Forum:Ideas for new characters
Okay, so Brawl hasn't been out for very long and talking about the next installment of the series may seem hasty, but- hey! Snake was supposedly left out of Melee for being suggested too late! In any case, Think of this as what should be, what should have been, a collection of stupid ideas, or whatever. I just feel like writing this. :-P
Idea 1: RICHTER BELMONT
Since my pine for Meta Knight since the first SSB has finally been answered, I now have a new character to hope for. But...
Pictures:
Richter: [1]
Possessed Richter: [2]
--Why Richter? Why choose one of the few Belmonts with more to credit from Sony than Nintendo? Why not Trevor? Or Simon? Simon may just have a more extensive history with Nintendo than any other third-party character! Well, the answer is that Richter is the most qualified anyway. With the introduction of Snake third-party characters with limited Nintendo relationships are now accepted. Richter has an extensive move list compared to the other Belmonts that can be almost directly copied into a SSB game; they almost seem made for one! That and Richter is in Symphony of the Night, 11 years later still regarded as one of- if not the best- Castlevania and 2D platformer of all time.
Move List
Here I'll list what I think would make a good move list for Richter. There are a lot missing, but they may be filled in over time as more ideas come. Moves with a "*" before the name are taken directly from Symphony of the Night. Moves with a "#" are ones I'm not so sure I'm satisfied with.
--*Side Smash Classic whip forward; the standard attack used in SotN. Great range, good power, good knockback (especially if sweet spotted), but has a narrow hitbox that some characters may actually duck under. The hitbox would remain active for a relatively long time, but at the cost of leaving Richter vulnerable at the time. Whip would be drawn back behind Richter quickly before the whipping, adding a very small hitbox behind and above him as well. Could be aimed up or down by tilting the control stick significantly altering it's use, but would be tricky to perform (must be done very early in the animation). Sweet spot is the tip of the whip. Can block some projectiles. Why? In Castlevania, blocking some projectiles with your own attacks is standard.
--*#Down Smash This is the standard ducking attack of SotN. Overall, it is very similar to his side smash, except lower. It can no longer be ducked under, but is close to the ground and opponents can short hop over it if not point-blank. Pressing A again during the attack will cause Richter to do a second swing back behind him (this is not possible in SotN). Cannot be aimed. Again, the sweet spot is at the whip's tip. Can block some projectiles.
--#Up Smash Richter would quickly turn, swinging his whip closely around him and then straight up in one smooth motion, similar to his other smashes, but in a completely different direction. Again, the hitbox would be very narrow, but with great range, making it a powerful anti-air tool, but risky with a fairly slow start up. Left-right hitbox would be rather small making it very poor for crowd control. May also be aimed, and a little more easily than the Side Smash due to the longer start-up time. Sweet spot is, as always, the whip's tip. Can block some projectiles.
==Now here's where Richter becomes unique. Like how Snake has projectile smash attacks, Richter would have projectile Strong attacks; in his case, the famous Castlevania sub-weapons. Only three of Richter's sub-weapons, of any kind, may be on screen at once (for each player, of course).
--*#Strong Side This would be the cross (a.k.a. "boomerang"). Like in Castlevania, Richter would throw the cross which would move forward a short distance, slow to a halt, and then return the direction it came, building speed again. It would be a multiple hit attack scoring maximum damage if thrown just the right distance from the enemy (so that it slows to a stop on top of the opponent maximizing hits). Knockback would be carefully balanced with the multiple hits making it a weak 'trap' at lower damages and a weak kill move at very high damage. Like in Castlevania, if Richter touches one of his own crosses it disapears (as if he picked it up). If he evades his own crosses they will travel farther and faster behind him than they ever did forwards, a curious property with many tactical uses. Can block some projectiles.
--*#Strong Up This would be the Axe. As in SotN, Richter would toss a large handaxe at an high arc. Fastest of the "sub-weapon" strong attacks with the most knockback (moderate), and single-hit damage, but only deals a single hit. Not much more to say about this one.
--*#Strong Down And here we have the Holy Water. True to SotN, Richter would throw a bottle of holy water onto the ground in front of him which would then burst into a blue fire on the ground, remaining there for a moment before subsiding. Minute fixed knockback makes it impossible to kill with this attack, but the rapid hits can build up damage very quickly and it prevent advance by opponents. The bottle would break and fire appear very shortly after thrown, but not immediately creating a time where the opponent can hit Richter, but the attack will still start-up. The fire can block some projectiles.
--#Neutral A For this, I was thinking of stealing some of Trevor Belmont's nice punch-kick combos from Curse of Darkness. Details... I have none yet. ^^;;
--*#Side Special "Blade Dash", (at least that's what I call it) is a curious move in that so many people seem to have played through SotN without ever realizing it exists. Richter does a dashing sholder tackle for a good distance as what look like white energy blades surround him (may actually be him spinning the whip around him). The hitbox would surround him entirely protecting him from some projectiles. It would be a multiple hit attack with small fixed knockback on all hits except the last (when he stops) which would have greater knockback, knocking away anyone who's been caught in the move. Starts up fast, but there's a brief recovery period at the end.
--*Up Special "Uppercut", "Super Uppercut" or "Super Jump', as it is often known, is a move ripped straight out of SotN (save the infinate usage, of course). Introduced in the game as a way for Richter to travel to many high places Alucard could, it's a jumping uppercut with his whip trailing below the extrended arm, glowing. It launches Richter extremely high (enough to qualify as a wonder height recovery) at a very steep angle breaking through all opponents or breakable objects in his way. It would have decent damage and knockback with super armor all the way up, but no way to aim it and cannot [sweet spot] the edge. The move ends with Richter at the highest point of the jump if not canceled earlier and would not leave him helpless (otherwise it would be a death wish to use).
