By Joseph Walter
And today? We've got Mike Jones of StarTropics.
When it comes to my DLC picks, I wanted to stick with choices that were at least feasible, and Mike Jones comes somewhat close to stretching the definition. If you have no idea who this is, you're certainly not alone.
I'd actually go as far as to say that Mike is probably the least likely and least popular of my DLC choices (except for maybe one other upcoming entry), but he is a first-party Nintendo character, he does have a legacy (thanks almost entirely to the infamous fourth-wall breaking solution to an in-game puzzle, which required players to soak a letter the game came with in water to reveal a hidden code) and, after the seemingly impossible inclusion of Banjo and Kazooie, you never know.
Yes, it'd take a "Miracola" for this to happen but, as they say in StarTropics, "under the Southern Cross, anything is possible!"
Who He Is And Why We Need Him:
Mike Jones is the protagonist of StarTropics and StarTropics II, seemingly forgotten first-party Nintendo titles from the days of the NES. Both games are extremely charming, quirky, fun, inventive and delightful adventures that deserve to be remembered, and Mike would be the best way to bring them back into the public eye.
As a first-party character, Mike's lineage is as legitimate as Mario or Link's, and his variety of unique abilities would make him a joy to play as in Super Smash Bros., a series that celebrates genuine characters, new and old, popular and forgotten.
It's also a series that contains outrageous and absurd antics, and StarTropics has so much of that brand of craziness that it's actually kind of surprising it hasn't been included yet.
Stats/General Traits:
Mike is a kid, and therefore more of a lightweight character. His attacks lack raw power, and his jumps are somewhat rigid, but the versatility of his moves, and the tools at his disposal, gives him an edge in combat for strategic players.
Alas, Mike is limited in the air, with a rather awkward jump and only a few kicks at his disposal for aerial attacks (though they are quite powerful.)
Unique Traits and Special Details:
Mike plays somewhat different than most of his peers, as his basic attacks can be aimed in any direction (as a reference to his movement in the StarTropics series). Likewise, StarTropics II's damaging "Psychic Shockwave" projectile has a chance of shooting out from any of his attacks. The likelihood of this surprisingly powerful move diminishes with the more damage Mike takes.
Aesthetically, there are a few details and references to his series: when jumping, the "Anklet" item appears on Mike's feet, and during his second jump, his clothes turn gold, just like in StarTropics the first.
Similarly, when Mike performs his aerial kick, you can see the "Spikes" item on his shoes, and when he blocks, he uses the "Miracle Mirror" (although it doesn't afford any extra bonuses, and is merely a visual treat.)
Finally, Mike's victory poses all reference bizarre moments from the series, with one in particular being a rendition of the "Cactus Dance" (including the music!)
Basic Attacks:
Most of Mike's basic attacks use his yo-yo... er... "Star," and can be aimed in any direction. He's fairly helpless in the air, though, aside from a strong "Spikes"-powered flying heel kick.
Special - "Wonder Horsehide"
Mike's "ace pitcher" skills will be on display with this baseball-tossing Special: throwing the "Wonder Horsehide," Mike is able to guide the baseball while in flight, bolstering its natural homing capabilities.
Up Special - Da Vinci's Flying Machine
Sometimes a box of pizza can go a long way: Mike's Up Special summons Leonardo Da Vinci's flying machine, and allows for unprecedented horizontal survivability. Unfortunately, with great power comes great risk, as the fragile Flying Machine is easily destroyed by projectiles and other attacks, causing Mike to quickly plummet to his doom.
Side Special - Pause Sign
By pulling out his iconic "Pause" sign at the last second, Mike can stun incoming, attackers. Though the window for success is small, it's arguably more powerful than a standard "Counter" such as Marth's.
Down Special - Inventory
Like how Dragon Quest's Hero has a list of available spells, Mike can access a sub-menu of useful tools to unleash upon his foe.
These include the Bola, Asterisk, Snowman Doll, Rod of Sight, Try-Your-Luck Sign and Vitamin X.
Bola / Twister - Tossing out a Bola (otherwise known as "Twister") will send the item zipping across the floor of the stage. If it makes contact with an opponent, they'll immediately be immobilized... but only for a short time.
Asterisk - The "Asterisk" (or shuriken) is a tricky weapon that can take opponents by surprise. When launched, two Asterisk will fly forward from your hands in a tight formation, but by pressing the button again, they'll split into two, with one going up and the other going down.
Naturally, if you choose not to split the Asterisk up, it does double the damage upon impact.
Snowman Doll - By tossing a Snowman Doll into the air, you'll create a sizable, icy explosion that has a high chance of freezing any opponents caught in its radius, along with dealing damage.
Rod of Sight - Normally reserved for revealing hidden ghosts, the Rod of Sight will damage anyone close enough to its blinding, holy light, along with paralyzing or disorienting them by means of dizziness or reversing their direction.
