Grapevine

What Makes a Clone?

The very first fighting games all featured two identical characters facing each other in one-on-one combat. It’s no surprise, then, that so-called clone characters have remained one of fighting games’ longest-standing traditions.

Twintelle’s Grand Entrance

Almost three months ago, it was revealed that a character from Nintendo’s newest franchise, ARMS, would open Super Smash Bros. Ultimate’s second fighter pass. Naturally, everyone has theories for every single character in the ARMS roster, and why they’re the one entering the fray. Being the three year anniversary of ARMS’ release, the character’s revealContinue reading “Twintelle’s Grand Entrance”

How the Meta Has Changed From Prerelease to 7.0

It’s officially been 2 years since Smash Ultimate was revealed, and Version 8.0 is nearly here! Because of this, I thought it’d be fun to use the data I’ve been gathering since release to take a walk down memory lane, and see how the meta has changed, starting from prerelease prediction tier lists all theContinue reading “How the Meta Has Changed From Prerelease to 7.0”

The Famous (Infamous?) Archetype Triangle, Revamped

When Ultimate first launched, u/SubtleTypos on Reddit created this chart as a loose guideline to help new players figure out where each character falls regarding core gameplay archetype. Though its creator clearly stated “these are my personal views on the character and you can easily debate who falls where”, the chart quickly spread and ledContinue reading “The Famous (Infamous?) Archetype Triangle, Revamped”

Lloyd Irving Survives the Slaughter in Smash

Lloyd Irving is the main protagonist of the Nintendo GameCube game Tales of Symphonia, the fifth installment in Namco’s popular RPG series Tales Of. Once a simple country boy, Lloyd is thrust into the outside world following a raid on his village. The Chosen of Regeneration is one of his closest friends, and after beingContinue reading “Lloyd Irving Survives the Slaughter in Smash”

The Future of Banjo, in Smash and with Nintendo

There’s a lot of misinfo floating around about Banjo, and Microsoft in general, so I’d like to address those first. Many seem to believe that Banjo is the datamined “Brave” character found within the game’s code. We don’t believe this to be true, simply because of the extreme likelihood of Erdrick, as discussed in aContinue reading “The Future of Banjo, in Smash and with Nintendo”

Erdrick’s Path of Promise to Smash

Erdrick (Loto/Roto in Japanese) is the main protagonist of DQ3 and is the most recognizable and iconic protagonist from the Dragon Quest series. They have two notable designs: the Famicom design (left) and the more commonly used, older Super Famicom design (right) which illustrates the female variant. While many characters are rewarded with the titleContinue reading “Erdrick’s Path of Promise to Smash”