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Which Challenger Pack in the Smash Ultimate Fighters Pass is your favorite?
- Thread starter Mekanos
- Start date
OP
OP
Anyway, I voted for Banjo because I'm a boomer he was a pipe dream character come true and his moveset is nice and straightforward, which tends to be my preference for Smash characters (most of the Smash 4 newcomers for example were too unwieldy for my tastes) along with some killer remixes (Treasure Trove Cove by Yoko Shimomura, c'mon!). Like K. Rool and Ridley, he feels like he's been in the series since Brawl, and that feels just right. That said, Byleth is also surprisingly enjoyable because of their similarly straightforward moveset, although their slowness is a downside and I'm not too hot on Fire Emblem. Joker's moveset is a mixed bag but I love Persona 5 and the stage/song list is great. I don't have any attachment to Dragon Quest, but its legacy alone makes it worth being in Smash, even if I don't care much for Hero's playstyle and the song list is what it is. Terry is pretty fun and has 50 songs, but other than that I'm kind of indifferent.
Overall, in terms of challenger packs I'd go Banjo > Joker > the rest are about equal to me.
Overall, in terms of challenger packs I'd go Banjo > Joker > the rest are about equal to me.
Banjo+Kazooie was my most wanted character, but I didn't particularly enjoy playing as them.
Haven't tried Byleth yet, but their moveset did look like a lot of fun.
Dragon Quest Hero was definitely a pleasant surprise, I like his moves and the random menu attack is a fun new addition to Smash.
Joker is probably my least favorite. No attachment to Persona 5 whatsoever, didn't like his moves much, and I don't love his Persona summoning gimmick
Haven't tried Byleth yet, but their moveset did look like a lot of fun.
Dragon Quest Hero was definitely a pleasant surprise, I like his moves and the random menu attack is a fun new addition to Smash.
Joker is probably my least favorite. No attachment to Persona 5 whatsoever, didn't like his moves much, and I don't love his Persona summoning gimmick
its so easily terry its not even funny
in terms of gameplay:
Terry > Hero > Byleth > Joker >> Banjo
Music:
Terry > Joker = Byleth > Banjo >> Hero
Stage and Spirits:
Terry > Joker = Byleth > Hero = Banjo
How much I like the character:
Terry = Hero > Byleth > Joker >> Banjo
overall I am thoroughly satisfied
in terms of gameplay:
Terry > Hero > Byleth > Joker >> Banjo
Music:
Terry > Joker = Byleth > Banjo >> Hero
Stage and Spirits:
Terry > Joker = Byleth > Hero = Banjo
How much I like the character:
Terry = Hero > Byleth > Joker >> Banjo
overall I am thoroughly satisfied
Not a hard guess for mine.
Banjo's integration and how faithful his moveset is to his source material is brilliant work by Sakurai.
I'd rank them as follows:
1) Banjo
2) Terry
3) Joker
4) Hero
5) Byleth
Idk what happened with Byleth, I've tried to play her all morning and she's unusually poorly balanced.
Banjo's integration and how faithful his moveset is to his source material is brilliant work by Sakurai.
I'd rank them as follows:
1) Banjo
2) Terry
3) Joker
4) Hero
5) Byleth
Idk what happened with Byleth, I've tried to play her all morning and she's unusually poorly balanced.
About the stages
Mementos - Excellent stage when hazardless. Love it. Amazing music and I love the swap to P3 and P4 aesthetic when those songs play.
Yggdrasil's Altar - A perfectly fine stage to play on hazardless but completely ruined by using awful synth music for every song.
Spiral Mountain - This isn't very good. It always spins.
King of Fighters Stadium - My favorite Smash stage addition since ever? 50 fucking songs
Monastery - At least the music is good but this is trash. I hate traveling stages and I hate walk offs. Easily the worst of the pass
Mementos - Excellent stage when hazardless. Love it. Amazing music and I love the swap to P3 and P4 aesthetic when those songs play.
Yggdrasil's Altar - A perfectly fine stage to play on hazardless but completely ruined by using awful synth music for every song.
