Review for Mach Rider (Chief Mendez)

Mach Rider by Chief Mendez

Originality: First of all, it’s friggin original to make a character who does nothing else but sitting on a bike. Then, it’s done SO well. Oh my. Mach Rider does, in fact, really fight like someone would if he couldn’t separate from his bike. And he uses everything one could think of, like going with wheelies and crushing his enemies below the bike. Really neat.

Detail: I really enjoy the detail Mendez gives to his movesets. Its just much enough for me to know what the move does and how it looks like, but it’s not going overboard. Minimalistic but still doing its purpose well. Can’t complain on that one.

Balance: Okay, so let me get this straight… if Mach Rider were in Smash, he would stand almost no chance against most of the cast, because his controls are so insanely awkward, his aerial mobility is even worse, and because he has to be fast for some attacks to work properly. Now don’t get me wrong, he would be a GOD on Final Destination, but I think he’d totally get raped on stages like Norfair or Delfino Plaza – stages which require you to react fast and quickly be on some platform. The problem is that the system he has a character just is not really good for lots of stages in Brawl. The whole problem balances out his insane speed, power and weight, though, so I guess that’s okay.

Relevance to Character: Being one of those who has played Mach Rider back in the day I cannot say that this part is anywhere untrue. It’s what a biker would do and Mach Rider in the end is a biker. Added to that come a few references to the actual game like the Blaster. It’s probably the only way this character would work in Smash… and it totally suits him. Reading that again makes me wish for him to be in Smash 4. Heehee.

Extras: Only a handful, which is a pity. The Kirby Hat is gold, though. I really love your artistic vein. Of course it’s up to you, since Extras are only… well… Extras, but what you do is pretty spartanic if I do say so myself.

Organization: Oh my. I actually had the game back then, and therefore had the instruction book, so I know that the “Mach XY” was indeed part of the characterization. Generally, this organization style is insanely good, I love it. I like how the text alignments are enforcing the speed the character has, and the dividers with the bike are neatly done. It all looks oldskool. I also like the “Press A or B” part at the end and the pink exclamation marks at the Kirby hat section. However, I do have one thing… I hate you because of that. It’s Mach Rider’s fault that we have so many people trying to imitate it (K.Rool being the leader)… Of course that’s not directly your fault, but it makes me furious! <.<”

Overall: Mach Rider is, although he was entered rather soon in the contest and is the culprit resulting in the “Themename XY” headers, one of my favourite movesets still. Probably it’s because I’ve become all nostalgic because of it, or because I know the character so well and love how he was translated. Or just because it’s a really good moveset. It’s definitely worth a read. I really pity the fact that this character would be bound to end up in Bottom Tier because of how he works, but I’d still SO main him because he’s SO awesome.

…That is all!

Review for Nack/Fang (Hyper_Ridley)

Nack the Weasel by Hyper_Ridley

Originality: Oh. Heh. Nack has some quite unique mechanics, namely the Up Special and generally the bullet clips. Having to reload most of your attacks is quite intersting and unique in its own way. Nack using his tail to bounce around or whip enemies makes the moveset more diverse, and some of the moves are really odd. He even has moves for his tether hanging and while being in his shield. Oh dear…

Detail: I was afraid of reading this wall of text, some of it is just so friggin huge… But after all it wasn’t that bad, compared to other towering movesets. There’s everything nicely described so I can imagine very good how each move looks like and works.

Balance: Nack might be a tad little bit broken. He can’t refill his clips in mid-air, so that’s kinda evening it out, and some moves are cancelling it, so yea. Otherwise he sure is high- or toptier matieral, since none of his moves are not extremely useful in this or that way.

Relevance to Character: Nack has almost all moves directly pulled out from the games he appeared in and is absolutely true to them, even with those not being directly taken from the games. So, no complaints in this section. The few lines he speaks give him a lot of personality, though, and I love the Snake Codec calling him a jerk. I loved Nack in the few games he was in (specially Triple Trouble), even when those few games were horrible. You made good use of the little you had, so kudos to you.

Extras: Nack lacks Assist Trophy, Stage or similar stuff, but has a very well written out SSE story with Wario. Music is there, hilarious taunts, ledge attacks, victory poses and even a tripping animation – his trademark trip from Triple Trouble. This makes up a whole lot.

Organization: The purple text parts are a bit hard to read, BUT… that’s minor, though you might want to use the hlighter shade of purple for it. The organization is great – switching between white and purple and easing up the reads with some sprite pictures. Very nicely done.

Overall: Nack looks huge, but compared to other movesets *coughrobotnikmm9megamanandcortexcough* he is actually quite okay. Hyper_Ridley made this a unique yet easy to understand moveset of high quality, and it was a really great read, considering some of his hilarious looking attacks. Imagining them gave me a chuckle or two (“Good bye, cruel world!”). Kudos to you, Hyper_Ridley, as you made the balancing act in between badassery and hilariously dumbness (Final Smash) at some times. The sprite pictures are helping this moveset a lot, as well. Definitely one of my favourites in the contest so far.

Review for Henry Townshend (MarthTrinity)

Henry Townshend by MarthTrinity

Originality: Once again, a moveset with very original ideas. I’ve never thought it’d be possible to make a character like Henry “smashfit”, however, MarthTrinity did it. All of the moves seem to be really copied. Great work on this. I also love some of the attack names, and the plain idea, for example having him golfing in the air… it seems so strange that it’s already great.

Detail: It seems not as detailed as the most regulars’ movesets, but still fairs well. I wouldn’t know where to put in more descriptiveness, though, so I guess that is okay.

Balance: Henry is rather balanced. Slow, powerful moves mix up with faster but weaker ones. He uses 2 or 3 stunning moves, and I especially like his Specials. The Final Smash seems overpowered, but since Henry damages himself greatly, it’s all fairly balanced.

