SHADE
Game of origin: Sonic Chronicles- the Dark Brotherhood
Shade is a member of the Marauders, a group a super-advanced
that are trying to acquire all of the chaos emeralds. Shade is the head of the intelligence division, so naturally she has good spying and stealth techniques. Shade has been trained in the use of highly advanced weaponry to give her the edge over her enemies
OVERVIEW
Shade’s stats are mostly “balanced” in the vein of Mario or Luigi. However, she has a little more focus on offense, being faster than average with her attacks, and having several disjointed moves with her beam knife. Conversely, she is actually somewhat of a light-weight, in order to reflect her “low” armor rating in her game. Much of Shade’s meta-game comes from using trickery, just like a spy would.
STATS
Movement Speed: 6/10
Attack Speed: 6/10
Attack Strength: 5/10
Range: 5/10 (For the most part, Shade is a melee fighter, but she does have a move which has the potential to hit you from anywhere on the stage)
Priority: 7/10 (Her beam knife is naturally disjointed, and her non-disjointed moves have decent priority as well)
Weight: Some-what on the line between middle and light-weight (this is to reflect her rather low armor rating in the game)
Jump Strength: 7/10
Second Jump Strength: 6/10
Fall Speed: 6/10
Size: Around Sonic’s size
SPECIAL ABILITIES
Wall Jump
Wall Cling
Pros:
Well balanced stats
KO moves in both the ground and air
Good grabs that have some combo potential
A great recovery, distance wise
Has some good mind-games
Cons:
Doesn’t have any particularly good raw stats
Not very heavy
KO moves not easy to land
Recovery is easier than normal to defend against
MOVE SET
Standard Attacks
A: “Karate Chop”: Shade does a quick sideways chop. 2% with low priority
AA: “Knee to the groin”: Shade strikes with her knee. 4% below average knockback with average priority. Unlike Snake’s broken knee attack, Shade’s actually has short range and the hit box does not extend past her knee.
>A: “Leg Trip”: Shade quickly sweeps her foot across the ground. The move has very short range, but it has high priority, and auto trips her opponent for 4%. There is also very little lag on either end, so if you connect, you can pretty much combo it into any of Shade’s faster attacks.
VA: “Back-flip Kick”: Shade does a rising back-flip while kicking out with both feet. She goes a small distance backwards and rises just high enough to land on the middle platforms of battlefield. If she doesn’t land on something, she actually ends her attack in the air. The kick only damages for the first half of the flip, so it does not damage enemies behind Shade. 6% average knockback with virtually no lag on either end and average priority. While this move is hard to punish, the fact that Shade moves backwards while her enemy is knocked forwards means that Shade really can’t take advantage of this move’s near-instant recovery time with combos.
^A: “Jugular Cut”: Shade does an uppercut slash while holding her beam knife in a reverse grip. 7% average knockback. Virtually no startup lag with not much end lag, but the move doesn’t have much range due to the way Shade swings her knife. For the record, Shade’s knife normally has an orange glow.
Dash Attack: “Teleport Dash”: Shade teleports forwards about 1/3 the distance of Final Destination. Virtually no startup lag, but there is a decent amount of end lag as Shade reappears in a kneeling position and has to stand back up-right.
Smash Attacks
FSmash: “Blade Rush”: This is a multi-part attack. First, Shade will stab forwards with her beam knife for 3%. If she connects, her opponent will take no knockback, but will be stunned just long enough for the second part. Pressing the attack button again cause Shade to perform a rising uppercut with her knife, carrying the enemy with her for 5 hits of 1% per hit. Shade rises about as much as Mario’s ^B while doing this part and can catch additional enemies during it. Pressing the attack button a final time will cause Shade to quickly drop to the ground while doing a downwards swing with her beam knife. This part brings the enemies back down with her, and when they reach the ground, the enemy takes 3%(6% charged) with average knockback. The move doesn’t have much horizontal range, but its high vertical range, combined with its somewhat low amount of startup and end lag, make this a good anti-air move as well as a decent way of racking up damage.
