The Cutest Multitasker Rides into Battle! Mona for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate!

[KirbyWorshipper2465]

Okay, so apparently it's been brought to my attention that Nintendo actually aren't dialling down on Ashley's exposure at all.

Thoughts?

Oh, really? I didn't know that. Welp, I guess Wario really is the last character left for these things (and it'll probably include a cameo by Lulu as well).

By the way, guys. I've been wondering, does anyone else think Ashley is due for an appearance in a Mario spinoff game? I just feel like the timing's right, you know? Well... IMO, the timing's BEEN right for almost 15 years, but what are you going to do, right?

Fixed that for you, because it's sadly true...

 

[smashkirby]

Okay, so apparently it's been brought to my attention that Nintendo actually aren't dialing down on Ashley's exposure at all.

Thoughts?



Fixed that for you, because it's sadly true...

Oh, boy... what happened?

 

[KirbyWorshipper2465]

Oh, boy... what happened?

I mean, it's obvious that Nintendo would go for Ashley if they had to put a Wario Ware character in Mario Kart. That said, this is what was said to me earlier on the Shantae thread:

Yeah, Nintendo knows of Ashley's popularity and they are not "slowing down" on it at all, they just aren't really moving forward either. She is still promoted more than any of the other WarioWare side characters and I think they have tested the water a few times to gauge interest on her getting her own solo adventures.

I mean, just the Badge Arcade alone had a few things that felt like proposed Ashley vehicles. They had one series of badges that you would piece together to make your own house and interior and garden that was themed around Ashley and Red. And then there was a whole series of badges based on a space/rock band game Starring Ashley and several new characters that was later revealed to be an April Fool Day joke. Which is to say the game was a joke, but they stil made tons of functioning badges based on it which seems like a lot of work to go through just for a joke. To come up with a concept, create supporting cast all with designs and roles, then make final polished art for it and release it in a way that people could pay money to obtain it... All for a joke? Not saying this game was ever going to get made, but it does feel like an idea someone pitched that later got used for the joke where Nintendo could also gauge interest while having some fun with their fans.

 

[Glowsquid]

Okay, so apparently it's been brought to my attention that Nintendo actually aren't dialling down on Ashley's exposure at all.

.

Well all of the stuff mentioned in that post is quite old (the Badge Arcade hasn't been updated since 2017) and Gold's Japanese marketing didn't lean as hard on Ashley as you'd expect (though she,s the only character beside Wario who's not randomized on the JP website, and she gets her own fairly high-effort minigame that's featured in the japanese TV commercial) but this thread's narrative that there's been some "Ashley fatigue" and that Nintendo doesn't want to push her anymore for some reason is weird, and like, blatantly untrue. Comparing the # of views on her character trailer versus everyone else, or the same for let's plays (both western and Japanese, here's an example) of her portion of the game vs the other characters will show that.

 

[smashkirby]

Yeah, I guess it'd be more correct to say that Nintendo is simply pushing the rest of the WarioWare crew more than they did before rather than it being that Ashley is being pushed less.

Still though, Glowsquid could you clarify what you were trying to get at earlier? I mean about Ashley and Red's character trailer and the # of views associated with said trailer. I'm sorry, I'm just a bit lost on what you're getting at.

 

[Glowsquid]

Still though, Glowsquid could you clarify what you were trying to get at earlier? I mean about Ashley and Red's character trailer and the # of views associated with said trailer. I'm sorry, I'm just a bit lost on what you're getting at.

was saying Ashley content still get a lot more views and social media shares than anyone else from WW so saying she's "losing popularity" or that most people are tired of her exposure isn't true.

 

[smashkirby]

was saying Ashley content still get a lot more views and social media shares than anyone else from WW so saying she's "losing popularity" or that most people are tired of her exposure isn't true.

Ah, I see. Yeah, not too sure where that train of thought came from. I'll admit that that I'm not a big fan of the Ashley overexposure, but it'd be pretty silly to think Nintendo's stopping with promoting her. For fans of WarioWare, we should honestly count ourselves lucky Nintendo has chosen to push the rest of the cast way more than they did before.

