smashkirby
Smash Hero
After many years, it's time for the Marvelous trio to return to the spotlight in Super Smash Bros.!
What is "Marvelous", you ask?
"Marvelous: Mōhitotsu no Takarajima" (meaning: "Marvelous: Another Treasure Island" in English) was released in 1996 for the Super Famicom. The game's story goes a little something like this: Many years ago, when the seas were ruled by the pirates, Captain Maverick was the worst of them. It is said he left an astounding treasure hidden on an island filled with traps and puzzles. Many years later, three boys (Dion, Max, and Jack) attend their summer camp, which just happens to be situated on the same island that Captain Maverick left his treasure, where they uncover a secret hidden deep on the island, as do a band of three dangerous pirates who are searching for the ancient treasure. In the game, you would control all three boys simultaneously each with their own skills. You could assign a leader and let them work together as a team. You meet many characters along the way who will help you, give you hints, or ask you to go on missions for them. The game seemed to be well received in Japan, but did not get a release in the West, due to the Super Nintendo being on its way out to make way for the Nintendo 64. The game WAS popular enough in Japan to garner two sequels-of-sorts in the Satellaview game, "BS Marvelous: Time Athletic", and Marvelous: Camp Arnold.
So, who are the 3 squirts above?
Dion- (in red and brown, wearing the cowboy hat in the middle; age 12) – He may be short, but he's quite the spirited little fellow. He's a fast runner and a good pitcher. (He would be the all-around character of the trio, albeit with a slight emphasis on speed.) His small size allows him to dodge attacks with relative ease, and catch opponents off guard, due to his speed. Putting him at the head of the team will make them move quite faster.
Max- (in green, with the monkey on his head; age 12) – He is the largest and strongest of the three. He likes to eat, but also likes to play soccer and swim. He is also a good boxer. (He would be the powerhouse of the three, basically.) He also can lift heavy objects. This allows him to move the fastest of all three when carrying something like a Crate or Barrel. It's preferable to have him in the lead if you want to score KOs easily, though he will cause the group to move somewhat slower than if Dion or Jack were in the lead.
Jack- (in blue and red, wearing the glasses; age 12) – He is the tallest and smartest of the three. Being as good with his hands as he is, he likes to build things and work with machines (He would be the summoner of the three, more or less). With this, he can invent new times that will assist the trio in battle. Considering how he's taller than the others, putting him in the lead of the trio allows the player(s) need(s) to jump high.
In "Marvelous", Dion, Max, and Jack use their various abilities and skills to solve different puzzles in the game. In the game, you can control one of the three protagonists - the "leader" whom the others follows. You can switch the role of leader between them by "passing the hat"; which at first can only be done as long as they are on the same screen. As this implicates, you can also split up the team in order to control each character independently, and a simple whistle blowing will get them back together if they're around. The idea of constantly separating and gathering the trio is at the core of the game, and you'll have to make use of that ability to manage to be on different places at the same time.Jack- (in blue and red, wearing the glasses; age 12) – He is the tallest and smartest of the three. Being as good with his hands as he is, he likes to build things and work with machines (He would be the summoner of the three, more or less). With this, he can invent new times that will assist the trio in battle. Considering how he's taller than the others, putting him in the lead of the trio allows the player(s) need(s) to jump high.
Of course, every character has his own characteristics, but they don't really reside all that much in their physical abilities. They do somewhat influence how character controls feel - Dion is small and quick, Max is fat and slow, and Jack is tall and able-handed; but the character-specific items they use in battle is also essential to their gameplay. For example, Dion has a baseball projectile he can aggressively throw at enemies, Max has a tuba (that he uses in "Marvelous" to go scuba-diving) that allows him to last longer when in water, and Jack has a pair of special boots he invented that allow him to jump high. With so many options, it wouldn't be hard to give the Marvelous trio a very unique moveset that would be lots of fun to play!
In 2008, Sakurai talked about some criteria he usually uses when choosing characters.
The first one - "The character's inclusion must make people want to play the game." This one is hard to pinpoint. Fans of Marvelous would be excited to finally see Dion, Max, and Jack in something new for the first time in so long, and many players may think their concept of being a trio with varying abilities and skills looks like an interesting feature and choose to play as them. However, since they come from such an obscure game, I'll admit that they probably wouldn't pull in many people all on their own.
Second - "The character must be unique." The Marvelous trio absolutely fits the bill on this - they have a whole bunch of unique attacks that could be utilized in Smash, as well as having unique and eye-catching designs.
Third - "The character must fit into the style of Super Smash Bros." This applies to the Marvelous trio too - with so many unique attacks and abilities, they'd fit right in with all of the other characters on the roster.
Fourth - "They must contribute to the game balance." While I'm sure it wouldn't be too difficult to balance any potential newcomer, and the Marvelous trio don't fall into a specific, identifiable fighting style, like a swordfighter, meaning their inclusion wouldn't make for "too many swordfighters" or anything similar. I must admit though that they may be be a tad tricky to balance due to their various abilities.
For the most part though, the Marvelous trio certainly fits most of Sakurai's criteria well! So they'd be pretty great choices.
So that's my take on them, please tell me what you all think of them and what moveset you think they should have!
The Marvelous Supporters!
smashkirby
FamicomDisk
SquashiniKun
GoodGrief741
SEGAGameBoy
kool2419
thirsty-pocket
chocolatejr9
Libson Mapping
smashkirby
FamicomDisk
SquashiniKun
GoodGrief741
SEGAGameBoy
kool2419
thirsty-pocket
chocolatejr9
Libson Mapping
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