LogFAQs > #967397551

Mii - Tomodachi Life

I feel like there are only two places where Miis really work - that feeling of haha, look at the funny interaction, this person would never act like this with other person or if you feel picking Mario in Mario Kart is just a little too zany for you and want some stability. Tomodachi Life capitalizes on the former better than any game other than perhaps Miitopia, but something about the surreality of the text-to-speech combined with incredibly Japanese humor stylings and delivery (the amount of camera pans to sudden reaction shots in this game, I swear) gives it an almost otherworldly vibe that best sums up the Miis and their continued existence. Theyre weird, their obtrusive, but having this kind of mundane comedy aspect to them and having Hulk Hogan jump out of the ocean to ruin a proposal between Jesse Pinkman and Jessie from Pokemon based on a bunch of life sim RNG factors actually gives the Miis some life beyond simply being base-level caricature comedy.

Best Smash Appearance: Ultimate - Really its just Gunners costumes propping this one up. The Miis werent allowed in tournaments in Smash 4 because it wouldve taken a little bit of work to figure out how to justify their weights and movesets, and no one cared enough to do that. Should say a lot when global interest is so low that no one wants to bother! In Ultimate, at least sans and Cuphead and whatever exist so people actually definitely PLAYED Gunner, which leads to the other two getting attention as well. The concept is cute enough, but nothing is really done with it - its just other characters moves in special slots and then some weird stuff like Swordfighters chakrams. Its serviceable, but its not capitalizing on any of the Miis personality shown in their own series, its just for the guy who doesnt want to pick Mario in Mario Kart or wants to say I beat up Cloud Strife. Me. Which is the wrong side of the equation to appeal to methinks. D

Mario - Super Mario Odyssey

Mario is really frustrating. His 2D moveset was run into the ground by the New Super Mario Bros. series to the point of feeling like a base template in Mario Maker, and his nearest competition to it is basically crediting the Cape Feather to carry him. Meanwhile, you have 3D outings where he controls absolutely fantastically (Sunshine, Odyssey), but level design is incredibly open and very rarely backs him up and lets him reach the peak of what hes capable of. Then the Galaxy and 3D Land/World games limit his movement to feel less free than those other titles, but the level design is immaculate, perfectly considering Marios limitations and building around it. And then theres 64, which has been broken open in so many ways that Marios accidentally become a free-form expression of dominance over and defilement of basic geometry. Theres not a single game that I dont have a caveat of yeah Mario controls really well, BUT for other than, like, Paper Mario 64, and that doesnt begin to express the full breadth of what Mario is capable of.

I guess I will settle for Odyssey as just the best freeform expression of Marios movement. Sunshine does have it beat in pure verticality - adjusting from a spin or side jump into the water pack to barely cling to a ledge feels like a great cheat - and the Cape Feather does have a better sense of horizontal dominance, but Odyssey comes the closest in marrying the two. It just feels GOOD to be Mario, chaining together different jumps and leaps, using Cappy as a called shot and then performing it. I think Odyssey and Sunshine are the only Mario games out there where Balloon World as a concept could actually work, simply celebrating the joy of Marios movement (and being able to clip out of bounds, I guess). And the moments where youre going from Cappy Possession to Cappy Possession to combine different forms of movement together is blissful. It doesnt get there often, but when it does, Odysseys able to capture the apex of jumping around beautifully.

Best Smash Appearance: Smash 4 - Marios the most interesting when hes gross. I know OH NO, LADDER COMBO, UP TILTS FOR DAYS, but theres something blissful to me about seeing a Mario combo in action compared to a Bayonetta. Mario is explicitly designed to be the Ryu of Smash Bros, a shoto made to interact with platforms (hence why the fireball bounces across the ground - thats more valuable when youve got different levels of elevation). Mario ladders require platforms in order to make them work - you gotta jump with jumpman and do actual platforming to make Mario be Mario. And I feel like Smash 4 capitalized the best on that idea, as well as the simple risk of trying to approach Mario and beat him at his own platforming game. Due to his stubby limbs, youve gotta work harder to get enemies into your effective range as Mario, he just doesnt have the basic boxing options others do. Making him extra threatening when he finally manages to get you in his effective range just makes sense to me. I dont think Mario ever quite captures everything he could be - the guy needs to be a little more bing bing wahoo and less constantly pissed off, I want to feel the gleeful love of murder he gives off in his games - but its a good base overall. B

Cloud - Final Fantasy VII Remake

Only took Cloud about 20 years to get a playable appearance where he feels great. FFVII has everyone feel like red mages with interchangeable parts and their only big deviations being limits and that Barret hits flying enemies real good, Dissidia is a fine enough translation of his Advent Children flying around I guess but I find lacks oomph and finality as a fighter, and God Bless the Ring speaks for itself. But then boom, finally get him in Smash and he feels great, and he decides to follow that up with actually feeling good and unique in one of his own games, too! With FFVIIR limiting the party to only four featuring Red XIII from the Hojo Wet Dreams series, it gives each member of the playable cast a reason to stand out. Having Cloud as the reliable anchor of the team actually props him up to his Shinra First Class billing - hes your most reliable member, the one whos gonna bring out consistent damage and be able to take hits pretty damn well. They really needed to nail Cloud in order to sell FF7Rs combat at all, and they actually manage to do a solid job both differentiating him from your other rushdown specialist in Tifa, but making him fit his story role. Also theres the rhythm mini-game and that gives him extra points, he is beautiful enough to transcend gender and flaunts it without meaning to.

Best Smash Appearance: Smash 4 - Yknow, the one where his swords hitbox actually matches up with the sword. I know Cloud was oppressive in Smash 4, killed the Doubles scene singlehandedly, but damn he felt good INSTANTLY. Theres such a crunch to Clouds attacks, something a bit more elegant than Ikes raw power but definitely bone-breaking whenever something meaty lands. Every single one of Clouds attacks feels purposeful, part of a stronger kit where Cloud can deftly follow up, and hes given just enough anime flourishes to feel like a toned-down version of his Advent Children appearance. I do wish there were a couple more bells and whistles to reference Final Fantasy a bit better - outside of the Limit UI and sounds hes basically purely an Advent Children rep in style and function - but hes got all of the individual pieces of a truly great character. And his impact, oh man, cant be overstated how strong of a reveal he was for the time he came out in. B+