 

[KirbyWorshipper2465]

Ah, I see. Yeah, not too sure where that train of thought came from. I'll admit that that I'm not a big fan of the Ashley overexposure, but it'd be pretty silly to think Nintendo's stopping with promoting her. For fans of WarioWare, we should honestly count ourselves lucky Nintendo has chosen to push the rest of the cast way more than they did before.

Yeah, otherwise Ashley would almost certainly be pulling an by now, so not getting any Wario characters this time was a mixed blessing in this regard. That, and Nintendo not really knowing how to take things any further with her (probably due to their various departments preferring not to use other people's creations too much). They don't shake up things too much with Mario and its spin-offs, and that may be why they haven't dared to make a game specifically about Ashley.

 

[Flyboy]

I'm enough of an Ashley fan that I'm not upset about it, even if I'm much much much more of a Mona fan. Ideally I'd love everyone to be focused on as much as Ashley rather than just less Ashley. And yes, as much Mona as possible!

 

[smashkirby]

Yeah, otherwise Ashley would almost certainly be pulling an by now, so not getting any Wario characters this time was a mixed blessing in this regard. That, and Nintendo not really knowing how to take things any further with her (probably due to their various departments preferring not to use other people's creations too much). They don't shake up things too much with Mario and its spin-offs, and that may be why they haven't dared to make a game specifically about Ashley.

Yeah, I won't deny that at this point, Ashley would certainly be reaching that level of popularity at this point. I also agree with you about how Wario not getting a new playable rep being something of a mixed bag of blessings and whatnot. Still, I don't think Smash is included in that the whole 'various departments don't want to go overboard in using other creations' thing. Granted, I get what you mean about how this might be why they haven't done anything major with her yet. Nintendo's 'main studios' don't ever do much with the Mario Extended Universe' as a whole anyway. Honestly, that's why I wonder if Mona will ever be in a similar situation...

I'm enough of an Ashley fan that I'm not upset about it, even if I'm much much much more of a Mona fan. Ideally I'd love everyone to be focused on as much as Ashley rather than just less Ashley. And yes, as much Mona as possible!

Well, at lest Ashley wasn't removed from being an AT. I mean, look at Kat & Ana...

 

[KirbyWorshipper2465]

Yeah, I won't deny that at this point, Ashley would certainly be reaching that level of popularity at this point. I also agree with you about how Wario not getting a new playable rep being something of a mixed bag of blessings and whatnot. Still, I don't think Smash is included in that the whole 'various departments don't want to go overboard in using other creations' thing. Granted, I get what you mean about how this might be why they haven't done anything major with her yet. Nintendo's 'main studios' don't ever do much with the Mario Extended Universe' as a whole anyway. Honestly, that's why I wonder if Mona will ever be in a similar situation...



Well, at lest Ashley wasn't removed from being an AT. I mean, look at Kat & Ana...

In any case, Game & Wario's failure did certainly influence the decision not to do anything much in regards of content for WW this time. The composers didn't even think about remixing anything for the series. Bad timing overall.

You can argue that Kat & Ana got a side grade, since Master Spirits have a kind of prestige compared to other spirits that aren't Legendary. Plus when you're an AT, chances of you being promoted in the same game are extremely slim.

 

[smashkirby]

In any case, Game & Wario's failure did certainly influence the decision not to do anything much in regards of content for WW this time. The composers didn't even think about remixing anything for the series. Bad timing overall.

You can argue that Kat & Ana got a side grade, since Master Spirits have a kind of prestige compared to other spirits that aren't Legendary. Plus when you're an AT, chances of you being promoted in the same game are extremely slim.

Yeah, good point. From the looks of things, WarioWare Gold content was simply limited to the artwork the WW cast used in Smash Ultimate, though that might just be because it (WW Gold) supposedly started development about a year after Smash Ultimate's project plan was finished.

Also, I'm of the camp that doesn't think that Spirits deconifirm, so I'm a bit surprised I forgot about how being an AT is a bit more of a 'death-knell' than being a Spirit (at least for now...).

