Dream Smasher: Neku Sakuraba (Guest Article)

This guest Dream Smasher was made by @MarnieFanclub with the help of @Chance_7000 on Twitter.

Square Enix is one of Nintendo’s closest third party partners, having started many of their flagship series such as the legendary Dragon Quest, Final Fantasy, and more recently, Bravely Default on Nintendo systems. While Square eventually reached out to Sony for bigger titles like Final Fantasy VII, there are still a few titles that have been made exclusively for Nintendo. None of those exclusive titles hold as much importance as the 2007 cult classic The World Ends With You. With it recently being in the spotlight again thanks to heavy marketing from Nintendo for its Switch remake, it seems the cards are falling into place for the game’s not-so-silent protagonist Neku to have a place in the Super Smash Bros. roster.

Who Is Neku?

(Courtesy of Voyager)

Neku Sakuraba is the 15-year-old protagonist of The World Ends With You who finds himself in a deadly contest called the Reapers’ Game, with his memories of everything about himself but his name wiped. Introverted and antisocial, Neku initially pushes people away, but opens up and soon meets his future friends as the Reapers’ Game forces him to listen to the people around him. He’s extremely intelligent and able to quickly adapt to the many challenges he faces along the way. His active imagination gives him an extraordinary and somewhat frightening aptitude for ‘Psychs’, the main method of attacking in The World Ends With You. To say he learns a lot would be an understatement.

Neku makes friends through the most unlikely of ways. Meeting his partner Shiki when he encountered his first Noise, the game’s common enemy type, he was forced to forge a pact so he could survive. He wasn’t open to her at first, but over time, the two grew closer. Neku meets Beat during the Reapers’ Game when trying to complete a mission set for the day. Beat is arrogant, loudmouthed and not the best in the grammar department, but eventually even Neku finds there’s more to the ruffian. Joshua is a mysterious boy who joins Neku’s journey under circumstances that are equally mysterious, and for the most part, Neku doesn’t trust him. The two eventually learn to work together to beat the game.

Importance to Nintendo/Series

As the main protagonist of The World Ends With You and its two remakes, Solo Remix and Final Remix, Neku became one of Square’s flagship characters in the mid-2000s, resulting in him appearing in the 3DS game Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance. 

With many people citing The World Ends With You as not just one of Square’s best, but also one of the best RPG’s of all time, TWEWY’s success is quite remarkable. These accolades were due to the game’s incredible story and characters, as well as the clever use of the Nintendo DS’s features, something not always seen back when the handheld was relevant. Neku himself is also generally well praised by many reviewers and game enthusiasts alike, with his character arc being a very strong point of discussion with TWEWY. Nintendo understands how much people adored the original game, as they marketed the Switch remake especially strongly when no other third party game got as much attention, with Nintendo dedicating 16 tweets detailing many aspects of TWEWY Final Remix, including characters, fighting style, etc. People’s words aside, the sales speak highly for the game, as shown by the original selling nearly 193,000 units by the end of 2007 in Japan alone, making it the second best selling DS game in its opening week. Considering it was a niche game back in the early years of the system, that isn’t bad at all.

Colors and Design

Neku is tall and thin with orange spiky hair and blue eyes. His clothes are a sleeveless grey shirt with indigo and gold highlights and a funnel collar, a yellow sweatband on his left wrist, white baggy shorts and shoes with a similar aesthetic to his shirt. He keeps an MP3 Player with him and listens to it using his signature indigo headphones. His alternate costumes would reference characters from TWEWY. In order, the colors represent Shiki, Beat, Joshua, Megumi, Hanekoma. Reapers and Uzuki.

How Would He Play?

Now, let’s have a look at some stats:

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

*Like Peach’s float

Neku’s style of fighting can essentially be whatever the player chooses in TWEWY, as there are a variety of Pins which activate the psychs Neku can use. With as many potential combinations as Neku has, his Smash Bros. moveset has a lot of possibilities. On top of a variety of Pins and Psyches, Neku also has the very handy ability of calling in his partners to help out with attacks. In TWEWY (DS) this is done by controlling Neku with the touch screen and a partner with the buttons and top screen. In Solo Remix and Final Remix, it’s done through variations of touch screen actions. In Smash, this would remain in his moveset, but be reworked into the Player Pin, a special item that, in his home game, allows him to hear the thoughts of other people that aren’t playing the Reapers’ Game. This is an extremely important item in TWEWY that would need to be featured in his Smash moveset and tied to Partner attacks. During gameplay, Neku would have the Player Pin on his HUD with his mugshot and damage display; it would be white at first, but it would gradually fill up over a period of one minute in game. When fully charged and used, Neku would begin to glow blue, and during this time, Neku would be able to summon a Partner to aid in his special attacks.

