Smash Bros. Idea: Characters from the Nintendo Entertainment System Era
For so long, Smash Bros. has brought various Nintendo franchises together into one big fighting game. While I'm fine with being introduced to new characters that can offer something that makes them unique & represent their respective franchises, I'm also thinking of including characters from the past that haven't had a new release in a long time. That's why I'm going to come up with movesets for various characters from the era of the N.E.S. Let's go through all of them in alphabetical order.CHARACTER #1: Balloon Fighter (Balloon Fight)
>MOVESET
Neutral Special-Air Pump
*The Balloon Fighter inflates two balloons that give him multiple double jumps, buff his normal attacks & let him grab opponents with the balloon strings. The amount of jumps he has depends of the amount of balloons. Zero balloons equals two jumps, one balloon equals four jumps & two balloons equals six jumps.
Side Special-Water Balloon Throw
*This is an original move.
Up Special-Jetpack
*The Balloon Fighter uses the jetpack from the Game & Watch version of Balloon Fight.
Down Special-Package
*The package is from the Nintendo Land minigame, Balloon Trip Breeze. The Balloon Fighter throws it at opponents, or drop it from a dangling hook. This is more effective when in the air.
Final Smash-Balloon Trip to Pencilvania
*A strong wind blows everyone, including the Balloon Fighter, away to Pencilvania from Balloon Kid. The opponents will be attacked by a giant fish, while the Balloon Fighter floats in the air above them.
>COSTUMES
Red (Default)
Blue
Yellow
Green
Orange
Alice (She's a palette swap of the Balloon Fighter & is from the Game Boy title, Balloon Kid.)
Jim (He's a palette swap of the Balloon Fighter & is from Balloon Kid.)
Samm (He's a palette swap of the Balloon Fighter & is from Balloon Kid.)
CHARACTER #2: Bubbles (Clu Clu Land)
>MOVESET
Neutral Special-Sound Waves
*Bubbles sends sound waves that will stun opponents. This is an attack from Clu Clu Land.
Side Special-Trampoline Dash
*A pink trampoline bounces her at opponents. This could be like Pac-Man’s Pac Jump but horizontally.
Up Special-Turning Post
*She grabs an appearing turning post that she’ll spin on & launch into the air for a recovery.
Down Special-Gold Ingot
*She throws a gold ingot.
Final Smash- Unira Black Hole
*A black hole appears & uniras will come out to attack opponents.
>BIOGRAPHY
Bubbles is a female red balloon fish that’s on a mission to swim around in a maze trying to uncover the stolen golden ingots from the Unira, a type of sea urchin. She usually moves straight, until she grabs a turning post that changes her direction.
CHARACTER #3: Excitebiker (Excitebike)
>MOVESET
Neutral Special-Turbo
*This is a chargeable move that works like Jigglypuff’s move, Rollout, but, the motorcycle will overheat if the move's charged too long.
Side Special-Wheelie
*The Excitebiker will lift up his front tire to perform a wheelie.
Up Special-Ramp
*Ramps appear in Excitebike as a part of the racetracks. As an Up Special, the ramp takes the Excitebiker upwards.
Down Special-Flat Tire
*Often the Excitebiker will get a flat tire, which causes him to go slower. He’ll take off the flat tire, throw it at opponents & add a new tire.
Final Smash-Excite Truck
*This is from the Nintendo Wii game, Excite Truck. The racer’s motorcycle will turn into a giant truck.
CHARACTER #4: Mach Rider
>MOVESET
Neutral Special-Machine Gun
Side Special-Mach Bike
Up Special-Regenerate
*Mach Rider brakes into pieces & goes up. This is like Zelda’s Up Special, Farore’s Wind.
Down Special-Tacks
*Mach Rider throws tacks onto the floor.
Final Smash-Mach Assault
*The Mach Rider will ride his Mach Bike while firing with his machine gun.
>BIOGRAPHY
The Mach Rider's the main character from the NES game with the same name. In the year 2112, following an alien invasion resulting in destroying his unnamed hometown, the Mach Rider drives his Mach Bike in search of a new home while destroying the alien vehicles, the Quadrunners. Interestingly, Masahiro Sakurai said he wanted the Mach Rider to be in Smash Bros. Melee because he had the “best name”. So far at the time of this post, he still hasn’t become a playable Smash character.
