Second Chance: Hongo the Book Spirit

HONGO THE BOOK SPIRIT

If there were to ever be a gimmick rep for Yoshi Topsy Turvy, a game built around the tilting mechanics of the Game Boy Advance, I'd say it would have to be Hongo the Book Spirit, the powerful being who trapped all of Yoshi's Island into a book to stop Bowser's rampage, or perhaps the Spirit Who Loves Surprises, his assistant who opposed him doing so and was promptly fired for it, then acting as a guide for Yoshi to convince Hongo to release the island again. Or any of the game's spirits, I suppose.

I passed on it before, but I figure it's worth a shot. First, we have Hongo's book-trapping, naturally, as well as the ability to turn and tilt the world granted to Yoshi by the two spirits. Other notable things we can build off include the other spirits, such as the Spirit of Cuteness, giving you missions to save little creatures called Egglings; the Spirit of Money, challenging you to collect money; the Spirit of Power, challenging you to kill as many enemies as possible; the Spirit of Speed, giving you timed challenges; the Spirit of Kindness, the Spirit of Power's opposite; and the Spirit of Fright, who sets up a grinding machine that follows Yoshi and forces him to keep moving to avoid it. Obviously some of these things give us something solid to work with, like Fright's grinder, and Speed's speed. Yeah, I think we can manage it.

So, my answer is . . . 

YES

In fact, since I can do it, and both are prominent parts of the game's story, let's have the Spirit Who Loves Surprises become an echo, with the other spirits represented in color swaps. Here's the moveset I came up with:

Standard B: Book

Both spirits will lunge forward with a book and trap an opponent inside it temporarily, similar to an egg.

Side B: Spirit of Speed

The Spirit of Speed will inhabit both spirits and send them shooting forward at breakneck speed.

Up B: Cannon

The cannons unique to this game will appear under the spirit and will fire them upward at the player's selected angle.

Down B: Spirit of Fright

The spirit will place down the Spirit of Fright's grinding machine, sized down to about the height of the average player. It will then roll and grind slowly back and forth, acting as a possible trap on the stage.

Final Smash: Universal Gravitation

The player will suddenly gain the ability to rotate the entire screen 360 degrees with their joystick. The player is then free to turn it however they'd like to take out their enemies before it resets to the base.

Entrance: The little splash screens for both characters will flash briefly before they appear. Surprises might pop out of a Jack-in-the-Box.

Taunts: Up, Hongo will cross his arms and look stubborn while Surprises will pop up suddenly with fanfare. Side, Hongo will open a book and flip through it while Surprises will giggle happily. Down, Hongo will disappear himself into a book while Surprises will float around merrily.

Kirby Hat: Hongo's little book, Surprises' horned hat.

Kart: Based on Hongo's book, and based on a Jack-in-the-box.

Special Move: Hongo will be able to trap an opponent in a book for a short time. Surprises' splash screen will suddenly pop up in front of a random player.

Spirit Battle: A giant battle on Universal Gravitation. A battle, with Bowser, on Universal Gravitation.

Victory Screen: The books bursting open and Yoshi's island being released for both.

Losing Screen: Bowser breaking out of the book and burning it. The book remaining closed while Surprises looks sad.

Color Swaps: Both having a base form, and then colors based on each of their fellow spirits. (One could have the color swaps actually be the other spirits but I'm not sure who).

Thanks for reading! Next up, we move on to Wario!