The team has been reviewing some of Sakurai’s Super Smash Bros. for Wii U / 3DS design documents, and we’ve discovered that Alph was once considered as a potential full-blown clone character!
We hadn’t realized until reading through several separate interviews and comparing the terminology Sakurai uses to describe clone characters (モデル替え/”model swap”) and palette swaps (カラーバリエーション/”color variation”). Sound like an arbitrarily confusing-yet-subtle semantic difference? Rest assured you aren’t alone in thinking so!
In addition, I mentioned this in a previous article, but Rock Pikmin were also considered for inclusion. As originally planned, Rock Pikmin would be heavy and short-ranged, but extremely powerful. Ultimately, however, they were scrapped, presumably due to time constraints.
To give you an idea of what sort of aspects Sakurai and his team consider when re-balancing veteran fighters, we’ve recreated and translated an excerpt from Sakurai’s balance notes for Pikmin & Olimar in Smash 4. Enjoy!
(Note: The following excerpt is taken from sometime midway through development, so some items are marked as “On Hold” despite being included in the final game.)
| Veteran Fighter Balance Checklist |
||
| Olimar | ||
| Team | Status | Details |
| Modeling | Decided | Olimar will serve as the base model. Consider including Alph (Pikmin 3 protagonist) as a clone character. |
| Modeling | If possible, add Rock Pikmin (heavy and short-ranged, but very powerful). | |
| Game Design | Decided | Smash Attacks and aerials feel weak and unable to deliver a decisive blow → focus on buffing their range and knockback. |
| Animation | On Hold | If possible, add Rock Pikmin (heavy and short-ranged, but very powerful). |
| Game Design | On Hold | ” “ |
| Programming | On Hold | ” “ |
| Animation | Decided | Smash Attacks and aerials feel weak and unable to deliver a decisive blow → focus on buffing their range and knockback. |
| Animation | Complete | Hard to tell what he does when he Jabs → include some sort of effect to clarify. (He currently uses his antenna to help him attack, but feel free to change as you see fit.) |
| Game Design | On Hold | Increase distanced traveled with Forward Tilt. Would also like to improve the animation slightly. |
| Animation | Complete | ” “ |
| Game Design | Down Tilt does not combo well and subjects Olimar to a counterattack → buff strength and knockback. | |
| Animation | Complete | Olimar directs his Pikmin two times when performing Smash Attacks → have him strike a single, clear pose for each. |
| Game Design | Slightly buff the distance traveled with Forward Smash. | |
| Programming | Complete | When using Forward Smash near the ledge, Pikmin thrown will stop in midair before falling off and land on the ground. |
| Programming | Complete | When using Forward Smash on an upward incline, Pikmin land immediately and the attack is cut short → adjust the trajectory to account for the incline. Consider animating the Pikmin as airborne but have the hitbox connected to the ground. |
| Animation | Complete | Make Up Smash look flashier by having the Pikmin spin or something when launched upward. |
| Game Design | Slightly buff the distance traveled with Down Smash. | |
| Animation | Complete | Buff the finish of Neutral Air and make the attack stand out. |
| Game Design | On Hold | ” “ |
| Effects | Increase the size of the Pikmin for Forward/Back Air. Add effects or something to expand the range of the attack. |
|
| Animation | Complete | ” “ |
| Game Design | On Hold | ” “ |
| Game Design | Reduce the endlag on an “empty” Pikmin Pluck. Keep the animation as-is and allow for attack canceling. |
|
| Programming | Complete | Pikmin pulled with Pikmin Pluck will no longer fall over the ledge. |
- Sakurai Discusses The Future of Smash - November 4, 2021
- The Melee Orchestra Concert Begins! - May 9, 2021
- Gunvolt Chronicles: Luminous Avenger iX Review - September 26, 2019
Hopefully DLC can make Alph separate again since he doesn’t really work as a pallete swap.
If not DLC I can see him being separated in Sm5sh.
I kind of figured when I heard Rock Pikmin were planned but seriously this is BS! If Alph was going to be a separate character then where is his amiibo? This is not fair! He should have one!