--*Down Special "Slide"/"Slide-Jump" is a signiture move of Richter's. It's a very quick sliding kick covering a good distance. Pressing B again during the slide will cause Richter to push off the ground with his hands where he is almost doubling the distance traveled. The initial slide would be surprisingly fast, but with more recovery time at the tail end (like in SotN). The base Slide would have moderate damage and knockback. The Slide-Jump would deal about the same damage, but the knockback would be quite powerful at the cost of significantly increased recovery time. Careful timing would allow Richter to hit an opponent with both a Slide and connected Slide-Jump. Used in the air, this becomes a stall-then--fall diving kick (also a move in SotN). Against another midair opponent it acts as a moderate-weak meteor smash, and if it hits all of Richter's midair options are refreshed, adding to an otherwise weak air game.
--*#Neutral Special "Whip Spin" Think Sheik's Side Special. It functions very similar to that except Richter wouldn't lean forward and his version would have more damage and knockback and less stunning and combo potential. Why give him such a similar move? Because he has it in his game. Sheik never uses a whip from what I can remember... this suits Richter more than her anyway. Tip of the whip would be the sweet spot again, but it'd be very tricky to aim it. Can block some projectiles.
--*Final Smash "HOLY CROSS!!" This now-famous Castlevania attack was first used by Richter and is the obvious choice for his Final Smash. Richter leaps up and floats in the air in the classic pose as a stage-tall pillar of light forms around him and giant crucifixes spiral around it culminating with the pillar of light expanding to engulf the whole screen. The attack would have a mild vaccum effect keeping those hit by it in it until it finishes. The pillar of light would deal continuous damage, the crucifixes dealing even more if they hit and the final flash at the end launching all caught in it with good knockback and slightly damaging/knocking back all else on the screen (unless they guard). Those caught in the center (near the crucifixes) from the start would most likely be koed.
--Other
-*Richter's backwards roll (a backflip) would be unusual and especially useful in that it would end with a built-in wavedash. Why? Because it actually does that in SotN!
-Like every other character with one or something that resembles one, Richter would have a tether throw that could also be used for tether recovery (similar to how Trevor can use it in Super Castlevania 4)
-I think characters' alternate colors shouldn't always just be palette swaps. I think the dull alternate colors of Sonic should be replaced with Shadow, Silver, and the like. Exact same moves, exact same properties, hitboxes and all, just a more varied look. Similarly, I think Richter should have alternate costumes to look like Trevor, Simon, Leon, Julius, or at least his own evil version. C'moooon, Nintendo. :-P
-He'd walk, run, and jump fairly well. After all, he is portrayed as especially athletic, even for a Belmont.
-He'd probably be a middleweight
Pros
-Smash attacks would have huge range and precision potential while remaining decently powerful. When the whip (the hitbox) moves, it moves fast.
-Power side ("Cross sub-weapon") would have many tactical uses and set up combos very well
-Power up ("Axe sub-weapon") would attack at an unusual, but useful angle and be a great anti-air
-Power down ("Holy Water sub-weapon") could combo with itself for huge damage building (to prevent an easy infinite-combo opponents would have a window to dodge out after a certain number of hits(?)) and can set-up well for other attacks.
-Side special "Blade Dash" is great for countering edgeguarders
-Down special "Slide/Slide-Jump" would allow for quick advances while attacking, have great knockback and can be used to counter very high and low attacks respectively
-Moves complement both offensive and defensive tactics very well
-Many attacks can protect from certain projectiles.
Cons
-Smash attacks would have relatively slow start-up and be difficult to aim, making them very punishable.
-Would lack standard strong attacks and the advantages they have
-Specials (except neutral) have significant recovery time
-Up special "Super Uppercut" would have almost zero horizontal recovery and place Richter high in the air- where he's at his weakest.
-Cannot recover diagnally.
-"Slide-Jump" used carelessly may result in serious punishment.
Alternate Ideas
-Some things I'm just not sure of. Mostly, whether sub-weapons should be strong attacks as I have above, or a special attack. I was thinking maybe replace the neutral special "Whip Spin" with them, making the Whip Spin activated by holding A after a whip attack or dropping it entirely, or replacing the side special "Blade Dash" and making that his dash attack instead. Taunt buttons would be used to switch the active sub-weapon and the special button used to use it (they're too different to be effective if randomized). Or perhaps the weapon would be chosen by the direction pushed immeditely after B, perhaps throwing in the Dagger or another sub-weapon from Castlevania as well. What do you think?
-If the subweapon was chosen beforehand (as mentioned in the last bit) then perhaps the Final Smash should fit to match... Y'know, the Cross isn't the only sub-weapon with an Item Crash (super-attack version) ^^;; Just wishful thinking here. Unlikely.
-Perhaps a fully-charged smash should have additional flame damage, like when Richter powers up in Castlevania?
Well, there you go. He's be a rather advanced character; difficult to use, but has good potential. Please excuse my haphazzard tense usage, I wrote this in a bizzare order and probably made a few mistakes in grammar and- possibly- move specifics. It's still a work-in-progress. Tell me what you think, suggestions, criticisms, additions, subtractions, your own character idea, just be nice.
These videos show most of what I was talking about:
[5] <- actually has Dash-Jump! :gonk:
