Who's with me on this, eh? He was suggested in entry #171, and he's from the sister game to Zelda on the Famicom Disk System: Nazo no Murasaemjou. It's Takamaru, the samurai in training who fights ninjas and evil shoguns to restore peace to Oedo!
If Sakurai just had to put in another swordfighter, this is it. Recently, Nazo cameoed in Pikmin 2 as an actual Famicom Disk, and it was rereleased for the GBA as part of the Famicom Classics Collection. So it's not like it's completely forgotten!
http://nindb.classicgaming.gamespy.com/stars/takamaru.shtml (I'm sure FryGuy doesn't mind me linking this
)
http://boneash.oldgame.tw/Fds/fds-1-9.html (a little info, in Japanese)
***ADDED***
Thanks Parrothead!
"Here are some larger pictures:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6.../fc00074_2.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6.../fc00012_2.jpg
Takamaru also appeared in this page, which is where you saw those beefed-up Mario Bros.:
http://www5c.biglobe.ne.jp/~kureku...ra2/index.html "
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And here's my own suggested moveset for those curious how he could behave in a Smash game...
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**************ADDED THE NEW MOVESET HERE NOW**********************
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Takamaru (from
Nazo no Murasaemjou ("Riddle of Castle Murasame"), Nintendo, 1986)
Speed: B-
Weight: C+
Recovery: C+
Strength: A
Throw: A-
Gravity: C+ (F being very light)
*Takamaru is fairly average, with great physical strength. Using his katana, he can deal some heavy blows. His katana is almost always top-priority so long as he's using it with an A attack. Otherwise, it changes entirely...
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A: Horizontal Swordswipe
A, A: Horizontal Swipe, Back swipe (like a graceful swinging motion)
> A: Stab
v A: Low Swipe (ducks and swipes)
^ A: Overhead Arch
Smash > A: Strong Downwards Slash, Hard Horizonal Slice (two-step)
Smash ^ A: Rising Katana (swings his katana, edge up, into the air, blade straight [think like a reverse of Mewtwo's Forward Smash with a Beam Sword, only it starts higher in the air])
Smash v A: Swordclear (swings around his body, low)
Dash A: Running Downwards Slice
Air A: Horizontal Cut
> A: Swordslam (hits with the base of the blade's handle, similar to Peach's Forward Air A)
< A: Elbow Shove (throws back his elbow)
^ A: Big Arch Cut (swings his katana up over his head, in a very large arch)
V A: Wooden Sandals (stomps down with his wooden sandals, METEOR attack)
Grab: Replaces his katana and swings out his arms
A: Knee
Forward: Holds them over his head and tosses them forwards. Weak.
Back: Spins on his heels and slices them with his katana. Mid-strong.
Up: Throws them up and repeatedly slices at them, the last slash being the strongest. Strong.
Down: Slams them down and cuts them a few times.
B: Kunai - Takamaru tosses a kunai in front of him with a quick tap of B. These work just like Sheik's needles in terms of damage and knockback. If he keeps tapping B, he can keep tossing kunai until he needs to take a break (after 10, maybe?). He can hold B to "charge" and throw out three kunai at once, which fly off forwards and diagonally down and up before him. The lag after doing this is greater than just tossing regular kunai. Once Takamaru reaches 100% damage, he starts throwing fireballs instead (burning packs of straw, I guess). They are thrown slower, but deal more damage and burn. He can also charge these for a threeway attack. After 170% damage, he starts throwing double curved blades. These travel a bit faster than the fireballs, but not as fast as the kunai. They deal combo damage when they hit, and have the greatest lag after tossing.
> B: Swordslap - A variation of Counter. The waiting time is shorter, but when he DOES counter a physical attack, he slaps the opponent with the side of the blade, stunning them temporarily.
(NEW!) ^ B: Rising Sun - Takamaru swings his blade downwards, and does a flip, propelling himself off the arching motion. The motion is so great, he ends up doing multiple flips, sword extended as his body is curled. At first the attack will slice people away, but towards the end of his jump he will start to combo people lightly at the tip of the katana (doesn't pull in). Takamaru's sword and body both glow with a red force when he does this attack, faintly, but it gives the image of the "Rising Sun" in the process. The height is roughly the same as Link's Swordspin (a little higher), and he spins about as fast as Samus's Screw Attack.
*Thanks to Lord_Deathborne for the Up B idea!
(NEW!) v B: Focus Blade/Soul - Takamaru holds his katana sideways in both his hands, closes his eyes, and focuses his energy into the blade. You can see "smoke" rise from his body as the blade begins to glow a bright blue color. Here's how the move works: Takamaru is awakening the soul of his blade, which requires him to focus. You can focus on your blade to make it grow in power, the total time it taking to focus it fully being roughly 12 seconds. The glow gets stronger as it builds in power, and stays with the blade while you are not focusing. However, the glow will dim and eventually die out as you play without focusing it, so it is integral, if you want to keep a focused blade, to keep using his Down B whenever you can. It will take roughly the same amount of time you charged the blade for it to die out. When charged, the power of the katana grows slightly, increasing with the amount of focus spent. You can focus for a little bit, go off, and then come back and focus again, starting at the point where the blade last dimmed to (so it's like a meter that will slowly decrease, but you can "catch" it and build it up again before it decreases too much). If Takamaru overfocuses his blade, it will suddenly flash a brilliant red color and Takamaru will be stunned, making a noise as if his shield broke. He will kneel, leaning one hand on his blade (which is pointy side down, standing in the ground), and will be stunned for about as long as he would be with a broken shield. Avoid overpowering your blade.
