It's Harvest Time!! Jack for Smash 4!

Who the hell is Jack?

Jack Bauer? Jack and the Beanstalk? Jack Johnson? Nope, sorry. None of those guys. Jack is the silent protagonist for most of the Harvest Moon games. He first
appeared on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. While the player can decide to name the character, the default name has been jack more often than not. In most Harvest Moon games, Jack often inherits a decaying plot of land from a deceased relative and is tasked with not only restoring the farm to its former glory but also improving his relationships with the villagers around him. This is often accomplished through giving them gifts, talking to them,. participating in town festivals, and even courting a eligible bachelorette and marrying her. Jack has a very positive yet silent personality and enjoys helping his fellow neighbors, restoring the farm, and taking care of his fields and animals. He can wield a variety of tools for his extensive farm work and has a tremendous work ethic (you would if you got up right at 6 am and finished your day around 10 pm).

Jack has access to various abilities like chopping wood, plowing fields, break up rocks, sowing seeds, watering seedlings, hacking away weeds and grasses, riding horses
(and the occasional cow), cooking, milking his cow, feeding his chickens, and other skills that require him to keep up the farm. Jack also has an extensive knowledge
of the tools he uses, his farm animals, vegetables and fruits, house construction, the seasons, relationships, the kitchen, and much more! And if he needs to
brush up on his farming lore, he just needs to walk to his bookshelf and pull out a book!

So, how can Jack be translated from a carefree game such as Harvest Moon to a fast action brawler like Super Smash Bros. That will be explained further in this thread so if you are interested, read on!

Jack and Super Smash Bros.

Alright, I am pretty sure there are a lot of people reading this and thinking "This character is stupid he will not be in smash because there are much more characters that are more
important like x, y, and z." I understand and I realize the unlikeliness of such as a character being in Smash 4. 3rd party characters are a precious commodity that, while,
were in SSBB, aren't exactly guaranteed in SSB4. We may get one or more guest characters OR we might not get any. In addition, there are many more 3rd party characters that have a more extensive history than Jack. However, it can't be denied that Jack and, by extension, Harvest Moon does have a fairly long history with Nintendo and Natsume continues to develop and publish Harvest moon games for the newer Nintendo systems such as the Wii U and 3DS.

While I feel Jack would be both an interesting and successful addition, I realize there are better and more realistic 3rd party characters such as Megaman, Pacman, Layton,
Lloyd, etc. Personally, I would feel cheated out if Jack got in over the likes of Megaman. I am merely putting out an interesting character that comes from a successful franchise. In this thread, I will propose several aspects of Jack which will
include move sets, game mechanics, color palettes, etc. Hopefully, you will also think Jack would be an interesting character.

So, I know you may be steaming at such a "useless" 3rd party character idea but...bear with me for a moment. What if Jack was in Smash 4? How would be be like?
What would he do? What can he and Harvest Moon offer to the Smash Bros. series? In this thread, I am not trying to convince you that "Jack is a much better idea for a 3r party
character than Pac-Man". If that is the feeling you are getting, re-read the thread. This is merely an idea I came up with and felt would be an interesting addition to the Smash Bros. franchise.

Therefore, I will not be arguing WHY Jack should be in Smash 4. I will argue why he would be an interesting addition but I will not be making a huge effort to convince people why Jack should get a 3rd party slot. You can decide if he would make an interesting addition or not.

Jack's Game Stats

Size: **
Power: ***
Weight: ***
Speed: ***
Defense: **
Jump: ***
Recovery: ***

Jack is mostly average in all stats. He is a bit smaller than Mario but taller than Lucas and Ness. He has a light frame but due to all of the gear and tools he
is carrying, he is heavier than he appears. With his small frame and medium weight, Jack is a hard to hit character that isn't as easily juggled as other characters.
Jack has medium running speed but lacks the momentum to execute his attacks. Jack's power is mid range but he has several powerful distance attacks that have disjointed hitboxes. For this reason, Jack is best at mid to far range because of his disjointed smash attacks and specials. Additionally, jack can also help control the stage by supplying himself with suppressive fire via his special B move, Sow. However, Jack must constantly attack characters and be on the move due to weak defense stats and most of his attacks which require him to
be mobile.

Jack possesses average jump and recovery stats. Jack has a average first jump but a short second jump. However, his recovery Up B move carries him upwards but doesn't
travel as far horizontally. However, Jack can attack out of the last animations of the attack which provides Jack with some flexibility. Jack's Nair and Bair have disjointed hit boxes that can hit opponents farther away. However, the Bair can only hit opponents far away while the Nair can hit opponents close to far away.

