The Hawk Samurai, Takamaru Ventures For Smash Switch (Operation #TakamaruForSamSho. See Page 26 for Details)

[bksbestbwoy]

Famicom Four? What's that, pray tell?

Basically, in Japan, The Legend of Zelda (first game), Metroid, Kid Icarus and The Mysterious Murasame Castle were the four big tent pole releases for the Famicom Disk System in the year 1986. If you look at that line up, the first thing you should realize is just how big each one of the not-Murasame games became in the overall mind space of gaming. The other thing that they share in common is that they're a pair of original and offspring games where LoZ -> MMC and Metroid -> Kid Icarus.

For whatever reason, MMC was hard locked out of a western release, with popular insider knowledge claiming that the game's hard Japanese elements and aesthetic was the main reason it didn't see localization as a NES title. (Which is still the weirdest thing ever considering that Ninja Gaiden and multiple other media, gaming or otherwise, were blowing up at the time with Japanese cultural elements being present in them). Takamaru's playable inclusion in Smash would act as both a reunion of these sibling titles in a Nintendo celebration and could foster a place for new fans to be born.

 

[ThatShadowLink]

I can understand why Ninja Gaiden would be localized and Murasame Castle wasn't. Ninja were a much more global concept in the 80s whereas samurai were relatively obscure. It wasn't until the overall wide spread of Japanese history through media and grown interest that the concept of a samurai became known to more than enthusiasts, especially the distinction between a samurai and a ninja. I'd also like to add that we still haven't reached a point where most people understand that distinction.

 

[Yomi's Biggest Fan]

I can understand why Ninja Gaiden would be localized and Murasame Castle wasn't. Ninja were a much more global concept in the 80s whereas samurai were relatively obscure. It wasn't until the overall wide spread of Japanese history through media and grown interest that the concept of a samurai became known to more than enthusiasts, especially the distinction between a samurai and a ninja. I'd also like to add that we still haven't reached a point where most people understand that distinction.

I think is because the game is so rooted in Edo Japan that it would be too hard to understand. You know, compared to Ninja Gaiden were the game at least took place in familiar locations like a city or so. Those were different times.

I'm just really and truly of the belief that Takamaru is a character that really should have existed in Smash from way earlier on it its lifetime. When I found out about this whole "Famicom Four" thing, it really felt like one of those cool bits of Nintendo history and Takamaru/Mysterious Murasame Castle felt like things that would have enjoyed a much bigger place at the table if circumstances were different. It also really helps that he has a very very distinct design (I really just love the color choices and the character design as depicted on the 1986 box art, its simple but stylish) and could immediately tell you what he's about (samurai dude doing samurai things) among the rest of the cast. I really want to see Sakurai introduce us to this time capsule of a franchise and in the way he's most well known for.

This is is all why Takamaru makes so much sense as a Smash fighter. Think of all the recognition he can get for the future.

 

[Phoebee]

It's a long shot, but I kinda want Takamaru and Mike Jones to get in and be kinda like, counterparts to each other in a way? Takamaru representing Nintendo of Japan and its exclusives while Mike would do the same for North America (and Europe, partially). They've both been more in the spotlight recently (Takamaru more so, but StarTropics was on the NES Classic) and are both from relatively similar games.

 

[Yomi's Biggest Fan]

It's a long shot, but I kinda want Takamaru and Mike Jones to get in and be kinda like, counterparts to each other in a way? Takamaru representing Nintendo of Japan and its exclusives while Mike would do the same for North America (and Europe, partially). They've both been more in the spotlight recently (Takamaru more so, but StarTropics was on the NES Classic) and are both from relatively similar games.

Actually that's not a bad idea. I can see the two as friendly rivals in a way since they are region exclusive in some way and culturally represent that well.

Not to mention most supports happen to also support Mike Jones too. Needly to say, they both would be awesome characters.

