Raphael Raven

RAPHAEL RAVEN

As the Yoshis and Baby Mario fight their way from world to world, they face bosses along the way. One of the most memorable of these is a giant version of the Raven enemies.

This is Raphael Raven, generally considered the ruler of the Ravens. He reappears multiple times after his boss battle in the original Yoshi's Island, first as a playable character in Tetris Attack, then later as a supporting character in Paper Mario.

As a fighter, Raphael will be big and durable, with moderate speed. His moveset will pull from his boss battle as well as his subsequent appearances.

Likelihood rating: Piranha Plant clause.

Snifit

SNIFIT

Later on in Super Mario Bros. 2, our heroes would encounter another distinct variety of Shy Guy, one wearing a black mask that could shoot pellets from its face.

This was called a Snifit, probably the most prominent and recognizable Shy Guy variant outside of Fly Guys and Spear Guys. Snifits, like their shyer cousins, would prove quite prolific over the years as well, appearing across the Yoshi series, the Mario series, and the Paper Mario series.

As fighters, they will be echoes of Shy Guys, but will hit just a bit harder and weigh a bit heavier. Their moveset will likewise pull from all Shy Guy and Snifit appearances across the series.

Likelihood rating: Piranha Plant clause.

Second Chance: Snifit

SNIFIT

Honestly, I went back and forth on this one probably a hundred times back when I was doing the original series. On the one hand, they clearly are just offshoots of the Shy Guys, like Spear Guys, Fly Guys, and Beezos, so its not like they needed the spare slot, but on the other hand, the Mario series did have a strong tendency to treat these guys as separate things a lot, sorta like Koopas, Hammer Bros, and Dry Bones, I suppose, so it's perfectly reasonable for them to be an echo as well. Well, I might as well just put it to bed.

My answer is . . . 

YES

This will be a full echo of Shy Guy, though probably heavier? They always struck me as a little heavier. So here's the moveset:

Standard B: Snifit Pellet

Same, but hits harder.

Side B: Mace

Probably the same difference

Up B: Fly Guy

Might be fun for it to have the gears from Yoshi's Island instead of the propeller, or it might even turn into the Mario 64 version and fly its own way.

Down B: Spear & Shield

As Spear Guys remain another prominent Shy Guy variant, we'll keep that here. Maybe it won't be as good for this guy, to shake it up.

Final Smash: Pirate Ship

Basically the same, but the amount of cannon fire has tripled.

Entrance: The Snifit will put on its mask and look around.

Taunts: Up, the Snifit will look up, pumping its shooter warily. Side, the Snifit will turn its head sideways and look straight at the player. Down, the Snifit will jump into the air and shoot twice at the ground while throwing a small tantrum.

Kirby Hat: The mask.

Kart: Based on their incarnation from Mario 64

Special Move: They will fire a continuous stream of pellets from the front of their car.

Spirit Battle: A horde battle mixed with Shy Guys on Subcon.

Victory Screen: The Snifit will dance around as the world burns behind it.

Losing Screen: Its shooter will blow up in its face and it will fall over.

Color Swaps: All the same as Shy Guy's.

Thanks for reading! Check out ssbuniverse.blogspot.com for more!

Yoshi Stage Roster

And here's our stages. If this were a real game, which stage would you pick to play on first?

Yoshi's Island

Most of the adventure games typically tended not to vary too much from one another, at least in terms of the general look and aesthetic. Super Mario World 2, Yoshi’s Island DS, and even Yoshi’s New Island had one core look to them, almost existing as THE go-to Yoshi aesthetic.

This stage will recreate that look and feel. The Yoshi’s Island first appearing in Super Smash Bros. Brawl was the best to capture this aesthetic, and I am fine leaving it as is or maybe redesigning it but with the same general idea.

Potential theme: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zHJ0yZ5KqDU

Baby Bowser's Castle

Most Yoshi adventure games find them in Baby Bowser’s Castle for the final level, typically crossing paths with the irate infant and getting into a battle where the baby gets blown up to gigantic proportions to crush them.

This stage will nearly perfectly recreate that original battle from Super Mario World 2, with a broken and uneven playing field and a giant Baby Bowser, designed to look just as he did in the original game, slowly approaching and spewing meteors into the sky to come down on the players.