Spiral Mountain - This isn't very good. It always spins.
King of Fighters Stadium - My favorite Smash stage addition since ever? 50 fucking songs
Monastery - At least the music is good but this is trash. I hate traveling stages and I hate walk offs. Easily the worst of the pass
I feel like I kind of have to give this one to Terry. I absolutely adored the Fighter's Pass as a whole and I might do a little review type situation later on for fun, but I think Terry was all around the best package I've seen for DLC in a fighting game period. First off, I can't understate the fact that he came with 50 songs that covered some amazing tracks throughout SNK's history. That's a huge value for people, especially when the other Challenger Packs were between 8 and 11 songs including Fire Emblem for some reason. Then, Terry's actual stage is one of the most impressive additions to Ultimate because it fundamentally changes how you play to a certain extent. It's like Shadow Moses Island, except way more fun because of how it fundamentally introduces a new mechanic to the game. And that's without even mentioning all the attention to detail put into the numerous SNK cameos on the stage that also correspond with different music selections.
And Terry himself is one of the deeper fighters in Smash history specifically because he has so much you can do. He really feels like the perfected version of the experiment that started with Ryu and Ken, and his moves are an absolute blast to use in the game. The super meter, while another comeback mechanic, leads to some amazingly fun moments too. He's just a blast to play and has plenty of little variation in how you can approach throwing out moves.
All around, Terry's addition is the closest that I've ever seen a single Challenger Pack come to feeling like a genuine expansion. It felt like it added a ton of neat stuff to the game and was a blast to play. It embodied the "premium DLC" idea that Ultimate seems to have adopted over Smash 4's more sort of uneven DLC offerings to a tee, and the only one that came close was Hero with his huge number of additions and the impressive nature of having 4 unique Heroes in one fighter. If the music hadn't been the sticking point for him, he might be here, but Terry just has to take the cake. Like Banjo & Kazooie is my personal favorite addition and I have a ton of fun with them, but it terms of analyzing a challenger pack, Terry wins by far.
And Terry himself is one of the deeper fighters in Smash history specifically because he has so much you can do. He really feels like the perfected version of the experiment that started with Ryu and Ken, and his moves are an absolute blast to use in the game. The super meter, while another comeback mechanic, leads to some amazingly fun moments too. He's just a blast to play and has plenty of little variation in how you can approach throwing out moves.
All around, Terry's addition is the closest that I've ever seen a single Challenger Pack come to feeling like a genuine expansion. It felt like it added a ton of neat stuff to the game and was a blast to play. It embodied the "premium DLC" idea that Ultimate seems to have adopted over Smash 4's more sort of uneven DLC offerings to a tee, and the only one that came close was Hero with his huge number of additions and the impressive nature of having 4 unique Heroes in one fighter. If the music hadn't been the sticking point for him, he might be here, but Terry just has to take the cake. Like Banjo & Kazooie is my personal favorite addition and I have a ton of fun with them, but it terms of analyzing a challenger pack, Terry wins by far.
Terry, with Joker as a close second.
Terry is just such a fun character and you can really tell how much effort was put into keeping him faithful to Fatal Fury while making him fit in Smash. And 50 SNK songs!!!! Including a new remix of the Metal Slug theme!!!!!!!!!
I'm happy for BK fans that they finally got in, but as someone who likes BK but never really loved it, I wasn't as blown away as others were. And BK is fun to play, but also very by-the-numbers as far as smash bros go. I really liked how unconventional Terry, Joker, and Hero are. And even Byleth to an extent, as their specials are a bit different than other FE characters.
Terry is just such a fun character and you can really tell how much effort was put into keeping him faithful to Fatal Fury while making him fit in Smash. And 50 SNK songs!!!! Including a new remix of the Metal Slug theme!!!!!!!!!
I'm happy for BK fans that they finally got in, but as someone who likes BK but never really loved it, I wasn't as blown away as others were. And BK is fun to play, but also very by-the-numbers as far as smash bros go. I really liked how unconventional Terry, Joker, and Hero are. And even Byleth to an extent, as their specials are a bit different than other FE characters.