 

[DNeon]

I never understood the idea that people's wouldn't buy a game because it's set somewhere different. I know it's a bit more of a difference when you're assigning meaning to abstract 8-bit blobs but really? Do people actually not buy **** when they haven't already seen something just like it before?

 

[Yomi's Biggest Fan]

I never understood the idea that people's wouldn't buy a game because it's set somewhere different. I know it's a bit more of a difference when you're assigning meaning to abstract 8-bit blobs but really? Do people actually not buy **** when they haven't already seen something just like it before?

It was old time Nintendo of America, they wouldn't care localize anything that was too Japanese. Or had too much text to translate in the case of Visual Novels like Yuyuki, Shin Onigashima, and Famicom Detective Club. When you have enemies that are Tengu and oni, that would turn many Western heads.

They still show signs of it too, like us not getting Captain Rainbow for being weird and Japanese or Nintendouji. That seems to be changing when we are getting super Japanese games like Sushido Striker lately.

 

[DNeon]

When you have enemies that are Tengu and oni, that would turn many Western heads.

But that's the thing, regardless of whether you know about them or not, they're still weird demonic looking things, and when have people cared that their enemy is too weird and demonic (outside of 90s evangelical parents).

I can actually understand it when it's VNs that involve a lot of money and effort doing proper translations at the risk of low sales, but for any other games it just seems like a weird and self defeating attitude to take when you're not willing to be the ones to 'introduce it to the west' because if everyone thinks like you then they'll never be introduced to it.

 

[Superyoshiom]

Murasame Castle seems like the kind of franchise that could do for a brand new reboot on the Switch. They should pull a Kid Icarus and put Takamaru in Smash and then release a new game aftwerwards.

 

[BluePikmin11]

Does anyone remember this Smash poll from 6 years ago? I might have found a connection to Takamaru and Sakurai's quote about Takamaru's lack of playability:

http://vgtribune.com/smash-poll-2012-quarterfinals/

While we’ve hosted “Smash Polls” in the past, we actually have an opportunity to do something with our answers. So, we’re starting fresh! Over the course of the next two months, we will be polling you, our loyal readers, to find out what characters you’d like to see as playable fighters in the 3DS and Wii U version of the next Smash Bros. The final result will be presented straight to the director of the upcoming games himself: Masahiro Sakurai.

Takamaru ranked with 2191 votes, going as far as the quarterfinals. Out of all of the retro candidates that had a notable amount of fanfare, Little Mac was among the highest ranked retro. I feel Sakurai used this particular poll back then to see which retro he could add in the game that would receive the highest fanfare. Although Takamaru was 2x behind in votes of Little Mac, it connects to the reasons why Sakurai would say Takamaru has less international recognition.

Although, with no notable retros left that had the degree of popularity of Mac, I think Takamaru is next to be chosen for Smash Switch.

 

[bksbestbwoy]

Hmm, that's super interesting. I definitely feel like there's been a lot of polls like this and you can't be sure what reaches Sakurai's ears before production on a Smash title. Still, it's very interesting to see that many votes for Takamaru in what I can only assume was a greatly skewed to the west polling for characters. There's so many breadcrumbs around to show that his inclusion is one people would be generally OK with but without knowing if Sakurai's fine with "just ok" levels of reception, it makes the anticipation more intense/frustrating. lol

 

[BluePikmin11]

Do you think Takamaru would have been chosen, had Takamaru been in a higher rank than Little Mac in that specific poll?

 

[Morbi]

Hmm, that's super interesting. I definitely feel like there's been a lot of polls like this and you can't be sure what reaches Sakurai's ears before production on a Smash title. Still, it's very interesting to see that many votes for Takamaru in what I can only assume was a greatly skewed to the west polling for characters. There's so many breadcrumbs around to show that his inclusion is one people would be generally OK with but without knowing if Sakurai's fine with "just ok" levels of reception, it makes the anticipation more intense/frustrating. lol

In the case of Takamaru, he does not really need a poll to reach his ears. He has been thinking about him, the crux was that the West had little to no idea who Takamaru was. That has, for the most part, changed.

