Gengar84
Smash Hero
- Joined
- Dec 9, 2009
- Messages
- 5,501
Who is Magus? (Chrono Trigger spoilers)
Magus is the lord of the Mystics of the Middle Ages. Depicted as an antagonist for a large part of the game, Magus is eventually revealed to be the older version of Janus, the young prince of Zeal in 12,000 BC. After an encounter with Lavos as a child, he had been sent through a time gate to the Middle Ages, where he was adopted by Ozzie of the Mystics and became their leader. After the fall of Zeal, the player can choose to fight Magus or spare him, allowing him to reluctantly join the party. As the second fight is to the death, Magus will be permanently gone after this fight plays out.
Why should Chrono Trigger get a character?
Chrono Trigger is a classic and beloved JRPG from the SNES era. Even though it has not had a game since the PS1, many people look back on it fondly to this day. Despite Chrono Trigger's great fan reception and legacy, it does have competition within its own company from huge series not yet represented like Kingdom Hearts, Tomb Raider, and NieR. Even though I'm also a big fan of Kingdom Hearts, Chrono Trigger will always have a special place in my heart and is one of my favorite games of all time.
Why Magus specifically over Crono?
This one is mostly personal preference. Magus is one of my all time favorite video game characters and I've never been all that interested in silent protagonists like Crono. Magus also has a ton to offer gameplay wise. He would be the only scythe wielder on the roster and even the only character with a dedicated polearm weapon. He also has a huge variety of skills and magic to utilize. I have come around to Crono as well since I think the partner mechanic could be really fun in Smash if properly implemented.
How would Magus play?
Magus fights using a scythe as well as a combination of all magic types, including his own exclusive "Shadow" magic. Contrary to the other characters, he does not learn any dual techs, and accessories must be found to unlock several triple techs. Because of this, Magus would lean more towards being more of a solo character than the protagonist, Crono, who would focus much more heavily on the partner mechanic of Chrono Trigger. Even though he would primarily fight on his own, I do think he would use one of his triple techs, Eternal Darkness or Omega Flare. As for the rest of his moveset, here is a quick rundown on the solo techs Magus can use:
These are Magus' skills in Chrono Trigger:
Lightning II - Magus attacks all enemies with a massive lightning storm
Ice II - Magus attacks all enemies with giant chunks of ice
Fire II - Magus attacks all enemies with a blazing inferno
Dark Bomb - Attacks enemies in range of a circle. Something like a hugely scaled down StarFox bomb item would work well here
Barrier - Boosts all allies' magic defense
Dark Mist - Attacks all enemies with a dark mist. This one could be similar to one of Palutena's custom moves from Smash 4.
Black Hole - Chance to instant kill enemies within a circle
Dark Matter - Magus' ultimate solo tech. This one deals massive shadow elemental damage to all enemies.
Here is a complete Smash moveset for Magus:
Gimmicks and other Traits
Magus floats for his running animation similar to Sephiroth and teleports for his dodge roll. Magus has a similar tipper mechanic to Marth where most of the damage from his scythe attacks is caused by the tip rather than the handle. Magus also has a float jump similar to Princess Peach, but he gradually descends rather than floats at the same altitude. Most of Magus’ attributes are very similar to Sephiroth.
Weak attacks
Jab: Magus holds his hand forward and zaps the opponent with two small shocks followed by a final more powerful blast.
Forward Tilt: Magus swings his scythe horizontally and catches any opponent it connects with. He then scrapes his scythe across the ground, dragging the opponent before sending them flying in the opposite direction.
Up Tilt: Magus pokes his scythe upward and hits the opponent with the spike on the top
Down Tilt: Magus performs a low sweep across the ground with his scythe.
Smash Attacks
Up Smash – Geyser – Magus summons a pillar of light at roughly the height of Palutena’s up smash and unleashes several spirits that fly upwards and damage enemies. This attack doesn’t have much knockback but it has very good range.