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Joker and Banjo were already characters I really liked so my vote goes to them. Terry is really cool also and I like the inclusion a lot
My favorite characters to play with:
1. Banjo (he's my new main)
2. Terry (backup main)
3. Byleth (only played about an hour with them but see tons of main potential)
4. Joker
5. Hero (the most interesting addition on the mechanics side, but definitely the hardest to master)
Favorite stages:
1. Terry
2. Banjo
3. Byleth
4. Hero
5. Joker
Overall, Banjo has been thebest package followed by Terry. I wasn't a fan of Terry's inclusion but now I'm a believer. Lol
1. Banjo (he's my new main)
2. Terry (backup main)
3. Byleth (only played about an hour with them but see tons of main potential)
4. Joker
5. Hero (the most interesting addition on the mechanics side, but definitely the hardest to master)
Favorite stages:
1. Terry
2. Banjo
3. Byleth
4. Hero
5. Joker
Overall, Banjo has been thebest package followed by Terry. I wasn't a fan of Terry's inclusion but now I'm a believer. Lol
Banjo and Kazooie by a landslide. Mostly because of nostalgia and the two-decades worth or rumours.
They also did him more justice than Microsoft has in that time. It's like Banjo was brought back to life.
They also did him more justice than Microsoft has in that time. It's like Banjo was brought back to life.
I'm going with Banjo & Kazooie, they were the dream pick and never thought I would ever see them in Smash Bros. and I actually enjoy playing them. But if they weren't in the game, my second pick would be Terry (Being my Top 5 fighting game character) and he's honestly the most fun character out of the bunch.
Probably Joker. I've always wanted an Atlus character in Smash, and they really did him justice. The only thing really left to be desired here was any SMT references (like even a Jack Frost cameo). They had three badass remixes that were original for Smash, a great stage and lots of other references. The character is a lot of fun to play.
Overall the rest of the pass was really strong though, including Byleth. I loved the Garreg Mach stage, and after playing a few QuickPlay matches as Byleth (and getting matched against other Byleths) the character is fun as hell to play.
Overall the rest of the pass was really strong though, including Byleth. I loved the Garreg Mach stage, and after playing a few QuickPlay matches as Byleth (and getting matched against other Byleths) the character is fun as hell to play.
I voted for Banjo and Kazooie. Despite Banjo's huge eyes, they are the undisputed winners. Very well done, loving animations. A revival as beautiful as it is temporary. In the sun they shine before they're pushed back into the darkness.
I still think back to that day we found out about it. Even just Sans' clothes and prosthetics commanded crowds and cheering that would put the actual DLC characters to shame. One day, his day will come. Again. Because the Mii costume was also his day.
Terry is my favourite fighter. He has a fun moveset and the input specials are not that hard if you practice a bit. Finishing an opponent with Buster Wolf is super sexy.
I played with him more than with my three former mains Link, Fox and Shulk.
I played with him more than with my three former mains Link, Fox and Shulk.
Joker
Char Hype Rating - 8.2/10 : Never played Persona, but my wife is super into it and was excited that this character can represent that franchise, but didn't mean TOO much to me.
Playability Rating - 6.2/10 : I feel like playing Joker it's like he's not that fun/powerful when he's not in his "Persona mode" and when he gets in his persona mode he's almost too powerful and odd feeling? His moves aren't super interesting either and his final smash is lackluster...
Hero
Char Hype Rating - 2/10 : Yea, really didn't move a face muscle when he was shown, I like the multiple skins for him so that was somewhat interesting
Playability Rating - 8.2/10 : He has a pretty unique feeling moveset and the Mana gauge thing is interesting although somewhat confusing? Trying to remember his abilities from the selection menu is equally as fantastic/frustrating. His final smash is probably the worst final smash out of any character (in terms of flashiness)
Banjo and Kazooie
Char Hype Rating - 9.85/10 : Definitely one of my top wants for a character in Smash since the N64 era, love Banjo!!
