks and traps, making it so nowhere is safe. Additionally, even though Magearna can crush a wave of mid-strength monsters with a single Fleur Cannon, the time she has to spend charging her Neutral Special in order to do so is time Jestro can potentially spend pumping out even more monsters, though this can be mitigated by hitting Jestro or even one of his monsters with the move's charging hitbox.
Overall, even though Magearna will gladly abuse weak monsters for her own benefit, and even though she doesn't have to approach Jestro to hit him with her projectiles, she can't deal effectively with his sheer amount of area control. She's probably still one of the better character choices to fight against Jestro, however. Magellan would perhaps be better, since Jestro's monsters would kill themselves trying to hit Magellan with melee attacks while he has Poison Body up.
Changelog:
— Heart Swap duration on permanent/non-time-based effects reduced from 10 seconds to 8.
— Elaborated slightly on Heart Swap's startup time and endlag.
— Copy Abilities and similar moveset-changing abilities explicitly identified as not being status effects for purposes of Heart Swap, unless the other set specifies otherwise.
— Added some more general explanation for the thematic reasons why freeze and burial effects cannot be transferred.
— Kirby hat added!
— Added a specific exception noting that Heart Swap will not swap helpless/special fall.
— Reuploaded images from photobucket to imgur. Should fix the dead images problem.
— Aurora Beam has increased range (0.75–3 BFP > 1–4 BFP) and can be angled.
Child prodigy Bruce Banner became a weapons researcher for the US Army, where he was inadvertently exposed to the radiation of a prototype Gamma Bomb. This granted him the power to transform into the nearly invulnerable Hulk -- but at the cost of suffering the consequences of the Hulk's unthinking rages.
ATTRIBUTES
STATS: The Incredible Hulk is a mean, green, smashing machine! The big lug stands head and shoulders above just about any other hero in the cast, with his default stance having his neck/shoulders brush up underneath platforms while slouching a bit. His incredible size also gives him incredible reach with those big arms, and surprisingly he is not that shabby moving about despite a poor double jump. An interesting bit about the Hulk's physics is that despite having a very fast fall speed, he actually has a slow gravity stat which delays his eventual top speed. This allows for a bit more aerial control as the difference between Normal and Fast Fall is quite astounding!
Weight:130 () Dash Speed:1.7 () Air Speed:1.1 () Fall Speed:1.8 () Gravity: 0.08 () Jump: 38 Ground (), 30.5 Air ()
Rolls:Poor Wall Jump:No
Special:The Hulk suffers no penalty for picking up any item such as Crates, Beast's Turret, and so on. He can also only Smash-Throw items at all times, but anything the Hulk throws (including enemies) will deal more damage based on his power level. Hulk also deals 1.5x damage to anything marked as a "Structure" such as walls, vehicles, etc, that can be summoned.
GUARD: Blockingis something Hulk doesn't really need to do too often, as his meaty attacks hit hard and fast enough to just bash through most things thrown his way. When forced to Guard, he will place an arm in front of his face in a frustrated manner as if you had flashed a bright light in his face. This is mostly aesthetic though, as a feint bubble shield will still envelop his huge body, though angling will often need to be required as it gets whittled down.
POWER TYPE: MOMENTUM Everyone knows that the madder the Hulk gets, the stronger he gets! As the Hulk gains power, he will fill up a green meter seen below that measures his Rage. Separated into two halves, once his rage boils above the halfway mark the properties on some moves will change upon use.
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With a total of 40 Power attainable at any time, the Hulk's power meter is cleanly divided into sections of 20. This will come into play later on as the Hulk's moves take on some different qualities once he is "50-100% Mad", but there are some global changes that should be noted that occur as the Hulk's Rage builds. First and foremost, Hulk's Power Meter determines both the Damage of his attacks, as well as the Damage Resistance of Hulk's hide. Each point of power will boost damage by 1.01x, and reduce damage taken by 0.01x, both maxing out at 1.4x Damage Dealt and 0.6x Damage Taken. Once past the halfway point, Hulk also visibly grows angrier with a feint, Green "Steam" aura not unlike DK, as well as Physically growing a max of 1.1x bigger between 21-40 Power. This size increase is slight, but very beneficial as the range on all of Hulk's hit boxes also grow by the same amount! In short, try not to make him angry...
As a MOMENTUM power type, the Hulk actually uses a slightly different system for power than most. As the fight goes on, Hulk will actually lose Power automatically at a variable rate based on how much power he has currently. From 0-20 Power, Hulk will lose 1 Pow/Sec, and from 21-40 he will lose 2 Pow/Sec, and have a 2 second window after landing hits where this freezes if he is at Max Power, or if the hit would push his power level beyond Max. This essentially puts a timer on the Hulk's rage where he must continuously be gaining power in some manner in order to maintain the powerful boosts associated, thus making him want to be aggressive to feed into his monstrous anger. Despite draining Power faster when above 50% meter, one must keep in mind that the damage buff to his attacks also naturally make him gain more power per hit. For example, a hit of 10% would normally grant Hulk 6 Power in return. If it is modified to 1.2x damage, the now 12% hit would return 7 Power, and so on.
This drain can actually benefit foes as well. Due to the lower damage he takes as his Power builds, he will actually gain less when hit so that at higher percents, a solid whack will keep him away long enough to do a decent drain to his bar! Better yet, if you KO the Hulk he will instantly have his Power Bar set to 0 upon re-spawn, instead of carrying over like other AvX cast members. Momentum types makeup for these shortcomings with the sheer power behind their global buffs however, KO'ing the HULK of all characters will be a lot harder than you think!
Power
Each character has a meter referred to as "Power". This fills as you play and is linked to various effects and special moves. In general, Power is gained via landing attacks as well as being hit, but the latter at a very reduced rate. Power always starts at 0 upon first starting the game, and carries over between stocks for most all characters.
Power is gained equal to 0.6x percent dealtwith attacks that do not spend power, and 0.2x of damage taken / blocked. Characters often have other ways of gaining power as well.
MOMENTUM power types are all about keeping the bar filled at nearly all times. Acting more like a "Battery" of sorts, MOMENTUM will constantly drain at a variable rate between 1-2 pow/sec based on if you have filled up over half your meter or not and will be reset to 0 upon death. That is not to say it's all bad, MOMENTUM always carries rather powerful global boosts to the characters who have it to more than make up for this!
With a total of 40 power points to build up, a MOMENTUM character needs to either:
Deal: 66~67% damage Take: 200% damage
SPECIALS Shield Special: ANGER POINT To get the ball rolling quickly, Hulk can always opt for his Shield Special: Anger Point. Casting his arms to the sides and unleashing a screen-shaking roar, The Hulk will flash green briefly before calming down... at least relatively.
Much like a counter, Anger Point works by allowing the Hulk to be hit by a move during the period where he is flashing green. If struck, Hulk will exclaim "STOP HITTING HULK!" or "GO AWAY!" and is able to act immediately with any option. What makes this so special though is that upon being hit, Hulk has full super armor for 30 frames and converts 1.4x the damage he takes directly into power! On average, this allows for a solid chunk of your meter to get filled up for free, which then also scales with his normal damage resistance as is meter fills. It should be noted that multiple incoming attacks, such as Multi Hit moves, or multiple attackers, will extend the duration of the "Counter-Frame" until the move ends, at which point the Hulk can retaliate with whatever option he chooses after the net results of the moves boost his power.
The real benefit though is giving the Hulk a rather healthy frame advantage on average as he just shrugs off the attack as the foe is in their end lag. If you are able to predict when an attack is coming and opt for this, the foe is in for a world of hurt. Of course, if the foe baits this option in return the Hulk is prone to a massive amount of end lag himself, nearly 40 frames in which the Foe can pretty much do whatever they want to the confused Hulk! Unlike most other Shield Specials, Anger Point doesn't really have a power cost but the "opportunity" cost of it is very high. You will essentially always be hit by using the move, it is just a matter of whether or not the strike will anger the Hulk into a counter strike or if he will be battered around for the attempt!
If the Hulk is above 50% meter though, Anger Point will start to spend power upon use as Hulk flashes Green and Red as an indicator of a new level of anger! Upon a successful activation, Hulk will exclaim a definitive "SMASH YOU!!!" as the knockback stats of the next attack Hulk attempts within the 30 super-armored frames of activation is also increased by 1.2~1.4x alongside his damage. On a good read, you can easily net astronomically early KO's with certain moves as the added KB and Damage stats together multiply to give tremendous output. Attempting Anger Point past 50% meter will cost 10 Power, but you will still get the power back from whatever move you absorb during the counter-phase. Its just alongside the massive end lag, you lose out on a good bit of your gas tank upon missing, as well as actually getting a net loss on many moves that strike you. But that is a minor price to pay for the sheer firepower you get for triggering the Hulk in this stance, lets take a random move with the following stats for comparison:
10% damage, 25 Base KB (Baseline Knockback), 100 KB Growth (Scale that BKB grows by with %).
At base vs Mario at 50%, this hit will dish out a final Knockback of 93. Lets say the Hulk is fairly mad enough to get a 1.3x modifier. Boosting the damage to 13% will in turn boost the Knockback to 109. If the KB stats were boosted too? Well, the formula now using 13% / 32 BKB / 130 KBG will dish out 141 Knockback! Now, this isn't even on a full modifier for Hulk, nor on a particularly strong move. Those boosts on a smash attack? You'll be lucky to survive past like 40%.
Careful use of Anger Point can quickly get the Hulk mad enough to really dish out the hurt on foes early on in a match, as well as punish poor spacing in general by smartly tanking a hit in order to dish out one in return. An enraged Anger Point counter attack can even end stocks then and there if you plan accordingly! Just be careful not to be blinded by anger and just toss this move out whenever though, as if baited the Hulk is incredibly vulnerable himself to counter measures.
Neutral B: THUNDERCLAP An iconic use of Hulk's super strength, he takes a big step forward as he draws both arms back wide before creating a tremendous, screen shaking Sonic Boom with a clap of his giant hands!
The Hulk's signature special hits in two parts, the clap itself which carries a tiny yet tremendously powerful hit, and the visible sonic boom it produces around the Hulk that hits a tremendous area for tiny power. Starting with the much more prominent secondary "Sonic" hit, Hulk's hands will unleash a circular hit box that grows rapidly to fill the space of about a platform's radius in all directions from the point of impact with a visible, slightly green shock wave. The sonic boom only lasts for about two frames however, but while active it will deal 5% (7%) and can nullify pretty much anything sent towards Hulk in terms of projectiles and items, as well as count as a tremendous wind box away from himself for moves affected by wind such as Storm's Twister. On impact with an enemy, they will either be tripped if on the ground, or weakly popped up and away from Hulk if mid air, both cases being essentially frame neutral for both parties given the end lag of Thunderclap if they are tagged a decent distance away, or even slightly disadvantageous for Hulk if very close and at low percent. Despite the start up of Neutral B being comparable to Ike's F smash, the tremendous reach of the sonic boom is easily enough to make up for the timing.
The laggy step forward that Hulk performs to give it such a wind up also grants him great, great reach also comparable to Ike's F smash when it comes to the sweet-spot of Thunderclap. If a foe is caught just at Hulk's Palms/Wrists during the two frames of impact, they will be pulverized for a decent 19% (27%*) damage and be sent off at a 40* angle with extreme knockback that can net KO's at around 90~100% at mid stage even at 0 meter. The secondary hit takes priority over this however, and is multiple times the size making the spacing for the mighty attack a bit tricky to master yet very rewarding.
This is slightly easier in the air as Hulk forgoes the large step forward and opts for a much quicker, diagonally downwards clap! In this case, the Sonic Boom hit box is essentially unchanged aside from hitting more around Hulk than mainly in front of him, as well as being about 0.8x smaller overall. The physical clap sweet spot is weakened quite substantially to only deal 13% (18%*) without the wind up. It may be more fruitful to aim for the quicker but weaker aerial clap over the much stronger grounded on in certain combos or off a launcher if it is easier to land, but those reads on the ground can also be oh so satisfying.
The reads get all the more satisfying if Hulk is enraged past 50% meter, as he really lets the Thunderclap become an outlet for all that pent up fury! With identical timing, but a more exaggerated animation, Hulk cries out loudly as he flashes green briefly before clapping his hands with thundering, screen shaking, echoing force! The sonic boom created goes slightly further at 1.2x the distance on the ground, and matches the normal grounded range in the air, but essentially remains the same as it is more an afterthought of the main goal: smashing your enemy like an insect between the Hulk's hands. Unlike most other moves in his arsenal, once past a certain level of anger the Thunderclap no longer scales in the normal way as the base damage increases (thus the asterixes), Thunderclap will spend 15 meter, but in return deal 10% more base damage! Right away this gives a range of anywhere between 29-23% depending on if you hit the Grounded or Aerial sweet spots, but given he will always have at least a 1.21x modifier with this version you can net 35-41% in one go from the grounded, with the aerial clap dealing a lesser but still devastating 28-32%. Getting hit for 30+ damage will easily net KOs at very, very low 15-25%, especially if coming off of an Anger Point counter, possibly even killing as early as 0% in some cases! If you're able to make the read and get the spacing right, you can really show the opposition just how powerful the Hulk really is. Just be weary of the cost associated, as with the start up, end lag and 15 power associated, you can really put a drain on your power meter when trying to clap the opposition.
Side B: GAMMA CHARGE With a grunt, a greenish "burst" of air envelops the Hulk as if ripping through the air in front of him as he barrels forwards shoulder-first a platform's distance!
While moving, the entire front half of the Hulk is a hit box that strikes for only 10% (14%) but also only has set knockback of about his own width away at a 40* angle which is also perfectly within arm's reach. In fact, upon a successful hit you can cancel the end lag of Gamma Charge into another move! This can circumvent Hulk's somewhat lessened ability to link hits together at higher levels of Meter or just vs damaged foes as you can barge into them for a nigh guaranteed 1-2 combination. The only caveat here is that Hulk cannot cancel Gamma Charge into itself, or into shield/roll/grab.
While very laggy if you miss or hit a shield as Hulk enters an awkward end lag state (something of a theme for Hulk), you can take comfort in knowing that Gamma Charge carries Medium Armor while Hulk is moving/coated in that green "Sonic Boom" type effect. What this means is that Hulk can barge through and beat out any non grab attack that deals knockback comparable to say, most tilt attacks. Anything with KO power will beat out the armor, but pretty much every jab, normal projectile, etc, will be able to be Gamma Charged through. This plays wonderfully into Hulk's damage reduction too as the Medium Armor blocks more and more at even higher percents as Hulk takes less damage!
If performed in the air, Hulk still goes about a platform's distance which while decent, is not a lot of relative movement for the big guy. Instead of horrid end lag though, Hulk will enter special fall at the end of the move unless he successfully strikes an opponent, in which case he can act freely like with the grounded version. This is pivotal for his recovery as Gamma Charge has a very generous ledge grab area in the air, and the threat of being hit for Side B + Option damage can be quite scary to challenge without a powerful move! On certain stages, you can also Gamma Charge into Walls to cause Hulk to Wall-Cling. The impact causes Hulk to dig his hands into the solid surface with his raw strength, and grants him access to a normally unavailable vertical wall jump as well as refreshing his specials. If you have the space to try and slam into the stage with Side B it is always a great option, though you must be mindful that you only get 1 special cling per air time.
If Hulk is above 50% meter, his anger will drive him forward quite literally as he can now cancel the end lag of moves into Gamma Charge! Doing so will cost 10 Power, which limits how often you can opt for the tactic as often you will dip below the 50% threshold by cancelling a successful hit into Side B. In turn, you then can cancel that Gamma Charge into another move which cannot be cancelled further. So if you choose you can get a near guaranteed 1-2-3 string off of Move-Side B-Move, or even a 1-2-3-4 by starting with a Gamma Charge into a cancel! There is of course some risk/reward with what you want to go for here as Gamma Charge has a noticeable tell for when Hulk is about to charge with his "shoulder bash" stance and grunt right before he moves, so more often it may be better to go for a 3 parter more than a 4 parter off a safer move. You can often get big, big damage off of these strings which can of course maintain your momentum, though of course it is always wise to not get too overwhelmed by your rage and have it turned against you with baits and reads!
Up B: INCREDIBLE LEAP Taking on a much more exaggerated jump-start pose, Hulk can charge up for up to half a second before launching skywards with an Incredible Leap!
While his normal jumps are rather decent, they do not travel high enough to go over the top battlefield platform or clip the top of the screen with a charge! Like a normal jump, Hulk can double jump, air dodge, and so forth the moment he leaves the ground despite having a longer start up than his normal jump, and he can angle the ascent up to 45* to chase foes into the air after launching them, or even just for evasive purposes. Given his unique air stats, he can get a lot of mileage when high up with his varied fall and fast fall speeds, especially if he opts to not cancel the jump. If left on his trajectory, after about 20 frames of falling Hulk will come crashing down for a hit box that meteors foes hard for 15-25% (21-35%) based on fall speed / distance traveled. Foes hit on the ground will be pit-falled aesthetically before being launched upwards as normal to emphasize the impact as Hulk crashes into the ground and sends chunks of debris up to either end. This debris can cause damage to either side of Hulk with multiple hits dealing 10-15% (14-21%) based on the impact, and push foes away from his main lower body hit box.
Landing on foes can be a very attractive option on a read given the massive landing hit and general power making essentially any trade favorable, though of course the landing comes with a ton of lag if you didn't perform any aerial options from it. If enraged past 50% meter though, you can perform Up B again from the moment you land instead of taking just landing lag! This can be an invaluable option despite costing 10 Power, as Hulk can harass a defensive opponent then back off, or even leap back up after a successful ground bounce thanks to the frame advantage of pit-falling foes into the ground!
While a fantastic movement option on the ground, while airborne Hulk has the problem of not having any floor to push off of. In the air, Up B cannot be charged or fast-falled for the landing hit box (more on that later) and instead is a laggier double jump that only moves him about 1 platform upwards. While it has a generous grab box and can be angled 45* to cling to walls once per air time like with Side B (they also share the same wall cling limit, so you can't side B for a cling then Up B for a cling), this is pitiful for a recovery move. Luckily it can be jumped from or an aerial performed from the jump as normal, but unless hit again you cannot use it more than once per air time. You also cannot Up B from the ground and then Up B in the air without a jump, dodge or aerial on between which while tricky has a bunch of commitment attached. Combined, the two specials and his double jump make up the Hulk's not so incredible recovery! A major drawback for him, Hulk will need to capitalize on his raw offense and stage presence / damage reduction to make sure he can maintain stage control and smash foes before they get him in a bad spot.
Luckily, Up B does change a bit both in the air and on the ground if above 50% meter. When enraged, both Up B's will have invulnerability from frames 1-10 and either go max distance with no need to charge (unless this was an Up B performed in the landing lag of another), or more importantly travel 2 platforms when airborne! This invulnerability carries over to options you cancel into if you are quick which can allow for a very scary aerial up close to either bash through a foe trying to edge guard, or threaten a trade where Hulk can just attempt another Up B with more meter in his gauge.
Overall Up B is a good representation of how Hulk likes to play: high risk, high reward with a great emphasis on commanding the stage. Try to limit your time off the ground unless you're on the chase, and you will be able to really make an impact!
Down B: GAMMA DIVE / GIANT ROCK Picking up where we left off with Up B, we should mention Down B's aerial purpose first before getting to the more dynamic grounded input. While airborne, Down B will cause Hulk to perform a stall-and-fall™ version of the landing hit box from grounded Up B! Hulk will pause, look angrily at the screen and give an angry shout as he plummets down for 10-25% (14-35%) based on his height / fall speed as a meteor smash at his legs and feet. Upon impact with the ground, debris will still be shot all around him dealing 5-15% (7-21%) based on the impact's strength to cover the landing, but is otherwise very punishable on whiff unless you are above 50% meter and able to "Bounce" back with an Up B, or cancel the end lag into Gamma Charge. The Gamma Dive completes Hulk's aerial mix up potential between Grounded and Aerial Up B (or even Side B on impact) by offering him a delayed plummet down to earth. Unfortunately unlike the Up B's landing where you can angle the decent or cancel out of it with an option, Down B is much more rigid in it's commitment to straight down movement and the inability to cancel unless you hit the ground. That said, the ability to just halt and plummet to the earth is very good as well seeing as you can Up B off stage, cancel that as a fake out, then Down B to score a sweet suicide KO from a distance!
When grounded, the Hulk will dig his hands into the earth and rip out a huge chunk of rock to use as an item! The Giant Rock is about the same size as a Crate item, and is extremely heavy. Like said item of Bonsly, weighing down opponents who are not Hulk either minimally for the likes of Thor, Donkey Kong, and other such characters, or slowing them down tremendously with a slow pick-up animation as well as neutered movement all around if Hulk were to drop it. Once equipped, the Rock becomes throw-able like a normal item, with the Hulk of course only being able to Smash throw it as if it were as light as one of Peach's turnips. The Rock will soar towards foes with a slight arc downwards due to gravity, ultimately slamming into them for 16-13% (22%-18%) depending on how far the Rock has traveled, and heavy knockback at the Sakurai angle that can KO offstage fairly easily depending on the situation. Like all throwing items, the Rock can be thrown left, right, up, down or dropped onto the floor by the grab button. When tossed left or right, it follows the rules of closer to Hulk = more damage, as it trails in speed with distance down to 13% over it's 2.5ish platform arc from the ground. If thrown upwards, the rock will reach the same distance but then of course slow down to the 13% number, before it falls back down to deal 16% again before hitting the ground, and throwing downwards always deals 16% until it hits something. Dropping the rock will deal no damage, and allow Hulk or others to pick it back up at a later time. On impact with an opponent or surface if not simply dropped, the rock crumbles and disappears from play, though "strong" characters can catch it with a laggy animation. It is usually a better idea to either shield the hit, avoid it or simply smash the rock by clashing with a hit box that deals the same amount or greater. As long as a Rock is on the field, Hulk cannot pick up another one via Down B, but opponents still have to be wary of the newfound range offered to Hulk, and even the potentially altered specials at his disposal!
While held, the Rock will of course replace all of Hulk's normal moves with throwing the rock, but his Specials still work just fine. In fact, his specials will take on some new functionality while the Rock is in hand! Starting with Thunderclap, Hulk will actually shatter the rock in his hands to create a new hit box in between the sweet spot and the sonic boom that will deal multiple hits to deal 13% (18%) as chunks fly from the collision. Separate from the normal hits, the chunks can stack with the hits to deal both tremendous damage and even alter the knockback to keep the foe nearby for an epic combo, and specifically the Sonic Boom hit box of Thunderclap can shatter rocks in just the same way if they are lying about or tossed! Gamma Charge will turn from a shoulder bash to a "boulder bash" where Hulk barges forward rock-first! Dealing 16% (22%) and crumbling the rock into dust on impact, the Rock can take a single hit for Hulk aside from his normal armor during the charge to provide an extra layer of safety alongside the added damage and hit box placement. Incredible Leap / Gamma Dive will both have Hulk leap/fall Rock-first like with Gamma Charge to add more range as well as one hit worth of armor where foes will need to strike the Rock, then the Hulk in order to truly strike him but are otherwise unchanged beyond the rock smashing on impact with the ground. Lastly, Anger Point will behave more like a "real" counter where Hulk will gain meter, and then smash the foe into the dirt with the rock with both hands to shatter it just like with Thunderclap for 13%(18%), while the foe is temporarily pit-falled before being popped up into the air as Hulk is then able to act. Pressing Down B again will simply throw the rock forwards.
Overall, Giant Rocks do essentially what they say on the can in terms of being a fearsome projectile / barrier between Hulk and oncoming damage temporarily. They are not the best projectile in the game, needing a considerable amount of time to even be pulled from the ground, but when he has one in hand it would be best to respect the explosive versatility! Its best to try and take advantage of the Hulk's newfound projectile emphasis by actually trying to approach given he needs to commit to tossing the rock, but then again he still has his specials and the ability to drop the rock, though that also takes time that is not spent attacking or defending.
This of course changes a bit when enraged past 50% meter, the Hulk opting for something with a bit more oomph: a Car! Turning his back to the camera, Hulk grunts as he spends 15 power and heaves up a Car / Vehicle from the surrounding environment that is as wide as a platform and as tall as a Crate item. While normally a Car, it can be any manner of large item such as a Wagon, Fantasy/Sci Fi vehicle, or even just a REALLY big rock depending on the stage! With similar lag to unearthing a normal rock, the Car can only be lifted by the Hulk as an item and essentially acts as a solid object much like a tiny Landmaster to anybody else. The car can be dropped on the ground with ( Z ) and then struck with strong moves to behave almost like a big Soccer Ball item with Hulk's weight to bash foes for 1/2 the damage dealt to it at the Sakurai angle, or Hulk can simply throw the Car at foes as a massive hit box that deals 20%-15% (28%-21%) based on range, and follows the rules of the Rock in terms of being tossed up and down. One important distinction is that the Car sticks around unlike the Rock once thrown, and has priority similar to that of a Pikmin thanks to the car itself having 50% HP. This means that while it does not have trample priority, foes will often trade their hits with the car if spaced poorly and still be struck alongside the car! Unfortunately though, this means that the car will often be bodied by simply being tossed about or even used to attack as it takes 1/4 the damage it deals when it hits something. Heavy hitters can also in theory turn the car against Hulk, such as Ryu (who has a history with hitting cars btw), Hulk can always catch the car as an item and throw it back even harder. In general, throwing the massive hit box about either directly or by attacking it again for different angles will almost always be in Hulk's favor.
Oh, and don't forget about his specials! Gamma Charge and Incredible Leap/Gamma Dive both have the same functions as before but not have the benefits of the Car-armor absorbing hits for Hulk as well as huge walls of hit boxes to catch foes. Anger Point is also a true counter still with a built-in attack, this time the car smashes opponents into the dirt for 18% (25%) and leaves them there with a huge frame advantage for the Hulk before they popped upwards for him to combo off of. Lastly, Thunderclap will have Hulk smash the car between his hands for a big, meaty hit box for 20%(28%) that acts as a replacement for the original Thunderclap move as a sort of half-way between the boom and the sweet spot. While having the same overall stats as Thunderclap otherwise, the end lag here now has Hulk fashioning crude Boxing Gloves from the debris of the vehicle around his massive hands! These gloves grant Hulk's fists true trample priority as well as better range and 1.1x more base damage on all attacks involving his hands (which are most of them), but at the cost of only getting about 3~5 hits out of them before the gloves crumble away. While you have the gloves, you can do everything but Down B on the ground.
Overall the Car is an expensive Power investment like Thunderclap, but the benefits for finding the time and space to pull a vehicle into the fray can be tremendous. The sheer size of the hit box plus the armor, duration and damage can mean that Hulk gets a healthy return on the investment, and his raw power means he can make the space if he lands hits. The altered specials on both the Rock and Car have their uses and are generally worth the time investment in pulling the items, though getting greedy with them also means you are gonna get predictable and punished for just tossing debris around in a rage!
Luckily for Hulk, his wanton destruction can provide helpful Debris to use just like the rocks he forcibly rips from the earth! On moves such as Up B or Down B's landings, Debris get shot to either side and the floor below Hulk is cracked and jagged from the impact. These jagged outcrops have a chance to be large enough to stick around if Hulk is past 50% meter, looking similar to this when he lands:
These vertical outcroppings of ruined floor appear 50~100% of the time based on his level of meter when he attempts such a move, and are treated essentially the same as his Rock Item where Hulk can rip the chunks from the ground with either Down B or Grab to re-use just like he does with his normal Down B Rock. The Debris here are essentially aesthetic and get destroyed just like the balloon on Smashville from stray hits, crumbling to pebbles and away from the stage, except for the biggest piece which is usually standing almost vertically from the ground that Hulk can grab. There is only 1 big piece per debris field, but it is essentially the same as his normal Rock throwing item aside from being a bit smaller and less damaging at 13~10% (18~14%) when thrown. Hulk's Sonic Boom hit boxes can shatter these debris just like his normal rocks for an additional spray of 13% multi hit, and any character who is knocked back/thrown into one of these big outcrops will also smash it and take the multi hit, leading to additional options not just for Hulk but for his allies or even enemies! Unlike his big Rocks or Cars, you can have as many Debris chunks as you like at a time, but need to be aware that they are easily destroyed and the moves that create such debris also have start up time and a chance that they don't uproot something usable.So be on the lookout as you smash the stage and foes alike as your rage could open up new opportunities for improvisation as you unearth big chunks of stage to bash foes with!
SMASHES Side Smash: INCREDIBLE PUNCH Rearing his hand back far as he winds up the smash, upon release Hulk lunges his massive fist forward for a truly Incredible Punch!
His fist to his forearm make for a far reaching, sizable hit box that deals 19-27% (27-38%) depending on charge, and can easily KO at a 40* angle as early as 80% from center stage. There is little to say about the F smash aside from it being quite possibly the quintessential "Heavyweight F smash" if there ever was one! With a long wind up, long cool down but decent active frames atop good range and amazing power, you will be netting most KO's off of a read with your F smash or Thunderclap. This is especially true when you consider Anger Point -> F smash to get crazy results. While not as potent knockback-wise as the Thunderclap sweet spot, it is generally a bit easier to land despite having a slower wind up than the clap. It even has a visible Sonic Boom hit box for 1/2 damage just outside his fist when past 50% meter which can allow Hulk to smash Rocks and Debris, or simply catch enemies just a tad further away. This hit box is essentially the same as the Car's added size when you equip it as boxing gloves, but does not add bonus damage as the Boom and the Fist have mutually exclusive priority like with Thunderclap.
F smash is tricky to land even with a Gamma Charge cancelled into it, but it can also be very safe if you happen to have Gamma Charge in mind when past 50% meter. With his ability to cancel the end lag of an attack into Side B, you can toss out an F smash and then either keep the offense going by Charging forwards, or even retreat to safety by Side B'ing away!
Up Smash: OVERHEAD SMASH Bringing his fist to the ground in front of him for start up, Hulk grunts as he looks up and swings his fist up from the ground, over his head, and slamming it into the ground behind him in a massive arc!
Faster than F smash (though that isn't saying much), U smash will cover a 180* arc from front to back around the Hulk and actually end up causing him to turn around. Foes in the way of his fist can be struck by one of three different hits, with the first being the upwards motion of the 1st half of the arc that will bash foes up and away at an 80* angle for 16-22% (22-31%) and can KO between 95~115% depending on the victim's fall speeds. The second half is the, well, second half of the arc where Hulk will bash foes away at a shallower 60* angle for 15-21% (21-29%) with less knockback, but still enough to potentially KO near a ledge. Finally, his Fist just as it hits the ground has a meteor hit box for 17-24% (24-34%) that lasts for a single frame, but can stylishly pop foes up into the air for a follow up attack, or simply spike them down to their doom off stage! Past 50% meter, this final hit into the ground also creates a visible Sonic Boom on impact that covers quite a bit of space. Hitting for 1/2 damage about 1 Hulk fist in diameter from his hand, the strike hits identically to the 2nd half of the arc at a 60* angle, but uses half of the final hit's damage. As with F smash, you can smash Rocks and Debris or simply use it to catch foes a bit easier with the decent range.
Like all his smashes though, this has a considerable amount of end lag despite being active for quite some time, so plan accordingly to balance the power with the spacing as to not get punished!
Down Smash: FOOT STOMP Lifting his arms up with clenched fists, as he raises his big, green foot, Hulk roars as he slams down hard enough to crack the earth itself!
The Foot Stomp has even more lag than F smash by a hair, but to make up for it has a very potent asset: range. As you'd imagine, the stomp itself has a decent hit box around Hulk's foot as he makes contact that deals 17-24% (24-34%) and actually knocks foes out and away at a 45* angle with weaker knockback than you'd expect... at least for the Hulk. You can still KO at the ledge quite nicely around 110~120% or so, and if you hit with the heel of his foot the hit is turned into a Spike at a 45* downwards angle vs those trying to grab ledge! While nice, this is not what you'd normally want to aim for. As he stomps, the ground before Hulk for about 1-2 platform's distance based on charge becomes jagged and disrupted in a wave of force that can pop up grounded foes for 12-17% (17-24%) damage as a strong meteor smash!
It is important to remember that only grounded foes get popped up by the long-range meteor hit, and that jumping/being airborne is a great counter to this. That said, it has a very long duration giving the stomp technically little end lag for a Hulk-smash, and allowing you to catch foes as they land to come in contact with the huge area! This can also be a good tool to condition the foe into jumping up into the air where you can intercept with a U smash, throw a Rock/Car, or at the very least harass them with Thunderclaps. Speaking of the items, D smash is another move that can create Debris! For each platform of distance, Hulk has a chance to uproot a chunk of Debris when enraged, allowing for up to two Debris chunks with one move. This can be very useful for deliberately making Debris compared to landing with his movement specials or the like where they're more of a side effect, but be aware that Foot Stomp's hit box still doesn't change and while making debris to smash enemies with, you could end up being counter-smashed yourself!
THROWS Grab: HULK GRAB PUNY ENEMY Now that the specials and SMASH attacks are out of the way, we can move onto the more bread and butter aspects of Hulk's moveset. Starting with his grab, Hulk's huge arms afford him incredible reach though the speed leaves room to be desired as Hulk makes an exaggerated grab motion with and outstretched hand. This leaves him with a 10 frame grab as opposed to the average 7 frame.
As mentioned in his Stats section, Hulk doesn't mind too much about having a slower grab given that once he has hold of you, you're in for a world of hurt:
By pressing A, Hulk will hold the foe up by their leg / lower half as they helplessly get randomly slammed into the floor in around Hulk for 4% (6%). You can pummel like this up to 4 times in rapid succession, with a 10 frame break after that finishes where you can just intimidate the foe or choose to do a throw. Hulk will grunt / shake the foe in his hand as an indicator for when you can pummel like this again after the break, but until then the foe is held like a lifeless doll in his grasp. Even with the break to allow foes to try and escape, the sheer damage you can get from pummeling is well worth the risk of a grab escape. To break this down a bit, we can look at if the enemy was grabbed by the Hulk at 0% and with no meter:
Hit 1 = 4*1.00 = 4.00% dealt, 2 power gained.
Hit 2 = 4*1.02 = 4.08% dealt, 2 power gained.
Hit 3 = 4*1.04 = 4.16% dealt, 2 power gained.
Hit 4 = 4*1.06 = 4.24% dealt, 3 power gained.
So after the 4 hits, the opponent has taken ~16.5% damage for free, and Hulk has gained 9 meter already before he even tries to throw the enemy. With Meter, this can add up to an incredible 24% before throws which is terrifying not only to the person you grabbed, but to others as well as the helpless victim is also a hit box for the same damage + light (for Hulk) knockback per swing!
It should be repeated that his Pummel and Throws do not really interact with Gamma Charge when it comes to the Enraged version or otherwise. Firstly, Gamma Charge cannot cancel into grab, nor can a throw cancel into Gamma Charge. You will often need a read in order to land the grab, but thanks to his pummel you can get tons and tons of mileage out of it!
Forward: GET AWAY FROM HULK! With the foe up in the air already having been hoisted up by Hulk, he draws them back as if about to toss a bowling ball, before tossing them effortlessly up and away at a high 55* angle for 9% (13%) and always shooting them about a platform and a half away even at 0%.
This throw is best for just re-positioning the foe or tossing them up into the air offstage, and sort of sets the baseline of Hulk's throw game. He often will not be able to follow up on his throws at all, but the space they provide is very much appreciated as Hulk can then read their follow up option to out muscle it, or give time to grab a rock for target practice.
This changes though when meter is in play as Hulk has the option to Smash-Throw! Once Enraged, Hulk can choose to hold down Z or A when inputting a throw in order to spend 10 Power on a souped-up version. Indicated by a flash of green and a yell, these smashed throws are all about the trade-off between damage now or later as while Hulk usually can get a follow up hit off certain throws with a read, his smash-throws spend his meter to send foes flying off as a punish then and there.
With F throw, Smashing the throw will cause Hulk to perform an overhand throw as opposed to the underhanded toss. Tossed at a slightly shallower 50* angle for 11% base damage (15%), this version has more oomph in that it can actually net a KO at the ledge if they do not DI properly at around 110%. Sure, you won't really be chasing the guy you flung, but they could very well have just taken 39% after a pummel session just for being grabbed!
Back: HULK TARGET PRACTICE Hulk leans down to rip a chunk of the floor out with his free hand as he turns in place to throw his victim behind himself at a low 40* angle for 8% (11%) damage and medium knockback. He then proceeds to throw the fist-sized chunk of rock at the same angle to strike the foe for an additional 5% (7%) to pop them out and away at the Sakurai angle with lesser power and potentially 13% (18%) dealt!
Slower but more damaging than F throw, this is certainly another option to not only toss a foe off the ledge, but to also provide an interesting mix-up opportunity. You see, once B throw starts the foe has 3 options: the first is to do nothing and get smacked by the rock, and the others are to DI up or down to avoid the rock. While un-intuitive, it may actually be wise to take the hit as it can prevent Hulk from following up on your DI! You see, with DI you are either gonna go up at a more diagonal angle into the air where Hulk can smack you with an Up B follow up if necessary, or you will go towards the ground where Hulk can just run after you and tech chase if you didn't smash into debris. It is up to both parties to make the correct guess as to what happens after the rock is thrown, but in the end it is still in Hulk's favor as he made the damage count.
The guesswork can be eliminated somewhat by Smashing the throw to cause Hulk to roar and leap after the foe himself! Using his powerful leg muscles, the follow up rock toss is replaced by Hulk leaping at the same angle and attempting to punch the foe for an additional 8% (11%) damage and the same knockback as before. Being a much bigger object to avoid, it can be a nearly true combo for big damage and even potentially KO's off the stage at many percents! Though you should be cautious when trying this as leaping too far for that extra KO power can leave Hulk in a predicament as he is far from the ledge himself.
Up: SMASH YOU! An exaggerated "pummel", Hulk lifts the foe high and slams them down hard, smashing them to the dirt for 11% (15%) before they get popped directly upwards for medium-high knockback. As they are slammed, the foe also counts as a sort of hit box for the same damage and Sakurai-angled knockback. Its sort of like Hulk using Marth's F smash, but with a person instead of a sword! His only real "combo" throw if you could call it that, you can get an immediate follow up strictly at 0% on most characters, but beyond that you will need to chase them with an Incredible Leap!
When Smashing the throw, Hulk leaps up with the foe to get some momentum, before falling back and slamming them down into the ground HARD for 14% (20%) and high vertical knockback at an 80* angle! Able to land on platforms when he jumps, this powerful throw can easily KO floaties below 100% on most stages, or even earlier thanks to platforms and his Power level. This can even hit hard enough to create Debriswhen the foe impacts the stage, allowing you to choose whether to chase them upwards with Incredible Leap or use the time to rip out chunks of earth to toss in their way first.
Down: STAY IN GROUND! Reeling his fist back, the Hulk punches his opponent downwards so hard that they actually crack the ground and get left in a special prone animation where they can only really think about what just happened:
Taking only 7% (10%), the foe is able to act as normal from the prone position or even tech the moment that Hulk is done with his triumphant growl of "DOWN!" or "SMASH!", or simple growl. This can lead to a deadly tech chase situation as the foe must get away from the Hulk, though luckily they are actually at a +1 frame advantage to Hulk. Its not much, but trust me when I say you need all you can get vs him!
When Smashing the throw, Hulk takes no chances and punches down with much more exaggerated might for a healthy 10% (14%) and pushes them further into the ground as a pit-fall. This of course grants Hulk a rare opportunity to get a "real" follow up as the foe pops out of the ground by the time he is done with the animation, which can be invaluable for his punish game. While not the most damaging option of his throws, it also allows the best chance at actually getting combos or tech chases with Hulk outside of Gamma Charge.
While it also seems as if this is his only non-KO throw, you have to be aware of spacing. If you throw a foe at the ledge, they are actually meteor smashed and can be killed if they do not wall tech at high percent, and of course spending meter increases the power of this.
STANDARDS Jab: RAGING FISTS A two part jab, each press of A will have Hulk swing his arms overhead in front of himself quickly for a quick, space covering combo! Still a bit slow for a jab as it comes out on frame 5, the first hit will strike for 4% (6%) damage and pop the foe up weakly at that Sakurai angle, with the next swing having a tad more wind up as he slugs them again for 6% (8%) and sends them a decent distance away at the same angle. While slower for a jab, it is his fastest grounded option and can actually lead into other attacks, especially to and from Gamma Charge!
Side Tilt: HULK PUNCH With a little bit of wind up, Hulk shoots forward an almost practiced looking punch compared to his other attacks! With a bit less range than his F smash, F tilt will strike for 12% (17%) across his elbow to his knuckle and strike foes at the Sakurai angle with decent power, before he retracts his arm back to neutral.
Able to be angled up or down slightly, this is usually Hulk's main poking option from mid range as he can use this to essentially jab at foes preemptively without the commitment of F smash or risk of missing Thunderclap's sweet spot. This can also score handy KO's with high meter as it cranks up to deal significant damage, even more when you consider that you can almost always get an F tilt out of Gamma Charge!
Up Tilt: HULK HAMMER Drawing one arm straight up behind his head, Hulk performs a combination headbutt and massive slam of is fist to cover a wide 90* arc in front of himself! Hitting directly above himself and to the ground, U tilt can hit platforms as well as foes on ledges and anywhere in between for quite some coverage. Foes struck will either be sent up and away at a 55* angle for 12% (17%) damage which won't really KO like F tilt, more useful for swatting foes into the air, or they will be spiked by the ending impact with the fist for a ground bounce or possible offstage KO. The ending spike is small however, only lasting 1 frame and only on his hand as opposed to the rest of his arm/head, but it is worth to try and master just as with his U smash.
Down Tilt: HULK KICK From Hulk's rather... lackluster crouch, a tap of A will cause Hulk to kick his foot forwards along the ground in order to boot the competition away! His fastest tilt overall, the kick will bop foes for 9% (13%) and send them packing at a low 40* angle. Short ranged, but quick, you will often want to mix this up with Jab for close quarters combat or to space a D smash / poke at a foe after you ravage them with your Pummel.
Dash Attack: RAGING RUN Running forwards at full speed, Hulk roars as he lowers his head and wildly swings his arms side to side to batter and bash through anything in his way!
Each swing of Hulk's arms can hit foes for 6% (8%) damage with the former usually comboing into the latter hit which deals actual knockback at a 40* angle out and away. This covers about the same distance as Gamma Charge overall, but unlike that move it can actually cross-up shields as Hulk barges by the competition! Despite having some end lag that cannot normally be canceled, this can provide valuable mix up opportunity if a foe is attempting to shield grab your approach, and unlike Gamma Charge it is quite good at clearing a crowd in multi-man matches!
AERIALS Neutral Air: RAGING FLAIL Lashing out in anger, Hulk swings both of his arms in violent, wide circles as he attempts to bash away his enemies! Hitting twice, N air covers essentially a large circle around Hulk's head and torso as his arms swing around once each. Each swing will strike for 5% (7%) and pop foes out and away lightly at the Sakurai angle. Like with Jab and Dash Attack, N air comes out quick and is one of his only multi-hit moves, making it an invaluable tool for actually attempting combos.
Forward Air: AIR SMASH Raising both arms up with fists clenched, Hulk swings them down hard in a huge arc to SMASH anybody in his way!
Foes in the path of this powerful attack will take one of two hits, either struck by the majority of the arc of his arms from right above his head to right in front of himself for 16% (22%) and very high knockback at the Sakurai angle, able to KO at ledge around 80% easily. At the end of the swing is a powerful meteor smash that deals 18% (25%) that can score KO's incredibly early with proper timing and spacing, or make for devastating ground bounce combos alongside Gamma Dive / Incredible Leap!
F air also has a landing hit box if you space the landing for when Hulk's fists produce the meteor effect, otherwise he just had normal, heavy, landing lag. Upon impact with the earth, Hulk's fists produce an explosion of force that causes the floor in front of him to shift for about 2/3 of a platform, dealing 12% (17%) damage and popping grounded foes up, and even producing Debris just like D smash! This hit can combine with your normal F air on shields to make for a killer shield poke or even shield break, which of course will lead to either a full F smash or a sweet spot Thunderclap on the helpless foe.
Back Air: HULK BACKHAND A simple, spinning, backhanded fist attack is par for the course on most fighter's repertoires, but none of them have the muscle behind it like Hulk does!
With only a little start up, Hulk grunts and spins mid air to swing the back of his fist / arm out at foes at a slightly downwards angle. Contact with his fist / arm will deal either 14%/12% (20%/17%) and smack foes outward at a low 40* angle, able to KO easily off stage if hit with the fist, though the inner "sour" hit isn't so bad either. Hulk then continues the spin to revert to neutral to add some end lag to the aerial, giving it some punishable lag overall. Luckily, this is also his longest range aerial as his outstretched arm is comparable to F tilt, allowing him to have a "poke" of sorts in the air. That said, the Hulk poking at you is still more like a car backing out of it's driveway into you, but hey the concept still stands.
Up Air: HULK SWAT Looking upwards with a look of frustration, Hulk swings his outstretched hand in a wide arc from back to front in order to smack pesky foes above!
The quick, wide arc of his arm covers just under a full half circle from Hulk's left shoulder to his right, and will smack foes one of two ways. For the first 2/3 of the arc, enemies making contact with Hulk's arm will take 12% (17%) damage and be popped straight upwards with mid-high knockback that can KO at higher percents, if not earlier thanks to Incredible Leap. If a foe is struck by the last 1/3 of the arc, they will actually be sent in the direction the hand was traveling, in front of Hulk at the 45* Sakurai angle for 11% (15%) damage. This can be useful to set up sort of "Custom Combos" with when short hopped or high in the air as you chase with a jump/Up B and N air, F air, Etc, especially when a foe is desperately trying to DI after you launched them up and are chasing with your super jump! Next to N air, U air is your go to combo aerial
Down Air: HULK STOMP Lifting both feet up, Hulk then powerfully stomps both feet down at a 30* angle to put the hurt on those below!
Hitting in two parts like most of his aerials, Hulk's D air actually behaves more like a sex kick than your traditional stomp. The early hit just as he extends his legs down lasts about 2 frames and absolutely boots people down at a -30* angle spike for 15% (21%) and is another notch on his belt full of spikes and meteors. The rest of the move has Hulk holding his legs out as a more traditional sex kick for about 7 frames, where contact will deal 10% (14%) and medium knockback at a 40* angle. This can be useful to simply catch foes alongside N air, and especially useful when landing for comboing with Gamma Charge, or just for defense vs certain juggles to have a lingering hit box trade at the least. Like with F air, if Hulk lands during the strong hit he can create a landing hit box around his feet that pops foes up into the air at the Sakurai angle for 8% (11%), which is useful just for coverage and safety when landing.
SUMMARY: HULK SMASH!!! The Incredible Hulk really lives up to his title with his plethora of super-powerful moves, and despite his simple mindedness and brutish appearance, there lies some depth under the emerald giant's skin.
The first thing to get down is resource management, as his Power Meter essentially strictly dictates any sort of option Hulk will want to use at any given moment. As mentioned many times, as Hulk gets angrier his damage across all moves rises as well as his resistance to damage, which can lead to a variety of different playstyle choices. You can be a reckless, rage-machine where you keep just tossing yourself into combat in hopes of making favorable trades again and again, though that can get you punished and sent off stage where Hulk is at his weakest. You could try and actually try and be a cool, calculated, "credible" Hulk and map out your strategies knowing that X-Y-Z attack will leave you at certain Meter levels for certain strings or follow ups. You could also be special heavy or light in terms of wanting to keep yourself at full anger always, or just wanting to use up your meter as soon as you get it for your cancels and huge damage, high risk moves!
In any event, Hulk is always a brutal powerhouse who only needs a few reads or favorable interactions to win a fight. You rarely need to think about what moves may lead to what, but more in terms of what move would best lead to the next favorable positioning or interaction. Its a bit different than most characters, but when broken down can actually be quite mentally challenging in order to really master Hulk. Do you want to try X move in order to put the foe in Y position for later? Do you want to try for a grab right now knowing that they have been conditioned to try and shield, and get big damage? Do you want to just YOLO F smash or Thunderclap? The list goes on and on, but for each action you need to calculate what the foe might do in response. Something Dr. Bruce Banner is always reminding Hulk of internally, is that the Hulk's actions always cause reactions to those around him, usually negative ones. Tossing out his moves just in a fit of rage can often be predictable and liable to leaving you wide open for counter attack regardless of if he takes lesser damage or not. Given his size, weight and fall speed, it is often the case that skilled fighters can punish Hulk just as hard as he can punch them!
This is where his specials come into play, especially Thunderclap and Anger Point. Thunderclap's big range can buy you time and spacing to condition foes into being certain distances away from Hulk, or into being reckless themselves as they try and rush in to where attempting a clap would be punishable. On the same note, his armored Anger Point is an amazing bait option against foes who are reckless themselves vs Hulk as you get free meter + counter opportunities vs them! If at any point there is a lull in the action where you cannot force the foe into committing to something, you can always pick up a Giant Rock, Debris or even a Car to put some fear in their minds as you grant yourself ranged options. Tossing an item can be an amazing asset as it frees you up to run in behind it and punish the foe's defensive option accordingly. And when it comes to punishes, that is where your remaining Gamma Charge, Incredible Leap and Gamma Dive come into play! The latter two allow you to command tremendous amounts of air space combined with the likes of Thunderclap or even just with a Rock/Car on hand, and can be useful mix ups above the foe in terms of how you plummet down on them if at all. Gamma Charge on the other hand is probably the most interesting of the bunch as it is his sole combo tool. Side B -> Option is near guaranteed at many percents and can allow for a ton of damage off of a correct read, especially when you are able to cancel the end lag of a move into Gamma Charge once or twice at high meter! Just be wary that it is a gamble in that gamma Charge has to hit, and it is hilariously unsafe on shield/whiff.
Overall, the Hulk is a force of nature unlike any other fighter in the roster. His sheer stage presence and power behind each hit makes any action require careful thinking to either land or avoid hits on either side of the confrontation. Just be aware that both you and the opponent need to finish each other off as fast as possible to reduce interactions, and you can really show off that the Hulk is the strongest there is!
EXTRAS: FINAL SMASH : WORLD BREAKER Only able to be activated on the ground, once pressed the camera will spin around Hulk as his veins pop, steam comes off of him as he visibly hits his tipping point and exclaims:
"HULK.......... SMASH!!!!!!"
He will then proceed to do just that as Hulk takes center stage,and pounds down on the floor over and over again with alternating fists! This fit of rage will turn the entire stage into a hit box over and over again for hits of 15% and medium-high vertical knockback over the course of 5 seconds, before a final double handed strike that deals 20% and huge vertical knockback completes the attack! Hulk's final smash essentially turns the stage into "the floor is lava" for a time and can deal incredible damage, but clever foes can avoid this by timing their landings very carefully. Expect this to cause untold mayhem in a multi man battle though!
Up Taunt : ANGRY ROAR Hulk beats one hand on his chest and lets out a screen-shaking roar for all to hear.
Side Taunt : "HULK SMASH _____ !" Hulk has a look of confidence on his face as he pounds one fist into and open palm, and say's his catchphrase: "HULK SMASH (you)!"
Who he is smashing is all up to whoever is on his current hit list, IE the last character who hit the Hulk. If nobody has struck Hulk yet, he will simply say "You", but here is a list of candidates so far:
HULK SMASH FLAG MAN vs Captain America
HULK SMASH LASER MAN vs Cyclops
HULK SMASH TIN MAN vs Iron Man
HULK SMASH BLUE DOG vs The Beast
HULK SMASH BLONDIE vs Thor
HULK SMASH RAIN LADY vs Storm
HULK SMASH COPY CAT vs another Hulk
HULK SMASH GOOP MAN vs Magellan
HULK SMASH FAST LADY vs Tracer
HULK SMASH PUNY LIZARD vs Iguana, who takes supreme offense to this btw
HULK SMASH SNEAKY ROBOT vs any Transformer
HULK SMASH PESKY PLUMBER vs Mario or Luigi
HULK SMASH PUNY WAIFU vs any of the characters Frozenroy has made
Etc
Down Taunt : HULK POUND Hulk slams both fists onto the ground and shouts, causing the screen to shake. His laggiest taunt, this actually comes with a hit box for 5% (7%) just around his fists that pops the foe up and away, though highly impractical to toss out.
Tony's Snark : Iron man pops open his mask and with a worried expression asks; "Hey, we're still science bros after all this, right???"
Entrance : Puny Banner Bruce Banner is seen on the stage as he holds his head with a scream, slowly but surely ripping through his shirt and transforming into the Incredible Hulk!
Grab + Pummel in general reworked completely. Shortened to frame 10 from 12. He now can "Smash Throw" by holding Z or A + Direction for a power cost and altered throws.
Thunderclap adjusted. Now has a flat 15 power cost when above 20 meter and increased base damage to compensate. Essentially the same move, but now has less "Risk" associated with how it used to drain all power if you wanted just the sonic clap hit. Aerial Sonic Boom hitbox shrunk to compensate for the faster speed. Sonic Boom hitboxes can shatter rocks instantly just like his Nspec interaction while holding a Rock.
F smash and U smash have small Sonic Boom hitboxes as well as a "sour spot"
Various moves can now create "Debris" that can stick around the stage once Hulk is angry enough. Debris behave just like the Rock item he can pull at will, though do less damage when thrown. Rocks are bigger and hit harder, but Debris can be made as Hulk naturally fights and can be used as pseudo traps with Sonic Boom hitboxes or throwing foes into them.
FINALLY finished mine Celica moveset. I promised mineself I would have it finished before E3, and I make good on mine promises. Anyway, I would benefit more from critical feedback, but I suppose positive feedback is welcome as well.
[UPDATE] Made some changes, which I hope fixed most of the issues mentioned by below posters. And sorry for all the broken images, but apparently Photobucket is making people pay now.
[UPDATE] Dealt with the broken images by finding a new host.
Summary
Celica, in a nutshell, is a glass cannon. She has a defensive, bait-and-punish fighting style that features strong projectiles and spacing swordplay. All of her moves hit fast and hard. Her normal attacks deal loads of damage, and her Smashes kill early. However, like Shulk's Buster, this power cuts both ways. Celica is dangerous to approach; however, approaching WITH Celica is also risky.
Celica is roughly Lucina's height, and the length of her sword is slightly longer than Marth's. Her running speed is between that of Robin and Corrin's. Like Robin, Celica is much more mobile in the air than she is on the ground, making vertical approaches easier. She is fairly lightweight, and has a high falling speed.
In Fire Emblem Gaiden, and its remake, Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia, weapons never break. If a unit wields magick, they will lose HP upon spellcasting. How much HP they lose depends on the spell's level of power--and there are even some spells that will absorb enemy HP. All of Celica's special attacks are magick based. They are extremely powerful, but as a price, Celica takes damage for every use. Her side-special, Nosferatu, can absorb health from opponents.
1). Specials: Note: Sans Nosferatu, all of these moves can be absorbed and reflected.
Standard Special (Fire): A chargable move. From her palm, Celica unleashes a fire ball that leaves a trail in its wake. If it connects with an opponent, it will explode, launching them away. The fire ball travels in a straight line, the angle of which can be altered between 35 degrees and -35 degrees. By default, the angle is zero degrees. If used in the air, the default angle will be -45 degrees, and be alterable between -10 degrees and -80 degrees. The fire ball travels roughly the same distance as Bayonetta's Bullet Climax, and roughly as fast as Robin's Elthunder. Its speed and power increases the longer it is charged, and it takes slightly longer than Marth's Shield Breaker to fully charge. There are three levels of charge, and like Greninja's projectile, the charge cannot be held; once you use it, you have to throw it. If used immediately, it will deal 10.5% damage, and can kill off-stage at 70% damage. Each level of charge will multiply the damage dealt by 1.5, and divide the kill percent by 1.3. Depending on the charge, the cost of this move can be 1%, 2.5%, or 5% damage. Quick startup, low endlag. Even though this move packs a punch, it doesn't necessarily have to hit the opponent. Instead, it can act as a decoy; baiting your enemy into air-dodging, then punishing the dodge. Or, if this move is aimed down at an enemy whilst airborne and they shield it, Celica can fastfall and grab them.
Side Special (Nosferatu): A short distance in front of her, Celica conjures a burst of light that damages the opponent(s) once. If the move connects, it will deal 12% damage, and Celica will recover at least 5% damage for every opponent hit. Similar to Robin's Nosferatu, the higher Celica's damage, the more she recovers. Slow startup, slightly high endlag. Best used as a punisher. If this move is used in the air, Celica will enter helpless frames. Unlike her other specials, Celica will take no damage using this move--even if it misses. However, consecutive use of this move will increase its startup time.
Up Special (Sagittae): Celica propels herself upward by casting a barrage of light arrows below her. Like Wii Fit Trainer's up-special, the duration of this move increases the more repeatedly the special button is pressed; however, the more damage Celica takes. At its highest, this move covers roughly the same vertical and horizontal distance as Cloud's Limit Up-Special, but has the same ascending speed as Robin's up-special. A total of 36 arrows can be fired, and with each press of the special button, 6 arrows are fired. So the button can be pressed a total of 6 times. The arrows each deal 0.8% damage whilst pushing the opponent downward a little, and travel almost the same speed as Shiek's needle shuriken. The cost of this move ranges from 1.3% to 8% damage. Quick startup. At point-blank range, the start of this move has a spiking effect. After this move is used, Celica will enter helpless frames. If Celica and an enemy are competing for the ledge, she can use Sagittae on them and grab the ledge. If they air-dodge, quickly let go of the ledge, then spike them with a down-air or another Sagittae.
Down Special (Seraphim): Celica conjures a ring of miniature angels around her. This move functions very similarly to Mega Man's Leaf Shield, only there are five angels, and travels a shorter distance. While this move is in effect, Celica will not be able to use other attacks--only grabs. The angels completely block weak melee attacks and projectiles, and deal 5% light-element damage to anyone they come in contact with. However, they can be destroyed just like Mega Man's leaves. When thrown, they deal 0.9% multi-hit damage, and like the Drill Arm item, can trap opponents. The less angels there are, the easier it will be for the opponent to escape. Lastly, this move has high shield pressure, making it a bad move to block. Unless the enemy has a reflector or PSI Magnet, they have no choice but to jump over the move. After that, Celica can fake an approach, scare them into air-dodging or countering, and as they land punish them with Nosferatu or a kill move. The cost of this move is 4% damage.
2). Jab & Dash: Jab 1: Celica deals a powerful horizontal slash to the opponent. Deals 4% damage. Jab 2: Celica follows up with a slightly diagonal slash. Deals 4% damage. Jab 3: Celica finishes the combo with a rising vertical slash. Has two hitboxes; one in front, and one above. The initial hitbox deals 6% damage, launching the opponent at a 45-degree angle. The late hitbox deals 3% damage, only causing minor hitstun.
Dash Attack: Shrouded in flame, Celica dashes forward, sword thrust ahead. The opponent is knocked backward at a 35-degree angle. The damage and knockback of this move is lowered the farther it travels--so you must hit the enemy point-blank if you want the best results. Slightly longer startup than Bayonetta's dash attack. Ergo, best used as a surprise attack. Initial hitbox deals 12% damage, late hitbox deals 7% damage. At the edge of Final Destination, this move is guaranteed to kill at 100%.
3). Tilts: Forward Tilt: Celica performs a lightning-fast thrust that pushes the opponent away. Roughly the same distance as Marth's Shield breaker, but slightly higher above the ground. This move's main purpose is to counter the opponent. If Celica shields a laggy move, she can use this move to put more space between her and the enemy. Even if the enemy shields this move, they will still get pushed away a short distance. Quick startup; however, slight endlag makes this move punishable by faster enemies. Deals 10% damage.
Upward Tilt: An anti-air move. Celica swings her sword above her in a whirling arc. Anyone above her will be knocked straight upwards. Similar to Corrin's up-tilt, but with higher range and knockback. The main purpose of this move is to keep the opponent high in the air, leaving them vulnerable aerials or fake approaches. Quick startup, little endlag. Initial hitbox deals 11% damage, late hitbox deals 7% damage.
Downward Tilt: Celica slashes along the ground, launching the opponent upward. Afterwards, she can follow up with either up-tilt or an aerial. Similar to Corrin's down-tilt, but with slightly higher range. Quick startup, little endlag. Deals 8% damage. Useful for combo set-ups.
4). Smashes: Forward Smash: Similar to Ike, Celica performs a devastating two-handed strike. Roughly the same speed and endlag as Lucina's f-smash, and roughly the same startup as Meta Knight's f-smash. As a result, landing this move usually requires accurate reads. Deals 18.5% damage, and launches the opponent at 45 degrees. At the centre of Final Destination, this move is guaranteed to kill at 100%.
Upward Smash: A three-hit move. Celica stabs her blade upward whilst twirling around like a dancer. The first two hitboxes cover her feet and torso, while the third hitbox covers only her sword. Any enemy adjacent to Celica will be pushed upward by the first two hitboxes, while the final hitbox will launch them upward. Like Ike's up-smash, this move has a slide effect if done while dashing. If the enemy's shield is small enough, the first hitbox will knock them out of it. Useful for punishing spot-dodges. The first two hits deal 3.5% damage, and the third hit deals 10.5%. Quick startup. On Final Destination, this move is guaranteed to Star-KO at 100%.
Downward Smash: Along the ground, Celica performs a sweeping slash in front of her, then behind her. Similar to Lucina's down-smash, but with Meta Knight's overall speed. The first hit deals 8% damage, while second deals 12.5%. Both hits launch the opponent at 25 degrees. More of a "get away from me" move than a kill move. At the centre of Final Destination, the first hit is guaranteed to kill at 140%, while the second hit is guaranteed to kill at 120%.
5). Aerials: Neutral Aerial: A defensive, "get away from me" move. Celica does a quick front flip, sword held outward. Has roughly the same range and duration as Marth's neutral air, and roughly the same knockback as Shulk's forward air. The slash goes in a full circle, and deals 10% damage. Quick startup. The angle at which the enemy is knocked depends on what part of the circle hit them. Thus, if the stage has a diagonal bottom, this move can kill early if the enemy is knocked against the stage.
Forward Aerial: A two-hit move. Celica performs a strong, lightning-fast horizontal strike, followed by another. Very similar to Link's forward aerial, only it comes out instantly. The first hit deals 7%, while the second hit deals 9% damage, knocking the opponent at a 10-degree angle. Can kill off-stage at higher percentages. Useful for approaching, defending, and retreating.
Backward Aerial: With both hands, Celica stabs her sword behind her. Similar to Shulk's back-air, but with the startup of Pit's back-air. Deals 13% damage, and knocks the opponent at a 20-degree angle. This move's primary purpose is for killing off-stage. At the edge of Final Destination, this move is guaranteed to kill at 120%.
Upward Aerial: Celica slashes her sword above her in an arc before doing a backflip. Similar to Robin's up-air, but with slightly slower startup. Deals 14% damage. On Final Destination, this move is guaranteed to kill at 110%, but can kill at lower percentages, if the opponent is high in the air.
Downward Aerial: With both hands, Celica brings her sword downward, spiking the opponent. Similar to Roy's down-air, sans the sweetspot factor. Since this move is guaranteed to spike every time, just like Mario's f-air, Celica's down-air is slow to start. Deals 15% damage.
6). Grab & Throws: Grab: In a thrusting motion, Celica grabs the opponent with her free hand. Roughly as fast as Ike's grab. Dash grab is slightly slower, pivot grab is slightly faster.
Pummel: Celica knees the opponent. Roughly as fast as Lucina's pummel. Deals 2% damage.
Forward Throw (Shove): Celica rams the opponent with her shoulder, staggering them. Deals only 3% damage, and has a low, constant knockback, but leaves the enemy stunned. Afterward, Celica can follow up with Nosferatu or a dash attack.
Backward Throw: Celica whirls around and throws the opponent behind her. Has roughly the same knockback as Ike's back-throw. Deals 4% damage. Afterwards, Celica can follow-up with Fire.
Upward Throw: Celica hurls the enemy straight upwards. Has roughly the same knockback as Lucina's up-throw. Deals 4% damage. At low percentages, Celica can follow up with either a f-air, u-air, or n-air.
Downward Throw: Similar to Lucina, Celica throws the enemy onto the ground. The enemy only bounces a short distance, but suffers high hitstun. Deals 5% damage. At low percentages, Celica can follow up with a three-hit jab or f-tilt. At higher percentages, she can follow up with an up-smash or up-air.
7). Final Smash (Ragnarok): Similar to Corrin, Celica conjures two pillars of light around her. Anyone hit by the pillars of light will be taken to a new scenery; a desert covered in a starry sky. In a dramatic motion, Celica waves her fire-encroached hands in a circle, then thrusts both palms forward. In a final dramatic motion, Celica summons a barrage of fire balls, then as she brings her arms downward, the fire balls rain down on the opponent(s), creating a massive explosion. When the cutscene ends, all enemies caught in the Final Smash will launched off the screen.
8). Author's Notes:
• I struggled to find a core playstyle for Celica. Obviously, her magick would make her unique from the other Fire Emblem characters, but how would she differentiate from Robin, and other characters that use magick? I already decided from the beginning that Celica's magick attacks would be powerful, but for me brute force just wasn't enough. In the end, I decided to give Celica a conditioning-based playstyle. Winning in Fire Emblem--as well as other strategy games--is all about staying as many steps ahead of your opponent as possible. So I decided to incorporate this.
• Since he has a similar fighting stance, and since he's been a favourite of mine since before Fire Emblem Gaiden got remade, some of the normal attacks in this moveset were inspired by Saber, a playable character in Celica's story.
• Down-Special was originally a counter move, but in the end I wanted to go for something original. Plus, sans Robin, every damn Fire Emblem character has a counter move, so it would just add on to the redundancy.
• Up-Special was originally Excalibur (basically Cloud's Limit Blade Beam, only downwards), but in the end I found it to be way too similar to Robin's Elwind. I considered making Warp magick into Celica's up-special, but there are already enough teleportation recoveries. Plus, I hate teleportation recoveries.
