Walkthroughs
-
You Knew It Was Coming: Super Smash Bros. X - First-party Character Discussion
April 27 2012 by Joseph Acosta
First-Party Characters
This is the big one, folks. There’s a whole bevy of Nintendo properties, and Brawl surprised us with the revival of Kid Icarus’ Pit, the presence of both Metaknight and King Dedede, the little Captain Olimar(to which many fans proclaimed “B-B-But Olimar is too little, how can he fight!!!), and ROB(WHO IS ROB?!?!?!?!!?!?!), and swordsmen who fight for their friends and more. Those revealed in the very first Brawl trailer(Metaknight, Pit, Zero Suit Samus, Wario, Snake) were extremely well-received and kicked off the march of speculation regarding characters, especially third-party; but that’s for later in the article, so don’t blow your lid about why Travis Touchdown ‘deserves’ to be in -quite- yet. The first-party character throne is big, but as we know it can also encompass some curious surprises - like ROB.
First-party characters are the bulk of the Nintendo choices - until the presence of third-party Smashers Snake and Sonic, the SSB series had been locked entirely to Nintendo’s first-party creations, and this is exactly how it should be, will be, and will stay, for that matter. This is a Nintendo game. Made by Project Sora, natch - but still Nintendo! Because of this, I believe that first-party characters will still rule the newcomer block. But first, let’s take a little talk about what makes something first-party and what makes it third-party.
First-party - This is a developer that is part of a company that makes a video game console - and develops exclusively for it. First-party developers can either use the name of the company itself (like Nintendo), have a specific division name (like Sony’s own).
Third-party - This would be a developer that has no actual ties to the primary product that the consumer is using. Sega is pretty much almost entirely third-party(barring JP Dreamcast stuff). Even if they’ve produced games solely for one platform, unless they are tied in by contract ala Rare(who went from Third-party to First-party when they were bought by Nintendo way back when), they are considered to be Third-party.
So with that out of the way, let’s talk characters - the knitty gritty meat and bones of the article. Remember that these are my personal choices and my opinions as to why these characters should be present in Super Smash Bros. X/Kerfuffle/Universe/4: New Age of Mushrooms/Origin/Whatever. You might not agree, you might agree, you might hate me forever for some reason, but just tailor the MST3K mantra to the situation and “really just relax.”
Isaac - Golden Sun, Camelot Software Planning 
I’ve loved Golden Sun. Sure, it was a PARTICLE PARTY, but it was a gorgeous one that pushed the capabilities of the GBA to its absolute limit, especially regarding the music, where Camelot used its savvy for high-energy pieces to craft an absolutely killer soundtrack. The Mode 7-esque world map was a bit jarring, but the actual areas were well designed and it had some of the best puzzles in an RPG anyone had seen - tack on class changing through the relocation of Djinni, which could also be used to unleash beneficial effects as well as summon powerful creatures. It seated itself in as the best RPG on the GBA bar none, and on top of that, when we got post-game save data and a cliffhanger… it made the hype for The Lost Age all the better. TLA added more Djinni, more classes, more weapons, more Psynergy, more music, more characters, more sailing, more characterization(especially Felix), more everything and it was like going from filet mignon to filet mignon and then washing it down with gold and truffle-infused ice cream.
It is of my belief that Isaac deserves a spot because he was at the forefront of the GBA RPG Revolution, precursor to Superstar Saga even by a whole two years! It hit upon the dearth of solid, solid RPGs that the GBA had at the time, and despite its text-heavy hamhandedness at times, stood at the top of the pile for years. Why am I not saying “Well, Dark Dawn came out a year or so ago and it ended on a cliffhanger so Matthew has a higher chance of making it.” you ask? Because Dark Dawn stomped the dreams of the original players utterly flat. That save data at the end of TLA? Ignored. The rebirth of Alchemy and the new presence of Lemuria? Who cares. Here, have Isaac and Jenna’s kid, Garet’s kid, Mia’s kid, Ivan’s kid - here’s a plot point about Psynergy Vortexes that will disappear soon enough and be ignored until the end of the game. Also, eight characters crammed into the entire, somewhat short game(with multiple points of no return!!!) resulted in a massive lack of cast characterization, especially with Himi - useful character, horrible plot presence. I AM A PART OF YOUR PART BECAUSE THE MCGUFFIN IN YOUR INVENTORY RESPONDED TO ME AND HEALED ME FOR SOME REASON NOW I AM CRUCIAL HIMI HAS JOINED THE PARTY!
“Well, why not Felix?” you might say, noting his characterization in TLA and still nigh-mute hero status for Isaac - this is a tough one that relies entirely on personal opinion moreso than anything else. Then again - Felix didn’t get assist trophy status, hm? Both could fit the role of a Mage Knight sort of character - a slightly more nimble Link who use various Psynergy in order to defeat their opponents. If you wanted to get really out there, you could assign them a ‘Psynergy Shift’ special that switches their class, opening up new forms of attacks and defense… or maybe Grand Gaia/Briar, Move, Float(Remember, Lucas doesn’t use Starstorm), and Earth Sphere or something could work - the number of possibilities for it are endless. Issac would make a strong, exciting addition to the game, and I’m sticking by that belief.