Playability Rating - 6.5/10 : His moveset feels a bit lacking in what could have made him a more interesting character, his Bomb feels useless at times and his Kazooie gun feels cumbersome. He's kind of a Side Special character, but then you run out of Gold Feathers and you are like, aight... his final smash is also pretty lame.
Terry
Char Hype Rating - 4.2/10 : Having a character from this game (I'm not confident to say Final Fight or whatever its name) was interesting, but was never into that franchise so didn't really care too much.
Playability Rating - 5/10 : Just feels like an average fighting character to me, not much to say.
Blythe
Char Hype Rating - 1.5/10 : lol what...
Playability Rating - We'll see, looks somewhat interesting? But pretty derivative.
Not sure why I spent the time to do this, but felt compelled to at the moment. Honestly my favorite DLC character is Piranha plant, the most interesting by far with a more interesting final smash than anyone else.
Char Hype Rating - 8.2/10 : Never played Persona, but my wife is super into it and was excited that this character can represent that franchise, but didn't mean TOO much to me.
Playability Rating - 6.2/10 : I feel like playing Joker it's like he's not that fun/powerful when he's not in his "Persona mode" and when he gets in his persona mode he's almost too powerful and odd feeling? His moves aren't super interesting either and his final smash is lackluster...
Hero
Char Hype Rating - 2/10 : Yea, really didn't move a face muscle when he was shown, I like the multiple skins for him so that was somewhat interesting
Playability Rating - 8.2/10 : He has a pretty unique feeling moveset and the Mana gauge thing is interesting although somewhat confusing? Trying to remember his abilities from the selection menu is equally as fantastic/frustrating. His final smash is probably the worst final smash out of any character (in terms of flashiness)
Banjo and Kazooie
Char Hype Rating - 9.85/10 : Definitely one of my top wants for a character in Smash since the N64 era, love Banjo!!
Playability Rating - 6.5/10 : His moveset feels a bit lacking in what could have made him a more interesting character, his Bomb feels useless at times and his Kazooie gun feels cumbersome. He's kind of a Side Special character, but then you run out of Gold Feathers and you are like, aight... his final smash is also pretty lame.
Terry
Char Hype Rating - 4.2/10 : Having a character from this game (I'm not confident to say Final Fight or whatever its name) was interesting, but was never into that franchise so didn't really care too much.
Playability Rating - 5/10 : Just feels like an average fighting character to me, not much to say.
Blythe
Char Hype Rating - 1.5/10 : lol what...
Playability Rating - We'll see, looks somewhat interesting? But pretty derivative.
Not sure why I spent the time to do this, but felt compelled to at the moment. Honestly my favorite DLC character is Piranha plant, the most interesting by far with a more interesting final smash than anyone else.
If I were to rank:
1. Hero
Haven't dabbled with DQ much, but Toriyama character design is nice.
Love the gameplay, random spell bullshit is totally up my alley, character is a lot of fun to mess around with.
Stage is okay, midi music sucks.
2. Banjo-Kazooie
Nostalgia for IP and cartoony style fits Smash well. Still amazed it happened.
Doesn't have a gimmick as big as some of the others I feel, but animations/fighting style is still a lot of fun. Stage and remixes are neat.
3. Terry
Don't have much with the IP/character, but I respect the legacy (and Terry's Engrish).
Like Ryu/Ken I find the inputs harder to pull off, but I like his special attack gimmick.
Stage mechanic is neat, music selection is amazing (for stuff like custom stages too).
4. Byleth
Three Houses is cool, character is kinda whatever.
Gameplay feels a little "basic" from what I tried so far. The sniping arrow is fun tho.
Stage all walkoff is kinda eh, but the great Three Houses music tracks make up for it.
5. Joker
Don't feel much for character/IP.
Don't enjoy his non-persona moveset as much as the other characters either. The counter feels cheap to use so I end up hardly using it.
Stage looks cool tho and there's some cool remixed tracks.