 

[bksbestbwoy]

Do you think Takamaru would have been chosen, had Takamaru been in a higher rank than Little Mac in that specific poll?

Honestly? Knowing what form Smash 4 took, no.

I feel like Smash 4 era was about building the character up to a better position to be included and it feels like that play is paying off now with how people are more welcoming to the character. Last game, as much as I wanted it then, there still wasn't enough visibility for him and even if he was picked, Sakurai would probably explain it away as statistical noise given how there still wasn't a proper release of the game in the Western territories.

In the case of Takamaru, he does not really need a poll to reach his ears. He has been thinking about him, the crux was that the West had little to no idea who Takamaru was. That has, for the most part, changed.

Yeah, the win condition has technically been met. Takamaru was introduced through Smash (and reaffirmed through the Mii Costume -- I genuinely think that was a thing meant to 'reward' fans of the character) after his game's release in all regions. People are talking about him more, positively, neutrally or negatively, in a region that would otherwise be stumped at what he came from.

 

[Morbi]

Do you think Takamaru would have been chosen, had Takamaru been in a higher rank than Little Mac in that specific poll?

You never know, he did go out of his way to convert Little Mac from an assist trophy to a playable character. That poll might have actually been where he got the idea. If he put Takamaru in as an assist trophy for Smash 4, that would set him up for Smash 5 with relative ease.

 

[bksbestbwoy]

To kinda add on to the discussion about visibility, this Takamaru character thread is in 13th place (views wise) out of all newcomer threads maintained on this section of Smashboards. We can never hope to be titans like the K.Rools or Ridleys without some massive development like a new game, but this is a totally different atmosphere and with fewer of those kind of titans left to add to Smash, the better things seem outright.

 

[AwesomeAussie27]

To kinda add on to the discussion about visibility, this Takamaru character thread is in 13th place (views wise) out of all newcomer threads maintained on this section of Smashboards. We can never hope to be titans like the K.Rools or Ridleys without some massive development like a new game, but this is a totally different atmosphere and with fewer of those kind of titans left to add to Smash, the better things seem outright.

Something is better than nothing. That is nice.

Does anyone remember this Smash poll from 6 years ago? I might have found a connection to Takamaru and Sakurai's quote about Takamaru's lack of playability:

http://vgtribune.com/smash-poll-2012-quarterfinals/



Takamaru ranked with 2191 votes, going as far as the quarterfinals. Out of all of the retro candidates that had a notable amount of fanfare, Little Mac was among the highest ranked retro. I feel Sakurai used this particular poll back then to see which retro he could add in the game that would receive the highest fanfare. Although Takamaru was 2x behind in votes of Little Mac, it connects to the reasons why Sakurai would say Takamaru has less international recognition.

Although, with no notable retros left that had the degree of popularity of Mac, I think Takamaru is next to be chosen for Smash Switch.

Nice discovery Blue. Seeing how he managed to beat out many other retros is interesting (Not that it stopped Duck Hunt).

But with few must haves left, it's between him and Balloon Fighter now (Villager aside).

 

[Yomi's Biggest Fan]

To kinda add on to the discussion about visibility, this Takamaru character thread is in 13th place (views wise) out of all newcomer threads maintained on this section of Smashboards. We can never hope to be titans like the K.Rools or Ridleys without some massive development like a new game, but this is a totally different atmosphere and with fewer of those kind of titans left to add to Smash, the better things seem outright.

Yeah, there are few fan favorites and massive characters needed. Some new characters like Spring Man just may be too late and then there's Sakurai not wanting series that are too small yet not retro.

So things could be better for him.

And thanks for bring up the old poll BluePikmin11

 

[DustyPumpkin]

Welcome back Dusy. Long time, no see.

Like you I feel that this could be his time. Unless that dreaded Assist Trophy still holds him captive.

Hello yes, it's been a bit hasn't it excited to be back really!

