Make Your Move 25: Moveset Design Contest — Contest is Donezo! MYM 26 Starts March 17th!

[UserShadow7989]

Bucky Barnes/The Winter Solider by Slavic ***

It was ambitious when Rychu tried his hand at making a two-in-one set for a Jamcon with Two Face, and it's equally ambitious here. The Winter Soldier tends to have stronger but bigger commitment attacks good for closing out the stock, and stage control that snowballs an advantage state he's already in. Bucky is better at winning neutral, with less punishment taken if he misses and more combo-oriented attacks in exchange for lacking TWS's abundance of KO options.

It's decent basis, especially since achieving the transformation requires some work. The transformation move itself requires three uses and provides some protection, so you can even slip it in as a defensive measure. And due to starting as Bucky and ending as TWS, you're going to progress to that point naturally, and the defense measure has an in-built downside for spamming it where you're not quite as effective as getting foes to kill percents if you transform too early. It's a neat concept!

The fundamentals are solid and you get more of a cold and calculating but inflexible feel from The Winter Soldier compared to Bucky, so it's not an issue with individual moves or flavor- those are good. Incredibly good in the case of flavor; the set draws upon the character's source material in great depth, even taking blink and you'll miss it movements from the character's screen time to translate into attacks and capture the way he really moves.

My issue is that turning into The Winter Soldier doesn't feel like a major buff or otherwise like a key part of playing the character. Not that there's anything wrong with Bucky or a transformation that's optional, but as the linchpin concept of the set, there's not a ton of reason to interact with it so much as a 'hey, that's nice' bonus? Bucky's not super-starved for KO options and in fact has less to fear from whiffing his attacks more often than not, and it's not too much damage to build to get foes into his KO range compared to TWS's.

There's still elements of The Winter Soldier side I like, Down Aerial and Forward Throw coming to mind immediately, the former more reliable and the latter more versatile in application thanks to his inhumanly calm control. The Grab Game in general is actually a high point in this area to me, despite having been the last part made under the wire. Some more of that, with a bit of a stronger dichotomy in terms of overall playstyle would've done some good, or making The Winter Soldier a much more buffed state than it is now (where some changes feel like sidegrades more than a boon) would've made the set shine- though I can get not going the latter route as it'd be a conflict of character.

Despite having spent two paragraphs complaining, this IS a genuinely good set, even if it's not the strongest in the Jamcon for me (Shadow Mario's holding that title as of current). Knowing you ran against the deadline, it's impressive you managed to make such a solid set in such a short time, and is a prime example of the kind of consistent quality and polish you put into your sets.

 

[UserShadow7989]

Idar by n88 ***

A lot of chuckles were had reading this set (maybe I should've saved that line for a Knuckles set?), so I'd call it a success based on that. In terms of actual set stuff, the Idar has a neat concept of being powerful at its best but capturing the game's clunky controls and slow fighting as a major drawback. Exacerbating the situation is it has an interpretation of Heavy Nova's stamina system; while not so brutal as to let you get stunlocked below a certain amount of stamina, it does greatly punish you for taking a good few hits, leading to a set that's deliberately underpowered but deadly if you choose to master the joke character.

The set flavor does really convey they Heavy Nova experience, though of course this means the mechanical stuff is a little lacking by intent. Not to say it's uninteresting- you wrung the game for every drop of potential to work with, as much as that says, making the Idar a glass cannon who has a painful disadvantage state but can score a KO out of nowhere if the player mounts an aggressive comeback and utilize its defensive tools well. More that the Idar struggles for a good chunk of any fight without getting a hard read.

Still, despite being a compact set for a joke character (executed seriously despite the tone and character pick, which is a combination I appreciated a lot with FA's Tristan Taylor set last contest), Idar does have a functional playstyle, decent fundamentals, and some fun tricks that would actually make it feel different to play as (in a good way, I mean, rather than the intentional jank which would be hilarious and intentionally frustrating to play as at the same time), making the set surprisingly good for its intent and the down to the wire submission time. Down Special, Forward Aerial, and the Smashes sound legitimately satisfying to land, the animations on things like Neutral Aerial and Back Throw sound fun, etc. There's no big 'wow' factor or crazy twist to elevate the set, and ultimately it boils down to a neat concept executed decently, but that's deserving of praise in and of itself even if you ignore the way you made the set fun to picture.

I'm kind of interested in seeing this sort of concept done more often, it's just fun to have a fighter that's intentionally inept in a way that's not just having tons of disadvantage on hit/doing peanuts for damage and knockback like some other underpowered sets made in the past.

...funny enough, I think that makes Idar the best set for a giant mecha we've gotten, unless I've forgotten one that hit it out of the park. Neat! And since I couldn't find a spot to put it in this comment elsewhere: I laughed at that Final Smash. Good one.


With that all said, my nomination for the Jamcon is Shadow Mario by Arctic Tern!

 

[Arctic Tern]

It's approaching summertime, so the weather's getting pretty hot. How about you all chill out?

 

[GolisoPower]

Are You Ready For A Miracle?
Miracle Matter by U UserShadow7989

As ready as I can be!

Miracle Matter is a surprisingly fun take on a constantly-shapeshifting character, uniquely giving three inputs to 7 different forms, basically giving uniqueness to this violently evil D20 die for a chance to roll a Natural Critical Hit. I do love how Neutral Special is shared across all forms and gives Miracle Matter a riskier but more volatile defense by giving him a full-body hitbox and a reflector. Up Special is interesting going off the heels of Shadow Mario, being another "pick where you end" recovery Special, except it's more like Farore's Wind and Din's Fire whipped together, giving Burn Matter a really strong and really aggressive recovery game. I can see him pressuring foes with Up Special and before they can punish him, defending himself with Neutral Special. Down Special's a good take on the Leaf Shield that has double the orbiting bodies and covers your more overused approaches. Could also cover some high start-up moves too if you so wish. And lastly, we got Side Special, the usual "Kirby final boss Shoop da Whoop". I love how the laser changes direction when it hits someone, although I do feel like that that'd be more useful in 2v2 matches. Regardless, though, it's a fun, heh, angle to take.

Despite having to make 8 different sections dedicated to the different forms, Miracle Matter seems to be surprisingly easy to follow by highlighting the moves of other forms in their respective colors whenever it feels the need to bring them up. Though if I were to give an honest critique, I feel like the stat changes between forms at a near-constant frequency would confuse not just your foe but you as well. I mean, don't get me wrong, I like the idea of changing forms to adapt to your foe. But having to do so every time you want to use another form's attack would make me either prone to mistakes that aren't a problem in one form but are suicide on another, or one of the most versatile players on the planet. A nice concept you presented, and the form change mechanic does give you some warning to mentally prepare you, but with how hectic Smash Bros can be and how many inputs are used per competitive match, I feel this is a bit of a double-edged sword.

Regardless, though, this was a fun read and an interesting approach to the character, speaking as one who hasn't played Kirby 64. All things considered, though, a great effort was made here!

 

[Katapultar]

Spoiler: Kula Diamond

Man, this contest has been kind to FG sets. It’s about time we got another SNK set, and on that note I’m impressed with how quickly you put together an FG set of this caliber. Banging out the pictures for each input section Froy-style certainly helps write home the passion you have for this character. I particularly liked the trivia you sprinkled throughout this set, like on the origins of various moves and U-air being copied from another character.

I can definitely see the Hotaru (Futaba) inspirations here: somewhat unique shield, good out-of-shield options, extremely powerful Super Special that only works with a long runway ahead of you, using bullet points to mention cancel applications in the basic moves (albeit in Jab only), and a thin Forward Smash that pushes you back against shields to help set up for that powerful Super Special. That’s not to say Kula is without original options: you went the extra mile here by giving her extra inputs in two Side Specials and 3 Super Specials, one with the unique but well-earned ability to temporarily disable the foe’s shield.

I like how Freeze Execution’s screen-wide hitbox was handled for FFA situations, not dealing knockback or hitstun to outside opponents. I would have been fine with it dealing knockback and hitstun to every opponent, as this is a meter-based move and Kula has to land a melee hit to begin with, but the way you handled it makes it feel “personal” in a way that’s fitting for a fighting game character. Making Neutral Special unusable in midair was an interesting choice too. It does deny Kula a B-reversed option, but then Kula has her Hyper Hop so that probably doesn’t matter to her. The set mentions the recently-discovered slingshotting tech too; makes me wonder how many people in MYM will embrace that mechanic.

Moves I liked in this set: Back Special for its follow-up options, which uniquely require Kula to land. I liked F-tilt in general, for its proning; both it and U-tilt I enjoyed for channeling into the auto-turn mechanic, another aspect of this set that reminds me of Hotaru. U-Smash for its fun freezing sourspot and strong anti-air KO sweetspot, N-air for its combo usage with Hyper Hop, F-air for its multi-hits and D-air for its very unique “landing lag” and differences when used out of a short-hop. Though less MYM’ian than in other sets in favour of capturing the spirit of FG characters, Kula’s Specials and Smashes have their roles in the set and feel right for the character. The grab game did feel simple by comparison, but I’m fine with it as-is: non-grappler’s throws aren’t generally “core” moves in a FG character’s kit.

Sam + Max and Meltryllis still stand as my favourites of yours for their excellent melee games, but Kula is still one of your stronger sets an an enjoyable read, one that’s fantastic for existing - it’s great that you finished one of your set plans, and now I associate you with the SNK franchise more than any other setmaker. Looking forward to your next big project you throw out in record time -keep up the excellent MYM work!

 

[GolisoPower]

Through The Looking Glass
Dark Meta Knight by Juando

So first off, I'd like to welcome you with a warm heart to Make Your Move, Juando!

So Dark Meta Knight is a really good start for your career, and is a pretty quick and easy read, too. I do lament the lack of actual damage those attacks do, but I at the very least appreciate the kill percentages you list as well as the applications of the sets by themselves. I like how Neutral Special is a chargeable Mach Tornado that has a built-in reflector. Even though you go into helplessness after use, it's an amazing tool for those who are projectile-heavy or have a single, strong projectile. Side Special's an interesting projectile that has three different directions to work with, though I do kinda wish they were something you can aim with the joystick. I kinda get the intention for this current version, though, so that's all up to you whether you want to change that. Up Special's also a fun attack where there's a Buster Wolf-style follow-up if you manage to hit, and also has the potential to spike if I'm reading it right. It says that you get "knocked downward" so that's the conclusion I made. Down Special making a clone of yourself that mimicks your attacks is a fun idea for a character like this and I wish it was explored more in the rest of your set.

The moveset itself seems to be a faithful recreation of not just his boss fight, but also his moveset from Star Allies, using swords summoned from mirrors, moves taken from his lighter counterpart and really succeeds in your goal of making him somewhat of a "dirty fighter", as you put it. I know I haven't said much outside of the Specials, but for your debut set, I'd say you're off to a good start! Hope to see more from you in the future, my man!

A Buck-Off Chill Set
Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier by Slavic

This set is straight icy. I mean hoary crap, there's snow way you could make me believe this set's not tundra fun!

Ahem, cold puns that are not cool aside (okay, for real, I'm done), Bucky is a set that seems to take what Rychu did for Two-Face and somewhat improve on the concept. The Down Special swap is a bit more simple, and easier to understand, and the fact that you need to use 3 uses before swapping reminds me a lot of Eyedol from Killer Instinct. Neutral Special's normally your spray-and-pray sustained damage attack as Bucky, but turns into a trap/projectile with extreme burst damage when as the Winter Soldier. Both versions vividly paint a picture for how both sides play already, and I've barely gone into the rest of the kit. Up Special gives you a good choice between high verticality but no actual defense or lower distance and the ability to stave off foes with guns. I already can see a fun chain in Winter Soldier: launch them up with the mine and then barrage them with the chopper guns. It sounds like a dopamine farm right there. Side Special's great as well either way: being a good tool for both burst movement and dealing great burst damage, or a slow-approaching command grab a la Jason's X-Ray Move from MKX that sacrifices good defense for good offense. The more I read this the more I'm more willing to go for the command grab variant. Side note, I could only imagine that you can choose which side you start with like with Pyra and Mythra.

Out of his entire kit, Up throw seems to be the highlight, transplanting Byleth and Joker's Up Specials and applying it to a throw. Both variants seem fun, but the Bucky variant is what gets me: the potential there is for an Up throw that propels you into the air seems like a lot of fun, and gives Bucky a surprisingly fun air game to work with because of it. Down Smash seems like a scary combination of Snake's Side and Up Smashes, unleashing a projectile that explodes on contact with a foe. That seems like when paired with the mine you're effectively bringing back Brawl Snake's general gameplan. All it really needs is a Nikita-like projectile and we'd be good to go. And lastly, Dash attack is an interesting attack that looks like he could turn himself around, an observation that I've shared in Discord, and if such is the case it gives Bucky some surprising anti-cross-up potential that I really love. Oh, and before I forget, it's an interesting idea to turn his metal arm into a disjoint. It makes a lot of sense either way.

Overall, Bucky's a set that seems to greatly challenge Miracle Matter as one of the strongest contenders this JamCon. Honestly, you might just edge out on this, Slavic! I'd say Mission Complete!

This Nova Is Heavy Or Somethin' I Dunno
Idar by n88

Rounding off this JamCon is what is effectively the equivalent of last JamCon's Mosquito Critic in the sense that this is a beautiful mockery of its source material. I was around to watch FrozenRoy play this on Discord, and you know the game's a stinker when your Game Genie isn't as helpful. As for the set, basically, imagine you want to make a CGI remake of Neon Genesis Evangelion and cast Ganondorf as one of the EVA units: you basically get Idar's playstyle. Having a Back tilt seems like a good remedy for the fact that turning around as Idar is a chore and a half, though if I can give credit for one thing, it's that the Stamina gimmick has massive potential in other sets. Now to find a character this would be better suited for since we live in a timeline where this fun little gimmick is tied to one of the worst candidates to have it lol. It all feels like this was written as payback for having us be subjected to the jank mess that is Heavy Nova, and honestly, I love this kind of vengeance for even dragging it to our attention.

----------------------------------

And as for my nomination...WHAT THE BUCK?! Winter Soldier gets my nomination!

 

[UserShadow7989]

Jamcon 25 - 3 Results are in!​

Jamcon 25 - 3's voting period is closed! Thank you to everyone who contributed to this Jamcon, whether it be with a set, votes, or just general words of advice and encouragement. The results of the voting are:


1. Miracle Matter by U UserShadow7989 (3.5 Points, voted by bubbyboytoo , Arctic Tern, and Katapultar )
2. Shadow Mario by Arctic Tern (1.5 Points, voted by UserShadow7989)
3. Bucky Barnes/The Winter Soldier by Slavic (1 Point, voted by GolisoPower )
4. Dark Meta Knight by Juando
4. Idar by n88


Five solid sets that got well-deserved approval, and worth a read even if you were a bit late to the voting booths! Onto related news: due to popular decision, Jamcon 25-4 will be delayed to allow everyone to rest. This Make Your Move was off to a breakneck pace from the word go, and between real life and exhaustion in keeping up with comments, set making, and Jamcons, we all could use the rest. Thus I'll be holding off on opening the next Jamcon until July 1st (final date subject to change depending on feedback, so stay tuned)!

 

[UserShadow7989]

Kula Diamond by Arctic Tern

Kula finds herself among many fighting game rep sets I've read that make me genuinely appreciate the level of thought and polish that goes into the long-running series that have given the genre life. It's the experience I get from reading Almand's sets, with Kula giving those of us not in the know about the character and her source material a full tour of how she plays and taking extreme care in translating that to Smash's different engine, making small but important concessions and tweaks to preserve the intended feel over just being a direct port.

Kula ticks off all the positive qualities I've come to expect from Arctic Tern sets- highly polished, carefully thought out melee, flavor appropriate touches, and moves that are interesting to think about both in terms of how she's play moment to moment and her overall game plan. It's solid, and there's not much else I can describe your sets with but 'consistently and meticulously solid'. In general, the set brought me back to being introduced to Terry in more depth by Sakurai, going over each reference or animation and confiding in us each little cheat- and even dropping a bit of Terry trivia on us in the Up Aerial that wasn't brought up in that video.

Gushing aside, Kula's a fairly straightforward if well fleshed out set. She has a play style, she has her weaknesses, and both inform her character while sounding fun to play as or against. She carries over more of the mechanics from her home than the canon Smash fighting game reps, but without cluttering the set or feeling out of place. The detail hits that perfect balance of not too much and not too little for me. I'm... honestly a bit hard pressed to comment on sets like this, despite how much I enjoy them, simply because they're entrenched in the technical side of things where my knowledge is at its weakest, but I will say that Kula brings the same enthusiasm to learn more about it that I've come to love, while still having touches of that MYM craziness up her sleeves that I live for besides.

 

[BKupa666]

CRANKY KONG
​

A BKupa666/Smash Daddy joint production:

Donkey Kong Island’s curmudgeonly chieftain, Cranky Kong has a strong case to make as his series’ most important character not already playable in Smash. He’s the only Kong, beyond DK and Diddy, with a perfect attendance record across the five Country games, Donkey Kong 64 and various spin-off titles, and perhaps the most versatile of them all.

Over the years, Cranky has served as a begrudging gameplay consultant, a museum curator, mini-game opponent, potioneer, shopkeeper, playable adventurer and, soon, a silver-screen vessel for Fred Armisen jokes. What’s more, he’s not just one of Nintendo’s oldest characters from a canonical standpoint, but a literal one too. As the original Donkey Kong, Cranky Kong occupies a very, very well-defined and consistent place in the Kong family tree, being the modern big ape’s…

“Well, well! Last time I poked my hairy nose into Make Your Move, 14 years ago, all the big hotshots were busy throwing around heavyweight combos and more useless props than you could shake a stick at. Waste of frames, if you ask me. Glad I retired from these exhausting contests before they filled up with all these whippersnappers and their novel-length nonsense. They’re so young, I’ll bet they only recognize yours truly from a few years ago when I took over that rubbish Game Awards show and made Nintendo of America’s Twitter worth following.

What’s that, sonny? This ‘Super Smash Brothers Ultimate’ has the graphics, sounds and playability of a Game & Watch? And that nasty fat crocodile has dragged his irrelevant hide out of his swamp after all these years? Guess I’d better take over before you embarrass yourselves. After all, I am Nintendo’s -original- heavyweight male antagonist. I could get through these matches with only one stock, easy. Enough talk, gaze in awe as you appreciate my moveset.”

STATISTICS​

Weight —, 6 / 99 units (33rd, between Cloud and Mario)
Jumps —, 5 (comparable to Mario)
Size —, 5
Fall Speed —, 4 / 1.5 units (55th, tied with Mario)
Ground Movement —, 3 / 1.601 units (60th, between Mega Man and Ryu)
Aerial Movement —, 2 / 0.925 units (74th, between Mii Gunner and Diddy Kong)

Cranky rocks into Smash as part of his own singular Kong archetype, distinct from the lightweight fluidity of Diddy and Dixie and the powerhouse poise of DK and (one of these days) Funky. He hunches in his default stance, every now and then wagging his cane impatiently at his onstage compatriots, or sticking it into an ear and twisting it as if to clear a blockage.

In terms of getting around normally, Cranky is no spring chicken. He walks around in slow cane-supported fashion and hobbles jerkily around to dash. Meanwhile, Cranky huffs from exertion hopping a modest distance off the ground, taking on a grinchy expression as he labors to weave back and forth in midair. That being said, with age comes experience, and Cranky brings with him no shortage of tricks, movement-oriented and otherwise, perfect for running old-school circles around his competition.

Cranky cannot wall jump, wall cling, float, crawl or glide.

Unless otherwise stated, KO percentages are on Mario from the middle of Final Destination.

Full credit for the various illustrations throughout this moveset goes to AmyRoser (Down, Neutral Specials), Juliusaurus (Side, Up Specials, F-Tilt, N-Air, Final Smash), Checomal (Side Special) and Gnawty (loss pose).

Click here to access a full DK playlist to accompany Cranky’s set, as opposed to the single character-relevant track I (Kupa) typically link.

MECHANIC​

“What, looking for baubles around your HUD? Some newfangled power bar or comeback gimmick to bail out your sloppy gameplay? Pah! Back in my day, a joystick and one button was enough for anyone to get by in Smash. Just ask Meta Knight!”

NEUTRAL AIR - CANE POGO

With a gentlemanly flourish, Cranky sweeps his cane in a quick circle pattern. Cranky’s motion traces around his hurtbox, outlining a near perfect circle and forcing a strained expression out of the old timer. Think Palutena’s N-Air, except much faster and more impressive!

It’s a rather straightforward aerial — at least until the player holds down A beyond this animation. The senior simian then will seamlessly sweep his cane vertically downward and hold it a short distance beneath him, beginning to plummet at his fastfall speed. Undisturbed, Cranky can remain in this state indefinitely. If the player holds A as his cane impacts solid ground, Cranky will bound back upward with a cartoony ‘boink,’ pulling off one of his patented pogos from Tropical Freeze! In breezing through what remains DK’s newest game, more than eight years later, speedrunners will play almost exclusively as Cranky, optimizing their times with one well-placed cane pogo after another.

In Smash, cane pogoing occupies the same precision-driven movement niche in Cranky’s repertoire, and functions identically in terms of mechanics, too. How high off the ground Cranky bounces depends on how long the player holds down A after impacting the stage; release the input immediately afterward, and Cranky will cut his rise short, bouncing only a bit higher than a regular shorthop. Keep holding, and he’ll reach up to four vertical training stage squares at a decently fast clip, taking on a sprightly expression as his lower half drifts slightly upward from the force.

Cranky’s horizontal momentum, or lack thereof, comes into play when pogoing, too. Bounce off the ground from a standstill, and Cranky’s trajectory will be strictly vertical. Do the same while Cranky is moving forward in midair, and he’ll spring forward in an arc! When this happens, the higher Cranky bounces vertically affects just how far he’ll travel horizontally. Quickly release A with some forward momentum, and his arc will take him about three squares, while a full-height pogo from a landing at his maximum air speed will take Cranky as far as eight squares, a little more than half of Battlefield’s distance.

Upon reaching the apex of any given bounce, whether or not the player still is holding A, Cranky will exit his pogo stance after 26 end lag frames. During this window, should they repeat the input, Cranky will skip past his N-Air’s typical cane flourish and go right back into a second pogo stance! This drastically reduced startup for a pogo — from 39 frames down to six — incentivizes players to maximize mileage, performing multiple repeated bounces so Cranky can nimbly navigate the stage. This isn’t a mere “hold A once to bounce endlessly” mechanic from some fancy modern game like DuckTales, and Cranky wouldn’t have it any other way.

Cranky’s precise mix of vertical and horizontal distance determines his effective movement speed while pogoing. With high bounces and low air speed, he’ll bound along at a leisurely pace. Initiate low bounces from top air speed, however, and Cranky will skip like a stone, clearing Final Destination’s length in a little more than a second, far faster than his dash or jumps otherwise would allow.

On legal stages, Cranky doesn’t have a ton of runway to keep pogoing forward, something he must take into account near ledges, as he’s committed to his horizontal trajectory as long as he’s in his pogo stance. However, with a control stick tap within five frames before or after Cranky’s landing, he’s able to redirect his momentum in the opposite direction. Redirect Cranky after each bounce, and he’ll pogo back and forth over a set portion of stage, perfect for exerting dominance over any nearby whippersnappers.

With all this mechanical nonsense out of the way, what say we talk about hitboxes? At N-Air’s inception, Cranky’s cane sweep inflicts a single clean hit of 8%, with radial knockback KOing around 200%. Emerging on frame 6, this tapped N-Air variant reaches a touch shorter than your stock sword. Even still, Cranky is all too happy to rack damage chaining a few N-Airs together against low-damage or heavy opponents, or to control air space by shorthopping his disjointed spin, brushing off hasty enemy approaches. Speaking of which, Cranky starts to auto-cancel his cane sweep after 27 frames if the player lands from a tapped input; hold the button down while landing, on the other hand, and Cranky will instead start to pogo after the requisite startup.

Switching gears, during Cranky’s pogo stance, N-Air’s hitbox is downsized to the lower portion of his cane. Even still, this can prove even more threatening to opponents in the right situations, inflicting a greater 12% and context-specific knockback. For pogo purposes, foes — plus shields and constructs — function the same as solid ground. As such, they can be bopped off either while Cranky is descending in pogo stance or if the player taps A while ascending from a bounce within range, potentially pulling off a rapid one-two bounce string in the latter case.

"I was told that if you bounce on eight consecutive baddies, you'll get an extra life."

Against grounded foes, Cranky’s pogo hitbox functions comparably to Greninja’s D-Air, sending them lightly forward or backward into the air, depending on positioning. Given his bounce mechanics, Cranky may control his ascent on hit for a targeted combo into F-Air or B-Air up to high percentages. More simply, against midair foes, Cranky’s pogo spikes with above-average force. It’s a telegraphed option if Cranky first must undergo his cane spin, but a startling possibility foes must beware if, say, he decides to pogo menacingly back and forth at ledge as they’re recovering.

Of course, sometimes, Cranky’s bouncing proves most beneficial when stopped at just the right time. Players are free to release A as Cranky is descending in pogo stance, retaining his fastfall but letting him land regularly, ideal for mixing up foes predicting a bounce with a grounded attack or grab. Likewise, release the input after bouncing, without a repeat button press, and Cranky will keep traveling forward at the same pace in his regular aerial state. From there, he’s able to bamboozle those anticipating another pogo with a different falling aerial or a different movement via double jump. Skillful maneuvering lets Cranky perform a low pogo off a shield to cross up that foe, before speedily touching down and having at them from behind before they can make their escape.

With masterful pogo timing, the sky truly is the limit for Cranky, as he traverses his battlefield’s terrain with bounces tailored around his opponent’s offensive or defensive behavior. Good luck platform camping this Kong as he bobs and weaves around your Quickplay inanity with ease other characters can only dream of. Not unlike Dedede’s midair jumps, Cranky’s rises and falls take on somewhat of a rhythm that, if wielded too predictably, opponents can recognize and punish. That is, however, easier said than done, as Cranky’s other attacks become variables at varying points during his cane pogo picture…

SPECIALS​

DOWN SPECIAL - POTIONS MASTER

“Who said today’s army of witches were the only ones allowed to brew up a few surprises in their movesets? And what’s with all these fancy-pants witches anyway? In my heyday, ours used to be sickly green and speak in rhyme.”

A ponderous Cranky rests his chin on his hand, as a Monado Arts-esque selection menu pops into being over his monkey mind! Five identically-sized glass beakers appear, each with differently colored contents to represent its own unique effect for the old codger. It’s a bright arrangement reminiscent of the Rare era — they’re all even adorned with the company’s trademark google-eyes.

This stance has quick startup and can be easily canceled by inputting a shield, dodge or roll. A player may peruse in a circle as the potions rotate around Cranky (not unlike DK64’s Kong Barrel character selection). As they browse their options, Crank shakes the beakers as if inspecting the quiet rattling that Cranky finds hard to hear. The player then confirms their potion of choice with a second tap of B, and it’s a lightning fast selection!

When Cranky settles on a chosen potion, he gulfs it down without any second thought! After consuming the beaker’s contents, he will take on a specific buff for a set period of time that varies with each potion. These potions and effects all follow their own rules, but they all follow identical mechanical basics as to how they’re used and any properties not unique to the potion.

