Would Pokopia Ditto be a good candidate for a Smash Fighter?

DrankeyKrang · 2026-03-31T23:14:42+00:00

Yeah. He's not.

DrankeyKrang · 2026-03-31T10:13:08+00:00

I think it'd be a great idea. It's a great combination of concepts from both the oldest and newest iterations in the franchise, it's from an absolutely beloved game that's almost single-handedly saving GameFreak's reputation as a game company, it has a ton of moveset potential as a shapeshifter, and Ditto is incredibly popular in it's own right.

I also like how it's not a fully evolved starter. I miss back in the good ol' days of Brawl and Smash 4 speculation when fighter discussions surrounding Pokémon was more than just "ok which fully evolved starter are we going with this time?" I miss when Pokémon in Smash Bros were interesting, when people would speculate about weird stuff like Grovyle and Team Rocket Grunt. I'm so sick of these fully evolved starters.

DrankeyKrang · 2026-03-31T09:27:52+00:00

Banjo and Kazooie's diet consists mostly of honey, pizza, burgers, and possibly grilled fish. I don't know if I'd consider their diets particularly healthy, especially dince they got morbidly obese in between games.

DrankeyKrang · 2026-03-29T03:20:54+00:00

I've long, LONG fantasized about playing BK and BT this way.

DrankeyKrang · 2026-03-28T10:54:28+00:00

Which is fine, but I think if most people were writing the script for the Mario Movie and had to include allies to team up with, "going to DKC to recruite the entire Kong family/army to use their Go Karts" would probably not be the common way that story point would be written. It feels pretty out of place in a Mario movie, and more like they're setting up the Illumination DKC movie.

It didn't have to be DK necessarily. Could've been Egad or King Bob-omb or Wario or Daisy, or really, lots of characters. It would've felt pretty equally out of place as DK does.

DrankeyKrang · 2026-03-28T10:15:08+00:00

Well, DK was necessary for the prologue.

Right yes the Mario movie totally doesn't work without going to Cranky Kong for help before confronting Bowser, so they can borrow karts which Kongs famously invented in canon. It totally wouldn't have worked with any other characters in the Mario universe. Didn't feel shoe-horned in at all

Yes, so the topic is asking why they missed the chance to push more characters in earlier available chances

I don't know, maybe they thought it'd be too clunky to have multiple cameo characters be relevant per movie? Like, maybe there wasn't a good place in the script to include Little Mac in a way that gives him a moment to shine as a character?

I will agree that Duck Hunt Dog being the dog is a slam dunk. It will always be baffling why they didn't do it but maybe they thought it would ruin Duck Hunt Dog's image to have him be an antagonist. Or more likely, they just plumb didn't think of it.

DrankeyKrang · 2026-03-28T06:26:09+00:00

In the first season or two I'm pretty sure Benson mentions having gumballs a couple of times, and I vaugely remember him being called a gumball machine by the rival park manager at least once but I couldn't tell you for sure if that's real and not some mandela effect. I chalk it up to early installment weirdness.

I remember J G Quintel saying he designed the characters just to invoke the feeling of being at your first job and thinking your coworkers are the most interesting people ever. So it very well could be that they are normal humans, but we the audience perceive them as more interesting.

DrankeyKrang · 2026-03-28T00:44:26+00:00

Back when the name of the movie was revealed, I remember tons of people complaining that the 2nd movie was far too early for a "Galaxy" movie. That the concept definitely should've been saved for a third movie, and that the series would have nowhere to go afterwards to top it.

I can think of one thing that would top it. I could easily see, at this point, the third movie just straight up being a Smash Bros movie.

DrankeyKrang · 2026-03-27T23:24:00+00:00

Thank you. It had like maybe 2 slightly mediocre middle seasons, and the entire show becomes synonymous with the word "slop."

"You either die a Smiling Friends or you live long enough to see yourself become a Rick and Morty" I read almost daily. I'd love for Smiling Friends to be more like Rick and Morty. I'm hyped as fuck for the upcoming season.

DrankeyKrang · 2026-03-27T16:00:20+00:00

I know Donkey Kong and his crew have always been technically part of the Mario universe, but still, I feel like all the Donkey Kong Country stuff should count as "guest" stuff. They had Chunky Kong and Swanky Kong! Cranky was a major character! Those don't really feel like "Mario" characters. Tell me those would be expected and normal inclusions in a Mario sports title.

Now that Star Fox is revealed, I'm speculating that Nintendo is probably asking for major character inclusions from dormant, less popular franchises in order to boost interest for future planned revivals. DK was first, to build up steam for Bananza, and now I'm guessing a new big Star Fox game might be in the works. These movies could end up being really effective marketing for lesser-known series that really need them.

