Smash Universe

Monday, September 9, 2019

Character Sheet: Boo (Main 3D Games)

BOO

Now that we're done with all of the major 3D Mario titles, I think we need to now go through and update our characters, starting with revisions for any characters included so far that appeared in any of these games. Out of the 24 so far, 17 need revision:

1. Mario
2. Luigi
6. Pauline
7. Princess Toadstool
8. Toad
9. Yoshi
10. Bowser
13. Koopa Troopa
13e. Dry Bones
14. Shy Guy
15. Goomba
16. Piranha Plant
17. Boo
18. Lakitu
19. Hammer Bro
20. Chargin' Chuck
21. Magikoopa

Today, let's check out the Boo, which appeared in every single entry of this section except for Super Mario Odyssey. In this go around, Boos kept their basic abilities to float around, hide their face when looked at, pass through walls, and turn into blocks or platforms on occasion. They also gained a few offshoots in various forms, the only one bringing something new to the table being the Bomb Boos, which could be flung around by their tongues before exploding on contact. We also saw in Sunshine this project's first introduction to King Boo, who hung out over a giant roulette wheel and slot machine, spitting bubbles, fruit, enemies, and even other Boos at the player. Even though King Boo is notable enough to act as his own character (at least an echo fighter), I felt his moveset should still be considered here.

Here is the moveset I came up with:

Standard B: Vanish
Same as before

Side B: Bomb Boo

The Boo will fling out a Bomb Boo in a circle, the Boo exploding with the first thing it intercepts.

Up B: Boo String

Same as before, I can't see it working many other ways so far.

Down B: Block

Same as before, but combined with the platform transformations present in Super Mario World and Sunshine, basically, Boo will turn into a giant platform that players can stand on, but he can harm them after a short time.

Final Smash: Roulette

King Boo's giant roulette table from Super Mario Sunshine will appear, with his slot machine rolling and causing various effects to the stage. The Boo will simply turn into a Big Boo during this.

Entrance: Appears out of nowhere

Taunts: Just the basic cover-your-face animation. That screech of theirs needs to be included too. When they flash and show off a blue coin for sure.

Next up: Let's go over Lakitu once again.

Saturday, September 7, 2019

Character Sheet: Piranha Plant (Main 3D Games)

PIRANHA PLANT

Today, let's cover the Piranha Plant, which appeared in all five games, each one mostly acting as Piranha Plants do, but frequently bringing something new to the table at the same time. In Mario 64, they could be found sleeping in a patch of flowers, an iconic image that is currently used as an idle animation in Smash. In Sunshine, Piranha Plants got a bit of a remix, seeming to be heavily linked to the toxic paint used by Bowser Jr., large paint-covered versions frequently serving as mini-bosses, and getting a massive bipedal member named Petey. Petey is distinct enough from regular Piranhas to warrant being his own character, but the paint connection is still strong. In Galaxy and Galaxy 2, they were pretty basic again, though with some large spiky variants. Finally, in Odyssey, they could spit large circles of toxic sludge and eat Cappy, unless they are forced to swallow a rock first, at which point they can be captured.

Here is the moveset updated for now:

Standard B: Fireball
Same as before.

Side B: Ptooie

Same as before.

Up B: Fly

Same as before.

Down B: Paint

This one combines the Piranha Plant's aspects from Sunshine and Odyssey and starts to come close to the Piranha Plant's current side B, having him spit a large puddle of toxic goop on the floor that will then act in a similar manner to the Inkling's paint, while racking up damage at the same time.

Final Smash: Paint Piranha

Since Petey can function as his own character, I thought we could use Sunshine's miniboss version of the Piranha Plant instead. A massive pile of toxic sludge will cover the stage, with a large Piranha head popping up out of the middle and snapping at people while Swoopin' Stus start to form and attack players.

Entrance: Pops out of a pipe.

Taunts: Chomping around the way he does now. Doing the iconic up and down movement. Maybe the sleep animation.

Next up: Let's check out Boo for what it's worth.