Most important, Cranky may cancel out the remainder of each buff in exchange for a power move! This is done by holding down B with a potion active; tapping down B will bring up Cranky’s vial rotation as usual. These super attacks all vary from one another, and help give Cranky an edge over the competition. That said, power moves only are available to Cranky during the first half of any given potion’s buff, so Cranky has to commit either to the effect or the attack early. After this window closes, during a potion buff’s second half, Cranky still can drink a different potion to overwrite one effect with another — sorry, no multi-potion effect chicanery to see here.

Cranky must wait three seconds between two potion drinks. Each potion also has its own set cooldown time before Cranky’s got the ingredients to produce another, hurry it up DK and Diddy! The rotating selection wheel UI shows potion bottles refilling in real time, with duller colors and droopy, sad eyes when they’re not yet ready for prime time. Once an individual potion is within five seconds of becoming usable again, a DK64-esque timer of bold, banana-yellow numbers will appear overtop the vial to show the remaining cooldown. Scroll over that potion during this time and, as an Easter egg, Cranky can hear DK64's bombastic announcer count down the remaining seconds!

“Supersonic Mega-Punch Pack”

“Arrrrgh! A potion from that unspeakable moving picture show? They’re really scraping the bottom of the barrel right off the bat!”

Here’s a potion with a hastily-thrown-together name that befits the cartoon in which it debuted! Fun fact, as with Crystal Coconuts and Giant Punch, Cranky’s potion-making actually originated in the Donkey Kong Country animated series, beloved in Japan, and later made the jump into the DK series proper. In any case, Cranky’s Supersonic Mega-Punch Pack (which we’ll mercifully abbreviate to SMPP) serves as the most straightforward among his five selectable potions, distinct with its cherry soda red color.

Down this baby, and Cranky will exclaim croakily, taking on a crimson hue as he enjoys modest damage and knockback enhancements across all of his non-Special attacks, just as that weasel Bluster did before him. For a limited time only, Cranky inflicts 1.2x as much damage and 1.1x as much knockback as usual. While a step down from the buffs in Shulk’s Buster and Smash arts, which respectively gift him 1.4x and 1.25x multipliers, Cranky foregoes Monado Boy’s corresponding decreases to the opposite multiplier and drawbacks from increased damage and knockback received from opponents. The damage racking and KO potential benefits Cranky can reap from his SMPP largely speak for themselves. In certain match-ups, however, he might want to refrain from drinking this potion in cases where its buffs would push his opponent out of the percent range where even more rewarding combos are possible. Decisions, decisions…

Cranky’s SMPP falls under the first of two categories for how different potion durations work — a straight-up, use-it-or-lose-it timer, here eight seconds long. Players can see how long Cranky has left to use this and other timer-focused buffs via a banana icon that appears next to his HUD while a potion is active. The banana is outlined and filled with juice colored identically to the potion Cranky has just consumed, which steadily leaks out as the buff length dwindles. Of note, a small white marker halfway down the banana’s length indicates the point by which Cranky must use his power move, should he wish to do so. Once Cranky’s HUD banana has fully depleted for his SMPP specifically, the potion has a 15-second cooldown before he can drink another round.

Cancel the SMPP buffs within four seconds, and Cranky will holler angrily, lifting his cane threateningly behind him as he surges horizontally forward half of Battlefield’s distance for his first power move! If he contacts an opponent during the first half of his rush, he’ll knock them into a brief stationary tumbling animation, reminiscent of some Final Smashes. There, he wallops them in a fury of cane strikes and kicks, as though they were an end-of-level barrel…or a slippery sea lion…or an overpowered owl…you get the picture. Cranky’s barrage lasts about 90 frames, over which time he inflicts seven rapid hits totaling 25%, the last one KOing at 80%.

With its frame 14 startup, Cranky has little issue coming out swinging to catch unprepared opponents off-guard. With super armor to attacks inflicting 8% or less, Cranky is even able to muscle his way through flimsier hits to connect with his mark! That said, much like Terry’s Buster Wolf, Cranky’s surge has hitgrab properties that enable predictive foes to fend off his onslaught with a shield. In those cases, his 42-frame end lag on block or whiff doesn’t paint a pretty picture where his continued longevity is concerned. At least, from a more defensive angle, if Cranky is knocked offstage with enough SMPP timer remaining, he can rush to the ledge as a recovery mix-up, intercepting any tiresome gimpers he happens across in the process!

Simian Spring

“When the dregs of Elite Smash give you a sinking feeling, this brew will lift you sky high!”

Here, Cranky appropriates a sky-blue DK64 potion he originally concocted for that nephew wannabe Diddy — not like he’s already using it, or much else in the way of canon moves! With a cartoony ‘boing,’ Cranky accesses a different set of temporary statistical buffs, namely to his midair mobility and jump height. Another decently simple potion, Simian Spring ups Cranky’s air speed from a rather low 0.925 units, very barely better than Diddy and Link, up to a respectable 1.218 units, on par with Captain Falcon, and just above DK and Mario. His jumps, meanwhile, are boosted past his regular level, on par with that spotlight-hogging plumber, close to the top of the banana heap, to be comparable to Cranky’s favorite Winky the Frog…err, Greninja!

On the whole, Simian Spring grants Cranky a rather more slippery feel in midair. Whereas the old-timer’s default low air speed requires some commitment in spacing aerials, the potion’s effects let Cranky bob and weave more nimbly back and forth, striking at just the right point from a shorthop or fastfall. For better or worse, as with Shulk’s Jump Art, Simian Spring also ups Cranky’s fall speed a healthy amount — from a below-average 1.5 to 1.8 units, on par with more gravity-affected fighters like Falco and Wolf. On the ‘worse’ side of things, Cranky’s faster descent renders him more susceptible to enemy combos if he doesn’t take proper precautions.

On the ‘better’ side, this property lends itself to even higher highs Cranky can realize through cane pogoing! Simian Spring’s enhancements to his jump height carries over as Cranky bounces off the stage, characters or constructs. He’s momentarily free to spring a good deal higher into the air, almost enough to land on Battlefield’s top platform, even just bouncing with N-Air from a shorthop. With fuller hops and some pogo momentum, Cranky can quickly navigate to just about any point in the airspace above a legal stage — great for keeping pace with a foe or aiming one of a few projectiles we’ll get to soon enough.

On a more minor note, while this potion leaves Cranky’s mediocre ground speed intact, it does put a certain Simian Spring in his step where his initial dash is concerned! While under the potion’s effects, Cranky’s initial dash value — an animation where he hastily swings his feet out ahead of his cane, as in Tropical Freeze — increases from a low-ish 1.8 units, equal to that of Ridley and Byleth, to an impressive 2.1 units, just under Inkling.

While not the most impressive buff of all, the increase still brings occasional utility, letting Cranky burst just a hair further forward leading up to grounded attacks or a grab. Cranky’s better initial dash also complements his newfound air speed, letting him dash and jump to start some momentous cane bouncing. In any case, he’d better get moving soon, as Simian Spring’s effects have a six-second timer, with an 18-second cooldown on the potion itself.

If Cranky cancels out of Simian Spring within three seconds, his power move will see him channel the potion’s bouncy buffs for an original maneuver. He enters a charge state where he hunkers down, bending his cane cartoonishly against the ground or nothing in midair, before releasing to propel himself a great distance in a wild spinning blur! Cranky’s charge lasts up to a second, during which the player can angle his following launch in one of eight linear directions. His launch takes him eight to 12 training stage squares at a fast pace, about on par with Lucas when struck by PK Thunder.

Cranky’s spinning form inflicts a series of light multi-hits, at a rate of two 0.5% hits for every square he travels. On contact, foes are dragged along in his trajectory before taking low set knockback that won’t KO, but frees Cranky up to combo into an aerial. The hitbox grants the old grouch some defense in one context where Simian Spring often can come in clutch — during his recovery. While offstage, Cranky can guzzle the potion down and propel himself right to the ledge! It’s not an effortless recovery, as angling it can be a challenge while Simian Spring’s fall speed increase is in effect. If all goes well, however, Cranky can spin right into attempted gimpers and force them to carefully tech his last multi-hit, lest they be stage spiked!

Onstage, Cranky’s cane-propelled spin is decent enough for punishing whiffed attacks or hasty air dodges, letting him pause and angle himself at just the right direction to intercept his foe. He also can find success using it in mixing up his approach, maybe feinting one with a cane pogo or dash attack before stopping short and spinning in at his target. Cranky won’t cross up shields while spinning but will catch would-be shield grabbers if they don’t hold out their bubble for the move’s duration, and maybe even then via a poke, if their shield is low enough. Cranky ends this dizzying animation with 25 end or landing lag frames — long enough to be vulnerable if he flings himself carelessly across the stage, but short enough to transition into a combo on hit.

Simian Slam

“These potion colors are too rich for my poor old eyes. Where’ve they put all the Animal Buddies I usually spawn out of thin air in my GameFAQs movesets?”

A vivid orange vial finds its way into Cranky's hair-covered mitts, one of those commonly found in DK64. A loud pound sound alerts the player to Cranky gaining a new buff from this Simian Sip, the Simian Slam! This buff empowers Cranky to make jagged red-orange energy shockwaves with each direct attack that hits the ground or a platform. Each time Cranky’s hitbox strikes one of these surfaces, he can choose to tap B within a five-frame window and cause an impressive shockwave to erupt from the impact.

These shockwaves vary in strength, depending on the power of the attack that hits the ground. At a minimum, Cranky will create a shockwave that goes just beyond his width and half his height vertically, dealing 3% damage and weak knockback that launches foes at a semi-spike away from him. An attack that deals 8% or higher will produce a heartier shockwave, inflicting 7% and better semi-spike knockback, more easily able to smack onstage foes into prone. And, from attacks dealing 15% or more, Cranky’s shockwaves cap out at 15%, with their top half KOing foes at 135% and their lower half producing a stronger spike angle.

At its most potent, the shockwave will reach three-quarters of Cranky's height and expand its length hitbox out to 1.3x the reach of the Koopa King's Bowser Bomb shockwave. The power of Cranky’s waves determines how long they take to fully, well, expand — from 30 frames for the weakest to a gradual 90 frames for the strongest. Cranky may only create a shockwave impact from attacks that actively hit the ground, like a ground pound, rather than attacks that merely overlap with the terrain. That ridiculous K. Rool klapping the side of a platform with his F-Tilt would not activate this attack, if Cranky and the croc teamed up again like in the GameBoy days! While moving around, Cranky's hands and feet will create their own constant minor ruptures in the terrain as an aesthetic as long as Simian Slam is active.

While Cranky has no technical limit on what ground-hitting attacks he might augment with his newly-slamming attacks, he can’t go too far off the minecart rails. That’s because Simian Slam falls under a different category from Cranky’s SMPP and Simian Spring for how its duration works. Unlike those potions’ buffs, Cranky’s shockwaves here aren’t automatically triggered. As such, Simian Slam’s effects expire either after Cranky employs eight shockwaves across different attacks, or after 20 seconds pass, whichever comes first.

What’s more, that shockwave count, rather than the longer possible buff timer, is what determines Cranky’s ability to use his power move: he loses his ability to use that move if he has four or fewer Simian Slam uses left. Accordingly, his banana HUD will drain in increments as he produces shockwaves, flashing light red as a general warning after Cranky has five seconds or less left to do so. Once Simian Slam has fully depleted, it has a 25-second cooldown before Cranky’s next batch is ready. With that framework, Cranky is encouraged to be proactive in his potion use, rather than going all banana spammer before cashing in on a cheap power move just before his timer runs out.

Naturally, Cranky enjoys the advantage Simian Slam brings when he’s getting his pogo on across the stage. Even though his cane’s impacts from N-Air are not megaton strikes, the resulting shockwaves provide excellent safety. They’ll cover the ground and can coax foes into jumping right as Cranky ascends back into the air, able to react with his own direct attack. On the flipside, during grounded interactions, Simian Slam may condition foes to hold shield a touch longer than usual, what with Cranky’s ability to catch them out with a shockwave at the tail end of a given melee attack. Of course, that defensive impulse could prove counterproductive, if Cranky later zigs instead of zags, foregoing a wave to instead rush in with a grab.

Another still more exciting utility for Simian Slam is what happens when using the potion’s shockwaves on an area where one already exists. The new hitbox will absorb the old and essentially start the shockwave afresh! The power of the two shockwaves is combined, up to their potential cap of 15% dealt and the strongest knockback. Cranky cannot string together multiple shockwaves but, at his most devious, can hit with a close-range shockwave and then land right in the foe's face quickly to hit twice while they’re in hitstun. The larger and slower a shockwave moves, the easier it is to perform this powerful maneuver, essentially doubling up on damage and knockback. Even the simple act of pogoing in place now can give opponents some pause! Serves you youths in a rush, right!

For Simian Slam’s power move, Cranky grips his cane harshly and squints downward, for a typical stall, before dropping extremely fast! Cranky may cancel out of his stall-then-fall after falling for a second, over which he’ll drop roughly from the top Battlefield platform to the lower two in vertical height. The crazed Kong’s entire lower half becomes a healthy-sized hitbox that will crash into foes, dealing 12% damage and a tremendous Simian Spike! Cranky will nonchalantly pogo off enemies with a satisfying spring sound, and when he hits them, he produces a cloudy white burst, akin to a rocket takeoff. This reaches out half a training stage square to either side, capable of hitting external foes for 5% and low outward knockback. What a chimpact!

When Cranky hits the ground, he will create three shockwaves in a quick ring, now colored with bright blue energy. One wave deals the lowest 3% rate, another 7% damage and the third 15%! These shockwaves offer excellent coverage, power, you name it, making them a safe landing option for what would otherwise be quite an unsafe move. The stall part of the power move makes it a great mix-up against foes acting overly defensive, and if Cranky misses them directly, he might always land the shockwaves! Jokes aside, he really did pick up some attacks from his scaly old DK Land buddy, huh?

That's not all Wrinkly wrote, however. Cranky will build up a fiery aura on his cane as he descends, growing in power as he drops precipitously over up to three seconds. Each second will add an additional 4% damage to his resulting pogo, creating a new max of 24% damage for foes that absolutely refuse to see sense and escape. His greater fall also ups his rocket cloud’s damage and range, by respective 5% and half-square increments, up to a 15% burst reaching 1.5 square to either side as he hops off — less relevant in 1 vs. 1 matches but a helpful way for Cranky to get some much needed FFA space.

And ultimately, a ground landing will buff each shockwave to deal another 4% per second Cranky has dropped, capping out at 27% to KO from 90% for the biggest ring. The shockwaves also now all have a devastatingly long duration, with that all-important, most powerful shockwave lasting a mighty 80 frames. This scales better than expected so that just one second of fall time produces a wave about half as strong as Cranky’s default maxed-out one, so don't think you have to Kongo Fall that long to get some mileage!

Cranky will usually bounce only a short distance off foes, while undergoing slight end lag when landing on the ground. These attributes are emphasized more and more, as the power move becomes more potent. From longer falls, Cranky will spring back from foes to reach well above the top Battlefield platform. Likewise, he’ll crash into the stage and have to gather his bearings with a scolding look if his attack whiffed, though it can't be said it was not worth the wait.

Hunky Chunky

“Brings back the memories, this potion does. One clean hit in this state, and it’s see ya later, alligator! Ha! Ha!”

Cranky downs a gaudy green potion, the Hunky Chunky potion, borrowing its name from the brawn of the DK Crew. This causes Cranky to ‘bulk up’ – in actuality, a sized-up outline of his model appears around Cranky as he drinks, with him grinning afterward in a cancelable animation if there’s no further input, making it a bit of a taunt. For the next 20 seconds, Cranky may choose to grow exponentially to the same size as he does after eating a Super Mushroom! Exactly what good stuff from the Super Mushroom effects are, ahem, grandfathered into Hunky Chunky depends on the specific point in a match the clunky monkey triggers them.

One of those points comes during physical attack animations, during which Cranky’s outline pops back up to illustrate his potential growth. Hit B during a certain window, and Cranky will activate his inner Chunky and physically fill in the outline. He not only grows enormous but also applies several devastating buffs. Cranky now weighs 140 units — five higher than Bowser — and has constant Tough Guy armor comparable to that of the Koopa King as well. Additionally, the super-sized Cranky’s attacks now boast 1.4x multipliers on their regular damage and knockback, making many of his already-strong regular moves absolutely devastating!

However, Hunky Chunky comes with a hell heck of a downside: after triggering the potion, Cranky is locked in giant form until the effect wears off after the attack’s end lag. And if foes hit Cranky out of his mega attack, he’ll stay enlarged so long as he is in hitstun, up to his maximum five seconds of giant time over the allotted potion period. If Cranky carelessly drinks Hunky Chunky at 0% and gets hit right at the start of his gigantism, he’s in for a really rough go of it.

There are some roundabout defensive benefits to be had here in enterprising hands. Cranky is able to trigger his giant form when his hunched back is against the wall, and he’s about to get smacked out of an attack at high damage. That way, he can tank what otherwise would be a fatal enemy blow, only getting launched a recoverable distance away. Of note, during attacks, Cranky only can trigger Hunky Chunky up through a move’s last active frame or the halfway mark of the full animation, whichever comes later. This control scheme means Cranky must commit to using up at least some potion to wield it defensively, rather than using a laggy attack and then casually turning giant to save himself during the last few frames.

The other area Cranky can activate Hunky Chunky is during normal movement, by holding B versus tapping it to use Neutral Special. He’ll grow to the same Super Mushroom size, albeit with less pronounced effects: without the Tough Guy armor he accesses during attack animations, and a lesser multiplier than what regular giant characters can use, at 1.3x damage. Rest assured, it’s still an impressive effect but does come with ups and downs.

Cranky is locked into his big effect for the remainder of Hunky Chunky’s five seconds, not being able to toggle it on and off even if his foe runs away and camps him out afterward, unless he uses his power move or drinks a different potion. During this time, Cranky’s jump height increases to match his new size, his fall speed and gravity are increased (1.42x), his air speed increases (1.5x), his walk and run speed increases (1.5x) and his ledge grab range increases. Cranky also gets that low voice filter, making him sound like a gruff Kremling.

The positives of Hunky Chunky while moving around are that of a modified on-demand Super Mushroom: far more range, power, safer recovery, faster. Cranky will take less knockback, though without the Tough Guy armor of the previous version, it ain’t all it’s cracked up to be. He still has to be careful not to get comboed by foes with his increased size and weight, which will all detract from his remaining time with the potion effect. In addition, Cranky’s traction becomes far worse while giant, and he takes on another three frames of startup, end and landing lag on every attack. It may not sound too bad, but it hurts many of Cranky’s natural follow-ups in practice, making him more reliant on landing wilder, more powerful single hits.

Whereas Cranky takes after Ridley and downsizes immediately after enlarged attack animations, he’ll suffer a unique 12 frames of shrinkage once his time moving around as a giant wraps up, waving his fist at the camera irritably. He does have that handy banana HUD draining for as long as he is giant-sized, either during an attack or in transit, informing him when his hugeness is nearing an end. However, if Cranky is in the middle of an attack once Hunky Chunky’s timer reaches zero, he won’t shrink until after its animation concludes. This lets him briefly cheat his timer with a well-timed move, at the cost of even more end lag to reckon with, and at normal size, on whiff. Hunky Chunky has 35 seconds of cooldown once fully expended.

If Cranky has more than 2.5 seconds left to be a big star, his power move is unique. That’s because his speed in using it depends on whether he already has grown giant for regular movement. Cranky catches a boulder with relative ease? No, not really. A massive Bowser-sized boulder is summoned in Cranky’s hands, over eight frames if he’s already giant, or 16 frames if he must first grow big enough to hold it. He seems confident, but quickly decides to launch the boulder back from whence it came, with a hunky vertical toss after eight more startup frames.

During this brief period, the boulder is squeezed, you could say it was crushed, in a breeze, creating little rock hitboxes that shoot out from all sides at foes. These deal a light 1-2% and flinching stun, just to help make Cranky’s power move safer. Though his variable startup comes with constant 12% super armor, when Cranky is knocked out of the move, he instantly sizes down, and his boulder disappears, like so many rotten bananas, so this is a power move where you will want some space! Maybe you shouldn’t have left the old coot alone after all, hm?

If successfully thrown, Cranky’s boulder will soar through all drop-through platforms in its wake, dealing a mighty 17.5% and KOing from 100% from its lowest point. For any inquisitive readers, you may realize the power of this move hitting from high on the stage, where it can potentially KO ridiculously early. On the way up, Cranky’s thrown boulder travels at the speed of Incineroar’s falling Cross Chop. That is not an alarming speed, but the foe would need to have slower reaction times than Wrinkly Kong to get hit anywhere near the stage ceiling.

The other aspect of this move is gravity. As a scientist, Cranky knows all about it: what goes up must come down, and that goes for MYM-friendly boulders, even those not thrown by muscular villains. The boulder will fall back down at 1.3x its previous speed, at the vertical point it was thrown up. It now deals 21% and spikes midair foes powerfully, for a ridiculous bit of off-stage pressure if thrown there. Nothing stops Cranky from throwing up a boulder in the air, so it is absolutely doable.

Another thing! That boulder will follow physics 101 and explode into debris upon hitting a solid object, such as the stage, while ignoring platforms, as boulders do in the wild. Upon impacting a solid object, the boulder will create a 2.3x Bowser-sized explosion that deals 18% and blows foes up at a radial angle to KO from 120% — a higher KO percent than some of Cranky’s other power moves, but not all of those offer nearly this much lingering coverage, now do they?

In a vacuum, this is another attack the enemy ought to see coming. However, Cranky sizes down just five frames after throwing his boulder, looking slightly tired. This lets him react quickly and start to pressure foes underneath the boulder before it falls. It’s a scary prospect, and one that can motivate opponents to engage Cranky more while Hunky Chunky is active, bringing them into the greater-than-normal range he can threaten.

Banana Juice

“Err…Nope! None of these potions are in! Kupa and Smady must have gone on one serious trip to the Fungi Forest!”

Cranky downs a vial of bright yellow Banana Juice, which was in plentiful supply in the Retro era of DKC games! After consuming the nutritious potion, Cranky glows a faint gold, an impressive sheen that lasts up to the next 20 seconds. The glow-up has no immediate effect unless the player presses B again specifically during another attack animation. Then, Cranky's juice will become far more potent, turning him into a bright golden statue that would fit right into NSMB2!

As in its source material, the gold temporarily grants Cranky full invincibility to foes! His invulnerability kicks in from the moment B is inputted through the rest of the attack animation in question. He might tap these invaluable frames in the startup, active hitbox frames or end lag of any attack, and he can spread his invincibility across different moves until his potion’s 20-second duration is up! However, he has just a cumulative three seconds — or one second longer than respawn invincibility — to use across attacks. And as with Hunky Chunky, he can’t just save himself with invincibility on an attack’s last few end lag frames, but rather must commit before a move’s last active frame -or- its full animation’s halfway point, whichever comes later.

Cranky’s inability to toggle his invincibility at will during attacks means overt aggression — say, rushing right in to throw out an invincible Smash — comes at a cost. Cranky will lose the potion's effect after tapping into his inner winner, and waste the effect! Talk about his golden years. Generally, though, Banana Juice is a broadly useful safety net with all the utility it provides.

The best way of using the effect is by waiting for just the right moment when a foe might challenge Cranky’s attacks, and then go on the offensive with the juice so that Cranky loses no trades. Cranky can selectively put his Banana Juice to use in attacks that have multiple optional phases, ala Link F-Smash, as the effect only counts for the current phase. Cranky might just press the button immediately at the start of the follow-up, wait to activate the follow-up at all or just sit on his reserves!

Similarly to Hunky Chunky, Cranky also may make use of an alternate, weaker form of invulnerability during his regular movement. Hold B with Banana Juice active, and Cranky will coat himself in a slightly duller shade of banana gold for the balance of juice’s three-second timer. This shiny armor acts much like that on K. Rool’s belly, granting Cranky super armor to enemy attacks and protection from half of those moves’ regular damage — for example, the old-timer would take 5% from a 10% tilt while banana armored.

However, Cranky’s golden defense isn’t platinum: if his armor takes more than 25% in regular damage, separate from its defensive multiplier, it will shatter! This won’t outright put Cranky in his shield-broken state, what with him not being as attached to his armor as his lizard frenemy, but nevertheless inflicts half a second of punishable end lag. Serves you right for barreling in without thinking ahead!

When to trigger Banana Juice buffs — during attacks or movement — is important for Cranky to consider in the context of his approaches. This holds especially true when Cranky can apply his full-on invincibility to N-Air for extra protection during cane bounces! Harness that momentum to approach with an aerial while invincible, and Cranky can make himself almost impossible to contest. This can be tough to time, and moot in cases where Cranky can pogo in with golden armor for the same benefits.

Of course, said armor can’t protect Cranky nearly as successfully as his invincibility would if, say, he gets nailed with a damaging Charge Shot, or a foe shield-grabs his armored aerial. Regardless, after Cranky burns through his full three seconds of buffs, his Banana Juice has 40 seconds of cooldown, the longest among his five potions.

Cranky’s power move if he’s applied 1.5 second or less of Banana Juice is an elaborate one: his golden visage becomes immense, and he channels all of it into his cane before twirling it around like a funky dance move! Out of the middle of the spinning stick comes a shower of coins, Cranky's designated item from the Retro duology! These coins are not too large, only around the size of Captain Olimar's helmet, but will deal a powerful amount of damage and hitstun to foes they pass through. Foes are locked in place to be struck by subsequent coins before they’re launched at a slightly higher angle than Mii Gunner's F-Smash, with a slightly stronger final hit KOing at 85%. Talk about a chimp with a machine gun!

There are 10 coins and each will deal 2% as they pass through foes, fizzling out into little gold banana-shaped sparks of energy once traveling Wolf’s blaster range. The stream is a totally straight angle, but will hit foes trying to duck below because of its healthy hitbox. This currency stream takes roughly 100 frames to finish, during which time Cranky can walk forward and jump while shooting, dodge, roll or, most helpfully, pause his fire by canceling into any other attack, making his coins an amazing combo starter.

The cane is a weak hitbox that deals 5% and weak knockback away and slightly upwards, perhaps helping to hit foes into a current of currency during a fall! The cane spin and coins do come out very fast, with low end lag and generous hitboxes, making it a scary prospect for foes to go up and try smacking Cranky out of his potentially devastating invincibility effect. Mind you, there is an obvious blind spot above Cranky, so don’t be overkongfident.

Cranky always fires the stream of coins forward but can adjust its effects through his cane bounce's momentum physics. Jump up while shooting, pause briefly to pogo up with N-Air and then fall down while spraying coins and Cranky will fill the airspace with his cold hard cash, perfect for frontal pressure. A close-up Cranky then can easily cancel into a follow-up attack if he lands in front, or cross-up foes and safely land at a distance if he'd rather play defensive.

A useful defensive property for the move is that it will reflect projectiles so long as they hit the spinning cane. This reflector will increase the power of what it reflects to 1.3x its usual damage, and shares a 50% damage cap with most of Ultimate’s other reflectors. It doubles up Cranky's potential counter against foes trying to overwhelm him with projectiles, hitting them with coins, and whatever they were trying to shoot! It is a good time to mention, too, that those coins do count as projectiles. As the cane spin lasts a solid 100 frames, it will often outlast the foe's reflector. Unlike other reflectors, however, Cranky can cancel out of it after it becomes an active hitbox, so is far less vulnerable in a reflector war. Just like the Great Ape War back in my day!

NEUTRAL SPECIAL - ITTY BITTY BITERS

“My projectile of choice has got a real bite to it!”

