I wrote up an essay supporting Claus on another forum. I thought it might help convince any doubters that come into this topic that Claus should be in as a second Mother rep.
I'm sure you all know of Lucas. Lucas is that new character in SSBB, the blond-haired psychic youth from the Japan-only title MOTHER 3. We know that he's similar to Ness in his own game, and we recently found that he's similar in SSB as well, and is likely actually replacing Ness. He fights "splendidly" and uses slightly deviated versions of Ness's psychic attacks. But what doesn't the Smash Bros Dojo tell you?
Well, let's start with his... rather tragic history. Up until the age of about twelve, Lucas lived a fairly blessed life. He lived in a peaceful town that was completely in communion with nature. He and his twin brother, Claus, would spend their days playing with their friend Fuel and with the friendly dinosaur creatures, Dragos, that inhabited Nowhere Island. His family was very respected thanks to his father, Flint. Lucas, his brother and his mother, Hinawa, had just taken a trip to their grandfather's house to visit. After twelve years of this halcyon existence, however, there was nowhere to go but down... and Lucas went down
hard.
At the age of twelve, a malevolent pig-themed army invaded his home town of Tazmily and began to cross-engineer the animals in the area with their technology and create gross and violent Chimeras, seeking to make them "cooler and more violent". They set fire to the nearby woods and generally created dangerous situations for the people of Tazmily. As Lucas, Claus and Hinawa made their journey home, they happened to encounter the very drago that they had been playing with earlier that day. However, the Pig-Masks had gotten to it, and mechanized it with their sick technology, and it attacked them. Their mother managed to push Lucas and Claus into a stream to float to safety before she was impaled on the drago's gigantic fang.
Lucas stayed at his mother's grave for days, and he overheard his brother talking about getting his revenge on the Drago. Although he was initially reluctant, he was eventually convinced to tell his father this so that Flint could try and save Claus, and although he managed to defeat the Mecha-Drago, Claus was never found. It is revealed to the player, however, that Claus had been killed, then thrown off a cliff. He was dead.
After this, Flint became a broken man. Lucas nearly lost his father, as Flint began his endless search for Claus, rarely sleeping or eating. He scarcely had any time for Lucas anymore, and the timing couldn't have been worse. The strange vendor, Yokuba had just rolled into town, and began giving "Happy Boxes", devices shaped like televisions, to the residents of Tazmily Village. He also introduced the idea of "money" to the untouched and innocent town, and brought about corruption and development throughout the island. Lucas, who was the only to refuse the corruption of money and "Happy Boxes", had his house struck by lightning almost nightly for three years, and the people of the town believed that it was his refusal to accept Yokuba's idea of happiness that caused his misfortune, only further increasing their commitment to these new ideas.
So to summarize... Lucas not only had to witness the brutal death of his mother, and was partially responsible for his brother's death, but he was afflicted for three years by a frightening and dangerous "punishment" for him clinging to his unhappiness. Lucas had a fairly messed up childhood, but he clings to purity and his communion with nature. Through hardship and peril, and with the help of his friends, Lucas will eventually become the champion of all living things against the Pig-Mask Army.
However, there is another side of the story... The story of Claus, which does not end with his death.
Before going to fight the Mecha-Drago, Claus went to visit the Magypsies, a mysterious race of cross-dressing psychics that live for hundreds of years. To end the incessant blabbering of the energetic boy about his quest for revenge, and how he needed to fight the Drago, the Magypsies agreed to awaken his dormant Psychic powers, as they would later do for Lucas. Unbeknownst to the Magypsies, however, the PSI that Claus learns is actually PK LOVE, a secret and special PSI that can only be learned by a chosen one who can pull the seven needles. Pulling these seven needles will awaken the Dragon of Darkness that sleeps beneath Nowhere Island, and he will reflect the desires that the puller of the needles holds deepest in their heart. With his death, however, it seemed that the Dragon might never awaken... but there are always those who will try to cheat fate.
The leader of the Pig-Mask Army had Claus reconstructed with his finest technology, using circuitry to suppress his soul and leave him a servant without will. He follows the Pig-Mask leader's orders directly and exactly, executing them with deadly precision and not even letting his own brother get in his way. Claus unwillingly became the ultimate symbol of the Pig-Mask's corruption of Nowhere Island. He cheated even death, and exists as an abomination of living tissue and machine parts. He is completely subservient to the Pig-Mask's leader. His will was stolen, and he only cared for fulfilling the ambitions of the one whom he perceived to have power. Although his master would be defeated, Claus will continue attempting to fulfil his ambition, that of eradicating all living things aside from his creator, to the very end. He becomes the living embodiment of corruption and desecration of nature, and in the end, his true, pure soul would overcome the Pig-Masks corruption for just enough time to end his own dastardly path by the only way possible...
The clash of these two twins is so wonderful, and so poetic, really. The two of them serve as the perfect symbol of MOTHER3. Their clash is the essential one of the game, nature versus corruption, what is natural and pure, versus what is self-gratifying and perverse. Lucas and Claus. Claus and Lucas. These tragic brothers can only truly represent their game together. Lucas alone is fine, sure. He's the protagonist, so include him... but when you're looking for a second character, Claus should definitely be your first choice. He's the only choice that really represents something significant to the series. Sure, certain characters, like Pokey, might be considered pretty important as well... but Pokey doesn't stand for anything. He doesn't represent what the series is about, or even what any game is about. He only represents his own self-interest. Any other party members from MOTHER 1, 2 or 3 are great. I really like the cast of each game. However, I can't say that they're playable character material... at least, not over Claus. Ness is the only possibility. I'm really torn when it comes to deciding between Claus and Ness, but Ness is very likely out, so Claus is the best second rep for the Mother series.
