As a director, Sakurai is always striving to give fans as much content as possible in his video games. The Super Smash Bros. series is no exception to this and one of the ways that Sakurai has been able to pursue this is via his implementation of clone characters. Clone characters are additional fighters who share all the same moves with another character but with changes to how those moves affect the match. This can be something minor like changing the amount of damage a character does (Pit to Dark Pit) to something a bit more interesting such as a variation in the character’s size (Link to Young Link). They’ve been in every game so far and so I think it is safe to assume that whenever the next major Smash game comes out it will also have a few clones sprinkled in on the end for the fans.
While we always want to strive for characters that are unique, there are just some characters that make a lot of sense as a clone, or at the very least a semi-clone (a character that shares the same basic moves but it is not 1:1). So for this edition of Dream Smasher, I thought I would talk about three characters that make sense as a clone, how they would be different and what their chances are of happening.
Before we start, in order to refresh your memory, here is a list of every clone added into Smash and what game they were added in:
Blood Falcon -Based on Captain Falcon
Credit to TheRealHeroOfWinds for the Splash Screen!
Anyone who saw our F-Zero Character Corner might’ve seen this one coming and honestly, he was the inspiration for this article. Captain Falcon’s evil clone was created by F-Zero’s main villain, Black Shadow, and debuted in F-Zero X. Now, some might argue that Blood Falcon is way too similar to Captain Falcon to deserve his own spot and I can see that argument but we live in a world with Dark Pit, a clone who looks identical to Pit but in a different colour. I see Blood Falcon as the same, especially as Captain Falcon already has a Blood Falcon-based colour-scheme. I can’t imagine it would require any major effort to slightly change the alt and give it its own name and character. In fact, I feel the only reason it hasn’t been done yet is because F-Zero is a fairly minor series and so the concept just has not crossed their mind. As for how Blood Falcon would be different from Captain Falcon we just have to look at the Blood Hawk, Blood Falcon’s machine. It is a lot faster than the Blue Falcon but has less grip and the same body. This would make Blood Falcon the same in strength and defence but a lot faster. However, he is not as skilled, can’t jump as high and a lot of specials send him long distances with little control.
Original Spirte by TheAnvil. Recolors by NantenJex
| Standard Special: Blood Punch | This move is similar to Captain Falcon’s Falcon Dash Punch. Blood Falcon dives forward while performing the Blood Punch. What makes it different is that all the power comes out at the end of the dive and very little damage is done if hit before then. | |
| Side Special: Hawk Booster | Blood Falcon’s copy of the Raptor Boost sends him a lot further than Captain Falcon’s move did but rather than sending opponents directly up or down, they get hit at a 45-degree angle. He also brings back the old Raptor Boost issue of accidentally throwing himself off the stage if done on the edge. | |
| Up Special: Hawk Dive | Similar to the standard special this move has more connection to one of Captain Falcon’s customs. Rather than grabbing opponents, Blood Falcon simply uppercuts them. He’s not trying to capture them, just destroy them. | |
| Down Special: Blood Kick | This move is the closest to Captain Falcon’s move. Blood Falcon’s kick goes up at an angle on the ground and then straight down when in the air. It also goes farther than Captain Falcon’s. But be careful because it is easy to send yourself flying off the stage. | |
| Final Smash: Blood Hawk | This move is nearly identical to Captain Falcon’s Final Smash. It just sends opponents in a slightly different angle at the end. | |
Kiddy Kong -Based on Donkey Kong
Credit to TheRealHeroOfWinds for the Splash Screen!
Kiddy Kong is not the most popular or memorable of the Kong family and arguably Funky Kong makes more sense as a clone but I have my reasons for this. Outside of Kiddy Kong being a part of Dixie Kong’s moveset, it doesn’t make much sense to have him unless, of course, you want to have all four of the original Donkey Kong Country heroes playable. Now, I don’t think Kiddy Kong should get in before Dixie does but alongside her as a DK clone is perfectly ok with me. What’s more, he wouldn’t need to be a clone in the same way Blood Falcon would be. Blood Falcon is the same size and strength as his base but Kiddy Kong, as a baby, could be smaller. A bit like Young Link was to Link. With that in mind he follows those same ideas. Kiddy Kong is faster and smaller than Donkey Kong but not as strong and with less range.