Potential theme: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbFQh32xlh0

Yoshi Series Roster

Here's our Yoshi roster, small as it is. My question as always, despite the limited pool, is if this were a real roster from a real game, who ya mainin'?

Baby Bowser

Baby Mario and his Yoshi friends fight their way through the wilds of Yoshi’s Island, facing numerous foes as they storm the castle where Kamek has Baby Luigi captive. They confront the Magikoopa, only for their battle to wake the sleeping infant in the next room.

This is the baby form of Bowser, who, not pleased with being woken from his nap, throws a monster tantrum, blown up to seismic proportions by Kamek’s magic. He would share the role of main villain with Kamek throughout the Yoshi series.

As a fighter, naturally he will be smaller and less powerful than his adult self, but certainly with shades of that power. His moves will pull from his various boss battles in the series, as well as his supporting role in Yoshi’s Island DS.

Likelihood rating: Could happen

Ukiki

As Yoshi and Baby Mario continue their journey to rescue Baby Luigi, they come to a marshy jungle area where they will come across yet another thief of an enemy, this time in the form of mischievous little monkeys with a penchant for pranks.

These are the Grinders, later known as Ukikis. They would be the go-to common enemy of the marsh levels and would appear as well in Mario games such as Mario 64, where they would enjoy stealing Mario’s hat rather than his whole baby self.

As a fighter, Ukiki will be fast and slippery, a fact Mario would know all too well from his time on Tall Tall Mountain. Their moves will pull from their various abilities both in the Mario games and in the Yoshi series.

Likelihood rating: Never gonna happen

Tiny Mouser

Another common enemy with sticky fingers for lost babies that Yoshi would have to contend with are tiny little mice that run around in packs and try to grab at Baby Mario. They look like Mouser if his head was attached to his feet.

These are the Tiny Mousers, or Little Mousers, other thief-type enemies Yoshi has to contend with. They would appear frequently throughout the Yoshi series, and one would even become a companion to Mario in Paper Mario: The Thousand-year Door.

As a fighter, they will be light and fast, and will likewise rely on sneaky, underhanded moves rather than strength. Their moves will pull from their various appearances, the abilities of Mario’s companion Ms. Mowz, and their original basis Mouser.

Likelihood rating: Never gonna happen

Poochy

Helped along their way, Yoshi and Baby Mario will often have to rely on the help of a large, friendly dog with a nose that can sniff out hidden items and a hide so tough he can walk right over lava unharmed.

This is Poochy, Yoshi’s faithful pet. He would appear throughout the Yoshi games, playing a supporting role in Yoshi’s adventures and even starring in his own bonus mode in a re-release of Yoshi’s Woolly World.

As a fighter, he will have an insane amount of defense and a good amount of speed too. His moveset will pull from his various appearances in the games as well as the shorts he starred in to promote Yoshi’s Woolly World.

Likelihood rating: Piranha Plant clause

Bandit

The Yoshis learn what happened and agree to help Baby Mario rescue his brother. They travel across the island, facing many dangers and many minions of Kamek who want to kidnap the baby and take him to their master. Most notable of them are the blue-robed cousins of the Shy Guys, known for their pickpocketing ways.

These are the Bandits. They would prove constant thorns in the Yoshis’ side, constantly making a grab for the baby and taking off with him. They would come in multiple forms, like Sluggers and Green Gloves, and would also host minigames for Yoshi here and there.

As fighters, they will be sneaky and underhanded, relying on stealthy moves rather than pure strength. Their move pool will be a combination of the Bandits and elements of their cousins, the Sluggers and the Green Gloves.

Likelihood rating: Probably not

Baby Mario

A stork flies high in the sky over Yoshi’s Island, carrying two small infants on their way to their parents’ house. Koopa minions in red hoods swarm the stork, taking it and one of the babies hostage, while the other falls, escaping their grasp and landing on a passing Yoshi below.

This is the baby form of Mario, who is taken in by the Yoshis of the island who agree to help him rescue his twin brother. Mario as a baby would prove the constant companion for Yoshi throughout his games, sometimes alongside other babies such as his brother Luigi, Peach, Daisy, Rosalina, Wario, and Donkey Kong.