Down Smash: Magus slams the handle of his scythe into the ground.
Forward Smash: Magus throws his scythe forwards, causing it to spin around and return to him, similar to Pyra’s forward special.
Specials
Neutral Special – Fire/Lighting/Ice – Magus’ neutral special rotates on a cycle between three different attacks.
Down Special – Dark Mist – Magus unleashes a wave of dark mist that covers a wide horizontal area across the ground. This would function a lot like Palutena’s Heavenly Light custom special in that it does not cause any flinching or knockback but damages anyone caught in the mist.
Side Special – Dark Bomb – Magus sends out a glowing ball of energy that he can slightly control the trajectory of similar to Zelda’s Din’s Fire move which then detonates into an sphere of negative energy that deals heavy damage and knockback.
Running Attack
Magus swings his scythe upwards
Aerials
Neutral Air: Magus holds his arms outstretched and surrounds himself in dark energy similar to Mewtwo’s neutral air.
Up Air: Magus swings his scythe in an arc above him similar to Sephiroth.
Forward Air: Magus swings his scythe diagonally downwards and catches opponents whom he flings backwards.
Back Air: Magus stabs backward with the handle of his scythe.
Down Air: Magus jabs downards with the spike at the end of his scythe which can spike opponents.
Throws
Grab and Pummel: Magus traps his opponents in a sphere of dark energy and electrifies it as a pummel.
Up Throw: Magus throws the orb upwards causing it to explode and the opponent to go flying outward.
Down Throw: Magus slams the orb into the ground which causes it to explode.
Forward Throw: Magus propels the orb forward and tosses his scythe through it like a javelin, causing it to explode.
Back Throw: Magus teleports the orb behind him, causing it to explode.
Final Smash
Final Smash – Dark Matter – This is based on Magus’ most powerful skill in Chrono Trigger. Magus envelops the opponent in darkness with his cape. This starts out a lot like Meta Knight’s final Smash. It then transports anyone caught to a cutscene that causes massive damage to each of these opponents with a massive spinning triangle of dark energy.
Taunts
Taunt 1 – Magus crosses his arms and floats upwards as he says “The black wind howls.”
Taunt 2 – Magus tightens his glove as his says “Do you hear that? It’s the sound of the reaper.”
Taunt 3 – Magus’ scythe circles around him, floating in the air.
Victory Quotes
“Nothing can live forever.”
“The weak always strive to be weaker.”
“You got whacked ‘cuz you’re weak.”
Magus floats for his running animation similar to Sephiroth and teleports for his dodge roll. Magus has a similar tipper mechanic to Marth where most of the damage from his scythe attacks is caused by the tip rather than the handle. Magus also has a float jump similar to Princess Peach, but he gradually descends rather than floats at the same altitude. Most of Magus’ attributes are very similar to Sephiroth.
Weak attacks
Jab: Magus holds his hand forward and zaps the opponent with two small shocks followed by a final more powerful blast.
Forward Tilt: Magus swings his scythe horizontally and catches any opponent it connects with. He then scrapes his scythe across the ground, dragging the opponent before sending them flying in the opposite direction.
Up Tilt: Magus pokes his scythe upward and hits the opponent with the spike on the top
Down Tilt: Magus performs a low sweep across the ground with his scythe.
Smash Attacks
Up Smash – Geyser – Magus summons a pillar of light at roughly the height of Palutena’s up smash and unleashes several spirits that fly upwards and damage enemies. This attack doesn’t have much knockback but it has very good range.
Down Smash: Magus slams the handle of his scythe into the ground.
Forward Smash: Magus throws his scythe forwards, causing it to spin around and return to him, similar to Pyra’s forward special.
Specials
Neutral Special – Fire/Lighting/Ice – Magus’ neutral special rotates on a cycle between three different attacks.
- For his fire special, Magus creates a pillar of flame a short distance in front of him at about one and a half times his height that can trap opponents and causes steady residual damage similar to Ness’ PK Fire.