(NEW!)Super Move: Invisibility Technique - Takamaru disappears in a puff of smoke, and gets a cool 10 seconds of invisibility (shadow still visible). He is invulnerable during this time, but can still be KO'd by stage hazards or falling off the level. He is truly invisible, unlike the Cloaking Device, as well (so no glitchiness!). If his sword is storing energy, the glow will still be visible. Also, the light will still catch off his blade, giving him a glint to both follow and read the timing for his attacks.
So you're prolly wondering "this is detrimental, not helpful! wtf, mate!" Well, while invisible, Takamaru is completely invulnerable, like I said earlier, and any indicators that would appear above his head automatically disappear (i.e. nicks, player number), and just go onto the corner of the screen [or somewhere out of the way]. I guess I should mention too that, because of his stealthy ways, Takamaru gets a slight boost in speed, which also includes his attack speed. So while invisible, not only is he hard to spot, but he's easier to combo and move with. Not bad, huh?
Notes:
-While dashing, Takamaru gets a brief 1.25 seconds ability to run on water. He can also jump off the surface of water, but only if he jumps onto it (not if he's knocked in), and he reacts quickly.
-Takamaru almost exclusively uses his blade with one hand. The frees up his other to hold items, meaning that Takamaru will "slash twice" when he has certain items in his grasp.
-The key to using Takamaru is to utilize his powerful attacks with his katana, and focus whenever you have a free moment. This will unlock his fullest potential. He has trouble fighting anti-air, but when the opponent is grounded -- it's Takamaru's game. Use the Rising Sun to try and stop aerial attacks, and Swordslap if you're getting comboed.
Taunt: Puts his katana away and bows, hands together.
Entrance: Takamaru is kneeling and praying, then stands up from his location and readies his blade.
Kirby Hat: Samurai Kirby, of course
Win Poses:
1. Takamaru slices his sword gracefully, then puts his sword back to rest, and bows with his hands straight at his sides.
2. Practices using his katana by cutting in various directions and steps, then stands a defense position with it straight up in front of him. Each time he cuts, he says the numbers in Japanese ("Ichi, Ni, San!"), but not really yelling them (more like meditation/training).
3. Sits Indian-style and sips a cup of tea, smiling.
And here is a sketch I did of Takamaru utilizing his moveset [old Up B, however]
***MUSIC***
Curious what kinda theme Takamaru would have in-game? Check out these sites:
http://gh.ffshrine.org/soundtracks/1423 -- Zelda and Nazo 45rpm Soundtrack
http://gh.ffshrine.org/soundtracks/4051 -- Toy Music~Akihabara Electric Circus
http://gh.ffshrine.org/soundtracks/334 -- Famicom 20th Anniversary Arrangement Album (NOTE: this is only 5 years old or so)
If you look around the main site (Galbadia Hotel), you can probably find more as well!
***VIDEO***
http://youtube.com/watch?v=nGVPiJqcFbs -- Nazo TV Commercial (anime style)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZ4NUa-vydI -- Video of Gameplay
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t9Fka8Yt9E4 -- Video of a Guy Playing the Theme on his Guitar
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6XAb2z4bl8Q -- Korean Commercial, very similar to that famous Link to the Past commercial; includes people in costume, one is Takamaru
***CAMEOS***
Sadly, Takamaru and Nazo don't cameo too much in other Nintendo games (unless somebody were to dig deep). Only one definite cameo has been found so far:
Pikmin 2: the item "Cosmic Archive" is actually the Nazo no Murasamejou game disk for the Famicom Disk System!
http://nindb.classicgaming.gamespy.com/dol/images/cam/gpv_1a.jpg
http://nindb.classicgaming.gamespy.com/dol/images/cam/gpv_1b.jpg
***SEQUELS/RERELEASES***
So far, Nazo has not seen a sequel, but did see a re-release on the GBA in Japan as part of the Famicom Mini Collection (
http://www.gamespot.com.cn/i/product/other_pic/39221220/b001.jpg)
There have been no talks of a sequel, but it is safe to assume that the game will be appearing on the Virtual Console for the Wii at some point in time, possibly even Stateside (as Nintendo mentioned at one point or another games that were not available in some regions may become available in those regions)
Regardless, Nazo sold very well for the Famicom Mini Collection, alongside top contenders like Super Mario Bros., Legend of Zelda, and Castlevania. Interestingly, Kid Icarus was also a Japan-only Famicom Mini release, and that was admitted as Sakurai to be part of the reason he included Pit in the game (fan support for the re-release to make it into the States [to no avail] was phenomonal).
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So CLEARLY the character has support.
So c'mon,
support Takamaru!