Original Spirte by TheAnvil. Recolors by NantenJex
| Standard Special: Kiddy Punch | Kiddy Kong’s move works the same as Donkey Kong’s but is not as strong. However, its charge up is shorter. | |
| Side Special: Headbutt | Nearly identical to Donkey Kong’s but does not bury opponents, it just trips them up while dealing damage. | |
| Up Special: Dizzy Kong | Being lighter, Kiddy actually rises more than Donkey Kong does and the move lasts longer. However, it has more ending lag and less vertical reach. | |
| Down Special: Tantrum | Kiddy Kong throws a tantrum, slamming his hands into the ground. Whereas Donkey Kong hits both of his hands in front of him, Kiddy hits on both sides which actually gives him more range, with less power. | |
| Final Smash: Rambi Rush | Rambi appears and Kiddy Kong rides him in a straight line, charging through opponents. This one is NOT a copy of DK’s Final Smash but, rather, takes from Ganondorf’s Beast Ganon attack. | |
Yarn Yoshi -Based on Yoshi.
Credit to TheRealHeroOfWinds for the Splash Screen!
I bet Yarn Yoshi was not on anyone’s radar as I am sure most people believe he should be an alt and nothing more. Here is why those people are wrong, and I would like to think Sakurai would agree with me. While obviously both identical, on a level similar to Pit and Dark Pit, Yarn Yoshi is made of Yarn and because of this he has a lot of different animations. When he runs his feet turn into little wheels and when he double jumps his feet turn into a propellor. Regular Yoshi doesn’t do this and if they wanted to accurately have a character based on yarn then he would need to have these little animation quirks. Also, his eggs are made of Yarn and so function slightly differently. Yarn Yoshi would be a lot lighter than regular Yoshi making him faster and giving him more height. However, he is made of Yarn and so he would be much weaker and take more knockback than he dishes out.
Original Spirte by TheAnvil. Recolors by NantenJex
| Standard Special: Tongue | This is the biggest change from Yoshi in the moveset. Rather than swallowing opponents and laying an egg, Yarn Yoshi puts them in his mouth and then spits them back out again. It does more damage than Yoshi’s Egg Lay without any of the trapping effects. This is because Yoshi makes his Yarn Balls by unravelling opponents and he can’t do that with the Smash cast. | |
| Side Special: Yarn Roll | Yarn Yoshi rolls himself up into a ball and blasts around the stage. It is a lot faster than the standard Egg Roll and is more circular. | |
| Up Special: Yarn Toss | Yarn Yoshi jumps into the air and throws a yarn ball. The ball goes a lot further than normal Yoshi’s does, practically a straight line. | |
| Down Special: Hammer Drop | Yarn Yoshi transforms into a hammer and then drops on opponents. | |
| Final Smash: Mellow Dragon | Yarn Yoshi weaves a pair of wings, like the ones he gets in the game’s mellow mode, allowing him to fly. He can also spit fireballs. It’s the same as regular Yoshi’s but faster. | |
And those are just some examples of potential clones we might see in the future. I think Blood Falcon is definitely very possible whereas Yarn Yoshi isn’t but we will just have to wait and see. Let me know below what you thought of these ideas and tell me about any of the potential clones you would like to see in a futureSmash game. Or, alternatively, see if you can convince me these characters could be unique in some way. I am all ears. If you would like to keep reading up on clones and our opinions on them then why not check out what Source Gaming’s favourite clones are, or see what clones we would like to see in the future. If you care more about Sakurai’s opinion (it’s ok, I understand) then why not take a look at his thoughts on the latest batch of clones in Smash for.
Hope you enjoyed reading and have a nice day!
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While I was fully expecting to see Blood Falcon on here, Kiddy Kong and Yarn Yoshi certainly took me by surprise. I have to say though that I really like the concepts you made for them. I was kind of scratching my head for a moment, but quickly warmed up to them once I got through reading.
And if I’m honest, I do like the idea of Kiddy Kong more than Funky Kong as a DK clone unlikely as either of them may be. DK Jr. could also perhaps fill that role, though I know PushDustIn is more in favor of having him as a more unique retro rep, which I’d like to see as well.
Aside from these, I could see Pichu and Young Link, if they were to ever be brought back. Maybe a Toon or Young Zelda could work as well. I feel that Toon Zelda would be the best fit in this case, in order to match Toon Link That and I feel YZ could actually be unique if they based her off of her ALBW incarnation. Make her use a combination of staff strikes and magic. That’s even less likely though, and the same could argued for TZ as well. Both would require lots of creative liberties.
