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Filed under: Featured, History, Speculation, Super Smash Bros. Series, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

Dream Smasher: Fawful

Thanks to Tris for helping with edits.

As the most iconic franchise in all of gaming, Super Mario has naturally received its fair share of attention in the world of Smash. From its diverse cast of fighters to its extensive lineup of stages and items, Super Mario is undoubtedly Smash’s most well-represented series. Mario’s unique in that, on top of Smash representing its main series installments, it also represents plenty of its spin-offs, including series like Mario Kart and Paper Mario with stages and Dr. Mario with the titular character as a fighter. With all the unique content Super Mario has offered in Smash over the years, fans naturally request the inclusion of even more. Some of these most popular requests are Waluigi, Geno, and Paper Mario, all three of which hail from Mario spin-offs. Today, we will cover one such spin-off character who isn’t discussed nearly as much in the context of Smash as I think he should be despite his home series’ significance and popularity: the fan favorite villain from the Mario & Luigi series, Fawful.

Who Is Fawful?

(Courtesy of Voyager)

Debuting in 2003’s Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, Fawful serves as the game’s secondary antagonist and assistant to the evil witch Cackletta. Throughout the game, Fawful helps the villain in her attempt to conquer both the Mushroom and Beanbean Kingdoms, the latter of which being the pair’s homeland. Fawful proves himself to be a powerful enemy throughout the game, constantly getting in the Mario Brothers’ way and being an invaluable part of Cackletta’s army. Near the end of the game, Fawful confronts the Bros. as the penultimate boss after realizing that he could be much more than a mere lackey, only to be defeated and launched out of Bowser’s Castle. Fawful later appeared in 2006’s Mario & Luigi: Partners In Time, but only as a shopkeeper. In this installment, Fawful can be found in the sewers of Peach’s Castle and, upon meeting Baby Mario and Baby Luigi (whom he does not recognize as the younger versions of his enemies), talks about how he was defeated by the Bros. and plans to return in the future. In 2009’s Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story, Fawful lives up to that goal, appearing as the game’s main antagonist. After putting the Mushroom Kingdom into a state of unrest by spreading the blorb disease, Fawful invades Bowser’s Castle and seizes control of the Koopa king’s army. Planning to obtain the Dark Star and make its immense power his own, Fawful steals the artifact from its chamber underneath Toad Town and takes Peach’s Castle for himself. However, Bowser, intent on stopping Fawful, invades the castle and disrupts Fawful’s plan, but fails to stop the Dark Star from awakening. Fawful manages to absorb half of the Dark Star’s power before Bowser’s interruption, though, transforming him into Dark Fawful. When Fawful later reunites with the Dark Star (which takes on Bowser’s appearance and strength after having entered his body), the two beings merge and become an even greater threat, leading to a final battle between the Dark Star (with Fawful in its body) and Bowser (with the Mario Bros. in his body). Following Fawful’s defeat by the Bros., Bowser destroys the Dark Star for good, leaving Fawful on death’s door. In a final attempt at revenge, Fawful blows himself up in order to take the Bros. out with him, but fails, ending Fawful’s conquest…for now.

Importance to Nintendo/Series

Having appeared in three out of five Mario & Luigi games, Fawful is naturally one of the series’ most important characters and a fan favorite antagonist. Known for his mechanical genius, eccentric personality, and constant use of food metaphors, the Beanish villain left a big impression on players as they saw his story unfold throughout the first three installments. That being said, Fawful hasn’t really had a presence at all outside of the first three Mario & Luigi games, making him a relatively niche character overall.

Even though Fawful’s not as well known as other Mario characters, his home series is the most relevant and long-running of the Mario RPGs. Having received a fifth installment back in late 2015 and 3DS remakes of Superstar Saga and Bowser’s Inside Story back in late 2017 and early 2019 respectively, Mario & Luigi has been extremely active over the past few years. Given the series’ relevance, if Smash were to ever include a Mario RPG character, one from Mario & Luigi would be a sensible option. While Fawful didn’t appear in Mario & Luigi’s two most recent installments, since the two games that prominently feature him have since been remade, Fawful is more relevant than ever and has a decent shot at becoming a Smash fighter. In fact, Smash has already referenced him numerous times, both through his name as a random nickname option in Brawl and 3DS / Wii U and as a Spirit in Ultimate.

