A Boy and His Ape! The Hunt for Treasure!

Writing, writing; so exciting, 'citing.

The Old Ape - Donkey Kong

Another of the original Smash gang, Donkey Kong has been a great heavy-hitter. He's always had a decent range to help back up his muscle, which has kept him fairly effective, but I think a little more brute force and un-flinchable resolve might help make him a much more fearsome opponent.

His alternate costume should be a hammer-less Bonkers from the Kirby series. That might be a bit too self-referential for Sakurai-san, but that's alright with me.

The New Kid - Animal Crossing Kid

When you first look at the Animal Crossing Kid (shown above), you don't really think of anything for a fighting game. Look at him. He's just a kid, what can he do? To be fair to him, he wouldn't be the firstkid to enter the Smash, nor the least assuming. I mean, if this guy can make it, AC Kid is golden. He's packing an arsenal of weapons disguised as harmless tools. That unassuming fishing hook is now his Up+B recovery/grapple. His Down+B throws a spherical hunk of dirt towards his enemies, much like the Diggin' Chargin' Chucks of Super Mario World. His held B can power up a sling shot that scatters and pings damage in a wide range in front of him. With Forward+B the Animal Crossing Kid will AX you a question, while chopping your soul in twain. Needless to say, there's stuff to work with, here.

His Final Smash is a bit tricky to figure out. Mr. Resetti is already an Assist Trophy, so how about we light things up instead with a Fireworks Show! It keeps the fun, festive nature that is evocative of the cover of Animal Crossing: Wild World, but can also set your opponents ablaze! Now that sounds like fun, doesn't it? Oh, and if you haven't noticed a running theme here, Animal Crossing Kid's alternate costume should be a female, and both of them should have an army of different shirts for their alternate colors (or maybe even HATS?!)

Stage - The Shake Dimension

WarioWare may definitely be the place for Wario these days, but we've already had a stage for that. Plus, this game has come out since the last Smash, so it's chronologically efficient. Plus, it's another excuse to put the puzzle-platforming geniuses of Good Feel back in the spotlight, so I'm all for that as well.

There's a lot of breathtaking locals in The Shake Dimension, the setting for Wario Land: ShakeIt. I think the vibrant jungle up above would be more than suitable enough; a Latin American flavor that hasn't yet been seen in the mascot fighter. Traps like falling blocks, rolling rocks, or even the entire stage shaking out of control could make this jungle trek far from relaxing.

Shake Your Groove Thang - The Music of The Shake Dimension

Wario Land: Shake It - Stonecarving City

This fancy little ditty is sort of 'The Wario Land" song to me.

Wario Land: Shake It - Gurgle Gulch

That "Good Feel" piano makes me feel oh-so good. Listening to the soundtrack to this game makes me want to play Kirby's Epic Yarn, and vice-versa.

WarioWare: DIY - Jimmy's Aerobics

We can't forget to include a WarioWare track, and honestly this is probably the best one they've ever made. Hands down, this is the one track that needs to be in whatever's next for Smash and given the "Ashley's Theme" treatment.

Dance Dance Revolution: Mario Mix - Starring Wario

A delightful remix of the first stage of the otherwise doldrum Wario World for Gamecube, this tune is a must have for any Wario level.

Wario Land 4 - Hall of Hieroglyphics

For as much as Sakurai-san tried to capture games at every point in the franchise with the music, Wario was pretty much overlooked on everything that wasn't WarioWare. Hopefully this time around we get a bit more celebration into all things Wario.

And I'm going to bed.

-Make it a good one.

A Boy and His Ape! The Hunt for Treasure!

Writing, writing; so exciting, 'citing.

The Old Ape - Donkey Kong

Another of the original Smash gang, Donkey Kong has been a great heavy-hitter. He's always had a decent range to help back up his muscle, which has kept him fairly effective, but I think a little more brute force and un-flinchable resolve might help make him a much more fearsome opponent.

His alternate costume should be a hammer-less Bonkers from the Kirby series. That might be a bit too self-referential for Sakurai-san, but that's alright with me.

