highandmightyjoe
10-04-2006, 02:57 PM
First off this is not an "improve this character" or a "nerf that character" thread. Nor is it yet another of the endless threads about changing a certain characters moveset. This is about characters who should be fundementally changed in the way they are played, their style. This may sound extreme, and I don't think it is a good idea for many characters, however some just demand it. The best example is Ganondorf, it has always been weird that the wizard has had the same moves as the race car driver, lately more and more people have mentioned that they think he should use his sword, or in some other way be majorly changed. This is what im talking about, some example's could be do you think that a certain character should be made more offensive/defensive, should Link be less projectile oriented, or Samus more. This does not neccesarilly involve listing move changes but if you would like to mention them then go ahead.
The characters I will talk about are Falco, Bowser, DK, and Link, in that order. This is a somewhat long post so I just thought I'd let you know that so you can just scroll to whoever you are most interested in.
I would like to start with Falco. It was mentioned in McFox's thread that it might be a good idea to make him better in the air and worse on the ground since he is a bird. At first I criticized this idea but after some more thought I kind of agree. Giving him increased recovery, along with better arials, would not only make more since, him being a bird and all, but would also seperate him from fox.
Next, is Bowser, I appologize for this being so long, but we all know how sorely he needs help. I believe that Bowser was meant to be used as the Defensive character, with lots of weight and good recovery. His firebreath can also be used as a defensive tool, as can his fortress. However, where he falls short is his speed and size. It is hard to be defensive when you are so easily comboed, and vulnerable to projectile spam. Therefore I recommend the following changes(both of which have been mentioned by others before). The first is to make him have resistance to knockback from weaker moves. This was mentioned in the improving the heavyweights thread but I would like to modify the idea a little. Instead of having reduced knockback from all attacks what if he had no knockback from certain projectiles. Of course the bigger ones like Samus' charged shot would still have to have their normal effect, but weaker ones like needles, and fireballs would have an effect similar to fox's laser, dealing damage with no knockback. I think that this would fit the flavor of Bowser very well since he should be impossing and what could do that more than hitting him with fireballs as he comes toward you and he just keeps coming, it would also give him help against projectile spammers, since things like chasing projectiles would be very ineffective on him. The other thing is that his shell could have the same effect as links shield. This was mentioned on another thread before. If you hit Bowser in the back with a projectile while he is not moving then it has no effect.
The next one up is Donkey Kong. My main concern with him is that at least in my mind he doesn't fight in a way that fits his character. Nintendo decided to use the goofy version of DK instead of the more imposing one. This is obvious with his stupid smile and funny taunt. Now I admit I like his taunt but the point is I would like to see a more agressive DK. I would like to see him with more slams, slaps, and other attacks that give him the appearance of a rampaging Gorilla. His Down-B should be a more integral part of his gameplay. I would like to see him do things like Down-B to knock the enemy in the air, grad them and slam them back to the ground, then bash them away. Another thing is that it seems odd to me that he uses his feet. He has huge arms, and the range they give is a good advantage. I am aware that two off his foot based attacks, Bair and Dair, are very useful so they could stay, but his running tripping attack is just stupid, maybe it could be replaced with his roll from Donkey Kong Country.
Finally, there is Link. This is another character that seems to have a defensive build. The things that make him so defensive are already well known, and to many for me to bother listing. He is also very strategic with the ability to control the game under the right circumstances. The problem that I see though is that smash is such a fast paced game that you often don't have enough time to form the kinds of strategies that are needed to use him effectively(unless your Aniki, but he isn't even human and therefore does not count). One solution to this problem that seems pretty popular is to make him faster but I feel that this ruins his flavor. Instead I think that making him even more defensive would help him by allowing him more time to set himself up. One way they could do this is that I would find interesting is to make his Hylian Shield a bigger part of his game, there are a couple ways they could do this, like reducing the knockback of moves that hit him in the shield, or making it usable in the air so that if you where free falling you could have a defense against projectiles similar to if you where standing still on the ground. Another thing they could do would be to make the Bow less reliant on charging. If they increased the range of the uncharged shot, as well as reducing the time it takes to fire the uncharged shot(or really either one of them alone would be nice), then it could be more effectively used as both an approach technique, and a stage control tool.
