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Excel is quite a fun moveset from the word ‘go.’ You have a great selection of music [although I avoided the downloadable ones, the two YouTube links are cool]; I’d use YouTube entirely next time. The special mechanic is really cool – I love how Menchi becomes like an item when you use him, that’s an interesting quirk. One problem I have so far, though, is the use of colour. You’ve fixed links as of this writing, but you should be more colourful in your presentation. Use pictures as well, if you can – it’s a fun moveset, but it doesn’t look like one.
Getting onto the meat of the moveset, there are a few inconsistencies with the presentation, which are minor, besides that it’s quite good. With the neutral special, you should really be more specific in how the initial punch is delivered and the moveset afterward needs some more detailing. You don’t need so much lag timing or knockback; it’s more essential that you list the effect of each move. It is pretty awesome, though, as special moves go.
Forward special is essentially Wario Waft mixed in with ROB’s laser, which is cool. The different levels are all quite diverse, you gimp the first ones appropriately. I see it as all quite balanced considering the hefty waiting time for the last level. Your emphases on start and end lag, though, does pre-occupy the moves a little too much. Pull back on those technicalities in the future, or use less draconian terms: refer to stage builder blocks, use seconds – maybe it’s just my determent hatred of numbers and psychobabble, but I think this would really help your sets.
The up special has some awesome moments, with the background change and summoning and resetting… hell, it’s a great idea. Remember in the future to be more user-friendly with little details, though – link to the episode again, around the ‘5:07’, it’s a well-known measure so much so that I hovered over the numbers expecting to be linked. Yeah, not much to complain about here… Not sure if I like the revival platform thing, in the last paragraph. It would seem cheap to rob the opponent of a well-fought fight, just moments beforehand, I would be pretty miffed.
Down special is… Weird. It’s quite a simple idea compared to your other specials, but used with the Great Will / up special there is potential for genius. I hope you say something about that later.
Neutral A combo is bizarre too – still very fun, so in-keeping with your other moves. The way you describe it is a little confusing though, as you’re again a little too technical. The visual of a ‘slinky’ and ‘jelly’ isn’t so helpful – it’s confusing! They’re humorous comments, but I’d recommend putting them in brackets if they ebb away from your more technical explanations, or change to that style completely. I like your vivid imagery over your ‘low lag,’ ‘high lag’ speech.
Dash attack is surprisingly cool. I never like dash attacks, but this one is very interesting. I like how you use tripping to even out, but again, avoid phrases like, “put body part in front of body part,” the dynamics of which is a little confusing. Your use of Sonic and the word ‘blur’ are more than enough.
I’ll comment on your first-person orange text now, as I’ve read quite a bit of it. So far, it’s quite reminiscent of Viola by Junahu – which is to say it’s done well. A little odd at the beginning with the fat *** and ‘falling on butt’ things, but it gets better. I’ll comment again as I get further on.
I love your forward tilt. The ‘salivating’ part and your imagery in general is splendid. Your use of technical terms here is actually all right, as you have plenty of beefy, meaningful explanation to go with it.
Up tilt’s first thought is… spin counter-clockwise? Is that toward the screen; kind of confusing. It seems a little too gimped to be useful and is probably your worst move so far: generic.
The down tilt is quite unique in mixing in Excel’s mannerisms with an effective comparison – the FLUDD / Squirtle’s water gun. Your gimping of it seems a little too much – I think making it a little less powerful to begin with, without gimping it after one use would be better, but it at least makes it diverse mechanically.
Forward smash seems VERY random! It’s humorous because of that, but it is a little silly. Also, I would like to know the ‘charging’ stance here, as I’m confused – is it Excel standing still – for how long? Maybe it’s just me that goes to such a detail, but I really think it helps, more so than priority or lag descriptions.
Up smash is quite imaginative, but ‘rapidly swinging’ isn’t descriptive enough. The imagery is again above decent with your use of ‘thrusting’ and Excel’s quotes are used imaginatively. Note, this so far is all very coherent and cohesive, with the humour and “lulz,” as you describe it.
The down smash is a cool, unconventional type. I take back my comment earlier about stage builder blocks, as you seem to be using the term here and are generally being better with that kind of thing. Seems like you gained confidence in what you were doing as you went along. I think all the times listed and even the lag is quite effortlessly balanced, good job there with the details.
Onto aerials. Neutral air is quite fun, swimming in the air is an idea that has always come to mind but seemed inappropriate, here it fits quite well, although I am starting to get a bit of a Kefka feel here – where things are random, but sometimes the reasoning, that the character is random, is not quite strong enough. I’ll return to this thought if the feeling continues. I dislike the deterioration of the move; it’s not all that decent to begin with. Gimping is always better than deteriorating; remember. It was unique the first time.
Forward air is again pretty random and the ‘high start lag’ comment is kind of odd, as I don’t see any room for it. Smart limiting it to one use per being airborne, although the projectile’s size and its trajectory should be here.
Ah, back air. I love the premise and see how you wanted to spice up this boring move place, but your technical terms are absurd! I count damage [necessary], knockback, priority, range, start and end lag – all described in draconian terms. I like the humour, but it is dragged down by some of your writing mannerisms.
Random, random, random. I’ll stop mentioning that now. Up air is interesting, but very brief. These are airs, I suppose. The ‘occasional’ term really should be expanded on and possibly brought into the move itself, it’s bare as is.
No down air without Menchi seems foolish. That is not fun. Simply throwing Menchi is also surprisingly unimaginative. Definitely your worst move so far now, but eh, the ‘yelp’ makes me smile. Honestly, with your usage of end and start lag, you might as well put them beneath each and every move instead of painstakingly writing each one in at the end of every move. By painstaking, I mean for the reader, as lag and priority are filler.
Menchi is very underused at this point. You really don’t gain that much from having Menchi, it seems, besides maybe with the forward smash and down aerial, which are both not Excel’s best moves and under detailed. I feel that replacing some of the randomness with Menchi alongside it would improve the moveset drastically.
Throw is average. You win some points for having Excel fall down, not a save.
Pummel is kind of gimped again with Menchi being used, which isn’t really needed with his use so far. Good otherwise.
The ‘cartoon’ reference should really be described better here. Being ‘cracked to pieces’ is a pretty awesome Anime reference, though.
Back throw is kind of gimped. I’d rather it was random on whether it messed up than having to use it once, it’s not like it’s a chain grab so I doubt people will use it that much.
Up throw starts off generic, but the addition of Pretty Girl is great! This move would completely, for lack of a better word, own in Smash and it gives a whole new dimension to ‘pretty girl,’ trying not to be grabbed. Good job.
Down throw is cool, but gimped too much. It’s not all that good to begin with in strength terms, so no need to limit it. I’ll come back to this point later.
Final smash is hilarious. You’re pretty effective in describing how it works, but the specifics should really be laid out like an ordinary moveset. I’ll neglect to comment too much on it as a final smash – not to be taken too seriously – as well as it being a lot of fun.
Playstyle is a good sum-up, but needs more useful tips. The obvious is obvious; stun moves, damage grinding. More of what is in the last paragraph should be listed. It’s not bad, though.
Taunts and other stuff is pretty fun, especially the codec. The colonel asking for an autograph made me chuckle.
Good amount of trophies / stickers. The assist trophy is well described in who it is, but not described well enough in what he does. Seems a little tacked on, but it’s still good just to be there. I would have liked a boss and stage, to be honest. The moveset deserves it.
So, a conclusion, then. Well, you’re really good at imagining an animation for the reader and this helps a lot in visualising what you’re talking about, but you have an obsession with technical jargon that makes things confusing sometimes. I recommend listing that kind of stuff out after each move [the line after] to avoid that. Also, your misuse of colour is not good for the eyes. The entire moveset is a mix of dull gray, bright orange [not in the right places], white, beige and a very limited amount of red. Definitely use more colour in the future, or a different font type as the one you’re using is quite boring. This moveset is actually quite a fun read, but it shares its palette with many tombstones.
Also, I felt you didn’t use Menchi enough, for such a cool special mechanic. You use him in three moves, if I recall, but he had the potential to be in many more that obviously didn’t have that much thought put into them. Moves like Excel’s up tilt could use some stirring up desperately, but then you use him inappropriately in some other moves like your down air. Your randomness too is sort of a double-edged sword, as the humour is hit and miss and sometimes I did get a bit of a Kefka vibe from it. Try to be inventive, even with your less exciting moves or use established mechanics.
Overall, it’s flawed, but fun. I found reading it enjoyable and I think it’s an improvement from what I last read from you. I look forward to your future work and hope you take all criticism constructively, as that was its intention, good luck in your future movesets!
Excel is quite a fun moveset from the word ‘go.’ You have a great selection of music [although I avoided the downloadable ones, the two YouTube links are cool]; I’d use YouTube entirely next time. The special mechanic is really cool – I love how Menchi becomes like an item when you use him, that’s an interesting quirk. One problem I have so far, though, is the use of colour. You’ve fixed links as of this writing, but you should be more colourful in your presentation. Use pictures as well, if you can – it’s a fun moveset, but it doesn’t look like one.
the problem was, Youtube simply didn't have the music I wanted to use. :/
also, I try to use colors that represent the character well (ones that are in their picture), so I suppose that doesn't always work out well.
Forward special is essentially Wario Waft mixed in with ROB’s laser, which is cool. The different levels are all quite diverse, you gimp the first ones appropriately. I see it as all quite balanced considering the hefty waiting time for the last level. Your emphases on start and end lag, though, does pre-occupy the moves a little too much. Pull back on those technicalities in the future, or use less draconian terms: refer to stage builder blocks, use seconds – maybe it’s just my determent hatred of numbers and psychobabble, but I think this would really help your sets.
I used to put the technical stuff after the animation and effects, but I kind of shifted out of that in this particular contest. Guess I should start doing that again xd. But then again, there are MYMers who I know would disagree with you...
Neutral A combo is bizarre too – still very fun, so in-keeping with your other moves. The way you describe it is a little confusing though, as you’re again a little too technical. The visual of a ‘slinky’ and ‘jelly’ isn’t so helpful – it’s confusing! They’re humorous comments, but I’d recommend putting them in brackets if they ebb away from your more technical explanations, or change to that style completely. I like your vivid imagery over your ‘low lag,’ ‘high lag’ speech.
Yeah... some of the weird moves I gave her were a bit hard to explain, & thus you see weird words like those.
I’ll comment on your first-person orange text now, as I’ve read quite a bit of it. So far, it’s quite reminiscent of Viola by Junahu – which is to say it’s done well. A little odd at the beginning with the fat *** and ‘falling on butt’ things, but it gets better. I’ll comment again as I get further on.
I love your forward tilt. The ‘salivating’ part and your imagery in general is splendid. Your use of technical terms here is actually all right, as you have plenty of beefy, meaningful explanation to go with it.
Up tilt’s first thought is… spin counter-clockwise? Is that toward the screen; kind of confusing. It seems a little too gimped to be useful and is probably your worst move so far: generic.
So... hm. If I put all my technical stuff near the end of a paragraph, you don't seem to mind. I'll try to keep all that near the end from now on.
I had a hard time explaining the up tilt, & I suppose it does pale in comparison to some of my other moves. :/
The down tilt is quite unique in mixing in Excel’s mannerisms with an effective comparison – the FLUDD / Squirtle’s water gun. Your gimping of it seems a little too much – I think making it a little less powerful to begin with, without gimping it after one use would be better, but it at least makes it diverse mechanically.
I was trying to find a correct middle ground for this, but still make it usable. I couldn't really decide on that middle ground, so this is what it results in. I'd probably need some advice if I make a move like this in the future.
The down smash is a cool, unconventional type. I take back my comment earlier about stage builder blocks, as you seem to be using the term here and are generally being better with that kind of thing. Seems like you gained confidence in what you were doing as you went along. I think all the times listed and even the lag is quite effortlessly balanced, good job there with the details.
stage builder blocks seem to be the most clear & concise measurement standard, so thats what I use.
Onto aerials. Neutral air is quite fun, swimming in the air is an idea that has always come to mind but seemed inappropriate, here it fits quite well, although I am starting to get a bit of a Kefka feel here – where things are random, but sometimes the reasoning, that the character is random, is not quite strong enough. I’ll return to this thought if the feeling continues. I dislike the deterioration of the move; it’s not all that decent to begin with. Gimping is always better than deteriorating; remember. It was unique the first time.
I think I did go a little overboard gimping moves, because I feared that Excel might be a little too versatile.
Ah, back air. I love the premise and see how you wanted to spice up this boring move place, but your technical terms are absurd! I count damage [necessary], knockback, priority, range, start and end lag – all described in draconian terms. I like the humour, but it is dragged down by some of your writing mannerisms.
No down air without Menchi seems foolish. That is not fun. Simply throwing Menchi is also surprisingly unimaginative. Definitely your worst move so far now, but eh, the ‘yelp’ makes me smile. Honestly, with your usage of end and start lag, you might as well put them beneath each and every move instead of painstakingly writing each one in at the end of every move. By painstaking, I mean for the reader, as lag and priority are filler.
Most of those things listed for the back air are actually seen as necessary. The down air just seemed so obvious to me; but I probably just wanted another excuse to throw menchi lol. & I really wouldn't call lag and priority fillers, some people read them, some people don't. & as I said earlier, I'll be trying to keep this technical stuff near the end of move descriptions from now on.
Up throw starts off generic, but the addition of Pretty Girl is great! This move would completely, for lack of a better word, own in Smash and it gives a whole new dimension to ‘pretty girl,’ trying not to be grabbed. Good job.
Playstyle is a good sum-up, but needs more useful tips. The obvious is obvious; stun moves, damage grinding. More of what is in the last paragraph should be listed. It’s not bad, though.
playstyle has never been my strongest suit, but thanks for the advice nevertheless
So, a conclusion, then. Well, you’re really good at imagining an animation for the reader and this helps a lot in visualising what you’re talking about, but you have an obsession with technical jargon that makes things confusing sometimes. I recommend listing that kind of stuff out after each move [the line after] to avoid that. Also, your misuse of colour is not good for the eyes. The entire moveset is a mix of dull gray, bright orange [not in the right places], white, beige and a very limited amount of red. Definitely use more colour in the future, or a different font type as the one you’re using is quite boring. This moveset is actually quite a fun read, but it shares its palette with many tombstones.
Also, I felt you didn’t use Menchi enough, for such a cool special mechanic. You use him in three moves, if I recall, but he had the potential to be in many more that obviously didn’t have that much thought put into them. Moves like Excel’s up tilt could use some stirring up desperately, but then you use him inappropriately in some other moves like your down air. Your randomness too is sort of a double-edged sword, as the humour is hit and miss and sometimes I did get a bit of a Kefka vibe from it. Try to be inventive, even with your less exciting moves or use established mechanics.
Overall, it’s flawed, but fun. I found reading it enjoyable and I think it’s an improvement from what I last read from you. I look forward to your future work and hope you take all criticism constructively, as that was its intention, good luck in your future movesets!
For regular text, gray seems to work fine; it's not particularly hard on the eyes. & what do you mean by dark orange "not being in the right place"? & I changed the dark gray headers to Teal, so I hope that's easier on the eyes.
& you're completely right, I didn't use Menchi enough. I suppose I could have replaced my up tilt with another attack involving Menchi, & gotten rid of the pummel needing Menchi or even the down air. I just didn't see a huge amount of creative moves coming from a small dog. Maybe biting the opponent's leg or something...
Thank god you enjoyed reading it though, xD. & I think that in the future, I should put more emphasis on making a moveset stand out and featuring the influence of a mechanic in more moves. Thanks for this very in-depth review!
the problem was, Youtube simply didn't have the music I wanted to use. :/
also, I try to use colors that represent the character well (ones that are in their picture), so I suppose that doesn't always work out well.
I think it would have been better to upload them to YouTube yourself, or not use them at all. I doubt many people would download them, especially listed like they were.
I didn't get that use of colour, but it definitely wasn't a good choice. It would have made more sense if you used more pictures with that palette.
I used to put the technical stuff after the animation and effects, but I kind of shifted out of that in this particular contest. Guess I should start doing that again xd. But then again, there are MYMers who I know would disagree with you...
This is quite a grey area, but I think it's worth it doing the way I suggested. In regards to calling priority and lag filler - they are important, but independent of each move enough that they aren't really a part of it. They're arbitrary enough to literally plop at the end of any move. The only difficulty therein is properly annotating these so that the reader knows what you're talking about.
The more versatile the better, as long as the moves are balanced. You shouldn't punish your characters for being versatile - that's a universally good thing!
Most of those things listed for the back air are actually seen as necessary. The down air just seemed so obvious to me; but I probably just wanted another excuse to throw menchi lol. & I really wouldn't call lag and priority fillers, some people read them, some people don't. & as I said earlier, I'll be trying to keep this technical stuff near the end of move descriptions from now on.
For regular text, gray seems to work fine; it's not particularly hard on the eyes. & what do you mean by dark orange "not being in the right place"? & I changed the dark gray headers to Teal, so I hope that's easier on the eyes.
& you're completely right, I didn't use Menchi enough. I suppose I could have replaced my up tilt with another attack involving Menchi, & gotten rid of the pummel needing Menchi or even the down air. I just didn't see a huge amount of creative moves coming from a small dog. Maybe biting the opponent's leg or something...
Orange is used to describe Excel's speech, but it really should be used more to highlight headers or titles, as with red. Bland colours like black, grey and near enough shades should never be used so much, especially when I think most people have a black background behind that. It makes the text somewhat hard to read.
Thank god you enjoyed reading it though, xD. & I think that in the future, I should put more emphasis on making a moveset stand out and featuring the influence of a mechanic in more moves. Thanks for this very in-depth review!
I quite enjoyed Excel. I have to say, I laughed a lot while reading through this moveset. The thing I want to commend you on most was something Junahu's taken issue with in the past when movesets have failed to do it that I've come to agree with him on. Your Specials were most definitely special, especially the Neutral, Up, and Down Specials. Some people might've taken an idea like that of the D-Spec and made it a D-Smash, but it's a very special-fitting concept. Having complimented you on that, I feel that this moveset is probably your best yet, despite me being bias toward Yuji & Shana still.
That Excel moveset had some pretty original things going for it. I decided to read a moveset to its fullest
(Mostly in terms of attacks, that is). The concept of being able to transform the enemy, which can stuff up their moves, plus each time you hit them, the timer resets and some of her stunning attacks almost looks like it is for the win. Good job. This moveset was easy to read and had some originality in the attacks.
Not a actual complaint, but when I read this moveset, I thought her name was Hail Ilpalazzo, until I saw the moveset. That just confused me a bit, but you don't need to worry about that, that was just me.
I am not bias against a moveset with presentation, which I don't really care about at all. Its good however that you have inco-orporated some colour differences in your moves (Which is common sense)
With the side special, I think the plunger is better than the bowling ball, due to the plungers stunningness.
The D-special, that is a rather creative move, though as it can help on some stages, with the up-special where you can make a trap, but it probably would not be worth it if I used Excel in Brawl.
Now, confirming the (Cute dog) Menchi, am I saying it correctly that she appears WHEN Excel uses an attack that involves Menchi, then moves astray. That part anyway probably was self-explanitory anyway.
D-air looked impossible to use well seeing as Menchi will go away afterwards, even though you can just pick her up again.
Excel would probably be a hard character to play as if an enemy quickly tries to rush in on you, because the up-special is REALLY laggy but seeing that characters like Lucario use aura sphere and charge it up, it should not be a hassle at the start of the game. Though Excel does have the n-air to kind of use as a recovery. Excel would probably be kind of hard to use a proper recovery in the midst of a battle. Also, I can see that she has many attacks that only work well at the start to prevent spamming them. You would probably need to space the enemy with a D-tilt or stun them with a D-smash before you can KO the enemy or majorly damage them with the B-move.
The A combo was a BIT hard to understand, but it is fun and original compared to some other attacks.
Overall, I can see a style of how you would play this character and you have done a good job in this moveset. I have nothing really else to complain about this moveset, it is a great effort for a anime character and although i did not look on the youtube videos or musics, it seems immaterial for me to have to do so, but it does look like you managed to maintain the whole Excel character the whole time.
Although other MYMers can give you better hints about your moveset, I just wanted to say something so that your work would be more acknowleged.
I quite enjoyed Excel. I have to say, I laughed a lot while reading through this moveset. The thing I want to commend you on most was something Junahu's taken issue with in the past when movesets have failed to do it that I've come to agree with him on. Your Specials were most definitely special, especially the Neutral, Up, and Down Specials. Some people might've taken an idea like that of the D-Spec and made it a D-Smash, but it's a very special-fitting concept. Having complimented you on that, I feel that this moveset is probably your best yet, despite me being bias toward Yuji & Shana still.
But I'll really glad you enjoyed this set; this set pretty much went from the idea stage to a full-fledged set in a week, & it seems to have turned out better than sets that I spent much longer on. But I do still like Yuji & Shana a lot too.
That Excel moveset had some pretty original things going for it. I decided to read a moveset to its fullest
(Mostly in terms of attacks, that is). The concept of being able to transform the enemy, which can stuff up their moves, plus each time you hit them, the timer resets and some of her stunning attacks almost looks like it is for the win. Good job. This moveset was easy to read and had some originality in the attacks.
Not a actual complaint, but when I read this moveset, I thought her name was Hail Ilpalazzo, until I saw the moveset. That just confused me a bit, but you don't need to worry about that, that was just me.
I am not bias against a moveset with presentation, which I don't really care about at all. Its good however that you have inco-orporated some colour differences in your moves (Which is common sense)
With the side special, I think the plunger is better than the bowling ball, due to the plungers stunningness.
The D-special, that is a rather creative move, though as it can help on some stages, with the up-special where you can make a trap, but it probably would not be worth it if I used Excel in Brawl.
Now, confirming the (Cute dog) Menchi, am I saying it correctly that she appears WHEN Excel uses an attack that involves Menchi, then moves astray. That part anyway probably was self-explanitory anyway.
D-air looked impossible to use well seeing as Menchi will go away afterwards, even though you can just pick her up again.
Excel would probably be a hard character to play as if an enemy quickly tries to rush in on you, because the up-special is REALLY laggy but seeing that characters like Lucario use aura sphere and charge it up, it should not be a hassle at the start of the game. Though Excel does have the n-air to kind of use as a recovery. Excel would probably be kind of hard to use a proper recovery in the midst of a battle. Also, I can see that she has many attacks that only work well at the start to prevent spamming them. You would probably need to space the enemy with a D-tilt or stun them with a D-smash before you can KO the enemy or majorly damage them with the B-move.
The A combo was a BIT hard to understand, but it is fun and original compared to some other attacks.
Overall, I can see a style of how you would play this character and you have done a good job in this moveset. I have nothing really else to complain about this moveset, it is a great effort for a anime character and although i did not look on the youtube videos or musics, it seems immaterial for me to have to do so, but it does look like you managed to maintain the whole Excel character the whole time.
Although other MYMers can give you better hints about your moveset, I just wanted to say something so that your work would be more acknowleged.
I'm totally making a set for 'Hail Ilpalazzo!' now XD
& yes, the usefulness of the down special would be somewhat limited, depending on the stage. I also did intend for her up special to be difficult to set up, which gives her a bit of a problem when it comes to recovery. I do admit though, that I didn't really use the Menchi mechanic to its fullest potential. I made Excel's best KO move involve her, but other than that, the pummel and down air aren't really a big part of her playstyle. I meant for the down air to be a risky spike move, like Toon Link's down air, but I really should have buffed it a bit. I probably should've had more moves involve Menchi, but its a bit late to be changing that now. For the neutral combo, yeah... I kind of had a hard time explaining that one.
I'm really glad that you liked this set; thanks a lot for the comments too!!
I'll probably comment more later, but let me just say that Excel looks like a really cool and fun moveset right now...lots of originality in there, and some quoted made me lol. Well done!
I watched Part 1 of the Excel Saga ep, up to where the Will of the Macrocosm steps in.
My mind exploded. The information-bearing medium housing my consciousness exploded.
*~*~*~
Menchi mechanic is amusing.
My only regret is it seems I can't read through it carefully, as I keep coughing myself to a light head from the wackiness.
The thing is, it seems that underneath the insane appearances, the mechanics are playable and functional.
"Someday, when I'm bigger, I wanna fight that Mario again!"
Bowser Jr.
***
>~~BACKGROUND~~<
Bowser Jr. is Bowser's eighth child and the Prince of the Koopas. He accompanies his father in his various schemes, including polluting Isle Delfino, kidnapping Peach, and recreating the universe. Jr. sports a kerchief with drawn-on fangs around his neck, and wears his fiery red hair in a ponytail. He is a bold and energetic troublemaker, and tends to be bratty, short-tempered, and spoiled. However, Jr. also has a lonely side that is rarely seen. He hides a lot of power in his small frame, and is also surprisingly skilled, especially when playing sports. His main weapon of choice is his Magic Paintbrush. Jr. also has a fleet of Airships at his command. He'll stop at nothing to attain his 'Mama' Peach, defeat that pesky plumber Mario, and please his father.
>~~STATS~~<
Power: 6/10
Jr. has above average power, having more strength than you might expect, but still relying on his trickery enough to keep him from being a highly powerful character.
Walking Speed: 4/10
Jr. doesn't need to hurry in his walk speed. It's called walking for a reason.
Dashing Speed: 6.5/10
Whoa, Jr. is rather speedy for a turtle. He's not breaking any records, but he can book it when he needs to.
Weight: 6.5/10
Jr. is slightly heavier than that bad man Mario, due to the hefty shell on his back.
Range: 6/10
Jr.'s attacks that aren't physical often have effects that boost their range out a decent distance for addition trickery.
Projectile Distance: 7/10
Jr.'s main projectile covers a moderate distance if you use it as ammo, while his other projectiles are usually shorter-ranged, although under certain circumstances, they can follow foes further out.
Size: 5.5/10
Jr. is about Mario's height at the top of his ponytail, and is a bit wider due to his shell. Like Mario and Luigi, Jr. can be infinite chaingrabbed against walls when playing Dedede, so beware this matchup.
Attack Speed: 5.5/10
Jr. has a decent mix of speedier and slower attacks. He needs both for his personal arsenal of weaponry.
Priority: 4/10
This is one of Jr.'s lower points. Several of his attacks just aren't that great at penetrating other moves.
First Jump: 6.5/10
An impressive spring off the ground. Jr.'s an athletic little guy...
Second Jump: 5.5/10
Barely above average, this is not as great as his first jump, but Jr. can still cover some ground here.
Aerial DI: 5/10
Jr. can move around while airborne with decent dexterity. At first, it is easy to move around with Jr. in the air, but it becomes harder the more you do it.
Fall Speed: 3/10
Jr. has a floaty fall speed due to his acrobatic manner on the battlefield.
Recovery: 5/10
Jr. has two options for recovery; his Up Special takes him a great distance, but is easy to edgeguard or break, causing him to go helpless, while his tether requires set-up, but is fairly reliable.
Crouch: 3/10
Not that great, as Jr. doesn't really want to get in an uncomfortable position on the ground.
Traction: 2/10
Pretty bad, as Jr. slides around a lot while running due to his excitement.
Comboability: 6/10
Jr. can string together lots of cool combos with his trickery, but his metagame doesn't rely solely on quick hits and follow-ups.
Wall Jump: Yes
Wall Cling: No
Crawling: No
Gliding: No
Tether Recovery: Yes
>~~ANIMATIONS~~<
Standard Pose:
Jr. holds an overly-serious position, giving his foes a fierce glare, with his bandana pulled over his mouth, while holding his Paintbrush in front of him with both hands, rather than one claw, like he usually does.
Standard Pose #2:
Jr., being the antsy little guy he is, has multiple standard and idle poses. Here, he can't take his serious posture anymore, and pulls his bandana off his face, holding his brush in one hand for a while as he peers curiously around the stage. He alternates standard poses, making him entertaining to watch.
Idle Pose:
Jr. begins hopping around from foot to foot, brush pointing down. He's dying to get going...
Idle Pose #2:
Jr. looks at the screen and taps the Paintbrush's handle end against the ground impatiently. What the hell are you waiting for?!
Walking:
Jr. hops from foot to foot as he wanders forward leisurely, holding his brush at his side. This is similar to his basic walk in Mario Superstar Baseball.
Running:
Jr. stops fooling around and actually runs a bit faster here, pumping his arms while still holding his brush at his side.
Dashing:
Jr. makes a 'Vroom, vroom!' noise as he spreads his arms out to the side, brush and all, like an airplane, moving his little feet faster as he picks up speed.
Jump #1:
Jr. spins around once like a tornado as he lifts off into the air, holding his brush at his side. He certainly is an acrobatic little fellow.
Jump #2:
Jr. tucks into his shell like a ball and does two rapid flips to get up even higher. He seems to take his brush into his shell with him here, as it vanishes until he untucks.
Crouching:
Although he could get down easily, Jr. isn't that battle-smart, and merely sits on the ground, drawing a figure 8 on the ground in front of him with one claw in a bored manner, brush on the ground next to him. This is not awful, but is far from good.
Ledge-Hanging:
Jr. holds on with one hand like his father, holding his brush with the other. He smiles determinedly, showing off the same arm strength his father displays.
Swimming:
Jr. paddles forward quickly with his stubby arms, holding his brush as he does so. His shell and brush slow him down, but he's still a turtle, so he has average swimming abilities.
Forward Roll:
Jr. tucks into his shell, taking his brush with him, and does a rapid triple-somersault forward along the ground.
Backward Roll:
Jr. does a rapid little backflip backwards, holding his brush in one hand. That must take some serious balance!
Spot Dodge:
Jr. tucks into his shell like his father, not in his personal ball format, taking his brush with him, as he leans into the background quickly, before coming out as he leaves the background.
Air Dodge:
Jr. makes an L for loser sign on his forehead as he leans into the background, brush in one hand, to taunt his foes while he evades their attacks.
Shield:
Jr. takes on a ninja-like pose, one hand in front of him, brush in the other behind him, as the standard shield forms.
Tripped:
As he initially trips, Jr. does two little flips close to the ground, spinning before landing flat on his stomach with a cute shocked expression on his face, as though he looks unsure whether to get pissed or cry.
Dizzy:
Jr. dances out dizzily on tiptoes, spinning around slightly in place, brush in one hand (it's a miracle he can still hold it). In spite of his dizziness, Jr. still has a smile on his face. It's fun being dizzy!
Sleeping:
Jr. uses the brush end of his Paintbrush as a pillow, snuggling into it and making contended sleepy noises, occasionally getting a small snot bubble. What a cute pose! How could you possibly hit him out of this?
***
>~~MOVESET~~<
>~~SPECIALS~~<
Neutral Special - Paintball
When you hold the input, Jr. takes his Magic Paintbrush and waves it around in front of him like a magic wand. As he does so, the end of it gets wet with rainbow-colored graffiti, like from Super Mario Sunshine. This lasts as long as three Pikmin Plucks, and has no initial effect, the goop merely being stored in the brush. He can do this up to six times in a row, the brush turning a brighter rainbow tint each time. If you tap the button after waving the wand once, he'll swing the brush in front of him, releasing a ball of goop the size of a Pokeball. The ball goes about half of Battlefield's distance, and has below average priority. It also has a small stun effect and deals 3%.
Every time Jr. waves the wand, it creates one paintball. So, for however many times he waves the brush, that's how many balls he'll shoot out when he taps the input again. Paintballs travel close together at the speed of Falco's laser, being a speedy, stunning projectile. This is excellent for holding foes and building damage, but it requires a charge time if it is to be truly useful. Jr. can walk around with paintballs stored, leading to many different set-ups. The paintballs are fired quickly, and Jr. has little lag stowing the brush. The balls can't be aimed, though, only being shot horizontally. Foes hit by the paintballs get the rainbow goop splattered all over them, slowing them down for one second per ball, and slightly increasing their tripping rate. This is great if used several times in a row, leading to an easy trap set-up for Jr.
The other use of this move is that, if you hold a direction and the B Button (hold, not tap), Jr. will swing a chain of the paintballs he has that direction, a bit like Sheik's chain. The length varies depending on how many paintballs he has stored, ranging from above average to awful. Jr. can use this to splatter the foes without releasing the paintballs (as after you release the input, the paintballs go back into the brush for future use). He can also spin it in front of him for a moderate defense against projectiles, as, when spun fast enough, the chain has moderate priority. Also, if you hit the paintball right next to Jr., he'll pull you in, holding you in his grab, you being able to throw the victim now. Finally, Jr. can aim the chain up for a tether recovery, it being useful, as it is higher priority and less punishable than his Up Special. You'll probably make use of all of the effects of this Special sooner or later, so learn it well. It can make Jr. go far.
Side Special - Sonic Roar!
This was Bowser Jr.'s Super Ability in Mario Strikers Charged. Here, it is a chargeable Special of his. When you press the input, Jr. leans low to the ground, inhaling air to charge. Upon release, Jr. roars in a high-pitched voice, letting out a cone-shaped sound wave in front of him. The range depends on how long you charge; it varies from half a Stage Builder block, to two Stage Builder blocks, over a period of three seconds. After three seconds, it is automatically released, not being able to be stored. The priority is average no matter what the charge, however.
The effect on foes hit by the sound wave is that they are shrunken, as if hit by a Poison Mushroom. The time shrunken depends on the charge, varying from one second to three and a half seconds. During that time, they not only are much lighter and weaker, but they are slower-moving, in true Strikers style. Jr. releases the wave quickly, and ends with average ending lag, so he'll have to charge for a decent time if he wants to punish the shrunken foe, although his traps could do that usefully here. This is a useful set-up trap, but if it is spammed more than five times in a period of twenty-five seconds, Jr.'s throat will get sore and he'll cough, for above average ending lag. Now, he'll have to wait twenty-five seconds before being able to use the move again. Use sparingly, but don't neglect this!
