Takamaru
(BluePikmin11's questions)
1. How many diverse options does the character have?
Takamaru has potential to be a superfast sword user that can rival Marth with speedy attacks, but with a twist. Takamaru could have attacks that "flow" into each other (courtesy of Xenoblaze) with certain button inputs. This of course would make him hard to master due to the timing and precision needed for this, but extremely rewarding in the combos the player is able to pull off. I can also imagine him being a sort of mixed bag, in which he can attack from afar with projectiles and simply rush in for close combat whenever he feels like. This alone, can make him very unpredictable and tricky to a player giving him potential as one of Smash's only "mixup" archetype. As a samurai, Takamaru should have speedy everything: grabs, aerials and smashes included. For balancing, I think he should be more on the lighter side, so that while fast, he is relatively easy to KO.
2. Is their moves or abilities diverse from the rest of the cast?
The only other superfast sword user is Marth, but there is one crucial difference between Marth and Takamaru. Projectiles.
3. Has the concept of the character been done before?
In a sense. A speedy sword user has been done before.
3a. If it has been done before, is the character's way of doing it unique?
The flow mechanic has potential to be very unique considering there would be no other character that requires as much precision and timing as Takamaru. Takamaru also has access to many projectiles and tools besides his katana. These include kunai, shuriken, fireballs, an invisibility cloak, and a powerful electric type move called Inazuma Lightning. Though not entirely canon, it is possible that Sakurai could draw some weapons from Takamaru's Ninja Castle from Nintendoland such as the clay bomb though this is probably not likely. Takamaru's name is also derived from falcon...make of this what you must.
4. Does the characters abilities and moves provide enough to be entertaining?
With the learning curve on Takamaru, it might be more frustrating than fun, but like Olimar, once people get the hang of him he could be very fun to play as. In fact, even with the learning curve; shuriken, invisibility and lightning would be very entertaining.
5. How visually different is the character in terms of body shape and looks?
Depends. While there is no Japanese or samurai inspired character in the game whether Sakurai uses the Samurai Warriors model or gives him a complete makeover is up in the air. There are many directions that could be taken with a redesign ranging from something more realistic like the Samurai Warriors interpretation to the more classic design to something entirely new, possibly something inspired by Edo period Japanese watercolor art.
6. Does it fit the character well enough?
The fast playstyle and precision needed for attacks just screams samurai. As does the projectiles. Takamaru used invisibility, fire and lightning magic in his own game so whether it is associated with samurais or not, it fits him.
Uniqueness rating: B-. A flow mechanic and mixup type character would certainly be unique for Smash 4 and his projectiles, magic and invisibility can all be quite unique but it seems possible that Takamaru could have some generic sword attacks for his normals and a speedy sword user has technically been done before.