• I considered incorporating Thunder magick in Celica's moveset, but Thunder is Robin's gig. Instead, I decided to focus on the Fire and Light elements.
• Most of the Fire Emblem characters in Smash have pretty weak throws, especially Marth, Lucina, and Roy. Even worse, those throws have no guaranteed follow-ups. So I decided to take a different route with Celica. In this moveset, Celica's throws are weak, but they allow for multiple follow-ups.
• "Shove" is a skill that originated in Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance. It was also in Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn. Since this skill returned in Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia, I decided to incorporate it; because I wanted something different.
Awesome to see another set from you, Altais
! Celica actually has some pretty neat ideas, I must say. I like how the self-damage is limited to a couple of the specials, meaning that it's a choice to use a powerful move at the cost of recoil damage – as opposed to someone like Pichu who's pretty much handicapped no matter what he does. The specials themselves are also used for a degree of bait-and-punish, where Celica forces her foe into a bad spot and capitalizes on it; that's a very good aspect of Smash to keep in mind when writing a set.
Unfortunately, Celica doesn't really take advantage of a lot of this solid foundation. The surface-level part of this is that the baiting aspect of the specials isn't brought up until the very end – it'd probably be better to describe uses for the specials in their own paragraphs, so that the reader has it in mind from the very beginning. The rest of the moves also don't play into this a whole lot; the set lacks a real overarching playstyle. Like, moves like Dash Attack and the insanely powerful Fsmash are solid punish tools off of the specials, but a good amount of moves are basic attacks which aren't elaborated on much at all. The advice I'd give here is to think about how every single move plays into the overall gameplan / playstyle, and then describe that dynamic in the move's writeup.
Aside from that, a couple other things:
- Some details are missing. Stuff like how much Sspec weakens with consecutive use, or how far Uspec can travel when charged and how many arrows it can fire.
- As mentioned above, Fsmash is probably a bit too powerful – at least, for a character with such an ability to force the foe into a bad situation. Combined with Marth-level disjoint, it's kind of ridiculous when you can force a landing with Dspec and punish it with such a devastating Fsmash.
- Fair and Bair being mirrored isn't ideal; it'd be better to have two unique moves here instead.
- Running behind a fireball and grabbing the opponent's shield (as suggested in the playstyle description) doesn't sound very viable, given the speed of the fireball and Celica's dash speed.
I really like the ideas at the core of this set – the main thing now is to improve how they're fleshed out throughout the whole thing.
Awesome to see another set from you, Altais
! Celica actually has some pretty neat ideas, I must say. I like how the self-damage is limited to a couple of the specials, meaning that it's a choice to use a powerful move at the cost of recoil damage – as opposed to someone like Pichu who's pretty much handicapped no matter what he does. The specials themselves are also used for a degree of bait-and-punish, where Celica forces her foe into a bad spot and capitalizes on it; that's a very good aspect of Smash to keep in mind when writing a set.
Unfortunately, Celica doesn't really take advantage of a lot of this solid foundation. The surface-level part of this is that the baiting aspect of the specials isn't brought up until the very end – it'd probably be better to describe uses for the specials in their own paragraphs, so that the reader has it in mind from the very beginning. The rest of the moves also don't play into this a whole lot; the set lacks a real overarching playstyle. Like, moves like Dash Attack and the insanely powerful Fsmash are solid punish tools off of the specials, but a good amount of moves are basic attacks which aren't elaborated on much at all. The advice I'd give here is to think about how every single move plays into the overall gameplan / playstyle, and then describe that dynamic in the move's writeup.
Aside from that, a couple other things:
- Some details are missing. Stuff like how much Sspec weakens with consecutive use, or how far Uspec can travel when charged and how many arrows it can fire.
- As mentioned above, Fsmash is probably a bit too powerful – at least, for a character with such an ability to force the foe into a bad situation. Combined with Marth-level disjoint, it's kind of ridiculous when you can force a landing with Dspec and punish it with such a devastating Fsmash.
- Fair and Bair being mirrored isn't ideal; it'd be better to have two unique moves here instead.
- Running behind a fireball and grabbing the opponent's shield (as suggested in the playstyle description) doesn't sound very viable, given the speed of the fireball and Celica's dash speed.
I really like the ideas at the core of this set – the main thing now is to improve how they're fleshed out throughout the whole thing.
The surface-level part of this is that the baiting aspect of the specials isn't brought up until the very end – it'd probably be better to describe uses for the specials in their own paragraphs, so that the reader has it in mind from the very beginning.
a good amount of moves are basic attacks which aren't elaborated on much at all. The advice I'd give here is to think about how every single move plays into the overall gameplan / playstyle, and then describe that dynamic in the move's writeup.
Again, excellent point. Admittedly, some of these moves were rushed, but mine top priority was to get mine ideas down. I'll definitely keep this criticism in mind when revising the moveset.
- Some details are missing. Stuff like how much Sspec weakens with consecutive use, or how far Uspec can travel when charged and how many arrows it can fire.
- As mentioned above, Fsmash is probably a bit too powerful – at least, for a character with such an ability to force the foe into a bad situation. Combined with Marth-level disjoint, it's kind of ridiculous when you can force a landing with Dspec and punish it with such a devastating Fsmash.
- Fair and Bair being mirrored isn't ideal; it'd be better to have two unique moves here instead.
- Running behind a fireball and grabbing the opponent's shield (as suggested in the playstyle description) doesn't sound very viable, given the speed of the fireball and Celica's dash speed.
Yikes, I really should have been more specific with the Up-Special. Also, now that I've rethought it, instead of lowering the damage or recovery of Nosferatu with each consecutive use, I might have the startup time increase instead.
Now that I think about it, F-Smash is a bit overpowered. I'll probably keep the overall speed, but lower the knockback.
I'll definitely be changing back-air. Right now, I'm thinking of a stab behind (similar to Shulk's back-air).
Lastly, grabbing a shield after using Fire is pretty hard to imagine, given Celica's running speed. If she had Fox or Sonic's running speed, then it would make sense. That said, I think I'll do away with that detail altogether.
Lastly, grabbing a shield after using Fire is pretty hard to imagine, given Celica's running speed. If she had Fox or Sonic's running speed, then it would make sense. That said, I think I'll do away with that detail altogether.
An alternative fix would be to make it so Fire has a naturally downward angle when used in the air. With Celica's good air speed and fairly high fall speed, angling an aerial Fire downward at say, a 60° angle would make it potentially practical to then land, dash in, and follow up with a grab. Since Fire can be angled 35° upward or downward normally, if you gave it by default a 25° downward angle if used in the air, that'd accomplish that nicely. It'd also give aerial Fire a really odd angle when you attempt to use it against another airborne foe (a 10° angle upward), but such is life.
And yeah, I think FSmash could stand to have slightly weaker knockback than the original version, but it's actually fairly balanced as-is if I'm reading it right. It has the startup of Meta Knight's forward smash (which is not a fast move to come out, by any means), and the endlag (or "cooldown" as you put it) of Lucina's/Marth's forward smash, right? This means it has overall 1 less frame of total animation time than Cloud's FSmash, and in addition to this it comes out 5 frames later than the aforementioned move and deals slightly less damage than it, too. It makes up for this with great reach and disproportionately powerful knockback, which could perhaps stand to be nerfed a little as you suggested, but overall the move actually isn't all that bad.
Another important point: It's a good idea to refrain from using the word "instant" to refer to a move's startup unless you actually mean that it comes out on frame 1 or frame 2. Likewise, it's generally a good idea to refrain from having moves other than jabs come out on frame 1 or frame 2.
An alternative fix would be to make it so Fire has a naturally downward angle when used in the air. With Celica's good air speed and fairly high fall speed, angling an aerial Fire downward at say, a 60° angle would make it potentially practical to then land, dash in, and follow up with a grab. Since Fire can be angled 35° upward or downward normally, if you gave it by default a 25° downward angle if used in the air, that'd accomplish that nicely. It'd also give aerial Fire a really odd angle when you attempt to use it against another airborne foe (a 10° angle upward), but such is life.
And yeah, I think FSmash could stand to have slightly weaker knockback than the original version, but it's actually fairly balanced as-is if I'm reading it right. It has the startup of Meta Knight's forward smash (which is not a fast move to come out, by any means), and the endlag (or "cooldown" as you put it) of Lucina's/Marth's forward smash, right? This means it has overall 1 less frame of total animation time than Cloud's FSmash, and in addition to this it comes out 5 frames later than the aforementioned move and deals slightly less damage than it, too. It makes up for this with great reach and disproportionately powerful knockback, which could perhaps stand to be nerfed a little as you suggested, but overall the move actually isn't all that bad.
Another important point: It's a good idea to refrain from using the word "instant" to refer to a move's startup unless you actually mean that it comes out on frame 1 or frame 2. Likewise, it's generally a good idea to refrain from having moves other than jabs come out on frame 1 or frame 2.
Excellent feedback; I can't believe I hadn't thought of that. Changing Fire's angle in the air would certainly add many possibilities. If I recall, Ness's PK Fire works differently in the air, and as a result has its pros and cons. That said, I wouldn't mind doing something similar for Celica.
Also, excellent point on the "instant" comment. From now on, I think I'll save that word mainly for jabs and weak attacks.
Cheers for the input; this should definitely help in mine revision.
Unemployed Ninja
OR
Devil-conquering Soul Talisman Legend Izuna if you're being polite
I'm Izuna, your run-of-the-mill kunoichi. I was hanging out with Shino-sis when I suddenly found myself in this weird place. Huh? What kind of place, you ask? Hear me out, man! The entire world has gone whack! There's this giant flaming cat prancing around, creepy monster scientists who put Jason to shame and a bunch of aliens with the same name! Those guys must not be very imaginative with their naming conventions, huh?
Anyways, this is too weird. Who the heck is the idiot who sent me here!? Thanks to him (c'mon, it's gotta be a guy!), I'm stuck having to fight all these people in random places like wrestling rings, jungles and dining halls! But I guess I can't blame em' for wanting me in this fight. People say I'm selfish, stubborn, lazy and greedy, but I think I'm just very cute and sexy. Who could possibly resist? I have swords, bracers, claws, pills, kunai, caltrops, shuriken, smoke bombs, a pistol and even talismans for awesome ninja magic! I've bested gods before (true story; go play Izuna: Legend of the Unemployed Ninja), so there's no way I'll lose to these blockheads!
Were you honestly expecting anything else from a ninja? I'm fast, fabulous and all around have amazing mobility! Unfortunately, those dumb designers had to make me a lightweight for "balance's sake" (or maybe it's because my games are so darn hard), but that just means I have to not get hit by the enemy. Should be easy enough, no? Unless they're actually competent, in which case I'll have to put some effort into this "Smash" thing.
<Specials>
Neutral Special ~ Talismans ~~
Talismans are my fave! They’re my signature weapons that make like easier for me, with all sorts of cool effects to help my stand out from the crowd. Here, I'll reach for the talismans by my side and cycle through them like the pizza guy's Bonus Fruits, their colored aura a visual indicator to you lovely players. I can then hold B to hold out my chosen talisman and cast its spell, or press B to resume charging (even from a full charge!), but if I pressed A or Z instead I'll do something else with it. Unlike those other dumb fighters, I'm actually smart enough to make use of those unused inputs!
By pressing A while charging, I'll stick my chosen talisman to my trusty sword to power it up. This is something I actually did in my own game! I can stick up to 6 of any talismans onto my sword to make the ultimate weapon, but it's not without a catch: the magic of the talismans puts stress on my sword and causes it to break after 6 uses minus 1 for each extra talisman I had slapped on, even if none of the hits connected! Losing my sword doesn't bother me as I'll just pull out another one I got from my dungeon outings, but the extra end lag from the breakage does: that's 0.17 seconds per talisman, so I'd better make sure I land that attack! Good thing I got a few non-sword attacks to help me land a big one.
By pressing Z, I'll instead hold the talisman as an item between the fingers on my free hand, and can hold and have out up to 4 talismans this way. If I was already holding an item at the time, I'll stick the talisman to it instead. Talismans act as short-ranged throwing items that descend like stickers once they lose all momentum, but don't inhibit me from using standards or grabbing - I'm a smart gal, I toss them with Z + directional input! These talismans serve a few different purposes:
By double-tapping B, I'll straight-up use the most recent talisman I was holding. This can save me from having to cycle to it.
By holding B when using a talisman, I'll use the talismans I was holding as well to enhance its effects, using 1 extra talisman per 0.1 seconds B was held down for. This comes at no extra cost other than a slight delay and having to use up those extra talismans. I can use up to 5 talisman for 1 attack.
Destroy a stray talisman to release its magic with 0.7x its usual potency for the attacker - including opponents! If 2 or more talisman were overlapping with each other when destroyed, they'll produce a stronger attack not unlike combining talisman as stated above.
Hold Z when throwing a talisman to make me do a hand sign and detonate the talisman manually after about one second, sticking to any opponent it touches beforehand. This is a bit slower and more telegraphed than a regular throw, my hand glows in the same color as the talisman, but it's a nice surprise attack and can be put to good use in the air where I can use the high fall speed to escape afterwards.
Whoa, that third one I gotta be careful of! Just don't throw talismans when near opponents, because they don't produce a hitbox when thrown. Worse yet, I drop my talismans pretty easily when struck, so just having them on me is risky and gives my opponents fodder to use against me. Talismans don't take damage from projectiles dealing 5% or less, but anything dealing more than 10% will plough right through them to potentially hit me, potentially being buffed by the talisman itself! Darn projectile spammers. Stray talisman stay around for 5 seconds before disappearing if not used, making them difficult for opponents to exploit if they had to launch me far to make me drop them.
When sticking or equipping a talisman, I'll keep on charging but my charge is immediately reset. I can brandish several copies of the default talisman easily enough, but no such luck with the other talismans. If I held A or Z however, I can stick/equip multiple copies of that talisman at half the rate it would take me to reach the level of charge required for it. This keeps me open more compared just charging normally, but man is it quicker!
...am I missing anything? Oh, that's right, I haven't told you what each of the talismans do yet! This move is already so long I thought you'd have skimmed it by now and assumed it did something cool.
0-10 frames: Rekka
A medium-sized flame burns enemies in front of me for 3%, disappearing almost straight away. It's boring stuff, but good for throwing out on a whim and interrupting opponents. If I threw in more Rekka, the flame's duration is extended and it'll trap enemies for longer and more damage, keeping them trapped in midair as I fall to the ground - not bad for something I can whip up in a mere moment. If Rekka is combined with another talisman or was destroyed by an attack, that hitbox will be set on fire and not only deal an additional 3% per Rekka, but also have its knockback increased appropriately by half the amount of damage added on ( for instance: 10% + 3% = 13% = 1.15x more knockback).
STICK EFFECT
This increases the power of my sword attacks by 1.15x per talisman, almost doubling my power at max! Could any other stick effect possibly top something so convenient? GG if I land that big blow.
11-20 frames: Jinrai
Slamming this talisman into the ground, a bolt of lightning is summoned to shoot up to half the height of that yellow mouse's thunder. This deals 6% and spiking knockback, but there's an explosive sweetspot at the start that hits grounded opponents for 9% and strong base upwards knockback. The more Jinrai, the stronger the sweetspot and the bigger its range, capping out at 1.3x and the whole hitbox being a sweetspot.
Holding B when setting this talisman will make my lay it down as a trap. Any Should a ground opponent come within 0.75 platforms of this talisman, it'll blink before electrifying them for 1% per Jinrai talisman thrown in, and continue damaging them at that rate per second they remain exposed to the electrified floor. The talisman can be destroyed by any attack, but it has another hidden effect: while it's not shocking opponents, the Jinrai talisman will build up power at half the rate it would damage, then unleash it all at once. This can amount to massive damage if it's left alone for a long time, but talisman only has the capacity to store 10% worth of electricity per Jinrai thrown in and even then that takes 20 seconds to fully build up. It also takes a bit longer for the talisman to unleash its shock when doing more damage, but it's capable of damaging and stunning shields. I can only have 2 Jinrai talisman on the stage at any given time.
Using this attack in midair will send the lightning bolt downwards instead of upwards, and reverses all instances of knockback - I now have an explosive sweetspot in front of me that can spike opponents, and can use the falling lightning to pull enemies below me off the ground! I can still set the talisman as a trap despite being airborne, only it is now levitating and constantly generates a Bowser-sized field of electricity that damages victims who pass through it. That might not seem like much, and I doubt most opponents would stay airborne for that long, but it can add up if I knock them up into it and they fall through afterwards. The airborne talisman can be used to bait aerial attacks, though I'd better be quick on exploiting this because it will disappear on its own after 7-12 seconds.
If I attempted to lay the Jinrai talisman as a trap and connected with its sweetspot, I'll stick it onto the poor smuck who got hit! They'll get shocked silly no matter what, and stick to them forever until they destroy it with a melee hitbox or by shaking it off...in which case it'll just fall off and continue to act as a trap where it was shaken off. Destroying the talisman is obviously the best solution, but if done too hastily I might be able to exploit my victim's opening!
A stray Jinrai talisman being destroyed will turn it into an electric trap that functions like the ones I mentioned above, except: it deals hitstun the instant it is activated, triple its usual damage within the first second and then double for the second second before dealing its regular damage. This is one of the better talisman to activate when distant to the opponent, because it will build up electricity over time to shock them with when they get close.
STICK EFFECT
Each Jinrai adds 1% and 1-2 frames of extra hitstun onto my attacks before the knockback is taken into account, through the added hitlag of electric attacks. With 6 Jinrai, the victim receives an additional 10% and is stunned heavily before being launched, but that doesn't matter because I'll be going through massive end lag at the same time - in other words, this essentially puts them on the same level as me. Honestly though, why would I waste time on something like stun when I could just go for a Rekka?
21-25 frames: Ten'i
This talisman teleports me a short distance across the stage - a platform length to be specific. This teleports me forwards on the ground or downwards if I was airborne. There's a hint of lag that comes from the casting, but otherwise I can move instantly after re-appearing...and potentially -ninja- someone! Heh. The more Ten'i, the further I'll teleport, and if combined with another talisman its hitbox will appear where I would have been teleported to. Ten'i detonate within about 0.25 seconds if I chose to do so after throwing one, and when that happens I'll be teleported to its location - potentially as an alternate recovery, if I was high enough to afford the time to reach the charge for it.
Fighters or hitboxes who destroy the Ten'i talisman are teleported in reverse to me, going backwards or upwards in midair. This can lead to interesting set-ups in the right situation, and even hinder opponents. Best of all, projectiles teleported this way become hostile to their owners and can hit them from behind if they were close enough! That'll teach them to use powerful projectiles to wipe out all my talismans at once.
STICK EFFECT
This makes me swap places with a victim I strike just before they're launched. It might not seem very useful, but my sword is actually pretty long: it can be used to create unique combos among other things in the right situation! Unfortunately, shielding opponents won't be teleported, but I'll still be teleported anyway and left close to them for a counterattack. Ten'i will still occur even on projectiles from firearms, but throwing items will return straight to their owners if they hit something. Nifty!
There's no benefit to sticking multiple Ten'i on a single weapon, so don't even bother unless you're an idiot.
Fun fact: Ten'i serves as a good mix-up to the previous spell Jinrai. Both spells are useful against grounded opponents in front of of the space below me (falling lightning, teleports downwards). With good timing, I could start up Jinrai, but delay it for long enough to shift to Ten'i; if opponents put up their shield expecting lightning to fall on them, I can just appear beside them instead and grab them!
26-32 frames: Ashikaze
This talisman makes thin vines crawl out from the ground as I point it downwards, covering a 0.6 platform area ahead of me to act as a breakable trap. If an opponent steps over the vines, one of them will wrap itself their leg as a tether, surprisingly hard to notice because it has no hitbox. By holding B when using the talisman, it'll become an actual attack as I make a single vine whip along the ground to reach 1.3 platforms ahead of me. This deals 10% up-close, 7% at mid-range or 3% from afar, tethering itself to the victim's leg regardless and doing so even if they were just out of range. If the vine didn't get anyone or was power-shielded against, it will pause for a bit and then whip up in a 45 degree area, dealing radial knockback to the first opponent it hits while tethering them. This comes out pretty fast, but the lag I suffer afterwards is quite...bad. Its range is good enough for me to mix up with a Ten'i talisman - a good counter against an opponent in my blind spot!
The vine tether extends infinitely and constantly remains taut. It doesn't restrict a foe's movement like you'd expect, but instead functions as a platform others can stand on! Assuming the vine wasn't upright, that is, or else it'll act as a makeshift semi-solid wall I can use to perform my wall-cling or wall-jump. The higher up the victim, the more vine I'll have to work with and can just run along it to hit them with my ground attacks...but it has no effect if the victim was grounded, thus I'll want to knock them up into the air. The vine has 46HP (or around double that amount with max talisman use) and takes twice double damage around the tip, effectively needing to take 23% from an opponent to break, and my attacks are capable of damaging the vine too. If the vine was broken by an enemy attack, I'll be sent tumbling off and left open to attack! I may be a ninja, but even I can't deal with something so sudden! The vine is instantly destroyed if its roots are struck, so I might want to keep opponents away from those.
If I used this move in midair, I'll have a vine lash out directly from the talisman on a mostly-downward angle. This goes a similar distance and speed to your typical stall-then-fall divekick, seemingly infinite but not quite. If the vine hits a target, it'll impale/constrict them for 4% and impact stall that allows me time to perform a follow-up. Pressing B lets me follow with a divekick dealing 4-12% based on the distance I dove, with knockback that more or less launches the victim up to where I started the kick. If I held B, I can kick off the opponent and leap to ascend 1.3x higher than where I was before, or just fall through them...and suffer bad landing lag. I can also press A to pull victims in towards me for 5% and knockback that automatically positions them above where I used the move as I begin to fall, good for starting an air combo. Any grounded opponent struck by the descending in any way will be tethered as it plants itself and gets stuck on their leg.
Destroying stray Ashikaze talisman will cause a very thin vine to shoot out a platform length from it, diagonally downwards if the talisman was airborne or diagonally upwards if it was grounded. The vine deals 10% that KOs at 200% on contact, but if you're hit by the tip you'll instead be pulled in for 5% and positioned where the talisman was, with almost no hitstun. Also, if the talisman was grounded you get tethered no matter what - even I can get tethered with one of my vines if I'm not careful!
Jinrai causes the vine to deal electric damage to the victim over time, and Ten'i artificially enhances the knockback they take. Oh yeah, if a Jinrai talisman comes in contact with a a tether vine, the tethered victim will be shocked no matter what as the electricity flows through the vine. Also, in regards to Ten'i talisman, if the tethered victim is ever teleported, anything standing on or clinging to the vine will be teleported along with them. Hmmm.
STICK EFFECT
Ashikaze makes my attacks deal 1.12x more vertical and diagonal knockback to victims if I launched them from the ground, and places a tether on them with half the HP my attack dealt. Hitting an airborne foe will heal the tether for the same amount, but no higher than its usual 46HP. Extra talisman stack HP onto the created tether, potentially making it stronger than normal, and heal it for on hit. Hitting with 6 Ashikaze is a special case in that it'll add massive upwards knockback onto even my weakest attacks, and will automatically create a tether with 100HP! Now that's worth it!
33-40 frames: Reppu
The last of my talismans summons a tornado that blows enemies sky-high for 13% and high base knockback that KOs at 160% - increased to a deadly 25% that KOs at 92% if I throw in 4. This baby has everything: it's fast, has a long duration, a suction effect up-close and even the ability to reflect projectiles! All of these get stronger on an enhanced tornado, by up to 1.5x their usual capacities. It would be the ultimate melee hitbox, except for one small issue: it's weak against shields. The tornado deals low shield damage and only hits once, leaving the victim free to act afterwards. This means that the tornado's suction and long duration can backfire on me if I whiff this move, leaving me massively open to punishment!
If I struck something with a grounded tornado, it'll stay around afterwards for 4 seconds (12 seconds if enhanced). It's calmed down enough that's no longer harmful, but it still has enough strength to influence its surroundings as follows:
Weakly pushes grounded enemies next to the tornado away from it. But...
Attacking inside the tornado will pull enemies towards you, very weakly or strongly depending on the move's power. This is good for me since I prefer close-combat!
Projectiles are slowed or sped up while they overlap or are within 0.3 platforms of the side of the tornado, depending on whether they were entering or exiting it. Furthermore, any projectile dealing 8% or less will be reflected without changing owners.
Being launched vertically from inside the tornado will boost the base knockback by 1.3x. Perhaps I could use this to boost Ashikaze on an opponent?
Exiting the tornado via dashing, jumping or a movement-based Special will be imbued with a huge burst of speed and 10% heavy armor for an instant! On the latter 2 options, this boosts the distance I cover with them by 1.65x.
The above effects are twice as potent on a fully enhanced tornado. Long story short, you want to be inside the calmed tornado to benefit from it...for the most part. It's a rad little trinket that further rewards me for landing the hitbox, making it easier to follow-up via a jump boost, but at the same time it makes whiffs all the more punishable as my opponent can use the tornado as well!
HOLD B:
By holding B when casting Reppu, I'll use it for an entirely different purpose as I create a harmless trail of spiralling wind wherever I go. If I was grounded while doing this, I'll automatically perform my first jump, so I'll always be in midair when doing this. I can move and jump while creating the trail, but not attack or dodge. Once I land or let go of B, I'll raise the talisman to detonate the wind trail, creating a blast that greatly varies in size and power. A trail of similar length to a tornado will deal similar damage to one, but any longer and it'll get weaker, its power cut down by 0.15x for every tornado height long the trail was with a cap of 1/3rd of its regular power. A blast portion next to be will never get weaker however, and in fact gets stronger by 1.07x at the same rate with a cap of 1.3x a tornado's usual damage. Victims of the blast are launched in the opposite direction I was moving when generating that specific part of the trail (being spiked if I was moving upwards at the time, for example), but given I'll generally be falling constantly when making the trail, a portion of the knockback will generally be upwards.
Much like the tornado, a wind trail will stay around afterwards if any part of it was touching the ground, or else this variant wouldn't be worth using! This trail stays around for 10 seconds, and does these things to anyone occupying it:
Airborne characters get pushed through the trail very slightly, providing they don't DI or fast-fall or do anything to fight against it. If the trail was going upwards, it will simply cut their falling speed.
Performing your first jump from a trail touching the ground will cause you to be carried through the trail, if you didn't fight against it via DI. If the trail was completely vertical, you'll instead jump 1.4x farther and this can stack with the boost from a tornado.
If a victim was launched off the ground while overlapping with one end of the trail, they'll follow the trail instead of being launched in the usual direction. This can be used for all sorts of kewl combos if I'm clever, or to knock the victim into the ground if both ends of the trail connected to solid ground. Like, knock them into a trap or something.
Items smash-thrown in the direction the trail was moving towards or away from will be carried along, similar to the above situations. If the item was going with the flow, it'll travel 1.3x quicker and deal 1.15x more damage, but if it went against the flow it'll instead be slower and weaker. This can affect my talismans.
Detonating a grounded Reppu talisman will create a tornado that acts as a hitbox for an instant before calming down for use, existing for 0.5-2 seconds based on the power of the attack that destroyed the talisman. A midair talisman will generate a wind blast that deals diagonal knockback, and ranges between Kirby-Bowser's size depending on the strength of the attack that destroyed it. The shape of the wind blast is somewhat influenced by the knockback trajectory of the triggering attack, in that an attack dealing vertical knockback will give it a vertical shape and so on.
STICK EFFECT
The Reppu sword will draw in nearby enemies during the starting lag and active frames of my attack. The suction extends to double the area my attack would cover, or 1.15x as far and to a greater extent with more Reppu stuck. With 6 Reppu talisman, I'll draw enemies in over thrice the radius with an extremely powerful pull, and push them away if they were still within range of my attack as soon as its active frames end - no punishment for me! If I threw the weapon, it will pull enemies in towards it, useful if I threw it over their heads or something, but the suction is generally weaker than the rate at which the weapon would travel so it's not all that effective. That being said, the flying weapon also creates a wind trail that very, very slightly enhances the speed of those who go with the flow and vice-versa. With 6 Reppu talisman, the wind trail will actually push and increase/decrease the speed of those inside by 1.3x, and can more strongly pull victims along as it moves past them. I don't have to worry about the huge end lag of the weapon breaking afterwards, either!
Let's see, what the other talisman do when thrown in with Reppu...
REKKA: The tornado/wind trail is set on fire, enhancing its damage output and dealing 2% to opponents who enter it. If my sword, items or any projectiles touch the tornado, they'll be set ablaze for a Rekka power boost that's half as effective as what you'd usually get with the number of talisman thrown in. In other words, generally a very minor buff.
JINRAI: Electrocute the tornado, turning it into a damaging hitbox against opponents who touch it! Like Rekka, it only deals half the usual damage though, and used on a longer wind trail damage will be dealt less frequently.
TEN'I: This causes a grounded tornado to travel 0.33 platforms forward per Ten'i, then move back towards me during its lifetime. Anyone who exits this tornado/wind trail via jumping, dashing or being launched is teleported half the usual length of the combined Ten'i talisman thrown in, as well as teleporting items thrown out of the tornado. The teleport is also applied when I create a wind trail by jumping off the ground, the trail covering the area I teleported, but if I didn't use the teleport for that I can teleport downwards once through a fastfall while creating the wind trail - potentially surprising enemies as I land quicker than they expected for that detonation. You'll cover more area with the added teleport, but used incorrectly opponents could exploit your blind spot!
ASHIKAZE: Ho boy. If I create a tornado while standing on a vine tether, the vine portion on the victim's end will get wrapped around the tornado and they'll be pulled in towards it, at Ganon's run-Ike's dashing speed depending on the strength of the tornado. Opponents will have a harder time dealing with the tornado as they can't shield, but can still move against the push or just destroy the vine, made easier by the fact that the tornado damages the vine. The tornado won't stay around afterwards given it was essentially made in midair, but I suppose that's a fair trade-off for being easier to hit with.
By making a downwards input in the above situation, I'll place the Reppu talisman on the vine to make all the wind sink into the vine towards the victim's end. This deals non-flinching hits equal to the half the damage the tornado would have normally dealt, and keeps the wind around the vine for the usual 4-12 seconds. This wind slowly moves small objects towards the tethered victim, and boosts my dash and first jump slightly when using them on the vine.
If I used a tornado on a trap vine that's not yet tethered to an opponent, the force of the wind will cause it to shoot up to 1.4x the tornado's height and flail back and forth slightly. This essentially gives it more area to cover, and the vine will automatically attach itself to a victim struck by the tornado. The vine will continue to flail until the tornado outright disappears, and retains its full HP while raised but can still be destroyed instantly from the root.
If I leaped off a vine to generate a wind trail, that area of vine will be carried up and follow me where I go until I detonate/stop generating the wind trail, excess vine growing from the ground if need-by. This has no real effect on the tethered victim, but objects on the vine can be influenced by its change in angle and can fall off to damage them.
Side Special ~ Leap Like A Ninja! ~~
This baby has me leap forward as I scatter leaves a make a whoosh sound, all for the sake of making this seemingly-ordinary move special. I can leap forward to go 1.5 platforms or backwards to go 2 platforms with a smash input - both usable once-per air trip, and I can attack with my aerials while doing so. I'm a ninja, so it's only natural that I'd have good air prowess! That, or I could leap along the ground for great mobility and access to my aerials, but if I land in the middle of this I'll suffer more landing lag than usual. Might wanna try this near the ledge, where I'll just go offstage and can recovery with my second jump/backflip/USpec.
While leaping, my Specials are replaced with a different attack I can use if I hadn't already attacked. If I was leaping forwards, I'll take out a pair of ninja claws and swipe with em'! These are faster than my sword-based attacks, but have less range. With these, I can perform one of a few attacks like one would when performing a Special. I can hold B when performing any of these to magically kill my momentum, otherwise the mobility from my leap is factored in when using them. Killing my momentum cancels the rest of the leap and lets me act out of the attack.
B: A delayed cross-slash that deals 12% that KOs at 160%. Momentum-killing can make this a decent surprise if enemies run into me, given the delay.
Side B: A simple downward swipe in front of me that deals 5%, and minor knockback that's great for comboing at lower percentages. A backwards input has me swipe behind me, and can be used to catch an opponent I passed while leaping.
Up B: You guessed it: an uppercut slash! Very basic stuff that deals 6% and upwards knockback that KOs at 200% for when I need it.
Down B: I'll stab my claws downwards to jab opponents for 9% and a spike that KOs at 170%. It's actually pretty fast for a spike, but the range is bad enough that I have to be up-close to land it.
I can keep attacking with my claws so long as I'm in the middle of the leap, but I'll generally only get time to perform around 2-3 slashes so it's kind of a one-off thing. They're gonna win the attack-of-the-year-award (unlike my amazing Neutral Special, heh), mostly being weak set-up moves, but when you consider that talisman sword attacks need to be timed right they're really hand to have around!
By pressing B during a back-flip, I'll instead toss a shuriken and can throw out up to 3 for the duration of the flip. If you're wondering why I don't just toss the shuriken more liberally, like say have them as my Side Special, it's because that would be generic and throwing them this way looks way more cool. With Neutral B, I'll toss the shuriken towards the space I was previously occupying before leaping, Side B tosses diagonally downwards, Down B tosses down on a steep angle and Up B does...nothing. Shuriken deal 3% on contact, and stick to any surface they hit as traps that last for 3 seconds and deal 1% on contact - or 2% when dashing over or landing on. Shuriken can slide off surfaces that become overly-steep, like my tether vines. Shuriken don't normally flinch when stepped on, but a cluster of 2 will cause minimal flinching or slightly better than that with 3. Shuriken can be picked up and thrown as items that I can stick my talismans to, if I can be bothered to go back and pick them up. Hey, when a ninja brandishes a shuriken, she gets a sudden urge to throw it!
By the way, the back-flip actually has a hitbox right in front of me as I kick the victim up into the air for 6% that KOs at 250%, coming with freezes frames because of what I'm about to say next. A backflip from this will take me 1.3 platforms instead of the usual 2, but you can play with the control stick to have me flip up to 1 platform further/or less so in the chosen direction. The freeze-frames give you time to input the direction! Landing this hitbox successfully will refresh my second jump and flips if I had used them, but only once per midair trip given I can just do this to a tethered vine...while damaging it in the process. Any shuriken I toss with an Up B input I'll automatically toss towards the target I kicked off, but in the case of opponents they'll almost certainly miss them given they'll be flying at the time.
By holding B when performing a leap AND while I'm holding talisman, I'll hold them out behind me visibly and apply them for my "Special" should I go to use it. I'll utilize 1 talisman per 0.1 seconds B was held down for, starting with the most recently equipped, letting me get choicey with this though it does add a bit of a delay. This works like you'd expect it to with the claws as they get powered up, only I don't have to worry about them every breaking or suffer any kind of lag associated with such. That being said, the talismans are used up should I so much as perform one slash. With shuriken, the talisman are all applied to the first one I throw out and power it up, but if the shuriken hit a surface or travelled 1 platform before hitting something, all the talisman will fall off and can be detonated per usual and what not. This can actually be a good set-up for placing the talisman specifically, where they can then be detonated immediately through through a follow-up shuriken toss at the same area with Neutral B.
There is one more action I can perform using held talismans during my leap, with or without the "pre-application" delay. By pressing Z, I'll perform a short-ranged hand swipe in front of me that deals 1% and minimal flinching as I stick my most recent talisman onto the victim (or construct) before passing through them to continue with the rest of the leap. I can do this once, or for however many talisman I was holding. Talisman stuck this way can't be attacked by the victim to detonate them, as I skillfully place them on blind spots of their body, but they will fall off after a few seconds or can be shaken off, after which they -can- attack them. In the meantime, I'll wanna land an attack so I can detonate those talismans myself for bonus damage! The victim may want to shake off the talismans while grounded, as airborne I still have a chance of detonating them myself from below, so it's a good thing I can use this move in midair! Also, I can use this move to place my talismans on a vine tether, or even items not hostile to me - airborne items being suspended with me during the moment in which I apply the talisman.
Up Special ~ Izuna Drop~~
BAM! Smoke bomb! This bad boy comes out in a flash, and hits up-close for 6% (with radial knockback!) as I magically vanish for up to one second. How did I even do that? Afterwards, I re-appear 3 Ganons above where I was with some DI allowed, with one of 2 options: either enter helpless like a boring person, which I can do early with a shield input, or press B to perform a cool attack! I'll plummet straight down with my sword and stab through airborne opponents for 11-16% and big skywards knockback, or deal 14-20% if they were grounded - the higher up I hit from, the more damage I'll deal. This comes out real fast, enough to be viable surprise attack or pseudo stall-then-fall, but it's real pain for me to pull my sword out of the ground afterwards...especially if it would break from talisman stress afterwards (bleh!). Still, I guess it's better than plummeting to my death offstage.
Having a Ten'i talisman stuck to my sword teleports me higher into the air, while Reppu causes me to leave a wind trail as I plummet which lasts for 5 seconds and treats anyone inside it as though they were in a low-gravity setting. If I plummet through a wind trail, I'll be guided along its path until you press down to have me resist, and will simply fall more slowly if the current was going upwards.
Oh yeah...if I struck an opponent with the smoke bomb blast and didn't hold up on the control stick, I'll position myself to appear high above them! It's a killer finisher if I say so myself, but I'll need to get up close and personal to hit with the bomb blast, though I'm perfectly capable of that. Better yet, I can just bomb a victim's vine tether to automatically appear above them, without even needing to hit them! (though the vine still takes damage) I just gotta be careful that they don't dodge and move away from me as I fall, or else I'll end up landing right next to them as I try to pull my sword out of the vine...leaving myself completely open to attack. *shudders*
Down Special ~ Fuuma ~~
For this move, I'll take up a defensive stance and hold out a lowing gold talisman confidently. Anyone dumb enough to hit me out of this stance will be sorry, as I block their move with my sword and seal them inside the talisman! Or not...the stupid talisman doesn't have any effect on bosses! This pisses me off so much that I'll kick my attacker in the crotch for 10% that KOs at 170%, and rush up to 1 platform towards them if they were too far away - that's how annoyed I am!
That was weak for a counter, you say? Well, I -was- just using my foot, but what if I used a I had talisman on-hand? I can do this by pressing B when I block an attack, to land its magic on my attacker without fail. If I didn't have any talismans on me, I can use some that are close to me instead, and may choose to do this voluntarily by tapping the control stick towards them. If the talisman wouldn't deal knockback, I'll kick the victim anyway and they'll take additional damage (Rekka) or be teleported to artificially enhance the knockback (Ten'i). I can invest all my talismans if I like and make my counter super-powerful, only fair given it's risky for me to hold so many talismans in the first place. Given how frequently I engage in melee, having a counter is a godsend for me and I have plenty of ways to bait foes into attacking me...stray talismans, vine tether, talismans on-hand, you name it!
If I countered a construct, my Fuuma talisman will actually work as intended as I seal it up! I then carry the talisman with me, discarding the oldest one if I already had 4 on me, and can release its contents like with a stray talisman - it even has the same 4-item limitation. I can use an opponent's construct against them, but they only 0.7x their usual damage/knockback against them, and if they get their hands on the talisman and exploit it I'll be in big trouble. Oh, and I can still be harmed by enemy constructs or minions even if I released them, contrary to the official website which LIES about them not harming me! Annnnnd if that wasn't sucky enough, I'll be forced to drop the talisman if I was struck or grabbed while sealing the target (butterfingers? Me?), leaving my opponent with more fodder to use against me. The laggier/more difficult it was for the foe to create the construct, the more lag I'll suffer when trying to seal it away. On the plus side, me sealing away the construct still counts as it being out, so if my opponent wants it back they'll have to come get it from me!
And yes, I can seal my own constructs and even talismans inside a Fuuma, by holding B and going through the whole counter animation uninterrupted. I can seal any number of talismans inside a single Fuuma talisman, though I obviously can't seal other Fuumas, and NSpec talisman still count as being onstage while sealed - I can produce more in their place, but they will disappear if those new talisman were still around when they were released.
Sealing a tornado, vine or Jinrai talisman acting as a trap will spawn their respective hitbox when released, and this can be used through the NSpec by holding B when holding that Fuuma talisman, indicate by it giving off a slight colored aura of the talisman effect it's sealing. It's even possible to seal multiple talisman hitboxes at the same time, to stack their damage and reap all their benefits upon landing them, but the stating lag from using this particular talisman is worse than usual. In any case, this lets me preserve a specific set-up to prevent it from disappearing over time or being destroyed, especially the vine as any traps stuck on it will re-appear when it latches onto a victim again. I can use this kind of Fuuma talisman as many times as I like until it hits, or at least until it gets knocked out of my hands.
<Standards>
Jab ~ Beat 'em Up! ~~
Finally, a breath of fresh air from the complex stuff! To celebrate this, I beat the crap out of the foe with a straight jab that deals 2%, followed by stepping forward for a gut punch dealing 3% and very, very minor knockback. Finally, I'll step forward again to perform a diagonal-downward slash with my freaking long ninja sword that deals 5% that KOs at 200%, the stun and auto-cancelling of the gut punch allowing this relatively slow slash to hit. With a sword like that, no wonder my punches hit hard. Ever since I was little, I've always thought: the bigger, the better!
This 3-hit combo is "pretty generic stuff" as some might say, but you've gotta appreciate the speed and pressure granted by my steps forward in comparison to my slower sword attacks. Yes, it's worth noting that my sword is really long if you bothered to click on that link, and grants me a bit of reach than most sword-based fighters...at the cost of being slower and generally weaker than them. This is where the punching portion of the Jab comes in to provide me with some much-needed attacking speed, and to set-up for a sword attack imbued with talismans without fear of whiffing. It's also worth noting that just the punches alone are useful as a set-up: the gut punch blows enemies back a bit farther than most "second hits", as the length of my sword and me stepping forward lets me close the gap easily enough, and as such it'll keep enemies close enough to me that I can follow into other melee attacks like my NSpec, SSpec, DSpec or more!
MY SWORD
What's this, another "Special" mechanic? Yeah, I didn't have any room on my Specials for this one, and though maybe it would liven up my "generic" attacks to give my set more appeal. By holding A during or after I've performed one of my Standards or Aerials and wasn't holding anything (other than a talisman), I can equip my sword as a throwing item! Talk about being resourceful. My sword is thrown in a straight line like a spear instead of spinning through the air, for "balance's sake", and cuts through opponents on contact, dealing 10% up-close, 6% at mid-range or 4% with flinching near the end of its flight - possibly coming back down to hit an opponent again if thrown up at them when dealing the weakest damage. My sword travels decently far with like any other battering item, but it's slow to both equip (taking 12 frames) and throw, making it unreliable as a projectile. That, and opponents can kind of use my swords against me if they catch or pick them up, but otherwise they'll disappear on their own after 3 seconds if not interacted with. I can only have 1 sword out at a time, unless it's being held by someone.
While slow to throw, I can drop my swords just fine like with any other item, and this can even lead into a set-up or combo if done in midair with an opponent beneath me. Also, when my sword hits the ground, a part of it will get embedded and leave a portion roughly my height sticking out, which I can then use as a makeshift platform! Because I'm a ninja, I get to have all these cool liberties. This gives me a rad vantage point, even though it doesn't really flow into my gameplan all that well, and I can equip the sword by crouching and pressing Z at the same time - or swap it with one I was holding as an item. By crouching for a bit, the sword will tilt back and can be positioned on a shallow angle within a second, though I obviously can't stand on the blade itself.
The embedded blade can be knocked around by attacks like dead stamina character to launch it as a projectile. This'll hurt me if I was standing on the hilt, though I can just use my counter to seal the blade and take no damage...providing I wasn't attacked while doing so. Most of my attacks will miss the blade while I'm standing on it, but my Up Special is an exception. Better yet, I can use the sword as a target to appear directly over, and double-tap B to use it for the plummeting attack or just keep it out as a token hitbox. If the sword got dropped onto a vine tether or similar thin platform, the blade portion will deal 6% against characters knocked into it (not interrupting their knockback) or if the construct is moved forcibly.
Sword-throwing isn't my most practical means of attacking, because I'm not really known for throwing swords around, but it does serve one important purpose: it lets me preserve a sword with talismans stuck onto it. This is especially useful on a sword with a full house of talismans where whiffing becomes super-risky, and can even be used to surprise or form unique attack combinations! If I used a sword-based attack and an item sword was close enough, I'll tech that sword and use it for the attack, which is especially useful if I threw the sword and had it come back down to me.
Dash Attack ~ Ninja Golf ~~
I lower my sword to the ground and swing it up as hard as I can! What's a reckless gal to do? Nailing an enemy head-on rewards me with a hit dealing 12% and powerful upwards knockback that KOs at 140%, but even hitting with the tip of my sword yields a decent 8% that KOs at 175%. Sadly, this deals little shield damage and missing with this leaves me open to some heavy punishment if I get predictable with it, which is bad because I like using it. Nothing beats running up to the enemy and hitting them as hard as you can, after all.
By holding A when using this move, I'll keep on dashing after I lower my sword to the ground and instantly swing it up once you let go of the button or I reach a ledge. It might seem pretty dumb for me to telegraph my attack like this, but it can be pretty tricky up-close, especially when I can quickly close the gap with my high dashing speed, and the lowering of my sword beforehand constitutes all the starting lag I suffer. What's more, by tilting the control stick downwards while dashing, I'll lower my sword further to the ground, which now functions as a hitbox that deals 1% (no flinching) for every 0.1 platforms it covers but this only really affects the floor like vine tethers. I can also raise my sword horizontally behind me if you tilted the control stick upwards. Lowering and raising my sword lets me drag small grounded or airborne items respectively, which I can of course do with my talismans for convenient positioning. If I was still dragging talisman behind me when starting the slash, they'll temporarily stick to the sword to empower it (potentially more than usual!) before being blown off and up 1.3 Ganons above me from the force of the swing. This makes whiffing the slash riskier than usual, but hey, hopefully those talisman will distract the victim after they're done messing around with me.
If I had a Ten'i talisman stuck upon connecting, I'll be teleported back to where I started the attack once I finish it. This makes the attack safe on shields if I ran a decent distance before performing the slash, but at the same time I probably won't land it because of such, because you know telegraph. That being said, I can just use this on a vine tether to trigger the teleport if I had one out.
F-tilt - Slicer ~~
Holding out my sword next to me, I'll perform a simple horizontal slash that - like most of those other Forward Tilts - can be angled. This has some noticeable starting lag given how long my sword is, and deals 11% at the base or 4% at the tip. The tip deals diagonal knockback by default, but spikes weakly if angled upwards or vice-versa if angled downwards - knocking opponents in front of me! - but will sweep grounded opponents down into prone. Meanwhile, the base KOs at 155% by default, deals mostly-upwards knockback that KOs at 170% if angled upwards or mostly-horizontal knockback that KOs at 205% if angled downwards. FYI, this has surprisingly low end lag, so it can be used to follow-up easily! Label it generic all you like, it's a neat defensive/poking option that utilizes the range on my sword, and the ability to angle it is great atop of a vine tether - where I can angle up towards an opponent or down to damage/destroy the vine - or with nearby talismans that I can strike with precision.
There's more to this attack too, as I can choose to perform a follow-up slash halfway into the end lag with only half the starting lag! This second slash won't hit the same opponent twice though, unless they were shielding (not that my slashes deal much shield damage without talisman assistance) or struck by an angled tipper to follow-up into an non-angled tipper...OR, if I had a Reppu talisman stuck to my sword, I can draw the victim in close enough to be hit by the base of my sword! Sadly, performing the second slash adds a bundle of end lag to my attack, and each slash counts as a separate attack in regards to stick'd talisman. Thus, it's best used as a surprise attack - especially given both slashes can be angled separately - mainly atop a vine whether I can use the second slash to destroy it and circumvent all that nasty end lag.
BTW, Ten'i combined with the tipper of my sword is good for starting combos.
U-tilt - Under the Moon~~
I'll lower my sword before swinging it overhead, dealing 4% at the tip, 8% and vertical knockback at the base or 12% and great skywards knockback (KOs at 138%) if I hit from the front. Yadda yadda, the strong hit is risky to land because my swing has a relatively long duration and it hits at the start of it. This is a basic slash made even cooler by a Ten'i talisman, as hitting an airborne opponent lets me swap places with them and cancel out of the long attack! This actually makes the sourspot deadly to hit with as I can true combo an opponent who was directly above or diagonal to me while they're locked in stun, though the 8% hitbox also has combo potential at lower percentages.
D-tilt - Caltrops~~
I'm bored of swinging my sword around, so I'm just gonna whip out a sack of caltrops and chuck 6 of them along the ground. I swipe in a quick motion that can bop enemies close-by up for 4%, but the whole darn point of the move is to hit with the caltrops themselves, which stick around and prick anyone who steps over them for 1.5%. I'll normally spread the caltrops roughly a character-width ahead of me, far enough that long-ranged melee attacks like my sword could poke past them (how cunning!), but I can tilt the control stick sideways to alter the way I spread them: tilting backwards will make me spread the caltrops in a cluster in front of me, whereas tilting forwards will make me spread them a platform apart in front of me. Caltrops normally stay around for 1.2 seconds, but if they were clustered they'll stay around for 2 seconds and deal 12% on contact. These prickly guys are good for deterring opponents if I want space for a talisman attack, but they hurt me just as much as opponents, and I can't throw out more caltrops until the current batch disappear. Can't go wasting them all at once, now can I?
If A was held down when using this move, I'll slap a talisman on the sack before chucking the caltrops, whichever one I had stored at the time. This takes a bit longer to perform and uses up the NSpec charge, but the caltrops stay out for twice as long for better or worse, and apply a different effect based on the talisman. Rekka increases the damage done by caltrops by 1.3x, Mikagami causes anyone who steps over a caltrop to turn around (maybe I could use that to my advantage?), Ten'i teleports victims forward, or in front of me if I was crouching at the time and on the same platform, Reppu pushes victims forward and Ashikase applies a vine tether, but it only has 1-10HP and can't be placed on me.
<Smashes>
F-Smash - Bushido ~~
Borrowing a samurai skill from my good buddy Shuuchi, my big one has me assume this serious and badass pose (except my sword is pointed forwards) before thrusting my sword out and blitzing 1.3-2.2 platforms across the stage. Because y'know, just swinging my sword down dramatically would be kind of generic. This move is painfully laggy to start up as I take the time to assume the stance, being a cut above heavyweight smashes, but from there on it's smooth sailing as the rush is difficult for opponents to stop. I'm pointing at long weapon at them after all, giving me unparalleled reach, not to mention I recover quickly and won't get punished if the tail end of my rush gets blocked. My cool slash cuts through all in my path for 12-18% and mostly-vertical knockback that KOs at 130-100%, and does a slight number on shields. It's am amazing approach move, assuming I'm given time to prepare it. Also helps that the hitbox is high enough off the ground that it won't activate grounded talisman.
A ten'i talisman makes this move even deadlier: a struck victim is teleported to where I started this attack, while I'm teleported along with them to be positioned within close reach of my sword. I'm sure you all know where this is headed: on a victim that was shielding or super-armored, I can potentially rush into them multiple times to deliver huge shield damage, enough so that my thrust sword can shield poke them - hitting up to 3 times up-close at full charge. This all assumes that there was ground for me to rush along when being teleported back with the victim, or else this move is cancelled in midair though that's not a bad thing in itself.
U-Smash - Yukikaze~~
This isn't a real talisman from my game, but no elementalist set would be complete without ice! Thrusting it above me, a flat whirlwind of ice is created overhead with a long duration and 0.75 platforms of length. The blizzard traps opponents for multiple hits before launching them, dealing 15-21% with high upwards knockback at the center (KO'ing at 165-135%) or half as much damage around the extremities and a bit of diagonal knockback away from me. This won't hit grounded opponents, but it's a rad anti-air to easily catch enemies above me, and is able to hit tethered victims diagonal to me at the expense of hitting the vine as well. Oh, and the frost slows a victim's movement by a % equal to twice the damage they took (up to 30-42%) for 2-5 seconds, to make them even more vulnerable to my air game if I can capitalize. Unfortunately, the flat hitbox is easy to dodge past and if throw the move out too early to net more damage I can leave myself open to attack.
The icy properties of this move interact with my various constructs, as you'd expect from an ice move. This freezes items like my sword and talisman and keeps them suspended in midair until they'd disappear or are picked up, which is nifty for keeping them in one place for my air game. These objects are whirled around inside the blizzard while it's out to contribute an additional 1% apiece, enhancing the slowing effect by 4% apiece for a maximum of 60% altogether. The objects return to their original position afterwards, or I can position them at a specific part of the wide blizzard when it ends by angling the control stick appropriately.
This move gets a big boost while I'm inside a tornado, or maybe the other way around. The chilly tornado will damage opponents touching or next to me, dealing no knockback or hitstun if they weren't right up-close to me but they'll still get slowed. This works pretty well with the tornado's suction effect while I'm charging the smash.
D-Smash - Gouka~~
Yes, this is a stronger fire talisman, saved for a situation just like this one. I'll crouch down and raise the talisman overhead before slamming it into the ground, causing powerful flames to burst out next to me! These flames cover a "Wario" on either side of me, and deal 20-27% up-close with powerful upwards knockback that KOs at 110-80% - my strongest attack outside of talisman empowering! Farther away, the flames deal 14-20% and backwards mostly-upwards knockback that KOs at 145-115%, but are still pretty powerful. The flames are ephemeral and there is moderate lag in creating them, but they're definitely good for when I need power and want to save my sword-based attacks! In fact, this is one of my more ideal moves for detonating grounded talisman nearby, especially if you consider that some of them are more effective when destroyed with stronger attacks.
Do these flames interact with my talisman-made constructs? Of course they do! This would be a boring attack otherwise. For example, if I use this move atop a vine the more powerful flames (at least compared to Rekka) will engulf and burn it up completely, while damaging the tethered victim with the sourspot! This destroys up the vine, but cancels out my end lag and the inwards knockback pulls the victim above me, not to mention it gives me a way to attack an airborne opponent from anywhere outside of the more reckless Up Special...assuming they didn't dodge. I can also use Gouka inside of a tornado to make the tornado a (sweetspot) hitbox as well, which essentially extends the move's hitbox to hit over and slightly above me. This has the bonus of setting the tornado on fire to burn enemies for the Gouka sourspot's total damage over the remainder of its lifespan, good for punishing opponents who punish my attack. Finally, detonating a Ten'i talisman with one of the flames will create a duplicate of it over the area where it/I would have been teleported to, letting me cover more area and attack opponents without having to go over there myself!
Gouka has one more little trick to it. By charging it halfway, the talisman will produce heat over the area of the impending hitbox that deals 1% to opponents or constructs that enter it. We all know that this is moot as an attack, but rather it serves a more cunning purpose: it detonates talismans prematurely! This is extremely useful for the simple fact that Gouka's main hitbox can knock opponents away from some talisman hitboxes like the tornado or vine, and lets me use the main hitbox to interact with these new constructs: especially good with the latter, where I can tether a victim to a vine and then burn it up for a true combo! Also, detonating a Ten'i will teleport me unlike with the main hitbox, which is especially good if there were other talisman clustered with it AND I got teleported offstage where I can cancel out of the attack entirely.
<Aerials>
N-air - Booty ~~
Not the type of booty you were thinking of, I go for a butt-kicking with sexy legs, kicking diagonally downwards in front of me 3 times. The first kick comes out hardest and deals 4% with strong hitstun below the knee, or 6% with below-average mostly-upwards knockback that KOs well past 250% if my beautiful body hits above the knee but below the breasts. The other 2 kicks deal 2% or 3% at the thigh, with the final hit at the thigh dealing slight upwards knockback. This attack doesn't have much range, and frankly it comes out on an awkward angle, but it compensates by having almost no lag. It's great for weaving through enemies in conjunction with my strong jumps (especially from a tornado!), high fall speed or the Side Special, and can even set-up for a combo or empowered sword attack if I connect with the third kick. That being said, there's enough of a delay between the kicks that the first won't connect into the third combined with my fall speed, so trying to land that third kick can end up being telegraphed.
If I kick part of a vine tether, It'll get stomped down about a Kirby-height per kick, bending it as I do. If the vine was mostly upright, the victim will be pulled down towards the roots along with the vine, and potentially get caught in my kicks or a follow-up if I performed all the kicks. Or this could totally backfire on me if the victim smacks me with an aerial on the way down, because I'm completely defenseless from above while kicking. If the vine was diagonal or mostly-horizontal - enough so that it could be used as a platform - I'll keep stomping on it before going through with my landing lag, and effectively bend the vine as it gets pushed down. As the vine bends downwards, the tethered victim is pulled towards the space above me, and the vine is more or less bent into an L-shape which does obvious things that are obvious like turning it into a wall and a platform at a same time. The vine remains bent until I get off it, whereby it springs back to become a taut tether again, but if the part of the vine I was standing on was grounded I can stick a sword through it to keep that part of the vine pinned to the ground until the sword is removed or destroyed. The vine snapping back into shape does nothing other than catch characters and objects it hits along the way to provide a platform beneath them, but talismans on the vine when it snaps will detonate on contact with opponents. Unfortunately these will never hit the tethered opponent, but the sudden snap-back of the vine can potentially get them hit by traps on it if they would run into the newly-repositioned vine.
F-air - Cleave ~~
This one has me raise my sword behind me dramatically, before swinging it down in a nice, wide arc in front of me! It takes a long time to come out, reminiscent to that ape man's own Forward Air, so it's not the easiest attack to hit with. The slash deals 16% that KOs at 120% no matter where and when it hit to compensate, making it one of my best aerial finishers - especially if I had some Rekka talisman slapped on! The entire slash covers a 180 degree area in front of me and launches differently based on where it hit. Overhead triggers completely horizontal knockback, diagonal triggers upwards knockback, forwards triggers diagonal knockback and being hit from below is a spike. Lag aside, the slash actually has a pretty long duration, giving me a good chance of catching an opponent should they run into me recklessly. This duration is increased by 1-6 frames with Rekka talisman as I leave a trail of fire in my take, but the hitbox is only 3/4s as powerful.
This move has 2 unique properties, just because I'm awesome. Firstly, landing early into the attack (about 1/3rd of the way through) will cut the landing lag I receive more than usual, which is really slick on a vine that's acting as an uphill slope for me...providing I time this right, as my target could move around and make me land earlier or later to mess up my timing. The other unique property is that, by having a talisman on my sword while holding A, I can briefly invoke its magic as I hold my sword overhead!
Rekka or Jinrai burns/shocks opponents for 1% per-talisman the instant I raise my sword, and deals slight hitstun with knockback in front of me if I was using at least 3 Rekka. The hitstun is minimal though, so they can still escape my oncoming slash even if I was positioned to hit them with it. If my raised sword was touching a vine, the vine will catch fire/electric and damage opponents no matter how far they were from me.
Ten'i teleports me back to where I first started the slash! This lets you get really tricky with the attack, but the sword will glow with a purplish aura when I invoke this so opponents will know, and I can only do it once-per air trip.
Reppu keeps me afloat for a portion of the attack while I hold A, based on how many Reppu talisman I had invested. Having 3 Reppu lets me stay afloat for all of the starting lag, which is really sneak for catching falling opponents or being used out of the SSpec! Like with Ten'i, this trick can only be used once-per air trip.
B-air - Sexy Kick ~~
Haha, get it? My sword is too long to slash or stab behind me practically, so I just go for a "flying kick" pose as I lay on my side lazily. Enemies hit by my foot from the get-go are given a nice thumping of 10% with solid knockback that KOs at 160%, or a lesser 6% later into the attack that's still neat for pushing them around. My beautiful legs and body are a different story, smacking for 3 hits of 2% followed by some light knockback that is vertical if the legs struck or on a 50* angle ahead of me if my body struck. These hitboxes net me some nice variety without needing to use my sword, be they knockback, weaving through opponents or positioning them in front of me, all useful from my nifty Side Special.
This attack gets more fun if I had a vine to boot at full-force. Doing so will launch the kicked part back and pull the parts above it down until they're level to where I kicked, giving me access to the tethered victim. If the distance was short enough, the victim will be pulled into my sourspot boot or even my legs/body if I DI'ed, whereas longer distances give me enough time to go into another move to capitalize on the pull. It's great for controlling my opponent's positioning should I need it, but it's not -too- hard for them to see coming given I have to hit the vine with my foot, and if they do they can punish me if I'm not careful ... unless I use my counter to punish their punish! Even so, kicking the vine will damage it, and it will remain stretched out for one second before it reels itself back into the ground at Mario's dashing speed to become taut with the victim again.
Something different will happen if my legs connected with the vine at the start of the move and I was moving sideways at the time. Here, I'll wrap my legs around the vine and pull it back like a rubber band as I go, no longer producing a hitbox. Once the move would end and then some, the vine will snap back and I'll be flung 1.5x farther than how far I stretched the vine! And that's not even the half of it, as the victim is pulled down as far as I stretched back or down to my level, and attacks performed in the direction I was flying will gain a 1.1-1.3x power boost depending on how fast I was flying. This is especially good with my high air speed or even better my Side Special, though it should be noted that I'll be sprung back on a slight downwards angle either way due to gaining height from both of these ... which is actually good for attacking the dragged victim, given gravity will have likely come into effect and they'll be beneath where they were pulled down to by the time I get sprung towards them.
U-air - Kancho ~~
I wish, but I have better ways of attacking! For my next trick, I'll lay back in midair somewhat and ready my beloved sword before swinging it away from the screen in a half-circle motion, which looks really cool animation-wise as I end up spinning once from the swinging momentum. Attack-wise, this produces a paper-thin, yet tall hitbox right above me that varies in power based on how close I hit: up-close, it hits hard for 14% and big knockback that KOs at 140%, at mid-range it deals 10% and average knockback that KOs at 180% while hitting near or at the tip simply results in a weak 8% that scales baaadly. On the other hand, the move isn't all that slow despite its reach, and suffers from almost no ending lag or landing lag whatsoever as I recover from the spinning ever-so gracefully. Go me!
Btw, I can have a lot of fun with this move if I have a ten'i talisman slapped onto my sword and hit with the tip, as the reach of my sword will ensure that I teleport as high up as reasonably possible! What's more, the victim will be launched up towards me as they appear where I was before, allowing me to pull off a sick combo! I could footstool jump off their face, or even just use this move on them again. This only works if I hit with the tip of my sword or I connect at mid-range against a healthy opponent however, as otherwise they'll just get launched too far to be comboed.
D-air - Super Ninja Dive ~~
You know how a lot of fighters like to "stall-then-fall"? Well this is one of them. Sure, I did this before in the Up Special, but this functions in reverse by getting weaker and a touch slower the farther I descend, though less punishing as well once I touch down from a greater height. It even has a different animation, as I turn upside-down and hold my sword close to me before kicking off of thin air to leap downwards (don't sweat the small stuff). Anyone stabbed by the sword when I thrust it out is shot down for 18% and gets spiked like they got hit by that Warlock's boot, which sure is worth it offstage if I don't mind killing myself. Otherwise, I simply launch victims on a steep angle and deal as much as 16% or as little as 7% after falling from fairly high up, but on the plus side that weak damage makes it easy for me to follow-up when I suffer less landing lag from high up. Kind of obvious, though. Also, I can plummet near-indefinitely by holding A, or just fall at a similar height to all those other stall-then-falls.
Armed with a ten'i talisman (I swear this is the last time I reference the darn thing), something unique happens when I hit a victim dead-on: they get teleported up to where I started this move! Now you know a cheap way to get the enemy high up into the air without needing them to be at a high percentage.
<Grab>
So we're getting hands on here, eh? I only have one free hand, so I just swipe with that while I hold my sword in the other because it makes me look cool. Also, you might remember that I can still grab even if I was holding talisman. In that case, I'll let them go to perform the grab, and they'll magically swirl around me - and the foe if I'm successful in grabbing them. Talismans make my grab laggier, on par with that blue ninja frog's terrible grab if I was holding 4 talisman, but they also make my grab stronger to compensate. If I pull off my grab while standing on a vine, we'll both be suspended in midair magically. I can still use my pummels this way, but my U-throw is replaced with the Up Special smoke bomb while the Down Special is replaced with the Side Special backflip.
Pummel - Giving it Hard! ~~
I can't be bothered thinking up a productive, ninja-like way of attacking a held opponent, so I'm just gonna do the first thing that comes to mind: knee 'em real hard in the crotch! Hey, it works right? After all, this weird world seems to be chock full of creepy men. I think I'd prefer to fight another girl, because then I could fondle their goods or tease them for their lack thereof (unless it would make them scary like Shino-sis...*shivers*). I could get it done over and quickly, but I'm gonna take my time here, just to ensure that the 3% I'm dealing per hit is not excessive.
If I had talisman on me when grabbing, pressing B will have them magically fly towards the victim and stick to them so I can exploit them for all sorts of cool things when throwing them, the only exception being that Ten'i talisman won't stick here. The talisman fall off the victim if they escape from my sexy clutches, but they stick quick so escape shouldn't much of an issue even at lower percentages if I react quickly enough.
F-throw - A Ninja's Touch ~~
Bam! Palm strike to the chest! This hits for 6% and low mostly-horizontal knockback. By itself, this is a very simple throw that's easy to follow up on with my speed and SSpec, but talismans make it into something else. Just having any talisman on me bar Ten'i will make the throw 2% stronger without affecting the convenient knockback, a slick 14% throw at best. That's not to say Ten'i are useless, as smashing the input lets me use one to teleport to the space directly beneath the victim, who is thrown on a slightly higher angle. With talismans stuck to a victim, this throw will:
KO earlier with Rekka, doing so at 120% with a full house.
Create a wide electric trap directly beneath where the victim recovered right down to the level they were launched from, punishing them if they fall straight down. This is destroyed by them hitting one of 2 split talisman located on either extremity of the trap.
Place a vine on the victim.
Create a wind trail and tornado in one that is connected to the ground where I was (affected by Ten'i teleporting) and the victim for 3 seconds or until they land, upon which it shrinks back down into a tornado.
B-throw - Butt Monkey Swing ~~
Pictured with good old Matsumoto up there, I grab hold of my victim's legs and swing em' round and round before letting em' go flying! Think Plumber Man's B-throw and you've got it. This variation deals a lesser 6% and high base knockback that KOs at 180%, but I swing my victim so comically fast that I whip up a tall tornado (2 Bowsers tall) that draws in small objects within a platforms on either side! Objects like my shuriken and caltrops will hit the enemy and contribute damage if they were at the same height, as well as my stray sword which is knocked up into the air as though smash-thrown on contact with them. The end result is all manner of small objects and items being deposited on either side of me, talisman included, with the latter having their timers reset.
U-throw - Izuna Drop ~~
So apparently I'm so amazing that they named a ninja skill after me, and it's used by other famous ninja. Huh? What do you mean it wasn't named after me!?
Wrapping my arms around the victim's shoulder, I'll leap high into the air (as though I performed a footstool jump!) before coming down with a spinning pile-driver that wrecks them for 8% and high upwards knockback that KOs at 160%. While airborne, I can move back and forth freely like the B-Man with his Flying Slam, the victim able to influence my movement in the same way on the way down, but neither of us can go offstage. I have full control if my percentage was 50% greater than the victims' or was below 50%, and can potentially knock them into one of my traps! Damage dealt by these traps contributes to the knockback of the throw if triggered at the time of impact, to make it stronger than average; KO'ing 2% earlier for every extra 1% dealt. If I had talisman placed on the slammed victim, they will be triggered simultaneously to pile on that extra damage without me needing to guide them into a trap.
Using this throw out of a tornado will propel me higher up than usual, upping the drop's strength to 10% that KOs at 145%...or 15% that KOs at 100% if the tornado was a full-power 4 talisman creation. And that's not even taking into account the potential contributions of traps! Also, speaking of propelling, I can tap A at the peak of my ascent to bow out of the drop and just kick the victim straight down towards the ground for 6% and a tech-able prone state, leaving me high up in the air to do set-ups! Yes, I can perform my second jump out of this among other things. Not bad for a FFA match, but if we're taking 1v1 into account I can also follow-up with a D-air (all the better with a ten'i equipped!) or kick a foe down into a talisman. The damage from my kick will contribute to a talisman attack to have it deal more knockback, even something like a simple Rekka could launch the victim a short ways up towards me, and make Reppu into something that could start an air combo from high up. Overall, this is a great way to make use of grounded talisman so they don't expire and get wasted.
D-throw - Submission ~~
I'll just swing my victim around and down into the ground for a simple 5% plus another 1% per talisman that puts them into prone. Fair enough, no? This disarms the victim of any items they were holding, and if they dared to get-up attack such a talisman they might meet with my counter! But most talismans such as the ones I slapped onto them will be triggered without them suffering their knockback, something I can't normally do with Ashikaze and Reppu. If the victim had a Ten'i talisman on them and I smashed the input, they'll be teleported forwards the instant they can act and may even end up offstage. If A was held, I'll swing my victim along the ground when throwing them and they'll go sliding for decent knockback that won't "KO" til past 200% but won't knock them offstage so it won't kill except on walk-off stages. If a Ten'i talisman was activated through this variant, they'll be teleported back to me and any of my constructs they hit along the way will be teleported along with them.
<Playstyle>
Stubborn, Tricky Dungeon Crawler ~~
Using me in Smash is really simple: stick 6 Rekka talismans to my sword, rush up to the enemy and hit them with big one. Good game.
...Huh? Did they just dodge my attack? They always just let me hit them back in my game. Well darn, I guess it takes a lot more than a super-powered weapon to win a fight.
<Final Smash>
Divine Intervention ~~
Did you just say 'intervention'? Now that's more like it: a move where I don't have to do anything! I'm getting sick of all this fighting!
Once I obtain the Smash Ball, I'll call upon the 6 Gods of Kamiari Village to beat up the foe in my place. These guys gave me a lot of trouble on my first adventure (though to be fair I kind of pissed them off), but after beating them up we all became friends or something along those lines. They are supposed to be confined to the village they watch over, but I apparently have some kind of special power where I can act as a "portable shrine" for gods and make them fight for me. I wonder if it would work on that undisputed brat?
What's that, you actually want to know about these random one-shot characters? This -is- my set, but fine...
The guy at the top-left is Shuuchi, God of Earth and bushido practitioner. The chick below is Fuuka, God of Wind who is sweet and gentle, but also surprisingly violent. Guy below her is Kagen, obviously the God of Fire and a major narrow-minded hothead to boot. Top-right is Suiren, the God of Water and a childish, immature mermaid who tries to act like an adult. Next is Utsuho, God of Air (Void) whose a bit expressionless, and finally Takushiki, God of Consciousness and stern big-wig who leads all the other gods (what an annoying guy!).
Anyways, onto the attack itself: long story short, I call the gods, they appear at my side, and then begrudgingly circle the enemy and shoot out elemental beams to finish them off or something. The end.
With the final month in tow, it is time for an all out Iron MYMer! Restrictions? Bah, we don't need that! July 4th is coming up before the contest ends! What we need is...
FREEEEEEEEEDOM!
This month's Iron MYMer is simple. Make sets. Make many sets! There's no restrictions and anything goes, but there IS a steadily increasing bonus: Every set you make gives you more and more of those delicious User Rankings points...and don't think I've forgot about them, they're gonna be posted at the end of the contest.
Your first set, as normal, goes to 45 points for the bonus. Each set after that gets 5 more points than the last. So your 2nd set is 50. After that is 55. And so on and so forth. This thing is already pretty wide open, so you can bust things pretty wide open...
And, finally, there's an additional thing. If we manage to reach 60 sets by the end of the contest, that's July 10th by the way, then I might just have a special reward for the winner! What reward? That's a secret, little ones. Get there and I'll say!
Note that, given how close Izuna was when I posted this, I'll be counting that as an entry for Kat. Would be kinda unfortunate otherwise.
Specials now use an additional input of Shield to use meter as opposed to smashing.
Side B shield throw now has a smash version where Cap throws it against an object in the background for much more range, but a "dead spot" in front of him.
With the shield gone, Neutral B calls back the shield as a hitbox and manual return hit whenever cap wants, even mid-combo!
Up B now has a follow up hit instead of generic height / power boost when powered.
Down B completely changed:
Tactical counter can now spend power to extend the counter window AND/OR move while holding the counter window. Once active, you can spend meter to add combo hits to the counter.
Super Soldier reworded in many areas. Now provides slight damage reduction for him and allies.
Smashes all reworded to have bonus effects when Powered under Super Soldier.
Are you ready to get rumbled? Here comes two daytime, soundly written comments and one wild late night comment fam.
Izuna reminds me a little bit of writing Melia, which was a lot of fun, with the different talismans that are very utilitarian. As a concept I like it a great deal, and Izuna pulls it off better than Melia for sure. The biggest issue with the explanation of the talismans at the beginning of the set is a sort of abstract description of the inputs that make it a little unclear how the different uses are handled and activated. It’s described as pressing the input to begin a cycle of the talismans, and then either holding B to cast the move or tap it to continue charging. However, the actual result of charging isn’t explained anywhere, and one of the talismans has an alternate casting that involves holding B instead of tapping. The choices the talismans give are neat and I like them, but the actual mechanical parts are confusing and hard to imagine in the context of a game.
The actual talismans themselves have solid choices for both the attacks and buffs, and some good balancing with talismans like Jinrai to prevent the hitstun locking from being completely busted. Reppu is by and large the most interesting of all the talismans and it would have been nice for some of the others to have quite the same interactivity of it. Ten’i is the most interesting in context of the whole set, allowing Izuna to constantly teleport around for some crazy combos. Perhaps a more competent player would find the combo potential is too good, but I am not a good judge of Smash combos. The only other issue I can imagine being relevant is the amount of micromanaging the talismans seem to take for a faster paced fighting game, but that’s just a personal idea that’s hard to prove one way or another. A visual description of exactly what the talismans look like would be helpful as well. While the sword-breaking mechanic is ehh for me normally, the ability to apply talismans to different parts of Izuna’s kits for the same effect mitigates that plenty to make it an acceptable weakness.
One of the set’s biggest underlying problems is just a lack of descriptions on some actions. In addition to what I’ve mentioned, Izuna Drop’s description of the smoke bomb is just ‘BAM! Smoke bomb!’ without explanation of if it’s a projectile or just where Izuna stands. Other issues within the set I can relate to as having made them with Melia, where many of the moves interact with one or two of the talismans but are inconsistently done. Melia was overly long and complex for what it was, however, while Izuna is a much simpler, if sometimes confusing, read.
Writing - 3
This set definitely has the Kat charm, between innuendos and crotch kicking, and is fun to read, but unfortunately there are just too many aspects of the move which are unclear that take away from the reading.
Gameplay - 3
Outside of the talismans, this set doesn’t do much with the standards or even the smashes, and the talismans seem a little micromanage-y. However, the combos suggested in the set feel like they would be fun to play.
Creativity - 4
I enjoy the different effects the talismans provide, especially Ten’i and Fuuma.
Overall - 3.33
Hulk’s use of power is pretty nifty for as simple as it is, and very fitting with the Hulk. While a Hulk set could end up devolving into a bunch of wild punches and kicks, Joe does pull a Hulkish moveset from the Jolly Green Giant befitting for both AvX and Sm4sh. Hulk has surprising and terrifying range on some of his attacks, allowing him to completely steamroll the competition if he plays properly. While a lot of sets claim the ‘high risk, high reward’ title, Hulk earns it through his power meter, forcing him to constantly throw himself into battle to keep charge up. Thunderclap is really advertised for the massive potential it has for damage, but dually serves a great purpose of disrupting his foes’ ranged attacks. Gamma Charge is both a fun combo starter and ender as described, and plenty of depth pulled out from Heavy Rock. The use of the boulders as extra armor on the specials is a refreshing use, and the concept of a car and a Pikmin having similar priority is pretty amusing.
The amount of set pulled from the Grab Game is impressive, especially on a brute character who could easily have a boring set of throws. The obvious stars are the back and down throws, which are both entertaining and terrifying to deal with. Hulk does absurd amounts of damage with his pummel alone, and is such a potent threat from his throw combo potential. As someone who doesn’t frequently play Smash 4 compared to others, it makes me wonder if Hulk is too strong, as his damage output before his power meter is even brought up. The Anger Point Shield Special seems very powerful, even for costing a fourth of his power, and is highly effective on any move, even ranged ones, making this potentially an overly potent move. The fact that Thunderclap can potentially KO from 0 damage is astronomically absurd, even if in character for Hulk, and could be balanced a bit better. The standards and aerials are fairly lackluster compared to the rest of the set, though for a character like Hulk who can squeeze every bit of potential from these moves with his combo setting and his power plays, this isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
Writing - 4
This is technically well written, pleasant to look at, and has succinct move descriptions that aren’t hard to envision.
Gameplay - 4
Airing on the side of generosity, I’m not judging too harshly on my perceived balance of the power Hulk has, and everything in the set leads to a fast, aggressive playstyle which feels fun to play.
Creativity - 4
While the inspiration somewhat dips later in the set, taking a brute character like Hulk and creating a set with this amount of detail and interactions can’t be easy and props for pulling it off.
Overall - 4.00
As the planets align, another Jamie set appears with Magearna, and this one has a combination of a great underlying mechanic combined with the Jamie Trademark game balance. I’m kind of a sucker for buffs and debuffs and this set is like a candy store for me to read honestly. I love the different sets of buffs and debuffs from both the Soul-Heart mechanic and Magearna’s moves, and being able to swap them off onto opponents is an exhilarating concept. There’s so much packed into Heart Swap, beyond just the obvious take good buffs from enemies and give away Magearna’s Fleur drop. The dynamic against buffing/debuffing foes (a large chunk of the MYM roster) is really interesting, as just because Magearna can trade off any debuffs doesn’t shut down debuff-based sets, as it also means Magearna must sacrifice any buffs she has as well, creating an interest choice for both players. Magnet Rise actually benefits Magearna’s aerial game rather than just claiming that it’s useful, and though the aerials fall a bit shorter than the other parts of the set they serve their purpose well in this set.
Furthermore, the interpretations of many of the moves used for inspiration (Grass Knot, Mirror Shot, Automize) are charming and enjoyable to read while making sense within the context of both the character and the set. I wish there were more constructive criticisms I could give besides ‘make sets like this more frequently’. I guess I just enjoy reading this set too much, with a barrage of precise numbers padded out perfectly with personality and a great mechanic. Maybe I’m just loopy cause it’s late when I’m reading this but this is genuinely one of my favorite from this contest and, comparing it to Victini or Daisy, way more interesting in my eyes. Writing - 4
Technically a well-written piece, and the splashes of color across the piece help to brighten it up. More images or larger font would help make it more appealing on the eyes imo, but still a well-written piece.
Gameplay - 5
Jamie’s experience in the modding community really shines through (I think that was him) as he builds up Magearna’s numbers like he’s some kind of expert or something.
Creativity - 4
There are some really brilliant interpretations of the moves in this set, as mentioned in the comment, and I wish some of that creativity shined into the aerials past a multitude of beam moves.
What better way to celebrate the return of a certain anthropomorphic mascot character by... not doing anything at all related to him!
Nick Wilde
Nick Wilde is one of the two main characters of Disney’s Zootopia, one of the highest rated and most popular films of the year 2016. You probably haven’t heard of it.
Well, to get introductions out of the way, Nick is a fox. Shocker, probably couldn’t tell by looking at him. He’s also a conman, living in Zootopia and making money off an incredibly elaborate popsicle hustling scheme. After a run-in with other main character, Judy Hopps, he’s basically forced into solving a case. This leads the two on an adventure where they solve a conspiracy, but I’m not going to spoil everything here. Go see the movie.
What I will say is that Nick has a very unexplored past, with a lot of implications, but no answers. Maybe that will happen in the inevitable sequel, but for right now, we just have fanfics to fill the gaps for us.
Stats
Weight – 79 Running Speed – 1.8 Walking Speed – 1 Air Speed – 0.95 Fall Speed – 1.5
Nick stands about as tall, if not slightly shorter, than Ness. He has a lean build, and usually has his paws in his pockets whenever he doesn’t need to use both, making him incredibly thin as a character. When running, he leans down, probably to become more aerodynamic. This is why he’s as fast as he is. Nick’s jumps are rather mediocre, but are still usable.
Special Mechanic – A Little Help
When Nick enters battle, much like with Rosalina, he is partnered with a minion. In this case, it's his, ahem, "business partner", Finnick. Finnick is a fennec fox, and unlike Luma, acts as a mostly autonomous minion. Stat wise, Finnick is even shorter than Nick is, less than half his size. His small size makes him incredibly hard to hit, and it helps that he’s already a very speedy mammal. Seriously, Finnick runs slightly faster than Nick. Like Luma, however, Finnick can be KOed by opponents, which isn't difficult due to his small size. He is, in fact, only slightly heavier than Luma is.
Strangely enough, even though he's a minion, Finnick likes to do things on his own. Hee really enjoys being as far away from Nick as possible when they aren’t doing business, which comes up to around 3 Battlefield Platforms, at the absolute least. When on his own, Finnick doesn't do much, mostly waiting for Nick to call him over and give him something to do. Oh yeah, that's a thing.
Despite being a minion, Nick requires a bit of extra care when it comes to actually having Finnick do anything. If you want Finnick to get anywhere near the fox, you’ll have to input the Side Taunt (ugh), making Nick pull out a trumpet, and toot on it. Though he looks reluctant to do so, Finnick will rush over towards the fox as fast as he can. However, you need to have something to keep Finnick interested. If you don’t do anything, Finnick will move away from Nick after around 5 seconds. Finnick has a ton of interactions throughout the set, which will be detailed when we come to them.
On his own, Finnick has a single attack that he uses when an opponent comes near him. He'll pull out a baseball bat, and swing it at the opponent’s shin (Most of the time, some characters don’t have shins in Smash) that deals 9%. This basically functions as a laser sword sweep, with around the same length as an uncharged one. It isn't particularly strong, dealing knockback that can only KO at 200%, making it completely unreliable for anything, but it comes out fast and acts as a decent way for Finnick to protect himself
Specials Neutral Special – A Fox's Favorite(?) Treat
Nick's NSpec is rather unique, as it basically functions as two moves (It originally was two moves, not very difficult to figure out) that can be used via charging. Tapping the attack will cause one version of the move, while the second will change it completely, as if they weren't even connected moves in the first place! We'll start with the one you get by tapping, since its the one that actually means anything to the set, and also the first one I wrote out.
By tapping the button, Nick pulls out a popsicle, which is in the shape of a paw. A pawpsicle. Nick pulling it out doesn’t take a long time at all, around the same length it takes to pick up an item. Other than that, the move doesn’t do anything else. He just pulls out the pawpsicle, that’s pretty much it.
Well, it does do more, obviously, it just requires a bit more input. The Pawpsicle is pretty much an item, which only Nick can use. As a note, Nick has a unique idle when he’s holding the Pawpsicle, where he licks it. Anyway, using the standard attack button while standing still will cause Nick to eat the Pawpsicle, wholesale. This recovers a rather pitiful 2%, but can be used multiple times in a row. This totals up to 3, and after the third, Nick will get a brain freeze, which acts as a stun that lasts a fourth as long as a shield break stun. Due to how that stun works, getting shorter the higher your percentages is, it can be actually useful to use this at higher percents.
Using a tilt, however, will cause Nick to throw the Pawpsicle forward. It has multiple uses when out of Nick’s paws, the most obvious being a projectile. Its comparable to a Mr. Saturn in both its speed and size, dealing 1% with barely any knockback to it. This is its most useless use, if you can’t tell. Once the Pawpsicle hits the ground, it’ll become an item that can be used by any opponents. It behaves like a normal food item now, but the brain freeze effect still applies if an opponent eats three in a row.
Anyway, the more important part of this is that, after a second of the Pawpsicle sitting there, it will melt into a pool of red juice. This is one of the most important parts of Wilde’s set, so keep this in mind. Each Pawpsicle will melt into a pool around the width of Kirby, taking around 8 frames in a very quick animation. When an opponent steps onto it, they will suddenly gain ice physics, though not as bad, around half as bad as normal ice physics.
This isn’t the only way the melting effect can be applied, however. After around a second of standing still, the Pawpsicle will start to melt while Nick is holding it. The melting acts differently here, however, as the Pawpsicle will create a drop of juice every 5 frames, leaving a smaller pool around 2/4ths the size of a normal one. The Pawpsicle can create 5 of these pools this way.
Nick can still throw the Pawpsicle, however. When thrown, it will instantly explode into a small burst of juice, leaving behind a similar sized pool, but the burst acting as a weak hitbox that deals 4%. This is one of the better ways of creating a pool, mostly because, well, it does some damage. These pools can be used for things later in the set, just be patient.
Nick can only have 5 Pawpsicles and their pools out at a time. Overall, it mostly comes down to how you spread them around the stage. The brain freeze, while providing absolutely no benefit to Nick himself (Dumb fox), can be used to play with opponents. The only reliable way of removing a Pawpsicle from the stage before it melts is to eat it, so make of that what you will.
This is the first case of Finnick interactions here, which are mostly activated by using an attack while right next to Finnick. Summoning a Pawpsicle when Finnick’s nearby will cause Nick to toss it to him. Finnick gets very confused by this, because what the heck is he supposed to do with a single popsicle? Well, he can do two things, in any case. The first is that he can activate the melting effect himself, leaving a trail of juice behind him. Fairly simple.
The second is that, when an opponent get’s near Finnick while he’s carrying the Pawpsicle, he will attack them with it. The animation is identical to the baseball bat, except with an even shorter range to it. It also still only deals 2% damage, so it isn’t an amazing attack either way. But, when the Pawpsicle hits, it will stick to the opponent, turning them into an unwilling pawn in your overall game plan, leaving behind a trail of popsicle juice.
The charged version of the attack is the completely unrelated blueberry attack, apparently too tacky to actually be its own attack.
Fun Zootopia canon facts, Nick is a vegetarian (Meat eaters eat primarily bugs and fish). His favorite food, in particular, are blueberries. For the charged verion of his NSpec, Nick balances a small (Though its still very visible on screen) blueberry on his thumb, before flicking it up into the air. The blueberry acts as a projectile, kind of. It wouldn’t be inaccurate to call it a disjointed hitbox, either. The blueberry is potentially one of the smallest hitboxes in the game, but it moves fast, and actually covers a decent amount of air.
When it’s flicked up, the berry will curve back down after reaching roughly half of Nick’s height in the air. Once it falls back down, Nick will catch it in his mouth, providing a 2% health boost. Before you even think of spamming this, not only is the attack not fast enough to be incredibly spammable, but after 3 uses, the berries will stop healing for 10 seconds. Too much of a good thing, you know?
Finnick has a few interactions with the blueberries, but the main one isn’t that interesting. When used next to Finnick, Nick will flick the berry over to him. Finnick, unlike Nick, isn’t a vegetarian, meaning he is a lot… less excited by the food. He will, however, still eat it, healing him by 5%. Not much, but a decent way to keep Finnick healthy. The decay still affects him, however. There's a bit more the blueberries can do, but because of editing, that will have to wait until later.
Side Special – Jumbo Pop Slam
With a rather laggy start, Nick pulls out a massive popsicle (Not Pawpsicle, mind you, those are shaped like paws, this is shaped like a regular ice pop), and then slams it down on the ground in front of him. This is remarkably laggy, obviously, since this thing is around twice Nick’s size by itself, taking around longer to complete than an average Smash attack. This is 2/3rds as slow as Ganondorf's UTilt.
Fortunately, its considerable size means it has good range as well, reaching… well, twice Nick’s height in distance. Which is a lot. The Jumbo Pop can deal a pretty dang ridiculous 25% damage,, and is capable of KOing at 80%. The downside is that this thing is still incredibly hard to hit with, due to it’s terrible speed. Even worse, once the Jumbo Pop hits the ground, Nick will go into a severe end lag animation where he rests for a moment. This is really terrible as an endlag animation, and whiffing the attack can leave Nick wide open, but its not the worst endlag in the game.
However, you’re never at a disadvantage when using the Jumbo Pop. I mean, aside from a probable Smash Attack to the face. Both whiffing and hitting with a Jumbo Pop gives Nick some very unique opportunities. Whenever the Pop hits the ground, Nick can decide during the lag animation whether or not to leave it on the ground, or pick it back up.
Leaving it on the ground is caused by inputting down, or getting hit by an opponent during the endlag. A grounded Jumbo Pop behaves like a Pawpsicle, only it’s also a platform about half a Kirby tall, and just under 1 Battlefield platforms wide. There’s a more accurate description of it’s range, too. It behaves like the slippy juice, only it’s less useful in that you can’t push the Pawpsicle stand over it. Also, opponents can’t eat it. You’d have to be Giga Bowser size in order to eat this thing. (Giga Bowser cannot eat the Jumbo Pop, this is a joke)
Anyway, like a Pawpsicle, the Jumbo Pop will start to melt once a bit of time has passed. Specifically, you get 10 seconds of it as a platform before it dissolves into 4 Battlefield Platforms worth of juice. This is obviously a great way to cover ground, but it takes a while for it to be anything but a bit of a nuisance. Fortunately, Nick has a way of getting rid of it quicker, but it won't come up for a bit, thanks formatting.
That’s what Nick can do with it on the ground, now to see what it can do if you decide to pick it back up! Holding up during the endlag will cause Nick to pick it back up, in a rather laggy animation, adding on some more lag. Surprising that a fox this small has this much HMA lag to him, huh? Anyway, while holding it, Nick plops the stick on his shoulder. This reduces his speed by a third, and gives him an upright stance while moving around, making him easier to hit. His jump height is also decreased a bit.
There is a slight saving grace to this, for a few reasons. One, while Nick is holding the Jumbo Pop it acts as a shield of sorts for his backside, negating all damage until it hits a limit of 30%, where it then shatters. The second saving grave is that, while moving around, the Jumbo Pop will drop a bit of juice every half second, resulting in 1/3rd of a Battlefield Platform worth of juice hitting the ground. The Jumbo Pop still runs on a 10 second timer, with it letting out a drip every half-second. Once the ten seconds are up, Nick will drop the stick to the ground, where it vanishes.
The obvious application of this is that Nick can use the attack again by inputting any standard input, only with half the start-up lag to it. This arguably makes the actual attack of this… attack, more useful. However, while it is held in his paws, Nick can unleash a secret attack! By inputting SSpec again while he’s carrying it, Nick will throw the Jumbo Pop forward! This is one of the largest projectiles in the game, being about as wide as Captain Falcon, and partnered with its already established height. It’s also one of the slowest, and really cannot travel any distances.
Its speed is equivalent of Ganondorf’s run, and its maximum distance is around 1.5 Battlefield Platforms. It does deal 30% damage, though, and can KO at 100%. Still won’t be using it much as an attack, though hitting something with it can be appreciated. Once it actually manages to hit the ground, it will explode, this time in a much more focused blast. It’s equivalent to 2/3rds of a Bob-Omb explosion, and has the same force as a fully packed Pawpsicle explosion, and still deals 25% damage. It’s juice output is the same, however.
Finally, while Nick is carrying the Jumbo Pop, he can transfer it around a bit. First, he can give it to Finnick. Despite his size, Finnick’s a tough li’l fox, and he ca carry around the Jumbo Pop without any negatives to his stats. It still leaves behind a trail of juice, and runs on the 10 second timer, however. Finnick also can’t throw the Jumbo Pop, and instead swings it like his baseball bat. It’s functionally the baseball attack with slightly more powerful stats.
Deals 15% damage on hit, KOs at 130%, has high range to it, you get the drill. Most important thing to note is that Finnick has increased start-up lag for the attack as well, though it’s only barely better than Nick’s start-up lag when using the Jumbo Pop anywhere. There is another interaction, which we'll get to in a moment.
Nick can only have one Jumbo Pop in play at a time however, and attempting to use the attack while it’s in play will activate a slightly different move. Nick will pull out the Jumbo Pop’s stick, and slam it into the ground in almost the exact same animation. It has the same range to it, but deals a more standard 9-16% damage, and also has pretty terrible knockback that can only really KO in the mid 170%s. The attack is much faster, obviously, behaving more like the lightweight Smash Attack you’d expect from a conman like Nick. Also, whenever the stick hits anything, it snaps in half. Good thing he’s got a bunch of them.
Down Special – Pawpsicle Stand
As soon as the button is pressed, Nick will start to build… something. Okay, no need to hide it since you can see the move name, he’s building a Pawpsicle stand. This takes a while, around a second. Finnick can help mitigate this a tiny bit, as he can be called over before hand. When the move is inputted after calling him over, Finnick's AI will change drastically, as he’ll actively protect Nick while he’s building the stand. This counts as a full job for him, meaning you’ll have to call him back once its finished.
The building animation is mostly Nick fiddling with something as he faces towards the back of the stage, a cartoonish cloud signalling that he’s doing something important. Nick can cancel out of it at any time, however, by inputting a dash. This will leave behind a collection of wood, markers, and a cooler in a big pile. Once Nick is free from that, he can summon Finnick over. This will instantly put Finnick to work, having him build the rest of the object. This takes however long you had remaining to complete.
Opponents can still destroy the incomplete object, as it has a fairly pathetic 20% HP. Once its destroyed, you'll have to start over again.
Once he’s finished, the cloud will clear, revealing the stand. It isn’t exactly the most impressive structure, cooler full of ice on wheels, and a sign showing the name and the price above it. It isn’t very tall, only slightly taller than Nick himself. It is very wide, however, slightly less than the width of Bowser. HP wise, the Stand has a fairly large 75%, meaning it can take a while to fully destroy.
The hitbox of the stand is the box part of it, the sign counting as a “background” object, even though it’s not technically in the background but whatever. Thanks to the wheels, Nick, and any other characters, can push it. This behaves exactly like a wheeled crate, only it has far less acceleration, and doesn’t deal any damage when pushed into another opponent. It can also be used as a platform, with similar ice physics to the juice. The stand can take 40% damage before being destroyed.
So, what’s the actual point of this thing? Well, the Pawpsicle Stand has a LOT of different ways it can be used. Let’s start with the obvious: It can carry Pawpsicles. If you throw a Pawpsicle at the stand, it will appear in the box, pointing up. The stand can carry around 10 Pawpsicles, and they do not melt while in it, making it a good prepping tool. Nick can pull a Pawpsicle from the stand by using his Neutral Special while next to it, which is slightly less laggy than the normal version. The slippery juice placement is fairly integral to Nick’s business strategy, so using the stand in this way is a major plus. However, Pawpsicles can be used by opponents as well, them being able to pluck them out and eat them easily. The brain freeze application still applies, however. The stand can still be stood on with Pawpsicles in it.
Next, we have Finnick’s interaction with it. This isn’t as major as the Pawpsicles, but still useful. You know how I mentioned that the stand can be pushed. Well, that’s what Finnick does, push the stand. Pretty exciting, huh? This is an important positioning tool, though. Also, if the stand slides over juice, it will actually accelerate, turning into a moving hitbox that deals 7-15%, depending on how much speed it’s gathered. Speed gathers depending on how much juice the stand slides over, with a 2/3rds of Battlefield maxing it out at around Captain Falcon’s dash. Of course, the stand can still go over ledges so… be careful. It can also hit Finnick, which deals normal damage to him. So, not a fun time for either of you.
Nick can also place the Jumbo Pop into the Pawpsicle stand… Which isn’t really a Pawpsicle stand if it has a Jumbo Pop in it now, though. Anyway, the stand can only hold 1 Jumbo Pop, and nothing else when it’s inside. The Jumbo Pop sticks straight up, given a slight boost to its height thanks to the stand. The stand, surprisingly, doesn’t seem to take any of the weight, and can be pushed around like normal. It also isn’t affected by the Jumbo Pop's melting timer, and doesn’t drip anymore.
The main focus of this is the Jumbo Pop, which turns into a frosted hitbox of death when the stand gets pushed around. The thing deals 4-11% damage depending on how fast the stand is moving, and while it doesn’t have incredible knockback. It’s usually constant and large hitbox can prove a problem to any opponents.
There isn’t even any saving grace when the stand gets destroyed while the Jumbo Pop is in it either. Normally, when the stand gets destroyed, all the Pawpsicles go along with it. The same can be said here, kind of. Instead of just vanishing, the Jumbo Pop will explode, in a near equivalent of the thrown explosion. It has the same size, but only deals 15% damage, and KOs at 140% now. Basically, when a Jumbo Pop is in play, it’s either you or the opponents that are in trouble.
Going back to NSpec for a moment, there's some extra fun to be had with the charged blueberry. if Nick uses it next to the Pawpsicle Stand, he will instead fling it into the stand. This will turn the ice in the stand blue, alongside any Pawpsicles and Jumbo Pops that get put in it, as well as any Pawpsicles that Nick summons from that moment on. This also affects the juice color, which, alongside the Jumbo Pop's color, mostly just functions as an aesthetics thing. However, it does change how the Pawpsicles work.
Now, when Nick or an opponent eats a Pawpsicle, it will boost its healing properties to 7%! Combine two of Nick’s favorite things together, and you get a super healing item, just basic math. The downside of this, aside from it obviously also giving opponents boosted health, is that now Nick and opponents can only eat two before the ice cream headache starts. There is a way to get rid of this, which will be detailed in the next move.
Finally, there’s what Nick can do with his Down Special while the stand is already in play. As the stand takes damage, it visually becomes more and more… damaged. Well, when Nick uses the Down Special now, he’ll pull out a wrench. He tosses it into the air, and then swings it downwards after catching it. This is a rather laggy animation, not helped by it having no range, dealing an incredibly pitiful 2% damage and no knockback. Of course, using it as an attack isn’t what it’s here for.
Hitting the stand with the wrench will cause it to instantly spruce back up a bit, healing 10% of it’s health. The laggy animation is the real problem with this, as it gives opponents ample time to counter it, and presumably damage the stand as well. Nick might be able to build the stand, but he’s not entirely great at the “fixing” aspect, unfortunately. This is why Finnick’s around.
Finnick might have a bad temper, but he’s good at sprucing things up (Well, he’s good at it to a point, his van still needs a lot of work). Using the wrench attack next to Finnick will cause him to fling it over to the fennec. This will cause him to rush over to the stand, and start working on it. This puts Finnick out of commission for a bit, leaving Nick to fend for himself. Despite Finn working on the stand for a while, and leaving him a bit open, a full operation can heal it back to full! How long Finnick takes is dependant on how much damage the stand has taken. The maximum amount of time it takes is 2 seconds, which really only applies if the stand is SOMEHOW surviving at 1% health.
The stand has a lot more applications to it, but we’re obviously not there yet.
Up Special – Fox Pounce
Ah yes, a generic recovery move! A real classic. Nick rears up… like a fox, and leaps up into the air. This is a very standard recovery move in most cases, Wilde leaping up around the length of, uh, Fox’s recovery. The main difference is that this takes less time to start up, but is also a bit slower. IIf the attack hits an opponent, it will deal 12% damage, with some very weak knockback that can only KO above 150%. It can also help combo into aerials, as it doesn’t put Nick into freefall.
The main thing with Fox Pounce is that you can angle it in 6 different directions. Most of these behave the same, upwards angles acting as recovery, and more vertical directions turning it into a traversal and attack move. This doesn't apply to when aim it downwards, however. This will change the move completely, causing Nick to short-hop into the air, and then dive back towards the ground. If you want a good visualization, its similar to how foxes dive.
Anyway, this… doesn’t really do anything on its own. Nick will just crash into the ground, creating a weak hitbox that deals 5% damage. The move is slow enough for this to… really not be useful as a defense mechanism. It also puts him into a brief stun animation as he gets back.
However, when this is used while standing on top of a Pawpsicle Stand, it becomes much more useful. If the stand has any amount of Pawpsicles in it, the leap will cause Nick’s dive to create a large burst of juice, depending on the amount of Pawpsicles in it. 1 Pawspicle causes a really pitiful plop of juice, only barely breaking the sign’s size in terms of hitbox. It also only deals 3% damage and barely any knockback, while leaving behind half a Battlefield platform worth of juice on the ground.
When this is used with all 10 Pawpsicles in the stand, it will create a massive burst, equivalent to 3 Bowsers as a hitbox, dealing 15% damage and above average knockback that can KO at 100%. The juice it leaves behind is the most important part, covering 4 Battlefield platforms, two on either side of the stand. This means that it’s already prepared you for a decent amount of travel. Downside of all this is that it has really bad end lag, Nick getting stuck in the ice for half a second before he pops back out. This is also what happens when you try to use it without any Pawpsicles in it. Also, it can be used while the stand is moving.
The leap can also be used on the grounded Jumbo Pop as well. This causes the Jumbo Pop to explode, which behaves like the explosion created from 7 Pawpsicles. The size of the blast is noticeably less, it only deals 11% damage, and the knockback KOs at 120%. The amount of juice it creates is only worth 3 Battlefield Platforms as well. This is a good way of getting rid of the Jumbo Pop if it becomes more of an obstacle, but not really a reliable way of spreading juice around the stage.
This leap is also a way to get rid of the current color of Pawpsicle, as using it on the Stand will cause it to explode, releasing the juice out and returning all ice products back to their, ahem, "natural coloring".
Nick can leap into Finnick as well. If he hits the poor fennec, he'll send him flying across teh stage, almost definitely accidentally. Maybe. This turns Finnick into a short lived living projectile, distance depending on Finnick's own invisble percentage meter. The damage doesn't change however, as Finnick will always deal 8% damage and mediocre knockback when coming into contact with an opponent. The hitbox can actually be extended if Finnick is knocked onto juice puddles, helping him slide around further. If the attack hits, Finnick will become very... angry at Nick, taking double the amount of time to respond to a call the next time you call.
Finally, Nick can interact with the Pawpsicle juice with the side version of the leap as well. If he hits a patch of the juice when he hits the ground, he’ll start to slide across it on his belly. He’ll only travel the amount of distance remaining when he hits the juice, however. This doesn’t really have much to it, other than a mobility tool. When Nick reaches the end of the slide, he’ll go into a bit of lag where he wipes the juice off his tacky shirt. The fox ball attack can be used with this as well, any area with juice it passes over will not be counted for its duration.
Smashes Forward Smash – Going Savage
For the charge up animation, Nick goes down on all fours, looking like he's letting out growling noises. Once the charge finishes, he flings himself forward and through the air, pouncing at whatever opponent comes near him. The attack has some pretty great range, especially for a Smash Attack, being able to reach 1 Battlefield Platform forward with noc harge, and 1.5 Battlefield Platforms at full charge. Nick himself leaps through the air at around slightly less than a Kirby high, meaning the attack is capable of hitting all characters, but characters with a decent duck can possibly avoid it.
If Nick hits an opponent, he'll slam into them, itself dealing 7-10% damage. On top of that, Nick will latch onto the opponent and unleash a series of swipes, dealing an extra 10% damage over the course of a few frames. He'll follow this up by attempting to bite the opponent's neck (or closest equivalent), which deals another 3% and also ends up dealing the knockback.
The knockback to the move isn't terrible, but it isn't amazing either, managing to be able to KO at 125%. The attack, after the leap, takes a surprisingly short amount of time, blistering past in a few frames. The downside of the attack is that Nick will enter a pretty bad endlag state after using it, though its not the worst in the game. Nick will end up seeming to shake something off before returning to normal. This is... relatively punishable, but only if Nick whiffs the attack.
There are a few more things. There is kind of a Finnick interaction, though it isn't really that great. If Nick attempts to leap into Finnick, the fennec will react in fear and swing his bat at the fox, knocking him back. The effect here has the leap turning to face the other direction, heading at a more upwards angle, and only travelling half as far as what was charged. This can be used to attack opponents you might have missed, but this still won't protect you from the endlag if you whiff.
Finally, a bit more can happen if an opponent is attacked by this while standing on juice. Instead of latching onto the opponent, they will instead slip, Nick pinning them down. The attack continues as normal, but the bite gets a major knockback boost. Thanks to the juice, the opponent will enter a much quicker velocity, starting off sliding across the ground for a few frames before being launched up into the air. This can KO at 90%, making it one of Nick's best attacks.
Down Smash – Bottle It Up
Guess what? More props! Nick loves this kind of stuff. Anyway, when the Down Smash is used, nick will pull out a large jar, and then slam it into the ground. This doesn’t have a great distance to it, only reaching out a bit in front of the fox (Exact measurements will be provided in a second, it is a prop). It’s also a fairly weak attack in general, dealing 10-14% damage depending on the charge. Like most of Nick’s attacks so far, it’s use as an attack is… underwhelming. It does come out fairly fast, however, despite the jar's size.
Once the move is completed, however, Nick will leave the jar on the ground, with very little end lag. There, it will become kind of an item, roughly 1/3rd of a Battlefield Platform wide (See? Told you), and roughly 2/3rds of Nick’s own height. It behaves like an item for the most part, anyway, and can be passed through by other opponents. However, while Nick can interact with the jar, opponents can only interact with it via attacks. After taking roughly 20% damage, the jar will shatter.
Nick can interact with the jar like any normal item, by pressing the standard button next to it. This will cause him to pick it up, where it acts like a crate or barrel, slowing him down a bit. While holding the jar, he can actually use the Down Smash again, though it behaves exactly the same, but with less start-up lag. Anyway, Nick can let go of the jar at any time, like with a normal item. Unlike the barrel/crate I compared it to, Nick will place it down directly in front of himself.
So, what the heck does this jar even do? Before we get to that, we have to explain something I “neglected” to mention about the juice. It wasn’t relevant until now, sue me. So, when juice is spread over thin platforms, there will be a bit of a drip to them. As in, the juice will drip down beneath them at a steady pace of 1 drip per 10 frames. This is entirely cosmetic… until the jar comes into play!
By placing a jar under the drip, it will start to BOTTLE them up! (Much like Nick and his emotions hahahaha) The jar will be filled to the top after 10 drips. From there, it doesn’t do much else until Nick decides to interact with it again. When he does, he’ll just pick it up again so he can move it. What you do from here on depends on what you want to do.
But before we get to the uses, I have to note a few more things. The first is that, if the attack is used next to Finnick, he’ll take the jar off your hands. Paws. Grabby appendages. Basically, he’ll just take it over to the nearest drip, and place it there, before heading back to do his own business. You can’t use this when there are no drips, however, as Finnick will just shoot Nick a glare before moving on with his life.
Second, the drips aren’t the only way to fill up the jar. A juice explosion of any kind will fill it up completely, but it will need to be directly under the hitbox in order for it to register. This requires a lot more set-up for virtually the same reward, but it makes one aspect of something we’ll get into easier.
By using the Down Smash while there’s juice in the jar, the move will get some extra oomph to it, boosting the damage to 9%-17%. The start-up lag is a lot worse however, but the slam also causes some juice to spill out, creating two 1/3rd of a Battlefield Platform sized patches of juice. Using this attack drains two of the drips from the jar, meaning you can use this about ten times before it reverts back to normal.
The second use is to have Finnick deal with the full jar. Handing it to the fennec results in something incredibly simple. He takes his bat, and swings it at the jar, shattering it, creating a forward shooting juice explosion. This creates a hitbox relative to the amount of juice in it, with the maximum reaching forward 2 Battlefield Platforms forward, and nearly reaching one of the lower Battlefield Platforms in terms of height. It deals 13% damage, but has high knockback, capable of KOing at 120%. Also a decent way of covering ground with juice fast.
There's something extra Finnick can do with the jar, but it requires the use of a blueberry. Like with the Pawpsicle Stand's interaction, Nick will flick a blueberry into the jar if its used next to him. The juice will turn blue, which doesn't affect much on its own. It does, however, completely change the juice projectile once Finnick destroys the jar. It expands the hitbox to around 3 Battlefield Platforms at max juice, but reducing the damage to 10%, and the knockback down to 140%. This greatly reduces it chances of a KO, but it also helps cover ground (with juice) faster.
The third and final use is something that Nick himself has to do. By taking a jar of juice over to the Pawpsicle stand, trying to let go of the jar will result in Nick pouring all of the juice into the stand. The ice in it will cause the juice to freeze over instantly (Don’t question it, Smash Bros. rules). This adds an additional bit to the stand’s movement. First, you can’t put anything in the stand while the frozen juice is in it. There just isn’t enough room.
So, now when you push the stand around, it will ALWAYS be a hitbox, no matter how fast it’s going. The damage has now been boosted to 5-20% based on the speed. These measurements are only for when a full jar is used, however, as they do change depending on how much juice was dumped into it. So, yeah, the jar can be helpful.
Up Smash – Feeling Foxy
For the start-up animation, Nick bends down, in a surprisingly athletic pose for someone like him. Once the move actually starts, he’ll leap up in the air a bit, around a ducked Kirby high, and rapidly slash at the air. Once the attack finishes, he’ll fall back to the ground and enter a brief endlag animation where he has to take a breather from the energy it took.
This is a rather standard Smash, compared to his other two ones. In fact, this is one of the few moves in Nick’s entire set that DOESN’T interact with anything! It is a pure KO move, and one of his best. Well, second best, before FSmash, but is the best one he can use on his own. The attack deals 6 rapid hits of 3-4% damage depending on the charge, resulting in 18-25% damage, and upwards knockback that can KO at 120%.
This is a very good move, having decent speed and a considerably large hitbox despite Nick's smaller size. The first hit of the move comes when Nick leaps up, meaning that it will pull up grounded opponents into the attack. The main downside of the attack is the endlag, which is pretty awful. It has Nick take a bit of a breather once he lands, though he'll get back into the action fairly quickly. Its still incredibly punishable if he whiffs the attack, however.
Standards Jab – Fox Claws
Nick has an incredibly simple jab, all considering. It doesn’t interact with anything (Well, it interacts with ONE thing) and is overall… not an incredibly good move. The animation is also simple, Nick slashing forwards with both his claws, though he looks a bit uncomfortable as he does so. It’s generally socially unacceptable to use claws for violence in Zootopia. It’s a pretty standard three-hit combo, the first two hits being a swipe to the left and to the right. The final hit is multi-hit by itself, as Nick swats forward with both his paws, acting as another three hits.
None of these attacks hit very far, since Nick himself is pretty small. They also don’t do that much damage, maxing out at 10% damage, the last hit also dealing really weak knockback. It really isn’t that great, even as a jab, but it does come out quick enough to… not be the worst. Pretty mediocre jab, basically.
Forward Tilt – Police Training
Spoilers for a movie most people have seen, Nick becomes a police officer at the end of the film. This means he has at least some access to police equipment, in this case a tranquilizer dart gun. He pulls the gun out, and aims it forward, a bit unsteadily. He fires it, sending out a small projectile. If you’re a nerd like me who cares about this kind of thing, then you can consider this a set for the Nick between the cut to the last scene. But nobody else cares about that. (To see more proper use of a tranquilizer gun, check out my Judy Hopps set coming to an MYM 20 near you)
Anyway, the tranquilizer dart is a ridiculously small projectile, slightly smaller than one of Mega Man’s standard buster shots. Due to how badly Nick fired it, however, the dart has really weak range, flying in a small upwards arch, before hitting the ground. The maximum height this reaches is maybe up to Mario’s nose, while the distance is a rather pathetic, for a projectile, single Battlefield Platform.
The firing of the dart is fairly quick, though it seems almost accidentally so, as you can see Nick fumbling with the gun for a moment before it fires off. This amounts to a short amount of start-up lag, longer than a standard projectile does, but not long in really any way. Nick does suffer a slight amount of recoil when the dart fires off, though instead of pushing him back, it just puts him into endlag, though again, it isn't anything awful.
When the dart hits an opponent, two different things will happen. For one, the dart will deal 7% damage, alongside some incredibly minuscule knockback, equivalent of Fox's laser blast in terms of it. However, it does have a bit more to it. In addition to the knockback, the dart will also tranquilize the opponent. this comes in the form of brief stun, for around half a second. The knockback, as weak as it is, still manages to push the opponent back a tiny amount. If the opponent is pushed by the dart while on juice, it will actually start their momentum up
Like with the blueberries on the NSpec, the dart can affect the Pawpsicles and all other ice related goods. By using the attack next to the Pawpsicle Stand, Nick will “inject” it with the dart. Remember, tranquilizer darts are made using a mix of chemicals to apply the tranquilizing effect, meaning that the ice of the stand is now full of tranquilizing juice, signified by it becoming purple.
Now, after that quick lesson in reality, we break from it for a bit. When a Pawpsicle (Or Jumbo Pop, but that’s only really an aesthetics change) is placed in the stand, they will turn purple. When Nick pulls a Pawpsicle form the stand now, it will retain the purple color. Once one is grabbed, this will change all of the Pawpsicles Nick can pull out into purple ones. This affects the Pawpsicle’s brain freeze aspect. Instead of taking three Pawpsicles for it to activate, it will only activate after one is eaten, which behaves like it normally does. It also doesn’t heal opponents, instead dealing 3% damage to them. This makes it harder for opponents to get rid of Pawpsicles, but it also means that Nick’s quick healing is pretty much done for.
You can get rid of this by, like with the berries effect, diving onto the Pawpsicle Stand. Finally, any juice created by tranquilizer affected Pawpsicles and Jumbo Pops will be colored purple as well, but again, just an aesthetic change.
Next, there’s Finnick’s interactions. When used next to him, Nick will actually toss the dart gun to him. Unsurprisingly, Finnick is a lot more competent with firearms than Nick is, and is actually able to fire the tranq gun in a straight trajectory. When fired like this, it has a range of 3 Battlefield Platforms, and moves at around the speed of a Super Scope’s weakest shot. All effects remain the same however, it’s just a more convenient way of handling it. Of course, the downside is that Finnick, being an AI, will generally tend to shoot at opponents without thought, and as described above, not exactly a good thing. He can also only fire 5 shots before the gun runs out of ammo.
Like with how the blueberries can effect the jar's juice, the tranquilizer can as well, turning it purple. This doesn’t particularly affect anything Nick can do with it… But Finnick certainly can. When Finnick bursts the jar open with his bat, the properties of the juice projectile. Aside from turning it purple, the juice’s distance will lower, maxing out at 1.3 Battlefield Platforms, but also boost the damage to 17%, and able to KO at 100%.
Up Tilt – Foxy Flailing
Nick quickly swats one of his paws above his head in an arcing motin. This is a fairly simple attack, much like a standard Old Style Bionichute set. The range of it is rather decent, considering Nick's size, reaching around the upper parts of his model and such. Just imagine DK's UTilt, but a lot faster.
And it definitely is faster, coming out at around the speed of his jab. Unfortunately, despite being somewhat spammable, and dishing out a decent 9% damage, its knockback isn't great, being able to KO at 14)%. On the other hand, this makes it fairly easy to juggle with, but the knockback might be a bit too decent for even that to be a real option.
Down Tilt – High Tailing It
Nick’s Down Tilt is probably exactly what you expect from it. From his crouching, position, he sweeps around in a circle with his tail. It’s general animation and effect is incredibly similar to, uh, Fox’s Dtilt. It’s a sweeping move the main differences coming from it being able to hit on both sides, and having a LOT more start-up time, as Nick is nowhere near as athletic as Fox is. It takes a bit more doing.
The range is also different, due to size differences, as it can only reach about 3/4ths as far as Fox’s. This is made up for, of course, by him being able to hit on both sides. Other than that, the general knockback is similar, being rather weak, and not a particularly good KO move. The damage is also suitably weak, only dealing 5%. Generally, this isn’t that great of an attack. Sensing a pattern?
Like most of Nick’s attacks, this has a secondary function. If Nick uses it while in a pool of the juice, his tail will pick some of it up, coloring the edge of his tail a reddish pink. This behaves similarly to when he’s carrying the Jumbo Pop, dripping occasionally and creating a small pool of juice behind him. In this case, it drips every second, creating a pool 1/3rd the size of a Battlefield Platform, like the Jumbo Pop.
Unlike with the Jumbo Pop, Nick can still use any attacks during this period. The big downside is that this only runs on a 5 second timer, meaning it doesn’t create as much juice as a Jumbo Pop, but still being able to spread juice yourself while attacking is a decent make-up.
Also, when Nick uses his Dtilt now, it will shoot off a small burst of juice, increasing the attack’s range, but getting rid of the juice in the process. This isn’t a projectile, and merely acts as an extension of the attack’s normal hitbox, boosting it to a full Fox Dtilt in range… though it only hits in front of Nick, the back hit behaving as normal. It also boosts the damage to a slightly better 9%, but the real downside is that it doesn’t actually leave any juice on the stage, it vanishes once the attack is used.
Also, yes, the attack is called High Tailing It even though it’s a low attack. It’s the only pun I could think of.
Dash Attack – Fox Trot
From his dash, Nick leaps into a pounce. Unlike his Up Special, this is more of a normal pounce, rather than a physics defying nonsense attack. As in, it’s a very standard leap forwards, Nick’s entire body acting as a hitbox. The pounce reaches forward half a Battlefield Platform forward, but is actually very quick to come out, making it a decent surprise attack if used at the right times.
Nick does suffer a bit of ending lag, no matter if the attack whiffs or hits. If it does hit, Nick will bounce back off the opponent after dealing 9% damage with moderate knockback. This puts him into a prone position before he gets back up. If he misses, he’ll hit the ground on all fours, and have to get back on his legs, in roughly the same amount of time it takes when he does hit an opponent.
The secondary effect of this attack only works if Nick uses the move over a juice pool. It also only activates when the attack misses, and ultimately leaves this as a traversal move rather than an attack. When the attack is used, Nick will quickly switch his positions during the last few frames, going onto a relaxed, hands-on-head position as he hits the juice.
When this happens, he will slide across the juice for roughly half the pool’s current length. Due to the speed behind the attack itself, the slide is faster than Nick’s dash itself, meaning that, on larger pools, he can traverse rather large sections of the stage in a short time. Also, due to Nick’s hitbox being much shorter at the time of the slide, he can slide underneath taller character’s legs.
This only works if a character is standing, as a ducking character will block it no matter what. Once the slide is finished, Nick will be put into the same fairly bad endlag as when the attack is used normally. When the slide finishes naturally, he’ll quickly get up, and shake the juice from his fur. If the slide is blocked by an opponent, Nick will bump his head, and quickly scramble to his feet.
Aerials Neutral Aerial – INCOHERENT FLAILING
Nick does NOT like heights. His falling animation has him visibly terrified of it, but this is Smash Bros. and he really does not have a choice in the matter about jumping or not. This plays into his incredibly simple NAir, where he spins his arms around, flailing and trying to grab at something. The start-up of the attack is quick, and there is very little endlag, allowing Nick to cancel from this attack into something more useful later in a fall.
There really is not much to the attack, other than it POSSIBLY being Nick’s best physical attack (As in an attack he does himself), capable of dealing 12% damage if it hits right, as it deals several hits of 3% over its quick hitbox. Unfortunately, the hitbox of the attack is incredibly small, due to Nick’s arms being small, meaning it can be hard to hit accurately with it. The knockback of the attack is weak, KOing at 180%, but is also a bit upwards, meaning that getting it off correctly can help Nick descend faster than the opponent.
Back Aerial – Get Some Tail
Nick, from his panicked aerial state, manages to gather some courage up, and spin around in what amounts to a very simple BAir. Nick’s tail acts as the hitbox here, having a bit more reach than it does on the DTilt, if only by a slight measurement. It isn’t a very powerful move, dealing only 11% damage, with very mediocre knockback, but the speed of the attack definitely makes up for it. The knockback, still mediocre, isn’t horrible mind you, meaning activating it out of a shorthop for a decent keep-away move.
If Nick has juice on his tail from the DTilt, using the attack will activate a similar effect, which behaves almost identically from how it does on the ground. The hitbox is slightly changed from how it is when used on the DTilt, however, spreading out a bit more with less range. This boosts the damage to 14% damage, and makes the knockback a bit better. Its still as fast as normal, meaning that you can use it as an even more effective keep away attack.
You know, maybe I should have called this “High Tailing It” and the DTilt “Get Some Tail”? Nah.
Forward Aerial – NEED A PAW
Nick lashes out a bit, stretching his body out as he attempts to grab onto anything in fornt of him. Of course, since this isn’t a grab, it fails 100% of the time. However, his flailing arms make for a decent hitbox! It isn’t an amazing attack by any means, having less range than his BAir and also having a much longer animation, as well as start-up.
The attack does go on for quite a few frames, in fact, you can make Nick keep doing it by holding the button down, but this isn’t an incredibly useful thing. When used normally, it can actually last around 25 frames. The attack, like Nick’s NAir, attacks via multiple hits, each one doing 3% damage. With a standard press, Nick can deal 12% damage over the course of the attack, if it hits the opponent from the start. If held, the damage can be boosted to a total of 16% damage
It isn’t an amazing attack, but Nick can retain some forward movement while using it, making it a decent aerial approach tool, even if its something Nick isn’t really built for.
Up Aerial – Bit of a Reach
Nick desperately reaches upwards, again attempting to grab onto something. In this case, with both of his paws at the same time, claws out. This is an incredibly standard UAir, though it doesn’t have great range, but that’s shared with most of Nick’s non-prop attacks. It isn’t even that decent damage wise, only hammering out 11% damage, though the knockback is above average at least, managing to KO at 130%.
The animation also comes out fairly fast, though not as fast as some other aerials. It can still be used for a decent shorthop attack, helped by the fact that, though the hitbox isn’t very tall, it is a bit wide due to how spread out Nick’s arms are. Its still not as useful as Bair as a shorthop tool, however, but it is a good alternative.
Down Aerial – Jumbo Drop
Nick, like the completely unconventional lightweight he is, has a HMA stall then fall attack for his DAir! He pulls out another Jumbo Pop, and grips onto the handle as it falls down. The Jumbo Pop retains its general statistics from the Forwards Smash as well, making it a RATHER LARGE hitbox compared to most stall then falls. Due to the size of the attack, it's surprisingly laggy for a lightweight like Nick, but it is slightly shorter to perform than Bowser's DAir
It also dramatically increases Nick’s falling speed, nearly to the equivalent of the Bowser Bomb rather than any generic stall then falls. This of course, also plays into the attack’s damage, as it can deal 16% damage on its own, and acts as a meteor smash, like most stall then falls. Its incredibly powerful… if it hits. The bad start-up makes it very clear when its used. It also has bad endlag, as Nick has to hop back down from the top of the Jumbo Pop.
Oh yeah, this is a prop too! Once the Jumbo Pop hits the ground, it smushes down, becoming a large wall. By that I mean it can completely block movement and such, which can be useful if you have an out of control Pawpsicle Stand and not enough time to stop it yourself. Just quickly plop one of these down, and it stops instantly, no problem. It can also be used as a platform. General statistics for the Jumbo Pop on the SSpec also apply to its height and size, so consult that. (I’m too lazy to rewrite it down here.)
Anyway, the Jumbo Pop only acts as a wall for a short time, anyway. It lasts the same time as a usual Jumbo Pop does before melting completely, and leaves the same amount of juice as well, but this Jumbo Pop visibly melts as time passes. It loses about a half-ducking-Kirby every half second, until it just becomes mush on the ground. This means that any applications it has as a blocking tool, or even an extra platform, doesn’t last very long.
Grab Game Grab & Pummel
Like all of (my) Grab & Pummels, these are ridiculously simple attacks. For his grab, Nick reaches forward with both paws, in a quick motion that also comes off as a bit awkward at the same time. It doesn’t reach that far, obviously, but isn’t a… terrible grab, at least.
When Nick grabs an opponent, it will be similar to what happens when Kirby or Pikachu grabs someone, the opponent being pulled down a bit to be on eye level with him. For his pummel, Nick scratches at the opponent, directly in the FACE. Its actually a rather quick pummel, all considering. It only deals 2%, but Nick can dish it out rather quickly before it ends.
Also, Nick can grab Finnick. Every one of Nick’s throws does something different, always related to the move at hand. These will be expounded upon with each move.
Forward Throw – Bunny Ears!
For this basic throw, Nick lets go of the opponent, before kicking them back up to their normal stance. He then spins around and pulls out his phone, shooting a peace sign (or bunny ears) as he takes a picture of himself and the opponent. This, in total, deals 8% damage, making it weak even for a throw. That’s because it also doesn’t deal any real knockback.
Instead, it locks the opponent into a stun state that behaves exactly like the headache effect from the Pawpsicles. This allows Nick some set-up time while the opponent recovers, giving the fox a bit of leeway before he gets pummeled by Ganondorf. Since the stun behaves the way it does, getting shorter the more damage the opponent has taken, this is mainly used for set-ups, rather than as an actual throw.
When used on Finnick, Nick won’t kick him up, obviously, but the fennec will also very visibly not want to do this. Once the picture is taken, Finnick will enter a blind state, thrashing around the stages in random direction while swinging his baseball bat around. He swings blindly, of course, meaning they can come out at any direction, and they come out faster than normal. During this time, Finnick practically becomes a walking hitbox that deals 7% damage and mediocre knockback. He also only moves at half speed during this.
This only lasts for around 3 seconds, however, and it also angers Finnick a lot, meaning that he won’t be able to do any work for a bit. In case you forgot that from the last move. This is a decent to use during crowd control, or if you need to defend something for a bit. It comes out quickly too, making it even more useful for that function.
Up Throw – Two Paws!
For the standard throw, Nick lets go of the opponent, before grabbing them again and attempting to lift them over his head. This doesn’t work, obviously, because he short and not physically fit. When he tries it, he eventually tips over, performing an accidental suplex on them. The suplex is fairly standard for a throw, dealing 10% damage with upwards knockback once the opponent hits the ground. The knockback is mediocre, KOing at 160%, and the animation takes a bit too long for it to be valuable in the heat of the moment.
Its use with Finnick, however, is a lot more useful. Using it will cause Nick to fling the fennec up into the air, much higher than he can normally jump. As in, around 2.5 Ganondorf’s high. This is useful for getting Finnick around, mostly because its actually fairly hard to get him to actually go where you want him to go. The animation is much faster than the regular throw’s animation as well, meaning you can use it much more reliably. This is actually the one throw that doesn’t make Finnick angry, so you don’t have to use it sparingly!
Back Throw – For a Stroll
Nick, of course, lets go of the opponent at the start of the animation. He then proceeds to climb up the opponent a bit (Okay, he kind of just hovers to the side of their model for a frame or two) before jumping around their backs and kicking them back with both his feet, mimicking a certain rabbit. This deals 9% damage, and causes surprisingly mediocre knockback, but does knock the opponent off their feet, which is the important part.
By using this throw, Nick is able to knock the opponent into the Pawpsicle Stand if their model ends up touching the stand (Explaining the poor knockback), instantly causing it to move forward a bit. While an opponent is in the Pawpsicles Stand, it behaves like it does when filled with frozen juice, turning into a moving hitbox. The difference comes from the weight of the opponent that was tossed in. If the opponent is lightweight, the stand will travel fast, but only deal 8% damage. If the opponent is heavy, it will move at half speed, but deal 15% damage. Opponents can escape from the stand by mashing, much like a grab. This carries over the current grab strength before the throw was activated.
Nick can also use this with Finnick, though he instead just tosses Finnick in rather than kicking him. Finnick acts as a lightweight character, meaning this isn’t remarkably useful, but it is quicker to get out than the jar combo. Once the stand stops, Finnick will hop out of it, a bit angry that Nick did that without any warning. It becomes even more humiliating if he’s in the elephant costume, but that’s a personal thing
Down Throw – Slick Nick
Nick lets go of the opponent, before straightening his tie. He then kicks them in the shin (Or whatever is closest for the animation to hit on smaller characters), causing them to fall down, taking 12% damage. Yeah, this isn’t particularly amazing as a throw. It has functionally no knockback, instead acting as an instant tripping mechanism. The trip lasts a few frames longer, in order for Nick to at least get away before the opponent wrecks him.
The move does change for the better if its used while standing on juice. Once Nick kicks the opponent down, they will actually start to slide off during the tripping animation, reacting to the slippery physics of it. It also keeps the opponent down for a couple more frames than usual, and actively leaves them open for a follow up attack. Or, the more likely case for Nick, letting him get away faster.
When used on Finnick, Nick will continue to be just absolutely terrible to him, tossing the fennec to the ground. This does nothing other than piss Finnick off when used on normal ground, meaning you just wasted using Finnick for something. When used on juice covered ground, however, Nick will quickly hop onto Finnick’s back as he starts to slide across the juice. This is faster than actually running across the juice yourself, and is also pretty funny to watch.
While sliding on Finnick, Nick can perform an attack. Specifically, he can pull off any of his tilts, and the Up Smash. Larger prop based moves do not work. Like with most of the Finnick interactions like this, Finnick gets mad. After travelling 2 Battlefield Platforms, Finnick will throw Nick off his back himself, causing the fox to facefault into the ground himself. Most of the time, this move can be very situational, as you need to wait for a time when Finnick isn’t needed, but the ability to land some hard to hit attacks while moving is a major plus.
Final Smash Get in the Van!
Nick has the Smash Ball! What’s a relatively average guy supposed to do with that power? Well, he… pulls out a set of car keys! Finnick, regardless or not if he’s on the battlefield, will show up and snatch the keys away, before running off for a moment. He instantly comes back, driving in an incredibly tacky van, to pick Nick back up. Before the van comes back, Nick will put on a pair of shutter shades.
The van is large, but only around as tall as Bowser, and as wide as 1.5 Bowsers. Control wise, the thing behaves like the Wario Bike, except able to turn around much more precisely, and with the ability to jump, because of course. The van is basically a moving hitbox, travelling at the speed of the Wario Bike as well, and will deal 20% damage on contact. The knockback is also pretty decent, being able to KO at 70-80%, since running into someone with a car is generally a fatal thing. The van lasts for around 9 seconds before it disappears. Once it disappears, Nick and Finnick will high five.
The shutter shades will remain on Nick until he gets KOed.
Representing the world of ARMS, Min Min joins the battle! ARMed with the fierce Dragon fist, the wrecking-ball-like Megawatt, and the curving Ramram disc, she utilizes the game's signature long-ranged attacks while also bringing her own flavor* to the table in Smash for Wii U!
*That flavor being ramen-flavored, to be specific.
Stats
Min Min is pretty agile overall, to be expected given her slender stature. Her walk speed is just a touch above Bayonetta’s, but her dash can keep up with fighters like Yoshi and Pikachu just fine. Min Min’s jump height is average, her air speed is about the same as her walk, and she leans toward the fastfaller side of things. One thing to note is that her combination of low-end weight plus big, springy arms makes her easy to hit and easy to launch.
As for unique gameplay gimmicks, almost all of Min Min’s attacks are long-ranged moves, in the spirit of ARMS. They operate quite differently from a normal attack, and to see how that works, let’s check out her Neutral Attack real quick:
Neutral Attack / Neutral Aerial
Min Min dons a Sparky fist on her right arm and then shoots it forward, with low startup before the fist starts flying through the air. Those coiled-up ramen arms aren’t just for show, as they’ll uncoil and stretch out to let the arm travel 5 SBB before stopping and then retracting to Min Min! That reach is pretty massive, and it’s shared with most of your other arm-based attacks.
Another common trait is that the punch takes a whole 25 frames (60 frames = one second) to reach the end of that path, in addition to the startup lag, after which the fist lingers for a moment and then quickly snaps back to Min Min’s position. Oh, and before going any further, I should tell you that in Neutral Attack, the Sparky does 6% of damage and low-mid knockback at a normal, forward-upward angle. Neutral Attack can be used in the air, meaning it acts as your Nair too.
While an arm-based attack like the Sparky is active, Min Min can walk (but not turn around), perform a grounded jump, and use Side B. While the ability to move at all is awesome for a melee attack, you can’t shield, dodge, or do anything else. The thing that makes this trickier is what happens if a foe hits your outstretched arm: the arm will snap back to Min Min instantly, putting her in recoil for 14 frames. During this, the opponent is pretty much free to advance and take back stage control, as Min Min is stunned in place with a special animation. You can move to somewhat counteract this (moving doesn’t affect the fist as it travels, but it can affect the stretched arm’s position), but it’s not much. So just try not to overextend – quite literally.