Down Special - Shadow Mario
Jr. holds out his Paintbrush and spins around very rapidly in place, dealing no damage, but becoming dark and shadowy. He begins spinning so fast with the brush around him that you can't see him for a brief period of time. When he stops spinning, he has turned into Shadow Mario, his fake Mario disguise he used to cause havoc from Super Mario Sunshine. Turning into Shadow Mario takes as long as turning into Sheik, dealing no damage but taking a good deal of time.
Shadow Mario is the same size as normal Mario, and also has similar stats and animations, due to them being exactly the same in Super Mario Sunshine, although he has quite a few new ones as well. Shadow Mario has an entirely different moveset from Mario, as he still holds his brush, being able to wreak havoc with its goopy effects.
One more thing, though, is that Squirtle's water attacks do double damage to Shadow Mario, and F.L.U.D.D. and Water Gun not only push him away, but also deal 5-11%, depending on the charge. Shadow Mario hates water! Don't get sprayed! He can still swim safely, oddly enough. What were the SMS developers smoking?!
As a small nostalgic bonus, Shadow Mario's Theme will play in the background as a BGM whenever you are within two Stage Builder blocks of him, in true Super Mario Sunshine style. If you exceed this range, the normal BGM plays, but when you get close, this fades right back in.
His moveset is shown after Bowser Jr.'s here.
Up Special - Escape Artist
Bowser Jr. holds up his brush, for a red angry-faced balloon to appear attached to the top of the brush. This is the same balloon he used to flee Pinna Park after his identity was revealed. You can see it here, at 5:44 - 5:56, although this balloon is much smaller, being about the size of Bowser. It is definitely not small, but not monster-sized, like in the actual game. The balloon comes out with below average ending lag, Jr. getting a slight bit of downwards momentum before he starts to rise, like Snake's Cypher, but not as extreme.
The balloon stays out for two and a half seconds before vanishing. During this time, Jr. can steer it left to right via Control Stick, as it rises automatically at a moderate rate (Ganondorf's dash, which isn't that bad for a recovery). By pressing up on the Control Stick, you can speed this rate up slightly, but you can't move side to side as you do so. After two and a half seconds, the balloon shrinks into the brush again and Jr. becomes helpless.
Here's where the move becomes different than the other controllable recoveries. First off, the balloon has horrible priority; any attack that does 3% or more will break it, making Jr. helpless. Because the balloon is rather large, this is a big problem. The balloon can also be caught under ledges easily, making it difficult to keep from foes and let Jr. recover properly. You'll want to be highly careful when using this move, as it can be dangerous against edgeguarders. In most cases, you'll want to stick to his Neutral Special Paintball tether if at all possible.
The recovery is not all bad, however. This recovery actually sweetspots the edge, Jr. grabbing it quickly as the balloon vanishes. Also, the more damage Jr. has, the longer he can control the balloon's flight. This can range from 3 seconds with over 50% to 5 and a half seconds with over 200% (although you'll most definitely not want to use it then, as Jr. has no protection against himself while rising, and has no super armor, unlike Snake's Cypher). This can be helpful with lower damages, meaning Jr. can recover better. Foes who touch the spikes on the balloon take 3-4% and a bit of stun. Jr. can hop off the balloon early by pressing the B Button. This recovery takes careful practice to get used to, so don't just pull it out whenever you're offstage.
>~~BASIC ATTACKS~~<
Basic Combo - Firewall
Jr. starts trying to imitate his father's Fire Breath, but ends up only spewing out a stream of smoke instead. The smoke is about half as thick as Bowser's Fire, but extends out about the same distance, and comes out with about half as much startup lag. Jr.'s smoke travels in a constant up and down pattern, like how you can angle Bowser's Fire up and down, but you can't stop this movement with this. The smoke has surprisingly decent priority, and can be held out as long as you want, although it diminishes at the same rate as Bowser's, so unless you are holding a foe against a wall, you'll want to limit its use.
Ending the stream of smoke has below average ending lag, but it's enough to punish, so be cautious. The stream of smoke deals about 1% per half second, being a moderate rate, but not being exceptional unless your foe is trapped against a wall or in the ground. No knockback is dealt unless you hit Jr.'s mouth while he's breathing, upon which you take 5% and decent knockback. Also, just like in Mario Strikers Charged, Jr. holds up his little claws and calls out, "Grr! Roar!" while breathing smoke. How adorable!
Dash Attack - Slip 'N Slide
Jr. tucks into his shell (with his brush) as he slides forward along the ground, crying out, "Whee!" as he goes. Jr. has decent priority while he's in his shell, and if you jump on him while he's tucked in, you'll take 5% and low vertical knockback, so approach from the side here. Jr. gets in and starts sliding with low startup lag, and coming out has moderate ending lag. Of course, his shell hits at close range, but you can hold down the Dash Attack input to slide for as long as you want.
The damage and knockback of the shell depends on momentum. If you are sliding over wet ground or down a slope, Jr. picks up momentum, dealing around 12% and average knockback to foes. If he is on flat ground, he'll deal about 7% and below average knockback. If he goes up an incline, however, he only trips foes. Jr. keeps a constant speed on flat ground, but turning around slows down his momentum considerably; him needing to travel a longer distance before getting sped up again. Your best use for this is as a way to knock foes into a stronger trap, although sliding through foes can build damage rather efficiently. This slide mimics his attack pattern in New Super Mario Bros.
>~~TILTS~~<
Forward Tilt - Needle Brush
Jr. holds his Paintbrush vertically in front of him, brush end up, and spins it around. This spin fires off the spike from the circular part of the paintbrush at foes. You can hold this input to continue spinning the brush and firing spikes, at a rate of two per second, the shot spikes growing back from the hole in the brush they left. Each spike has below average priority and travels forward for 1.5 times Bowser's width before vanishing, disappearing if they hit a foe, as well. They travel at the speed of Mario's walk, being a fairly fast projectile, but not an easily spammable one. Each spike comes out quickly, but Jr. has moderate ending lag when stopping his barrage, meaning it can't be abused.
The spikes are small, being about half the size of a Pikmin, but if you keep up the stream against a wall, you can accumulate a good deal of damage on foes. Opponents who hit the hole in the brush as a spike is being shot take 6% and decent knockback. Those who hit the spike during its flight path take 3% per spike and a small bit of set knockback. By just tapping the button, Jr. fires two spikes, it being a quick two-hit combo. However, because of the ease of which this can be punished, it is best to hold out the stream of spikes until the foe is far enough away that they can't retaliate.
Down Tilt - Temper Tantrum
From his crouching position, sitting on the floor, Jr.'s face turns slightly red as he takes a bounding leap at foes (holding his brush), with minimal startup lag. His leap has average priority, similar to that of Diddy's Monkey Flip. Jr. travels at the same speed and height as Diddy as well, but only about 3/4 the distance. If he misses a foe, he'll trip on the ground at maximum range (this is not usually good, but Jr. has a great set-up with his B-Throw and Tripped Attack, so it's great to have a reliable way to trip). If he goes off the edge, he enters a fastfalling state that is hard to recover from, so beware near ledges. However, if you land on a foe...Jr. knocks them to the ground brutally, landing on top of them to hold them there.
Foes who are knocked to the ground by Jr. take 4% and no knockback, being pinned down. The hitbox that counts as Jr. landing on the foe is Jr.'s underside and feet; foes who are hit by his upper body (his whole body is a hitbox here) take 4% and a bit of stun, it being rather punishable if he misses. Foes held to the ground are held down as if in a grab; they can button-mash to escape, but Jr. can damage the foe while they're held down. By mashing the A Button while the foe is pinned, Jr. pounds them relentlessly with his little fists, dealing 1-2% per punch, and being able to punch the foe about four times each second.
Jr. falls off the foe for below average ending lag when the foe escapes, being slightly punishable, as the foe takes no knockback here...unless Jr. accumulates 5% or more from pounding, upon which the foe is knocked back an average distance. Used properly and with care, this is an effective damage builder. If Jr. jumps onto a foe offstage, they both go down to their deaths like Ganondorf's Flame Choke, although Jr. is much less likely to end this 'Jr.cide' in a Sudden Death, due to being on more on top than Ganondorf. Still, you put yourself at risk of only KOing yourself if you try out this suicidal technique, so be prepared for the consequences you may face if you are not successful.
Up Tilt - Wind Duppy
Jr. takes his Paintbrush and swings the brush end around in a circle shape above his head lightly, with a fast startup and little ending lag. However...this brush swing has low priority and mediocre range. It also only deals 2-3% and a small aerial stun. Also, once Jr. spins the brush once, he can't do it again for fifteen more seconds, so it cannot be spammed to juggle moves. What a useless move! This sounds like something Sakurai would do...
But, wait! If a foe is anywhere within two Stage Builder blocks (in the air or ground) of the place where Jr. used the brush swipe, ten seconds later, a Wind Duppy from Sunshine forms out of thin air with a swooshing noise, being the size of a Soccer Ball. It then proceeds to circle the foe who approached it (it chooses the closest foe if multiple foes approach it mindlessly in a FFA), following it wherever it goes. The Duppy circles the foe for three seconds, making windy blowing noises, before dive-bombing the foe, dealing 13-14% and above average vertical knockback. These annoying little buggers made Mario's adventures on the higher areas of Isle Delfino a living hell. It's only fair Jr. would want to carry that scherade into battle to torment opponents as well.
The Duppy has super-high priority, being unable to be negated. The only way to dodge the Duppy is with a perfectly-timed air or spot dodge, like Tabuu's Red Rings of Death. It cannot be shaken off any other way, unless, of course, the foe is KOed by other means during those three seconds. The Duppy vanishes after missing or hitting its targeted foe. This whole process of waiting for the Duppy to appear, then letting it follow and hit a foe, takes about fifteen seconds, after which Jr. can use the move again. During the end of the ten startup seconds, Jr. will want to keep the foe toward the area where he swiped, to ensure a likely hit. Although this isn't the most useful of his Tilts, it can still dish out the damage and knockback, and maybe even a KO or two, if Jr. can lure his foes into the trap.
>~~SMASHES~~<
Forward Smash - Bullet Bill Blast
While charging, Jr. takes out a small remote control in his hand, pressing a few buttons on it. Upon release, he chuckles, as a red cannon, the size of Donkey Kong, appears directly in front of him. The cannon comes out with almost no startup lag, and looks like it does in the below picture, just without Monty Mole inside. The cannon deals no damage or knockback as it comes out, and is disjointed from Jr. The cannon has HP varying on the charge time, ranging from 15 HP to 35 HP at full charge. The cannon lasts until Jr. gets KOed, unless he or a foe destroys it. Yes, Jr. can attack his own cannon. Only one cannon can be out at a time, but Jr. has a new F-Smash after a cannon is already out...
If Jr. uses this F-Smash again after a cannon is out, he simply jumps up a little bit and yells, "Fire!", causing the cannon turret to swell up and fire a Bullet Bill at foes, with an average bit of startup lag. The charge time for this Smash doesn't determine how powerful the shot is; it determines from how far away Jr. can fire a Bullet Bill. By tapping the input, Jr.'s yell covers the area of a single Stage Builder block, him having to be right next to the cannon to order it to fire. However, at maximum range, he can yell from about 4 Stage Builder blocks away to fire the cannon, although firing always has average startup lag. Jr.'s yelling does no damage or knockback, and has quick startup and ending lag. Each cannon can fire three Bullet Bills before vanishing, and you can't call out another cannon until the first one is destroyed. Because of this, Jr. must either be quick in creating and destroying cannons, or place a single cannon in a strategic location for multiple uses. Jr. can move after firing the cannon, being able to try and direct his foes into the ammo's flight path. The ammo can harm Jr. himself, however, so setting up traps to get your foes in harm's way is his best (and craftiest) option.
The Bullet Bills are about the size of Olimar (horizontally, however) and fly forward for three Stage Builder blocks at the speed of Mario's walk, before detonating automatically. If they are hit by any attack, they blow early, so dodging is a much better option than out-prioritizing here, unless you have long-ranged projectiles. The Bullets are fired horizontally from the cannon, a tiny height off the ground, not following foes. These Bullets deal 13-17% and from below average to above average knockback, depending on charge. However, they don't appear 100% of the time...they have a 35 out of 50 chance of being fired here. None of the Bullets that can be fired are really bad options, so it's not really a big deal being random.
Yeah, these Bullet Bills look high, just like the ones in Sunshine...
The second type of ammo that Jr. can fire are Missile Bills. These blighters are purple, with a red nosecone to show off their difference from normal Bullets. Once fired, Missile Bills emit a high-pitched screeching noise, then proceed to follow around the closest opponent. These guys still travel at Mario's walking speed, but have no limit to how far they can travel. Like their black cousins (no hidden racism), Missile Bills explode when attacked, so dodging is the safe option.
If the Missile misses the targeted foe, it vanishes into thin air, not even bothering to blow up. Projectile users can speed ahead of the slow Missile and blast it before it's even a threat, but a simple spot dodge will do the trick of avoidance for any character. If a Missile connects (or a stupid foe destroys it at close range), it deals a respectable 14-19%, dealing more damage due to its rarity. Missiles appear 14 out of 50 times, so you'll see them occasionally, but not too much. If a Missile hits any other object on its way to the target, it blows up early. Missiles make great edgeguards, but they can't be relied on. Although they can be avoided with ease by most characters, they can come in handy luring foes into Jr.'s other traps.
Finally, appearing 1 out of 50 times for this F-Smash, are Golden Bullet Bills. They look just like a normal black Bullet, but, well, they're solid gold. They are also the same size as the above two Bullets, all ammo types being the same size. These make a shiny glittering noise when fired, and travel in the same flight pattern as regular Bullet Bills. They also deal the same amount of damage and knockback. However, these Bullets, as you may have guessed from their coloring, drop 5 Golden Coins when they blow up, which are Soccer Ball-sized. Any character can pick these up to be healed 5% per coin. In Coin Battle (if anyone actually plays that), these Coins are worth 50 dollars (whatever units they are) each. Although this is not offensively different from the regular Bullet Bill, it is great for a bit of a defensive spree. Just make sure Jr. is the one to get the coins, as you don't want to actually help your foes.
Down Smash - Slime Generator
While charging, Jr. points his brush downwards towards the ground, and starts shaking it, as if expected something to drop out of the end. Upon release, a puddle of goop oozes out of the end, with below average startup lag, and forms into a slimy blob on the ground in front of Jr. This is a generator from Sunshine; here it covers the area of one Stage Builder block, and is the height of Mario crouching. The generator has HP instead of priority, having from 10 to 25 HP, depending on the charge. The generator lasts for 15 seconds if it is not destroyed. Foes who touch the blob take 5-8% and a low set knockback. However, this is not the method best used for building damage and scoring KOs...
Now, you may be asking yourself, what does the generator generate? Well, the generator is used for creating Strollin' Stus from the muck. By using Down Smash again once a generator is out, Jr. can cause one of these foes to spawn from the generator with low lag. Also, he can do this from anywhere on the stage, unlike his F-Smash. These Goomba-esque foes are slightly smaller than SSE Goombas, and make waddling noises as they walk about at a pathetically slow speed, worse than Bowser's walk even. However, get within 1.5 Stage Builder blocks of one and it'll charge you with a squeak, running at Toon Link's dashing speed at you. Stus have stupid AI, running off cliffs and into damaging hazards and attacks, but they deal 9-12% per charge and average knockback. They have 15 HP each, but can be defeated easily with one jump on the head, squishing them Goomba-style. They stay out for 10 seconds if they are not defeated.
While ordinarily one Stu is no problem, Jr.'s generator can spew out up to three Stus, one at a time. However, he must charge the Smash more than 25% to be able to call out two, and more than 75% (but only up to 99% or less; 100% charge has its own effect) to be able to call out three. Even with three out, Stus are no trouble to KO on their own, so you'll need to use them as obstacles to herd foes into other attacks, or for a diversion. If a generator is destroyed by a foe (Jr. can attack his own blob as well), it bursts, no matter how many Stus you have left, so get them out early for maximum chaos. Still, slow and steady (and controlled) wins the race...er, fight.
At 100%, Jr.'s generator conjures up a Tramplin' Stu, a removed beta enemy from Sunshine. These monsters come out by themselves, one per 100% charged D-Smash (which has 1.5 times the charge time of normal Smashes), covering two Stage Builder blocks, standing in place, and being 1.5 times Ganondorf's height. Most of this Stu's height comes from his legs, so any character can run in between them, although this is not wise. Tramplin' Stus stay in place, not moving, and have 35 HP each. Jumping on their heads gives foes 10% and average vertical knockback, so don't try it.
The Stu stomps around slowly in place, like Metagross when he comes out, but with a bigger range. Getting hit here gives foes about 19-22% and high knockback, the hitbox being on the legs, so staying back is vital here. Projectile users have an easy defense against this Stu, but they stay out for 20 seconds if not KOed, stomping about once every 1.5 seconds. Foes hit by its body also take the same damage as its legs. Jr. should try to keep foes around this Stu as a prime KO move. Just remember, no competent foe will see a Trampin' Stu in a serious match, so don't worry about them.
Up Smash - Rocket Nozzle
Now, this isn't the F.L.U.D.D. used to send Mario up great heights; Jr. has his own built-in rocket pack in his Paintbrush! A high-tech charging noise occurs as Jr. crouches downwards, peering up excitedly, during the charge of this Smash. Upon release, Jr. cries out, "Yahoo!", as the brush fires a stream of red graffiti downwards, pushing Jr. up into the air. Jr.'s body is the hitbox here, him having above average priority from the momentum of the rocket jump. Depending on the charge, Jr. can fly up to 1.5 times Ganondorf's height to 4 times Ganondorf's height, being a high jump.
Jr. falls after rocketing, having a slightly-increased fall speed, but still being able to attack. Jr. rockets up with little lag, but has slight ending lag as he reaches the apex of his jump, being punishable then. Hitting Jr. deals 10-14% to foes, as well as below average to average vertical knockback. Foes who hit the stream of paint fired downwards to propel up Jr. are spiked downwards with moderate force, taking 8-11% fire damage. Because of the spike, Jr. can use this really close to an edge to spike a foe recovering...from the stage! No matter the charge, the fired graffiti stays on the ground for three seconds, having an increased likelihood of tripping foes who walk over it. This is the simplest of Jr.'s Smashes, and probably the easiest to use consistently.
>~~AERIALS~~<
Neutral Air - Getting His Grind On
Jr. curls into a round shell ball, taking his brush in with him, and begins spinning around rapidly in place, flipping over and over. Jr. curled up is about the size of Kirby. He does seven rapid flips (the move taking a bit less than a half second) before uncurling with low ending lag. Getting into the ball takes a short period of time as well. When Jr. starts spinning, his aerial momentum in any direction is cut in half, meaning he can use this aerial to stay up longer when trying to recover, as long as he has some forward movement.
Jr. in ball form cannot be damaged, but he receives 1.5 times the knockback he would've received normally. If he is hit just after starting his flipping, this is dangerous, as he doesn't leave ball form after being hit, meaning if he is near a boundary, he's pretty much screwed. If Jr. hits foes, he can deal up to seven multiple hits (one for each of the seven flips), each dealing 1-2% each. The first six hits trap foes near the ball, while the last hit deals average knockback. The hits can be DIed out of to knock Jr. away, so Jr. will have to be careful with his usage of this move. He has average landing lag if he hits the ground while flipping. This can deal damage for Jr. consistently out of his aerials, but it can't be overused against good foes. This move's inspiration comes from Jr.'s introduction in Sunshine, seen in the Mecha Bowser video from his Up Special.
Forward Air - Kiddy Roulette
Jr. pulls out an Item Box from Mario Kart (his brush vanishing into his shell while the block is out), it being his personal roulette, and holds it in front of him, it being the size of a normal block in Mushroomy Kingdom. The block spins for half a second in Mario Kart-style, various items spinning around inside the block, before a single item spawns inside the block. When this single item appears, foes who are touching the block are affected by one of four random (it's a roulette, silly, of course it's random) effects caused by said item. The effects coming from the box once the item appears vary, so they are listed below. Jr. holds the block for a split second once the item appears, before stowing it again. This aerial is risky to use at times, and cannot be spammed safely, but it can come in handy in tight situations.
Banana Peel: These are common slippery nuisances from Mario Kart. They appear commonly here, just like in the Kart games. If Jr. gets a peel, foes who hit the block take 4-5% and enter a footstool-jumped effect. The block has low priority here, being just a banana peel. This effect is best for edgeguarding, as the foe can punish Jr.'s ending lag if they merely fall under Jr. onstage. Offstage, it'll be much harder.
Vegetable: The most common form of ammo in Super Mario Bros. 2, where they appeared in a Roulette mini-game. Veggies appear just as often as banana peels, appearing commonly here. When a veggie appears here, they deal 7-8% and average knockback to foes. Their priority is average as well. A cool combo you can try with the roulette is to get a foe offstage with a veggie, then footstool them with a banana peel. You can't rely on the items or spam the aerial, however.
Bowser Shell: Bowser and Bowser Jr.'s own personal item from Mario Kart: Double Dash!! It appears here quite rarely, but is the strongest effect that can come from the roulette. Foes who hit the block when this is the item take 13-14% and high knockback. The priority is quite high as well. This is highly unlikely to appear, but when it does, it can definitely change the flow of the battle at times.
Bob-Omb: This item doesn't appear regularly; the only time it appears is if Jr. spams the move more than 15 times in a period of 10 seconds. If Jr. gets this, it doesn't hit foes, it only damages him, dealing 9-10% and average vertical knockback to Jr. The block also turns into a Fake Item Box when it receives a Bob-Omb. This is incentive enough to not spam this move over a short period of time. Use it in opportune circumstances only!
Back Air - Freeze!
Jr. turns backwards, his eyes glowing a light color (Dark Koopa Magic again!), and he yells the attack name smugly. This move has slight startup lag, and moderate ending lag. A small sparkle of light appears in front of Jr.'s eyes during this time. It appears at a very close range, slightly further out than Luigi's Fire Jump Punch, although this isn't saying much at all. The sparkle has no priority, not being an attack unless the sparkle hits foes at eye level behind Jr.
If a foe is, however, they are turned into a purple platform in a puff of smoke, dealing no knockback, but 5%, and holding them in place. The platform covers the area of one Stage Builder block, but is only half as thick. The foe stays in platform formation for 3 seconds, taking no damage or knockback from any attacks, but being stuck there, and vulnerable to attacks when the foe turns back to normal. Jr. can also jump onto the foe platform while recovering to gain his jumps back. The foe can shake the Control Stick to lessen the time as a platform, however, and if Jr. is on the platform when the foe reforms, he enters a helpless state, being screwed if he's offstage. Offstage is the best use for this, of course, so know what you're doing when you use this, and don't spam it; foes can punish the ending lag. Jr. also has a ton of ending lag if he misses.
Up Air - Koopa Juggler
Jr.'s brush vanishes temporarily, as he spreads his arms and looks up, starting to juggle three green Koopa Shells above him. The shells are the same size they are as an item, and go up about Diddy's height above Jr.'s head. The shells have below average priority, and come out quickly, although there is slightly more ending lag. The shells he juggles deal three multiple hits to foes, one per each shell. The first two hits trap foes, while the last does below average vertical knockback. Each shell deals 3% to foes. Foes can DI out without too much effort, though. This is a nice move for 'juggling' foes, but Jr. is vulnerable from below for the duration of the move, so be careful when you have attackers under you. The landing lag is also nothing to smile at...
As an added bonus (this is not a bonus to groan at either), if Jr. whiffs the attack three times in a row (meaning he doesn't hit a foe with it), the next time he uses the attack, he uses red Koopa Shells, which deal average knockback on the last hit (the first two still trapping foes) and 5% per shell. They are also harder to DI out of, and have slightly higher priority. Jr. doesn't want foes to underestimate him when he's not having the best of luck!
If he misses with these shells, he reverts back to normal green ones; he'll juggle red ones again if he misses with the greens three more times. If he hits with the red ones, however, it takes five misses with the greens (which it turns back to afterwards) for another red. This is better for KOing foes, rather than dealing damage. Jr.'s lag doesn't change, so he still needs to be careful here. Missing intentionally can sometimes be a useful tactic when you want to juggle these. It's your choice, so juggle away!
Down Air - Cosmic Dust
Jr. does a half-moon slash downwards with his Paintbrush, having a bit less range than Marth's D-Air, but the same startup and ending lag. The priority is below average here. If Jr.'s slash connects with an opponent, a cloud of tiny orange particles flow from the brush and surround the foe, who spins, as if footstooled, but stays stationary...unless you move them! That's right, by tilting the Control Stick in a general direction, Jr. can move the foe that way, although he can't do elaborate curves in the flight path or anything, just one direction.
They travel at the 3/4 the speed of Ganondorf's walk, being highly slow. Jr. has control over the foe for three seconds; during this time, the foe can try to hit the dust, which has 10 HP before vanishing and returning the foe to their normal aerial state. Attacks that overlap the character work best (Bowser Up Special, Mario D-Air, etc.), but outside attacks in a FFA work as well. Jr. falls while directing the foe if he's in midair, so never use this offstage, as you cannot cancel this, and Jr. is immobile while moving his foe. He'd just fall to his death while the foe is free to attack the cloud away; if Jr. is KOed while a foe is dusted, the dust vanishes, also. It's highly risky to use in a FFA as well, as both Jr. and the foe can be attacked. Foes enveloped by the dust take 1% from it, but no knockback or anything else...yet!
If the foe still hasn't escaped after three seconds (this is great for using on unsuspecting beginners because of this), the cosmic dust turns the foe into a shooting star. Well, not literally, but it causes them to rocket down in a spike with the power of Ganondorf's D-Air. This seems not that great an effect, but as Ganon's spike can KO foes with even 0% (if you hit them right), it is quite handy here. The foe also takes 11-12% fire damage as they fall. Using this over the stage is not that useful, but Jr. should try to hit the foe onstage, then move them off to spike them. He can also move the foe into another trap of stage hazard as well. Foes can get out of this without too much trouble, but it's still a force to have for an aerial. And it's a small little throwback to Super Mario Galaxy! What fun!
>~~GRAB & THROWS~~<
Grab - Bandana Snare
Jr. whips off his toothy bandana and casts it in front of him, trying to capture foes with it, before pulling it back in and putting it on again. He has little startup lag with this move, but the ending lag is quite variable. The grab's priority is regular. From a dash, the startup and ending lag are increased slightly, as Jr. does a shorthop forward while trying to grab his foes. If he grabs the foe, he pulls them in and grabs them by the collar firmly. Otherwise, he just pulls it in and ties it back on.
There is a small twist to this grab; the more Jr. is successful in grabbing a foe, the longer ranged his grab gets, as Jr. ties on another bandana for more range, having two bandanas tied together for a longer grab. However, he has slightly more startup and ending lag with another bandana. He can have up to three bandanas tied together at a time, counting the initial one, each one counting for one Stage Builder block's range, and having about 1/3 a second of startup and ending lag each. If he ever misses or is punished when he has multiple bandanas, Jr. reverts back to just one again. If he is successful at three, he keeps the three bandanas, but one mistake, and he's back to one. Jr. can use this as a tether recovery, no matter how many bandanas he has out. Jr. only has one bandana around his neck, no matter how many bandanas he has out. This is an interesting detail about the move that allows for some trickery in grabbing foes for Jr.
Grab Attack - Kidnapping!
Jr. rapidly hoists the foe over his shoulder (even the heavy ones; he's got a lot of strength for such a little tyke) with a 'Ha ha!'. The grabbed foe takes 3-4% from this, and now, Jr. is able to run around with his carried foe. To start the kidnapping, press the grab attack input; to stop it and enter Jr.'s normal holding pose, press it again. Jr. runs slightly faster than DK's speed when he is carrying someone with his grab (which Jr.'s slightly resembles), but cannot jump like DK. Jr. also doesn't have unique throws when someone is kidnapped; the main point of this move is to be able to move, then throw your foe from a more strategic location.
If he has less damage than the foe, you could also run into a hazard to damage your foe, but this is not recommended, as it hurts Jr. as well, and might KO him as well as your foe. Like DK, Jr. can also run off the stage in a 'Jr.cide', but Jr. is underneath here, meaning he dies first, so only suicide if you have more stocks than your victim. This grab is about as hard to escape from as DK's carrying hold, and Jr. faces a slight bit of ending lag, making him punishable. If you move distances with this, make it short so you can actually throw your foe as well.
Forward Throw - Body Check
This is one of Jr.'s Special Abilities in Mario Superstar Baseball; a sliding tackle used to knock a player off a base so as to keep Jr. from getting out. Here, Jr. does the same sliding tackle into the victim, diving into them on the ground, his large head pointed out in front of him. This throw would be quite useful, but there's a twist to it, just like in the game it came from.
Against smaller characters, this throw is foolproof, being able to be done correctly almost every time, knocking the player into a trip and dealing 10%. However, there is a rather low chance that this throw will register against the heavier characters, them merely shrugging off the blow and taking no damage, while Jr. has above average ending lag. From here, he is punishable, so know the relative weight of your opponent before you attempt this.
Back Throw - Building Block
This is a rather reliable and simple throw at first; Jr. takes a stony toy building block, it having Jr.'s face on it, and being colored red, blue, or green, and drops it down onto his foe, them taking a low 5% but average knockback. The building block is about 3/4 the size of a Stage Builder block, being slightly smaller, but still a nice playful square shape. The block lasts for fifteen seconds, and Jr. can only have one block out at a time, him having to wait until the current block is gone before using this throw again. The block just sits behind Jr. if he leaves it be...
However, the block itself is not what makes this move interesting. You remember how Jr.'s D-Tilt trips him if he misses? And how Jr.'s Tripped Attack uses dark magic to turn foes to stone? Well, how do you think that works in reverse? If Jr. uses his Tripped Attack and hits a block, it turns into an enemy! This transformation takes about half a second, causing one of three enemies to appear. The color of the block determines which enemy appears, but the color of the block itself is random. Setting up this magical trick is difficult, as smart foes will try to keep Jr. away from the block if they know what he can do. However, if Jr. can pull it off, an enemy can help him onstage quite a bit. Each of the three enemies and their effects are listed here below.
Cataquack: These duck-esque pests lurked on the shores of Gelato Beach in Super Mario Sunshine, coming in the colors of red and blue (although only the red ones are evil). Cataquacks are spawned from red building blocks here, being the size of Wario. Cataquacks merely walking around a small area of the stage at a very low speed, making squelching noises, due to their plunger-shaped feet. They do nothing to foes...unless the foe gets within a Stage Builder block's range of it.
If this happens, the Cataquack chases the foe at the speed of Mario's dash. If the Cataquack touches a foe, it does a quick (starting and ending), high priority swing of its beak, launching the foe into the air with extreme force. This deals no damage at all, oddly, but has a high likelihood of KOing foes with higher damage off the top. The Cataquack hits at fairly close range, so stay back and use projectiles to keep it at bay. Speaking of which, the Cataquack has 35 HP that can be lowered to KO it (staying around for 20 seconds before disappearing if it is not KOed). Overall, it is probably the strongest enemy Jr. can summon, but it has absolutely no defense against strong attacks, so you won't have much trouble finishing one off. Jr. should try to lure foes into the path of a Cataquack if he wants them knocked away, as foes will rarely go into its way by choice.
Tap Tap: A spiky ball-shaped character slightly larger than a Soccer Ball. These hail from Yoshi's Island, before Jr. was created, but they spawn from blocks in those games, so it's not too much of a stretch, is it? Tap Taps spawn from green building blocks in Smash, walking around slowly (Mr. Saturn's moving speed), making annoying little clicking noises. These do nothing by touching foes; instead, they are throwing items, being able to be picked up by anyone. Tap Taps are heavy, being held like a Crate or Barrel by characters. They deal 2-4% of knockbackless damage to the holder per second, for as long as they hold it (typically more damage if the foe moves while carrying it). However, if the character throws the Tap Tap and hits a foe, it deals 28-31% and insane knockback to the foe, being easy to score a KO with it, even if your foe has below 50%.
Tap Taps are only really helpful if Jr. is the one to take advantage of it. Tap Taps have no HP, staying out for 25 seconds before vanishing. However, they can be hit by any character (including Jr.; he can attack his other spawned foes as well, so why not here?) to be launched in that direction with the amount of force the attack held, the Tap Tap rolling with a sad look on its face. Rolling it or throwing it off the edge is the only way to dispose of it prematurely. Taps Taps need to be brought into Jr.'s possession before he can take advantage of them, but they are definitely not a hindrance to receive. Just don't let your foes grab it first!
Blooper: Yeah, these Bloopers don't look much like the normal Mario ones; these ones are bulkier and stupider-looking. Here, they are about the size of Diddy, and spawn from blue building blocks. These sit in place onstage, not moving around, but turning left to right to face in the direction of the nearest foe. Every second, the Blooper spits out a blob of ink the size of a Deku Nut, dealing 10%, but only a slight stun. If a foe touches the Blooper itself, they take 6-7% and moderate knockback, the Blooper making an odd squelching noise.
The Blooper has 20 HP (staying out 15 seconds before disappearing if not KOed), but can be jumped on from above to KO it in one squish, like a Goomba. Jr. should try to keep foes near the Blooper and throw foes into its ink or body for damage. Definitely not the best enemy, but still useful if you know how to control foes while it's out.
Down Throw - Piggyback!
Jr. does a pound-esque hop onto the victim's back, riding them like a horse (or 'gween donkey'). This deals 6% to the foe, but no knockback. Instead, Jr. can control the foe at a slow speed, half their normal dashing speed. During this period, the foe takes 1% per second, and can be moved into traps or off the stage (another Jr.cide), or use one jump, having half the height of the character's normal first jump.