By the way, everyone. Guess what got released today?

So it looks like this is the end, then. I suppose it's a fairly fitting way to end this series of character mini-videos and it's definitely a heartwarming and good one. Still a bit surprised that Lulu (a newcomer to the WarioWare series) even got a character video, but I suppose she DID have more to do in Gold than someone like 13-Amp or Amy & Mimi, so...

Still though, I'm a tad surprised that Wario (of all people) didn't get a character trailer. There's certainly a lot of potential for one and the fact that they didn't jump on it is... admittedly disappointing (At least he shows up by the end of this though). Of course, I wouldn't totally toss out the possibility of Wario actually getting one in the future, though I'm not exactly holding my breath.

Anyways, I guess this should wrap it up for the WarioWare character trailer shorts, I’ll certainly miss having to look forward to one of these every other week or two, but it was certainly quite the fun ride.

Also, nice shout-out from Nintendo to Balloon Kid AND Balloon Fight!! Heck, I didn't even think Nintendo remembered the former game....

 

[KirbyWorshipper2465]

So...what are the odds of them adding another Wario Ware character as a costume for Super Mario Maker 2?

 

[smashkirby]

So...what are the odds of them adding another Wario Ware character as a costume for Super Mario Maker 2?

You know, it's funny. The possibility of the WarioWare cast being added to Super Mario Maker 2 was on my mind yesterday afternoon.

I imagine that what with the release of WarioWare Gold AND the good sales it supposedly released to, Nintendo would (hopefully) be more open to adding the rest of the crew into the game as Mystery Mushroom characters.

Heck, it still feels really weird seeing Ashley added to the first SMM without the other WW characters. Still though, I get the feeling that if for some reason we don't get the other WW characters, then at the very least Mona herself will be added (considering how she seems to be front-and-center with Ashley in a lot of WW promotion lately).

 

[KirbyWorshipper2465]

You know, it's funny. The possibility of the WarioWare cast being added to Super Mario Maker 2 was on my mind yesterday afternoon.

I imagine that what with the release of WarioWare Gold AND the good sales it supposedly released to, Nintendo would (hopefully) be more open to adding the rest of the crew into the game as Mystery Mushroom characters.

Heck, it still feels really weird seeing Ashley added to the first SMM without the other WW characters. Still though, I get the feeling that if for some reason we don't get the other WW characters, then at the very least Mona herself will be added (considering how she seems to be front-and-center with Ashley in a lot of WW promotion lately).

Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. Even if most of the others won't be considered, Mona has top priority.

 

[smashkirby]

Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. Even if most of the others won't be considered, Mona has top priority.

Yeah, pretty much. Once again, I do hope that everyone from WarioWare gets to be playable, of course. It's just that... well, we can't deny that Mona (at the very least) being playable might be a more stronger possibility than 3-4 years ago.

 

[Yomi's Biggest Fan]

I am expecting most of the popular cast members to be costumes.

But the duos is where it will get complicated. I can see Kat and Ana working out since they are the same size, but then we get the Volts and Taxi Duo (Dribble and Spitz). I feel their obvious size differences could be a problem since we have few costumes that function that way.

But yes, I am expecting Mona to be a costume at this point. And we will get Ashley again for sure.

 

[smashkirby]

I am expecting most of the popular cast members to be costumes.

But the duos is where it will get complicated. I can see Kat and Ana working out since they are the same size, but then we get the Volts and Taxi Duo (Dribble and Spitz). I feel their obvious size differences could be a problem since we have few costumes that function that way.

But yes, I am expecting Mona to be a costume at this point. And we will get Ashley again for sure.

Wait, is this really going to be an issue for Dribble/Spitz and the Volts? I agree with you that Kat/Ana shouldn't have much of an issue, but those other pairs...

 

[smashkirby]

So, I just came across an interesting little factoid about everyone's favorite redheaded cutie. Turns out she dab(bles) in a bit of fortune-telling as a side hobby... using people's noses. Apparently, this can only be in Japanese supplemental material. Honestly, it makes me wonder why so much WarioWare info is locked behind Japan the way it is.