Cranky Kong points his cane’s bottom forward and jerks it up slightly, as though firing off a gun, with a characteristic toothy grin. Immediately after, the source of these pearly whites becomes apparent, as his gesture causes a spare pair of dentures to pop out from the cane’s end with a clatter! These chattering projectiles are about as large as a Pokéball and function much the same as they do in Tropical Freeze, bouncing two-thirds of Final Destination in three low-to-the-ground skips over 1.5 second before disappearing.

Should Cranky’s dentures sink their teeth into a foe, they’ll latch on and begin gnashing feverishly, in a manner reminiscent of Ultimate’s Klaptrap assist trophy. Opponents will take five rapid multi-hits totaling 9% over the course of 45 frames, the last of which deals below-average set knockback that won’t KO. Cranky undergoes 30 end lag frames after taking his shot, the last five of which he’s able to cancel into a subsequent denture shot with a buffered input. Should a pair of dentures snap onto a victim already getting chewed out, so to speak, they’ll take the projectile’s full 9% and low launch in one fell swoop, staving off potential infinites.

Of course, Cranky is free — and encouraged — to intercept targets out of denture chomps with the rest of his attacks too. While the dentures’ limited knockback is conducive to starting aerial combos, Cranky’s results skew mixed from firing the projectiles in neutral, given his limited ability to follow up with his regular movement speed. Cane pogoing, however, opens far more cabin doors! Dentures that Cranky has fired in midair travel at a modest downward angle, moving at a slightly slower speed until they touch down. As such, precisely when Cranky rains the projectile down during his cane bounce trajectory affects the point at which it begins its regular grounded skips.

Shoot one pair of dentures in midair and another right as Cranky is landing, and foes will really grit their teeth trying to dodge their disparate movement patterns! Of course, with additional cane pogos, Cranky is free to descend to the ground alongside a denture projectile and bounce forward next to it to punish his foe's reaction. Worth noting, dentures will not repeatedly chomp shields, but do inflict above-average shieldstun for a projectile. If Cranky finds himself close enough at hand, he could move in to keep applying pressure or space another denture shot to take a bigger bite from his enemy’s bubble, and maybe even poke through. Chew on that!

SIDE SPECIAL - BARREL TOSS

“Donkey, my boy, you’ve Smashed for 23 years, and you still haven’t bothered to use the oldest trick your grandpappy Cranky passed down. Guess it’s on me to clear out some of these shabby barrels. Get a load of this, Mario!”

Nothing beats the classics! Cranky grabs a barrel out of hammerspace and chucks it forward. Its default trajectory starts it bouncing off the ground, just like in the good old Donkey Kong Arcade days! His barrel toss animation is based on his DK Arcade days or Mario’s down taunt – a literal two-frame animation of grabbing and releasing the barrel. How nostalgic. However, the actual start lag is undoubtedly not two frames, taking nine frames to complete, with minimal end lag. Cranky’s barrels will always lay with their circular base pointed at the players and are the same size as their regular Ultimate counterparts: quite sizable!

Barrels, for now, deal a no-frills 10% and decent knockback KOing upward or forward around 160%, depending on whether it’s traveling respectively up or down. As individual barrels bounce along, their default arc takes them roughly Cranky’s height off the ground in a repetitive pattern. Undisturbed, barrels will travel the distance of Final Destination at the brisk pace of Falcon’s dash speed before dissipating, falling off the stage if thrown close enough to the ledge.

They’re a nasty barrel blast for foes trying to recover, though due to their forward knockback, getting hit isn’t as devastating as one might expect. On impact, barrels bonk a short distance off foes, losing their hitbox, then promptly poofing away moments later as a nice little visual effect. Each barrel has a strict limit of five seconds before it joins the great Banana Hoard in the sky, and Cranky may only have two in play at a time.

Cranky can change his throw’s trajectory up or down so his barrel yields different results based on the angle chosen. The upward angle will launch the barrel with a spring in its step! These barrels will move a touch slower but in arcs that take them twice as far, with a satisfying ‘sproing’ sound as they bounce off the ground. Their hitbox coverage area is bigger than before, thanks to their larger arc, but the barrels themselves will deal a lower 9% and slightly less knockback. An upward-angled barrel can now travel easily between platforms and become a threat across stages with many high places to perch.

Cranky’s low toss angle is the ole Korol classic: a rolling barrel! These barrels will travel along at 1.2x Falcon’s dash speed, dealing 11% and little higher knockback than normal, away and diagonally up from where it lands! However, rolling barrels clearly have far worse coverage due to rolling flat across the ground. Down-angled barrels will swerve off ledges and careen at a slight angle, potentially hitting foes at a practical 90-degree angle down and away from the stage! It’s an ape of a hit but very situational.

Beyond angling, Cranky may also charge his toss for as long as a Smash attack, holding his barrel in place facing the camera. This naturally ups their speed a commensurate amount; at full charge, a rolling barrel can zoom along up to twice as fast as Falcon’s dash! Not only will Cranky throw these charged barrels faster, but they’ll also deal 1.1 to 1.4x higher damage and knockback when sped up. It makes for a dangerous kongbination! One important note: Cranky’s size-changing shenanigans from his Hunky Chunky potion will not affect his thrown barrels’ size, speed or range, keeping them consistent with other giant characters’ projectiles.

In terms of physics, Cranky’s barrels differ from Ultimate’s standard fare, in that they’ll bounce off of solid walls, platforms or anything else that is not a character that would impede their trajectory. One barrel can even bounce off another, making for true bedlam. Barrels will react to external attack hitboxes, being launched farther and picking up momentum (and power) as though thrown with charge. Cranky, to his credit, can do this with relative ease due to his disjointed cane attacks, especially when they’re bolstered by his SMPP.

Each barrel begins with 20 HP that, once depleted, causes it to explode in a blast of wooden shards 1.25x its size for 12% and upward knockback KOing around 135%. A catch here is that Cranky is vulnerable to this knockback, too, and so might be KOed by his beloved barrels if a foe knocks them back his way with proper timing. However, remember that many of Cranky’s attacks are disjointed, letting him blow them up in opponents’ faces while easily avoiding this drawback. Simian Slam shockwaves definitely get their time to shine here, rendering Cranky’s disjoints still safer in blasting barrels from afar. In the alternative, there’s always bulking up with Hunky Chunky to better tank the barrel blasts or outright ignoring them with Banana Juice.

Speaking of his cane, Cranky can do some remarkable pogos off of his midair barrels! Time a bounce off of the wooden constructs, and Cranky can use them as a solid platform to get some remarkable height and extend his reach still farther into the air! A barrel’s mere existence as a mobility enhancer can be a fearful prospect for opponents, especially if Cranky is all hopped up on Simian Spring. Throwing a barrel and following behind it also grants Cranky even more control over where he can reach and pressure his foe, while also potentially letting him harness it purely as an offensive moving hitbox.

Barrels will gain an additional 1-10 HP as Cranky charges his toss. After a barrel is charged halfway up to the max, at 25 HP, it will ultimately change into a TNT barrel! For whippersnappers who don’t get the reference, the TNT barrel harkens back to Donkey Kong Country’s opening cutscene. Donkey Kong unceremoniously drops down on the peaceful Cranky playing his beautiful Arcade music, so Cranky avenges his destroyed gramophone and blows that dimwitted lout to kingdom come. Serves him right!

Cranky’s TNT barrels carry the same properties as his standard ones but go out with a blast! Once a TNT barrel’s HP is depleted fully -or- it is hit by an attack dealing 15% or greater, it will explode! This hitbox is even larger than standard barrel blasts, at 1.5x the barrel’s size, dealing 16% and KOing around 100%, or even lower if Cranky manages to bounce a barrel up to hit a foe on a higher platform. TNT barrels will notably begin ‘fuming’ and emit steam as they take more damage, flashing red as though about to blow once they drop under 10 HP. Cranky unfortunately remains prone to being blown away, too, though he has several ways of manipulating this explosive mechanic, such as…

…Pressing B a second time while charging Side Special. Do this, and Cranky will hastily grab a pair of Neutral Special dentures and manually snap them to the back of his barrel! Remember to eat your fiber, kids! These dentures gnaw at the barrel in question, holding it in place on the ground, lacking any hitbox but becoming a small wall that can be stood on. There, the barrel will stay, until it is either dealt 10% or more in a single hit from any character, including Cranky, or takes a cumulative 15%, whichever comes first.

As the dentures themselves deal 3% per second, barrels will therefore merrily launch off after five seconds of being bitten. Barrels released from dentures default to the trajectory chosen by Cranky during Side Special’s startup. However, Cranky or a foe can alter this path if they launch the barrel out with an attack. That move’s angle will determine how the barrel bounces or rolls away, similar to how Pac-Man’s Hydrant is knocked around.

Placing dentures during Side Special is the easy path, but Cranky may latch dentures onto thrown barrels with targeted Neutral Special shots, too. This forces barrels to stop in their trajectories and drop to the ground! They’ll maintain their regular hitbox as they fall, potentially catching out foes below and stymying low recoveries offstage. Onstage, Cranky could fire dentures onto a barrel with low HP, such that its gnawing triggers its blast hitbox at a set point shortly afterward. Position a feeble barrel well and pressure opponents in for a gas!

As barrels are being gnawed, they will start to build momentum from the dentures and spin in place! It makes some logical sense, as the dentures technically let go every bite, letting their barrel inch slightly forward each time. These chomps — and regular attacks, for that matter — will gradually increase the barrel’s speed on release, as though Cranky had directly charged them. Stationary barrels reach their max charge speed after they take 12% from outside hitboxes and automatic dentures chomps. Cranky can wisely combine both in engineering future setups, where he waylays foes in the path of a delayed high-speed barrel launch to really bowl them over!

Other interesting potential setups spring up with N-Air. Cranky can attach his dentures to a barrel to hold it still, then jump and pogo off it for some extra oomph! Or Cranky can go for pogo, but instead, feint and transition into a different attack, or even bouncing another barrel off the stationary one. There’s also directly approaching foes if they are playing defensively as Cranky’s barrel builds up charge behind him. It can make for a dangerous game of chicken, as the foe decides how to approach Cranky’s barrel when he can choose to let rip, knocking it at them or outright blowing it up; jump or pogo over; or simply ignore them as a simian-sized mind game!

All told, Cranky’s barrels come bundled with much versatility. On top of his three throw angles, his dentures provide a possible way to delay barrel launches, putting some pressure on the foe to predict Cranky’s next move. Equally, the barrels’ various angles mean foes have to be wary and not just wait out the trap, especially if a TNT barrel is involved. Despite these pluses, players should be wary about utilizing the classic Arcade props given their apparent flaws.

For one, their self-damage when exploding means Cranky can come a cropper if the foe literally blows him up without any respect. And while nine frames is a reasonable startup time for such an attack, barrels are easy to see coming and not even very good offstage due to their knockback angles (though they can be devastating at the right time and in the right situation). Cranky has to use his wisdom to think up inventive ways to belt foes.

One final precaution: if an opponent strikes Cranky during his nine-frame startup, he’ll hold his back in an exaggerated pain animation. He’ll take 1.5x the attack’s damage and enter awkward end lag, akin to Ridley when his Neutral Special is interrupted. It didn’t use to be difficult! Resultantly, Cranky will need some space for Side Special barrels to function best. It’s another reason why just playing possum with the foe might not always be the best idea for Cranky.

UP SPECIAL - ROCKET ROCKER

“Foxtrotting? Sharking? Tomahawks? Ding Dong? Hoo boy, these Smash fanatics are almost as rubbish at new names as Gregg Mayles. Enough nonsense for today, I gotta take me a nap!”

All croc and no play makes Cranky tired, seriously exhausted, really. Time to take a Rare rocker respite! Only, in Smash, Cranky seems to have commissioned that mechanically minded Funky monkey to make a few…adjustments!

The disgruntled gorilla takes a seat in his vintage wooden rocking chair, which appears not all that much bigger than he is, retrofitted with a barrel turret on each of the two armrests. Cranky then brandishes his cane with a cackle as the chair’s turrets fire flame spurts downward, quickly jetting it — and its occupant — three training stage squares vertically, or whatever direction the player input during the move’s 17-frame startup. Frontal contact with Cranky’s chair as he rocks upward inflicts a basic 8% in fire damage and below-average that won’t KO at any sane percent.

Do nothing after Cranky’s burst, and he’ll stretch his arms over 34 end lag frames before the chair collapses to pieces, dumping him out. However, with a buffered input or input during his end lag’s first half, Cranky can keep the party going with up to two additional rocking chair rushes. These can be angled in the same direction as his first jet, or switched around in any of seven other trajectories, resembling a non-honing variant on Sora’s Side Special, as Cranky’s turrets adjust on the fly. Cranky himself hams it up in spastic fashion with a different chair pose during each individual rush — these include breaking the fourth wall to glare at the screen, reading a newspaper (the Big Ape Times, or perhaps the Kongo Post), clutching his tufts of hair in anger and outright sleeping.

Cranky isn’t glued to his chair over the course of Up Special, either. Input a jump during the first half of a chair rush, and he’ll harness its jet boosts with a directional leap at his maximum air speed. Guess one could say Cranky is literally off his rocker. … Ahem. The timing window is rather tight, given the chair’s fast pace, but can give the old ape just enough added oomph to make it to the ledge. However, while Cranky does not enter freefall after leaping from his chair, he cannot use Up Special again until he lands onstage or grabs the ledge.

Onstage, Cranky might opt to leap from his rocker to more quickly initiate a fast cane bounce, or propel himself at a foe to press in on them with an aerial. If Cranky’s souped up with a Simian Slam potion, he also can fire his chair down into the ground, ending Up Special early with a short moment of end lag. Snag a closeby foe in the shockwave, and Cranky will be well positioned to follow up with a fast standard like dash attack!

With its range of possible directional combinations, Cranky’s rocker is more versatile a recovery move than his alternatives from SMPP and Simian Spring’s power moves. That said, he’s comparatively more vulnerable while cruising around in his chair, given its less generous hitbox and a 25-frame pause he undergoes in between multiple bursts. Recover predictably, and a good-for-nothing Kremling might just spike Cranky from above right as he rocks to a brief stop.

Crank thankfully does not enter freefall after Up Special’s rocks, chair jump or either of the aforementioned power moves, letting him switch around his recovery approach on the fly. Similar to other giant Up Specials, Cranky won’t jet further than normal when enlarged with Hunky Chunky, though his grown sitting self can more easily ram foes and snap to the ledge.

For an added safety net in a pinch, Cranky also could tap Banana Juice invincibility for one or more chair boosts. Used in full, the potion’s allotted invincibility roughly will cover Cranky’s three possible rocks, if activated right as the first one’s hitbox becomes active. ‘Tis a costly use of the potions master’s most valuable brew, but the one surefire way to ensure Cranky has a safe return voyage to solid ground.

STANDARDS​

JAB - MUNCHER MARATHON

“You’ll be gumming on your food by the time I’m through with you, sonny!”

The old ape starts off jab channeling his time training for his next big adventure in Cranky Kong Country. He punches a short distance outward while holding his cane vertically in his fist, before turning to throw out a karate kick with his opposite foot. His first hit deals 2%, while its successor ups that output a bit to 3%, with both strikes inflicting a bit of stun to foes on contact. Cranky’s punch emerges on frame 2, with his cane granting it a tad more vertical reach than one tends to see on most jabs.

This transitions neatly into his kick as soon as frame 5, though with respective first actionable frames on frame 21 and 24, it’s not often he’ll want to stop jab there. While not especially safe on shield, barring Banana Juice use, Cranky’s first two hits function reasonably well in carrying out jab lock combos against prone opponents. More tactically, if Cranky punches and kicks barrels he’s held in place with dentures, their meek damage will leave the constructs in place longer before they’re relinquished by the gradual gnawing damage, compared to if he used a single stronger attack.

Cranky’s real fun starts with his ensuing rapid jab, which comes out as fast as frame 7. The cranky codger spins back around from his kick, whips his dentures out of his mouth and starts clasping them open and shut at varying angles! His pearly whites enlarge in Smash’s typical cartoony fashion, not dissimilar to Piranha Plant’s own bites, inflicting 0.5% per bite to opponents caught in the multiple hits. Cranky’s jab finisher has him perform a slightly more exaggerated denture chomp, inflicting 4% and knockback KOing around 185% — nothing quite so strong as Bowser Jr.’s jab, but better than your average rapid fisticuffs, especially close to the ledge. Cranky reinserts his dentures over 28 end lag frames.

Put together, Cranky’s jab functions as a solid, albeit not exemplary tool in regular close quarters combat. His rapid chomps can rack damage and create breathing room, both with more potency if he’s downed his SMPP, though its multipliers can risk pushing smaller foes out of his multiple hits at higher percents. Cranky’s mediocre ground speed limits his ability to dart noncommittally away for a pivot grab after throwing out jab hits one and two. On the flipside, jab is Cranky’s ready-made mix-up when he’s falling down from a cane pogo. Against unwitting targets below expecting another N-Air bounce, he can land and start jabbing, at an even faster clip if Simian Spring’s fall speed boost is in effect.

Jab’s finishing chomp sometimes can serve as one of Cranky’s safer KO options when he’s got Hunky Chunky in his tank. His dentures lack the sheer power of, say, an enlarged Smash attack, but still can get the job done about as effectively as a stock heavyweight tilt, and without rendering Cranky as vulnerable on whiff. With Banana Juice, Cranky can choose to render his punch, kick, chomp sequence or any combination thereof invincible. Jab hits one and two aren’t the most rewarding in Cranky’s kit, but when invincible, still can pierce enemy offenses while letting Cranky conserve more of his buff for a potential setup into his coin-spraying power move.

DASH ATTACK - BARREL ROLL
Here’s a DKC oldie that needs little introduction! With a gleeful chortle, Cranky tucks into an apish ball and somersaults forward four training stage squares over 34 frames. His rolling torso carries a strong initial hitbox from frames 8-11, dealing 9% and diagonal knockback KOing around 170%, followed by a lesser lingering hitbox from frames 12-23, dealing 5% and low knockback that doesn’t KO until obscene percents.

Dash attack lends Cranky a beneficial burst option to supplement his regular grounded movement. Roll into low-damage or heavy opponents, and Cranky can combo two dash attacks into each other across the stage. Beyond that, if he connects late with dash attack, he can leap up and pursue with F-Air while his victim remains in hitstun. There’s also rolling underneath a bouncing barrel for some added coverage from behind as Cranky comes to a stop. Cranky will cross up shields he bumps into during his roll’s first half, letting him prod from behind, but otherwise will stop short and likely get shield-grabbed unless he’s Banana Juiced up. Watch where you’re going!

Additional maneuverability with dash attack is a Tropical Breeze, thanks to a few control scheme tricks. With a timed jump input during the first half of Cranky’s animation, he’ll cancel his last five end lag frames into a momentous leap at top air speed. Separately, if the player holds the dash attack input, versus tapping it, Cranky will roll off the ends of platforms instead of stopping short. From there, a jump will cancel him out of the animation, also at max midair speed, while doing nothing has him begin fastfalling as his roll wraps up.

“We apes have no need for the laws of physics!”

Much as in Tropical Freeze, both of these control quirks are perfect setups for Cranky to kick off a rapid cane pogo sequence. Just roll, shorthop out and land with N-Air, and you’ll be positioned to see just how fast this old-timer can book it, especially with Simian Spring active. Hunky Chunky, too, introduces some zany movement potential in tandem with dash attack. Cranky can size up at any point during his roll’s active frames, letting his bigger hitbox snag foes he otherwise would have missed. Then, if he ends up poised to whiff and become mega punishable, Cranky can jump to leave his embiggened state a few crucial frames earlier. Of course, his cane bobbing and weaving as a regular-sized ape harnessing a giant’s roll momentum can make TAS mods look tame by comparison…don’t pogo into a pickle!

FORWARD TILT - CHI-CANE-RY
Time for Cranky to put that seemingly indestructible cane to good use in whupping those cheeky youngsters but good! Here, he swipes his cane’s pointy end diagonally down to the ground, slashing through the air in a quick overhead arc that becomes active on frame seven. Cranky carries a big stick more than just figuratively, here reaching out to strike foes 0.8 training stage square away. Those struck take a set 6% and a moment of stun, pinning them down briefly but not lending F-Tilt any true KO functionality just yet…

Cranky will undergo 26 end lag frames if he ends F-Tilt after his initial swipe, rarely an ideal option unless Simian Slam is activated, upon which, on hit, he can combo into his base-strength 3% shockwave as his cane hits the ground. However, the player can repeat an attack input up until the final nine frames of Cranky’s end lag for him to immediately transition into follow-up hits! Cranky can chain up to three hits in sequence: a static second hit, followed by one of three directional third hits chosen by the player. In that respect, it’s a bit like Dancing Blade, though unique to Cranky is his ability to -skip- his second hit outright and plow ahead with one of his three finishers. He’s not getting any younger, you know!

“You think this is something? You think this is bad? This, this chicanery? He’s done worse. That boombox! Are you telling me that a Kong just happens to fall like that? No, he orchestrated it! Donkey! He showered coconut cream pies through a sunroof!”

Cranky’s second hit has him jerk his cane quickly back in the opposite direction, with a two-handed upward diagonal swipe that would look right at home in a game of Jungle Golf. His cane tip here reaches the slightest bit further than F-Tilt’s first hit, dealing 6% and slight knockback that won’t KO until 195%. Cranky is able to transition buttery smooth between F-Tilt’s first two hits, letting him connect one into the other for a clean one-two sequence. While not much of a KO tool, Cranky’s second F-Tilt hit generally keeps foes within striking range up through mid-percentages.

As such, up to that damage threshold, Cranky can catch them in a disjointed F-Tilt hit number three, or, with a lesser 20 end lag frames after hit two, end his chicanery there. This frees him up to connect with a shorthopped aerial — especially with aid from Simian Spring — or simply rely on F-Tilt’s first two hits as a spacing tool. The frame window for inputting a third F-Tilt hit means Cranky can’t dither much in committing to however many hits he wants to pull off. With decisive inputs, and Simian Slam used, Cranky can land F-Tilt’s first two hits -before- his weak shockwave interrupts his victim’s knockback. This shores up combos into F-Tilt’s third hit up to slightly higher damage levels, or other options, like grab, if Cranky ends the move there.

The first of Cranky’s three directional F-Tilt options is triggered with a simple forward input tap. This prompts Cranky to spin back around from his upward swing, poke his cane forward in one hand with a triumphant cackle and trace a quick pattern in the air, as though it were a fencing sabre. If it’s more sword-fighting Sakurai wants, it’s sword-fighting Sakurai will get! Cranky’s cane tracing snags opponents in four 2% rapid hits, for 8% total over a 22-frame period, the last of which inflicts below-average outward knockback likely to send foes into a tech chase setup.

With 28 end lag frames, Cranky will find himself momentarily vulnerable on a whiff. That said, right after triggering and during Cranky’s fencing, the player can direct him up to a training stage square forward or backward. He’ll step in either direction while tracing his cane, letting him press inward on a shield or mount a frontal defense while retreating from melee range. Foes caught in Cranky’s fencing hits as he’s moving are carried along with him. This grants the old Kong some ability to micro-space where they’re launched, potentially to great effect if he’s got a pair of dentures gnawing down a barrel’s health nearby.

A downward input tap for Cranky’s third F-Tilt hit has him proclaim angrily, leaping half a square into the air while lifting his cane behind his head with both hands, before slamming it down forcefully in front of him. It’s a staggered sort of hit, coming out on frame 15 to deal 12% and knockback KOing around 150%. Cranky’s cane slam is the strongest among his various F-Tilt options, great for catching out spot dodges of his first two hits at close range, and capable of finishing off higher-damage opponents. It’s also, however, his most punishable. Cranky’s cane slam is just barely reactable, and if he begins exclusively slamming to end F-Tilt, opponents will learn to shield-grab him out of his half-second end lag.

That said, Cranky’s slam comes with 5% in bonus shield damage, giving him some leeway to whittle his foe’s bubble down with his first to cane hits before poking through to launch them. This becomes easier to accomplish with Simian Slam deployed, as F-Tilt hit one’s weak shockwave further eats away at shields at close range. Cranky’s slam also comes bundled with his mid-strength 7% shockwave. This wave won’t combo from his slam’s knockback, but can cover Cranky’s end lag and, in close quarters, ensure a foe gets shield-poked even if their bubble has withstood his various cane hits to that point.

Lastly, an upward input tap to end Cranky’s F-Tilt has him grip his cane by its center, take a step forward and hold it at an upward angle while spinning it in a circular pattern. It’s a flourish reminiscent of a baton twirler, creating a single hitbox that deals 7% and vertical knockback capable of KOing around 175%. Perhaps the most straightforward of Cranky’s F-Tilt finishers, his cane spin’s hitbox lingers for a decent 25 frames, providing a momentary anti-air defense while catching out inward dodges or rolls.

The hitbox will scoop up grounded opponents and redirect their launch trajectory upward, which, when compared to F-Tilt’s typical horizontal fare, can serve to confuse opponents’ DI. With low end lag following his cane spin, Cranky can quickly pogo up after his victim for a follow-up aerial hit. His spin can be punished from a distance while his animation is ongoing, though at close range, its lingering hitbox inflicts just enough shield-push to save him from foes with lizard-armed reach.

At a high level, whether Cranky attempts a full three-hit F-Tilt string or skips right from one to three depends on his own goals and risk tolerance. Generally, the longer he’s in one F-Tilt animation or another, the more punishable he becomes, at least on paper. That being said, Cranky can effectively pressure opponents across the stage, maximizing his damage output, if he catches them in all cane hits at damage levels where they’re sure to stay caught for the whole ride. There’s also something to be said for swinging at a shielding target for as long as possible, potentially bettering his chances at poking through at some point, or holding them in the path of a soon-to-launch barrel trap.

On the flipside, weaving in abridged F-Tilt sequences, with just hit one and a third finisher, can keep foes unsure of what, precisely, they’ll need to dodge from Cranky at any given point. This lets him be less committed to a full string, in lieu of bowing out to combo into something different. Of note, skipping ahead in F-Tilt gives Cranky an out from burning through too much of Hunky Chunky or Banana Juice in one fell swoop.

For the former, Cranky’s greater knockback on F-Tilt hit two often will inhibit him from chaining into a third hit while giant, meaning he's better off skipping past it to harness his chunkiness for those finishers. For the latter, Cranky can opt either to use most all of his invincibility on a single three-hit chain, or reserve it offensively or defensively for individual F-Tilt hits — to more safely land his cane slam, maybe, or take on added protection in stepping back while fencing. Variety is the name of the game for F-Tilt, so don’t hesitate to mix and match!

DOWN TILT - BRACE FOR CHIMPACT
Cranky balances against his cane, drops down and stretches his body out to deliver a broad, sweeping kick with one foot. In terms of frame data, his animation resembles DK’s D-Tilt swat, with a nice big hitbox, four startup frames and low end lag, but it takes a while to go through its active frames. At close range, foes are popped straight upward, taking 4% and low knockback from Cranky’s sourspot, which is most of his foot’s hitbox. He also carries a sweetspot at the tip of his foot, which deals 7% and will hit the foe away at the Sakurai angle to KO from 135%.

Spaced right, D-Tilt becomes a great lead-in to many of Cranky’s other attacks, including his power moves! Kick a foe a short distance into the air, and Cranky will have the opportunity to combo right into his SMPP flurry rush or Banana Juice coin barrage with ease, similar to how Little Mac’s own D-Tilt sets up his KO Punch. K. Rool’s D-Tilt is also slightly comparable with its sourspot quaking hitbox at a more extended range. However, Cranky’s combo starter comes with some risk, as the move is very unsafe on shields at close range. Foes can punish with attacks moderately slower than one might expect, especially when at a touching distance.