Why does the Mother series deserve two characters, though, huh? It's mainly Japan-only. It only has three games. True, and true. However, you must also consider the following. For starters, although it was completely Japan-only at the time, Fire Emblem received two characters in SSBM. In addition, Nintendo is highly aware of the incredible MOTHER3 fan support outside Japan, due to Starman.net's numerous petitions, call-ins and phone-ins. They've also compiled rather impressive books of fan art and other works just to show Nintendo how much fans outside Japan love the Mother series. Even if they won't translate MOTHER3 yet, more material in SSBB might be a way of giving the fans something for all of their hard work and devotion. At the very least, Sakurai could use it as an excuse for why they can allow Japan-only content in the Mother series. As for the Mother series consisting of just three games... that really doesn't matter. Let's just put it simply. Three is all there is, and three is all there ever will be. Shigesato Itoi has been quoted saying that he doesn't plan for a fourth game to ever be made. He prefers to leave the series as it is, letting MOTHER3 finish it off as a trilogy. Mother is a series with few releases, but is an incredibly respected series in Japan, created by a man widely recognized as a genius. With incredible fan support in the country, and knowledge fan support outside the country, there isn't much resistance to a new Mother rep. Plus, Brawl seems to finally be increasing long-standing single representative series. We've seen three instances of this so far in Brawl. Mother will probably not be an exception.
And from here, I'll turn it over to the seemingly obligatory moveset portion of the post. Rather than wasting time describing twenty normal attacks that could be anything, though, I'm constraining my description of the attacks to special moves. Here you go:
-General Info-
Name:
Claus
Picture(s):
[by MegatronPwnsYou on deviantart]
Series:
MOTHER
-Stats-
Size: 2.5/5
Weight: 3/5
Power: 4/5
Speed: 3/5
Jump: 3.5/5
-Specials-
Standard Special:
Beam(
Claus raises his right arm and fires a blue beam from the barrel of the laser on his arm. The beam takes a half-second of lag to start up, and has a moment of lag afterwards. It cannot be used repeatedly in succession as easily as the Blasters belonging to the StarFox crew. The beam doesn't do particularly much damage, but it has a fairly high knockback, hitting the opponent back a bit, and up into the air, however, the knockback is almost constant. It isn't much different at 0% than it is at 999%. The beam mainly serves the purpose of popping enemies into the air. It can be used to start an approach, and also to set up aerial combos. 5-7% )
Side Special:
PK Love(
PK Love is a chargeable semi-ranged attack. The move has a maximum charge time of four seconds, and four seconds at point blank range is essentially instant death. Lesser charges at greater distances are much less damaging, though. The move is charged with Claus clutching his helmet with both hands. When he releases the move, he throws his hands forwards to unleash it. A wave of purple hexagonal disks, similar to the ones found in many of Lucas's standard attacks will be released, and opponents will be damaged based on the charge and the distance. The move has pitiful range. The maximum is about the length of Link's hookshot; ranges from 7-27% )
Down Special:
Shield Killer(
Claus gathers a yellow energy around his hand and then swipes it ahead of him. If the energy hits an opponent who is shielding or using a special shield, like the reflector, the shield will be broken instantly and the opponent will be stunned. The move is designed to be a set up for his difficult to pull off Side Special, PK Love. Shield Killer itself, though, is also fairly laggy with its initial animation.)
Up Special:
Jet(
A pair of mechanical bat-like wings extend from a pack on Claus's back, and a jet starts firing, sending him rocketing upwards for a brief period. He is damaging to other characters as he quickly rises. He can hover and descend at a slowed rate after the usage of the move with the jet until you press down on the control stick, or you touch the ground. The flames will damage enemies below him. 8-12% for first hit; 1-3% getting caught in the flame in during Claus's descent)
Final Smash:
Psychic Lightning(
When you activate this final smash, Claus grabs his sword and executes a set of sword swipes in the air that cause lightning to strike the stage. The Lightning initially strikes very close to Claus, but it will move slightly to encompass an opponent if an opponent gets very close to it. The move repeatedly shocks anyone caught in it until the final bolt, in which a pulse will be sent through the lightning, causing a rather large explosion at the base. Claus is free to move around, however, he must be careful... his own Lightning can damage him a bit if he goes through it. It's rumored(heh, Sakurai) that special reflective effects from items may cause adverse effects with this final smash, though, it doesn't seem things like Fox's personal reflector can do this.)
-Additional Info-
Taunt 1- Claus goes down on one knee, facing away from the screen, and bows his head. He remains in this position for a moment before returning to his normal fighting stance.
Taunt 2- Claus covers his ears and starts shaking his head, then moves his hands to cover his ears while still shaking his head.
Taunt 3- Claus pulls out his sword and does a jumping slash towards the screen.
Unlock-Related to the SSE
Kirby hat-
[by HextupleyooDOT on Nsiders]
Entrance- Rides in on a Pork-Bean.