Jr. can press A during his ride to hop off early, dealing no damage, and not causing either character to lag, but while he's on, the foe can shake him off with the Control Stick, Jr. being as hard to escape from as a normal grab. He lags for an average amount of time if he is knocked off. Because of this, try to deal some damage with this move, but keep it reasonable and get off before you get hurt. This move came from Yoshi's Island, where Baby Bowser wanted to ride Yoshi (Baby Bowser and Jr. are not the same characters to those idiots who still think that).
Up Throw - Shell Shocked
Jr. tucks himself and his brush into his shell, then hops up above his foe. He hangs in midair like this for a tiny amount of time, then crashes down on his foe in his shell, dealing 7-9% and barely below average knockback. There is nothing special about this throw really, except that his slam makes a small shockwave on either side of him. This wave extends about 3/4 the distance of the stars in the Super Dedede Jump, dealing 2-3% and a slight stun, just there for effect. This is Jr.'s deke in Mario Strikers Charged, used to clear opponents away from him before shooting the ball.
>~~SITUATIONALS~~<
Downed Attack - Brush Shuttle
Jr. snaps his fingers as he's lying on the ground, for the head 'brush' area of his Paintbrush to fire out from the shaft area, flying around Jr. twice in a circle rapidly, before reattaching itself to the brush shaft. This area of the brush has rather low priority, not taking much to negate it. It comes out and reattaches itself with little lag, although while its flying, Jr. can be punished. The head is about the size of a Purple Pikmin, dealing two hits of 4% and low knockback.
Also, foes who are hit closer to Jr. get pink-colored paint spilled on them. This paint sticks for five seconds and increases the foe's chances of tripping a good deal. If you are somehow unfortunate enough to be knocked to the ground twice in a period of five seconds, the paint can even overlap with another layer for extra tripping trouble. However, this is not too worrisome, as any competent foe won't approach Jr. this close when he's fallen; a projectile is the best option under these circumstances.
Flipped Attack - Cookie Time!
This attack is more defensive than offensive. Jr. does a light 360 degrees spin with his Paintbrush to knock foes away, then takes out two cookies (one in each hand) shaped like Yoshi's head and begins to chow down greedily. The spin has rather low priority, coming out and ending quickly, but having rather close range, Jr. not taking too much time to strengthen it up when there are cookies to be eaten. It deals below average knockback and 4-5%. After the spin, Jr. immediately starts munching the cookies. Each cookie heals 3% and takes a second to eat, meaning the eating lasts two seconds max.
After eating the first cookie, Jr. can press the A Button to cancel eating the second. This is helpful if you just want to heal a little without being punished. Generally, unless you knock nearby foes off a ledge with the spin, then eat both cookies, as they'll be recovering while you're chowing down, and you'll more than likely finish both cookies by the time the foe returns. Jr. has almost no lag getting to his feet after eating. A nice little damage-healer for Jr. and one of his interesting defensive options.
Tripped Attack - Black Koopa Magic
If you ever see Bowser's articles on Wikipedia or the Super Mario Wiki, you hear about how he had evil Koopa magic in the original Super Mario Bros., turning Toads into stone and stuff. But...he never uses it now?! Why not?! Well, at least he had the sense to pass some of it on to Jr., who uses it here. Holding his Paintbrush at his side, Jr. snaps his fingers, causing a tiny sparkle of purple to appear in front and behind him. The sparkles are puny (like the size of the ones that appear during spiking moves), and are at a range infinitesimally further out than that of Jigglypuff's Rest. The sparkles last for a split second, having no startup lag, but Jr. being unable to get up until they vanish, him having moderate ending lag. The sparkles have infinite priority, being unable to be attacked or deal damage or knockback themselves.
What's the use of the move, then? If a foe touches a sparkle, they are turned to a gray stone version of themselves in place where they were hit. The stone character looks exactly like the character when they touched the sparkle, meaning if, say Mario, was using his F-Smash when he got hit (attacks don't cut through the sparkle unless they hit Jr. as well), he'll be frozen with his hands outstretched, tiny stone particles between them. This makes for some interesting poses in your own little statue garden.
Turning back from stone can be done by mashing the A Button, it taking about 1.5 times the length of escape from DK's Headbutt, due to being even closer ranged. After he gets up, Jr. can attack the stony foe (as the sparkle deals no damage) for decent damage, but it won't knock them back at all, the foe being weighed down in place (although it slightly lessens their time as a statue). This is great for racking up damage on stupid foes, but only said stupid foes will fall for it at all due to its extremely close range. Also, it has a separate use when used on a block spawned by Jr.'s B-Throw. Jr. can also intentionally trip my missing with his D-Tilt, so he can set this up whenever he wants, although it doesn't make it any easier to land. Looks like Jr.'s learning from Bowser's mistakes in what moves he uses!
Ledge Attack - Leapfrog!
Jr. kicks the air, struggling to climb onto the ledge for a half second, then hops up a small distance into the air, onto the stage. The bottom of his feet (the hitbox) have below average priority. Foes who barely nick his feet take low knockback and 3-4%. If no foe is beneath Jr. as he jumps up, he lands with below average ending lag. However, if a foe is beneath him as he lands, he does his little laugh and jumps off their head, pushing the foe under him and off the ledge as he does so. The victim here flies back horizontally with barely below average knockback and about 2%, while Jr. flies up, as if he footstooled the foe. This is great for clearing distance between Jr. and aggressive foes, but said foe can spot dodge as Jr. is jumping, then punish him when he lands, preventing it from being 100% flawless. Still, it's a helpful ledge attack to have around.
Ledge Attack (Over 100%) - Whirling Dervish
Jr. tucks into his shell as he ascends onto the ledge (with average startup lag, as is typical for ledge attacks with over 100%), taking his brush in with him, and begins spinning in place near the ledge at hyper speed. He spins over an area of slightly less than one Stage Builder block, having average priority due to his shell. He spins for about half a second before popping out again with little ending lag. Foes who hit Jr. are spun off in a random direction, which means it won't always hit them off the stage or forward, but possibly at a more punishable angle. Still, it has a small vacuum effect on either side of Jr.'s shell, making it easier to land, and an actually useful high damage ledge attack, unlike that of most characters. Getting hit gives characters 6-7% and below average knockback, in whatever direction.
>~~FINAL SMASH~~<
Final Smash - Airship Armada
Bowser Jr. strikes a badass pose, becoming unattackable, and states ominously, "You just don't give up! Fine, then. I guess I'll just whup you myself!" He then proceeds to hop off the top of the screen, and come down in...a green Landmaster? No way! He comes down in his own personal Airship (standing on the Airship deck, in the background where he can't be hit), which is about the size of a Landmaster, but has a moveset all its own. Jr. is no half-***ed clone, now is he? The Airship can run into foes, or crush them, for around 15-17%, but the bulk of the Final Smash comes from its effects.
The Airship flies with the same commands as the Landmaster, but is a bit lighter and faster in the air, and cannot KO foes off the top by lifting them, although foes can walk on the Airship deck. This is not at all advisable, however, as Jr. can call upon certain hazards to hit his opponents, on the ship or out on the stage. They are each triggered by different button inputs. This Final Smash lasts for about as long as Giga Bowser before the Airship is pulled away in a warping black hole, and Jr. hops off as the hole and ship vanish. This is a decent Final Smash if you know how to control it properly.
Neutral Special - Rocky Wrenches
Remember these guys from Super Mario Bros. 3's Airships? Well, Jr.'s taken control of them now, so meet a blast from your past! Upon this input, two Rocky Wrench (moles wearing Black Koopa shells) pop out from on top of the ship, their lower half staying below deck, and begin hurling out a volley of wrenches onto the stage below. The wrenches are thrown in packs, being the same size and shape as the hammers from Hammer Bro. Assist Trophies. However, the range of the wrench volleys are a fair bit longer than that of the Hammer Bros., dealing around 6-7% per each wrench, as well as low knockback. As the wrenches come in droves of above five or six, this is a great damage-builder. The Rocky Wrenches pop back under after three seconds of throwing, being able to be summoned as many times as you want.
Side Special - Bullet Bill Barrage
Jr. claps his hands together twice rapidly, for the three cannons on the side of the ship to launch out three Bullet Bills. These Bullet Bills are normal, unlike the high ones in Sunshine, and function like a Missile Bill from Jr.'s F-Smash, fully charged, honing in on the nearest foe and dealing 18-19% and high knockback (higher than the F-Smash). Each can be destroyed with projectiles, but direct hits also hurt the attacker. It takes about three seconds to fire all three Bullets, one per second, so you can use this attack about four or five times during this Final Smash. It is great for KOing preoccupied foes.
Down Special - Koopa Cannon
Jr. presses a remote control button, for a hatch to open on the bottom of the Airship, creating a field of suction extending down infinitely and being the length of a Stage Builder block. It stays out for five seconds, pulling any foes it touches into the hatch on the ship. Jr. can move while the suction is out, making it vital to learn how to dodge this. After five seconds, one of the cannons from Galaxy appear on deck, firing all captured foes upwards, dealing 10% and insane vertical knockback, likely being a Star KO. Try to get under an obstacle, or where the Airship can't reach, while the beam is out. Because of its delay, Jr. can use this about two or three times per Final Smash. Jr. can perform other attacks during suction, so be extremely cautious.
Up Special - Bob-Omb Battlefield
Jr. simply chuckles, then presses another remote control button, for the bottom of the Airship to start dropping Sudden Death Bob-Omb items onto the stage (these kind cannot be caught, only dodged). These deal 15-16% and high knockback each, falling in packs like in Sudden Death, just not as deadly as they are there. This field of explosions affects the area below the Airship only, and if you have suction out, the suction pulls in a good deal of Bob-Ombs (only dropping ones from the ship's ends), so you'll have to try to cover your foes during this to hit them. This move can KO and build damage if you know how to steer the ship properly. Bob-Ombs drop for four seconds at a time, so you'll be able to do this about three times per Final Smash, maximum.
Basic Combo - Comet Breath
Jr. yells, "Boom!", for the Bowser headpiece at the front of the Airship to fire a ball of fire at foes. These have the same properties as the fireballs from Yoshi's Final Smash. However, the ones here are toned down a bit, due to Jr. having other options to put the hurt on his foes, only dealing 15% and average knockback here. The fireballs are fairly spammable, but only hit foes at the front of the ship, so use this when your foes are in front, and no other time, unless you want to look like a clueless fool.
Taunt - Apprentice's Laughter
Any time during this Final Smash, Jr. can press a taunt button for a Final Smash taunt. Here, he presses a remote control button, causing fire engine-esque alarms to go off on the Airship, while Jr. tries deep evil laughter. He does fairly well, or at least the best he can do with his higher voice, for a few seconds, before his voice squeaks and he stops with a stupid grin.
>~~OVERALL PLAYSTYLE - CRAFTY KOOPA~~<
So you've decided to pick up Bowser Jr., have you? Well, you're in for a heck of a match. Jr. has a vast array of tricks up his sleeve, but all foes have ways to take them down. Because of this, you'll need to catch onto his tricky ways if you want a fighting chance. Prior to each match, you'll want to read the way your opponent's character fights best, then set up traps to battle them accordingly. To balance his weaknesses, Jr. has traps to counter all foes to some extent, placing him up fairly high on the tier list, although not at the very top. He definitely has the highest learning curve in the game, higher than even Olimar, but if you take the long road to learning his moves, you'll be able to take him a long way.
Before you get too serious with Jr. play, you'll want to take a few matches to learn what each of his moves does, or spawns in many cases, to be able to find opening to use them in serious play. I mean, spamming the more obvious Sonic Roar and Slip 'N Slide can only get you so far, and by that, I mean not far at all. Some attacks need thorough examination of their effects, such as the types of Bullet Bills, the spawning of a Tramplin' Stu through a fully charged D-Smash, or, perhaps most of all, the dark magic transformations from Tripped Attack to B-Throw. Learn these from a few friendly matches, so you'll have at least an idea of what to do when that competitive gamer friend/neighbor/cousin comes over.
Now that you are more aware of what Jr. can do, it's time to put his scheming to work. Jr. has a lot of trap moves he can set up, but that's just the thing. You have to set them up for them to work. At the beginning of each match, you'll want to try and keep your distance from your opponent, while using some longer-ranged damage-builders to keep them at bay. Jr. can't set up any attacks with a foe in his face, so use a charged-up Paintball, or maybe F-Tilt or Firewall to give yourself some breathing room. Now that you have some time on your hands, and hopefully some damage built up, it's time to get to business.
Before setting up anything, be sure to realize that Jr. absolutely cannot spam most moves, because, although they all do their job, a foe can easily predict the effects of a trap attack after even just a few uses, and the move suddenly loses all its usefulness, often rendering Jr. punishable in the process. Jr. has enough of these moves to not have to overuse just one or two attacks, so don't fall into this hole, as it's hard to get out once you're in the habit. Anyways, a good example of a trap move that needs the element of surprise is a Wind Duppy, from his U-Tilt. You'll have a harder time avoiding it at first, but a simple timed spot-dodge is really not that hard after a few tries, is it not? Jr. can't just sit back and let his foes wander into his tricks, though. He'll have to try to keep his foe busy so they'll have a significantly harder time knowing when to dodge. Good moves to annoy foes in times like these include Temper Tantrum, pretty much any aerial, or a grab.
As you may have gathered from reading the above paragraph, enemies are Jr.'s primary form of trapping his foes. You may also see that, while the enemies can be cool, they seem useless without interference on Jr.'s part. This is much of Jr.'s game; knowing what traps to set at what time, then making sure they follow through yourself. D-Smash sets up Strollin' Stus, which are highly weak and predictable alone, but pretty darn good if you can turn your foe to stone first with a missed D-Tilt to Tripped Attack combo. Jr.'s Bullet Bill Blaster is a nice KO move, but you have to be in range to fire the cannon. You also want to keep foes busy so the Bullets can hit them. The enemies from Jr.'s B-Throw are the same; useful, but only if you can manipulate your foe during their duration. This takes some getting used to, but, remember, like Kevin Garnett, anything is possible!
*waits for someone to get reference*
Another, albeit not as major, part of Jr.'s playstyle is his ability to control his foes to some extent. With his D-Air, Jr. can move his foe around for a limited period of time to get them away (which he needs to set up his traps), or move them into a trap without hesitation. This is a major aerial for him; although he is vulnerable during it, this obstacle can be moved around, and this aerial can be used to send opponents on a nice little trip. With his grab attack, Jr. can move his foes to a more opportune location to be hit by another move, or to move them away from another move, so as to keep his hard set-up work from being destroyed. His D-Throw can do this to some extent, as well, but not as great. Several other moves are helpful in this category as well, and it meshes in with keeping his foes out of his face, which hinders Jr. a great deal.
Jr. in the air is a matter of skill and patience. Besides his B-Air, none of Jr.'s aerials can really be used for trickery. He doesn't excel in the air as clearly as he does on the ground, either, being merely average due to no traps. This is another circumstance where knowledge about moves will make or break you as a player. For example, unless you know about his F-Air, you may just spam it and be damaged as a consequence. Or you may try D-Air when offstage, and, as a result, self-destruct. Learn the small little details of these moves to take advantage of them in times of need, although Jr. should fight mainly from the ground, if at all possible.
Jr.'s recovery if he gets knocked offstage is mediocre. He'll need to charge his Neutral Special for his tether recovery to work. Even though his Up Special takes him a long way, and longer if he's more damaged, it's highly punishable and not that maneuverable. Not a good combination. You'll probably want to try excluding Paintball from your damage-building move lineup when you know you may need to recover, seeing as you can't use it as a tether and projectile at the same time. A good tactic if you must use this move for this purpose is to spawn some enemies (the best option is through D-Smash) and use them to shield Jr. from blows himself. This may seem aggravating to learn, but it can keep him around longer than you may think, and who knows? Maybe your attacker will even get hit in the process!
All in all, Jr. is enough to make casual players go and rant about Brawl being too hard. He has a lot of moves that need set-up and observation of detail to work properly on the field of battle. There's definitely no F-Smash spamming here. Statistically, Jr. seems average, but give him one or two serious plays, and you'll find that he is anything but. Jr. has enough moves that you can create your own style of play, but only to a certain point; traps and slick moves are Jr.'s specialty. If you can appreciate this and dedicate your Saturday morning Brawling to mastering Jr., you may just be able to teach your foes a lesson with the Prince of Koopas. If not, you'll probably just lose a few matches and pick up a new character. No matter what, though, Jr. will always make Brawling a colorful, wild, crazy new experience every match he's in.
>~~PLAYING AGAINST - TRICKS ARE FOR KIDS!~~<
As stated earlier, Jr. has methods to beat the material for nearly every character, if used or set up correctly, but the opposite is true as well. All opponents have some options to take down Jr. before he can cause much trouble, as long as they know what they are doing. They can't just spam projectiles or F-Smashes to beat Jr. No way, it takes more intricacy to come out on top. After all, Jr. has a style to learn to win, so he's bound to have a style to learn to defeat him...
One of Jr.'s biggest downfalls is his start-up period. No, not start-up lag; the start-up period of time he needs to set up his major moves for damage or knockback. Because of this, if an opponent stays in his face consistently, you'll cut almost every single option of his in half, crippling him severely. He has ways to try and push you back, via controlling you or freezing you, then knocking you away or dashing to safety. However, a few higher priority attacks is all it takes to keep Jr. down on his knees at your mercy. After this, staying consistent is the harder part. You'll want to get in his face and stay in his face to win the match. Stay close and damage Jr. with grabs to keep him near you. Fast characters, those with multi-hit damage-builders, or projectile-users have the easiest time here.
After this, you'll be able to push Jr. around easily with a Tilt or a quick Smash. However, if he's already got his traps out, you'll have more work cut out for you. Because of this, approach him early to prevent giving him any set-up time, but if you can't get to him first, you still have offensive options. Jr.'s traps can be seen as such, but unless Jr. can get you into them, they are easy to beat. Each of them either have priority that can be beaten with a strong attack, or HP that can be drained to dispatch the structure or foe in your path. If you are facing a Jr. who is trying to manipulate you into his hazards, stay away from him, or get at a range where only one is a threat. This takes a bit of time to learn, but it is doable, and when you learn it, it makes match-ups against Jr. quite heated.
Jr.'s other weapon against you is controlling you. With his D-Air, as well as his Grab Attack and D-Throw, he can try to move you into his other hazards, as well as build damage. These moves can be foreseen, however, allowing you to dodge and punish. Even if you are hit, the damage is nothing to sneeze at. Characters can shake off the effects of these moves rather easily; D-Air dust can be hit off like Pikmin, while grab-related moves can be broken out of, and Jr. punished from them. If you've learned getting up close to Jr., you may be up against this more than Jr.'s main tricks, so be sure to learn this in addition to the above material.
In conclusion, Jr.'s crazy antics are carried over when you face him. If you show him who's boss by closing the gap between you, you'll have a much easier time. But, if you're timid, and allow him to have some leeway, you'll find yourself facing a much tougher opponent. Shutting Jr. down early is the best option; just make sure you continue what you start. Many match-ups against Jr. are quite up-in-the-air, meaning the better player will almost always win. Make yourself that better player with smart offense. Don't lose to a simple prankster!
>~~EXTRAS~~<
>~~Extra Animations~~<
Up Taunt - Childish Laughter
Jr. does a simple backflip, brush in hand, then points a finger from his free hand into the sky, brush hand at the ground. As he enters this pose, he laughs his signature, "Hee hee hee!", holding the pose for a split second before reentering his normal pose.
Side Taunt - Breakdancing Badass
Jr. jumps up (brush vanishing) and lands on his shell, on his back. From here, he begins spinning around rapidly, as if breakdancing, then strikes a relaxed pose, saying, "Ha ha!", hand on head, almost like Dedede's crouch. He holds this for a brief period of time before hopping back up. This was his home entrance pose in Strikers.
Down Taunt - Discouragement
Jr. puts his hands on his hips and shakes his head, saying exasperatedly, "You pest! Don't you ever give up?" This can break the concentration of your opponents, especially with Jr.'s high-pitched voice.
Victory Pose #1 - Silly Celebration
Jr. jumps up and down several times excitedly, then leans down a bit and swings his head around three times in a circular shape. Of course, this makes him dizzy, so he stumbles around for a split second, saying, "Woah!", before getting a happy grin on his face. He just won! So he jumps up again and proclaims, "Ha ha!", standing in a jumpy happy pose until you leave the results screen.
Victory Pose #2 - Driving Off Into the Sunset
Jr. is seen in his personal Kart from Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, the Bullet Blaster. Jr. drives the Kart around in a circle onstage, honking the tiny horn, making a beeping noise, while he yells out, "Yay! I won! I WON!", before driving offstage in a cloud of smoke.
Victory Pose #3 - Disgruntled Servant
Jr. is seen on a tiny spiky throne, similar to that of his father, bawling in gibberish for something. Suddenly, Kamek appears in a wave of magic with a tray of Yoshi Cookies. Jr. grabs the plate and begins scarfing down the cookies, while Kamek looks hopefully at the tray. Jr. scarfs the cookies down for a few seconds, after which he notices Kamek's hopeful expression and gets pissed. He proceeds to jump off his throne and do three rapid Ground Pounds on Kamek to flatten him, then kicks his flattened body offstage, before chuckling to himself and making a 'peace' sign.
Victory Pose with Bowser - Father-Son Bonding
Bowser and his son are seen side by side onstage, both chuckling evilly. Bowser goes first and does his standard dark and deep laugh, then looks expectantly at Jr. His son proceeds to try to imitate the laugh, but ends up choking on his own laugh, his voice being too high. Bowser facepalms, but when he sees his son start tearing up, Bowser hastily offers his hand for a high-five, which Jr. is quick to give him, cheering up. The two Koopas strike a pose afterwards, holding it until you leave the results screen.
Victory Pose against Bowser - Rough-Housing
Jr. is seen crawling all over Bowser, who is lying on the floor on his side in a tired pose. Jr. climbs happily all over his dad, proclaiming, "I made my papa proud!" Bowser tries to look excited, but has a slightly irritated look on his face, drumming his fingers. This playtime has gone too far! Time to teach him a few lessons. There'll be no living with him after this!
Victory Pose against Mario - Flummoxed Plumber
Jr. is seen running circles around Mario, who sits dizzily, stars spinning comically above his head. Jr. looks excited, declaring, "I whupped you, just like papa said!", while Mario just sits there, either too confused or too much of a good sport to do much else.
Victory Pose against Peach - Princess Prize
Jr. is seen in a miniature hot-tub filled with green slime, like the end of Sunshine (but smaller here), while Peach sits in a deck chair on the side, tiredly. Jr. calls out, "Come on in, Mama Peach! The water's great!", for Peach to respond, "Umm...I think not".
Victory Theme - Flagpole Fanfare
Bowser Jr. uses the standard Mario victory theme, the classic level cleared music from Super Mario Bros. It fits his father, so why not him as well?
Loss Pose - Disgruntled Brat
Jr. isn't really the type to applaud those who defeated him. Instead, he sits on the ground, head in hands, shaking angrily. If you listen closely, above the victory music and noises, you can hear him saying, "This game stinks! It stinks...IT STINKS!"
Loss Pose against Bowser - Family Pride
Unlike other for characters, Jr. actually claps for his father, whom he idolizes. Jr. is so excited here that he does constant backflips, clapping all the while and calling out (quietly, victory noises and music playing above it), "Hooray for Papa!"
>~~Kirby Hat - Kirby Koopa Jr.~~<
Kirby gains Jr.'s red ponytail and stubby horns, as well as red eyebrows and Paintbrush. He can also now use Paintball for his Neutral Special, which helps out Kirby's longer-ranged game, considering he charges it enough.
>~~Alternte Colors~~<
Normal
Red skin and shell, yellow hair
Teal skin and shell, light green hair
Dark green skin and shell, dark red hair
Yellow skin and shell, aqua hair
Gray skin and shell, orange hair
>~~Codec Conversation~~<
-Press Select-
Snake:Colonel, this little guy reminds me of that overgrown turtle. Colonel:You aren't wrong, Snake. Bowser Jr. is the son of the mighty Koopa King, Bowser. Snake:Really? I never would've known, especially with the Jr. part... Colonel:Anyways, Jr. shares many of his father's traits, including surprising strength and bad attitude. In addition, he looks like he's brought his Magic Paintbrush. When he draws with it, all his wishes come true. Snake:Looks like I'll have to give him a little lesson on how combat is done. This isn't an artist's studio. Colonel:Just don't underestimate him, Snake. He may be little, but that definitely doesn't mean he's not a threat.
-End Transmission-
>~~Other~~<
Icon - Classic Power-Up
Of course, Bowser Jr. uses the Mario series Super Mushroom as his icon.
Wiimote Sound - Pesky Prince
Jr. laughs his high-pitched 'Hee hee hee!' laugh, to try intimidating his opponents.
Crowd Chant - Child Support
A crowd of male voices chant, "Jun-ior! Jun-ior!", like in Strikers Charged. Occasionally, a few female voices will go 'Aww!' in the midst of this, them surprised at how cute he is.
Unlocked By:
Clear Classic Mode with Bowser on Hard.
Play 120 Brawls.
Get Bowser Jr. to join your team in the Subspace Emissary.
Unlock Message:
The bratty Prince of the Koopas can finally fight that Mario again! Bowser Jr. brings his artistic tricks to the Brawl!
"Yaaaaargh! You're so annoying!"
Shadow Mario
***
>~~BACKGROUND~~<
Shadow Mario is an evil doppelganger of Mario, and the main villain of Super Mario Sunshine. In reality, he is Bowser Jr., shrouded in, well, shadow, courtesy of his new Magic Paintbrush, which was given to him by its creator, Professor E. Gadd (who was under the impression that it was Mario himself). His appearance is exactly the same as Mario's, except that Shadow Mario has a watery build, red glowing eyes (only at times, though), and a big, long, red tongue. The Piantas of Isle Delfino saw Shadow Mario vandalizing their island with goopy graffiti and toxic enemies, believing it was regular Mario, and immediately tasking him of cleaning the whole island during his vacation there. In every region of the pristine island, Shadow Mario wreaked havoc, vandalizing landmarks and harming the citizens. Mario had to chase him to clear his scourge from each area. Occasionally, Shadow Mario would also steal important items that needed to be recovered, included Peach, whom he kidnapped halfway through the game, although not before revealing his true identity. After he fled to his hideout in Corona Mountain, Bowser and Jr. (revealed) were defeated in their hot-tub and the island was saved. However, even the beating he took didn't stop Shadow Mario from participating in Mario Golf alongside Jr...
>~~STATS~~<
Power: 5.5/10
Like Mario, Shadow Mario has above average power, although Shadow's power is slightly less powerful due to him not doing as many physical attacks himself.
Walking Speed: 3.5/10
A fairly slow walk, like Mario's stroll in Sunshine. They are the same in stature, after all.
Dashing Speed: 7/10
Shadow Mario is quite a speedster, but is not anywhere near the fastest character. Mario is a lot faster in Sunshine than in Brawl...
Weight: 5/10
Surprise! This is lighter than you may think, so be careful as Shadow Mario.
Range: 6.5/10
Shadow Mario has a tiny bit more range than Jr., due to him using his Paintbrush for almost all attacks, rather than just a moderate amount like Jr.
Projectile Distance: 0/10
Although several attacks are completely separated from Shadow Mario, they aren't true projectiles, just spawned enemies with a wide variety of possible ranges.
Size: 6/10
Shadow Mario is exactly the same height and width as Mario; although holding his brush makes him look wider, it doesn't change his size at all. Like Mario, Luigi, and Jr., Shadow Mario can be infinite chaingrabbed against walls when playing Dedede, so beware this matchup.
Attack Speed: 5.5/10
Shadow Mario has a fair mix of faster and slower attacks; it's up to you to decide which moves in his vast arsenal are best for your personal use.
Priority: 4/10
Shadow Mario doesn't exactly have the best priority ever...this is definitely a lower point in his all-around stats.
First Jump: 4/10
A rather small little hop for the clone of a renowned jumper...Shadow Mario must be holding back here.
Second Jump: 7/10
This kinda stands out among his all-around other stats; Shadow Mario is like Toon Link in that he has a mediocre first jump and a great second one.
Aerial DI: 5.5/10
This statistic is exactly the same as Mario.
Fall Speed: 6/10
Shadow Mario has an average fall speed, not being too floaty or heavy.
Recovery: 0 - 10/10
It all depends on whether Shadow Mario has his recovery set up or not.
Crouch: 4.5/10
This is a barely below average stat; Shadow Mario can't dodge too much with this pose, but it's not a horrible crouch.
Traction: 1.5/10
Even worse than Jr.'s; Shadow Mario slides around almost as much as Luigi, and trips at a rate that would cause even the calmest of players to throw their controller at the screen with a scream of 'SAKURAAAI!'. This stat sticks out like a sore thumb among his decent other stats.
Comboability: 5.5/10
Shadow Mario's traps can take time to set up, but once you've mastered this large curve, you won't have much trouble here.
Wall Jump: Yes
Wall Cling: No
Crawling: No
Gliding: No
Tether Recovery: No
>~~ANIMATIONS~~<
Standard Pose:
Shadow Mario turns his head side to side slowly in smooth motions, like a criminal on the run, brush held at his side. This is his idle pose in Sunshine during the chase levels.
Idle Pose:
Shadow Mario perks up and looks forward suddenly with a jump, as if he heard something surprising. He resumes his standard pose soon after this.
Walking:
Shadow Mario swings his Paintbrush at his side, walking slowly forward in a leisurely stroll.
Running:
Pumping his brush and arms, Shadow Mario moves his legs into a small little jog, picking up the pace.
Dashing:
Pumping the brush and his arms madly, Shadow Mario enters an all out sprint for the finish. You're not gonna catch him now...at least, that's what he thinks.
Jump #1:
Shadow Mario raises a fist and does a small hop off the ground, making the classic coin sound from Super Mario Bros, while a few small Blue Coins from Sunshine come out of his hand, like Mario's Super Jump Punch. This goes up a tiny bit higher than that move's pitiful range, however, and deals no damage or knockback at all. It's all just a fancy bluff of Shadow Mario's! What a jerk...
Jump #2:
Shadow Mario does a sideways spinning flip to gain a great deal more distance, Paintbrush held nimbly during his acrobatics.
Crouching:
Shadow Mario crouches to the ground, brush held in one hand, the other on the ground in front of him, like an Olympic sprinter at the start of a race.
Ledge-Hanging:
Shadow Mario holds his brush up to the ledge, hanging onto the shaft with both hands, using the sticky paint on the end of the brush to attach himself to the ledge.
Swimming:
Shadow Mario does a surprisingly decent breaststroke forward, Paintbrush in one hand. How does this water not hurt him, but F.L.U.D.D. does?!
Forward Roll:
Shadow Mario turns into a kind of purple cloud (think like the Player Two space jumps in the SSE) and moves forward a fair distance before reforming.
Backward Roll:
Shadow Mario does three rapid backwards somersaults on the ground, Paintbrush magically vanishing and reappearing in his hands when he gets up an impressive distance back.
Spot Dodge:
Shadow Mario does a nimble backflip into the background, landing on one hand while dodging, brush held in his other hand, before reversing the flip back into the foreground.
Air Dodge:
Shadow Mario bursts into a shadowy cloud, with his brush, looking exactly the same in the air, just taking on an unhittable dark shape before clearing up into himself again.
Shield:
Shadow Mario holds his brush out in front of him like the Ice Climbers' hammers, causing a rainbow-colored shield to appear around him. This functions just like a normal shield, just with a cool rainbow tint.
Tripped:
Shadow Mario slips and lands on his arse, Paintbrush falling to the ground alongside him.
Dizzy:
Shadow Mario puts one hand to his forehead and drops his brush, spinning around comically.
Sleeping:
Shadow Mario relaxes his hands behind his head, lying down on his back and entering a silent sleep. His brush lays idly at his side until he wakes up, upon which he snatches it up and bounds to his feet.
***
>~~MOVESET~~<
>~~SPECIALS~~<
Neutral Special - Shadow Ball
No, this isn't a Mewtwo-clone move. Shadow Mario quickly turns into a blue ball, a bit like Sonic, but this is fully controllable, and is slightly smaller to boot. He does this when escaping Mario in Delfino Plaza, after unsuccessfully stealing Peach. You can aim his ball form in any direction for five seconds, him staying in that form unless you press B again to turn to normal Shadow Mario, with low ending lag. In ball form, he has average priority and moves at the speed of Sonic's dash, meaning it's fast, but dodgeable. Foes hit take 8-9%, but merely trip, as his goal here is a hit-and-run. Shadow Mario can use this to quickly build damage, and can move up and down in the air, as well as side to side on the ground, but he has low traction either way. Be careful near edges; he'll go helpless if you fall off! Shadow Mario can use this to recover, but it is not that useful, as you must be high up before you initiate it, as he falls while rolling in mid-flight. This is an interesting attack to tie together trap combos to foes with low to moderate damage.
Side Special - Piranha Gatekeeper
Shadow Mario paints a small goop puddle (one Stage Builder block) on the ground rapidly, making a Piranha Plant in front of him, although this particular variety is covered in goop. This move can only be performed on the ground. The Piranha Plant is quite thin, but is the height of Ganondorf, making it somewhat large. Foes who hit the goop take 1% and no knockback per second, while if you touch the Piranha, you get buried in the Goop as it takes a bite at you, having close range, but great priority. The bite is quick, and deals average knockback and 12-13%. Because of this, you'll want to keep your distance, especially considering the bite is quick enough that even foes with 0% can't button mash out in time to save themselves.
This provides an excellent barrier for Shadow Mario, although he can only have one out at a time. The Piranha Plant has infinite HP and stays out infinitely if you let it. How the hell do you kill it then? Well, every three seconds you stand out of its range (one Stage Builder block), it will open its mouth for a second, hungry for flesh. Now is your chance; hit it quickly in its open mouth with any attack to kill it. This is easy with projectiles, and even those without can manage with longer ranged moves. Finish it off early so you can pursue the perpetrator more efficiently.
