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Okay y'all I wanna talk about Kazuma Kiryu. I know he gets brought up sometimes but thanks to me playing more than one Yakuza game, the thread having some great moveset discussion, Heihachi being off the table, and my desire for a brutal rushdown character in Smash, he has shot up my most-wanted list. I even might want him more than Arle on some days if we were to get another Sega rep.
I could talk about how he has a bunch of games to his name (and while the newest one doesn't feature him as protagonist he still is in it), and how he's popular, something something legacy, but I'd rather talk about how cool he is and how neat his moves are.
Kiryu is a Yakuza/ex-Yakuza, a stoic but selfless hard-nosed tough guy who finds himself embroiled in all manner of organized crime conspiracies due to his past. His games are high drama through sophisticated (and
according to actual Yakuza members, realistic) power struggles, but also high comedy and entertainment through fun side quests, entertaining and silly diversions such as mahjong or arcade games, and deep and engaging beat-em-up action. He's a kind-hearted character who throws himself wholeheartedly into all kinds of scenarios and always ends up way over his head, whether it's adopting kids, playing with slot cars, or taking down international conspiracies.
As mentioned, his main form of attack is his martial arts, with his heavy hits and his iconic Dragon style. Every punch and flying kick he can hit you with will
hurt, and he also has the ability to pick up and use objects in the environment to deal serious damage on his opponents.
Here are a few gimmicks I think could work for him.
1.
Heat Mode - In his games, attacking with Kiryu fills a meter called Heat. When Kiryu is at maximum Heat, he can unless devastating combo attacks and finishers. I see it working in Smash as a way to encourage rushdown play as well as nimble dodging. Each strike you get the opponent with will help fill your Heat meter. Each hit you take will drain it. Successful spot dishes and perfect counters will also help raise it up. Once Heat is full, you can now autocombo moves - for example a command grab now becomes a grab->heavy strike->launch. It would lead to some killer combos and aggressive play.
2.
Stances - Now this is something we've been discussing in the Kiryu thread. In two games, Yakuza 0 and Yakuza Kiwami, Kiryu uses more than his Dragon stance. He has the ability to switch between four different ones, each with strengths and weaknesses. First there's Dragon, but then there's also:
Brawler - A well-rounded hard-hitting style.
Rush - A fast style with rapid jabs, kicks, weaves, and combos to stagger opponents.
Beast - My favorite, a slow and heavy style that can tank hits, send opponents flying, and automatically combos into weapon attacks.
Now, some argue that being able to switch between those styles in Smash isn't super indicative of the character's iconic move pool because it's only in two games. That's something I understand, but I do think that it would be a unique mechanic for Smash that would be really fascinating to play with. That said, another way they could all be represented would be for Kiryu to glow the different stance colors when he uses a move from the move pool. He has his dragon stance most of the time but things like throws, heavy attacks, etc, would all draw from those other styles to create a character that can have both classic and modern influences.
3.
Weapon combos - I don't know whether this would just be a certain special or Smash attack, but I'd love a move where he pulled out a random weapon to deck the opponent with, just like in the games. It could be like Peach's turnip or G&W's Judge, with different weapons doing different amounts of damage (and one of them is definitely the bike).
Anyway, I know he's not super likely, but if you're a Kiryu fan or like the sound of any of this is love to talk about it. The Kiryu thread is also a good place. I just wanted to get some ideas off my chest since I've recently fell in love with the character moreso than before and I can really see him working in Smash. Of course, whether they'd dare add a character or reference a series names after an organized crime gang in America is another story, but hey, it doesn't hurt to dream.
, Knoxville is.... Francis from Deadly Premonition? no idea on the others
If you find this stuff entertaining to you, don't let me stop you.