I enjoy all characters/packs on some level and none have been disappointing really.
1. Hero
Haven't dabbled with DQ much, but Toriyama character design is nice.
Love the gameplay, random spell bullshit is totally up my alley, character is a lot of fun to mess around with.
Stage is okay, midi music sucks.
2. Banjo-Kazooie
Nostalgia for IP and cartoony style fits Smash well. Still amazed it happened.
Doesn't have a gimmick as big as some of the others I feel, but animations/fighting style is still a lot of fun. Stage and remixes are neat.
3. Terry
Don't have much with the IP/character, but I respect the legacy (and Terry's Engrish).
Like Ryu/Ken I find the inputs harder to pull off, but I like his special attack gimmick.
Stage mechanic is neat, music selection is amazing (for stuff like custom stages too).
4. Byleth
Three Houses is cool, character is kinda whatever.
Gameplay feels a little "basic" from what I tried so far. The sniping arrow is fun tho.
Stage all walkoff is kinda eh, but the great Three Houses music tracks make up for it.
5. Joker
Don't feel much for character/IP.
Don't enjoy his non-persona moveset as much as the other characters either. The counter feels cheap to use so I end up hardly using it.
Stage looks cool tho and there's some cool remixed tracks.
I enjoy all characters/packs on some level and none have been disappointing really.
OP
OP
I think of it more as a trip down memory lane, but yes. If this is the last game Banjo and Kazooie ever appear in, it's a hell of a sendoff.
forgot to add
trailers:
Joker = Hero > Banjo > Terry > Byleth
also i set my random stage select to only pick king of fighters stadium and set psycho soldier to 100%
Byleth > Terry > Hero > Joker >>>>>> Banjo
Terry was easily my favorite at his release for the obvious attention to detail in his design, his stage, and the sheer volume of incredible music. Psycho Soldier is perhaps the single greatest remix ever made for Smash for it leaning all the way into the era that it came from. It legit sounds like it could be a theme from an anime straight from 1986.
Byleth, though? I love Three Houses and I just love Byleth in general, but the way they're implemented in Smash feels great to me. Even in just the short amount of time they've been out, I feel comfortable playing them and like they could be a new main to me. I also appreciate the songs, spirits, and stage. Garreg Mach is fun to play on.
As for Banjo, I don't hate him. He's got a lot of fans and I'm happy for everyone that had their dreams fulfilled. But he does absolutely nothing for me. I have nothing else on him to say.
Terry was easily my favorite at his release for the obvious attention to detail in his design, his stage, and the sheer volume of incredible music. Psycho Soldier is perhaps the single greatest remix ever made for Smash for it leaning all the way into the era that it came from. It legit sounds like it could be a theme from an anime straight from 1986.
Byleth, though? I love Three Houses and I just love Byleth in general, but the way they're implemented in Smash feels great to me. Even in just the short amount of time they've been out, I feel comfortable playing them and like they could be a new main to me. I also appreciate the songs, spirits, and stage. Garreg Mach is fun to play on.
As for Banjo, I don't hate him. He's got a lot of fans and I'm happy for everyone that had their dreams fulfilled. But he does absolutely nothing for me. I have nothing else on him to say.
Ah, didn't see this thread before. Might as well port over the post I just made in the main Smash DLC thread:
This post took quite a while to type up on my phone but here goes.
My rating for the Challenger Packs:
#1: Joker
#2: Hero
#3: Banjo & Kazooie
#4: Terry Bogard
#5: Byleth
Overall Pass rating: 9/10
I'm overall pretty satisfied with the pass. Not all choices appealed to me and I have some gripes here or there but nothing's perfect. The pass gave me my 2 most wanted characters (and fantastic stages from these franchises to go with) plus an unexpected but very welcome surprise in the fantastic overall package that was Challenger Pack #4. Rather unlikely that FPvol2 is gonna top this for me but who knows.
This post took quite a while to type up on my phone but here goes.