Jack is best used when moving around the stage, controlling it via his vegetables, and attack from a distance. He has good edge guarding, camping, and spam techniques as
well as attacks with surprising disjointed hit boxes and a long reach grab. However, most of his attacks lack necessary power and jack's average speed stat does not
allow for quick hitting attacks.

Jack Move Set

Jack Special B Moves

Neutral B - Sow

Side B - Horse

Up B - Rainbow

Down B - Harvest

Final Smash - Animal Parade

Descriptions

Sow is Jack's Neutral B special move. Jack throws a random seed on the ground. Once the seed hits the ground, a seedling will appear. If done in the air, the seed will fall
down until it his the ground. Seeds can grow on any type of platform. When the seedly first blooms, it looks weak. However, the size of the seed is dependent on how much damage Jack inflicts on the opponents. For example, if Jack causes 40% damage on an opponent after he plants a seed, the seed will be 40% completed and will appear bigger and fruit may even be growing on it. If Jack scores a KO, it is an instant grow - regardless of the time that lapses between planting the seed and the KO. Jack can sow 8 seeds at one time.

As the plant goes through the stages of growth, opponents can attack the plant. This will cause the plant to decrease in size and the vegetable or fruit to fall off. If the plants HP reaches zero, the plant will die and vanish. When the plant reaches 10% (decreasing, not increasing), it will appear yellow and withered.

The plants are randomized. Here is a list of plants that can be grown:
Turnip
Tomato
Strawberry
Cabbage
Potato
Cucumber
Corn
Onion
Watermelon
Pineapple
Eggplant
Pumpkin
Bell Pepper
Carrot

Here is an explanation on how a seed grows to a full plant:

From 0-10% - appears a two leafed seed
10-20% - slightly bigger with more leafs
20-30% - even bigger with flowers
30-40% - bigger and more flowers. Some have the fuirts/vegetables growing on them
50-60% - Bigger and no flowers. The fruits/vegetables have grown bigger.
60-70% - Much bigger, wider. The vegetables/fruits are bigger.
70-80% - About the same size. The fruits/vegetables have taken a slight color (tomatoes appear greenish red for example)
80-90% - The fruits/vegetables have the full color.
90-100% - The plant is sparkling with the fruit or vegetable on it.

Horse is Jack's Side B special move. Jack hops on his trusty horse and charges full force into the battle. The attack does around 8% damage and does decent knock back to opponents. The attack actually knocks the opponent backward and pushes them as the horse races forward. Pressing B or any A button will cause Jack to jump off the horse and the horse will vanish. Jack can fall off the edge while on the horse but he can cancel out of the horse and move into an attack. There is a slight lag when jack lands on his feet.

Rainbow is Jack's Up B special recovery move. A rainbow appears and carries jack up. it has a slight diagonal trajectory. The rainbow moves slightly before Jack as it pulls
him upwards. If it hits an opponent, it does 12% damage and vertical knockback. The move carries Jack high, vertically but it lacks the reach of other recovery moves. Therefore
it is best to use the attack near the end of the second jump, Jack can attack out of it at the ending animations. This move was inspired by Harvest Moon: Tree of Tranquility.

Harvest is Jack's Down B special move. Once one of the plants grows to 100%, Jack is able to harvest that plant. Once Jack picks up one of the vegetables, he can throw it at an opponent
by pressing B or put it into his backpack by pressing Down B again. jack can store up to 8 vegetables or fruits in his backpack. Pressing Down B while not near a fully grown
plant will cause Jack to dig into his backpack and pull out a vegetable. Pressing B will cause him to throw it. Each vegetable or fruit has a different property:


Turnip
Size: Medium
Damage: 7% damage
Notes: A average projectile with no strengths or weaknesses.


Tomato
Size: Small
Damage: 5%
Notes: Can be throw several times after the initial hit. Can stun players.


Strawberry
Size: Small
Damage: 2%
Notes: Acts like a buck shot. Four or five of them are thrown at once time.


Cabbage
Size: Medium
Damage: 12%
Notes: Can bounce off players and hit additionally up to 1% as it bounces.


Potato
Size: Small
Damage: 8%
Notes: A slow projectile with high knock back.


Cucumber
Size: Large
Damage: 12%
Notes: A quick projectile that spins when thrown.


Corn
Size: Large
Damage: 9%
Notes: Has little knockback but it can be picked up and thrown again.


Onion
Size: Small
Damage: 5%
Notes: Can cause a daze status when it hits.


Watermelon
Size: Huge
Damage: 18%
Notes: Will crack open if it hits the ground. High knock back.


Pineapple
Size: Large
Damage: 20%
Notes: Sweetspot if it hits with the spikey side. Cracks if it hits the ground.