Dr. Luigi could be another possibility though I feel people probably wouldn’t be too happy about it. Dry Bowser could make for another Mario series clone as well, and would possibly be a bit more well received if he had enough differences. Same goes for Daisy as Peach clone/semi-clone.
The clones I’d like to see most though are the least likely, being of the third party variety. Ken, Ms. Pac-Man and Jeanne would all make good clone characters imo.
Clones are really depending whether they’re to be liked or hated, but I do get the point of how Sakurai look at these characters as they’re important to Nintendo and every gaming history. Although we can’t have “everybody” to have their clones, we can imagine how things would work out differently to their originals. Blood Falcon does make perfect sense, and maybe Yarn Yoshi, but Kiddy Kong was out from my mind since I’ve completely forgotten about him. Other than these three, I do have some ideas for other clones so far…
Although I may have already explained this before on the other article, I do think Impa should be Shiek’s clone due to similar nature. She can be stronger than Shiek, but bit slow and floaty as her defense can be weaker instead. Toon Zelda being Zelda’s clone can be a perfect choice of having different size like Link and Toon Link’s case, but bit physically weaker and slower than the original. I know this may be impossible due to its unpopularity and usage of the actual Greek Goddess, but Medusa should become Palutena’s clone as being a female Ganondorf, powerful but heavier instead. Peach can have Daisy as her clone as being physically faster and powerful, while Bowser can have Dry Bowser for being powerful and tougher but slower. Dark Samus can be Samus’s clone, which can be a disappointing part as being too similar with Pit and Dark Pit’s case, but stronger and faster instead, while being light weighted as can be easily blown away. Charizard can have Sceptile as his clone as being faster, tougher, and high-jumper, but rather weak in power. Villager can have Isabelle as its clone which makes her weaker in both power, defense, and speed, but recovery can be something she can work on I guess.
For third parties…I don’t know if its possible for them to have clones of their own, but if they do, Sonic should have Shadow’s for being powerful and tougher, but a little slower than Sonic. For Mega Man…some may choose Proto Man, but I rather choose Bass instead as he can be faster than Mega Man, but a bit weak due his settings in Mega Man 10 and MM&B. Pac-Man can have Ms. Pac-Man as she can be faster and high-jumper, but physically weak in power and defense. Ryu can have Ken as his clone like in the actual Street Fighter games, while Cloud can have Zacks as being powerful but weak in defense and speed. Jeanne should be perfect as Bayonetta’s clone, but since I haven’t played Bayonetta series before, I really don’t know much about her status, so I’ll leave that up to someone else’s ideas.
However, rather making them as clones, I was thinking of making a special costumes of them, like how Capcom released DLC costumes for every fighters in Street Fighter games and even Marvel VS Capcom 3. Link in his BotW clothings, Greninja in its Ashgreninja form…it could be fun to see it if possible. I’m thinking of making a “Dream Costume” article of it in the future…but before that, I have a question. Have anybody received my mail regarding to Yo-kai Watch’s Dream articles?
Shame, listing Wolf as a semi-clone. Are specials all anyone looks at?
Unfortunately that is the case for many. I still see people calling Wolf and Lucario clones of Fox and Mewtwo. That being said. while Wolf is definitely the least clone-like character, I think he’s still listed as a semi-clone since Fox was still used as a base and he does borrow numerous animations from other characters albeit modified in certain ways like being sped up, etc.
Well, the wiki actually doesn’t call him a semi-clone if that means anything. I think at some point it says that he is derived from Fox, but not a clone. I actually kinda like the term derived character.
If Wolf is listed as a clone then Captain Falcon, Ness and especially Jigglypuff from the original Smash 64 should be classed as Semi Clones too as all of them were made from templates of pre existing characters (Samus, Mario and Kirby ftr).
Ms. Pac-Man with her fruit, Funky Kong with DK’s DK64 neutral attacks and Kumatora as a semi-clone of Lucas (yes, a semi-clone of a semi-clone) would be my choices
Blood Falcon could be made into a very interesting character with very little effort if they reduced his speed and power but gave him a HP draining effect on all his special attacks (and key normal attacks like the knee of justice).