If an opponent attacks the fist itself as it’s in the middle of an attack, as opposed to attacking the arm, the normal laws of priority apply. If the difference between the damage of your attack and the opponent’s attack means that your attack would be canceled out and put you into a recoil animation, the fist will simply fall to the ground and then retract.
One helpful thing to prevent against that 14-frame stun is that your arm will retract right away upon hitting a fighter, shield, reflector, wall, or misc. hurtbox, making ranged pokes safer under these conditions. Follow-ups are also easier due to this – the quicker that arm returns, the earlier you can perform another attack (same for rapid shield pressure). And while we’re on the subject, other things that’ll cause it to retract include getting launched with tumble-state knockback, being grabbed, having most stun-like status effects, or going more than 8.5 SBB away from the arm itself.
So yeah, these traits shake up how Min Min plays quite a bit. You’ll generally want to keep the foe 5 SBB or so away from you, since that’s the maximum range of your attacks. There are also upsides and downsides to the different ranges within that area. If you get closer, the foe has less time to react to your punches, since they have less travel time. However, spacing them from afar means that if the foe does manage to dodge the attack and hit your arm, the distance means that the punish on those 14 frames won’t be as strong. Y’know, since they have to spend some of those 14 frames actually dashing over to you. So at long range, you pretty much only lose stage control, and won't really get punished directly with a hit.
From the opponent’s point of view, defending against Min Min’s ranged moves also presents a few options. Shielding is the easiest, and is pretty safe for just blocking an attack since Min Min generally doesn’t deal a lot of shield damage. However, that’ll also make the arm instantly retract, so you don’t get a big punish. In that case, jumping over the attack or using a spot-dodge / other moves with intangibility might be the way to go! But that can be tricky to time, and Min Min also has options to deal with a lot of these strategies if she predicts them.
SPECIALS
Down B
So your Down B is actually a charge move, kinda like Limit Charge. For as long as you hold B, Min Min will widen her stance and “rev up” her left arm, acting as a storable charge of sorts with hardly any lag on either end. Letting go of B stores the current charge to be continued later, but getting hit out of the charge state resets your charge to zero. Down B reaches maximum charge after three seconds, but you can still hold or re-enter the charge stance after that point… y’know, if you wanna B-reverse it or something.
When you hit full charge, your left arm will flash and turn into a hefty Dragon Arm – Min Min’s signature technique! Normally your punching attacks use Min Min’s right arm, but if you’ve got a Dragon Arm active and you hold the attack button, they’ll use your left arm. Then that attack will use the Dragon Arm buff to gain a special effect! For example, the Sparky becomes an electricity-powered punch, paralyzing foes for as long as a half-charged Zero Suit Paralyzer and dealing 8% of damage instead of 6%. And thanks to the Dragon Arm’s added girth, the punch also gains special priority.* Another cool thing about Dragon Arm is that you can input another arm-based move to attack with your right arm while your left arm is already extended, allowing for more effective follow-ups! To clarify, you can only have two punches extended at once by using up a Dragon Arm charge.
*Any moves which would normally clash (i.e. put both characters involved into a recoil animation) will instead only cancel out the opponent’s move, meaning that your fist will plow straight through them.
The thing about Dragon Arm is that you’ve gotta use it wisely, though, since performing an attack with your left arm uses it up. Fortunately, unlike a Limit Break, you can choose whether or not to use it by holding or tapping the attack button. By the way, I mentioned that you can attack with your right arm while your left (charged) arm is already extended, and that also applies in reverse (i.e. not only can you do charged → uncharged punch, but also uncharged → charged punch). So you can potentially use a powered-up Dragon Arm attack to combo off of a normal punch! As for smash attacks, an uncharged punch uses the right arm, while one given any amount of charge will use the Dragon Arm if it’s charged.
Dragon Arm is generally there to give you potential for a surprise comeback, turning the tides with a powered-up punch. Your long-ranged moves give you plenty of time to charge it up over the course of a battle, and the buffs to the moves plus the ability to perform two attacks at once give you a lot of options once you’ve built up the charge. But of course, a lot of that’ll come in later moves. For example…
Neutral B
Min Min’s Neutral B uses one of her specialty ARMS: the Dragon. (Not to be confused with the Dragon Arm that you charge via Down B.) Tap B, and your fist will turn into a mechanical dragon’s head before shooting forward at an upward angle. This punch doesn’t extend the full 5 SBB, instead ending up 2 SBB in front of and 1 SBB above where you started the move. But it’ll still deal 5% of damage and moderate knockback as it travels.
The Dragon hovers at its destination for 30 frames, opening its mouth and drawing in energy. After those 30 frames are up, it’ll fire a yellow laser beam in front of it, which reaches 4 SBB and lingers for 40 frames, dealing 10% and moderate knockback. If you tap up or down while the Dragon is still flying through the air, then it’ll slowly tilt 30 degrees up or down while it fires the laser, sweeping a big area with the beam. Think of it like timing a B-reverse: tap B, then immediately tap up or down. Oh, and you can also B-reverse Neutral B, by the by.
Dragon is all about space control, able to force reactions from an opponent and cover large areas with a disjointed launcher. This is especially useful if combined with a Dragon Arm charge, since you can then use Dragon in combination with something else. For example, with a charge ready, tap Neutral B, and tap up immediately after to get the Dragon to sweep upward. Then, when the Dragon is about to fire, shoot a Dragon Arm-powered Sparky across the ground. And bam, you’ve got the Dragon covering the air and the Sparky handling the ground! If you want, you can choose to power up the Dragon instead, depending on whether you think it’s more likely for the opponent to be grounded or airborne. In this way, a Dragon Arm charge lets you cover two options while also choosing one of those options to get a bigger reward off of.
You can also, of course, choose to power up Dragon with your Dragon Arm charge. If you do that, then the laser becomes much more intense, turning reddish-orange with a coiling spiral of energy around it. This’ll turn it into a multi-hit move, dealing rapid hits of 10% across the 40 frames and then a final hit that deals 13% more and KOing from 100% from center-stage. That’s pretty insanely powerful given the amount of space Dragon covers, especially if you combine it with another attack to really scare your opponent. Just be sure not to become too predictable, since if the foe catches on, they can just attack you or your arm during the long delay, and then you’ve just wasted a Dragon Arm charge.
I mentioned that you can B-reverse Dragon earlier, which also ties into some neat combo applications. If you use it in the air with forward momentum, you can actually make it so that the Dragon ends up behind you when it fires the laser. This means you can potentially use it to follow up on certain short-ranged moves by jumping in with a Dragon and then using the melee-ranged attack to launch them into the laser. Your main short-ranged move is actually gonna be Side B:
Side B
Min Min is fundamentally a ranged fighter, but in ARMS, she’s also the only character with short-ranged kicks that can deflect punches. In Smash, these Kicks are mapped to Side B, and the kick you perform depends on A) whether you’re grounded or airborne, and B) the direction you use the move in. Uniquely, you can perform a Kick even when your arms are extended, so use this as a defensive mixup. Just don't get predictable!
Grounded Forward:
Min Min front-flips forward and kicks in a downward arc, covering a big area in front of her and moving forward a quarter of FD’s width. While unsafe on shield due to the fact that Min Min moves right into the foe’s shield-grab range, the 11% of damage and handy semi-spike make it a useful tool for setting up long-ranged attacks and tech-chases. Like the other Kicks, this attack has pretty low lag on both ends, and it’s a good way to surprise an opponent with an approach after poking from mid-range with arm attacks. You can also use the movement aspect to cross-up an opponent’s shield, or utilize its unique ability to ledge-cancel throughout the animation for tricky combos!
Grounded Backward: Acting similarly to some of Ryu’s command inputs, Min Min has a different Kick on the ground if you inputs it in the opposite direction you're currently facing. She’ll perform a backflip not unlike Bayonetta or Falcon’s backward dodge, covering the same distance as the forward Kick in terms of movement (¼ of FD). The main difference is that the kick at the start of the backflip hits the move’s point of origin, dealing the same 11% but launching the opponent at a diagonally upward angle. So it’s handy for anti-air, since it covers a good vertical area and sets the foe up for a ranged move. This angle also allows for trickier follow-ups, such as jump in with a Dragon → land and perform a backward Kick to launch the foe into the beam. The backward grounded Kick also has intangibility on startup, making it perfect for dodging attacks – and like the forward Kick, it can ledge-cancel at any point.
Aerial: In the air, it doesn't matter whether you Kick forward or backward: either way, Min Min dashes ¼ of FD to the side while performing a swift roundhouse kick, dealing 10% and low-mid knockback that doesn’t scale a whole lot. Low ending lag means that you can double-jump quickly after the Kick to get a follow-up, or you can read an airdodge and get a more powerful punish. At higher percents, it’s basically a 50-50. Whether you’re true-comboing at low percents or using a high-percent mixup, it’s usually best to end up facing in the direction you came from after the Kick, since your main tool for following up is gonna be a Bair. (More on that later.) Normally the Kick will keep you facing the same way you were at the start of the move, but you can hold B to have it turn you around with a noticeably different animation. On a similar note, an aerial Kick hits not only in the direction of travel, but also hits foes who happen to be at the spot you just left for a quick getaway.
The aerial version of Kick is probably the most versatile: it can be used for combos, tweaking your spacing in neutral, recovering, landing from juggles, and quick approaches. Offstage or near the ledge, it can even be a high-percent kill move! Keep in mind, however, that you can only use it once before landing, grabbing the ledge, or getting hit. So use this burst of quick horizontal mobility carefully!
Up B
Your last special, Up B, is Dragon’s Flight. Dragon fist equipped, Min Min leaps upward with an uppercut as flames fly from the Dragon’s jaw, dealing a fiery multi-hit as you ascend. Dragon’s Flight has notable disjoint to its hitbox, which deals 15% of damage across the whole move and KOs beginning from 150% from the ground, or earlier near the ceiling.
For recovery, it can be angled similarly to Corrin’s up special, traveling about 3 SBB at any angle between 20* (a bit above horizontal) and 85* (a bit below straight up). It’s a pretty quick recovery, and its hitbox makes it pretty safe. However, for the horizontal version, the placement of the hitbox means that you’re left open to attacks from above. The main thing that makes this recovery a bit safer than average is the generous ledge-grab range, since your springy arm is already outstretched. Like most recovery moves, Dragon’s Flight leaves you in helpless, but uniquely, you can act out of it if it’s used from the ground. At low percents, you can actually combo into something like a Kick!
With a Dragon Arm charge, Up B mainly gains more attack power, now dealing a total of 23% and KOing from the ground starting at 110%! Since it’s an arm-based attack, you can perform Up B in the middle of another arm attack by using up a charge, but you can’t perform another move while using Up B. Not only is the Dragon Arm version a devastating finisher off of a setup move – especially if you angle it all the way forward to travel a good distance across the stage – but the larger hitbox from the more intense flames makes it safer as a recovery.
STANDARDS
Forward Tilt
Forward Tilt is a return to more basic long-ranged punches, as Min Min punches forward with a Ramram arm – a sort of spinning ringed weapon – with the ring “facing” the camera (as in, Toon Link’s boomerang instead of Link’s Gale Boomerang). It travels the same distance and speed as the Sparky, but deals multiple hits adding up to 14% if you catch the foe from the very beginning of the move. Catching a foe at more of a distance, of course, results in lower distance. The final hit at the end of the Ramram’s range launches the foe with moderate knockback, sending them a fair bit further than a Sparky especially since it drags the foe along.
The big difference between this and a Sparky is that in Ftilt, the Ramram won’t stop upon hitting anything, such as a shield or opponent.* So it’s actually unsafe on block most of the time, since your arm keeps traveling – and so the opponent can just drop shield and quickly punish. To make up for that, though, Ftilt has a bit of a better reward than a Sparky, since it sends the foe really far all things considered. A lot of the time, it actually sends them offstage! And while it’s not safe on block, Ftilt deals a decent bit of shield damage due to its multi-hit properties, especially at the very end.
*If the LAST hit hits something, it’ll retract right away.
When charged up with a Dragon Arm, the Ramram gains a Fire effect, dealing 20% total (the extra 6% is all in the final hit). Also, the final hit launches the opponent toward Min Min instead of away, leading to new combo opportunities with up-close attacks like a Kick or other moves that’ll come a bit later. At low percents, it’s more of a move to set up into other ranged attacks. The final thing that comes with charge is that the Ramram grows quite a bit in size, making for a larger hitbox!
Up Tilt
Up Tilt uses the Ramram again, this time fired at a slightly downward initial angle. It’ll soon curve upward, making an arc of a trajectory that still goes the same horizontal distance in the same amount of time. Unexpectedly for an up tilt, this move actually doesn’t hit very high except at the very end of the path, since it dips down before then. During this initial travel, the Ramram deals 8% of damage and pops the opponent up a fair bit, and the arm retracts upon hitting an opponent. Handy for certain combo setups.
If the Ramram doesn’t hit anything initially, the arm itself will retract at the end of its path, but like in ARMS, the Ramram disc will detach and fly through the air in a curving arc as it returns to Min Min. This covers the air between the end of the path and Min Min’s location, dealing 7% of damage and weak knockback toward Min Min. This makes Up Tilt quite the handy anti-air tool, even if the high-hitting part is telegraphed due to the initial punch. It has the distinction of having a hitbox while the arm retracts, as well as the disc itself being disjointed / a pseudo-projectile (but it can’t be reflected).
A Dragon Arm charge once again gives the Ramram a Fire effect, but this only affects the power of the second part of Up Tilt, now dealing 11% of damage and more knockback, which brings more hitstun too. The initial hit, meanwhile, no longer stops upon hitting something, meaning that it pops opponents up into the second part of the move, which is pretty much guaranteed. So a charged Up Tilt basically guarantees a close-ranged follow-up if you land either part of the move!
Down Tilt
From a crouch, Min Min uses the Ramram yet again, this time with the disc flat to the ground. The punch itself this time has half the distance and half the travel time, making for a quick move that’s good for mid-range poking. It deals 9% and a semi-spike that almost always forces a tech, so it’s also a good move to use for proper attacking. Tech-chases are definitely a favorable situation for Min Min to force – long-ranged punches are ideal for covering multiple options!
If the initial part of Down Tilt doesn’t hit anything (if it does, it retracts), then it’ll release the Ramram disc as it travels the remaining half of the 5 SBB as a non-reflectable, boomeranging projectile, dealing 8% of damage and knockback at a normal diagonal angle. This adds to Dtilt’s reach and gives it an amount of disjoint, but doesn’t give you the reward of a tech-chase. Down Tilt in general only hits very low to the ground, too, so that’s the main thing to keep in mind here. One final thing to note is that Dtilt’s projectile doesn’t stop upon hitting anything, and has a returning hitbox which deals 6% of damage and weaker knockback. So it actually has kinda similar applications to a returning Tink boomerang for combos and such, but the shorter range means you can’t really surprise anyone with it.
As for the Dragon Arm version of Dtilt, it keeps with the general theme of Fire-based Ramram attacks. The initial half of the move explodes in a little burst of fire upon hitting a foe, dealing 14% of damage and launching the opponent with low power toward Min Min. Since it launches the foe backward, it can be used as a DI mixup, since it sends the foe in the opposite direction they’d expect. So if they hold away from you to escape a combo, a charged-up Dtilt can throw them off!
If the initial part of Dtilt doesn’t hit, the projectile part is mostly the same. However, upon reaching maximum distance, the Ramram will hover in place for half a second and charge up with fiery energy before launching in the direction it came from at high speeds, dealing 16% and KOing horizontally near the edge at 80%! It’s pretty telegraphed, but a good way to put some real pressure on an opponent or catch them by surprise.
Dash Attack
Dash Attack is a more conventional move, as Min Min lunges forward and punches ahead of herself with an outstretched Dragon fist, acting as a multi-hit similar to Up B. Your arm doesn’t actually stretch out during this move, so it “only” reaches about 1 SBB in front of you, but Min Min travels a good amount of distance in this burst of speed, so its effective range is quite a bit longer. The move deals 11% if you hit with the whole thing, launching the opponent with a semi-spike at the end to set up a tech-chase. Dash Attack has pretty average lag on startup for this type of move, but its range really sets it apart. The downside is that you can just jump over Min Min really easily to counter it, or shield the multi-hits to punish the rather long endlag.
Since Dash Attack is a canned animation rather than a special attack, you can’t use it at the same time as another arm attack by consuming a Dragon Arm charge. However, you can power up Dash Attack via a charge, which only affects the last hit. The dragon’s jaws chomp shut as it lets out a fiery explosion, adding 11% of additional damage to the end of the move and sending Min Min backward in a burst of recoil momentum. Not only does this also allow Dash Attack to KO near the ledge at around 80%, but the recoil makes it safe on shield! Unless your opponent has a really quick, long-range punish, but even then it won’t typically be a huge reward.
SMASHES
Forward Smash
Forward Smash uses the Megawatt arm, a giant wrecking ball of a fist which in ARMS is known for its devastating damage and ability to plow through smaller punches. The uncharged version of Fsmash has it move forward slowly like in ARMS, taking a whole 70 frames to travel the normal distance of 5 SBB. This is actually great for covering space, especially since Forward Smash has the same increased priority of a Dragon Arm-charged move – but all the time! So you can beat out almost any other move with a Megawatt, since it deals a whopping 17% of damage.* The catch? Since that arm takes so long to reach its destination, it also won’t retract for a while. So if a foe rolls, jumps, or spot-dodges past the Megawatt, you’re left wide open to a punish during that long travel time, such as the foe attacking your springy arm. The uncharged Fsmash doesn’t really have a lot of killing power, but it can plow through multiple targets if you hold A after firing it. If you don’t hold A, it’ll retract upon hitting something, just like normal.
*To start beating out a Megawatt, a move has to deal at least 26% of damage!
When you charge this smash attack, it instead turns into a different type of move entirely, as Min Min plants her feet in the ground to brace for a strong impact. Then the massive Megawatt fires forward at high speeds, taking only 20 frames to extend 5 SBB while dealing 17% to 24% of damage depending on charge, KOing from the ledge at 110%~70%. This is pretty powerful for a long-ranged move, but the catch is that since Min Min needs to brace for the impact, she can’t move or act while the Megawatt is out. You can use Dragon Arm to use a charged Fsmash while your other fist is out, though, so take advantage of that surprise kill option!
Speaking of Dragon Arm, a charged Fsmash will use it to gain an electric stun effect, similarly to a Sparky, as well as growing to an absolutely massive size. This boosts the damage to 20%~28%, as well as stunning foes for 0.5~1 second to open up combos at low percents. If they’re at high damage, though, the increased knockback means that a combo usually isn’t necessary to get the most out of this move – they’re dead anyway.
Up Smash
Up Smash is your other main non-arm-based move, as Min Min performs a Generic Flipkick™ to cover a big area above her. The sweetspot in front of Min Min deals 12%~17% and KOs vertically from 100%~80%, while the rest of the kick only deals 9%~13% and KOs from 130%~100%. Usmash is best used as an anti-air move to stuff aerial approaches, such as a tomahawk grab attempt, or as a way to get the opponent off of you as an alternative to Side B. Like Side B, by the way, you can use Usmash while an arm is extended, so it’s a good surprise kill move in that sense. Usmash has pretty average lag for a smash attack, so it’s a good, reliable kill move as a bit of a last resort. Since your up-close options are generally limited, Usmash isn’t something you specifically want to look for – you’re better off keeping the foe at a distance, and using this only when you need to.
Down Smash
Down Smash uses the Tri-Blast arm, leaping up and firing it downward – its three small projectiles cover a pretty big area below you. Each bolt deals 9%~13% and mid-power upward knockback. Since you’re left in the air after Dsmash ends, you can actually combo off of the knockback at low percents, while at high percents it sets up a juggle. Like the charged version of Fsmash, a Dragon Arm lets you use Dsmash in the middle of an arm attack, but not vice-versa. Dsmash is a pretty unique tool, since it lets you cover a pretty wide area of the ground while also leaping out of hARM’S way, but its long duration means the foe can easily jump and intercept you with an aerial. At the ledge, one of the bolts will go underneath the stage, reaching 5 SBB for a great edgeguarding strategy. It’s like Villager’s bowling ball, but not quite as deadly.
With a Dragon Arm charge, a charged Dsmash gains an Explosion effect, dealing 15%~21% and KOing vertically from 90%~70%. Other than the increased power and hitbox size due to the explosions, Dsmash doesn’t change much other than that. In practice, though, a Dragon Arm Dsmash makes for an extremely scary option, covering a huge area with a powerful kill move! Since you can use it in the middle of another move thanks to the Dragon Arm charge, try baiting a foe into hitting you while your arm is extended before dodging their attack with a Dsmash – plus giving them an explosive surprise to boot.
AERIALS
Forward Air
Min Min once again uses a Megawatt fist (although smaller than the one in Fsmash), the main difference here being that this time the fist actually obeys gravity. After falling and hitting the ground, it’ll then bounce back up a height of 1.5 SBB, making for a tricky trajectory to deal with! From a full-hop’s height, it’ll typically fall to the ground and then reach the apex of the first bounce. The speed and horizontal range of the punch are the same as a normal punch, and it deals 9% and moderate knockback. Fair excels as an air-to-ground attack, and can also cover the air at longer distances due to the bounce.
When charged with a Dragon Arm, Fair gains electric attributes, adding a moderate stun effect as well as boosting it to 15% of damage and making the fist itself bigger. This mainly serves to give you a bigger reward when attacking air-to-ground, as well as when edgeguarding against low recoveries. Its unique trajectory makes it excellent for covering different options when throwing two punches at once, since it covers both the air and the ground at different times.
Back Air
Bair is unique in that it’s an arm attack that doesn’t hit at long range: Min Min holds out a Ramram right behind herself as it spins like a buzzsaw for a multi-hit melee attack. Like a normal aerial, it has an actual animation, meaning that you can use a Dragon Arm charge to use it in the middle of something else but not vice-versa. Bair deals 12% overall, and the final hit launches opponents weakly at a diagonally upward angle. So it’s awesome for comboing at low-to-mid percents, but the tricky thing is that Bair also turns you around. So you can’t just do Bair → Bair; instead, you’d want to do something like Bair → Side B in the same direction you Baired while also turning around → Bair. The tricky thing is getting that string started, since Min Min typically plays a more range-based game, so she won’t often be in melee range. Maybe off of Utilt’s projectile? Bair is quick to start and to end, so its low duration means that it’s also ideal for turning around quickly in midair in order to face the opponent and start throwing some punches.
Dragon Arm basically turns Bair into a fiery kill move, boosting its damage to 20% and giving it a semi-spike that KOs outright from 80% at the ledge. It’s about as quick as ever, meaning that a Dragon Arm charge also makes Min Min terrifying at close-range just because of Bair. It KOs at a low percent already, but the low-angle semi-spike is the scariest thing about Dragon Arm Bair, since it puts opponents in the perfect position for a gimp using your long-ranged attacks. Neutral B, Dsmash, and Fair are notable ways to edgeguard a recovery from a distance, while Up B, Side B, and another Bair are good for getting up close and personal.
Up Air
Once again using a Ramram, Minmin throws it upward and at a forward angle, about 20* to the side. Similarly to Utilt, it’ll then curve around, reaching 4 SBB above Min Min and covering a decent bit of width. The arm itself deals 9% and moderate upward knockback, while the detached Ramram deals 6% and sends opponents downward with a weak meteor smash for a potential follow-up. Most of the move’s properties are similar to Utilt, but since this version goes straight up, it’s ideal for juggling opponents above you. The main thing about Uair is that its “startup animation” is a bit longer than the average arm attack, so if the opponent dodges the attack, they can punish it rather easily. Another use for Uair is as a follow-up off of Bair, thanks to Bair’s more upward-angled knockback.
With a Dragon Arm, Uair just gains more attack power thanks to the fiery boost: the arm deals 17% and KOs vertically from 110% at ground level, while the detached Ramram deals 15% and actually sends the opponent a good distance downward, potentially KOing. The general theme with Dragon Arm attacks is making the opponent scared, and Uair is no exception, as Min Min now has a deadly anti-air threat to work with.
Down Air
Finally, for Down Air, Min Min brings back the Megawatt one last time and performs a front-flip while facing more toward the camera. The Megawatt arm swings around Min Min during the flip before slamming down as a spike hitbox, at a distance of 4 SBB below her. Since the Megawatt doesn’t travel straight down and instead kind of comes in from the foreground, the hitbox only starts 4 SBB below her, and can’t hit foes directly next to Min Min. That hitbox is devastatingly powerful, though, dealing 15% and a spike a bit more powerful than Captain Falcon’s stomp. Dair is a canned animation just like Bair due to the sheer weight of the Megawatt, so it can be punished if you just randomly throw it out. But your arm is actually invulnerable during the attack, so there’s that. Dair is basically Min Min’s go-to for devastating, kinda risky edgeguards when she doesn’t have a Dragon Arm charged up.
Speaking of Dragon Arm, it only serves to make Dair even more powerful, giving it electric properties and boosting the damage to 25%. Not only that, but the spike’s power exceeds even that of Ganon’s stomp! Needless to say, it’s pretty much a one-hit kill if you’re unfortunate enough to be put offstage in this scenario.
GRAB GAME
Grab
Finally we have Min Min’s grab, and as you might expect, it’s quite different from other grabs in the game. Min Min throws both of her arms forward as they spread out a little bit and emit a coil of green energy between them. They travel at the same rate and distance as a normal punch, but since the fists are spread out to either side, the opponent can’t attack the fists themselves; they’ll just get grabbed, unless it’s super-disjointed to the point where it hits the springy arms themselves. So basically, the opponent needs to react differently to Grab than to a normal punch attack, which means it can be used as a mixup. Since it uses both arms, though, you can’t use it during another attack, even with a Dragon Arm charge. That said, you can walk / kick / etc during Grab.
Upon successfully grabbing an opponent, Min Min pulls them toward her, with the option to pummel by kneeing the opponent for 3% of damage with average speed.
Grab can also be used in midair, acting just like normal (instead of acting like other zairs). If Min Min ever happens to be in midair right when the grab connects, she’ll instead pull herself to the opponent before immediately performing a backflip kick type thing, dealing 12% of damage and sending the foe at a 45* downward angle with decent knockback. It won’t kill until about 90% offstage, but sets up nicely for tech-chases and gimps.
Min Min also has a tether recovery; if the midair grab makes contact with a ledge, she’ll pull herself to it, then acting like a normal zair.
Forward Throw
Min Min hops up and performs a rapid-fire barrage of stomp-like kicks on the opponent, no longer needing to hold the foe in place with her arms. After these kicks, she dons a Dragon fist and hits the opponent with a wind-up straight punch, launching at a semi-spike angle for decent knockback. The throw deals 14% total, and is an awesome way to set up either tech-chases or edgeguards depending on position and percent.
To use your Dragon Arm charge on a throw, just hold the direction of the throw during the initial startup. Forward Throw gains an explosion on the Dragon fist, adding 9% more damage to the end of the throw and giving it the ability to KO at the ledge from 70%. Keep in mind that since you won’t usually be grabbing right from the ledge, that’ll normally look like something closer to 90% or so, but still… pretty scary.
Up Throw
After tossing the opponent up and forward a small distance, Min Min throws a Ramram disc at the opponent, dragging the opponent diagonally upward along the full distance of a normal punch with rapid multi-hits. Uthrow deals 12% of damage in total, and the final hit deals moderate knockback with low scaling. The cool thing about Uthrow is that it puts the opponent high up in the air and in front of you, meaning that you can challenge their landing from a relatively safe distance using long-ranged punches. So it’s pretty much ideal for setting up edgeguards against high recoveries, or just a juggle situation if you’re far away from the ledge. It puts the foe in a pretty bad spot overall.
Dragon Arm turns the last hit of Uthrow into an explosion, adding an additional 7% to the final hit and sending the opponent diagonally downwards (angled a bit away from Min Min) with decent power. It won’t kill at low percents since it drags the foe upward (away from the bottom blast zone), but does have the ability to set up deep edgeguards, or to send the opponent into another punch attack. I should probably mention this, by the way: the ability to use Dragon Arm to throw two punches simultaneously also extends to throws. In other words, if you use Dragon Arm on a throw, you can throw a punch before the animation ends! In Uthrow’s case, it’s awesome for follow-ups. And of course, if you use a normal throw and have a charge to burn, you can use a Dragon Arm attack out of the throw too.
Back Throw
Min Min grabs the opponent with a Dragon’s mouth and performs a motion similar to Toon Link’s back throw, bending over backward and swinging the opponent overhead as her arms stretch out. This actually means that Bthrow is handy for hitting other opponents (or minions / etc), dealing 12% and KOing vertically with similar power to Mario’s usmash, but that’s besides the point. Unlike Tink’s bthrow, this one slams the foe into the ground, forcing a tech. At high percents, failure to tech results in a bounce, which Min Min can combo off of. Either way, you can really capitalize on the tech-chase here.
If you have a Dragon Arm charge, go for a charged Forward Smash: the ability to start the move during the throw animation (because of Dragon Arm) means you can charge it up for a while, and the speed at which it covers that distance means that you can cover most – if not all – of the opponent’s tech options! The opponent lands roughly a tech-roll’s distance away from Min Min, so the main thing is that you might need to time it differently depending on the tech option.
Near the ledge, you can actually send the opponent straight down off the stage with this throw. It’s not super-powerful to the point where it’d actually kill outside of really high percents, but of course, it’s ideal for an edgeguard, such as Dair.
As for Dragon Arm, the Dragon fist will now explode once it hits a surface, adding 7% of extra damage and launching the opponent forward – so they end up a moderate distance in front of Min Min. The applications are obvious: the foe is still roughly in arm’s reach, so hit them with a follow-up! Especially since that Dragon Arm lets you throw a punch at the same time as you throw your opponent.
Down Throw
With a quick kick to the gut, Min Min knocks the opponent flat onto their back before using a Ramram like a buzzsaw, grinding it into the opponent for a multi-hit that deals a total of 17%. It deals low knockback at a diagonally upward angle, with super-low base knockback but rather high scaling. So at low percents it’s an awesome combo tool, able to lead into a Side B, Up B, and sometimes a dashing Usmash or RAR Bair. At high percents, meanwhile, it can actually kill at the ledge from 110% – but given the ranged aspect of Grab, you usually won’t land it right at the edge of the stage. Since it sends the opponent diagonally upward, it’s also not something you can combo off of at high percents.
Dragon Arm turns Dthrow into a bit of a different beast, as the final hit’s fire aspect boosts the total damage from 17% to a whopping 24%! Not only that, but the knockback scaling is actually lowered, while base knockback is increased. So basically, it’s an insanely powerful throw that combos within a super-wide percent range. Watch out for that one. If you happen to land a grab at the ledge and the opponent has about 110%, you should just go for a normal Dthrow to get that kill power.
OVERVIEW
Offense
Long-ranged attacks give Min Min unique pressuring options, but she lacks good close-range burst moves.
Defense
Her ranged attacks are ideal for walling opponents out if she plays her cards right.
Advantage
Min Min has a lot of ways to pressure an opponent while in advantage state thanks to long range, respectable attack power, and devastating Dragon Arm moves to turn the tides.
Disadvantage
On the other hand, Min Min has trouble escaping pressure, combos, and being cornered due to her lack of get-off-me moves, and she’s in trouble if one of her arm attacks gets punished.
Mobility
Min Min’s movement stats are alright, and her Kicks give her a handy mobility tool.
Range
This one’s pretty obvious.
Survivability
Min Min’s low weight means she’ll die pretty early, but her Kicks and Up B give her the tools she needs to recover back to the stage pretty often, as well as having a tether to mix things up.
The year is 30XX. Mankind has (somehow) managed to achieve world peace, master interstellar travel, and successfully create alliances with civilizations from other galaxies. Indeed, things were great for Man. That is, until IT appeared on the radar…
Many planets had met their ends from the same fate. Many had fought, none had survived. The beast known only as The Maw had consumed every world it set its sights on. And now, it had spotted the Earth. Understandably, Mankind panicked once they noticed it coming. They created a task force of the greatest minds on Earth in an attempt to destroy the Maw. This team, known as B-12, consisted of the universe's finest scholars, mechanics, and tacticians. Together, they devised a plan: kill the Maw from within.
The fated day arrived; the Maw was sure to land on Earth any moment. The first phase of B-12's plan was underway: activate a powerful force field around the Earth just before the Maw landed. While the hulking abomination broke through, the carefully crafted barrier performed its duty: knocking the beast unconscious. Now, a young man by the name of Tim Jection must enter the body of the Maw and destroy it piece by piece. Luckily for him, he has been outfitted with B-12's masterpiece: the Gel Supplement. The Gel is one of several suits specially crafted to survive the Maw's body and has multiple unique weapons systems designed to destroy the beast's strange organs.
With the help of xenobiologist Professor Sharpe Molar and ace mechanic "Grease", Tim may just stand a chance…
INNARD TURMOIL is a fictional video game of my own design. I plan to create some movesets, stages, and perhaps more for MYM. Please look forward to seeing movesets in future MYM contests, as well as the impending release of the first INNARD TURMOIL set before the end of this MYM!
Father Canine is the affable head of the ominous Church of the All-Consuming Void. Under his guidance, the Church give their lives to serve the Maw from within its massive body. Unfortunately for them, the creature is totally unaware of their contributions; however, Canine and his Children of the Void have learned to manipulate the creature's involuntary actions to their benefit. Canine is a pragmatic, cowardly man, and doesn't particularly enjoy fair fights. In INNARD TURMOIL, he only attacks the player when he feels that he has an advantage over them. His eerie mask is made up of the bones of the Maw itself as well as those of followers that have lost their lives in the unforgiving body of the Maw; it is dyed a deep purple with the Maw's blood. His robes, once white, have been died a sickly green with the Maw's bile. His beloved bowler hat was a gift from his father, and never leaves his head; it too was once white, but Canine's position required him to dye his beloved hat as well. Canine has a unique mechanic in that each of his Specials activate a special stance from which he can use a different, more limited move set.
Specials: For Lo, She Will Consume All In The End…
Neutral Special – Coward's Step
Canine throws his hands up before retreating a few steps. When he does so, he suffers a split second of lag, then a short period of invincibility. This period acts identically to a dodge roll. Once this period ends, he will step back twice more before the move ends automatically. All in all, the move lasts roughly 1 second. During this move, Canine enters the Coward Stance. Canine has a few unique lines that play when using this move to dodge attacks from certain characters, especially INNARD TURMOIL characters.
Coward Stance:
Signified by Canine walking backwards with his hands held out in front of him. Coward Stance is slightly slower than Canine's walk speed. This stance allows access to three moves: Excommunicate, Silver Tongue, and Indoctrinate. Coward Stance can be canceled by shielding or jumping, but Canine will suffer some endlag as punishment. Should Canine come to a ledge while retreating, he'll simply walk in place.
Coward Stance Special: Excommunicate
While retreating, Canine suddenly pulls a large bone from his robe before savagely swinging it with all his might. This is by far the laggier option from Coward Stance, with the endlag being especially painful. However, the move deals a nasty 13% and knocks the foe into a sliding prone position. This move has above-average range, roughly equal to Marth's Shield Breaker. Additionally, this move has a somewhat unique effect on shielding foes: it causes them to slide across the stage rapidly. This can be great to keep shield-happy foes away from Canine. Using Excommunicate ends Coward Stance.
Coward Stance Standard: Silver Tongue
Canine owes much of his success to his charismatic personality and smooth talking. Here, he puts his words to good use. When this move is activated, Canine continues retreating while speaking kind words to the foe. This is represented by him babbling gibberish and a silver, illegible speech bubble flying forwards from his person. This bubble accelerates as it flies forwards, starting at Mario's walk speed and capping at Sonic's dash after crossing Final Destination. Should it hit a foe, they suffer 7% and flinch. This move is unique in that it can destroy nearly any projectile in the game and interrupt most non-armored moves. This allows Canine to talk his way out of bad situations, but do note that Silver Tongue projectiles are mutually destroyed when interrupting a projectile. Using Silver Tongue extends Coward Stance for two more steps. Canine must endure a short cool down before using this move again, but it's very simple to chain them together and continue Coward Stance indefinitely. Do note: Silver Tongue does NOT have the dodge qualities of Coward's Step.
Coward Stance Grab: Indoctrinate
From his retreating walk, Canine, with very little startup lag, lunges forward a Bowser length in an attempt to grab a foe. Should he connect, he chuckles good-naturedly as he hugs the victim tightly. This friendly gesture deals 8% and no knockback, but has one major benefit: the lunge is armored and nearly impossible to interrupt. Being a command grab, Indoctrinate can grab shielding foes. Should this move miss, Canine suffers some rather harsh endlag. This move ends Coward Stance.
Side Special – Pilgrimage
Canine claps his hands together, bows his head, and begins marching forwards solemnly. The clap deals 5% and causes the victim to flinch, but the main purpose of this move is to enter Procession Stance.
Procession Stance:
Signified by Canine walking forwards with his hands clasped and head bowed. Much like Coward Stance, Procession Stance is slightly slower than Canine's walk speed. This stance gives access to four moves: Bless, Sacrifice, Pardon, and Ascend. This stance can be canceled by shielding, but Canine will suffer some lag if he does so. Otherwise, he will remain in the Stance for roughly one second before it ends automatically.
Procession Stance Special - Bless
Canine calmly removes an ornate bottle of acid from his sleeve before tossing it forwards. The acid lands roughly a Kirby length ahead of him and creates a large puddle. Anyone standing in this puddle (even Canine himself) takes constant , rapid damage. These puddles last 5 seconds, and only one can be onstage at a time. Hitting a foe with the bottle itself deals 6% and flinching, but does not create a puddle. This move ends Procession Stance.
Procession Stance Standard - Sacrifice
While Canine remains in Procession Stance, one of his mask's teeth glints brightly. This signifies that Sacrifice is ready. Should any foe attack Canine, he will instantaneously pull a large dagger from his sleeve and stab them, dealing a nasty 15% and causing a Crumple effect like Ryu's Focus Attack. However, this move is very clearly telegraphed and only hits if Canine successfully counters a foe's attack. Inputting this move refreshes the duration of Procession Stance, but landing it immediately ends the Stance.
Procession Stance Grab - Pardon
Canine pulls another ornate bottle from his sleeve while making a grab motion with his other hand. Should he grab a foe, he will pour the bottle's contents on his victim. This heals the foe for one fourth of their current damage, but the healing comes at a cost: they take constant, rapid damage that leaves them with 1.25 times the damage they began with. For example, a foe with 100% damage would be healed 25%, then take 50% over time, leaving them with 125%. The damage racks up fairly quickly, making this a frightful move. This move ends Procession Stance, and cannot be used on a foe already suffering from its effects.
Procession Stance Jump - Ascension
Not quite an attack, this input immediately ends Procession Stance and puts Canine into Enlightened Stance.
Up Special – Reach Enlightenment
Canine looks skyward as a beam of light envelopes him, pulling him skyward at the speed of Duck Hunt's Up Special even if used on the ground. While this move seems overtly supernatural, the beam is in fact a tractor beam emitted by a spacecraft from within the Maw. Entering the beam will forcibly pull any fighter upwards at half the speed that Canine is pulled, allowing this move to kill foes that are close enough to the top blastzone. Unusually for a recovery, this move can kill Canine off the top blastzone. The beam covers a Bowser length, and is centered on Canine. Once Canine lands, he enters Enlightened Stance. The light lasts for roughly half a second, and can only be used once in the air.
Enlightened Stance:
Signified by Canine looking skyward and raising his hands high above his head. Unlike Coward Stance and Procession Stance, Canine does not move automatically during this stance. He can, however, move left and right at a rate slightly slower than his walk speed. From this stance, Canine has access to four moves: Damnation, Admonish, Offering, and Penance. This stance can be cancelled by shielding or jumping, but Canine will suffer some lag; the Stance naturally ends after a second if no inputs are made.
Enlightened Stance Special - Damnation
Using this move causes an eerie blue light to shine down upon Canine. This light forces anything within it downwards at double it's normal fall speed. This light covers a Bowser length, and is centered on Canine. The light lasts for roughly a second, and deals no damage. Using this move ends Enlightened Stance, but gives Canine a small window of movement before the light fades.
Enlightened Stance Standard - Admonish
With very low startup, Canine slams his arms downwards while shouting sharply. This move has decent range and deals 9% and a very short stun. The main purpose of this stun is to help Canine escape particularly aggressive foes. This move ends Enlightened Stance.
Enlightened Stance Grab - Offering
Canine suddenly lowers his head and attempts to grab his foe. Should he succeed, he will hoist them high above his head as a brilliant light shines down from above, pulling the victim up slowly. Since this beam is identical to the Up Special, it can kill foes off the top blastzone. This move is designed to force foes to play by Canine's rules. This move ends Enlightened Stance.
Enlightened Stance Crouch - Penance
Canine quickly sinks to his knees, bows his head, and places his hands in his lap. This is not an attack, but quickly puts Canine in Altar Stance.
Down Special – Beseech
Canine quickly bows his head and drops to his knees. There is a hitbox on Canine's head during this that deals 6% and decent knockback. More importantly, this puts Canine in Altar Stance.
Altar Stance:
Signified by Canine kneeling with his head bowed and hands in his lap. Canine cannot move during the Stance, but has access to 4 moves: Angels, Intervention, Fellowship, and Revelation.. This Stance can be cancelled by jumping, or will naturally end after one second.
Altar Stance Special - Angels
Canine audibly mumbles a request for help, and, soon after, three white blood cells appear from the top blastzone. These cells are each the size of Kirby and hover about at his dash speed. The cells ostensibly protect Canine, but can in fact attack him as well. They boast two attacks: a short ranged charge and an infinite range projectile. The charge is a bit slow, and deals 7% and knockback that KO's at 175%. The projectiles fly at the speed of Luigi's Fireball, and ignore gravity. They deal 4% and a short stun. Each "Angel" has 35 HP, and Canine cannot summon any more until all three are dead. Once the Angels are dead, Canine must endure a 5-Second Cooldown before more can be summoned. He will flash white to signify that the summon is ready. This move ends Altar Stance.
Altar Stance Standard: Intervention
Canine throws his head back and his hands to the sky, crying out for help. Suddenly, a large tentacle lowers from the top blast zone. This tentacle is as wide as Marth, and stretches until it is a Kirby above Canine's head. It cannot pass through platforms. This tentacle writhes around constantly in an attempt to slap fighters silly. It's repetitive swings cover a rather large area, but said area is focused around the tentacle's tip, meaning the bulk of it is harmless. Luckily, by inputting this move while a tentacle is out, Canine can have it slowly retract, then have it stop at the desired height. The tentacle's slaps deal a nasty 9% and KO at 165%, but Canine is not immune to its onslaught. The tentacle remains on stage until it's 45 HP is depleted. If Canine has the tentacle retract all the way back up, then summons it again, its HP is NOT replenished; it must be killed before he can summon a fresh one. Once a tentacle is killed, Canine must endure a 7-Second Cooldown before it can be summoned again. He will flash purple to signify when it is ready. This move ends Altar Stance.
Altar Stance Shield: Fellowship
Canine makes a somewhat sinister hand gesture while chuckling, then exits Altar Stance. Shortly afterward, a Child of the Void drops from the top blast zone. This loyal follower of Canine roams the stage, controlled by a LVL 3 AI. The Child of the Void is precisely Marth's height, and has Luigi's weight. They have an invisible percentage meter, meaning they follow the same KO rules as a normal fighter. Children of the Void are generally somewhat docile, but fly into a rage if Canine is damaged; they will chase his attacker down until they land a successful attack. Otherwise, they simply wander about aimlessly, attacking foes that happen to get close. Children of the Void have a very limited moveset consisting of: Excommunicate, Indoctrinate, Bless, and Sacrifice. They also have access to a rather generic stab of their knife that serves a dual purpose as their "Jab" and sole Aerial; this stab deals 5% and light shoving knockback. Unlike Canine, the Children of the Void do not enter Stances. While the Children of the Void are great allies to Canine, he is NOT immune to their attacks. Once a Child of the Void is summoned, Canine cannot summon another until the current one is killed and 10 seconds have passed. When another Child can be summoned, Canine flashes red.
Altar Stance Grab: Revelation
Canine lowers his head even farther, quietly chuckling in a sinister manner. After a moment of this laughter, Canine slowly stands back up, still hanging his head and chuckling. After a Warlock Punch startup passes, Canine suddenly snaps his head up and abruptly stops laughing. Once this happens, a massive (Bowser-sized) chunk of bone and metal falls from the top blastzone at Sonic's Dash speed. This "boulder" lands roughly a 1/2 Battlefield from Canine and deals an absolutely devastating 35% and pitfalls its unfortunate victim. However, should it hit the ground without hitting anyone, it will simply burst into harmless shrapnel. Revelation is a powerful move, but Canine can be easily hit out of it and can in fact be hit by the boulder himself.
Standards: …And The End Is Nigh, My Friends…
Jab: Canine performs a quick swipe with his right hand (4%), then follows up with his left (5%). This two-hit Jab is quick and has more range than one would expect, but pushes the foe away far enough that comboing is somewhat awkward. Pausing and moving the camera reveals that Canine uses two concealed knives in this move.
Dash Attack: Canine performs a quick "dodge" of sorts, nearly halting his momentum for a split second as he crouches slightly and slides forwards. At first, this move doesn't seem to have a hitbox, but dodging through an opponent will cause Canine to quickly stab them as he goes. This deals 7% and places the victim in prone. It's worth noting that this move does NOT actually function as a dodge.
F-tilt: Canine performs a polite bow, taking advantage of his bulky, bony mask to sneakily hit the foe. This move is rather slow, but deals a nice 8% and some handy knockback. Canine's head is lightly armored during this move.
U-tilt: With minimal startup, Canine tosses a rather ornate knife upwards, suffering a short, but noticeable bit of endlag. This knife flies at Pikachu's Dash speed, and has infinite range. It deals 6% and causes the foe to flinch. No worries about spamming this move; Canine seems to have a limitless supply of knives…
D-tilt: Canine casually attempts to trip the foe. This is a very short ranged move, requiring Canine to get very close to his target. However, should it hit, he will immediately Dash to his tripped victim and stomp them, dealing 9% and leaving them in prone. This followup is unavoidable.
Smashes:… Soon, All Will Return To The Abyss…
F-Smash: Canine bows his head slightly while charging, and an observant player will notice him quietly attempting to retrieve something from his voluminous sleeve. Once the charge is released, Canine suffers a bit of startup before performing a rapid series of stabs with one of his numerous ceremonial knives. This move is dangerous, dealing between 15-22% and causing a Crumple effect similar to Ryu's Focus Attack. Thankfully, Canine suffers some hefty endlag and the move's range leaves much to be desired. If this move is fully charged, Canine leaves his knife in the foe's body; this is merely cosmetic, and it drops off of them after a while.
U-Smash: While charging, Canine looks skyward while reaching for something in the pocket of his robe. Once the charge is released, he takes a moment to pull out a large bone before performing an upward swing with it. This swing is one of Canine's main KO moves, dealing 12-22% and KO'ing from 175-160%. The startup lag on this is somewhat unfortunate, but there is little endlag.
D-Smash: Canine stands perfectly still while charging. When the move is released, he quickly tosses down an ornate bottle of acid, causing a large splash around him. This splash causes a sort of "poison" effect, making foes constantly take damage for a few seconds. The duration of the "poison" status varies from 1-3 seconds depending on the charge time.
Aerials: …And We Shall Be Uplifted Into Her Grasp
N-Air: Canine throws his arms up and out, as though praising The Maw. This serves as a simple N-Air, dealing 4% and light knockback that will never KO.
F-air: Canine spins around quickly, whipping the train of his robe forwards. This move has rather long range for an aerial and boasts a disjointed hitbox. This whip deals 7% and KO's at 180%.
B-air: Canine quickly swipes behind him with a knife. This swipe covers most of his back, and has decent range for a B-Air, but is somewhat slow. This swipe deals 9% and KO's at 170%.
U-air: Similar to the U-Tilt, this move has Canine toss a knife upwards; the knife still deals 6% and flinching. However, this has an advantage in that it can be used up to 5 times in the air.
D-air: Canine quickly flips over and plummets mask-first to the ground. This is a relatively simple stall-and-fall D-Air, dealing 10% and a moderately powerful spike. Canine suffers a bit of endlag when landing, but less than some of the heavier fighters with similar moves.
Grab: With little startup, Canine extends his hand as though attempting a handshake. Should he connect, he'll quickly pull the foe into a full grab. Dashing increases the range of this grab as well as its lag.
Pummel: Canine quickly stabs the foe. This is a very quick pummel, but only deals 2% a pop.
F-throw: Canine releases the foe before quickly swinging a large bone into them. This deals 8% and sends the foe sliding across the stage in prone. If a Child of the Void is nearby, they will pursue the sliding foe and attempt to use Indoctrinate once said foe stands.
B-throw: Canine quickly slides behind the foe before viciously backstabbing them. This deals 7% and causes a Crumple effect. If a Child of the Void is nearby, they will perform their Jab on the Crumpling foe.
U-throw: Canine holds the foe high in the air for a moment before tossing them upwards. If a Child of the Void is around, they will quickly rush to the thrown foe and attempt to hit them with Excommunicate. This throw deals 6%.
D-throw: Canine roughly drops the foe before gleefully stomping them into the ground. This deals 9% and leaves the foe prone. If a Child of the Void is nearby, they will use Bless on the prone foe.
Final Smash: Return To The Void!
Canine laughs maniacally as the screen darkens rapidly. Once it becomes nearly impossible to see, he quickly dashes forwards roughly a 1/2 Battlefield. Should he hit a foe, they are treated to a cutscene in which Canine and several Children of the Void carry them off to a massive pit of stomach acid. Canine says a few words, then his congregation begin to toss the victim into the pit. Suddenly, the camera fades to black…. Once it returns, Canine is standing alone over the prone foe, who is now down a stock and temporarily invulnerable.
Extras: Can I Get An Amen?
Up Taunt: Canine tips his hat. "Pleasure meetin' you folks."
Side Taunt: Canine pulls out an ornate knife and examines it lovingly. "Ah, nothin' like cold, clean iron…"
Down Taunt: Canine bows his head and clasps his hands for a moment. "Oh, Mother Void, grant me your blessings."
When human history began in 1776, one of the first prominent figures was the legendary Virginian - then General George Washington. Washington was monumental in the independence of the United States of America from the tyranny of the British tea tax, acting as the head of the continental army and ultimately being named the first President of this new country. He and the other Founding Fathers then spent the next few decades desperately trying to keep the cobble of states from collapsing in on itself, except for Washington, who left his position as the universally loved head of the country after 8 years to smoke tobacco in his home Mount Vernon until his death two years later in 1799. What a fuckin' badass.
United Stats of America
Washington was a man of great stature, standing at six feet two inches of pure patriotism - this puts him at matching heights with the flamboyant Captain Falcon. Much like his words to the American people in his legendary farewell address, Washington carries weight, matching Ike in this regard. His speed matches his tactics of war - a slow burn, but able to strike quickly. His dashing speed is average among the cast but the man can turn to surprise attack on a dime. His aerial game is less than stellar - the only thing flying here is Betsy Ross' flag - but its decent enough to get him up and about relatively efficiently.
United Specials of America
Down Special - Declaration of Independence
Washington produces the flag designed by Betsy Ross out of the ether, planting it in the ground proudly for the whole world to see, slamming it downward if airborne. Immediately, an invisible circle is drawn on the stage, occupying an area of the stage initially just large enough to encompass Washington himself, but over the course of 30 seconds grows to 75% the size of a smart bomb blast, and continues growing at that rate until it encompasses the entire stage. That's right, Washington has decided to declare independence from this aggressive, war-torn stage to create a greater future for generations to come. Within this space, known as America, whose only indicator of being up is the Stars and Stripes proudly displayed for all to see, Washington is President, and flashes red, white, and blue to indicate that he is within his realm of power. Washington holds immense power within this space, increasing both his movement speed and weight, putting him in the top 5 of both in terms of stats. His knockback dealt while in America is also increased universally by a tangible amount, about 10%.
President Washington cannot have two separate unions, thus using this move again while the flag is planted will not create a new America but will rather teleport Washington directly to his beloved flag, so long as he is within the space. Outside, he has far less power, making this input null and void. Strategic founding of America makes Washington quite hard to KO if placed near the edge of stages. The major downside, however, is that any damage to the flag (who's hurtbox, the pole, is about as tall as Washington himself though much much thinner) is transferred directly to Washington himself, though with no stun or knockback. America crumbles with the pole after 50% damage, though Washington can simply found a new America as soon as the old one goes away. Clearly, Washington's goal here is to defend America and to use his power within to overcome his foes.
Side Special -The Continental Army of the United States
Washington waves his hand, summoning before him a soldier of the Continental Army, shown above. This rag-tag volunteer army (in need of a shower, and probably food, please, Congress!) somehow defeated a the army of a global superpower thanks to the brilliant use of tactics put together by Washington and other people less important than Washington. The soldier, who stands about the size of Foc, wields that huge, unwieldy musket pictured with him, and is trained in how to use it. If an enemy comes within the direct, horizontal sight line of the soldier, he will aim and fire his musket, the ball bearings dealing 3% damage and slight knockback (Falco's lasers-esque) to the foe. The soldier then takes 5 seconds to reload the musket before he can fire again - hey, technology wasn't exactly great back then, you know!
The soldier by himself is quite weak, only having 25% health to his name, making him quite easily disposable to the foe. Luckily, Washington is no stranger to leading many men to their deaths (looking at you, Battle of the Monongahela), and can have 5 of these brave young souls onstage at any time. Their behavior changes when they are within American borders, capable at seeing and sniping at foes anywhere on American soil or airspace, as well as able to reload their weapon a second faster!
Up Special - You Best Believe It's A G*ddamn Red White and Blue Bald Eagle
From offstage, a red, white, and blue bald eagle who looks EXACTLY like the one pictured above swoops in. He needs a name. We're gonna call him Freedom. So Freedom swoops in from offstage to catch George Washington should the president be in the air, carrying him upwards a distance comparable to that of Sonic's Spring, though controllable in angle to a small degree. At the top of this arc, Freedom releases Washington from his talons, not putting the president into freefall and screeching oh-so-patriotically. Freedom himself is a hitbox who knocks foes away, dealing them 7% damage and getting them away from the President like some avian secret service.
While on the ground, Freedom can be used by Washington to either rearrange his troops or to attack his foes from a distance. Should any member of the continental army be deployed, Freedom will automatically rocket's red glare to the closest one to pick them up and bring them back to Washington's position, with the same damaging properties as when he's escorting the President. Should there be no soldiers onstage, Freedom will instead become a roving protector of America, circling Betsy Ross' flag until a foe comes within her ever-expanding borders. In this instance, he truly becomes a rocket, hitting the foe like a bomb and bursting in air into a bang of patriotic fireworks, dealing 15% damage and high upwards knockback capable at KOing a foe at as low as 100%. If Washington requires Freedom's assistance to recover while he's patrolling, Freedom will immediately zoom to Washington and perform the recovery.
The downside to Freedom is that he is somewhat fragile - attacks which deal more than 5% damage will nullify his attack attempts and send him back offstage, knocking Washington into a freefall if he was using Freedom to recover and stopping Freedom's protective attacks. Washington has a duty to protect Freedom himself, because Freedom is one of America's greatest assets.
Neutral Special - The IndomitableWill of Valley Forge
One of Washington's greatest victories was not against the British scourge, but against the coldhearted ***** that is Mother Nature itself. When he and a large portion of the Continental Army camped an especially cold winter in the harsh Valley Forge, a victory often credited to Washington's ability to inspire his troops through sheer force of will. Sure, a bunch of them died, but still. Suck it, weather, Washington's got willpower.
Upon the input being pressed, Washington salutes, and a visible aura explodes out of him, covering an area similar in size to that one Pit's Guardian Orbitars. In fact, it acts similarly too, though effective around the whole dome which the willpower expands in, blocking melee attacks and reflecting projectiles back at his attackers. Unlike the lowly soldier Pit, however, the Commander-in-Chief Washington can imbue his will onto any of his summons. Should he use this next to any of them, including the beautiful waving flag itself and the steadfast companion Freedom, they gain an indomitable will to live. They take only half of the damage dealt to them until Washington uses the move again, either to protect himself or to share his will with another one of his loyal companions.
National StandardsAgency
Up Tilt - Born onthe Fourth
While Washington himself wasn't born on the fourth, America was - meaning that now's the time for fireworks. Washington produces a small firecracker from his coat pocket, lights it, and throws it upwards. Outside of America, this act has little significance, producing a small explosion which is rather hard to catch opponents in that deals 5% damage along with weak upwards knockback. It's a decent tool against airborne attacks on Washington's person, though nothing to write home about. Within America, however, everything's bigger and better.
Should these fireworks be thrown upwards and stay within America's borders, they instead produce a brilliant fireworks show which encompasses 3 explosions (one red, one white, and one blue) each the size of a party ball, the force of which deals 12% damage to any opponent who's caught in the fireworks show, and high upwards knockback which can begin KOing at early-mid percents. Beautiful, big, and oh so illegally patriotic. Hope your pets and veterans don't freak out around loud explody noises.
Jab - Second Amendment
George is a soldier, and of course a law-abiding citizen of this great nation. That means he's definitely packing heat, with a concealed carry license to boot. With his Jab, Washington quick draws like a western hero, shooting a ball bearing from his flintlock pistol, which travels a good distance and deals 3% damage, along with respectable knockback for a jab. But it doesn't stop there - with a second press, Washington reveals a second, almost identical flintlock and shoots in the same manner, dealing the same amount of damage and knockback, A good, reliable tool for damage from afar, though George suffers from a small bit of ending lag whilst re holstering his trusty side arms. Within America, these flintlocks become sweet Desert Eagles, and deal 6% damage per each shot - freedom at any costs.
Forward Tilt - Justice is Blind andAlso Has a Sword
George Washington, like many of us, studied the blade, and was actually a very accomplished swordsman. Drawing his blade, he attacks with an elegant slash, dealing 6% damage and bounces the opponent off of the ground just in front of Washington. Within the bounds of America's beautiful borders, this actually knocks opponents upwards a good distance away from Washington, negating his ability to follow up with any of his second second slashes other than his upwards. Within America, this sword becomes a lightsaber and increases every slash's damage by 3% damage. Also, it makes the sweet swooosh sound like from the Star Wars.
This second slash is only available if Washington hits the opponent with the first slash - he can input up, forward, or down as soon as the sword hits to automatically follow up, Upwards is a heroic upwards slash which launches opponents even further upwards and deals an additional 5% damage. Forward is a patriotic stab straight through the gut, knocking opponents away from Washington horizontally, allowing for a follow up with his flintlock pistols and dealing an additional 6% damage. Downwards is an all-American suplex, with Washington emulating America's greatest warriors from the squared circle and suplexing his foe, dealing the most damage, 8%, but also leaving them closer to harm what he's built.
Down Tilt - Super Soldier,Super Sniper
George Washington was an expert marksman, too! He hunkers down here, taking aim with his long rifle and shooting a round off with it, dealing any opponent unlucky enough to be within its shotgun-esque range with 7% damage and decently high knockback for a tilt. Within America? Its a laser-guided missile, delivering 20 pounds of pure explosive freedom directly into the face of anyone close to Washington's person - 10% damage and even more knockback than before.
Mount Smashmore
Up Smash - ThomasJefferson
America wasn't made great the first time by just Washington you know! Washington's compatriot and future successor President Thomas Jefferson appears behind him, seemingly having stolen Ben Franklin's kite, the silly slave owner! Jefferson is translucent until the charge is released - the charge itself increasing the length of the kite's string's length, starting at barely above Jefferson's head, and ending up able to go off the top of Final Destination's screen.
When the charge is released, the silly declaration writer begins faffing about onstage, running back and forth at a rather slow, Ganondorf-esque speed, attempting to run around the entire stage Jefferson himself has 15% HP, and is about the size of Link. Washington can of course imbue him with his indomitable will to keep him safe while he plays. Jefferson will run around for up to 10 seconds before disappearing into his study to play violin.
When Jefferson comes into contact with the American flag, God himself becomes so enraptured with the sight of American iconography that lightning strikes the kite, electrifying the entire line, making a potentially massive hitbox which deals 32% damage and high knockback that'll KO at mid-high percents - the only downside being the necessary protection of Jefferson and the necessity of America's existence to make him in any way useful. Of course, you can only have ONE Thomas Jefferson on screen, and summoning a new Jefferson makes the old Jefferson poof into cloud of smoke.
Side Special - Teddy Roosevelt
As the Smash charges, a silhouette of a huge figure appears behind Washington, slowly morphing and becoming larger until the Smash is released automatically. The figure, of course, is President Theodore Lightning Bolt Wolverine Roosevelt, and he's riding on the back of some magnificent creature, just like he used to do with his rowdy band of environmentalist Rough Riders!
Uncharged, the attack is still formidable, as Teddy is riding on a moose, which, if you've never seen a moose before, are huge. Teddy-on-the-moose rushes forward, yelping with joy, antlers first. The ramming moose travels a decent distance from George, about as far as one of Zelda's knights at mid charge, and deals foes a whopping 15% damage and diagonal knockback that'll kill a foe at mid percents.
While during the charge, Teddy instead comes out riding a massive and monstrous polar bear, who travels a shorter distance but deals more damage, ranging from 20% to 24% damage, as well as having slightly higher average knockback. It also just looks sick as hell.
At full charge, Teddy Roosevelt riding a huge, motherlovin' T-Rex appears behind Washington and takes a chomp. While this has the least amount of range, it deals the most in damage and knockback, dealing 26% and KOing characters at early percents.
The major downside to using Teddy's powerful attacks is that once he's onstage, he lingers for a bit. Not anywhere near as long as Jefferson, but the fact is that there really only is one Teddy Roosevelt, and he bends for nobody. Generally, it'll take about 2 seconds for the badass of Manhattan to leave, making these some of the least spammable tools in the all-american arsenal.
Down Smash -Abraham Lincoln
A tall figure looms behind Washington, waiting to be called for duty. Upon the release of the input, Abraham Lincoln steps into the fray, ready to wisen up some smashers. Lincoln pontificates, addressing the violence he sees around him, with his voice carrying so heavily that shockwaves eminate horizontally from his being, pulsing outwards every half second or so. The shockwaves at no charge barely reaches away from his body at all, in keeping with his soft spoken personal life, dealing very little damage, 4%, and pushing opponents away somewhat lightly.
At full charge, Lincoln's booming voice reaches lengths away from him equal to that of DK's Final Smash, pushing opponents even harder, but still only dealing 8% damage per push. Lincoln has 25% health and can be attacked regularly, though he also automatically disappears far too early, after only 8 seconds onstage. And yes, Freedom is able to carry Lincoln and his words great distances. In fact, his words are fantastic for protecting America.
Alexander Grabilton
Grab - AlexanderHamilton
Yes, specifically Lin Manuel-Miranda's version because Hamilton is great and marketing. George Washington didn't quite like getting his own hands dirty, instead letting a lot of the dirty work fall onto his right-hand-man Alexander Hamilton, who had no qualms doing bad things to political rivals and cucking farmers. For his grab, Washington snaps his fingers and Hamilton appears before him, walking forward slightly before grabbing onto them by the shirt collar. Washington can still work and move while Hamilton is grabbing the foe - while Hamilton is on the field, the way to input throws is by holding the grab button whilst pushing the desired direction. Hamilton's pummel involves him smacking the opponent with taxes, dealing them 2% damage per hit. Down Throw - Immigration Policy
Despite being an immigrant himself, Hamilton was notoriously anti-immigration. With this throw, Hamilton just wants to get the opponent as far out and away from America as possible - he drags them out the the farthest part of the stage that's not yet been touched by manifest destiny and leaves them there, just waiting to cross the border once more. But this time, hopefully, Washington'll have raised more defenses.
Back Throw - DuelCommandment
Alexander challenges the opponent to a duel turning them around and facing them down with only a pistol in his hand to challenge them. The opponent is totally free to move during this time, and even attempt attacks. However, any and all projectile attacks will get directed directly at Hamilton, who has a somewhat paltry 12% HP. Of course, Washington can make him tougher and let his self-destructive right hand man take more punishment for him. Alexander will also fire his gun exactly once, dealing 6% damage and no knockback to the foe.
Forward Throw - Say No To This
Alexander does what he does best and attempts to pay the opponent off, supposedly for sleeping with their significant other. Violently shoving money at them, Alexander deals a significant amount of knockback as he throws away his life savings on an affair, allowing Washington to set the foe up to get hit with any number of his far more useful attacks. Hamilton sure can occupy someone's time for much longer than they want, though, proving him to be a useful tool.
Up Throw - Like He's Running Out of Time
Seemingly getting into a verbal disagreement with the opponent, Hamilton lays down at the opponent's feet and beings to write exceedingly quickly and passionately, throwing papers up with each new passing argument to prove them wrong. The whole process of angry shouting and paper disposal becomes so violent that a small hurricane erupts almost immediately, which sucks the opponent up and hits them multiple times, dealing 13% damage and sending them swirling upwards with mid-range knockback, Hamilton finally tiring and huffing himself out of existence until he's called upon again to mess literally everything not having to do with finances up.
CentralIntelligenceAerials
Neutral Aerial -Eaglets of Freedom
Lets not forget Washington's Eagle, Freedom! Turns out, Freedom's got kids, 2.5 to be exact. Washington turns his coat outwards, allowing 3 cute eaglets to fly out and attack any freedom-hating foes that happen to be directly in front of Washington in the air. The eaglets each deal small hits of 2.5% damage, hitting opponents in quick succession, lightly knocking them horizontally. Neato!