Down Special - Bowser Jr.
Shadow Mario's form becomes even more liquidy and watery, and molds into the form of a shadowy Bowser Jr., still holding his brush. Shadowy Jr. swipes his brush in front of himself (not dealing damage) for the shadow to fade and reveal normal Bowser Jr. You can now play as him again. This takes as long as switching between Zelda and Sheik. You can turn into either character in the air, unlike Pokemon Trainer. Like existing transformations, Bowser Jr. and Shadow Mario share damage, not losing any when they switch.
Up Special - Rainbow Portal
With a quick swipe of his brush over his head, Shadow Mario paints a rainbow 'M' graffiti portal, it being the size of Donkey Kong and floating where he swiped. The rainbow goop inside the 'M' simply swirls dully after he creates it, having 15 HP before it vanishes. It has low priority, dealing 3% and a small stun on contact. If it's not destroyed by attacks, the 'M' stays out for 30 seconds before vanishing on its own. This does nothing at first, so why is it useful at all?
Well, if Shadow Mario paints another 'M' after the first one, both 'M's emit a faint shine, while Shadow Mario is moleculized into small blue particles and pulled into the 'M' he just made (he simply falls after making one alone). After a second, the blue particles come out of the first 'M' created and reform into Shadow Mario, after which both 'M's vanish. This can serve as the best recovery in the game, hands down, if set up correctly. However, one 'M' by itself does nothing for recovery, so be sure to set it up so foes won't be able to break the portal before you can recover. Fortunately, the 'M's have invincibility frames while you're teleporting. Be careful how you use this; it can make or break Shadow Mario!
>~~BASIC ATTACKS~~<
Basic Combo - Orange Juice Generator
Shadow Mario taps the handle end of the brush into the ground, causing a small Orange Juice Generator to squiggle along the ground in front of him. Orange Juice Generators were used in Super Mario Sunshine to block Mario from entering pipes and getting items. Here, the generator is the length of 3/4 a Stage Builder block, and travels the distance of one block at the speed of Kirby's dash. The generator has below average priority and comes out quickly, with Shadow Mario having low ending lag.
Foes who hit the generator take 3% and low vertical knockback. Foes hit also cause the generator that hit them to burst (it bursting at maximum range automatically, although not releasing juice unless it hits a foe), spreading orange juice the area of 1/2 a Stage Builder block around where the foe was, having a 50% chance of tripping foes who walk over it. Shadow Mario can keep tapping the A Button to keep out a stream of generators. He can only have out three at a time, however, so send out a few, then wait till they burst before releasing more. This can be nice for making the stage slippery or building damage on foes against the wall, but it's not 100% great, and it's barely off the ground, so foes that jump quickly can easily avoid and punish.
Dash Attack - Trail of Tears
Shadow Mario holds his brush down as he runs, while the tip glows red, creating a trail of fiery red Lava Goop on the ground behind him, like he did when you chased him in Pianta Village. You can hold the A Button down to create the trail as long as you want, but Shadow Mario's likelihood of tripping will rise drastically if you use it to the point of spamminess. The trail comes out quickly, and lasts for three seconds for each Stage Builder block area it is over, unless a foe sprays it away with water, upon which it vanishes instantly, like in Sunshine. The priority is average on the goop, although most attacks are too high to hit it. The goop deals 4% fire damage and below average vertical knockback to foes it hits. It can be nice to slip up foes on your trail, or cause confusion in a FFA, but is not really reliable to knock foes around with.
>~~TILTS~~<
Forward Tilt - Swoopin' Stu
Shadow Mario waves his brush in front of him, causing a Swoopin' Stu to form and slowly begin oozing forward. These little buggers come out of goop in Super Mario Sunshine and distract Mario. Here, they are the size of Olimar's helmet, and move forward at the speed of Ganondorf's walk. They have 5 HP, being very light and popping upon being KOed. They pop by themselves after five seconds of moving, making them very weak enemies. Foes who touch them while moving take 2-3% and a small stun.
If foes get within a Stage Builder block of the Stu without touching it, however, it makes a gurgling noise and hops onto the foe with below average startup lag, dealing 6-7% and below average knockback. One Stu is very hard to get hit with unless Shadow Mario uses other traps while releasing it, which is hard, as he has moderate ending lag. However, he can have up to three Stus out at a time for further chaos. Foes with disjointed attacks, long-ranged attacks, or projectiles should have no problems with Stus, although they can be annoying. If a Stu jumps off an edge onto a nearby foe, the foe is spiked with below average power.
Down Tilt- Manta Storm
The Manta silhouette shown above is one of the bosses at Sirena Beach in Sunshine. To defeat it, you must spray it, causing it to divide into smaller Mantas. Shadow Mario puts one of those smaller Mantas to use here. He points his brush down, causing a small one, 3/4 the length of a Stage Builder block and flat as paper, to materialize at his feet and move forward at the speed of Ganondorf's dash. Any attack that touches the Manta will cause it to turn pink and vanish, it having no priority or HP. However, like Shadow Mario's dash attack, the Manta leaves behind a trail of electric goop. This goop only lasts one second per Stage Builder block area of it, and deals 2% per second to foes who walk over it, doing no knockback. Foes who hit the Manta itself take 7% and low knockback. Finish off the Manta early to prevent too much hassle here. Shadow Mario should sent out a Manta and a Swoopin' Stu at the same time for double trouble, if he can, as he has moderate ending lag here. One Manta can be out at a time.
Up Tilt - Rising Oil Prices
Shadow Mario aims his brush above his head, causing a thin stream of Black Oil Goop to shoot out of the brush tip above his head. The stream is quite thin, covering about 1/4 of a Stage Builder block, and traveling up about Mario's height into the air. It comes out quickly at first, stays out for a brief period, then comes back into the brush quickly. At first, this makes it seem quite helpful. Initially, the spray has below average priority, dealing 4-5% and low vertical knockback. Not that great for damage or knockback, but quite usable for juggling, right?
Well, here's where the move gets interesting. If you use it more than three times in a period of a minute, the Goop will rise up to Marth's height, having average priority and dealing 6-7% and average vertical knockback. However, here it would come out with below average startup and ending lag. If you use it three more times like this in the course of a minute, the oil goes up to Samus' height, having above average priority and dealing 8-9% and average vertical knockback. Now, it has moderate startup and ending lag. And finally, if you use it three more times, it rises up to Ganondorf's height, dealing 10-12% and high vertical knockback, with great priority. However, in this state, it has a lot of startup and ending lag, taking away all of its viable use. Silly rising oil prices!
However, if you refrain from using it more than three times per minute, it will stay on the level it is at, not getting stronger and slower. Your best strategy should be to use it until it is balanced between speed and power, and keep it at that level. After each minute passes, the oil stream shrinks back down a level, keeping it safe to reuse after refraining for a while. Also, if Shadow Mario is KOed, this little system resets from the start, you not having to wait after dying to speed the move up. Nifty!
>~~SMASHES~~<
Forward Smash - Vandal's Slash
This is a fairly simple Smash, not being too difficult to use. Shadow Mario holds his brush back like a baseball bat while charging, then slashes the brush end forward like Zero Suit Samus' F-Smash. However, Shadow Mario has several differences to make it actually useful. He has about the same startup and ending lag as ZSS' F-Smash, but due to his vast arsenal of paint, Shadow Mario has three different types of goop that can appear on the brush to damage foes, and thus three different effects on foes. The range and speed stay the same for each effect, however, the range being slightly less than ZSS' F-Smash. Each type of goop is listed below. The goop types appear randomly, similarly to Peach's F-Smash.
The first type is simply pink and orange goop, which deals one hit to foes, nothing special. The priority here ranges from average to above average with the charge. This type of Goop deals below average to average knockback. The twist with this move is that this variety of paint sticks on the foes hit by this Smash, slowing them down slightly while hindering their jumps a bit. This effect can last from two to five seconds, depending on the charge. Foes should be ready to dodge if they fall victim to this, just to stay safe from any additional traps Shadow Mario may set up.
The second type of Goop is electric, like the type Mantas produce. The priority here ranges from low to below average, this variety not being very strong. Electric goop deals multiple light hits to foes, having the chance to do up to twelve if foes are close enough. As always, the last hit does the knockback, while the former hits trap the foes. Here, the last hit's knockback can be low to below average. The light hits here deal 1-2%, while the last hit deals 3-5%. While it is difficult to DI out of, it is slightly punishable, and is not the best kind of Goop to receive.
The final type of graffiti is Lava Goop, like from Shadow Mario's dash attack. This type has average to above average priority, being the stronger type of Goop. The knockback here ranges from average to barely above average, not changing much due to Shadow Mario not being that powerful. The damage here ranges from 9-15%, being one solid hit. This serves as Shadow Mario's prime KO move; although the other effects can function as this as well, Lava Goop does it better. Just don't rely on it.
Down Smash - Shadow Shadow Mario
Shadow Mario spins around in place, obscuring himself from vision with his brush, while charging. Upon release, he lets out a poof and splits into...three Shadow Marios?! What? Well, this move is more about confusion than damage. The initial poof pushes foes back as a Mario pops out to the left and right, but deals no damage or knockback. Of course, only one Mario is the real Shadow Mario. So...how do you tell them apart?
The two fake Shadow Marios run around randomly, doing random attacks with the AI of a low CPU. The poof can alternate which position you appear in, the real Shadow Mario having the possibility of popping out on the left or right, instead of the middle where you start. It is best to use a quick attack right after using this Smash to see which Mario you are. The other two Marios' attacks have the same properties as your's, just toned down to half power, knockback, and priority. The charge of the Smash determines how long the fake Marios stay out, ranging from five to nine seconds. But...what are the Marios?
If any attack (and I mean any, these guys have no priority), they turn into...one of the Boos from Hotel Delfino, the ones that look high. These float around at an extremely slow speed, slower than Ganondorf's walk even. If you get at a close range to them (like half a Stage Builder block), they'll stretch out their tongue with no warning to lick you, dealing 5% and causing you to trip. This has no lag, but can be irritating. However, Boos have no priority, while floating or licking, so finish them off with a quick attack. Shadow Mario can only have two fake Marios out at a time, and after they are KOed or vanish from staying out their full time, he must wait ten seconds to use another Down Smash. This is nice for confusing foes, but they'll pick up after a few tries, so don't become reliant on this!
Up Smash - Thorn in Your Side
Shadow Mario points upwards with a finger, aiming his brush at the ground while charging. Upon release, a red and green spotted vine grows out of the ground (the kind present in Bianco Hills, near Petey Piranha), sprouting up towards Shadow Mario. The vine comes out with below average startup lag, and Shadow Mario has very little ending lag...if he chooses to. However, if he does so, the move is near useless, as the vine barely ends above his head. The vine itself has below average priority, and deals 7-16% to foes who touch it. The knockback is below average to average, depending on the charge, with a slight sweetspot for knockback on the spikes.
In order to give the move use, Shadow Mario must hold the Smash input and move the Control Stick around to direct the vine in a certain direction. The vine moves at Ganondorf's walking speed to keep this balanced, but the vine can still be great for trapping foes or edgeguarding, although at a distance of three Ganondorfs high, the vine stops growing and the Smash ends automatically. Shadow Mario is completely open while directing the vine, although he can end the vine by stopping the input at any time he chooses. Directing to vine to move foes into traps or offstage can be advantageous, just don't get too carried away.
There are a few limitations to maneuvering the vine, however. You cannot overlap the growing vine with another part of the vine. The vine cannot touch the stage or a wall, or else it will vanish instantly. Finally, you cannot direct the vine more than Ganondorf's height off the stage, to prevent unfair edgeguards. Don't worry, it can still block recovering foes, but you'll have to do it close to the edge. Try directing it around and down to block the ledge entirely (although good foes will recover quick when they see you using this, so as to grab the ledge first). Lots of games can be played with this Smash! The vine's appearance is shown below, on either side of Petey Piranha.
>~~AERIALS~~<
Neutral Air - Shadow Mario Tornado
This is one of Mario's main moves in Sunshine, being the highest standing jump he can perform. Being an exact copy of him in that game, Shadow Mario mimics it here, holding his brush out. He spins with the same range of Luigi's Tornado in Melee, having average priority as well. It comes out with low lag like Luigi's Tornado as well, but has slightly more ending lag, due to Shadow Mario keeping up the tornado up for twice as long, like in Sunshine.
Foes who hit Shadow Mario aren't pulled in for multiple hits like in Melee; instead, they take 8-9% and barely below average knockback in a random direction (up, down, left, or right, or any way diagonally). This means it can serve as an unreliable spike, but it's best for edgeguarding anyhow, so you won't really be in trouble if it misses, a bit like DK's F-Air offstage. If you hold down the A Button after initiating the tornado, Shadow Mario holds out the tornado, doing less knockback and damage after its default time, dealing 6-7% and below average knockback. However, it can also be directed side to side at the speed of Ganondorf's dash, falling at the speed of Fox when he is using his Reflector. This serves as a last ditch recovery for Shadow Mario, but it has less priority while moving (although it still hits foes), meaning it's not great for this.
Forward Air - Bee in Your Bonnet?
Shadow Mario swipes his brush in midair in front of him, conjuring a small beehive the size of a Soccer Ball in front of him, attached to the brush tip. He holds it out for a split second before putting it away. Conjuring the beehive takes an average amount of time, but the move still has above average ending lag, making it one to be cautious with. This move has no priority, having no use just hitting a foe. Then what is the use of it?
If a foe attacks the hive while it is out, angry buzzing is heard as a swarm of bees the size of Wario emerge and begin chasing the character who hit it around with Toon Link's dashing speed. Foes can disperse the swarm with three attacks of any priority/power, but the bees will follow you until you do so, following you wherever you go, even staying out if you outrun them. They are persistent little buggers, hovering over you even when you shield or dodge, and hitting you when you come back.
The bees deal 1.5 times the damage and knockback of the attack you hit their hive with, being a sort of chasing counter move. Your best hope if you are pursued is to jump and use some quick B-Airs to subdue the bees. If you are Shadow Mario, create some more traps to make the foe more likely to get stung. You'll have a hard time landing this no matter what, due to the starting and ending lag (which doubles if you land before the hive vanishes), but if you're feeling risky and see a foe using a powerful move, try it. Hitting the foe offstage when there's bees chasing them can be a great edgeguard. The beehive here is similar to the ones in Super Mario Sunshine, where bees would chase Mario if he got too close.
Back Air - Firing His Lasers
Shadow Mario turns around, his eyes glowing an eerie red color, like they did when summoning Mecha Bowser in Pinna Park. After the same startup lag as R.O.B.'s Side Special (which sucks as a move), Shadow Mario fires a red laser out of his eyes. The laser is thin, and the length of half a Stage Builder block. The laser travels at a downwards diagonal angle behind Shadow Mario, the length of Ganondorf's height before vanishing, going at the speed of Fox's Laser.
This laser has below average priority, but deals average knockback and 8%. There is moderate ending lag to this move, it not being that great to use on a whim, especially not from a shorthop, as the lag increases if Shadow Mario lands mid-move. The knockback increases slightly if the foe hits the laser just as it is coming out of his eyes. If a foe hits the underside of the laser, they are spiked with moderate force. Although the move's lag makes it difficult to use that often, it contributes to Shadow Mario's offstage game, so be careful not to be careless when recovering against him. The laser vanishes when it hits a foe, the ground, or an obstacle.
Up Air - Ring of Fire
Shadow Mario swipes the brush in a circle above his head, causing a ring of lava goop to appear above his head for half a second before vanishing. The goop comes out with no lag, but can't hit foes until the entire circle is formed, which takes average startup lag. The circle extends to barely over Shadow's head, and covers about the area of 3/4 a Stage Builder block. Its priority is decent for an aerial, but grounded foes should be able to beat it, no problem.
The goop has two hitboxes; foes who hit the top of the goop take 5% and fair knockback, it being OK for killing off the top, but not great. But, foes who are encircled by the goop are knocked about inside the circle for its duration, taking three hits of 5% and still fair knockback when they are released from the circle, when it vanishes. Because of this, it can be relied on for damage-dealing arguably the best of Shadow's aerials. If you see it used against you, however, you'll probably have time to hit Shadow Mario while he's forming the circle, before it can hit you. This makes it harder to land than it may sound, but still, don't overlook its effectiveness.
Down Air - Chocolate Rain
Shadow Mario points his brush downwards, causing three droplets of Brown Mud Graffiti to rain down under him, in a row of three. Each droplet is about the size of a Pikmin, and drop down the height of Bowser before vanishing. The drops have below average priority, but are spread out enough in their row to be the length of one Stage builder block, it being challenging to block them all. The drops deal 3% and a bit of stun each, but if you hit all three at once, rather than one or two, you take the full 9% and are spiked with moderate force.
This is difficult to do on a foe that is not Bowser, Donkey Kong, Dedede, or the like, but is still helpful overall. The goop vanishes if it hits a foe or the ground. Shadow Mario can only have one row of droplets out at a time, and he has more ending lag than usual if he lands before the drops vanish. Used situationally, this is a helpful aerial to have.
>~~GRAB & THROWS~~<
Grab - Chain Chomplet
Shadow Mario whistles, for a Chain Chomplet to begin tracking foes. These baby Chain Chomps appeared in Pianta Village, and are not evil, but have been corrupted by red flaming graffiti. Here, Chain Chomplets are the size of DK, and hobble forward at the speed of Ganondorf's dash, trying to catch foes. There is no startup lag to this move, as the Chomp continues forward. However, if it is attacked with an attack that deals more than 5%, it whimpers and vanishes, not grabbing a foe.
If it touches a foe, however, it yips excitedly and grabs the foe in its teeth, bouncing back to Shadow Mario at the same slow speed it came out with. Foes take 5% from being grabbed, but this is due to Shadow Mario's grab attack dealing no damage to foes. This grab is about 1.5 times harder to escape from than normal grabs, but if the Chomp is a fair distance away from Shadow Mario, you'll have plenty of time to escape before being caught. The Chomp does not run off edges, vanishing if it gets to an obstacle it cannot overcome, like walls.
The Chomp is unaffected by Shadow Mario's traps (although if another foe or stage hazard hits it, it vanishes, releasing the foe), but if it drags a foe through them, the foe is knocked away from the Chomp, receiving the trap's damage, while the Chomp looks around confusedly, then disappears. This is not the best grab for a character, although it has good range, it's hard to just pull out, and is horrendous for shield-grabbing. Shadow Mario is completely vulnerable while the Chomp is chasing foes, as well, so it's dangerous to send it off long distances. Still, it's a nice way to play with your foes, and it can be easier to land with a small mechanic listed below. If the Chomp reaches Shadow Mario, it waits there until the foe either escapes or is thrown, or Shadow Mario does a grab attack, it vanishing after these situations. Shadow Mario holds the foe by the throat like a mobster, brush in the other hand.
Grab Attack - Give the Dog a Bone
Shadow Mario does just what the title says, tossing a small dog bone to the chomp, who devours it laglessly and vanishes with a happy woof. This does nothing to the foe...so what use is it? Well, next time Shadow Mario calls out the Chain Chomplet, it speeds from Ganondorf's dashing speed to that of Link, still being slow, but not as horrible. If he catches a foe with that speed and uses this again, the next Chomp that appears moves at Mario's dashing speed.
Finally, if this Chomp receives a bone (not a perverted joke), it moves at Diddy's dashing speed, not being super fast, but still being a huge improvement and a help to catch foes more easily. Shadow Mario can only use this once per grab, and if he gets up to top speed, the next grab he sends out will be back to slow speed. Keep this in mind if you suck at grabbing with Shadow Mario.
Forward Throw - Brush Your Teeth
Shadow Mario sticks the brush end of his Paintbrush into the victim's mouth (or the closest thing), and begins brushing it back and forth like a toothbrush. As he's doing this, the purple plaque goop from Noki Bay appears on the brush, damaging the foe 7%, and knocking them back with below average power after a second of brushing. This does nothing to the foe afterwards unless they eat a food item, upon which they damaged as much as the item heals from eating it, in essence not healing or taking any damage. This lasts for 20 seconds after one F-Throw, multiple F-Throws not being able to overlap. A fairly decent and effective throw.
Back Throw - Piranhabon Chomp
A Piranhabon (Piranha Plant head) coated in brown graffiti appears on the tip of Shadow Mario's brush, grabbing the foe, as Shadow Mario lifts the brush (holding the head and foe) over his head. Once the brush is up, the Piranhabon chomps down on the held foe, quickly knocking them into the ground and bouncing them up, a bit like Snake's B-Throw. The Piranhabon disappears after chomping. This deals 7-8% and moderate knockback to the victim...unless they have the skills to quickly tech the floor bounce and punish Shadow Mario, which takes away some of the reliability of this throw. Just as long as you don't make this timing predictable by spamming this throw, you'll probably be fine against most foes.
Down Throw - Hit and Run
Shadow Mario slams the foe with a fist between the foe's legs, knocking them to the ground with a pained expression. What? He knocks foes down like this, so it's not unfitting, due to his street-violent personality. There are two choices Shadow Mario can make with this move; he can run from or attack the vulnerable foe. The victim here takes 6% and is stuck in their tripped position. The position lags on them twice as long as a normal trip before the foe can get up or use a tripped attack.
Shadow Mario is free as soon as he attacks to run away from the disabled foe. However, he can also stay around and try a quick attack to actually knock the foe around while they're vulnerable. This is a good throw if you know how to use it. However, Shadow Mario cannot grab the foe again until they get up from their trip, preventing any more stupid chain-grabs. This throw can be nice for building damage if you take a smart approach; just don't get careless and let your foe hit you first.
Up Throw - Ground Pound
One of Mario's moves in Sunshine that Shadow Mario copies. Here, he springs up his own height into the air, getting in a cannonball position, while the foe stands below, then slams down onto the foe, dealing 9% and burying the foe in the ground. While Shadow Mario is airborne (he stays up for a split second), the released foe can spot dodge or roll, leaving Shadow Mario crashed on the ground with above average ending lag that they can punish.
However, if the foe gets buried, Shadow Mario can knock them around as well. The foe has to escape as if from a Pitfall, by button mashing, being stuck longer if they have more damage. If Shadow Mario tries a footstool jump on the foe during this time, they are buried for about a split second longer, and take 2% without knockback. This can be done a few times if you are very skilled, but simply attacking the buried foe is the best option. Do not spam this or your foe will pick up when to dodge and will punish you back. Otherwise, it's a nice throw for building damage.
>~~SITUATIONALS~~<
Downed Attack - Tasting Defeat
Shadow Mario kicks his legs and pounds his fists, like he does when defeated in Sunshine. He keeps this up for a split second before hopping to his feet nonchalantly. The hitboxes here are his fists and feet, of course, both of which have below average range and priority. This comes out and ends fast, but is not the best get-up attack on its own. Without doing anything, the attack deals 3% and low knockback if you hit the hitboxes. However, if you mash the A Button during the anger fit, Shadow Mario pounds and kicks faster, dealing now 6-7% and below average knockback. It's not too much of a sacrifice to make to have this attack be useful, so be sure to mash A when you start this, lest you be rendered easily punishable.
Flipped Attack - Twilight Cap
Shadow Mario spins to his feet, causing his watery hat to fly off and magically spin around his body twice, rapidly, before returning to its owner's head. This move has a quick startup, and has below average ending lag. The cap has below average priority, and spins around Shadow Mario at a below average range. Foes who barely nick the cap take 4-5% and a low set knockback.
Foes who are hit closer to Shadow Mario, however, get the cap stuck on their head, it dealing poison damage to them, not knocking the foe back at all, but giving them 3% dark purple (think Ganondorf/Mewtwo) damage per second. The cap can stay on infinitely if foes let it, but they can shake it off with attacks like with a Pikmin (it is twice as hard as a Pikmin to remove), causing it to vanish and reappear on Shadow Mario's head. Only one cap can be on a single foe at a time, this move not being able to overlap. This is not really a move you can just pull out and use to build damage, but when the circumstances are right, it can be helpful for just that.
Tripped Attack - Atomizer
To get to his feet, Shadow Mario turns into a flurry of tiny blue dots, spinning around in a shape like Mario's Tornado for a split second before getting to his feet. The range of this is slightly less than the Tornado, and it comes out with low startup lag, having a fair bit ending as Shadow Mario reforms. The priority of this move is below average, due to Shadow Mario not being focused on hitting the foe as hard as possible...
Here, if a foe touches Shadow Mario as he's spinning, they turn into a cloud of tiny colored balls, vanishing, then reappearing a second later at the location where Shadow Mario painted his last 'M' with his Up Special. This deals no damage, but is a great way for clearing foes away from Shadow Mario, considering your 'M' isn't near you. If Shadow Mario hasn't made an 'M' yet in a match, the foe merely trips, taking no damage. Definitely a cool trick for mindgames, and if you can somehow use this to manipulate your foe into a hazard, then by all means go for it!
Ledge Attack - Global Warming
Shadow Mario drags his brush on the ground as he hops onto the ledge, creating a green-brown puddle of sludge, half the distance of a Stage Builder block. The sludge stays out for five seconds, and only one puddle can be on a single ledge at a time (no overlaps!). Foes can't attack the muck, and it comes out quickly, with Shadow Mario having a tad of ending lag. The sludge deals absolutely no damage, or real knockback for that matter. However, if a foe steps on it, they slide off the edge horizontally, due to the slippery slime, being forced offstage, from where Shadow Mario can try to gimp or edgeguard them.
Also, if Shadow Mario uses this from a ledge with water beneath (e.g. Delfino Plaza, The Summit, Jungle Japes), the ledge not only becomes sludgy, so does the water, turning the same icky polluted color. Foes who slip in (or are stupid enough to try to take a leisurely swim) take 12-13% and moderate vertical knockback from the bad water. The pollution covers an area of up to three Stage Builder blocks in the water. This lasts for only three seconds, while the sludge still lasts for five. On these stages and more, this is a perfect little set-up for damage-dealing, although no competent opponent will seriously fall for this.
Ledge Attack (Over 100%) - Belly Flop
Shadow Mario kicks to pull up onto the ledge, then does a small belly flop on his stomach as he comes onto the stage. This was a tactic used by Mario in Sunshine to cover long distances or KO enemies. Shadow Mario has low priority here, the hitbox being his oversized head, meaning the range is quite close. He has a good deal of startup lag, as is typical for these attacks, and a fair bit ending as well. The knockback here is low and set, but hits foes over Shadow Mario's body and off the stage, meaning most foes will have to recover, although with Shadow's ending lag, he probably can't gimp here. Shadow Mario deals a low 4-5% here. Yeah...you probably shouldn't use this move; just jump onto the stage to be safe.
>~~FINAL SMASH~~<
Final Smash - Infestation
Shadow Mario's eyes glow red, as he spins around three times rapidly in place, holding out his Paintbrush. After his spins, an area of 4/5 of the Battlefield main platform is covered in rainbow goop. However, before using this Final Smash, Shadow Mario needs to know where to set it up. The goop only covers one platform, meaning if you use it on a small Battlefield platform, that's all it covers. On Final Destination, with no platforms, this really excels, as there's no way to screw it up. Shadow Mario must be on the ground to activate this.
Foes who are standing on the goop take 2-3% of knockbackless damage per second, and have a 50% chance of tripping whenever they try to run. The main point of this move, however, is that Shadow Mario now has no limit on the enemies he can send out with his enemy moves. He still has the normal startup and ending lag, and is still attackable during this Final Smash, but the enemies can be produced in large enough amounts to keep the foe more concerned about their own life. Enemies are not powered-up at all, however.
Here are the moves that Shadow Mario can now abuse:
Side Special (Piranha Gatekeeper)
Basic Combo (Orange Juice Generator; although these aren't really living enemies, they're still more readily usable here).
Forward Tilt (Swoopin' Stu)
Down Tilt (Manta Storm)
Down Smash (Shadow Shadow Mario, A.K.A. Drunken Boos)
Grab (Chain Chomplet; he can send out as many as he wants, them all being automatically at top speed)
As you can probably tell, damage-dealing is the major point of this Final Smash, although Shadow Mario could more likely than not KO foes out of his swarms of enemies. This Final Smash lasts about as long as Fox's Landmaster, before the goop vanishes into the ground with a hiss, and all the enemies, other than the ones within the normal limit, vanish in a cloud of smoke. Make sure you set this up on a large platform for best effect; although you can still summon enemies from a small area, the damaging area is much more useful over a larger zone.
>~~OVERALL PLAYSTYLE - MANIC MIRAGE~~<
At a brief glance, Shadow Mario doesn't seem too different from Bowser Jr. in terms of trickiness. After all, they both share the Magic Paintbrush, using it to wreak havoc. Why should you choose one over the other? Jr. and Shadow Mario have several differences in their attacks that make their playstyles moderately different. However, like his true form, Shadow Mario has an extremely high learning curve that matches, and sometimes even eclipses that of Jr. He takes a lot of time to learn, and an even longer time to master.
As with Jr., experimenting with the effects of Shadow Mario's attacks is vital for success. Definitely not a newcomer-friendly character at all. The trap attacks are in fewer quantity here than with Jr., but Shadow Mario doesn't do as many physical attacks. Shadow Mario is weaker than Jr. overall, but his trap attacks are generally more powerful, so you'll want to learn when you can use them and set them up to start on your way to victory.
Shadow Mario, unlike Jr., has ways of attacking efficiently from close range. The enemies he sends out aren't hard to dispose of, but if he sends them out in groups, and uses them to herd you into another attack, in typical trap format for this character, they can be quite a bother. Like Dedede, Shadow Mario should try to keep out enemies at all times for protection. They build damage rather well, and can be a barrier against attacks for Shadow Mario, if he stands behind them.
At long range, Shadow Mario has much fewer options for actually attacking, other than a well-maneuvered U-Smash, a lucky AI movement from his D-Smash clones, or a Chain Chomplet. Shadow Mario can easily defend against campers and spammers, however, with his Side Special Piranha Gatekeeper. It has infinite HP, like in Sunshine, although one aimed hit to its open mouth will KO it immediately. Shadow Mario can use this as a perfect barrier while he sets up his tricks, although eventually, he'll have to get over to his foes himself, as it is much easier to hit them there than from a distance.
Now, onto the sneaky moves. Shadow Mario's trap moves are mainly stronger than Jr.'s, but rely more on proper usage and a bit of luck than much else. It's just how he rolls. While Jr. needs to set up his moves, Shadow Mario needs to know the quantities of a move he can send out, creating a little wall of offense he can use to manipulate foes into other moves. For example, for a simple damage-building combo, you may with to send out an Orange Juice Generator and a Swoopin' Stu, pushing the foe back into a Piranha Gatekeeper or Trail of Tears for knockback. This is one of many combos Shadow Mario can try on unsuspecting foes. Like Jr., however, you never want to become predictable, or your foe will read you like a book and punish you over nine thousand ways till Sunday.
Some of these moves require a bit of dangerous movement, like U-Smash or Chain Chomplet. Shadow Mario can move these attacks a great deal, but he is vulnerable while doing so. These moves are among the high-risk, high-reward moves in Shadow Mario's arsenal, him requiring them for smooth playability, but you'll often want to try and trick your foes while they're out, to ensure that the move connects. Sending out enemies is a nice way to overload foes before you use the more risky attack.
Also, on this note, D-Smash summons two clones of Shadow Mario. They have stupid AI, but attack randomly with half Shadow Mario's normal power. Although this doesn't sound that great, it can be terrific for confusing mindgames at first, as well as damage-building. Shadow Mario has a lot of styles you can use to play him well, but all of them require some strategic thought and cunning. Make sure you can handle this when you pick up this character!
Shadow Mario in the air is not much of a threat at all. He's mediocre here; if at all possible, try keeping Shadow Mario grounded for maximum effectiveness. I mean, a few shorthopped aerials are fine, but he lacks adaptive ways to approach while airborne, so it's not something you'll want to do in competitive matches. N-Air is a nice way to get some breathing room when surrounded, but it has fairly close range, so it can't be abused. F-Air can be great against aggressive foes, but its lag makes it highly dangerous. The rest of the aerials need proper spacing to work properly and safely, and while Shadow Mario can spike with D-Air if done right, and edgeguard decently with B-Air, he has better options, like sending Swoopin' Stus to their doom offstage to knock the recovering foe back.
Now, speaking of recovery, Shadow Mario probably has the most variant recovery in the game. He can set up an 'M' as far away as he wants, then warp to it with another Up Special at any time...as long as the first 'M' is still intact! 15 HP is really quite low for something like this, so you'll want to defend your 'M' at all costs if you think you'll need it, especially if you have high damage. If your foe destroys the 'M' and Shadow Mario is knocked back, he's in serious trouble. Neutral Special is his only other option for recovery, and he falls while rolling, so using this while already being high in the air is the only real option for it. Place enemies or a Piranha Gatekeeper near the 'M' to defend it, and always stay near it if your foe gets feisty. Projectile users are bad news here, as Shadow Mario has little aerial defense. Placing your 'M' near the ground, where it can be defended better, is your best bet. Anticipate what you'll need and follow through; otherwise, you'll be in for a couple of hard lessons learned.
To summarize Shadow Mario, he lacks the variation of traps Jr. has, but the ones he has are generally more accessible and powerful. Shadow Mario also fights much more from a close range than his true form. His weakness lies in his low priority and HP for enemies, and the fact that if you knock him into the air, he is much less of a threat. Plus, he slips and slides like crazy, so even if you are a perfect player, expect to be punished for random tripping at least once. I said it once, I'll say it again; Shadow Mario is not for those who give up easily.
