Frozen J. Roy
(Comment taken from me writing it in Discord as it ended up long enough to be here)
Read and ranked Kimblee. I'm pretty on board for the core concepts, as the time bomb is fun enough and you could do stuff with overwriting knockback, and I think the Side Special is a pretty cool move. I like him being able to go down platforms for movement with Side Special and wonder if movement could have been more of a thing, not a Bakugo-level thing but Kimblee is mobile in a decent amount of his fights and doing stuff like tracking down opponents, and more importantly it'd play well off of how his Side Special works and his ground chunk. The ground chunk is arguably kinda weird but exploding it up is fine and it got some solid play although the set kind of fogets later. Revenge + self-damage is fine for NSpec but it didn't feel like it added a lot overall in the end and the logic is really weird, his edgy monologue gives him a buff for...blowing himself up? I thought the F-Smash fedora was fun and Up Smash had solid implications with knockback overwriting. Up Throw has some fun kill potential and the way the spike worked there was the one time the spike felt like it was doing more than a normal grab could.
I hate the Down Throw. Human transmutation with rocks is already very weird on Kimblee, but on top of that the effect of slightly increasing the foe's hurtbox doesn't feel like it works into the set much at all as most of his attacks have generous range. Kupa, Smady and others all complained about Down Tilt and I agree with that sentiment, it feels largely out of place in Kimblee and doesn't add much. Something like a slide kick Down Tilt he could use as combo food and boost along with explosions would have fit better.
In general Kimblee felt rather underpowered, he has poor close range options, not many spacers and takes self damage on a chunk of attacks. I wonder if he could have used the Philosopher's Stone as a power boost?
The Standards and aerials had the set fall apart for me a fair amount. I kinda like the F-Tilt counter idea and the Jab is a solid enough move (although I think it remembering its previous position might be VERY annoying in practice given how Kimblee really wants a closer range move), but for the most part the attacks are uninspired and don't particularly fit well together. Kimblee has a few moves that "combo" but most of his set says he is bad at comboing, including at least one attack that says it is both bad at comboing and a casual combo starter in the same move. Few of them seem to play into the specific idea of the time bomb's vertical knockback angle and he has few spacers despite being a character designed to not get in close.
Finally, I do dislike the characterization a good deal. The mockery parts of Kimblee are uninspired and could be applied to a great deal of characters with the same effect, making it feel rather boring and not getting much of a chuckle out of me. It's kind of just a low level loathing without much humor behind it, which usually is the appeal of character "mockery" sets. And of course as a serious characterization it does nothing for the most part, although I did enjoy the fedora Forward Smash and feel it is fitting enough. I also think the spike is kinda odd in context, the human transmutation obviously doesn't fit and the sand Down Tilt as mentioned by everyone is out of place in the set and just plain bizarre for Kimblee without much playstyle reward for it.
Armie Love
(Comment taken from me writing it in Discord as it ended up long enough to be here)
I finished and ranked Armie Buff, also swapped Kingpin and Reapress' places on the rankings. I was rather invested in the base of Armie, as the landmine seems solid, the machine gun is interesting enough, and I actually thought the idea of the Side Special crosshairs was interesting. Some attacks are also rather nice here, I thought Up Smash was particularly fun for example, Up Special has surprisingly good depth with the drone mechanics, and while I do have a major complaint in this area the characterization for the most part is quite fun with Armie being super interested in new toys like her grab arms or seeing the results of her missile explosions while being reclusive.
This set kinda lost me as it went on. I think the landmine is mostly fine, the justification for why it works is fine, so in that area I do somewhat disagree with FA. I do definitely agree that, IMO anyway, the fire feels rather out of character, although this is one I am sure there will be disagreement on. While it could be taken as a fun reference to the games, to me it feels like this 12 year old girl who lost her mother and was apparently crippled in an incident of arson from all the set says would probably NOT use a close range flamethrower that leaves behind lingering flames. The fearful animation helps blunt this but it still felt out of place, I feel like such an attack would need to be handled differently for me. But I don't think that'll be a universal opinion.
Aside from that I feel like the set's gameplan lost cohesion with time, I was disappointed it felt like the missiles did not have more relevancy outside of some interactions in how the rest of her game was designed, Down Smash's terraforming is utterly bizarre and barely a footnote, the NAir felt particularly odd to me as well with how the bombs work.