CHARACTER #5: Takamaru (The Mysterious Murasame Castle)
>MOVESET
Neutral Special-Windmill Sword
*It’s one of Takamaru’s Assist Trophy moves. He throws a windmill sword that can be thrown in any direction.
Side Special-Shuriken
Up Special-Upward Sword Slash
Down Special-Invisibility Cloak
*He uses it to turn invisible & avoid any attacks.
Final Smash-Lightning Strike
*He summons the Inazuma lightning & strike everyone
>BIOGRAPHY
Takamaru's Nintendo’s first samurai protagonist. In The Mysterious Murasame Castle, aliens give life to the castle’s stone castle & rule it. Takamura must infiltrate the castle & return peace to his land. Considering how interesting his origin is, he was considered to be playable in Smash Bros. for 3DS & Wii U, but ended up as an Assist Trophy due to his low popularity in the west. That doesn’t mean I can’t come up with a moveset for this slashing samurai.
CHARACTER #6 (FINAL CHARACTER): Urban Fighter (Urban Champion)
>MOVESET
Neutral Special-Heavy Punch
*This is like Little Mac's move, Straight Lunge.
Side Special-Flower Pot Throw
Up Special-Light Punch Uppercut
*This is similar to Little Mac's move, Rising Uppercut.
Down Special-Manhole Cover
Final Smash-Police Assault
*As a police car shows up, the Urban Fighter will stop, go into the background & act innocent, while the police attack the opponents.
WHY DID I DO THIS?
Because with Smash Bros. being open to obscure characters in Nintendo history, I figured that even though their chances are low, I can still make them sound like they can actually work as playable fighters. Melee introduced the Ice Climbers and Mr. Game & Watch, Brawl introduced R.O.B., and Smash for 3DS & Wii U introduced the Duck Hunt dog. I understand the characters I talked about have low chances, but does it hurt to try to make something old more interesting? No, and I can tell Masahiro Sakurai & his team behind Smash Bros. are fine with old characters being in Smash, too. In fact, before the Ice Climbers joined Melee, the Balloon Fighter, Bubbles, the Excitebike Racer, and the fighter from Urban Champion were considered to be playable fighters.
MY OPINION: CHANCES THAT THEY'LL EVER BE PLAYABLE SMASH BROS. CHARACTERS
1. Balloon Fighter-I'm good for it. Many people may bring up the fact that the Animal Crossing Villager's Up Special, Balloon Trip, is the reason why the Balloon Fighter's chances are low, but in my personally honest opinion, the only similarity the two would have is using balloons for recovering. I mean the Villager only uses balloons for one move, while the Balloon Fighter uses them for his entire moveset & the Villager's Up Special could be replaced with a fishing pole, so the argument isn't very effective
2. Bubbles-Probably not
3. Excitebiker-While I admit I did a good job coming up with a moveset for this character, I STILL doubt the Excitebiker will ever be playable due to the fact that most of his movements require his motorcycle. In fact, one of the reasons why he was cut from Melee is because the team had no idea how he would jump properly. The closest the Excitebiker ever got to being in Smash Bros. was being an Assist Trophy in Brawl. Maybe, he'll remain that way, appear in an Excitebike stage, and even be an alternate costume for Mach Rider, which brings me to the next character.
4. Mach Rider-GO FOR IT! I don't understand why Masahiro Sakurai said he wanted Mach Rider in Smash Bros. Melee, and yet, the Mach Rider still isn't playable. Was it because he couldn't think of a moveset? Low recognition? Okay, half of me thinks it's more likely he'll end up as an Assist Trophy, but I'm also fine with him being a playable fighter.
5. Takamaru-HECK YEAH! Come on, Sakurai! His game is already re-released on the 3DS Virtual Console, so give him a promotion.
6. Urban Fighter-I had two options for this character; make him a Little Mac clone, or give him his own moveset. The likeliness of him being a clone of Little Mac is any of his attacks that aren't special moves, but the likeliness of him being a playable Smash character in general is not happening at all. Personally, he may end up being an Assist Trophy, being a part of somebody else's moveset, or a little bit of both.
Overall, that means in my own personal opinion, it's a 50/50 chance that they'll be playable characters in Smash Bros. Half of them I'm good with (Balloon Fighter, Mach Rider, and Takamaru) & half I believe will end up being Assist Trophies, or appear in other ways (Bubbles, Excitebiker, and Urban Champion).
So, do you agree or disagree with this post? Comment your thoughts below!