Mary O. & Yamamura's hypothetical moveset after balance patch ver. 1.Bored.Nerd
You know what's even nerdier and niche-ier than writing an entire entry about a hypothetical Super Smash Bros. moveset for the guide to a video game manual?
Writing TWO entries about a moveset for the guide to a game manual, of course! :P
I wrote that first entry about Mary O. & Yamamura's made-up moveset shortly before the E3 reveal of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, and since then I've thought of some updates to make to it based on what was revealed about the actual game... enough that I'm gonna have to bore everyone with another entry about it so I don't have to keep getting distracted thinking about the idea! Since the actual game comes out this week, now seems like the right time. :)
In the unlikely event that you're interested in reading this entry but haven't read the first one yet, I'd recommend reading that one first. Because in this entry I mostly only describe the changes I made, without repeating anything I decided to leave unchanged.
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Moveset changes
B: Gnat Attack Brick Block
I'm changing their neutral special completely since the inspiration for my first idea for Mary O. & Yamamura's neutral special became an Assist Trophy instead, and since I thought their moveset as a whole needs to be slightly more Super-Mario-Maker-as-a-level-editor-based and slightly less all-the-easter-eggs-and-Mario-Paint-references-in-Super-Mario-Maker-based.
A hand cursor that resembles Mary O.'s own hand (the same cursor that was already involved in several of their moves) shows up in front of Mary O. to place a Brick Block nearby (which acts pretty much exactly like the ones that appear on the Super Mario Maker stage, and always has the New Super Mario Bros. U design regardless of what stage they're on); the player can move the cursor freely for about half a second (or until Mary O. or Yamamura gets hit, whichever comes first) to choose a place for it. Mary O. & Yamamura can place a bunch of these bricks to use as a shield or to reach higher ground, for instance. (And since this is their new neutral special, that means it's also Kirby's new Mary O. copy ability. His version is pretty much the same except the cursor that shows up looks like his arm instead of Mary O.'s, and if he loses the copy ability, any blocks he placed will disappear.)
With this move, the bricks have to be placed one by one and there is no way for this move to also damage opponents, but I've also added a second way to place them that is less precise and could potentially sometimes get in the way but also be potentially quicker:
Remember how I decided Mary O. would pull out a giant Wii U stylus and swing it like a sword for various attacks? I decided that these attacks can also place blocks - in some cases multiple ones at a time - but that only happens when the stylus doesn't hit anyone or anything.
One out of every 30 blocks Mary O. places (get it? Because Super Mario Maker was a celebration of the 30th anniversary of Super Mario Bros.?) - regardless of which moves are used to place them - will instead be a ? Block with a random item (usually from Mario) inside. Also, the blocks disappear after a while; this happens faster if a lot of them are placed at once.
Changes to standard attacks
Standard attack combo: The same as before except the stylus swing places one block in front of Mary O.
Dash attack: Same as before except as Mary O. and Yamamura ride on the rocket, Mary O. also holds the stylus overhead and places a line of blocks above.
Strong up attack: Mary O. swings the stylus (not a key this time) overhead, placing a couple of blocks above.
Strong forward attack: Exactly the same as before since the stylus is not involved.
Strong down attack: Same as before.
Up smash: Same as before.
Forward smash: Changed completely to a powerful stylus swing that places several blocks in front of Mary O.
Down smash: Same as before. Since a Thwomp by itself is one of the new Assist Trophies, the one in this move is less powerful and is not dropped from as high up compared to that Thwomp.
Neutral aerial: Same as before except blocks get placed on either side of Mary O.
All other aerials: Same as before.
Ladder attack: "Ladder attacks" are apparently a new thing in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, but I'm not sure if they're a completely new attack or it just means characters can perform their existing aerial attacks while climbing a ladder. If the former, Mary O.'s ladder attack should probably be another stylus-based attack.
All grab-related moves: Despite involving a ? Block, these moves are all unchanged; i.e. the block is still always a ? Block, it does not stay around like the blocks placed by other moves do, and does not count towards the "every 30th Brick Block is a ? Block instead" thing. (Piranha Plant being a playable character also does not require me to change these moves because the vines from Mario are not Piranha Plants; they just resemble them. That, and apparently a playable character being a part of another playable character's moveset is legal now anyway... And you know how for the back throw, I was like "if Mario doesn't use the cape anymore or Super Leaves aren't in the game, Mary O.'s back throw could be this instead?" You can ignore that now because Mario still has the cape and Super Leaves are still in.)