A final question you may ask is, why should you switch to Shadow Mario from Jr.? Well, Shadow Mario has his different attack style, which can suit some players better than others. Shadow Mario's ability to attack at close range may make him slightly more accessible to newcomers, but that's not saying much at all. He can't spam almost anything, making him even harder for beginners, in this respect. His difference in playstyle is the main reason for switching between the two. Master players who can main them both may switch in the middle of a match to throw off his opponent with a new match-up. This is not recommended unless you thoroughly know both characters. But, if you can do it, they suffer nothing from switching (even spamming the switch), so go for it! Shadow Mario's crazy character from Sunshine definitely translates over to Smash; it's a matter of whether or not you have the discipline to master it. Bowser Jr. and Shadow Mario are a force to be reckoned with; choose your form and go wild!
>~~PLAYING AGAINST - MASTER THE MASTERMIND~~<
Shadow Mario has been practicing evading defeat and capture, so he's got ways to prevent you from stopping him now. Still, he's not without flaws that can be easily exposed and overcome. Most of these take knowledge of how to actually beat Shadow Mario, but they are not difficult to pull off. Shadow Mario can be a devilish blighter to overcome, so it's a matter of knowledge about his weaknesses that will see him finished.
A major weakness that Shadow Mario holds above all other characters is water. He receives double damage from all of Squirtle's water attacks, and F.L.U.D.D. and Water Gun actually damage him! If you are Mario or Squirtle, you have a good match-up here, as these moves actually serve use in multiple situations. Although he is the same size as Mario, Shadow Mario is actually lighter as well, so he can be pushed and bashed around rather well. The fact that he trips and slides a lot is not exactly helpful for him. Unless your opponent knows how to overcome these downfalls consistently, you will likely have an easy time beating this criminal. Still, don't get cocky, as Shadow Mario can change the course of a match with a few well-landed traps.
A significant strategy you saw in his overall playstyle was his enemy defense. Shadow Mario can indeed use them to help his game out quite well, but he has a limit on all enemies, so it's not really spammable. Also, almost every single enemy can be beaten easily with one or two attacks. They're not too random or unpredictable either (except the clones from D-Smash), and will walk right off edges and into moves, so you most likely will get the trick of beating them after a few trials. Piranha Gatekeepers are the only exception here; these cannot be beaten by regular moves...until they open their mouths, upon which one hit will dispatch them immediately. Once you learn to beat this regularly, Shadow Mario has a much harder time with successful approaches and landing attacks. This makes it worth learning, so get to it!
Perhaps the easiest way to finish off this imposter is his by messing up his recovery. Building some damage on him before attempting this is best, so he'll be knocked further and forced to try to recover. If at all possible, pressure him so much that he won't even have time to make the first 'M'. If he does, just get under it and U-Smash to destroy it quickly. Shadow Mario will be under a lot of stress to keep his 'M' up, and will more likely than not open gaps for you to hit him, while he is focused on defending his portal. You'll have to be sneaky with your tactics here, but this is one of the fastest ways to shut him down if you know how it's done.
Ending this section, Shadow Mario can be just as crazy, if not moreso, than Jr. Shadow Mario has more attacks that can be used for easier damage, although proper defensive knowledge can render these useless. Most Shadow Mario players will try being random with moves, so you'll have to stay on your toes while facing him at all times. Still, expose the cracks in his game, and you'll put the opposing player under much more pressure to overcome your offense. During this time, good players can react well to this and punish Shadow Mario like crazy. Like his true form, many match-ups with Shadow Mario will result in the victory of the better player. Be smart and crafty, and, with proper training, you can ensure yourself in this spot in matches.
>~~EXTRAS~~<
>~~Extra Animations~~<
Up Taunt - On the Run
Shadow Mario pulls out a wanted poster with his own sketch on it, and looks at it disdainfully, shaking his head for a second, before stowing the poster in his back pocket.
Side Taunt - Lick it Up
Shadow Mario puts a hand to his cheek and stretches out his long red tongue. He sticks it out at foes, it flailing up and down a bit and making comical bouncy noises, before he pulls it back in. He taunted Mario like this before stealing Peach and taking her to Pinna Park.
Down Taunt - Graffiti Artist
Shadow Mario draws his famous red 'M' icon on the ground in front of him, posing with arms crossed over it, like Ike's down taunt. The 'M' stays on the ground for five seconds before vanishing.
Victory Pose #1 - Caught in the Act
Shadow Mario is painting a large mural (with various Sunshine pictures and whatnot) all over the floor of the results screen! However, when the announcer calls his name, Shadow Mario quickly hops in front of his art and holds both hands and his brush behind his back. Nothing to see here!
Victory Pose #2 - Surprise!
Shadow Mario jumps around excitedly onscreen, then paints a clone of himself (like with his D-Smash). The two Shadow Marios jump up and chest bump, but the clone turns into a Boo (still looking drunk) after being bumped, knocking Shadow Mario to the ground on his arse. The Boo simply floats there stupidly, while Shadow Mario rubs his head quizzically, until you leave the results screen.
Victory Pose #3 - True True Identity...?
Shadow Mario scratches his chin in thought, then swipes his brush over his hat, turning it into...the purple hat of Il Piantissimo the sprinter?! After this, he nods approvingly and runs offscreen.
You know, Il Piantissimo was the one to find Jr.'s lost Paintbrush after he was defeated at the end of Sunshine...is he the new Shadow Mario now?
Victory Pose against Mario - Sweet Revenge
Shadow Mario is seen without his Paintbrush for once, but has F.L.U.D.D. strapped to his back instead! Shadow Mario is seen chasing Mario around the results screen, spraying Mario with his own water gun for revenge! Mario holds up his hands and cries out, "Mama mia!" as he gets drenched while running, Shadow Mario laughing in his squeaky voice. He's clearly enjoying this!
Victory Theme - Flagpole Fanfare
Shadow Mario uses the standard Mario victory theme, the classic level cleared music from Super Mario Bros. Nothing new here...
Loss Pose - Fist-Pounding
Shadow Mario is definitely the sore loser type, pounding his fists and feet against the floor, facing away from the screen and lying on his belly. He does this whenever defeated in Sunshine, so it's fitting as a defeated pose here.
>~~Kirby Hat - Shadow Kirby~~<
Kirby turns watery and blue-colored like Shadow Mario, getting a slight red tint in his eyes, as well as his mustache and cap. Kirby can use Shadow Ball here, crunching into blue ball form to deal quick damage to foes. This is helpful for Kirby's game, so Inhale Shadow Mario if you can.
>~~Alternate Colors~~<
Normal
Red Watery
Dark Blue Watery
Light Green Watery
Yellow Watery
Gray Watery
>~~Codec Conversation~~<
-Press Select-
Snake:Uh...what just happened? It looks like Jr. turned into Mario! Colonel:You're just one of many to be fooled by this disguise, Snake. This isn't really Mario. Jr. has turned into Shadow Mario, an alternate form with all of Mario's capabilities. Snake:Why would he do that? It's not like he can do anything extra special in fat Italian plumber form... Colonel:Shadow Mario has the ability to call forth some nasty enemies with his Magic Paintbrush, as well as use his street-sense to pull some low tricks on you, Snake. Snake:He's running away from me...he seems like nothing but a coward who likes to play dress up! Colonel:That may just be what he wants you to think! Don't get fooled by this common prankster! Show him who's boss; just try not to get slimed!
-End Transmission-
>~~Other~~<
Icon - Classic Power-Up
Shadow Mario also uses the Mario universe Super Mushroom for an icon. Whoop de doo.
Wiimote Sound - Turned Loose
Shadow Mario gives a high-pitched 'Wa-hoo!', as if in an exciting chase. He's ready to run onto the field of battle!
Crowd Chant - Wait...What?
The male and female crowd chants his name normally, but in a questioning way, so they chant, "Mario...? Mario...? Mario...?" Looks like he's got them fooled by his little scherade.
Unlocked By:
Shadow Mario has the same methods as Bowser Jr. for unlocking.
Unlock Message:
Call the cops! Shadow Mario has been sighted in the Brawl! Isn't one Mario enough?
>~~Assist Trophy - Pianta~~<
These big guys are the inhabitants of Isle Delfino. Here, the blue one from the picture appears as an Assist Trophy. He stands in place on one part of the stage, being the size of Dedede, but slightly less wide. In front of him, a Durian appears. These spiky fruits were sold by shop Piantas in Sunshine, and apparently taste like rotten feet. Anyways, it is slightly larger than a Soccer Ball, and can be picked up by any player. The Durian is an item, functioning just like a Tap Tap from Jr.'s B-Throw (see it for more detail).
The Pianta just does an odd dance in place while the Durian is out (occasionally, he'll take out a guitar and play quietly). However, if a foe runs into him, a blue speech bubble appears above his head, as he says, "I'm a chuckster!" and throws the character backwards with great force, dealing 8% and insane knockback. Because of this, the summoner will want to hit foes into the Pianta, while the other players will want to stay well away.
One more small effect occurs if you hit the Pianta with a fire attack. The Pianta can't be KOed, but it can be attacked fruitlessly. If a fire attack touches the Pianta, his arse flares up and he starts running around like crazy, trying to put out the fire. He runs randomly at Fox's dashing speed, dealing 12-15% to foes who hit him in his mad dash. The Pianta stays out for 25 seconds, no matter whether he is sitting, throwing, or running, disappearing after this time. Pianta appears fairly regularly as an Assist Trophy.
>~~Stage - Corona Mountain~~<
A huge active volcano on Isle Delfino, and the final level of Super Mario Sunshine, which included a final showdown against Bowser and his son. Here, this stage plays a bit like Delfino Plaza, dropping players off at different locations of the volcano. However, there is little solid ground to fight on, so this stage doesn't drop off players nearly as much. There are four phases to this stage, as opposed to Delfino Plaza's eleven. While the stage moves less, there are a few actual hazards here, making it not as safe as you may think.
Players start the stage off on a floating chunk of rock, the size of Battlefield, with lava on either side. Fall into the lava and you take 15% and above average vertical knockback. The only minor stage element here is a water sprinkler in the background. Occasionally, it comes on, spraying a bit of water onto the stage, which makes the area easier to trip on for five seconds. No big deal, really. After thirty seconds on this starting area, a dark red cloud, the size of the main moving platform in Delfino Plaza, materializes on the stage. After five more seconds, the cloud takes off, floating slowly further into the volcano. The cloud can be recovered through, but not dropped through. The ledges can be hung from, as well. While on the cloud, players are high enough off the ground to be able to be KOed off the bottom boundary, despite there being lava there, so beware!
After about fifteen seconds of cloud travel, the cloud stops and vanishes over a series of metal platforms, suspended over the lava, dropping the characters off. Here, there are five metal platforms, each the size of 1.5 Stage Builder blocks, with that same amount of space in between each block, meaning the area here is large, but you'll need to be careful to stand your ground. You can fall into the lava between the blocks here, too, if you're careless.
This phase lasts for thirty seconds as well. However, at the fifteen second mark or so, an '!' sign flashes over the stage. Three seconds later, one random platform top catches fire. It can be any platform, so try to stay airborne during this time, then come down on a safe platform when you see which one is flaming. The fire deals 20% and high knockback, so beware this! The fire vanishes after three seconds. As soon as it is out, another random platform top grows spikes, the height of Bowser. The tactics for avoidance are the same here; spikes deal 15% and light knockback, lasting for three seconds before detracting. These deal less initial damage, but if you are hit, you'll probably bounce up and land on the spikes again for more damage. This is probably the most dangerous hazard you'll have to face this stage, so learn to play it safe.
After the thirty seconds of this phase, the cloud returns, waiting for five seconds on this phase before taking off again. The cloud travels at a faster rate this time, getting the characters away from solid land and over open molten lava, with sharp stalagmites sticking out from the magma in various locations. After fifteen more seconds of riding the cloud, it drops characters over a small little stage area. Here, the fighting ground is made up of a Mudboat from Sunshine, and a sunken stone column.
The Mudboat is mucky and brown, and the length of half of Final Destination, resized for usability, located at the left end of this area. The column is at the right of the stage, separated from the Mudboat by a gap of lava the size of a Stage Builder block. The platforms here don't extend all the way off the screen, so there is still lava to the far left and right that you can hit. Stay on the platforms for the best of luck, and try to be near the center, as the blast line is not far at all from the edge of the stage you can see, providing for easy early KOs here.
A hazard here is that, sometimes, Flaming Cheep-Cheeps (fish) will hop out of the lava to the far left or right, and onto the Mudboat or column, flopping around aimlessly. They have 10 HP and do nothing to attack, but due to them being coated in lava, they have average priority. They also deal 10% and average knockback if you hit them. The fish usually come in quantities of one or two, and are each the size of Squirtle. Finish these off quick to avoid trouble.
After the typical thirty seconds on this stage phase, the cloud returns, waiting five seconds before floating off again. Now, it floats onwards for about ten seconds, getting over a patch of rocky land towards the end of this time. After these ten seconds, the cloud begins rising rapidly upwards, up into the deepest part of the volcano. Characters' jumps are hindered here, due to the cloud coming up to catch them before they jump very high.
After ten seconds of rising, the cloud drops characters off at Bowser's personal hot-tub, the site of the final battle of Super Mario Sunshine! The tub is round, with five platforms extending from it, holding the tub floating in midair somehow. You fight on the rim of the tub, the tub circling around in the background, but characters being able to fight on an area the size of 3/4 of Final Destination. The tub is filled with repulsive green slime, but is empty of Bowser and his son, only having a large rubber duck floating around in there. Every now and then, the oozing slime splashes onto the stage a little bit, needing to be dodged, if you want to stay safe. It comes quickly, with little warning, dealing 6-8% fire damage and low knockback. Not a big deal, but it's still a good idea to dodge.
Finally, after thirty seconds here, the cloud comes back, waiting for five seconds for characters to hop on, and floats back down for fifteen seconds. Characters' jumps here are extra floaty, due to the cloud moving down beneath them. After this cloud ride, the characters are dropped off at the first tier of the stage, starting the cycle over again. These tiers are always in this order, unlike Delfino Plaza. This stage has its hazards here and there, but they are not unbeatable or unfair, making this a relatively fun and hectic stage to play on, while still being somewhat competitive.
In the scene where DK and Diddy are introduced, going after their Banana Hoard, an extra portion is added on. After the Kongs jump down to begin their chase, a nearby bush shakes ominously. A second later, BOWSER and BOWSER JR. emerge from their hiding position. Bowser looks at his son expectantly, for him to grin evilly and nod back. The Koopa King and his half-pint son share a moment of evil laughter, before going their separate ways, as ominous music plays. Clearly, they're up to no good...
Next, in the scene where Bowser shoots DK, Jr. comes over to Bowser and uses his Paintbrush to paint the floating ship seen later for carrying DK. Bowser nods approvingly at his son, then hoists DK's trophy onto the ship, hopping on it himself to drive it off elsewhere. Before he does so, however, he points into the distance, where DK punched Diddy to, telling Jr. to take care of Diddy. Jr. strikes a pose with his brush determinedly, then sets off to take care of business.
Jr. is next seen in the cutscene where Diddy is swinging through the treetops, away from Bowser. You see Diddy swinging from a first person point of view, as, suddenly, a Wind Duppy flies at him. It misses hitting Diddy directly, but succeeds in knocking him out of the vines and onto the jungle floor. As Diddy massages his arse, making pained monkey noises, an ominous shadow starts covering him. Diddy looks up slowly in horror, for it to just be Jr., standing with his bandana pulled over his face. He pulls it off and yells, "Roar!" to try and intimidate the young Kong, actually speaking 'roar', but Diddy just sighs in relief, as it is not a huge monster like his shadow suggested. Jr. keeps on trying to scare Diddy, eventually causing him to roll around laughing. This pisses Jr. off, the screen zooming in on his narrowing eyes, for him to swipe his brush, causing various Sunshine enemies to spawn around him. Diddy suddenly gets more serious, and hops to his feet, reluctantly putting his fists up. You now play in a stamina battle against Bowser Jr., with both combatants having 150 HP. This shouldn't be too difficult for a battle, as Jr. doesn't have very smart AI, and won't set up any real tricky attacks against you here.
After you beating the Koopa Prince, the battle is still seen raging on. Diddy takes out his Peanut Popgun, firing a few shots at Jr., who goes into his shell so the peanuts break out of their shells. Jr. eyes them excitedly and scarfs them down, as several Strollin' Stus charge at Diddy, who dodges them and hops on their heads, not being hurt, but being distracted. Jr. sees this, and wanting to finish him off quickly, snaps his fingers and whistles, summoning his ultimate weapon. Out of the clouds comes Rayquaza, being summoned by Jr. as a boss from his actual habitat, rather than a lake. Diddy looks terrified as usual, while Jr. laughs evilly. Rayquaza charges up a blast at Diddy, for him to flinch in terror. Just in time, however, Fox's Arwing crashes nearby, propelling Fox in the path of the blast. In the nick of time, Fox reflects the blast back at Rayquaza, who gets hit and falls into the nearby lake. Fox and Diddy run up to face him, while Jr. hops forward in anger. You now face them both at the same time. Rayquaza has less HP, due to Jr. being present, but his attacks deal more damage and knockback than normal, now. Jr. is lighter than usual, being able to be KOed faster, but his attacks aren't nerfed at all. Defeat them both to trigger another cutscene.
By the way, Rayquaza is still fought alone in Boss Battles mode.
Rayquaza recoils in pain, then sinks into the lake, unconscious. Jr. stumbles around, while Fox and Diddy close in. Jr. rapidly hops back, a thought bubble of Bowser forming, then summons a mini-version of the Koopa Clown Car to carry him away to report to his father. Fox and Diddy watch him leave, somewhat disappointedly, while Jr. makes an 'L' for Loser sign at them. Diddy suddenly gets a thought bubble of Donkey Kong, and the cutscene proceeds as normal, with Diddy dragging Fox into the forest.
After those two defeat Dark Bowser, regular Bowser still shoots at them and sends them fleeing. Bowser Jr. arrives in his Clown Car shortly afterwards. He looks scared at first due to his earlier failure, but Bowser merely grins and nods, the Rayquaza fight having tired Fox and Diddy out too much to face Bowser himself. Jr. quickly nods in agreement, while Bowser points to where Fox and Diddy jumped off, a thought bubble of his Koopa Army forming. They'll take care of the stragglers. Suddenly, the Ancient Minister comes out of the sky, landing beside Bowser. The Ancient Minister gets a thought bubble of Mario and Pit, attacking the Subspace enemies. Bowser nods and motions to Jr., then at them. This is his chance to take down Mario. Jr. does a happy backflip, then chuckles evilly to himself, a lightbulb forming over his head. He's got a plan! He paints an 'M' portal, and pulls his bandana over his mouth as he hops in. When they're alone, Bowser laughs his classic deep laugh and pets the Ancient Minister like a dog, for him to stare at the Koopa King with hate. Everything is going to plan...
Jr. reappears inside Bowser's Castle, Kamek welcoming him in with a tray of cookies. Jr. eats them greedily, then whistles, for various members of the Koopa Army to appear around him. To Jr.'s dismay, they aren't that plentiful, due to most of them being in the Jungle. This doesn't faze Jr., however; he hops up and swings his brush all around him, goop particles flying everywhere. This splashes a few Koopas, for them to shake it off angrily. Most of the goop has landed on the floor, however, which spawns a large quantity of the various enemies from Sunshine. Jr. looks around at his newly-bulked up troops (the normal Koopa Troop members look less than pleased at joining forces with artificial baddies), then summons a huge goop portal, leading them into it. They reappear on his Block Castle Playroom (his ship from Mario Super Sluggers), which is docked at a murky Koopa harbor, and set off, floating off into the distance to find and attack Mario.
After the first Samus level, Jr. is seen again on his "ship", sipping a beverage and reclining on a colorful block throne. Suddenly, Army Hammer Bro., the Hammer Bro. general from Super Princess Peach, comes up to him and brings him to his senses, pointing at an oncoming ship. Jr. looks at it nervously at first, but then shrugs it off, motioning to it with his brush. It's no big deal, just subdue it quickly and take prisoners. Army Hammer Bro. nods, then gets a wicked look and lets out a battle cry, sending out smaller block ships loaded with Koopas and Sunshine enemies to take it over. Up in the Crow's Nest, TOON LINK is seen peering into the distance. Suddenly, he sees Jr.'s Army coming, and slides down on a rope, making a high-pitched grunt and posing with his sword, while the first of the army boards. You now play in a multi-man battle against the Koopas and Sunshine enemies, on the Pirate Ship stage. They board from the back, and you can't hit them until they are on the stage, so don't bother trying. They come in large amounts, so you'll need to finish them quickly so you don't get overwhelmed. Knocking foes into the sea KOs them instantly, so you may wish to try this out.
Toon Link fights off the last of the boarding foes, while the enemies on the Castle stop coming out of fear of the young swordsman. However, Toon Link isn't so quick to give up. He hops off his ship (it's a clear day with no waves, he can return to it later) and onto some abandoned block mini-ships, making his way to the main Castle. The first part of the level here has little solid ground, being on the small block ships. You can swim, but you'll drown if you stay out too long, so try to avoid this. The enemies are a few stragglers from Jr.'s Army, but they don't pose a big threat here. Halfway through the level, however, you enter the Castle, which has classic Bowser's Castle gameplay. The stage is colorful and kiddy here, but there are still Thwomps, lava, spikes, and bouncing fireballs to get you. The difficulty isn't too bad, but you'll still need to proceed with caution. You reach the roof of the Castle at the end, where Jr. is.
Toon Link hacks through some Sunshine foes (who vanish in goopy explosions) as he gets to Jr. and Army Hammer Bro. Jr. looks in shock at Toon Link, then whistles, for his Koopa Clown Car to come to him. He gets into it and looms down over Toon Link, while Army Hammer Bro. poses. A mini-boss battle ensues, you having one stock and playing as Toon Link.
Mini-Boss: Bowser Jr. in Koopa Clown Car and Army Hammer Bro.
These guys have about 150 HP each, and are both out at the same time. Your arena is flat and on the roof of the Castle, being moderately large. Jr. floats slowly back and forth, a good distance in the air, while the Army Hammer Bro. stands in a battle pose. The Clown Car is twice the size of Bowser, while the Hammer Bro. is the same size as he is in as an Assist Trophy, being a small target.
Attacks:
Mecha Koopa Drop: Jr. reaches into his Clown Car and drops down two Mecha Koopas, each being the size of Squirtle, and wandering around in a wound-up manner, at the speed of Ganondorf's walk. If you touch one while it's out, they chomp you and deal 13-14% and fair knockback. They do nothing to Army Hammer Bro. If you attack it once, it becomes disabled for ten seconds. During this time, give it 15% damage to destroy it. They last for twenty seconds before vanishing, Jr. and the Hammer Bro. being able to use other attacks during this time, although they hit the Mecha Koopa as well. You can throw a disabled Mecha Koopa at the Clown Car or Hammer Bro. for moderate damage.
Hammer Volley: Army Hammer Bro. starts jumping around fairly rapidly, tossing up a bunch of hammers, just like in his AT form, but him actually moving around as he does so, so it's harder to dodge. He does this often, so you might be annoyed by it. He does this for about five seconds at a time. The hammers deal 5-6% and low knockback each. This is mainly a damage-builder, but it can KO you at high damage levels, so beware!
Fire Storm: Jr. flies back and forth more rapidly, dropping several Soccer Ball-sized fireballs down onto the stage, in random locations, where they stay for three seconds before vanishing. He keeps this up for five seconds, the fireballs being able to be dispersed rather easily with strong attacks. However, if he has 50% HP or less, Jr. will drop them for eight seconds, and they will be harder to get rid of, still being out for three seconds. Fireballs deal 7% and below average knockback each. Try to get rid of the fireballs early to avoid trouble.
Boomerang Bro.: Army Hammer Bro. hops to the middle of the stage in one long bound, then spins around all the way quickly, sending out a single white boomerang on either side of him. These are the same size as Link's boomerang, traveling to the edge of the stage boundary at Meta Knight's dashing speed, before returning to their owner. They can't be beaten by high priority, so two spot dodges, or jumping, is the best way to dodge them. Each one deals 6% and a small stun, and can hit you when coming back as well as being flung out. Not too dangerous, just watch for the initial jump so you know when to dodge.
Big Steelie: With above average startup lag, Jr. drops a Big Steelie bowling ball, the size of Bowser, onto the stage. It stops in the middle of the stage, before rolling to the right at Ganondorf's dashing speed. Being crushed by it gives you 23-24% and insane knockback, while being hit while it's rolling deals 12-13% and average knockback. Hammer Bro. is unaffected by this. Be sure to move to the far left to dodge this when you see the startup! This is a prime KO move for these mini-bosses.
Fire Bro.: Army Hammer Bro. lets out a cough, for moderate startup lag, then begins breathing a constant stream of fire, like a Superspicy Curry effect. He then runs back and forth across the whole stage length at Mario's dashing speed, trapping foes for multiple hits and low knockback, the fire working just like the above item. Jump over or roll around Hammer Bro. here; you don't want to be trapped in the flames while Jr. is still out! Hammer Bro. runs for five seconds normally, but runs for a whopping ten seconds at 25% HP or less. Finish him off!
Koopa Clown Crush: Bowser Jr. begins flying over your current position for three seconds, before slamming down at an insanely fast speed. This crushes you and deals 25-26% and insane knockback. You have fair warning here, and Jr. lags a bit before crashing down, so be absolutely sure to get the hell out of the way, or you risk being KOed early. Hammer Bro. is unaffected here. If Jr. has less than 50% HP, he follows and crashes down three times. If Jr. is only crashing once, he lags on the ground dizzily for three seconds. Damage him heavily here!
Amazing Flyin' Hammer Bro.: Army Hammer Bro. snaps his fingers, for a small winged platform to appear beneath him, lifting him up into the air, below the Clown Car. From here, he floats back and forth at Toon Link's dashing speed, flinging hammers left and right. The hammers deal the exact same damage as with the Hammer Volley attack above, but they come in a slightly less quantity. Still, these come a whole lot faster, and Hammer Bro. moves faster while throwing them, staying out for ten seconds before the platform vanishes and he drops back down. You can't hit him during this period, so don't even try. The hammers can't hit you if you stand right below the winged platform, so try to stay under it at all times. He uses this a lot when he has low HP, so knock him out as soon as possible.
Although this is not an attack, if you hit the Clown Car's propeller, or the horns on Army Hammer Bro.'s helmet, you take 10% and low knockback, so hit the Clown Car on the side (you'll have to double jump up to it, unless it's trying to crush you) or the Hammer Bro. anywhere but the helmet.
Upon defeat, Jr. spirals away in the Clown Car off the screen top, in typical Super Mario World style, while Army Hammer Bro. collapses into the background, in a dead faint.
Army Hammer Bro. lies unconscious, while Jr. crawls from the wreckage of the Clown Car. He reaches for his brush, which he left on the deckchair, but Toon Link stands in his way. Jr., out of options, points insistently in one direction. Toon Link looks quickly, turning back to Jr. rapidly, but it's too late. Made you look! Jr. has snatched up his brush and summoned reinforcements. Toon Link is taken deep into the Castle and thrown in the dungeon, which looks like an Insanity Room due to the kiddy nature of the ship, with squishy walls and stuffed toys everywhere. What will become of him?
After Mario and Link's parties meet up, before the group can enter the cave, Jr.'s ship crashes on the shore. Mario is seen walking toward the cave, at the head of the group, when suddenly, a Swoopin' Stu crashes into him, covering him in goop, which Yoshi is quick to lick off like a dog. Mario turns around angrily to see SHADOW MARIO standing over him, laughing to himself. Mario motions for the rest of the group to stand back; this is his battle. You now play as Mario in a battle against his evil doppelganger.
Shadow Mario lays on the ground, pounding his fists in defeat. He keeps this up for a while, Mario standing over him, until he loses energy and falls unconscious. Mario and group get back together and are about to go into the cave...when they hear 'Hyaaaa!'s for help from the Castle. Not wanting to leave someone in need, the group boards the Castle and searches for the prisoner. Now that your party members are bumped up to five from one, this Castle level is much harder and more maze-like. The enemies are in larger quantities as well, and the traps are more damaging and dangerous, including several with closing walls. Reach the dungeon to trigger another cutscene.
Link is the only one to reach the dungeon, due to his experience in dungeons, the others being lost somewhere else. Link hacks open the door to see Toon Link, pounding the cushy walls in agony. He must be going insane in there! Suddenly, he turns to see...himself? Older? Now he's definitely going insane. Toon Link lets out a cry and charges Link with his sword (which he somehow kept from the Koopas), while Link backs away and retaliates. You now play a Stamina Match between the two Links, playing as older Link against his higher-tier younger self. They both have 100 HP, and you have to KO Toon Link, but not off a boundary, only lower his HP to knock some sense into him. Fortunately, you can only be KOed off the top, the ceiling being high enough for this, as the walls are cushy, enclosing the arena to Shadow Moses Island size. These cushy walls can be bounced off of by characters knocked into them.
Toon Link pants and begins to attack Link again, but then stops, as Link locks swords with him, pointing to the open door. Toon Link gets an expression of realization, then shakes hands with his older self. The two Links leave the dungeon, for the screen to zoom out and show the other four characters, as well as the two Links, being monitored from a screen in a control room of sorts. Army Hammer Bro. has woken up and is monitoring their progress, the entire Koopa Army behind him. The Hammer Bro. presses a button, summoning a portal back to Bowser's Castle, then motions into it for the enemies to do so. He then presses a red button for self-destruct, laughing evilly and jumping into the closing portal. Sirens begin to go off, and the camera shows all the characters in their various locations. You now play five separate fleeing levels, you having ten minutes to complete them all. Each one is fairly short, but is challenging and full of traps. You have two stocks per character (except the two Links, who have one each), and if you get a game over anywhere in the levels, you start over. If the timer goes down, you lose as well. The characters' levels model their own skills; Kirby's and Pit's levels focus on jumping around aerial traps and whatnot. The Links' and Yoshi's levels focus more on combat. Mario's is average in both of these aspects. Win all five levels to clear the stage.
The characters watch from the shore as the Castle explodes. Shadow Mario watches in anger, from a high up tree, as the characters enter the cave. He then enters an 'M' portal, leaving elsewhere to wreak more havoc. From now on, Toon Link appears in the cutscenes that the other five normally appear in.
Bowser Jr. / Shadow Mario isn't seen again until DK's Trophy is being taken onto the Isle of the Ancients via the airship he painted earlier. He has stationed a fair amount of Sunshine enemies on the ship (the regular Koopas having left for Bowser's Castle) to guard it, including Electrical Koopas (who are freaky and high enough looking to not be considered normal Koopas), Strollin' Stus, and Bloopers (who look different as well). When Diddy boards the ship, the enemies corner him, Diddy looking intimidated. However, the stupid foes don't see Captains Falcon and Olimar hop down after him, turning back DK's trophy. The enemies turn around at the noise to get a Banana Slamma in the face. More enemies spawn from a Slime Generator in the middle of the stage, however, creating a crowd of foes to fight, while the four characters get in their poses. You now fight a multi-man battle against all of them, the generator acting like it did in Jr.'s D-Smash, but having 100 HP here, and spawning infinite enemies at a rapid rate. The battle doesn't end until you take out the generator and all the foes that are out at that time.
Shadow Mario watches from the Isle of the Ancients, as his generator bursts and the characters pose with victory. He shakes his fists and hops down in a Shadow Ball. The characters look up to see him create a huge puddle of goop around him in his fury, then strike a battle pose, for the characters to copy. Here, 3/4 of the airship is covered in goop, like in Shadow Mario's Final Smash, and whenever he's over the goop, it works like it does there as well. He tends to stay around the goop quite often, so it's like facing him with his Final Smash always out. Fortunately, you have access to all four characters, so this shouldn't be super difficult.
The defeated Shadow Mario backs up, holding his head, then accidentally backs up off the ship, wobbling a bit before falling into the sea below. DK and Diddy high-five, but sober up as the ship enters the Isle. Shadow Mario shakes his fist at the Smashers as he floats in the sea, then summons some Cheep Cheeps (fish) as water skiis to ride away.
Bowser Jr. is seen in a room full of computers with Bowser next, in the cutscene after the characters flee the Subspace Bomb Factory. Jr. hangs his head slightly at his unsuccessful attempts at defeating Mario, but Bowser just pats him on the head. The Koopa Throne is in good hands! Suddenly, the glow of a portal shines on the father and son pair, who turn to see Ganondorf step out. He grins wickedly and motions in, a picture of the Subspace Gunship seen inside. Ganondorf motions into the portal; it's time to go. The computer room was the same one Ganondorf used earlier. The Koopas enter the portal; Bowser rapidly, but Jr. slightly hesitantly. The portal closes, as Ganondorf steps back in after the Koopas, laughing evilly. His reign has begun!
Jr. is seen with his father and Ganondorf atop the Ganon Cannon in the following cutscene. In the scene where Ganondorf betrays Bowser, Jr. is present as well. Ganondorf doesn't see Jr. as a threat, so he shoots Bowser as normal first. Jr. turns just in time to see this, crying out in shock, for Ganondorf to turn to him with the cannon next. Jr., however, has had enough, and throws his Paintbrush into the nozzle of the cannon, causing it to explode in Ganondorf's face. Pissed and slightly blackened, Ganondorf gets into a fighting pose, while Jr. pulls another spare Paintbrush out of his shell. You now fight the King of Evil as Bowser Jr. Ganondorf has insane AI here, however, always trying to Thunderstomp you to your doom, and trying to Flame Choke suicide you when he's at high damage. Defeat him to trigger another cutscene.
