The Angry Beavers
Alright guys. Time to put this to rest once and for all. I’m gonna compile all my Beaver argument points here in one spot.
First, I’m going to say that now that Rocko is accounted for, the odds of any sort of Angry Beavers representation has shot up by a heck of a lot. There’s still that chance it gets left out, but I’d put money on the Beavers over pretty much any series that hasn’t been represented yet now that most of the biggest and most obvious ones are out of the way, as well as being the last big 90’s cartoon left besides Rocket Power. It'd just feel wrong to not include an Angry Beaver.
But will we get both Beavers together, or one Beaver on his own? I know the odds of having both as separate characters right now are very slim when we still have characters like Timmy Turner and Jimmy Neutron to worry about, but hey, it
could happen if DLC keeps going long enough, or if there’s a sequel.
Anyways, let’s get into it.
Duo Beavers
Chance: 20%
Want: 10%
I’m not gonna lowball it, but the more time goes on, the more I look at this game, the more I realize Duo Beavers isn’t very likely.
Let’s get the main reason why out of the way first:
The game probably won’t even be able to handle it.
Look, I love NASB but let’s be real, this game has a fair number of limitations and breaks in new and ridiculous ways every update. The Hugh update alone busted the absolute crap out of the console versions.
It can barely handle particle effects, animations and moves can get broken because of glitches or stuff breaking in between updates, the AI is wonky, the stages lag,
and yet people want two Beavers at once in an Ice Climbers style situation.
Do you know why the Ice Climbers weren’t in Smash 4? Because the 3DS couldn’t handle two identically sized characters being controlled at once, one with its own AI if it separates. I know NASB is NOT a 3DS game, but given the number of limitations this game does have and how much lag certain things cause, I seriously doubt an Ice Climbers style set up for the Angry Beavers is even
possible. The lag two Beavers at once would cause makes the idea not feel worth it.
Imagine trying to have four players as the Ice Climbers on Slime Time. Like actually try to picture that.
This could also apply to something like a Pyra/Mythra setup. While that’d be preferable and may work easier, it’d still probably lag the game a lot, given how long it takes most things to load. Items are one thing, but an entirely separate character being switched out on a whim, sometimes constantly? Nah. I can’t see it. It’d do better than an Ice Climbers style thing at least.
The other alternative is to smush both beavers together into one singular character like a pair of conjoined twins and that would be stupid.
Please don’t do that.
Second reason: it’s not true to the characters, and limits moveset potential
The main draw of The Angry Beavers is the sibling rivalry between Norbert and Daggett, who even if they’re brothers who live together, are not an inseparable singular unit. They’re often competing, squabbling, trying to one up each other, and sometimes flat-out brawling. Unlike CatDog and Ren and Stimpy, Norb and Dag are shown to have lives outside of each other, with Norbert having a social life and Daggett often enacting harebrained schemes by himself.
While I don’t expect both Beavers as solo characters all at once right away, having Dag and Norb as separate characters leaves much more room for moveset material, as a lot of the potential attacks the beavers have that can be referenced are used
on each other, and it also means the two can fight one another, which would be a great way to represent them as characters, and they can still work together through team matches, so it works out.
The two have done a lot of crazy, wacky things that could make for absolutely hilarious, bombastic movesets. The potential for insane references and attacks in just one of the brothers alone is actually staggering and would be fantastic for this game.
Plus, we already have
two “duo who beat each other up to fight” characters. Do we really need a third? You guys already don’t like Hugh borrowing like, two move concepts from Garfield. Duo Beavers who attack by fighting each other is just another Ren and Stimpy/CatDog retread.
I’ve drawn up potential movesets for each Beaver if they were to both have their own slots, which you can see in
the Angry Beavers support thread.
Third reason: Not every pair of characters in existence needs to be crammed into a duo fighter.
I see it all the time in speculation. The thing people tend to do is they see any duo or any team and then just automatically lump them all together in an Ice Climbers or Pokémon Trainer sort of situation without really considering if it'd make any sense.
Cartoons very often have two main characters driving everything, but that doesn’t mean EVERY duo in a cartoon are dividuals. While that sort of thing is common for multiplayer video game characters who need to play similar to each other, there is no such limitation in cartoon characters, who are often opposite personalities that need to clash for the sake of humor and to drive plots.
I’ve seen people complain that Finn and Jake aren’t a duo in Multiversus despite them both having awesome kits unique to each of them and it being fun to play as the two of them co-op in 2v2.
Why? What’s wrong with having them separated? Why would you want less characters?
Imagine if they decided SpongeBob and Patrick have to be a duo because they’re best friends. Imagine if they crammed all four Ninja Turtles into a singular unit, all at once, just standing there in a huddle, because they’re a team. Doesn’t that kind of feel like a missed opportunity?