Down Aerial - Carpet Bombingfor Freedom
Washington takes out more of those firecrackers from earlier and decides to treat those down below him to a double dosage of freedom by throwing them all over this mother indiscriminately! The explosions go off just a stage builder unit underneath Washington, bursting brightly and dealing 10% damage, along with some downwards knockback. Good for getting in that last, second, unnecessary hit. Up Aerial -Spirit ofFreedom
Washington prays like any good American, and wouldn't you know it, God answers. A light shines from above as an angel sporting an American flag shoots from his back. Upwards, the angle flies towards heaven smacking any opponents away who dare get in the way of America. This deals a small amount of damage and knockback, because wouldn't God, even if it were a non-American, wouldnt want to hurt anyone too bad. This Manifest destiny stuff is all well and good, but wouldn't you think that that's what He'd want? If America was really the greatest, god given country, I mean?
Speaking on that, what really makes America great? Does anything? On this, the day where we celebrate our freedom (sorry to you non-Americans for this little rant), I feel like we sometimes loose sight of what it really makes our position in both the world today and in history so truly unique and special. There's a lot of pessimism about having pride in your country, which I can honestly say that I've been guilty of. For a long time, I didn't understand or appreciate that I could love my country and what it stands for while not loving the people in charge or really the people in it.
Captain America and Superman, characters who embody what I consider the American ideals, really helped me come to terms with this kind of optimism about the country I live in. Truth. Justice. Freedom. What they all mean on both a national and personal scale, even if they're generic terms anyone from outside the US can relate to or even claim them as their own, are really what make America special. Sometimes we see things that make us question if we even have them, but inevitably they always win out, even in the darkest of times.
God, or whatever you do (or in my case, don't) believe in, Bless the USA.
The Splatoon 2 Direct is today, so what better time to post this set I've been working on? Yes, it's another Inkling set – but this time I have the excuse of the sequel coming out, so it's better, right? There's some new stuff I'll be inkorporating from that game – and I've always wanted to properly revisit this.
Stats
At first glance, Inkling’s stats are nothing inkpressive – its dash is bottom-tier, its jumps don’t gain much height, and its air speed is just average (a similar speed to its dash). So pretty poor mobility overall. Inkling has average weight and slightly above-average height, so nothing really stands out here either. Its dodge rolls, based on the roll maneuver found in Splatoon 2’s Splat Dualies, cover a decent distance but have noticeable lag to them. Meanwhile, its noticeably above-average falling speed and gravity don’t make a huge impact, but do give it some decent ability to return to the ground at the cost of being a bit more vulnerable to some combos.
Beyond the Inkling’s ability to wall-jump, there are some other positives too. Now, given these stats, your best bet is usually to stay your ground, not jumping around a whole lot. Inkling’s high traction is a boon here, with a dash stop on the tier of Sonic’s; you can stop dashing and then almost immediately perform a move! Your crouch is among the best, turning into squid form to become extremely hard to hit. You can also crawl around like this, but more on squid form in a sec.
By the way, Inkling’s alternate costumes give a variety of options, as each has a different gender (4 girl, 4 boy), color, selection of clothing, and thanks to Splatoon 2, “hair” style!
Ink / Squid Form
Most of your attacks place ink on the ground if they happen to hit it / splatter ink onto it, looking just like in Splatoon. The color of ink changes with your alternate costume / palette swap, and if the color is too similar to the ground (such as green ink on a grassy stage), it gains an outline, Smash 3DS style. Each splatter of ink disappears after five seconds, getting darker within the last second or so, and can be placed on floors, walls, or ceilings. Ink-based moves leave a bit of ink on the foe as a visual effect, by the way, but this doesn’t do anything – just like fire- and dark-based attacks.
Ink doesn’t affect opponents who just walk on it; instead, it augments your own abilities. Your crouch / crawl now allow you to dive into ink, turning into a squid and becoming nearly inkvisible! Your eyes still pop out, though. By moving the control stick diagonally downward or straight to the side, you can swim through the ink at varying speeds, either a normal walking speed or just over Falcon’s dash speed respectively. To stop swimming, just stop holding the stick. Simple! To start a full-speed squid swim from a standstill, just do a hadoken motion, minus the button press. Squid swimming’s lag on both ends is super-low, by the by, and you can perform any attack out of it – so it acts like a normal standing / walking position, except you also have that tiny bit of lag from exiting the swim.
Jumping allows you to carry most of your momentum to the air, great for flying in with an aerial approach. You can also swim up walls by performing a wall-cling input; from there, move the control stick diagonally up and towards the wall to swim up (much slower than a ground swim). You can also press the jump button for a short burst of upward speed (like “jumping” up a wall in Splatoon), or press away from the wall to wall-jump like normal.
Swimming does have downsides, though. Low attacks will still reach you, and when in squid form, you have a bit of additional lag before you can dodge or enter shield. So if the foe knows you’re going to swim past them, they can definitely hit you for it. If they do manage to land a hit on you during a squid-swim, you won’t get knocked away normally. Instead, you’ll enter a special stun animation, reeling back in squid form for about as long as a half-charged Focus Attack stun. This means that even something like DK’s Hand Slap becomes a combo threat!
Squid swimming is also handy if you’re landing after an aerial attack, since if your aerial connects with an opponent, you can cancel its landing lag into a squid swim halfway through the landing lag (so it halves the lag) and keep the pressure up. This opens up various combos, but due to the lag on most aerials, it’s a risky venture, since it doesn’t work if you whiff or hit a foe’s shield. If your opponent has a construct that you can attack, you might be able to abuse this. This technique is called a squid-cancel, by the by.
Generally, you’ll want to keep the stage as inked as possible, since that allows you to make up for your poor mobility, dodge most attacks, and use other techniques. Certain moves are also powered up when inside ink, so look forward to that. The tricky part is balancing “maintenance duty” with the ink while also dealing with the opponent, and knowing which ink-laying move to use during any situation.
SPECIALS
Side B
Your first special move is Side B, and it’ll have you throw a Splat Bomb. Hold B to ready and aim it in various directions, as well as move around with it in hand, and release to throw (or just tap without holding to throw immediately). It explodes 1.5 seconds after you start holding B, covering the surrounding area in ink and KOing foes at high percents. Any attack from any fighter will launch the Splat Bomb, too – so you can reposition it with ease, but the foe can deal with it to not get too overwhelmed.
Okay, now for the nitty-gritty details. First off, you can walk around and jump while readying a Splat Bomb (holding B). It acts just like the Daybreak item from Smash 4, or a firework launcher from Brawl. Like those items, you can strafe backwards, so you’ll need to smash the control stick to turn around. Also, the bomb has a 1.5-second-timer starting when you begin to hold B, but only one second of that timer can actually drain while you’re holding it; once you throw it, it’ll always have at least half a second left.
By the way, you can throw it in a few different directions by angling the control stick when you release the bomb:
Normal / Sideways: Throw it forward in a standard arc: 3 SBB forward, 1 SBB high at the peak. Simple, but effective.
Up: Throw it straight up, reaching 3 SBB at the peak. Nice for an anti-air if you’ve already cooked it, or to keep it safe from being knocked away until it explodes.
Diagonally Upward: Throw it at a higher angle, 2 SBB forward and 2 SBB high at the peak.
Downward (Ground): Slide it across the ground like a curling iron (or the new Curling Bomb from Splatoon 2), traveling 5.5 SBB before coming to a stop.
Downward (Midair): Throw it straight down, handy for edgeguards or setting a trap from the air.
Press Shield (Ground): Place it on the ground right in front of you.
Press Shield (Midair): Drop it gently in front of you as it falls with a tiny bit of forward momentum, like Mii Gunner’s Bomb Drop.
Each of these angles (except for the ones where you press shield) are shown by a trajectory arc that changes as you move the stick, so don’t stress out if you can’t keep track of them all.
As for the Splat Bomb’s damage upon exploding, it’ll deal 15% and KO from center-stage at 140% with semi-radial knockback, while covering an area about 2 SBB wide. It can launch straight up or diagonally toward either side depending on where it hits the opponent, but that’s it; no ink-between angles. Near a ledge or other blast zone, it can of course KO earlier than 140%. The handy thing is that the blast can’t hurt you, so don’t worry about getting your stuff used against you. The same goes for just about every projectile or trap that uses ink, even if reflected or pocketed.
That property is especially handy since it can be knocked around by opponents, as well as your own attacks. You’ll knock it about as far as Mario at 40%, a decent distance but small enough to do a bit of fine-tuning with how far you knock it. Just be aware that this property is of course a double-edged sword.
Finally, I should mention that you can have only one Splat Bomb onscreen at a time. And after it explodes or otherwise disappears, there’s a short cooldown of one second before you can pull another one; you’ll flash briefly as an inkdicator of when it’s up.
Neutral B
As for Neutral B, it’s the tried-and-true Splat Charger. Charge it up to fire a powerful, long-reaching blast of ink that can KO opponents – just don’t use it too much, or it’ll take longer to charge. You can aim it in any direction using the control stick while you charge (as well as walking and jumping), or you can cancel it into a squid swim to retain the charge until you emerge back onto the surface (like in Splatoon 2).
By default, it takes half a second to charge, dealing 5~13% and KOing at 140% from center-stage at full charge. You can hold the charge for as long as you want, but your movement is slowed down a bit while charging. If you aim the Splat Charger, the knockback angle will also change, which can be a nice way to adapt to your positioning relative to a blast zone.
The Splat Charger’s distance also changes with charge. Uncharged, it’s a pathetic spurt of ink that isn’t good for attacking, but could perhaps be used to get some ink at your feet in a pinch. Its maximum range is 7 SBB, covering a giant area! And of course, it’ll lay ink across all of that space, unless you aim it too high.
The main thing to watch out for is that cooldown: using the Splat Charger causes it to start taking 1.5 seconds to charge, with that number slowly going back down to half a second over the course of ten seconds. Using it during this time resets the cooldown back to 1.5 seconds, so it’s best to wait until the time is right to use it. Whether it be covering turf, sniping an opponent, or whatever, use that charge wisely. Whatever you choose to use it for, though, you can see the remaining cooldown in the form of the ink tank on your back, which fills up over time until the cooldown is finished (at which point you’ll flash briefly and hear the fully-charged sound effect from Splatoon).
As mentioned before, you can squid swim while retaining a charge by simply holding down while charging, and then swimming from there. If you continue to hold B, you’ll start charging again when you turn back into human form. If you don’t, you’ll fire immediately upon emerging. Either way, you can’t actually cancel the charge, nor can you attack during / out of the squid swim, so don’t get too predictable. Even then, this technique is greatly bolstered by having a lot of ink on the stage. While you can walk forward and back (smash the stick to turn around) and perform grounded jumps during a normal charge, the squid swim really helps you get around.
Another thing to note is the recoil you get from firing the Splat Charger in midair. Recoil as in momentum, not as in self-damage. When the move is fully charged, it becomes as strong as Mewtwo’s pre-patch Shadow Ball, meaning you can get a ton of distance if you’ve saved your charge! Not only that, but by aiming the Splat Charger, you can boost yourself upward to help recovery, downward to land from a juggling situation with a burst of surprise momentum (e.g. jump → immediately Charger up), or any diagonal angle in between!
Finally, I’ve got another tidbit about Side B – since the Splat Charger actually makes up the other half of that move. See, by pressing Side B again while a Splat Bomb is already in play, you’ll automatically fire your Splat Charger straight at it, pretty much creating a beam of ink between yourself and the bomb! Unlike the normal Splat Charger, this has infinite reach (and can go through terrain) and no charge, meaning it’s still just as effective during your cooldown (and won’t cause Splat Charger to enter cooldown either). It deals the same damage and knockback as a fully-charged Splat Charger, with about .4 seconds of startup. On top of that, the Splat Bomb itself also explodes, again dealing its normal damage and knockback.
So basically, this means that the Inkling’s area to control space extends beyond ink. Your opponent now has to look out for where your Splat Bomb is, and make sure not to get between your and your bomb! The catch? The move’s ending lag is punishable if blocked, even from a distance. Plus, your opponent can just knock the Splat Bomb up into the air, to throw off your setup. The fun part about this technique, though, is using it in creative ways. For example, to edgeguard an opponent who’s recovering low, you can throw a Splat Bomb offstage, wait for it to go a bit below the ledge, and then press Side B again to cover the area directly under the ledge. You can also toss the Splat Bomb and then Side B right after to cover the air, shooting it out of the skies. Generally, the endlag plus the tricky / situational nature of lining everything up means that this is more of a surprise attack or punish tool than anything else, but it sure is powerful. Especially if you learn to use it in combination with other moves to cover options!
Down B
Down B sticks with the general trend of inksplosions so far, as it has you pull out a water-balloon-like Burst Bomb. You’ll pull it out and hold it as an item, like Link or Toon Link. It’ll explode on impact, spreading ink and popping the opponent up for a combo. If you use Down B again (which acts like a Z-drop if used in midair) and there’s ink below you, you’ll plant it as an Ink Mine, which deals the same damage and knockback but explodes shortly after someone walks over it.
Burst Bombs do take a bit of time to pull out; the Links’ bomb pulls take 40 frames, but yours takes 50. Also, you can only have one out at a time. On the plus side, though, it won’t explode on its own – it’s not like it has a fuse or anything, it’s just a water balloon. Its damage is consistent no matter how it’s thrown or how it hits an opponent, always dealing 4.5% of damage and knockback similar to Tink’s bombs – but a touch higher base knockback and lower scaling. The bomb covers a decent area, with a radius of 1 SBB to not only hit opponents but also lay ink on the ground.
You can perform some Toon Link-style combos with a Burst Bomb by taking advantage of squid swimming, such as dash → jump-cancel toss → squid swim → aerial attack, and potentially even regrab the bomb in this way. It’s considerably harder, though, due to the squid swim – thanks to his higher dash speed, Tink has the luxury of being able to just dash rather than doing the pseudo-hadoken command for a squid swim. Plus, there’s the matter of having enough ink on the ground to begin with.
Pressing Down B again turns the Burst Bomb into an Ink Mine, but only if you’re standing on your own turf. The mine is almost invisible, but you can still make out the “ring.” If anyone or anything besides the Inkling who laid it steps on the mine, it’ll start to flash and beep rapidly. A half-second after that, it’ll explode, dealing the same damage and knockback as a normal Burst Bomb. That, by the way, includes your own Splat Bombs – so you can send one sliding along the ground toward a Burst Bomb and have it launch the Splat Bomb straight up into the air! Pretty neat setup. And this goes without saying, but as far as opponents go, forcing hasty reactions is this thing’s job description.
Now, I said you can only place an Ink Mine if you’re standing in your own turf, but that’s actually not true. You can also do it by pressing Down B in midair, which acts like a Z-drop. In other words, you’ll drop the item with no lag or animation. From here, you can catch it with an aerial / airdodge, let it hit an opponent directly, or let it hit the ground, in which case it’ll become an Ink Mine if there’s ink and just explode instantly if there’s not. This is actually pretty handy, since your Zair means that a normal Z-drop isn’t lagless (you’d activate the tether animation instead). So Down B is handy for doing the no-tether version of the-
What do you mean, “what zair?”
Oh right, guess we haven’t gotten to that yet. You have a Zair, yeah. It’s nothing special in terms of how it works, pretty much identical to Tink’s or Lucas’s. Good for spacing. More on that in a bit.
Anyway, what was I saying? Oh, yeah. You can use a midair Down B to drop a Burst Bomb and then instantly regrab it with an aerial (to use an aerial while holding an item); or you can use a Zair to Z-drop it instead, which puts out the Zair hitbox while dropping the Burst Bomb. Dropping it with a Zair still allows the Burst Bomb to become an Ink Mine if it lands in ink, by the by.
A couple more things to clear up. Using Down B again on uninked turf just works exactly like throwing the Burst Bomb straight downward, creating a blast of ink around you that can come in handy on occasion. The real boon with this strategy is that your bomb never damages you, since it’s a blast of your own ink. If the ink that an Ink Mine is in evaporates, the mine will explode immediately (without flashing first), which can catch a foe off-guard in rare circumstances. Finally, the one-bomb cap applies across Burst Bombs and Ink Mines; so you can’t pull out another Burst Bomb just because you turned your previous one into an Ink Mine or anything.
Up B
Up B is a nice change of pace, as the Super Jump is dedicated to recovering back to the stage rather than painting the town orange. After freezing in place for a second while in squid form, you’ll jet back to the stage like an ink-powered missile. Super Jump travels in an arc, like Dedede’s but with more horizontal movement. The main downside is that you’re super-vulnerable during the jump, between the lack of a hitbox and the startup time (like Diddy’s barrels).
Regarding distance, it goes as high as Super Dedede Jump, and if used on flat ground, you can land an entire Final Destination width away from where you started! To help you aim properly and not kill yourself, an aiming arc (like the Splat Bomb’s) appears during the 50-frame-long startup. Unrelatedly, you’ll leave a small puddle of ink right when you blast off from the ground, but this is hardly ever useful. Every bit counts, I guess.
Similarly to Winged Pikmin, you can cancel Super Jump into an aerial attack starting a bit after the peak of the jump (during the descent). Like with Olimar and Alph, though, you’ll enter special fall afterwards, falling helplessly in squid form. Normally Super Jump has noticeable landing lag, but you can circumvent that by either using a low-lag aerial (or throwing a Burst Bomb if you have one), or by landing in ink and holding down to immediately begin a squid swim. This also applies for ink placed on a wall (except you hold toward the wall instead of down), allowing you to mix up your recovery a bit in combination with your tether.
Now, the best way to cancel Super Jump is also the most situational. You can hit one of your Bombs (either Splat or Burst) in midair during a Super Jump to cancel the jump, “bouncing” straight upward off of the bomb in squid form for a jump’s worth of height. From here, you’re free to perform any action, inkluding another Super Jump! You can only get one extra Super Jump per air trip using this method, but it’s a great way to extend your recovery (e.g. throw bomb upward → Super Jump upward) or perform awesome-looking combos / anti-airs.
Shield B
If you’re standing in ink, you also have an extra special move in the form of a Shield B, which you use by… shielding and hitting B. Pressing B during a shield makes the ink on the ground surround the shield, and then let out a short-ranged blast of ink while allowing you to stay in shield. It damages opponents around you, but uses up the ink right under your feet; so you can’t use it repeatedly without repositioning yourself. If you hold B to charge the move, you can absorb more and more ink from the ground around you, creating a bigger, more damaging blast that’s good for punishing laggy moves out-of-shield.
Now, as I said, this can only be used while standing in ink, so make sure you’ve got some turf laid down! The blast deals 5% and low radial knockback by default, consuming ink from the ground about as wide as a maximum-health shield, and has 10 frames of startup (a sixth of a second). Landing this is a good way to get some momentum / pressure going, since the low knockback keeps the foe nice and close for a follow-up hit.
By charging it for up to a full second, you consume ink from an extra SBB-and-a-half in either direction, but the blast also gains an extra SBB to its radius (both at full charge). Plus, it deals 10% of damage at full charge, and launches the opponent across the stage to create a lot of space. Don’t expect it to kill or anything, but do expect it to buy you time to lay down some turf!
Shield B in general is very handy, but you don’t want to spam it. You do go through an animation during the move (i.e. you can’t act until it ends), and can still be grabbed even though your shield still blocks normal attacks. Plus, the fact that it eats up ink from the ground means you can’t use it repeatedly unless you stop shielding and reposition. So use this tool wisely.
STANDARDS
Neutral Attack
Your Neutral Attack is anything but standard, as holding the A button has you fire the Splat Dualies for a long-ranged projectile. It doesn’t flinch unless you’re in melee range, but Jab is an inkredibly effective way to cover a ton of turf at once due to its range and ability to be angled up or down. You can even move while firing the Dualies!
So yeah, just hold the A button to fire the Dualies continuously, or tap to fire a single shot. Unlike Megaman’s lemons, the Dualies only take up your jab input, so you can only activate them from the ground. You can walk and jump while firing the Dualies, but cannot turn around (instead, you’ll strafe backward). Another bonus is the ability to perform a dodge roll in the middle of firing the Dualies, using the little jets on the Dualies to gain a burst of speed in either direction along with intangibility frames. It’s the exact same as your normal roll, basically, but with a little bit more ending lag. Of course, you can just keep holding A to continue firing after the roll.
The ink projectiles from the Dualies fly in an arc, reaching about 5 SBB away on flat ground and covering the area from 2-5 SBB away in ink. As for damage, the Dualies fire at a rapid rate, dealing 5% per second of hitting a foe. Normally, the shots have a weak windbox effect, noticeable but not too strong. They also have an up-close hitbox which encompasses the muzzle of each pistol, dealing weak knockback at the Sakurai Angle. It sends the foe reeling a bit across the ground while taking 4% of damage (or more if you manage to land more than one hit, which is kinda tricky), and you can keep up the pressure with other attacks. You can also use a single shot from the Dualies to jab-lock a prone opponent at close range.
A couple other tidbits. You can aim the Splat Dualies 45* up or down by holding the stick up or down, changing their arc to match. Not only does this move the windbox, which can be handy for gimping high or low recoveries, but it also changes the area that can be covered with ink. For example, aiming it down covers the area right in front of your feet.
The Dualies also have an interaction with your Splat Bomb. Firing the Dualies into the bomb feeds it ink, boosting its power the more you charge it. The maximum you’ll really be able to charge it is a second, which’ll boost the Splat Bomb to dealing 20% and KOing at 110% from center-stage. This is super-powerful, but easy to see coming. That said, knocking it toward is a foe is an excellent way to force a reaction, or it can be used after a shield-break. And of course, even if you don’t get the full second of charge, it can still be nice to get a little bit of extra damage out of the Splat Bomb by feeding it for just a moment.
Forward Tilt
Forward Tilt has you swing the Slosher, a big ol’ paint bucket that lets out a huge wave of ink. It covers a large area in front of you with ink and a strong hitbox, at the cost of lag. By angling the move, you can change what comes out: angle it up to get a small cyclone of ink that travels in a high arc, or downward for a low-to-the-ground attack that pushes opponents away and hits further in front of you.
The Slosher has a full 1.75 SBB of range and covers an area about as tall as you, dealing 15% of damage and KOing from center-stage from about 130%. To compensate for this incredible power and range, Ftilt is incredibly laggy; it's the slowest forward tilt in the game, taking a bit longer than Mario’s fair to come out and having noticeable endlag too. But uniquely, you can move back and forth, as well as jump the height of a shorthop, during the move. While a bit sluggish, this movement makes it act like an aerial attack in that you can control your spacing as you attack – so it's actually pretty handy in neutral. Just be cautious not to retreat with Ftilt too much, since then you're moving backward and giving up stage control. Plus, it’s still not unpunishable or anything.
Holding up on the control stick to angle the Ftilt has you put some spin into the Slosher while swinging it at a more upward angle. This lets loose a Sloshing Machine-style cyclone of ink (except it’s upright, as in it's oriented like Brawl Mach Tornado), which travels in an extremely floaty arc. It travels 4 SBB horizontally before disappearing, reaching 2.5 SBB above ground level at the peak and lowering to 2 SBB by the very end of its travel. The cyclone drags the opponent along with multiple flinching hits and a windbox, dealing 10% if it manages to carry them the whole way through. The best way to use this, though, is to follow up on the move and hit the opponent while they’re trapped, similarly to Robin’s Arcfire or Arcthunder. There’s time to do this for sure, and up-angled Ftilt’s utility as a long-ranged anti-air provides plenty of opportunities to land the move too. Just be aware that angling Ftilt doesn’t affect the lag at all, and by angling it upward, you’re also removing most of that protective hitbox in front of you.
A down-angled Slosher takes the form of an extremely low-to-the-ground swing, resulting in an attack reminiscent of the Tri-Slosher. This low-to-the-ground splash of ink covers a massive 2.75 SBB horizontally, dealing 9% all the way through. The first 1.5 SBB or so push the opponent along with multiple flinching hits, while the rest has a windbox. A down-angled Ftilt reaches really far horizontally, but has barely any vertical coverage, only really hitting grounded opponents. On a shielded opponent when at close range, it becomes impossible to stop blocking due to the multiple hits’ shield stun, so you can force them to choose an option after it ends. Like Ike’s dtilt, it forces the opponent to use something OoS besides a simple shield-grab (since they're too far away), so you can observe and punish their habits.
Like the up-angled version of Ftilt, this floor-covering windbox is more situational in nature. However, the nice thing about Ftilt is that, between the movement aspect and the fact that you can choose your angle during the startup, you can adapt on the fly to however your opponent reacts, even after you've started the attack.
Near a ledge or in midair (after using Ftilt on the ground and then jumping), a downward-angled Ftilt pours the stream of ink downward as it falls, due to gravity and everything. It’ll also push opponents slightly more downward, which can come in handy at the ledge.
Up Tilt
Now, don't think that you'll only battle using weapons. Up Tilt, for example, is a simple arcing kick above you, kinda like the Mii Brawler’s uair. This quick attack is handy for both setting up combos and juggle situations by knocking the opponent upward, and can be a nice anti-air in certain situations.
In terms of frame data, your Utilt is pretty standard – just a tad slower than Mario’s. It deals 5% of damage and launches the opponent upward with good base knockback but low scaling (it doesn't increase much with the opponent’s damage), sending them upward about as high as your fullhop. The simplest combo from here would be to just fullhop and perform an aerial, which gets a decent bit of damage but nothing spectacular.
Another option aside from a true combo would be to pop them up with Utilt, make them airdodge (since they think you'll go for the aerial), and then charge a Smash Attack to catch them as they land from their airdodge! This yields a bigger reward than a simple follow-up will, but relies on making a read. Similarly, you can punish their other options out of this situation in other ways – if they jump, you can take advantage of their difficulty landing with their jump expended. That sorta thing.
As for landing the Utilt in the first place, you could of course catch the opponent doing something, such as rolling into you or airdodging as they try to land. Combining Utilt with a squid swim’s mobility is also a good tactic. Plus, certain aerial approaches such as an empty jump (or tomahawk grab) can be stuffed with Utilt.
One final note: Utilt is good for launching a Splat Bomb straight upwards if it's lying on the ground, due to its low lag on both ends and favorable knockback.
Down Tilt
Like Utilt, Down Tilt also doesn’t involve a weapon – but here, you’ll turn into squid form. Perform a spinning tentacle attack that hits to both sides, sending the opponent at a purely horizontal angle. By performing the move during a squid swim, you can use the swim’s momentum to follow up more effectively.
Down Tilt lasts about as long as Marth’s ftilt overall, but has three hits: in front, behind, and then in front again. They have low range, each dealing 5% and a low-mid power semi-spike that starts causing tumble at higher percents. It’s a nice get-off-me option, especially due to its ability to evade attacks in squid form / by diving into ink during the move. With that said, there’s almost no disjoint, and the attack’s low damage gives it kinda low priority, so it isn’t that hard to beat out. Plus, it normally doesn’t have a lot of combo potential if you do land it, unless you knock the foe into an Ink Mine or something.
One way to use Dtilt for combos is by using it during a full-speed squid swim, since it doesn’t interrupt your momentum. The best way to do this is to set the C-stick to tilts, since then you can just flick downward on the stick while swimming. So you could use an aerial that hits with a semi-spike, squid-cancel it, chase them with a full-speed Dtilt, and follow up from there with another attack. The main thing to keep in mind here is that you need a lot of ink on the stage, as well as good stage control (so that you have enough room to perform the horizontal-knockback-based combo).
Dash Attack
Okay, back to weapons now: your Dash Attack has you wield the Inkbrush, a giant brush that paints with ink. Hold the attack button to hold the Inkbrush out as you dash, creating a big trail of ink and damaging foes with a small, weak hitbox. You also get a small speed boost while using the Inkbrush. Upon releasing the button, you’ll swing it upward as a follow-up to the initial hit, popping the foe upward for a combo.
For the initial dash, you can choose how far you want to go – but the maximum distance is about 4 SBB, and the minimum has you dash for a noticeable amount of time before performing the follow-up. Your running speed is slightly boosted to Bowser Jr.’s during the Inkbrush dash, which can catch a foe slightly off guard. It begins almost right after you begin holding the button, but its only hitbox is at the tip of the brush. The hitbox deals 6% of damage and low-mid sideways knockback to combo into the other part of the move. You gain speed and a constant hitbox, but the price you pay is the ability to cancel your dash into any other option besides the follow-up. So it’s easy for the opponent to hit you right out of the dash.
Speaking of the follow-up, you’ll perform a spinning strike with the brush (as in, you spin the brush), swinging it upward almost like a staff or something. It’s pretty similar to the follow-up from Bayo’s Heel Slide overall, in terms of hitboxes. It comes out quickly after you release the button, but has punishable ending lag that leaves you open to a shield-grab or something. With that said, it pops the foe up with combo-friendly knockback even with the noticeable lag, and deals an extra 7% of damage. Dash Attack is generally handy for approaching with a bit more speed than the opponent might expect in order to start a combo, and also covers a nice area in ink.
SMASHES
Forward Smash
Each of your Smash Attacks, as you might expect, also has something unconventional about it. In the case of Forward Smash, before you even begin the charge, you’ll slam down with the Splat Roller to launch opponents a short distance. Then you’ll charge the attack, and perform a lightning-fast, long-distance dash while rolling the Roller across the ground. These two hits can combo into each other, but at kill percents you’ll need to mix things up.
The initial slam of the Splat Roller deals 10% of damage and horizontal knockback which keeps the opponent kinda close, and doesn’t scale at all with percent. It also splatters ink that travels about a platform’s distance, covering that area in ink and dealing 7% of damage to opponents. The initial slam has a sweetspot at the very end / bottom of the swing, which sends aerial opponents straight down with a powerful spike! You’ll pretty much only hit it if your opponent is hanging on a ledge. This initial part of Forward Smash is rather laggy, so don’t spam it too much.
As for the part of the move that you actually charge, this dash with the Splat Roller travels 5 to 8 SBB depending on how much you charge it. If you hit a foe, they’ll take 10% to 14%, and foes with 130% to 100% or more damage (at center-stage) will be KO’d by the semi-spike. At low percents, it can potentially start a combo, since the dash itself actually doesn’t have a ton of ending lag. Of course, you can still punish it, since the move is so telegraphed and the user is really vulnerable from above. So you can just intercept it with an aerial or something.
If you don’t charge the move, the first and second hits will always be a true combo. If you charge it, though, the foe can just jump out. So charging is mainly a way to punish the foe if they try to airdodge. This wouldn’t be useful normally (since jump is always the better option). However, by tapping up on the control stick during the charge, you can instead swing the Splat Roller upward from the ground, dealing the same damage as the first part of Fsmash. More importantly, you’ll also fling a wave of ink into the air, but the wave only happens if you’re standing on turf (and consumes a chunk of it too).
The wave of ink takes the shape of an arc. It travels 3.5 SBB into the air and reaches its peak after traveling 3 SBB horizontally, coming down another 3 SBB later (so it travels 6 SBB total). The key thing here is that it stops about 1.25 SBB above the ground, so grounded foes can’t be hit (barring elevation changes). So if the foe airdodges, they’re fine, but the high arc covers a jump.
As for damage and knockback, it deals 10% and knockback in the direction that the wave is traveling. At the end, for example, it sends the foe downward – so if you catch a jump after the first part of Fsmash, they’re put into a tech-chase. While it doesn’t KO outright like the punishment for airdodging would (the charged dash), it’s still definitely something to look out for! And of course, you could knock them down into an Ink Mine to get a proper combo. This downward knockback is also ideal for stuffing high recoveries.
Generally, Fsmash is a more situational kill move. The dash requires ground to dash across, so you can’t use it at the ledge. Meanwhile, the fling / wave of ink can spike if you are near the ledge. So the option you’ll want to use depends on a mix between a 50-50 and a matter of positioning. Even at the ledge, where charging the roll no longer punishes airdodge, you can still punish the airdodge by edgeguarding their low recovery after the move ends. And of course, if you land the first hit of Fsmash with some ground in front of you, you can still get a guaranteed kill at higher percents, since it’s a true combo.
Up Smash
Up Smash has you pull out the Heavy Splatling and slam it onto the ground in front of you, with the gun facing upwards (seeing as how it’s an up smash). Like the Splat Roller, this hitbox comes out before the charge, and deals 7% as well as popping the opponent up a tiny bit. It’s quick enough to start up, but still not the fastest move – though it makes for a handy out-of-shield punish.
After charging up, the Splatling’ll let out a flurry of ink blasts over a period as long as Mewtwo’s usmash, dealing a ton of little hits that add up to 12% to 16% depending on charge, KOing opponents at 120% to 90%. The Splatling’s biggest strength is its vertical reach, reaching pretty high into the air with a big disjoint. But its hitbox also starts high up, so crouching or short opponents can avoid it completely (outside of the pre-charge slam). And if they do avoid it, the endlag can bite you hard.
At low percents, the two parts of the move (slam and shoot) will always lead into each other if you don’t charge the move, just like Fsmash. At kill percents, however, it becomes a 50-50 instead.* If you don’t charge, it can be airdodged but beats jump. If you do charge, it catches the airdodge but the foe can just jump away (or use an aerial to hit you during the charge). So compared to Fsmash, you don’t need a lot of ground in front of you to use Usmash, but in return you need to successfully read your opponent’s reaction. And aside from comboing out of the initial slam, Usmash’s incredible vertical range makes it the ideal anti-air. Just be wary of your endlag and its lacking horizontal coverage, since you can be punished hard if they avoid it.
Finally, charging Usmash will also cause it to suck up any ink around you, provided there is some. As long as there’s no gap in the area covered with ink (i.e. it’s all one continuous puddle), it’ll gradually suck up ink within 3.5 SBB of you over the course of the charge. This boosts its power, filling the small tank on the side with ink as a visual touch. By sucking up the maximum amount of ink, it can deal up to 22% of damage and KO at 70%! This is when it’s fully charged, for a whole second. At lower charges / amounts of ink, it’s just a linear scale between that and the standard 12%. So you have to charge it all the way to deal that insane knockback, but it’s very possible if you read an airdodge off of the initial slam!
*The upper part of the post-charge hitbox comes out a bit later. So if they’re knocked further up (at kill percents), they’ll get hit by a later hitbox and thus have time to airdodge it.
Down Smash
The Splat Dualies make a return, as your Down Smash has you charge up with your arms crossed over your chest before firing a short-ranged burst from each, aimed toward the ground. The move’s semi-spike makes it excellent for setting up tech-chases or edgeguards depending on your positioning. Unlike Fsmash and Usmash, this move is just a single-hit deal, so it’s a simple kill move near the ledge, which is a nice change of pace, and it can cover rolls by hitting to both sides. Speaking of rolls, you can actually roll during the charge by tapping the stick sideways, releasing the move right as it ends. It looks pretty cool, if you ask me.
So Down Smash has about the same reach as Mii Gunner’s dsmash, but hits to both sides simultaneously. It deals 10% to 14% and KOs at 160% to 120% from center-stage via a semi-spike, and has pretty low lag on both ends (for a smash attack). But it's not too hard to punish if blocked or whiffed, as long as the opponent is ready for it. It’s mainly a good utility move, coming out quick and setting up for tech-chases onstage and edgeguards near the ledge.
As a mixup, like the Neutral Attack, you can roll at any point during the charge by tapping the stick sideways, with the Dualies’ ink jets giving you a little boost. After the roll ends, you’ll release the Dsmash, using the amount of power you charged up before the roll. (Charge for half a second and then roll = deal 12% of damage.) You can use this to dodge an incoming attack, or to set up a little mindgame with the roll by charging Down Smash. It can also act similarly to a longer-ranged perfect-pivot by giving you a burst of quick horizontal movement.
These next couple tips apply to all three Smash Attacks, but I might as well mention them here because Dsmash’s writeup is still kinda short now that you’ve seen all three of them in action. First off, both your Splat Bombs and your Ink Mines are great in combination with a Smash Attack because they apply pressure – if a foe is caught between you and a bomb, the threat of detonation can limit their options and force a reaction. This means that charging a Smash Attack to cover a single option is more viable, since the opponent will react more hastily and might not think it through. Splat Bombs are nice because you can throw them across the stage and get one behind the opponent on-the-fly, and pressing Side B again with one deployed is also a powerful tool. While Ink Mines can only be deployed right under your feet, they won’t explode on a timer unless the ink underneath them disappears, so you can use one as a bit of a long-term trap.
And of course, another nice thing about all of your Smashes is that they make excellent surprise attacks when combined with a squid swim’s mobility. For example, you can run at a foe and make them expect an attack, then punish them if they roll backward by swimming into a powerful Smash Attack! Between Dsmash’s hitboxes on both sides, Usmash’s anti-air range, and Fsmash’s big vertical coverage in front of you (plus the dash), you can use a different attack depending on where the foe is going to be.
AERIALS
Neutral Air
For your Nair, you’ll pull out the Inkbrush again and perform a spinning attack, similarly to Zero Suit Samus’s nair. Nair has a tipper sweetspot thanks to the ink at the end of the brush, popping the foe up, while the handle deals a very weak semi-spike. The spin also spreads a small splosh of ink to either side, dealing a little bit of damage (3%) and inking a small area of the ground a bit of a distance away.
Nair hits to both sides, but due to the angle, the back hitbox is higher up than the front one is. So a reverse Nair is actually kinda handy for anti-air. Whether you hit in the front or the back, though, the sweetspot at the tip deals 12% of damage and pops the opponent up, allowing for decent vertical follow-ups. Meanwhile, the handle deals 7% and a very weak semi-spike, to the point where it won’t start causing tumble knockback until around 80% on mid-weights. Still, using a squid-cancel, you can get a follow-up – but noticeable landing lag prevents this most of the time when the ground isn’t inked.
Nair’s applications change depending on where you hit with the move, but with a general emphasis on combos and safe, long-distance pokes. It’s always safe on shield when you hit with the sweetspot, thanks to shieldstun and shield pushback, but if you hit it up-close, the foe has a chance to shield-grab you. You could squid-cancel to avoid a grab, but then the foe could predict which way you’ll swim and use a low attack to punish. However, hitting with the sourspot can occasionally be more rewarding, since it allows you to “push” the foe across the stage, either into inked territory or offstage for an edgeguard – another situation in which the sourspot’s semi-spike comes in handy.
Nair can actually auto-cancel out of a shorthop, but if the foe shields it, they can almost always dash in with a grab while you’re busy returning to the ground. So it’s often best to Nair right before you land, since that lets you squid-cancel to halve the landing lag – unless you know the opponent won’t shield or perform a spot-dodge, such as if they’re landing from the air.
Forward Air
Fair is another Inkbrush attack, this time an arcing swing similar to Marth’s fair. Like Nair, it splashes ink forward. The main thing to note here is the big vertical area it covers, along with the tip / handle hitboxes just like Nair. The tipper deals the semi-spike this time, sending them backward if you hit at the very end / bottom of the swing’s arc, while the handle launches the foe with low-mid power at the Sakurai Angle.
The main thing to note about Fair is that its use changes depending on which hitbox you land. The tip, which deals that semi-spike as well as 13%, launches the opponent kinda far horizontally. So it’s an awesome edgeguard offstage, augmented by how deep that Super Jump lets you go while returning back to the stage. Onstage, it’s ideal for setting up stage control by launching the opponent toward the ledge, as well as potentially setting up a tech-chase. So while you can’t get a true follow-up off of it, a tipper Fair puts you in a really advantageous position – especially if you launch the opponent into a trap! Fair has kinda lengthy landing lag, but it autocancels from a shorthop – with the same drawbacks as Nair in that regard. Squid-canceling, of course, gives you the option to use the move as you’re landing and still get on the move to take advantage of the tech-chase or whatever.
As for that handle, it’s still pretty handy. It deals 8%, and it’s awesome for simple follow-ups. It acts kinda similarly to Marth’s sourspot fair, but these follow-ups are, again, only really possible if you use squid-canceling to perform a landing Fair. Out of a landing Fair, you can usually connect something like Utilt, Dtilt, or if you’re near a ledge, a ledge-slip → aerial attack! They slip off the edge of the stage, you swim off and perform an aerial. Dair, which we’ll get to in a sec, is the prime example here. At higher percents, the Sakurai Angle launches the foe into the air rather than along the ground, so these setups won’t work as well.
Finally, hitting with the bottom of the arc and at the tip launches the opponent backwards, acting the exact same as the normal tipper except with knockback in the opposite direction. The main cool thing about this is how it can lead into Bair:
Back Air
For this aerial you’ll pull out a Blaster and fire it backward, loosing a little ball of ink that travels just over 3 SBB before reaching the end of its journey. At the end of that path (or upon hitting a wall), it’ll explode into a small blast of ink, launching the opponent either to the left or to the right depending on which side they’re on. So basically, you can either launch the opponent away from you to gain space, or toward you for a follow-up.
While it’s still the initial projectile, the projectile just deals 5% and a flinching + windbox effect, similar to a weaker version of Megaman’s Air Shooter (uair). The projectile won’t disappear upon hitting a foe, but this hit isn’t really what you’ll be using Bair for.
Instead, the blast itself is the real highlight, with a circular hitbox that’s a bit under 1 SBB wide. It deals 11% of damage upon hitting an opponent, launching them to either the left or right at a higher-angle semi-spike with moderate base knockback and rather low scaling. The combo applications are pretty obvious, since you can launch a foe who’s behind you forward into melee range. You can edgeguard with Bair, but it’s a bit of a gamble – you can launch the foe further away from the stage, but there’s a risk that they’ll get launched back onto the stage instead. The blast is also the only part of Bair that’ll really end up spreading turf most of the time, since the initial projectile is usually too small to get close to the ground.
Bair can’t autocancel from a shorthop due to its endlag, but its landing lag isn’t awful. Squid-canceling doesn’t really apply though, since it’s a projectile. The startup lag is actually kinda low, so if you fullhop it, you can act before you land (as well as autocanceling) while still firing the projectile at a height where the blast will hit a standing opponent.
One other trick, by the by: if you have a Splat Bomb positioned behind you, Bair is a great way to launch it in front of you for a surprise attack!
Up Air
For Uair, you’ll perform an axe kick upward, thrusting one foot straight upward in a feat of flexibility. This also acts as a sex kick, actually, lasting for the length of Mario’s nair. The very start of the move deals 9% and knockback similar to Mario’s uair, but due to the duration of the move, you can’t really capitalize on that like Mario can. Good for setting up juggles and the like, though, using things like your bombs as well as squid-swimming across the stage to cover landings. At higher percents and near a ceiling, Uair can actually KO – so if the foe has, say, 150% or so, you can confirm off of an Ink Mine with a fullhop, double-jump Uair. Or you can cancel Super Jump into Uair to catch an unsuspecting opponent!
As for the late hit, it deals 5% and weak upward knockback similar to Luigi’s late nair. Nair’s landing lag is pretty low (as it’s a sex kick), so this gives Inkling an awesome option for a landing aerial that can start a combo – even if the hitbox is rather high up off the ground. Since you perform it right before hitting the ground, it’s also awesome for mixing up between that and a tomahawk grab!* In midair, there’s a bit too much endlag to follow up unless you hit near the end of the animation. If you time it right, Uair’s late hit is awesome for following up on an Ink Mine / Burst Bomb, since it can confirm into the end of the move to kind of circumvent the endlag.
Thanks to its low ending lag, by the way, Uair is a decent option for knocking a Splat Bomb upward.
*A tomahawk grab is basically an empty shorthop, fastfall, grab. Since the Uair doesn’t come out until right before you land, you’re keeping the opponent guessing for as long as possible – so they can’t react, they have to read / predict / guess whether you’ll Uair or grab.
Down Aerial
Your last aerial is Dair, which has you brandish the good ol’ Splat Roller once again and slam it down in front of you in a slight arc, dealing a devastating spike to whatever sad soul you end up hitting. You’re almost facing directly toward the screen for this attack, so the roller’s width really comes into play – it’s almost like an upside-down Cloud uair (but with more startup), which is actually super scary.
Dair has similar startup lag to Mario’s fair, dealing 18% of damage and ridiculous amounts of downwards knockback. Dair has a lot of endlag, of course, so it’s not very safe to go for – but if you start the move at stage height, Super Jump’ll let you recover. Onstage, it can’t autocancel even from a fullhop – and Dair has a lot of landing lag – but like Tink’s forward air, it just barely lets you act right before landing, with something like a jump. If you shorthop it, you obviously don’t get that, but the hitbox comes out closer to the ground (right at the end of the jump arc). So if there’s ink on the ground, it’s better for taking a risk to squid-cancel it and tech-chase using the spike. (It’s risky because if you whiff, you can’t squid-cancel.)
The thing that ties this all together is ink. The long and short of it is, if an opponent is standing on ink, then in any situation where they’d bounce up from a meteor smash, they’ll instead be put into prone, and with no opportunity to tech. So if you land a Dair on a grounded opponent who’s standing in ink, which is easiest if you shorthop it since then it’s closer to the ground, you can then use Jab to jab-lock them and finish it off with a smash attack! Or if there’s still ink left on the stage, you can Dair again and start another jab-lock, and go from there. The limiting factor is how long the ink lasts; Dair doesn’t spread ink unless you full-hop it (if you short-hop, you land too early in the animation), and Jab doesn’t spread ink if it hits an opponent (the projectile disappears).
Shorthop Dair is really risky, though, since if you don’t connect, you can’t squid-cancel. So for a safer play, or if there’s no ink on the stage, you can full-hop Dair to catch a jumping opponent (tall opponents can get hit while grounded), and then tech-chase by either jumping or using a special move right before you land.
GRAB GAME
Grab
Your grab uses the long tentacles that make up your “hair,” giving you a slow-but-long-ranged tether grab that reaches as far as Zero Suit’s and has comparable lag. The suction cups give it a tight grip, and depending on your hairstyle (alternate costume), it’ll just use whatever tentacle is available. Upon successfully grabbing an opponent, you’ll transition to holding them in place with one hand, performing a quick pistol-whip with your last-used weapon as a pummel. In terms of damage and speed, it’s very similar to Shulk’s. Since your grab is slow and long-ranged, it’s best used as a way to capitalize off of traps, such as a foe who’s shielding in anticipation of a bomb exploding. Don’t go around spamming it or anything.
If you grab while squid-swimming, you’ll perform a quick spin kinda like Dtilt, grabbing opponents with those two main tentacles. This is a much more normal grab in terms of frame data, which is really nice since it means that you don’t always have to use that slow tether. The main drawback is its lack of both vertical and horizontal range; that is, it only hits right in front of you and doesn’t reach above the ground much at all. Also, you can only use it while submerged in ink. The main good thing about it is the fact that you can combine it with a squid swim for a speedy approach to surprise an opponent, or even combo out of a Dtilt with some momentum. After grabbing an opponent, you’ll just turn into human form again.
In midair, you do have a zair; you’ll stretch out a tentacle in front of you, acting pretty much the same as Tink’s zair. It’s disjointed and everything! Pretty standard fare, great for controlling space with its long range.
Forward Throw
Throw the opponent forward (surprise surprise), spinning around and tossing / “slapping” a mysterious device onto the opponent before lobbing them forward with the spin momentum. This deals 5% and moderate knockback at a diagonal angle. Good for getting the opponent offstage or getting room to lay down some turf, but nothing too spectacular on its own.
That’s where the Disruptor comes in! This little bomb-like device produces a couple of swirling, colored squids around the opponent until they land on the stage or grab the ledge. As for what it does, if you look closely, you can see those little double-jump rings appear below the foe’s feet right before they’re thrown. So the Disruptor leaves the opponent without the ability to double-jump (or, it eats their double-jump(s)) until they land! This is obviously amazing for catching landings, or for your 50-50s such as Usmash and Fsmash. Without the ability to jump away, the foe’s options are severely limited, and using your wide array of traps + the mobility offered by a squid-swim, you’ve got just the way to capitalize on that!
Up Throw
This time you’ll turn into squid form, wrap your tentacles around the foe, and carry them into the skies with a Super Jump, acting pretty much just like Kirby’s uthrow. It’s got similar KO power and deals 12% of damage, and has the same dynamics with landing on platforms and such. If you hit a Splat Bomb or Burst Bomb on the way down, it actually acts the same as landing on a platform while also detonating the bomb for that extra damage, leading to potentially really early KOs! Throwing a bomb upward and then grabbing an opponent underneath it is the obvious way to go about that, but that can also get predictable. So try mixing it up by, say, launching a Splat Bomb upward after it’s already been thrown and then going for a grab.
Back Throw
Turn around backward and slam the opponent into the ground, similarly to Pit’s bthrow but with higher base knockback. It deals 5% of damage, but that’s not all: after the throw, you’ll lob a Suction Bomb at the opponent mid-flight! It’ll stick to the opponent, acting more like a Pikmin than a Crash Bomb / Gooey Bomb: you can’t transfer it to an opponent, but dealing it 16% will do the trick. After getting knocked off, it’ll fall to the ground and stick to it, then explode later.
If the opponent fails to get it off, it’ll explode after three seconds, glowing white and making a distinctive sound as a warning. The blast inks the immediate area while dealing 8% of damage and launching the opponent diagonally up and away from the Inkling that threw it (or behind the opponent if Inkling just got KO’d / fell into an early MYM pocket dimension). This can be handy for follow-ups or keeping the opponent away from the stage, and gets you a lot of stage control too.
Thanks to its telegraphed explosion, a Suction Bomb is kinda easy to dodge. So rather than relying on it always hitting, you’ll inkstead want to capitalize on how the foe reacts to it. If they shield the blast, grab. If they roll away from it, punish the roll. That sorta thing. And offstage, their only real option – airdodge – just puts them at a lower recovery angle. They could knock it off with a few attacks, but you can punish attacks too, and that still deploys it as a trap on the stage!
If you hit a Suction-Bombed opponent with a Splat Bomb, Burst Bomb, Ink Mine, or Splat Charger (Side B, Down B, or Neutral B), the Suction Bomb will explode at the same time as the opponent is hit, essentially amplifying the blast by dealing its own damage and knockback in addition to that of the move you hit the opponent with. This causes the move to kill a decent bit earlier, and can really put the pressure on the opponent to avoid the attack… which you can then play off of and punish.
Down Throw
While gripping the opponent with one arm, you’ll use the other arm to elbow them onto the ground. After that, you’ll pull out the Splat Dualies, charge up, and fire to send the opponent sliding backward in prone about 1.5 platforms’ distance (set knockback) while dealing 9%. The foe can choose a tech option shortly before the slide stops, and this isn’t affected by ink.
The real advantage of ink here is how it augments your tech-chase game, since it lets you move more quickly and reach the opponent in time. You could also use projectiles or traps to cover options, but by squid-swimming and then punishing with a melee attack, you get a more potent punish than a projectile without the required setup of a trap. Traps are handy in that you don’t actually need to read their tech option; you can just slide them directly into a trap like an Ink Mine.
Special Throw
Finally, you can also press and hold B during a grab state for a unique, fifth “throw.” Well, it’s not really a throw; you’ll just submerge into the ink (if there’s no ink, you can’t use the Special Throw). From here, you can tap left or right to swim a fixed distance of 1 SBB in either direction, and then you’ll come back up. Great for repositioning, and the opponent can’t break out during the swim animation – but you can only use this once per grab.
Well, here we go again. Now that I'm in a slightly better living situation and motivated for Smash talk again, I guess I may attempt another one of these deals now that I'm off my hiatus. Expect something to begin this weekend, promise.
Now as for the hint of my set idea? hmm, maybe this will do:
* no actual characters from that show are being used, the theme itself is a hint btw.
N. Brio is one of the three main villains of the Crash Bandicoot franchise, alongside N. Tropy and Uka Uka. N. Brio was Cortex's right hand man in the first game and the creator of the Evolvo Ray that produced all of the various animal mutants in the series. After a lack of recognition from Cortex and realizing how incompetent his "boss" was, he decided to betray him in the second game, employing Crash to gather him the gems to form a laser to destroy Cortex's base. Cortex is extremely defeatist in the next game after Brio broke him, and is largely dragged along for the ride by Uka Uka and N. Tropy. Cortex and N. Brio seem to have a struggle over the allegiance of their mutated animal minions, though the vast majority of them are more loyal to Brio. As described by the developers, "Dr. N. Brio is a foil for Dr. Cortex. Logical to Cortex's emotional, successful (his inventions work) to Cortex's failure."
While the later games are terrible and not something I'd want to bring up unironically often, even in those games all of Cortex's old minions despise him, showing preference to Brio even when he's an idiot who can't speak in Twinsanity. Even in the universally hated game known as Mind Over Mutant his characterization isn't entirely lost, as he is constantly obsessed with proving how superior he is to Cortex and taking credit for all of "Cortex's" successes.
N. Brio is roughly the size of Mario, a fellow ******. He has fairly strong aerial statistics due to his jetpack from Crash Bash that he constantly wears, though his jumps are based off his weak physical ability and are thus bad. His Up Special actually uses said jetpack and more than makes up for it. Overall, he's a very floaty lightweight, and is still small enough to bob and weave around attacks similarly to Jigglypuff with a shorthop here and there.
SCIENTIST SPECIALS
DOWN SPECIAL - EVOLUTION
N. Brio takes out two potions and consumes them very quickly before he hulks out into a gigantic monstrous form which has its completely own moveset. While it takes 35 frames to fully transform, the transformation itself is an actual attack as a small explosion occurs over his model and his upper body muscles rapidly expand with a hitbox that comes out on frame 19. The hitbox deals 14% with knockback that kills at 135% and very high base knockback, though the very high base knockback isn't always a good thing given the fact that this transformation doesn't last forever and it prevents Brio from reaching his enemies. N. Brio will stay in his transformed state for 14 seconds before turning back, and his statistics while transformed are listed below.
Unlike most characters with this kind of design, I am fully acknowledging the fact that monster N. Brio has tiny, tiny legs in comparison to the rest of his body. In his defense, there is an actual reason for why his legs were small compared to the typical heavyweight who missed leg day, that reason being that his legs don't appear to have changed whatsoever from his normal form.
N. Brio's upper body is easily bigger than than the existing heavies in the Smash 4 cast, but his legs makes him end up around the same overall size at the end of the day. Because of his legs, monster N. Brio has terrible movement speed and a bad second jump, and falls like a rock to top it off. His first jump enables him to get some much needed air time and goes as high as Falco's as he uses his arms to help push him off, though is tied with Bowser for the longest jumpsquat animation in the game. For his disadvantages, though, monster N. Brio's actual moveset is very powerful and he would be one of the best characters in the game as a standalone character without his crippling negative statistics.
When N. Brio transforms back, he will exit any stun he is in and gain 6 frames of invulnerability as first transforming back to his previous state. Notably, "exiting stun" will refresh N. Brio out of helpless, and he will stall in the air during the 25 frame process of transforming back.
Brio cannot immediately re-enter monster form after returning to his regular form, by default having to wait 10 seconds before he can become a monster again. Inputting Down Special before then will have Brio drink the potion over 35 frames of lag with no hitbox, but decrease the wait time by 5 seconds before he can transform again.
UP SPECIAL - JETPACK
N. Brio boots up his jetpack for a recovery mostly the same as Rob's, with N. Brio able to cancel it and start it up again with ease and having to stay on the ground for a brief time in order to refuel. N. Brio can actually attack while flying rather than canceling his flight to perform an attack. In order to cancel the flight to save it for later, N. Brio has to input Up Special again while already in flight. While this can be a great boon to attack while flying, it isn't strictly advantageous because of N. Brio often wasting more fuel than Rob before he cancels out of his recovery due to the deliberate input he has to make.
This recovery is nothing fancy on N. Brio's regular form, but it definitely gets the job done with how strong it is. This excellent recovery's existence is the main thing that makes it at all possible to use the monster form's aerial game, and N. Brio will generally want to be hovering so that he can move while transforming with Down Special anyway.
SIDE SPECIAL - BRIO BEAKER
N. Brio throws a beaker filled with goop forwards in a lobbing arch arc similar to Yoshi's Up Special tossed eggs. The move is largely a clone of that move at a glance, having the same hitbox and frame data, but when the potion lands on the ground slime will be created. If the foe is hit by the actual potion, the slime will not be created unless otherwise stated. This applies even if the foe shields the attack (Dealing the same 6% as Yoshi), making shields the primary way to prevent the set-up. The move can be charged for up to 25 additional frames, which will cause Brio to shake the potion before he throws it, causing it to slightly change color.
0-4 frames - Green Slime:
This slime spreads out a Kirby width over the stage it's on. If a foe lands in the goop, they will become stuck to it and be unable to move more than a platform's width away from it in any direction. Hitting the slime with any attack will cause it to be destroyed and free the stuck character, and the tether will instantly snap if the character in question takes knockback that would send them further away than they would be normally allowed to move away from it. Snapping the tether by having the victim take knockback does not destroy the slime, thankfully, so foes are still capable of getting stuck in it again later. It is entirely possible for foes to be stuck to multiple pieces of slime at once, at which point they can only move to points within a platform of all slime they are stuck to. If foes simply dodge the potion that was going to create the slime, they will find themselves stuck in the created slime afterwards, making shielding vastly preferable.
5-12 frames - Color Changing Slime:
This slime is for the most part the same as the green slime, but changes colors and can only be destroyed when it is green, like in the beta version of the original disc. Charging for 5-8 frames get you slime that swaps between green and red every 30 frames, while charging for 10-12 frames gets you slime that swaps between green, yellow, and red every 20 frames.
13-16 frames - Green Sentient Slime:
This is the version of the slime from the N. Sane Trilogy, now with eyes, a mouth, and enough depth to be comparable to Kirby in size rather than a puddle on the ground. This slime will jump towards the foe mindlessly, jumping a Mario height up and a Bowser width forwards every 40 frames. Upon contact with the foe, it will deal 8% and explode into an ordinary green slime puddle, sticking them to it automatically. Shielding this will block the 8%, but cause foes to get stuck to the slime underneath them afterwards. Sentient slimes have 10 HP before they are "killed", but will splat into ordinary green slime upon "death" and have to be hit an additional time to be fully destroyed. It is annoying to dispose of these without getting tethered as foes will have to attack them from a slight distance, and makes the easiest option to kill them baiting them off-stage. Baiting the sentient slimes off-stage also means you don't have to deal with them in puddle form.
17-20 frames - Rain Cloud:
The potion turns red as N. Brio throws it this time. Unlike the other potion variants, this doesn't create anything if N. Brio hits it at the ground, and instead only does something when successfully hitting the enemy. This version of the potion deals 11% and knockback that kills at 160%, a decent boost over the usual 5% the other potions do. A black Ivysaur sized rain cloud will be generated over a Ganondorf above the foe's head that rains down on them. The rain has infinite downwards range as it falls, and standing in the stream of rain will deal foes 1% every 12 frames with no hitstun or knockback. The rain cloud will always move to be exactly a Ganondorf height above the foe, and moves horizontally to try to match the foe's position at a speed very slightly slower than Robin's dash. The rain cloud lasts for a lengthy 9 seconds, and forces foes to move around the stage a decent amount in order to avoid it. Slime is the most obvious way to slow foes down for the rain cloud to actually hit. If N. Brio manages to produce multiple rain clouds simultaneously and they pass each other, they will combine in size and duration.
If foes shield the red potion, the rain cloud will still be created and chase after them. Given the miniscule difference in frames needed for charge time, it can be a decent mindgame for foes on whether they need to shield or dodge the potion to prevent N. Brio from attaining any set-up.
21+ Frames - Color Changing Sentient Slime:
The name of what's generated here is self explanatory, it combines the effects of color changing and sentience onto the slime. This will give the slime enough longevity that foes will be more encouraged to deal with it by baiting it off-stage, given they can may well be waiting for multiple cycles in order to fully kill this slime through attacking it. 21-24 frames make a sentient slime that changes from green to red, while 25 throws in yellow as an additional color.
The rain cloud potion can often be preferable to this potion, but the fact it's in the middle of another option just makes it easier to mindgame which potion you're going to throw to change the foe's reaction. While the potion flies through the air, it is clear what it's going to produce from the color of the potion, but foes will often not have enough time to look at it in the heat of battle. In the event they do, the rain cloud potion's color is red while green slime potions are green, and color changing potions unsurprisingly change colors between the colors available. It can actually be a bit beneficial to not throw yellow into the mix, as it makes it more likely the potion will appear red during the brief time the foe looks at it to determine their reaction.
NEUTRAL SPECIAL - POWER GEMS
N. Brio summons five of the power gems generously donated to him by Crash around himself with very little lag. Each gem is the size of Kirby, and by default they rotate in a radius large enough to fit Bowser inside, and they rotate around at a rate fast enough that they will make a full rotation once every 80 frames. These gems function as drop through platforms anybody can stand on, which is something monster N. Brio is very happy about with his terrible aerial statistics. These will keep rotating in place where they were summoned forever if left alone, potentially allowing N. Brio to place them on the side of the stage to make it easy to recover on/use grounded moves there. This will make foes have to knock monster Brio towards the opposite side of the stage in order to exploit his terrible recovery, while enabling monster Brio to make better gimp attempts. At the same time, this can be a big hindrance to scientist Brio, considering the fact his recovery is so good he will never need these gem platforms to help him. The foe can destroy the gems by depleting their 21 HP they each have.
These gems do more than act as platforms - anybody who stands inside of their radius will get a significant power boost to damage, 1.05x per gem. With all of the gems and all of the power, that totals to 1.25x. Knockback is not boosted directly, but due to the increased damage will be increased a slight amount by proxy. This applies to the foe as well, not just Brio. In regular form, this enables foes to kill Brio significantly earlier than Jigglypuff considering he's already very light. When using the gems to recover in monster form, the power boost can enable foes to easily knock monster Brio further away than he can even use to reach the gems. If placed on the main-stage, the power boost to foes can potentially be a negative thing as it will prevent them from being able to combo monster Brio.
If the gems are already out and Brio presses neutral special while standing outside of the ring of gems, he will gain the ability to increase or decrease the rotation radius of the gems. By default, the radius increases, but if he holds down also the radius will decrease back down to the minimum. This is a quick stance for Brio to cancel out of and enter into, though it takes 80 frames for the the gems to fully expand out to their maximum radius which is the size of a smart bomb blast. Note that the gems cannot clip through the ground, so the center of where they rotate around will change as necessary when increasing the rotation radius. Pressing the R or L button during this time will have the Gems change the direction they are rotating to right/left over about 25 frames, and when first summoned they will rotate in the direction Brio is facing by default.
Having a large rotation radius has plenty of potential benefits. If used off-stage, it significantly increases the "safe" area where it is easy for Brio to recover towards. If Brio can grab the enemy while standing on one of the gem platforms and they're at a high enough percentage they won't escape the grab super quickly, he can wait for the gems to rotate closer towards a blast zone before he throws them at said blast zone, making the move KO very early, especially with the power boost taken into account, though foes are perfectly capable of doing that to N. Brio as well.
If Brio presses Neutral Special while standing inside of the ring, all of the gems will slowly come back towards him and he will stow them away. They move towards Brio at a slow speed and recalling them has 40 frames minimum of lag, potentially shooting up all the way to 90 frames if the gems are fully extended out from Brio. If a foe merely stands on one of the gem platforms as he does this, they can charge a powerful attack and smack Brio right in his face as they reach him. Unsummoning the gems isn't something easy for Brio to do, and he has to before he's allowed to summon new ones elsewhere.
Foes who do not enjoy Brio's gem setup as much as him still have plenty of countermeasures. If foes destroy 4 out of the 5 gems, the power boost will only be 1.05x and it will be much harder for Brio to take advantage of the sole remaining platform, largely relying on the luck of it being where he needs it to be in the rotation. Brio is not allowed to destroy his own gems, and recalling it is not easy. One way Brio can try to force foes to get rid of it is if he places slime on it. If the foe ever lands on that platform, they will have to attack the gem to free themselves from the tether, and will have to use an attack that does 12% or less to not destroy it, even when said attack is boosted in power by 1.05x.
Tethering the foe to gems has plenty of other more obvious possibilities, especially when you can change their rotation radius at will. A sentient slime will typically much prefer to have a smaller rotation radius of gems so that it can actually make the jump from platform to platform. If the gems are positioned at the correct distance apart from each other, you can have sentient slimes constantly jumping from one gem to the next like they're on a hamster wheel, jumping in whichever direction the foe is, but unable to reach them because of gems getting in the way. If the foe has a rain cloud from Side Special raining down on them, it will be annoying for them to constantly stay inside of a small group of gems in order to make use of the power boost, enabling Brio to make better use of it.
If the center of the gems is created more than 0.8 platform away from the main stage in any direction, the center will rotate back inwards back to that distance to prevent stalling abuse, moving at Mario's dashing speed to do so. Keep in mind that manmade platforms like these will not refresh Brio's recovery either by standing on them.
MONSTER SPECIALS
DOWN SPECIAL - GROUND CHUNK
N. Brio rips out a chunk of the stage Bowser's width and half Kirby's depth with surprisingly little lag and obviously only usable while standing on the main stage. The stage does not terraform in response to this move, but any liquids on the stage such as Brio's slime will be transferred onto the piece of stage Brio is now holding. Brio will then toss the ground chunk forwards with the ability to angle it up or down 45 degrees, tossing it forwards a fair distance. If done on a straight stretch of stage, the ground chunk would travel 1.5 platforms before it hit the ground and shattered, but it can potentially travel much farther if thrown off-stage. If a foe is hit, they will take 12% and knockback that kills at 150% in the direction the ground chunk was going as the ground chunk is destroyed and any slime on it falls to the floor underneath it. Non sentient slime is harmless as falling through the air.
The top of the ground chunk is not a hitbox and can be stood on by all characters. Standing on the ground refreshes jumps (Largely bad for Brio given his jumps are horrible), but not Up Special recoveries. If the top of it was slimy, foes will be stuck to it until they remove said slime, which can potentially be worse than getting hit by the main hitbox.
Brio can't normally catch up to his thrown ground chunks, but if there was slime on the ground chunk and he holds the button for the entire duration of the attack, he will hold onto the slime after he throws it. This will cause the slime tether to forcibly drag Brio along with the ground chunk, and with Brio's horrible movement statistics this can be a faster method of movement while providing the benefit of an attack as well. Brio will continue to hold onto the slime tether for as long as he holds B, able to release it at any time by letting go of the button. While being dragged, it's possible for Brio to jump up onto the ground chunk if he so chooses or to just stay behind it.
This can enable Brio to go off-stage for a gimping session with an extra jump to recover from it, though he has to be very careful if he's not going to turn back to scientist form soon. Ideally, he will want to catch the foe in the middle of them dodging the ground chunk hitbox if he throws it in such a way foes can't easily jump on the ground chunk. While very powerful with Brio's moveset, any attack to any portion of the slime connecting Brio to the ground chunk will still destroy it, leaving Brio largely helpless in the air.
If Brio uses this attack while standing on a Gem, he will pick it up and throw it out from under himself! After throwing the Gem forwards a platform's distance, it will levitate back into its original place in the rotation over the course of a second, no matter where that location is, and will no longer be a hitbox. If Brio attempts to throw it again, the Gem's force to get back into position will override the force of the throw. Brio will not be standing on the Gem anymore after having thrown it, so he has to be sure he can make it to another source of ground afterwards before doing this. Because of Brio throwing out the very ground he is standing on when he is using this move, he uses both hands and does not have a free hand to hold onto any slime standing on the gem afterwards, so he can't tether himself to a Gem like with a ground chunk.
Throwing a Gem has more starting lag than throwing a ground chunk, but less ending lag given Brio's standing in mid-air afterwards, enabling him to potentially hop on the Gem as it comes back to get out further than he would potentially be able to otherwise. This will also increase the radius of the power boost, potentially enabling Brio to kill a foe earlier than he could otherwise. Brio may intentionally want to throw the Gem in such a way that it has to travel further to reach its destination, as hopping on it as it goes back will give him potentially very fast mobility he wouldn't have access to otherwise.
SIDE SPECIAL - BOULDER
N. Brio takes out a circular boulder instead of a square ground chunk before forcefully shoving it forwards. Unlike Down Special, N. Brio doesn't have to use this move on the ground, though the starting lag is long enough it's doubtful he'll complete it in the air with his high falling speed. The boulder is about the size of Wario and is laggier to throw than the ground chunk by a fair margin. The boulder deals 18% and knockback that kills at 90% when first thrown and rolls forwards 2.3 platforms. As it goes, the boulder slows down more and more until it comes to a complete stop, the hitbox's power going down with the boulder's speed.
If the boulder rolls over slime, it will get tethered to it and continue rolling along up to a platform's distance away from the slime before snapping back into place, causing it to roll at full speed in the opposite direction. This process will continue for about 4 seconds as the boulder slowly loses momentum and comes to its final resting place on top of the slime and vanishes. Foes can stop this early by destroying the slime with any attack, but it is risky with the powerful boulder rolling around in the middle.
Notably, Brio can uproot the slime the boulder is stuck to by using Down Special or Side Special on top of it in order to release the boulder from the tether manually, enabling it to fly off in another direction after building up momentum. In the case of Down Special, N. Brio can potentially even throw the chunk after the foe as well while dragging himself along for the ride, giving the foe 3 layers of potential hitboxes to avoid in an all out attack. This can be almost impossible to avoid and shielding all the potential attacks may well result in a shieldbreak, but the fact this is telegraphed, requires set-up, and the actual execution must all be done in 14 seconds makes it much easier to manage for the foe. That said, the actual set-up moves for monster Brio are fairly fast for moves of the archetype, especially Down Special.
If this attack is used in the air without Brio managing to have the starting lag interrupted, the boulder will bounce whenever it lands on the ground. The amount it bounces is proportionate to its speed, launching 1.6 Ganons into the air at top speed. Bouncing will give the boulder a very small speed boost, increasing the range it will travel by about a Mario width at most, but gives little to nothing at lower speeds. The main time Brio will ever have the luxury of being able to use it in the air is gem platforms giving him some height. Brio will presumably use the move on a higher gem platform so he can complete it, and when it lands on the lower one it will bounce back into the air, potentially multiple times based on the positions of the gems.
NEUTRAL SPECIAL - GARGANTUAN PUNCH
This move is a simple clone of DK's Neutral Special, but is buffed from it in several aspects. While the frame data is the same, Brio's gigantic arms obviously buffs the range a lot and it's very slightly more powerful, about 1.12X moreso, which is not much but a bigger increase than it looks when the move is already so strong. In addition to these positives, charging the move actually has a hitbox! Whirling Brio's arm around behind himself deals 3 hits of 4% and flinching per second, essentially functioning as a simple multi hit jab. Brio even gets to keep DK's superarmor when he goes for the actual punch!
This is an excellent move and would border on potentially being overpowered if monster Brio was a standalone moveset, but unfortunately he isn't. As great as this is, Brio will find it annoying to spend a portion of his 10 playable seconds just on charging this move. If Brio transforms to regular form and back, he will not keep the charge from this move. As such, this move also becomes quite predictable on the foe's part, as not only does Brio have to charge it but he will often go out of his way to use that charge before the 14 seconds are up.
Monster Brio has to be extremely efficient with his time, so to get full mileage out of the move he will want to get used to hitting with the "charging" hitbox as an attack of its own. It is a large range hitbox that hits behind Brio which is fairly rare, so this can be Brio's primary ways of catching rolls. While he has more powerful moves for doing so, they aren't also charging a superpowered punch. N. Brio can also choose to use a version of the move that isn't fully charged when inside the gems to make up for that lost power, as he may not have the time to waste to charge it all the way.
UP SPECIAL - FLAIL
Given his legs basically don't exist, monster N. Brio is pretty correct to try to frantically flail his gigantic arms to try to recover. This takes N. Brio the distance of Little Mac's recovery, but has a huge hitbox that deals 4 hits of 4% as N. Brio flaps, with a final hit that does 11% and vertical knockback that kills at 135%. The hitbox is huge, but the hitbox is largely above N. Brio, he enters helpless afterwards, and N. Brio has horrible lag upon hitting the ground during helpless.
This move starts up very quickly, and while it only goes as high as Little Mac's Up Special it's over a much longer duration that can potentially stall out the remaining time N. Brio has left before he turns back into his form capable of real recovery. The nature of this recovery enables N. Brio to potentially go off-stage to gimp towards the end of his time in monster form with the knowledge he will be able to recover from it later. Aside from that, the horrible end lag of this move can also be mitigated by turning back into regular form to enable it to see offensive use and potentially even enable scientist N. Brio to combo off of it.
Monster Brio can recover a lot more reliably when next to gems, as during his frantic flailing if he comes into contact with a platform he will grab onto it and pull himself up with minimal lag. This uses his animation for pulling himself up from a ledge normally, though he doesn't get any kind of invulnerability. If Brio mashes A/B during the attack, he will still recover up through the platforms without being interrupted in the attack, letting him still use the full attack out of a combo if needed and/or defend himself if he wants, though he should be warned that climbing up onto the gem is a lot less laggy than collapsing up on top of one.
SCIENTIST SMASHES
FORWARD SMASH - CHEMICAL REACTION
Brio takes out two beakers filled with differently colored liquids and carefully takes turns pouring them into each other during the charging animation for the smash. Upon using the actual attack, Brio clashes the two beakers together, shattering them and causing their contents to explode in a hitbox dealing 14-20% and knockback that kills at 140-95% with high base knockback. This attack comes out very quickly, but it suffers both bad ending lag and very low range, especially for Brio's high range standards.
Aside from the range, this attack cannot be liberally spammed because of the fact that the explosion causes Brio to take knockback backwards a Bowser width. Given most of Brio's move are longer range in scientist form, this is one of his primary ways to make space given the high knockback and the pushback he does to himself. While it's a quick way to dispose of his enemies, if it misses he'll be even more vulnerable than he was before with the foe at point blank range.
If Brio uses this attack with his back to a ledge, this attack can push him off of it, which is largely a good thing given it frees him from ending lag immediately. Because this means Brio's back is to the ledge, if he hits the foe they'll have to travel the entire length of the stage before going off-stage towards a blast zone, which makes it kill much later if used in this much safer fashion. This is an even more common occurrence on a space as small as a gem platform if both characters are standing on it simultaneously somehow, and Brio will always be able to knock himself off of it with this move. While this is very fast, using it on a gem platform means Brio is inherently in the air and the move's range problem can be exploited further, given he now has an extra angle to be attacked from, from below, which will also result in his precious gem getting destroyed.
If the foe is stuck in place due to slime, both of this move's problems are fairly easily answered. Since they can't move, getting in range to use this attack should be much easier. If Brio misses, the pushback will do a much better job at preventing him from suffering punishment from the foe than usual, given he will be out of range of most non projectile attacks the foe can offer. Keep in mind that the tether from slime is still a full platform and this only pushes Brio back a Bowser width, though, so this only applies when the foe is baited out to the full extent of their leash.
UP SMASH - GIANT LASER
Brio brings up the laser cannon from the ground that he used to destroy Cortex's ship in the ending of Crash 2. It is significantly larger than Brio at Ganondorf's size, and upon summoning it will charge the laser for an obnoxiously long 38 frames before finally firing it upwards. The beam is similar in size to Robin's Neutral Special and like that move, will travel upwards infinitely. The laser is easily scientist Brio's most powerful move, dealing 20-28% and knockback that kills at 120-70%.
Infinite range might sound nice, but the catch is the canon's huge height makes the beam be fired a Ganondorf off the ground, straight up into the air, leaving the move with a huge blind spot at point blank. The move is very difficult to get use out of, and with no set-up one of the most common ways to use it is to punish foes who try to recover high to avoid your gimping-game.
In the game, this cannon is directly powered by the gems and is the whole reason Brio sends Crash to get them for him in the first place. As such, this move gets a different benefit from gems rather than a power boost and instead gets a speed boost. For each gem present, the move's starting lag is cut down by 3 frames (rounded up), giving it only 23 frames of starting lag with all of the gems. The weird hitbox is still an issue, but the gems can help with that also! If the gems are off-stage, it is possible for Brio to get lower than the stage's height with this move in order to directly increase the size of the hitbox considering the infinite range. This enables Brio to more directly use the laser as a large wall to block recovering enemies, no matter how they recover really. If Brio uses this on the lowest gem in a wide rotation, it will be very difficult for foes to go under it without putting themselves at tremendous risk of being gimped by the rest of Brio's moveset.
If Cortex isn't in the match, there is a 3% chance that the sounds of Cortex's ship being destroyed will be heard and Cortex can be seen falling down out of the sky in the background, screaming in horror like in the intro of Crash 2. This can only happen once per match.
DOWN SMASH - STORM CLOUD
N. Brio throws two potions with red liquid up above his head before they collide with each other and shatter. This create a storm cloud similar to the red potion on Side Special, but bigger. The storm cloud hovers to be about a Kirby height above N. Brio very quickly before it fires two thunder bolts towards the ground at 45 degree angles at either side of N. Brio. The thunderbolts deal 12-17% with knockback that kills at 170-135% before the cloud vanishes just as quickly as it came. Given the weak power this has for a smash, it's fairly fast and has good coverage around and above N. Brio.
If the thunderbolts hit a portion of slime, given its liquid nature, it will conduct electricity and spread throughout it. This will cause the entirety of the slime to be a hitbox and make it linger on for 20 frames. While the tethers connecting the foe to the slime aren't interactible hurtboxes, if you zap the main patch of slime on the floor (The same one foes have to hit to destroy it), it will go through the tether and zap the foe. Given that the hitbox will linger in the slime for 20 frames, foes will have to shield the move rather than dodge it, interrupt the move, or destroy the slime they're stuck to. This move can provide even more pressure if the foe is tethered to two pieces of slime on either side of N. Brio, as they won't be able to free themselves from both tethers at once.
If a rain cloud from Side Special comes in contact with the storm cloud during this move, it will be absorbed into it and power up the dsmash by a proportion based off how much time the rain cloud still had to float around. With a full 9 seconds to go, the power of the usmash is boosted by 12% damage and kills 60% earlier. It is possible to absorb multiple rain clouds at once to make the move even more powerful, but keep in mind what a powerful status effect you're wasting on a miss or if the move is interrupted, given the absorbed rain clouds are for all intents and purposes destroyed by this move. This is most effective when the rain cloud is far behind the foe and struggling to catch up, essentially letting you "transfer" a hitbox from it onto the opposite side of the storm cloud in a powerful lightning blast. While it can often be preferable to keep around the rain cloud, it's obviously worth it if the power difference actually nets you a kill.
MONSTER SMASHES
FORWARD SMASH - SMASH
N. Brio does an exaggerated version of DK's fsmash for this attack, holding both of his arms behind him before swinging them in front of himself and clapping them together with great force. This takes longer to come out than that move, taking all the way until frame 34, though the ending lag is very brief by comparison to make the move technically be faster overall. Given the exaggerated motion and Brio's bigger arms, it's marginally more powerful than DK's fsmash, dealing 22-31% and knockback that kills at 80-35% for the most powerful move in Brio's set, as you'd expect. Even just having a simple slow, strong move like this at all would be quite relevant in the context of the gems, which practically lets Brio kills people with this move instantly if he should hit them.
During the starting lag, Brio leans his upper torso back as he moves his arms behind himself, enabling him to dodge a lot of attacks, similar to attacks like Yoshi's fsmash or Bowser's fsmash in Brawl. While his frail, useless legs will remain in place, their small size leaves a small target for foes to hit instead of the giant frame that was there just a moment ago. This hurtbox shift is very useful against foes on a leash due to slime as you potentially go out of their range of attack.
This hurtbox shift can be further exaggerated if standing on a gem platform currently going backwards, having him move back a significant distance before going doing the clap forwards. It is quite difficult for both Brio and the foe to stand on a single Kirby width gem platform simultaneously without clipping into each other and pushing each other off, especially due to monster Brio's size. The lean back can potentially enable foes to land on the platform when they wouldn't otherwise be able to, potentially triggering landing lag from an aerial they were performing before Brio moves back in to push them off and smack them. Despite the lag, this attack can be a good defensive measure to "guard" a Gem you're standing on, even if you may not always actually hit with it.
If going forwards either on a Gem platform or a flying ground chunk, the shift backwards can be useful to "delay" the attack from the otherwise obvious telegraph when you would come face to face with the foe. In the case of the ground chunk, it's pretty much perfect all around as you set up a powerful attack to punish the foe who dodged the chunk. If the chunk is about to be destroyed and you are simply being dragged along with it via a slime tether, the shift backwards can enable you to find an earlier point to "stop" in advance.
UP SMASH - FLIP PUNCH
N. Brio balances himself on his gigantic hangs as he lifts his legs off the ground before starting the standard up smash "flip kick" seen on characters like Fox, which is incredibly awkward given his untransformed old man legs. After completing the flip kick and going to stand upright again, Brio uses the momentum from the swing to forcefully swing up his arms for a far more powerful hitbox and end properly upright.
This attack has two hitboxes, with the first hitbox being the tiny legs dealing 3-4% and dealing tiny, tiny knockback that knocks foes into the primary arms based hitbox. The arms deal a meaty 18-25% and knockback that kills at 115-75%. The legs hitbox comes out very fast, and generally will stun foes to be hit by the notably slower arms hitbox. The knockback from both hitboxes is dealt at a 45 degree upward angle, but due to the nature of the flipkick, foes are sent flying behind Brio, not in front of him. While the legs knockback is very, very small, it's not set and does very slightly scale, so it can potentially knock foes out of the move. At higher percentages where this move can actually kill, Brio will have to be very careful to try to hit foes above and in front of him with the kick. The closer they are to being behind him, the more likely they will get knocked out of the main attack. This makes the move a surprisingly strict move hitbox wise for Brio, as you'd expect for a move somehow involving his legs.
While this attack has a low kill percentage, getting the foe up to a much higher one will make the kick stop comboing into the main move entirely, much less if Brio has rage. Another factor to take into account with this move is power boosts from the gems, which can also knock foes away with the kick too fast. That said, the existence of gems can potentially expand the magic kill range of this move to something less strict. Brio can kill the foe at earlier than 115% if he uses the gems, then once the foe goes up to about 115 he just has to use the move when not boosted by gems by simply moving away from them.
While making use of this move on power gems is already difficult, another potential complication is the rotation of the gems. If the gem is currently moving in the direction Brio is facing when he uses the move, it will work against him, but it can potentially aid him if moving in the opposite direction. This move is fast enough it would be viable if the kick hitbox didn't exist at all, but specifically whiffing the kick is easier said than done so it's the primary hitbox Brio has to work with on this move.
DOWN SMASH - KONG
Brio turns to face the fore/background and beats his chest with wide, forceful swings of his arms as he fully extends them out before pounding his chest. The move has very little technical lag on either side, but a significant duration as Brio continues to beat his chest. The swings of Brio's arms out to both sides suck foes in with set knockback towards his chest, dealing several weak hits that total to 8-11%. After he finishes beating his chest, Brio lets out a roar as he flexes his abs with his muscles bulging out for the primary hitbox, dealing 17-24% and knockback that kills at 140-90%. This hitbox requires foes to be overlapping Brio's model and is short ranged, but the arms bring them in for you.
As Brio beats his chest, he becomes enraged and deals 15-21% damage to himself. At the end of the move when Brio roars, this self inflicted "damage" Brio has taken will be healed, but not before the knockback calculation for the move. This enables Brio to briefly boost his rage to power up the move even more, potentially making the difference for the kill. This is only exaggerated even more when under the effects of Power Gems, as the power boost will also apply to the damage Brio does to himself.
Brio has superarmor on all of his body besides his old man legs during this attack. The superarmor will block damage from attacks equal to the amount of self damage Brio has done to himself over the course of the move, so it gradually builds up towards the finale before going away during the brief ending lag on the attack. This attack on the whole is quite difficult for foes to overcome. The long duration is hard to exploit when the superarmor gets higher and higher as the move goes on, and there's not much else to punish. It is easiest to attack Brio's legs during the final short ranged roar, though this is obviously very risky.
While foes could wait to punish Brio with an unimpressive quick move during the ending lag, they would be robbing themselves of a valuable opportunity. If Brio is interrupted before the ending lag occurs, he won't heal the damage he did to himself. While the move is generally quite safe, should it somehow get interrupted the effects for Brio are absolutely devastating. It is easier for foes to interrupt Brio earlier in the move if they're going to given he has less superarmor, but then Brio will not have dealt as much self damage to himself.
If Brio interrupts this move by having to transform back to Scientist form in the middle of it, he will not be able to heal any of the self damage but will keep the superarmor during the entire duration of the transformation, which can be a worthy trade-off depending on the scenario - just be careful with gauging how much superarmor you're going to actually need.
SCIENTIST GRAB-GAME
GRAB - SEIZE
N. Brio pathetically grabs in front of himself with his dust and bones physical arms. The grab has tiny range and is slow, fairly comparable to awful grabs like Ganondorf and Zelda's. N. Brio has a surprisingly good grab-game to make use of in scientist form, it's just a matter of actually grabbing his enemies to use it.
If monster N. Brio transforms back while he has the enemy grabbed, the foe will be unable to escape Brio's grab during that time and will still remain grabbed by scientist N. Brio afterwards, with the grab escape timer resuming from that point forwards. Monster Brio's grab is one of his best moves, so it's a far easier way of landing a grab if a very rare option.
PUMMEL - REVENGE
Brio physically beats the foe down with his hands, slapping as hard as he can in his regular form, which obviously isn't very hard. This is one of the worst pummels in the game, dealing only 1% and still managing to be fairly slow. At least it gives Brio some satisfaction as he laughs maniacally at the foe.
The reason Brio's pummel is so bad is because there are plenty of reasons to sit and wait with the foe grabbed. Brio can wait for a sentient slime to show up and splat on the foe, he can wait for the gem he's standing on to rotate around to a location that's more preferable, and most scary of all he can just force the foe to sit under a rain cloud from Side Special. In the case of the slime, Brio can give the foe superarmor with a throw so they're not knocked out of the grab when the slime does arrive, preferably dthrow to all but guarantee they get tethered.
Monster Brio can do all of these things as well, and he has an actual good grab and pummel. The catch is monster Brio's time is much more valuable and he often can't afford to be sitting around doing nothing. The Gems are the only one of the above constructs monster Brio can especially rely on having around anyway, given the scientist has to produce all of them and the gems are the only one that don't expire quickly. Aside from Monster Brio's time being limited, scientist Brio will have limited time to become Monster Brio before the constructs are gone, so Brio will have to somehow manage to get in some of his own grabs to fully enjoy all of these benefits.
FORWARD THROW - JET RIDE
N. Brio hops up and does a dropkick forwards into the foe. Brio obviously isn't acrobatic enough for this kick to really hurt too much, but as does the kick he activates his jetpack to propel himself directly into the foe and apply some actual force to the attack. Brio drags the foe with him up to 1.25 platforms if he has full jet fuel from his Up Special, using up all of said fuel at once. At the end of the move, Brio quickly pushes off of the foe with a kick to specifically land back at the original location he was at during the start of the move. The ending kick does 7% and knockback that kills at 150% which is rather unimpressive, but as Brio drags the foe along they take additional damage, up to 6% in total with a full pack of fuel. Brio can and will drag enemies off-stage with this attack, meaning this throw has much better potential to kill than it would otherwise, given the KO percent of 150% is based off the final knockback being dealt at the edge.
This attack will drain all of Brio's Up Special fuel on the spot, though the fact he jumps back to where he was means he won't die because of using this attack. The only exception is if that ground he was standing underneath was no longer there such as a Gem, but hopefully another gem should be back in the rotation. If this attack doesn't kill the foe, Brio will not be able to make any real gimp attempt on them as they come back outside of standing on Gem platforms, and keep in mind standing on artificial ground like the Gems doesn't restore jet fuel.
Standing on off-stage Gems before performing the throw can enable Brio to drag the foe even further towards the blast zone before giving them their knockback. The only problem is if Brio drags them past the gem field, he won't receive the 1.25X boost to the knockback. Brio has to make sure he's actually as close to the blast zone as possible in the gem rotation before using the throw, because if he only just barely passes the radius of the Gems the small extra distance will not justify the large loss to the move's power. If not at the side of the rotation closest to the blast zone, Brio has to be careful that he goes as close as possible to the edge of the radius with the fthrow without going over, and may even need to intentionally waste some of his fuel.
BACK THROW - POINT BLANK SHOT
Brio turns the foe around and takes out his ray gun to shoot the foe in the face with it point blank, dealing 11% and knockback behind himself that kills at 160% in a highly simplistic throw. The KO percentage is lower than the fthrow's on this attack, and it doesn't drag the foe towards the blast zone. The point of having a more generic throw is in case the fthrow's jet ride would just barely take you beyond the gems, in which case this is definitely the stronger option. If Brio has little to no fuel, this throw also does more damage than the fthrow. Even if everything is all lined up for a perfect fthrow, if Brio isn't confident in the fthrow's ability to successfully kill the foe, he may opt for this one instead just so he doesn't waste his fuel and can pursue the foe off-stage for gimping with this throw's minimal ending lag.
UP THROW - POISONED POTION
N. Brio force feeds the foe a green potion before bashing the leftover empty beaker over their head and shattering it, dealing 3% and weak knockback upwards that won't kill until 300% or so. The damage dealt by this throw is very strange, as it will heal the foe of 20% on the spot! 2 seconds after the throw completes, though, the foe will begin taking 2.8% poison damage every second until they have taken 28% damage. This means the foe will take 12 seconds to finally take 8% damage. 12 seconds is a very long time to wait for a mere 11% damage (8% poison + 3% from the beaker smash), but that's not all this throw offers.
Obviously foes can't have a negative damage percentage, so this is great if the foe has 0-19% damage, making the foe potentially able to take up to 28% from just the throw itself. This would already be great, but the throw also happens to be Brio's combo throw, just for good measure. This combo throw knocks up foes a bit higher than Brio might like for a combo throw and stops working at a sadly early percentage, only just 20%. The good news is that the knockback the foe takes is calculated after they are healed, so this artificially extends that combo range to 40%! Aside from enabling the throw itself to combo for longer, the foe's briefly lower damage during the 12 seconds can potentially enable other combos or even additional uthrows!
Combo moves are not as effective while under the effects of the Power Gems. While this throw's knockback will unfortunately be boosted, the power of the healing and poison will also be amplified. Healing the foe for 5% more than normal is an overall good trade-off comboability wise for the small knockback boost this gets, enabling you to still use it next to the Power Gems without worrying too much. Both the damage the foe is taking and the amount they're healing is multiplied by the same number (1.25X), and because the ultimate damage they take is larger it will increase more than the damage they healed.
DOWN THROW - DEVOLUTION
N. Brio forcefeeds the foe another potion before weakly kicking them away, dealing 6% and knockback that kills at 250%, but too much ending lag for Brio to use for anything practical. The potion causes the foe to turn into some kind of ugly frog mutant nobody would ever willingly choose to turn into, making their skin green and causing them to gain froggish features around their face. This greatly lengthens the foe's tongue to impractical lengths as they let out a very pained "ribbit", similar to a certain Pokemon with a highly well thought out and realistic design. The tongue will wrap around the foe's head like a scarf just like that character, but is so long it will drag along the ground a little ways behind them.
The foe's tongue is about the width of Bowser and drags behind them everywhere. Attacking it will deal half the damage of whatever attack hit the tongue, but no other effects of the attack like hitstun and knockback. Foes cannot have both their tongue and main body hit by the same attack, and dodging will cause the tongue to become briefly intangible along with their main body. For Brio, the tongue hurtbox is still useful to somewhat "combo" the foe for some extra damage when their regular hurtbox is out of reach. Half damage may not seem like much beyond a consolation prize, though with all of the gems Brio will be dealing 3/4ths of the damage of his attacks normally just by hitting their tongue.
There are a couple of exceptions to the rule of the tongue not suffering any effects other than damage. The first one is that the tongue can get stuck to slime and tether the foe to that slime. This also means if a sentient slime kills itself by exploding on their tongue, it will tether the foe's tongue to the ground.
The mutated tongue is immune to grab hitboxes from Scientist Brio because of how weak he is, but Monster Brio (And anyone else besides Scientist Brio) will pull the foe in by their tongue and hold them in a grab, making it very hard for foes to run away from Monster Brio during that time. Monster Brio's grab is already amazing, so foes will have to go out of their way to try to prevent him from transforming during this time. Obviously if foes get tethered to slime, which is quite easy to happen during this time, it's a lot easier for Brio to go transform.
This status effect lasts for 7 seconds before the tongue will retract back into the foe's mouth with a comical "boing" sound effect. If the foe was currently tethered to slime by their tongue, they will be forcibly dragged to the position of that slime before they consume the slime as it gets dragged into their mouth. This deals 10% to the foe and causes them to choke on it to stun them for a significant time, about 30 frames. Using dthrow on the foe while they are already under this status effect will just renew the duration.
So that this isn't a nightmare to animate on every character, the tongue wraps around the foe enough times to specifically covers up the foe's mouth area so we don't actually see the mutated tongue coming out of their body. In the case of characters with mouth/eating based attacks, this is animated in more detail so that their mouths aren't covered up. As far as the rare character who uses their tongue specifically for attacks (Greninja uses his for a very memorable token utilt) they will instead sprout a giant kangaroo tail like Rilla Roo's which is mostly functionally identical to the tongue, though slightly worse since they can't choke on slime through a tail obviously. If the foe uses both a tongue and a tail for attacks, such as Lickitung, then they've lucked out and are entirely immune.
If this is used on N. Tropy, Brio will angrily say "Tropy, get changed!"
MONSTER GRAB-GAME
GRAB - STRONGARM
Brio reaches forwards with a single gigantic arm with the kind of luxurious grab reach you'd expect from Brawl Dedede's grab. For reference, Brawl Dedede's grab range was almost as far as the worst tethers. It's still fairly fast and will be one of Monster Brio's most commonly used attacks, especially considering grabbing the foe when Brio transforms back means he won't only be unpunishable, but will be able to use the scientist form's powerful grab-game.
PUMMEL - SQUEEZE
Brio attempts to suffocate the foe by squeezing them in his giant hand, dealing 2% in a pummel strangely fast for doing a full 2%. Brio generally has better things to do with his valuable time than pummel the enemy, though, so it will mostly only see use when he transforms back to normal since he has nothing else to do then. The speed of the pummel at least makes it a decent candidate to boost with Power Gems to get more bang for your buck.
In Brawl (The last game with transformations), Zelda and Sheik get their stale moves totally refreshed by changing between forms. In Melee, they simply share the same stale moves list, but entering Sheik's fair into the list won't stale Zelda's fair - while playing as the other character, it's essentially just a blank slot in the list. Brio uses the Melee version over the Brawl version. Monster Brio isn't going to be landing a whole ton of hits as a generally slow heavyweight with only 14 seconds to play around, so spamming pummel is the best way to free up the scientist's stale moves list when he transforms back.
FORWARD THROW - HEADBUTT
N. Brio holds the foe still with his arm before headbutting them out of his grasp, doing a solid 11% and knockback that kills at 160%. The important thing about this throw is its speed to waste as little time as possible with the grab-game and get back into other moves, it's practically instant, fast as throws like Jigglypuff's fthrow or Rob's fthrow. If you are going to transform back into Scientist Brio very soon, it's better to keep the foe restrained, so this throw will actually see more use upon getting a grab early on in the stock.
Brio's primary horizontal kill throw is his back throw when in monster form due to his somewhat subpar fthrow. In scientist form, his primary horizontal kill throw is instead his fthrow, meaning if he grabbed the foe while facing the wrong direction it can still be possible to get the kill. Upon transforming back, Brio's jet fuel will be full, so getting a full power fthrow won't be an issue.
BACK THROW - BEATDOWN
Brio holds the foe by their legs/lower torso as he slams them in front of himself for 4%, behind himself for another 4%, in front of himself again for another 4%, before finally flinging the foe behind himself with knockback that kills at 125%.
If Brio is standing at the edge, this will result in him slamming the foe against the ledge rather than the ground. Each slam done against the edge will result in a small bonus to damage of 1% as Brio's attack builds up more momentum to slam them against the side of the stage rather than just the floor. Against a normal edge, it is possible to get a bonus of 2% as Brio slams them against it twice, although that would mean Brio would be throwing the foe away from the nearest blast zone. On small makeshift platforms, it becomes possible for every slam to trigger this effect, and the throw's power is boosted even further by power gems to do a total of 18.75% in that scenario.
While damaging on gems, the throw's long duration can make it awkward to time properly when the gems are rotating around. If he's already right in position with the gem being close to the blast zone he wants to throw the foe towards, the gems will take him away from it during the throw's animation, so he actually has to be in the point in rotation before then. The sluggishness of Brio's throws haunts him in more ways than just his time to play in monster form, again making the weak simple fthrow more attractive.
If Brio slams the foe on top of slime on either side of himself, the foe will get tethered to that slime, possibly even getting tethered to two puddles of slime on either side of himself. While the throw has high knockback that will commonly knock the foe out of the tether, the attack's base knockback is low with high scaling, making it possible to keep them in the tethers at low percents.
If the foe has a giant frog tongue, Brio will grab them by their tongue for this throw and slam them on either side of him with it. This means the foe's main body will be slammed a Bowser width away from Brio on either side, changing the point where they would land on the ground to potentially make contact with slime. If done while standing on gems in a small rotation, it also becomes possible to slam them on top of other gem tops which may also have slime on top of them. When the foe takes their knockback, it will be a Bowser width behind Brio, artificially increasing the knockback the foe takes.
Brio can do the same thing he does with mutated frog foes if they are tethered to slime. The catch is that Brio has to grab the foe while they are standing on top of the puddle they are tethered to, which is pretty specific. If these conditions are met, Brio will grab a portion of the slime they are tethered to before slamming them against the tether's full length (a platform's distance) on either side of him. This will obviously always break the tether, though it is possible to get them stuck to other slime instead and significantly increases the distance the foe will take the attack's powerful knockback, a full platform behind Brio.
It is rare to grab tethered foes specifically standing on slime puddles because they are destroyed in only one attack - if they're right there they will probably take the time to get rid of it. If the slime is on top of a gem, foes won't have as much time to get rid of it given that's the only ground available to stand on, and destroying the slime may well destroy the platform they are standing on.
UP THROW - PILEDRIVER
Brio bear hugs the foe and jumps up into the air as he spins around. Given he actually has something to jump off of here, he is able to make it 1.2 Ganondorfs into the air. As he goes in the air, he spins around before landing back on the ground and slamming the foe into it head first, dealing 13% to them and killing them off the top at 125%. It's a powerful kill throw, but is easily Brio's laggiest throw, which means it wastes valuable time for monster Brio and can potentially even get interrupted outright by him transforming mid-throw.
This throw's power becomes horrific in the context of Power Gems. Not only does the large power boost apply, but Brio can jump from a lower gem up onto a higher one to kill the foe earlier than he would be able to otherwise. Brio will move alongside the ground he is standing on despite technically being in the air for this move, so he can't use this attack to suicide unfortunately. That said, if Brio is standing on the side of the gems in the rotation, it is entirely possible to get up higher into the air. Aside from getting onto a higher platform, skipping the portion of the throw where Brio falls down to the ground significantly decreases the lag of the throw. Brio just has to be mindful of where the gems are in the rotation and where they are currently rotating towards, otherwise the throw might go on even longer than it normally does.
DOWN THROW - CRUSH
N. Brio leaps up into the air a slightly smaller distance than his uthrow and curls up into a ball, spinning, still holding the foe. When he comes out of the spin, he throws the foe onto the ground where he was into untechable prone and dealing 4%. Brio goes to crush the foe as he accelerates down towards the ground, hands first with his arms extended out fully. On contact with Brio's hands, the foe is knocked up with 6% and vertical knockback that kills at 180%. Like with uthrow, Brio's horizontal position will be tracked to any moving platforms to prevent suicides.
After landing on his hands, Brio will be performing a handstand. Much more powerful than his legs, Brio will then push up off of his hands to leap back up into the air a considerable distance, 1.6 Ganondorf heights. As he goes up, he is in lag as he spins around in midair to reorientate himself so that he's not upside down anymore, though during that lag Brio finally gains control to DI in the air.
While this is yet another long throw, it is the only one of Brio's throws with combo potential in monster form, as Brio leaping up into the air this far after the foe will enable him to use his surprisingly good aerials which he otherwise struggles to use or even his Up Special. At super low percents, he may even jump up too far, though in that scenario a power boost from the gems can actually help the move to combo. While Brio's jumps are obviously bad, if Brio happens to jump towards gem platforms they can still help him get the boost he needs or even enable him to combo into his powerful grounded moveset, becoming scarily possible to combo into usmash or dsmash.
This throw is one of the more notable instances where it can be useful to have the power gems rotating around on the stage just so that Brio can be under them when he uses the throw, decreasing the throw's knockback but still enabling him to hop onto a gem so that he can still use them as platforms for the combo follow-up. While Brio's horizontal location will be tracked if he uses this on a platform, it won't if he doesn't start on a platform. This makes it possible to start the move on the stage, hop into the gem rotation, throw the foe down out of it, then have Brio land on a gem as it passes by to gain more height and make the move combo for even longer. If Brio insists on having the gems off-stage, it can still be somewhat possible to use them if Brio performs the attack on the edge of the stage before leaping up onto a platform to the side.
SCIENTIST AERIALS
NEUTRAL AERIAL - BLASTER SPIN
N. Brio tucks in his legs as he takes out his blaster and spins, firing several close range energy shots all around him as he spins. The hitbox barely extends out from himself, meaning it is possible to hit all foes with every single hit, totaling up to 10% if all of them connect with the last hit dealing radial knockback that sends foes away weakly, KOing at 195%.
This is a fast attack with ending lag that isn't even all that long to begin with, but Brio has the option of canceling this attack into itself by pushing A again during the final portion of the attack's duration. This will skip the final hit that knocks the foe out of the attack and enable Brio to just keep spinning around to continue racking up the foe's damage. Under normal circumstances, Brio couldn't keep this up for long before the foe managed to get out, as the SDI multiplier on this move is very generous and enables foes to escape the attack quickly. If using Up Special to fly around, Brio can easily trap foes in this move as he spins around even with that in mind, though. With Up Special, the move essentially turns into an aerial rapid jab that Brio has free flight during to prevent the foe's escape.
This can rack up stupid amounts of damage, and it doesn't even care about the current percentage the foe is at and isn't stopped by Gem power ups, with the only real limitation being Brio's jet fuel. Because of that limitation, the move is used a lot more hovering directly on the ground rather than in the air. Using it on the ground also limits the directions foes can DI, making it a lot easier to predict where the foe is going to go while simultaneously making it easy to bring them to the edge. While this can potentially do insane damage, keep in mind Brio has to already be using Up Special before the move begins and will probably use it as part of his spacing to hit with the move in the first place, so it's not easy to get all of that potential damage even starting with a full fuel tank.
This move is a simple way to catch and punish dodges, but does very poorly if it clashes with an enemy attack. All Brio will get out of the move is just one of the many hits, while the foe will almost inevitably get a favorable trade on Brio. The move's small range makes it a bit hard to hit in spite of the speed, but it's pretty killer once you actually get them in. This is a common move to use out of Brio's uthrow to simply confirm the move and enjoy the benefits without bothering to go through the effort of hitting with it.
FORWARD AERIAL - JET BOOST
Brio's jetpack flares as he gets a sudden boost from it directly forwards, rapidly propelling himself 0.625 platforms. This uses up half of Brio's Up Special fuel, whereas using the full tank during fthrow takes him 1.25 platforms. This attack is very fast on both sides and has decent power on it, dealing 11% and knockback that kills Brio's enemies off around the 125% mark. What little lag there is on the move is located on the ending and duration, and foes can punish Brio's new position if they actually predict it.
If Brio doesn't have at least half of his fuel, he will move a distance proportionate to how much fuel he has left and the attack will power down by the same amount. This can't be used for comboing, though, as despite him not going as far the attack's distance doesn't change. The attack's minimum distance/power generously has a lower cap of 0.2 platforms while dealing 5% and knockback that kills at 250%.
This attack is an amazing one to use on the ground because it stops Brio from falling during it, though if the landing lag is somehow triggered by a Gem coming up underneath Brio or something it's pretty bad. This attack will easily catch enemies who roll away from Brio, and if they roll behind him they will have no chance of punishing him given he's so far away.
This aerial has a fair more commanding presence on the stage rather than in the air, as Brio shouldn't care much about his fuel when using it on the stage unless he's at a high enough percent to be in danger of dying. Gems don't even really help very Brio out here very much, as standing on them doesn't restore fuel and they can potentially trigger this attack's landing lag on accident. This is a small price Brio pays for the extremely heavy use the monster form makes out of the Gems. In fact, monster Brio enjoys the gems so much, that after blowing your fuel on this move it turns into an exellent time to try to transform into him. If you've just hit the foe towards the blast zone with a fair and are standing on some Gems, you're forfeiting your offensive foothold if you simply retreat back to the stage to refuel. While Monster Brio's recovery is bad, it's better than not having one, and he has a much more intimidating presence on the off-stage Gems.
BACK AERIAL - BEAKER BASH
N. Brio swings a beaker behind himself filled with ordinary green liquid. For once, Brio is not deliberately breaking the beaker and just smacks the foe with it as a simple blunt object before putting it away. Given the simplicity of the attack, it's very fast, dealing 6% and knockback that kills at 180%. The base knockback is a bit too high for the move to be an outright wall of pain, but it's certainly fast enough to be spammable.
Brio will not break the beaker himself during this move, but if the foe attacks the beaker, it will shatter. This creates an additional hitbox that is identical to Brio throwing an uncharged Side Special, dealing another 6%, though sadly no slime is generated from this version of the move. Given how aerial priority works, if this attack clashes with another one the foe should be hit by both hitboxes and take 12%, with the smaller knockback from the potion exploding overwriting the other larger knockback, potentially enabling a combo off of it.
This attack enjoys a bit of disjoint as Brio holds the beaker by the top and swings out the lower, wider potion of it behind himself. It is very much possible for the potion to break without Brio actually getting hit, and if Brio wants to follow up on the move's combo potential, a simple trade isn't going to cut it. Given the move's fantastic speed, having a specific hitbox you want the foe to hit without hitting Brio is pretty reasonable.
Keep in mind that the possibility of the beaker breaking is just a bonus to having this luxurious and spammable attack. Foes will greatly struggle to overcome this obstacle in the air, especially if they're expected to recover into it. If foes challenge Brio in the air with the attack, they at least won't die from it given the weak knockback of the potion shattering, but it can rack up a lot of damage or cause an off-stage spacing reset to try to gimp with something else.
This is scientist Brio's primary offensive aerial - if the foe gets on the wrong side of Brio, he can use fair to rocket past them. Assuming fair doesn't hit itself, it means Brio can get back to his favorite aerial. The most common time this scenario will happen is when the foe is going to recover before Brio back to the stage - don't let them. It's particularly nice if Brio snaps to the ledge with fair to get out of it early and save some fuel. Even if the foe is going to make it to the ledge, don't give up. If Brio manages to "ledge trump" the enemy by forcing them off the ledge by grabbing it while the foe is still in lag, it sets up totally perfectly for his bair.
UP AERIAL - LIQUID EXPLOSION
Brio takes out a potion and places a cork into the top of the beaker as he shakes it up as hard as he can with both hands for fairly long starting lag, especially in comparison to his other aerials. After the starting lag has passed, Brio holds the potion above his head as all of the contents of the beaker shoot up out of it in a Wario sized hitbox, dealing multiple flinching hits that add up to 15% with the final one knocking foes away with vertical knockback that kills foes off at 105%.
As the cork pops out of the beaker, it will fly up a full platform above Brio before it vanishes, dealing a token 3% and flinching. This will still hit foes in range of the main liquid hitbox, but stretches well beyond it. Foes who were just barely out of range of the primary attack may potentially fall into the rest of the hitbox during this flinch. Some foes who are on the cusp of this may go out of their way to dodge the cork, when doing so will cause them to fall into range of the main hitbox just the same if not even better than the cork would anyway. While it's not required, using Up Special to fly up during the move makes Brio a lot more likely to be able to catch foes hit by the stray cork hitbox, letting him utilize the move's great range.
With this and usmash at scientist Brio's disposal, he has a surprising amount of vertical range he can use against foes. Foes attempting to recover high to avoid the rest of his aerial game and/or the Gems are going to have a very hard time against Brio. Ideally, you'd want to knock the foe far enough out with bairs that they're forced to recover into a slower, more powerful aerial like this one. Usmash is obviously preferable and this isn't even that much faster than usmash, this move mostly benefits from being an aerial so Brio can move around during it, making it much easier to hit.
While Brio's utilt functions as an actual fast move and serves as acceptable anti-air, Brio's uair and usmash being so slow gives him a bit of a weakness against foes immediately above him in scientist form. While they have their uses for certain, they're more for when Brio has a clear advantage rather than from the neutral game. Even if Brio has no realistic chance of gimping the foe, it can be worth it to keep the foe below him/to his sides just because that's where most of his moves are aimed, and with his good recovery it's not too difficult of a task to keep them from getting above him.
DOWN AERIAL - ELDERLY KICKS
N. Brio furiously kicks below himself several times. If you were expecting a typical masculine dair spike or stall then fall from these pitiful legs of Brio's, you'd be mistaken, as this move is cloned from Peach of all people. Brio kicks below himself 4 times, each time dealing 2% and flinching, before the fifth kick deals 4% and launches foes in front of Brio at a 45 degree upward angle. The attack's knockback kills foes at 200%, though has low enough base knockback it can pretty feasibly be used to combo.
This attack has a very annoyingly precise hitbox. Peach primarily is only able to make use of it because of her float, staying above the enemy during the move's duration so that they're actually hit by the full attack. Brio will be doing much the same thing with his Up Special in order to get any mileage out of this attack, since if he falls through the enemy before the final hit that does knockback he's going to be in some deep trouble.
This is one of Brio's most direct combo starters/extenders, and primarily will see use on the stage given you're practically helping the foe to recover by hitting them with it off-stage. Another reason it's going to be used on-stage a lot is because the primary combo from this move is to fair the foe after they get knocked in front of you - since Brio is practically required to be using Up Special during this attack, the dair + fair combo uses up practically all of the fuel single handedly. This is an obvious candidate to combo out of a uthrow, though the foe will have to be at a low enough percentage Brio is able to jump high enough not only to reach the foe, but to pass them so this hitbox aimed below himself can actually hit. Aside from the final hit's comboing knockback, the four flinches are useful when using this attack to briefly delay the foe long enough for a Sentient Slime or Rain Cloud to come catch up to the foe.
MONSTER AERIALS
NEUTRAL AERIAL - BODY SPLASH
N. Brio goes horizontal in midair and fully extends out all of his limbs in a common simple nair seen on characters such as King Dedede. The main thing that differentiates this from your run of the mill nair of the archetype is Brio's small legs give the attack two unique hitboxes. The primary big hitbox is of course Brio's upper torso, dealing 10% and radial knockback that kills foes off around 155%, though with huge base knockback. Brio's old man legs, on the other hand, deal a pathetic 3% and miniscule knockback that kills at 600%.
The legs hitbox is so pathetic that at low percentages, it's not even safe on hit and will result in Brio getting punished for it, even if this move is fast all around. While its knockback is tiny, it is not set and does scale. As the foe's percentage climbs, this hitbox will at least become frame neutral around 50%, and outright turn into a combo move at 100% as it finally earns its keep. Around these percentages, this makes the move a very valuable option to try to set-up for a kill. Obviously this is a small, precise hitbox given Brio's tiny legs, especially when getting hit by Brio's gorging muscles will cancel out the legs hitbox.
When all's said and done, this attack is more giving Brio a second fair and bair rather than a traditional nair, as the mentality he should have when using the two halves of the hitbox should be very different ones. Like Brio's other aerials, this move's primary obstacle is the landing lag. In comparison to some of his other aerials, though, this is a bit easier to pull off without landing because of the hurtbox shifting reducing Brio's height a little.
FORWARD AERIAL - PULVERIZE
N. Brio clasps his hands together behind himself before swinging them downwards in a 45 degree angle in front of himself, dealing a spike with the same power as DK's but in a move that comes out scarily fast by comparison. The ending/landing lag are long enough the move isn't spammable, but even those are pretty generous considering the move's power. The actual kicker for this move is Brio turns around after swinging in front of himself as the momentum from his swing causes him to do so after generating the hitbox in front of himself. As such, Brio will generally only be able to use one fair per air trip with any chance of actually hitting the foe considering his terrible aerial statistics.
The power of this as a gimping move can't be understated. Brio can use B reversals to try to more easily turn around in aerial combat, with the fastest option being his Neutral Special. Charging the Neutral Special comes out as a very fast hitbox that functions as a "bair", while he can release the charge regardless of how much he has to hit in front of him. While monster Brio is practically required to use makeshift platforms to use his powerful gimping game without dying, they are also useful with this in mind just to enable him to more easily turn around for another fair more quickly.
BACK AERIAL - ELBOW
Brio juts out his muscle engorged elbow behind himself to attack his foes, dealing 10%. This attack has very low base knockback with huge scaling to make it ever KO people at around 130%. This move is very fast, outright spammable. Turning around after your fair isn't the worst thing in the world when it instead gives Brio immediate access to this amazing move.
This attack's low base knockback makes it the kind of attack that can wall of pain with great ease, and the attack's huge hitbox and speed make it as good of a candidate to do it with as Brawl Dedede's bair. The only thing stopping this move is Brio's depressing aerial statistics. If Brio expects to wall of pain with this attack somehow, it almost has to be a suicide mission that he can only recover from by transforming back into scientist form before he falls off the bottom blast zone.
While this attack's starting and ending lag are fast, the only negative it has is bad landing lag as Brio struggles to regain his balance. While this is still a good spacing tool with its raw strength, this prevents it from being one of Brio's most outright spammed moves given it's tricky to use on-stage. Brio will want to be at the top of a Gem rotation before using this more than once per air trip, as he'll be wanting to fall down on lower Gems so he can complete the move without triggering landing lag or dying.
This would be a character defining move on more normal characters with just how disgustingly good it is, but Brio struggles to use its offensive potential due to his extreme statistics. One way Brio can try to use it to better effect is by using it as a "counter" by clashing with enemy attacks. While this attack isn't super strong, the fact it's an aerial means it can easily trade with anything. Foes who attack you off-stage with the move may well help you to recover, while on-stage they'll be saving you from landing lag, which gives you the option to shorthop the move. This is also a simple way to just make some space between Brio and his foe if he's desperate and about to turn back into regular form, in which case a power boost from the gems is useful for powering up both Brio and the foe's attack to make more space between himself and the foe.
When using Brio's legs hitbox on nair as a "bair", it is definitely to the foe's advantage to make trades given they'll always come out the winner given how weak that move is if it doesn't give Brio a frame advantage over the foe. Having this move as a real bair that you can casually throw out at will enables you to punish the foe's attempts to do so and/or make them more hesitant to try it in the first place.
UP AERIAL - SPINNING LARIAT
Brio extends out his arms and clenches his hands into fists before spinning. Brio entirely uses the force of his arm muscles to spin, and given he's in the air his legs don't have to do anything and get a free pass. This attack gives superarmor to Brio's arms against attacks that deal less than 11%, and on contact deals a meaty 13% and horizontal knockback away from N. Brio that KOs at 145%.
This move comes out fast, with the most of the lag coming from the duration of the move as Brio continues to spin. If Brio has infinite air to fall, his massive falling speed means he will almost universally catch anyone who dodges this attack as they fail to fast-fall past him. As this is a uair, this attack's hitbox is only at Brio's shoulders and up, and will miss a lot of shorter enemies, but given you're in the air this hopefully shouldn't be a big problem for Brio to have rectified as he just falls below the foe. The only problem is that pesky ground getting in the way, at which point foes can get underneath the hitbox...
This move has unique landing lag based off where Brio was in the spin. If Brio was facing totally horizontally when he landed, this attack has no landing lag as he transitions into his ground game on the spot. If he wasn't perfectly aligned, Brio will continue spinning until he gets into position, though is no longer a hitbox as he starts putting his arms down. This attack's landing lag can potentially be just as long all of the others, and requires some good timing to get down. If done right, this can be excellent for beating out dodges, as after the foe dodges past your uair, you can turn around to face them and attack them immediately with a grab or whatever else. This ability to turn around while simultaneously attacking should also obviously be kept in mind with Brio's fair and bair, and Brio can be fairly picky about when he lands with multiple Gems he can choose to land down upon.
This attack is one of a small few still in the game that completely cancels all momentum as he has a very brief stall at the start for a couple frames, the only other ones still existing in SSB4 being DK's Up Special and Villager's Side Special. This is potentially helpful for recovery purposes, especially considering it slows his falling speed very slightly, though largely only serves as another button to try to stall for the scientist's recovery if Brio was knocked away far enough he needs to try to use this as far as horizontal recovery. On the other hand, this move's existence makes it practically impossible to kill monster Brio off the top with his combination of falling speed and weight. All attempting to do so will do is give monster Brio some actual time to try to use his aerial game with the air the foe has generously given to him! With this and his bair, the foe's attacks can potentially be helpful resources to increase monster Brio's mobility.
DOWN AERIAL - CRASH
N. Brio reorientates himself in mid-air so that he is upside down for a stall then fall. He extends his powerful arms fully down below himself before rocketing downwards towards the ground at lightning speed, dealing 21% and a spike that will kill grounded enemies at 70%. Brio's arms are completely superarmored as he falls to the ground.
Upon landing, the superarmor stops and the ending lag has Brio unclench his fists into open palms before pushing off the ground back into the air a Ganondorf height, doing a flip to get right side up again. Brio can move during this lag, but by the time he is totally free he is only half Ganon's height off the ground, which is pretty awkward given he can't complete any aerials in that short time without landing with the exception of dair again due to the stall, which is very impractical given Brio won't actually falls anywhere.
This move is strange by stall then fall standards because move of the lag is associated with the start rather than the end. While there is lag on the ending, it's generous as far as moves of this archetype go and enables Brio to move during most of it anyway. The starting lag of the move also features a lot of hurtbox shifting as Brio does a handstand in mid-air, pushing all of his hurtbox that's actually vulnerable high into the air while only his arms that are going to shortly become superarmored remain in his previous position.
Given just how fast monster Brio normally falls, the stall in mid-air is practically a form of "mobility" for Brio and enables him to punish foes who expected him to fall down and use some kind of other attack. The stall can be outright helpful to Brio by waiting for gems to rotate around so Brio will actually land on them and not die if off-stage. The stall can also be a last resort to stall to transform back into Scientist Brio, and this is the most obvious way to "suicidally" gimp the foe before transforming back into into the scientist to easily recover from what would otherwise be impossible. The existence of the gems enables Brio to liberally use this attack while off stage as he has something to actually land on there, while simultaneously being able to move around between the gems during the ending lag.
SCIENTIST STANDARDS
JAB - ENERGY SHOT
N. Brio takes out his blaster and fires a green Kirby sized projectile made up out of energy. This travels very fast at Captain Falcon's dashing speed, and can travel the full length of Battlefield before vanishing. On contact, the projectile deals a simple 4% and knockback that kills at 300%. At close range, this is weak enough to potentially be punishable on hit at close range, especially considering this has as much lag to fire as a Mario fireball.
This attack can be angled 45 degrees up or down. Angling it down may seem pointless if not at an edge, but whenver the projectile makes contact with a surface that can be stood upon, it will bounce off of it at a similar angle to how Rob's laser does so. This will increase the projectile's speed by 1.15X, make it deal 3% more damage, make it KO 35% sooner, and increase the range it can travel before vanishing by a Bowser width. This caps out at 4 bounces, at which point this innocent little projectile is dealing 16%, knockback that kills at 160%, and traveling at 1.6X Captain Falcon's dashing speed. If it wasn't obvious, the only way to have it attain full power is to have it bounce around the inside of a ring of Gems. This will boost the power even further - at 4 bounces with the Gem power bonus, it's dealing 20% and knockback that kills at 120%. This is very threatening for how easy it is to produce this thing, but after a fifth bounce the projectile will instantly shoot out of existence.
The projectile's high speed is most commonly a bad thing for Brio, as he can't make it wait for Gems to rotate around and keep it trapped in a little "cage" and will struggle to use it for defensive coverage. The laziest way to do this without playing a complex game of billiards is to make the Gems have a very tight rotation so that you can casually fire it into the middle and guarantee that you get all 4 bounces. If Brio does this, though, the projectile will bounce around so quickly that it will phase out of existence almost as quickly as Brio finishes the ending lag of the attack. Actually hitting the foe with the attack at full power in that scenario is not easy to say the least, given it only exists for a very brief moment and if they get hit with the weak version, the projectile vanishes early. If Brio predicts a foe dodging on top of his gem, though, this can be a potentially brutal punisher, and is a common go to for Brio when the foe is stuck to one via slime. With all of Brio's Gems packed tightly together for this technique, keep in mind that it becomes very possible for foes to attack and destroy multiple Gems simultaneously, and with just a single one missing this attack isn't nearly as potent.
Max power with this attack is obviously nice but not required if Brio actually wants to play fancy with this move. This move greatly enjoys the unique shape of the Gems, as it gives Brio a lot of potential angles to bounce them off of if he is skilled, not needing all 5 Gems to get max power if he can fire them at precise angles with a wider rotation. Keep in mind the ground is still a perfectly valid target to bounce off of, not just the Gems - you'll still get your power boost so long as the projectile is inside of the ring at the end. To use it better with this move, it's easier to have the Gems floating above the stage rather than off-stage, but Brio can still bounce it off the ground into an off-stage ring if he needs to. Brio will almost always want to use the downward angled version to get one bounce for free off of the ground he's currently standing on, though it's also very useful to fire it down off a ledge.
DASHING ATTACK - SLIDE KICK
N. Brio slides forwards with the momentum from his dash low to the ground, similar to Megaman's dtilt. As he slides, Brio will do 3 short range blaster shots in front of himself. Each shot does 5% and a stun slightly longer than a flinch, while the kick itself does 6% and downwards knockback that kills foes at 190% as foes bounce off the floor and up into the air. To use the downward knockback, Brio has to hit foes standing at the edge.
This attack comes out pretty fast, Brio just has to be sure not to miss given bad ending lag. The range on the kick is very bad given the hitbox is just Brio's feet, with the stunning shots reaching out a ways in front of Brio to set-up for the kick and making it more feasible to hit with it. The kick will knock enemies out of the way of any other blaster shots in most cases, though depending on how the move is spaced it's sometimes possible to get in a second shot before kicking the enemy.
This attack is very powerful against shields. The shots that normally only stun will push the enemy back ever so slightly to do multiple hits of shields damage, making it common to hit with 2 shots and possible to hit with all 3 against a shielding enemy (that doesn't perfect shield it anyway), while the shield damage done by the blaster shots will always be enough to enable the kick to shield poke through it unless the enemy was tilting their shield position or something. This can be a nice move to deal with enemies who are constantly trying to shield all of your potions.
This will do more shield damage against enemies with Gems and the downwards knockback of the kick can obviously be useful there, but it is a lot harder to use it on tiny platforms than at the real edge. This is simply because inputting Dashing Attack on a tiny platform is very difficult because it's hard to start a dash and press attack before simply walking off of the surface. That said, it is possible, even for characters with very fast dashing speeds - it requires the character to do a single smashed tap of the control stick, as characters aren't capable of running off of the stage during the initial burst from their dashes. This is still quite awkward to input and will result in it being harder for Brio to use there. The rotating Gems also make it less reliable for Brio to be able to hit with the full move, as the Gems take Brio away after he hits a blaster shot before the kick connects, so he might have to specifically aim for hitting with the kick which is rather painfully precise. The move's unique hitbox is better at hitting foes specifically hanging from the ledge, and Gems don't have grabbable ledges, so it will definitely see more use at said ledge.
FORWARD TILT - BEAKER SHATTER
Brio takes out a beaker with one hand and his blaster in the other before using that to shoot the potion open, splattering the contents of the potion forwards. The liquid reaches out 1.3X Bowser's width to give the move some good range. The liquid itself does no damage, but has the glass shards from the vial flowing through it to deal several flinching hits throughout the attack. The biggest shard is washed towards at the end and does the final knockback, killing at 180%. If all the shards connect, the move does 10% in total.
While the glass shards do the damage, the liquid doesn't do nothing and will push foes forward along with itself. This is a wind/water/whatever hitbox that will forcefully push foes forwards like Mario's FLUDD, though the knockback is not as extreme as in that case, more comparable to something like Game & Watch's uair. A unique trait of these kinds of hitboxes is that they will hit dodging enemies, pushing them along with the move anyway. This is not normally usable to gimp because the glass shards will give the foe back their Up Special, but if the foe dodges, they'll be hit by the liquid without getting hit by the glass. This won't push the foe too far of a distance, but it can make or break a recovery. This property also makes it a lot harder to punish the move's poor ending lag.
Like other moves of this type, the pushback from the liquid is set. Using this on the ground, not for any nefarious gimping purposes, enables Brio to be very specific with where he sends foes if he catches them dodging, potentially sliding them directly on top of his slime.
UP TILT - SPREADSHOT
N. Brio waves his blaster in an arch arc above his head, shooting 5 tiny green energy shots out of it as doing so that are individually slightly smaller than a Pokeball. These are not projectiles but rather small energy based explosions in an animation similar to Samus' usmash. Each shot deals 2% and knockback that kills at 200%, but it's difficult to only hit with just one. Each additional shot will obviously stack on its damage, but will also cause the move to kill 20% earlier, capping at killing at just 120% which is pretty impressive for the move's good speed. This also happens only under rare circumstances unless the foe is very fat and wide.
More often than not, you'll be hitting with 2 or 3 of the projectiles before the foe is shot off, which makes the move bad at both comboing and killing. This will almost always be the case if you use the move for standard anti-air purposes, which this move will get -plenty- of exercise at given that Brio's usmash is so laggy and doesn't properly defend his hurtbox. In order to hit with just one shot, it's nigh impossible if the foe is coming down on you directly from above. Aside from "anti-air", this move is a pretty versatile spacer because it can send the foe at largely any angle so long as it's upwards depending on which shots actually connect as they're knocked away in the direction the shots were fired. The upwards angle/hitbox part doesn't matter as much when Brio will end up being below the foe a lot due to Gems and the foe jumping across and over various constructs.
It becomes better to use the attack against foes standing in front of Brio with the first hit, and thanks to his fairly short height this can work pretty easily. This isn't even that difficult given how fast the first shot comes out, but given Brio will have to finish the rest of the utilt still this won't combo. The main way to still have time to combo is to hit with the last shot that's fired behind Brio, which gives this otherwise fast move a bit more awkward start-up.
To hit with just one shot, the foe needs to be standing next to Brio. To hit with all of them, he'll have to use this at point blank range, and they'll still have to be slightly taller than Brio to work in most cases. The main way to get the stupidly close range this demands is to stand on a Gem and roll around a lot/catch a foe doing so, as you'll inevitably start clipping into each other. Nevermind the fact that this is the primary place where you would want to attempt this anyway, potentially killing as fast as such legendary utilts as Megaman's and Brawl Dedede's. Aside from Gems, simply standing on top of a Slime puddle the foe is tethered to and "guarding" it with this attack is a decent way to force foes in. While especially small foes can't be hit by all 5 shots, they're obviously more vulnerable to being comboed by it and it may even be realistic to catch them with one of the 3 middle shots.
DOWN TILT - PLASMA PISTOL
N. Brio holds onto his gun with both hands as he charges it up a bit longer than usual before firing it down towards the ground at a 45 degree angle. The ground that was shot appears to slightly disintegrate from the acidic shot, but this is entirely an aesthetic and goes away after a second. If a foe is hit, they will take 9% and downwards/vertical to grounded foes knockback that kills at 130%, which is not really the greatest justification for the move's starting lag in comparison to his other quick standards. The primary feature of this move is that it does extra shield damage, 16 to be exact, which is nearly as much bonus shield damage as Pound. Shield damage can still be boosted by Gems, boosting the attack's overall shield damage to 31.25 out of the 42 needed to break a full health shield, which pretty much will ban them from using it for a couple of seconds unless they perfect shield. Brio needs the foe to have a low health shield in order to stop foes from shielding potions and preventing him from getting slimes up, especially considering how bad his grab is at punishing shielding enemies.
This is another alternative to use at ledges to dashing attack, and is a bit better suited to being used while standing on Gems in comparison to dashing attack. While it has starting lag, it can be used for mixups with not only dashing attack, but the downward angled jab. This attack has a very similar animation to jab (but different enough to not confuse them, in jab he fires one handed) that results in the hitbox initially being formed in the exact same spot as the downward angled version. The jab hitbox is pitifully weak by comparison without rebounding off of anything, being largely free for foes to shield. If the foe instead opts to dodge, the jab can potentially bounce back to hit the foe depending on what was around to rebound off of it.
MONSTER STANDARDS
JAB - RAMPAGE
Brio starts pounding the ground in a rapid jab, walking forward as he does so at a slow pace. This attack racks up damage at a rate 1.15X that of the Koopalings, making it one of the strongest available. Because Brio moves forwards during the attack, it's impossible for foes to DI out of the attack by DIing horizontally away from Brio, forcing them instead to DI up and over the hitbox's range. Brio can't walk off of edges with this attack, but instead of performing the move in place will turn around and continue the move if the A button continues to be held/rapidly pressed. This happens fast enough that foes will not be released from the rapid jab and will have to start DIing in the opposite direction in order to escape the attack. When standing on a tiny platform where Brio is constantly turning around, the only real choice foes have is to DI out upwards, which isn't always possible.
This attack's jab finisher is a rather simple punch straight forwards, coming out fast enough to still hit foes trapped in the rapid jab but slow enough to be punishable otherwise. On contact, it deals 7% and primarily horizontal knockback away that kills at 155%, though at a slightly upwards 15 degree angle. Brio can still trigger the jab finisher when he's in the process of turning around from coming to an edge during the attack. This will cause Brio to lean back, giving the attack significant range behind himself, before forcefully punching forwards with the usual finisher to send the foe in the new direction.
This attack's damage output can get really big really fast when constantly turning around on Gems. The only scenario where the foe gets out easily is if the gem is currently moving downwards, in which case they can DI out upwards fairly easily. If it's DIing in a primarily horizontal direction, foes can have a chance of DIing out by DIing in that same direction. Brio's turning around jab finisher can catch foes out from quite a significant distance if he predicts where they're going to do it, though, and foes may not have a ton of choice if they're in the bottom of the rotation and about to reach the part where it starts going up, preventing them from getting out that way. At absolute worst, in this scenario the move is a fairly consistent way to smack foes back towards the blast zone and prevent them from escaping to the stage without having to resort to bthrow. Meanwhile, many other foes in SSB4 with rapid jabs will often push themselves back during it, potentially right off the platforms.
DASHING ATTACK - POLEVAULT
N. Brio puts his open palms on the ground and uses them to support himself before pushing off the ground forwards with a kick. Brio's character model barely gets off the ground during the attack and he is not considered as in the air, preventing him from jumping off ledges. His legs deal 6% and weak knockback forwards that kills at 250% during the attack. When Brio lands about a Wario width in front of himself, his legs/lower torso are a much more powerful hitbox as the rest of his weight kicks in, crushing the foe against the ground and dealing 14% with knockback that kills at 125%.
This attack is overall fast, and most of the brief lag that does exist is located on the ending. Said ending lag unfortunately means the kicking hitbox is useless for comboing, so it's largely just getting in the way of the more powerful hitbox later as Brio crashes to the ground. The main way to hit with the powerful version is simply by punishing spot dodges and foes rolling away from you to get the hitbox that you don't want out of the way. If a foe's on the edge of their slime tether, ideally you can prevent the foe from rolling behind you which is the primary answer to the attack.