DSmash: “Tele-Punch”: Shade closes her eyes for a moment, and then teleports about 1/3 of battlefield either left or right. The direction she travels is controlled by holding the control stick the way you want to go. If nothing is specified, she teleports forwards by default. After teleporting, Shade does a fierce punch in the opposite direction that she traveled. The punch does 10% (15% charged) with above average knockback and above average priority. There is an average amount of startup lag as Shade prepares her teleport, but there is very little end lag.
USmash: “Stun Knife”: Shade punches upwards while holding her knife horizontally. Her knife glows blue, as it has been set to “stun” instead of “kill”. If she hits an enemy with the knife, they will become stunned for .5 seconds (1 second charged). Think of the stun as what happens when you are hit with Zero Suit Samus’s DSmash, only this move hits above Shade, not in front of Shade. There is slightly higher than average lag on either end of the move.
Aerial Attacks
Nair: “Patient Strike”: This is an interesting move. Hold down the attack button and Shade does… nothing. Shade does not attack until you RELEASE the button. You may hold the button as long as you want until Shade hits the ground, and you may even move around in the air while storing your attack. When you release the button (in the air), Shade does a horizontal slice with her beam knife at a near lightning speed. The move has virtually no startup lag with an average amount of end lag, but only does 3% with low knockback.
Fair: “Spike-Kick”: Shade falls to her back in midair as she pulls her feet back. She then quickly kicks out as 6 electrically charged spikes extend out of the bottom of her boots (the spikes are about as long as the blade on an ice-skate). Hitting the spikes as Shade kicks results in 12% with high knockback, otherwise the move does 4% with average knockback as Shade holds her feet out for .25 seconds. This move has a fair amount of startup lag, but has very little end lag and the spikes have high priority.
Bair: “Spike Roundhouse”: The spikes once again emerge as Shade does a backwards roundhouse kick with one foot. The motion of this attack means that it doesn’t have as much range as her Fair. The move also seems to have polar opposite lag, having virtually no startup lag but having higher than average end lag. Hitting the spikes results in 9% with above average knockback. This move has average priority.
Uair: “Sleep Dart”: Shade puts her left hand over the back her right, and fires a small dart out of the back of her right glove. It travels 30 degrees upwards and lasts for one second. If an enemy touches the front of it, they will fall asleep even in the air. At 0% the enemy will immediately wake up, but at high percents, Shade can follow-up with her faster starting attacks. This move has higher than average startup lag as Shade prepares to fire her dart, but doesn’t have much end lag. This move has below average priority.
Dair: “Drill Dive”: Shade straightens her body as she points straight down and begins to quickly drop to the ground while spinning. Hitting any part of Shade while she does this traps you within her attack and damages you at the rate of 3% per second. This move has virtually no startup lag, and a low enough amount of end lag so that Shade can roll away from opponents that she caught. Because it’s practically impossible to escape once caught, you can Shadecide with this move. The move has average priority.
Special Moves
B: “Backup”: Shade puts her hand to her ear as if she’s using a cell phone. After three seconds, a flying marauder soldier appears. It looks similar to Shade, only its armor has blue highlights instead of purple, has one large horn on the back of his head, and has a jetpack. This soldier has 25hp and attacks by firing small grenades that travel slowly but do 10% with above average knockback. The soldier can fly wherever he wants to on the screen. Shade can only have one backup soldier on the field at a time. Shade can move again immediately after the summon is complete.
>B: “Leech Blade”: Shade pulls back her beam knife, and after .5 seconds, thrusts it forwards. If she connects, the enemy takes 6% with below average knockback, and Shade heals 6%. When stale knockback kicks in, Shade will also recover less damage as she deals less damage. Somewhat high startup lag, but not much end lag.