“The only combo worth starting is the one where you press the ‘power’ button on top of your Switch and let me get some sleep!"

Cranky can make D-Tilt safer at closer ranges with potions like his SMPP, Banana Juice or Hunky Chunky, but all come with a bit of an asterisk. SMPP makes his window to reliably combo foes tighter while also making the move safer, though not entirely so, with added shield-push because of its power. Banana Juice is the safest option, allowing the invincible Cranky to aggressively force foes to back off, though it involves using up a valuable resource. Using D-Tilt in tandem with Banana Juice often is more critical for mindgames and reading the foe’s reaction against the potion than anything genuinely reliable.

Hunky Chunky changes Cranky’s kick so that it will only combo effectively at very low percentages, but almost always will be safe during his astonishing size increase. His foot’s larger hitbox means it becomes far harder for foes to jump over, as its sweetspot enlarges and becomes easier to land. Cranky’s kick also now has some meat to it, with Cranky putting his back into it with the help of his cane. That translates to his giant kick having slightly longer-than-usual active frames. This renders D-Tilt even better for two-framing foes at the ledge, an option Cranky already could attempt with his kick’s decent attack range. That said, Hunky Chunky does not make his two-frame timing any simpler and barely increases his actual range in snagging ledge-grabbing foes, so don’t expect anything broken. No cheap tricks, whippersnappers!

“A two-frame tool, you say? Now you’re speaking my language!”

Overall, D-Tilt’s sweeping utility gives Cranky considerable pressure when he gets the foe offstage. Cranky isn’t quite as effective at offstage gimps as many others, as even with Simian Spring’s aerial mobility, many of his best tricks are onstage. From there, landing his foot’s sweetspot as a two-frame can be devastating, though it requires precise timing and skill, in the middle of a remotely competitive match. Even with Hunky Chunky to even the odds, one whiffed kick, and Cranky’s would-be victim can clamber up while he’s occupied to give him a hard time.

UP TILT - WAGGLE CONTROLS

"I could sit here and wag my cane all day, especially if you stop wasting my time. Go touch grass, or whatever hooligans are saying on this newfangled ‘internet’ thing these days.”

Cranky crouches slightly, gazing upward with open-mouthed aggravation as he pokes his cane skyward three times in quick succession. His cane wags come together for a multi-hit poking tool that lasts between frames 7-25, bearing some resemblance to Villager’s U-Tilt. Foes caught are held in place with two light 2% hits before a 4% third pops them upward, with mediocre force that starts KOing at 155%. Cranky’s cane reaches up a middling distance vertically, creating a mild frontal hitbox capable of scooping up all but the shortest foes at close range, albeit leaving a noticeable blind spot behind him.

With rather low end lag, Cranky often can juggle low-damage opponents in two or three U-Tilts, after which he can give chase with an aerial or try reading their air dodge with U-Smash. If Cranky runs underneath a pair of bouncing dentures, he’ll set himself up for some nice damage-racking if he cane-prods a nearby foe into the jaws. The denture chomps will cancel their knockback, freeing him up to land another U-Tilt, if not a stronger punish. As Cranky’s cane wags last rather far into his overall animation, players have more leeway here than on most other moves to trigger Banana Juice late into the attack. Turn invincible as a juggled victim tries to fall back down on Cranky with an aerial, and he’ll them right back the way they came with another trio of cane pokes.

Some of Cranky’s other potions can be more of a mixed bag with relation to U-Tilt. His SMPP and Hunky Chunky both turn his cane pokes into more of a vertical launcher, at the cost of their juggling utility. The latter also grants greater hitbox coverage, turning U-Tilt into more of a bonafide anti-air tool for the giant Cranky, at the cost of greater vulnerability if a foe gets behind him. Sometimes, with Hunky Chunky, U-Tilt is best used after Cranky has canceled the potion into his boulder-throwing power move! Though not the easiest to time, Cranky’s needling cane wags can effectively hold a victim in place as the HMA staple plummets down on them, a rather horrifying prospect if they happen to be atop a high platform at the time.

SMASHES​

FORWARD SMASH - SUPER SENIOR SLUGGERS

“You're only reading this because you're bored!"

Make way for the original Baseball Boy! Cranky grips his cane in both gnarled hands and twists his body back with a groan of exertion. Upon release, he lets loose, swinging his cane a training stage square in front of him, knobbly end facing out, as though preparing to knock a homerun out of the Kongo Jungle. Cranky’s cane boasts two hitboxes as he sweeps it through the air with great force — one along the shaft, dealing 18-23% and knockback that KOs from 110-75%, and a tipper sweetspot, inflicting 27-35% and KOing from 85-50%. Cranky will teach the Namco numbskulls to invite those slippery salamanders and redesigned Kong rejects to play spinoff league ball without him!

Though Cranky’s swing itself comes out after just seven frames, his windup takes place over 22 charge frames, for a cumulative 29 uncharged. This gives F-Smash a staggered quality, albeit one that can startle opponents into a dodge or roll that its hitbox will go on to punish, in the same vein as Snake or Dedede’s counterparts. While Cranky falls a bit below those heavy hitters in terms of sheer brute strength, his F-Smash easily outstrips most others in his weight class, and that’s before potential potion buffs from his SMPP are factored in. A fully charged F-Smash from a Hunky Chunky Cranky will ice all but the heaviest foes at virtually any damage level. It’s out of the park!

If Cranky throws around his F-Smash weight like it’s nothing, though, he could find that his usage extracts a heavy toll. The old Kong overextends during the follow-through of his mighty cane swing, clutching his seized-up back for a nasty 48 end lag frames. Whiff an even laggier F-Smash souped-up by Hunky Chunky, and foes remotely closeby won’t have any issue sticking Cranky in his giant hitstun state. Banana Juice invincibility can take the edge off, though if locked in too early, Cranky will burn through more than half of his allotted three seconds — not the potion’s most efficient use, especially when he can cancel his coin-spraying power move into F-Smash for a kill confirm on foes caught in caning range!

In terms of other properties, Cranky’s main F-Smash hitbox is decidedly unsafe on shield, though his cane’s sweetspot inflicts enough shieldstun to render it more or less frame neutral with good spacing. Should Cranky shoot a pair of dentures into a shield from midair, before connecting with a tipper F-Smash, he’ll reduce his foe’s bubble substantially and quite possibly break it with his SMPP active.

Cranky’s swinging cane also will launch stationary barrels, regardless of charge, and plays nicely into his games of chicken as foes approach the wooden constructs. How long Cranky charges F-Smash determines whether these barrels are launched at foes or outright blown up from the damage, letting him momentarily threaten with both possibilities — plus his cane itself — at the potential risk of getting caught in the crossfire.

DOWN SMASH - BIG BUG BASH

“When in doubt, pound! Or jump, or blow, or whatever, I'm sure you'll figure it out.”

Cranky faces forwards, grasps his cane in both hands and raises it over his head, a look of anger upon his ape gape. Upon charge release, he then swings his cane down against the ground with a mighty thud, or a swooping swat of air if it doesn’t hit the stage. His cane reaches almost a training stage square forward and hits foes within its large crescent-shaped hitbox as it falls, almost like a smaller DORIYAH! His attack comes out decently fast for a Smash, at 12 frames, and has low end lag. His D-Smash’s overall duration, and resulting hitbox coverage, also varies, depending on exactly how much Cranky has charged the move. In any case, however, Cranky’s is a front-hitting D-Smash, giving it poor utility compared to most others.

With no charge, up to one-third of the full charge time, Cranky performs a single cane slam. Those caught by his cane as it hits the ground are dealt 16-18% damage, which launches foes at a steep vertical angle to KO from 120-105%. This hitbox will be challenging to land for Cranky as foes need to be grounded at the right time, making it somewhat of a precise sweetspot. His cane also has an earlier hitbox as it falls, dealing a strong 12-13% and stage-bouncing foes in an un-techable hit that KOs from 145-130%. Foes struck offstage will be knocked straight down to the depths, though given the cane’s horizontal nature, it functions strictly as a two-frame tool at the ledge, even when Cranky is under the size-increasing effects of Hunky Chunky.

After Cranky has charged D-Smash between the one-third mark and just under full charge, his cane becomes shaky above his head, indicating a slightly altered attack! Upon release, Cranky now raises and slams down his cane twice in quick, manic-looking succession. His first strike is now nerfed in power, dealing 6% and knockback that differs depending on his opponent’s position. Though he’ll bat those in midair lightly away, he’ll now start pitfalling those on the ground, enabling all of D-Smash’s hits to combo together! If, for whatever reason, an outside hitbox knocks Cranky away before D-Smash ends, his pitfalled foe can mash free with difficulty comparable to Villager’s own D-Smash.

Cranky’s cane takes on another weak hitbox as he rapidly raises it to wallop the floor again. This inflicts 5% and flicks aerial opponents away and upwards at a bit of an angle, KOing from 165%, while keeping buried opponents in place to be struck by his second downward slam. This slam now functions identically to Cranky’s first, dealing 18% plus knockback KOing grounded foes from 105-90%, and those in the air from 130-115%. Cranky’s second cane slam essentially adds a lingering property to his rageful attack, acting as a good mix-up for dodges, roll-ins, or other wimpy manoeuvres, as his pitfall sweetens the pot with 29% total if he’s able to catch a grounded foe right as his longer animation begins.

Cranky will shake his cane trepidatiously at full charge, knowing the ape-alling power he will soon unleash! Cranky will angrily smack the ground one more time after that second hit, for a three-smack max! Both of Cranky’s first two slams now pitfall grounded foes, and this full animation also comes with an additional flick upward before Cranky plants his cane back on the ground for the final powerful strike. Package everything together against a grounded foe, and Cranky’s first two hits -both- deal 6% and 5% with their respective slam and flick hitboxes, holding the victim in place for his third 18% blow to send them flying, for a marvelous 40% total on grounded foes! At full charge, D-Smash’s KO potential now peaks at 85% against grounded foes and 110% against those in the air.

Cranky’s D-Smash comes with a number of unorthodox risk-reward considerations. Its actual startup and end lag are excellent for such a powerful, lingering series of hitboxes, making D-Smash perfectly usable for testing enemy reactions, conditioning and the hardest of reads. Cranky can rack up hefty damage with even just his base cane slams, before any potions come into play, especially if he’s crafty enough to bury a foe at the start of a charged Smash. The kicker is, he must commit to that level of charge before he can reap the rewards. Cranky can make opportunities for himself to charge D-Smash at least somewhat, as foes are busy contending with dentures, barrels, a falling boulder or coin spray.

However, if he whiffs a charged D-Smash, or only deals a glancing blow to a midair foe, Cranky will find himself at the mercy of its lengthy animation. With all three slams, this lasts a little less than a second and a half, discounting charge time, offering him no protection from behind. If Cranky sees that he’s not likely to capitalize from charging D-Smash, it’s usually in his best interest to cut his losses and release the move quickly to minimize his punishment. This potential tradeoff is perhaps best reflected at the ledge. If an offstage foe hangs too long, Cranky’s repeated slams can seal their doom, but if they work their way up and around him, the only epitaph he’ll find himself writing is his own!

Opponents usually can avoid the worst parts of D-Smash by shielding, as Cranky’s slams deal enough shield-push to where lower charge levels won’t prove all that damaging. Cranky can potentially break shields when D-Smash is at its strongest but this requires quite a monkey-brained foe. This, naturally, becomes more dangerous after Cranky has taken on a 1.2x damage multiplier from his SMPP, allowing for 48% in output from a fully-charged D-Smash. With SMPP on tap, foes can’t just mindlessly shield a lesser-charged D-Smash and then run in and punish, either. Cranky’s low end lag lets him proceed right into his flurry rush of a power move, letting him pose multiple threats to those who get too close.

As far as other potions go, D-Smash is maybe the most obvious attack Cranky can bolster with Simian Slam this side of N-Air, as the shocking potion can attach waves to any or all of the slams Cranky performs. With some breathing room, Cranky can produce a max-strength 15% shockwave with an uncharged D-Smash, great to follow behind for pressure in safely hitting a barrel from afar.

If Cranky has no issue depleting his shockwave stores, Simian Slam can make the lingering properties of D-Smash charged closer to capacity quite devastating and allows for ridiculous frontal safety, pushing away foes at mid-range. Pitfall a foe with the two- or three-slam version of D-Smash, and the first one or two of Cranky’s shockwaves will buffet his victim while they’re in the earth, tacking an extra 3% or 6% onto the overall damage output. They’re launched with Cranky’s final slam, before getting hit by its resulting big shockwave, but still must contend with it as they come down to earth, adding insult to injury.

With D-Smash, Hunky Chunky again lends itself to one of the bigger risk-reward setups in Cranky’s arsenal. As a giant, Cranky’s various hits turn D-Smash into a scary fortress for foes to traverse around, as his bigger staff threatens even more air and ground space than usual. Bury a foe at the start of a fully-charged D-Smash, with Hunky Chunky initiated right at its start, and Cranky will cap out at an obscene 56% and knockback KOing most foes in their percentage teens. Of course, that means turning giant right at the lengthy move’s inception, a truly perilous situation for Cranky if a foe has baited him into whiffing his cane slams.

A more conservative approach involves hulking out strictly on Cranky’s last among multiple slams, so as to catch foes off-guard with the sudden range boost while still making use of its launch power. A similar approach often is advisable in efficient Banana Juice use around D-Smash. Unlike something like jab or F-Tilt, Cranky can’t selectively use invincibility across multiple D-Smash hits. Unless he’s OK using the lion’s share of benefit on a full slam sequence, he can bring out Banana Juice for one or two remaining slams before saving the rest for later consumption.

UP SMASH - THROWING ONE’S BACK OUT
Cranky faces the camera and raises his cane straight up, like he’s about to impale it in the ground, before ramming it into the stage! The power of his slamming cane forcefully rams Cranky’s back two-and-a-half training stage squares into the air, creating this move’s primary hitbox. His cane tip here does 18-24% and will KO from 90-55%, with another un-techable stage bounce or powerful two-frame, though it’s not too viable, as an extremely low range attack coming out at frame 14.

Cranky’s more relevant back hitbox comes out simultaneously, dealing 15-21% and KOing from 95-60%, a powerful hit to crank out! The knockback dealt is at a straight up vertical angle, too, perfect for sending foes to a star KO as if Cranky dealt the finishing blow to Dr. Tiki! Cranky’s jump has worse than average end lag for an U-Smash, at 38 frames, as he collapses back down, holding his back with a pained expression. It’s a usable move but not difficult to punish.

During his jump, Cranky’s back has super armour of 5-10%, depending on charge, which is enough to power through some weaker sex kick-like attacks or even some decently rigid aerials at its strongest. The old ape’s back reaches up a great distance as he uses his cane to thrust it upward, capable of hitting foes caught above him in Neutral Special denture chomps or shielding above him on low Battlefield platforms. That reach makes U-Smash a great move for sharking foes from below as they try to play keepaway. It’s an excellent addition to Cranky’s repertoire as foes look to punish his pogo happy playstyle.

“How did I grow this spine of steel, you ask? Good question. I’ve only just carried this sorry franchise on my back 41 years!"

A sparkle of light briefly appears at the hunch of Cranky’s back as he extends it to U-Smash’s apex. This shine indicates Cranky’s ability to cancel the attack into a jump for a short window. In terms of frame data, this "jump cancel" is far slower than a regular leap and grants Cranky almost no horizontal movement, almost like an old-school platformer!

Factoring in U-Smash’s startup, it’s not especially viable to spam U-Smash jumps. The tradeoff here is, Cranky is launched far higher than his normal first jump, as far as Falcon’s with an uncharged U-Smash, up to 1.5x as far as Falco’s first jump at the max charge! What’s more, because Cranky has boosted skyward without help from his first jump, it carries over to give him an extra midair jump for his troubles. Cranky is gonna be a star at this rate!

Cranky gains a windy aura around him as he’s thrown to his new apex, indicating his simian speed and a new hitbox he takes on! Cranky’s flying body deals 3-6% and knocks foes left or right, depending on what side of the hit connects, which…isn’t the strongest attack, but still is not bad. Cranky isn’t monkeying around here, as this perfectly sets up the foe to be attacked further by some pogo attacks! An earlier hit will leave the foe lower and Cranky higher to rain attacks down upon his enemies. As with regular U-Smash, Cranky gains super armor while launching, equivalent to his hitbox’s damage from 3-6%, letting him rush right past specific attacks, traps or projectiles.

Cranky’s U-Smash has a few clear winning potion combinations. Hunky Chunky makes Cranky’s back that much stronger; the main hitbox is now gigantic, able to cover a full platform! Cranky is aping Giga Bowser suddenly because working with K. Rool wasn’t bad enough! The hitbox isn’t much worse in some ways than Giga Bowser’s, though significantly lacking by comparison defensively (as it should be).

Cranky will shrink back down to normal if he cancels a giant U-Smash into a jump, though he won’t be leaping any higher or strengthening his super armor from this combo. Make do with your giant Bowser U-Smash, old-timer! Hunky Chunky also makes that tiny cane tip sweetspot more viable than usual, but it still is not a great idea to waste time attempting that over Cranky’s other options.

Another obvious potion combo that is delightful here is Simian Spring! Cranky’s U-Smash leap leaves him perched at a perfect place to descend with excellent air and fall speed, making the most of his two midair jumps as he goes! Simple, but excellent stuff for Cranky, and his spinning blur of a power move can be a nice mix-up or way to chase unsuspecting foes who are very high up above the stage! No one hides from the original Donkey Kong!

Meanwhile, Banana Juice improves Cranky’s super armor to total invincibility, though for a short time, further emphasizing its strength. The potion’s power move is uniquely practical, too; though Cranky’s coin stream stops as he’s charging Smashes, it resumes as he leaps upward with U-Smash, letting him drag foes along to set up some air-to-air follow-ups! Finally, SMPP’s power can prove crazy if Cranky does manage to land that very short-ranged initial cane hit, becoming incredibly powerful, albeit just for the hardest of hard reads.

Cranky’s U-Smash is a multi-purpose, albeit surprisingly linear move. It’s similar to Bowser or even K. Rool’s U-Smash for its great range and super armor. Foes will want to be attacking Cranky from above because of his pogo playstyle, so ramming his back upward is a good way to check predictable strategies. U-Smash is one of the more versatile to buff through potions, with each of the aforementioned options covering said linearity in its own unique fashion.

The other side of the move, the “jump cancel,” is another barrel of bananas altogether. Cranky loves having another way to make his way into the air, with some flair, even if it is strictly worse than his pogo or normal jumps. It’s far from situational, though, as Cranky can easily approach those foes above him. And foregoing his grounded first jump to net two in midair for later can become a massive advantage as delicious as a coconut cream pie to the old codger.

AERIALS​

FORWARD AIR - SPINNING KONG

“Tired of me? You're lucky I'm here to brighten up this boring moveset.”

Cranky streamlines his body with uncharacteristic physical grace, holding his cane against his body as he rotates thrice horizontally in rapid succession. It’s a drilling sort of animation evocative of the Kongs’ underwater attacks in Tropical Freeze. Cranky’s face and cane tip take on close-ranged hitboxes over a 20-frame period, over which time they inflict three rapid stunning hits of 2%. The following fourth hit deals 3% and knockback that won’t KO onstage until 180%, but can seal the deal earlier if Cranky connects closer to the blast zone offstage.

A great multipurpose addition in Cranky’s Kong kit, F-Air is sure to see regular use, given how often its user will find himself in and out of midair. As Cranky begins spinning after a quick seven frames, he’s all too happy to chain together multiple F-Airs on low-damage opponents, especially when he’s only got 22 end lag frames to work around. The spinning senior enjoys synergies with N-Air, too: Cranky can either pogo up to ambush foes with a rising F-Air, or combo a bounce directly off them into his rapid hits.

Cranky’s first three F-Air hits also carry drag-down properties. Couple those with his low landing lag, and the negative Cranky can bring a foe down right along with him. This leads nicely into jab, grab or most rewardingly, SMPP’s flurry rush of a power move, though it’s worth pointing out that this potion’s damage and knockback multipliers can cramp F-Air combos elsewhere.

Simian Spring, on the other hand, really opens some aerially amazing doors for F-Air. Several of these involve Cranky using his newfound airborne mobility to weave forward and backward while the aerial is active. This can prove quite handy for poking at shields with maddeningly safety, or fading in and away from denture-held barrels, keeping foes unsure whether they’ll take enough damage to be launched.

Alternatively, Cranky’s springy potion lets him fling himself in a single direction during F-Air, letting him circumvent its short range to threaten from farther away, albeit in committal fashion. Roll offstage with dash attack, and Cranky’s spins can intercept a recovering foe to end their stock. From there, he can ride his rocker back toward safety, before rocketing out to drill anyone who’s gotten too cute puppy-guarding the ledge. The possibilities almost become as dizzying as the animation itself!

BACK AIR - CRANKY, STILLS AND GNASH
Cranky turns his body around while removing his dentures out of his mouth. In slightly staggered fashion, he holds his briefly-enlarged teeth open wide for a 14-frame beat before snapping them forcefully shut. The dentures don’t reach all that far horizontally, but have respectable vertical reach behind Cranky, with their main portion dealing a healthy 12% and KOing from center stage at 140%.

Meanwhile, foes chomped at point-blank range enjoy a 16% sweetspot, 10% in extra shield damage and force sufficient to KO from center stage at 105%, or quite a ways earlier at the ledge. Pity Cranky didn’t have the foresight to file his teeth into fangs before getting into this striking competition, or those percentages could’ve dropped lower still! Cranky then goes through 26 end lag frames as he reinserts his dentures, surely a very sanitary thing to do after chomping the likes of Wario and The Count!

Cranky’s strongest aerial also stands out as his most punishable. In its base state, B-Air has utility as a situational combo finisher, namely if an N-Air pogo has bounced a foe up behind Cranky in hitstun. There’s also value in shorthopping up to snap Cranky’s jaws shut around foes who have recklessly rolled behind him or, with a turnaround B-Air, left themselves open in front of him. It’s not necessarily a casual punish option, though, as 26 end lag frames leave Cranky just begging to be shield-grabbed if he’s repeatedly gumming too close to the ground. Pogo up to a safe height and time B-Air carefully while descending to play things a little safer!

Most of Cranky’s potions can be put to at least reasonably good use in sanding off some of B-Air’s rough edges! His SMPP’s multipliers become perhaps most welcome as Cranky takes a bite into enemy shields, which now will lose at least half their health, regardless of which B-Air hitbox Cranky landed. Hunky Chunky empowers B-Air to pose a similar offensive threat, making it that much easier for Cranky to connect with its sweetspot, at the cost of even worse frame data on both ends. With Banana Juice invincibility, Cranky can more comfortably go for broke trying to land that elusive B-Air sweetspot. Trigger his coin-spraying power move, and practiced hands can chomp foes caught in the currency at close range with a turnaround shorthop B-Air.

And Simian Spring isn’t a potion to sleep on either. As with F-Air, the fizzy lifting drink grants Cranky far more aerial mobility with which to drift in or away while biting down — perfect for threatening air space or playing a game of will-he, won’t-he near a tasty barrel. When Cranky is done monkeying around, the springy brew’s blur of a power move can, on hit, tee foes up well for a finishing hit from B-Air, so long as he doesn’t overextend and fling himself into danger!

“Drift backward while attacking in midair? I haven’t stopped drifting since I picked up these confounded controllers! ‘Joy-Cons,’ pah…nothing about those overpriced hunks of junk sparks joy. Should’ve been called ‘Cranky-Cons,’ if you ask me!”

UP AIR - SWINGER FLINGER

“Who needs extra life balloons for a midair lift when you’re in your physical prime?”

Cranky holds his cane horizontally above his head, like a helicopter blade, and gives it a forceful spin, powerful enough to give him a very slight upward boost! It’s a decently fast attack, with seven startup frames, dealing 10% and vertical knockback KOing around 145%. Through his spin animation, Cranky propels himself about half a training stage square strictly vertically, before beginning to fall with a higher-than-average 50 end lag frames.

While that’s clearly nothing to sneeze at, Cranky only lags for 13 frames upon landing, letting him use U-Air as a deceptively solid juggling tool, especially if Simian Spring has boosted his jumps and fall speed. Cranky enjoys threatening foes on high platforms above him with a cane pogo, from which he could either poke at them with U-Air or double jump onto their level to use a different attack. His cane carries a disjointed hitbox, letting Cranky cut through falling hitboxes so long as they don’t reach down too far. And at higher damage levels, U-Air can even finish off foes near the top blast zone, perhaps as a KO confirm if they’re busy being munched by Neutral Special dentures in midair.

Another valuable property U-Air brings to the table is its ability to halt any horizontal momentum Cranky has built up for himself! This can come in handy if Cranky is about to fly off the handle with his cane pogos, while giving him the equivalent of a poor midair jump, similar to the Kremling King’s own U-Air. At his craziest, Cranky can consume Simian Spring, perform an U-Smash jump and then cruise around the skies for quite some time with two midair jumps plus however many U-Airs he can safely use.

That said, the move is far from a get-out-of-jail-free card. Barring Banana Juice use, Cranky still will render himself vulnerable for most of a second in midair. And while Cranky can use an U-Air or two to improve his offstage recovery prospects, he’ll never gain vertical height in doing so, and remains open to attacks from the side or below. And, like K. Rool’s U-Air, Cranky has to be aerially in control to stop his momentum — buffer an U-Air after being launched, and he’ll just spin his cane fruitlessly as he continues in whatever trajectory his enemy sent him.

DOWN AIR - ACTIVE ADULT ACROBATICS

With a brief upward cane flourish, Cranky quickly rushes straight downward in midair, facing downward and slashing his wooden walking stick back and forth rapidly. It’s an homage to his hack-and-slash underwater attack from Tropical Freeze that, in Smash, could be considered a lovechild of Sora’s D-Air and Sephiroth’s Octaslash. Cranky surges down eight squares while slashing, scooping up nearby opponents with up to five hits. The first four deal 2% and carry victims along, while the fifth inflicts 5%, for 13% total, and outward knockback KOing around 180%.

"I'd smack my opponent a sixth time, but they didn’t have enough cartridge space left after programming all of those charity cases with swords!”

Cranky starts his descent on frame 15, or just enough of a pause that predictive foes can dodge, though that timing is easier said than done, when Cranky’s cane can snag them if they’re still too close after becoming tangible again. If Cranky initiates D-Air from high enough above the stage — perhaps right after an U-Smash jump — he can complete the move in midair, upon which he undergoes 16 end lag frames and regains mobility, albeit now dropping at his fastfall speed.

Touch down onstage before the move ends, on the other hand, and Cranky will smack into the ground with his cane. His impact produces D-Air’s launching fifth hit, effectively bringing about the move’s end that much faster, before Cranky undergoes 20 frames of landing lag. Beyond allowing for utility out of a shorthop, Cranky’s landing hitbox also lets clever players harness Banana Juice on D-Air without a costly use of invincibility for the entirety of his five-hit rush!

Despite its committal nature, Cranky welcomes D-Air into his repertoire as yet another means for mixing up his landings while bounding around the stage. At the least, he could choose to greet grounded foes with a concentrated, safe N-Air pogo bop, a more madcap D-Air rush or nothing at all (nothing at all!), as he drops down normally. Then, when power moves arrive on the scene, these pseudo 50/50 guessing games become even more of a chancey headache!