While the first hit's base knockback is too high to combo into the second, the move is perfectly capable of comboing shields. The attack isn't strong enough to be super good at actually destroying said shields, and Brio will most likely be punished if the foe shields the attack without getting it broken. Shield breaks are a lot more common in the context of the Gems, as they'll make shields go down very fast. Meanwhile, the platforms are so small that rolls are basically just spot dodges with different frame data when standing on one, so foes will almost have to make some use of their shields. Monster Brio's great grab can deal with the issue of perfect shielding, greatly limiting the foe's defensive options.
On a tiny platform, the foe can't roll behind Brio far enough to avoid getting hit by the crushing hitbox at the end. The move beats out all of the universal defensive options here as Brio does the jump in place. The only catch with the move in this scenario is the difficulty Brio has in successfully inputting dashing attack on such a small surface, like with his scientist dashing attack. Brio's horrible dashing speed actually aids him in being able to input it here - faster foes/scientist Brio will find it more obnoxious to do so by comparison. Even when he is this slow, though, Brio will have to start dashing on the far side of the platform and dash towards the opposite end to have enough room to input it. This is the real "starting lag" of the attack, moreso than the move itself.
FORWARD TILT - KNUCKLE SANDWICH
Brio does a powerful, long range punch in front of himself comparable to Bowser's ftilt. The move is faster and weaker than Bowser's attack, but still keeps all of the range and comes out on just frame 7. The move's 10% and knockback that kills at 140% will still more than suffice the majority of the time, to the point this is a common move for monster Brio to find getting stale. This is one of his primary spacing tools considering it's easily his fastest standard, with most of his other quick moves being his aerials and grab, and it can still be a casual move to throw out for the kill despite staleness when scientist Brio's existence will inevitably refresh it for him.
Like Bowser's ftilt, monster Brio will hold his arm in front of himself during what ending lag the move has before retracting it back towards himself. Brio doesn't get to enjoy the intangibility on his arm that Bowser gets for a few frames either. Considering monster Brio's entire body is practically made up of his arms, this makes his hurtbox huge. Even though the ending lag is reduced a significant amount from Bowser's move, what ending lag exists leaves Brio vulnerable regardless because of this. Brio has several moves which shift his hurtbox around in favorable, evasive fashions as opposed to what happens on this attack. The speed is still overall more important than hurtbox shifting of course, but when this move is one of monster Brio's most commonly used spacing attacks it only makes the hurtbox shifting of other moves more potent, potentially enabling him to punish with an fsmash if he baits the foe hard enough.
UP TILT - HEADBOLT
Brio crouches down for a fairly big hurtbox shift during the starting lag before forcefully headbutting upwards as the two Frankenstein's Monster bolts impaled into his skull crackle with electricity. This is one of Brio's slower attacks to start up, but in addition to hurtbox shifting Brio enjoys some superarmor on his head during the brief duration the hitbox is out. On hit, the foe takes 13% and knockback that kills at 140% with high base knockback.
This attack has an electric element on it, and like in the older Smash games with electric attacks it has a lot of hitlag for both parties on it. For about 15 or so frames, both Brio and the foe will be stunned as the foe gets painfully electrocuted before they fly off and take their knockback finally. This isn't terribly useful outside of stalling for constructs to come over, most prominently the Rain Cloud which will keep on giving the foe damage like nothing happened.
If Brio headbutts directly up into a Rain Cloud itself with this utilt, the scientist dsmash hitbox will be formed as the cloud zaps electricity down at either side, while the utilt's hitbox will extend down his entire body as the electricity flows through him. The scientist dsmash hitbox is nothing spectacular for Brio to be able to create in monster form given the lag on the monster utilt. If this was some random construct Brio had to hit arbitrarily placed on the stage somewhere, this really would not be all that exciting. The fact it is inherently tied to the foe's location, though, makes it a lot more appealing and makes it an almost constant option for Brio to be able to hit with his utilt for as long as it exists. The cloud is still perfectly capable of movement while the lightning hitbox exists, too, and the main place foes would be safe the lightning would simply be standing under it and getting hit by the rain instead. This attack becomes very annoying to avoid for a move so slow, and the main answer foes will have is just knocking Brio out of it before it begins and just accepting taking some rain damage.
Some foes will want to outrun Monster Brio just to stall out his duration. Rain Clouds, however, mean foes can't just wait at one side of the stage until Monster Brio catches up, and will force them to either make another pass at him or just roll around back and forth like it's a laggy for glory match and get easily punished when Monster Brio finally arrives. Aside from making it harder for foes to get away with their mere existence, this move will make it a lot harder for foes to pass Brio, as the lightning covers Brio's sides while Brio forms a powerful, superarmored hitbox above himself. This interaction is a good answer to try to make cowardly foes actually participate in the fight against Monster Brio. Even if foes somehow manage to get past Brio, the scientist dsmash lightning hitbox is still perfectly capable of electrifying liquid slime as normal, including slime the foe is tethered to, so getting past Brio might not even be enough!
While this is powerful, this interaction is primarily a zoning and punishment tool to keep foes from escaping Monster Brio. The ultimate reward for Monster Brio with a Rain Cloud out is simply to grab the foe so he can enjoy all the juicy rain damage. The difficulty in actually getting to Monster Brio while Rain Clouds are still up is quite high, so Brio can't afford to let the opportunity slip through his fingers. His raw presence with them out in Monster Form is great enough that it really puts the pressure on the foe to stop the transformation when Brio's in Scientist Form.
DOWN TILT - GROUND POUND
Brio turns to face the fore/background and pounds both of his gigantic arms to either side in a similar animation to DK's dsmash. This deals 12% and downwards (translated to vertical on grounded enemies) knockback that kills at 115%. As you'd expect for the move being on a tilt, the move is a fair bit faster and weaker than DK's dsmash, but it's no pushover in the power department, especially on the knockback. Most of the starting lag from DK is kept, but the painful ending lag is significantly shortened. Like DK's dsmash, the arm that hits in front of Brio has a lot more reach compared to the one that hits behind him, though monster Brio is so wide that attempting to roll behind him will generally still leave foes in range of this other hitbox anyway, especially when standing on a Gem.
This attack has the bonus of two small earthshaking hitboxes in front of where Brio smashes his fists as the ground rumbles very slightly. These hitboxes deal 2% and inwards knockback at the Sakurai angle that can trip enemies at low percentages. The knockback is some tiny barely scaling value that could easily be mistook for set knockback, but primarily exists so the move stops tripping foes once it goes beyond low percentages. The move has low enough ending lag it's just barely possible for Brio to combo out of a trip with a grab. If the foe isn't tripped, he won't have enough time to combo by comparison unless the foe is at a very high percent like 200% (Yes, the knockback is that tiny), largely just resulting in a point blank neutral state and potentially a very slight frame advantage if the foe is at a higher percent.
Brio can attempt to use his arms to spike foes downwards, preferably going up against the side of a Gem and using his front longer reaching arm to do so. The sourspot hitboxes will not generate unless Brio actually hits ground with them, though. The range on Brio's front arm means he can't spawn it with his front arm at all on a tiny platform, but his back arm's smaller hitbox means he can spawn it behind him if he uses it at the far edge of a platform. While that might sound like a stretch to hit, the foe doesn't exactly have much alternate to stand anywhere else. Overall, the move does a great job of letting you play king of the hill on a Gem as you either knock foes down from the front, or set up for a grab from behind. Alternatively, in a very small Gem rotation, it can be possible for Brio to reach far enough forwards with his front arm to pound a Gem on the opposite side of the rotation.
FINAL SMASH - RADICAL ENTERTAINMENT
Brio laughs maniacally as using his jetpack to boost up off the camera, invulnerable. If he was in Monster Form, his jetpack magically becomes big enough to work on his Monster Form with the power of the Smash Ball. Once he gets there, he will be in the foreground with an altered version of the evolvo-ray, the devolvo-ray! From here, he can move around a cursor and fire blasts from the ray gun into the main playing field much like Snake's Final Smash. The hitboxes are about the size of Bowser, and he has enough time to fire about 7 shots. After the Final Smash is over, Brio returns to the stage.
If any of the shots hit, the foe will be redesigned into the worst incarnation they've ever had in any form of media, lasting for the rest of their stock - at least, the worst version that can still at all realistically perform the original moveset, so no Dennis Hopper Bowser, but Super Mario Bros Super Show Bowser is fair game. If the foe was in previous Smash Bros games, their moveset will change to the lowest tier version of their moveset in any game. If their lowest tier/only moveset is in SSB4, then all of the foe's custom specials will be set to their worst versions. Miis will all be set to have max size/weight because this has no advantage whatsoever over being smaller.
In the case of foes with no known redesign besides the one used for their moveset (or ones the developers were too lazy to add as costumes for this memetic Final Smash), they will be animated into MS paint versions of themselves made in 2 seconds mimicking South Park's artstyle. As a Canadian South Park paper cutout, the foe will have their weight reduced to the comically low value of 50. If the alternate version of the character has a different voice actor, they will absolutely have that new voice actor here, recycling audio clips straight from the source material in low quality. The foe will say a voice clip on each and every single attack, increasing the starting lag of all attacks by 1.5X or by 10 frames at minimum.
Buffed weight for monster from 112 to 118.
Monster first jump now goes very high compared to not going anywhere. "Because of his legs, monster N. Brio has terrible movement speed and a bad second jump, and falls like a rock to top it off. His first jump enables him to get some much needed air time and goes as high as Falco's as he uses his arms to help push him off, though is tied with Bowser for the longest jumpsquat animation in the game."
Largely buffed monster air speed from 3/10 to 6/10.
Monster Brio's Up Special can now grab onto platforms to improve his recovery. "Monster Brio can recover a lot more reliably when next to gems, as during his frantic flailing if he comes into contact with a platform he will grab onto it and pull himself up with minimal lag. This uses his animation for pulling himself up from a ledge normally, though he doesn't get any kind of invulnerability. If Brio mashes A/B during the attack, he will still recover up through the platforms without being interrupted in the attack, letting him still use the full attack out of a combo if needed and/or defend himself if he wants, though he should be warned that climbing up onto the gem is a lot less laggy than collapsing up on top of one."
Gems only directly buff damage by 1.25x and not knockback, though knockback is still marginally buffed by nature of buffing damage of course.
Gem HP increased to 21 from 13.
Monster form duration increased to 14 seconds from 10.
Scientist Usmash base starting lag decreased from 50 frames to 38 frames. The upgrade now decreases by 3 frames per gem instead of 5, making it end up at 23 frames with all gems (previously 25 frames).
Removed text that said you could turn around during monster fair by jumping and replaced with B reversal text. "Brio can use B reversals to try to more easily turn around in aerial combat, with the fastest option being his Neutral Special. Charging the Neutral Special comes out as a very fast hitbox that functions as a "bair", while he can release the charge regardless of how much he has to hit in front of him. "
Changed scientist uthrow animation slightly. "N. Brio force feeds the foe a green potion before bashing the leftover empty beaker over their head and shattering it."
Scientist bthrow added a few words to say he turns them around before shooting them first.
Acknowledged Greninja's utilt in scientist Dthrow.
Anyone besides scientist can grab the tongues/tails rather than those over 110 weight units.
Kobayashi is the titular protagonist of Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid, being an ordinary human who finds herself housing shapeshifting dragons from another world. She is the quintessential straight man and generic office worker who keeps the quirky and over-the-top nature of the dragons in check, while occasionally showing affection in what become surprisingly heartfelt moments throughout the series. She is secretly a maid otaku, having offered her dragon Tohru to work for her as a maid when she was drunk. Though generic and powerless, she can get quite rowdy when drunk, and is ballsy enough to stand up to almighty, world-destroying dragons when it really counts.
Being an ordinary human, Kobayashi is unremarkable stat-wise. Standing around Robin's height, she is just as slow on her feet, and is bogged down by the horrible realism that plagues Little Mac. She is not very durable either, being a mere 72 when she already has some much going against her, but that's understandable given her frail human body. It's almost like Yutaka grew up and got a personality makeover! (Kobayashi and Kobayakawa DO sound similar ... )
NEUTRAL SPECIAL - DRINK YOUR WORRIES AWAY
A disgruntled Kobayashi whips out a bottle of sake and guzzles it down, hoping to forget all her life's troubles and the fact that she stands no chance at defeating her opponents. The bottle is drained over 5 gulps, the first one taking 5 frames and the next an extra 5 frames and so on (10, 15, 20, 25), taking 75 frames to finish altogether though you can cancel this into any action you like. Once finished, Kobayashi will give a satisfied "Aaaaah!" as she becomes intoxicated for 3 seconds per gulp, keeping the bottle on her afterwards.
Being drunk comes with its merits as Kobayashi ignores all reality and rationality, drastically altering her moveset for the better. Her mobility is enhanced to match Wario for the most part, blessing her with cartoonishly good air speed to better her mobility, and her traction takes a plunge to resemble Weegee. The downside is the hangover that she suffers afterwards, which leaves her partially or fully dizzy like she just had her shield broken (taking effect when she lands if she was airborne) based on the number of gulps taken. The hangover also cuts Kobayashi's shield down to a quarter its full health and her power and mobility down to 70%, especially bad given she doesn't have much strength to begin with. This lasts for 5 seconds, gradually wearing off halfway, and until then Kobayashi will not be willing to down more liquid courage.
SIDE SPECIAL - BIASED VIEW
Kobayashi stares blankly to analyse what's in front of her with as much calm and rationale as humanly possible. Auto-picking in a similar likeness to Autoreticle, a white backdrop appears behind Kobayashi along with several Japanese and English words that stream along to represent her countless thoughts regarding the subject. This prioritises the nearest opponent, but you angle to analyse targets diagonal to you like small items or constructs. Kobayashi is free to move and do just about anything else without breaking her gaze providing it isn't mentally distracting, like drinking, which is good because this move has no hitbox whatsoever. Too bad looks can't kill.
By gazing at an opponent for 3 seconds or just one if they were within 0.5 platforms, Kobayashi will realise the severity of her situation as a look of terror forms on her face - anxiety, sweat-dropping and quivering in full effect from the fear. It's understandable that Kobayashi would fear a heavyweight male antagonist, but this becomes truly memetic when faced with a friendly female protagonist or a fellow powerless human - or better yet, someone wimpy like Kyubey, Bubbles or Wiz!
A fearful, adrenaline-pumped Kobayashi works differently from normal in the face of her fear or their attacks. She can only approach the target half as quickly, but can move away from them twice as quickly. The timing for perfect shields is improved marginally and she'll glide back a character pace when attacked from a shield, but not in a position to punish with melee from a perfect shield. Her shield takes 33% more damage and will drain instantly and 1.5x quicker when held out even a little. Her attacks deal 1.18x more base knockback, have their duration doubled unless otherwise stated and cause her to glide back 0.075 platforms for every 1% they would have dealt if their duration was doubled when their end lag begins. This might sound great, but the effect is triggered when the target is within 0.65 platforms of Kobayashi (but not behind her) and can be exploited by them if whiffed, namely punishing the extended duration of an attack if she gets careless. The fear ends when 15 seconds have passed, 5 seconds pass when Kobayashi has been separated from the target and their hitboxes by a Smart Bomb's length, most likely through either character being launched, or she gets herself hammered with booze.
If Kobayashi has been drinking, she'll become the one who opponents should fear! A nasty yellow gleam in her eyes, Kobayashi forgoes analysis in favour of a lurch and a swift bear hug that can be angled somewhat. Whiffing will see Kobayashi stagger as she loses her footing, but a catch is golden as the woman cracks a devilish smile at the prospect of moulding her victim into something more ... her liking. The unfortunate victim is pinned against the floor if possible, before a comical dust cloud forms over them as Kobayashi gets to work for a good second. The result? Your very own surrogate maid! Gotta fill in the gap for Tohru somehow. The victim is sent flying for 10% and high base knockback that KOs at 160% - presumably out of sheer embarrassment - as they are forced to gaze at the terror of the Victorian maid costume that they are now wearing and almost certainly look ridiculous in. The costume doesn't affect victims directly, because any such psychological effect that would stem from such would most certainly be tacky, but for a maid otaku like Kobayashi it opens up a whole new avenue as she is able to channel her inner critic to better combat her opponent - even in her sober state.
By smashing the input, Kobayashi will instead take out a maid costume and swing it forth like Mario's cape if it could be angled. This doesn't reflect projectiles nor can be it angled, but it puts the maid costume on victims while dealing them half the damage of the grab, being easier to land and less knockback allows one to keep their victim closer. The swept maid costume will get dirty as it is exposed to surfaces and various substances, this grime carrying over between uses and giving foes a dirty maid costume that seemingly makes no difference to a clean costume. The costume's condition is reset when Kobayashi sobers up.
Kobayashi has no fear of maids. Instead, she will look at her target with a combination of confusion, pity and exasperation, apparently forgetting that she was the one who put the maid costume on them in the first place. Her interest piqued, she will approach maids more quickly but retreat more slowly. She will slide towards maids while charging her smashes as though a F-Smash was being charged on ice, as well as during the starting lag of her attacks if she was not within range. This lasts until Kobayashi analyses a different target, gets scared or whenever stated, a maid interest working to override fear from a different target. Or you can just dispel the interest freely by smashing the input. Foes can remove their maid costume to have their regular clothes underneath (somehow), but this must be done with a committed, concentrated button mash effort taking a full second. The maid costume will stick around if there was ground for it to land on, and remains the target of Kobayashi's interest so she can still slide towards it and what not. The costume can be picked and thrown as a harmless item with similar physics to Mr. Saturn, but any foe hit by it is turned into a maid as the costume somehow fits over them magically. Foes can go out of their way to pick up the costume and throw it offstage, but they may find themselves the interest of Kobayashi's enhanced approach if they were between her and the costume. Maid interest is passed down to intoxication, but it cannot be cancelled until Kobayashi becomes sober again so be careful.
UP SPECIAL - UNWANTED GUEST
Shock and bemusement overcome Kobayashi as her arm snaps forwards, diagonally or vertically on its own, revealed to be the work of a fleshy pink tendril that fires itself from her sleeves a instant later. Tohru's done it again, bringing in alien food sources from her own world to go with her cooking. The tendril zips 1.25 platforms and bites down on the first thing it comes across, clamping down for 8% and nibbling away for 1% every second it remains attached until it's shaken off with relative ease or killed with a good deal more effort than a Pikmin (having 35HP). After springing forward, the tendril will snap towards the mouth like a rubber band and take Kobayashi with it, sending her flying 1.35x farther than it went.
Opponents hit by Miss Kobayashi are dealt a splitting blow from her noggin, even though it wasn't her intention. This deals 10% on top of the mouth's 8% along with some surprisingly good knockback, able to KO at 135% and much earlier near the top of the screen. Unfortunately, Kobayashi will also take 10% when hitting something, along with some horrible end lag as she slumps to the ground (tumbling in midair), rubs her her and wonders how the hell she is still alive. This blow somehow erases her fear of a target if she collided with them (shielding or not), and is unaffected by prior buffs from such. It doesn't get much better in midair; Kobayashi won't enter helpless from her flight, but it has a lot of cooldown as she slows down during the excess portion beyond the tendril's zipping and is not a hitbox during this time - leaving her massively vulnerable to opponents smart enough to back away from her.
If B wasn't held when the hand snapped forward, Kobayashi will not hold onto the revealed tendril and will not get pulled by it as she lets the little guy do his own thing as a quasi-projectile; snapping back to her if no opponent is caught but able to reel in inedible items like a maid costume. This needs to be decided before the hitbox of the teeth manifest, so it's still a gamble to go with the reluctant and risky tackle. Good for latching the monster onto opponents, your little pink friend comes with the added benefit of gobbling down any food items within twice the grabbing range of a victim and nibbling at any food items they would procure at half the rate they would get through them to deprive them - a Heavyweight Male Antagonist's worst nightmare! Lil' pinky can be shaken off far more easily than it can be killed, but doing so onstage will keep it alive as it falls to the floor with a thud. It will then crawl along the stage like a worm in search of fighters or better food items, devouring the latter (and healing itself if it was injured) and latching onto the former. Should a target get within a platform of the mouth, it will pace towards them at Ganon's running speed. If 3 seconds go by without a target, the mouth will give up and disappear. The crawling mouth has 22HP and can be damaged and launched by opponents, being so small that most projectiles will sail past it. Only 1 mouth can be out at once; another thrown out, it will eat the previous on contact without being slowed down and, latched onto an opponent, will deal an additional 2% while becoming 1.5x harder to shake off/kill.
By smashing the input, the mouth monster will slither out from Kobayashi's sleeves - much to her shock - and will latch onto her like she stepped over it, taking 5 frames. You can also hold it as a throwing item that latches onto opponents by double-tapping B. Mouthy won't harm Kobayashi when latched onto her, most likely because of Tohru, but it will still gobble up her food items. There is one good thing about this however: the mouth monster will love Kobayashi for feeding it, and will repay the favour by biting down on an opponent she hits with her next melee attack. This adds % to the attack equal to however much the mouth would have healed from the food items it gobbled up, and sometimes causes that move to deal more knockback among other things. For one, this affects this very move as the mouth latched onto Kobayashi is used for the recovery, dealing additional damage with its bite - and more shield damage to potentially allow a poke with a follow-up headbutt - and having the monster latch back onto its mistress if it didn't bite onto anything. If Kobayashi doesn't want the mouth to gobble up her food, you can smash input this move again to have her give it a stern talking-to for 5 frames to have it disciplined for 3 seconds. A latched mouth can be shaken off by Kobayashi with a bit of concentrated button mashing, and will take damage whenever she or her shield do and can be killed by opponents fearing additional damage from a powered-up bite.
Analysing the mouth, Kobayashi will immediately regard it with extra caution that takes the form of quasi-fear that's half as effective as the genuine article. This can stack on opponents with the monster latched onto them to get an enhanced fear effect minus any shield debilitation, giving them a bit of incentive to shake off the mouth. On maid opponents, the intrigue and gingerly will take effect at the same time, allowing Kobayashi an interesting case of hit-and-run. Caution of the mouth monster has the extra effect of Kobayashi not allowing it to attach itself to her unless she was standing still, though you can reverse the mindset by giving it another analysis as she decides not to think anything of it.
A drunk and fearless Kobayashi makes the tether ride more wild as she plays around with it. Angled downwards on the ground, the tendril will snap forwards per usual but this time Kobayashi will tug onto it most deliberately - as though she were going water skiing! Her shoes scrape the ground along the way, but she doesn't mind as she's having the time of her life. You will too, because though the cranium impact is lost in exchange for Kobayashi being able to move while sliding forward and her forward attacks deal 1.3x as much damage as well. The recovery aspects of the move get a buff too, as Kobayashi is a hitbox for almost the entire duration of the standard recovery and suffers nary any lag. Furthermore, she travels 1.5 platforms farther than usual and can attack all the while with a buff to attacks aimed in the direction she was moving. The sheer boost gained from this is almost enough to make Kobayashi drink before using it to recover ... assuming she wasn't suffering from the aftereffects of a hangover at the time.
DOWN SPECIAL - LUNCH BREAK
Kobayashi removes a mug of hot coffee to carry on the go, through a gingerly animation that takes up a surprisingly long 35 frames. The steamy beverage gradually cools over 5 seconds and can be cooled instantly with a blow from Kobayashi to make it consumable, all by using this move again. Coffee is sipped through over a leisurely 5 seconds, and naturally provides Kobayashi with a host of benefits. Her shield and status ailments will regenerate/wear off 1.33x more quickly, hangovers and fear included, and her rage will subside entirely after 0.5 seconds of drink ... or at least until she's attacked again. The caffeine is a great energy booster too; increasing her mobility by fractional increments per frame of drinking that would amount to a small multiplier with each second spent drinking, wearing off twice as quickly as it came. This also sharpens her mind to enhance a few moves during the physical boost. Consumed in one go, the coffee will boost Kobayashi even more than usual; her shield and status ailments are fully healed and speed is boosted by around 1.3x, the latter lasting for 10 seconds, and she is healed a token 3% in the process. Kobayashi can move and even attack while sipping her coffee, just so long as the move doesn't require her mouth or both hands or she'll be forced to stop drinking.
The mug is dropped if Kobayashi is attacked, grabbed, intoxicated or affixed with fear, but not wasted. The falling mug deals 4% on contact and shatters to spray sharp, chipped pieces over a 0.74 platform radius, dealing a non-flinching 4% and always hitting those bonked by the mug. This is followed by a blast of coffee which deals a non-flinching 10-5% if it was hot, for a grand total of 18% at its best. Even with warm coffee, you'll get a wet foe out of this (lowering their traction slightly for 5-0.5 seconds) and a 0.5-0.1 platform-wide puddle that lasts 10-2 seconds and lowers traction half as effectively as Brawl ice. This can stack with the sliding from Side Special states, namely to have Kobayashi slide farther forwards when combined with maid interest charging her F-Smash. A puddle of hot coffee scalds those who stand over it for 1% every 0.3 seconds or every 0.6 seconds after 2.5 seconds. Kobayashi can be harmed by every facet of her awry mug given she's human, making it something of a danger to both opponents and herself especially when she gets grabbed. Fortunately, every bit of damage taken from the coffee's hitboxes will contribute twice - or thrice with hot coffee - as much to her rage if an opponent was the cause of her dropping it, even factoring the damage from the catalyst attack and their pummels and throws if it was dropped through a grab. Very useful to Kobayashi when her survivalbility is poor; don't mess with someone trying to have their morning coffee.
Frames 5-25 of drawing the coffee serve as a counter against decently strong attacks, as their impact causes Kobayashi's mug to explode violently mere moments after her launched. The result here are shards in the face of close-up attackers followed almost immediately by an explosion of piping hot coffee covering a platform radius and dealing 8% that KOs at 200% near the edge, 12% that KOs at 150% or a heated 18% that KOs at 130% right around the epicentre. Did the almighty force of the foe's attack make the coffee bigger and hotter? Sadly, Kobayashi will still take damage from the enemy attack unlike other counters, but on top of a bigger puddle she is awarded with a daily dose of anger through thrice the rage she would have accumulated from the attack on top of an extra 35% from having her coffee and mug smashed. Now she has to go out and buy a new mug of coffee on her day off!
Drunk, Kobayashi will handle the mug with one hand as she brings it up to her face to inspect with suspicion, only to contort with disgust when she realises that she's not holding a can of beer. She then hurls the mug on a low, medium or high arc or straight above or beneath her, shattering on contact and dealing 0.65x the damage of a sweetspotted coffee counter. This gives you the coffee counter per usual before the mug is hurled, but otherwise this is a competent projectile. Unlike Kobayashi's other attacks, the starting lag of this move can be interrupted by a hangover, albeit for the better as she drops the mug and can be knocked out of the stun by damage from the shattered mug. Only 1 coffee puddle can be out at a time, drying up if a new one is created.
By smashing the input, irregardless of mental state, Kobayashi will take out a delicious omurice that Tohru presumably made for her. The tempting smell from this meal will draw a mouth monster to it from any part of the stage, and can be thrown at an enemy to deal them 5% (it is hot, after all) or eaten over 1.3 seconds to heal that much. You can only have 1 omurice out at once and must wait 5 seconds to whip out at new one. Or you could just put it away with a repeat input for the sake of manipulating the monster.
JAB - DON'T DO THAT
Kobayashi thrusts her open palm in a forceful 'stop!' motion, not dissimilar to Zelda's Jab if it were quicker and didn't have magic. The thrust deals 2%, followed by 2 hits of 1% and knockback that scales with the total damage dealt. All 3 hits will net you some nice keep-away that'll KO past 250%, whereas the 2 weaker hits deal alright or very low knockback that's good for follow-ups if you can catch an opponent in the last hit. Though weak, having a monster on you will net an extra as it bites down when the thrust connects, enhancing the move's base knockback and growth to the point where it can become a competent KO Jab with an extra 5% ... or maybe better.
A fearful Kobayashi will hesitate minutely before the thrust, which is held out for twice as long to deal an extra 3 hits of 1% that contribute to the damage-based knockback. Target close-by, fear or maid, Kobayashi will thrust her arm towards them (up to 45 degrees) and keep it held out in that direction for the rest of the move, but a clever foe can exploit this and a longer duration to create an opening.
The drunkard jabs her finger for 2% at the arm, 3% at the hand or 4% at the finger, followed by a giddy, uncontrollable laugh while the finger remains pointed. Targeting the nearest opponent within analysing range or a jabbed victim anywhere, anyone who gets pointed at will find themselves being laughed at and suffering emotional damage! That's 2% right off the bat, followed by another 1% every 30 frames you can afford the laughter given remember the drunkard state is finite. Not very good damage, but if your victim was a maid Kobayashi will find the outfit to look hilarious from them and laugh even harder, dealing even more damage! Twice as much during the first second and 1.5x as much afterwards. Just add a dirty maid costume in the mix for an extra 2% at the start, plus another 2% from coffee stains, and you'll have yourself a decently competent and safe damage-racker. Just be careful not to get punished when laughing without hitting with the finger, and be aware that a single foe will only get hurt from your laughing once per drunkard session if you didn't hit with the finger.
DASH ATTACK - PULL THROUGH
Kobayashi charges forth slightly with her forearms shielding her face, like she's trying to block on an onslaught of wind. This only covers 0.55 platforms and has no armour, given Kobayashi is only human, but it's one of the fastest and most spammable Dash Attacks in the game; dealing 8% and respectable knockback up-close or 4% with low mostly-horizontal knockback. Charging over a puddle, Kobayashi will travel an extra 0.15 platforms and/or 0.55 platforms if there was maid interest, becoming better for travel and actually letting you get closer to a victim if you hit them with the sourspot as the extra distance covered lets you stick surprisingly close to them for a follow-up. This enhances Kobayashi's approach game when the maid costume is in sight, and can be used to catch opponents off-guard if you rammed farther or a shorter distance than they were expecting via messing around with your analyses. The quick dash attack is also ideal for teching items and putting opponents into a position to be hit with via the sourspot, but the maid costume is a little more special: hitting an opponent after teching the costume, it will be placed on them automatically if they were rammed, and you can hold A to have Kobayashi pick up the costume at any time during the charge and not just at the start.
Fearful and maid-less, Kobayashi will take a more cautious approach to this move as she shields and braces herself without charging forth. This is otherwise identical to the standard variant aside from having its duration doubled, though it's still a lot harder to hit with given the lack of range. Compensating Kobayashi is heavy armour by virtue of her bracing, equal to twice her damage output. If this armour is triggered, she'll be spurred into charging for a powered tackle covering 1 platform dealing an extra 30% of the damage she received, utilising the adrenaline of her fear for added strength. Connecting with this, Kobayashi's fears are alleviated. This effectively turns the dash attack into an unorthodox counter, good if opponents are approaching you if you've been backing away from fear, which you can then dispel to regain your usual burst of speed.
If Kobayashi was drunk, she'll appear to brace herself for a split-second ... only to lash out with a shove! This has more lag than the norm, but it comes with brief armour at the start without compromising the movement if it's not triggered, on top of having extra reach.
F-TILT - CHOCOLATE BULLET
Kobayashi thrusts an arm forward and flicks a small block of chocolate as a projectile that is surprisingly and unrealistically effective. This can be angled. The outstretched arm deals 2% and minor pushback, while the flicking hand deals 3% with low knockback on a 30, 45 or 60* angle. The chocolate deals 1% and travels 2 platforms before falling to the ground or bouncing off a target lightly, partially melted from the force of being flung, staining a victim's clothes/body with a light smudge of coca. Kobayashi can flick up to 6 choc pieces in a row on any angle with no consequences, but foes can catch these pieces out of the air to heal themselves 2% or pick them off the floor to eat to heal off the damage they took. Gross. Hygienic Miss Kobayashi can't eat floor chocolate unless she was drunk, in which case she can easily slide along the floor with her Dash Attack to gobble them all up in one go. Up to 6 blocks can be out at once and they last 5 seconds if left alone. Stepping over chocolate will render it a gooey mush that sticks to the sole of the character's foot to dirty it, and with maid foes part of the floored chocolate will catch on the bottom of their full-length outfit to stain it.
The mouth monster apparently loves chocolate, because it will snap its mouth towards any pieces that get within 0.5 platforms of it to crunch and swallow them whole. Latched to Kobayashi, this denies her a spammable projectile in exchange for a more conventional, angle-able tilt in the form of a bite dealing 10% that KOs at 160% where her flicking hand would reach or 6% near the tip. You can still flick more chocolate, in which case the mouth will remain extended and will keep nibbling away to deal 3% apiece for similar damage to Kobayashi's flicking - great for trapping shields and deterring approaches despite the small hitbox and being overcome with regular attacks. The chocolate will not power the monster used this way. Not attached to Kobayashi, the monster will gobble up the choco bullets she fires and this serves as her most direct means of "banking" damage she can expend later on a powered attack with it. Latched to a foe, the crunching mouth will splatter chocolate to mess up their clothes even more than usual, as well as being able to use its boosted attack on the victim without needing to be attached to Kobayashi ... and maybe even power up those attacks even more. Stray, the monster's snapping can potentially hit opponents as if they got hit by Kobayashi's F-tilt, serving as something of a unconventional ranged hitbox. This can make angling the choco bullets upwards more useful and punish opponents who shake off the mouth carelessly if it would result in them being between its chocolate.
Been drinking? Then watch as Kobayashi swings her bottle sideways to hit harder than any old block of chocolate. The damage here is comparable to the monster bite if the sweetspot and sourspots were reversed, making it better when hitting at the tip. The bottle can reflect projectiles back on the angle it was swung at, giving it no bonuses but still very useful and highly memetic (and unrealistic) against vastly stronger opponents like Iguana or Tohru. This can reflect stationary items as though they were smash-thrown, which will go sliding along the ground if the bottle was angled downwards. You can also hold A to have a latched monster attach itself to Kobayashi's bottle before she goes to swing it; this adds noticeable starting lag, but the monster will snap forward as though the Up Special was just used when the bottle becomes a hitbox. The bottle is held out for half a second (not a hitbox) as the monster deals 10% up-close or 6% from a distance before snapping back to Kobayashi as she resumes the swing. The bottle and monster hitboxes won't hit the same foe unless the former was shielded against.
The monster becomes especially deadly when reflected projectiles are involved, as it will catch the projectile in its mouth and push it out as it snaps forward; this can make the projectile travel much faster than it normally would, and this movement doesn't count as the projectile moving in the context of it getting weaker when moving or to contribute to its distance cap or what not. Furthermore, the mouth will curve the projectile's owner very slightly if it would just miss them, making it very likely to hit them combined with the speed boost. Oh, and the monster is still a hitbox while the projectile is in its mouth, making it so both can hit if they are shielded. A projectile still existing at the end of the stretch is released as the monster snaps back towards Kobayashi, unless it was an item and you held A in which case it will bring that item back and deposit it in front of her.
U-TILT - LIGHT EXERCISE
Kobayashi does her morning stretches with an arm outstretched above her, exerting less force than the Wii Fit Trainer. This still deals damage anyway, 1% against those above her and being one of the fastest and most spammable attacks in the game to the point where it can combo into itself half a dozen times at lower percentages and with no rage. It has no KO potential on its own, but can easily follow into such an option depending on how foes react via DI'ing sideways or what not. A fearful Kobayashi will move back slightly even when hitting a fear above her, actually dragging them along with her if they didn't DI or setting up for a forward-hitting attack if they DI'ed diagonally in front of her.
The monster wraps itself around Kobayashi's arm with its head extended above her hand, increasing the size of the move's hitbox slightly on top of a potential power-up bite, which will enhance the knockback of the move to give it KO potential at 6%. This can also be used to snatch up food in which case the monster will extend twice as far as the hitbox would normally reach, be it food on a platform above you or in an opponent's possession or even chocolate stains, which will not go away on contact and "heal" the monster 0.1-0.25% a pop - great for juggling foes higher up and dealing more damage.
Being drunk invokes a less subtle approach as Kobayashi swings her bottle over behind her like a flag ... and then forwards! Each swing deals solid upwards knockback or radial knockback around the tip on lower angles, 8% on the first hit and a stronger 12% that KOs at 145% on the second but is harder to hit with. This has a long duration that's not favourable with the drunkard time limit and can still be air dodged, but it has low lag and can hit opponents next to Kobayashi up-close. You can even hit taller grounded opponents with the bottle - in front of you right at the start and end of the attack - but there's still a decent gap between swings and the move is not safe on shields right up-close.
D-TILT - BECKON
Sitting seiza-style, Kobayashi leans forward and pats the floor as though telling her opponents to "c'mere". This is a spammable attack dealing 1% a pop and a good chance to trip opponents, keeping them close to analyse or while you're drinking coffee. Higher percentages but mostly rage will reveal that the move deals purely horizontal knockback, which can somewhat be used to gimp near the ledge, though you largely want to keep opponents close to you of which the the coffee's rage-resetting can help with. Patting the floor will splash any puddles forward a short distance, serving the dual purpose of repositioning it as well as wetting the clothes of maids. This move is unaffected by Kobayashi's SSpec mental states.
The drunkard is not so gentle as she bangs her fist against the floor, which somehow quivers like a table being slammed. In addition to dealing 3% and mostly-upwards knockback without compromising speed, this knocks items and puddles within half a platform of Kobayashi 1.5 Ganons up into the air, the latter going straight up if not struck by the fist directly. Working well with the knockback from the slam, this can be used for various set-ups like siccing the monster on airborne foes, or splashing their entire body with a puddle which has the additional effect of pushing them upwards very slightly.
F-SMASH - TOUGH LOVE
Kobayashi raises her fist behind her and swings it down to hit an opponent from above, with the atmosphere of physically berating someone for doing something stupid. This deals a reasonable 10-15% and is decent on shields, hitting them twice, which is only fair given the move lacks reach and is not fast; making it impractical outside of sliding via maid interest and/or coffee. When hitting an enemy with this comical move, they'll be struck with enough force to sprout an oversized, spherical head bump that juts out from the top of them, roughly a Pokeball in size. This bump counts as a hurtbox on the opponent and makes them more vulnerable from above, namely from the drunk U-tilt or being hit by this move again - enlarging the bump again to the point where it falls off and hits the opponent comically for another 10-15% when their knockback ends, upon which this move becomes a surprisingly powerful KO move. The bump recedes back into the victim after a good 10 seconds, but will stay out for 25 frames longer for every 1% it sustains.
A drunk Kobayashi will swing her bottle wildly, increasing the attack's range and its damage by 1.5% for every gulp not taken. Better yet, charging the smash fully will see Kobayashi hurl the bottle like a thrown item, giving her a solid projectile with a good deal of oomph. The bottle will shatter on contact with an enemy or surface, spilling alcohol that acts like spilled coffee for the most part ... except that it is flammable, burning up in a glorious blaze that rebounds any fire attack cast upon it to bring indiscriminate harm. A target soaked with alcohol will receive 1.3x as much damage and knockback from the next fire attack that hits them before it dries up. This can be exploited with scaling coffee, the only fire attack in Kobayashi's set. Bottle lost, Kobayashi will have her F-Smash replaced with the sober version and F-tilt replaced with a weaker arm swipe until she uses her NSpec again while drunk to take out an empty bottle.
U-SMASH - TOUGH IT OUT
Kobayashi swings an open umbrella up in front of her to deal 10-14% and knockback that positions victims directly above her. A weak but fast move, it can also reflect projectiles dealing less than 9% as it's swung up or any old projectile from above, including chocolate and falling monsters which will get bounced up like a throwing item to deal damage and reattach themselves to opponents who shook them off. Afterwards, Kobayashi keeps the umbrella on her person under the same conditions as a mug of coffee, with the benefits of nullifying projectiles dealing no hitstun and less than 4%, as well as bouncing non-hazardous items up into the air as if strong-thrown - directly upwards or on an angle if she was moving sideways, in such a way that they'll land directly over her if she kept moving at that same rate. The umbrella serves no other purposes like being a throwing or battering item like you'd expect, as Kobayashi isn't going to go out and spend another $5 on a new one or risk having it stolen by somebody else.
This becomes an entirely different attack while drunk, as Kobayashi discovers the hilt of what appears to be a massive sword stuck deep in the ground. Curious, she pulls and pulls with all her might, and the sword is dislodged with sudden force! Packing the weight of the heaviest smashes, there's a huge amount of end lag as Kobayashi staggers back to make way for the cross guard, but it's well worth it as the very tall sword is shot 1.25-2.8 Bowsers up into the air, higher charges revealing the weapon to be 2 Bowsers tall. The handle deals 20-27% and strong 30* knockback KO'ing at 95-65% if hitting in front of Kobayashi, or 14-20% with sharp vertical knockback on the way up - a deadly early finisher if the very butt connects at full charge. The wide cross guard of the sword deals 16-22% and mostly-horizontal knockback that KOs at 120-90%, or 10-17% with good diagonal knockback when hitting on the way up. Once up, the sword will come back down will still being a hitbox. Fully charged, foes will find a deadly sweetspot in front of Kobayashi where the sword will land, inflicting a behemoth 48% and knockback that is practically guaranteed to KO as it utterly ignores shields (though it can be dodged). Your chances of hitting with this are minuscule at best, but land it and you'll be feeling good about it for days to come - even if Miss Kobayashi won't.
Once the sword lands, one third to two thirds of it will remain sticking out of the ground as a construct, because you knew it was coming. For this, the move can be angled up to 30* so that the sword will go on a slant when it comes back down, indicated by Kobayashi pushing or pulling on it during the charge. The guard of the sword functions as a makeshift drop-through platform nearly as wide as the one on battlefield, fairly high off the ground at full charge. Kobayashi can pull herself to the guard using her Up Special to get an easy perch on it, the mouth a hitbox dealing 5% and radial knockback to opponents occupying the part of the guard it latched onto, from which her vantage point allows easier use of the Up Special and aerials to finish off airborne opponents where she would normally have difficulty given her poor jumps. Just be careful; while the sword guard can be placed high up, it need only take 24% before it breaks apart in a cluster of blue light, upon which a perched Kobayashi - only being human - will lose her footing in the form of being spiked as though she just stepped over a pitfall trap on a platform. It's not easy to make again either given it can only be done in the drunken state, thus you will want to be proactive in going about its uses.
The upright hilt and blade can be passed freely, but the latter will cut anyone knocked past it for an extra 2-5% while making a gash in maid outfits, earning foes an extra 3% should Kobayashi afford a laugh at them in such a state. The blade portion will also slice clean any projectile that passes through it; splitting it into 2 copies as the extra goes out in the direction the blade was facing - that being horizontal by default - no smaller than before but only half as powerful. This has no effect if the split projectile and blade were facing the same direction, as the former stay closely-knit to reach other. You can use this to ease up the damage taken from enemy projectiles if you don't mind a bit of bullet hell, or better yet exploit this using your own projectiles. Your mouth monster will get split when shot out via Up Special or F-tilt, able to hit 2 opponents at once or cover area. Using the Up Special to recover, there will be a slight pause when Kobayashi reaches the point where the monster split, allowing you to choose one of the 2 split points to snap towards. If the monster latches onto an opponent, it will deal them damage as the other half of its mouth swings back into them and deals the other half of the damage they were meant to take with an extra delay. If both halves caught an opponent, the victim of the extra mouth will get swung towards the other target, which the monster latches onto as both halves recombine like waves that got split, like they never got cut in the first place. Odd.
The sword can be adjusted somewhat when hit with Kobayashi's moves. Her F-Smash, drunk or not when facing the hilt, will be the fist swing that pushes it back into the ground by half or all of its length, guard buried but hilt still sticking out. The sword deals its usual damage to outsiders this way, but it can't be spammed as you will need to put in the work of raising it back up again. That can be done with the banging D-tilt irregardless of Kobayashi's mental state, albeit taking 1.5 seconds to raise it up fully drunk compared to 5 seconds when sober. Just don't hammer over the hilt itself if you don't want to bury the sword back into the ground, or you could hammer the protruding guards to slant the sword manually within a second at most. Just be careful when you're around the sword in a sober state, because human Kobayashi will suffer more landing lag than usual landing on the guard from the sheer uneasiness and difficulty of finding her footing - leaving her open and giving foes a ripe chance to destroy the sword while she's perched and helpless. Only 1 sword can be out at a time; using this move again will make the old one disappear, unless it's used on a platform of the sword guard in which case Kobayashi will use her sober U-Smash instead.
Analysing the sword simply leaves Kobayashi perplexed as she doesn't know what to make of it. Analysing a foe over it however, Kobayashi will become greatly overwhelmed as she assumes that they were the one responsible for planting it - having forgotten that it was actually her! How could she, an ordinary human, possibly discover a giant sword in the middle of nowhere, let alone lift it? The fear kicks in right away and is more potent than usual, 1.75x the positive effects while boosting the damage and knockback of her attacks by 1.22x. This is all after a great gasp taking up 20 frames of Kobayashi's time, and the effect lasts for 5 seconds before it turns to normal fear and cannot be cancelled early, not even by drinking coffee.
D-SMASH - DEFY THE AUTHORITIES
Tensing and clutching her head towards the screen in increased exasperation, Kobayashi commands silence in the most effective way possible: by screaming "SHUT UP!!" at the top of her lungs. This has a lot of starting lag post-charge, but the later half of this is super armoured out of sheer anger and any % taken counts as double to her rage, making the move a good counter that can go well with restoring rage calmed by coffee. The resulting shout releases 2 bracket-shaped soundwaves to either side of Kobayashi reaching out a reasonable distance and barely slanting upwards, dealing 5-8% and sharp knockback that KOs at 180-150%. A very weak move with a very short duration, but at least it has low end lag and deals 1/3rd of its damage output to opponents who shield it.
Raging? Then Kobayashi will shout for longer, adding an extra hit dealing 1-1.4% per 10% (even though rage doesn't take effect until 35%) to cap at 15 hits at 150%. At max rage, this gives the move an extremely long duration and the potential to deal up to 20-29%; much easier for catching opponents, but not good if they can reach Kobayashi's blind spots. Suffering a hangover and not at max rage, 5 hits are added on as being smashed makes Kobayashi more irritable, which is good because she'll need just that bit of extra stalling to recover. Kobayashi's soundwaves will somehow block off projectiles and other such constructs like airborne food and the monster, the former of which are treated as though they were in motion (potentially weakening them if they would become weaker when travelling) and become capable of damaging their owners if they run into them. By tilting the control stick while shouting, constructs can be pushed out towards the edge of the soundwave relative to the direction inputted. Supporting this is that, by tilting the control stick pre or during charge, Kobayashi can choose to shout forwards or backwards; increasing the starting lag slightly and negating the super armour in exchange for doubling the range of the soundwave in that direction while giving her a short-ranged hitbox behind her.
A drunk shout will always be shot, but even louder than usual with more rage. The extra hits gained from rage are in fact contained in that one short shout, not only dealing all your potential damage in one go but also more knockback unlike with the sober variant, able to KO at 80-50% on a good day. This becomes one of your best KO moves when you're near death and/or a hangover, the charging and countering nature of the move put to good use to stall that hangover and strike back at those wanting to exploit your to-be opening - a very large opening indeed, when having such a high percentage will leave you stunned for quite a while. A drunk shout will leave enemy projectiles paralysed for 1.5x longer than a sober shout relative to its "duration", keeping them from killing you while serving as something of a shield against opponents.
N-AIR - CIRCLE OF LIFE
Kobayashi enters a T-stance and spins around like she's a helicopter, looking quite stupid and showing annoyance on her face. This simple, silly move drags opponents along for 10 hits of 0.45%, knocking them back and forth between the exact point they were hit by before they're knocked away to suffer very low or decent knockback that KOs at 185% depending on how many hits they took. The knockback from this is on a 60* angle if the dragging was done by the arms, vertically at the legs or diagonally at the upper-body. You can use this move to drag opponents down to earth if you like, where all earthlings belong, placing them airborne at frame-neutral or into prone if they were knocked into the ground.
Kobayashi can get some mileage from her spinning if she's equipped with some props. A monster will be held out in one hand and stretch itself out by 0.65 platforms; either adding another set of hits to double the damage output or, with no opponent caught, lashing out towards the nearest enemy and nibbling at them for this move's default damage but no flinching until the very end. You can even tech a maid costume with this move to involve it in the attack as it is swung around and placed on a struck opponent.
The drunkard experiences some more staggering lag, but she holds out her bottle when swinging to deal a welcome 10% and solid knockback to opponents struck by it, while still having the dragging hitboxes on her body. This can come as quite the surprise to opponents when Kobayashi suddenly gets drunk, due to the extended reach the bottle offers.
F-AIR - COOKING MAMA
Kobayashi thrusts a plate of 2 cherry tomatoes or bacon and eggs with every 2nd use of the move, functioning as an unorthodox sex kick. A direct hit at the start deals 10% as the plate shatters, and the hitbox ends there - not good if the move was shielded. Hitting with the edge of the plate nets you 2 hits of 3% followed by diagonal knockback with good follow-up potential, while hitting vertically gets you 5% and a bop on the head with light downwards knockback or some upwards knockback appropriately. This is accompanied by the splatter of breakfast when hitting directly or from below, messing up clothes to contribute 1% if drunk Kobayashi laughs at a regular opponent or 3% if they were a maid. The breakfast becomes more relevant when a monster is in play, where it will bite down and swallow the plate's contents to deal 10% when the sweetspot portion of the move at the start would end - not catching an opponent struck by the smashing plate head-on, but instead going after the breakfast remains that slide off of them as they're launched. This heals the monster 3%. This extra bite can give Kobayashi some coverage when a direct hit was shielded, making it safer and potentially tricking opponents into putting down their shield earlier to be launched.
This move can be angled to slant the plate slightly, having little consequence on the move other than letting you aim the edge of the thin plate. Triggering the landing lag however, this and how the plate was slanted becomes more relevant. Slanted forwards, the contents of the plate will go flying to deal 4% on contact and otherwise function like a few blocks of chocolate compressed into one. Slanted backwards, the food will slide down and into Kobayashi's mouth as she ... eats the breakfast! Yum. Some harsh "landing lag" rewards her with 5% healing, but you can't just spam this as you need to wait 5 seconds before she can get healing from her meal again, she not enjoying it enough if another round is forced down on her early.
Drunk, Kobayashi will raise the plate behind her face-forwards and swing it down! This hits once and deals similar damage to the sober variant, a safer, stronger direct hit that can KO at 155% and a good straight-up launcher, but an extra hint of lag makes it less safe. The food here is always flung from the plate, tomatoes shot down on a 120* angle the instant it is swung down, sliding along the ground if it touches down, whereas the sticker eggs and bacon go flying forwards just as it is swung down horizontally. This is especially relevant with a monster snapping out to snatch the food from twice the length the plate reached; adding an element of surprise and uncertainty as it bites down on a different angle and with different timing based on the food on the plate, as well as free food. Powerful when combined with Kobayashi's enhanced air speed. Unfortunately, you only get 1 tomato and one bacon and eggs throughout the drunk session, having to make do with just the plate or wait 5 seconds to respawn your food if you've gone for broke.
B-AIR - DAY OFF
Kobayashi throws herself back in exhaustion, arms flung back to deal 7% with Sakurai knockback that flings enemies towards her when hitting with her hand (possibly comboing at lower percentages) and experiencing an inconsequential boost in air speed. That's pretty good for a tired person! Maid interest, hangover or fearful, the air boost is even more pronounced and can be used as a crude method of travel to get away from a fear, or to stop dead in the track of one; making this move safe if the end lag wasn't triggered. That can be a somewhat tall order given how thin the hitbox is, but Kobayashi flattens herself and a bump can make this easier to land as a hurtbox protruding above a target. Hitting with your hand at fear and moving forwards through the air, Kobayashi will shoot forwards for a greater air boost than usual as she attempts to get away from the fear as they get closer to her, a great spacer for your projectile game if it's used in the right situation. This can work on a sword or monster if you're fearing them, to have Kobayshi vault herself past them and finish the move to go into something different.
Drunkard is never tired! She'll still fling herself, of course, but the added air speed makes this a good poking move or way to push opponents or get around them, especially with maid interest. This even comes with the bonus of dealing 9% and turning Kobayashi to face a struck opponent if she hit very close-up. Oh, and if Kobayashi's hands make contact with a blade or hilt she'll swing around it like a wild monkey! This deals her 3% if she grabbed hold of the blade as she cuts herself, but that's okay because she has super armour in this state and her attack deals 12-15% (empowered by the magic of the sword?), and afterwards you can choose to swing backwards whence you came with your prior momentum maintained. Depending on whether you hit with the body or the feet, this can be a great spacer (for an impending hangover) or to knock opponents towards you for an aerial carnage follow-up.
U-AIR - PARTY?
Kobayashi faces the screen and swings her hands up halfheartedly, not having the vigour to make a fool of herself in her sober state. This deals a simple 4% and low juggling knockback, with the added bonus of a caught maid costume or monster being swing upwards of which extends the move's hitbox should it connect - practical in the event when the victim was beneath you when shaking off their load.
Being drunk brings more enthusiasm to the move as Kobayashi swings her bottle as well! This adds a hitbox dealing a more respectable 8%, but with more strength behind a fuller bottle that can deal 14% and some pretty strong, much-needed upwards knockback that can KO at 140% - you'll need all the space you can get when you suffer that hangover after the short drunkard state. Held this way post-attack, the remaining sake in the bottle is tipped out down in front of Miss Kobayashi to soak an opponent or become a puddle upon landing, a good way to keep the liquid from being wasted when you're about to get smashed. The tip of the bottle is even a spiking hitbox dealing 11% that KOs at 160%, a better option offstage or when you've still got some drunk left in you - there's no reason to pull enemies down to earth only to have them hit you hard as you get your hangover upon landing, or not to score that kill near the top of the screen.
D-AIR - GET OFF!
Kobayashi flails her leg frantically as though shaking off something repulsive. This deals 9% and decent knockback no matter where it hits, but it can connect up to 5 times in a row; dealing 1.5% less against the same target with each consecutive hit landed (9%, 7.5%, 6%, 4.5%, 3% = 30%), but good pressure against shields nonetheless and effective if the victim had a bump on their head. It can also be quite memetic against KB resistant constructs as you can deal 30% to them in one go without buffs, like Miss Kobayashi is channelling a bit of Miss Kobayakawa's insane flailing damage output.
Being no drunk makes difference to the hitbox other than a slight increase in knockback. You will notice, however, that the animation is difference as Kobayashi flaps her arms stupidly like she's pretending to be a bird (or maybe a dragon?). By holding the control stick vertically, Kobayashi can choose to increase or decrease her fall speed by up to half based on how far the stick was pointed, similar to Mr. Game and Watch's D-air. This can be used to turn the move into a pseudo stall-then-fall, or keep the birdie airborne for longer so she can exploit the massive enhance in her air speed.
GRAB
Kobayashi places a hand on her opponent's shoulder as though consoling them, somehow keeping them in place for the sake of balance. Done on a maid, both hands are clasped on each shoulder and she'll peer at them disapprovingly, or maybe in pity ...
Drunk? A more forceful grab to the collar as Kobayashi pulls them close to her and stares them in the eye, pressing their face right up against hers if they were a maid. Hope they're ready for some heavy criticism!
Oh, and having the monster gives Kobayashi the option to perform a tether grab remiss to Link's if the control stick was smashed forward simultaneously. Not the best option, but Kobayashi can be blessed knowing that she still has a good standard grab.
PUMMEL - COMMUNICATION
Kobayashi slaps her opponent on the shoulders for 1% or both for 2% if they were a maid, dealing unimpressive or below-average damage. If she was drunk, she'll slap them hard like in the GIF to deal 2.4% apiece or 3.2% if they were a maid.
By doing nothing, the drunk Kobayashi will dig into a maid hard with heavy criticism and and intimidation that would make Warlord proud, dealing emotional(?) damage instead of physical. This takes as long as a single pummel and somehow weakens the knockback Kobayashi would receive from the victim, dropping it down to roughly 0.95x every 3 seconds or whenever she lands a hit for a minimum of 0.6x their usual knockback after 18 seconds or 6 hits. The hitstun received takes a fractional drop as well, just enough to react to some combos or punish a bit better out of shields, and if the victim had a dirty costume their movement speed (fall speed included) will drop at the same rate as their knockback down to 0.99-0.95x depending on how dirty it was to cap at half their usual speed. This lasts until the victim sheds the maid costume and can be reapplied by putting that very same costume back on them, the effect 2 stages lower than it was prior, thus the only way to get rid of it is to throw the costume offstage. Definitely worth applying, as the knockback reduction helps lightweight Kobayashi's survival and lets her bring faster opponents down to her level.
If a monster was attached to either character, you can press B to have it latch onto the other character instead.
F-THROW - PARTING GIFT
Kobayashi takes out an orange and thrusts it into her opponent's chest, dealing them 3% and rather low mostly-horizontal knockback that's used for all your generic follow-up activity like the Up Special or chocolate. Except we also have an orange, which goes flying towards the victim at such speeds as to collide with them shortly after they recover. The orange deals 1% on contact, just like chocolate, after which it will bounce off the victim a short distance and go rolling back to where Kobayashi performed the throw ... providing none of those heavyweight male antagonist slopes were involved. Opponents can catch the orange and even throw it back to Kobayashi if they like, but they may not want to because they can potentially eat it. First they have to peel the skin off, which takes 9 frames, and then they can eat the orange itself to heal up 4%. Not good, but you can exploit this potential opening and even get the monster on them to gobble up that orange, all the better if said monster was sicced on them because then they won't get an orange. Incidentally, the peels of an orange will heal the monster 1% so an unpeeled orange will heal it 5%. The peels stay around for as long as banana peels, but they don't trip people up because who ever heard of someone slipping over orange peels? If Kobayashi was dealing with a maid, she will throw 2 vertically-aligned oranges at them; of which can both be caught and held at the same time. Both oranges are peeled and eaten one by one, healing twice as much but taking twice as much time.
The shove of a drunkard remains surprisingly unchanged other than a bit more force for extra knockback, unless the input was smashed. Here, Kobayashi will demand that her captive become a maid as she thrusts the necessary costume at them instead of oranges, of which they are now fitted into. Dirty costume nearby, Kobayashi will seize that and place it over them instead of taking out a new one. Another means of creating maids, but this has an inverse effect on those that are already employed; as Kobayashi loudly proclaims that they don't deserve to wear a maid costume. This, somehow, has the very strange effect of causing the costume to explode! Opponents are dealt 8% and sharp upwards knockback that can KO at 180%, but all those dirty little stains will enhance the base knockback and growth by a small margin apiece ... dealing 12% that KOs at 130% should you manage to dirty that costume in every way the set can offer, chocolates and spills and all adorning the outfit. Combined with the added damage of a monster bite to enhance the shove knockback very slightly per extra 1%, this can deal massive damage.
The exploding costume is left in tatters that descend slowly from where the explosion occurred, able to be picked up as a single item or pushed around with your hitboxes with the sensitivity of a barrel. Maid interest ends prematurely, but that probably for the best as the slowed movement away from the costume can be hampering and she can always renew interest in the torn costume when she's sobered. The torn costume differs from a whole one in that it passes through opponents and is entirely lagless to throw due to having no hitbox, as well as descending more slowly of which you can exploit to get an upwards speed boost for longer without having to rely on a foe.
B-THROW - THROUGH THE DOOR
Kobayashi gestures behind her as though showing a guest the way out. This, by a mysterious force of balance, somehow causes the victim to get flung behind the woman for 5% on a 30* angle and with enough force to get out of Smash at 190% or earlier with a monster, capping at a wonderful and optional 125% if it had a debt of 25% to owe. Being drunk will turn this into a violent suplex that deals 10%, higher base knockback and more reliable KO move that kills 30% earlier.
Dealing with a maid and smashed in any mental state, Kobayashi takes a completely different approach as she spins them around and pulls them behind her before flipping their long skirt like she's the new Mekuri Master. An unexpected act of perversion! Or maybe not, because the opponent still has their regular clothes beneath the maid outfit. This lowers the angle of the knockback to 60* and with reduced end lag/hitstun for both parties as well as forcing the foe to have their back to Kobayashi. What's more, any maid interest is piqued further out of intrigue or possibly contempt, doubling the benefits of such until the victim lands or is KO'ed - useful for following-up and capitalising on the victim's back to you in the sober state.
If the thrown victim would not be KO'ed (as in the red lightning streak doesn't appear) and are knocked into the blade of a sword, they'll be bounced off of it. This is mostly useful for the maid variant, which can lead to better comboing situations depending on the amount of knockback and distance in which a victim flew.
U-THROW - STRIP UP
Kobayashi slides her hands under the foe's foot and vaults them a good distance up into the air while somehow dealing them 2%, because we can't have throws that don't deal damage in this day and age. This is as boring as can be and boring for Kobayashi too, dealing high base knockback of roughly 2 Ganons and low scaling for an obvious Up Special set-up. The animation is dead fast too and both players can act almost immediately afterwards, to the point where it could potentially be used with an ally - the type of dull, pointless throw intended for team matches that David would oh so endorse. Of course, there's much more to this throw because it differs when used under different circumstances ...
Smashed against a maid, Kobayashi will take it one step farther than she did with the B-throw; shouting "STRIP!" as she throws off their entire outfit! Their own clothes remain, because otherwise that would be offensive on so many levels, but the maid costume is left to go flying twice as far as they did. This is ripe for a unique set-up opportunity with maid interest, and you can in fact smash the Side Special just after doing this to have Kobayashi develop such interest if she wasn't already. You don't have to worry about opponents stripping the outfit on their own to throw off the movement bonuses it gives you, and you can even exploit the fact that it's above them to descend more slowly when/if they get beneath you for your D-air.
Being drunk invites a throw of extremes, as the victim is put in a full nelson before Kobayashi hops into the air with them and finishes with a piledriver! A stronger, but longer variant of the sober throw, this deals 10% and scales the high knockback better to KO at 180%. Furthermore, you can tap or hold an input to have Kobayashi turn upside down as well and launch herself as well - as though she were hit by her own sober throw! This lets her cover more ground than her first jump would and puts her in a prime position to follow up, on top of letting her stall a drunk state if she desires such for whatever reason. Done atop a sword hilt, Kobayashi will piledrive her opponent to the centre automatically and will fall through it if a fastfall input was made, adding the covered distance to the knockback and increasing the damage output by 15% - 5% when falling and being knocked past the skewering sword as well as from the impact with the ground, but at the cost of Kobayashi taking all this damage as well.
D-THROW - A LESSON IN HUMILITY
Kobayashi feels obligated to hold out her business card and, almost panicked, bows so hard that she accidentally bonks her enemy on the head! Or maybe in their stomach if they're taller than her, like good ol' Fafnir in that GIF who would never get caught on the receiving end of such humiliation. Victims of this ridicule suffer 3% and are knocked down; not even Kobayashi is spared from pain as she rubs her forehead mildly afterwards. This actually deals 6% against a victim influencing fear, an extra 2% with the monster involved and 4% if Kobayashi is assuming them faulty for a sword, as she swings her head harder in extra panic to deal as much as 12% in one go.
Drunk, Kobayashi will wrestle and slam her opponent into the ground to straight-up deal 12% with very high base knockback, but not as effective for KO'ing as the B-throw. This is good if you need some distance at lower percentages for whatever reason, especially if you're about to get a hangover.
Smashed and drunk on a maid, Kobayashi will glare at them go on a massive, in-depth rant about what proper maids should be and how they are not acting like one, while also pointing out any flaws in the state of their clothing (even though she was the one responsible!). This deals a whopping 15% over a relatively long duration that sees the victim crumple like they got hit by Ryu's Focus Attack, but that's not the only strange thing about this move. Kobayashi was apparently ranting for much, much longer than the game would suggest, because once she's finished both characters will be liberated from any time-based effects - be they positive or negative. This instantly ends Kobayashi's drunk state and somehow spares her from a hangover, though she cannot drink again for another 5 seconds. Opponents will lose buffs and, in the case of repercussions like those of Wesker's Down Special, will suffer those effects immediately, as well as causing the special maid effects to max out instantly. Additionally, they will take 5% if the monster was latched because apparently 5 seconds passed during the ranting. A great damage-racker and "reset button" if you can fulfil the prerequisites, because Kobayashi has other throws that are much better suited to spacing and KO'ing.
FINAL SMASH
A mysterious phenomenon invades Smash as Kobayashi's opponents finds themselves tripping spontaneously for no apparent reason. It's like Sakurai hacked into the game and turned it into Brawl x50! This affects opponents within 2 platforms of Kobayashi when the Final Smash activates, sending them tumbling if they were airborne, though it can be dodged with proper timing. From then on, an invisible, Bowser-sized force proceeds to stalk towards the nearest opponent or the one who's been hurting Miss Kobayashi the most, making them trip and trip forever if they get up from the same spot. This can be avoided through shielding, but that just leaves victims vulnerable to Kobayashi's grabs, with all the more power to her if she's done the set-up necessary to exploit these. The Final Smash lasts for 20 seconds, well-deserved given how underpowered Kobayashi is. And even better if Kobayashi was drunk at the time, not easy given the Final Smash replaces the Neutral Special, as her messy state will last all throughout the Smash and she will not get a hangover afterwards. Kobayashi is left wondering whether Tohru was interfering with her fight, or maybe it a different, more mysterious force siding with her?
9/7/17 - She only gets partially dizzy from her NSpec after lesser gulps.
10/7/17 - Fixed typo on F-tilt.
Shockwave Allegiance: Decepticon Function: Military Operations Commander Motto: “Clarity of thought before rashness of action.” Known Alternate Modes: Astro Magnum Blaster, Cybertronian Jet, Cannon, Mazda RX-8 Aliases: Shockblast, Longarm, Laserwave
Subject is cold, calculating, unemotional. Near second in command to the Decepticon ranks. A powerful warrior, second only to Megatron himself. Sees the world through cold hard logic, determining the most optimal outcome to a situation via logic. Subject’s abilities include control over many forms of radiation, powerful laser blasts, ability to manifest copies of himself, and superior intellect compared to most lifeforms. Weaknesses include high energy use, and confused by emotional based attacks. Analysis indicates this will not be a problem in this universal stream.