My suggested moveset:
- Neutral B - Ragnarok: Summons a blade above Isaac that strikes diagonally in front of him. Can be charged, higher levels do more damage/cause a swordtip explosion. Medium-high recovery.
- Up+B - Float Psynergy: Isaac becomes briefly airborne and can move around, utilizing any air attacks he has during the duration.
- Down+B - Gaia/Mother Gaia/Grand Gaia: Three levels of charge on a front attack that makes the following: Small explosion w/ fast recovery, knocks up, Medium explosion, frontal knockback and medium recovery, large explosion with high upward knockup and long recovery.
- Side+B - Move: Isaac reaches out with a ghostly hand of Psynergy, pushing enemies at the far hitbox. A close enemy will be grabbed by the hand and hurled very far away.
- Final Smash: Judgment/Catastrophe - Isaac unleashes the requisite Djinni, each of which do damage in his surrounding area before flying upwards. Catastrophe appears as the camera pans up, lowers his shield, and fires a shot at the field. Upon hitting, it releases a massive explosion and wave of energy, instantly KOing all caught in the blast.
Ridley - Metroid, Nintendo 
Ridley was denied from Brawl for ‘being too big’, which is of course their way of saying “He was planned as a boss and modeled already, so he’s way too big to be a character in his current incarnation.” That much I can understand, but it’s time, Nintendo. It’s time to give the mighty(spandex clad, monotone, brainwashed mole-on-lip Sakamoto-approved) bounty hunter her rival on the stage, not as a boss with a big lifebar. I’m not saying that the boss fight in Brawl wasn’t enjoyable, particularly as PARALLAX BACKGROUNDS are basically one of the things I enjoy the most in this silly little world - but now that Brawl has run its course, Ridley deserves a full-on roster spot, with no more excuses. I want to battle Samus against Ridley in the Norfair stage mano e mano, plasma cannon to firebreath, spin attack to claws and tail.
Metroid, if you’re going to be -ultra- anal about it, technically has two reps as of this writing - Samus and Zero Suit Samus, who are wildly different in their playstyles despite being the same person just in and out of suit. However, that’s just lame in regards to the loveliness that is Metroid. After Nintendo’s near-brutal ignoring of Metroid’s Anniversary, it would be a step in the right direction to see Ridley in the next Super Smash Bros. game where he rightly belongs, duking it out with Samus or crushing the creampuff Kirby within his jaws. Metroid has gone through a lot, from Sakamoto hassling the Metroid Prime series to Samus’ sudden shift into nigh-plasticine model territory as well as the murdering of her light characterization as far as we’d known it, but Ridley was always there to breathe fire on us, stab us with a tail, or grind us against the wall of a tunnel in freefall at 300km/h.
Come on, Nintendo.
My suggested moveset:
- Neutral B - Energy Breath: Unlike Bowser’s Flame Breath, Ridley’s Energy Breath is a three-directional(forward-down, forward, forward-up) attack that has various effects depending on said direction. Up and forward shots create a hanging ball of flame / Forward shots create a long trail of fire with knockback close up / down and forward shots create a flame patch. Holding the button will charge to a second level.
- Up+B - Burning Wingbeat: Ridley’s wings ignite with flame as he roars upwards, casting fire in all directions. Unlike Charizard’s Fly, this does not have a heavy knockback attached to those caught in it - it does however, burn them, resulting in extra % damage over time ala Lip’s flower.
- Down+B - Tail Spear: Ridley readies his tail - you can cast it in any direction for a quick, sharp stab in the ready animation, which can be dodge canceled. If you do this in the air, Ridley will do his iconic ‘Tail pogo’, which flattens those hit by it.
- Side+B - Lunge: Ridley leaps forward, trying to grab his opponents in his jaws - like the Koopa Klaw, this will merely do damage if it doesn’t connect properly, but if it does, it will lock the character in Ridley’s jaws, where he can bite them repeatedly and throw them in any direction.
- Final Smash - Mecha Ridley: Ridley summons the powers of SCIENCE and transforms into his mecha form, gaining a light size upgrade as well as heightened mobility. Much like Warioman, this increases all of his parameters, though it greatly affects some of the properties of his moves
Mewtwo - Pokemon, Game Freak/Nintendo 
Mewtwo wasn’t even a clone and he got dropped(10 to 1 if Falco wasn’t iconic via top tier in Melee he would’ve been in danger). This was due to the rapidly growing popularity of Lucario at the time, as he’d exploded onto the scene and was wildly popular because he’s some sort of furry jackal thing with special secret aura powers or something. However, Lucario’s popularity has then since dwindled and Mewtwo has actually been given a surprising amount of attention in Japan lately - plus, he was the original Smash Brothers Pokepsychic in the first place. I think everything is actually lining up for the plausible return of Mewtwo, although he will have to contend with what a lot of people believe is the next shoe in for furry bipedal Pokemon rep, Zoroark. I personally think that while Zoroark’s popularity is certainly up there, it simply didn’t have quite the impact that Lucario did and doesn’t have quite as strong a standing with which to provide leverage so he can reach the cast.
