July 10, 2020|

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

Dream Smasher: Riki

Thanks to Cart Boy for help with edits.

It isn’t often that Nintendo sees new franchises taking off and joining its prolific lineup of properties as quickly as Xenoblade Chronicles has. Beginning with the release of the original Xenoblade Chronicles on the Wii in 2010, the series saw immense critical success right out the gate, but was unable to reach as wide an audience as it needed to given its debut on the rapidly aging Wii. Fortunately, this all changed in 2014 with the announcement of the first game’s main protagonist, Shulk, joining the Super Smash Bros. roster, resulting in Xenoblade finding itself on one of gaming’s greatest stages. Needless to say, this crossover was massive for the RPG, putting it in the minds of millions of Smash fans and undoubtedly leading to the financial success its newer installments now garner. Nearly ten years and two installments later in the Wii U’s Xenoblade Chronicles X and Switch’s Xenoblade Chronicles 2, a remake of Shulk and friends’ beloved adventure was released for the Switch in 2020. Unsurprisingly, many Xenoblade fans hoped to see a character from one of these three titles join Shulk on the Smash battlefield following Xenoblade’s newfound iconicity, a request that was granted in early 2021 with Pyra and Mythra’s inclusion. While representatives of both numbered Xenoblade entries are now accounted for, we will be looking at yet another character from the first Xenoblade today who would make for a deceptively interesting fighter: the legendary Heropon and sixth party member, Riki.

Who Is Riki?

(Courtesy of @2BforSmash)

Riki is a forty-year-old member of the Nopon race and father of eleven who hails from the Makna Forest’s Frontier Village. As this year’s legendary Heropon, Riki joins Shulk’s group in their effort to slay a deadly foe plaguing the forest so that he may pay off the debt he and his family have accrued from overeating. Following the heroes’ success, the village’s Chief Dunga urges the Heropon to continue accompanying the party, a command he reluctantly agrees to after some encouragement from his wife Oka. From then on, Riki does not play much of a role in the game’s larger plot, often serving as comic relief during lighter moments. However, despite his humorous personality, Riki’s wisdom and maturity occasionally surface when talking to fellow party members like Dunban. In the Future Connected epilogue chapter included in Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition, most of the original party members, Riki included, are absent for the entire adventure. However, Kino and Nene, two of Riki’s children, play prominent roles in Future Connected as playable characters alongside Shulk and Melia. The two young Nopon often speak highly of their “dadapon” throughout the journey and tell stories of how great a father he truly is, further proving that Riki is much more than a simple joke character.

Even amongst Xenoblade’s cast of unique heroes, Riki is quite the oddball in battle. Overall, his Arts encourage inflicting status conditions to weaken enemies while supporting allies using helpful auras and healing spells. With abilities like Lurgy to poison foes, You Can Do It to heal nearby teammates, Hero Time to immensely boost a single random stat and prevent tension loss for the party, and Bitey Bitey to aid in offense while applying Bleed, Riki stands out as one of the most versatile characters in the game. On top of all that, Riki has several strange attributes that help set him apart from his teammates like the highest HP stat of the party by a wide margin, his short height that makes him useless during battles in shallow water, and skill trees that prioritize unconventional factors like EXP gain and the time of day.

Importance to Nintendo/Series

Appearing in all three Xenoblade installments thus far, the Nopon are an anomaly. Something of a series mascot, they serve as a constant source of humor in worlds that, otherwise, take themselves very seriously. As the first playable Nopon, Riki is the most well known and beloved of them all. In fact, Riki is one of only three party members from the first Xenoblade to appear in the sequel, courtesy of the Challenge Battle Mode Pack. Then there’s Smash itself, where the Heropon plays the largest role out of any Xenoblade character (aside from Shulk and Pyra/Mythra). Not only is he an Assist Trophy, but he also appears in Shulk’s Chain Attack Final Smash and runs the Strategist Style Dojo as a Master-class Spirit in World of Light. Of course, this sizable role could be used as an argument against his chances, but it also goes to show how significant a character Riki is.