Relevance to Character: Awesome. You made it really true to game – every move is taken from the game. Even though the descriptions seem strange to funny at the first glance, you still manage to put in that creepy aura from Silent Hill, especially in the Extras – so kudos to you.

Extras: Hurr, yea. Everything here, even an Assist Trophy, a stage, a boss and trophies, event matches, stickers, Kirby Hat… everything someone could dream of. I particularly like how especially the extras put the weight onto the horror of the root games – while the moveset is rather neutral, the extras make the moveset Silent Hill-ish, especially the Snake Codec.

Organization: Everything is nicely organized in paragraphs. First there’s a description on how the move looks, then the notes (knockback, damage, use of the move, etc.). There’s a good use of BBCode, colour and pictures. Neat!

Overall: If you like Silent Hill, or odd movesets, Henry is definitely worth a read. And even if you don’t, give him a shot. MarthTrinity is one of the underappreciated moveset creators in MYM, and he does good quality movesets, albeit not extremely detailed. I actually couldn’t help myself but chuckle by some of the moves since they look so out of place. Another one of those strong movesets, and especially likeable since it manages to do the balancing act in between the horror games Henry derives from – Silent Hill – and the cutesy fighter Smash Bros. is. Kudos for that.

Review for Megaman (Chief Mendez)

Megaman by Chief Mendez

Originality: Oh wow. Using stuff from Megaman 2, 3 and 9, and mixing it with a fairly unexpected playstyle, this moveset sure is insanely original. The Specials are pretty interesting too, namely the Neutral Special – first only being a normal buster cannon, after killing an enemy you recieve a special power from them. Some of them are useless, some of them are awesome, and they even have strengths against other characters. Every character of the Brawl cast has recieved one of these small attacks, so yea. Also, most attacks are projectiles or at least insanely ranged. Strange, yet interesting, and definitely unique. tl;dr version: Very original!

Detail: It has the right amount of detail. It isn’t only a few words, but also isn’t going overboard. Everything which needs more detail has recieved it. All fine. Odd thing that the throws have the longest descriptions (next to the Neutral Special, of course). O.o

Balance: Some of those move sound extremely broken, in my opinion. Are you sure with the Pro/Con-stuff? Only a few killing moves? But so many of them do good knockback! Some of these moves need to be recovered or have some twists to them, yet alone the recovery move needing 20 seconds (!) to be refilled before being able to used again… I think all of that makes up for Megaman having so powerful moves with such insane range. I still think some of the moves are a bit overpowered, but that’s just me, I guess…

Relevance to Character: No complaint here. All moves are directly taken from actual Megaman games or imitate them. The only thing I dislike is that Megaman uses the X Saber AND (!) comes in appearance of X. But again, that’s just me. Knowing all of the mentioned attacks oh so well, this moveset gave me an insanely nostalgic feel. So kudos to you for that, Mendez.

Extras: A few are here – Kirby Hat, Logo, Taunts and Music. But what! There’s no Victory Poses or Snake Codec? Aww… Ah well. You could add a few little more things, like, a stage or said victory stances, but otherwise, all good.

Organization: Oooo, nostalgic. Oldschool-esque font for the sections, especially lovely made with the “Get equipped with …” line from the games. Nice use of colours and BBCode. It’s all easy to read, I especially love the last part with the “Game Over”-line, as well. Great job on that!

Overall: Megaman was a very fun moveset to read, and I highly enjoyed it. Albeit it doesn’t have such overboarding amount of detail like those movesets of a certain Master, it still is one of the strongest contenders in this contest – and definitely one of Mendez’ best works. If you haven’t read Megaman yet, do it. You gotta love Mendez’ writing style.

Review for Charley (cheap_josh)

Charley by cheap_josh

Originality: Well, it’s an original character. This makes it very original. Hurr. To be serious, though, almost all of her moves are quite unique (knife eyes ftw), and most of her Special mechanics are very interesting. She does what a ghost does, and she does it well. I can’t really say that she needs much more improvement, considering that even the not so creative looking moves (F Tilt) are rather nicely done.

Detail: The detail is all given. It’s not too much, but also definitely fitting into the new standard for MYM 4. Hard-to-imagine moves are aided with pictures. I only had a little bit trouble of understanding the move when it started involving Charley’s head rotating, but I guess that’s just me. Other than that, no complaints here. I love cheap_josh’s style of writing… very laid-back and funny.

Balance: From what I’ve seen, Charley seems very balanced. She has trouble killing enemies, but can rack up damage nicely. She’s a light weight and has a move to charlycide (heehee) with the enemy. Nicely done in balancing out. I also like the fact how in the Final Smash all objects do different knockback and damage depending on their size. The Vanish move could easily be broken, but the staling makes up enough for that.

Relevance to Character: Well, I certainly don’t know much about her, but she seems very fitting to what she is – a ghost. She uses moves involving morphing into ectoplasm or vanishing, or rotating her head, or summoning other spirits. Also, I love her backstory (sponge in the throat? Priceless!).

Extras: The lack of a Snake Codec is a bit sad, in my opinion, but oh well. There’s an extremely hilarious stage, and the best taunt ever (She boos! Get it?), and a great logo.

Organization: Color, BBCode, paragraphs, all rounded up with several pictures to ease the read… Perfectly done.

Overall: Charley, being the first Original Character submitted into MYM 4, made by one of my favourite OC designers, stands definitely out in making a simply ghost so versatile and smash-fit. She easily can stand up against other contenders who were submitted during the first few pages, and is a very fun read. I can only recommend checking out Charley since it’s a very interesting and cool moveset made by one of my favourite contestants.