I’ve combed through the smaller part of the internet, and from what I’ve seen, there is a lot of support for some kind of Pikmin character. Olimar, Louie, and the colorful gaggle of Pikmin are in high demand.
Brawl is a fighting game. And fighting games generally have some standards for what can become one of their fighting character. The majority of fighters have the standard or criteria of being human or humanoid. This means having arms, legs, body, and head are necessary. Smash has a similar criteria. This is why a Tetris block character wouldn’t fit in smash. What attacks would it have? How would it move around, by infinite spin?
<p align="center"><a href="http://smashboards.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/06/pikmin1x28x05xghp.jpg" title="pikmin1×28x05xghp.jpg"><img src="http://smashboards.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/06/pikmin1x28x05xghp.jpg" alt="pikmin1×28x05xghp.jpg" /></a></p>
Olimar fits the criteria, but what about the pikmin? Can we really have another Ice Climbers fiasco?<!--more-->
In Pikmin and Pikmin 2, Olimar is a small figure in a huge foreign world. With the help of his plant friends that he picks from the ground, he conquers his environment. These friends, Pikmin, are smaller than Olimar which brings up the issue of size and proportion. Smash is all about beating each other up. In order to do that, you have to be able to hit your opponents. The bigger they are, the easier it is to hit them. The smaller they are, the harder it is to hit them. In order to make Olimar and friends look right, they have to appear small. So how small is too small in Smash?
<p align="center"> <a href="http://smashboards.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/06/20041107_pikmin.jpg" title="20041107_pikmin.jpg"><img src="http://smashboards.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/06/20041107_pikmin.jpg" alt="20041107_pikmin.jpg" /></a></p>
Kirby is supposed to be 8 inches tall. To stay true to this fact, but still make him suitable for Smashing, they gave Kirby the lowest crouch in the game. This allows him to duck under nearly every attack in the game, giving him a “small” feel. Now check out these brawl shots side by side. Is it just me, or are the proportions a little skewed between the three?
<p align="center"><a href="http://smashboards.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/06/scr_164.jpg" title="scr_164.jpg"><img src="http://smashboards.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/06/scr_164.thumbnail.jpg" alt="scr_164.jpg" /></a> <a href="http://smashboards.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/06/scr_136.jpg" title="scr_136.jpg"><img src="http://smashboards.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/06/scr_136.thumbnail.jpg" alt="scr_136.jpg" /> </a><a href="http://smashboards.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/06/scr_134.jpg" title="scr_134.jpg"><img src="http://smashboards.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/06/scr_134.thumbnail.jpg" alt="scr_134.jpg" /></a></p>
Shiek’s needles are the smallest attack/projectile in Melee. They’re small barbs of metal that can hardly be seen especially when the game is zoomed out. No attack should be so small and fast that they’re practically invisible. Brawl seems to understand this concept. Sakurai seems to be making all the moves more obvious and apparent. Link’s sword glows after all.
So if Olimar were a character, I’d say he would be about Kirby’s or Fox’s height. The Pikmin should be Pichu or Peach’s Vegetable size.
Now for possible moves.
Continuing with the concept that B moves define the character and A moves round out their fighting ability, Olimar’s A moves would be a variety of his 1-2-3 puches and other physical attacks. Olimars BÂ special could be drawing a Pikmin from the ground. Like Peach’s Vegetables, a random pikmin would be drawn that would follow Olimar around. The rest of his B moves would be ways to control the Pikmin. Side+B: Whistle to organize them. Down+B: Red fart to invigorate them. Up+B, throw pikmin. What if certain combinations of pikmin could built bridges and other useful things?
It would be interesting to see if a balance could be created to give the Pikmin a small AI like in their games. The Pikmin could run to locations to morph the level, or attack nearby enemies when left idling on their own.
Brawl is a fighting game. And fighting games generally have some standards for what can become one of their fighting character. The majority of fighters have the standard or criteria of being human or humanoid. This means having arms, legs, body, and head are necessary. Smash has a similar criteria. This is why a Tetris block character wouldn’t fit in smash. What attacks would it have? How would it move around, by infinite spin?
<p align="center"><a href="http://smashboards.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/06/pikmin1x28x05xghp.jpg" title="pikmin1×28x05xghp.jpg"><img src="http://smashboards.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/06/pikmin1x28x05xghp.jpg" alt="pikmin1×28x05xghp.jpg" /></a></p>
Olimar fits the criteria, but what about the pikmin? Can we really have another Ice Climbers fiasco?<!--more-->
In Pikmin and Pikmin 2, Olimar is a small figure in a huge foreign world. With the help of his plant friends that he picks from the ground, he conquers his environment. These friends, Pikmin, are smaller than Olimar which brings up the issue of size and proportion. Smash is all about beating each other up. In order to do that, you have to be able to hit your opponents. The bigger they are, the easier it is to hit them. The smaller they are, the harder it is to hit them. In order to make Olimar and friends look right, they have to appear small. So how small is too small in Smash?
<p align="center"> <a href="http://smashboards.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/06/20041107_pikmin.jpg" title="20041107_pikmin.jpg"><img src="http://smashboards.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/06/20041107_pikmin.jpg" alt="20041107_pikmin.jpg" /></a></p>
Kirby is supposed to be 8 inches tall. To stay true to this fact, but still make him suitable for Smashing, they gave Kirby the lowest crouch in the game. This allows him to duck under nearly every attack in the game, giving him a “small” feel. Now check out these brawl shots side by side. Is it just me, or are the proportions a little skewed between the three?
<p align="center"><a href="http://smashboards.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/06/scr_164.jpg" title="scr_164.jpg"><img src="http://smashboards.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/06/scr_164.thumbnail.jpg" alt="scr_164.jpg" /></a> <a href="http://smashboards.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/06/scr_136.jpg" title="scr_136.jpg"><img src="http://smashboards.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/06/scr_136.thumbnail.jpg" alt="scr_136.jpg" /> </a><a href="http://smashboards.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/06/scr_134.jpg" title="scr_134.jpg"><img src="http://smashboards.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/06/scr_134.thumbnail.jpg" alt="scr_134.jpg" /></a></p>
Shiek’s needles are the smallest attack/projectile in Melee. They’re small barbs of metal that can hardly be seen especially when the game is zoomed out. No attack should be so small and fast that they’re practically invisible. Brawl seems to understand this concept. Sakurai seems to be making all the moves more obvious and apparent. Link’s sword glows after all.
So if Olimar were a character, I’d say he would be about Kirby’s or Fox’s height. The Pikmin should be Pichu or Peach’s Vegetable size.
Now for possible moves.
Continuing with the concept that B moves define the character and A moves round out their fighting ability, Olimar’s A moves would be a variety of his 1-2-3 puches and other physical attacks. Olimars BÂ special could be drawing a Pikmin from the ground. Like Peach’s Vegetables, a random pikmin would be drawn that would follow Olimar around. The rest of his B moves would be ways to control the Pikmin. Side+B: Whistle to organize them. Down+B: Red fart to invigorate them. Up+B, throw pikmin. What if certain combinations of pikmin could built bridges and other useful things?
It would be interesting to see if a balance could be created to give the Pikmin a small AI like in their games. The Pikmin could run to locations to morph the level, or attack nearby enemies when left idling on their own.