Colors & Design

Throughout the three games Fawful appears in, the maniacal mechanist takes on many designs, such as his tattered cloak in Superstar Saga and his white jumpsuit in Partners In Time. However, Smash would most likely use Fawful’s design from Bowser’s Inside Story, the game where Fawful has his biggest role. In this game, he wears a red and grey cloak that covers his black suit, black gloves, and grey sandals. Fawful’s palette swaps would both reference other outfits he’s worn and villains across the Mario & Luigi series. His second color would reference his pink jumpsuit from Superstar Saga, his third one would reference his white jumpsuit from Partners In Time, his fourth one would reference his Goodwill Ambassador disguise from Superstar Saga, his fifth one would reference Cackletta, his sixth one would reference Partners In Time’s Shroobs, his seventh one would reference Dream Team’s Antasma, and his eighth one would be an alternate costume that gave him the appearance of Dark Fawful, the form he takes upon absorbing half of the Dark Star’s power.

(Courtesy of @Codename_Y__)

How Would He Play?

Now, let’s have a look at some stats:

  • Can they crawl? No
  • Can they wall jump? No
  • How many jumps do they have? 2
  • Are there any exclusive abilities they have*? No
  • Weight Class: D
  • Height Class: C+
  • Speed Class: B
  • Are they mirrored when they face left? No

*Like Peach’s float

Throughout the Mario & Luigi series, Fawful is shown to be very quick on his feet, but extremely weak physically. To make up for his lack of strength in Smash, he would wear his signature Vacuum Helmet at all times. This device would, in many ways, resemble Bowser Jr.’s Junior Clown Car. Like the Clown Car, the Vacuum Helmet would perform certain attacks for Fawful and have a separate hurtbox from his. If the helmet were to be attacked instead of him, he would take less damage than usual, but Fawful himself would take more damage than usual when attacked to counterbalance this. Like in Fawful’s boss battles, the Vacuum Helmet would do most of the heavy lifting while its wearer contributed using various weapons and other inventions. Fawful would be an effective zoner thanks to the various disjoints and projectiles at his disposal and have relatively high movement speed, but most of his attacks would be fairly telegraphed and easy to punish, just like those of the enemies in every Mario & Luigi game. By keeping their opponents at bay and overwhelming them with various attacks from all angles, Fawful players would be able to deal plenty of damage in a very short amount of time. However, if their opponents dodged all of their projectiles, approached carefully, and aimed for the Beanish villain instead of his helmet, Fawful would be the one getting knocked out instead.

Boxing Ring Title: “The Mustard of Your Doom”

Series Icon Stock Icon

(Courtesy of Voyager)

Kirby Hat

(Courtesy of @Codename_Y__)

Move Type Description
On-Screen Appearance:

Fawful would drop onto the stage and begin waving his arms around as a spotlight fell on him.

Stance:

Fawful would bounce in place while keeping his arms and legs inside his coat.

Idle Animation #1:

Fawful would put his hands on his hips and move his torso from right to left.

Idle Animation #2:

The Vacuum Helmet would turn into its radar form and quickly survey the area before turning back to normal.

Walk:

Fawful would walk forward at a fast pace as he kept his arms and legs inside his cloak.

Dash:

Fawful would use the Vacuum Helmet to hover over the ground and charge forward.

Jump: Fawful would jump into the air with his arms and legs extended for his first jump, while his second one would have the Vacuum Helmet lift him higher into the air.
Damage Animation:

Fawful would hold his hands out and give a pained expression.

Crouch:

Fawful would simply put his head closer to the ground as the Vacuum Helmet did the same with its nozzle.

Shield:

The Vacuum Helmet would encase Fawful in a ball using its nozzle, protecting him from attacks. The ball would act as Fawful’s shield and get darker and darker as it depleted.

