PaperBoy for Smash Ultimate DLC

[Gaming-101]

First Appearance: PaperBoy - April 1985 (Arcade, NES, Sega Genesis, Game Boy, Game Boy Color, Nintendo 64, Xbox 360, iPhone/iPod)

Who?

PaperBoy is from the self-titled game that came out in 1985, which is owned by Atari. If Atari were to get a character, he would be my #1 pick. Mainly because he rides a damn bike! How cool is that!? Thats pretty damn unique! It was originally created by three guys: John Salwitz, Dave Ralston, and Russel Dawe. The game did fairly good, that it even got a sequel called PaperBoy 2, but was criticized for it‘s repetitive gameplay and the fact that it looked outdated compared to other games.

Good or Bad Reviews?

Well, as I stated earlier, the original is better than the second. The first was amazing, while the second did very poorly. A lot of people say that the Arcade version did better, while other people say the NES version better. But tell me what you think In the replies. I honestly wanna know.

PaperBoy’s Role in Smash?

Unfortunately, there is none. It’s not on Atari Flashbacks Classics for the Switch nor is it for the NES games on Nintendo Switch Online (because it was ported to NES). So, I don’t know why Nintendo doesn’t want this game on their system.

What Would PaperBoy Play Like?

Well, I happen to have a couple of ideas for his moveset (any criticism is welcome, and as always, if you have ideas please feel free to tell me and I will add them and give you credit):

Since he rides a bike, he’ll never leave it unless he does a double jump. The first jump doesn’t have much height (About the size of Ganondorf’s first jump), while his double jump has him leaping off of his bike. But, once the bike takes enough damage. He’ll only be able to rely on his Air Attacks. Yep, you read that right! He’ll have another set of Air Attacks. Don’t worry, his bike will reappear. Don’t worry, though. You‘ll get it back after 10 seconds or until an opponent knocks you out.

With his Bike, he’d be about Yoshi’s height, Bowser’s weight, and Pikachu’s Speed. Without the Bike, he’d be Villager’s height, weight, and speed.

Smash Attacks

Unfortunately, I couldn’t think of any Smash Attacks.

Tilt Attacks

Standing Attack - He turns his handle left, right, then lifts up and and spins it causing the tire to spin.

Side Tilt - He takes a newspaper and swings it.

Down Tilt - ???

Up Tilt - ???

Dash Attack - He slams on the brakes and does a stoppie. Not only does the bike do damage, but the newspapers falling out of the basket also do damage.

Air Attacks (w/ Bike)

Neutral Air - He rides the bike in a circle.

Side Air - He lets go and kicks the other side of the bike, causing it to spin in front of him.

Back Air - ???

Down Air - ???

Up Air - He swings a newspaper upwards.

Air Attacks (Without Bike)

Neutral Air - Similar to Villagers

Side Air - He turns his back to the opponent and does a back kick. Think his SAir, except without the bike.

Back Air - He swings a newspaper behind him.

Down Air -

Up Air -

Special Moves

Neutral Special - ???

Side Special - ???

Down Special - ???

Up Special - ???

Final Smash - ???

What are PaperBoy’s chances?

In my opinion, about 2 - 3%. Although, my want score for him is about 30%. While I haven’t played PaperBoy myself, I do think he‘d be really unique.

Supporters
Gaming-101 a.k.a. SEGAGameBoy (Me!)
GoodGrief741
smash puffle

 

[GoodGrief741]

I absolutely support. Paperboy is a classic and Atari has definitely earned a place in Smash.

 

[Oddball]

I like the idea of Paper Boy being in Smash in some capacity or another, I just have a hard time figure out how he'd really work.

 

[Gracia_Borealis1]

Paperboy is my most wanted character. Instead of having him lose his bike during his double jump, I figured it could work similar to Bowser Jr. where he ditches the bike but gains it back once he lands or grabs the ledge. In terms of smash attacks, Side Smash could be a powered up newspaper swing, Up Smash could be a charged wheelie (up tilt would be a less powerful and faster version), and Down Smash would be him spinning in place. Or you could replace down or side smash with him falling over like he does when he loses a life. Back Air would be him spinning his bike towards the back ot him, and I could see down air as either A) Similar to Sephiroth's but with a bike instead of the sword, or B) Similar to my proposed up b, just without the height. In terms of specials:

Neutral B - He would throw a newspaper either straight in front of him, or at an arc like Belmont's Axe
Side B - Similar to Wario's in the sense he just runs the opponent over. I imagine this would also have an effect around his bike where his hitbox would be
Up B - Stated before, jumps off his bike and regains it when he grabs ledge or lands, like Bowser Jr has
Down B - There are a few ways this could work. He could either A) have him get off his bike making him a form change character, B) Have him summon an obstacle from the game like Duck Hunt's gunmen (or have him set down a grate like a trap), C) I think it'd be really funny if he had a counter but that's just me, or D) Give him the ability to make a mailbox appear (he could only summon one at a time), and if you want to, he can throw a paper in it with neutral b to make the mailbox have rest properties

The only move I'm not sure about is down tilt but he has some amazing potential

 

[MAtgSy]

Fun fact: The Captain N cartoon was originally intended to be a Paper Boy series about him hanging out with other NES characters like Pit & Mega Man. When the show was retooled, they still made an episode with the kid in Season 2.

Spoiler: concept art for the show