That being said, Xenoblade is a series with an abundance of popular characters who would feel right at home on the Smash roster. For instance, Xenoblade X’s Elma hails from the only game within the series to be missing a fighter, making her a natural choice for longtime fans. But there are also recent protagonists like Torna – The Golden Country’s Lora, Jin, and Haze. Even within the confines of the original game, there are other standout characters like Fiora and Melia, the latter of which has seen a massive surge in prominence following her starring role in Future Connected. Needless to say, Riki has no shortage of competition when it comes to joining Smash. The Heropon is far from the most likely Xenoblade character to be chosen if the series eventually receives a third (fourth?) rep, but he should by no means be counted out given his iconicity and potential for a moveset as strange and oddly endearing as the Nopon themselves.

Colors & Design

Naturally, Riki would join Smash with the same classic look he’s had since his debut. Sporting his sleeveless blue-and-purple jacket, badge, and Biter weapon, the proud hero’s design in Smash would be as expected. Unlike his teammates, who were all slightly redesigned in the transition to Definitive Edition, Riki remains largely the same across all of his appearances and thus has no secondary design to worry about. As for Riki’s palette swaps, his second would be a green color scheme based on Kino, his third would be a pink color scheme based on Nene, his fourth would be a gray color scheme based on Chief Dunga, his fifth would be a brown-and-blue color scheme based on Tora, his sixth would be an orange-and-green color scheme based on Tatsu, his seventh would be a blue-and-black color scheme based on Bana, and his eighth would be the Makna Type I set as an alternate costume.

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? 3
Are there any exclusive abilities they have*? No
Weight Class: D
Height Class: E+
Speed Class: D+
Are they mirrored when they face left? No

*Like Peach’s float

In his current Assist Trophy role, Riki acts in line with how he plays in his home game. Supporting whoever summons him with buffs and impeding foes with a variety of Arts, the Dinobeast slayer stays out of his enemies’ way and acts as more of a nuisance rather than an immediate threat. When transitioning to the playable roster, Riki should maintain a lot of these traits and remain a tricky fighter who would rely on status conditions to wear the opponent down. In fact, Riki would be most potent in team battles, where he could disrupt adversaries and give his allies plenty of openings to achieve victory. A first for the playable roster, Riki’s moveset would encourage working in tandem with teammates despite being perfectly functional when fighting solo. After all, Riki’s more than capable on his own in his title of origin, but would not be nearly as effective a combatant without his friends to take advantage of the debuffs he inflicts on the opposition.

With his role and niche in mind, we turn to Riki’s stats and abilities. He would obviously be a light and floaty fighter, but like with Shulk under Monado Shield’s effects (to a much lesser extent), Riki would take attacks remarkably well and thus be much harder to launch or KO. Of course, he would not survive as long as heavyweights like Bowser or King K. Rool, but his tankiness seen in his home game would still be present in Smash and make defeating him a surprisingly difficult task. Aside from his impressive survivability, Riki’s stats would range from unimpressive to mediocre. Needing to rely on the effects of his Arts to weaken his foes, the Heropon’s attacks would be relatively weak at a glance despite the respectable range his Biter weapon would provide. Riki would ideally remain at the midrange when possible, allowing him the freedom to poke at the enemy with his Biter and overwhelm them with his Arts while taking as little damage as possible. Some of the status conditions he would be able to inflict include Paralysis to stun enemies, Chill to freeze them, Bind to temporarily prevent their movement, and Bleed, Poison, and Blaze to damage them over time. Of course, Riki would be unable to apply all of these effects at once and they would all expire in mere seconds to remain balanced. Overall, Riki would be unlike anything Smash has seen thus far, encouraging players to try their hands at a less prominent style of play than one-on-ones or free-for-alls while still being accessible and fun to play as no matter the format.

Boxing Ring Title: “This Year’s Legendary Heropon”

Series Icon

Stock Icon

(Courtesy of Voyager)

Kirby Hat

Move Type

Description

On-Screen Appearance:

Riki would fall from the sky while curled up into a ball before gracefully landing and saying “Nothing can beat Riki!”