My rating for the Challenger Packs:
#1: Joker
- Character: Literally my no.1 Pie-in-the-sky dream character and he was the first DLC character announced. You better believe I flipped my shit when he held up that envelope (the coin dropped for me before he flipped it). Playstyle wise, he was definitiely not what I imagined him being (I thought he'd summon/desummon Personas for attacks like in Persona 4 Arena). Instead of making him a Persona summoner they went all in on him being a Phantom Thief in terms of playstyle. The Persona aspect definitely feels secondary to that. Might not be the best representation of the franchises' core concept as a whole, but I still love how his moveset turned out. He has a really high skill ceiling and a lot of his stuff just feels stylish and fun to pull off. I never tire of watching MKLeo's Joker. God bless him for picking Joker up.
- Stage: Mementos is still my favorite not only of the DLC stages but of Ultimate's stages as a whole. It's such a boring place in Persona 5 proper that it's a miracle this stage turned out as it did (to be fair, some liberties were taken as it is almost more "P5's UI" than Mementos as a stage but I'm pretty okay with that). I love the stage's look (it changing to P4/P3 colors depending on the music is an amazing touch) and the layout and hazards are unique with the big slants and the walls and they are mostly unobtrusive. Hazardless it makes for a fine competitive stage, if a little big. No complaints here, I think this is one of the best stages in the series period.
- Music: I love Persona music so it's no surprise that I love the lineup here. I dig the three remixes as well, especially Beneath the Mask (ACE does it again, they're just incredible). The only big snub here is lack of "Life will change", I really wish this was here. And that "Rivers in the Desert" has been shorened. Otherwise just a great lineup.
- Overall rating: 10/10.
#2: Hero
- Character: A Dragon Quest representative was, coincidentally, my #2 most wanted character for Ultimate. Well, lucky me! I must admit I was initially very sceptical of the whole random spells concept when we first heard about it in an interview, but then seeing the sheer variety of spells and all the love they put into them warmed my heart as a Dragon Quest fan and when I finally got my hands on Hero they quickly won me over. They kind of feel like Robin on steroids and I loved Robin already. The command menu coupled with the MP gauge means you really gotta stay on your toes and adapt on the fly and make do with what you're given (but so does your opponent). A lot of the spells feel really powerful and satisfying to use to balance out the fact that they're limited by the menu and MP gauge. And I love that. Even beyond their menu his other specials feel great to use as well and really round off their kit. The sword normals are kind of slow snd whatever but they are mostly a means to build meter to make big plays using the specials. Hero's overall my second favorite Ultimate newcomer after Joker. I like that four different Heroes are represented (my favorite is default Erdrick followed by Terry!Eight) but it does suck that they went for Solo instead of Sofia. That's a blemish on an otherwise fsntastic character.
- Stage: I love what they did with the stage. It greatly captures the colorful, charming world of Dragon Quest. And the different layouts are also pretty fun and the hazards are unobtrusive. Hazardless it's a perfectly fine competitive stage so it's a shame that tournaments don't use it (which mostly comes down to stage selection politics from what I've gathered. Pretty lame).
- Music: Now, this is the aspect where this pack falters, unfortunately. I actually like DQ's music despite the composer being a shitbag but still what is on offer here is disappointing. The lowest number of music tracks + no remixes whatsoever and none of the tracks are orchestrated either. Really doesn't compare favourably to the rest of the pass.
- Overall rating: 9/10
#3: Banjo & Kazooie
- Character: I preface this by saying I love Banjo-Kazooie and Tooie (Tooie > Kazooie btw). They were big games of my childhood and hold a special place in my heart due to also being my late Grandma's favorite video games (yes, she played games, she knew these 2 by heart). That said, this franchise has never really found success again after that. Microsoft evidently doesn't really care about the IP and neither does current Rare. That's why their inclusion in Smash Bros. rings a little hollow to me. As a fan of the IP I'd be much happier if they'd actually revive the franchise with a new (great) game. What's being done here is essentially necromancy. And, as they say, a corpse should be left well alone. My misgivings with their inclusion in general aside (I realize btw that their inclusion made a lot of people happy so I'm not mad about it or anything), I also am not that big of a fan of how they play in Smash. They kind of feel like this awkward lovechild between Mario and Snake without feeling as solid as either of them. Not a fan personally.