Test-Your-Luck Sign - Has a chance of chance of restoring between 30% and 90% damage, or dealing it back!
Vitamin X - Temporarily heals damage, but you can still be KO'd and the effect wears off quickly. Strategically, it can be used to give yourself some temporary extra durability to soak up some extra hits as you attempt to deliver a killing blow.
As you might expect, there is a limited amount of each item and, upon exhausting your supply, you'll need to deal some serious damage before you can begin to restore your numbers.
Final Smash: Zoda's Revenge
Mike stuffs bananas into his ears as Zoda appears, who wreaks havoc against everyone who doesn't have bananas in their ears.
The Final Smash would look exactly like the image below, but Zoda wouldn't be a static image; instead, he'd be a full-fledged, HD model, and perhaps even vocally deliver his evil proclamation that he is the "PRIME INVADER... ZODA!" before his unleashes his destruction!
1. Mike tosses a mystical Tetrad into the air, catches it and then pockets it once more.
2. Mica the Argonian appears in a bubble as she telepathically contacts Mike.
3. Mike dips his Uncle's letter into a glass of water, referencing the infamous, real-life action needed to solve one of the original game's puzzles.
While I think the above are the best options, if I had to pick any alternates, it'd be nice to see an appearance by Peter the Parrot, a pizza box or even the little helper bot, NAV-COM (though perhaps they'd appear in Mike's victory poses!)
Of course, another alternative would be Mike stuffing bananas in his ears... but it's probably best to reserve that for the Final Smash.
Stage Entrance:
Mike pops out of the Sub-C, ready for adventure. Another option would be for him to plop out of a magic book-induced wormhole, a'la StarTropics II.
Stage(s):
As the name suggests, StarTropics mostly takes place on a tropical island known as "C-Island." StarTropics II, on the other hand, is a time-traveling, country-hopping adventure that takes players everywhere from the Wild West to King Arthur's court.
Unfortunately for the excellent StarTropics II, the more unique and less complicated locales of the first game make for a better choice to represent the series, so Mike's levels would hail exclusively from the original StarTropics.
1) Sailing on the Sub-C:
The match starts on the back of the Sub-C, which soars across the oceans surrounding C-Island (which you can see in the background, along with all of its memorable landmarks.)
As the match rages on, the Sub-C will prepare to dive. The main fighting platform will open and swallow up any players standing in the correct zone. Anyone who doesn't make it will be lost to the sea.
For those that make it inside, they'll find themselves in the control room of the Sub-C, with NAV-COM watching the action as he pilots the ship. Uniquely, players can't be KO'd while in the confines of the Sub-C, meaning that serious damage can be dealt to all parties.
The Sub-C will emerge after a few moments, now within C-Island's boundaries, and the fighting continues. Eventually, a storm starts to rage and you'll be brought back into the Sub-C as it dives once more before the level loops.
2) C-Island:
Similar to "Sailing on the Sub-C," the "C-Island" stage features a floating platform that will take players on a trip by (and through) some of C-Islands most iconic locations, including Miracola, the giant whale, a treacherous dungeon, and Captain Bell's ship. The final destination on this tour is Zoda's Alien Spaceship, a place where the hostile extraterrestrials will have no qualms about shooting at you and the other fighters.
Music:
There's a reason I wrote full soundtrack reviews for both StarTropics and Zoda's Revenge: they're both filled to the brim with genuinely excellent music. As you can imagine, picking only a handful of such high-quality tracks hurt my body and soul, but I think the following are a good, worthy bunch:
1) A remix of the beautiful Sailing theme, and hopefully one that amps up the emotion and swashbuckling!
2) An exciting remix of the jovial and tropical Overworld Theme, with a sequence that references how the musical bug that occasionally caused the instruments to be out of sync.
3) A "StarTropics II Dungeon Medley." Where the many awesome, varied locations of StarTropics II hurt its chances of getting a level in Ultimate, its equally awesome and varied score doesn't have the same problem, as we can have an epic medley of every StarTropics II dungeon theme! (Here's an example of one of these great themes!)
Reveal Trailer:
Toon Link is sailing across the vast seas when he suddenly spots an island he's never seen before.
Investigating further, he anchors his boat and begins exploring the island. Before long, he stumbles upon a crashed alien ship and finds himself under heavy attack by its inhabitants.
As he runs back to his vessel, a ship rises from the sea... it's the Sub-C!
"It looks like you could use a miracola!" shouts a smug, unseen voice.
Finally, the Sub-C's hatch opens and out pops Mike, who energetically joins Link in battle against Zoda and his villainous forces!
"Mike Jones proves anything is possible under the Southern Cross!"
(I would probably shit my pants if this happened.)
I know Mike Jones isn't as popular as other characters, but the two StarTropics games are excellent and it'd be nice to see Nintendo finally acknowledge this long-dormant, first-party franchise!
What are some of your choices for characters that should be included in Ultimate?
Let me know below!