Thanks to Cart Boy for help with edits. Oh, and spoilers for Mario & Luigi: Brothership.
As we near the end of the Switch’s lifespan, I can’t help but appreciate how active the console remained in its later years. With the heavy hitters already out there, 2021 and beyond gave the fans some love by reviving dormant series we’d spent so long requesting. A 2D Metroid, top-down Zelda, Pokémon Snap sequel, and more made good use of the large user base, but my favorite comeback was definitely that of the Mario RPGs. It’d been almost a decade since the last wholly new entry, and even longer since the last one people generally liked, so seeing remakes of Super Mario RPG and Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door was a big deal. Admittedly, those were still retreads, but when the hat trick was completed with the reveal of Mario & Luigi: Brothership, it was a great day for us Bowser’s Inside Story kids.
With Smash Bros. always in the back of my mind, this raises an obvious question: which of these games deserve to be repped with a fighter? After all, the plumber’s role-playing history is undeniable, and following the spin-offs’ return, there might finally be room for them to score a newcomer in Ultimate’s inevitable sequel. We’ve all heard SMRPG’s Geno and Paper Mario tossed around, and while they’re probably more likely than what I’m about to pitch, I feel like going against the grain and spotlighting a standout member of Brothership’s cast: packing Glohm, Battle Plugs, and plenty more tricks, it’s the Extension Corps’s humble genius, Ten!
Who Is Ten?
(Courtesy of @EchoSaefir)
Brothership sees Mario and Luigi sailing across the seas of Concordia in hopes of reconnecting its fractured islands. Along the way, they’re harassed by various wack jobs, from misguided NPCs to Bowser’s army. But the most dangerous crew after their staches is that of Zokket, a mysterious evil-doer whose Zok Troopers are infecting people with the attitude-ruining Glohm. Where Mario’s team seek togetherness, they pursue isolation. Despite that angsty goal, the higher-ups we deal with all game are a goofy, Team Rocket-esque trio: Ecks, Ten, and Shun. Sure, his name isn’t the first in that pun, but Ten quickly pulls ahead as the most memorable part of the Extension Corps, battling players early on, accidentally handing them the essential Battle Plug feature, attempting some solo villainy on Slippenglide Island, on top of all his appearances with his comrades.
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In the game’s latter half, the Corps’s rivalry with our heroes comes to a head near the end of Fortress Zokket. They had the surprisingly bright idea to separate the siblings partway through the area, and when it falls through, we’re treated to one of the best fights in the game. It’s actually a lot like TTYD’s endgame battle with the three Shadows, pitting us against Ecks’s speed, Ten’s firepower, and Shun’s brawn all at once. Later on, with Zokket out of commission, the three undergo a bit of a redemption arc. Their off-kilter bond ends up being what players need to reach the final dungeon, and with the world eventually saved, they join in celebrating Concordia’s reunion. Wholesome enough, but I guess we’re just gonna ignore that time Shun slammed a kid into the Lottacoins pavement?
Importance to Nintendo & Series
Again, the Mario RPGs are an iconic piece of the mascot’s legacy. Since the SNES era, these nostalgic spin-offs have captured fans with their expansive worlds, innovative action commands, and legendary soundtracks. It’s no wonder Smash has already given them plenty of attention, including a stage, music, and Spirits. But all this content just makes fans want an actual fighter even more! The aforementioned Geno has been requested for literal decades, and Paper Mario’s not far behind. But those are just two pillars of the role-playing quests, as M&L tends to miss out on newcomer talk. Granted, that’s only natural when its biggest faces—Mario, Luigi, Bowser—are already in Smash, but as a relevant series with six titles under its belt, I think its original characters deserve our attention.