The New Kid - Animal Crossing Kid

When you first look at the Animal Crossing Kid (shown above), you don't really think of anything for a fighting game. Look at him. He's just a kid, what can he do? To be fair to him, he wouldn't be the firstkid to enter the Smash, nor the least assuming. I mean, if this guy can make it, AC Kid is golden. He's packing an arsenal of weapons disguised as harmless tools. That unassuming fishing hook is now his Up+B recovery/grapple. His Down+B throws a spherical hunk of dirt towards his enemies, much like the Diggin' Chargin' Chucks of Super Mario World. His held B can power up a sling shot that scatters and pings damage in a wide range in front of him. With Forward+B the Animal Crossing Kid will AX you a question, while chopping your soul in twain. Needless to say, there's stuff to work with, here.

His Final Smash is a bit tricky to figure out. Mr. Resetti is already an Assist Trophy, so how about we light things up instead with a Fireworks Show! It keeps the fun, festive nature that is evocative of the cover of Animal Crossing: Wild World, but can also set your opponents ablaze! Now that sounds like fun, doesn't it? Oh, and if you haven't noticed a running theme here, Animal Crossing Kid's alternate costume should be a female, and both of them should have an army of different shirts for their alternate colors (or maybe even HATS?!)

Stage - The Shake Dimension

WarioWare may definitely be the place for Wario these days, but we've already had a stage for that. Plus, this game has come out since the last Smash, so it's chronologically efficient. Plus, it's another excuse to put the puzzle-platforming geniuses of Good Feel back in the spotlight, so I'm all for that as well.

There's a lot of breathtaking locals in The Shake Dimension, the setting for Wario Land: ShakeIt. I think the vibrant jungle up above would be more than suitable enough; a Latin American flavor that hasn't yet been seen in the mascot fighter. Traps like falling blocks, rolling rocks, or even the entire stage shaking out of control could make this jungle trek far from relaxing.

Shake Your Groove Thang - The Music of The Shake Dimension

Wario Land: Shake It - Stonecarving City

This fancy little ditty is sort of 'The Wario Land" song to me.

Wario Land: Shake It - Gurgle Gulch

That "Good Feel" piano makes me feel oh-so good. Listening to the soundtrack to this game makes me want to play Kirby's Epic Yarn, and vice-versa.

WarioWare: DIY - Jimmy's Aerobics

We can't forget to include a WarioWare track, and honestly this is probably the best one they've ever made. Hands down, this is the one track that needs to be in whatever's next for Smash and given the "Ashley's Theme" treatment.

Dance Dance Revolution: Mario Mix - Starring Wario

A delightful remix of the first stage of the otherwise doldrum Wario World for Gamecube, this tune is a must have for any Wario level.

Wario Land 4 - Hall of Hieroglyphics

For as much as Sakurai-san tried to capture games at every point in the franchise with the music, Wario was pretty much overlooked on everything that wasn't WarioWare. Hopefully this time around we get a bit more celebration into all things Wario.

And I'm going to bed.

-Make it a good one.

I don't think Monkey Kong needs any buffs, but that's probably because my friend keeps kicking my ass with him. I think they made him faster than he was in Melee too so yeah, I'd say leave him as he is.

Now one heavy hitter I would like to see buffed is Bowser, just like you brought up in one of your earlier blogs, your solution seems pretty much spot on as well so I'll leave it at that. Unless you want to give him some range with fireballs or something.

You also brought up Fawful as a potential character, not sure I could see that, even if I would like to. Maybe it's because he's from a mario spinoff but he just doesn't feel BIG enough to beat out anyone else from a spot.. Bringing him back for Mario & Luigi 3 was the best thing that could have happened to that series though, I hope he stays as the main villain in subsequent games as well.

If they hadn't brought him back for Mario and Luigi 3, then I would agree. However, because they DID, I think he actually represents could represent the whole Mario RPG spinoff stuff specifically.

@DrRandle: Well as far as Mario spinoff characters go, and specifically among the RPG villains, he's definelty my favorite. If anyone is gonna represent that stuff it should be him.