 

[KirbyWorshipper2465]

So, I just came across an interesting little factoid about everyone's favorite redheaded cutie. Turns out she dab(bles) in a bit of fortune-telling as a side hobby... using people's noses. Apparently, this can only be in Japanese supplemental material. Honestly, it makes me wonder why so much WarioWare info is locked behind Japan the way it is.

Who knows. I heard that she's actually pretty loaded, too (and her parents aren't around much). It's no wonder, really, given the stuff she wears.

 

[smashkirby]

Who knows. I heard that she's actually pretty loaded, too (and her parents aren't around much). It's no wonder, really, given the stuff she wears.

That's not all. According to Mona, her dad even met Wario during one of his visits to his daughter and apparently, Mona's dad very much admired Wario's wonky look (especially his nose). Her dad even painted a portrait of him. As for her mom, she's also revealed to have... 'interesting' tastes, such as giving Mona an earthworm-looking muffler for the winter months.

By the way, according to Japanese material, Jimmy T. legit thought Mona had a sister for the longest time until she corrected him on this, revealing that he met her mom... and that's she married. Boy, was that apparently awkward...

 

[KirbyWorshipper2465]

Damn son, that's a lot of lore for such a silly series. can incorporate it in their pause screens, so why can't they do something like that in WW?

 

[Wademan94]

I’m working on moveset ideas for Mona, and I mostly imagine her having her be to Wario’s as in she has a similar moveset but would perform them in different ways, ways that would relate to her jobs, like she would have her scooter and be play like Wario’s bike and a Baton Twirl that’d be similar to Wario’s Corkscrew.

Here are some moves I’m trying to decide on for the neutral and down specials:

Spoiler: Camera Flash

Similar to Mewtwo’s Confuse Ray and Wario’s Garlic Breath custom neutral (fast as the former). Mona pulls out her camera and takes a pic, the flash covers a short distance and anyone caught will be dizzy

Spoiler: Timer Bomb

Functionally similar to the Wario Waft, Mona pulls out a bomb which blows up and can launch her upward depending on the power
A meter by her name would show that stage the bomb’s fuse is at and determine how powerful the explosion would be.

Spoiler: Animal Friends

She summons her animal friends from Mega Microgame$!.
Elephant-shoots a fast ball of muck
Pig-kicks a small but strong soccer ball
Monkey-throws put a Banana Peel

 

[smashkirby]

Damn son, that's a lot of lore for such a silly series. can incorporate it in their pause screens, so why can't they do something like that in WW?

Exactly! There may be some things that lost in translation (for whatever reason), but if Kirby does it I don't see why WW can't do it either. Well, sometimes WW does it too, but the really juicy stuff seems to still be locked behind Japanese borders (such as Dribble apparently having a DAUGHTER, who got MARRIED at some point during/shortly after the first WW game).

I’m working on moveset ideas for Mona, and I mostly imagine her having her be to Wario’s as in she has a similar moveset but would perform them in different ways, ways that would relate to her jobs, like she would have her scooter and be play like Wario’s bike and a Baton Twirl that’d be similar to Wario’s Corkscrew.

Here are some moves I’m trying to decide on for the neutral and down specials:

Spoiler: Camera Flash

Similar to Mewtwo’s Confuse Ray and Wario’s Garlic Breath custom neutral (fast as the former). Mona pulls out her camera and takes a pic, the flash covers a short distance and anyone caught will be dizzy

Spoiler: Timer Bomb

Functionally similar to the Wario Waft, Mona pulls out a bomb which blows up and can launch her upward depending on the power
A meter by her name would show that stage the bomb’s fuse is at and determine how powerful the explosion would be.

Spoiler: Animal Friends

She summons her animal friends from Mega Microgame$!.
Elephant-shoots a fast ball of muck
Pig-kicks a small but strong soccer ball
Monkey-throws put a Banana Peel

Wow, this is looking good! I can't wait to see the end result!
Normally, whenever I make a moveset for Mona where she ends up being the to Wario's , I usually replace Wario's explosive farting with Mona doing an excited cheer (referencing her stint as a cheerleader in Smooth Moves) that functions as a counter, and it would get stronger and have a bigger radius the longer Mona goes without using it.