- Magus’ Lightning special summons a bolt of electricity horizontally from his hand that travels a long distance across the stage. This causes light damage but is capable of stunning opponents at high percentages.
- Finally Magus’ Ice special summons a giant chunk of ice that travels diagonally downwards and crashes into the ground at a medium distance from him. This attack causes a lot of damage and can freeze opponents at high percentages.
Down Special – Dark Mist – Magus unleashes a wave of dark mist that covers a wide horizontal area across the ground. This would function a lot like Palutena’s Heavenly Light custom special in that it does not cause any flinching or knockback but damages anyone caught in the mist.
Side Special – Dark Bomb – Magus sends out a glowing ball of energy that he can slightly control the trajectory of similar to Zelda’s Din’s Fire move which then detonates into an sphere of negative energy that deals heavy damage and knockback.
Running Attack
Magus swings his scythe upwards
Aerials
Neutral Air: Magus holds his arms outstretched and surrounds himself in dark energy similar to Mewtwo’s neutral air.
Up Air: Magus swings his scythe in an arc above him similar to Sephiroth.
Forward Air: Magus swings his scythe diagonally downwards and catches opponents whom he flings backwards.
Back Air: Magus stabs backward with the handle of his scythe.
Down Air: Magus jabs downards with the spike at the end of his scythe which can spike opponents.
Throws
Grab and Pummel: Magus traps his opponents in a sphere of dark energy and electrifies it as a pummel.
Up Throw: Magus throws the orb upwards causing it to explode and the opponent to go flying outward.
Down Throw: Magus slams the orb into the ground which causes it to explode.
Forward Throw: Magus propels the orb forward and tosses his scythe through it like a javelin, causing it to explode.
Back Throw: Magus teleports the orb behind him, causing it to explode.
Final Smash
Final Smash – Dark Matter – This is based on Magus’ most powerful skill in Chrono Trigger. Magus envelops the opponent in darkness with his cape. This starts out a lot like Meta Knight’s final Smash. It then transports anyone caught to a cutscene that causes massive damage to each of these opponents with a massive spinning triangle of dark energy.
Taunts
Taunt 1 – Magus crosses his arms and floats upwards as he says “The black wind howls.”
Taunt 2 – Magus tightens his glove as his says “Do you hear that? It’s the sound of the reaper.”
Taunt 3 – Magus’ scythe circles around him, floating in the air.
Victory Quotes
“Nothing can live forever.”
“The weak always strive to be weaker.”
“You got whacked ‘cuz you’re weak.”
What kind of music could Magus bring?
Chrono Trigger is famous for its amazing soundtrack with many standout classics. Here are a few that I would love to see:
Chrono Trigger Main Theme
Battle
Battle with Magus
Corridors of Time
Schala's Theme
Undersea Palace
Black Omen
World Revolution
Frog's Theme
The Final Battle
What would his stage be?
I think a great idea for his stage would be the final battle with Lavos. Throughout the battle, you are transported thoughout every era so it would be a great way to showcase the time travelling aspect to the game.
What would Magus' alternate outfits be?
Magus has to options for alternate costumes. The first is the cloak that he wears to disguise himself as he travels back to his own time period. The second, which is a bit more out there is based on Guile from Chrono Cross. As you may know, Guile was originally planned to be Magus in the early stages of Chrono Cross but the idea was scrapped and Guile was made into his own character. I think it would be a fun callback to reference Guile in one of Magus' alternate outfits. As for palate swaps, one idea is to have one based on his sprite with the blue cape rather than the red one in his artwork.
What kind of Spirits could he bring?
The most likely scenario here is that Magus would bring over every playable character as a Spirit, including Crono himself as well as other prominent characters such as Schala as well as his generals, Ozzy, Flea, and Slash.
Last edited:
. Frog is my second favorite character from Chrono Trigger so I’d be more than happy if we got him.