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That’s all well and good, but why Ten? If I had my pick of the M&L litter, I’d honestly go with Fawful, so what’s the point in spotlighting a side villain who’s unlikely to score another major role? Well, aside from the Beanish mastermind already getting his “Dream Smasher,” I think Ten’s a good embodiment of Brothership and its potential in Smash. On top of having access to its most notable powers, he’s an all-around fun personality and Concordia’s most memorable battler. Although Zokket or even the final boss could also work as fighters, they simply lack the Extension Corps’s charisma. Besides, I think it’d be very funny if the latest Mario rep ends up being an RPG original with an arm cannon, but not Geno; a purple and lanky troublemaker, but not Waluigi.
Colors & Design
Another thing I like about Ten is his design, perfectly relaying his connection to wires and delinquent-like nature. It’s all shockingly practical in combat too, with the pompadour doubling as a battering ram and the arm cannon getting plenty of mileage. He doesn’t look friendly, but in foregoing Zokket’s more sinister features, he doesn’t seem unsalvageable either. Moreover, M&L’s vibrant colors really make him pop, which is an aspect Smash would need to preserve. On top of that, Ten’s animations should look as exaggerated and flamboyant as they do in his home game, including his limbs stretching as far as they’ll go and his eyes keeping their typical range of emotions. As for his voice, expect some punkish grunts, condescending laughs, and the occasional “Ora ora ora!”
Now, let’s move on to palette swaps. Given Ten’s straightforward look and reliance on purple, simply replacing that color with others should make for an eye-catching lineup. Unfortunately, he’s got no model swaps to speak of, so we’ll just stick to recolors. After his purple default, we’ve got pink (based on Ecks), green (based on Shun), red (based on Spike Zok Troopers), yellow (based on Starlow), white (based on Zokkarang Troopers), cyan (based on Connie), and dark gray (based on Glohmed enemies).
How Would He Play?
Ten’s stats and properties:
- Weight: ∼ Little Mac (87)
- Height: ∼ Rosalina
- Overall Speed: ∼ Luigi
- Walk Speed: 1.132
- Initial Dash: 1.837
- Run Speed: 1.619
- Air Speed: 1.019
- Fall Speed: 1.32
- Jump Height: ∼ Bayonetta (39)
- Multi-jumping? No
- Crawling? No
- Wall jumping? No
(A closer look at the stats)
Since Zokket’s minions do everything they can to isolate Concordia, it’s only natural that the so-called extension of his will joins Smash as a zoner. But instead of leaning Ten fully into that role, let’s make him more of a Samus-esque half zoner. He’s got disjoints and far-reaching moves that help him at the midrange, as well as a few projectiles to ensure foes never want him far away. However, these snappy, powerful moves are here to compensate for the ruffian’s lighter weight and poor mobility. He’s a very feast-or-famine fighter who’ll either bury foes with his barrage or quickly lose ground if they slip through.
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That being said, Ten’s got an X factor in the form of Battle Plugs. These consumable parts of his kit can be toggled on or off with his neutral special, each having three uses before they’re discarded. Though, like with Banjo’s Wonderwing, they’ll all be topped off upon losing a stock. Anyway, their effects range from modifiers to brief stat buffs, sorta like Monado Arts you can enable multiple of at once. In a way, this element of resource management adds an RPG-like flavor to Ten’s playstyle! Paired with his highs and lows from before, he’ll be a fighter for those willing to think on the fly and do whatever it takes to save their skin. If that doesn’t embody the Extension Corps’s finest, what does?