Ganondorf is turned into a trophy at his defeat, while Jr. rushes over to revive his father. Bowser roars at Ganondorf's trophy, then knocks it into the Subspace oblivion below. Bowser motions for Jr. to wait there, for him to nod, then stomps up to meet Master Hand. The same cutscene follows as normal, but Bowser is the one to try to attack Tabuu and pay the price, Jr. screaming in horror as Bowser falls back down. Jr. tries to revive his father again, but Tabuu has already used his Off Waves, and Jr. as well as everyone else is turned into a trophy.
This time, Ganondorf is the one revived by Dedede. He is fought like Bowser usually is, and when he's revived, he is about to fight again, but Dedede quickly grabs him and does his D-Throw three times, forcing Ganondorf to admit defeat and come with him into the Great Maze. Instead of Link and Zelda reviving Ganondorf, Mario and Peach find Bowser and Jr.'s trophies and revive them in a similar manner, resurrecting their foes for a common goal. The Koopas refuse at first, but then Mario points to Master Hand's dead body, which is nearby here, instead of during Dedede vs. Ganondorf. Bowser looks at it sadly, Jr. copying him, then gets pissed and charges up the stairs ahead of Mario and Peach, Jr. shrugging, then following. Mario and Peach smile at each other, then follow behind. No trophy getting beat up scene is included, like it is for Ganondorf.
In the Great Maze, Jr.'s Block Castle is a new area, with a fairly large trap area. You fight Dark Bowser Jr. and Dark Shadow Mario separately, as well as Dark Toon Link, and Dark Bowser Jr. in the Koopa Clown Car and Army Hammer Bro. as a mini-boss.
He proceeds to jump off his thrown and do three rapid Ground Pounds on Kamek to flatten him, then kicks his flattened body offstage, before chuckling to himself and making a 'peace' sign.
@Bowser Jr.: Dunno where everyone else is, so I guess I'll comment on this too! Bowser Jr./Shadow Mario is great; there are some cool moves in there and plenty of references to various Mario games. I really liked all the throwbacks to Sunshine, since I really liked that game. And there's a lot of them (are there any enemies that you didn't use?)! Jr.'s got plenty of personality in his moves and he seems like he'd be fun to play, so great job with that. The only thing that really stood out as weird for me were the rather complex situational attacks, but I guess that might just be someone else's cup of tea.
Overall, it's a fun set to read (though I might be a little biased), and you did a great job using all of Bowser Jr.'s potential!
Dude, that's massive. Like, mind-bogglingly, Espeon/DFM/Cortex & Tiny massive. Maybe that accounts for you once again getting next to no comments.
I've only read Bowser Jr, because he seems more interesting and also because reading both at once is a bit much for any human being. I notice two major negative things. Firstly, your writing style makes things seem a bit longer than they should be. Don't get me wrong, it's quite readable and engaging, but it meanders. Sentences like this crop up fairly often:
"The effect on foes hit by the sound wave is that they are shrunken"
This can be easily condensed to a nice and simple:
"Foes hit by the sound waves are shrunken"
And a similar note, you should make more use of semi-colons, they're terrific. Not to sound like an english teacher or anything, but when you want to connect two similar thoughts without starting a new sentence...
"They travel at the speed of Mario's walk, being a fairly fast projectile, but not an easily spammable one."
Becomes "They travel at the speed of Mario's walk; this is a fairly fast projectile, but not an easily spammable one." It looks and feels much neater, and you don't have so many of those damn "ing"s in there.
Secondly, I thought you said you were gonna ditch the ">~~headers~~<" format? May I suggest something like "ð--headers--ð"? Or at least, something a bit neater-looking. Maybe "••~headers~••
", to represent the goo balls?
Now that I'm done nitpicking about things no one cares about, let me say that I love the creativity as per usual. The less prop attacks you put in a moveset, it seems, the more creative you get. I particularly love that huge Forward Smash, it's brilliant, and the grab mechanic with Kidnapping and all is similarly cool. Well done on all counts, although there's still room for a bit more playstyle.
I'll read Shadow Mario tomorrow or so, but you HAVE impressed me with what you have so far. Maybe even your best work yet.
I'm too lazy to quote, so I'll just respond in parts.
Yes, I just had to have that Baby Bowser reference in there somewhere, StB.
I usually finish and post my sets on weekends; maybe that's it, or as K.Rool said, they are scared of the size. I agree with you how underrated Sunshine is, and with all Jr.'s references to it, I probably exposed a lot of it that some people know, and I'm proud of that. It's his main game, I guess, so I had to put in a lot of references . The situationals are fine in my opinion, as the only one that doesn't really flow is the Cookie defense, and that is in Jr.'s personality, so it's still fitting. Thanks for reading!
If I posted the two separately, I might not scare as many people, but Shadow Mario would be more awkward on his own, so yeah. I have some detailed moves that need those explanations, but I completely understand what you are trying to say, K.Rool. I used semi-colons in there, but I'll follow your advice and add more; I'll also shorten the descriptions that need it in the future. My secret set is only done up to Neutral Special (which I do first now), so I'll have plenty of time for working on that in MYM6.
Relating to that set, this was my last set with that heading planned, so fear not, it is over. Now it's just ***heading***, although this particular next set has an icon on either side...
Also relating to that set, it has next to no props, which you will definitely like. This guy doesn't frickin' need them!
Forward Smash was partly inspired from DFM's Bowser Remakes F-Tilt, but with different set-up and uses, and ways to fire, and with a Sunshine-style cannon. I have to have unique grabs now, so I added that here, along with Kidnapping from NSMB. Playstyle was easier to make than Sebastian, but still felt a little less than perfect, due to Jr. being the infamous trick-using character. My next set has a mechanic, as well as a more unique style, so hopefully, it'll be a new high to top this one.
Anyways, thanks for actually reading all of my recent sets when they're posted. I appreciate the comments, as they always help me improve in the future.
This set is brilliant. From what I've read so far, it looks amazingly detailed and creative. Seriously, Kupa, most of your sets are beating out Warlord in terms of length.
I'll read this monster tomorrow. But my first impression (as in, mostly the specials) is that you put an amazing amount of effort into this set and it really paid off. Well done!
Bowser Jr. is beyond words in terms of detail and none of it is unnecessary. Quite impressive, Kupa. I'll be sure to read it next week.
Raiden tomorrow, guys. No, seriously. The actual moveset is nearing completion. It has taken a long time to complete this moveset and it's been very on-and-off for months, but this is by far my best moveset to date. I'm very happy with it.
Hey, a new BKupa set, which looks great at a skim, and emergency is alive!
It's late, and I'm still not back fully yet, and probably won't be until the end of this contest, so I don't have time to read any sets in detail yet, but I will do before I send in my votes, and if I have the time, I'll give a little feedback on all sets from Krow.
Hellloooo? I'm baaaaaaaaaaaaaaack (not that anyone cares)... I guess I just felt nostalgia or something like it.
I read, so far, half of Bowser Jr. Incredible. And I only read half. When I finish reading I'll try to think of some adjective that can describe the set.
It's official: Bowser Jr. is longer than Cortex & Tiny. Which might make it the longest moveset in MYM history.
Incidentally, it's also one of the greatest movesets I've seen. Just when I was thinking how I hadn't seen anyone do two movesets in one akin to Zelda/Sheik, suddenly I am amazed.
The Computer Virus Boss from Kirby Super Star Ultra has hacked its way into Brawl! Featuring a wide array of different playstyles and a total of five movesets, he is a highly diverse character. From a Slime who only has six attacks to a fierce Great Dragon. Being a very tricky character to use (you're nearly useless for your first 40%), but a very worthwhile character to master, Computer Virus is the ultimate counter character - his forced diversity would give him nearly all neutral match-ups.
Computer Virus has a very unique switching mechanic. You cannot choose when to switch, as you will no matter what switch to the next moveset once you reach a certain percentage. Once you reach the percent, you must make it onto the stage (as in standing on a platform or main stage - not holding onto the ledge or in the air) and be able to control your character. If these conditions are met, you will switch to the next moveset. Once you land on the stage and are at the certain percent, the current character will disappear and a dialouge box, like the one seen in Kirby Super Star Ultra, will appear just above the center of the stage, with the next character coming out, with invincibility frames.
The percentages are:
Slime - 0%-20%
Puppet - 21%-40%
Magician - 41%-70%
Evil Knight - 71%-100%
Dragon - 100%+
These character swaps can only be avoided through hacking.
The beginning stage of Computer Virus. A generally useless blob of slime that's only redemption is that it disappears after 20% damage. You'll have to be a skilled player to even have you and your opponent remain around the same percentage with this thing. Try to land the neutral air for massive damage!
Yes, this guy is a purposefully bad character. But he was also an incredibly easy boss in his game, so it is forgivable. Make do with what you were given -- the very, very few tools that you were given. Do your best to make the best of Slime's weaknesses.
Stats
Power - 20/100: A blob of green stuff is not only unlikely to be weak, but expected to be. Walk - 40/100: Slime oozes along the ground, just a tad bit below the average walk. Run - 60/100: Opposite to it's mediocre walk, Slime's run is slightly above average. Size- 20/100: Slime is small. And I mean small. His size is a bit smaller than Pikachu. Weight - 30/100: Easy to knock around. Luckily, you shouldn't be dying from any attack at 20%, so all this does is prevent Slime from being comboed easily. Range - 40/100: Most attacks have average range. Not much to say here. Jump 1 - 55/100: Not much to say here other than this being around the average. Jump 2 - 60/100: Once again, average jump. Traction - 100/100: Being a gelatinous mass of... something... stickiness is expected. Slime can turn immediately, and does not have to worry about traction. Attack Speed - 50/100: Average. Priority - 50/100: Average.
Animations
Standing: Slime stays still, with the occasional bubble coming up out of his head.
Walking: Slime leans forward a very slight bit and forces his body along. It causes a very small slime trail on the ground, which is purely aesthetic.
Running: Slime leans forward a lot and slides along the ground. A longer slime trail is left than when Slime walks.
First Jump: Slime squishes his body downwards and then pops back up.
Second Jump The same as the first, though Slime pulls a 360 degree spin in the air during the jump.
Shield: Slime protects itself! He squishes down in the middle a bit, causing his left and right sections to be pushed up a bit. Slime's body also flashes white, instead of obtaining the normal shield that most characters get. The longer you hold the shield, the faster it blinks white and the more red-tinted it becomes.
Moveset
Neutral Combo - 3% per bubble - Slime shoots out a constant stream of slime bubbles in front of it. They start out traveling fast, but they get slower. As they get slower, they increase in size. Starting at about the size of a motion-sensor bomb, they can get to about the size of Lucario's fully charged aura sphere at 20%. The move travels about 1/4 of FDs length.
Little start-up lag, below average cool down lag. Low priority.
Up Tilt – 6% - Slime splits in half. The upper portion jumps upwards to slam into the opponent. It will remain there for a little while, shaking around in the air, and then come back down soon after. Little lag on both ends. Low priority.
Forward Smash - 12% uncharged, 16% fully charged - The top of Slime’s body jumps forward, away from the bottom half. It travels about as far as Wolf’s Forward Smash does, landing on the ground in front of him. Repeatedly using this move will cause the two halves of Slime to leapfrog over each other, every time moving the same distance and dealing the same amount of damage. There is very little lag between the jumps if you continue like this. As soon as you finish, there is a fair amount of lag as Slime pulls his back half into his front half. If you keep going such that your back half leapfrogs over a ledge, the half still on the ledge will stretch out and grab the half going over, pulling it back and causing even more lag than a manual cancel would.
High priority, kills at 120%.
Neutral Air - 5 hits, 3% each - Slime curls his top half over and connects with his bottom half, forming a circle. Slime forms small barbs on the edges of this circle, making it a saw-blade. Though the range is poor, it is hard to DI out of and does a fair bit of damage -- if you land every hit, about 15%! That's pretty good, especially considering the character that we're talking about here.
Spam this attack as it has slightly above average priority and it's nearly lagless on both ends. Highly reminiscent of MK's Neutral Air. Kills at 140%.
Up Special - 9% - Slime pauses where he is, and begins to stretch himself out. If he’s in the air, he’ll fall very slowly while using this move. As he stretches, you can tilt the control stick to twist and turn him, affecting his path like you would a PK Thunder. He can reach a maximum distance comparable to the distance Marth’s Up Special travels, which takes him a total of about a second. If, at any time during this stretching, he connects with something solid (whether it be a part of the stage, another player, a crate, etc.), he will pull the rest of himself there. He pulls himself slowly if he’s fully stretched out, and gains speed as he comes closer to his natural shape. If he’s in the air after using this move, he enters a helpless state. Latching onto an opponent with this will make them move slightly slower than normal until Slime reaches them, at which point he will automatically footstool jump off of them, restoring his recovery and keeping him from entering a helpless state.
Average starting and ending lag. Transcended priority.
Down Special - 15% uncharged, 22% fully charged - Slime's down special causes him to explode. The more you charge it, the larger the explosion. When you use this attack, flying green blobs will be flying everywhere. The bubbles are fairly small, about ¾ the size of Mario’s fireballs. You can charge the move, and the charging animation is Slime slowly crouching down and shaking. The move will auto-release once fully charged. Slime has to reform after using the attack. However, Slime will be stuck on the ground with only his eyes and a small amount of green ooze surrounding it (in the air, he is in a similar state of being a small green blob with eyes, just he's not stuck to the ground), which his opponent can attack! If Slime is hit, he will automatically reform, but will still recieve the damage and knockback. The move can either have good knockback, or minimal knockback depending on where the opponent is. If they opponent is right next to slime (the distance it takes for Luigi to sweetspot his FJP) then the opponent will receive good knockback, and all the damage. If not, the opponent will be barraged by the slime that comes flying, taking a lot of damage. Uncharged, the blobs will fly 1/3rd of FD’s length, but fully charged they travel 3/4th. A large amount of lag after using it.
High start-up and incredibly high ending lag. Kills at 120% uncharged and 100% fully charged. Blast directly next to Slime has high priority. The blobs that come flying off have low priority.
Taunts
Up Taunt: Swollen Slime
Slime swells up to look much, much taller (about the height of Ganondorf). A red cloud appears over his head as he trembles slightly…clearly he’s trying to look intimidating…but is he succeeding…?
Side Taunt: Slime Man
Slime breaks into three chunks and then proceeds to stack himself into a snowman. He then rocks slightly and tumbles over, reforming himself into one solid mass.
Down Taunt: Stat Checker
A health bar appears behind Slime who turns to check it, the reaction he displays depends on how much HP he has left before changing into the next form of Computer Virus.
100% Health: Upon checking, Slime turns to the camera and bounces joyfully! It’s good to be alive!
50% Health: Slime’s slightly discouraged, he sinks down into a puddle of goo before reforming himself.
25% or less: Slime shivers as it appears to cry, poor Slime…
The second stage of Computer Virus, this is probably what would be seen as the least memorable of the five. Coming in after the pathetically weak Slime, and just before the three main-movesets, Puppet won't make that much of an impression to your average player. However, he can be useful, and his killing potential (which actually isn't terribly atrocious) can be put to good use.
He also has a few moves decent for damage racking. Overall, Puppet is still bad. Does it matter? No. He's supposed to be.
Stats
Power - 50/100: Though not quite as pathetic as Slime, Puppet isn't a stand-out in this category either. Walk - 50/100: Average. Nothing special, whether that would be for better or for worse. Run - 65/100: Surprisingly good! Still nothing to take note of, though. Size- 50/100: Puppet comes in at Mario's size. Weight - 45/100: Not the heaviest character around, Puppet's weight is slightly below the average. Range - 40/100: Most attacks have average range. Not much to say here. Jump 1 - 60/100: Not much to say here other than this being around the average. Jump 2 - 60/100: Once again, average jump. Traction - 40/100: Being a Puppet, things could get a little bit hard to control during the heat of battle. He has a noticeable slide when turning around. Attack Speed - 50/100: Average. Priority - 50/100: Average.
Animations
Standing: Puppet moves his arms about occasionally, never really doing much.
Walking: Puppet awkwardly moves his legs back and forth. An occasional arm movement may happen as well.
Running: Puppet's movement becomes frantic, as his legs move quicker, and his arms seem to be pumping.
First Jump: Puppet bends his legs so far he almost sits on the ground and then jumps back up.
Second Jump: Puppet flips in mid-air, giving him an extra boost.
Shield: Puppet ducks his head and brings his arms up over it, forming an X. His kneeds are slightly bent.
Moveset
Neutral Combo – 1% per hit – Puppet is having his strings pulled indiscriminately! His whole body starts to convulse in place, hitting much like Meta-Knight’s neutral combo, though it stops the moment you let go of A. There’s no way to describe how Puppet looks during this attack – his limbs are flying everywhere! Just imagine him having a seizure – that’s a good description of this move.
Up Smash – 16% uncharged, 24% fully charged (strong hitbox), 5% uncharged, 8% fully charged (weak hitbox – Puppet disconnects his right arm and swings it up in an arc, holding the string. It starts off going at a slight angle to the right, going out as far as one Bowser's width away from Puppet. It soon curves from there to reach its’ highest peak point right above Puppet which is equivalent to the height of two Ganondorf's stacked on top of each other. When coming back down behind Puppet, it will reach the width of one Bowser's length behind him. This attack goes incredibly fast, despite the range, taking only about half a second to complete. While this may seem broken initially, you will soon note that the strings cause minimal knockback and low damage. This means that nearly the entire hitbox for the attack is weak, and if you hit with the weak hitbox, it pretty much guarantees that the opponent gets a free hit on you.
However, hitting with the actual string box causes high damage and knockback. In fact, in kills at 115% uncharged with the strong hitbox! High priority, low start-up lag but really high ending lag.
Forward Smash – 16% uncharged, 23% fully charged – Puppet moves his hands behind his back and grabs all the strings connected to his body. He then swings them towards the ground, bending his body over. This causes the String Box to come flying towards the ground. This causes great knockback -- Killing at 120%, though it has above average start-up lag and high ending lag. Hits starting the width of Mario away and stretches out to end up having a hitbox the width of Bowser. Unlike the Up Smash, however, this attack has one hitbox that encompasses both the strings and the string box. High priority.
Down Smash – 10% uncharged, 14% charged – Puppet reaches behind himself and grabs a handful of his own strings. While charging, Puppet begins to shake and glance around a bit. Once the move is released, Puppet throws his strings to both sides of him at leg level. If a foe is hit with the strings, they instantly wrap around their legs, stopping their movement in place. Puppet then cackles and pulls the strings towards him, yanking the opponent to the ground, making them enter their "tripped" animation instantly. This however doesn’t come without its drawbacks, if the attack misses, Puppet will pull both strings towards him and end up tangled up in his own strings! Wriggling the control stick will break you free of the strings faster, but it usually takes about half a second to a full second to break free. This attack his no knockback but rather trips opponents, leaving them vulnerable to a smash attack (10% uncharged, 14% charged).
Down Tilt – 6% – Puppet reaches across his chest with his right arm, and pulls his left arm out of it's socket. He then proceeds to slam his right hand on the ground, with the left hand giving it extra range (about the width of two Ivysaur's standing right next to each other). However, the attack deals little damage and gives very little knockback - it wouldn't even kill at 300%! On the plus side, it has next to no lag on either end and average priority (which is surprisingly good for a move so weak).
Neutral Aerial – 10% – Puppet reaches up with his right hand and grabs at the strings right below his string box. He then lifts up his left hand and helps carry the string box down right in front of his chest. He then spins around once in the air, going at the speed of Mario's back air. It should be noted that the string box is kept directly in front of Puppet, so the attack will only hit a Mario's width in front and behind him. This is quick, though the damage is a bit lacking at it only has mediocre knockback (killing at around 150%). Decent spacer, and definitely spamable. Low start-up and ending lag. Average priority.
Up Special – 1% per regular hit (5 hits total), 4% final hit – Puppet reaches up with his right hand and vigorously swings his string box. He’s really going hard! It takes him about five repititions until he’s spent, and it get’s better vertical height than horizontal -- actually, it’s the opposite of DK’s swinging attack! If an opponent hits it, they get stuck on it, and are forced to hold on with their hands. With a shout from Puppet, the attack will end, and the opponent will be send flying the direction that Puppet is facing.
Puppet can either shoot towards or away the stage, as this spikes the opponent pretty hard if they hit the stage. On-stage, Puppet once again vigorously pumps the string box rapidly, and any opponent that gets hit by it grabs it with their hands. Average start-up and ending lag. The strings and string box have transcended priority, but if you hit Puppet himself, then that’s a free hit for you.
Down Special – Puppet collapses, lying in a random pile of pieces on the ground. He will stay like this for two seconds undisturbed, but if he is hit by a projectile he takes the damage and knockback from it. However, if the opponent uses a close ranged attack and it hits Puppet, Puppet will suddenly jump up and encapsulate the opponent! Soon after, Puppet will release the opponent, but the opponent now has… a string box? The opponent’s controls are now completely messed up – it’s entirely a guess what button does what! The jump buttons could now be A and B, the c-stick could now be set to throws, and the shield buttons could make you do specials! This isn’t to mention the control stick which is now entirely mixed up as well.
Of course, this can’t last forever. The opponent will remain in this state for one and half seconds. It is up to you to capitalize on this. The move starts with Puppet reaching down and taking off his leg… and then his whole body collapses. It has average starting lag because of this, but at the ending, Puppet will just jump back up and form back to normal relatively quickly!
This attack also does no damage, but if you do your job right, getting damage because of this shouldn’t be a worry.
Taunts
Up Taunt: Puppet Jig
Puppet does a merry little jig. How pleasant, no?
Side Taunt: Mini-Puppet
Puppet…pulls out a puppet? What madness is this? How could a puppet be a puppet master? Eh, regardless, Puppet pulls the strings on the smaller puppet for a while before putting it away…very odd…
Down Taunt: Stat Checker
A health bar appears behind Puppet who turns to check it, the reaction he displays depends on how much HP he has left before changing into the next form of Computer Virus.
100% Health: Puppet checks only to reveal he’s in tip-top shape! Joy! He’s so happy, he does a little dance!
50% Health: Starting to get worried a bit, Puppet sweats slightly and wipes his brow with his arm. Wait a second…he’s made of wood! Wait another second…he’s a computer file! Bah!
25% or less: Puppet’s afraid now, he realizes he’s only a few moments away from being scrapped for lumber! He’s legs give out…literally falling off his body as he quickly reattaches them.
Essentially, what you need to know about this guy is that he's a distance fighter. By now you're gone through Slime, Puppet, and 40% -- chances are only Puppet was kind to you. So, now it's time for you to turn the table's on your opponent in the hope that you can land some damage on them. Of course, it should be noted that Magician has nearly-zero kill power. It should noted that during this phase of the Computer Virus, you are not aiming to kill, you are aiming to damage. Not to say that you can't kill -- it's just very hard to.
He also is rather light, so this means that before he is transformed into the next transformation, he is still in danger of being killed because of knockback. Though you will be exempted from this... you don't want to get in close either. You want to be sure to try and keep your range when you use Magician.
However, the little guy does come with a few restrictions. We obviously can't have a character that has so many ranged attacks that he would quite literally become an impenetrable fortress. To prevent this from happening with Magician, he is only allowed to have four energy based attacks out at once. This means that every attack where he summons some form of energy (usually a blue ball) goes up to a counter, and once you have four out, Magician simply cannot summon anymore. He literally just will not go through the animation for whatever attack you tried to use. All attacks except for the up special, side special, neutral combo, dash attack, up smash, and back air count towards this counter.
To sum it up, you should be focusing on damaging with Magician -- not killing.
Stats
Power - 20/100: Magician's spells may have range, but they definitely don't hurt to much. Walk - 80/100: Pretty quick walk! One of the better ones in the game. Run - 70/100: He's a speedy little fellow. A bit faster than his chubby appearance lets on to. Height - 40/100: He comes in at around Mario's height. Weight - 40/100: While he may have a girth, he's still not the tallest guy around. Range - 90/100: Long reaching spells can spell trouble for your opponent Jump 1 - 60/100: And... he jumps? Not much to say here other than this being around the average. Jump 2 - 60/100: Once again, average jump. Traction - 40/100: While he may not slide halfway across the stage like Luigi, he can't exactly turn on the dime either. Attack Speed - 65/100: For the most part quick, low-lag magic attacks. Priority - 40/100: Not bad for somebody with a moveset consisting of nearly entirely projectiles.
Animations
Standing: Magician stands there, raising his left hand up to the side of his head, gripping his staff. His right hand is also brought up to the side of his head, but has nothing to hold. He stands there, eyes wide and his mouth open. He occasionally reaches with his right hand to scratch his neck. He is holding the cane about three quarters of the way to the top.
Walking: Magician lightly bounds on the tips of his toes, using both hands to hold his robe up. Be careful, though -- he might drop his staff by accident!
Running: Magician grips his robe in his right hand and pounds his little feet as hard as he can. His left hand is swung up behind his body, being jerked up and down by his running motion. I'm surprised he hasn't hit himself with the staff yet!
First Jump: Did... did he just stumble a bit? Magician almost falls over, but then springs himself into the air using his right hand and his feet. Despite what this may sound like, it's still just as fast as any other jump. In the air, he has his arms brought up above his hand, his crane tilted slightly upwards. His eyes are still wide and his mouth is still open.
Second Jump Magician does a flip and then returns to the aerial animation for his first jump.
Shield: Magician casts a guard spell! He brings his left arm in front of him and tilts his staff forwards. His right arm is brought behind him. His whole body starts to flash white. The longer you hold the shield, the faster Magician will flash and the more red-tinted the white flashes will become. It acts the same as the regular shield, but it just has a different animation.
Specials
Star Shot - Neutral Special - 6% - Magician extends his left arm completely, holding his staff out in front of him. From here, you can press up and down to angle the staff, which can be angled nearly completely upward and downward, or press the opposite direction to turn Magician around.
Once you release B Magician shoots out a star in the direction you aimed it, going at a fast speed (Falco's Blaster). It will bounce off of any wall, stage, platform (though these must be hit on top, as the stars will go through the platform through the bottom), or opponent they hit. They cause low knockback, but if you angle it right, you could potentially lock your opponent by continually bouncing a star onto them using a wall.
The star stays out for three seconds, which is pretty good, and has decent priority. KOs at 200%.
Cloning- Up Special - 5% Magician, 3% Clone - This attack works much like Pikachu's Quick Attack. Magician will bend his hands and feet into his body, making a cannonball-esque pose (or at least the closest to the pose that his short body can handle!), and teleport the distance that Pikachu will transport with his Quick Attack in the direction you hold. You can also teleport a second time, much like Pikachu. After you teleport to one place, Magician will quickly swing his limbs back out, hitting the opponent for 5% damage. If you choose to teleport a second time, Magician will quickly go back into the cannonball pose.
Of course, it would be pretty lame for a character so unlike Pikachu to have a move that's so much like Pikachu! This is why whenever Magician teleports to one place, he leaves behind a clone in the exact location that he teleported from. So, he has a chance to leave up to two clones per teleport. These clones will remain in the place that they were originally spawned.
From here, you can do one of two things. You can either press down-B to cause the clones to come flying towards Magician, hitting anybody in their way for 5%. They will disappear once they touch Magician.
The other, which is important to Magician's spacing game, is that he can press up-B again to warp to the place of one of the clones! To chose one of the clones, you press 'A' immediately after up-B to go to the first clone. You press 'B' immediately after up-B to go to the second clone. However, you must be on the stage or a platform (as in standing on) to be able to warp. You do not go into helpless for using this, but make sure to abuse this technique, as this can not only get you out of tough situations, but it can also help you get away from your opponent to spam your most powerful long-distance spells to help with damaging.
Though, the clones will only be generated if you use the move while standing on a platform. If you're using this for recovery purposes, no clones will be made. However, if you have clones generated and in waiting, you can still command them to come to you or teleport onto them, even if you are in the air. Don't count on it though, because the clones disappear if they're not used for 5 seconds.
Essentially, you want to leave clones near key points on the stage so that you can have immediate access to these areas.
The actual recovery aspect of this move has similar lag and speed to Pikachu's quick attack. The teleportation has slightly above average lag. Summoning the clones has next to no lag. Getting hit by Magician or the clones only sends you into a knockback state -- this cannot actually kill.
Levitation - Side Special - 5% - Magician tilts the staff forward, holding is about 3/4 the way down. This gives the move sub-par range, but still nothing terrible. If the opponent is hit by the attack, Magician closes his eyes and will keep his staff in the same place. He is... holding the opponent there? Standing still?
During this time, you can move your opponent around at your own will! Simply move the control stick in the direction that you wish for your opponent to go. This attack lasts either five seconds or your opponent can escape early by mashing buttons -- though it becomes harder to escape as you rack up the percentage points! At 10% you could probably get out in half a second, but once you get to 100%, you should be averaging about two seconds.
This move has obvious uses. Such as, the opponent has super armor while under the effects of this attack. Magician could just move the opponent away from him and let his doubles partner spam and damage the opponent to his hearts content! When the opponent escapes from this move, it is much like a grab release -- though despite being sent across the ground or upwards, the opponent is sent in a similar arc as the aerial grab release, except that he goes downwards!
Obviously, this attack has good gimp potential. However, though it has low starting lag, it has above-average ending lag. If you miss this move, you could be in trouble!
Perimeter - Down Special - Magician's face turns serious and he tilts his head slightly upwards. Gripping the staff in the middle with both hands, he holds it up, so that it is above his head. Suddenly, he slams the bottom of the staff onto the ground, causing a shockwave across the area surrounding magician. This area now has a slight purple haze surrounding it.
When Magician is either inside of above this area, his attacks do 20% more knockback, but do 50% less damage. This attack is the trade-off to save Magician from having absolutely terrible kill power at all times. However, it should not be forgotten that you will probably never have to kill with Magician, as you will probably have been moved to Evil Knight due to your percentage by the time your opponent is in kill range.
This move is chargeable, but it is an auto-release. It has absolutely terrible lag (takes about 2 seconds to release), and even at full charge, only covers about 1/4 of Final Destination. It's a major trade-off for such a small area, but if will only fortify Magician's defensive options.
Standards
Staff Lock - Neutral Combo - 3% initial, 1% per fire hit, 12% thunder ball hit, 3% ice shard, 5% ground - Magician swings the staff forward onto his opponent and brings his right arm backwards. Pretty basic, right? Wrong. After doing a measly 3% damage after this initial hit, Magician now has the opponent latched onto the staff via magic. While it functions like a grab, you have no pummel and this attack is extremely easy to break out of. Chances are, you won't be able to do any actual throwing with this move until your opponent is at at least 30%.
So, what exactly can you do once your opponent is latched on, exactly? Well you can throw your opponent in any of the four directions. Each throw has there own effects on the character, and allows you to follow up in different ways. They are as follows:
Upwards
- Magician flicks the opponent upwards, about one Ganondorf height's above Magician. And... what is this? Magician points his staff forward and starts shooting out fire? If you can predict your opponent correctly, you can land about ten hits with the fire before the attack stops after one and a half seconds or when the opponent escapes from the firey blitz. This will equate to 13% total damage from a standard combo. You control the fire by holding left or right on the control stick. The most it can turn to either direction is about forty five degrees from the starting point, which is perpendicular to the stage below it. During this, Magician merely holds the staff up as far as he can -- which isn't very much due to his short arm length. Poor guy.
Forwards
- Magician throws the opponent about two Battlefield platforms forward and chases him with a ball of electricity, about the size of a soccer ball. It is slow moving, though highly easy to maneuver. The ball will last two seconds -- during which time Magician has super armor (meaning he cannot take knockback, but will still take damage). Magician has his left arm fully outstretch, also having the staff extended out to it's farthest reach. His right hand is swung up behind him.
If Magician does land this attack, he has landed one of his few good kill moves. This move has surprisingly high knockback, killing at around 100% if it lands. Don't count on it, though.
Backwards
- A quick swing behind Magician and the opponent is sent about two Battlefield platforms away. Magician immediately sends a small, fast-moving Ice Shard after the opponent. It homes in on the target, and can turn surprisingly well. If the Ice Shard does hit your opponent, they are sent into the frozen state for about half a second until automatically breaking free.
Downwards
- Magician tilts his staff downwards and the opponent is send colliding into the ground. The ground moves up and around the opponent and gives one good squeeze -- then the opponent is sent flying upwards, with a slight sideways influence.
Essentially, this move may not have the possiblity to damage like the fire, or get in a good kill like the ice or thunder, but it is easy damage -- some that your opponent can't DI out of! Has low knockback, only killing at absurd percentages like 200%, so don't count on this as a killer.
The attack is pretty low priority, so you can easily hit through it if you manage to predict it. The range is low (Magician is holding his staff at the same height as in his standing animation -- 3/4 of the way up the staff), so this isn't easy to hit with... but if you manage to land it, you get rewarded very well.
Teleport - Dash Attack - 3% damage - Magician disappears and then reappears about three Battlefield platforms in front of him, but facing the opposite direction that he initially was facing. He then swings down with his staff, and if it connects it hits for 3% damage. While he's swinging the staff, his right arm is brought up, and his left arm is extended, but it has pretty poor range. The priority is very low.
Thought, this move is incredibly fast. It only has a very slight touch of ending lag. Magician teleports the moment you press A and nearly instantaneously appears at his intended destination. So, this is a very useful moving tool, but if your opponent predicts it they could land a free attack on you.
Really, the only downside to this move is that it only does 3%.
Tilts
Dove - Upward Tilt - 7% - Magician pulls off his hat with his left hand and a dove immediately flies out! Quickly putting his hat back on after the dove gets out of the hat, a dove is released into the sky! The Dove will travel about half of Final Destination's length upwards before disappearing.
This attack has extremely little knockback, not even killing at 999%. More than anything, this move is an approach killer. All this move is is damage. Don't worry about the killing, as Magician has other moves for that. Just focus on using this move for a free 7%.
Slightly below average start-up lag, low ending lag.