Neutral Attack: Jawbreaker

The Vacuum Helmet’s nozzle would display fangs and begin viciously biting in front of Fawful as he laughed to himself. This attack would be a rapid jab with above average range.

Forward Tilt: Meatball Bonk

The Vacuum Helmet’s nozzle would turn into a ball and shoot itself forward. While this attack would do very little damage, it would launch opponents relatively far even at lower damage percentages.

Down Tilt: Gundrop

Fawful would pull out his laser pistol and shoot a beam of energy at the ground in front of him that would briefly stun opponents, like Zero Suit Samus’ down smash, but faster and weaker.

Up Tilt: Snack Basket The Vacuum Helmet would bite directly above itself a few times using its nozzle’s fangs.
Dash Attack: Sweet Roll

Fawful, while still hovering above the ground, would roll into a ball that would damage opponents before landing on the ground. While this attack wouldn’t do much damage, it would carry Fawful further than most dash attacks.

Forward Smash: Gobble Gobble

The Vacuum Helmet’s nozzle would lunge forward with a powerful bite using its fangs. While the attack was charging up, the Vacuum Helmet would attempt to bring nearby opponents closer to Fawful by vacuuming them towards him.

Up Smash: Fiery Fondue

The Vacuum Helmet’s rockets would come out and face the ground before shooting a stream of fire directly upward. Opponents above Fawful would be stuck in the attack before being launched out of it with a final blast of fire from both rockets.

Down Smash: Gumball Barrier

Fawful would lift his hand into the air, causing four pink energy orbs to briefly appear and revolve around him. While the orbs wouldn’t do much damage and Fawful wouldn’t be able to move until they disappeared, they would protect him from most attacks. As an extra visual detail, the orbs would be dark purple instead of pink if used with the Dark Fawful costume.

Neutral Aerial: Tornado Potato

Fawful would simply spin around a few times, slightly damaging anyone he came into contact with.

Down Aerial: Turkey Flap

Fawful would rapidly flail his arms and legs up and down, keeping him suspended in midair for a short time and hitting foes below him multiple times.

Forward Aerial: Gumball Blast

The Vacuum Helmet’s nozzle would fire a pink energy orb forward that would launch opponents upon contact. Like with the down smash, the energy orb would be dark purple instead of pink if used with the Dark Fawful costume.

Back Aerial: Baked Burst The Vacuum Helmet’s rockets would come out and blast Fawful forward a short distance while launching opponents behind him, like R.O.B.’s back air.
Up Aerial: Triple Decker The Vacuum Helmet’s nozzle would simply bite upward three times with its fangs as Fawful laughed to himself.
Grab: Tasty Tether

Fawful’s grab would be a tether and involve the Vacuum Helmet’s nozzle lunging forward to grab either opponents or the ledge with its fangs.

Pummel: Nibble The Vacuum Helmet’s nozzle would bite down on the opponent in its grasp.
Forward Throw: Lemon Laser Fawful would pull out his laser pistol and shoot the opponent with a burst of energy, launching them forward.
Up Throw: Main Course The Vacuum Helmet’s nozzle would throw the opponent upward before rapidly gnawing at them with its fangs.
Down Throw: Dinner and a Show

The Vacuum Helmet’s nozzle would slam the opponent onto the ground as Fawful jumped on top of them and began skipping in place, hitting the opponent multiple times before launching them.

Back Throw: Gumball Spit The Vacuum Helmet’s nozzle would toss the opponent backward before firing a pink (or dark purple if the Dark Fawful costume was being used) energy orb at them.
Neutral Special: Laser Pistol Surprise

Fawful would pull out his laser pistol and begin charging it up. The attack would have three variations, each based on when the player pressed the special button during the charge up and telegraphed by the color of the pistol’s tip. The first variation (telegraphed by the pistol glowing yellow) would be three laser beams fired in succession. Like Fox’s Blaster, the beams wouldn’t make opponents flinch, but they would come out very fast. The second variation (telegraphed by the pistol glowing cyan) would be a slow, but far reaching beam of ice. The ice beam would be the strongest zoning tool of the three, freezing grounded opponents upon contact and launching airborne ones. Finally, the third variation (telegraphed by the pistol glowing purple) would be a barrage of energy stars that would loop upward before moving a short distance forward. While this beam would do the most damage and be the hardest one to dodge at a short distance, it would also be the slowest one to come out.