Stance:

Riki would stand eagerly while holding his Biter in his right wing.

Idle Animation #1:

Riki would smile and gleefully hop in place before shaking his body.

Idle Animation #2:

Riki would briefly sit down as dots appeared over his eyes.

Walk:

Riki would clumsily waddle forward with his Biter stored in his backpack.

Dash:

Riki would charge forward at a frantic pace while flailing his wings up and down.

Jump:

Riki would simply hop for his first jump, then flap his wings for his second and third jumps.

Damage Animation:

Riki would recoil in pain as crosses briefly appeared over his eyes.

Crouch: Play Dead

Riki would lie on the ground with crosses in his eyes, pretending to have been defeated.

Shield: Guard Shift

Riki would simply hold his Biter in front of his body to block incoming attacks, mimicking Reyn and Nene’s technique of the same name.

Neutral Attack: Auto-Attack

Riki would swing his Biter forward at a fast pace, repelling anyone too close to him.

Forward Tilt: Lurgy

Riki would spit out a toxic cloud (by apparently chewing some poisonous grass from Makna) that would make foes flinch while applying Poison for a few seconds.

Down Tilt: Peekaboo

Riki would poke his Biter at the ground in front of himself, turning grounded opponents around like with Mario’s Cape.

Up Tilt: Behave

Riki would throw some petals from Makna into the air, which would then float down and disappear near the ground. Foes hit by the petals would be stunned for a brief period depending on how high their damage is.

Dash Attack: Sneaky

Riki would jump forward and swing his Biter upon landing. Like Shulk’s Back Slash, this attack would be significantly more powerful when striking enemies from behind.

Forward Smash: Say Sorry

Riki would slam his Biter into the ground with force, launching anyone in his weapon’s way. This move would have a unique property in that it would remove any of the enemy’s debuffs or status conditions in exchange for each removed effect giving the attack much more launch power. If this attack struck a foe who had at least two effects, Riki would exclaim “Nyapakapow!”

Up Smash: Roly-Poly

Riki would jump and rapidly spin in place, applying Bind to foes on the ground while simply launching enemies in the air. Those affected by Bind would be stuck in place for a brief period, unable to move but still able to attack and defend themselves.

Down Smash: Burninate

Riki would spin in place and breathe fire at the ground on both sides, making foes flinch and applying Blaze for a brief period.

Neutral Aerial: Happy Happy

Riki would do his happy dance, excitedly flailing his limbs up and down to quickly attack enemies too close to him.

Down Aerial: Tantrum

Riki would angrily swipe directly below himself with his Biter three times.

Forward Aerial: Bitey Bitey

Riki would swing his Biter in a wide arc in front of himself, launching foes and applying Bleed (which would be represented by a red cloud emanating from those under its effects) for a brief period.

Back Aerial: Riki is Angry

Riki would turn around and rapidly swing his Biter three times with an enraged expression.

Up Aerial: Riki See, Riki Do

Mimicking the up aerials of other heroes like Shulk and Link, Riki would forcefully stab his Biter into the air.

Grab: Friends Now!

With wider range than most grabs, Riki would reach out and take hold of any nearby opponents with his left wing.

Pummel: Ouchies!

Riki would simply whack the caught foe with his Biter.

Forward Throw: Riki Strong!

Riki would put his Biter in his backpack and grab the opponent with both of his wings before tossing them forward.

Up Throw: Kapow Zing!

Riki would toss the opponent into the air before swiping at them with his Biter.

Down Throw: Cuddly Hero!

Riki would throw the opponent into the ground and belly flop onto them, launching them upward.

Back Throw: Smash Pow!

Riki would turn around with the opponent in tow and swing at them with his Biter.

Neutral Special: Yoink!

Riki would reach forward with his left wing in an attempt to grab someone. Anyone caught by this command grab would have something stolen from them and given to Riki. While he would prioritize pilfering any item they might have had, he would take a random stat modifier (represented by a ball of light) from them if they were not holding anything to buff himself and nerf the foe in the process. Riki would be able to steal boosts to attack power, defense, speed, or even health, with Riki’s prize being shown by a symbol on his HUD for the entire duration it’s active (unless he procured an item or health, which would not disappear with time). Riki could only successfully steal something once every ten seconds, as shown by the timer on his HUD during the move’s cooldown.