This fighter will be an amalgam of all the babies that appear in the series, with Baby Mario acting as the first color swap, with Luigi, Peach, Daisy, Wario, Waluigi, Rosalina, and Donkey Kong as the other seven. Their moves will pull from all of the abilities demonstrated by the babies across the series.

Likelihood rating: Strong

Kamek

Yoshi’s debut proved so popular among fans that Super Mario World’s sequel was based upon him and serving as a launching-off point for his own line of games separate from Mario. This game was set as a prequel, with Bowser’s nanny and caretaker as an infant foreseeing the Mario brothers’ role in his ward’s future and sending his minions to abduct them.

This is Kamek, a Magikoopa and Bowser’s advisor, having acted as his guardian in his infancy. Kamek appears throughout both the Mario and Yoshi series, acting as the main villain against Yoshi and Bowser’s right hand man against Mario.

As a fighter, Kamek will have strong aerials, relying upon his strong magical attacks rather than his own strength. His moveset will pull both from his own actions as well as the abilities displayed by all Magikoopas.

Likelihood rating: Strong

Yoshi

The hero of this roster would first appear in Super Mario World, wherein Mario, Luigi, and Princess Peach travel to the distant continent of Dinosaur Land, only to find that a curse has been placed on island’s friendliest inhabitants, trapping them all in eggs.

These are the Yoshis, or Yoshi for the most prominent member. Yoshis would prove incredibly popular, acting as steeds and companions for Mario again and again throughout the series, even seeing a spinoff series of their own with multiple entries.

Their attributes in game will match their attributes in the current Smash games, being light and fast with strong floaty aerials. His moveset will pull from all of his multiple appearances and abilities, most especially his ability to eat enemies and turn them into eggs.

Likelihood rating: Already in

Shy Guy

Now, moving on to our shortest roster of the bunch, here's our Yoshi characters!

Long before Yoshi was even a twinkle in Nintendo’s eye, his most common adversaries made their debut in Super Mario Bros. 2, originally enemies in Doki Doki Panic and minions of the evil frog Wart.

These were the Shy Guys, inhabitants of Subcon who hide their faces behind masks and hoods. They would go on to be constant enemies of Yoshi in his adventures, I’d like to think because Kamek summoned them there from Subcon. They would prove to be versatile fighters with nearly hundreds of different variations and abilities.

As fighters, they will have average stats behind them, being the most basic of enemies. Their moves will pull from all of their different varieties, including Snifits, Fly Guys, Spear Guys, Stilt Guys, and so many more.

Likelihood rating: Good possibility

Chain Chomp

As you continue your journey through Super Mario Bros. 3, you will continue to encounter strange new enemies that bring a brand-new challenge to your adventure. In this desert world, you might encounter what seems like a ball and chain, like in those old prison moves, except this one has a mouth full of sharp teeth and behaves more like a rabid dog on a chain, lunging at you as you come close and forcing you keep yourself at a safe distance.

This is a Chain Chomp, a fun little pun of an enemy that will find consistent life as guard dog enemies blocking your progress that you will have to think and strategize your way around without getting close enough for them to take a bite. Although pretty one note in many of their appearances, the Yoshi series was kind enough to add a few abilities like the ability to launch themselves into the air and cause earthquakes by hopping up and down.

In battle, the Chain Chomp will be on the heavy side, though with decent speed only held back by its dragging chain. Its moves will incorporate both its tendency to lunge at enemies and bite them, as well as those moves introduced by the Yoshi series, giving it a bit more freedom than one might expect.

Likelihood rating: Piranha Plant clause

Character Sheet: Poochy

POOCHY

Today, let's go over the last batch of characters that video games are going to give us, at any rate. Obviously there will be many more offered up by the movies, television series, manga, comics, and other media, but that's it for the games. This time, we have five, appearing across the Mario, Yoshi, and Mario RPG rosters. They are:

1. Cat Mario

2. Mr. Blizzard

3. Team Captains

4. Best Fitness Friends

5. Poochy

Today's entry has been a long time coming. Poochy is an adorable little dog and pet of Yoshi and Baby Mario mostly seen in the Yoshi series of games. Up to this point, he has mostly been a support character, akin to Donkey Kong's animal buddies, serving specific roles in certain areas but never really going too far outside of that. Specifically, he has been primarily used as an indestructible ride across hazards like lava, and in later games as a secret treasure locator.