Side Special: Portal Purée

Fawful would create a portal in front of himself and shoot a pink (or dark purple if the Dark Fawful costume is being used) energy orb into it. Another portal would then appear a certain distance in front of Fawful and shoot the energy orb back out. The orb would either be shot toward Fawful if the special button was tapped or away from him if the button was held.

Up Special: Bean Launcher

A miniature hovercraft would appear below Fawful before launching into the air with him in tow. At the height of its ascent, the hovercraft would explode and put Fawful into free fall. However, Fawful would be able to jump off of the hovercraft at any time before the explosion, preventing himself from going into free fall, but making the explosion much weaker.

Down Special: Fawfulized Fleet Supreme

Fawful would deploy one of three enemies seen in Bowser’s Inside Story that would act independently and help him attack. The first enemy would be a Fawflant that would slowly walk backwards with its drill pointing forward. It would explode after a few seconds, but it could be destroyed prematurely by jumping on top of it. The second enemy would be a Snawful that would throw freezing snowballs forward. While it would only throw three snowballs before melting, it could be attacked and destroyed as well. Finally, the third enemy would be a Fawfulcopter that would float directly above where it was deployed and attempt to shoot nearby enemies with a laser beam. It would disappear after a few seconds, but it could also be destroyed with a few attacks. Like Duck Hunt’s Wild Gunman, which enemy Fawful deployed each time the attack was used would depend on a certain order: Fawflant first, Snawful second, and Fawfulcopter third.

Final Smash: Super Peach’s Castle of Fury

The Vacuum Helmet would begin emitting a beacon before lifting Fawful out of sight. Peach’s Fawfulized castle would then appear in the background and begin charging up a beam of energy. The player would then be given control of a reticle, allowing them to aim where the castle would fire its laser. Any opponents with a damage percentage of 60% or higher who were hit by this attack would be one-hit Screen KO’d, while those with less than 60% would simply be launched, like with Bowser’s Giga Bowser Punch.

Up Taunt:

Fawful would laugh hysterically as a speech bubble reading “I HAVE CHORTLES!” appeared above his head.

Side Taunt:

Fawful would strike various poses before falling to the ground in exhaustion.

Down Taunt:

Fawful would spin in place before waving a hand at the screen.

Victory Animation #1:

Rockets would come out of the Vacuum Helmet and begin hovering Fawful into the air as he crossed his arms and grinned at the camera.

Victory Animation #2:

Fawful would be seen celebrating atop his hovercraft as the Dark Star floated above him and gave off a dark aura.

Victory Animation #3:

A spotlight would fall on Fawful as he put his hands to his ears, making an unseen crowd cheer for him. Fawful would then excitedly skip in place.

Victory Fanfare: Fawful’s victory fanfare would be the intro to Tough Guy Alert!, the boss battle theme from Bowser’s Inside Story:

(Courtesy of @MayMarig0ld)

Outro

While Fawful’s far from the most iconic Mario character, his eccentric personality and role in some of the franchise’s most beloved spin-offs has made him a fan favorite character who many wish to see in more games. However, despite his popularity with those who’ve played the games he hails from, Fawful is rarely brought up as a potential Smash candidate. But given his resurgence thanks to Superstar Saga and Bowser’s Inside Story’s remakes, as well as his vast moveset potential, I think Fawful would make for one of the most exciting first party inclusions in a long time and should be considered more often when discussing potential Mario fighters. That being said, given AlphaDream’s recent declaration of bankruptcy, the fate of Mario & Luigi, as well as its characters, are currently unknown. Whatever happens to the series going forward, let’s hope we’ll get to see it and its outstanding developers make a comeback in the near future.