Aside from the Player Pin, Neku’s other Pins would also have a limit on how much you use them. In Smash, you’re given a lot of freedom with how you can use a pin, but upon using it, it will start to run out (as noted by Neku’s HUD) and you will need to wait to reuse them. In TWEWY, some Pins are able to permanently Evolve into stronger variations of themselves. Since Evolutions couldn’t be permanent in Smash for the sake of balance, they would instead Evolve for a single use after they’ve been charged. The recharge time of the Pins is approximately 10 seconds, most have a 10 use limit, and Evolution would take 30 seconds without using a certain move to occur. When Evolved, the attack would automatically be the stronger version of the move when used, like with Cloud’s Limit Break. The Evolution function wouldn’t apply to Smash attacks, Partner attacks, Tilt attacks, Throws, or Pummels.

In this mockup, Neku’s HUD has his Player Pin always shown. As stated before, it starts grayed out, but gains its color when it’s ready to be used. Underneath the portrait display is the Pin he’s currently using, and like the Player Pin, it will become grayed out when it needs to recharge. Neku’s portrait would have a little spark appear briefly when a pin is recharged. 

Boxing Ring Title: “The Psyche Whiz”

Series Icon	Stock Icon (Courtesy of Voyager)	Kirby Hat

Move Type	Description
Entrance Animation:	Neku would appear in a beam of blue light and say, “Watch yourself!”
Stance:	Neku would hover above the ground, holding his right hand up as it was covered in a fiery aura. As a visual effect, the aura would change color when he used different Psyches.
Idle Animation #1:	Neku would hold a hand up to his headphones as he tapped his foot to the music he was listening to.
Idle Animation #2:	In a nod to Shiki, Neku would grab his mobile out and start looking at its screen.
Walking:	Neku would walk with his arms to his side and take his steps in an almost careless manner.
Running:	Neku would sprint and swing his arms back and forth with a determined look on his face.
Jab:	Neku would move in and hit the opponent with a flurry of five slashes, all dealing slight knockback.
Forward Tilt:	Neku would thrust forward with a spear of energy.
Up Tilt:	Neku would wave his left hand upwards as an icy spear shot upwards in front of him, the attack would have 10 uses. At higher percentages it would be able to freeze opponents.
Down Tilt:	Neku would dash forward a short distance while dragging a spear made of light along the ground. If Neku hit an opponent’s shield, he would immediately bounce off it.
Dash Attack: Velocity Attack	Neku would dash forward at a lighting fast pace and crash into any opponent in his way, launching them upward, and if used in the air it would be able to spike opponents. This attack would have 5 uses.
Forward Smash: Shock Wave	Neku would point forwards as a blade of energy swept out in front of him. If the attack button was pressed again, Neku would immediately throw a second, weaker slash, and a third press would result in a final hit that had more knockback; the attack would have 9 uses.
Up Smash: Vulcan Uppercut	Neku would strike upwards with his fist. If the attack button was pressed again, Neku would throw out an immediate second hit; the attack would have 8 uses.
Down Smash: Vortex Saber	Neku would slash in a circular motion around him in an upwards arc, with the attack ending in a small shockwave that had a windbox; the attack would have 4 uses.
Neutral Air:	A small black hole would materialize around Neku, dragging in opponents that were really close to him. The attack would only have one use and a recharge time of 15 seconds, but if the move connected, it would deal a lot of damage.
Forward Air: Force Rounds	Neku would wave his hand forward as three bullets shot forward in succession, each dealing little knockback and damage. Note: a use would not be counted for each individual bullet, but for each use of the attack instead. [Evolved 1] The bullets would home in on the closest target, with each bullet becoming more powerful as they traveled. To use this variation, the player would repeatedly press the attack button. [Evolved 2] Neku would fire multiple stronger bullets, but they would have far less range. To use this variation, the player would hold the attack button down.
Back Air:	A boomerang projectile would shoot out from behind Neku and fire off in a straight line. If it went long enough without hitting an opponent, it would turn around and return to Neku; the attack would have 5 uses.
Down Air: Grave Marker	Neku would fall down in a straight line and cause a small shockwave upon landing; this attack would have a meteor hitbox. [Evolved] The falling state would hit multiple times, with the final hitbox having a meteor effect. On grounded opponents, it would instead have a burying effect. Neku descends slower than usual with this variation.
Grab: Psychokinesis	Neku would grab the opponent with a light orb that materialized out of thin air.
Pummel:	Neku would materialize a sign and drop it on the opponent.
Forward Throw:	Neku would throw the opponent forward before firing an orb of lightning at them.
Back Throw:	Neku would throw the opponent to the ground behind him before firing an orb of fire at them.