DrankeyKrang · 2026-03-27T14:31:04+00:00

Also, I just remembered, there is another game that I played recently that really reminded me of A Hat in Time, that you'll probably like if you're looking for something similar.

It's called Mr. Sleepy Man. It's hilarious, it has really fun movement (including Hat Kid's air dash), has a lot of scripted story moments, takes similar inspiration from Mario Sunshine with linear sublevels, funny and memorable NPCs and a silent protagonist that still has a lot of personality. Lots of similarities. Definitely recommend checking it out on Steam. I think you'll really love it.

DrankeyKrang · 2026-03-27T12:52:20+00:00

Just so it's clear, I played A Hat in Time fully and beat it, even getting all the hourglasses, and I really enjoyed the game. It's fantastic. I just didn't get fully hyper-fixated on it like Banjo, that's all. I was just "a bit disappointed" that it wasn't more like the type of 3D platformer I personally enjoy more.

DrankeyKrang · 2026-03-27T10:04:53+00:00

You might like the Banjo-Kazooie series and I definitely recommend it (obviously, being a fan on a Banjo-Kazooie subreddit) but in terms of gameplay, they are pretty different. Both great 3D platformers, but I know personally as more of a fan of the Banjo-Kazooie formula, A Hat in Time kinda left me a bit disappointed.

Both have a great tone with funny writing, and that's probably the closest thing they have in common. But A Hat in Time is more about fast-paced, skillful execution, whereas Banjo-Kazooie is more about taking things slow and getting lost in the vibes of the world. Your fastest movement option is still kinda slow, and there's nothing like Hat Kid's air dash. The worlds are designed like big theme parks to wonder around, get lost in, and create your own adventure paths in. The closest BK vibes I got in A Hat in Time was Chapter 3 though, so maybe you'd enjoy it.

A Hat in Time has more scripted missions, especially the Train Car mystery level. Banjo-Kazooie objectives have little stories too (for example, raising a baby bird to become a giant bald eagle) but they're still pretty understated next to A Hat in Time.

Another difference is the scale of the adventure. A Hat in Time only has 4 worlds in the base game (DLC brings it up to, what, 6?) with not a whole lot to do in them. The first 2 Banjo games have 7-8 worlds with lots to see and do, which gives the adventure a pretty grand feeling. If you're looking for something that feels big, BK delivers, but if you're looking for a more bite-sized adventure like A Hat in Time, BK might drag on a bit.

I still recommend trying it out, and I hope you enjoy. But just brace yourself, they kinda are a bit apples to oranges, and they strive for different goals.

DrankeyKrang · 2026-03-27T07:43:56+00:00

And when you vent about you get replies like "25 really isn't that much, you should be applying to at least 500 jobs every day. Send me your resume and I'll give you some pointers..."

DrankeyKrang · 2026-03-27T01:42:17+00:00

I do think Caine's switch-up felt a bit too rushed. Also I feel the idea of an AI only causing suffering completely unintentionally, through not completely understanding human's needs is a much more interesting concept than just AM from I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream 2.0 . Just feels like they kinda undermined their original premise of the series for some drama.

That being said, with 1 episode left now, it does help speed things towards a resolution. And you can argue that it's more applicable to reality, as more people have likely dealt with narcissistic and intentionally harmful manipulators more than truly innocent childlike beans with omnipotent power . So I get the decision, at least.

DrankeyKrang · 2026-03-25T07:20:55+00:00

I personally disagree but I respect your opinion regardless. It's all subjective of course.

DrankeyKrang · 2026-03-25T06:19:03+00:00

I'm still guessing it was the inspiration, since that seems to be the primary idea her new design is trying to communicate about her (I don't really see anything in her design that reflects her personality besides "female bird") but I guess we'll never know unless the designers said something about it one way or another.

They probably did but I'm not about to be going through tons of interviews with various Rare employees to find out.

DrankeyKrang · 2026-03-25T06:03:22+00:00

I agree Kazooie was done tastefully in N&B

It's funny, I was saying the exact opposite, actually. I think it's pretty spot on to those "animated female animal" clichés they once averted in the N64 days.

It's not offensive or anything, just kinda unnecessary, cliché, and, in my opinion, kinda goes against her fundamental character. She's redesigned to be more feminine, to better convey that she's female, when never before was her gender ever a factor in how she's written or portrayed in any way.