The melee for the most part is competent but it is somewhat disjointed as well, given all the props her wheelchair is given throughout the set I wonder if they could have been used to more effect on, say, Down Tilt rather than what we got. And the grab game was a fun attempt to do the dual grab and the idea of the drone grabbing Armie has potential but nothing stood out for me here. The jab feels overly complex for what is ultimately a simple spacing jab for the most part but doesn't kill the set or anything. Also while I quite liked Up Smash, catching the missile as an item is a totally tacked on throwaway that pops up nowhere else in the set. Between this, Nasary and Ibaraki (who also had a grabbable fireball) it feels like there was a bit of a trend on bizarrely throwable items, often on Up Smash, that didn't fit the set a ton.
I did kind of like how the Forward Tilt played with ranges, though, and the drone gameplay can be fun when the set is going for a bit more of a pincer attack.
One final note, as this came up in another comment and I had thoughts, I want to say I did not enjoy the Final Smash. Usually I wouldn't comment on it, but yeah. I'm not opposed to in-joking MYM reference Final Smashes or super joke-y ones, but I tend to prefer more serious ones as the joke-y ones can break my immersion and Final Smashes are often a place to add additional character (you'll remember I mentioned this with Hidan to a degree as well). Given the running characterization theme of Armie overcoming fears in the set, I think cumulating that in a Final Smash would have been a good capper. You could even keep the Strangelove reference by, say, having a dropping bomb say Doomsday Device on it. Alternately, THIS could be a good place to put the fire move on Armie, akin to Nakoruru's hesitant stab: Armie hesitating for a few moments in a cutscene, closing her eyes, and then burning the possibly far off opponent to a crisp. I'll also just say the Final Smash didn't feel that funny and the blood felt out of place.
Clown Power Hour (Rudy the Clown
@Smash Daddy)
Rudy's core conepts are fairly solid, ESPECIALLY the music boxes which to me felt like by far the highlight of the set. The mutitude of ways Smady plays with the "duplicate follows you" / "duplicate duplicates your attack" is one of the best parts of the set with lots of inventive ways to change up your duplicates or to use them. I also thought that sending out the hand was for the most part a pretty neat mechanic, the minions are for the most part inventive and exciting (although they get somewhat forgotten in parts). And I quite liked all of the smashes, Forward Smash felt particularly fun with the way Rudy's duplicates work, and Up Smash/Down Smash were both overall solid, the way that Up Smash parodied Wario was fun.
I really want to commend this set's characterization which felt very strong. Rudy does NOT seem like he has a huge amount of potential but Smady squeezes out everything he can get in a very satisfying away in terms of potential and adds a lot of satisfying description that gives the set a ton of fitting personality. I've never really cared a ton about the Wario games, for a long time I thought Rudy was a Dr. Mario 64 exclusive because I only ever saw him in Dr. Mario 64, and I felt very excited by the characterization and came away with some big appreciation.
I do have some issues with this set.
First off, Rudy just seems way too overwhelming in any kind of edge guard situation. The clap does not feel as hard to land as you present it IMO, particularly at a ledge with the opponent's ledgeguard options being more predictable, but if it was just the clap that'd be well within heavyweight power levels.
Mr. Sun, however, feels flatout overwhelming. First off, yes, Mr. Sun is laggy but in a situation where you hit the opponent off stage it is not THAT laggy. It is less laggy than Pac-Man getting an Apple from 0 charge (Apple is 52 frames) and it is hardly unreasonable for Pac-Man to charge to Apple when he hits a foe off stage, and Pac-Man does not feel like he has the ability to get people off-stage that Rudy does. If Mr. Sun comes out with a smash throw (43 frames) then it feels over for the foe at the ledge. The pillar is MASSIVE and lingers for long enough to destroy most options, the Hothead-projectile wave will hit any ledge hangs or trying to stall down (except on stages Hothead doesn't work) and on top of that since it is disjointed from Rudy, Rudy could then also edgeguard the opponent with himself, which could potentially have a music box out or could throw out a hand. The 2-frame Down Tilt also gives Rudy a super quick option that Rudy can 2-frame the opponent with along with the ability to mix up a Mr. Sun with an also-edgeguarding-great Para-Boom and then use his own attacks. This isn't so absolutely busted that it destroys the set but it does feel rather overpowered to me.
The grab game is Fine but it felt like a distinct drop in quality from most of the set, the Forward Throw cargo throw has some obvious applications with hitting the foe into your constructs but not too much else, Back Throw has some neat applications and whatnot but it feels a bit out of place oddly (and the interaction with the Music Box feels somewhat odd, especially since nothing else interacts with it in the set like this) and I actually like Up Throw a good deal it was definitely the throw highlights. Down Throw's pitfall strength modifiers feel so minor that in practical situations they'd be pretty useless or hard to utilize so precisely.