 

[Wiziliz]

I don't know if I've discussed it here or not, but I've talked about the idea of Mona in the next game, and while I'm not sure everyone would like it, I think that for me, this would be ideal.

Change Wario to be more based on his Wario Land appearances (with maybe a touch of Wario World).
Neutral special is the same, but with a very light vacuum ability and Wario can slowly walk while using it.
Down special is a ground pound that causes a close distance earthquake.
Side special is his shoulder bash, now dealing better knockback even at the end of the move. Or maybe, keep it as his dash attack (makes sense and feels good), but make his side special flying.
He can shake his opponents when he has them grabbed.
His proper costume is his main one.

Then, give Mona the moveset people who are used to playing Wario in Smash are used to, with just a couple of changes. What's most important is that the shoulder bash isn't part of her moveset, and I'd imagine the neutral special would be changed, I think a pizza projectile or something could be funny.
Have Mona incorporate the chaotic movement of the WarioWare series, while Wario moves like he would in his platforming games.
I think the current moveset of Wario could work really well for Mona, just with some aesthetic changes. Change the bike to the electric scooter. Make her up special a cheer, but still have it work the same.

 

[smashkirby]

I don't know if I've discussed it here or not, but I've talked about the idea of Mona in the next game, and while I'm not sure everyone would like it, I think that for me, this would be ideal.

Change Wario to be more based on his Wario Land appearances (with maybe a touch of Wario World).
Neutral special is the same, but with a very light vacuum ability and Wario can slowly walk while using it.
Down special is a ground pound that causes a close distance earthquake.
Side special is his shoulder bash, now dealing better knockback even at the end of the move. Or maybe, keep it as his dash attack (makes sense and feels good), but make his side special flying.
He can shake his opponents when he has them grabbed.
His proper costume is his main one.

Then, give Mona the moveset people who are used to playing Wario in Smash are used to, with just a couple of changes. What's most important is that the shoulder bash isn't part of her moveset, and I'd imagine the neutral special would be changed, I think a pizza projectile or something could be funny.
Have Mona incorporate the chaotic movement of the WarioWare series, while Wario moves like he would in his platforming games.
I think the current moveset of Wario could work really well for Mona, just with some aesthetic changes. Change the bike to the electric scooter. Make her up special a cheer, but still have it work the same.

This is a pretty creative way to split Mona and Wario apart from each other. Honestly, I'm a bit amazed at how the idea of Mona being a clone/semi-clone of Wario shouldn't really be entertained, yet here we are...

 

[KirbyWorshipper2465]

Eh, I still think smashkirby has the right idea. There's never been a character that's been heavily modified until after a clone of theirs has been established at best.

The only way to justify such a drastic change right off to bat is if it's to coincide with a new Wario Land. Besides, even if he gets more faithful, Wario mains would end up having to completely relearn how to use him.

 

[smashkirby]

Eh, I still think smashkirby has the right idea. There's never been a character that's been heavily modified until after a clone of theirs has been established at best.

The only way to justify such a drastic change right off to bat is if it's to coincide with a new Wario Land. Besides, even if he gets more faithful, Wario mains would end up having to completely relearn how to use him.

Heck, this is supposedly why Ganondorf hasn't been more accurate to his own appearances in TLoZ. Sakurai apparently feels that it would be 'detrimental' to his Smash fanbase to have to re-adapt to the guy.

 

[Wiziliz]

Besides, even if he gets more faithful, Wario mains would end up having to completely relearn how to use him.

That's anything but a bad thing. I love learning characters, especially revamped veterans.

 

[smashkirby]

That's anything but a bad thing. I love learning characters, especially revamped veterans.

Me too. I wouldn't really mind if someone like Ganondorf got reworked into being more accurate to his TLoZ appearances. Likewise, if Wario was reworked for the sake of giving Mona more WarioWare-related stuff to work with, I wouldn't really mind it.