Edge attacks, get-up attacks, etc. - I didn't really define these previously except that one of the get-up attacks would be a sit-up as a reference to Mario Paint; I figured all the rest would be generic punches/kicks/pecks/stylus swings not really worth mentioning. Now that I came up with the whole "placing blocks strategically with the giant stylus" thing, how about we make all the miscellaneous attacks I didn't define before be stylus swings?
↔B: Item Shake
Unchanged - in fact, now this is the only move Mary O. and Yamamura have that involves the stylus but doesn't place blocks. You can ignore the bit about what happens if this move turns some other projectile into the gnat from Gnat Attack, because that won't happen since Gnat Attack is no longer in their moveset.
↑B: Wings/Trampoline Pigeon Jump
Adding the ability to place blocks all over the place probably means Mary O. and Yamamura now have way too many recovery options, so I decided to balance that out by nerfing their up special; the wings that can be placed on Mary O. now only give her a total of four jumps, and the trampoline part of the move is removed entirely. Yamamura's ability to carry Mary O. for a bit like Duck Hunt's Duck Jump is unchanged aside from finally being added to the name of the move.
↓B: Undodog
Now that Mary O. & Yamamura's moveset as a whole actually has more to do with the level editing aspect of Super Mario Maker, Undodog's function would similarly be closer to his role in Super Mario Maker itself - he would appear briefly and bark, and the last block or set of blocks Mary O. placed would disappear. He can't make blocks that have been broken automatically reappear, however.
But I still like my previous Undodog counterattack idea enough that I decided to keep that in, unchanged except that he would stay on screen for a significantly shorter time than any other counter move (this unfortunately means he wouldn't get to sneeze occasionally as a Mario Paint reference) and the counterattack would be activated if Mary O., Yamamura, or Undodog is hit, not just Undodog.
Final Smash: Editor Frenzy
It turns out that in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, there are no controllable Final Smashes and most of them are sped up so players can return to fighting sooner, so a lot of returning characters' Final Smashes had to be changed up completely.
Since my old idea for Mary O. & Yamamura's Final Smash was a controllable one, I had to similarly update it to match - instead of the player getting to control the cursor and place enemies wherever they want on the screen, the cursor would instead place a bunch of them randomly and a lot more quickly. Also, the enemies would only be Thwomps and Bob-ombs.
Or, maybe Mary O. & Yamamura's new Final Smash could be a trapping move where Mary O. draws a square of ground blocks in front of her, and if anyone ends up inside it, Mary O. places a bunch of Bob-ombs inside to destroy the wall of blocks and blast the opponent away. Or maybe it could be either or depending on how close the opponents are? There's no rule that says Street Fighter characters are the only ones allowed to have two Final Smashes!
Changes to unique attributes
Remember how I was like "if Mary O. wins against Yoshi, she'd say something about wishing she hadn't had to hurt something so cute, but unfortunately the reference would be lost because she'd say it in Japanese?" Maybe she'd say it in English after all since Marth finally speaks English this time around!
New stage entrance
One of the trucks from the Coursebot screen drives by and Mary O. and Yamamura exit from it. (In my first idea, the truck was one of their attacks, but I decided against it since that seemed like a weird idea - but I felt the trucks needed to be referenced somehow. Q.E.D.)
Palutena's Guidance
I'm honestly not sure why I didn't make up a Palutena's Guidance conversation about Mary O. & Yamamura in the first entry about their hypothetical moveset... Well, I made one now! Would you look at that!
I even made two slightly different versions to account for Mary O. being known as Mashiko outside North America, like how there's two slightly different ones for Duck Hunt/Duck Hunt Duo! (That, and there's some lines I ended up rephrasing over and over since I kept being unsure if they're funny enough. This way my chances of this being as funny as the ones in the actual game are doubled!)
North American version:
PIT: Who's that?
PALUTENA: That's Mary O.
PIT: WHAT?!? Man, talk about a redesign! What happened to his cap and overalls?!
PALUTENA: No, no - I said Mary O.
PIT: ...Right! Of course! I knew that!
PALUTENA: Mary O. is the guide to the electronic manual in Super Mario Maker. The pigeon behind her is Yamamura.
VIRIDI: Aww... Pigeons are so cute!
PIT: I'd say Mary O. is way cuter... Aw man, did I just say that out loud?!
YAMAMURA: Coo. Coo... (Sorry pal, I don't think she's interested in guys with feathers. Please DO NOT ask how I know this...)
PALUTENA: ...Anyway, Mary O. may know a lot about Super Mario Maker, but her own courses were once... um, lacking. But now, thanks to Yamamura's lessons, she's a pro!
PIT: Um... how exactly did a bird teach her to make good levels?
YAMAMURA: COO! Coo! (Quit it with the dumb questions! I hear enough of those from Mary O.!)
