Retro Fighters for Ultimate

One of the glaring omissions from Smash Ultimate, for me, was the lack of a new retro fighter. Some may argue that the Belmonts or K. Rool were the retro picks for Smash Ultimate, but I disagree. While they were older, arguably obscure, characters, neither the Belmonts or K. Rool are retro in the same way fighters like Duck Hunt and ROB are retro.

Here is a list of 8 retro fighters that would’ve been awesome in Smash, with a few ideas on how they could work in the games. I also threw in some of as assist trophies I would have enjoyed seeing as well.

Assist Trophies:

• Stanley the Bugman – from Donkey Kong 3. Leaps around spraying bug repellant, which pushes players around with a windbox. He can shoot sideways, up or down.
• Bubbles – from Clu Clu Land. She spawns “top down” along with a bunch of glowing posts. She will dash in a straight line until hitting a pole, which causes her to spin around and switch directions. Being hit by her at any time deals damage. If she’s able to finish her entire summon without being KO’d she will slowly unveil a picture through her movements.
• Urban Champion – from game of same name. Steps back and forth in the same area with fists up. Will sock any player that touches them with an uppercut, gut punch, or straight jaw breaker. (while I’m at it, including any level from Urban Champion as a stage would make for a really goofy and fun retro stage)
• Sky Skipper – from game of same name. Appears as the little 8-bit sprite, flying around in a tiny plane. Enemies and powerups from his game spawn on the stage as well. Drops bombs on players as he zooms around doing aerial tricks. If he or his summoner grabs a powerup that spawned, one of the 4 card suits will appear on the bottom of the screen, increasing the speed and power of everything on screen.
• Pinball – from game of same name. Similar to the Color Game TV Assist Trophy, this one spawns the seals, penguins, and paddle from Pinball on the NES. The ball bounces around the screen dealing damage. A score tallies everytime it hits a player or one of the animals playing around the stage. If the score reaches a certain amount, the summoner gets a bonus +1.
• Dragon Hopper - from Dragon Hopper, a canceled Virtual Boy game. As the name implies, a little dragon appears on stage to leap around shooting fireballs. Nothing crazy, but as he moves a small fairy flutters around as well, dealing damage to foes and giving a slight boost in power to allies.
• Mr. Stevenson - from Gumshoe. Similar to his game, Mr. Stevenson would run back and forth on the stage, quickly leaping into the air and trying to avoid being attacked. As he runs around, balloons and other targets will float up on the screen. A reticle will appear on screen and start shooting the different targets while it follows Mr. Stevenson around. Fighters caught in the reticle will also be shot.
• Donbe and Hikari - from Shin Onigashima. Hikari would appear first followed by her 3 animal friends, who leap around the stage attacking fighters. Hikari would wander back and forth on the platform she appeared on not doing much, but if she takes enough damage she prays out for Donbe, who appears to assist his animal friends and finish off the fighters. It's random if he is child or adult Donbe, but his adult form does a lot more damage.

Fighters:

Mach Rider

Everyone and their mother wanted this character after the Grinch leak popped onto the scene. One of the original character ideas Sakurai considered before choosing the Ice Climbers, I think Mach Rider still has potential to be an interesting fighter. Playing like a blend between Wario and Captain Falcon, they could easily fight off and on their bike. Maybe their moveset would change between whether they're on foot or riding around? The bike could even get a slight redesign to make it fit the platform fighter format better. There's not much else to say about this character that hasn't already been said though, honestly, since a lot of their concept would be wholly original to Smash. Just get them in the game!

Takamaru

He kept getting snubbed, and even Sakurai admits this. Takamaru could stand to be reinvented like Pit was, plus he’d be the quintessential samurai character that exists in so many fighters. They could rework his personality to be a blend of the “silent badass” and the comical version that exists in Captain Rainbow. Takamaru has a katana and several throwing projectiles, but he also has the ability to block projectiles with his sword, summon lightning bolts, and turn invisible. His moveset could be an interesting blend of these abilities, creating another “anime swordsman” but one who wouldn’t really feel like the others. I could see the ability to deflect projectiles being a default “gimmick” for his sword, maybe something where if he times his sword strikes correctly he will automatically block or deflect incoming objects? His attacks should be fast and combo well together, but not so fast that it becomes unfair – swinging a katana does require both hands, and swinging their sword around wildly is not something a disciplined samurai would do. Turning invisible could be one of his specials and maybe work like Meta Knight’s Down Special, while the lightning could be worked into a Final Smash possibly.

Mike

I can't go a Smash title without mentioning how great it would be to see StarTropics get some recognition. It was a pair of NES titles only released in the West that plays sort of like a blend between the original Zelda, Blaster Master, and isometric platformers of its day. It also has a story with both writing and characters evocative of Earthbound. I understand why, like Earthbound actually, it's never received widespread release or modern sequels, considering it's very "Westaboo" (as anime fans would say). That said, the main character would fit right in with the cast of Smash Bros. Mike is an older teen who works for his archaeologist uncle fighting through dungeons with whatever he picks up along the way; in the first game alone, Mike can fight with a yo-yo, a baseball bat, magic wands, torches, marbles, baseballs, laser guns, psychic powers, and a ball and chain. Similar to Link, he'd be a jack of all trades character that can pretty much do everything in one package. He's also good fodder for a reimagining, similar to Pit (second time I've mentioned this concept... huh). It'd be neat to not just see him in Smash, but get a revival for a series that is really ripe for a complete modern overhaul. I'd love to see what a StarTropics on modern consoles would look like, especially after games like Tomb Raider, Uncharted and Breath of the Wild have reinvented how games of its genre are both designed and played.

Starman

I’m so on board with more grapplers in Smash and while he did deserve the spot, Incineroar should bow to its forefathers from the days of the NES. Pro Wrestling is nowhere near as fondly remembered as other games out there, but I think if you took one look at Starman you would agree that this character oozes Smash Bros. While Incineroar is the heel character and more of a brutish wrestler, I picture Starman as more Kinnikuman/Ultimate MUSCLE material. He could be a showboating, heroic wrestler who uses his grappling attacks and cosmic abilities to best opponents. Imagine a special where you have to successfully pose to boost your power, or a recovery where you leap high off the ropes to suplex bad guys into oblivion. He could have funky star-shaped projectiles, flying kicks, pins, and all sorts of kooky Saturday morning cartoon wrestling baloney at his disposal. I think he’d just be plain fun to play as, and it'd be really cool to see a wrestling themed version of the Punch-Out stage where Starman takes on Incineroar and Little Mac for the title of most over the top fighting character.

Space Firebird

I mentioned this one before in my “One Fighter From Every Series” post, but I still think this would be a neat af idea. This was Nintendo’s Galaga/Space Invaders clone from back in their arcade days and was only ever mentioned one other time since in the hidden menus of the Game Boy Camera. Creating some sort of amalgam or invented character who draws inspiration from this game would be fun. I keep picturing an anthropomorphized alien phoenix that attacks with sprites of its minions, giant lasers, and other contraptions that represent the glory days of ‘80s arcade space shooters. They’d be a largely invented character, but so was Game and Watch and that guy turned out excellent.  

Son Goku

Everybody wants Goku, but how about this guy? It’s a meme at this point, but Nintendo did create a character named Goku back in the day. He’s another monkey and is based more closely on the Monkey Kong from the original legend. He had one game, to my knowledge, but has cameoed in Kirby titles in the past and does have a Spirit in Smash Ultimate. Son Goku’s game was actually a text adventure, sort of, so as far as attacks are concerned he would need to be largely based on the myths of Son Goku himself. Goku could fight with his staff, float on the nimbus cloud, breathe fire, clone himself, become massive for his Final Smash, and so much more. I picture him behaving a lot like Kid Goku from Dragonball, with a moveset also borrowing elements from SonSon in Marvel VS Capcom. Maybe part of his gimmick could be having Chao stand in the background cheering him on?

Trixie
I mentioned this fighter in my "One Fighter One Series" post as well, but I want to reiterate how neat of an idea this character would be. Trixie is a stage assistant and a showgirl who you constantly have to try and protect from being humiliated in her own game. Like Isabelle, she would struggle to fight opponents directly. Rather, her gimmick would be that all of her attacks involve something happening to Trixie. If the player successfully lands the attack, Trixie gives a little cheer; if the player fails, Trixie equally shows her disappointment. Similar to Duck Hunt, Trixie would bring with her a bevy of light gun based attacks and specials that take advantage of her gimmick. For example, for her recovery she could hang onto a pair of balloons that carry her into the air but can also be popped by the light gun or a foe to deal damage and drop a frightened Trixie to the floor. There could be attacks where eggs and tomatoes get tossed at Trixie, and if they aren't shot in time she gets smashed in the face. She could spawn coins in her own game that could be used for a slot machine; maybe this would be part of her Final Smash? She also has a pet parrot that could be used for some attacks, but once again can be fired at for more damage at the expense of limiting your use of the parrot for next time you want to use that attack. I also like the idea of her tossing saucers into the air similar to Game and Watch's Chef that can then get shot at like Duck Hunt's skeets. One of the last minigames in Barker Bill's Trick Shooting also had you shooting at objects as they fell by open windows; a closed window would block your shot. Maybe this could work as a pseudo-counter for Trixie, where she ducks behind a window pane to avoid damage? There's a lot of neat potential ideas here for this character.

DK Jr.

He used to be a major Mario Series character, appearing in loads of spin off titles, and was still used through the early 2000's to advertise Nintendo's retro library. Time has not been kind to the little Kong, however, as he’s faded further into obscurity as the years passed on. Jr. would be the perfect new retro fighter and an excellent addition to the cast of the DK series in Smash. Jr. would be Diddy’s height but with a little more girth to him and a lot more weight. I picture him being just about as heavy as Bowser Jr. (in the car). He would have similar jumping and speed stats to grown-up DK. One of his costumes would have to be the pink DK Jr. from DK Jr. Math. Another could be a LCD “look” as a reference to the Game and Watch game. His standard attacks would take inspiration from Donkey Kong, but his aerials, Smash Attacks, and Specials would be (mostly) unique to him. He could pull out 8-bit sprites of the enemies from his game for his aerials, Smash using keys and locks, and his Final Smash could use DK Jr. Math to attack opponents (like the Brain Age assist). Jr. should also be able to swing on vines, giving him insane horizontal recovery, as one of his specials. I also like the idea of giving him DK’s Giant Punch as his neutral, while allowing him to bounce on springboards and drop coconuts/bananas as his other two specials.