Dream Smasher – Daroach (Guest Article)

This guest Dream Smasher was created by @Hamada_520 on Twitter.

Despite the wide range of characters from the Kirby series, Smash has infamously drawn primarily from the Kirby games Sakurai has had a hand in creating. Because of this, many recent Kirby titles have gotten little to no representation in Smash. However, Kirby games have continued to become more imaginative and creative since Sakurai has left. This has resulted in Smash misrepresenting the Kirby franchise as a whole. This is why a character from the recent era of Kirby games would represent the other side of the franchise well. Daroach from Squeak Squad would make for a unique addition to the Smash roster due to his potential for a moveset revolving around the various weapons he’s used in his boss fights and playable appearances, as well as his team, the Squeaks, who would help him fight.

Who Is Daroach?

By TheRealHeroOfWinds

Daroach is the leader of the Squeaks, a group of thieves/treasure hunters who travel around the world, always looking for more treasure to hunt or steal. Daroach, in particular, prefers to aim for treasure that would be difficult to obtain, as he’s in it for the hunt itself. One day, after stealing a valuable treasure chest from King Dedede, they run into Kirby who, despite him and Meta Knight’s efforts, can’t stop Daroach from opening the treasure chest. However, unbeknownst to Daroach, the chest was actually a prison housing Dark Nebula, a part of the Dark Matter threat who, upon being freed by Daroach, proceeds to possess him. Kirby then battles and defeats Dark Daroach, freeing him from his possession. After this, Daroach and the Squeaks leave Dreamland in search of other treasures to hunt for. While Daroach would later make an appearance in Kirby Mass Attack, he hadn’t truly returned until Kirby Star Allies’ summer update. While it’s unknown if his appearance in Star Allies is canon or not, it is his debut appearance as a playable character, giving him a full moveset for the first time.

Importance to Nintendo/Series

Daroach, despite only appearing in person for three Kirby games, has become a really popular character amongst Kirby fans. While he rarely appears in the flesh, he’s been referenced in various Kirby games since his debut. This is due in part to his significance in his original game, but his return in Star Allies as a Dream Friend shows that the developers of modern Kirby games are aware of Daroach’s popularity, and is most likely the reason for him being consistently referenced.

Daroach is significant to Nintendo as a whole due to his representation of Kirby’s more recent games. He would be the best representation of modern Kirby due to him appearing more often than other recent Kirby characters like Susie or Magolor.

Colors and Design

Due to Daroach rarely appearing in the flesh, he’s kept a consistent design throughout the years that has been used to this day. He is always seen with his iconic hat, cape, bell, and Triple Star cane, so they would all naturally be present in Smash.

Daroach would have eight palette swaps:

(Palette Swaps Courtesy of @TKDesigns_)

How Will He Play?

Now, let’s have a look at some stats:

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

*Like Peach’s float

Daroach’s moves would primarily consist of attacks that came from either his claws and weapons, or him summoning a member of the Squeaks to attack for him. With his many projectile options, Daroach would be best at dealing damage from a distance, with enough speed to be able to prevent his opponent from getting too close. Basically a hit and run character, which is perfect for Daroach, given his status as a thief.

Series Icon

Stock Icon (Courtesy of @TKDesigns_)