VIRIDI: I hear millions of courses have been uploaded... So that means MILLIONS of people have set up all sorts of dangers for Mario! Just one more reason why humans are the worst... Ugh!
PIT: Here we go with the overanalyzing...
PALUTENA: Watch out for Mary O.'s Item Shake. It can change items and projectiles into different ones. If she catches one of your arrows, there's no telling what she'll toss back at you.
PIT: ...If she turns anything into an eggplant, I'm outta here!!
European version:
PIT: Who's this lady?
PALUTENA: That's Mashiko.
PIT: THE Mashiko?!... Uh... Am I supposed to know who Mashiko is?
PALUTENA: She's the guide to the electronic manual in Super Mario Maker.
PIT: Well, no wonder I've never seen her around. Who reads game manuals nowadays?
PALUTENA: Myself, for one... Okay, you got me - I had to look her up too.
VIRIDI: Aww, look at that cute little pigeon on her back!
PIT: Mashiko is definitely cuter. Wait - Did I just say that out loud?!
YAMAMURA: Coo. Coo... (Sorry pal, I don't think she's interested in guys with feathers. Please DO NOT ask how I know this...)
PALUTENA: ...Anyway, although Mashiko knows many things about Super Mario Maker, her own courses used to be... ahem... not the best. But now, thanks to Yamamura's lessons, she's a pro!
PIT: Um... how exactly did a bird teach her to make good levels?
YAMAMURA: COO! Coo! (Enough with the dumb questions! I hear too many of those from Mashiko already!)
VIRIDI: I hear millions of courses have been uploaded... So that means MILLIONS of people have set up all sorts of dangers for Mario! Just one more reason why humans are the worst... Ugh!
PIT: Here we go with the overanalyzing...
PALUTENA: Mashiko's Item Shake can change items and projectiles into different ones. Be careful she doesn't grab one of your arrows, because there's no telling what she'll toss back at you.
PIT: ...If she turns anything into an eggplant, I'm outta here!!
*is ecstatic that I finally found an outlet for the "Mary O. is WAY cuter" joke I've been wanting to make ever since I read this SMM Crash Course episode for the first time*
I would've come up with a codec conversation about Mary O. & Yamamura as well, but unfortunately I haven't played a Metal Gear game and don't know the lore enough to have any idea of what Snake and his team would say about Mary O. and Yamamura. Are there any Metal Gear fans in my friends list who want to take a stab at it? :)
Writing TWO entries about a moveset for the guide to a game manual, of course! :P
I wrote that first entry about Mary O. & Yamamura's made-up moveset shortly before the E3 reveal of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, and since then I've thought of some updates to make to it based on what was revealed about the actual game... enough that I'm gonna have to bore everyone with another entry about it so I don't have to keep getting distracted thinking about the idea! Since the actual game comes out this week, now seems like the right time. :)
In the unlikely event that you're interested in reading this entry but haven't read the first one yet, I'd recommend reading that one first. Because in this entry I mostly only describe the changes I made, without repeating anything I decided to leave unchanged.
----
Moveset changes
B: Gnat Attack Brick Block
I'm changing their neutral special completely since the inspiration for my first idea for Mary O. & Yamamura's neutral special became an Assist Trophy instead, and since I thought their moveset as a whole needs to be slightly more Super-Mario-Maker-as-a-level-editor-based and slightly less all-the-easter-eggs-and-Mario-Paint-references-in-Super-Mario-Maker-based.
A hand cursor that resembles Mary O.'s own hand (the same cursor that was already involved in several of their moves) shows up in front of Mary O. to place a Brick Block nearby (which acts pretty much exactly like the ones that appear on the Super Mario Maker stage, and always has the New Super Mario Bros. U design regardless of what stage they're on); the player can move the cursor freely for about half a second (or until Mary O. or Yamamura gets hit, whichever comes first) to choose a place for it. Mary O. & Yamamura can place a bunch of these bricks to use as a shield or to reach higher ground, for instance. (And since this is their new neutral special, that means it's also Kirby's new Mary O. copy ability. His version is pretty much the same except the cursor that shows up looks like his arm instead of Mary O.'s, and if he loses the copy ability, any blocks he placed will disappear.)
With this move, the bricks have to be placed one by one and there is no way for this move to also damage opponents, but I've also added a second way to place them that is less precise and could potentially sometimes get in the way but also be potentially quicker:
Remember how I decided Mary O. would pull out a giant Wii U stylus and swing it like a sword for various attacks? I decided that these attacks can also place blocks - in some cases multiple ones at a time - but that only happens when the stylus doesn't hit anyone or anything.
