reatest strengths: KO power, recovery, projectile countering
Greatest weaknesses: mobility
Villager was a really fun and unique character to play. A lot of his moves are really unorthodox, but he seems like he will be powerful when he’s completely figured out. His up and down tilts have very high knockback, whereas his up and down smash aren’t used directly for KOs. Two of his aerials are projectiles, and his down B is an interesting stage trap. Although Villager doesn’t have much range with his limbs, he has some interesting ways to compensate–fitting for a character with such deep pockets.
Jabs – 3 each
Villager puts on boxing gloves and swings a quick punch. Repeated presses of the A button will yield consecutive hits until you decide to stop. Definitely a very solid move, his fists/mitts are pretty big.
Forward tilt – umbrella – 9
Villager pulls out a yellow (at least, it’s yellow in the default costume) parasol and jabs it forward. Solid range, low knockback. Looks to be an effective spacing tool on the ground, especially since you can pivot ftilt directly out of your dash!
Up tilt – stick (2 hits) – 6, 5
Villager takes a stick out of his infinite pockets and twirls it in the air twice. The second hit has very high knockback and appears to be a KO move. Not much range, though, since the stick is kinda short.
Down tilt – pluck – 13
Villager pulls some weeds and dirt out of the ground. Also has very high knockback and appears to be a KO move.
Dash attack – flowerpot – 10
While running, Villager pulls out a flowerpot, only to trip and send it flying in front of him.
Forward smash – bowling ball – 15-21
Villager whips out a bowling ball and gracelessly drops it while wobbling on one leg. Very slow to start and small range, but strong knockback. The ball continues falling if you drop it off the edge of a platform or stage. Probably a bit impractical in 1v1s without proper setup, but his down smash might provide just that! Scroll down a bit to check it out.
Up smash – fireworks – 11-16
Villager takes out some strange cannon-esque apparatus and shoots a few blasts of fireworks from it. They reach a bit over his head. This move is slightly reminiscent of Snake’s up smash from Brawl, the mortar launcher.
Down smash – shovel – 7-9 Using one of the staple items from the Animal Crossing series, Villager stabs the ground on either side of him with a shovel. Although this move does very low damage, it actually pitfalls the opponent as if they walked into a hole in Animal Crossing (or stepped on the Pitfall item in Smash, or got hit with Donkey Kong’s Headbutt into the ground). This allows Villager (or any other characters on the screen) ample time to follow up with another move of choice, kind of like Zero Suit Samus’s down smash.
Neutral air – flip – 9 strong, 5 weak Villager does a flimsy cartwheel in the air. The move is strongest when it first comes out, then becomes a bit weaker. Forward air – slingshot – 7 close, 4 far This move (as well as back air) really impressed me–Villager uses a slingshot to shoot a pebble a short distance in front of him in a straight line before it disappears. This move is one of the few normal moves that’s actually a projectile in the Super Smash Bros. series. The pebble is stronger if you’re closer to your opponent. Back air – slingshot – 9 close, 5 far Villager’s back air is nearly identical to his forward air, except it goes in the opposite direction and deals a little bit more damage.
Up air – turnips – 4-10
Villager pulls out anywhere between one and three turnips (completely random) and points them upwards, somehow producing an attack. More turnips equals more damage and knockback.
Down air – turnips – 8-13
Similar to up air, except the turnips come out below his body and it does a bit more damage.
Neutral B – Pocket
Villager catches oncoming projectiles/items and stores them in his hammerspace pocket. Pressing B again causes him to throw back whatever he caught.
Side B – Lloid Rocket – 7 (projectile), 17 (riding)
Villager spawns a gyroid character named Lloid from Animal Crossing and can either send it away as a projectile or ride it as a mount. Riding it does more damage and can be used as a recovery move, but you lose the advantage of keeping Villager safely far away from opponents.
Up B – Balloon Trip – 0
Villager spawns two balloons and floats through the skies with them on his back. Hitting them makes them pop, and he’ll go into freefall either when they’re both popped or he’s ridden out the maximum distance.
Down B – Timber – 25 – axe – 14 – item – 3
This is a four part move that requires quite a bit of time to set up. The first press of down B makes Villager plant the sapling in the ground. Next, if you press down B over the sapling, he’ll water it and it grows. Once the tree has grown, down B makes Villager swing an axe, regardless of where he is in relation to the tree. The tree requires two chops to go down, and once it does, it hurts. The tree bounces around a little bit off of everything it makes contact with, eventually breaking into little bits that can be picked up as items. Definitely a move that requires special circumstances to make contact with, but a very cool one regardless. The axe and items may be more practical than the tree itself.
When I see Villager, I see everything I could ever ask for.
