ketchupcat
Smash Rookie
- Joined
- Sep 8, 2015
- Messages
- 5
Who is Taranza?
Taranza makes his debut in Kirby: Triple Deluxe, where he kidnaps King Dedede for his beloved Queen Sectonia, believing the king to be the hero of Planet Popstar. Kirby chases after the spider mage, who uses his magic to strengthen monsters to obstruct Kirby. Eventually, Taranza resorts to sending a puppeteered Masked Dedede after Kirby. Once Kirby defeats the brainwashed king, Taranza realizes that the pink puffball is the true hero of the planet, and pleads to his queen for help. Sectonia blasts him aside for his mistake, confronting Kirby, fusing with the enormous Dreamstalk, and attempting to cover Popstar in her vines.
At the climax of the fight, Taranza appears to assist Kirby by bringing Dedede to help as well as tossing Kirby a Miracle Fruit, powering him up to defeat the wicked queen once and for all. Having realized the true character of his queen, Taranza has since become a friend to Kirby and Dedede.
Taranza's next appearance is in Team Kirby Clash Deluxe, where, compelled by some mysterious force, he serves as the main antagonist, again provoking various bosses to oppose Kirby. In this game, he is fought directly for the first time, showing off his magical abilities. When the game is completed, the curse is broken, and Taranza once again comes to his senses, peacefully dwelling in the Dream Kingdom.
Most recently, Taranza has appeared in Kirby Star Allies as a Dream Friend, marking his first ever playable appearance. He has an entire moveset, including many of his previously mentioned magic attacks, as well as brand new moves.
Why should he be in Smash?
1. He would represent modern Kirby.
It is repeatedly made clear that the modern Kirby games severely lack representation in the Super Smash Bros. series. The vast majority of the Kirby content in Smash is from games directed by Sakurai, who left the series in 2001, meaning that the franchise has now gone on for much longer since his departure than it had before he left.
Kirby's Return to Dream Land for the Nintendo Wii marked a new era in the Kirby series, often referred to simply as "Modern Kirby" by fans. A hallmark of these modern games is the grander, more detailed stories they tell when compared to past entries in the series, introducing new characters who receive a considerable amount of development.
Taranza is a perfect example of such a character. He is the lovestruck servant of a once kindly queen, who went evil due to her own vanity and stopped seeing him as anything more than a servant. Taranza is forced to assist with the killing of his queen, and now perpetually mourns her loss. He is often described as an intellectual, with Star Allies even referring to him as a "clumsy smarty-pants". When fought in Team Kirby Clash Deluxe, he seems rather confident in his abilities, constantly laughing, giggling, and teleporting all over the place to taunt the player.
2. The Kirby series deserves a new character.
Kirby is a series filled to the brim with all sorts of characters, with new ones being added in almost every game. In Kirby Star Allies, nearly every major character in the franchise is playable as a Dream Friend, each with their own unique, fleshed out moveset that would feel right at home in Smash.
3. He has great moveset potential.
Taranza is a mage, a type of fighter that has limitless moveset potential, but is strangely underrepresented in Smash. Taranza in particular is also a spider-based being, adding a unique theme to many of his abilities. In addition to his magic, Taranza's six floating hands could make for some unique melee attacks, as would his horns/mandibles.
-Flight
-Puppeteering and controlling other entities with string
-Releasing projectile energy balls (Taranza Ball)
-Creating a large energy ball (Super Taranza Ball), released diagonally, bouncing across the screen)
-Teleportation
-Creating a net of electrical energy to trap enemies (Taranza Web Hold)
-Storing energy, then releasing it in a powerful, long-ranged burst in all directions (Super Taranza Burst)
-A smaller, less powerful version of the Super Taranza Burst, which can be executed more quickly (Taranza Burst)
-Surrounding himself with a barrier of energy, then dashing forward
-Generating and throwing large, sharp crystals
-Throwing a piece of magical webbing to ensnare enemies (Magic String Shot)
-Throwing webbing to create stationary webs, which ensnare or damage enemies that touch them (Web Sling and Web Scatter)
-Grabbing trapped enemies and slamming them around (Pod Slam, Pod Slamabam)
-Instantly growing a miniature Dreamstalk out of the ground, which does damage and blocks projectiles (Darling Dreamstalk)
-Summoning the ghost of Queen Sectonia, which unleashes a powerful lightning attack for a few seconds (Queen's Phantom)
-Puppeteering and controlling other entities with string
-Releasing projectile energy balls (Taranza Ball)
-Creating a large energy ball (Super Taranza Ball), released diagonally, bouncing across the screen)
-Teleportation
-Creating a net of electrical energy to trap enemies (Taranza Web Hold)
-Storing energy, then releasing it in a powerful, long-ranged burst in all directions (Super Taranza Burst)
-A smaller, less powerful version of the Super Taranza Burst, which can be executed more quickly (Taranza Burst)
-Surrounding himself with a barrier of energy, then dashing forward
-Generating and throwing large, sharp crystals
-Throwing a piece of magical webbing to ensnare enemies (Magic String Shot)
-Throwing webbing to create stationary webs, which ensnare or damage enemies that touch them (Web Sling and Web Scatter)
-Grabbing trapped enemies and slamming them around (Pod Slam, Pod Slamabam)
-Instantly growing a miniature Dreamstalk out of the ground, which does damage and blocks projectiles (Darling Dreamstalk)
-Summoning the ghost of Queen Sectonia, which unleashes a powerful lightning attack for a few seconds (Queen's Phantom)
4. He isn't a Spirit.
It is not confirmed whether Spirits deconfirm characters or not, though there is something in particular that stands out: the Nipper Plant spirit becomes Petey Piranha when enhanced. This is a rather strange thing for a Nipper Plant to become, but would have suited a Piranha Plant perfectly. It is entirely possible that a Piranha Plant spirit was replaced with Nipper Plant when they decided to make Piranha Plant playable.
True, there are so many characters that not everyone could be included as a Spirit. However, Taranza's exclusion is particularly strange because he would be perfect for the role, possessing King Dedede and turning him hostile in his first appearance. A Taranza Spirit battle could easily feature a powerful Dedede, with a Robin who tries to avoid the player and assist Dedede from a distance.
5. He is a good boy.
Just look how proper and spiffy he is.
-Yellow, blue, and green colorations based on the player 2, 3, and 4 colorations from Star Allies
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-Purple, based on his appearance in TKCD
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-Dark Taranza from TKCD as a costume
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-Sectonia's original, spider-like form could be selectable as well
-Purple, based on his appearance in TKCD
-Dark Taranza from TKCD as a costume
-Sectonia's original, spider-like form could be selectable as well
...And that's about it for now! Thank you for reading!
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