For a few other thoughts, the hand mechanic was fairly fine but at times it was a bit unclear on hands being called back and I'm not sure how many moves took advantage of it, but I did enjoy Forward Aerial so that's probably enough. Down Tilt being frame 2 feels really important and perhaps like a bit too much of his game might just be Down Tilt, Up Tilt and faster aerials, but at the same time I appreciate making sure Rudy has fast moves so this wasn't too big of a deal. Also, at least IMO, Clowning Around felt somewhat subdued for a specific time bomb attached to Rudy that even carries hurtbox implications, I wonder if it'd be better to either have changed it out for something else or to have done a bit more with it.
But those other thoughts are not huge deal breakers at all and I did enjoy stuff the set did outside of just the Specials/Smashes like the aforementioned Up Throw, Forward Tilt and Up Tilt, and the way some of the moves interact with the Music Boxes in general like putting a Down Smash off stage with a blue box. It was a great experience and if it fails to get a SV that is largely due to great competition above it rather than a slight against the set, I hope to see you make more sets like this in the future!
The Master of Darkness (Master Xehanort
ForwardArrow
)
You know how they say to save the best for last? Well, Master Xehanort is not LITERALLY my last read, but it definitely applies here.
This set is, essentially, everything anyone could want from a Master Xehanort set. Putting his light/darkness clash as a mechanic was a clever idea that allows you to restrict access to his meter for all intents and purposes while adding in the flavor of exactly how Xehanort's plan works and the general thought behind the x-blade to begin with. The fact that Xehanort has an Organization assist mechanic is naturally fitting, as his entire plan in the games is about summoning copies of himself, and the nature of True Organization XIII pulling them from time and space means no conflict with any other characters for those who care. I also find the ways in which he can do them good. With just one Nobody he is basically just unlocking a follow-up attack that helps fill gaps in his melee, but in return it is fast. Three Nobodies allows him to get out more "setup" without a full meter, but he needs to find time to actually use it because it is a good deal laggier. And if he goes all out with his clashing mechanic he gets the amazing full ORGANIZATION THIRTEEN!, which gives him insane potential but requires difficult play from him that has natural counterplay from the foe. Plus it isn't an instant win button, it simply allows Xehanort to perform fittingly galaxy brain setups that can lead to great payoff, if the foe plays well it is perfectly possible to outplay. The fact they all have unique follow-ups not only means Xehanort's copies do more than just doubling, but also allow you to weave them into his natural melee to fill in gaps or instead provide alternatives.
The Anti-Form mechanic as well was an interesting twist, giving both Master Xehanort and the foe reason to play aggressively. This fits well into something I love about Master Xehanort, he is a setplay character who feels like he basically doesn't go through murky setup time but rather organically has setup options when he normally fights. This helps give Master Xehanort a wonderful melee game that ALSO allows him to perform sick options with his setup and rewards him for actively fighting the foe as the setup is largely based around interactions. The flavor is also great, Master Xehanort has always wanted light and darkness to clash and so the mechanic encourages both him and the opponent to clash with each other. Stopza is an awesome counter attack (reminds me of my old Onion Knight concepts, which I even brought up when you asked if this kinda thing could work) that is quite unique, with Master Xehanort wanting to counter WEAK attacks to get more stun time, which makes sense because weaker attacks are harder to counter than strong attacks usually due to speed. On top of that his ability to "store" Organization members in stopped time and call upon them later is quite nice, with some multifaceted attacks to it, some of my favorites being Forward Smash's time manipulation with the Young Xehanort copies (a rare stun style effect I enjoy, it's quite the investment!), Up Smash's anti-air trap abilities with the Ansem member, the Neutral Aerial's ability to affect the opponent's spacing greatly for his melee game along with affecting his lighter melee game and the ability to save different angled Forward Tilt nobodies in Forward Tilt, but they're basically all good.
Finally, Up Special is great, the ability to fight the foe while charging up a giant (magical girl) laser is on point for flavor and leads to good gameplay as the weakness of the Organization member he makes is contrasted with the power Xehanort wields to help it out, with Xehanort very vulnerable if he misplays as the attack is ultra punishable. It also allows Xehanort to scale it up with his Organization XIII ability without just pushing the power MORE up: Instead, the power up is in the disposable fodder he throws out to reach his TRUE plan and his ability to hold them off with more and more Nobodies.