^B: “Tele-pad”: The first time you enter the command for this move, Shade will hold out her arms and a small disk appears on the ground under her that glows a little. This part has average startup lag with very little end lag. The next time you enter the command for this move, Shade will instantly teleport to the location of the disk. Virtually no startup lag, but Shade must get back up like in her dash attack. After teleporting, the Shade must place a new disk.
VB: “Cloak”: Shade disappears using her cloaking device. She becomes completely invisible so that not even her shadow or nametag can be seen. Getting hit or grabbed by any attack will break Shade’s cloaking device, even if she blocks the attack. Once her device is broken, a bar will appear at the top of Shade’s HUD that takes 20 seconds to recharge. Once the bar is recharged, Shade may use Cloak again.
Final Smash
“Marauder Assault”: Shade jumps into the background (if there is no ground, she will get a platform like Pokémon trainer). Afterwards, she then points towards the camera and says “Marauders, attack! This is an order!” as several flying soldiers show up that function just like the ones in her B move. Shade then pulls out a red beam sword and jumps back into the fray. She cannot throw this sword away, but you wouldn’t want to, as this sword has the speed and range of Marth’s Falchion and is stronger than Shade’s normal attacks. Her sword attacks:
A: Shade simply swings it horizontally. 12% above average knockback.
>A: Shade thrusts the sword. 15% above average knockback, but is slower than the basic swing.
FSmash: Shade holds the sword like a sheathed katana, and then does a spinning strike that hits on both sides of her. 18% high knockback, but has the most lag.
Other attacks do not work, but Shade can still shield, dodge, and has super armor while her FS is going on. The entire move lasts for 12 seconds, and afterwards, the beam sword and the Marauders disappear.
Grabs
Grab animation: Shade grabs with her opponent with both hands.
Grab Attack: Shade knees her enemy. 2%.
Fthrow: “Flip Kick”: Shade kicks her opponent away while flipping. 7% average knockback. Depending on the opponent, at various percents this move provides just the right angle and amount of knockback for Shade to attempt an Uair.
Bthrow: “Pull Back”: Shade jumps backwards about half of battlefield while pulling her enemy with her. After the move ends Shade is still grabbing her opponent, but the “escape strength” of the enemy is not reset.
Uthrow: “Slice & Dice”: Shade slashes her enemy several times with her beam knife and then tosses the enemy upwards. 6% low knockback. Shade can usually follow her enemy into the air after this, allow her to set up for a Nair, Fair, or Dair.
Dthrow: “Balanced Chain Grab”: Shade slams her enemy on the ground for 6% and low knockback forwards. Afterwards, Shade will hop forwards to be in the perfect spot for another grab. However, her enemy can perform a ground tech with an optional roll as they’re being slammed, so Shade will jump past them, preventing the grab from being chained, and the rolling will prevent enemies from being trapped against walls. A nasty move if your enemy isn’t good at teching, but against a good player, this is a nice way of adding mind-games and dealing damage to your opponent.
Other Attacks
Get-up Attack Front: “Break Dance”: Shade spins around her head for a moment while kicking out to the sides. 5% below average knockback.
Get-up Attack Back: “Play Dead”: As long you hold A, Shade does nothing. When you release A, Shade does a quick flip while brandishing her beam knife. 4% average knockback.
Ledge Attack <100%: “Teleport kick”: Shade teleports a short distance forwards and then does a mid-level kick. 4% below average knockback.
Ledge Attack 100%: “Knife Swipe”: Shade swings her knife at the ground. 4% average knockback.
STRATEGY GUIDE
Like I said, Shade tends to rely on stealth and trickery in order to fight at maximum potential.
One of Shade’s most important tools is her Cloak. Use it whenever you get the chance. It makes it very difficult for your enemy to guess your next move, though you need some dexterity yourself in order to keep track of where you currently are. A good idea while using cloak is to call for Backup while cloaked so your enemy has less of a chance of stopping it. This strategy though is limited on smaller stages, as your opponent could simply use long range attacks to sweep the stage and force you back into visibility. Being Cloaked is also the perfect time to set up a Tele-pad disk.