INCOMING TRANSMISSION
"I see you've managed to get into my files. Interesting. Very illogical for a being such as yourself to want to learn about my capabilities. However, if you wish to learn, I understand. So let us start with my identities..."
OPENING RELEVANT UNIVERSAL STREAM DATA…
Opening file.Primax984.17Alpha: Subject was left on Cybertron by Megatron. This version of subject was incredibly loyal to Megatron. It is noted he attempted to contact Megatron multiple times over the course of 65 million years. This version of subject is also less combat trained, with only one successful hit recorded in history. Killed by Unicron.
Opening file.Primax984.0Gamma: Subject landed on earth 65 million years ago. Fought with ancient “Dinobots”, but all parties ended up trapped in a tar pit. The Autobots, on a mission to rescue the Dinobots, entered an explosive battle with the Decepticons. The resulting blast awoke subject, who proceeded to dismantle every Autobot, and declare himself leader of the Decepticons. This version of subject is considered the optimal version by Decepticon standards.
Opening file.Primax1005.19Gamma: Subject was once a member of the Cybertronian Senate. Rebellious in nature, his actions resulted in him undergoing a process known as “empurata”. Emotions stripped from him, subject began his own machinations, resulting in the universe altering Regenesis Program.
“I'm a very interesting bot, hmm? Which one am I? It's up to you to decide. Logic states you may need something to calm yourself down. Here, have a personal favorite of mine."
Statistics: Weight – 98 Dash Speed – 1.785 Walk Speed – 1.21 Air Speed – 1.21 Fall Speed – 1.8 Fast Fall Speed – 2.88
Subject is around the height of Captain Falcon, with the width of Ganondorf. This indicates a massive scale down from normal size. As heavy as Robin, which also indicates a massive weight decrease from normal as well. Speed is comparable to Lucina and Palutena. Air speed is exquisite, due to natural Decepticon flight abilities. Fall speed uses subject’s natural weight for a decently fast fall.
OPENING ATTACK FILES…
Special Attacks
Neutral Special ... Radiation Beam Base Damage: 3% Frame Data: 17 (Activation), 20 (Hitbox begins), 32 (Hitbox ends), 33- (Transformation Combo Chance), 49 (FAF) KO Potential: Low
Shockwave transforms into his Astro Magnum alternate mode, moving him backwards around 1/5th of a Battlefield Platform. Once transformed, subject fires large purple beam. Beam has infinite range, and is as tall as Bowser. Beam functions similar to Samus’ Zero Laser, causing rapid hits of 3% to the opponents that get hit. In specifics, the beam causes 3% every other frame it is active, though the beam will still stun opponents. This can equal up to 18% if opponent is trapped in blast for entire duration.
Subject can delay firing by holding the Special Attack button down. This allows Shockwave to delay the move by half a second. During this brief period, Shockwave can aim himself at upwards and downward angles. If delayed in the air, Shockwave can use the power of flight to enter a free-flight mode. This functions as a recovery for Shockwave, as logic states he should have a way to recover somewhere. While in air, subject will automatically tilt downwards. Direction can be changed by inputting other directions, up resulting in an upward angle, and forwards and backwards resulting in Shockwave pointing forwards.
Astro Magnum mode has different stats from Robot mode. In this mode, Shockwave is flat, and can be used as a platform by other opponents. Width wise, it is about the length of 1.5 Battlefield Platforms. Subject’s “platform” element is suspended around a single Kirby unit in the air. If opponent stands on Shockwave while he is firing, they will take a residual 5% damage from the blast. If near the tip of the gun, they will also be pushed forward into the blast as well. In the air, the Astro Magnum mode has slightly altered movement. Subject’s normally decent air control is rendered more floaty. Subject retains speed, however, and can easily traverse from off stage to on stage in under that half second.
Beam has very low knockback, being able to only KO past 230%. When move finishes, opponent is only knocked back a small amount, at a directly backwards angle. Further functions will be described later on.
If subject inputs a dash command during transformation sequence, Shockwave will be able to cancel out of the move instantaneously, taking zero frames in order to shift back. This dash behaves differently from other dashes, as it will always move subject a total of 1 Battlefield Platform forward, even if held. It moves at exactly 1.5x the speed of subject’s normal Dash statistic. Once Shockwave performs this Dash Cancel, there will be 10 frames of lag between its end and the point where the subject can move again. The Dash Cancel animation will create a trail of duller colored Shockwave mirages behind him. See Side Special for further details. Subject can also be knocked out of the move, which will retain the extra 10 frames of lag in addition to the normal amount.
INITIATING GIMMICK OVERRIDE…
APPLYING DATA FROM SUBJECT TFC-17…
Subject has unique Transformation Combo effect. Similar to Subject TFC-17 AKA Blitzwing (Primax 999.21 Kappa), Shockwave can combo his Alternate Mode attacks into each other. The ability behaves nearly the exact same, only allowing Shockwave one use of each Alternate Mode attacks per combo. For further details, read TFC-17’s data file.
The Dash Cancel can affect how subject uses this effect. Between each move use, Shockwave will have the option to use the Dash Cancel. The effect behaves the exact same way, Shockwave returning to Robot Mode instantly. This can be applied to most Alternate Mode attacks in unique ways.
In the case of Radiation Beam, Shockwave can cancel out of it mid-fire. This applies only to it when used after a Transformation Combo has been started. Shockwave can cancel out of the beam attack at any point, shortening it to any specification he wants. This can allow him to fire a second beam. Due to an excess of radiation, an amount even a Cybertronian cannot withstand, Shockwave is limited to having two beams out at a time.
Shockwave's Notes:
"My Radiation Beam is by far one of my most useful tools when entering Primax 999.21 Kappa. While, on its own, not incredibly powerful, combined with certain… other, properties, it can prove to be invaluable whilst preparing my strategy. I would love to get into specifics, but logic dictates that you have not gathered that specific info yet.
The Dash Cancel is my special take on this whole… Transformation Combo idea. Logic dictates that the best way to overcome your opponents in Primax 999.21 Kappa is to control the very ground they reside on. This allows me to quickly, well, combo into another attack. The speed of it also makes it a good traversal tool, but using it too much can make it a very easily punishable maneuver. Use it only when necessary, which is when you have a distinct advantage. There is a bit more utility to it, but we’ll cover that in the next move’s notes."
Side Special ... Copy Dash Base Damage: 5% Frame Data: 3 (Activation), 13 (Hitbox Start), 20 (Hitbox Ends), 32 (FAF) KO Potential: Low
Subject dashes forward, in an animation almost identical to the Dash Cancel animation. A trail of duller (Grey) colored Shockwaves will be left behind as Shockwave dashes through the air. The dash ends with Shockwave hanging in the air for a few frames, before it completely ends. During the duration of the move, Shockwave will create 3 mirages behind himself, over a distance of 2 Battlefield Platforms. These mirages will remain in the air until the end lag has finished. Subject will deal minor upwards knockback, alongside 5% damage, if the dash hits an opponent.
During the dash’s duration, it can also be cancelled out of, but only by entering a dash input in the opposite direction. Subject will then move backwards at the Dash Cancel’s normal distance and speed. The dash backwards will erase any of the mirages that Shockwave has created at that point. This can be used to exit out of a misguided Copy Dash.
Copy Dash’s main function is activated by pressing the Special Attack button during the end lag. Doing this will cause the 3 Shockwave mirages to become solid light constructs. These become independent fighters, referred to as “Minions” in all equivalent files. These Copies are dull grey in color, clearly distinguishing them from the subject, and act as level 3 AI opponents. They have an aggressive playstyle, and will go after different opponents, or attack at once on one opponent. The Copies can only use subject’s Standard and Aerial attacks, and are equivalent in stats, but will be destroyed after 15% damage has been dealt. Activating this will also cancel out any remaining end lag.
The Copies can be used in multiple ways. The first is the most logical approach, letting them attack opponents while subject prepares. The other way involves use of the Radiation Beam. By inputting this move while next to a Copy, subject will activate a protocol that allows the Copy to transform into the Astro Magnum Alternate Mode. Through light manipulation, the Copy Astro Magnum will shrink down, allowing Shockwave to use it as a weapon.
Subject can fire the Copy as if it were a normal gun. Its blast is considerably weaker, only being able to fire a single fast moving projectile. The Astro Magnum weapon acts nearly identical to a standard “Ray Gun” weapons commonly found in Primax 999.21 Kappa. The biggest difference is the projectile, which is around 0.5x larger and travels 1.5x as fast. It deals 4% damage, with considerable knockback properties. By holding the Attack button down, subject can aim the weapon at a diagonally upwards and diagonally downwards angle.
The last use of Copies ties into the Radiation Beam once again, as well as into the Copy Dash itself. When used again, the Copy Dash will not create any more mirages, the absolute maximum being 3 at a time. By either Copy Dashing, or Dash Cancelling, into a Copy, subject will absorb the Copy. This grants Shockwave a purple aura. Shockwave can absorb all 3 copies into his body, the purple aura growing stronger with each one.
If the Copy Dash is used again while the purple aura is active, it behaves as normal, subject only being able to create as many Copies as he has previously absorbed. The purple aura will vanish after 3 seconds.
When the Radiation Beam is used while the aura is active, it will add an extra effect. For the first two copies absorbed, it will boost the damage output by 1% for each, totalling at 5%. When all 3 Copies are added, the damage will go back down to 3%. The energy of the 3 Copies will instead create a pulse through the beam, which will travel its entire distance. The pulse is orb-shaped, and moves at twice the speed of the beam itself. The pulse itself does not deal damage, but will deal knockback that is capable of killing an opponent at 120% damage, making this into a rather decent kill move.
Shockwave’s Notes:
"The Copy Dash is useful in many cases, as a traversal tool, as a means of mind games, and as help for my set-up. The Copies, while weak, are useful for keeping opponents out of my micro-processor while I prepare for… well, that’s a tidbit for later on.
The Copy Dash is excellent for speeding to where I need to go, but obviously has the downside in its annoying ending lag. The Dash Cancel can be used for far more than is stated in the document, as its backwards motion can easily fool opponents into whiffing an attack. If it’s a particularly punishable move, I can unleash a potentially deadly attack to them.
The Astro Magnum weapon itself gives me a much simpler, quicker long ranged projectile. Much like with the Copies themselves, this can help protect during any set-up that I require. The addition it has for the Radiation Beam itself is important, as it will turn what mostly a damage racking tool into one of my better KO methods."
Up Special … Mirror Force Base Damage: N/A Frame Data: 7 (Activation), 10-900 (Ends), 20-910 (FAF) KO Potential: Nonexistent
Subject will pull his body in, ad then thrust arms out with a burst of energy, creating a circle of 8 transparent discs around him. Discs are placed at a somewhat tilted angle to make them more noticeable in the two-dimensional universe. Each disc is relatively small, around 1/3rd of Shockwave himself. When first created, discs will spin around the area that Shockwave created them, only covering a small amount of space. They spin at around the speed of Ganondorf’s walk.
By holding the input down, Shockwave can continue the attack. The discs will begin to move outwards at around half the speed of Robin’s walk. As the discs spread out, the larger they get, ending at the size of 1.5 Ganondorfs in approximate height. The maximum amount they can be spread out for can encircle Battlefield in its entirety if the discs were created in the exact middle of the stage.
The discs are intangible to almost every element in Primax 999.21 Kappa. Other opponents can phase through them in both directions, while the discs themselves can move through the stage. As such, they aren’t useful as obstacles in their own right. However, subject’s laser based attacks can affect the discs. When subject fires a projectile based attack at one of the discs, it will bounce off in the opposite direction.
Each laser-based attack has a different reaction to the Mirror Force walls. It is important to note that laser-based attacks can travel through the backs of the walls. The most general application of the Mirror Force walls can be shown via the Laser Pistol item’s shots. The lasers are affected by the momentum of the walls spinning, and will bounce off of them at an angle, usually one in the same direction the wall is travelling. This does not affect the damage of attacks in most cases, instead acting as a way to change the direction of shots.
The lifetime of projectiles resets as soon as they touch a wall, but due to projectiles not being able to travel through ground, they will dissipate as soon as anything truly solid is touched. In some cases, projectiles will be shot into another wall, causing it to continue to bounce around the stage. This can be used for off stage plays, while still grounded.
If a projectile is fired into the walls while they are at their minimum size, there will be no way for the projectile to escape. It will continue to bounce around forever, until it manages to hit an opponent. This can be applied to all projectiles in subject’s arsenal.
Radiation Beam’s effect is one of the more complex. When the beam is fired into one of the walls, it will become stuck there for a moment. After half a second, it will bounce off in the opposite direction, retaining its size and speed. In some cases, mostly when the walls are at their medium range, this will allow the beam to fire into another wall. When Mirror Force is at full range, it is more likely that the beam will be fired into the stage itself. Aiming the Radiation Beam is important when firing it at a Mirror Force wall.
Subject can control the direction the beam fires in when attached to a Mirror Force wall. By Holding down the input and choosing a direction, the beam will fire in that direction. The way the beam fires is the same no matter the position of the wall. EG. Inputting down will always cause the beam to fire down. The beam will still generally follow the momentum of the walls, which will make the beam bounce over to the next wall rather than off the stage if a compatible direction is used.
As mentioned, the directional inputs will not change depending on the position of the walls, which in turn makes the walls’ position important. You cannot fire the beam in the opposite direction of the wall it is currently attached to, and inputting the opposite direction will cause the beam to fire in that direction. Shockwave can use this up to 3 times in a row for a single beam.
Subject can also cancel out the walls by double tapping the input.
Further applications will be described in later moves.
Shockwave’s Notes:
"Mirror Force is one of my main attacks, as it were. As you might be able to tell from the above, its reflective properties allow me to control the area fairly well. Especially when I have a large number of projectiles out at once. Its uses can change depending on the size of the Mirror Force field itself, with its minimum size being used as a type of stationary obstacle for opponents to avoid.
You might end up keeping Mirror Force at around its mid-tier size, due to it being rather difficult to fully project. An opponent attacking me while I perform it will knock me out of it, meaning that I will have to perform the start-up animation again. I am also completely vulnerable during this time, as expanding them requires concentration.
The reward is worth it, however! You will be able to rain down destruction on the opponent with just a few of my projectiles once the maximum size is reached. Not only is it wonderful for attacking opponents on the stage, but its wonderful for attacking off-stage as well."
Down Special … Regenesis Program Base Damage: 10% Frame Data: Variable (Start-up, see description), 16 (Activation, added on top of start-up), 20 (Hitbox active), 33 (FAF) KO Potential: Low
Subject’s eye changes color for moment, before firing a laser into the ground. This process takes 10 frames. Laser is completely nonlethal, acting as a beacon rather than an attack. Once beam hits ground, a Space Bridge will then activate, summoning a small missile. Process takes additional 15 frames. The missile will then proceed to launch into the air, flying directly upwards.
Missile is small, roughly travelling up to subject’s knee. Under normal circumstance, the missile will fly directly upwards without stopping. It will accelerate every 0.5 Battlefield Platforms it travels, starting at the speed of Mario before maxing out at a speed matching Sonic the Hedgehog’s. The missile will fly off the screen, and will not return. Opponents hit by the missile will take 10% damage, and knockback that KOs at 100%.
If missile hits Mirror Force energy shield, it will be reversed, and continue down towards the ground at current speed. Depending on positioning of the missile and Mirror Force, the missile can be aimed in certain manners. Once missile hits the ground, it will explode, unleashing a gas. Crystalline structures will begin forming around a Battlefield Platform worth of ground, and raise up around a Kirby tall. Energon Crystals have been formed, and are ready for harvest.
The Regenesis Program carries 6 different kinds of Energon, each with a unique color. Type can be decided by holding the input, causing Shockwave’s eye to change color before he fires the beam. The type of Energon follows a specific order.
Yellow -> Blue -> Orange -> Black -> Purple -> Green
Switching between colors takes an extra 10 frames. When summoned, the Regenesis Missile will reflect its color as well. Color will always reset to Yellow once move has completed.
Each color of Energon has unique properties and abilities, but share a similar weakness. Energon Clusters are weak, being destroyed after only 15% has been done to them. While opponents can do this, subject can as well. Subject can also take full brunt of punishments. During their brief existence, Energon Clusters can affect the world around them greatly.
Ore-8, “Destruction”: Yellow Energon. The most basic form of Energon in the Regenesis Program as of right now. However, it is also the second most deadly. When destroyed, Yellow Energon will violently explode, in a manner similar to a Bob-Omb, only slightly larger. It is slightly weaker, causing only 15% and knockback that is only half as strong as a Bob-Omb. Opponents will wish to be weary of the power of these crystals, and prefer to avoid breaking them.
Ore-6, “Cold”: Blue Energon. This form of Energon creates a gaseous cloud around where it was created. When an opponent walks through the cloud, they will slow down by 10% of their normal speed. This is represented by the opponent turning a shade of light blue. All physical motions of the opponent are slowed down, though momentum and projectiles are not. This effect can last for 5 seconds outside of the cloud, a trait shared by other Energon of its kind.
Ore-7, “Change”: Orange Energon. This Energon behaves similarly to Yellow Energon, and must be destroyed in order to activate effects. Once an opponent destroys the Energon, they will undergo a sudden and uncontrollable transformation. This applies to any transformative items within Primax 999.21 Kappa, including growing larger, becoming made of metal, shrinking, and others. All transformations behave the same as their usual counterparts, including lasting as long.
Ore-2, “Death”: Black Energon. Highly toxic Energon, which is capable of corroding and dissolving any being that comes near it. Creates a green cloud of poisonous gas in its area. Opponents that travel through it will become a shade of grey, and takes 3% damage every 20 frames.
Ore-13, “Power Itself”: Purple Energon, native to Cybertron. Destroying its Energon Cluster will turn the opponent purple, and boost subject’s stats in a positive manner, while keeping weight and fall speed normal. Every other stat gets boosted by 1.5, while all attacks are boosted by 1.3. However, they will also take 1.5x the knockback from other beings. Effect will wear off after 7 seconds.
Ore-14, “Regeneration”: Green Energon. Unleashes a cloud of green gas once on the field. Cloud will gradually heal damage, 7% every 40 frames. Opponnets inside the cloud will become a shade of green, and the effect instantly ends as soon as they exit.
Subject can only have 3 Ores out at a single time. The structures of this universe seem unable to hold any more than that, as the previous cluster will sink back into the ground as a new one is created. No real reason has been found as of yet.
Shockwave’s Notes:
"Ah, the Regenesis Program, perhaps my most incredible idea. This is only a beta version, not containing all of the Energon ores the full version had. In Primax 999.21 Kappa, this is my ultimate tool, a weapon perfect for crowding and controlling any organics, or inorganics, that stand in my way.
Ores 6 and 2 are for controlling my surroundings. Opponents will need to avoid them if they know what’s good for them, but place them somewhere important, and you’ve got yourself something truly impressive, and oppressive.
Ore 8 can also be used for that purpose. Their best use is early and late in the game, placing a few about the place can lead to some destructive results. Ores 7 and 12 can be used for late game periods as well, in order to power myself up. However, downsides can come from both. The transformation you might get from Ore 7 might end up terrible, and being too reckless with Ore 12 can be a disaster. Of course… that can affect the opponent as well.
Ore 13 can be used for multiple things as well. The obvious is as a last resort healing property… but I would never need it considering how much I have this all planned out. The second is for a trap. Weaker opponents will flock to it, leaving them open to an attack.
My research ahs concluded that using the Ores in different combinations can lead to different set-ups and payoffs. As I always say, it is definitely worth… experimenting with.
Subject pulls his gun arm back, before swiping it in an overarching downwards punch. This fires a “laser slash”, a half-circle shaped projectile around the size of a fully charged Super Scope shot. The wave moves forward at a considerable pace, faster than most projectiles in Shockwave’s arsenal. The laser wave is not a considerably complex attack, as it will simply deal 15% damage on contact. At full charge, it will deal 21% instead.
While not complex, the laser wave is a powerful attack capable of KOing at 90% damage. The laser wave only has a short distance to it, however, which depends on the charge as well. At no charge it will only move forward 1.2 Battlefield Platforms, while at full charge it will travel 1.9 Battlefield Platforms. The attack’s speed is considerably slow, the start-up acting as a countermeasure to the projectile’s speed. The projectile can be reflected by Mirror Force.
Subject can only have 1 laser wave out on field at a time. The attack’s punching animation counts as a hitbox as well, dealing a much weaker 10% at base, and 14% at full charge. It has low range due to it not being specifically meant as an attack, but it deals downward knockback that can cause a bounce. This can KO at 120%.
Shockwave’s Notes:
"The real use of the laser wave comes when combined with Mirror Force. The projectile’s speed and otherwise large size makes it a very difficult thing to avoid when used right. This is the projectile, besides the Radiation Beam, that will end up most commonly used in combination with Mirror Force’s abilities."
Up Smash … Gamma Orbs Base Damage: 12% Frame Data: 17 (Start-up w/out charging), 29 (Hitbox active), 31- (Transformation Combo Chance), 48 (FAF) KO Potential: High
Subject transforms into Astro Magnum mode, and proceeds to perform a flip. During the flip, subject fires out 3 glowing purple orbs. The three orbs appear at three specific points, diagonally in front, directly above, and diagonally behind, and come out as Shockwave rapidly fires. These orbs are slightly larger than a Party Ball, and travel at a very slow pace, roughly at Ganondorf’s run speed. The orbs act as homing projectiles, and slowly follow opponents across the stage.
The orbs do not work on a timer, but rather on distance. After travelling approximately a Final Destination through the air, they will burst into a small explosion. This functions as its own hitbox separate from the orb’s normal hitbox. This deals 4% damage, and very little knockback. This is not meant to be useful.
The orbs’ hitbox is much more powerful. On contact with an opponent, it will explode into a much larger explosion, dealing 12% damage, or 17% damage if the move was fully charged. Their knockback is remarkably powerful, being able to KO at 80%. Unfortunately, the lack of speed and range acts as a major inhibitor to the move’s usefulness.
When used in combination with Mirror Force, Gamma Orbs display a unique function. After reflecting off of a Mirror Force shield once, they will be unaffected a second time. This allows Gamma Orbs to pass through the Mirror Force as if nothing were there.
Only 3 Gamma Orbs can be on stage at a time. Subject’s Up Smash will change accordingly while they are out. During the flip, the three points where Shockwave would have fired the Gamma Orbs are replaced by quick bursts from the Astro Magnum’s gun barrel. These blasts come out faster than the Gamma Orbs, reducing the attack’s length. Each blast deals 9-13% damage, and middling Knockback, though the blasts cannot combo into each other, and the direction of knockback depends on the direction of the gun barrel.
At the end of the attack, subject will go into a few frames where he can activate a Transformation Combo.
Shockwave’s Notes:
"The Gamma Orbs are one of my main pieces of territory control. Despite their sluggish movement, they are remarkably powerful. This can be further enhanced by the addition of Mirror Force, as it will still reset the Gamma Orb’s distance. This can allow them to chase for a much longer time, perfect for utter control."
Down Smash … Shock Blast Base Damage: 14% Frame Data: 13 (Start-up w/out charging), 24 (Hitbox active), 30 (Hitbox end), 40 (FAF) KO Potential: High
Subject raises his gun arm up from the crouching position. The gun begins to charge with energy, before he slams it into the ground. This results in a large electrical explosion around the subject. The attack is rather brief in its execution, lasting for a short moment before Shockwave can return to normal movements.
It is also a considerably powerful attack. Without a charge, it can deal 14% damage, which is boosted by x1.4 after charging for 20% damage. It can KO at 110% when fully charged. The distance of the explosion is also changed by charging the attack. At base charge, it will only cover Shockwave and outwards of him in all directions. At full charge it will reach 2/3rds the size of a Bob-Omb explosion in size.
This attack behaves like an explosion as well, as it will travel through thin platforms. The actual shape of the attack’s hitbox is a full circle, which is only covered while used on solid ground. On thin platforms, the attack’s true shape is revealed, and can hit opponents on the underside of the platforms as well.
Shockwave’s Notes:
"The Shock Blast is one of the more focused parts of my moveset. Its basic shape and ability to pierce through platforms is incredibly useful. Th epower of the attack is remarkable as well, making it one of my prime uses for finishing opponents off. Its fast nature and considerable size also makes sure that opponents will be weary when near me."
Standard Attacks
Jab … Shockwave Combo Base Damage: 5%, 5%, 5% Frame Data: 4-5 (Hitbox Active, Hit 1), 22 (FAF, Hit 1), 6-7 (Hitbox Active, Hit 2), 26 (FAF, Hit 2), 10 (Hitbox Active, Hit 3), 28 (FAF) KO Potential: Low
Subject begins standard jab combo with an arcing downwards punch. This move has a handful of frames of start-up lag, but is otherwise fairly quick. The punch deals 5% damage and downwards knockback, causing a small bounce. This is incapable of KOing opponents due to the second hit instantaneously comboing into it. The punch has a somewhat limited range to it, but it is helped by the exaggeration of the punch, and Shockwave’s size.
The second hit consists of an upwards kick. This comes out much quicker than the punch, and has slightly more range to it. The kick also deals 5% damage, but instead causes upwards knockback as well. Again, this knockback is unlikely of KOing opponents, as the third hit also directly combos into it. The knockback is much greater, however, as it will launch the opponent upwards at a diagonal angle, well out of subject’s reach.
For the final hit, Shockwave will aim his gun hand at the opponent, and fire a quick projectile. This projectile moves at a very fast pace, passing by in only a few frames, and deals 5%. The shot is the quickest attack in the combo as well, but deals the least amount of knockback, considerable to that of Fox’s laser. The combo will always finish with it, even if an opponent is not hit. While projectile will automatically aim at where the opponent would end up after being kicked, being specifically designed to hit them, it can also be used to hit opponents who were not put into your combo. This shot can also be reflected by Mirror Force.
Shockwave’s Notes:
"A fairly… standard combo attack. There isn’t much to it, other than its wonderful blaster fire ability. This definitely adds something most of the inhabitants of this universe don’t have on their combo attacks. Getting the whole move out might take a small moment, but the shot can act as a decent anti-air move. I truly do think of everything."
Forward Tilt … Rapid Fire Base Damage: 12% Frame Data: 8 (First shot active), 10 (Second shot active), 20 (Final shot active), 28 (FAF) KO Potential: Medium
Subject fires a single laser shot forward from his arm gun. Shot is around the size of Fox’s laser, and travels at a mid-fast speed, approaching an uncharged Charge Shot. The laser will travel forward around 1.3 Battlefield Platforms before dissipating. The shot is weak, dealing only 3% damage, and having very little knockback, again equivalent to Fox’s laser.
Shockwave can follow up on this by using the input rapidly, being able to fire an additional 2 shots afterwards. The second shot is identical to the first in every way. The third shot has a longer start-up time, and is slightly larger than the first two. It will deal 6% damage, and has knockback capable of KOing at 150%.
Shots will generally all be grouped together, allowing the three to combo into each other. The shots can also be aimed at upwards and downwards diagonal directions. Shots can also be reflected by Mirror Force.
Shockwave’s Notes:
"Another projectile with decent range, just as you’d expect from me. This behaves like a stronger version of the laser from the Jab attack, only far more dangerous. The attack deals enough stun that its easy to combo from or into. Its range and ability to be aimed can also help to deal with very annoying pests."
Up Tilt … Blast Ball Base Damage: 10% Frame Data: 20 (Hitbox active), 22- (Transformation Combo Chance), 29 (FAF) KO Potential: Decent
Subject transforms into Astro Magnum mode, aiming upwards. A large ball of energy is then fired at an upwards diagonal angle. This move is particularly slow for an Up Tilt, but the ball itself fires out fairly fast. The laser ball is slow moving, but has infinite range to it. It is roughly 2/3rds the size of a Party Ball as well.
The ball, as a projectile, is fairly strong. While only dealing 10% damage, it also can deal heavy knockback. The ball’s properties act functionally as an explosive, though much weaker than the average explosive device. The knockback is powerful, capable of KOing at 120%, but the ball’s speed is a downside, roughly as fast as Ganondorf’s run. The ball will be destroyed as soon as it touches anything that is not a Mirror Force shield.
Shockwave can only have a single ball out at a time. While the ball is out, the attack will be replaced with a rather generic burst from the Astro Magnum’s gun barrel. The blast still deals 10% damage, but the overall knockback is much less, KOing at around 140%. This version is also slightly faster, but only by a handful of frames.
Shockwave’s Notes:
"There’s a bit more to this attack than meets the eye. This mostly comes into play when Mirror Force is out. The Blast Ball can become a force of destruction if used properly with Mirror Force, as it can bounce off the shield infinitely until an opponent takes the blow to get rid of it. The version without the projectile, while not particularly useful, is decent as an attack itself."
Down Tilt … Laser Wave Base Damage: 8% Frame Data: 14 (Hitbox Active), 24 (FAF) KO Potential: Medium
Subject places gun arm to the ground, and fires off a laser shot. The act is quick and deliberate, taking no time to waste. Energy build-up is seen right before gun touches the ground, implicating that subject prepared to fire mere moments before actually firing.
The laser shot does not disappear when it hits the ground. Instead it will begin the travel forward, crawling across the ground in a manner similar to a Spark item. It will move at around the base speed of a Spark, until hitting 2 Battlefield Platforms in length, where it will then dissipate. The projectile is short, roughly as tall as a ducking Kirby.
The laser has a long lifespan for its speed, but isn’t very dangerous on its own. There can, however, be two lasers on stage at the same time, allowing for more dangerous maneuvers. The laser deals 8% damage on contact, and moderate upwards knockback. The knockback KOs at 150%, but other uses are apparent. The laser can be reflected by Mirror Force.
While both Laser Waves are out, subject can perform a slightly different attack. While the action remains the same, the laser will be replaced with a small pulse of energy. This functions as a melee attack rather than a projectile. Its range remains the same, but isolated to the single spot that Shockwave hits, and only for a few frames. It deals the same damage and knockback, however.
Shockwave’s Notes:
"Now THIS is an interesting attack. The knockback on it allows me to perform both grounded combos, as well as transitioning into my aerial attacks. A well-placed Mirror Force can keep a Laser Wave on stage indefinitely as well, making the terrain even deadlier for the opponents."
Subject transforms into Astro Magnum mode as he runs forward. A beam is then fired approximately 0.7 Battlefield Platforms ahead of him. Instead of stopping, subject retains momentum while in Alt. Mode, flying forward a short distance. During this time, beam is still firing at the same location. Subject will twist to face location, even after it passes the original firing spot, before attack ends and he returns to Robot Mode.
The dash lasts another extra 0.7 Battlefield Platforms after it passes over the original firing spot, making it an logical, even sweep. The beam itself is only roughly the size of the Astro Magnum’s barrel, and remains planted in the single location. It has good range due to this however, covering a large amount of ground despite this. An opponent who is hit by the beam will take 10% damage, and be launched at the opposite direction the beam is currently facing, with an added upwards direction as well.
Shockwave remains vulnerable while using this attack, as his body is not a hitbox itself. This means he can be knocked out of the attack. However, the beam will decently protect him for most of the attack, the only weak point being when Shockwave reaches the middle of the attack. Its speed also helps with this.
Before the attack ends, subject will flip back to original positioning of the Astro Magnum form. During this brief time, Shockwave can input another Astro Magnum attack to perform a Transformation Combo.
Shockwave’s Notes:
"A rather good ground covering move. Its speed manages to be good, retaining my dash speed using the anti-gravitational stabilizers that allow my Astro Magnum form to fly. It isn’t an amazing attack, but it covers ground and can pull out a decent damage output."
Aerial Attacks
Neutral Air ... Shock Pulse Base Damage: 12% Frame Data: 7 (Hitbox Active), 18 (FAF) KO Potential: Medium
Subject gathers his arms and legs together, and then spreads them out, creating a short burst of energy around him. This burst of energy is not active for long, only a few frames. Its range is rather wide, however, its total hitbox resembling that of subject’s Down Smash. This however, is much less powerful, only capable of KOing at 140% at minimum.
The attack also comes out rather fast, and has very little endlag as well, allowing it to be used out of a shorthop. This move also has the property of reflecting any projectiles that come in contact with its hitbox. This can be a difficult feat considering the move’s speed, but the effects are noted as being useful. Reflection effect does not work on subject’s own projectiles.
Shockwave’s Notes:
"Difficult indeed, but very much worth it. This is a good way of keeping opponents out of my face while setting things up. A shorthop and reversal of an incoming projectile can take some skill to perform, but I am Shockwave, after all."
Forward Aerial ... Shock Burst Base Damage: 13% Frame Data: 16 (Hitbox Active) 23 (FAF) KO Potential: High
Subject points gun arm forward, in a pose similar to Samus’s Forward Smash. He then fires a burst of energy from the gun. The hitbox of the attack is also similar, but with more reach due to Shockwave’s size. It also comes out much faster, and is also much weaker, though it is still powerful for an aerial attack. It cases 13% damage, and can KO at 115%.
Shockwave’s Notes:
"The specific size of the hitbox is similar to a mid-charged version of the bounty hunter’s Forward Smash. Its power makes it the strongest of my Aerial Attacks, making it a very viable way to KO. Its middling speed makes it work as a decent follow up attack as well."
Up Aerial ... Shock Twist Base Damage: 10% Frame Data: 20 (Hitbox Active), 27- (Transformation Combo Chance), 33 (FAF) KO Potential: Low
Subject shifts into Astro Magnum form, and aims upwards. He then fires a swirling projectile upwards, before shifting back into Robot mode. This projectile is thinner than most in Shockwave’s arsenal, and is around half a Ganondorf tall. It is one of the weaker aerials, dealing 10% damage with very little knockback. It moves at speed comparable to Sonic’s running speed. It also has infinite range, but its speed will make sure it goes off screen quickly, and its slow start-up discourages from spamming.
If the projectile hits a Mirror Force shield, it will undergo a sudden change during its reversal. It will switch to a wider, shorter drill shaped laser. This moves at the same speed as it does when not reversed, but deals more damage, 15%. If it hits the ground, it will create a small explosion, the size of a Morph Ball Bomb explosion, dealing 15% damage as well, though it counts as a separate hitbox. The projectile follows the laws of Mirror Force as normal, and must be used carefully in order to execute properly.
This move is able to be combed into other transformation based attacks.
Shockwave’s Notes:
"This move is tricky, both to pull off successfully, and for the opponent. A clever opponent, who realizes what the attack does, will most likely block the projectile somehow, most effectively with his body. Of course, letting the weaker projectile go off on its own and avoiding some damage can lead to even more, or worse, it destroying some Energon. Of course, it’s most likely only bad for them."
Back Aerial ... Shock Kick Base Damage: 13% Frame Data: 17 (Hitbox Active), 28 (FAF) KO Potential: Medium
Subject will spin around, performing a quick spinning kick behind him. This is a basic melee attack, coming out quick, mostly compared to some of Shockwave’s other attacks. The kick has decent range due to Shockwave’s tall frame, and deals a significant amount of damage. The knockback of the move is adequate, being able to KO at 125% damage.
Shockwave’s Notes:
"This is a remarkably basic move, perhaps the simplest in my entire repertoire. This doesn’t amount to it being bad, however, as it is still useful for dealing quick but heavy damage while in the air. Its speed allows for follow combos, as well."
Down Aerial ... Blast Rain Base Damage: 5% Frame Data: 20 (Hitbox Active 1), 22 (Hitbox Active 2), 24 (Hitbox Active 3) 25- (Transformation Combo Chance), 32 (FAF) KO Potential: Medium
Subject enters Astro Magnum mode, aiming slightly downwards. Subject then begins to move downwards at a quick pace, firing off three blasts of energy below him. These blasts act as projectiles, but have considerably less range, travelling only a full Battlefield Platform before vanishing. They can still hit a Mirror Force shield, however, which will activate the standard Mirror Force effect.
The laser shots will be fired at a slightly downwards diagonal angle, then one slightly behind it, and then one pointing straight down. The blasts themselves are shaped like Ray Gun projectiles, only around the size of a half charged Charged Shot. They are not remarkably powerful, each only dealing 5% damage, with minor upwards knockback. As soon as the last shot is fired, Shockwave will be able to activate a Transformation Combo.
Shockwave’s Notes:
"Blast Rain has two interesting uses. The first relating to the attack by itself. All three shots will exist at the same time, finishing one after another. The knockback of the shots, upwards as it is, will most likely push the opponent into the one before it, allowing me to string it into a 15% damage combo, albeit with rather weak knockback.
The second is that this can become a prime use for creating a Mirror Force trap. Leaving a smaller sized Mirror Force ring in place and firing the three blasts into it will keep them all active indefinitely. If an opponent enters and gets hit, this will only count as one of the shots hitting them, still only dealing 5%. This means that it can remain active for three hits."
Grab Game
Grab & Pummel Base Damage: 3% Frame Data: 5-8 (Hitbox Active), 24 (FAF) KO Potential: None
Subject reaches forward with functional hand, attempting to grab an opponent. The grab has decent range, but is otherwise fairly slow for a grab. Once the opponent is grabbed, Shockwave will grab the opponent by their neck, and lift them up.
From there, subject can use his Pummel. This has him firing a small laser from his eye, travelling directly into the opponent’s head. This is considerably slow, but has higher power than the average pummel does.
Subject can also grab copies, to instantly phase them back into his being.
Shockwave’s Notes:
"There isn’t much to say about this, really. Locking the opponent into your cold grasp is a definite part of any close up strategy."
Forward Throw ... Direct Shot Base Damage: 9% Frame Data: 23 (Hitbox Active), 24- (Transformation Combo Chance), 33 (FAF) KO Potential: Medium
Subject tosses grabbed foe upwards, and then proceeds to transform into Astro Magnum mode. As the opponent lands back to the ground, subject fires a shot directly into them. The power of the blast is decent, causing 9% and directly backwards knockback. Its knockback is decent, but the opponent is launched in a line, lowering its potential. Move can be comboed into other Astro Magnum based attacks.
Shockwave’s Notes:
"Just because it has low knockback, doesn’t mean it isn’t useful. The way the opponent is launched is perfect for a few reasons, the most obvious being that I can manipulate them into going anywhere I want. Into a clone’s attack, or even into a patch of Energon. In this case, their bodies count as hitboxes, and will destroy Energon if launched into it."
Up Throw ... Laser Pointer Base Damage: 7% Frame Data: 19 (Hitbox Active), 24 (FAF) KO Potential: Low
Subject tosses the opponent into the air, and aims his head at them. He then fires a laser from his singular eye, which slashes through them. This counts somewhat as a projectile, though it cannot be reflected by Mirror Force. It can hit other opponents who get in between the grabbed opponent and the laser.
The opponent is thrown upwards at a diagonal angle, roughly a Ganondorf above Shockwave. When the opponent is hit by the laser, they will enter a brief stunned state. This makes them hang in the air for a few frames, but they will regain full control, including jumps, once it wears off. This grants it very low KO potential, not helped by its damage output being low as well.
Shockwave’s Notes:
"Again, just because it isn’t strong, doesn’t mean it isn’t useful. The brief stun allows for numerous things, a follow up combo, some extra set-up time, or even setting a trap for them when they land."
Back Throw ... Sharpshot Base Damage: 8% Frame Data: 18 (Hitbox Active), 26 (FAF) KO Potential: High
Subject throws grabbed opponent behind him, turning around himself. The opponent is tossed a set distance of 1 Battlefield Platform, but before they can touch the ground, Shockwave will fire a series of lasers at them from his gun arm. Subject fires them in rapid succession, the number of shots coming out to 6 in only a handful of frames. Each shot deals 1%.
The final shot is much larger than the previous ones, and deals 2% damage. This shot activates the knockback, which is rather powerful. It can KO at around 120%, making this subject’s strongest Throw. Other opponents can interrupt the attack, however. If they get in the range of fire, they will take whatever damage remains, and half the knockback power from the last shot.
Shockwave’s Notes:
"This move’s function is simple. It’s the best of my throws for simply acting as a throw. While not the strongest in my set, it is one of the more capable ones, especially if used from the edge of a stage. If the opponent is thrown off stage, it will still only be by a Battlefield Platform, and I will still shoot them before landing where the ground would be."
Down Throw ... Critical Examination Base Damage: 10% Frame Data: 22 (Hitbox Active), 26- (Transformation Combo Chance), 30 (FAF) KO Potential: Medium
Subject, from his grabbing stance, slams the opponent into the ground. He then seamlessly shifts into Astro Magnum mode, and points his blaster at the grounded opponent, before firing a laser blast. The blast deals 10% damage, and knockback that can KO at 140%. The blast acts as a melee hit by all definitions, meaning it cannot hit other opponents.
The knockback of the attack is somewhat unique. It causes a slight bounce to the opponent at low percentages. The knockback from this is not powerful enough to launch, or be of any true significance. At higher percentages, the blast will cause upwards diagonal knockback at a much greater height. The differences between these points are large, much more so than most throws. Once the attack has ended, Shockwave will remain in Astro Magnum form for a moment, where he can segue into a Transformation Combo.
Shockwave’s Notes:
"This attack’s knockback is interesting. While I can be used for potential knockbacks at higher percentages, it is equally useful at lower percentages as well. The bounce comes with a brief amount of stun, which is long enough for me to exit may transformation and follow with a combo… Or, follow up with a Transformation Combo."
WARNING! WARNING!
YOU ARE ACCESSING RESTRICTED DOCUMENTS! IF YOU READ ANY FURTHER, SHOCKWAVE WILL BE REPORTED TO, AND YOU WILL BE THROWN INTO THE SMELTING PIT! CONTINUE AT YOUR OWN RISK!
Final Smash
Dark Cybertron
Base Damage: Unknown Frame Data: Unknown KO Potential: Massive
ERROR. DATA NOT FOUND.
Shockwave’s Notes:
"Looks like I’ll be giving this one to you myself.
I have the Smash Ball. Using its incredible powers, I summon up all of the ores from the Regenesis Program, which swirl and combine into me, covering me in a purple aura. The power of the ores has given me an incredible god-like strength! I let the energy flow out from me, covering the stage in a massive wave of energy. Black Energon covers the entire stage, retaining its normal effects, but at an unavoidable scale.
From there, I am granted freeflight, as well as a new, powerful attack. Any attack I attempt will now result in a massive laser shot from my gun arm. The beam is 2/3rds as large as Samus’ Zero Laser, and lasts only 1/5th as long, but otherwise behaves the exact same way, including damages and knockback. This remarkable laser can be fired in any of the eight cardinal directions, making it a practically unavoidable move.
After 8 seconds, the energy will end. The energy will fire out in a last burst of energy, similar of that to a much lesser god-like being. This burst covers the whole screen in only a few moments, the only way to dodge it being a well-timed air dodge. The burst has remarkable strength, and is capable of KOing opponents at nearly any percentages.
The burst will also instantly shatter the Black Energon, removing it from the stage. Once the attack is finished, I will enter a freefall state, meaning that placement during the last moments of the attack is crucial to avoiding my own self-destruction."
This year marks the 25th anniversary of the original manga and original anime of the Sailor Moon franchise. I chose Sailor Moon not because of this but rather, as not simply one of the first animes of the 90s that started a cultural change towards anime in the West, personally it was the very first anime I was exposed to, and it was Sailor Moon that began my own interest in anime and manga art. But one truly unbelievable fact about Sailor Moon is that since July 2012 the original creator Naoko Takeuchi had begun a reboot to the anime almost fifteen years after the end of Sailor Moon SuperS - the fifth and final season of the original anime. So without further ado;
Sailor Moon punishes the competition!
Sailor Moon is arguably one of the most famous and well known anime heroines. Developed by Naoko Takeuchi and not long after a previous manga called 'Codename: Sailor V', Toei Animation contacted Takeuchi to commission an anime based on this manga but set with more than one character. This is where the concept of Sailor Moon had began. Sailor Moon's history is in many ways tied to that of Sailor V, not least of which is the fact that Sailor V reveals herself as Sailor Venus in the Sailor Moon universe. So much time and effort went into Sailor Moon that the Codename: Sailor V manga released its issues in sporadic and disjointed times. Despite this the overwhelming popularity of Sailor Moon eventually encouraged DiC Entertainment to purchase the rights to broadcast Sailor Moon into the Western audience via YTV in Canada. As was the norm in 90s cartoons in America DiC heavily censored Sailor Moon; the first season showed 40 episodes whereas the Japanese broadcast all 46 - the full and unedited 46 episodes of season 1 were only just broadcast through Viz Media since late October 2014 - and for all the shows that did make it the hand of DiC edited everything from dialogue to artistry to plot points. Despite all this the Sailor Moon manga and anime both endured for five full season, producing three movies and a live action revival of the anime in late 2003. As mentioned earlier Takeuchi, during the 20th anniversary of the manga, decided to recreate the anime series in 2012 and to make it much closer to the original manga, this entirely new anime was broadcast first in Japan in mid 2014 and then via Viz in America in late 2015. Today, while America waits for the third season to be aired Japan waits for the fourth season to be produced.
Using her civilian name Usagi Tsukino as a cover, Sailor Moon is the defender of the world and, while she was at first reluctant to assume the role of a heroine, has risen to the challenge multiple times and through these experiences has risen her confidence in her fighting abilities. Her past is full of victories against hundreds of minions, multiple villains and in the case of the first season vanquishing the leader of a major trans-dimensional militaristic empire. As her enemies grew in skill she too had to develop her own abilities and expand her arsenal to fight off the forces of evil. However for Smash her biggest advantage over the roster can be found in her special attacks.
Unique Ability - Love Damage
In the same way that Electric, Flower, Aura and Solar are all Effects that cause other effects or damage in a fighter's moveset Sailor Moon introduces her own brand of Effect - Love. Love Damage is on the face of it just a fancy version of the Magic effect already used in Super Smash Bros. 4, however this is not entirely true. Love Damage differs from the Magic effect in that every attack that uses Love Damage also activates the Dizziness status, and for chargeable attacks the duration of the Dizziness status increase the longer the attack is charged.
While neither the manga nor the anime portray this exact effect, Love Damage and attacks using it are known to have a profound affect on the minions and in rare cases the victims of said minions to cause a change in their state or behavior in Sailor Moon. When used against villains of any skill level Love Damage is a purely destructive force designed to eliminate the foe, however when humans are affected by a negative force Love Damage has healing powers designed to restore a person to their normal selves, nullifying the evil state affecting them.
Moon Tiara Action is Sailor Moon’s signature attack. Sailor Moon takes off her tiara and holds it in front of her, the tiara floating above her open hand then turns into a beam of energy. All this happens in 0.4 seconds; once the animation is complete Sailor Moon then throws the beam in front of her, covering the distance of two thirds of Final Destination. The attack deals just 2% Energy damage and can knockout at 218%, and unlike most projectiles Moon Tiara Action can pass straight through fighters and cover the full distance, hitting every fighter in its path with its full power. Aesthetically Sailor Moon is obviously no longer wearing her tiara during the attack.
Once the tiara reaches its peak it begins its return trajectory; the beam reverts back to a tiara - losing its Energy effect - and unlike the Boomerang Item the tiara returns to Sailor Moon in the background, where the tiara is unimpeded by fighters or more importantly the stage and its hazards. The tiara will always return to Sailor Moon no matter where she is on the stage, constantly changing its course as she moves around, therefore the time it takes to return to her varies depending on how quickly the player moves her around the space, however Sailor Moon cannot use Moon Tiara Action until she has the tiara in possession. Once the tiara reaches Sailor Moon her non-dominant hand reaches out to catch it and wear it again. This animation plays when Sailor Moon is either idle, walking, running or jumping; when she is either attacking, shielding or grabbing the animation is cancelled. As a final side note, if the player changes direction when the initial animation is playing Sailor Moon does exactly the same thing except that once the animation finished she immediately turns around and throws the tiara behind her.
Default Side Special - Moon Spiral Heart Attack
The Moon Spiral Heart Attack is a chargeable, two-stage attack. Firstly Sailor Moon pulls out her Spiral Heart Moon Rod and after just 0.15 seconds she begins to spin rapidly in circles, this is Sailor Moon charging her projectile attack. If by happenstance anyone is next to Sailor Moon as she begins to charge her attack - within 1.5 body spans in front or behind of Sailor Moon - fighters are repeatedly struck with 1% damage every hit, considering that Sailor Moon can complete one full revolution in 0.2 seconds, can fully charge her attack in 1.25 seconds and her turn rate gradually speeds up to one revolution every 0.1 seconds by the end of the charge time theoretically any fighters caught in this charge animation could be dealt as much as 9% damage alone. During this fighters caught within the hitbox also experiences a gravitational force pulling them inward towards Sailor Moon.
And this is before Sailor Moon actually fires! During the charge animation Sailor Moon begins to crouch, striking fighters with her arm stretched out as she spins. At the end of the charge time Sailor Moon finishes by kneeling down and the rod risen above her. The rod fires a massive heart shaped projectile that moves slowly outward to as far as one quarter of Final Destination. The projectile covers the distance in 2.5 seconds and its size varies based on the charge of the attack, ranging between four fifths of Sailor Moon’s Size to as large as 1.3 times her Size, and regardless of the size of the projectile it deals 13% Love damage to the first fighter that crashes into it. Also, at the end of the charge animation any fighters caught in Sailor Moon’s spinning and she fires the heart, the fighters are dealt with vertical knockback that KOs at 137%.
Default Up Special - Sailor Planet Power
For the most part Sailor Planet Power is a group attack in which the entire Inner Senshi link hands to focus their energies towards a target above them. However without the Inner Senshi Sailor Moon has to make do without their power. Sailor Planet Power is a chargeable attack as well as a Recovery move. Sailor Moon pauses, eyes closed and arms outstretched a pink glow begins to encircle her, this is her charging the move. Immediately a transparent pink aura starts to rise from Sailor Moon’s position, this silhouette is her visualizing where she wants to fly to. The attack can charge for one full second and doing so increases both the damage dealt and the height Sailor Moon will exit from the attack - the full range of the move’s recovery height is between zero and one third of the height of Final Destination.
When the attack button is released a massive energy beam the width of 2 body spans shoots up to just under the point where the pink aura was last, and at the top of the beam Sailor Moon appears, her exit speed allows her to gain extra height - equal to her standard mid-air jump. Sailor Moon herself deals no damage, she does however have super armor until the time the beam disappears. The range of damage the beam deals is between 9-13% Energy damage and deals vertical knockback, knocking out fighters at 175%. A major advantage is that while Sailor Moon can’t immediately use Sailor Planet Power a second time she can mid-air jump, which will in turn allow her to use the move a second time. In general Sailor Moon can do anything after successfully executing Sailor Planet Power except Sailor Planet Power in order to diminish spamming, however if at any time Sailor Moon is attacked during the charging her concentration is broken and while she does fly up to the last point of the aura neither produces an energy beam nor has any ability to jump or attack.
Default Down Special - Moon Healing Escalation
Under normal circumstances Moon Healing Escalation is a purely positive force designed to heal human victims from their villain masters. In Smash however the move is more or less a fancy Nosferatu. Sailor Moon pulls out and spins her Moon Stick for 0.3 seconds before - starting from above her head and clockwise - drawing a perfect circle around her, doing so causes a white glowing circle to appear. As she casts the circle any fighter that touches or crosses over the glow is dealt damage while Sailor Moon herself is healed from the attack. Fighters are dealt 1% Magic damage every 0.8 seconds and just like Nosferatu the fighters are caught in a special grab that - even while airborne - traps the fighters within the outline and causing even more damage.
As fighters are getting hurt from Moon Healing Escalation, Sailor Moon is directly healing from it. At the same rate as fighters gain damage Sailor Moon heals 0.5% for every 1% damage dealt. One great advantage Moon Healing Escalation has over Nosferatu is that because the hitbox surrounds Sailor Moon entirely multiple fighters can be trapped in the same hitbox and in turn allows her to increase her healing. Being a special grab the move has no knockback, meaning that after the move is complete any airborne fighters will simply fall to the ground and resume fighting, however Sailor Moon can maintain the move for up to five seconds simply by holding down the attack button the whole time. As a side note, in cases where Sailor Moon is fighting in a Team Battle Moon Healing Escalation can in fact heal any of her teammates in the same way; instead of dealing 1% Magic damage every 0.8 seconds the teammate is healed 1% at the same rate, all the while Sailor Moon does not benefit from the move.
Standard Attacks
In close combat Sailor Moon is a proficient fighter. For the most part she favors kicks, however in computer and video games she is known to throw punches, however infrequently. Due to the fact that Sailor Moon mostly fights with her feet her range is comparatively slightly larger than other fighters due to her leg height.
Neutral Attack
Sailor Moon raises her right leg and quickly points her foot up, kicking fighters at her head level.. The entire move takes no time at all - 0.15 seconds from the start of the animation to the hit - and it deals 2% damage. While the move isn’t a suitable kill move - it consistently knocks out at 237% - it has the unique quality of changing knockback direction, when Sailor Moon connects the move at the same time the fighter’s head enters the hitbox the move causes an additional effect of causing vertical knockback, as if the fighter is struck directly under the chin. The kick is a useful quick-draw move to begin a combo, either on the ground or in the air.
Dash Attack
Sailor Moon’s Dash Attack is similarly unique in that unlike most others the move is in fact a tackle. Sailor Moon has been known in both the manga and anime and the games to dive head long straight into enemies during fights, in Smash she does this by first running straight towards the fighter and, once she reaches them, rams into their midsection in order to slam them into the ground. When the attack button is pressed the move has no startup lag at all and while the move has no knockback at all it deals a massive 6% damage when the fighter hits the ground. Because Sailor Moon is tackling a fighter during the entirely of the move she is constantly moving forward, from the starting point of the attack Sailor Moon travels a total of one third of the Final Destination stage - from the time Sailor Moon starts the tackle, while grasping the fighter, she drags them down towards the ground, slamming them and thus dealing damage within half the space. (one sixth of Final Destination) Once doing so Sailor Moon then rolls forward and covers the remaining distance performing a forward roll in order to return to a standing position. The entire animation takes 0.85 seconds - from the start 0.45 to damage and then 0.4 to the end.
Side Tilt
Sailor Moon deals another quick kick. The animation and stats are very similar to her Neutral Standard attack, except that being a tilt move Sailor Moon can direct her strike anywhere from the torso up to the head. The kick is slower than the Neutral Standard - 0.25 seconds - but the attack deals 3% damage and is much more powerful in that it knocks out fighters at 179%. While the Neutral Standard Attack is a super-fast combo starting move the Side Tilt is a slower but still quick hit designed to focus power and knockout fighters on its own.
Up Tilt
When a fighter is in the air and about to fall onto her Sailor Moon bends down a thrusts her right fist above her. The move takes about 0.25 seconds to deal and has both an offensive and defensive capability; the attack itself deals only 2% but also deals vertical knockback and can knockout fighters at 192%. Additionally the act of crouching lowers Sailor Moon’s height slightly - about 10% of her height, making it harder for the airborne fighter to connect a blow.
Down Tilt
Sailor Moon in fact kicks her foot straight at the feet of other fighters. The move is another quick fire attack, in this case to stop a fighters advance towards her. The move only deals 3% damage but the attack takes very little time - just 0.2 seconds to kick - and it deals hitstun for a third of a second. The attack has no knockback, the move is designed to stop a fighter in their tracks and lose all of their momentum, giving Sailor Moon a chance to start a combo or a counter-attack.
Smash Attacks Side Smash - Sailor Moon Kick
Sailor Moon charges up a flying kick; she kicks back her right leg and charges her attack, leaning on her left leg. Once the player releases the attack button Sailor Moon springs off on her left foot and launches across the air at a height of her head off the ground across the distance of a one Battlefield platform. When she lands Sailor Moon lands cleanly, on her feet and with no end lag at all. The entire attack takes up to 0.75 seconds depending on when Sailor Moon connects a blow and the attack has no real lag - 0.1 seconds startup lag at the button press and 0 seconds end lag. The flying kick deals 14% damage when uncharged and can knock out at 154%.
Up Smash - Sailor Scissor Kick
Sailor Moon charges up a scissor kick; she leans right down and points her right foot out, preparing to jump up. Once the player releases the attack button Sailor Moon jumps up and spins, turning her right foot up to kick any fighter directly above her. As she is spinning Sailor Moon’s left leg spins around a deals a second blow, sending any fighter flying out of the stage. Once again Sailor Moon lands on her feet with no end lag. The attack is a two stage attack dealing 7% and 8% when uncharged, only the second blow can be charged to deal extra damage. The first blow deals hitstun for a third of a second, enough time for the second kick to connect and deal knockback. The overall time of the attack animation is 0.75 second and has minimal lag - 0.1 seconds startup lag, 0.25 second until the first hit, 0.25 seconds until the second hit and 0.15 seconds end lag. The second blow can knockout fighters at 168%
Down Smash - Sailor Moon Lunge
Sailor Moon charges up a lunge; she raises her right leg up and balances on her left leg, waiting to strike. Once the player releases the attack button Sailor Moon slams her raised foot back down in front of her, if a fighter is in front of her the attack deals massive damage at the cost of dealing no knockback. The lunge deals 17% when uncharged and instead of dealing knockback it triggers dizziness for 1 second. The attack has the most lag of the smash attacks - 0.15 second startup lag and depending on how long the attack is charged the end lag can be up to 0.7 seconds after the attack. The attack has an added bonus where if the fighter is shielding at the time they get attacked the attack breaks the shield and triggers dizziness, giving Sailor Moon the perfect opportunity to start a combo and rack up more damage.
Grab Attacks
Grab
Sailor Moon grabs the fighter by their wrists and can execute any of the following attacks;
Pummel
Using her right hand Sailor Moon lets go of the fighter’s wrist and slaps them. Each slap deals just 1% damage but are also fast - the full animation takes 0.35 seconds.
Forward Throw
Sailor Moon throws the fighter in front of her; quite simply she swings the fighter around her and launches them at a distance of one third of the Final Destination stage. The attack deals 9% damage once the fighter is launched and is capable of knocking out fighters at 176%.
Backward Throw
Sailor Moon throws the fighter behind her; she does exactly the same thing as her forward throw except that as she swings she lets go behind her and launches them at a distance of one third the of Final Destination stage. The attack deals 7% damage once the fighter is launched and is capable of knocking out fighters at 181%. The only advantage in using the Backward Throw over the Forward Throw is the fact that the Backward Throw is quicker to execute - 0.25 seconds from startup to launch - compared to the Forward Throw which takes 0.35 seconds to launch the fighter.
Up Throw
Sailor Moon throws the fighter into the air and delivers a kick; she quickly throws the fighter into the air, just enough to deliver a quick kick in front of her and deals a vertical blow. The attack deals 9% damage and can knockout fighters at around 169%. The attack has moderate startup lag - about 0.35 seconds before kicking the fighter.
Down Throw
Sailor Moon throws the fighter into the ground; she takes just a moment to size up her enemy and throws them straight down. Like any other Down Throw the attack has a Meteor Strike effect so on a ledge the fighter has no chance to recover. On the ground however when Sailor Moon slams the fighter into the ground the attack deals a massive 12% damage and can knock out fighters from the bounce back at 196%. This is the longest of the grab attacks, taking 0.3 seconds of startup lag and another 0.2 seconds of end lag - however this is also the most powerful throw.
Aerial Attacks
Neutral Aerial
Once again Sailor Moon uses her feet to attack, even in the air. Her Neutral Aerial attack is Sailor Moon simply kicking in front of her. The Aerial attack is very similar to her standard Neutral Attack, however a number of subtle differences are present given that Sailor Moon is in the air. Firstly the kick only reaches as far as her chest. Secondly the kick has even less lag time, just 0.1 seconds. Lastly while the move still deals 2% the attack can knockout and 196%, significantly lower than the Neutral Attack.
Forward Aerial
Sailor Moon pushes through the air, straight towards fighters to perform a Body Attack. Similar to her Dash Attack she travels forward at roughly a quarter of the distance of Final Destination in the air, constantly falling at an angle of about 30 degrees during the attack. The attack deals 7% damage and can knockout at 183%, however the attack will leave Sailor Moon vulnerable and unable to attack until she reaches the ground. The advantage of this attack is there is no startup lag at all.
Back Aerial
In mid air Sailor Moon performs a spin kick, she immediately raises her right leg and twists her body around to spin behind her. During her spin she also kicks her left foot up and in so doing creates a two hit attack. Each hit reaches her chest and deals 4% and 7% respectively and the second kick delivers the knockout blow, knocking out fighters at 189%. The spin kick takes little lag time, 0.2 seconds to spin around a deal the first hit and another 0.1 seconds for the second hit to land.
Up Aerial
Sailor Moon quickly flips over in mid air and kicks her feet above her. She takes a moment before forward flipping herself and kicking her boots out to attack any fighter above her in midair. The attack takes moderate lag time - 0.2 seconds for Sailor Moon to flip herself and kick and then 0.35 seconds to continue flipping forward. The attack deals 8% damage and can knockout fighters at 176%.
Down Aerial
Sailor Moon falls from the sky to slam opponents into the ground. She kneels in the air and then pushes her legs down to force her way back to the ground. Sailor Moon falls straight down at a rate of just under half of the Final Destination stage in 1 second. The attack deals a massive 17% damage to any unfortunate fighter caught in her path and also deals a Meteor Strike effect, if the fighter is already on the ground the attack instead buries the fighter into the ground. The attack is designed to be a kamikaze attack where Sailor Moon can push fighters off and use the Meteor Strike to send them to the bottom of the screen, knockout effects are therefore immaterial.
Attacks + Plus
Two other attacks not yet covered are the Floor Attack and the Ledge Attack.
Floor Attack
From a lying start Sailor Moon first sits up for just 0.1 seconds and then kicks out to strike any fighters near her, spinning around as she does to right herself. The kick deals just 1% damage and has no knockback, however the end lag is advantageous - only another 0.15 seconds after the blow.
Ledge Attack
Screaming as she's hanging from the ledge Sailor Moon first climbs over the ledge and then kicks fighters as she jumps back onto the stage. The kicks deals 5% damage and can knockout fighters at 208%. The startup lag takes 0.25 seconds and the attack animation takes another 0.25 seconds to complete.
the Final Smash - Silver Crystal
But all of these attacks pale in comparison to the final smash!
When Sailor Moon gets the Smash Ball she can activate her Final Smash, releasing the power of the Silver Crystal. Aesthetically as well as the standard rainbow aura the Smash Ball also causes the Silver Crystal to shine so brightly a white halo of light covers her Crystal Star compact locket that is attached to her leotard. When the player presses the attack button the camera zooms in to see Sailor Moon opening her Crystal Star locket and the Silver Crystal hovers out of its place. As soon as the camera zooms out a circle of white magic radiates from the Silver Crystal and Sailor Moon’s appearance changes to that of Princess Serenity. It is at this point that the Silver Crystal will activate.
Princess Serenity floats with the Silver Crystal to the middle of the stage from wherever she is on the stage; either in the exact middle, slightly left of the center, or the extreme right edge she will float to be at the center of the stage, hovering above the exact point she was when she activates the Silver Crystal. Once she reaches that point a huge sphere of pink magic surrounds Princess Serenity and anyone caught in it, it originates from the Silver Crystal and initially has a diameter of half of the height of the stage. The sphere deals 5% damage by itself, but every time the player presses the attack button it adds 5% extra damage every 0.5 seconds. Also when the player presses the button the diameter of the sphere increases over time. The player has five entire seconds to deal damage and increase the area of the sphere - the sphere can increase its size to a diameter of the entire height of the stage, fighters caught within the influence of the pink sphere are held in place with infinite hitstun and every time they are dealt damage they do not move. At the end of the five second attack the pink sphere flashes white twice; the first flash deals hitstun one last time, the second flash deals explosive knockback with knocks out fighters at an alarmingly low 74%, sending fighters out in a direction respective to the Silver Crystal. After the second flash and the fighters have been sent flying out of the stage Princess Serenity’s appearance reverts back to Sailor Moon and she floats back to the ground.
Sailor Moon's Playstyle - Love, Lovely!!!!!!
Sailor Moon has an interchangeable playstyle; she has reasonable ability in close quarter combat but is best with her special attacks and the use of Love Damage. Sailor Moon has a domination on the ground with her impressive tilts and smash attacks as well as having a unique mechanic to her full advantage. In the air however Sailor Moon is significantly less dangerous, her over dependence on using kicks works against her in midair and while her jumps are higher than usual height provides little reprieve. Sailor Moon’s ultimate goal is to then force opponents back to the ground and deal massive amounts of Love Damage to incapacitate fighters and load even more damage before launching fighters.
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A brief point on Archetypes
Not long after Super Smash Bros. 4 released and taking inspiration from the Mii fighters I developed an arbitrary but concise system of archetypes to spit up the roster into general fight styles. I won't go into great detail but the system of archetypes essentially splits up the roster into six major groups; Brawlers, Swordsmen, Gunners, Cannoneers, Magicians and Pokémon.
- The fight style of the typical Brawler is a close combat fighter who uses nothing but Body attacks to deal damage. The closest example of a True Brawler is , a prime example of a hybrid is as a Brawler/Magician.
- The fight style of typical Swordsman is a close combat fighter who wields any type of battering weapon - typically a sword - as part of their arsenal. The closest example of a True Swordsman is , a perfect example of a hybrid is as a Swordsman/Magician.
- The fight style of a typical Gunner is a fast moving camper who fires their pistol at a distance to deal damage. A prime example of a True Gunner is
- The fight style of a typical Cannoneer is a slow moving tank fighter whose primary weapon is a hand cannon firing major projectiles. The closest example of a True Cannoneer is , the setup of the and it's custom special attacks places it as a Cannoneer/Magician hybrid.
- The fight style of the typical Magician fights with duality, capable of close combat and ranged attack equally, using effects such as Fire, Electric or Darkness. A prime example of a True Magician is , an example of a hybrid is as a Magician/Brawler.
- The fight style of the typical Pokémon is a non-humanoid fighter who tends to use one specific elemental effect. Many Pokémon in the roster are True Pokémon; , non-Pokémon in the roster tend to be hybrids, one clear example is as a Pokémon/Brawler.
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