All of the Smashes were great, giving Xehanort just a really big heavy hitting Forward Smash at a base feels nice to play off his natural follow-ups, but then you bring in a Young Xehanort time manipulation that allows him to "cut" his starting lag basically via a brief stun, which he can even delay to affect the exact release, and the ability to use things like the Recusant's Sigil or a placed Neutral Aerial follow-up to draw them in. Up Smash's hitbox contrasts range with power, giving him a long range attack he wants to hit closer with UNLESS he has an Organization follow-up ready, because access to a follow-up attack with Ansem that strikes at opponents in the more sourspots is in his arsenal, OR he can instead use it as an aerial catch for opponents outside of his grasp, which I think is very neat as an anti-air option he can use when placing it, and Down Smash gives him a solid roll catch but the real meat on the bones is the Xemnas laser dome, which allows Xehanort to create a zone where you don't wanna stay too much as he pelts you with lasers that start to get very damaging and deal hitstun if you stay in them, which can work in quite well with his tools like Down Tilt that are good neutral options without much reward. I also think the idea of using the three "main" Xehanort forms for Smash specific follow-ups feels genius, especially as they are the three Xehanorts who got to be main bosses of an entire game in subservience to him.
The melee game is on point and I would say the best you've ever made. Everything feels greatly crafted, I really enjoyed the way Down Tilt and Forward Tilt provided Xehanort with strong neutral tools that have obvious "gaps" in their reward that Xehanort can fill with more Organization members, the way that Jab and Grab use what Smady and Kat have talked about when it comes to how important they are for defensive options to give him some weaker defense that he needs to play around with, again giving him more bits that both help keep him from being overpowered and allow the player to fill them in, it does NOT feel casual for Xehanort to get any of his large attacks despite their potential power. Dash Attack felt like a fun twist on a multi-hit Dash Attack with how he can send Organization members out to cover different options and I thought making one of his prime combo tools reactable/not casual was a good choice and fit in with his melee's general themes. Forward Aerial's follow-up options were very fun as well, Down Throw plays into a LOT of his melee well with the kind of "detonation" effect I've long thought about utilizing in my own sets, Neutral Aerial takes advantage of its hitbox size and is acutely aware of its combo potential. From top to bottom the set is rock solid in melee.
The characterization is so on point that it oozes out of it unmistakeably. Master Xehanort is played VERY seriously in this set (with the intro providing some light riffing), which feels very accurate to Kingdom Hearts. Kingdom Hearts when it tries to be serious plays it serious even though it is absurd, we're talking about a game where Woody dunks on one of our major antagonists while he tries to turn Buzz Lightyear to darkness and it is played straight. Little touches flourish all over this set, like the way the Down Smash dome splits attacks as more people get into it and make it easier to fight ala KH2's final fight, the Dash Attack's keyblade wave was needed but the follow-up also reminds me of how he creates it for Vanitas and others, moves like Forward Aerial with its follow-ups FEEL like Kingdom Hearts 2 combat! Putting Ansem, Xemnas and Young Xehanort, the 3 major Xehanorts, on the smashes was a brilliant idea for flavor. You could even see their personalities in how they're used: Young Xehanort doesn't care much about any of this and just helps the others out, Ansem uses direct and raw power and darkness, while Xemnas is overwhelming from all sides with smaller blows and a bit of tricky. Back Throw not only references a critical story moment of Kingdom Hearts 3 in a way that gives Xehanort some niche but fun gameplay options in it, but Master Xehanort potentially passing up a more "free" kill to go for a more galaxy brained yet lucrative option is naturally just very in character. Master Xehanort in general feels designed to have comeback options from the brink and come back when you think he's out, which is naturally great flavor with how Master Xehanort recurs as a villain.
I struggle to find any meaningful criticism that would go beyond minor nitpick. Down Smash's activation hitbox could be a bit better, I guess? But it still has good gameplay value. Down Throw and Up Throw are maaaaybe kinda close in what they do, but they seem like they have a distinct enough application. His balance is on point, despite comeback potential the way his abilities are designed feel like they limit how swingy his attacks can be and his more overwhelming attacks feel like they have lots of checks and counters to them to keep them in place. One could say, IDK, Up Aerial is short but I liked that as it fulfilled its purpose well and doing too much more might have even made it a bit broken + it is good to not have EVERY move ooze something huge. It had purpose in a well woven melee game and that was what it needed to be.
Quite bluntly, I would be shocked if I Super Vote Plussed any other set this contest. Despite the set's large size I never felt bogged down and absolutely enjoed every moment, the mechanics are both novel and well thought out, the melee is rich and deep, the characterization is basically as good as it could be, the balance seems lovingly fine. This is a great effort and if it does take you a while to make Yawgmoth I can hardly think of something better to leave us with.