Boxing Ring Title: “Concordia’s Haughty Hooligan”
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| Series Icon |
Stock Icon |
Kirby Hat |
| Move Type |
Description |
| On-Screen Appearance
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Ten flies into place by holding on to a Snaptor’s talons, then lets go and gets ready for a fight. Choice of bird aside, it’s just like the Ice Climbers’ entrance. |
| Stance
|
(Source)
Ten stands proud, resting his forked arm on his hip. I can respect the confidence, but he’s not even trying to offset his height problem. |
| Idle #1
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(Source)
Ten widens his stance a bit and crosses his arms, failing to look menacing. |
| Idle #2
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Ten moves his forked hand through his pompadour, giving an arrogant expression as he does so. |
| Walk
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Ten casually marches ahead, holding his cannon forward and his forked arm backward. |
| Dash & Run
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Ten charges forward in a ridiculous way, with his arms flailing in all directions. |
| Crouch
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Ten makes up for his tall stance by doing the splits, letting him duck under certain attacks. |
| Jump
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Ten’s jump is nothing special, simply having him leap upward and put his legs together (though, his hurtbox is notably thin in this pose). As for his double jump, it’s wider and more Dark Samus-esque. |
| Damage
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Ten gives a shocked, wide-eyed face as he’s knocked away. |
| Shield
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Ten braces his knees and blocks his torso by crossing his arms. |
| Dodge
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(Source)
Ten’s dodges see him gracefully pirouetting, either in place or a given direction. |
| Floor & Edge Attacks
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Ten recovers from a fall by drawing his energy sword, then slashing to his left and right. And when rising from a ledge, he lunges ahead with a headbutt. |
| Neutral Attack:
Turnaround Beam
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With three inputs, Ten whacks his forked hand forward, follows up with a swing of the arm cannon, then finishes by looking away and firing a blast of energy from the weapon. Although this jab wants for speed, it’s got decent reach. |
| Forward Tilt:
Shocking Sword
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Ten preps his wannabe lightsaber, then stabs it to his front. As great as it is to have a sword tilt, its narrow hitbox and slow startup make spamming it a risk. |
| Up Tilt:
Battery Ram
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Ten aims his head backward, then forcefully reels it forward to headbutt enemies. Thanks to his inherent stretchiness and massive hairdo, this odd animation makes for a strong anti-air. |
| Down Tilt:
Voltaic Volley
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While still doing the splits, Ten aims his cannon toward the ground and fires a stream of energy that briefly lingers. The persistent hitbox is good for messing with dodging foes and the like, somewhat resembling Samus’s icy down tilt in Project M. |
| Dash Attack:
Rocket Boost
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Ten ends his run by holding his cannon in front of himself and rocketing forward, courtesy of the thrusters on his feet. This dash attack’s surprising strength and burst of speed are a lot like Sephiroth’s. |
| Forward Smash:
Hammer-Head
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Ten winds his head back, then leaps ahead and slams his pompadour into the ground. As impractical as the attack looks, it hits hard and moves him surprisingly far, like Beetlejuice’s neutral attack in MultiVersus. |
| Up Smash:
Electric Blender
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Ten draws his blade, aims it skyward, then spins in place to launch airborne enemies. In practice, it evokes Mythra’s up smash, which is the sort of move a half zoner should appreciate. |
| Down Smash:
Glohmatic Chain
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Ten spreads one arm forward and the other backward as spiky chains made of Glohm surround him. Based on Fortress Zokket’s barrier, this notably slow attack deals plenty of damage and even afflicts victims with Glohm. As for the effects, we’ll get to that in a bit. |
| Neutral Aerial:
Zok Ball
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Ten grabs his feet, curls into a ball, then does a vertical spin, aping Mario and Luigi’s Bro Ball move. Thanks to his hair, the attack reaches somewhat far and acts as a good out-of-shield move. |
| Forward Aerial:
Extension Slam
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Ten uses his forked hand to perform a downward swipe, covering a wide area to his front and whacking victims outward. Admittedly, the wiry animation doesn’t hide how pedestrian this move looks, but it’s useful for keeping your distance. |
| Back Aerial:
Earphone Pierce
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Ten uses the pointed end of his hair to perform a backward headbutt, piercing anyone in its narrow range and launching them horizontally. Although his awkward aerial physics make this attack hard to land, it’s one of his best at netting knockouts. |
| Up Aerial:
Ignition Kick
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Ten puts both feet together, kicks them upward, then ignites them to burn enemies and drift slightly downward. Decent reach aside, this technique stands out due to its multi hits and potential for landing mix-ups. |
| Down Aerial:
Spite Blast
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Aiming his cannon directly beneath himself, Ten unleashes a powerful blast downward. Its strength is balanced by its slowness, but since it sends him slightly upward (only doing so once per airtime, though), it complements the down aerial and its unique flight path. |
| Grab:
Wiry Swipe
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Like with Min Min’s grab, Ten uses his noodly arm to reach unusually far and bring caught foes his way. Although its range is good, it’s kinda laggy and doesn’t work as a tether. |
| Pummel:
Punkish Headbutt
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Ten headbutts his prisoner at a relatively slow pace, but with impressive damage output. |
| Forward Throw:
Fiery Dropkick
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Ten launches his enemy with a dropkick empowered by the thrusters on his feet, somewhat taking after Bowser’s forward smash. |
| Back Throw:
Island Cracker
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Ten uses his spindly limbs to turn the foe around and slam them into the ground, like an exaggerated take on Terry’s back throw. |
| Up Throw:
Ora Ora Ora!
