Character Sheet: Wart (Original Sidescrollers)

WART

Now that we have all of the original sidescrolling Mario titles for the NES and SNES under our belt, I think it's time we go through and evaluate every character we have picked so far as being playable.

This time we have several, many of which can be fully developed right now, many who do not have a full moveset yet but have been pegged for their role in the series, and many with only half a moveset. We'll start with our main cast for now:

1. Mario
2. Luigi
3. Princess Toadstool
4. Toad
5. Yoshi
6. Bowser
7. Koopalings
8. Wart

Finally, we reach Wart, the enormous frog who serves as the final boss of Super Mario Bros. 2, as well as the original game Doki Doki Panic. He never appears outside of these games (outside of a few select cameos) so this is really all that we have to work with.

Unfortunately for Wart, the only move he uses in his actual boss battle is to spit a string of bubbles. That's it. That's everything he can do. That would be a massive nail in the coffin for this character, except that he has the privilege of being a main character of a game with a unique gameplay and aesthetic, and being the only main character of that game to not appear anywhere else. This means that he, like Stanley and Pauline before him, is the best option to stand as a reference character to said game. After all, he can command any of the enemies, the digging and pulling up mechanic famous in the game can easily be attached to him as well, and he has a gaggle of fairies locked in a jar at his disposal. Let's see what we can do.

Here is the moveset I came up with:

Standard B: Bubbles

Of course, his standard move will be the only attack he actually uses in game. He spits a string of bubbles that do moderate damage to his opponents.

Side B: Phanto OR Eagle Gate

For his Side B, Wart will either make use of the Phantos that hang on the wall in his throne room, throwing one at an opponent who it will then circle for an extended period of time, racking up small amounts of damage to the opponent OR he will send one of the game's famous Eagle Gates forward, which will swallow up an opponent and carry them toward the edge of the screen.

Up B: Subcons

A group of Wart's captive fairies will try to escape from his grasp, but too late! Wart will grab onto them as they fly away, carrying him into the sky for a short period of time.

Down B: Pluck

Wart will make use of SMB2's famous pull up mechanic, pulling a massive bomb from the ground in reference to his minion Mouser. He can then throw the bomb which detonates in a massive explosion.

Final Smash: Boss Rush

Wart will call in his faithful minions Mouser, Tryclyde, Clawgrip, and Fryguy to wreak havoc across the stage. This will play out in one of two ways. Either Fryguy will hover over the stage, raining fire, while Tryclyde and Clawgrip stand to each side and attack, and Mouser stands in the middle tossing out bombs OR it will all take place in a cutscene as they and Wart attack together.

Entrance: Wart emerges from a doorway to Subcon.

Taunts: One could play with his aversion to vegetables, maybe having a vegetable appear and him jumping back in fright. Also a bubbly burp would not go amiss.

Next up: We will start covering the enemy characters who are a little more shaky, starting of course with the Koopa Troopa.