Side Special: Freezinate

Riki would spit a chunk of frozen saliva forward that would explode after going far enough, freezing nearby foes. However, if the chunk of ice were to collide with someone before exploding, it would simply make them flinch before dissipating.

Up Special: Heropon Get Up!

Two randomly colored Nopon from Frontier Village would appear on each side of Riki and excitedly hoist him up into the air while exclaiming “Heropon go forth!” As Riki flew upward, flames would engulf his body and launch any foes that came into contact with the fiery hero.

Down Special: Bedtime

Riki would spin his Biter for a few seconds, causing a wave of energy to emit from it that would put nearby opponents to sleep (including those in the air). While the wave would reach farther than that of Jigglypuff’s Sing and affect foes for a longer period of time, Riki would always fall asleep upon using Bedtime. Overall, this move would be most potent in team battles, particularly when there are allies nearby to take advantage of the snoozing enemies.

Final Smash: Red Comet

Beginning with the same white flash seen in Shulk’s Chain Attack, captured enemies would be sent to a cinematic Union Strike as seen in Future Connected. First, Riki would be accompanied by Kino and Nene as the three attacked the caught foes. Then, the Ponspectors would swoop in on an Ekidno before jumping off, engulfing themselves in flames, and crashing directly into the opponents. Finally, the group of Nopon would pose together as the victims were launched out of the cinematic and dealt heavy damage. Of course, during this attack, the Ponspectors would be chanting “We measure! Find treasure! Ponspectors ‘til we die!”

Up Taunt: Smiley Smiley!

Riki would ecstatically dance in place, mimicking one of his idle animations from his home game.

Side Taunt: Hero Time

Riki would wink as stars appeared in his left eye and say “Riki live to serve!”

Down Taunt: You Can Do It

Riki would breathe a cloud of healing mist at the screen and say “You Caaaan…Do It!” Naturally, this taunt would not heal Riki or anyone nearby.

Victory Animation #1:

Riki would hop in place alongside a crowd of cheering Nopon as one of them said “Heropon Riki bestest!”

Victory Animation #2:

Riki would celebrate his victory by dancing with Kino and Nene before proudly exclaiming “Everyone do good!”

Victory Animation #3:

Riki, with an exhausted expression, would sit down and say “Riki very hungry! And Riki sleepy!”

Victory Fanfare: While Riki’s victory fanfare would probably be the same as Shulk’s, it could also be a short remix of his own theme: “Riki the Legendary Heropon.” Fighters who have made their debuts in the same title often share fanfares, but Riki could get his own regardless given his more humorous tone compared to that of Shulk:

(Courtesy of @TwewyTrash)

Outro

With a character-driven series like Xenoblade Chronicles, the demand for new fighters from it to appear in Smash sooner rather than later was more than justified, as evidenced by Pyra/Mythra’s addition. Given the abundance of beloved faces (pun intended) the series has to offer, the possibility of even more joining the Smash roster continues to excite fans and show the passion they harbor toward the RPG. However, with there being so many fans of different Xenoblade titles and characters, who would be the best choice for such a prestigious invitation? Should it be Elma given her enduring fanbase after all these years? Even if a fighter from the first Xenoblade was decided on to represent Definitive Edition, what are Riki’s chances against more prominent fan favorites? While these questions cannot be answered so easily, I think the best thing one can do is simply support the characters they like, regardless of their chances or series of origin. Personally, I think Riki is a great character who could offer a lot to a game like Smash as a fighter, so I hope to see him join despite the stiff competition. Of course, even though the second (and third) Xenoblade reps ended up not being Riki, seeing the RPG’s ever-growing popularity be rewarded with another representative after Shulk’s reveal was spoiled by the notorious ESRB leak was fantastic.

If you’re interested in more Xenoblade Chronicles content here on Source Gaming, check out our review of Definitive Edition by Tris on our YouTube channel!