Quillion
Smash Hero
- Joined
- Sep 17, 2014
- Messages
- 5,632
We've had bias threads for Fire Emblem (like this), Kirby (like this), and Donkey Kong (like this). Let me try my hand at it too.
The way the Zelda franchise has been portrayed in Smash has been... a mixed bag to say the least. Stage selection is good, with several games like OoT, TP, SS, WW, and even ST all being represented while having Temple in place as a "general" Zelda stage. Assist Trophies include some of the most iconic characters in the series with Tingle, Midna, Ghirahim, and Skull Kid all taking turns. Music selection has always had a great mix of remixes and unaltered tracks. And Trophies and Spirits have fairly represented various games.
But the real meat and potatoes are the playable characters. And... they honestly aren't portrayed all too well. Let's break it down into the individual issues.
I'm not asking for Hyrule Warriors-level thoroughness when it comes to representing and selecting the characters, but in my opinion, the series' execution of such leaves a lot to be desired.
The way the Zelda franchise has been portrayed in Smash has been... a mixed bag to say the least. Stage selection is good, with several games like OoT, TP, SS, WW, and even ST all being represented while having Temple in place as a "general" Zelda stage. Assist Trophies include some of the most iconic characters in the series with Tingle, Midna, Ghirahim, and Skull Kid all taking turns. Music selection has always had a great mix of remixes and unaltered tracks. And Trophies and Spirits have fairly represented various games.
But the real meat and potatoes are the playable characters. And... they honestly aren't portrayed all too well. Let's break it down into the individual issues.
- Three of the Zelda characters are Link. Four Marth echoes/semi-echoes is one thing, but having three characters based around one legacy-archetype? I know that the Links are technically different characters and all, and I would say that at least having multiple Links is a good idea. But seriously, why do they have to have slight variations on the same specialset and (mostly) normalset? We at least have the potential for "normals-only semi-echoes" where the Links share normalsets, but have distinct specialsets.
- Ganondorf's moveset is derived from Captain Falcon. This is a twofold problem: Ganondorf isn't even related to Captain Falcon in any way other than vague body type similarities, and Ganondorf's preferred method of fighting has always been a bladed weapon mixed with magic. Yes, he uses hand-to-hand moves, but they only function as a mixup with his preferred fighting style, while Smash considers swords a mixup with his main brawling style.
- Princess Zelda is... okay. She doesn't really fight at all in canon. But even then, since people are so adamant Ganondorf get his Dead Man's Volley, wouldn't it make more sense for Zelda to have the Light Arrow, aka the weapon that has become her signature in three games (WW, TP, ST) and a spinoff (Hyrule Warriors)?
- Sheik continues to be an outlier in how Smash has treated Zelda one-shots. Sure, Midna and Skull Kid are merely assist material, but why is it that Sheik still sticks around with her made-up moveset? Speaking of one-shots...
I'm not asking for Hyrule Warriors-level thoroughness when it comes to representing and selecting the characters, but in my opinion, the series' execution of such leaves a lot to be desired.