Up Throw:	Neku would trap the opponent in a bubble and throw them upward.
Down Throw:	Neku would throw the opponent to the ground as a small meteor landed on top of them.
Neutral Special: Thunderbolt	A bolt of lightning would strike in front of Neku, with a second input resulting in a second lightning bolt hitting the ground. [Evolved] Five lightning bolts would strike the ground at once. The move would also be able to spike opponents in the air.
Side Special: Pyrokinesis	A line of fire would appear in front of Neku. The player would be able to control the fire chain with the circle pad while holding the special button.
Up Special: Twister	A whirlwind would materialize under Neku and make him rise upwards if used off the stage; this attack would have a large windbox. If used on stage, the whirlwind would appear in front of Neku and launch opponents into the air.
Down Special: Entanglement	Neku would slash straight down as a chain appeared where he struck. The chain would ensnare opponents and deal very little damage, but it would hit multiple times and disappear after a short while. The player would be able to angle the direction of the chain left or right. [Evolved] If an opponent was hit by the chain, they would be knocked into a second one after the first one disappeared. Neku would be able to move while these chains were active, and the chains would reach slightly further.
Special Command: Player Pin	After the Player Pin is fully charged, the player would be able to press the special and shield buttons simultaneously to allow Neku to use the Partner attacks. Depending on what special attack is used while the Player Pin’s active, that move will be automatically replaced with the Partner Attack.
Special Command: Partner Attack	Shiki: With the Player Pin active, if the player used Neku’s neutral special, they would call in Shiki and Mr. Mew to aid Neku. With Neku’s attack now stunning the opponent while Mr. Mew slashed at the stunned opponent for 5 hits of minimal damage, the last dealing a lot of hit stun. Beat: Upon using side special, the player would call in Beat. For the duration of the Partner attack, Neku’s side special would become a straight dash forward on Beat’s skateboard. The move would have a homing effect and lock onto the nearest target. Joshua: Upon using down special, the player would call in Joshua, who would summon and drop objects directly onto the opponent, grounding them if used on stage and spiking them if used off stage.
Final Smash: Final Fusion	Neku would have three variations of his Final Smash: If used normally, Neku and Shiki would unleash a barrage of attacks on the enemy, finishing with Mr. Mew landing a giant claw swipe. If used as a side special, Neku and Beat would mow down the enemy with continuous hits, dragging them across the screen. If used while continuously holding the special button, Neku and Joshua would crash a meteor into the stage with immense psychic power. All three would have slight variations, making them better for different situations. Beat’s would have the most launch power, Joshua’s would deal massive damage, and Shiki’s would have the furthest range when trying to catch an opponent.
Up Taunt:	Neku would throw out his hand signalling for the enemy to approach before saying, “You ready to die?”
Side Taunt:	Neku would fold his arms and tap the ground with his foot impatiently while saying, “You’re too loud.”
Down Taunt:	Neku would shrug and say, “You’re good as gone.”
Victory Animation #1:	Neku and Shiki would high-five as Shiki said, “We did it!” and Neku replies saying, “That was nothing.”
Victory Animation #2:	Beat would lightly punch Neku’s arm and say, “Yeah, that was tight!”
Victory Animation #3:	Joshua would appear from a beam of light, give Neku a smirk, and say, “You need to do better, Neku.”

Victory Fanfare: Neku’s victory theme would be an instrumental of the bassline heard in the track Twister. This theme in particular would be used because it is the most prominent theme in TWEWY. Its leitmotif is heard in many of the game’s songs, it has a remix for the final boss theme, and it was the theme used for Neku’s version of Traverse Town in Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance:

Outro

With the long awaited second DLC fighter, The Hero from Dragon Quest, being revealed at E3 this year, it has shown that Square Enix has been more open to letting other IPs being used for Smash Bros. despite only previously allowing Final Fantasy VII-themed content. This might have drastically lowered Neku’s chances to get in now, but in the future, potentially with a second Fighters Pass, Neku has a better chance than he’s ever had to be included as Square expands its horizons with its IPs. Sora is another Square Enix representative of many discussions for who should be added as DLC, there is a chance that he has better odds of being added now too, but could his ties to Disney affect him in a bad way instead? Only time will tell, but I believe with Neku’s closer ties to Nintendo as a whole and even his crossover appearances in Kingdom Hearts, it wouldn’t be too surprising to see him become a playable fighter in the future.

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Hamada

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