I'm hoping Takamaru's series will also get a revival if he's included

 

[Yomi's Biggest Fan]

Hello yes, it's been a bit hasn't it excited to be back really!

I'm hoping Takamaru's series will also get a revival if he's included

We can all hope that's the case.

A new Murasame Castle would be something that would bode well for Nintendo since we need more combo focused action games out of them.

Well other than getting Takamaru back in the public eye internationally.

 

[StormC]

After watching a video of The Mysterious Murasame Castle, all I can say is, if he gets into Smash, it would be cool if his hair was solid blue like in the NES rather than black with shades of blue. At least as an alt. Makes him stand out a bit more.

 

[Yomi's Biggest Fan]

After watching a video of The Mysterious Murasame Castle, all I can say is, if he gets into Smash, it would be cool if his hair was solid blue like in the NES rather than black with shades of blue. At least as an alt. Makes him stand out a bit more.

It would be cool, having the classic deep blue hair would be a nice shoutout to his home game.

As an alt or his main redesign.

 

[DNeon]

After watching a video of The Mysterious Murasame Castle, all I can say is, if he gets into Smash, it would be cool if his hair was solid blue like in the NES rather than black with shades of blue. At least as an alt. Makes him stand out a bit more.

Blue hair

Stand out more

Somebody hasn't been paying attention to the Fire Emblem hate train.

 

[AwesomeAussie27]

Blue hair

Stand out more

Somebody hasn't been paying attention to the Fire Emblem hate train.

After watching a video of The Mysterious Murasame Castle, all I can say is, if he gets into Smash, it would be cool if his hair was solid blue like in the NES rather than black with shades of blue. At least as an alt. Makes him stand out a bit more.

Yeah....

Part of the reason people are against Takamaaru is the fact that he is a swordsman and have blue hair like Ike and Marth.

 

[ThatShadowLink]

I like the palette they picked for his trophy but I'm so sick and tired of the blue-haired swordsman straw-manning shtick that I wouldn't even object if they just made his hair black.

 

[bksbestbwoy]

Random things I'm looking at in other channels:

- Seeing something elsewhere that someone compiled of Japanese character wishlists (Twitter sourced) and Takamaru is one of the big boys over there.
- Apparently Takamaru got added to the Switch release of Warriors Orochi 3 Ultimate? Can someone confirm/deny?

I like the palette they picked for his trophy but I'm so sick and tired of the blue-haired swordsman straw-manning shtick that I wouldn't even object if they just made his hair black.

This was honestly a big reason why I hoped that they would make his hair black when modeling the character. It's so stupid to feel like you can't freely express your desire for characters because of stupidly petty reasoning like this. I honestly hate how it's the characters with my preferred style of game play that always catch the worst of it too.

You literally never hear anyone say we got too many "stupid cartoony characters", too many "creatures", "too many fist fighter/brawler types", but somehow swords people are just the biggest taboo or the character vaguely shows a sword hilt and the internet goes wild. Meanwhile, here I am like "I like and really want everyone you like for your sake". lol

 

[Yomi's Biggest Fan]

At this rate, the color of Takamaru's hair shouldn't MATTER anymore and those who whine about hair color on a swordsman are clearly just detractors with weak arguments. Blue, black, as long as the character plays well and uniquely from other swordsmen.

Random things I'm looking at in other channels:

- Seeing something elsewhere that someone compiled of Japanese character wishlists (Twitter sourced) and Takamaru is one of the big boys over there.
- Apparently Takamaru got added to the Switch release of Warriors Orochi 3 Ultimate? Can someone confirm/deny?

Wait, what?

I will be needing a source on that last one. Because I don't think I saw a single announcement about Takamaru being in the Switch version of Warriors Orochi 3 Ultimate.

 

[AwesomeAussie27]

I've looked it up, the Switch version of Warriors Orochi 3 Ultimate doesn't have Takamaru at all.

Probably some rumor someone came up with.