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Ten knocks his foe skyward with a barrage of punches, embracing his inner delinquent and dealing the most damage of all his throws. |
| Down Throw:
Grounding Crash
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Once more, Ten wields his noggin as a deadly weapon. Like with Donkey Kong’s side special, he headbutts his victim into the dirt, burying them for a very short duration. So short, in fact, that he’s best off using this to run from enemies rather than kill them. |
| Neutral Special:
Battle Plugs
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By holding the input, a wheel featuring five Battle Plugs appears over Ten, any of which can be activated or deactivated by moving the stick in its direction. Obviously, this works like Monado Arts, but without the cooldowns or one-at-a-time rule. Instead, each Plug has three uses per stock, only refreshing after Ten respawns. With that crash course over with, let’s talk Ten’s loadout… |
| Top Plug:
HUUUGE Iron Ball |
With this Plug in use, all of Ten’s moves gain a property that causes a reticle to appear on anyone he hits. A few seconds later, a spiked ball appears atop the marked enemy (about as high above them as Pikachu’s Thunder does), then falls toward them and deals massive damage upon collision. It’s not too hard to dodge these projectiles, but the disruption they’re bound to cause should be a big help. |
| Upper-Left Plug:
Icy Attack |
Ten augments his next of a certain list of moves with an icy effect, making it stronger and freezing anyone it hits (namely, his up tilt, down tilt, forward smash, neutral aerial, back aerial, up aerial, down aerial, forward throw, or down throw). This callback to his Slippenglide roots could lead to some satisfying combos or finishers, but since the Plug depletes whether or not the attack connects, it should be used sparingly. |
| Upper-Right Plug:
Glohm Specialist |
The next special Ten uses (neutral aside) receives a Glohmatic makeover. If it hits foes, they’re affected by Glohm for a few seconds, slowing their movement and considerably lowering their attack power. Though, like with the last Plug, even whiffs drain it. Oh, and as for what Glohm looks like, think Joker’s Eiha. |
| Lower-Left Plug:
Auto Ampberry |
As an Ampberry icon flashes over Ten, he gains a brief speed buff. In practice, the Plug works like Hero’s Acceleratle or Monado Speed, but with jump height unaffected and the duration shorter. |
| Lower-Right Plug:
Invincible |
Ten’s final Plug is basically a makeshift counter. Upon enabling it, he takes your usual parrying stance for a moment, then retaliates if struck. True to the Plug’s origins, said payback is an explosion that blasts foes away, but deals slight recoil damage to the user. However, since failed attempts also deplete the Plug, this powerful counter can’t be tossed out carelessly. |
| Side Special:
Zok Shot
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After prepping his arm cannon, Ten fires a simple energy shot forward. Although it’s not the strongest projectile, resembling one of Samus’s half-baked Charge Shots, it goes reasonably far and at an impressive speed. The move seems basic, but pairs with his down special to allow for something wholly unique… |
| Up Special:
Snaptor Summon
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Ten spawns a Snaptor overhead, then does one of two things with it depending on the situation. If grounded, he points forward and commands the bird to swoop toward the ground. When it crosses a foe, it acts as a hit grab, dragging them away from Ten and dealing a good bit of damage. Altogether, it’s a strong zoning tool. But if summoned while airborne, Ten grabs it and flies upward with it, using its weak hitbox to protect himself. He can even steer slightly left or right during his ascent, rounding out what’s already a versatile special. |
| Down Special:
Mirror Guard
