LogFAQs > #967565783

KamikazePotato posted...

Also, not to step on your toes, but I'd be interested in providing writeups for a few of the characters you said you don't feel comfortable rating (Shulk, Corrin, and Steve specifically)

Yeah that's no problem! I did already do Steve for the sake of it, but if you'd like, by all means. I just know I'm not an authority to say how well Shulk reps the Monado Arts, and Corrin I am steeped in a large amount of negativity toward Fates that I'd never be able to write something readable.

LeonhartFour posted...

I'd be fine with turning this into a Mario Baseball rating topic

I mean, if you nominate a MSB character, I'll assume you want it. If I've already rated them, just put (MSB) next to their name and I'll go ahead. Note that my experience is mostly only Baseball, though - I don't know the Sluggers meta nearly as well. Mostly because I don't think it's as good.

Andross - Unplayable

To my knowledge, theres not a playable appearance of Andross. Which, I mean, makes sense - hes a giant floating head, youd be kind of limited in what you can do. I think this is a really solid choice for an Assist Trophy, though! Centering around Andross original creepy face appearance both lets him avoid overlap with the hands and gets to rep the big technical innovations Star Fox brought to the forefront. Itd be hard to translate the guy into Smash without having him step all over the territory already occupied by Master Hand, so I actually think this is the best spot for the character! His actual implementation is just fine, but I wouldnt really want more out of him. His best all-time appearance is Star Fox Adventures, though. What an incredibly dumb and forced twist that, while mirroring a character in the original Dinosaur Planet with the false god schtick, ends up as the most hilarious possible consequence of shoving the Star Fox cast in as protagonists. Its the absolute most cornball crap, and its pretty fabulous in retrospect.

R.O.B. - Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

ROB is another one of those concept over reference characters that I really love. Hes an incredibly limited design by nature, and feels like a child looked at him and went what could I imagine my cool robot toy doing? So of course he has laser eyes, his little platform is a jet booster, his arms spin around at insane speeds - its looking at a mundane object and getting the absolute most you can out of it. It feels like a moveset an uncreative Youtuber would make looking around, like this is how I would make a moveset for if the N64 Controller was playable in Smash, but it somehow actually made it into the game. And I am really rather fond of it! Smash is great at giving life to characters who otherwise wouldnt have it, and thats incredibly literal in the case of ROB. He does suffer from his Final Smash always having been uncreative and kind of crap - like come on guys you invented a whole story mode for him to give him material to work with and all you have is laser eyes or laser ass? PIRANHA PLANT gets a Subspace reference as his FS and ROB is just here? - but ROB fills a really unique niche among the roster that suits him quite well. And Im shocked that Smash keeps letting him reference Subspace as his defining character trait - no matter what happens, this is the last survivor of a dying race who failed to save his people. Hes got a real cheap down tilt! Neat! Im glad to have him, hes a weird pick with weird design philosophies in both background and implementation that makes him feel unique. I would maybe like to see him with more NES accessories or something, but thats more a nitpick and nostalgia trip from my end than any actual criticism. A-

Best Non-Smash Appearance: Mario Kart DS - Its zany that this even happened. ROB was an absolute non-entity at this time, a toy 20 years out of print that didnt even have a solid connection to the Mario universe, and they just tossed him in as a legacy character. Mario Kart DS isnt my favorite Mario Kart design-wise (though its tracks are almost universally fire, what a great set of 16 new courses outside of the usual generics and, like, Yoshi Falls), but its got a lot of personality and gumption. Like, giving Dry Bones a tiny tank? Hilarious. Giving Donkey Kong a Rambi kart? I wish theyd let him unclench his teeth, but thats awesome. Giving ROB giant unicycle legs? Thats just hilarious and I love it.

Zero - Mega Man X4

Ill note that I have not gone through the Mega Man Zero series, but I doubt they would change my opinion too greatly, because holy crap X4 Zero is one of the best controlling 2D platformer characters out there. Sure, he starts a bit limited, but the instant you get the Kuuenbu? Oh, the entire game becomes a matter of just how much you can destroy it. Zero carves through levels like no ones business, tearing through enemies with an almost effortless appeal. Its a sensation not entirely unlike the Metal Blades, but unlike that weapon, Zero is constantly evolving to be even MORE powerful. His techniques still require a level of execution, there IS a best tool for the job in almost every situation, you CAN still die, that fight against General IS miserable. But every single tool gives you a new way to shred through levels in a beautiful power fantasy. It combines the fundamentals of Mega Man, fighting games, and Strider, loading all of them into a single character who is truly a treat to play as at all times. Plus he teaches you to DP timing good when you fight against Reaper Sigma, thats also a plus. It is honestly a shame that hes not playable in Smash - thank god hes an assist trophy, but man, he and Alucard are just outright incredibly-controlling characters looking in at a game that could dominate if tossed in. I mean, Zero is high tier in every single fighting game hes appeared in, so hed HAVE to be great in Smash, right? They couldnt possibly screw him up!

Whispy Woods - Kirbys Avalanche

I think thats the only game Whispy is playable in to any extent? Im not fact checking, but there ya go. I think I prefer Whispys role in the Kirby series becoming more referential - hes often regulated to a first world mini-boss, or a background element that ends up helping Kirby in some way by beating him up, and I like that look for him. Its not like hes provided an actual threat for years, even in his Parallel and Tropic Woods variants! Still, Id be really sad if I ever had to stop seeing him, hes such a nice calming presence. Actually, bring back more Kirby pinball games, the guy was a great boss in Pinball Land! In Smash, I like Whispy fine - he does the blowy tree thing and its a fairly unobtrusive obstacle. Plus the wind is the most fickle natural element in real life, it being against you is just par for the course. I think I prefer his Green Greens appearance over his Dream Land 64 appearance, the apples are actually really fun projectiles. I do wish he made the sound that he makes when he shakes out apples in Kirby 64, though. Its a really satisfying BRWWWAAAHHHH like low, resonant percussion that would tell when the apples are coming more satisfyingly. And also I wish there was a way to make him cry. I want to bully the tree more, its his lifes purpose.