Say, if no one minds me asking, what do you all see Mona's Classic Mode run looking like?

 

[smashkirby]

So, it's been a while huh? If no one minds me asking, do you all think we'll get a new WarioWare announced this E3?

 

[KirbyWorshipper2465]

So, it's been a while huh? If no one minds me asking, do you all think we'll get a new WarioWare announced this E3?

I honestly don't know. Anything could happen, yet it doesn't feel like the time is right for it yet somehow.

 

[PsychoJosh]

Maybe.

I misplaced my Warioware Gold cart. I don't know where it went.

 

[Daryuu]

According to GameXplain there was a leaker who leaked a ton of stuff which these day have turned out to be correct.
That person also said there would be a Metroid and WarioWare game. But who knows, could be all just lies.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHnT4i1v7VU&t=0s


Since were talking about Wario again, recently I found out that if you beat Warioland 4 on Super Hard with 100%,
you get additional pictures at the credits. Keep in mind Warioland 4 was one of the first games Kou Takeuchi was
involved in, and that girl in the first picture looks a lot like Mona to me.
Just something I wanted to talk about.

https://twitter.com/mariobrothblog/status/899337025366749185

The twitter that told me about it.

 

[KirbyWorshipper2465]

According to GameXplain there was a leaker who leaked a ton of stuff which these day have turned out to be correct.
That person also said there would be a Metroid and WarioWare game. But who knows, could be all just lies.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHnT4i1v7VU&t=0s


Since were talking about Wario again, recently I found out that if you beat Warioland 4 on Super Hard with 100%,
you get additional pictures at the credits. Keep in mind Warioland 4 was one of the first games Kou Takeuchi was
involved in, and that girl in the first picture looks a lot like Mona to me.
Just something I wanted to talk about.

https://twitter.com/mariobrothblog/status/899337025366749185

The twitter that told me about it.

That's a pretty neat fun fact there, it goes to show how much of a transitionary period Wario Land 4 was. I always knew Wario was a chick magnet ever since the Ware days.

 

[smashkirby]

According to GameXplain there was a leaker who leaked a ton of stuff which these day have turned out to be correct.
That person also said there would be a Metroid and WarioWare game. But who knows, could be all just lies.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHnT4i1v7VU&t=0s

Oh, for real? Well, maybe I'll have a bit more than I thought to look forward to...

Since were talking about Wario again, recently I found out that if you beat Warioland 4 on Super Hard with 100%,
you get additional pictures at the credits. Keep in mind Warioland 4 was one of the first games Ko Takeuchi was
involved in, and that girl in the first picture looks a lot like Mona to me.
Just something I wanted to talk about.

https://twitter.com/mariobrothblog/status/899337025366749185

The twitter that told me about it.

I always thought that was supposed to be an early take on Mona, considering WarioWare was in development around the same time as Wario Land 4.

That's a pretty neat fun fact there, it goes to show how much of a transitional period Wario Land 4 was. I always knew Wario was a chick magnet ever since the Ware days.

For a guy who's known to be... pretty darn gross most of the time, Wario must be doing SOMETHING right...

 

[KirbyWorshipper2465]

Mr. Whatshisname recently posted a nice piece, so I'll leave this here. Here's to hoping for the gang to get on Switch someday next year.

Spoiler

 

[smashkirby]

Mr. Whatshisname recently posted a nice piece, so I'll leave this here. Here's to hoping for the gang to get on Switch someday next year.

Spoiler

View attachment 228559

Hey, nice art here! Mona looks especially cute!

 

[KirbyWorshipper2465]

Hey, nice art here! Mona looks especially cute!

He also drew a certain Wario Land 4 boss sometime ago.

https://twitter.com/BridgeOfFaust

 

[Glowsquid]

Mr. Whatshisname recently posted a nice piece, so I'll leave this here. Here's to hoping for the gang to get on Switch someday next year.

I'm a big believer of that recent WW Switch ~leak~ myself : D.

Better be too, 2020 is about the best case scenario for releasing a new game that's successful and bring the series back into the public eye in a big way.