 

[True Blue Warrior]

Random things I'm looking at in other channels:

- Seeing something elsewhere that someone compiled of Japanese character wishlists (Twitter sourced) and Takamaru is one of the big boys over there.
- Apparently Takamaru got added to the Switch release of Warriors Orochi 3 Ultimate? Can someone confirm/deny?



This was honestly a big reason why I hoped that they would make his hair black when modeling the character. It's so stupid to feel like you can't freely express your desire for characters because of stupidly petty reasoning like this. I honestly hate how it's the characters with my preferred style of game play that always catch the worst of it too.

You literally never hear anyone say we got too many "stupid cartoony characters", too many "creatures", "too many fist fighter/brawler types", but somehow swords people are just the biggest taboo or the character vaguely shows a sword hilt and the internet goes wild. Meanwhile, here I am like "I like and really want everyone you like for your sake". lol

I think at lot of the sword complaints ties into the complaints around the amount of FE characters, since those are the guys that gets the biggest flack in this regard. Takamaru represents a new franchise so the complaints about swords shouldn't really be too bad for him.

 

[Organization XIII]

I think at lot of the sword complaints ties into the complaints around the amount of FE characters, since those are the guys that gets the biggest flack in this regard. Takamaru represents a new franchise so the complaints about swords shouldn't really be too bad for him.

The great thing about Sakurai is he doesn't put much stock into arguments like "too many swordsmen". The fact that people don't want more swords has absolutely no bearing on the roster. So the fact that Takamaru uses swords doesn't hurt his chances at all, or any characters' for that matter.

 

[bksbestbwoy]

The great thing about Sakurai is he doesn't put much stock into arguments like "too many swordsmen". The fact that people don't want more swords has absolutely no bearing on the roster. So the fact that Takamaru uses swords doesn't hurt his chances at all, or any characters' for that matter.

I'm really glad Sakurai is the guy in charge. It'd just be nice if this was made more transparent to people because it sucks when people drown out optimism with their own biases + creation of "rules" for the sake of managing conversations about what people want to see in Smash.

 

[AwesomeAussie27]

I'm really glad Sakurai is the guy in charge. It'd just be nice if this was made more transparent to people because it sucks when people drown out optimism with their own biases + creation of "rules" for the sake of managing conversations about what people want to see in Smash.

Might as well not have Spring Man because he have "too many blue haired fighters" in Smash.

Or better yet, Rex & Pyra because we have too many "anime" characters in Smash.

 

[Yomi's Biggest Fan]

Might as well not have Spring Man because he have "too many blue haired fighters" in Smash.

Or better yet, Rex & Pyra because we have too many "anime" characters in Smash.

I guess we can't have Dillon or a new Pokemon either, too many animals in Smash.

 

[DuwangAnon]

Can't have another Mario character. Too many brawlers.
Edit: And too many Mario characters on top of that.

 

[Deleted member]

WE CAN'T HAVE MORE CHARACTERS IN GENERAL BECAUSE THERE ARE TOO MANY FICTIONAL CHARACTERS!

 

[DuwangAnon]

We can't have any more Smash games because there are too many Nintendo games.

 

[AwesomeAussie27]

WE CAN'T HAVE MORE CHARACTERS IN GENERAL BECAUSE THERE ARE TOO MANY FICTIONAL CHARACTERS!

And it looks like we have a winner here.

 

[Laniv]

WE CAN'T HAVE MORE CHARACTERS IN GENERAL BECAUSE THERE ARE TOO MANY FICTIONAL CHARACTERS!

Clearly we need to branch off into the real world.

Reggie Fils-Aimé confirmed.

 

[smashkirby]

Clearly we need to branch off into the real world.

Reggie Fils-Aimé confirmed.

Sakurai supposedly DID take him, Miyamoto, AND Iwata into consideration...

 

[True Blue Warrior]

Or better yet, Rex & Pyra because we have too many "anime" characters in Smash.

"Remember kids, anime was a mistake and I refuse to lose to it! YESZ!"