One out of every 30 blocks Mary O. places (get it? Because Super Mario Maker was a celebration of the 30th anniversary of Super Mario Bros.?) - regardless of which moves are used to place them - will instead be a ? Block with a random item (usually from Mario) inside. Also, the blocks disappear after a while; this happens faster if a lot of them are placed at once.
Changes to standard attacks
Standard attack combo: The same as before except the stylus swing places one block in front of Mary O.
Dash attack: Same as before except as Mary O. and Yamamura ride on the rocket, Mary O. also holds the stylus overhead and places a line of blocks above.
Strong up attack: Mary O. swings the stylus (not a key this time) overhead, placing a couple of blocks above.
Strong forward attack: Exactly the same as before since the stylus is not involved.
Strong down attack: Same as before.
Up smash: Same as before.
Forward smash: Changed completely to a powerful stylus swing that places several blocks in front of Mary O.
Down smash: Same as before. Since a Thwomp by itself is one of the new Assist Trophies, the one in this move is less powerful and is not dropped from as high up compared to that Thwomp.
Neutral aerial: Same as before except blocks get placed on either side of Mary O.
All other aerials: Same as before.
Ladder attack: "Ladder attacks" are apparently a new thing in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, but I'm not sure if they're a completely new attack or it just means characters can perform their existing aerial attacks while climbing a ladder. If the former, Mary O.'s ladder attack should probably be another stylus-based attack.
All grab-related moves: Despite involving a ? Block, these moves are all unchanged; i.e. the block is still always a ? Block, it does not stay around like the blocks placed by other moves do, and does not count towards the "every 30th Brick Block is a ? Block instead" thing. (Piranha Plant being a playable character also does not require me to change these moves because the vines from Mario are not Piranha Plants; they just resemble them. That, and apparently a playable character being a part of another playable character's moveset is legal now anyway... And you know how for the back throw, I was like "if Mario doesn't use the cape anymore or Super Leaves aren't in the game, Mary O.'s back throw could be this instead?" You can ignore that now because Mario still has the cape and Super Leaves are still in.)
Edge attacks, get-up attacks, etc. - I didn't really define these previously except that one of the get-up attacks would be a sit-up as a reference to Mario Paint; I figured all the rest would be generic punches/kicks/pecks/stylus swings not really worth mentioning. Now that I came up with the whole "placing blocks strategically with the giant stylus" thing, how about we make all the miscellaneous attacks I didn't define before be stylus swings?
↔B: Item Shake
Unchanged - in fact, now this is the only move Mary O. and Yamamura have that involves the stylus but doesn't place blocks. You can ignore the bit about what happens if this move turns some other projectile into the gnat from Gnat Attack, because that won't happen since Gnat Attack is no longer in their moveset.
↑B: Wings/Trampoline Pigeon Jump
Adding the ability to place blocks all over the place probably means Mary O. and Yamamura now have way too many recovery options, so I decided to balance that out by nerfing their up special; the wings that can be placed on Mary O. now only give her a total of four jumps, and the trampoline part of the move is removed entirely. Yamamura's ability to carry Mary O. for a bit like Duck Hunt's Duck Jump is unchanged aside from finally being added to the name of the move.
↓B: Undodog
Now that Mary O. & Yamamura's moveset as a whole actually has more to do with the level editing aspect of Super Mario Maker, Undodog's function would similarly be closer to his role in Super Mario Maker itself - he would appear briefly and bark, and the last block or set of blocks Mary O. placed would disappear. He can't make blocks that have been broken automatically reappear, however.
But I still like my previous Undodog counterattack idea enough that I decided to keep that in, unchanged except that he would stay on screen for a significantly shorter time than any other counter move (this unfortunately means he wouldn't get to sneeze occasionally as a Mario Paint reference) and the counterattack would be activated if Mary O., Yamamura, or Undodog is hit, not just Undodog.
Final Smash: Editor Frenzy
It turns out that in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, there are no controllable Final Smashes and most of them are sped up so players can return to fighting sooner, so a lot of returning characters' Final Smashes had to be changed up completely.
Since my old idea for Mary O. & Yamamura's Final Smash was a controllable one, I had to similarly update it to match - instead of the player getting to control the cursor and place enemies wherever they want on the screen, the cursor would instead place a bunch of them randomly and a lot more quickly. Also, the enemies would only be Thwomps and Bob-ombs.
Or, maybe Mary O. & Yamamura's new Final Smash could be a trapping move where Mary O. draws a square of ground blocks in front of her, and if anyone ends up inside it, Mary O. places a bunch of Bob-ombs inside to destroy the wall of blocks and blast the opponent away. Or maybe it could be either or depending on how close the opponents are? There's no rule that says Street Fighter characters are the only ones allowed to have two Final Smashes!