Ice Shard - Forward Tilt - 5% - Magician shoots out a small ice shard. He takes a small step forward with his left foot and then swings his staff in a full swipe in front of him. This move is very interesting in the sense that it can cause two very different effects.
The first effect is caused by the staff. Magician grips the staff at the length he does in his standing animation... which is not very high up at all. This gives the staff hit incredibly poor range. Of course, hitting this is rewarded with an insta-freeze of the opponent, causing them to enter the frozen state. This is fairly easy to get out of, lasting two seconds if you don't mash buttons, but only about one if you do, but it's pretty easy damage, especially considering the low lag of this attack. You can get a few extra percents in easy with this. The staff has average priority.
The seconds hitbox comes from the actual ice shard. This is fast and it homes in on the opponent very well. Of course, it has incredibly low priority. This move should be used as more of a distraction rather than a serious attack. Of course, if you do hit with this, it puts the opponent in a slow timer state for a full two seconds. Not to shabby, I'd say. The Ice Shard travels about as far as the length of half of Final Destination, counting movement in all directions.
Good speed, about the same as Falco's Blaster.
Energy Illusion - Downward Tilt - 6% - Magician raises his left hand and shoots out a ball of blue energy the size of Luigi's fireball and the same speed of Luigi's Fireball. So then, what is it? Certainly not a clone of Luigi's fireball!
You see, the energy ball doesn't automatically hit your opponent if you run into it. When you use this attack, the hitbox is behind Magician, relative to the same place where the visible energy ball in front of Magician is. Of course, having the move like this would be pretty useless, wouldn't it?
That's why if you press the A button a second time immediately after you initiate the attack, the energy ball will become the hitbox. It's essentially a guessing game for the opponent -- do they try to punish the lag or do they wait it out?
Ending lag is slightly lower than Luigi's fireball (which is surprisingly laggy). Start-up lag, priority, and knockback is exactly the same as Luigi's fireball.
Smashes
Homing Shots - Forward Smash - 10% regular, 14% charged - Magician leans forward slightly and then swipes his staff in front of him. When the staff is right in front of him, he shoots out three bullets -- all of them light blue. They go at a medium pace (about the speed of Wolf's Blaster), so that they are not impossible to dodge, but also aren't too easy to dodge. Essentially, these bullets very loosely home in on the target -- it's very easy to throw them off track, but they will slightly curve after you.
Essentially, it's a decent spacing tool as the bullets travel about half of Final Destination's length before disappearing. It can also be used for edge guarding, but a fast fall can throw the bullets off easily. If you do land one at higher percents, its a KO. Chances are that if one hits, the sudden change in direction will cause the others to miss entirely, so you don't have to worry about taking 30% damage from one move.
The bullets will kill at around 135%, and have high priority. It has average start-up lag and slightly above average ending lag.
Hat Trick - Upward Smash - 11% Box regular, 15% Box charged, 1% per card regular, 2% per card charged, 1% per Rabbit chew - As you can tell by the damage percentages, this move is multiple attacks rolled into one. Each move has a 33.33% chance of happening, and each causes very different effects.
Each attack starts out looking the same. Magician will flip his hat off with his left hand and then quickly spin his staff around it. This may sound like it takes a very long time, while in reality, it takes about the amount of time for Mario to do his forward smash.
Box and Saw
- A box, the size of the Metal Box quickly floats out of the hat and above Magician and sits there floating. It will remain in the air for 15 seconds. The moment any character besides Magician is hit into it, the character will disappear inside the box and a large saw will appear from the air.
It will quickly cut through the box about three times, taking about one second. The attack kills at around 150%, which isn't very good, but the idea of this move is just free percentages -- not a kill move.
Ideally, you are trying to hit the opponent into this move, via another attack. This will give your opponent a lot of damage and could potentially kill.
Cards
- Cards start flying out of the hat! Making a shuffling noise, the cards fly everywhere. The opponent can only get hit three times by the cards, causing a measly 3%, so what does this move do? Well, firstly, it causes tripping. This is like Diddy's bananas, except that you can't pick them up (Bad!) and Magician will not trip on them (Good!). The cards spread a decent distance around Magician -- two full body lengths of himself, side by side. Essentially, the idea is to put the cards down before your opponent gets to you so that they have trouble approaching.
Rabbit
- Magician brings his right hand into his hat and pulls out a rabbit. He casually tosses the rabbit behind him, and leaves the rabbit to bounce around. But... what exactly does this rabbit do? Well, he remains on the map for about 20 seconds, just hopping around. However, if you knock any opponent into the rabbit, or if your opponent runs into the rabbit, the rabbit will jump up and latch onto your opponents face. This causes an effect similar to the Metroid Assist Trophy, except that it damages at about one-fourth the rate of the Metroid and it is only slightly harder to get off. You should only expect to do about 15-20% damage IF you manage to land this thing which is pretty hard. The Rabbit disappears once it is disconnected from the opponents face, even if it hasn't been twenty seconds.
Gravity Bomb - Downward Smash - 3% damage uncharged 9% damage fully charged - Magician looks down at the ground and slowly raises both of his arms off (and in turn, his staff). He gets a serious look on his face, as if he's charging up a serious spell. Magician will then slap his staff onto the ground. As you can tell, this move has above average start-up lag.
After this, a large gravity ball appears -- its' size depends on how much you charge it. It is very slow moving, but it homes in on your opponent and follows them nearly perfectly. If it touches the opponent, it swallows them and keeps them trapped inside the ball for two seconds uncharged, four seconds fully charged. before disappearing.
So... how would your opponent ever get trapped by it? Obviously, you can hit your opponent into it. It also has a gravity element -- the higher the charge, the more the gravity. It sucks the opponent towards it, and the closer your opponent is to it, the more powerful the gravity.
Essentially, this move is to help damage your opponent by landing a free move. If your opponent is at a high enough percent, this will allow you to try and land a move that can kill. Transcended priority (ex: Cape, counter). Above average starting lag, above average ending lag. Stays out for three seconds.
Aerials
Quick Shot - Neutral Aerial - 4% - Magician tilts the staff forward and shoots a a small star out of it. It goes the speed of Samus' Power Missiles and goes the length of half of Final Destination. This attack is extremely straightforward -- all it is is just a simple shot moving forward. Though you can only have three out at a time, this attack is perfect for pressuring and spacing.
Extremely minimal knockback. Below average priority. Very little lag on both ends.
Line - Upward Aerial - 12% - Magician takes off his hat with his left hand and looks upward. A green/blue neon line comes out of it (constantly changes between the color green and blue). It continues to go straight up at an average pace (Wolf's Blaster) until you press A again. Magician continues to fall while this is being used.
Once Magician presses A, he will teleport to where the line is. Unfortunately, this takes a while, and has an average amount of lag added too it. Once Magician teleports, there's an explosion the size that Zelda's up air makes, and then Magician goes into helpless.
Unfortunately, the line has 20% HP. This pretty much means that most characters can destroy it in about two hits. It's decent as means for an alternate recovery, but this works much better for suicide kills -- if the opponent tries to come down and destory it, teleport to the top and use the explosion to stage spike the opponent. If they get afraid, use it next to the ledge and live!
Average knockback. No priority (not low priority, no priority. As in, priority literally does not matter with this move).
Spinning Sphere - Forward Aerial - 1% per hit, five hits total - Magician stretches his arm as far as he can across his chest and holds the staff across his chest. With a serious expression, he holds the staff there for a while. Suddenly, he swings the staff forward shooting out a sphere that looks much like this.
It starts out about the size of a fully charged Aura Sphere at 0%. It moves at an average pace -- nothing too slow, but nothing too fast. It very slightly homes in on the opponent, but will only slightly curve. If it touches the opponent it expands to be the size of their entire body. Any opponent who touches this while another opponent is trapped in it is batted away and takes 1% damage.
From here, the sides of the sphere begin to spin, doing 1% damage occasionally. This attack takes 1.5 seconds to finish once it lands, and allows the opponent to be hit by other attacks. Try combining this with your neutral air for plenty of free damage, as your opponent does not receive knockback from any attack.
This might even be considered the best spacing move in the game, as your opponents will most likely not want to get hit by this, though it is very easily jumped over and ran under.
Otherwise, its a pretty basic attack. Does 5% damage and kills at 150%. Above average priority. Above average lag on both ends. It should be noted that you cannot plank with this attack. the lag would cause you to just send the Sphere under the stage and for your attempt at recovery to be easily edgehogged. Travels 3/4th the distance of Final Destination before disappearing.
Staff Toss - Backward Aerial - 4% - Magician twists his body so he can look behind him and then throws his staff. It goes to the length of a Battlefield platform behind him, and then comes back to his hand. During the entire attack, the staff is the only hitbox, but it moves fast and has great priority. Magician, however, is vunerable the entire attack, so don't use this if your opponent is in front of you!
Though the attack may have weak damage, it still has its' uses. Obviously, like nearly all of Magician's attacks, it's a good spacer. It makes opponents weary to approach you from the back because it stays out and it has good range (like DK's godly Bair). Though, if they get in front of you during this attack, you're in trouble! Magician is easily hit during this attack, because he cannot change his momentum or otherwise move during this attack.
Unfortunately, the attack only has flinching knockback. On the plus side, however, there's very little lag on both ends of the attack.
Cleaning House - Downward Aerial - 5% - Magician takes off his hat with his left hand and then flips it upside down. He shakes it a few times and a few playing cards come out! You may remember these from the up smash, and they do work in a similar fashion.
Firstly, dumping these onto the stage will create a small area for tripping -- much smaller than the one created by the up smash. Like Diddy's Bananas, though, you're only allowed to have two sets of cards out on the floor at a time, including cards from the up smash.
Beyond causing a place that makes the opponent trip, this is pretty straightforward! The cards fall about two Battlefield platforms downward before disappearing, though the attack (surprisingly) doesn't stay out for very long -- these cards move fast! It's an alright edgeguarding tool, though not the best. Not to mention the mediocre 5% damage. Really, this attack is best for creating diversions on the stage.
Average lag on both ends. Flinching knockback.
Throws
Trajectory - Forward Throw - 8% throw, 5% collision - Magician keeps the opponent locked in the air, by using his magic! His arm is fully outstretched, his arm moving downwards when you hold down and going upwards when you hold up. After initiating this throw, you can either press Z again to throw the opponent in the direction your staff is facing, or you can change the trajectory of the opponent for one second before an automatic fire. If the shot opponent hits another enemy, box, or wall, they will take an additional 5% damage. Low ending lag.
Teleport - Upward Throw - 8% - It should immediately be noted that this is the ultimate teams throw. This move could make Magician the best teams character out there, assuming the Computer Virus metagame advanced in such a way, if this inclusion were real. Getting to the actual move, though...
Magician swings his left hand upward, also holding the staff straight up. This forms a 90 degree perpendicular angle with the ground, and the opponent is sent straight up. Magician teleports the height of two Ganondorf's upwards and gets prepared to hit the opponent again! You have a quarter of a second window to press any of the four cardinal directions on the control stick (it may sound fast, but it is surprisingly slow for smash) and Magician will hit the opponent in that direction.
Pressing behind Magician will cause a generic kick with his feet. Pressing up will cause Magician to swing his staff above his head. Pressing forward will cause him to hit the opponent with his head (that's gotta hurt...). Pressing down will cause Magician to use his staff to send the opponent flying back down towards the ground.
The move doesn't have that much knockback, as it will barely kill at 200% and it doesn't even do that much damage. But, if your partner is ready, this can allow a free kill move!
Low lag for all four attacks.
Electrocute - Backward Throw - 3% throw, 1% per electrocution - Magician twists his head and torso backwards as he swings his staff behind his body. The opponent is sent backwards, about the length of two Battlefield platforms, and then is caught in the air by a stream of electricity coming from Magician's staff. The opponent is held there for a very small amount of time and is electrocuted rapidly. The opponent is hit six times, and anybody who jumps into the stream of electricity is electrocuted along with the thrown opponent.
After the opponent is electrocuted, they receive no knockback, but instead fall onto the ground. This is perfect for teams matches, as this will allow your teammate to either stand next to the opponent charging a smash attack, or set up something like a jab or laser lock.
Geyser - Downward Throw - 4% throw, 1% Geyser hit - Magician twirls his staff once, and then swings it towards the ground. The opponent is sent on the ground right in front of Magician and a Geyser comes bursting out. The moment it hits the opponent, the opponent regains control. It is possible to DI out of it, though it is moderately hard. It hits a total of ten times, taking one second to reach a height of two Ganondorfs stacked on top of each other. Ideally, Magician should be trying to predict how many hits it will take for the opponent to escape from the Geyser, so that he may use another attack get some extra damage in. Magician himself can be caught by the Geyser, so close-ranged moves are a no. There is no ending lag, so Magician obtains the ability to move immediately after the foe it thrown.
Situationals
Shocker - Ledge Attack - 10% - Magician heaves his left hand up and onto the stage, and then follows with his right. Suddenly, he puts an electric current all around his body, shocking anybody who gets near him. It has flinching knockback, allowing you to punish any foe who gets hit. Lasts as long as your average ledge attack.
Ice Spears - Rising Attack (From Front) - 10% - As Magician gets up, two ice spears pop up out of the ground. They're about as big as Magician himself, height and width-wise. They stay out for about three quarters of a second, allowing Magician to move around a bit while the spears are still out. Very low knockback.
Flame Circle - Rising Attack (From Back) - 6% - Magician very quickly spins around as he gets up, putting his staff on the ground. The staff leaves a trail of flames on the ground, which cause flinching knockback.
Earth Raiser - Tripped Attack - 11% - Magician raises the Earth below him and uses it to propel himself upwards. He goes up about the height of Mario on the stone and then is promptly dropped down onto his feet. Causes extremely low knockback.
Taunts
Up Taunt: Magical Juggling
Magician creates three balls of magical energy, one red, one blue, one green. He then begins to juggle the balls. After a moment, he throws them all upward, creating a mini-fireworks shower.
Side Taunt: Hat Trick
Pulling a rabbit out of his hat, Magician looks around, seemingly awaiting applause from an unseen audience...what a showboater…
Down Taunt: Stat Checker
A health bar appears behind Magician who turns to check it, the reaction he displays depends on how much HP he has left before changing into the next form of Computer Virus.
100% Health: Magician is noticeably happy that he’s still at full strength, he raises his staff into the air causing it to glow multiple colors! Impressive!
50% Health: Magician seems slightly worried…but he’s cocky! He’ll never lose! He turns to the camera and laughs slightly, a few sweatdrops flying off him.
25% or less: Magician’s nervous! How could he have possibly let his health get so low! Pulling his hat down over his head, Magician stamps the ground angrily.
Evil Knight is the first real brute of Computer Virus. After building up a considerable amount of damage with the previous forms, Evil Knight should be a nice refresher considering most of his moves have great KO potential. Not only this, but Evil Knight is actually rather customizable to the players choosing by using his special attacks to alter his performance on the battlefield.
Being a real heavy hitter is Evil Knight’s forte, however his aerial game and recovery are less than impressive…being aggressive with Evil Knight is one thing, but being defensive is clearly another.
Sword and shield, offense and defense, balance these well to excel with Evil Knight!
Stats
Power - 80/100 - You suffered through Slime, you put up with Puppet, you made do with Magician…THIS is REALLY where you can start KO’ing opponents! Evil Knight is CLEARLY a powerhouse. Walking Speed - 30/100 - A slow menacing walk…he sure looks intimidating… Running Speed - 40/100 - Not the fastest character in the game (clearly) but at least he’s mobile…about Ganondorf’s run speed, maybe a tad slower. Size - 70/100 - A large, animated suit of armor, you better expect him to be quite large. Weight - 90/100 - He may be hollow inside but all that metal is going to weigh him down a bit… Range - 80/100 - Whether it’s a simple swipe or a body blow, Evil Knight has range to spare with his massive sword. First Jump - 40/100 - He’s a suit of armor, seriously. Be lucky you’re getting such a good first jump. Second Jump - 10/100 - Abysmal. A really pathetic jump…if you’re Evil Knight and you’re relying on THIS to save your life, you may want to just give up… Traction - 90/100 - He’s slow and careful, he fortunately won’t slip or slide much…but like everyone, he has his occasional tumbles. Attack Speed - 50/100 - He’s got some reaaaaaaaally slow attacks…but fortunately, he’s got some quick and erratic ones thrown in there…a real mixed bag. Priority - 70/100 - It’d be kinda depressing if he was a slow moving character with zero priority…fortunately he’s got some attacks that’ll break through even the toughest attacks! Fall Speed - 80/100 - What part of SUIT OF ARMOR do you not comprehend (The metal part! -Ed.)? Crouch - 60/100 - While it doesn’t really reduce his height by that much, while crouching, Evil Knight raises his shield, blocking projectiles from the front.
Animations
Standing - Evil Knight’s body rises up and down as if he were breathing. His sword is at waist level and his shield is at his side. Evil Knight’s head spins on his shoulders, making two total revolutions before he reaches up and claps it between his hands, stopping it instantly as he shakes his head a little afterwards.
Walking - Evil Knight marches forward taking large, heavy steps. Does have much upper body movement but I guess that makes him look even more menacing.
Running - Evil Knight picks up a bit of speed as he slowly starts pumping his arms. Evil Knight is like a train! A very slow moving train however…now he’s got some fluent motion in his upper body, pumping his arms and dashing along.
First Jump - Evil Knight kicks off of the ground, his sword and shield still at his side…guess he kicked a little too hard though; his feet are still on the ground! After about a fraction of a second, his feet launch up after him, giving him slightly more height before he reaches the peak of his jump.
Second Jump - Evil Knight’s arms rise up about half a stage builder block high…yeah, that’s the entirety of his second jump. He reaches.
Shield - Oddly enough instead of just raising his shield, Evil Knight simply stands up straight, his eyes vanishing as the standard bubble shield forms around him.
Specials
Darkness Overdrive - Down Special - Evil Knight does something a tad…odd…instantly after activating the attack, Evil Knight will thrust his own sword into his chest area, sustaining 5% damage to himself! However Evil Knight is no fool…he uses his own evil energy inside of him to infuse his blade with the power of darkness! With the evil energy flowing through his blade, many of Evil Knight’s attacks will be altered slightly with either increased damage, increased knockback, decreased lag or other wacky effects…however this comes at a cost…
The main drawback of this attack is that it causes Evil Knight to take 1% every second the evil energy is flowing through his blade, apparently it has something to do with the energy not being contained inside of his body or something of that sort. Regardless it makes Evil Knight rather unstable, so if you start to take too much damage because of the now wildly flowing energy, make sure to activate the Down B again. After doing so, Evil Knight will absorb the energy back into his body and then seal the hole where it came from, effectively containing the flow of energy
Use this move mostly if you want to enjoy many of the added effects the uncontrolled evil energy can unleash…or you could just use if it you want to switch to Great Dragon faster…
All moves will have a “Darkness Bonus” section after them, explaining the additional effects of the move when used while Evil Knight is unleashing his energy.
Also, as a side note, this attack cancels out any additional effects of either the Up B or the Side B.
Shower of Daggers - Neutral Special - 1% per hit - Evil Knight turns towards the screen and thrusts his arms out at his side. He then opens his hands as a dark energy surges around them. Then evil energy takes the form of a series of knives, the amount of knives in hand doubling each second the B button is held for a maximum of 32 knives (max charge of 5 seconds). When the button is released, Evil Knight will hurl the knives one at a time in the direction the control stick is pointed at, however, this direction can be changed at any time by pointing the control stick in another direction. Each knife flies at about the speed of one of Fox’s lasers, taking about five seconds total to throw the maximum amount of 32 knives.
This move obviously has a fair bit of start up lag and a fair bit of duration when used with maximum charge…but fortunately, Evil Knight has super armor while throwing the knives. Each knife does 1% with flinching knockback; essentially if you’re hit by one of them…you’re in for a bumpy ride when the rest connect…however you should never allow an Evil Knight player to charge the move for five second. Evil Knight is entirely stationary during this attack but the knives have a maximum reach of ¾’s of Battlefield’s main platform.
Darkness Bonus: Every knife Evil Knight throws leaves an afterimage; this helps effectively mindgame an opponent as the afterimage knives look identical to the real thing. They do no damage however and appear after the player is able to control Evil Knight again, use this to your advantage and smash an opponent away while they’re trying to dodge what isn’t attacking them!
Cold Winter Knight - Side Special - 12% - Evil Knight lifts his blade over his head as a surge of icy energy channels into it. The sword starts the glow blue and form ice crystals around it. When the button is released, Evil Knight swings his blade directly before, reaching about a Bowser’s length away from him. Any opponent hit by this receives medium knockback and then freezes solid mid-flight making it a potentially deadly edgeguarding tool/killing move. Deals 12% regardless of charge (although it has about a half-second of start up lag/charge), however the longer it’s charged, the longer your opponent will potentially be held in ice for.
However, there’s a little more to this move than originally seen. If the move is held for a maximum charge of three seconds, instead of swinging his blade forward, Evil Knight will fall backwards, frozen solid as he potentially falls on any foes behind him. This comes complete with about a second of end lag, so be careful…but it also manages to change Evil Knight slightly. When Evil Knight rises back to his feet, he’ll still be icy, increasing his dash speed to that of Pit’s, but reducing his traction, causing him to slip and slide more (kind of like Luigi).
Evil Knight’s Side B also happens to cancel the effects of his Up B…read on for more details…
Darkness Bonus: This gives no positive change to the move but will remove the icy effect once the Down B is activated. Evil Knight will be unable to enter his “icy form” until the Down B is canceled.
Burning Vigor; Valor Up! - Up Special - 7% upwards, 4% downwards body, 11% downwards shield - With a burst of supernatural energy, Evil Knight glows a hot red and leaps a short distance into the air before slamming downwards, his shield held out before him. This is, oddly enough better as an aerial approach than a recovery as it has the mind game potential of Evil Knight shooting upwards about a Marth’s height upwards before shooting downwards with his shield. While on the topic of the shield, it happens to have one of the highest priorities in the game, meaning opponents better have a powerful attack waiting for Evil Knight…or they better prepare to get out of the way! While shooting upwards, Evil Knight acts as a high priority, low knockback hitbox that causes about 7% when he hits…however, while falling down, Evil Knight’s shield becomes an insanely high priority hitbox, causing medium horizontal knockback and about 11%. His body only causes low knockback and 4% damage while he’s falling however, so if you can’t dodge the entire Knight, at least dodge the shield…
Now…there’s another unique little feature of this attack; yes, it can be charged! Charging it however only increases the knockback of the attack, making the Knight’s body a medium knockback attack and the shield a medium-high knockback attack. However, if charged for that magical number of three seconds, Evil Knight will be overcome with intense heat! While superheated, Evil Knight’s attack power and knockback is increased by 1/3…however…his defense and resistance to knockback is also reduced by 1/3, making this potentially risky if abused.
Darkness Bonus: This gives no positive change to the move but will remove the superheated effect once the Down B is activated. Evil Knight will be unable to enter his “superheated form” until the Down B is canceled.
Standards
Swords N’ Shields - Neutral Combo - 4%, 3% - With one tap of the A button, Evil Knight sweeps his sword diagonally downward from left to right causing minor knockback and about 4% with medium priority. Once A is tapped again, Evil Knight thrusts his shield forward, smacking the opponent back with low-medium knockback and 3%. Evil Knight’s shield however when he thrusts it forward can also negate physical projectiles (such as thrown items, Link’s arrows, Peach’s turnips, Game and Watch’s sausage etc.) but can’t defend against explosions or energy based projectiles.
Darkness Bonus: When darkness is included into this attack, the first attack remains the same, but the shield can now absorb energy-based attacks. When an energy-based projectile hits his shield, Evil Knight will absorb it, regaining about 4%. This is an excellent way to prolong the switch to Great Dragon, but it also suffers from slightly increased end lag, so it’s easily punishable if you absorb nothing…and obviously fairly useless against non-projectile users.
Dash and Slash - Dash Attack - While dashing, Evil Knight swings his sword before him twice, first from right to left then vice versa, each hit causing minor damage (4%) and low knockback. Rather low priority attack with moderate range…the real fun starts with the darkness bonus however…
Darkness Bonus: With another tap of A after the initial attack starts, Evil Knight will create an illusion of himself which will leap out of Evil Knight and fly at the opponent from above. However, if you hold up while pressing A the second time, Evil Knight’s illusion will be the one running directly ahead and the real Evil Knight will fall from above, his sword pointed downward. Obviously this is excellent for mindgames and will keep your opponent guessing which direction you’re coming from. Unfortunately, if you do attack from above and happen to miss, Evil Knight’s sword will get stuck in the ground for a second, making him totally vulnerable to retaliation. While striking from above, Evil Knight will cause 8% and downward spike his opponent, setting them up for a ground based attack.
Tilts
Crescent Slash - Up Tilt - 9% regular, 6% darkness - One of Evil Knight’s trademark moves, the large suit of arms faces the camera and swings his sword forward. Instantly, a crescent moon shaped burst of energy will fly upwards a distance of about Ganondorf and loop back like a boomerang to Evil Knight. This deals about 9% but has the benefit of being a weirdly shaped, disjointed hitbox. It also causes low-medium vertical knockback making it useful for juggling opponents.
Darkness Bonus: With darkness, this attack plays out VERY much the same as it does in Kirby Super Star. Instead of just one crescent moon shaped blade, three will appear, two flying out to either side of him about a Bowser’s width across causing low-medium horizontal knockback. This is an excellent “get away from me” move, but unfortunately comes with some drawbacks. The damage this attack deals is reduced to 6% and it suffers from some moderate beginning lag.
Bull Horns - Side Tilt - 10% regular, 15% darkness - Evil Knight ducks down and then thrusts his head forward and up, striking the foe with the horns on the side of his helmet. An oddly quick attack but with very short range, the only hitboxes of the attack are Evil Knight’s horns, leaving him totally vulnerable to attack on his lower body. This attack does 10% and medium-high knockback making it an exceptional killing move, unfortunately is suffers from a bit of end lag.
Darkness Bonus: This move changes almost entirely visually when used in conjunction with darkness. Making his head spin like a helicopter blade, Evil Knight thrusts towards the enemy, hitting them with multiple grazing hits, each doing 1% and hitting up to fifteen times. This however extends the duration of the attack, causing you to take more damage from the darkness…
Dark Tremor - Down Tilt - Thrusting his blade into the ground, Evil Knight creates a small fissure before him that travels one Bowser width before him. A moment after the fissure is created, a burst of dark energy erupts from the ground. The fissure itself causes no damage, instead causing the foe to enter their tripped state. The eruption of energy causes 11% and medium vertical knockback.
Darkness Bonus: With an added boost of darkness, the evil energy that comes from the fissure increases so that it doubles in height, easily reaching the top of Evil Knight’s head. This makes it much harder to avoid but does no additional damage or knockback.
Smashes
Getting A Head - Up Smash - 15% uncharged, 21% fully charged, 13% strong hitbox - Evil Knight reaches up and pulls his head/helmet off, hurling it into the air above him about a Ganondorf’s height upward. The head/helmet flies upward at about the speed of one of Peach’s turnips. Once it’s reached the maximum height, the head/helmet faces the screen and its eyes glow red causing high knockback if the opponent is touching it, much like Jigglypuff’s Rest. It’s unlikely to hit with the high knockback part as it only lasts a few frames (identical to Rest) as the head on the way up causes medium knockback and about 15-21% depending on the charge. The glowing eyes damage however is less, causing only a solid 13%.
Darkness Bonus: The move acts exactly the same as it normally would…right up until the eyes begin to glow. After this, the head spins a full 360 degrees while firing a laser as thick as one of Fox’s and as long as Bowser. The laser acts as a multi-hitting attack, hitting up to four times and causing 2% per hit, ultimately ending with medium knockback.
An Arm and A Leg - Side Smash - 19% uncharged, 25% fully charged - Heaving his heavy sword over his head, Evil Knight takes a similar stance to that of his Side B. While charging the attack, Evil Knight raises his other arm and grasps his sword holding arm, pulling it off and swinging it horizontally before him, complete with sword in hand. Obviously this has considerable range…but is also fairly slow and has some nasty end lag. It is however Evil Knight’s prime killing move, doing medium-high knockback and 19-25%.
Darkness Bonus: With the power of Darkness, Evil Knight’s arm stays connected to his body via dark energy. When the move finishes, his arm snaps back into place instantly, reducing the end lag considerably, making it all the more deadly as a finishing move.
Dark Burst - Down Smash - 12% uncharged, 19% fully charged - Evil Knight begins to tremble violently. When the smash is released, his suit of armor explodes, leaving behind an outline of dark energy in the shape of his body. Pieces of Evil Knight will fly up to a maximum distance of a Bowser and a half away. Needless to say this move has considerable end lag as Evil Knight has to reassemble is body. Overall it takes about a second and a half to reform…fortunately this attack does high knockback, decent damage (12-19%) and has impressive range…but if it DOES miss….
Darkness Bonus: With a boost of darkness, the range of this attack overall increases to two and a half Bowser lengths maximum. It also increases in damage to about 18-23%…unfortunately, it also takes two seconds to reform his body, use this move sparingly or as a KO move.
Aerials
Wicked Blender - Neutral Aerial - 8% - Evil Knight extends his arms outwards, spinning rapidly 360 degrees twice before ultimately stopping, facing the same direction he started in. Because of his long sword and long arms, this move has nasty range. Fortunately for the opponent, it doesn’t cause much damage or knockback (8% and low knockback) and is purely another “get away from me” move.
Darkness Bonus: This is actually one of the more useful darkness bonuses…when used, Evil Knight will begin to spin incredibly quickly, actually gaining about one Mario’s height. Unfortunately, this increases the ending lag by a fair bit, making it far from stall-worthy…besides, if you tried to spam it, Evil Knight would eventually turn into Great Dragon and die anyway.
Gravity Bender - Up Aerial
Evil Knight goes for a simple approach with this move…reaching up with his shielded hand, he grabs the opponent by their leg and hurls them quickly beneath him, how crude! Yet effective! This move is a perfect set up for a footstool jump (which could easily aid Evil Knight’s recovery!) or a down air (which would most likely mean that both characters die…). Deals only 5% with set, low downward knockback
Darkness Bonus: With darkness, Evil Knight’s grab range increases, allowing him to reach opponents a Mario distance above him! Fortunately, there are no negative drawbacks to this besides the usual constant damage.
The Dark Knight - Forward Aerial
Evil Knight spreads his arms and legs and then leaps forward in mid-air (about one Bowser width forward), smacking the opponent away with the full force of his body. Needless to say this move has a rather large hitbox…it also does a nice bit of damage (12%) and medium knockback.
Darkness Bonus: Adding some start up lag, Evil Knight gains a pair of dark purple/black wings. This increases the distance he travels forward to two Bowser widths across making this a very deadly move with a huge hitbox, great priority, good damage and decent knockback…where’s the drawback? Unfortunately, there is one. After using this, Evil Knight’s dark wings fade out and he enters a freefall. If you’re using this to aid recovery, make it count. If you’re using it to attack, make sure it’s on stage…
Darkness Surge - Backward Aerial
Evil Knight’s torso spins around as the face guard on his mask opens up, unleashing a powerful blast of evil energy from the now open helmet. This attack comes out incredibly quickly and does 19% with medium-high knockback. However, by unleashing all that energy at once, Evil Knight enters a freefall mode…use primarily as a KO move or you’ll suffer retaliation.
Darkness Bonus: Another move effected negatively by Evil Knight’s Down B, with all of his evil energy in use, Evil Knight opens his face plate only to…do nothing?! Ack! He flubbed it! The only potential use for this move is to hopefully make a foe spot dodge away from you…the only plus is that Evil Knight doesn’t free fall from it.
Knight Fall - Down Aerial
Oh what a clever and witty name for this attack…raising his sword high above him while facing the screen, Evil Knight plunges downwards, sword before him as he falls. This attack comes out very quickly but needless to say instantly KO’s Evil Knight if used over an edge…fortunately, it can also be used to Knighticide as it spikes the opponent downward. Deals 14% and a downward spike.
Darkness Bonus: The darkness bonus for Evil Knight’s down aerial adds to its mindgame potential. After imputing the command for the down aerial, press and hold A to make Evil Knight hold himself in the air for up to one second using the powers of his evil energy. Once a second passes or the button is released, Evil Knight continues to fall.
Throws
Grab: Evil Knight reaches out with the hand he holds his shield with, attempting to snag the foe by their arm.
Piercing Blow - Pummel - 5% - Evil Knight stabs the opponent through with his sword. Does 5% damage but is incredibly slow…you’re unlikely to get more than two of these in before they break free.
Darkness Bonus: It looks cooler with the dark energy and all that…
Helichopper - Up Throw - 8%, 10% darkness - Placing his sword down and grasping the foe with both hands, Evil Knight begins to spin them over his head. Suddenly, his arms disconnect from his body…but they keep on spinning the foe! After about a second or so, he releases them, sending them spinning off in a random direction and causing 8%.
Darkness Bonus: While spinning the opponent, Evil Knight’s grounded sword glows with evil energy…and then shoots straight up into the foe! This causes the move to end abruptly and for Evil Knight’s arms to drop down instantly, causing about half a second or so of end lag more than normal. It does however change the attack power to 10% and the knockback to medium vertical.
Iron Maiden - Forward Throw - 6%, 8% darkness - Evil Knight pulls the opponent into his suit of armor and then thrusts his sword into the suit three times, each time through doing 2% to both him and his opponent. He then opens the chest plate and sends then opponent flying, causing an additional 4%.
Darkness Bonus: The darkness bonus raises the amount of damage the opponent takes during the stabbing from 2% to 4%. Evil Knight however still takes the same amount…but the constant damage should make up for that.