Now I’m not against duo fighters altogether, of course not. It just has to
make sense. It needs to fit the characters and the source material, and it needs to work mechanically and have greater potential for moves and attacks together than if they were separated. Ren and Stimpy make sense. Tom and Jerry make sense (and are frankly brilliantly designed). Pokémon Trainer makes sense. Pyra and Mythra make sense. CatDog is literally joined at the hip, there was no other way they could have done them. It also helps that a lot of these duos or switch out characters are compact due to either the aforementioned switching out or because of size differences between the two characters. Rosalina and Luma worked on the 3DS because Luma is a little guy compared to Rosalina. Whereas the Ice Climbers were two identical models.
With the Angry Beavers, I don’t see any reason they should be a duo fighter besides the fact that there are two of them.
I can’t imagine how a duo moveset would work without needing to turn the two of them into interchangeable clones of each other (or resorting to mostly just "they beat each other up" moves). Which again, would limit what references to the show and characters they could pull from and would be untrue to the characters if Norbert is acting like Daggett and vice versa, or if they just downplay their personalities in general to make them able to share attacks and animations, and with how much personality they put into the character animation in this game, that’d be a huge disservice to the Beavers.
If we can have two Ninja Turtles with people clamoring for two more, we can have two Angry Beavers. And if we only get one Beaver, I can see demand ramping up for the other.
Again, I’m aware how unrealistic hoping for both Beavers as separate slots for this game is, especially after the devs have said they’re “not concerned with completing groups” (though granted that seemed primarily directed at the TMNT). If we only get one Beaver and that’s it, then that really sucks, but I wouldn’t lose hope for something like a sequel, where they’ll need a big group of new characters to generate hype. Another Beaver would be a great way to do this.
But
yeah, I acknowledge it’s not entirely impossible they’ll decide to make them a duo anyway, since that’s where all the “demand” is. It goes down to the devs and what they think would be best, really. Do they cram the Beavers together since that’s what people “want” (like they did with Hugh) or because they think that would legitimately work best, or do they do their own thing and decide there would be more possibilities if they were individuals, or just do it that way because that’s what they want? I can’t read their minds, so I don’t know how to answer that.
Though if I’m honest with you guys, I’m not sure the people who insist Norbert and Daggett
absolutely must be a duo fighter have ever actually watched The Angry Beavers.
If it happens?
I’d prefer a Pyra/Mythra style switch out to Ice Climbers style or Ren and Stimpy style, if we HAVE to. Then they can at least still fight each other without the other one stapled to their back. If we get something like that, I’d feel less inclined to complain, but it does depend on what the Beavers actually play like in that state.
It’s still Angry Beavers rep, I’ll take it, but it’s not the ideal Angry Beavers rep. I’ll be disappointed, but still thrilled to see them. It’s been a long time since Daggett and Norbert have been in a video game, I guess I can’t afford to be picky.
So, I’ve laid out why I think they should be separated, but in the event we only get one, or start with one Beaver first then add another later, who should it be?
Daggett
Chance: 85%
Want: 100%
If we’re only getting one Beaver, it’s going to be Daggett. Dag is the erratic, dumber and more prone to violence of the two Beaver brothers. Many many episodes are focused on his exploits in trying to one up Norb, get revenge over petty grievances or demand respect from the other animals, and of course his escapades as
MUSCULAR BEAVER, who would absolutely be a part of his moveset. He’s the most common victim of slapstick, and in my opinion, the funnier of the two. Daggett would be the perfect choice for a solo Beaver, or for the first Beaver we get if it’s possible to have both playable.
Daggett is also my favorite character in the show and is my most wanted character for this game. Make with that information what you will.
Norbert
Chance: 45%
Want: 100%
That said, Norb has a decent enough chance to get in instead if the devs decide they like him better, that he has the cooler options for moves/animations, or that he’s a less obvious pick than Daggett. Norb isn’t as active as Daggett, but is certainly as vindictive, and his flamboyant personality would make for a hysterical presence in the game. Plus, he too has an alter ego in
BARON VON BAD (THEN GOOD THEN BAD AGAIN AND NOW SOMETHING THAT’S NEITHER)
BEAVER, who I should point out is presented as
MUSCULAR BEAVER’s enemy. Only thing holding him back is how much more sense Daggett makes as a pick.
If Daggett does get in first, I can absolutely see people clamoring for Norbert to follow him in a later DLC pack or potential sequel. People already want more Spongebob, more Avatar, more Jimmy Neutron, more Rocko’s Modern Life, etc. Not to mention the multiple Fairly OddParents characters people are all asking for.
I want Norb in too. I want both of them. I’m biased, I know. If I had to choose one and only one, yes, I’d pick Daggett, but Norbert would make such a damn funny character that both join my 100% Want club.
I love The Angry Beavers, man. I think it still holds up and it’s’ got a really fun feel and style to it that I’d love to see the mad ******** at Ludosity be able to run wild with.
Now let’s start splitting the Beavers up on those fan rosters, eh? Please?
5x noms for Angelica
5x noms for Heffer
5x noms for Chef Gordon Bleugh
Eliza prediction: 15%