Changes to unique attributes
Remember how I was like "if Mary O. wins against Yoshi, she'd say something about wishing she hadn't had to hurt something so cute, but unfortunately the reference would be lost because she'd say it in Japanese?" Maybe she'd say it in English after all since Marth finally speaks English this time around!
New stage entrance
One of the trucks from the Coursebot screen drives by and Mary O. and Yamamura exit from it. (In my first idea, the truck was one of their attacks, but I decided against it since that seemed like a weird idea - but I felt the trucks needed to be referenced somehow. Q.E.D.)
Palutena's Guidance
I'm honestly not sure why I didn't make up a Palutena's Guidance conversation about Mary O. & Yamamura in the first entry about their hypothetical moveset... Well, I made one now! Would you look at that!
I even made two slightly different versions to account for Mary O. being known as Mashiko outside North America, like how there's two slightly different ones for Duck Hunt/Duck Hunt Duo! (That, and there's some lines I ended up rephrasing over and over since I kept being unsure if they're funny enough. This way my chances of this being as funny as the ones in the actual game are doubled!)
North American version:
PIT: Who's that?
PALUTENA: That's Mary O.
PIT: WHAT?!? Man, talk about a redesign! What happened to his cap and overalls?!
PALUTENA: No, no - I said Mary O.
PIT: ...Right! Of course! I knew that!
PALUTENA: Mary O. is the guide to the electronic manual in Super Mario Maker. The pigeon behind her is Yamamura.
VIRIDI: Aww... Pigeons are so cute!
PIT: I'd say Mary O. is way cuter... Aw man, did I just say that out loud?!
YAMAMURA: Coo. Coo... (Sorry pal, I don't think she's interested in guys with feathers. Please DO NOT ask how I know this...)
PALUTENA: ...Anyway, Mary O. may know a lot about Super Mario Maker, but her own courses were once... um, lacking. But now, thanks to Yamamura's lessons, she's a pro!
PIT: Um... how exactly did a bird teach her to make good levels?
YAMAMURA: COO! Coo! (Quit it with the dumb questions! I hear enough of those from Mary O.!)
VIRIDI: I hear millions of courses have been uploaded... So that means MILLIONS of people have set up all sorts of dangers for Mario! Just one more reason why humans are the worst... Ugh!
PIT: Here we go with the overanalyzing...
PALUTENA: Watch out for Mary O.'s Item Shake. It can change items and projectiles into different ones. If she catches one of your arrows, there's no telling what she'll toss back at you.
PIT: ...If she turns anything into an eggplant, I'm outta here!!
European version:
PIT: Who's this lady?
PALUTENA: That's Mashiko.
PIT: THE Mashiko?!... Uh... Am I supposed to know who Mashiko is?
PALUTENA: She's the guide to the electronic manual in Super Mario Maker.
PIT: Well, no wonder I've never seen her around. Who reads game manuals nowadays?
PALUTENA: Myself, for one... Okay, you got me - I had to look her up too.
VIRIDI: Aww, look at that cute little pigeon on her back!
PIT: Mashiko is definitely cuter. Wait - Did I just say that out loud?!
YAMAMURA: Coo. Coo... (Sorry pal, I don't think she's interested in guys with feathers. Please DO NOT ask how I know this...)
PALUTENA: ...Anyway, although Mashiko knows many things about Super Mario Maker, her own courses used to be... ahem... not the best. But now, thanks to Yamamura's lessons, she's a pro!
PIT: Um... how exactly did a bird teach her to make good levels?
YAMAMURA: COO! Coo! (Enough with the dumb questions! I hear too many of those from Mashiko already!)
VIRIDI: I hear millions of courses have been uploaded... So that means MILLIONS of people have set up all sorts of dangers for Mario! Just one more reason why humans are the worst... Ugh!
PIT: Here we go with the overanalyzing...
PALUTENA: Mashiko's Item Shake can change items and projectiles into different ones. Be careful she doesn't grab one of your arrows, because there's no telling what she'll toss back at you.
PIT: ...If she turns anything into an eggplant, I'm outta here!!
*is ecstatic that I finally found an outlet for the "Mary O. is WAY cuter" joke I've been wanting to make ever since I read this SMM Crash Course episode for the first time*
I would've come up with a codec conversation about Mary O. & Yamamura as well, but unfortunately I haven't played a Metal Gear game and don't know the lore enough to have any idea of what Snake and his team would say about Mary O. and Yamamura. Are there any Metal Gear fans in my friends list who want to take a stab at it? :)