- Stage: Spiral Mountain was a pretty obvious choice to represent the games. I'm fine with the stage on a conceptual level and I dig the cameos but I am not a fan of the rotating gimmick. In fact, I even find it a little disorienting. No other stage in Smash does this for me. Not even the busier ones like Umbra Clock Tower. It's really weird and it's the reason why I avoid playing on this stage.
- Music: Even though I faulted this pack for the character and stage I can't fault it for the music. The music selection is solid and the remixes are pretty nice (my favorite here is Goby's Valley).
- Overall rating: 6/10
#4: Terry Bogard
- Character: As a big fan of Fighting Games I was obviously familiar with Terry and SNK as a whole prior to the announcement. That said, I never really could get into SNK's brand of FG's, whether it's Fatal Fury or KoF. Guess I was always just more of a Street Fighter guy and SNK's stuff is similar yet different enough to feel weird and offputing to me. That said, I really enjoyed playing as Geese in Tekken. And sure enough I also find Terry in Smash to be pretty fun as well. So I like these characters as guests but not in their home franchises. Guess that's a little odd. But hey, maybe KoFXV will change that. Anyway, back to Smash, Terry just feels like a really solid character mechanically. Love that they gave him Crack Shoot as a back special moves and I also love that they implemented Desperation Super special moves. They feel very satisfying to pull of. And Rising Tackle even has a charge mechanic (that you can even partition!). They really went all out translating Terry to Smash and it shows. Despite not really caring about Terry beforehand I like him quite a bit as a Smash Brother.
- Stage: When we first saw the stage the KoF Stadium looked generic as all hell. Turns out it's one of the most unique stages in the entire game thanks to its wall mechanic completely changing how Smash is played. And I love that. It also has a huge number of SNK cameo characters that can appear on the stage which is really cool. Yea they pretty much knocked it out of the park with this stage.
- Music: Well, this is almost unfair compared to the rest of the pass. 50 music tracks with 17 remixes is just insane. Despite my own biases Terry absolutely wins here. Hands down. That Psycho Soldier remix is an absolute bop, btw
- Overall rating: 10/10
#5: Byleth
- Character: Another FE character was certainly just what the Smash fanbase wanted. On a personal level I really liked the previous unique FE newcomers Ike, Robin and Corrin quite a bit so I was absolutely fine with another one. Helps that Byleth is from a fantastic game and that I like their overall visual design. I must admit though, despite me being overall fine with their inclusion they are not exactly impressing me on the gameplay front. There aren't really any cool or unique mechanics at play here. And overall they handle rather sluggishly. Granted, these are still somewhat early impressions and I intend to use them more but I expected a little more oomph in their moveset especially considering the DLC characters that preceded them.
- Stage: While Garreg Mach is definitely the defining location in FE3H and thus an obvious choice as the stage for Smash, it doesn't really make for a very exciting Smash Bros. stage. All walkoffs which I'm not the biggest fan of with slight interactable elements here and there. Not the most exciting stage. As far as FE stages go, I still prefer Castle Siege and Arena Ferox. Plus, my man Ferdinand von Aegir was robbed of his cameo appearance. And including Lorenz of all people to represent the Golden Deer is...certainly a choice you can make, I guess.
- Music: Bit disappointing that there's only one remix, but its a fine one and the overall selection of tracks is fine as well. A bit weird though that they haven't gone for more given that this is a Nintendo franchise. Anyway, with all of these new tracks I'm half-tempted to start a #LegalizeCastleSiege campaign. Kind of a shame really that so much of Smash's amazing music goes unheard in the competitive scene but them's the breaks I guess.