When fighting on the ground, frequently use >A and ^A to keep your opponent at bay. While neither of these moves have very much range, >A can auto-trip, and ^A is disjointed, and both of these moves are very quick. Leech Blade is a good move to throw in occasionally due to its healing property. Don’t forget to use FSmash, it’s actually quick for a smash attack, and it’s meant to be a damage racker rather than a KO move. If your opponent likes to jump over your attacks that would be a good time to use VA as a counter move as well as to enter aerial combat safely.
In the air, Shade has a great mix-up game with her Nair. You can store the attack while moving towards your opponent, and then your opponent has guess if they should air dodge or wait. If your opponent decides to air dodge when you were not storing a Nair, you can now use your enemy’s air dodge time to begin a Fair and potentially KO your opponent. If your opponent thinks you are about to use and Fair, you can now simply attempt your quick Nair to get in some damage. Of course, this strategy doesn’t have as much effectiveness against a character with long range, as they can simply out space you. You could also try occasionally throwing in a Dair in order to build up damage, but this move has very short horizontal range.
When it comes time for a KO, you will usually have to set it up first. Try hitting your opponent from long range with an Uair so that you are at the perfect distance to use a DSmash. DSmash while cloaked is another decent tactic as your opponent will have to guess if you are actually teleporting to them or not. Try mixing up a DSmash with a dash attack while cloaked, and then try doing a reverse dash jump into a short-hopped Bair to really make your enemies go WTF. And then try using your Fair while cloaked to both confuse and infuriate your opponent!
Shade’s throws are yet another way to mind **** your opponent. Fthrow and Uair help setup for follow-up attacks, and Dthrow is an excellent way to build up damage if your opponent can’t tech. BThrow appears useless at first, but is actually quite useful, if a bit situational. You can use when you Dthrow your enemy to the edge in order to try extending your chain grabs, and you could pull your enemy to the edge, do a Fthrow at high percent, and finally do a Uair DSmash combo for a KO.
In the end, Shade is a versatile fighter. While she isn’t easy to master, and she doesn’t have the purely awesome raw stats such as Dedede or Snake, the sheer amount of strategies she has at her disposal makes her a solid character and a force to be reckoned with. If she did end up top tier, she would still take enough skill to use correctly that she wouldn’t be completely dominating the tournament scene.
OTHER
Entrance: Shade teleports onto the screen.
Idle: Shade stands there with her arms slightly raised.
Crouch: Shade crouches down and leans forwards so that she can perform her VA.
Walk: Shade silently sneaks forwards.
Dash: Shade briskly runs forwards and leans forwards a little bit. Her boots clank a little, so it isn’t advised to run a lot while Cloaked.
Jump: Shade does a front flip.
Midair Jump: Shade does a traditional “Sonic-style” spin jump.
Roll: Shade quickly rolls sideways along the ground as if she’s taking cover form enemy fire.
Sidestep: Shade pivots around on one foot.
Shield: Shade holds out her hands a little as a shield of lightning forms around her. It acts the same as a standard shield, it just looks cooler.
Air Dodge: Shade does a side-flip.
Dizzy: Shade wobbles forwards and backwards while groaning.
Sleep: Shade sits down Indian-style as if she’s meditating.
Wiimote Noise: “Mission Confirmed”
Kirby Hat: Kirby gets Shade’s helmet. Kirby’s version of backup summons robotic Bronto-Burts that behave the same as the Marauders.
Logo: Sonic’s Logo
Win Music: Sonic’s
Special Animations
Taunt1: Shade brandishes her beam knife and then puts it back.
Taunt2: Shade looks like she’s doing her B move, but lowers her hand says “It’s not worth the resources.”
Taunt3: Shade face-palms.