Kirby Hat

Move Type	Description
Entrance Animation:	A treasure chest would be in Daroach’s starting location as Daroach flew on-screen and grabbed it.
Stance:	Daroach would stand with his cane in one hand.
Idle Animation #1:	Daroach would put one hand on his hat and tip it downwards, covering part of his face.
Idle Animation #2:	Daroach would wave his cane forward as ice particles appeared around it.
Walking:	Daroach would put his hands in his cape and walk forward.
Running:	Daroach would run forward with one hand on the tip of his hat.
Jumping:	Daroach would jump forward with his hands under his cape.
Crouching:	Daroach would sink and put his head down as his normally disembodied feet moved into his cape. His hat would also be covering a part of his face.
Crawling:	Daroach would walk forward using his hands only, as his feet remained inside the cape.
Jab: Hunter Claw	Daroach would begin fiercely slashing forward with his claws, finishing by slashing a cross-shape in front of him.
Forward Tilt:	Daroach would swipe forward with his cane, dealing extra damage at the tip.
Down Tilt:	Daroach would swipe downwards with his cane.
Up Tilt:	Daroach would thrust his cane upwards as a small blast of icy energy bursted from its tip.
Dash Attack:	Daroach would kick forward with the momentum from his dash.
Side Smash:	Storo, the Squeaks’ muscle, would appear next to Daroach and punch forward in a downward arc.
Up Smash:	Doc, the Squeaks’ brains, would fly upwards while surrounded by an electric aura, damaging anyone he came into contact with.
Down Smash:	Daroach would shoot downwards with a blast of icy energy as Spinni appeared behind him and attacked downwards.
Neutral Air:	Doc would appear in front of Daroach as he began orbiting his leader with his electric aura active, damaging anyone he came into contact with. After a short time, Doc would disappear.
Down Air:	Storo would appear in the foreground next to Daroach as he kicked downwards before disappearing.
Forward Air:	Spinni would appear in front of Daroach and swipe downwards, covering a wide range but dealing little damage.
Back Air:	Spinni would appear on Daroach’s back as he leaped off of him with his claws outstretched.
Up Air:	Storo would appear in the foreground next to Daroach and punch upwards before disappearing.
Grab:	Daroach would reach out with one hand and grab the opponent by the neck.
Pummel:	Daroach would swipe at the opponent with his other hand.
Forward Throw:	Doc would appear by Daroach’s side and slam his UFO into the opponent.
Up Throw:	Storro would appear by Daroach’s side and uppercut the opponent.
Down Throw:	Daroach would slam the opponent on the ground as Spinni appeared above Daroach and leaped onto the opponent with his claws out.
Back Throw:	Daroach would turn him and the opponent around as he blasted them away with an ice blast from his cane.
Neutral Special: Ice Laser	Daroach would lift his cane into the air as it gathered ice energy. Once he was done charging, Daroach would aim the cane forward as an orb of ice capable of freezing opponents was shot forward. However, if charged long enough, the cane would shoot a beam of ice instead, that lingered for a few seconds, dealt more damage, and was able to freeze opponents much easier than usual. A fully charged Ice Laser could be stored.
Neutral Special Custom #1: Icy Laser Pointer	Daroach wouldn’t charge up the attack, but would immediately fire a thin version of a fully charged Ice Laser instead. It would deal less damage, but last just as long and freeze opponents just as easily.
Neutral Special Custom #2: Dark Laser	Daroach’s orb and laser of ice would be replaced by dark equivalents. These dark orbs and lasers would deal more damage and launch the opponent much farther, but they would be incapable of freezing opponents and wouldn’t stay on-screen for as long.
Side Special: Triple Star	Daroach would swing his cane downwards as three damaging stars came from it. These stars would last for three seconds and bounce off of surfaces and fighters. The attack can be angled downwards or upwards as well.
Side Special Custom #1: Quadruple Star	Instead of firing three stars, Daroach would fire four smaller stars that would last for four seconds, but deal less damage.
Side Special Custom #2: Nebula Star	Daroach would charge up and release a single black star that was double the size of the original stars. It would deal much more damage, but leave Daroach with more ending lag.
Up Special: Evaporate	Daroach would put his hand to his hat as he warped in any direction the player chose. If inputted again right after the first Evaporate, Daroach would be able to warp a second time before being in free-fall. This move would be instantaneous, but deal no damage and leave Daroach helpless as he hovered in the air for a second before going into free-fall. However, his brief period of being stuck in the air would only apply to the second Evaporate in a row.
Up Special Custom #1: Teleport	Daroach would disappear in a ball of smoke, reappearing far in the direction inputted by the player. Daroach wouldn’t be able to Teleport a second time in a row, and would helplessly hover in the air for a second after reappearing every time.
Up Special Custom #2: Sinister Evaporate	Whenever Daroach reappeared after a warp, a dark explosion would come from him, dealing heavy damage to enemies that are hit, and dealing light damage to Daroach and his allies.
Down Special: Daroach Bomb	Daroach’s hands would go inside his cape as he prepared to throw a bomb. Once he was done charging, he’d throw a bomb forward in an upward arc. The longer Daroach charged, the bigger the bomb. At the maximum level of charge, Daroach would throw out a much bigger red bomb, which would cause a larger explosion and deal fire damage. This fully charged bomb could not be stored.
Down Special Custom #1: Fire Bomb	All of the bombs Daroach threw would be the more dangerous red bombs, but they’d take half as long to charge as the red bombs in his standard Neutral Special.
Down Special Custom #2: Dangerous Bomb	Every thirty seconds, Daroach would automatically charge up a bomb that was surrounded by a dark aura, double the size of the red bomb, did much more damage, and had a much wider range. However, Daroach’s Down Special would do absolutely nothing during the cooldown period.
Final Smash: Dark Nebula	Daroach would take a treasure chest out of hammer space as he opened it. A dark tornado would launch upwards, with a major wind box pulling fighters towards it. If one or more fighters were caught, they’d be sucked into the chest as a cutscene played of Dark Nebula blasting the fighter(s) with a dark beam of energy that would launch them out of the treasure chest.
Up Taunt:	Daroach would spin and strike a pose similar to when he’s chosen in the Dream Palace.
Side Taunt:	Daroach would use his cape to polish the tip of his cane.
Down Taunt:	Daroach would give a pained expression as a dark aura engulfed his body, a remnant of his possession at the hands of Dark Nebula.
Victory Animation #1:	All of the Squeaks would appear on-screen, gathering around a treasure chest. They would then notice the camera as Daroach struck a menacing pose.
Victory Animation #2:	The camera would follow the tip of Daroach’s cane as it moved around and gave off an icy aura before the camera would pan out and reveal Daroach using it.
Victory Animation #3:	Daroach would have his back to the camera as it approached. Once it was close enough, Daroach would turn around, throw a bomb on the ground, and disappear once the smoke cleared.

Victory Fanfare:

Daroach’s victory theme would be a shortened version of his team’s theme. The Squeaks’ theme is actually the only Kirby remix in Smash to have originated from a Kirby game that was made after Sakurai had left HAL, so it would naturally fit as Daroach’s victory theme.

Due to Daroach’s design, personality, and attacks, he quickly became a popular character in the Kirby fanbase. However, him being the main antagonist of a relatively old Kirby game that doesn’t have the benefit of being made by Sakurai does weigh his chances down. But through Daroach’s return in Star Allies, and the overwhelmingly positive reception of fans, Daroach could potentially steal the spot with his unique abilities, and bring him and his team over to fight it out with Nintendo’s all-stars.

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Joshua 'NantenJex' Goldie

A historian and avid gamer, NantenJex is the Editor-in-Chief for Source Gaming, overseeing videos and reviews for the site. He has a passion for obscure gaming so any article you see on uncommon titles like Nazo no Murusame Jo, Yuyuki and Marvelous, to name a few, are most likely from him. He also likes game design leading to the creation of Dream Smashers, a series on potential newcomers for Super Smash Bros. He wants you all to know that Yoshi is objectively the best Nintendo character.

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