Now You’re Thinking With Portals - Down Throw - 12%, 17% darkness - Evil Knight stabs his sword into the ground beside the opponent and rips it backwards, creating a jagged hole in the Smash dimension…he then forcefully shoves the opponent into the hole, swings his sword above the portal and then slashes the air, creating another one. The opponent then falls through the portal in the sky and hits the ground, right back where they started. Surprisingly, this doesn’t take forever and lasts about the length of one of Mr. Game & Watch’s throws, ultimately dealing 12%.
Darkness Bonus: Evil Knight does the same animation as above, but once he’s torn the portal in the sky, he throws his sword into the grounded portal. The sword then strikes the opponent mid-transport and lands beside them once the throw is over. This adds an additional 5% damage to the attack…but also adds about two or so seconds to it, meaning more damage to Evil Knight…
The Dark Side - Back Throw 13% - Evil Knight releases the foe? What trickery is this? Well, they’re not out of the woods yet…evil energy swarms the opponent and lifts them into the air, slamming them against the ground twice before spinning around and hurling the foe behind him. This causes about 13% and low knockback.
Darkness Bonus: Not much of a bonus here…since all of Evil Knight’s energy is being unleashed, he doesn’t have any left to use for this throw! Upon activation of the throw, a large question mark appears over Evil Knight’s head as he moves his hand up and down, trying to slam his non-grabbed foe against the ground. After a moment, he realizes this is doing nothing and a large black cloud appears over his head as he hunches over…poor Evil Knight…
This attack has considerable lag and is best used simply to mock the opponent as it does neither damage nor knockback and takes about 3 seconds to play out entirely….METAMINDGAMES ANYONE?
Situationals
Heads Will Roll - Ledge Attack 9& - Evil Knight reaches up with one hand and pulls of his head, rolling it a Bowser’s width onto the stage. He then pulls himself up and snatches up his head. Deals 9%, low-medium knockback and has some end lag as he’s forced to replace his head.
Shish Kabob - Get Up Attack (Face Down) - -6% - While rising, Evil Knight thrusts his sword through his chest plate, causing a small burst of evil energy to knock any foes nearby away and damaging them slightly. Deals 6% and minor knockback.
Reassemble - Get Up Attack (Face Up) - 10% - Evil Knight pulls himself together via evil energy, suddenly shooting to his feet in a ridged stance. Deals 10% and moderate knockback.
Taunts
Up Taunt: Chivalrous Knight
Evil Knight removes his head (yikes!) and takes a bow.
Side Taunt: Being Knighted
Evil Knight sinks his sword into the ground and drops to one knee, resting his hands on the hilt of the blade as evil energy courses through it as his eyes glow a fierce red. He then stands up, pulls his sword out and regains his idle stance.
Down Taunt: Stat Checker
Evil Knight stands still as an HP bar appears behind him. He then turns to view it and his reaction differs depending on how much how much health he has remaining before he transitions into Great Dragon.
100% Health: Evil Knight checks the bar and turns to the screen, laughing triumphantly at how powerful he is!
50% Health: Evil Knight checks the bar as a black cloud appears over his head, slightly embarrassed that he’s gone down below half his health.
25% or Less: Evil Knight checks the HP bar only to realize he’s almost toast! Classic anime sweatdrops appear on him as he visually trembles slightly.
Despite the rather small picture above, Great Dragon is the largest of all the viruses. By the time you're using Great Dragon, you've accumulated 100% damage, and you're (hopefully) ready to lay the smackdown on your opponent. Luckily for you, Great Dragon is a killing machine. He lacks in most stats, outside of weight and power, so make use of those to score KOs for the rest of your time until you get KOed and revert back to Slime.
Great Dragon is a slow, large, and somewhat awkward character, but if you've played your cards right to this point, you shouldn't have to land more than a couple of hits before you've landed a KO. Your weight should support you long enough to land those hits, so just focus on landing a hit--any hit.
Stats
Power - 10/10 - Great Dragon is a powerhouse. The majority of his moves are KO moves. Walk - 1/10 - Great Dragon has a painfully slow walk. Run - 2/10 - His run's not much more impressive. Traction - 9/10 - It's pretty easy to turn around and avoid tripping over your own feet when you move so slow. Height - 9/10 - Great Dragon is one of the largest characters in the game, being very wide as well as tall. Weight - 10/10 - Great Dragon is a serious heavyweight, being very difficult to knock around. Range - 3/10 - Outside of a couple of ranged moves, Great Dragon struggles to reach very far. Jump 1 - 2/10 - Getting off the ground isn't very easy for Great Dragon. Jump 2-4 - 2/10 - He may have three mid-air jumps, but none of them gets him a lot of height, meaning that they're more useful for maintaining your height than adding anything to it. Falling Speed - 5/10 - While you would expect him to fall slowly, Great Dragon's weight prevents him from being floaty. Attack Speed - 1/10 - Great Dragon is terribly slow, making those monster hits difficult to land sometimes. Priority - 5/10 - Great Dragon has a pretty average priority on most of his attacks. Glide - Great Dragon has the ability to glide in a similar fashion to other gliding characters. However, his is the slowest of the bunch by a long shot.
Animations
Standing - Great Dragon stands on his back legs, but bent over somewhat, so as to not be too tall (of course, this makes him a wider target). From time to time, he'll growl subtly or blow a thin stream of smoke from his nostrils.
Walking - Great Dragon walks forward very deliberately, taking big, slow steps. He stands more upright to do this, so he gains height while losing width.
Running - Great Dragon runs on all fours, with his wings outspread and flapping to propel him forward. This does make him move faster, but it also makes him a much bigger target than he would be otherwise.
Ground Jump - Great Dragon pushes off the ground with his hands and feet, and spreads his wings in preparation for his mid-air jumps.
Mid-air Jumps - Great Dragon pulls all limbs in close, giving his wings a big flap each time you use a mid-air jump.
Shield - Great Dragon has a normal bubble shield, but it's about twice the size of a normal character's. On the downside, it also shrinks twice as fast, both naturally and when taking hits.
Specials
Fiery Breath - Neutral Special - 3% per hit, seven hits total - Great Dragon extends his neck a short distance forward, and spews flames for about one second. These reach about as far as the flames that characters spit with the Superspicy Curry, and deal multi-hit damage that can reach up to about 21%. The lag before and after these is about twice as long as that of Charizard's Flamethrower. On the plus side, this is one of Great Dragon's only moves with a good range, so making use of it to add a little damage to your opponent's damage counter without getting in close is recommended.
Talon Slash - Side Special - 3% per hit, six hits total - Great Dragon slashes forward with one of his claws, then with the other, continuing this until he has slashed a total of six times. Each slash does 3% damage, and the last one deals tremendous diagonal knockback (the first five deal only flinching knockback to keep the victim in range of the rest). On the plus side, this has only a little lag at the beginning and end, but the hitbox is rather small, only about as large as Olimar or so, and the execution of all the hits takes about 2.5 seconds, so you'll highly susceptible to hits should you miss. If you can land it, though, this is one of Great Dragon's most potent killing moves.
Gigantic Flap - Up Special - Great Dragon flaps his wings in one massive swoop downward. This propels him upward about as far as Lucario's Extremespeed can move in a straight line. In the downward direction, over the same distance, a powerful gust of air is created that pushes opponents downward with great force. Like Mario's F.L.U.D.D. or Squirtle's Water Gun, the gust deals no damage or hitstun, but serves as an effective gimping attack, due to the fact that its push is directly downward. Great Dragon deals no damage as he rushes upward, and is left in a helpless state when this move finishes. Unlike most of his moves, this one executes fairly quickly, with about as much lag as Charizard's Fly.
Petrify - Down Special - Great Dragon's body takes on a grey-ish tint when you use this move, which takes about a second to perform. He'll stay in this form for the next 20 seconds, taking three-quarters damage and knockback from all attacks that hit him. During the last five seconds, before reverting back to normal, he'll begin flashing rapidly between his normal and petrified forms. This effect is purely visual, and meant to serve as a warning. It's important to be wary during this time, because as the effect wears off, Great Dragon sheds his petrified skin, which takes a full second to do. If hit while shedding the skin, Great Dragon will take normal damage and knockback from the hit. With the ending time in mind, it's important to knock your opponent(s) away before you lose the petrification, so you can be safe during the downtime. Additionally, once the Dragon sheds the petrified skin, you won't be able to use this move again until 20 seconds have passed. Using it before that time has passed will have no effect at all.
Standards
Growl - Neutral Attack - Great Dragon remains in his normal standing position, uttering a soft, but malicious growl for one second. Using this move before any other attack boosts the next attack's power (damage/knockback) to 1.25 times normal. That may not seem like a lot, but using it whenever you get the chance, this only increases Great Dragon's already high KOing ability. Multiple uses will not stack the effect. While this move is in use, the effects of the down tilt are negated.
Vulcan Blast - Dash Attack - 20% - Great Dragon rears his head back, preparing to launch a fireball, but trips, launching it straight down at the ground. It explodes like the ones Meta Ridley spits in his boss battle in the Subspace Emissary, making the hitbox cover approximately the width of Great Dragon, below him. It's a powerful attack, dealing 15% damage and a lot of knockback, and has a decent-sized hitbox, too. The biggest drawback to this move is the extreme amount of lag. The startup lag for this move lies around that of an Ike Forward Smash, and there's a similar amount of lag afterward as well. This move is still sometimes useful, though, since it's powerful and has more range than the majority of Great Dragon's moves.
Tilts
Shaping Stone - Forward Tilt - 25% - Great Dragon's head becomes petrified, turning a grey color. He then swings it forward. This attack has Falcon Punch-like startup lag, but smashing Great Dragon's stone head against an enemy deals 25% damage and great diagonal knockback. This has surprisingly good range, as Great Dragon moves forward in a fashion similar to Wario during his Forward Smash while using it, but again, is very slow, having similar ending lag to its' startup lag. If the move connects, the stone will shatter, leaving Great Dragon's head as it was. If it misses, his head will remain stone, slightly decreasing the startup lag of this move the next time it's used.
Smoke Ring - Up Tilt - 15% - Great Dragon leans back and blows a quick puff of smoke overhead, which forms a quick ring the width of Great Dragon's head, then dissolves. The ring reaches a decent distance up, about the height of Link, before vanishing. Anyone it strikes will take 15% damage and okay upward knockback, immediately destroying the smoke ring. This has a lot of startup and ending lag, and isn't as powerful as most of Great Dragon's moves, but the smoke ring covers a better distance and provides a more sizeable hitbox than the majority of Great Dragon's other options.
Blessing of the Spirits - Down Tilt - Great Dragon glows a faint blue color for about one second. After this, his next attack will have a somewhat larger hitbox, as a blue spirit will surround his existing one for a short length. The cost of this, however, is that it reduces the power of his moves to 0.75 times their normal amount. This is best used if you're having trouble landing hits with Great Dragon, as it helps you get a more sizable hitbox, both for small and already-large ones. While this move is in use, the neutral attack's effects are negated.
Smashes
Rampage - Forward Smash - 18% - Great Dragon stomps down on the ground in front of him. If the Smash Attack was charged, he'll repeat this, each time moving forward and stomping to the front. At minimum charge, he'll only perform the first stomp, and at full charge, he'll stomp four times, moving forward about 1.5X a Battlefield platform's length. Each stomp deals 18% damage and good horizontal knockback. The hitbox is rather close to the ground, but with enough charge, this attack covers a respectable horizontal distance. The lag before and after the rampage is comparable to that of Ike's Forward Smash, while the time in between each stomp is such that all four of them can be completed within about one second.
Jaws of Hell - Up Smash - 18% - Great Dragon rears his head back and opens his mouth upward, and we see that it's filled with a black smog, which starts pouring out. When the charge is released, he snaps his jaw shut, causing serious damage to anyone he hits. Depending on the charge, it deals anywhere from 18 - 30% damage, with great upward knockback. However, the hitbox for this move is very small, only within his mouth, and the startup and ending lag are a little longer than that of Ike's Forward Smash. This move is extremely difficult to connect with, but is pretty much guaranteed to KO if you do, unless your opponent is at rather low damage.
Paralyzing Roar - Down Smash - Great Dragon leans his head back, then brings it down and roars loudly. Opponents standing on the ground within about a Battlefield platform's length when he does so will be stunned, similar to the effect of Zero Suit Samus' Paralyzer, but without any electricity. Depending on the charge time of this Smash Attack, an opponent at 0% damage who doesn't perform any button input to negate the stun can be stunned for anywhere from a quarter second to a full second. Damaged opponents are stunned for longer, and button input from stunned opponent can free them earlier. The startup lag for this move is comparable to that of King Dedede's Forward Smash, but the ending lag is minimal, allowing you to follow up with another attack easily.
Aerials
Ring of Fire - Neutral Aerial - 10% - Great Dragon starts breathing flames, as he performs a slow, maticulous front flip. This takes slightly longer than Charizard's Neutral Aerial, with a bit more lag on either end as well. Great Dragon, however, is not the hitbox for this move. The flames he spits from his mouth are. They reach only about as far as a Fire Flower's flames do, circling with him as he spins. Anyone he hits with them, however, is dealt 10% damage and good knockback in the direction the flames are currently shooting. This move is great to use for aerial spacing, but only if you can work around its awkward hitbox and relative slowness. Good timing with this move can even make it a decent spike as the flames are shooting downward.
Snapdragon - Forward Aerial - 15% - Great Dragon rears his head back, then slams it forward, initiating a powerful bite as he does. The hitbox for this is very precise, only consisting of his jaws as they snap shut, but rewards with 15% damage and good horizontal knockback. As far as lag goes, this is comparable to Donkey Kong's Forward Aerial, though a tad bit slower and, once again, with a much more specific hitbox. This is essentially the aerial equivalent of the Up Smash, being hard to hit with, but a very potent KO move.
Tail Slap - Backward Aerial - 12% sourspot, 22% sweetspot - Great Dragon swings his tail behind him horizontally, covering an okay distance. This has somewhat long, but not painful startup and ending lag. The bulk of the tail deals 12% damage with okay diagonal knockback, but the tip sweetspots for 22% and changes the knockback to directly horizontal, and very powerful. If the tipper of this move can be mastered, it's Great Dragon's easiest KO option, being powerful and decently fast.
Wing Clap - Up Aerial - 5%, 18% - Great Dragon attempts to spread his wings, but being so large, he falls faster than he was anticipating, and his wings collapse upward, clapping over his head. The startup lag for this is comparable to Ike's Up Aerial, while the ending lag afterward is horrendous, taking about two seconds, as Great Dragon recovers from his incorrectly-judged unfurling of his wings, during which time you're left to simply fall. As the wings fly upward, they deal 5% damage and okay knockback. As they clap, they have a sweetspot of a decent size that deals 18% damage and strong upward knockback. This is a very powerful KO move, but very easily punishable if you miss. If you hit with the 5% damage hitbox, you will also hit with the 18% damage hitbox.
Stone Dragon - Down Aerial - 12% - Great Dragon tucks in his limbs, becoming more-or-less round in shape, then petrifies his body to become stone. From here, he falls straight downward, at about the speed King Dedede does after the peak of his Super Dedede Jump. He can cancel out of it, but it takes an incredibly long time - one and a half seconds. The stone slowly crumbles off of him while he's cancelling. As he falls, he'll deal 12% damage and very good downward knockback to anyone he hits. If he strikes the ground, the stone will shatter off of him as he does, dealing multi-hit damage within a small radius around him. The startup lag for this move is comparable to that of Yoshi's Ground Pound, and the ending lag is comparable to Kirby's return to normal after using his Stone attack. This can be a very high-risk, high-reward move, due to its great spiking capabilities also ensuring a self-KO. However, during the cancel, you only do half the damage and knockback than if you didn't cancel the move.
Throws
Grab Animation - Great Dragon sweeps one claw forward in a slow, but far-reaching grab. The lag if you miss the grab is slightly above average.
Claw Crush - Pummel - 3% - Great Dragon squeezes his claw tight, damaging the foe for 3% damage. This has a slow repetition rate.
Slash Frenzy - Forward Throw - 20% - Great Dragon releases his victim, then hacks at them with both claws repeatedly, for five hits of 4% damage each. The last hit has okay knockback, to clear some room, but nowhere near the KO capacity of many other moves. This is mainly used for damaging afterward if Great Dragon has already scored a KO. This Throw takes about two seconds to fully complete, but its damage is often worth it.
Thrash - Backward Throw - 16% - Great Dragon thrashes around with his victim, then tosses them behind him. The thrashing, which lasts about a second, deals constant damage totalling up to 10%, then the toss, which has pretty good horizontal knockback behind him, deals another 6%.
Smog - Up Throw - 5% per hit - Great Dragon holds his victim over his head, then breathes a thick cloud of smoke in their face. He then releases them, having done no damage. For the next 5 seconds, every second, the affected opponent has a 50% chance of coughing, immediately canceling their current action and dealing 5% damage to them. Use this to make it harder for your opponent to avoid coming attacks.
Firestorm - Down Throw - 15% - Slamming his opponent to the ground, Great Dragon then proceeds to unleash a powerful blast of fire on them. This deals 15% damage and good diagonal knockback, and is the most potent of Great Dragon's Throws for KOing. This is yet another slow Throw for Great Dragon, but a most powerful one.
Situationals
Flaming Tackle - Ledge Attack - 12% - Great Dragon envelops himself in flames as he quickly climbs the ledge and leaps forward. He moves about the distance of one Battlefield platform, though his ignition before climbing is more than fair warning of this move. If he does hit anyone, he'll deal 12% damage and good knockback. This has a fair amount of ending lag, but nothing crippling.
Heat Sphere - Rising Attack (From Front) - 10% - Before standing upright, Great Dragon spits a ball of flame at the ground, where it bursts upward, covering an area similar to a Blast Box's explosion, dealing 10% damage and weak upward knockback to anyone it hits. This is a fast attack for Great Dragon, but still fairly slow by other characters' standards.
Double Claw - Rising Attack (From Back) - 18% - Great Dragon slashes to either side simultaneously with his claws. This move has a very specific hitbox on each side, but will deal 18% damage and good horizontal knockback if it hits. After performing this attack, Great Dragon clambers to his feet, giving this significant ending lag, though it is quick to execute initially.
Whirlwind Wings - Tripped Attack - 12% - Great Dragon flaps his wings in a powerful downward motion, lifting himself to his feet. This causes a small, brief whirlwind to form around him, roughly the size of Meta Knight's Mach Tornado. It lasts for one second, dealing multi-hit damage up to 12%. After the whirlwind vanishes, Great Dragon becomes mobile again.
Taunts
Up Taunt: Fierce Dragon
Great Dragon rears up on its hind legs and roars fiercely into the air! He then goes back to all four feet on the ground and snarls, smoke spouting from his nostrils.
Side Taunt: Dragon Breath
Great Dragon spits on a small tongue of flames as he stamps the ground, how intimidating!
Down Taunt: Comflicker
Great Dragon shakes his head as he flickers in and out of existence…seemingly proof that Computer Virus has taken a serious beating to get to this point…
Slime Swarm
The current character looks up, and ten slimes drop from the top of the screen onto the floor of the stage. These don't act like the slime you control - these slowly follow the opponent at half of the regular slimes running speed (they have very poor jumping skills, and will not jump off the stage). They will stay on the stage for a total of ten seconds.
Now, if one of these slimes manages to catch up with the opponent, not only will it deal 2% damage per second, the opponent will slow down by 1/15th of their normal speed. You will have to work to make sure the opponent gets hit by one, and when they do, this is a highly damaging FS.
No knockback.
Entrance: A blue window appears displaying the name “Slime” on the top bar. Slime then drops out of the window, ready to fight.
Symbol: The usual Kirby Star, that all other Dreamlanders get.
Kirby Hat: Kirby turns green, gains Puppet’s hat, Magician’s staff and hat, Evil Knight’s helmet or Great Dragon’s wings/horns (depending on who he inhales obviously) and their respective power, phew!
Victory Pose 1: Virus Roulette
Slime appears in the middle of the screen but flickers slightly. Suddenly, Computer Virus starts cycling through all of the different forms of Computer Virus very rapidly. After going through the cycle twice, Slime appears again, looking visibly dizzy.
Victory Pose 2: YOU WON!
Whichever Virus the match ended with stands in the middle of the screen in their idle pose. A large window appears behind the Virus, displaying their “earned experience.” Various random (albeit, unimportant) stats will appear on the screen such as “You earned 5 Happy points!” “You earned 2 Friendship points!” etc.
Victory Pose 3: BsoD
Huh…how odd, it seems that Brawl’s crashed! When Computer Virus won, he put the match into a Blue Screen of Death! Ack! Wait, you can still exit…phew, that was a close one!
Loss Pose: None of the Viruses from Computer Virus appear on screen, instead, a blank blue screen appears which displays messages such as "You gained 25 experience points! (not that it matters)" and "You grew 20% more cool!"
That was a funky moveset. It was funny how (Well I) only expected there to be Bowser Jr and nothing else. But that part surprised me there. There was a lot of detail (Which is a good thing) and somebody who has done a massive load of work (Especially with the pictures) deserves a LOT of credit for it.
I only could not really understand Jr's Final Smash of how it exactly works, you putting in "A Green Landmaster" for a joke, I think, but I could not really understand that bit, maybe a bit too much detail on those certain parts uneccesary. Maybe Final Smashes are just hard to describe, thats all. Anyway, seems that Bowser Jr and shadow Mario both have tricks and traps for them. It would be rather strange playing as a character who has two forms that each do similar things (Kind of). It is an excellent effort and it deserves a lot of credit for the work. I can also see that you have tried to keep it all cool and creative without too much randomness.
Well, the Final Smash is the only thing that concerns me a bit with the confusiness of reading it (For Jr), but not much else is of the matter.
But with Shadow Mario, his D-throw I believe put the opponent in a tripped position, for twice as long as usual and they cannot get up. Now, I am sure that you cannot grab a tripped opponent (99% sure) but I think this attack was made a bit broken, but I can see that you have tried to make it vital to Shadow Mario's game. But I suppose that you can see SM's grab and see that what you did was reasonable.
Overall, this moveset tops and it has had a lot of flawless effort put into it. The pictures made it more amusing. Well done!
Now, as for Computer Virus:
There are a few areas where you have a bit of a disorder when it comes to the attack orders (Like D smash, u tilt, that stuff) with puppet, but this is not a major problem. Also, you do seem to change some of the colourings of your moves for each form as well, though I don't know if you do this just for each respective form, but it would save confusion.Is Slime Swarn the final smash as well? Id suggest that you detail that as a final smash, id say because it prevents confusion in your moveset. Well overall, I guess that with a massive moveset, It looks like there has been a lot of work done for this. I don't really have time to look at any of the moves right now, later on.
It may seem that I am being mean that I am criticizing your moveset but it would be good if it was easier for other people to read. I will get back to this later on, but I cannot really say much else about the moveset right now.
I'm happy to announce that Raiden is finished... well, at least his moveset is. I'll be working on his extras and playstyle sections today, posting him either today or tomorrow depending on how active the thread is.
I'm still reading Bowser Jr., but from a skim, Computer Virus is certainly interesting, if somewhat disorganised. Aside from that, I love how the moveset is written and each character seems justified. I'm pretty sure I know who did what from what I've read.
I'll comment fully on Bowser Jr. and CV soon, but I'm primarily waiting on the thread to see what happens - it was dead most of yesterday, so it looks like the 23rd is the day.
Well, thanks a whole lot for all the positive commentary on Bowser Jr.; he definitely took the longest time to finish out of my sets so far, and I'm pleased with what he turned out to be. I never intended it to be as long as it is, though; although K.Rool is right in saying I sometimes don't shorten the move descriptions down as much as I should, most of that detail is mandatory for describing the move functions. Having two characters plus a ton of extras with said detail can really stretch a moveset out.
I think I did a fairly easy-to-read job with the Final Smash; the Green Landmaster was just a joke, in that Jr. yells out a quote before leaping offscreen and coming down in a controllable vehicle as well. The commands were pretty clear, in my opinion. The Airship is Landmaster-sized, and floats and moves with the same controls, although it cannot barrel-roll or KO foes off the top. It can still crush foes, and has a moveset of its own. There you go, if the moveset description wasn't clear enough. The individual Airship moves were quite simple in function and description, so I won't break those down.
Switching between two characters that share similar styles was my attempt at even more trickery, as a smart player could switch between them, still using trap moves, but having a different enough playstyle to throw off opponents for a while. The D-Throw is fairly balanced, I think, as you cannot grab a tripped opponent (I am pretty sure), and even so, I edited it in that Shadow Mario can't grab a tripped foe here, even if it can be done with normal foes. Plus, it would be hard with Shadow Mario's grab anyways, as the Chain Chomplet isn't that great a grab. That should clarify that if anyone doesn't know that about grabs.
I read Computer Virus as soon as I saw it. Gotta uphold my newfound reputation of loving multi-sets, don't I?
Firstly, I quite love the organization, although I thought you'd vary up the colors a bit more from moveset to moveset - Great Dragon's beta organization, which I saw in Kibble's workspace, was very nice. All the same, I don't think the moveset is at all hard to read, although I would have liked to see attack names on Slime and Puppet, as I've taken them for granted recently and really missed while reading those two. In addition, although I'm sure it was a deliberate move, I don't much like how scrambled the order of attacks is on them.
As to the mechanic itself, I gotta say, it's very cool and 100% fitting to the Virus. On the other hand, dealing 20% is a matter of a single attack for many characters; I wonder what the effects of all that constant switching would be on any poor sap trying to main Computer Virus. Then again, I made Miracle Matter, so I should hardly be talking.
So I got the impression that Slime and Evil Knight were Ocon, Puppet and Magician were MT, and Great Dragon (of course) was Kibble. Am I off on that? Not familiar enough with Ocon's own style, apparently.
So Slime was pretty cool, considering how pointless he is. He doesn't stay out for very long so it doesn't matter than he doesn't have a complete moveset. He's got some relatively interesting ideas (I love that Up B) and is, with Dragon, the least detailed of the bunch, so he was real easy to read. Good job, it's a good start and sucks you into the moveset right off the bat.
Puppet is similar in purpose but has some really wacky, creative attacks that were cool to see. I do feel his whole string-box mechanic could have been explained a bit better, as I see no string box in his picture and thus have trouble picturing it used in attacks - where is it by default? Anyway, aside from that, it's a real neat moveset.
So Magician is the first of the "actual" movesets and this one I'm quite sure was MT. It's got that easy manner to it and the slightly obscure writing style, but it's quite inviting. I think that a magic-based character tends to be just as much a challenge as a knight or a dragon - after all, restrictions breed creativity, and there's no ceiling when you've got magic as a crutch. However, I think you skirted the potential pitfall of tossing in any ol' attack and explaining it away wildly quite well. It's got some really cool, unexplored ideas, like that awesome Perimeter.
Evil Knight I'm a bit more shaky on, but I assume it's Ocon because I KNOW Great Dragon is Kibble. Anyway, this is the first of your (two) sets that I've really given a close appraisal, Ocon, and it's really well done. It doesn't go overboard with the detail and does plenty with that suit-of-armor archetype that's remained relatively unused; I believe this is the second moveset of its sort, after Alphonse. The Darkness mechanic doesn't really sound like something new, but it's quite well implemented and the fact that it actually helps switching makes it so much more relevant than it would be if Evil Knight were his own moveset.
And then there's Great Dragon. I remain of the opinion that Kibble is the most consistent moveset maker, and this certainly adds to that opinion. You put Charizard to shame; dragon movesets are another kind that haven't really been explored, but you tap into all that potential wonderfully. High-power, KOing heavyweights tend to make less interesting movesets than characters with limited KO potential, but there are a ton of cool attacks in here and the low detail means that it was easiest to read.
The link you've got for Virus's victory theme is malformed, might wanna fix that...
And on the whole, looked at as the joint project it SHOULD be looked at, it's a really great moveset. There's a sense of harmony as you read from one to the next, like the three of you were cooperating more than anyone has done in the past. If this is a portent of the joint movesets to come in the next three days, looks like I won't have too much trouble finding four more sets to vote for.
And to all my fellow Sins, I say this: am I really slacking just because I haven't taken on an OFFICIAL moveset review in a few weeks?
Slime and Puppet were all joint ideas put together by the three of us although Ocon did the write ups for those two. Unfortuantely I didn't realize until afterwards that we had posted without attack names, eep...and yeah, I noticed the link was broken last night only after Ocon had left unfortunately.
Magician was done by Ocon.
Evil Knight was done by myself (and was also the reason the set took so long to come out >_>; )
And you were spot on with Kibble doing Great Dragon.
Anyway, thanks for the little mini-review, glad you enjoyed the set ^_^
And nah, you're not slacking. Review queue's been sloooooooooow...
Slime and Puppet were all joint ideas put together by the three of us although Ocon did the write ups for those two. Unfortuantely I didn't realize until afterwards that we had posted without attack names, eep...and yeah, I noticed the link was broken last night only after Ocon had left unfortunately.
Magician was done by Ocon.
Evil Knight was done by myself (and was also the reason the set took so long to come out >_>; )
And you were spot on with Kibble doing Great Dragon.
Anyway, thanks for the little mini-review, glad you enjoyed the set ^_^
And nah, you're not slacking. Review queue's been sloooooooooow...
WHAT? You serious? Dude, I coulda SWORN you were the one who did Magician. Man, I need to go reread Megaman and Azumarill and Hyatt to get my moveset makers straight...
Well, that makes my whole commentary kind of stupid. Well, good job on your bit, anyway, MT.
Also, a question: can I assume that just about every MYMer has the Monotype Corsiva font installed? That's one of the most common fonts, right?
Most of what I can say about Computer Virus has probably already been said, but I can't help but comment on such a nice work.
Probably my favorite parts of the set were the Magician and the Dark Knight. In particular, I enjoyed the cloning aspect of the Magician's Up Special, the Magician's Up Smash, the rather interesting properties of the Neutral Special projectile, and the Neutral A combo. My two favorite moves for the Dark Knight were the Down Special and the Dash Attack, though really a lot of the moves were impressive, such as the midngame potential of the Neutral Special when combined with Darkness. The Great Dragon wasn't particularly impressive in comparison (though he really had the least to go on out of the three main movesets), but the petrification (down) special was interesting.
The thing about the set that strikes me as the greatest part is the mechanic, but this is also where my one confusion comes from. What would happen in a stamina match?
There are a few areas where you have a bit of a disorder when it comes to the attack orders (Like D smash, u tilt, that stuff) with puppet, but this is not a major problem. Also, you do seem to change some of the colourings of your moves for each form as well, though I don't know if you do this just for each respective form, but it would save confusion.Is Slime Swarn the final smash as well? Id suggest that you detail that as a final smash, id say because it prevents confusion in your moveset. Well overall, I guess that with a massive moveset, It looks like there has been a lot of work done for this. I don't really have time to look at any of the moves right now, later on.
The reason the moves are disorganized with both Puppet and Slime are because they lack a -LOT- of the moves that would make up a normal moveset. Being the weakest forms of Computer Virus, they act as a transition to the more powerful ones, hence, they don't have complete movesets.
As for the colors changing for different parts of the moveset, the colors are all uniform until Evil Knight; even then the attack colors stay the same, it only adds the Darkness Bonus as a different color for clarification of an important mechanic.
Slime Swarm also is the Final Smash, above it in the little "error window" it says so.
Thank you for your comments, indeed this did take a long time to finish and a lot of hardwork and cooporation.
Probably my favorite parts of the set were the Magician and the Dark Knight. In particular, I enjoyed the cloning aspect of the Magician's Up Special, the Magician's Up Smash, the rather interesting properties of the Neutral Special projectile, and the Neutral A combo. My two favorite moves for the Dark Knight were the Down Special and the Dash Attack, though really a lot of the moves were impressive, such as the midngame potential of the Neutral Special when combined with Darkness. The Great Dragon wasn't particularly impressive in comparison (though he really had the least to go on out of the three main movesets), but the petrification (down) special was interesting.
The whole "darkness bonus" thing hit me at about...5am sometime last week. As soon as I thought of it, I tried to figure the best way to make it work in a set that already has a weird mechanic, this was my end result and I believe it turned out quite well really.
And yes, the Neutral Special with the afterimage knives was one of my favorite parts of the set to write. <3
Hello everyone. I've been lurking this thread for the past month, and started making my own moveset lately. I know this contest is about to end, and I hope I can squeeze it in before Wednesday ends.
I know I won't be able to cast my votes anymore and I don't know whether I will make any more moveset. But I hope my character (an original character) will be taken positively.
I've taken Acid Seaforce and King K. Rool's movesets as inspiration for the organisation, and mind you, King K. Rool was the one to spark the idea for this moveset in me.
That's all... I'm working really hard!
By the way, Bowser Jr. and Computer Virus were great reads! I loved them. Sorry that this comment isn't more in-depth. I'll try to make one later!
Hello everyone. I've been lurking this thread for the past month, and started making my own moveset lately. I know this contest is about to end, and I hope I can squeeze it in before Wednesday ends.
I know I won't be able to cast my votes anymore and I don't know whether I will make any more moveset. But I hope my character (an original character) will be taken positively.
I've taken Acid Seaforce and King K. Rool's movesets as inspiration for the organisation, and mind you, King K. Rool was the one to spark the idea for this moveset in me.
That's all... I'm working really hard!
By the way, Bowser Jr. and Computer Virus were great reads! I loved them. Sorry that this comment isn't more in-depth. I'll try to make one later!
Welcome to MYM! I love it when newcomers take some time to read and figure out what's going on, it's so refreshing. Hopefully you'll enjoy yourself here, it's really quite addictive.
And I'm glad I could be of inspiration. Original characters are generally well-received, considering the extra effort it takes to make them, so I'll be looking forward to your first moveset!
On another note, I'm finished MY final moveset of the contest. So soon after the last one, I know. I think I'll wait and give Dad the chance to post Raiden, considering that one's been in the making for six months rather than three days.