Win1: Shade teleports into the arena and says “Mission Accomplished”
Win2: Shade teleports into the arena, but is all black with her eyes visible. She then shakes off the black. Yes, this is meant to parody PSI teleport.
Win3: Shade salutes and dismisses a Marauder soldier.
Lose: Shade claps for her opponent. If she’s using her alt costume, she can be seen to be smiling. What a good sport!
Alt Colors
1) Default
2) Blue tint (blue team)
3) Green tint (green team)
4) Red tint (red team)
5) Yellow tint
6) White colored armor
Alt: Shade removes her helmet. Her armor still has the same color schemes as before. If you want to see what she looks like there are pictures on deviant art.
Snake Codec
Snake: Otacon, I’m fighting some…thing that keeps disappearing.
Otacon: That’s Shade. She’s a commander for the Marauders that are currently fighting against Sonic.
Snake: Sonic names are just brimming with originality aren’t they? So tell me about these Marauders.
Otacon: They are very highly advanced. Some say their technology is not of this world. Shade’s favorite tools are stealth and teleporting. She also carries a small knife that is actually a short range laser.
Snake: Stealth huh? About time I fought someone who rivaled my expertise.
Otacon: You are the best stealth expert I know Snake. It’s time to see if you’re still worthy of that title. Good luck!
Unlock Info
How to unlock: complete the SEE on hard mode or play 500 vs matches
Unlock Message: “Shade, the silent killer of the Marauders, has joined the Brawl!”
SSE ROLE
In the cutscene in which Ganondorf is introduced, it does not end after showing his name banner. Instead, the scene continues to show Shade walking into the room as her name banner is shown. Ganondorf points to a screen which shows Mario’s team heading towards Dedede’s castle. Shade takes a bow, and leaves the room.
When Mario and Co. are about to enter “The Cave” a Marauder scout attacks the group from behind with a beam knife, but Link parries the blow and quickly defeats the scout. In the actual level, Marauder units are fought instead of koopas.
The scene “Ganondorf meets with Master Hand” is very different. It starts off with Ganondorf watching as Mario and co. enter “the wilds” and he pounds the computer. He then turns to Shade who is also present. Shade and Ganondorf look like a fight is about to break out, but Master Hand’s familiar laugh is heard, as the two look to see him emerge on the monitor as his banner is shown. Ganondorf and Shade both bow to Master Hand. Ganondorf leaves the room, and as Shade is about to, she notices a small chain of light extending from Master Hand’s pinky…
Mario’s team once again has to fight off Marauders on “the Wilds”. Marauder enemies are also among the enemies seen in the floating island’s levels.
Later, in “Entrance to Subspace”:
After Ganondorf blasts Bowser, he then hears another trophy gun being powered up behind him and dodges it. Shade then leaps at Ganondorf and attacks him with her beam knife. You play as Shade against Ganondorf in a brawl.
After KOing Ganondorf, Master Hand appears, and Shade’s fears are confirmed. Tabuu appears with his name banner, but Shade does not attack him. Instead, she leaps at the chains of light and frees Master Hand. Master Hand is then able to punch Tabuu several times as he was surprised in the spur of the moment, but eventually, Tabuu is on to him and does his barrier attack, killing Master Hand. The rest of the characters show up, but Tabuu does his off-waves, and Shade is trophyphied along with the rest.
Shade’s trophy can be found in Kirby’s “Subspace” level. After Wario’s scene, another new scene is played. Shade looks at the Great Maze and then looks down at the ground while clenching her fist, sad that she wasn’t able to spot Tabuu beforehand. Luigi puts a hand on her shoulder, and then points at the great maze and punches at the air a few times while saying “Bang bang!” (Basically he’s saying the SSE equivalent of “We’re gonna teach that guy a lesson for doing this to us!”) Shade nods, and she joins the group on the stairs to the Great Maze.
There is another door in a factory portion of the Great Maze, which has a shadow Shade. The door disappears after defeating it.