In Poochy & Yoshi's Woolly World, however, he finally got his chance to come a bit more to the forefront, not only with a game mode of his own, but also with a series of stop motion shorts starring him. In the game mode, he mostly ran, but could bash through objects, spin in the air, slide, crouch, and collect Poochy pups to follow him, while in the shorts, he pulled off a number of actions like biting, licking, catching balls and frisbees, pulling on a rubber band and letting it go, using his tail to do things, and rolling around on his belly. A lot of basic dog stuff, to be fair, but I am totally okay with that.

Here's the moveset I came up with:

Standard B: Bite

Poochy will lunge forward and chomp down on an opponent. It probably won't do too much damage, as of course he's a pretty gentle pup, especially compared to others like Wario, but he will still do some damage and he will cling on longer than others.

Side B: Head Bash

Poochy will put on a sudden burst of speed and bash through anything in front of him, be they enemy, item, or obstacle. He will also have super armor, reflecting his durability.

Up B: Midair Spin

Poochy will fling himself into the air and then spin with his tongue flailing, much as he does in his game mode. Another possible option is that the kangaroo from Yoshi's Island DS, and he will ride in its pouch, which sorta fits as they're both Yoshi animal companions, but if you want to keep it to Poochy, I'd stick with the main one.

Down B: Rubber Band

A rubber band tied between two pegs will appear and Poochy will grab the middle, pulling back on it before letting it go in a violent snap that sends opponents flying.

Final Smash: Poochy Pups

Honestly, I actually like the idea of him doing the Nintendogs assist trophy thing of coming up and licking the screen, blocking off visibility, and that is my preferred Final, however, if we'd rather go for something with more of a basis in game, I'd go for him calling a horde of Poochy pups onto the stage to swarm a single opponent with well-meaning but heavily damaging snuggles.

Entrance: He'll just be sitting there with his tongue flopping out.

Taunts: Up, he will hop up and down and bark. Side, a couple of pups will appear and he'll chase them around in a circle. Down, he will sniff around on the ground for a second before an item marker pops up and he barks.

Thanks for reading! Now, let's update our rosters!

Character Sheet: Chain Chomp (Yoshi Main Series)

CHAIN CHOMP

Today, let's get started on the Mario spinoff series/prequel and all the characters that appeared there. As before with the Donkey Kong series, this will result in a split roster, but for now, let's just cover them all together.

1. Yoshi (Revision)
2. Bowser (Revision)
3. Kamek (Revision)
4. Koopa Troopa (Revision)
5. Shy Guy (Revision)
6. Goomba (Revision)
7. Piranha Plant (Revision)
8. Boo (Revision)
9. Blooper (Revision)
10. Lakitu and Spinies (Revision)
11. Monty Mole (Revision)
12. Yarn Yoshi
13. Baby Mario
14. Baby Bowser
15. Bandit
16. Ukiki
17. Chain Chomp

Today, I am proud to announce that the Chain Chomp has finally stepped up and taken his proper place in the Smash roster. Congratulations, buddy! I was pulling for you. Alright, well, you know it, you love it, it's the iconic enemy that combines a vicious guard dog with a ball and chain to create a fairly formidable obstacle in Mario's, or in this case, Yoshi's path.

For most games, the Chain Chomp has been known for mainly one thing, lunging at you really fast until it is stopped by its chain. In the Galaxy games, they tended to roll around all over the place, and in Sunshine, they often lit themselves on fire, but nothing enough to warrant a character slot. Now, at long last, the first Yoshi's Island game alone gave me enough to work with. First off, is the chomp rocks, heavy items based on Chomps that Yoshi would use to move around here and there. Then at several points in the game, we saw Chomps bouncing up and down to cause earthquakes. Then at other times, we saw them launching themselves from the background, high into the air, before coming down to eat parts of the level. Then finally, we had the Chomp Shark, a gigantic chomp that chased Yoshi through the level, eating the map behind him.

Let's see what we can do:

Standard B: Lunge
This one is the Chain Chomp's most iconic move. The Chomp would start to pull back slowly as long as you hold the button, and would suddenly launch forward at top speed to bite at any opponents, only stopping at the full length of its chain at the point of the move's start.