Both Cranky’s whirling dervish from Simian Spring and meteoric stall-then-fall from Simian Slam come with their own unique staggered startup compared to D-Air. As such, Cranky may get his kicks conditioning foes to expect his cane slashes’ timing before throwing a monkey wrench into those reflexes! With the latter, Cranky also can start feinting as though he’s going to initiate D-Air directly over a foe, before plummeting down next to them instead to catch them out with his shockwave ring. Both potion attacks also both are comparatively safer on shield than D-Air — Simian Spring’s brings low end lag, freeing Cranky up to react more quickly, while Simian Slam’s rebounds Cranky back into the air on hit.

In other match contexts, if Cranky performs his cane rush down into a bouncing barrel, he’ll drag it out of midair and re-launch it, often without breaking it, given D-Air’s homely damage output. Offstage, Cranky also can surge down into a recovering foe to try pushing them past their point of no return. Compared to stylistically comparable finishers like Sephiroth’s aforementioned Up Special, Cranky’s D-Air is less likely to outright KO recovering foes unless he’s hunked himself up to giant form. Even so, unfamiliar players may struggle to tech if Cranky catches them in D-Air’s multiple hits right up against the stage. No newfangled Super Guide mechanic will save you there!

GRAB-GAME​

GRAB - MONKEY'S PAW

“Call that a move name? Somebody tell Smady and Kupa they wore out the bottom of the barrel with all these apish puns and kept on digging!"

Using his cane as a crutch, Cranky leans forward to clutch his foe in a fast but short-ranged grab. His animation here is similar to Little Mac’s, with Cranky hooking around the foe like he’s yanking them off a stage. His grab comes out at a decently fast seven frames, but the aforementioned poor range means that it’s nothing to write home about for the old Kong. As his mediocre dash doesn’t do much to boost his reach, either, Cranky often must depend on calculated pogo landings in front of his opponent to catch them by surprise! Thankfully, when he does, he has plenty more up his monkey sleeve in his throws!

Cranky does have one easy way to improve his grab: Hunky Chunky, which turns his range as ginormous as he is! Mechanically, you’ll recall that the supersizing potion (and Banana Juice) can be triggered through his attacks’ last active frame or their animation’s halfway point, whichever comes later. That carries over into grab, too, though Cranky sizes down (or loses invincibility) upon actually catching a foe, so he can’t casually use those benefits during his throws, too. By first activating those potions while moving around, Cranky -can- pull off giant or gold-armored grabs and throws, albeit at the cost of starting the clock on his remaining benefits.

PUMMEL - TEACH YOU SOME MANNERS

"I'll box your ears if you don't listen this time!"

Cranky bonks his foe over the head with his cane while holding onto them with his free hand. It’s almost as if Cranky is scolding them for, well, you might pick one of many valid reasons! His cane bonk deals 1.4% each time. It’s a quick pummel hitting up to three times a second.

While Cranky is under the effects of his SMPP potion, his pummel can change. As long as the player holds down the input, Cranky will bonk the foe rapidly over the head for what amounts to three cartoony hit effects every 45 frames! Each hit deals a meatier 1.9%, for an effective 5.7% output during that window! This new pummel isn’t entirely sunshine and daisies — as Cranky is committed to 45-frame pummel increments here, versus roughly 20 frames for one normal pummel, his victim technically has more room to escape his grab before he can throw them.

There are, however, upsides beyond his SMPP pummel’s damage jump. As Cranky beats on his foe, they are also slowly brutalized forward across the stage! With every three rapid cane bonks, Cranky pushes his victim forward the distance of his own character width, helping him get them closer to the ledge while inflicting considerable pummel damage. What’s more, while damage remains constant across each trio of rapid cane bonks, each hit counts as an individual attack added to Cranky’s stale move queue. As such, SMPP pummel is Cranky’s fastest way to refresh those stale moves, letting him maximize his KO power immediately afterward if he has enough potion gas left in the tank!

FORWARD THROW - THE ICONIC CARGO THROW

“Whisking off maidens and throwing barrels around the place seven days a week, I was. That's how I got where I am today, you know. Hard work.”

Cranky grips his foe with both hands to hoist them up and onto his back, reminiscent of his (grand)son’s Cargo Throw! The foe is whisked on top of Cranky: he exerts his full strength to drag the foe on his back. Who else should perform this iconic move, if not the original Donkey Kong himself? However, time has not been so kind to our dear aging ape, so he can’t quite move like the young’un or KO offstage at percents that normally would be reliable for DK’s own F-Throw variants. When it comes time to toss the foe out of his Cargo Throw, Cranky struggles a little but manages to follow through with each attack.

While lugging around a victim, Cranky moves and jumps slower than Donkey Kong during his own Cargo Throw. Cranky’s Kong Karry movement is comparable to his walk, only the sixtieth fastest in the roster, so quite a pain. His jumps are similarly neutered and a little lower than DK’s. Where Cranky does not suffer any further disadvantages, though, is when he falls with his victim offstage! Good old gravity does the work there, so Cranky still drops at his normal fall speed, which is a good bit faster than his forward or upward movement. Cranky can better set himself up for a successful F-Throw trip by using his SMPP pummel, pushing himself and his foe across the stage so getting them lower in the air offstage is not such an issue.

For his Cargo F-Throw, Cranky tries to throw foes one-handed as DK does, but after a quick failed attempt, ends up angrily tossing them two-handed, dealing 10% and decent forward knockback at a slightly upward angle. This throw will KO from around 215%. Cranky’s longer duration means he’ll generally have fallen a little during it, so foes are rarely KO’d vertically with this, even at super high percents. His Cargo B-Throw deals 11.5% as Cranky twirls the foe around while yanking them with his cane, dealing low knockback at a semi-spike angle that only KOs around 255%. Cranky makes do with this Cargo variant better than its forward counterpart but it’s still awkward due to its low knockback, with too much base knockback to combo reliably.

Cranky’s Cargo U-Throw has him forcefully push his foe up and off his back with a decisive-ish shrug-like gesture, dealing 10%. The knockback here is more impressive and will KO from 200%, though unlike DK’s Cargo U-Throw, Cranky is pushed a small, set distance downward. He won’t be jumping right up after them with any “Ding Dong” style combos, though onstage, he can transition this downward push into an upward pogo to cover enemy landings! This U-Throw also is by far the fastest of Cranky’s Cargo variants, comparable to DK’s, which helps maintain potion timers.

Finally, Cranky’s Cargo D-Throw sees him grab his victim with his cane, lift them, then toss and release them downward! This throw deals 9% but very low downward knockback to KO from 235%. Cranky’s high-ish duration on Cargo D-Throw, slightly longer than DK’s, gives it slightly more usefulness in those proverbial offstage Cranky-cide situations. Otherwise, though, it is still highly flawed as it practically is a midair grab release.

Cranky might not be able to compare with DK normally, but unlike his other throws, F-Throw sees unique benefits from Cranky’s potions if enough timer is left over after he’s grabbed a foe! Each potion — outside SMPP, already reserved mostly for Cranky’s pummel — changes up his Cargo Throw a little differently. The most interesting tweaks come when Cranky has enlarged himself with Hunky Chunky, and so that is where we will begin. In beginning his giant Kong Karry, Cranky now will hold the foe the same way as DK, carrying them properly in his hands overhead!

Of note, Cranky takes 45 frames longer to enter his Cargo state, chuckling as he confidently hoists his victim up. This gives the foe longer to escape, preventing overly easy offstage shenanigans, especially as Cranky’s Cargo stays on the same grab timer while he’s giant. That said, the oversized Cranky has no issues carrying them around once he gets going. In fact, he’ll now carry his foe around 1.2x as fast as DK!

In addition, Cranky’s Cargo F-Throw no longer has any hesitation, as he throws foes much quicker from one giant hand. A functionally new move, this deals 14% and will KO from 135% — not bad, if Cranky can get his foe offstage where that KO percent statistic is accurate! The cost of miscalculating is wasting Hunky Chunky, though as a small grace — similar to his regular attack animations — Cranky won’t shrink back down if his potion runs out during his Cargo state until he’s thrown his foe or they’ve escaped.

Simian Spring directly affects Cranky’s upward movement during his Cargo state: now, jumping from the ground has Cranky bounce up with his cane, as if he used his N-Air! This gives Cranky a substantial initial boost, after which his jumps are just as good as DK’s to get higher. Though the potion does not change Cranky’s U-Throw itself, it nonetheless improves his potential for further attacks afterward, so long as enough timer is left over.

Similarly, Simian Slam has Cranky briskly dash across the ground at his dash speed, creating a minor visual quake with each step while carrying his victim. This lends excellent speed to Cranky’s Cargo movement, even faster than DK’s, and also translates to a more momentous first jump off the ground! However, once in the air, Simian Slam grants no further benefits.

Grab a foe while pumped full of Banana Juice, and the gold-armored Cranky will see each of his Cargo throw animations change slightly. At a bird’s-eye level, the potion improves F-Throw’s all-around speed, letting Cranky use his different throw options more aggressively. Banana Juice doesn’t give him any new mobility in toting around his foe, but arguably offers the best potion benefits in cases where mobility is not an issue. Just make sure to make up your mind on a directional throw before Cranky’s golden armor loses its luster!

As with Hunky Chunky, Cranky loses his initial “failed” animation in starting up Cargo F-Throw, instead skipping right to his double-handed throw! This deals a slightly higher 11% and marginally stronger knockback, with the main advantage being its much faster duration. It is undoubtedly a nicety to not waste any more Banana Juice armor. The boosted Cargo U-Throw deals 11% and no longer kicks Cranky a set distance downward. This won’t put him closer to pogo range onstage but rather becomes the better combo starter.

While Banana Juiced up, Cranky quickly sweeps his foe away with Cargo B-Throw, for 12.5% and marginally higher knockback. With a slight new upward launch angle, this variant becomes a better KO move from higher up. However, as Banana Juice doesn’t help Cranky’s movement, he must first get into position for this to be that useful. Lastly, Cargo D-Throw now sends foes downwards for 10%. There’s also slightly higher knockback, albeit at a faster clip, making it somewhat of a toss-up how fast this KOs offstage compared to the non-potion version. Nonetheless, on solid ground, this Cargo D-Throw sets Cranky up to further attack his victim with his golden armor active.

BACK THROW - HOOKED BY DONKEY KONG

“You think this is a drag, kiddo? In my day, we had to walk uphill both ways to Kong Kollege!”

Cranky swings his cane around his foe’s lower body or legs, sweeping them off their feet for 3%, then quickly swoops them behind him and sends them flying in the opposite direction for 9%! The foe is dragged across the ground under Cranky and sent at a low, almost semi-spike angle behind him. At 12% total, B-Throw stands out as Cranky’s most damaging. It starts to KO from center stage around 180%, and earlier at the ledge, making it potentially his best finishing throw disregarding Cargo Throw shenanigans.

Cranky’s quick animation on B-Throw serves two purposes. The first is that he’s able to avoid wasting time-sensitive potions by throwing his foe away quickly. That way, he can save that potion’s expiry and transition immediately into using it right afterward. Secondly, throwing foes into any of Cranky’s hazards has simple and easy timing. B-Throw’s angle is helpful in bowling Cranky’s victim across the stage, giving him something of a funky runway to chase them down with his pogo and Up Special. It’s one of Cranky’s best ways to “reset” pressure and start a new onslaught against his foe with a bit of forced spacing.

Simian Spring brings excellent synergy with B-Throw, as Cranky can pursue his victim in ways that otherwise aren’t feasible on account of his high base knockback. Usually, these types of follow-ups are reserved for his soon-to-come U-Throw and aerial pursuit, but an aerially speedier Cranky may close the distance faster and perhaps even keep badgering the foe! If they manage to slip out of reach, an immediate denture attack to stun the victim near the ground can be perilous against Cranky’s ground-based options.

At very low percents, Cranky can try going for U-Smash to scoop up a helpless foe left right behind him just after B-Throw. Later on, a successful dash into U-Smash may even net Cranky that extra jump to chase the foe offstage, if he doesn’t outright attack them for colossal damage and knockback with his back’s extraordinary power! An U-Smash jump after B-Throw generally forces opponents to react, and Simian Spring makes it even more challenging for them to get away as Cranky hunts them down like an unstoppable Klaptrap!

Cranky might even use his SMPP-powered pummel to push himself past his lingering hitboxes, like barrels and bouncing dentures, getting into position to B-Throw his victim through them. In doing so, he’ll get the most mileage reading his foe’s mashing while staying wary of their percent. A better masher will force Cranky to chuck them away quicker, so he may want to space further from his barrels or dentures so his scraping toss ensures a meeting in the middle. Conversely, a poor masher lets Cranky sit in place and give them a good pummeling before bowling them casually into whatever he chooses.

One of B-Throw’s best uses comes right after Cranky has thrown up a boulder with Hunky Chunky’s power move. Afterward, he’ll shrink back down and become able to toss foes backward to intercept that stony summons from underneath as it drops. At high percents, it’s easy for Cranky to pause holding a victim and wait for the right timing because of B-Throw’s quick animation. A foe thrown into a falling boulder in midair can be outright KOed or set up for a quasi tech chase by Cranky as they’re hit into the ground! Timed well, this is one of the stronger combos available to Cranky, period, and makes a successful grab a scary moment when he’s just tossed a boulder into the air. Cranky is one ape you don’t want to escape!

DOWN THROW - POGO PANIC

"Look out for disguised holes on the ground and jump on them from a great height!”

Cranky pushes down on his foe to leap a short distance above them while sending them roughly to the ground. As they lie on their stomach or back, he then proceeds to cane pogo a minimal distance up and down off of them, in such cartoonishly rapid fashion that he almost appears to be bearing down on them with a power drill! Over the course of a second, Cranky inflicts a cumulative 6% through six individual rapid hits, before leaping higher, one square into the air, and planting his cane down on his trodden target. His impact deals 4% and sends his victim at a steep downward angle guaranteed to leave them prone a short distance in front of him, barring a well-timed tech.

From a combo standpoint, Cranky gets the most mileage out of D-Throw when he can sandwich his victim against a barrel trap set to be launched inward at them from a pair of dentures. Cordon off their ability to roll away, and Cranky will have a far easier time reading his foe’s reaction, and possibly end up waylaying them in place to be hit by the barrel anyway. If a foe misses their tech, Cranky can run up and use jab to start a jab-lock combo while they’re prone.

His payoffs become more rewarding if he’s consumed Simian Slam, upon which he becomes able to trigger a weak shockwave on D-Throw’s last pogo. Despite the wave’s meager damage, Cranky can use the threat of its close-range stun to coax his victim to roll away, naturally even better if he’s also crunched them from the other side with a barrel. And if his foe has missed their tech, the shockwave will catch up to them and start a jab-lock combo. Cranky then can move in and either prolong the combo or end it with an uncharged Smash!

Great as Simian Slam’s application can be, it’s worth noting that two other potions — the SMPP and Hunky Chunky — result in D-Throw sending foes just far enough away to where Cranky can’t set up these tech chase follow-ups nearly as reliably. With those concoctions’ multipliers able to boost a number of Cranky’s other set-ups, it’s only fair that they bring their own situational downsides, too.

UP THROW - CRANK IT UP

"Look at all these throws! It's ridiculous, I say! N64 kids wept with joy if they had two overpowered inputs in their grab-game — forward and back!"

Cranky drops his victim before swooping up with a decisive strike of his cane, using it to uppercut them into the air for 7% and high base knockback, though this scales weakly so that it KOs only at ridiculous percents. It’s an angry-looking animation even by the old codger’s standards, as he looks to exact revenge with a nasty and crunchy-sounding hit. After getting cranked by this precise pitch, foes are perfectly positioned for Cranky to pogo up and stay in their face with an aerial assault! It’s a typical throw archetype for Cranky and a bread-and-butter move that creates opportunities for him to attack aggressively out of his grab-game.

After U-Throw, Cranky’s foe will reliably end up placed above and slightly away from him. This becomes excellent for him in going for follow-up options like his Up Special chair rush or most any aerial except for D-Air, depending on his victim’s damage level and how they react next. This comes with great conditioning potential for Cranky to more easily read what options his foe prefers for landing. Then, as his cane uppercut’s knockback scales at higher percentages, foes can end up not placed directly above Cranky, allowing him many niche utilities as he gets a bit of a running start in acting after U-Throw’s animation.

As foes are thrown progressively higher into the air, they become more susceptible to punishment from Cranky as they try to land rather than through aerial follow-ups. His U-Throw angle, swooping his victim a little forward, is great when he’s facing the ledge to deny them landing options to one side. Consequently, a foe bullied out of the air and forced to recover low will have to contend with the powerful ledge-trapping tools Cranky has, like N-Air, D-Air and his two-framing D-Tilt as three prime examples. Onstage, Cranky loves throwing his foe upward if he can then steer their descent onto any barrels or dentures he’s positioned below.

With dentures in particular, U-Throw can prove especially foul when the old ape sends a victim hurtling up into a pair of gnashing teeth from below. This causes the throw’s knockback to be canceled before the foe is launched further away, keeping them in Cranky’s reach even up to higher percents! It’s a setup from which Cranky can reliably proceed into his U-Air, depending on timing and positioning. As his victim is getting chomped, he also can more easily bully them away with F-Air or go for more demanding reads — with Up Special, U-Smash and B-Air — without as much risk! It’s hard for Cranky to go wrong using U-Throw with dentures skipping around, following up with a combo starter aerial, then reading his foe’s (pressured) reaction.

FINAL SMASH​

FINAL SMASH - THE GREAT GIRDER GRAPPLE

“Those no-hopers at Nintendo of America forgot my 40th anniversary? Who cares, this stuff will make me feel 40 years younger anyway! Time to show the rest of these so-called video game heroes what real star power looks like…and that baboon with the spangly tie, too, if he ever finds himself out of the courthouse again.”

Looks as though Cranky has saved his best potion for the grand finale! With a defiant cry, the grizzled Kong pulls out a yellow vial, adorned with one of the Arcade-era stars also seen in the Donkey Kong Country logo letters, and downs it with haste. He then strikes a muscle-man pose as he quadruples in size, turning into his classic DK Arcade sprite in a poof of pixels. The original Donkey Kong stomps the ground, creating an earthquake to launch foes within roughly half of Battlefield’s distance into a cutscene.

Up to three victims will fall into prone on the top girder of the Arcade game’s 100m stage. Gruff gorilla grunts from that title ring out in echoing fashion, as the camera pans up to show Cranky — still in enlarged sprite form — plummeting down from above, amid a barrage of barrel sprites. He slams down onto the girder with enough force to collapse the entire construction site in on itself, dealing an initial 20% to foes on top and sending them toppling down to the bottom.

There, they land smack dab on their heads, much as Cranky did all those years ago, taking another 20% as they return to the main stage, launched with force sufficient to KO at 50%. Cranky hops down after them, flexing as he returns to his elderly state with a whoop of triumph. All in all, Cranky enjoys turning the tables on Smash’s New and Relevant characters, showing them what a -real- game looks like, not to mention exacting wish-fulfillment revenge on that corporate hack “Jumpman.” Whose series is the spin-off now??

EXTRAS​

“I can’t believe, more than 20,000 words later, these two banana brains still aren’t finished flapping their gums! What they need is a good trashing!”

UP TAUNT - WHAT FOURTH WALL?
Cranky turns to face the screen and hollers while pointing his cane at the player, a bit like when you try to short him on Banana Coins in Donkey Kong Country Returns, as though faulting the player for dropping him into the modern monstrosity that is Smash.

SIDE TAUNT - GLASS(ES) HALF FULL

Cranky faces briefly away from the screen, then turns back and gives a thumbs-up while sporting his oversized pair of glasses from DKC3’s ending. A surefire defense!

DOWN TAUNT - OLD-TIMER TUNES

Cranky’s gramophone appears beside him, as he begins cranking it to play a snippet from the classic DKC theme. With a single input, he’ll churn out a handful of notes while, if the player keeps pressing the taunt button, he’ll play the original SNES track as long as he’s allowed to do so. Hit Cranky out of his taunt, and his gramophone will go bust in a harmless poof, complete with a record scratch sound effect. Careful, Cranky historically hasn’t let such slights go unpunished!

ENTRANCE - BUDDY BARREL

Cranky’s cane drops from a floating barrel with his face on it, last seen housing his science lab in DK64. The old ape himself hops out right afterward, scooting around his cane before picking it up, adjusting his glasses and uttering “C’mon!” — his animation when starting a level in Tropical Freeze.

VICTORY POSE #1 - ROLLICKING ROCKER

Cranky simply sits in his chair and rocks back and forth for the duration of his victory screen, appearing wholly unperturbed by the flashy fanfare around him.

VICTORY POSE #2 - WAR FACE
Cranky throws his cane down with enough force to bounce it into the air above him. While the sturdy stick is airborne, he lifts his arms and makes an angry face at the screen — as he does before squaring off against a Tropical Freeze boss. Cranky then catches his cane and points it at the screen with both hands, as though finishing a successful martial arts demonstration.

VICTORY POSE #3 - STARS IN HIS EYES

Cranky performs a little jig, clicking his heels and hopping around as though preparing to break into showtunes, before skidding forward on his knees and spreading his arms theatrically. What better way to be a smash than being -in- Smash, after all?

VICTORY THEME - CRANKY’S CONGA
An upbeat panflute remix of Cranky’s DKC theme — itself an iteration on the Donkey Kong Arcade opening theme — pipes out whenever Cranky’s age and wisdom win the day.

LOSS POSE -

“Where’s my Subspace Emissary role? A few seedy taunts and win poses, are those the best extras they can think of?”

MATCH-UPS​

VS. KING K. ROOL - 55/45

"Where’s Kensuke Tanabe when he could make himself useful blocking whatever performative revenge plot K. Rool has cooked up? No matter, I’ll sort that slimy salamander out so he slithers back into hibernation and stays there!”

How heartwarming, in this match-up, we see two old friends, together again for another round of high-intensity escapades, all totally above-board on the big lizard’s part, of course. As it so happens, in Smash, K. Rool will want to press any underhanded advantage he can gain over his old nemesis Cranky, in particular through keeping his air space riddled with strategic crown throws and blunderbuss shots. Cranky’s cane pogo antics allow for superior mobility in a neutral context, even letting him time disjointed bounces off of K. Rool’s cannonballs!

That’s not to say K. Rool can’t give Cranky one hell heck of a time navigating around unscathed, especially on flat stages where the tyrannical croc’s projectiles are better equipped to tag him during his up-and-down movement patterns. K. Rool’s ranged tools also serve him well in neutralizing Cranky’s own counterpart Specials. With his crown and cannonballs, the Kremling King can slice through Cranky’s dentures while exerting control over his barrels’ HP from afar, not unlike Pac-Man’s Hydrant in that match-up. That sort of campy aggression requires Cranky to more carefully monitor his barrels if he wants to use them toward specific ends. A well-placed TNT barrel trap can back K. Rool into a corner, a bit like Steve’s own TNT, though Cranky ought to beware overcommitting to barrel management, lest he create openings for his adversary.

At a high level, K. Rool’s win condition against Cranky generally will come from intercepting him from a cane bounce to put him in disadvantage, and then capitalizing on some punishable blindspot in the old ape’s reaction. While certainly doable, K. Rool’s more realizable KO contexts — as Cranky is landing or recovering — don’t leave him any obvious flowchart to follow. For example, K. Rool’s intangible U-Air is invaluable in cutting through Cranky’s hitboxes for vertical KOs as he descends from above. But whereas many characters only have N-Air and D-Air at their disposal as they land, Cranky adds to this buffet with two potential N-Air hitboxes, downward Up Special bursts and downward-facing power moves from Simian Spring and Simian Slam, all with their own distinct timing. The same goes when Cranky is making his way back to the ledge, where Simian Spring and U-Air boosts let him mix up his already versatile rocking chair movement to nice effect. Unless Cranky just spoonfeeds K. Rool the win by using the same rinse-and-repeat options, the latter must stay alert and try conditioning the former to use options he can predict.

On a stock-by-stock basis, the superheavy K. Rool sometimes will eke out the win over Cranky just by virtue of attrition. That’s not to say Cranky’s “old man strength” can’t keep him in the running or allow for comebacks. An unambiguous point in Cranky’s favor is his potion selection. Compared to most opponents, K. Rool’s size and weight mean Cranky trades away fewer combo setups in downing his SMPP and Hunky Chunky brews. Both also mean -bad- things for Mr. K. Rool’s belly armor if they connect as he’s using his staple N-Air and dash attack through Cranky’s tricks. Simian Slam waves, meanwhile, can chip away at K. Rool’s damage as he tries throwing his crown. And Banana Juice’s power move in particular is all but a designated anti-K. Rool option — reflecting his projectiles, lingering so he can’t Down Special reflect or armor through all the coins, and holding his big body still for Cranky to send him packing.

All told, like a handful of other middling match-ups, Cranky is not insurmountable for K. Rool to overcome, but his work is definitely cut out for him. Meanwhile, the grizzled gorilla has a bit more wiggle room in pranking his old frenemy, so long as he doesn’t bite off more than his seemingly bottomless supply of false teeth can chew.

VS. DIXIE KONG - 40/60

“Girl heroes in video games, pah. I can't believe it! The main character should be really muscle-bound and carry a gun, not twirl their hair round.”

The two outstanding DK Reps are back at loggerheads! Perhaps Cranky is still itching to put that upstart guitarist in her place after one humiliating defeat too many at Swanky’s Sideshow, or maybe her audacity in daring to star in a moveset one contest sooner? Whatever the case, Cranky versus Dixie becomes a highly dynamic Smash match-up to play out, taking into account their respective mobility strong suits. Whereas Cranky’s cane pogos grant him superior control over his vertical position compared to the floatier Dixie, the girl with the whirl is near unparalleled at influencing her horizontal location with her spinning Up Special. At a high level, you end up with a stage-wide game of cat and mouse, as both Kongs look to push the other into obstructions they’ve placed in their opponent’s preferred space, without getting too far out of their own comfort zones.

Let’s take a look at the different tools at Dixie and Cranky’s disposal. The ponytailed rockstar’s steel kegs have some neat comparisons and contrasts with Cranky’s own wooden barrels. Both constructs carry similar movement trajectories once rolled or bounced by their respective Kong, serving to force an attack response from mid-range. Dixie gets less utility from simply placing steel kegs at her feet, where they can sometimes serve as barriers or allow for niche hitlag setups, but without any of the trap upside Cranky taps through his stationary barrels. That said, unlike Cranky, Dixie isn’t vulnerable to her own kegs, nor will her back seize up for extra damage if her startup gets interrupted. Compared to Cranky, Dixie also has distinct gameplay options in rolling around atop her kegs and swinging them around with Side Special for a powerful KO blow, letting her stay versatile playing around whatever Cranky has sent her way.

As far as Neutral Special projectiles go, Dixie’s bubble gun gumballs aren’t quite as meaty as Cranky’s gnashing dentures on hit. That said, if she fires off three miniature pellets in quick succession, she’s apt to apply chip damage to her elder here and there, as Cranky’s single bouncing denture pair or barrel can block one or two gumballs, but leave the rest to slip underneath in his direction. As with K. Rool’s cannonballs, Cranky can cane pogo off gum bubbles Dixie has fired with Neutral Special to pop them in safe, disjointed fashion. That said, nimble Dixie is likelier than the Kremling King to fire her bouncy projectiles in such a position to force Cranky to pogo in suboptimal fashion, earlier in his up-and-down pattern than he’d like. If she catches him by surprise and encases him in a gum bubble, he’ll lose all pogo momentum and become a sitting duck for one of Dixie’s patented aerial combo strings. While Cranky is no slouch in the air, he’s just generally outclassed by Dixie’s aerial acrobatics, though that holds true for most characters on the roster, to be fair.