Eggplant
Size: Large
Damage: 6%
Notes: Bounces on the ground and hits for an additional 1%.


Pumpkin
Size: Huge
Damage: 17%
Notes: Cracks if it hits the ground. Slow but causes high knock back.


Bell Pepper
Size: Small
Damage: 6%
Notes: Can be picked up after thrown.


Carrot
Size: Small
Damage: 12%
Notes: Can shield poke and break shields. It also does 15% damage if sweetspotted at the carrot point.

All images are taken from Ushi no Tane

Final Smash

Animal Parade is Jack's Final Smash. Jack whistles and a poof of smoke erupts around Jack. Suddenly, cows, goats, sheep, chickens, ducks, ostriches, horses, dogs,
cats, monkeys, foxes, squirrels, boars, and turtles began running and jumping around the stage. Being hit by one of the animals does 8% damage. Much like the Side B Horse
attack, the knock back pushes you forward and carries the opponent as the animals stampede around the stage. Additionally, chickens and ducks will also fly causing opponents to be hit in mid-air. The animals all have super armor on and cannot be KO'd.

Ground Attacks

Neutral A: Cowbell - Jack swings and clocks the opponent with the cowbell. Pressing A again will cause Jack to swing it from the other side. Finally, pressing A again will cause Jack to swing his cowbell over his head and slam it into the opponent. The first hit does 5% damage, the second does 4%, and the final attack does 10% damage and can
spike opponents into the ground and throw them into the air. The first attack is quick but has little reach while the second attack has a bit longer reach. The third attack has a wide overhead arc that can hit overhead players and has a good priority.

Neutral A (repeatedly): Brush - After the final Cow Bell attack, pressing A repeatedly will cause Jack to pull out his brush and he will start scrubbing the opponent up and down with the brush. It does fairly good hitstun and also pushes opponents away. The scrubbing becomes slower the more the attack is used. It does 1% damage each hit.

Dash: Sickle Spin - Jack twirls forward with his sickle out. It does 8% damage and does horizontal knockback when hit. it has a nice distance and good priority but Jack
suffers from both start up and ending lag and can be punished near the end of the attack. It can hit a total of five hits during the duration of the attack but it throws opponents into the air.

F-Tilt: Watercan Slap - Jack takes out his watercan and smashes it into the opponent. It does 14% damage and vertical knock back. It has fairly good reach and can even cancel
out some lower priority attacks. It has no start up and ending lag. It is one of the better tilt attacks and it can OHKO as low as 180%.

D-Tilt: Wool Shears - Jack pulls out a pair of wool shears and starts to snip at the players feet. It does 8% damage and is the weakest of the tilt moves. However, it can cause the opponent to trip when hit. It has a small start up lag but no ending lag. It also has a decent reach and it can take opponents by surprise. It can even meteor smash opponents who are clinging to the edge.

U-Tilt: Fertilizer - Jack pulls out fertilizer and chucks it up slightly above his head. It moves about one head and a half length above him. It has the best reach out of all the tilts and does around 12% damage. It also has high vertical knock back and can OHKO as low as 150%. However, it has horrible ending lag and can be punished if it misses or if Jack is unprotected.

Smash Attacks

F-Smash: Axe Chop - Jack pulls out his axe and chops forward. It has great reach uncharged but, fully charged, it has amazing reach. Based on the tool system in Harvest Moon, when a tool is charged up, it does more damage. In this case, a charged up axe can cut down trees faster. When fully charged, Jack's axe creates a wind effect that can hit multiple opponents a body away from the axe. It does 13% uncharged and 19% fully charged. It does horizontal knock back and a great OHKO move. It is also a tricky
attack since it has a disjointed hit box.

D-Smash: Hoe Till - Jack pulls out his hoe and slams it into the ground. Much like the axe, it can do distant damage if charged. When the hoe strikes the ground, it does
earthen damage but, when charged, the hoe causes a rupture in the ground. It can hit three Mario bodies away. Uncharged does 14% and fuly charged does 20% damage. It throwsopponents upwards and the attack has little ending lag so it is a great attack to combo into.

U-Smash: Hammer Swat - Jack pulls out his hammer and slams it upwards. The Hammer attack is the only one that does not do disjointed damage and has the worst reach of all the smash attacks. It does 15% uncharged and 18% fully charged. However, it has good vertical knock back and has good priority. It can guard against some attacks like Link's Dair. It has a little start up lag.

Aerial

Nair: Bird Seed : Jack pulls out his bag of bird seed and throws it out in front of him. It has a wide spread area of damage but it is fairly weak. It only does 3% damage but it can hit multiple times. It also has a pretty good reach and can hit opponents who are even four Mario bodies away. It is a good guard attack and can keep opponents at bay.