Side B: Chomp Rock
So, once upon a time, I saw a video where a modder created a Chain Chomp as an echo of Piranha Plant (one of the main reasons I was pulling for the character), but I didn't want to just settle on the character as an echo. That felt cheap and lazy to me. However, I will take inspiration from that idea and have the Chomp Rock move act similarly to Piranha's Ptooie move, with the Chomp spitting it out at opponents.

Up B: Incoming Chomp
This one is based on the Incoming Chomp appearance in the first Yoshi's Island game, though altered a bit to fit Smash. For instance, rather than leaping from the background to the foreground as in the game, the Chomp will simply jump straight up from where he is. Also, although he will come facedown and biting, he will not eat through the stage. (We'll save that for later).

Down B: Earthquake
This one is based on the Chomps appearance bouncing up and down and shaking the stage, which is exactly what the move shall do.

Final Smash: Chomp Shark
Chain Chomp will jump off the stage and reappear as a massive Chomp Shark, which will then chomp across the stage, eating the bottom level and any opponent it catches.

Entrance: It appears stuck to a peg in the ground. The peg will disappear into the ground three segments at a time, at which point the Chomp will break free.

Taunts: Bouncing around and biting the way he does. The famous barking sound.

Thanks for reading! Now that we're finished, let's rearrange our rosters again.

Character Sheet: Ukiki (Yoshi Main Series)

UKIKI

Today, let's get started on the Mario spinoff series/prequel and all the characters that appeared there. As before with the Donkey Kong series, this will result in a split roster, but for now, let's just cover them all together.

1. Yoshi (Revision)
2. Bowser (Revision)
3. Kamek (Revision)
4. Koopa Troopa (Revision)
5. Shy Guy (Revision)
6. Goomba (Revision)
7. Piranha Plant (Revision)
8. Boo (Revision)
9. Blooper (Revision)
10. Lakitu and Spinies (Revision)
11. Monty Mole (Revision)
12. Yarn Yoshi
13. Baby Mario
14. Baby Bowser
15. Bandit
16. Ukiki
17. Chain Chomp

Ukikis are a bit of an interesting story here. So, the enemy first appeared in the game Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island under the name Grinders. Then, a monkey named Ukiki appeared in Super Mario 64, famous for hanging around Tall, Tall Mountain and stealing your hat. Then when the Grinders reappeared in Yoshi's Island DS, their name had been changed to Ukiki and have been referred to as such ever since. I don't know if Ukiki of 64 fame was always supposed to be a Grinder, or if that was more of a retroactive change, but either way, they have enough presence across the Mario and Yoshi series to warrant inclusion.

In most Yoshi games, the Ukikis or Grinders will bounce in place waiting for you to approach before running away. They also hang from vines and drop bombs on you, and frequently eat watermelon to spit seeds at you. In Crafted World, they also gain a larger cousin called Uckykongs. In Super Mario 64, Ukiki will also steal your stuff and leap high into the air to avoid you. Yeah, I can make something out of this.

Here's what we've got so far:

Standard B: Thief
Ukiki will reach out and steal a cosmetic item from an opponent. This will not impact gameplay, though it will make them more susceptible to damage. For instance, he can take Mario's hat or Samus's helmet. Things like that.

Side B: Watermelon Seeds
Ukiki will dig into some watermelon, chewing it up before spitting the seeds out at his opponents like projectiles.

Up B: Monkey Jump
Ukiki will jump ridiculously high into the air, the way he does when Mario tries to capture him in Super Mario 64.

Down B: Bomb Drop
For this move, Ukiki will leap into the air and cling to a vine, dropping a bomb behind him the way he does in the Yoshi's Island games. A needlenose might also work.

Final Smash: The Chimp
This one is more based on a similar character appearing in the Mario games, the Chimp from Super Mario Galaxy. A number of Ukikis will fill the trees behind the stage while the Chimp hops onto the stage, doing a backflip and clapping to produce a number of stars that will then bombard the stage. I know it's a little off, but this was the only move I was struggling with.

Entrance: Just bouncing in place the way he normally does.

Taunt: His iconic screech from 64, sitting and eating a watermelon, so on.

Thanks for reading! Next up, we'll cover the Chain Chomp!