Should Dixie bring Kiddy into the fracas, Cranky is likely to feel the pinch, and not just from the dentures in his mouth. If the two allied Kongs tag-team against Cranky, he’ll have a harder time strategically wielding Banana Juice invincibility to defend himself, as the AI-controlled Kiddy mirrors Dixie’s own attacks in staggered fashion. Meanwhile, if Dixie leaves Kiddy sitting around elsewhere onstage, she can efficiently constrict and corral Cranky’s pogoing, or at least create opportunities for herself to land hits as he deals with that bratty baboon. In a vacuum, Cranky can kill off Kiddy just fine through his SMPP and Hunky Chunky, staying safe from his powerful death screams with cane disjoints or Banana Juice. Even still, the pair have no shortage of ways to add to his double trouble, whether by splitting their coverage offstage and at the ledge, or Dixie putting Kiddy in a gum bubble so his grounded moves can smack Cranky out of his pogo zone.

Dixie’s lightweight frame can’t endure all that many of Cranky’s stronger potion-enhanced attacks, with Hunky Chunky’s power move as a particular pain point putting its falling boulder in her favored air space. Her lack of reliable vertical recovery without Kiddy also means Dixie must take care not to slip up and self-destruct trying to gimp Cranky out of his tricky offstage maneuvers. Even still, played to her fullest extent, Dixie has enough new-age moxie to answer most anything Cranky can throw her way in some form or fashion, gliding to victory more easily while leaving him to bootstrap his match-up wins to a greater degree.

“Call that a moveset? Looks like a cheap stunt setting me up to join Smash a decade from now!”

LINK TO CHANGE LOG (last updated 2/26/2023):
1. Tweaked control scheme for Down Special potion selection to make more analogous to Smash
2. Reduced Hunky Chunky potion's super armor to weaker attacks to less potent Tough Guy armor in Down Special
3. Reduced Hunky Chunky potion's damage, knockback multipliers in Down Special
4. Added extra startup frames to attacks used while under Hunky Chunky's potion effects in Down Special
5. Nerfed knockback, shield damage on F-Tilt hit three's downward variant
6. Tweaked D-Smash, in terms of charge needed to achieve one, two or three slams, for added mechanical soundness
7. Nerfed knockback on different D-Smash slam hitboxes
8. Fixed inconsistency with B-Air's 26 end lag frames

 

[Katapultar]

Spoiler: Cranky Kong

I was wondering when you two would post your next sets, and this one certainly delivers in the writing department! Very, very entertaining to read all the way, as expected from two of Cranky’s biggest MYM fans. The original quotes scattered throughout the set remind me of Warlord’s Grunty set - I’m very happy that a modern set has embraced that kind of writing. I don’t get all of the references like FA does, but still.

That’s not to say the set itself doesn’t deliver. The potions’ power moves make them a unique take on Shulk’s Monado Arts, even if the potions’ buffs are the bigger stars of the show. I enjoyed seeing two of MYM’s heavyweight gurus do their own take on the Super Mushroom effect, see how far you two were willing to take it balance-wise - I know that Kupa has said being a big character is the worst drawback a character can have, or something like that. The golden effect feels balanced enough despite (more or less) on-demand invincibility being a very powerful thing, and the shockwave effect is certainly a unique buff.

Side Special’s barrels reminded me a bit of Dixie Kong (funny that both Dixie and Cranky were Kupa’s second sets in MYM24 and 25 respectively), and the jab against Donkey Kong not using barrels in his set was particularly funny - the quick lag is somewhat justified by the barrels being usable against Cranky, but part of me wonders if their lag should be brought up to something like frame 15 to make them reactable. I do wonder if Neutral Special locks opponents in place for too long (45 frames), a bit too good for follow-ups when you consider that Cranky can bounce his dentures around on different angles. Maybe the lockdown should be shortened (weaken with staling, perhaps?) or the teeth should have their starting lag pronounced, but either way it’s not a huge deal.

Beyond the Specials, F-tilt is an unexpectedly big-kid move for Cranky, and I quite enjoyed his D-Smash and U-Smash. D-Smash’s gimmick of getting a different attack with charge is simple, but the set’s explanation of its risk factor (more charge = long duration) helps to sell it well, and it works well with the golden and giant buffs. U-Smash has the interesting cancel and super armour that works well as a mix-up with Cranky’s pogoing. These two moves feel like they have that Smady touch to them, reminding me a bit of skekMal to some degree, but unlike KOS-MOS it’s hard to tell who wrote which move. The brunt of the moveset is pretty conventional by Kupa standards, which makes sense for Cranky as he isn’t a supervillain or is armed with tons of props, but I did like D-air and F-throw being a direct reference to DK.

I wouldn’t say that Cranky is frontrunner material despite being a beloved MYM character, but he doesn’t have to be. I think he’ll be at least as popular as Dixie Kong for what is shaping up to be a more competitive contest, and this is no doubt a definitive set for Cranky Kong. In fact, I’d say Cranky Kong was THE perfect character for the two of you to work on! Especially in the writing department, as you both enjoy incorporating good-natured teasing and jokes in your sets. Great to see another set from both of you, especially a joint set.

 

[Arctic Tern]

CRANKY KONG (Kupa/Smady)

I’ve always liked Cranky Kong as a character, and I was fairly sure he was on Kupa’s radar, but I did not expect a joint set for the old coot.

Nevertheless, there’s a lot of fun to be had with Cranky’s toolkit, starting with the obligatory pogo cane. The way it’s implemented isn’t just an attack, it’s a skill based movement tool that allows expert Cranky players to move around that battlefield at an incredible pace. It’s also woven in well with his kit, with FAir being able to be used as a dragging tool offstage and Jab being useful as a landing mixup due to its high speed. Secondly are the potions, which seem to be the big “hook” of the set for most readers thus far and for good reason. Not only are the buffs and power moves fun on their own, but the fact the power moves can only be used in the first half of the buffs’ duration adds more complexity as to how and when to use them.

Aside from those two setpieces, Cranky’s got some cool tricks of his own too! His use of the Donkey Kong series’ signature barrels managed to be firmly unique to him, with Cranky able to stop them in place with dentures or use them to buff his momentum. A lot of his moves play off the potions in interesting ways, from making them safer with SMPP-induced strength or increasing drag-down abilities with Simian Spring-enhanced fall speed. There’s a lot of fun animations here too: Cranky uses his own dentures as melee weapons more than once and has a move where he angrily shakes his cane in the air like the grumpy old man he is. Lastly, I would be remiss to mention the commentary by Cranky as the set progresses, which is highly fitting for a recurrent fourth-wall breaker like him and fairly funny (the part about Joy Con drift in particular got me)

There’s all sorts of fun references to the character and his series throughout, combined with solid gameplay that makes this the definitive Cranky Kong set. After all these years, he’s still got it!

See more comments and ratings on my personal page!

 

[BridgesWithTurtles]

: "Hey guys! I think I found a secret cheat code that unlocks a new character!"

: "Really? Is it Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A?"

: "Huh? No. Lemme try it out. I think it's..."

"You conducted the Command Melody!"

...

​

 

[Katapultar]

Spoiler: Medli and Makar

This is an incredible set presentation-wise: great choice of colours, very fitting font for the headers, the background icons and various images, including those amazing hand drawn reference images. They give me even more respect for you as a setmaker. Funny how this set was posted just a few days after Cranky Kong, another Nintendo character who got images drawn just for his set.

Past this, the set is nice and simple, and the negative mechanic involved in Medli and Makar separating is unique. The playstyle makes a good point on how Medli is a good aerial fighter, but loses her Smashes, two tilts and has some nerfed throws when Makar is lost.

The melee and concepts do feel less refined than Jacky or Slippy, though: the attacks are serviceable and there, but I didn’t get the impression that the Specials or the mechanic provided a big “hook” for the melee to play off compellingly, even with the tree construct, updraft and fire interactions with Neutral and Side Special. Compared to say, Jacky’s various mix-up options. Still feels very in-smash in line with your setmaking philosophy though; it makes sense that you wouldn’t want to do anything like say, have one of the non-Specials produce a fire hitbox to power up your Side Special on contact. Not every set has to do big MYM things!

 

[Arctic Tern]

MEDLI & MAKAR (Turtles)

I probably wouldn’t have considered making a Medli set, but I certainly wouldn’t think to make her a duo character with Makar seeing as how they never really interact in canon. It does make sense, though, seeing their thematic links, and I don’t think there’s any way to give Makar a full set so this will have to do.

Onto the set itself, it’s fairly standard. Nothing immediately stands out about the execution or concepts driven, but there’s a good amount of interplay between the duo’s tools, such as using UTilt to hit foes jumping over the Deku Tree. The set itself has perfectly serviceable melee, with a notable high point of setting the foe on fire to make DTilt much more powerful. I do have some balance concerns with NSpec - an infinite range move that causes hitstun and can be held out indefinitely seems pretty powerful - but that can easily be fixed with some mechanical adjustments. Perfectly fine all around, but held back by balance issues and the fact that the concepts/execution, while interesting, don’t pop out for me like with some other sets in this contest.

See more comments and ratings on my personal page!

 

[UserShadow7989]

Cranky Kong by BKupa666 and @Smash Daddy ***

A smash hit collaboration that'll show those whippersnappers whatfor! Cranky makes use of his assorted series appearances and takes what could've been overcomplicated and overdone mechanics and knits them together in a way that's simple to understand but has a lot of depth, just like games from the good old days. His cane pogo trick is of course one of his big tools, playing nicely into his aerial game and giving him some much needed mobility if you can get used to the rhythm, feeling right for a character who prides himself on his retro game prime where high difficulty and execution were king.

Tying in with something more modern smash to show that upstart Skulk or whatever his name is his place, Cranky has a few potion buffs he can use for short and flavorful benefits, useful tricks with which are sprinkled throughout the set just right, and can be expended early for appropriately potent "power moves". The set overall brims with his character, both in animations and in his assorted interjections, while also doing a nice job of giving him a rounded melee game that gives a solid foundation to his playstyle.

Cranky took so long for me to read and comment due to some burn out and just being oddly busy, but it was a joy to go through thanks to its presentation and humor, which are qualities that sometimes forgotten these days as sets have ballooned in word count and time is at ever more a premium in our lives. On top of being yet another strong set for what's quickly becoming my favorite contest, Cranky is just plain fun to read and to imagine playing as.

There's a few typos and grammatical hiccups, but that's about all I can level at the set as a criticism. I'm finding that it's not my strength to pick out issues in a set most the time, which may be part of why my comments feel to me like it's just a lot of (deserved!) praise, but it's certainly helped me appreciate the time and effort that goes into these sets a bit more, especially with all the reading that goes with them. Also, I appreciate the shout out to witchverse among his assorted snarky lines, while I'm bringing up personal notes. To finish off by actually talking about the set: Cranky's good, give him a read if you haven't, good job guys. Shout out to the excellent artists who provided the pictures for this set, while I'm at it!

 

[Arctic Tern]

"I sense a case in the making."

 

[Katapultar]

Spoiler: Naoto Shirogane

Naoto is another welcome set for a blue-haired girl whose concepts are inspired by another setmaker’s set. Between Naoto, Kula, Meltryllis (kiiind of) and the upcoming Madame Verre, anime girls with blue hair or a blue article of clothing are becoming a trend for you. Helps that Blastoise and Shadow Mario are blue characters, too.

Naoto has a simple enough gameplan, where she uses her Persona to cover weaknesses of her flawed melee game or set up deadly hitboxes like her Persona Down Smash, which is nice as a simple but committal and rewarding hitbox. I like the take on Fear, which gives 4 frames of extra hitlag to opponents and works well with Naoto’s projectiles and Persona attacks that avoid Naoto suffering the same hitlag as well. Like with Akechi, there’s a large emphasis on tech chases, using traps and scaring foes with big hitboxes or an emptied Fate Gauge. Even if it’s not always obvious which moves deplete Fate Gauge (maybe an emote next to or below the attack’s header, Bubby style?), I like how it’s slipped into the moves seamlessly.

Like the rest of your sets, Naoto is a solidly-executed set with no notable flaws, and definitely does the character justice. The concepts and individual moves weren’t quite as stand-out to me as other sets of yours and others this contest; going for a bit more quality-over-quantity with the attacks, moves like Persona Down Special just being there, but that doesn’t make Naoto any less of a great read. Happy to have another MYM-themed Classic Mode, and I should really make some more of those.

 

[UserShadow7989]

Medli and Makar by BridgesWithTurtles ***

I wouldn't have thought to pair the two myself, but Turtles makes a dang good case for it with this set, especially in terms of character, which shines through the set's playstyle. In fact, I find the well thought out playstyle to be the strongest part of this set, in how well it captures the characters and perfectly creates the desired feel. Reading the playstyle explanation is highly recommended for anyone who reads the set for this reason, as it contextualizes everything nicely, as it fits them working with Link in their own segments over flying solo.

The duo make for a well-rounded fighter who is subtly good in all respects together, but the loss of Makar utterly guts your ground game to the point of it being only just functional- and that's an issue for the player when Medli's fairly steller air game is otherwise lacking in its ability to seal the deal. She still is entirely playable on her lonesome, but it's a big nerf that players need to work around, encouraging that you go after Makar and keep him safe from harm when you're separated, a needed weakness to their teamwork that keeps them from being too good.

The strength is in the details, making sure enough of the set remains that Medli's not hopeless on her own- Up Throw remaining an effective 'in' for her air game, keeping her Jab, Up Tilt, and Dash so she does have the barest needed hitboxes to function on the ground, having a full set of throws even if the two best are nerfed, keeping three Specials, losing the built-in fire interactions with her wind attacks aside from Neutral Special + Side Special- while forcibly emphasizing said air game.

I do still have some nitpicks. I'd make sure the tree can't be used to infinite, like a hardcoded limit to how many times a given character can be bounced off of it before they take a special knockback to pop them free, are allowed by, the tree despawns, or they gain some mercy i-frames or something. Mostly a balance thing to avoid too much silliness (especially in 4 person fights with multiple Medli and Makar's). Up Smash notes it can be used on opponents who are impeding Makar's return to Medli, but Up Smash can't be used without them together.

If I had to pick at anything else, I would've liked to see the mechanic played off of a bit more like it is in Neutral Special, though I can get not touching on that much since it's meant to be a negative mechanic/drawback over something rewarding. Still, a move or two more that's good at swooping in to punish opponents with when they take a swing at Makar, and maybe letting the little guy be an exception to the tree being solid and being able to pass through to reunite with Medli more easily, would be nice touches. These are, as stated, nitpicks, though. The duo make for a fine set indeed, and I have to say this is a big jump in quality for Slippy (as solid a set as he may have been). Phenomenal work, Bridges!

 

[UserShadow7989]

JAMCON 25-4​

JamCons are a monthly mini-competition where MYM'ers write up a set under a chosen "theme" within a 4-day period: starting from 12AM PST and ending on Wednesday that same time. Once the submission period is over, MYM'ers have 2 weeks to read and comment all of the entries, after which they can nominate their favorite entry. The entry that receives the most votes wins! The winner then picks the theme for the next JamCon.

The set needs to be serious, not a joke entry or missing inputs on purpose.
Commenting and nominating a set is recommended, especially if you participated yourself.
To encourage commenting, anyone who nominates will receive a 0.5 point voter bonus on their JamCon entries. JamCon nominations count as 1 point. Nominating a set can mean the difference between a tie and a win!
Major edits are not allowed until the JamCon competition is finished. Minor edits like grammar, number-crunching, presentation or adding pictures or even extras are still allowed.
Multiple JamCon entries are allowed!
Joint sets between more than one setmaker are allowed! Team up with someone to finish your entry quicker!
You can use a pre-existing "skeleton" as the base for a JamCon set: intro, presentation, move images, Final Smash and even extras are allowed to be done before or after the JamCon. Only the stats and usual 23 moves (Specials, Standards, Smashes, Aerials and Grabs + Throws) need to be done during the JamCon.


This week's theme is:

W I L D !​

This can serve as your typical wild child character, raised in the woods or simply at one with nature, or even embodying an aspect of it like Lip from Panel de Pon.
It could be someone evocative of the "Wild" West, your traditional gunslinger or a rider on horseback, like Hol Horse from Jojo's Bizarre Adventure.
It can be a wild animal of sorts, from a fantastical creature to something more grounded, like Raptors, or even-
battle intro plays A "Wild" Pokemon appears! (Too many examples to count)
A character surviving in the wilderness or who is adept at traveling it would fit, such as Aloy from Horizon Zero Dawn who received a set this very contest!
You could submit a character with a strong inner rage or wilder side they let out under select circumstances, as big as a Jekyll and Hyde sort of transformation, or your typical D&D Barbarian- or someone like Wolf Witch Veronica.
It could also refer to design or stereotype- a punk rocker with the attitude or someone with 'wild' hair like your typical shonen protagonist- take Yugi Moto from Yu-Gi-Oh! (or any of the series' main protagonists) for an example of the latter.
Or even a 'wildcard' character, someone whose allegiances are hard to predict until the cards are laid out on the table, like W from Arknights.

 

[UserShadow7989]

Naoto Shirogane by Arctic Tern ***

Befitting of the Detective Prince, Naoto takes some cues from her successor, Akechi, and has a playstyle around pressuring the foe and slowly cornering them with forethought and good reads. She has a weakness to the same herself, making for a thoughtful playstyle thanks to the twist of her strongest defensive and offensive tools both being tied to committing with her Persona and proper positioning of it. The set has a focus on spacing, with a sub-focus on tech chases and a pair of helpful status ailments that are effective without being overly centralizing, and the animations take from her source material nicely while also borrowing a bit from fellow pragmatic weapon user Snake and touching on Naoto's varied skill set.

The set is the same 'incredibly solid and consistent' quality I've expected, except it feels even more polished than your other sets- despite having several additional inputs and variants within inputs, everything feels like a necessary tool that does exactly as much as it should without excess overlap or being too specialized. Naoto plays as she should, with everything clicking into place perfectly.

And then there's the extra layer added by her Fate Gauge mechanic where landing certain attacks will bring foes closer to an instant KO! This means they have another thing to play around when dealing with Naoto's stage control and 50/50s, as the closer their gauge gets to 0, the more dangerous certain moves in her kit become, thanks to the risk of giving her the option to end their current stock. Like the Poison and Fear statuses, this avoids being overly centralizing, while still being prevalent enough in her plans to be justified. It fits that Naoto's varied move pool is translated to her not over-relying on any one trick.

I'm of course a big fan of this set, as you can tell. I'm getting repetitive by saying this, but this is an excellent set, Tern, and we're happy to have you. Good work!

 

[Arctic Tern]

(Jamcon 4 entry)
​

 

[UserShadow7989]

By popular request, we're extending the Jamcon by 1 day. The new deadline is 11:59:59 PM Wednesday, EST! You're in the homestretch folks, get cracking!

 

[UserShadow7989]

"An extension? Fine. It doesn't matter how many rats you rustle up...

...you won't be able to win against a gatling gun!"

 

[BridgesWithTurtles]

*appreciates the extension and submits Jamcon 4 entry

​

 

[Katapultar]

“...? You’re saying you had already noticed my presence? Does that mean… You came out here so you could be alone with me? I… I…”


Jamcon 4 entry​

 

[Slavic]

Nino looked solemnly around the room she was kept, a well-lit orphanage with all the accommodations she could ever ask for. She'd known nothing but this house her whole life, and she was sad to leave it. She had never seen the larger world out there before, and with her luggage packed with her meager possessions she felt wholly unprepared.

Still, part of her was glad to leave. Those closest to her had all left by now. Her best friend, Madoka, had been adopted just last year, and it drove home the anxiety of finally leaving for her new home. Still, there was nothing left for her here. There were the twins, brightly colored as they were, seemed to prefer their own company. And then there was the older man here, a permanent fixture as it seemed no one would adopt him. Nino made sure to keep far away from him. A few other kids played about, chasing after toys, while the older ones helped with the chores. None could fill the gap in her heart for losing her friends.

Nino took a breath to steady her nerves. There was no reason to be sad now, she had said her goodbyes and was ready to leave. She'd learned so much here, she knew she'd be able to apply herself in the real world with her new family. A sweet, motherly voice called to her. Nino turned and looked up to the house's mama, who had extended a soft hand to the girl.

"Let's go, child. Your new family is waiting."



Nino took her hand, comforted as she was lead to the gate.​

 

[Katapultar]

Spoiler: Isabella

I only watched 3 episodes of this anime, but was hype enough to see this set that I wanted to read it first. It feels refreshing to get an anime set (from someone else), especially for a major and presumably iconic villain from a series that MYM hasn’t touched. It’s great to see someone else make sets for low-potential anime characters.

And I surprisingly enjoyed Isabella quite a bit! Her Side, Up and Down Specials all felt unique in their own creative and intriguing ways. Side Special had a balanced twist on a grabbing minion that would otherwise be overpowered, where foes have to be careful when they escape, especially when Isabella can set traps on the stage. A bit unsure if Krone is meant to have a different attack for radar and no radar, or can only grab if foes are radar’d, but that’s okay. Up Special is a fun take on what you consider to be your overused form of recovery: the falling hitbox when a fighter climbs to the top of the ladder, and setting it as a trap in exchange for losing your recovery.

And Down Special is a humorously written move, and a pretty over-the-top KO condition: a 10 second, long-ranged trap with a grab hitbox is pretty strong even with the set-up required, but I could see opponents rolling or air dodges towards it to bait it out, which could be worth mentioning. Isabella’s set is also balanced around landing this instant kill as she doesn’t have a lot of great KO options, which is fitting for her character. The Specials do a great job of setting up the atmosphere for Isabella’s character.

Straight out of the Specials is more fun in the Smashes: I definitely approve of using OPs for move inspiration, and have no problem with Isabella’s F-Smash and U-Smash being abstract in nature. Something for me to think about when I next do an anime set. F-throw is certainly a… unique cargo throw animation, very good atmosphere when combined with the picture. B-throw and D-throw were both good moves, not only for characterization but gameplay-wise. That D-throw can produce an item of course appeals to me, a fun idea to store for the future. The set beyond that is understandably simple, given Isabella was a very quick set. On the plus side? Isabella oozed characterization from start to finish, like her tilts showing off her household duties. Brilliant stuff.

Overall, Isabella is my favourite solo Jamcon set from you. I really, really enjoyed this set from a character perspective: your writing flair and said characterization certainly helped with that, as well as the images, but there’s something about characters from animes that aren’t popular with MYM getting sets, especially if that character doesn’t fight in their source material. Maybe because I like to make sets for those kinds of characters, and because they don’t have to adhere to a specific fighting style, allowing setmakers to get creative and unpredictable. Great job with this set, Slavic!

 

[FrozenRoy]

"I will go anywhere you tell me to. No matter what kind of forest or mountain, I will level it and leave not a single blade of grass standing.

Leave it to me, okay?"
Paul Bunyan​

A joke-ish character from Fate/Grand Order, Paul Bunyan originates from the EXTREMELY joke-y "Learning With Manga" comic which features an insane, material and farming obsessed super-chibi Gudako (the normal MC) as the main character. The tale of Paul Bunyan itself is one told largely in specific regions of North America and Canada, usually said to be born in Minnesota, as a giant Lumberjack who had such incredible feats as creating Minnesota's 10,000 lakes with his footsteps, creating the Grand Canyon by dragging his axe across the Earth, logging vast swathes of the Dakotas, all accompanied by her trust blue ox Babe. Paul Bunyan's folklore is, however, debatably an example of "Fakelore": While there is evidence to suggest Paul Bunyan existed as logger's stories sometime in the 1800s, possibly inspired by the real life Fabian Fournier, almost all of his extraordinary tales (such as all of the ones I just said) instead came about due to advertiser William Laughead's advertising pamphlets discussing the "Folklore". Indeed, most of the actual folklore is much more mundane, such as skating on a giant stove to make his favorite food pancakes on it (and to feed other loggers) and being seven or so foot tall. And being so good at camp cooking that he could feed an entire camp for an entire winter with just bean soup (or in more fantastic tales, used an entire lake to boil enough bean soup to last the winter). It is speculated many of the tales told were meant to be comedic in nature, as well.

In Fate, a character's notoriety, mythology and so on influence how strong they are. Normally Bunyan, a very regional folk hero who is barely known outside of it and whose legend is almost entirely fabricated for advertisement, wouldn't even qualify to be summoned as a Servant let alone one of any notable power. Enter the fact she came from a gag manga for an event in the main Fate/Grand Order series, from a gag universe working on different rules: Manga!Gudako wants to summon a really powerful Servant who can farm quickly and is super cool, so she puts together a heap of udon dough and Grail Mud (basically, evil juice from a corrupted, wish granting Holy Grail) in order to make them, shaping her from it in order to have a super cool welfare Servant. It also makes her a woman to continue the joke from the manga of mocking Fate genderbends, plus since Gudako literally sculpted her and really likes Cute Girl Servants it makes sense, with her bio even pointing out how it is...Confusing logically and that it can't even be tell if she was always a girl or genderbent.

Regardless, all of this combined means that instead of summoning a Servant with the powers of a Creator God and none of the downsides usually associated with it (being a true Divine Spirit in a Servant usually is impossible without severe power loss), Bunyan ends up being a mere 1-star Servant. Given that Manga!Gudako is obsessed with rarity, power, farming ability and so on she quickly abandons the new life she's created, setting Bunyan up to encounter the main Fate/Grand Order universe due to plenty of Shenanigans involving Edison and more. Manga!Gudako even ends up mocking Bunyan by going "What we actually got was just a wacky...useless thing! If we gave YOU as a welfare, Chaldea would be DEAD!", something which absolutely sets off the real Gudako in how heartless it is and sets up a big confrontation.

Bunyan herself is well aware of her status as a rather worthless character who, technically, shouldn't be a Servant at all, which gives her severe self-esteem issues, with her defeat lines usually saying that Chaldea is probably better off without her. She isn't very intelligent overall, but is very good natured and wants to help people as best she can.

This actually ties into the fact that she is essentially a representation of relentless human (and specifically American) progress, qualifying for the Jamcon theme by the fact that she is intristically anti-nature and pro-Civilization, with her reletnessly lumberjacking destroying the Wild left and right. For example, her My Room line on what she'd do if she had the Holy Grail is to bulldoze all of nature to build a giant vacant lot for everyone to live on ("If the Holy Grail can grant any wish, let's make the entire Earth into one big vacant lot. If everyone can find a place they can live, everyone will be happy.") and only sees the wilds as something to be cut down to make way for human progress with little understanding or care for the consequences. This explains her high desire to make friends while being lonely, civilization itself is so important to her, and causes a rivalry with Altera (who is an anti-civilization weapon). This even builds into some of her self-deprication and a few moments of angst, as she points out her pioneering, expansionist mindset and legend is very problematic nowadays yet much of modern civilization was built from it (she even contemplates suicide because of the idea that she represents "progress at the cost of lives"), and cumulates in a rather series Bond Craft Essence (an equippable item you get by maxing out how close the Servant is to you, unique to each character) that drives home the nature destruction aspect of her character: "What was once called the New World has been trampled and destroyed by those who named it thus. All has been lost. What remains is a single country."

Bunyan's power set is rather direct, but effective: She can grow absolutely massive, bug enough to tower over mountains, and she has an axe that can match her size, which in later ascensions becomes an ironic chainsaw (ironic because Paul Bunyan has an anti-chainsaw legend). She also has her trust blue ox Babe, who by default is about the size and shape of a plushie, but seems to have sizeshifting abilities in the same vein as Bunyan. She can also do things like summon logs to smack the enemy lift being, well, a lumberjack and all.

In terms of gameplay, Bunyan has the highest attack power of any 1-star Servant and the lowest HP, with her Berserker class amping up her offensive power and tanking her defensive power. Despite this, her Skills largely focus on Supporting: Her "Delightful Comrades" skill buffs Buster performance and Critical damage team-wide, her "Lake of Bean Soup" skill is a party heal and her "Popcorn Blizzard" skill reduces all enemy defenses and healing for 5 turns. Most important is her Noble Phantasm, which simply has her grow big and step on the foe (she claims that it works by "Using the United States of America itself as a conceptual Noble Phantasm, the country's founding history is converted into energy and slammed into the enemy with titanic force." but, by all accounts, she just grows big and steps on them). This deals high damage to all enemies, and with Overcharge lowers their defense...and, most importantly, at 2x speed only takes 2 seconds to complete due to a comedically simple animation, which combined with her first skill's buffs and attack power means she's a surprisingly decent ultra-budget farmer who can go through animations quickly in a game where Noble Phantasm animations CANNOT be turned off.

This, in turn, leads to the thesis of the set: An almost comedically simple and straightforward set, devoid of complex and overarching mechanics (the closest thing she has to one is more of a move quirk and very simple), with a set focused largely on rushing at the opponent and beating them up. Don't take that to mean you can underestimate Bunyan, though: What she lacks in options she makes up for in BIG power!

In addition to her normal, base outfit seen above, other costumes in Smash include her 2nd ascension outfit, her "Mad Bunny" outfit which is a reference to Monty Python directly (and also which you'll be seeing a lot here because, for some reason, the only attack animation compilation I could find of her on Youtube was this outfit), her traveling outfit and her travel journal outfit.

Stats​

Paul Bunyan is pretty small (slightly smaller than Villager, thinner), they are tied with Pichu as the lightest character in the game (62 weight), and they have an extremely high initial dash speed (Roy) that has skates visually appear under her feet briefly (to reference her stove skating legend) before devolving into a very mediocre dash speed (Terry). She has mediocre air speed (Piranha Plant), falls quickly (Kazuya/K. Rool) and a very strong first jump but a very weak second jump.

Specials​

Neutral Special :> Big Bunyan​

Bunyan grows to gigantic portions in a flash, keeping her cute and cartoonish simplicity with her simplistic :> smile in the process. She grows from her normal size to double Bowser's in height (somewhat less so in width due to being thinner than Bowser), and her weight increases by 100 to reach 162, becoming the heaviest character in the game. The size, reach and placement of her hitboxes naturally increases to match. Additionally, she takes 0.8x the normal hitstun she would take from her newfound tankiness. If her model would run into solid ground she will, depending on how the animation works, either clip in comically as befitting her gag comic origins, or peek around it like her Travel Journal image. All hitboxes and hurtboxes remain the same in this state, so you can hit Bunyan's head if it is inside Temple. Bunyan does not have any time limit on staying large, making it more of a toggle of her current state. Becoming big does deal 8% damage and light "get off me" knockback to anyone who hurtbox overlaps when she turns big as well, so that's nice.

While becoming large has plenty of upsides, the natural downsides are plentiful: Her large hitbox makes her very easy to combo, especially combined with her fast fall speed. Ever seen those videos where someone has a niche 0-to-death on Donkey Kong? There's absolutely characters in a similar boat of being able to specifically 0-to-death Big Bunyan. It also just makes it a lot easier to hit her in general and weaving around projectiles from spammers can be ridiculously tough. Not to mention that when recovering it makes avoiding edgeguards much harder, although her Up Special's distance helps with this. Bunyan can avoid this by turning small, and in fact can toggle between being Big Bunyan and Normal Bunyan at will, even during hitstun! (Although being hit DURING the move's start-up before she finishes growing/not-growing will cancel it despite this). There is a 12 second cooldown on form changing no matter when Bunyan transforms or how she does, so you have to consider you'll be form locked for a while after use.

Some of Bunyan's attacks allow her to become big without entering this state, akin to her Extra Attack. This is the closest that Bunyan has to a "mechanic", in that Bunyan gets bigger and the effects are more prominent the more she hit foes in the last 12 seconds, with 4 hits (even multihits!) on the foe allowing her to reach maximum, Neutral Special sized large. Obviously Bunyan is always big during these attacks when Neutral Special is on, with all the associated maximum level buffs. Temporary size changees are unaffected by the 12 second cooldown.

Up Special :> Super Bun-nyan Jump!​

Bunyan leaps high into the air, although the animation and distance depends on if she is on the ground or in the air. From the ground, it is more akin to the Bowser Bomb, but in the air it is more of a Super Dedede Jump in distance with a Bowser Bomb/Dedede Jump-ish hybrid animation that ends with her doing a cannonball. Bunyan grows larger during the "rising" portion of the attack until she reaches her maximum size, which deals 2%/4%/6%/8% damage on the way up depending on her size, before she crashes down with the cannonball. She will grab ledges during the attack portion, but do be aware she plummets quickly and her horizontal momentum is nearly non-existant once she drops, although fortunately she has the same vertical and horizontal distance as Super Dedede Jump up until he begins to fall on the start-up. And growing larger makes Bunyan jump further, as well: Maximum size has her go double the base distance, allowing her shockingly good recovery. The cannonball does 12-20% damage depending on her size and kills at 120%-80% off the top. She will not self-destruct off the top while still moving even if she is hit. She will bonk off the bottom of stages if she hits them just like Dedede's Up Special: If she has at least 2 hits worth of size, this causes that entire ground to shake for a moment and deal 6% plus a trip, so she can bash her head against the main Temple's bottom from the "Cave of Life" to attack everyone up there. Pressing B allows Bunyan to attack early with the cannonball. On the ground, all of the rising distance I mentioned instead applies to a grounded Bowser Bomb.

Side Special :> Babe the Blue Ox​

Bunyan hops onto her trusty steed Babe and charges forward, with very similar controls and physics to Wario's Bike. Bunyan's Side Special comes out a bit faster, but the hitbox is smaller by default, and Babe won't stick around if Bunyan jumps off. Instead, Babe will continue charging for 1 second before leaving, after which Bunyan suffers the same cooldown Wario does when his bike is destroyed or goes off stage. Babe moves at 1.4x Bunyan's dash speed and unlike Wario's bike can jump by holding up on the control stick (jump dismounts like normal, so be careful if you use Tap Jump!) at Bunyan's second jump height, but cannot wheelie. Pressing B while on Babe causes Bunyan to swing her axe, dealing 9%-17% damage and killing at 180%-110% in the process. In addition to Bunyan and her axe increasing with size, Babe will increase to keep the same proportional size as Bunyan's size increases. This gives the move potentially crazy range at maximum size. Pressing A causes Bunyan to horizontally swing her chainsaw, dealing 7%-15% damage that kills at 220%-150%, but A can also be held to have the chainsaw deal rapid hits of damage akin to Corrin's Forward Smash, at a faster speed but with less damage per hit. This allows Bunyan to rack up a lot of hits for her non-Neutral Special size increases, and if she is in Neutral Special she can carry foes long distances (usually to the edge of a normal stage) and then release A to finish off with a swing due to the higher size being nigh-impossible to DI out of (it can be DI'd out of if, say, Bunyan's movement is stopped for some reason, but while she's moving you're not getting out).

Bunyan's face will have a :> look to it if she is using the multihit chainsaw on a nature-associated character or an animal (RIP Ceres Fauna and Pikachu), but an unhappy :< look on her face if she's using it against a human, a robot, or another civilization-related character (truly, Mumei Nanashi is her Oshi). This smile/frown dichotomy applies to any of Bunyan's chainsaw multihits unless otherwise stated.

Down Special :> Lake of Bean Soup / Popcorn Blizzard​

Mmmmm, food! Bunyan's got a big appetite, so she's brought multiple snacks with her! The first is done by just tapping B, having her take out a can of bean soup and begin eating it vigorously. Her animation becomes Game & Watch/Wario-esque in terms of snappiness, not unlike one of her Skill animations, enhancing the comedy of the moment. This is a very simple move that heals Bunyan for 10%, although while she is Big Bunyan she will instead heal for 20% as she eats a larger amount of beans. You're more likely to be interrupted while very large, though. This doesn't take too long to do. Keep in mind small Bunyan is extremely light and despite large Bunyan's immense weight she is highly vulnerable to long combo kills, edgeguards and even 0-to-deaths, so healing could be more valuable for her.

Holding down B instead causes Bunyan to take out popcorn, and while she will munch on some when taking it out, she ends up tossing the entire bag forward as a projectile that travels half of a Battlefield Platform. Enemies caught inside this blizzard of popcorn take a maximum of three hits of 3% damage (after which they'll be immune to all later hits of popcorn), take an additional 1.3x damage from Bunyan's attacks (with it only counting as 1.15x for knockback), and have their shield regeneration cut in half. All of these effects last for for 10 seconds. Attacking Bunyan while she is taking out the popcorn or during the brief animation of snacking on it will cause the popcorn to explode violently, sending it flying the same distance as normal but more volumous and in an explosion-style burst around her rather than just forward, increasing the hits to 6 hits of 3%. In addition, the damage of the attack countered is added to the decimal count of the damage multiplier of the Popcorn Blizzard. So if Bunyan countered a 13% damage attack, foes now take 1.43x normal damage. Knockback continues to be half of whatever the modifier is. This allows Bunyan to output insane damage if she counters a powerful attack, but she doesn't get the powerful initial burst most counters give. But then again, she also gets an attack even if she doesn't counter Sephiroth-style, so. Hitting with Popcorn Blizzard while an opponent is already debuffed refreshes it for the highest amount of all Popcorn Blizzards that have hit a foe. So if you hit with a 1.3x counter and you had a 1.43x counter on them before, it uses the older 1.43x. But if you hit with a 1.43x counter and the older counter was 1.3x, then it updates to 1.43x. It always uses the highest value, basically.

No matter what Bunyan uses, her entire Down Special goes on a 15 second cooldown where she cannot use either version, meaning that Bunyan needs to decide between sustainability or amping up her damage. It also means she can't really spam healing, as she's unlikely to be able to avoid 10%-20% damage for that long (especially since Big Bunyan is so bad at running and hiding). Her Down Special's cooldown is reduced by 1 second for every hit she lands on the opponent (this does not count shielded hits, and neither does her Neutral Special), so being very aggressive allows Bunyan to heal more frequently as well.

Standards​

Up Tilt :> Swing​

Bunyan leans back and pulls her axe behind her, then swings in an arc so that it goes all above her head before slamming down in front of her. 7% damage, aerial foes are spiked while grounded opponents are put in tech situations until high percents. Extremely safe on shield with a high shield damage modifier. Practically a Forward Tilt in how well it covers her front and has tons of coverage while Big, but the ending lag is fairly bad. Surprisingly fast start-up.

Forward Tilt :> 3-Hit Swing​

Bunyan performs a pair of quick axe chops in front of her, followed by a stronger fuller swing where the weight of it causes her to go off-balance and lose her grip on the axe with one hand. The first two hits deal 2% damage and true combo into the third hit of 10% for a strong 14% Forward Tilt, with the final hit killing at 110%. This attack doesn't get a power boost from being a Big Bunyan, but the range boost is powerful with its multi-hit nature. The first hit is quite fast to come out, but the ending lag is on the long side for a tilt and the duration adds an element of punishability to a miss. The final hit deals good shield damage and just enough shieldstun to be safe, but doesn't provide much else than that. The three hits all comboing into each other makes for a great way to get hits up for your Big attacks. Side stepping the first strike means getting hit by the last part. Bunyan can step forward or back slightly during the multiple hits, allowing some precise spacing.

Down Tilt :> Kick​

Bunyan pulls her leg back, quickly, and then kicks in front of her with a happy look on her face, like she was kicking a (mountain-sized) stone away. She puts a lot of force into the attack, so she actually ends up going into the air slightly from that and then falling down comically (anyone who has over-kicked and fallen down can relate). It starts quickly and the ending lag is not as bad as the animation would make you think, as Bunyan gets up quickly. Deals 6% damage and knockback that sends at an angle forcing a tech situation until very high percents. It has extremely high shield push that makes it incredibly safe on shield, but doesn't deal extra shield damage, so you'd rather use Jab or Up Tilt for that.

Bunyan won't grow Big for this attack, but if she is a Big Bunyan from Neutral Special then this attack gains some noticeably different properties. The attack power becomes much stronger at 16% that kills at 95% while retaining the high starting speed. She now also has immsense shield push on the attack, which from a lot of spots on stages will cause edge slipping, which Bunyan can situationally take advantage of. A downside of becoming bigger is that it is much harder for Bunyan to get up from falling and thus leads to MUCH higher ending lag. On the flipside, Bunyan being so Big means she has a hitbox as she falls down, pitfalling anyone directly under her for 12% damage and tripping anyone closely around her as a groundshaking hitbox for 4%. Ultimately, it is a very different but no less useful move.

Jab :> Chainsaw​

Bunyan does a single diagonal slash of her chainsaw in front of her, dealing 2%, and stopping the slash part way through. This leads into Bunyan revving up the chainsaw, performing a series of rapidfire small hits that will usually add up to about 4%-7% depending on the foe's DI (although in some scenarios she can hold it for more damage, maximum 16% before the finisher automatically comes out). The damage output is roughly doubled if Bunyan is in her Big form due to the chainsaw's increased size. Releasing the rapid hits has Bunyan pull back the chainsaw and finish with a potent and full swing that finishes for 4% damage and spacing knockback that leaves Bunyan in advantage. The biggest things worth noting about this move are its safety and speed: It has good enough range for a Jab, it comes out very fast (Frame 3 Jab), and the multihit has a VERY high shield damage multiplier that will chew through shield health quickly. It won't really shield break as the multihit will shield poke before it can, but it's very likely to be safe on shield in the end. The ending lag is also low, although it should be noted that entering the multihit portion of the attack makes the attack very punishable on whiff so you don't want to just mash it. Throwing out Jab 1 is one of Bunyan's most basic and powerful neutral tools.

Dash Attack :> Belly Flump​

Bunyan rushes forward, before jumping up happily! If she has any hits to grow Big, she does so in the process, adding a 1%-4% hitbox (spread out over multiple 1% hits) as she tramples over people before the jump that has no hitstun and thus doesn't affect if she lands the actual attack or not. She comes crashing down afterwards in a big belly flop inspired by King Dedede, and just as funny to watch, with the exact power and ending lag depending on how Big Bunyan 8is. The start-up remains 18 frames no matter what, 6 frames faster than Dedede and between Pyra (17) and Link (20) in speed, still one of the slowest Dash Attacks in the game. If Bunyan cannot grow Big at all, the attack is a rather pathetic 7% damage for the starting lag, but it does automatically trip the opponent and has very low ending lag that allows Bunyan to follow-up. This makes it a good damage racking move. At maximum Big, such as with Neutral Special on, this becomes one of her strongest moves as it deals 24% damage and kills at 80%, but now has some monstrously long ending lag that makes her very punishable. Opponents hit in the middle of her body are aesthetically pitfalled Lucas D-Throw style before being launched. Middle ranges are as you'd expect, with less Big meaning faster ending lag and less damage + knockback. 2 hits is a nice middle ground that deals 15% damage and kills at 130% with moderate ending lag. Bunyan has 2% armor on her front for stage of bigness she enters excepting the maximum Big level, which has 12% heavy armor. All hits have a lingering sourspot that lasts after the initial hit as she slides on the ground, lasting for half of the ending lag of that stage of attack and dealing half the damage of the attack.

Smashes​

Forward Smash :> Crush​

Bunyan digs her axe into the earth as she performs an underhand swing, ripping it up around her axe as she does so, before swinging it in an upward arc in front of her. A slow attack to start out, it also serves as Bunyan's most baseline and straightforward kill move, dealing 22%-30.8% damage (2% less baseline than Ganondorf's Forward Smash) and kills a little bit later than Ganondorf's Forward Smash in the process. It's obviously quite laggy on both ends, but Bunyan does additionally send the rubble flying a little bit in front of the axe swing, dealing multiple hits that add up to 6%-8.4% based on charge. This is especially potent while Bunyan is Big, though, because it increases both the size of the axe swing AND the rubble, letting Bunyan launch this attack from far enough away to become more than safe on shield, and it will also cover improperly timed rolls with the multiple hits of the attack. At maximum size, she gets +4% added to the base damage and the knockback becomes roughly equal to Ganondorf's Forward Smash. This attack allows Bunyan to grow Big without Neutral Special, making it her super risky combo finisher that can really crush opponents hardcore but is far too slow to true combo for the most part, although the huge reach on it can make combos a bit easier than expected because it makes it harder for people to be knocked away. And sometimes Bunyan just has that ready in neutral regardless from a multihit and can throw out massively powerful Forward Smashes freely.

If Bunyan gets a killing camera zoom on this attack, then she will have a special idle pose where she puts her hand above her eyebrows and watches the opponent fly away like a baseball while her axe is planted in the ground, waving goodbye after a moment. This can be cancelled like Incineroar's poses.

Down Smash :> Deforestation!​

Bunyan takes out her chainsaw, holding it in front of her while taking a more dynamic position that so that she is ready to perform a spin. She revs up the chainsaw during the charging animation once she gets into position, creating a multiple hit hitbox the entire time that strikes as a similar method to Corrin's Forward Smash and a rate akin to her rapid jab. This ALSO has the super high shield damage modifier that her rapid jab does, meaning that this charge hitbox is perfectly able to shred through shields before unleashing the actual attack. It also adds a general threat level to the attack since, for example, she can hold the charge to catch a spot dodge and then unleash it into the attack. She does need to be careful not to hold it on for too long, because the attack that she performs is a sweeping spin that low profiles. This is great to hit under shields that get chewed through by the charging hitbox, so it is quite the solid combo. And the charging hitbox is even more potent while in Big Bunyan form, because the chainsaw's larger reach means it can stuff out some real rolls and REALLY eat up shields. The actual spin itself deals 16%-22.4% damage and will kill at roughly 160%-130%, with good range to it, and while it isn't especially fast it also isn't slow. This makes it a reasonably good get off of me move in addition to its more offensive uses, and she can use it after her other offensive, anti-shield tools to really get ahead of it.

If she caught a nature-based opponent in the charging hitbox, she'll let out an even more angry face as she unleashes the main attack that shows off her sharp teeth.

Up Smash :> Babe Rush​

Bunyan takes out Babe, looking adorable and plushie-like, and basically performs what you see from that GIF but upwards: Tossing Babe upwards thrice, with the last one being a more forceful throw, although in this case Babe comes down to her without bouncing off the foe. Hitting a foe with it causes her to bounce back down to Bunyan faster and causes the attack to finish faster, which can make varying speeds of attack if it, say, hits a shield once and then misses or whatnot. This attack can be used even if Babe is on cooldown from Side Special, turns out they won't abandon Bunyan, they're just tired! Whatever the case, the first two hits deal 4%-5.6% damage with the finishing hit dealing 10%-14% for a total of 18%-25.2% damage. It is Bunyan's least powerful Smash attack, killing at 180%-160%, but it makes up for it with good range that becomes intense when Bunyan is Big, and the fact that it gives Bunyan a pretty good anti-air option since this attack is average overall lag-wise. This works very well into her Up Throw, where the long duration demands a side-air dodge, and her Up Aerial as well. She can poke bottom-most platforms while small, but when she is Big it instead pokes high platforms. Babe also gets bigger with Bunyan, but at the same time her super size means that she won't be having people attacking her from above as much.

Aerials​

Neutral Aerial :> Speen​

One of Bunyan's most important moves, Bunyan curls into a ball and spins, popping out of the ball-spin with her arms to the side and a happy, goofy expression on her face during the ending lag. This move changes dramatically based on Bunyan's size. From her base size up to Size 2, this attack is a multihit attack that deals a total of 6%-8% (depending on size) damage before a final light hit of 2% as she pops out of the ball. This attack is fairly fast to start up and the ending lag isn't bad either, so it serves as Bunyan's primary combo starter when she isn't ready to be Big: A drag down to the ground can lead into Jab, Forward Tilt or Down Tilt pretty easily and often Up Tilt as well, so you can build your offense however you want at that point. Bunyan's default grab is small ranged but quite fast, so she can also go for a grab as long as she sticks close enough to the foe in the drag down.

Aerially, the light pop-up allows Bunyan to do combos with her double jump, with the most reliable and common being a NAir -> FAir chain. If Bunyan began with a Size 2 spin, then chaining a NAir into a NAir is a pretty good job as well. Double jump DAir is not a combo and can become iffy at higher percents, but forces foes to be aware or react lest they potentially get caught off guard (though this can lead to faster attacks just beating Bunyan out). Popcorn Blizzard can be a surprise attack to both cover counter-attacks and still hit foes if they play TOO passively, making it an option for Bunyan to try and force or refresh her Popcorn Blizzard debuff on the foe. Side Special could be attempted to ram (or, well, ox) into the the foe and then jump off of Babe to get a longer combo, but this can be difficult.

At Size 3-4, the attack becomes a single strike hitbox that deals 13.5% damage and kills at 150%, turning it instead into a combo finisher that can edgeguard very effectively. Bunyan also maintains 12% super armor around her entire body for the duration of the attack and 1 frame before and after, which also allows Bunyan to really bully the air game. The downsides to this include longer starting lag, although for the power it has it is still rather good, and longer ending lag, especially when it comes to landing lag which is noticeably long.

Down Aerial :> Spike​

Bunyan slowly raises her axe above her head and then slams it down below her. Deals 14%-20% damage. An extremely powerful spike.

Forward Aerial :> Logging​

Waving her arm in front of her, Bunyan summons a trio of logs at a downward-diagonal angle in front of her. These count as projectiles and have pretty good range to them, chunky logs if you will, dealing three hits of 4% damage and moderate-ish low-ish knockback away from her. This doesn't lead into a ton of specific combos, but it gives Bunyan an attack beyond her normal reach, and most importantly serves as probably her primary tool for approaches and neutral tools in terms of aerials. The downward angle to it means that it is perfectly picture placed to strike at grounded opponents from a hop. The range makes it easily safe on shield, and it is very possible to mix up if a forward aerial is coming or instead she is going to cross-up with a down aerial. It's also a solid combo ender for Bunyan that gives her a lot of hits for her sizeshifting abilities.

While she is a Big Bunyan, the logs increase in size as well, allowing this to become a monstrous edgeguarding tool against recovering opponents and a great general tool for spacing. It does, however, take longer to come out and thus makes her neutral more reactable. It isn't easy to throw entire trees of that size, you know?

Back Aerial :> Back-Swing​

Bunyan takes her axe and turns around with it, swinging horizontally behind her in a way not dissimilar to Villager when he uses Down Special with a tree out. This is your basic, somewhat fast to start but really laggy at the end and powerful Back Aerial that deals 15% damage that will end up killing at around 125%. It's not the easiest tool to land, honestly, but it is reliable and evergreen (no, bad, it's ever-lot) tool for when she needs it. The hitbox is a bit thin, but it has some better horizontal length than normal.

Up Aerial :> Ox Spin​

Bunyan happily tosses Babe upwards above her with a cute smile on her face, who spins as she does so and ends up spinning above where Bunyan threw them up before falling back down to the height Bunyan threw her, whereupon Babe vanishes. Babe's spinning self deals multiple hits that add up to a total of 11.2% damage before launching opponents moderately upwards. Can't really kill well. Babe counts as a disjointed hitbox rather than a projectile. Since Babe lingers in the air for a while, it is a good move for controlling space that lingers once Bunyan leaves (usually about a second after). This also combines well into catching out high flying opponents. Using any other moves that involve Babe cause them to poof out of existence if they are out from Up Aerial. It's a good move for sharking and another solid multihit to build things up for Bunyan. Bunyan fastfalling after throwing Babe upwards won't stop Babe from spinning, so she could toss Babe upwards and then land with the knowledge she is anti-airing opponents.

Grab Game​

Grab :> Lumbergrab​

Bunyan reaches back and then grabs forward that makes her look like she's trying to get the opponent in a bear hug. Bear Hugger would be proud of this Canadian legend! Fast, but it has small range: The larger she is, the slower yet rangier the grab gets. If she grabs the opponent while at maximum size, her face gains either an angry expression (vs. nature-y characters) or an unsettlingly serene expression (vs. other characters) when she grabs them. Bunyan "scoops" down when she grabs while large, so she can still grab small characters with ease.

Pummel :> Slam​

Bunyan slams the opponent into the ground. While small, this is a fast 1% pummel that has a standard animation, but it gets more hilariously casual and dramatic for every size she has as Bunyan retains her large size when she grabs a foe at that size. At maximum size, she simply comically puts the foe into her palm and smushes them into the ground as a 4.5%, slow pummel. If this is against a nature-themed character she laughs as she does so. The faster pummels at small sizes can prepare a size change.

Forward Throw :> Slam!​

An enhanced version of her Pummel modified to be a throw: While small, Bunyan hefts the opponent above her head and slams them down in front of her, dealing 7% damage and mediocre knockback that has a somewhat low angle. At maximum size, Bunyan lifts the opponent in her palm to her face. Depending on the expression she had when grabbing the foe, it either deepens into more of an angry snarl that shows off her sharp teeth, or shadoes her serene looking face to give it a menacing aura. Whatever the case, she closes her palm around the foe and throws her at the ground like a fastball, dealing a monstrously powerful 21% damage and killing with Incineroar B-Throw strength: it also has a very high angle as they bounce off the ground instead of a lower angle. Size changes follow that same curve: More power, and higher knockback angle.

Down Throw :> Hugo Reference​

Actually gripping the opponent in a bear hug, Bunyan jumps into the air and goes flipping in a way suspiciously similar to a certain Street Fighting Wrestler. Depending on Bunyan's size, opponents take 4%-12% damage on landing, and are pitfalled for an amount of time equal to 0.25x-1.25x K. Rool's Down Throw depending on Bunyan's size. Bunyan also has less ending lag after the attack than K. Rool after the Down Throw, offering up more options at lower percents.

Up Throw :> Excitement​

Bunyan happily leaps into the air, tossing the opponent into the air in the process for a clean 8% damage. The knockback growth is very low, so it pretty consistently puts opponents in a position where Bunyan can try to chase after them but can't get combos out of it. Up Aerial is of course a great option, but Bunyan's very good first jump means that she can follow up with a lot of other aerials with Neutral Aerial being particularly prominent if she is small or at higher percents when big. She can also just threaten with grounded moves like Up Tilt, Up Smash and what have you.

Back Throw :> I'm a Lumberjack!​

Bunyan slams her axe into the opponent and spins once, dragging the opponent with them and sending them flying behind her for 15% damage that kills at 134%. This throw does not change based on Bunyan's size and is her most damaging by default in addition to a solid throw KO option. The animation is also hilariously face and has some Game & Watch/Wario-style animation, so it looks funny.

 

[UserShadow7989]

Submissions for Jamcon 25 - 4 are now closed! Thank you all for your enthusiasm, and better luck next time to those who weren't able to participate. We've got a few high quality submissions here, so do be sure to leave some feedback and cast a vote! The votes will be tallied and winner announced on July 20th.


This Jamcon's submissions are:

The fastest draw in the west, as penned by the fastest setmaker in MYM; Sundown Kid by Arctic Tern gives Live A Live a long overdue franchise slot.

But if you're going for quantity over quality, O. Dio by yours truly is packing plenty of lead!

Continuing the western theming streak, Nomad by BridgesWithTurtles takes a shot at securing his first Jamcon win.

Following up on that is a change of pace, a ninja instead of a cowboy; Kosaka Wakamo by Katapultar is one dangerous delinquent!

Well I'm certain there's nothing remotely suspect about Isabella by Slavic ; how can you not trust a motherly figure like that?

Timber! From F/GO, Paul Bunyan gets a set from FrozenRoy ! Standing as tall as her namesake, she'll cut the competition down to size.

 

[Katapultar]

Spoiler: Paul Bunyan

Another character of personal appeal to me, I admire that you straight-up went through with a quick and simple F/GO set, on a fittingly simplistic character. Got to keep up building up those Servant sets. Size-shifting on demand in a fun little concept, and using Up Special to headbonk the stage’s underside for quakes is definitely an idea worth storing for future sets. The brisk writing also has its charms: I found the touch of :> and :< to describe Bunyan’s facial expressions when hitting with chainsaw to be surprisingly funny - good characterization, and a reminder to Bubby or someone to make a set for Ceres Fauna (helps that Holocure exists now…). Down Special healing Bunyan more when she’s bigger is cool, too. Combine that with the damage multiplier for Bunyan’s counter, and it’s my favourite move in the set.

Past the Specials, the Standards make it clear that Bunyan’s ground moves are very effective against shields, and her U-tilt helps to keep her opponent grounded. I’m curious if that shield potency could be used to bait out aggression or jumps from an opponent, though you did say you were going to write up a playstyle section. I could also see D-tilt as a move that’s easy to avoid from a Big Bunyan to compensate for its speed and power, just jump and exploit her increased height. Beyond that, I found D-air’s shortness refreshing and humorous, and am perfectly fine with it how it is. An entertaining set with some fun Specials and characterization above my expectations, so good work there!

Also love the grab game’s Bear Hugger reference! Eh, Canada, what you gonna do?

 

[Slavic]

Spoiler: Everything Gets Hotter When The Sun Goes Down

The Sundown Kid by Arctic Tern kicks this JamCon off, setting the tone for both Wild West and Live A Live sets. This set is an interesting take on a projectile set, almost the opposite of how I tend to do them, by making the Specials the straight-forward every-use projectiles and then relegating the stronger ones to later in the set among the Smashes. This creates a different dynamic where the Kid is characterized heavily by his ability to quickdraw rather than overwhelm the foe with powerful projectiles. The whole set feels very cowboy-chic, and the quickdraw counter is a great idea befitting of a cowboy. Later inputs are a bit slim, understandable on a JamCon set, though there are ideas I wish to see expanded on more, like the use of rope in DThrow.

The main area of concern I have for the Sundown Kid is that he feels undertuned to me. His main projectiles are really inflexible, lacking the ability to be angled, which I worry makes him clunkier to use and harder to appreciate his gunplay skills. At the very least, I feel like Neutral Special should have some aim-ability. It's even worse in the air where the Sundown Kid's only forward-covering projectile is NAir as NSpec and SSpec both aim straight down to give the Kid a strong edge-guarding game. I know the idea is that he's not strong in the air, but it feels counterintuitive for his projectiles to act this way. I also think Down Special is very heavily undertuned, and I'd be fine with it activating during the starting lag of any attack, not just the slower ones. It's already more limiting than a normal counter and letting him interrupt any attack with his own counter should be fine. I would completely nix the cooldown time on it as well, it's not a strong enough counter to justify having one and certainly not 5 seconds. The Sundown Kid's the fastest draw there is, he should lean into this counter as a cornerstone of his set!

Either way, this is a fun set for a JamCon and I'm always a fan of having more cowboys around. Smashes ended up being the biggest highlight for the set for me, they're all quite fun and flavorful. Keep it up!

 

[Arctic Tern]

All Jamcon sets ranked!

My nomination for this contest goes to Katapultar's Kosaka Wakamo. An above average Jamcon all around!

 

[Katapultar]

Spoiler: The Sundown Kid

Another short set, Sundown Kid has a simple base, but his set gets the best out of it and manages to stay brisk but relevant all the way. In fact, the short Specials are pretty refreshing: it's neat to see a fighter with a projectile that's better than the average projectile to compensate for its owner's weaknesses, in the form of Neutral Special and Side Special being unblockable. Down Special is also unique for a counter, and gives Sundown Kid a very fitting "quick draw" kind of move - I wonder if the radial knockback should be hard-coded to reverse instances of downwards knockback, so it's not too powerful of an edgeguarding tool against foes beneath the ledge. The Smashes form an extra base with Villager inspiration, then a nice melee base where Sundown Kid struggles against shields and has committal aerial moves, but has a threatening Up Air. Not much else to say, but I liked the header fonts and attack names. Good work here.

Spoiler: O. Dio

Getting another HMA-esque Live A Live villain is great, and an amazing coincidence that he was posted right after Sundown Kid. It's funny how we both made sets for gun-wielding villains who can summon multiple weak thugs this Jamcon. An interesting choice to translate O. Dio's in-game insta-kill as just that, rather than have him fire bullets from it throughout his set and treat them with Smash logic, treating the attack as a massive threat. A nice point that O. Dio has a swingy/somewhat extreme advantage and disadvantage state given his minions are weak in spite of their potential abundance, and a relief that they only attack one at a time. I also enjoyed the touch of making the minions 8-bit rather than full 3D models like O. Dio presumably would be.

My favourite move in the set was easily Back Throw, for its DI mix-up with Up Throw, and how the bounce leads into strong knockback rather than a tech situation. The minion interactions on the Smashes and the Throws were fun too: Up Smash perhaps my favourite, for the taunt-like aspect and horizontal coverage your goons can provide you, followed by Back Throw and Up Throw with Chica as powerful rewards if he’s out to help.

Chica himself is a fun little minion, and while his passive dashing hitbox and moves that can lead into prone could be considered a bit strong, it’s nice that his hitboxes give O. Dio a more realistic chance of landing his Neutral Special. Side Special dealing less hitstun with staling is another neat idea to keep in mind, as it could be a really cool base for a set.

Spoiler: Nomad

I was curious what a Jamcon set from you would look like, and this set doesn't disappoint at all! Definitely on par with your other works, and fun to see a character from Dillon's game. His concept is quite cool and ambitious for a Jamcon entry. The full-equip start-up cut reminds me of recent sets that heavily future lag-cutting as a mechanic, like Pegasus, Kira and Catarina, and the attack chaining feels pretty balanced altogether, with chainable attacks in Nomad's set having low damage output to compensate for potentially chaining together up to 8 times. It all feels well-thought out, with a Shield Special to reset his weapons or slowly equip new ones without attacking, and even making a mention of staling. Each weapon has their own little touches too, like only having 1 rifle, or bombs being restricted to one move.

Down Special in particular was a very cool move and use of Nomad's mechanic: he can load himself with bombs and rain down streams of projectiles on his opponents, but he's on a strict timer to throw his load, which can backfire on him horribly if foes one-up him. I liked Side Special being stronger from a distance, and Up Special's ink obscuring was unexpected, but actually got a lot of mileage out of Nomad's set given his ranged Specials and his mechanic - that he stays silent in Smash, like a few Nintendo characters, was a really neat touch that compliments said obscuring perfectly, as it means Nomad won't give away what move he's using with voice clips. Inking foes for a more extreme version of Brawl's random tripping is all good too, as the effect doesn't last long and isn't casual to pull off. Beyond this, the melee is divided up well and has sensible choices for the inputs: B-air to transition into Side Special, an all-around F-air that doesn't rely on Nomad's mechanic, and rifle being on some of Nomad's more effective neutral/kill moves like said B-air, F-Smash and U-Smash, so if he just goes for 8 guns or swords he's missing out on that potential and extra coverage, in exchange for extra damage. Generally simple in execution, but with additional time I could see this kind of weapons-based concept being a base for a truly brilliant set. So thanks for this set, and glad you could join us for this Jamcon, Turtles!

Also, Nomad has a very cool Classic Mode, and an unexpectedly unique final boss match.

Nomination goes to Isabella for this contest!

 

[UserShadow7989]

The Sundown Kid by Arctic Tern ***

Gonna preface this by echoing what others have said about your output being amazing- Sundown is a sleek set, sure, but you put him out half-way into the Jamcon's original time frame and he is a fully functional set that represents the character perfectly. A speedy, ground-based projectile-focused fighter who excels at mid-range and heavily factors positioning into his playstyle, with a unique counter, strong central projectile that compensates for weaknesses elsewhere, an air game that's bolstered by good moves but limited by his air stats, and smashes that pull from the traps used in his chapter to even the score with opponents.

Katapultar already covered basically everything for balance tweaks I'd suggest, so this comment is a bit redundant other than being another Live a Live fan giving the set a nod for character representation (something you've always been strong at, so it's a treat to see this for a franchise I'm more deeply familiar with), a shake of the fist for cementing the franchise spot for Live A Live before I could, and a pleasantly surprised note over how Sundown and O. Dio's sets parallel each other in a number of ways while contrasting in others (thinking about the match-up is quite fun; note that we did not in any way collaborate on these sets or compare notes. Tern asked if I was doing Sundown to avoid overlap and after admitting he hadn't occurred to me, my mind immediately went to doing O. Dio).

I will say it could use a bit 'more' in sections like the Throws, but that's fairly standard for a Jamcon set, and everything clicks into place well enough that this is probably more me being used to/having always favored overly large and complex sets now and so having to adjust to sets that aren't running a ton of overarching mechanics and interactive tools.

 

[Slavic]

Spoiler: O. Dio Rodeo

O. Dio by U UserShadow7989 is an impressively well-rounded set for a JamCon, especially since the character choice was a late-ish one for you. O. Dio starts off with my kind of attack, a big honkin' gun on Neutral Special, and makes for a cool move with massive range and comical startup. What I like about O. Dio is that his entire set doesn't just revolve around Neutral Special but almost all of it feeds into the attack. O. Dio earns respect on the battlefield with strong options like Down Smash or Forward Aerial, builds small gameplay orbits around those options with other attacks. They then all work to create a minefield where a wrong response from the opponent can result in getting smacked by a gatling gun.

If there's one area where this moveset "struggles" it's with animations, O. Dio being a relatively grounded character who mainly swings his gun around like a club to get things done. The throws are another area where the animations are very straight forward, usually O. Dio just throwing in a direction. What's nice, though, is these really straightforward animations still get moves as detailed and woven together as the more extravagant ones, and he does have moves like Up Aerial that break the mold. In fact, I don't think any move in the set stood out to me as particularly underdeveloped, the only exceptions possibly being the Crazy Bunch and their interactions with the set. They're simple and have direct goals, Chico being the obvious standout, but if there was any area ripe for post-JamCon edits I think it's the areas involving them, particularly the throws.

Really, I have little negative to say about O. Dio. This set does a solid job of working a character and moveset idea into a fully formed and complete piece of writing. It never feels like there's loose threads like you often see in JamCon sets, no input section feels pushed off to the side or anything. Very excellent work with this, US!

Spoiler: Wild Arms

Nomad by BridgesWithTurtles rounds out the trio of Wild West sets we got for the first half of this JamCon. This set has an incredibly strong hook in the mechanic and Specials, one of the most exciting gimmicks I've read in a while. The ability to customize what weapons you'd like to use with 8 slots gives a really unique inventory system, and the kind of thing I might look at when and if I ever get around to making Leon Kennedy (the squid of human beings). The limited options bombs, pistols, and the rifle make for a fun balancing act and it's really fun to imagine the spray of explosives and munitions in exchange for a weaker melee game, or a cyclone of blades in leu of range. Up Smash is a highlight of this mechanic, letting Nomad shoot up to 24 shots with all 8 pistols equipped if he so desired. Imagining a match between Nomad, the Sundown Kid, and O. Dio sounds like a beautiful brand of chaos.

There's really nothing offensive about this set but I think the time squeeze can be felt pretty hard as the moveset goes on, mostly regrettable because Nomad's base leaves so much room for interpretation. Even if the moves present were kept, working in more ways to synergize attacks with each other would really help elevate this set to its peak potential. The biggest let down in Nomad is probably the grab game, it integrates very little with the mechanics of the set outside of some notable follow-ups. The throws feel like an opportunity to get creative with arm arrangements, easy inputs to throw the lesser-used weapons on to add a little more usage.

The criticisms listed are fairly constant among a lot of JamCons, mine included, of course, but would definitely be the areas I'd focus on adding to in the future. I hope this set does get some post-Jam polish as well, it's such a cool concept and was genuinely fun to read through. Plus, you've continued to have incredible presentation from your sets which is chef's kiss.

 

[GolisoPower]

A Certified Old West Classic​

The Sundown Kid by Arctic Tern

O. Dio by U UserShadow7989

So the protagonist of the Wandering Chapter of Live A Live is here and I am now tempted to make a Live A Live set. Sundown Kid is a really fun set that really feels like you're turning Smash into an Old West film, and I love that. I really love how Neutral Special gets stronger with each bullet you fire, and how quickly it can be used. With his ground speed, you'll make Joker players feel like noobs playing their first Touhou game. Though I do kinda wish there was more versatility to this Special like with Joker, it seems pretty fun by itself nonetheless. Side Special is unique in terms of properties, with you being able to pierce through both opponents and shields, though I kinda wonder if you could shield-break with it considering it's a piercing shot, but what you have is still good regardless. Up Special, is really interesting in the sense that you basically do a makeshift Rocket Jump, and it kind of represents that sort of creativity that gives charm to your typical Western film. I never would've thought to use hollow-point bullets like that, but okay! I really like Counters that are really unusual, so when you have a long-range counter that only reacts to an opponent's input from a distance, I tend to smile like an idiot. It feels like it gives Sundown a really unique poking game and really exemplifies that flair that Old West movies have. In a sense, the Specials are kinda like Sonic: presentation-wise, the Specials are extremely similar, with the only thing setting them apart being how they're applied, and that's okay. Sundown Kid's normals continue the trend of representing the Western film flourish: from dirty blows from bar fights to old explosives like Molotovs and dynamite to the good ol' fashioned pistol whip, it feels less like a set and more like The Good, The Bad and The Unbalanced and you know what? I'm all for it. The only thing missing was that classic lasso and you'd be good to go, my dude! I especially love the Side Smash, I'm always a sucker for unga-bunga KABOOM moves like that.

Right off the heels of Sundown Kid is O. Dio, a happy little coincidence between two parties. I think reading Sundown Kid has given me whiskey-tinted glasses because I expected some more amazing Old West goodness and I was not disappointed. The Gatling gun really makes you feel like Hiram Gummer at the end of Tremors 4, being a ridiculous damage and knockback result for successfully turning your foes into swiss cheese or a basalt rock depending on who you fight and imagining it in my mind, I don't care if it's extremely slow, I'd give it 10/Dopamine. The Kirby version is really cute, too. Good thing you have the Crazy Bunch to help you give some room to rev up because these guys are a diverse and fun clique of ne'er-do-wels who seem to lovingly have their unique roles. Come to think of it, the interactions O. Dio has with them, which I'll get to later, seem oddly inspired by my Eldlich set somewhat and I dig it. As the Engineer once said, "sometimes you just need a little less gun", and Side Special best exemplifies that, being a quick attack for sustained damage and the fact that you can aim it means you have better defense against shorthops and a more easy way to scare foes away from the ledge. Up Special is, of course, another fun shout-out to Old Western films which I'm also going to assume is a reference to something that happens in the Wandering story so I won't press further. Anyways, it's got it's uses, nothing too spectacular for me to comment on, but I'll take it. The interactions with the Crazy Bunch with his Smash Attacks really plays up the synergy with them to such an amazing level, between joining him in his Down Smash, bombarding their own Molotovs at foes with his Side Smash and having a hand in turning a foe into Alex Murphy with his Up Smash. They all really play up the sort of ridiculousness that seems to be apparent in Live A Live somewhat. Even his throws seem to give them yet another chance to shine, allowing them some extra oomph as O. Dio flings his foes around like a ragdoll. His normals really show either his brute strength or malicious cunning, either turning his Gatling gun into a makeshift billy club, hitting his foes with dirty blows like the usual Old West outlaw, or taking advantage of his massive figure to deal great burst damage. I especially love his Up Aerial, this MF has the absolute balls to just smack somebody in the face with an actual Molotov instead of throwing the damn thing.

So to summarize, it's interesting how the contrasts between these two characters are evident even in how you two built these characters. You both made fun sets and gottverdammt this contest is really making me want to get Live A Live.​

 

[Slavic]

Spoiler: Moveset for a Stolen Van

Kosaka Wakamo (name currently mispelled in the thread title, hwhoops!) by Katapultar is quite the explosive set. As others have said, this is a really high quality set for a JamCon, not necessarily the best JamCon set made so far but easily in the top 5. Wakamo also feels like a signature Katapultar set: we've got a central prop with a ton of functionality to play off of, most standards have some kind of unique effect to play around, and Wakamo's a ninja-adjacent assassin cute anime-adjacent girl! This is a meaty set that doesn't ever feel redundant or superfluous, all the extra effects on the attacks contribute to this strong, central image of Wakamo's game plan.

The biggest highlight of the set for me is the van pretty easily. The complexity of this central move makes this some blend of a stance moveset and a vehicle movest, and a lot of thought went into every feature. I do find it a little weird that it also serves as the minion-summoning move but there is justification for it and it's admittedly fun to imagine a van in Smash opening up like a little clown car. If only someone else had a vehicle summon this JamCon with an assisting character inside... The van is an extremely powerful and versatile tool, and one of the few times recently where I've thought an 'extreme' cooldown time for a main recovery tool is totally justified. Plus, stealing that many vans can't be easy!

Despite the two different Helmets being some of the simplest minions in recent sets, just firing bullets or one rocket at foes, this set does a brilliant job integrating them around each corner. Letting Wakamo take her minions' weapons for Tilts is such a cool concept that I want to see more of in the future / steal for myself. Forward Throw's interaction is also quite fun, a bizarre and entertaining way for Helmets to expand on the move's damage. And of course the central tenant, as Wakamo can set her Helmets on a timer and turn them into counter-time bombs. Really inspired use of minions in this set.

If there is one area of the set I'd have to criticize, it'd be the Smashes. I don't even think they're bad, but I do have my gripes with them. Forward Smash seems hilariously impractical if I'm understanding it correctly, even when used atop a van. I'm reading it as a minimum of roughly 80 frames startup for a raw, uncharged Forward Smash and 140 frames for a fully charged one. This is excessive, though in the move's defense so's the damage output, with hilariously strong knockback at point blank. The biggest problem I have with Forward Smash, though, is the rest of the set doesn't really play off it very often, despite leaving a juicy rocket trap in the stage.

Up Smash seems really strong thanks to the infinite range on the follow-up shot, though I do like the mechanic of fast-falling after a juggle to snipe a foe off the top. Perhaps a compromise could be a single, angle-able shot instead of a spray that covers a wider distance? That way the foe has a better chance and turns the move into more of a game. Down Smash I have no problems with as a move but I did reread it several times trying to figure out where I missed a passage about her firing the weapon. This isn't an issue with the moveset, but it is really funny to pull out a GIANT SHOTGUN and then use it like a club.

In short, this is a really, really solid frontrunner for this JamCon and a great set in general. It's excessive, it's in your face, and I love it, good work!

Spoiler: Smol Bunyan

The final offering for this truly Wild JamCon is Paul Bunyan by FrozenRoy , who leaves me to wonder if there are any men in the Fate universe. Regardless, this set dips its toes in the water that is size-changing, coming up with some fun concepts that could be well-developed later or in different sets (received both Satsuki and Ant-Man inspiration while reading this). This moveset is admittedly about what you expect from a last-est minute JamCon entry but it's not like it's terrible or anything. We do get gems like Down Air's complex description, after all!

The commitment to changing size is a good move, though I feel a bit strict at a 12 second commitment. She has her handful of attacks which increase her size for the move based on how well she's been playing, I think having the opposite would help balance it out so she doesn't wind up in a losing matchup for 12 seconds. My favorite move in the set, with my favorite iteration of the size-changing, would be Up Special. The increase in size as Paul leaps into the air before crashing down is really fun, and I love the understage hitbox trick.

Obviously this moveset is really short, ironic given the character, and I don't know how much you'll realistically think about returning to it. On the positives, it does express the ideas well and makes for a moveset that's easy to picture and fun to imagine! Also always good to see you keep getting movesets out even when you're out of sync with the contest. Fun moveset and a well-needed breather after Wakamo!

It shouldn't come as a huge surprise given my praise, but I'll be giving my nomination to Kosaka Wakamo this JamCon, excellent work, Kat!

 

[UserShadow7989]

Nomad by BridgesWithTurtles ***

Nomad was a pleasant surprise that was a joy all the way through; the multi-weapon mechanic sees plenty of use; FTilt turning into a sort of dancing blade, Dash Attack's strengths being emphasized and weaknesses reduced to become a more and more effective command dash-like attack, Down Smash punishing spot dodges and get-up attacks, Neutral Aerial growing more powerful and harder to escape with more savers, the bomb interplay, and especially the Grab and Pummel which is magnificent flavor- and mechanic-wise and possibly my favorite Grab this contest (so far), giving you a stylish way to not only pile on damage but rapidly clear your stale moves queue (which given how you can lock yourself into a smaller section of your set for easier combo chains is pretty important!).

I was initially worried since Jamcons limit how much polish you can give an otherwise solid core concept (not that we haven't had borderline-front runners come of them), but the set does pretty well at varying how the mechanic is used with only a couple of moves coming down to 'this is a good spam move once you have a lot of this weapon'- which ends up being its own fresh thing because it's used appropriately sparingly.

There's also some thoughtful consideration to balance and how it feels to play the set here- Jab, Forward Aerial, Grab, and Up Special are all always available regardless of load-out, so you're never locked out of too much of your set while still having a balancing restriction if you lean into a specific weapon type to get spammy, Up Special making sure you can recover and Grab helping with shields. Forward Smash and Side Special are associated wit his Rifle, keeping him from spamming Forward Smash lightning speed or the fairly powerful Side Special.

There are still some hiccups; no mention of how he holds battering and throwing items in this mechanic (presumably it just takes up one hand slot and he can swing/throw it around normally, one item at a time). There's no stated duration on the Inked status from Up Special (4 seconds?), Jab sounds like it can Jab lock fairly easily with it doing no knockback and being fast with long-reaching disjoint (maybe it can cancel into any proper weapon move quickly as a 'pick-a-Jab-2' sort of thing with normal end lag being longer?), and some moves are a tad short (though none feel superfluous so that's hardly a bad thing!). Down Special doesn't have a lot of mention in the rest of the set, though its interaction with other Specials is pretty cool. FTilt's dancing blade could hit foes at angles they're not expecting and Dash Attack would be a good ambush attack from the cloud, off the top of my head. You'd have to have someone more versed with frame data than me to double check the numbers, since anything that can shave frames of lag away is a big deal.

To reiterate so I don't end the comment out on the negative note, the set is amazing, and I'm a big fan. Nice work!


Edit (July 12th, 2022):

Kosaka Wakamo by Katapultar ***

My complexity addiction puts me squarely in the audience for this set, and it's always impressive how interlaced your Jamcon sets often are- without touching the large number of interactions, each move and mechanic is a fun concept that helps sell Kosaka Wakamo as a candidate for the 'Wild' theme on personality alone, with animations referencing massive weapons and delinquent hit squads that are as disposable to her as they are useful, and the central trick of the Crimson Flower Divination effect is factored nicely into the rest of the set, though of course the minions steal the show for me, even set next to that and the unique Counter.

I'll admit I'm at a loss for any criticism to give for this one, something I keep finding myself saying, which is a "problem" that's good to have I guess. Going down the checklist: the moves have proper interplay between each other and the mechanic while being interesting themselves visually and mechanically. The balance seems to be in order, creating the desired playstyle of assorted high-reward moves and distractions to help you land them, though with a layer of depth in that CFD can be a payoff or enable combos interchangeably depending on how you use it, with tools that can mold its use but also throw off your set-up if you're too thoughtless about using them. We get a good feel for the character throughout the set, fitting them and their gameplay from the source material (based on the limited knowledge of it I have).

All this is praise-worthy in a normal set, and as always, is even more so with the tight time limit of the contest. I can see how this set has already snapped up some well-deserved nominations.


Edit (July 13th, 2022):

Isabella by Slavic

Cold and calculating, Isabella's animations and game plan emphasize her scheming personality underneath the motherly front she puts up. Her power moves are precise or slow, her traps options effective but limited by positioning and carrying a severe trade off in the case of Up Special, and her best finishing blow option is gated behind positioning and some gradual build up. The set does a good job of working with very little, feeling a bit like the Ace Attorney sets of yore as they dip into the abstract at points. Her melee is functional and flows nicely, and the set overall is easily digested without sacrificing needed depth.

I found the set highly enjoyable, but the signs of it suffering from last minute crunch are obvious. The set alludes to moves changing from Neutral Special's buff, but there's only two instances that come to mind in (grounded) Up Special and Up Smash. Side Special mentions that Sister Krone's behavior varies depending on what mode Isabella is in, but doesn't mention the difference. Perhaps she could slowly patrol the platform she's on? It doesn't actually need much more than that, mind- mostly it just could do with a reference or two to how the speed buff plays into her melee game. Her Forward Throw moving quicker for better repositioning, her aerials benefiting from being able to ladder/chase foes better, and so on.

That aside, what's here is wonderfully creative, her grab game building off of the compelling game plan made by the specials, smashes adding some wonderful visual flair, and her standards and aerials bringing it home with a clear feel to playing as her. It's still a solid set despite the issue of being a bit incomplete, and given you were struggling past the first two inputs until near the very end, that's entirely understandable.

 

[UserShadow7989]

Paul Bunyan by FrozenRoy ***

A small-big set for a big-small character, Bunyan suffers from being a last minute entry with the Down Aerial and some of the Throws, but not nearly as much as one would expect; the core idea of her growing in size and strength with the associated strengths and drawbacks therein is a strong one, and the set explores the changes in reach, size, and speed through the four steps quite nicely, with Neutral Special letting go big or go home preemptively, or shrink back down to escape the 0-to-deaths such a massive character would be vulnerable to in a pinch, with a cooldown preventing abuse. I do wonder what happens if you use it in the middle stages (2 or 3, former grows and latter shrinks?) but it's a solid overall bag of tricks.

The melee feels more streamlined than it does simplified, coming together for the proper game play and dripping with personality between slight tweaks to animations based on Bunyan's size and her opponent, making use of her varied tools and animations from her source material. Bunyan is a simple but sweet set, and she entertains throughout, though obviously could do with a bit of growth (heh) post-Jamcon.


My Jamcon nomination is Kosaka Wakamo by Katapultar!

 

[SaltySuicune]

Spoiler: Isabella, by Slavic

I honestly don't know wack about The Promised Neverland, aside from a couple of characters and its banger of a first opening, but after reading this, I don't think I need to. I think she was perfectly portrayed just from the information the document itself provides you. An unassuming yet manipulative, vicious, cold, monster of a person, that has control over the entire place, and the moveset perfectly portrays that. A genuine threat of a foe, where a single mistake can get you destroyed, just like the kids she "cares" after. Also, I just really dig the idea for down throw, maybe it's me being new to MyM, but it feels real creative.

My only nitpick is that since they added the final smash, I think what happens in it should be explained, as a single image feels a little too ambiguous.