Thwomp

Larry defeated, the adventure continues into the next world, a desert world. Once again, the world features a fortress in the middle and an airship at the end. As you tentatively make your way through this new fortress, you suddenly look up to see a giant stone block with an angry face crashing down on top of your head.

This is a Thwomp, a giant living cinderblock that sometimes acts more like an obstacle than an enemy. These creatures can be found in most castles and fortresses, creating hazardous booby traps for anyone who dares trespass. Although nearly universally known for hanging in one space and moving up and down, they have shown other abilities in various RPGs and other random games, including spitting up large boulders, being followed around by smaller Thwimps, and even showing the ability to move along the ground, albeit a bit slowly.

In battle, Thwomps will be among the slowest and heaviest in the entire game, made up for by intense power and a staunch refusal to be launched by all but the most powerful of attacks. Their moves will pull from all of their random appearances, and even a little from their cousins, the Whomps, but most especially their familiar and iconic up special.

Likelihood rating: Probably not

Character Sheet: Thwomp

 THWOMP

Today, we begin our newcomers. I did say going into this that the RPGs would likely be the last shot for many of the frequent enemies you wouldn't expect to see on a Smash roster, but what I didn't expect was that the RPGs would actually come through for a lot of them. At least one I thought was never going to happen in a million, billion years. But here we are. The first ten are all Mario regulars who finally took the step up to playable. The other sixteen are originals to the Mario & Luigi games (or Origami King) specifically.

1. Toadsworth

2. Captain Toad

3. Buzzy Beetle

4. King Bob-Omb

5. Pokey

6. Ninji

7. Thwomp

8. Whomp

9. Mechakoopa

10. Nabbit

11. Mario & Luigi

12. Prince Peasley

13. Prince Dreambert

14. Olivia

15. King Olly

16. Broque Monsieur

17. Massif Bros.

18. Cackletta

19. Fawful

20. Princess Shroob

21. The Dark Star

22. Antasma

23. Midbus

24. Shroob

25. Popple

26. Durmite/Wisdurm

Going into this, I imagined I'd get a few surprises. There were a few I thought probably wouldn't get in, but considering the RPGs, there was at least a chance. There were some I didn't want to get in at all, but once they made their case, my rule was that I couldn't say no. And then there were those that I thought long and hard about, and figured there was no chance in the world it was going to happen and they'd be better off just acting as stage hazards or assist trophies. That's where Thwomps fell.

Until now. There were a couple of things that made the radar for Thwomps. Obviously they had a built-in Up B. Their connection to Whomps and other blocky races gave them some things to work with, and then there were Thwimps, but it just wasn't enough. Then Partners in Time came around, gave us an entire volcano made of Thwomps, and threw in a boss fight with a Thwomp that just happened to fill in every box I was missing. A point of reference for how they might move around on stage, hey, look at Mrs. Thwomp hopping around in a similar fashion to Sushie from the first Paper Mario. Appendages to pull off normal and Smash attacks, hey, look, she's got those too, and they bear a distinct resemblance to a few other Thwomp relatives' arms. Look, she's coughing up a boulder and throwing it at the enemy. Welp, I don't have a case anymore. Thwomp's in. They'll likely be incredibly slow and heavy, but hey, what's game balancing for.

Here's their moveset:

Standard B: Boulder

This one's based on Mrs. Thwomp's attack from Partners in Time. The Thwomp will cough up a large boulder and send it rolling across the stage.

Side B: Slam

This is largely based on Whomp, which was going to be just a color swap for Thwomp, until I decided on echo instead, but it still fits well. The Thwomp will slam forward and faceplant. That's basically it. If pressed in quick succession, the Thwomp will then flip onto the top of its head, then another press will send it slamming forward onto its back. Think, those big box things from Super Mario 64.

Up B: Slam Down

You all know what this is. It's a Thwomp. What do you think the Up B is going to be. Imagine it similar to King Dedede's in terms of function.

Down B: Thwimp

A tiny Thwimp will appear and slam into the opponent directly in front of the Thwomp. Directional tilts can then make it leap over the Thwomp and slam down behind it as well.

Final Smash: Thwomp Volcano

A game presents me with a volcano made of Thwomps that then erupts and spews flaming Thwomps into the sky and you think I'm not going to use it as the Thwomp final smash. Do you know me at all at this point?

Entrance: Drop from the sky with an "Rrrgh!"

Taunts: If anyone's going to have a Snake-esque taunt where all three are the same, I feel it's going to be this one. Maybe just a close-eyes, rise up a couple feet, slam back down with an "Rrrgh!" kinda thing.

Thanks for reading! Next up, we'll cover their cousins, the Whomps!