Friday, September 6, 2019

Character Sheet: Goomba (Main 3D Games)

GOOMBA

Alright, let's talk about the Goomba, one of Mario's most iconic nemeses. The Goomba appeared in every game covered in this section except for Super Mario Sunshine, where they were almost sorta replaced by Strollin' Stus, who served more or less the same function. Their role in almost all games remained the same, acting as the most basic of all Mario enemies. A few notable exceptions are worth talking about, so let's go.

In the Super Mario Galaxy games, Goombas tend to go spinning like a top whenever Mario spins into them, and often sport helmets or pumpkins on their heads, protecting them from harm. They also gained a cousin (I guess?) in the form of the Octoombas, little alien-looking dudes who bounce around and spit rocks at people. They don't look enough like Goombas to make me entirely comfortable with including anything representing them here, but it's worth noting. In Super Mario Odyssey, however, Cappy can captured both Goombas and Paragoombas and can use them to fly, walk across ice, and stack them up to reach high places. Now, that's some potential. (Could it be? A character who won't slip around on Summit?)

Here is the moveset as adapted so far:

Standard B: Headbutt
Same as before

Side B: Kuribo's Shoe

Same as before

Up B: Paragoomba

Same as before

Down B: Stack Up

I feel this one's a bit more iconic now than the brick throw from before. Basically, every time Goomba hits Down B, he'll pop out another Goomba underneath him, with a limit of five. These additional Goombas will stick together unless knocked away by a sufficiently strong attack. This will add to their reach, hitboxes, and weight, changing up how they play with every additional Goomba.

Final Smash: Goomboss

Same as before. He still hasn't appeared, but hey!

Entrance: Descends by parachute

Taunts: "I'm a lonely Goomba, stuck between two pipes." Still would be fun. The little hop around and squeak from Super Mario 64 too.

Next up: Let's see what new Piranha Plant brings to the table.

Thursday, September 5, 2019

Character Sheet: Shy Guy (Main 3D Games)

SHY GUY

Okay, technically speaking, Shy Guy has no business being revised in this section. He did not appear once in any of the five games covered, at least in his standard form. However, in Super Mario 64, two enemies appeared who are . . . related to Shy Guy, and thus need to be at least considered for his moveset. First was Fly Guy, a Shy Guy with a little propeller on his head that hung around areas like Shifting Sand Land and breathed fire at you. Second was Snufit, a little Snifit but with the body of a Boo, I think? It hung in the air in Hazy Maze Cave and spit pellets at you the way normal Snifits do. And, there we are.

Here is the moveset as it stands:

Standard B: Snifit

Side B: Autobomb

Up B: Fly Guy
A propeller pops out of Shy Guy's head and spins him upward, acting much like the propeller powerup in some of the "New" Mario sidescrollers.

Down B: POW Block

Final Smash: Armies of Subcon

Entrance: Enters through a Subcon door

Taunts: Not much yet, not much character shown.

Next up: Let's cover Goombas, who actually got quite a bit this time.

Wednesday, September 4, 2019

Character Sheet: Dry Bones (Main 3D Games)

DRY BONES

Today is Dry Bones. Really nothing changed here. Dry Bones appears in the Galaxy games and Odyssey, and the only things added was the ability to fly with wings (something that already existed as an echo of Koopa Troopa), and a strange cousin of theirs that seemed to literally eat matter and erase it from existence. As I'm not sure how to effectively work that into a Smash moveset, we really don't have any major changes to consider.

So, here's the moveset as it remains from before:

Standard B: Bone Throw
Does he still count as an echo if Koopa's standard B is different now?

Side B: Shell Spin

Up B: Para Bones

Down B: Fall Apart

Final Smash: Dry Bowser

Entrance: Starts out in pieces before reassembling

Taunts: Giving a thumbs up and making the iconic Dry Bones rattling sound, one arm dropping off for a second, etc.

Next up: Let's cover the Shy Guys, who don't strictly appear themselves, but gain a couple of offshoots in Super Mario 64 to consider.

Tuesday, September 3, 2019

Character Sheet: Koopa Troopa (Main 3D Games)

KOOPA TROOPA

Today, let's check out the Koopa Troopa again and see if they bring anything new to the table. The main Mario enemies make appearances (sort of, see: Sunshine) in all five games covered here, though none of them make major appearances the way they did in the sidescrollers.