- Overall rating: 7/10
Overall Pass rating: 9/10
I'm overall pretty satisfied with the pass. Not all choices appealed to me and I have some gripes here or there but nothing's perfect. The pass gave me my 2 most wanted characters (and fantastic stages from these franchises to go with) plus an unexpected but very welcome surprise in the fantastic overall package that was Challenger Pack #4. Rather unlikely that FPvol2 is gonna top this for me but who knows.
It's Terry but it's very close between him and joker. I like playing Terry more but I care for the persona stage a music just slightly more then Terry's.
Terry>Joker>Banjo>>>>Hero. It's too soon to tell for byleth but he could be on either side of banjo.
Hero is the reason I'm not going to try dragons quest.
Terry>Joker>Banjo>>>>Hero. It's too soon to tell for byleth but he could be on either side of banjo.
Hero is the reason I'm not going to try dragons quest.
Banjo-Kazooie by far. They were my most wanted newcomers ever since Melee due to religiously playing their titles on N64. The only salt I have with their inclusion is the lack of music when confronting Gruntilda from the original game.
Joker was definitely a close second though. I wish we got more representation from the Shin Megami Tensei roots of Persona (how the hell is Jack Frost not in the game, even as a spirit?) but I never ever though I'd see Persona 4/5 in Smash.
Joker was definitely a close second though. I wish we got more representation from the Shin Megami Tensei roots of Persona (how the hell is Jack Frost not in the game, even as a spirit?) but I never ever though I'd see Persona 4/5 in Smash.
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In retrospect, it's pretty wack that SNK got all of this great crossover love - Terry's stage is from King Of Fighters despite him being billed as being from Fatal Fury - but SMT got completely ignored for content. I would have bought a Jack Frost Mii costume!
In terms of how their gameplay resonates with me,
Terry > Hero > Joker > Banjo.
Joker's a little too corny with his comeback mechanic while Banjo is too whacky with a jank move. Side B online is annoying, particularly in FFAs - it's just kind of a gigantic doorstop in the flow of a match. Like everyone is having a nice pool party and here comes this giant kid screaming "Cannonball!" and you turn towards the noise and you can swear you hear him farting before he hits the water. I love all of their stages but Terry has the best music, while Hero probably has the best stage aesthetic although Banjo and Joker are close while Terry is last. I guess it's hard to complain about jank and prefer Hero but he's, all in all, kind of a mediocre sword and board character outside of his crit chance and turn-based menu, which I find inventive and fun, while Joker and Banjo are pretty good besides.
As far as Byleth, I haven't played as her enough to judge yet.
Terry > Hero > Joker > Banjo.
Joker's a little too corny with his comeback mechanic while Banjo is too whacky with a jank move. Side B online is annoying, particularly in FFAs - it's just kind of a gigantic doorstop in the flow of a match. Like everyone is having a nice pool party and here comes this giant kid screaming "Cannonball!" and you turn towards the noise and you can swear you hear him farting before he hits the water. I love all of their stages but Terry has the best music, while Hero probably has the best stage aesthetic although Banjo and Joker are close while Terry is last. I guess it's hard to complain about jank and prefer Hero but he's, all in all, kind of a mediocre sword and board character outside of his crit chance and turn-based menu, which I find inventive and fun, while Joker and Banjo are pretty good besides.
As far as Byleth, I haven't played as her enough to judge yet.
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Not that crazy, even when annouced, when you realize how SNK seems to be willing to work with anyone to promote their games. How many games have an SNK guest character this gen? lol. Sakurai stated that he sent a list of things he wanted for the game and expected them to allow a handful of things bur SNK said ok to EVERYTHING.
At the end of the day it depends on how cooperative the third party is to allow their content into Smash.
Terry was a character I wanted so badly but assumed would never get in, so I think it's him by default. The sheer volume of music and his stage's gimmick don't hurt either.
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DQ11S was kind of a flop so I guess Hero being in Smash didn't make the waves Square/Nintendo was hoping for. It's a shame.
I think unless you're a diehard DQ fan or you really took to Hero's moveset, it was hard to get excited about the pack since the series isn't super popular in the west and the music situation sucks out a lot of the enthusiasm. I like the stage a lot though.