So - Mewtwo’s reinclusion into the roster doesn’t sound particularly farfetched if you at least take everything into consideration, albeit I can certainly understand why it might not be as strong a case as other characters can have. Both Mewtwo and Lucario certainly had quirks to their moveset, and Lucario had that ‘Aura’ mechanic where he would get stronger as his percentage raised, but it just felt like Mewtwo had -impact-, know what I mean? From the explosion of his downsmash to the swirling dark energy of his upsmash, the quick and simple teleport, it just seemed like a better moveset in terms of -ideas- rather than Lucario’s Extremespeed/Force Palm/Counter moveset but just received poor execution - it didn’t seem like the people making his moves actually knew what they wanted them to do..
My suggested moveset:
- Neutral B - Shadow Ball: Functions much like its Melee counterpart, albeit a little more wobble.
- Up+B - Teleport: Mewtwo performs a Teleport in any direction. The recovery is extremely low if done towards the ground, allowing for followups or mindgames.
- Down+B - Disable: Mewtwo’s eyes glint with red and he mentally shakes the mind of an opponent in front of him. If they were in the middle of an attack, they are stunned for a short time, longer than if it hit them while neutral. Moderate startup.
- Side+B - Psychic: An attack requiring great precision, as it hits a precise point in front of Mewtwo; if it connects, it will blur the screen and strike an opponent with great force. Also moderate startup, but good to use after sneaky Teleports.
- Final Smash - Psystorm: Mewtwo raises himself into the air, eyes and body casting off a blue aura of psychic power. Mewtwo then whips all caught nearby during his ascension around the stage in a torrent of electrifying, dark energy before slamming them onto the stage with an explosion.
Well, I guess I could do one more..
Little Mac - Nintendo 
Calm down, calm down. I’m of the kind that believe that Nintendo shuffled a -lot- of good ideas onto the sideline as far as Assist Trophies go, and it’s delicious, untapped potential waiting to be brought out. Unlike Pokeballs, stupid Munchlax and Bonsly in 90% of all throws. But yes, I believe that Little Mac deserves a spot, although there hasn’t been much news on Punch-Out!!! since the Wii game came out - but it was a damn good one in my opinion. It gave a little more characterization to Little Mac, fixed his look up a lot more(ew, SNES Mac), and Doc Louis had more presence than before(too many chocolate bars?), coupled with its colorful cast of Boxers to go up against, it was a clean hook for a long-sleeping IP.
My suggested moveset:
- Neutral B - Dashing Straight: Little Mac performs a long, dashing straight. If this connects, you can link this move into a few of his other A moves.
- Up+B - Uppercut: Little Mac performs a high arcing uppercut that loses power towards the end of its swing and is comparatively weak at the startup - like Roy’s moves, the Uppercut has some serious power if it hits midway.
- Down+B - Bob and Weave: Little Mac performs a brief bob and weave maneuver, precisely dodging attacks without moving, much like a sidedodge. It has moderate recovery if used without dodging an attack. If Little Mac dodges an attack, a star icon will appear briefly and Little Mac has no recovery - he can possibly strike the opponent for increased damage if their whiff is long enough.
- Side+B - Hard Hook: Little Mac swings a mighty hook - this attack has super armor. Striking an opponent with this can surely do a lot of damage!
- Final Smash - Triple Star Punch: A ring appears with Doc Louis in the corner, superimposed on the stage as Little Mac does a sped-up Dashing Straight. If it hits, Doc Louis will shout “Go for the Star Punch!”. Little Mac will strike once with a hard, weighted hook and a powerful star-slamming icon, repeated with his other hand, then a firm crouch and… a shining, powerful uppercut that will surely make stars of all those struck by it.
In the end, what is actually chosen is a total crapshoot - I don’t have any influence, and a lot of are of the mind that -no- Americans or non-japanese have influence on the roster due to the fact that the Japanese Smash Dojo! had a comment box you could use to submit suggestions, which was not present in any other website localization. Only one thing can be for sure - that the first party characters chosen by Nintendo will be milled over hard and long, because it’s no simple honor to be included in the Smash Bros. Hall of Fame… it’s one of the biggest Nintendo honors a character can receive. If you’d like to discuss Third-party characters, never fret - simply wait for the next iteration of this article, likely coming tomorrow, which will talk about Third-Party characters and why it’s a very careful selection.
I know I missed some sure shots, like Ghirahim, whose fanciful presentation and work in Skyward Sword all but guarantees him a spot on the roster, but this is just my personal feelings on a few characters - I could write freakin’ essays on characters and the moves they would have. As for you, dear readers - thanks for reading, and discuss which first-party characters you’d like to see in the next Suuuuuuuuuuper Smaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaash Brotheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeersssssssssssssss!
Tagged With: No tags were found for this entry.