So anyway those are the ones that I thought of. I realize it was rather long and I apologize, but I've been thinking about it lately and just had to post it.
The characters I will talk about are Falco, Bowser, DK, and Link, in that order. This is a somewhat long post so I just thought I'd let you know that so you can just scroll to whoever you are most interested in.
I would like to start with Falco. It was mentioned in McFox's thread that it might be a good idea to make him better in the air and worse on the ground since he is a bird. At first I criticized this idea but after some more thought I kind of agree. Giving him increased recovery, along with better arials, would not only make more since, him being a bird and all, but would also seperate him from fox.
Next, is Bowser, I appologize for this being so long, but we all know how sorely he needs help. I believe that Bowser was meant to be used as the Defensive character, with lots of weight and good recovery. His firebreath can also be used as a defensive tool, as can his fortress. However, where he falls short is his speed and size. It is hard to be defensive when you are so easily comboed, and vulnerable to projectile spam. Therefore I recommend the following changes(both of which have been mentioned by others before). The first is to make him have resistance to knockback from weaker moves. This was mentioned in the improving the heavyweights thread but I would like to modify the idea a little. Instead of having reduced knockback from all attacks what if he had no knockback from certain projectiles. Of course the bigger ones like Samus' charged shot would still have to have their normal effect, but weaker ones like needles, and fireballs would have an effect similar to fox's laser, dealing damage with no knockback. I think that this would fit the flavor of Bowser very well since he should be impossing and what could do that more than hitting him with fireballs as he comes toward you and he just keeps coming, it would also give him help against projectile spammers, since things like chasing projectiles would be very ineffective on him. The other thing is that his shell could have the same effect as links shield. This was mentioned on another thread before. If you hit Bowser in the back with a projectile while he is not moving then it has no effect.
The next one up is Donkey Kong. My main concern with him is that at least in my mind he doesn't fight in a way that fits his character. Nintendo decided to use the goofy version of DK instead of the more imposing one. This is obvious with his stupid smile and funny taunt. Now I admit I like his taunt but the point is I would like to see a more agressive DK. I would like to see him with more slams, slaps, and other attacks that give him the appearance of a rampaging Gorilla. His Down-B should be a more integral part of his gameplay. I would like to see him do things like Down-B to knock the enemy in the air, grad them and slam them back to the ground, then bash them away. Another thing is that it seems odd to me that he uses his feet. He has huge arms, and the range they give is a good advantage. I am aware that two off his foot based attacks, Bair and Dair, are very useful so they could stay, but his running tripping attack is just stupid, maybe it could be replaced with his roll from Donkey Kong Country.
Finally, there is Link. This is another character that seems to have a defensive build. The things that make him so defensive are already well known, and to many for me to bother listing. He is also very strategic with the ability to control the game under the right circumstances. The problem that I see though is that smash is such a fast paced game that you often don't have enough time to form the kinds of strategies that are needed to use him effectively(unless your Aniki, but he isn't even human and therefore does not count). One solution to this problem that seems pretty popular is to make him faster but I feel that this ruins his flavor. Instead I think that making him even more defensive would help him by allowing him more time to set himself up. One way they could do this is that I would find interesting is to make his Hylian Shield a bigger part of his game, there are a couple ways they could do this, like reducing the knockback of moves that hit him in the shield, or making it usable in the air so that if you where free falling you could have a defense against projectiles similar to if you where standing still on the ground. Another thing they could do would be to make the Bow less reliant on charging. If they increased the range of the uncharged shot, as well as reducing the time it takes to fire the uncharged shot(or really either one of them alone would be nice), then it could be more effectively used as both an approach technique, and a stage control tool.
So anyway those are the ones that I thought of. I realize it was rather long and I apologize, but I've been thinking about it lately and just had to post it.