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Ten summons a floating mirror shard in front of himself, which reflects and strengthens any incoming projectiles. Pretty standard, but the shard doesn’t simply disappear. It lingers for a good while (unless Ten summons a new one), continuing to reflect anything it collides with, but not obstructing anyone’s movement. However, the real kicker is what happens when Ten uses his side special while his mirror’s in play: he fires his shot directly at the reflector, no matter where he is. If the beam reaches the glass, it ricochets and flies straight forward, adding up to a projectile with endless potential for trick shots and mind games. |
| Final Smash:
Glohmatic Quad-Ray
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Ten’s finisher begins with Ecks appearing and zipping ahead, launching enemies to the top of Fortress Zokket. There, the Extension Corps hit their prey with all they’ve got: Ecks strikes with blinding speed, Ten snipes from afar, and Shun pounds with both his fists and a punching bag. Finally, Zokket reveals himself and uses the Great Lighthouses to blast victims with a quartet of Glohm rays. As the cinematic concludes, survivors suffer from Glohm and the less fortunate lose a stock. |
| Up Taunt:
Full Extension!
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Ten spins around and strikes his signature pose, complete with forked hand on hip and arm cannon aimed upward. All the while, he gives one of his pompous laughs. |
| Side Taunt:
Plug Pilfer
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Shun appears in the background near Ten (where, say, Rex would for the Aegis), then pulls out an unspecified Battle Plug. Suddenly, Ten snatches it from his comrade and snickers, causing the brawn to frown and disappear. |
| Down Taunt:
Snappy Scare
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Ecks flies in from behind and scares Ten, who then recovers from his fright and gets angry. But before Ten can do anything about it, the speedster retreats. |
| Victory Pose #1
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Ten looks pleased with himself and crosses his arms, then drops his Power Tap and scrambles to pick it back up. |
| Victory Pose #2
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Ten performs a few dance moves with his teammates, emitting music notes and referencing their “Theme Song” Plug. |
| Victory Pose #3
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The Corps get on each other’s nerves and start scrapping within a cartoonish smoke cloud. Afterwards, they stand side by side and pant. |
| Victory Fanfare
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Although Ten could celebrate his wins to the fanfare that backs Bowser and his underlings, I’d rather give the spin-off rep something that matches his home game. Thus, I’m going with a segment of Brothership’s mid-boss theme, which already accompanies fights with the troublemaker. |
Closing Thoughts
Like with last year’s Tropius, I’ll admit how hard it was to finish this concept. Smash hasn’t been at the front of my mind for a while now, and I doubt it will be until we hear more about the Switch’s successor. Even so, I really wanted to complete a pseudo-trilogy of articles I’d recently stumbled into: SMRPG got a “Dream Arena,” TTYD got a “Player vs. Player,” and now Brothership has a “Dream Smasher.” Moreover, letting 2024’s Nintendo games pass by without any of them getting a concept felt wrong, considering how likely the next Smash is to draw content from them. That doesn’t make Ten a likely roster candidate, but at the very least, maybe he’d inspire a good Mii Gunner costume? Or how about a Shipshape Island stage? Admittedly, hoping for lesser Brothership stuff in an article pitching a full-on fighter is kinda defeatist, but that’s just how it goes when you’re looking at spin-offs. In the end, although Ten’s probably not gonna have much legs beyond his homeworld, he was fun to contend with, befriend, and write about. If you ask me, that’s a successful character, and I hope we can expect plenty more of them in the coming generation!