In 64, the Koopa Troopa only made a handful of appearances as an enemy, which Mario could knock out of its shell and take the shell for a joyride. A specific Koopa named "Koopa the Quick" could challenge Mario to a race, lending credence to them being speedy fighters. In Sunshine, Koopas themselves did not appear, rather a pair of offshoots appeared, each with a unique ability. Electrokoopas could charge their shells with electricity and send them spinning at enemies, while Snooza Koopas would flip themselves over to crush enemies beneath their shells. In both Mario Galaxy games, they return to their quadrupedal forms, and their shells help Mario swim and can be used as projectiles. Finally, in Odyssey, they mainly act as NPCs, challenging Mario to a few races again.

Here is the moveset I came up with:

Standard B: Shell Projectile
This one mirrors Mario's usage of the weapon in the Galaxy games. The Koopa will whip out a shell (likely not their own), and send it flying forward as a high speed projectile in a straight line. This also echoes the shell's usage in the Mario Kart series.

Side B: Shell Spin

Remains the same and somewhat mirrors Squirtle's move.

Up B: Paratroopa

Also remains the same.

Down B: Shell Tuck

Also remains the same, acting as more of a defensive move than anything.

Final Smash: King Koopa

I guess I'll keep the 8-Bit King Koopa final smash as nothing else really fitting has presented itself so far.

Entrance: Starts out in his shell, before emerging using the standard animation

Taunts: Giving a thumbs up and making the iconic Koopa sound, stepping outside of his shell and looking it over while in his underwear, maybe sleeping like a Snooza Koopa.

Next up: We'll see about any updates to his echo fighter Dry Bones!

Monday, September 2, 2019

Character Sheet: Bowser (Main 3D Games)

BOWSER

Next up, let's deal with Bowser, who acts as the main villain in all five games covered in this section and has radically different boss fights in all of them, as well as some cutscene moves to consider a little.

Bowser is still a heavyweight, moving moderately slowly, but not too bad. He still maintains most of his abilities from before, including his propensity for breathing fire and slamming down hard enough to break stuff. In 64, Mario faces him on large round platforms surrounded by floating mines. In this fight, he can also charge toward the player, tip the entire stage, and create shockwaves with his stomps. In Sunshine, he hangs out in a giant hot tub and doesn't bring anything new to his repertoire other than his enormous size. In the first Galaxy game, he fights you on a small planetoid, punching at you with a spin, curling up into a boulder, and spinning in his shell. In the second game, he spends most of it as a giant, flying around a planet, throwing meteors at it and punching it with shockwaves. In Odyssey, he uses a special hat with punching gloves, throws boulders around, and swipes with his tail. He can also be captured by Cappy, with most of his basic moves, plus his claw attack currently used by Smash. All of these can contribute to all sorts of moves, so we'll see what we can do.

Here is the moveset I came up with:

Standard B: Fire Breath

We'll keep Bowser's fire breathing ability, as it is the one constant in all of his boss fights and any moveset without it would feel incomplete.

Side B: Boulders

For now, I'm holding off on giving Bowser his claw ability that normally fills this slot, as I've only seen it used once so far. Instead, I will combine moves from Galaxy, Galaxy 2, and Odyssey, having him toss out boulders matching all three of those moves which do heavy damage.

Up B: Koopa Klown Kar

We're going to keep the Koopa Klown Kar for now, at least until Bowser Jr. has built up enough moveset specifically using the Kar to accurately call it a moveset.

Down B: Slam Down

And we're keeping his slam move, complete with the shockwaves produced during all but Sunshine's boss battles, as it really works for him.

Final Smash: Giant Bowser

This one is basically his Final Smash from Ultimate, except that it more matches its usage in Super Mario Galaxy 2, floating as a giant in the background, before punching at the players. No word yet on whether this will produce yellowish meteors you can buttbash into his face.

Entrance: Bowser will land in his Koopa Klown Kar.

Taunts: His evil laugh from Super Mario 64, many of his taunts from Odyssey and other games, holding up a captive something or other, the list goes on.

Next up: Let's cover Bowser's most iconic minion, the Koopa Troopa.