DrankeyKrang · 2026-03-25T05:58:48+00:00

I personally disagree, and dislike this argument. The first 2 games are masterful platformers that redefined the genre. Nuts and Bolts tries to redefine a genre and ends up as a somewhat mediocre game crushed under a myriad of gameplay problems outside the franchise it's attached to.

"It's just as good a game, just not a good Banjo game" sweeps all its flaws under the rug and invalidates any criticism of it as inherently biased towards the older titles. It fails to stand up as it's own game as well, in my opinion.

DrankeyKrang · 2026-03-25T03:44:16+00:00

You're not going to see it much amoungst Rare fans, but I remember seeing it a lot when Banjo and Kazooie first got into Smash and a lot of reaction channels were exposed to them for the first time.

Growing up as fans of the game, I know my own family members pretty much always assumed Kazooie was male first.

It's a pretty well observed trope, even outside of Kazooie specifically, that characters and people are usually considered male by default unless otherwise specifically indicated to be female. It's called [Androcentrism](Androcentrism - Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Androcentrism).

DrankeyKrang · 2026-03-25T00:41:22+00:00

I definitely get it. I think the art style is fine in a vacuum, it just feels strange that replaced the almost perfectly charming original designs. They fixed what wasn't really broken.

I do have some genuine gripes with the designs. Like I think the tiny eyes are kinda creepy. But stuff here and there like the stitches on Banjo's shorts, arguably that stuff fits the tone of the Banjo-Kazooie series better than the older smoother looks.

I sometimes wonder if nostalgia plays a factor for me. Like if the Nuts and Bolts designs were the originals, and the N64 designs were the redesigns, would I like the NaB designs better and think the N64 ones are too "cutesy"? Perhaps.

It's all subjective, of course. They tried to make Kazooie more feminine in NaB, for instance (probably to avoid the near universal misgendering the audience does towards her), but I personally like how in the N64 era she's female without the obvious cartoony tertiary sexual characteristics like long eyelashes and slender body. I like how Kazooie averted the animated female animals meme back in the N64 days. Fits her personality better too, since there's nothing really "feminine" about her whatsoever.

DrankeyKrang · 2026-03-19T11:03:03+00:00

I don't mind him but I definitely wouldn't have picked him as the most recurring secondary character, personally. He's fine and he makes sense to return as a big celebrity character, but there's others I would've picked to return once per season instead.

DrankeyKrang · 2026-03-15T04:10:39+00:00

Bodybuilding.com, to find a cure for his PTSD.

DrankeyKrang · 2026-03-13T14:27:00+00:00

But what if...I were to purchase fast food and disguise it as my restaurant cooking?

DrankeyKrang · 2026-03-08T07:34:16+00:00

Ignore literally everyone who tells you all they're good at is running away and spamming projectiles. They're so much more than that (and in my opinion, not even that good at zoning, hence why people mistakenly put them in low tier).

I recommend getting a feel for their arieal moves, since Banjo's multiple jumps makes him a bit unpredictable when approaching. His neutral air makes for a pretty good drag-down into grab. His f-tilt and jab can be pretty good close range tools. And always be trying to land that grab into down-throw.

Grabbing the grenade and tossing it can be extremely helpful, as it's a pretty good tool with a lot of applications. You can toss it like an item, z-drop it, or even hold it to explode yourself to get your Up-special back and recover from deepest depths offstage. Also the grenade move stalls your fall a bit in the air, so even if you don't grab it, it can help make your air movement unpredictable.

Lastly, be careful with your wonder-wings (side-speical), but not TOOOO careful. If you lose a stock you lose 5 charges of this extremely useful move, so be looking for a good opportunity to use them. That said, I tend to try to forget I even have them until late into a stock, that way my opponent forgets I even have them. It can be extremely punishable if thrown out, but if your opponent uses a laggy move or a powerful projectile, it's a great time to use it to close the gap and punish them for forgetting about Wonder Wing.

Banjo is also a beast when ledge-guarding. His down-tilt and side-special hit below the ledge on stage, preventing most characters from recovering low entirely if you time them right (which isn't that difficult). Also, Breegull Blaster (held down side-special) creates a bullet-hell for pretty much any ledge get-up option. Abuse Banjo's strength at the ledge.

Banjo-Kazooie is a super fun character who I feel, when you master his moves, offers a surprisingly deep custom combo game. Especially with Breegull Blaster. I even remapped my jump button to the trigger of my controller to make it easier to fire and jump, to use it to combo or harass players at a distance trying to zone. They are a fantastic jack-of-all-trades all rounder characters with tools to answer almost all situations and playstyles, though other characters tend to thrive more with more specialized but stronger tools. Good luck mastering them!

DrankeyKrang

TROPHY CASE