3 comments
  1. I HAVE ENJOYMENT READING THIS

    BANJO MAIN (@Codename_Y__) on September 5 |
    • I HAVE GRATITUDE

      Hamada on September 5 |
  2. Here’s my idea for Byelth from Fire Emblem: Three Houses:

    Who?
    Byleth Eisner is the central protagonist of Fire Emblem: Three Houses and the Avatar archetype. Prior to the events of the game, they are born without any kind of heartbeat, at the cost of his mother’s life. His father, Jeralt (a former captain of the Knights of Seiros), runs away with the beat-less baby by faking their death in a fire. He then trains them over the course of roughly 21 years to become a mercenary, earning them the title “Ashen Demon”. One day, Byleth has a dream about a sleepy girl with green hair. Before they can get clearer with her, they wake up and describe the vague dream to Jeralt.

    Before long, however, they’re both interrupted when bandits come and attack the village they’re at, giving pursuit to three youths named Edelgard, Dimitri, and Claude. After clearing out the bandits, Byleth and co. head to Garreg Mach Monastery, a place Jeralt hasn’t been for over two decades. The archbishop, Rhea, thanks Byleth by offering them the title of Professor at the Officer’s Academy, which is short a professor. From there, Byleth can choose to teach a house of students between the Adrestian Empire’s Black Eagles, the Holy Kingdom of Faerghus’s Blue Lions, and the Leicester Alliance’s Golden Deer.

    Importance to Nintendo: Despite being fairly recent, Three Houses is one of the most successful games in the series; so successful, in fact, there was even a limited-time tournament in Tetris 99 with a Three Houses theme. As well, characters from Three Houses eventually appeared in the mobile game Fire Emblem Heroes. And despite this success, there’s currently no Three Houses content in Smash Ultimate this far. This isn’t a sure sign, but it’s still rather suspicious.

    Intro: Byleth emerges from a Warp circle and hoists the Sword of the Creator on their shoulders.

    Stance/Idle 1: Their idle animation from Three Houses.

    Idle 2: Their victory animation from Three Houses, but slightly longer.

    Idle 3: Their animation from Three Houses when he is selected for combat.

    Crawl: No
    Wall Jump: No
    Jumps: 2
    Exclusive Abilities: Yes
    Weight Class: B
    Height Class: B+
    Speed Class: B
    Mirrored: No

    Notable Palette Swaps:
    1: Default Male
    2: Default Female
    3: Dimitri (Male)
    4: Edelgard (Female
    5: Claude (Male)
    6: Enlightened One Outfit (Female)
    7: Enlightened One Outfit (Male)
    8: Jeralt (Female)

    Walk: His free-roam jogging animation from Three Houses.

    Dash: His free-roam sprinting animation from Three Houses.

    Damage: His animation for taking damage from Three Houses.

    Jump: Byleth jumps as normal.

    Double Jump: Byleth spins around facing diagonally right.

    Crouch: Byleth crouches while holding the Sword of the Creator upright with its tip in the ground.

    Weapon of Choice: The Sword of the Creator, a mythical sword of Fódlan legends (although Byleth also comes equipped with an Iron Gauntlet for melee attacks).

    Basic Attacks:
    Jab: Byleth swings the Sword once, then attacks with his Iron Gauntlet in hand, and then turns around to swing his arm with it (5% each hit, and 9% third hit, small knockback)
    Forward+A: Byleth slams the Sword down on the ground (11%, small knockback)
    Down+A: Byleth kicks the ground with their right foot (7%, small knockback)
    Up+A: Byleth summons a small ball of fire above them (8%, small knockback)
    Dash+A: Byleth punches with the Iron Gauntlet, and then attacks again with the Sword when A is pressed again (4% first hit, 12% next hit, OK knockback)

    Air+A: Byleth swings their Sword in a 360o angle (12%, OK knockback)
    Air Forward+A: Byleth pushes their right hand out and casts Thunder (11%, OK knockback)
    Air Back + A: Byleth swings their Sword in an arc behind themselves (14%, OK knockback)
    Air Up+A: Byleth points their Sword above them (11%, OK knockback)
    Air Down+A: Byleth kicks with their right foot down below them, which has a meteor effect (14%, far knockback)

    Dash Attack: Byleth charges with their Sword and rams opponents with the bottom of the handle (11%, OK knockback)