Fair: Rucksack Slam : Jack unslings his rucksack, slams it into the opponent, and puts it back on. It does 15% damage and has a sweetspot when the entire rucksack minus the straps that Jack holds connects with the opponent. If sweetspotted, it does 18% damage. However, it has a slow start up and ending lag and it is often hard to target the attack for the sweetspot.

Bair: Bug Net - Jack takes the Bug Net and hits behind him. It has a very long reach but the only hit box is the net itself. However, it does 13% damage and can meteor smash when the nat reaches the lowest possible angle of the attack. It is a very quick attack that has no start up or ending lag. It is one of the best aerials for Jack.

Uair: Milker - Jack takes out the Milker and slams it up above him. It does two hits. The first hit does 5% damage and stuns the opponent while the second hit is when Jack "milks" the opponent. the second attack does 6% damage. It does average vertical knock back.

Dair: Basket Bash - Jack takes the basket and bashes it downwards. It does downward vertical knock back and does 12% damage. It is a fairly weak aerial with average knockback and priority. However, it is one of the best aerials to short hop with since the attack can hit slightly in front of Jack or downwards.

Other

Ledge Attack: Axe Spin - Jack pulls himself and vaults into the air while spinning around with his axe. Does 6% damage and a very fast move.

100% Ledge Attack: Fodder - Jack slowly pulls himself over the ledge and flips a bag of fodder at the opponent. It does 13% damage but is a fairly slow attack.

Floor Attack: Log Smash - Jack grabs a piece of lumber and slams it into the opponent. It does 5% damage and is very fast,

Throws

Grab: Fishing Rod - Jack grabs the opponent with his fishing rod. It can also be used as a tether. It has a good reach but a very long start up lag.

Pummel: Frying Pan - Hits the opponent with a frying pan. Does 2% damage and is fairly fast.

Forward Throw - Jack hoists the opponent up with the fishing rod and then flings them forward. It does 10% damage and horizontal knock back. One of Jack's more
reliable throws.

Back Throw - Jack jumps up slightly and hurls the opponent to the back of him with the fishing rod. It does 8% damage and horizontal knock back.

Up Throw - Jack slams the opponent into the ground and then flings them up into the air. It does high vertical knockback and does 10% damage. It can OHKO as low as
200%.

Down Throw - Jack slams the opponent into the ground with the fishing rod and then strikes the opponent with a his hoe. It does 9% damage but does not knock back. It
does cause hit stun however.

Other Information

Home Stage: Smashfarm

Taunts

• Up - Jack holds up a Blue Feather and smiles. He then puts it back.
  
• Right - Jack dances like he does in Tree of Tranquility when he completes something. Watch it here.
  
• Left - Jack pretends to faint and falls over much like how he does when he faints in Harvest Moon 64.
  
• Down - Chickens appear and Jack throws down bird feed and the chickens eat it.

Victory Poses

• 1. Jack starts chasing his puppy around and then grabs it. He holds it up the dog in front of him much like how picture.
  
• 2. Jack pulls up vegetables from the ground, stands up straight, and smiles.
  
• 3. Jack begins chopping wood.
  
• 4. Jack pulls out his fishing rod and begins to fish. He will occasionally catch a fish.

Fighting Stance

• Jack has his hands out in front of them and moves up and down.

Idle Animations

• Jack adjusts his hat quickly.
  
• Jack yawns and starts to fall asleep.

Audience Cheer

• Fight back, Jack! Fight back, Jack!

Kirby's Hat

• Jack's hat and his backpack.

Jack's Palette Swap

• Green Jack
  
• Cliff Jack
  
• Kai Jack
  
• Rick Jack
  
• Doctor Jack

Possible Costume Swaps

• Beach Outfit

Closing Statements

So, there you have it. A full move set, play style analysis, and reasons why Jack could work. Jack can control the stage through zoning and providing suppressive attacks with his Sow and Harvest abilities. However, Jack has to continue to attack in order to have a healthy supply of vegetables. The only downside is that opponents can attack and destroy the vegetables he plants. It is a constant game of tug 'o' war between Jack and his opponents.

If want to support Jack for Smash 4, please help contribute to this thread through discussion, pictures, move set ideas, information, and anything else. I hope this idea opens an interesting discussion. While Jack is a very unlikely 3rd party character, I still think he would be an interesting and fun addition to that Smash 4 roster.

He could be a pretty interesting character but there are more popular 3rd party characters out there.

I updated the OP with pictures and tweak to the overall design. This took about three and a half days to compile together ><

Thanks! I wanted to incorporate a different tool/item for each move. It took a lot of research and searching to make the move set.