    Smash Moves
    Forward+A: Byleth pulses out an Aura with their right palm (22%, medium knockback)
    Up+A: Byleth spins their Sword around above them (20%, medium knockback)
    Down+A: Byleth swings their Sword in a 360o spin below them (19%, medium knockback)

    Grabs
    Grab: Byleth grans the opponent with Nosferatu.
    Pummel: Byleth slowly raises the opponent’s damage and heals his own, little by little (7%)
    Forwards+Throw: Byleth casts a weaker version of Thoron (18%, medium knockback)
    Down+Throw: Byleth jumps up and strikes down to the opponent’s chest with their elbow (11%, OK knockback)
    Back+Throw: Byleth quickly warps behind the opponent and punches them back with their Iron gauntlet (14%, OK knockback)
    Up+Throw: Byleth casts a weaker version of Bolganone (19%, medium knockback)

    Special Moves

    B : Divine Pulse; Byleth glows a purple aura. When hit, time rewinds by 2 seconds so you can counter attack or move away. However, this uses up ⅓ of the Sword of the Creator’s energy.
    B + Forwards : Wrath Strike; Byleth prepares a powerful blow with his radiating sword for a second, and slams down with a devastating attack that uses up half of the Creator Sword’s energy (27%, far knockback)
    B + Up : Ruptured Heaven; Byleth swings the Creator Sword around them four times, with the last swing pushing them diagonally opposite to where the tip faces. Once again, this uses up ⅓ of the Creator Sword’s energy (13% first three hits, 21% last hit, medium knockback)
    B + Down : Gambit Battalion; Starting off with around 40 Battalion Endurance, Byleth may choose between one of three battalion formations: Disturbance, Fusillade, and Group Magic.

    Disturbance (4 EP): A group of soldiers charges forward and rams into the opponent, briefly stunning them afterwards (19%, medium knockback)

    Fusillade (7 EP): A rain of arrows diagonally downwards in whatever direction Byleth is facing. It has a moderate chance of a meteor effect (16%, medium knockback)

    Group Magic (8 EP): Byleth commands their mages to perform a cycled magic attack. In this order, the spells are:

    >Group Fire: A fiery tornado (22%, medium knockback)

    >Group Fimbulvetr: A row of icy stalagmites that freezes opponents (21%, medium knockback)

    >Group Thunder: A row of five thunderbolts that has a slight chance of a meteor effect (23%, medium knockback)

    >Group Aura: A pillar of light that last for 3 seconds (32%, far knockback)

    Final Smash: Ruptured Heaven. “Here is something to believe in!” Byleth borrows power from an image of a certain progenitor goddess, and swings their Sword five times with each swing being devastatingly powerful (55%, far knockback)

    Gimmicks
    >The Crest of Flames: Heals 30% of damage taken on occasion, which is indicated when it glows on-screen. It also restores the Creator Sword’s energy by about ¼.

    >The Sword of the Creator’s energy bar, which is thin yet visible and stretches across the length of the Battalion Endurance gauge. Your specials use up energy, along with consecutive normal attacks that drain energy bit by bit. When it runs out, you’ll have to switch to an Iron Sword. Attacks that use the Sword of the Creator are weakened by ¼, Divine Pulse is completely disabled until your energy recharges, and the distance from the final swing with Ruptured Heaven is slightly reduced.

    Taunts:

    1: “What’s my strategy?” Byleth puts their right hand on their chin in a thinking pose.
    2: “Stay focused.” Byleth raises their sword out to the opponent.
    1+2: “Let the lesson begin!” Byleth points their sword to their right diagonally upwards.

    Winposes:

    1: “You didn’t give it your all.” Byleth rests their Sword on the ground and kneels with their left knee sticking up.
    2: “Each battle, a chance to grow.” Their victory animation from Three Houses.
    3: “Another step forward.” Byleth let’s go of a few flower petals as they look to the horizon.

    Icon: The Crest of Flames

    Victory Music: 2:06 of Blue Skies and a Battle

    Kirby Hat: Byleth’s hair, which is different between Malr and Female.

    Perkilator on October 1 |