MEWTWO STRIKES BACK!!

I never would've thought that Mewtwo would potentially return to Smash Bros. I was really disheartened back when Brawl was finalized and Mewtwo was reportedly the last to be cut from the roster (evidenced by the amount of character data he possessed compared to the other removed Melee characters). That's not to say that it may not have been hinted upon among the Smash Community at the days of Melee, due to what I blame solely on the developers of Melee at the time, for severely limiting beyond what this iconic, legendary Pokemon deserves compared to his original game-counterpart; butchering him to the point of becoming no more threatening than a standard Lvl 2 Pokemon you come across on your first journey outside your home town in (insert) region. Mewtwo certainly cannot be the insane superboss Pokemon the handheld titles make him out to be, so scaling him down was the right direction, but the obvious tweaks in Melee went too far and beyond. His weight was extremely light and the fact that he was floating for the most part only adding to him rocketing off of stages far too often. His (thankful and MUCH deserved) return to Smash Bros. 3DS and Wii U should better reflect what developers have learned since Melee. For starters, while his original Up+B (Teleport) and Neutral B (Shadow Ball) are perfectly fine as they are, his other Specials certainly could and SHOULD deserve a replacement. His Side+B (Confusion) was a pathetic attempt at giving him a reflector ability that (I suppose...) was meant to deflect projectiles and not actually injure the projectile user as a means to CONFUSE them (get it?); this technique was regrettably short-lived when even first-time smashers became aware of the gimmick which renders the move completely useless in any subsequent matches; not to mention the long animation frames renders Mewtwo vulnerable to an air attack from his... CONFUSED... foe. His Down+B (Disable) doesn't fare any better being that it's short range and capability of being reflected makes it useless in trying to stun foes; not to mention that most stunned foes I've targeted, don't stay stunned for long. There are plenty of new and existing Psychic Pokemon moves, and possibly other Pokemon-type moves that Mewtwo can use in his new arsenal such as Swift. Should he be provided a reflector special, then GIVE him a regular reflector like Fox, Zelda, and Mii Gunner; seriously there are many moves you can utilize and reconstruct in this fashion: Reflect, Barrier, Light Screen, etc. Mewtwo should be heavier and harder to KO, his speed needs a buff similar to Bowser's (which I found to be INSANELY useful in clearing the very difficult 3DS challenges) in Smash 3DS and Wii U. The developers could also take a cue from the Project M team and give Mewtwo a "Peach" hovering ability, while not a critical avenue to consider in his return, it's not out of Mewtwo's character and prowess. His Down Smash could be changed in my opinion, while not as problematic as Mewtwo's other stats and skills from Melee, it's best changed to an attack that targets both sides. Something that's purely for the sake of fun is that perhaps the developers can give him a GIANT SPOON as an attack similar to Ness' Side Smash Bat, which can return projectiles upon hit and is of a decent distance creator.

Regardless of how butchered and unjustifiably badly Mewtwo was treated in Smash Bros. previously, he still has his dedicated fans (like myself) and Nintendo, Smash and Pokemon supporters who all earnestly believe him to be a vital and unique addition to remain in the Smash Roster for the franchise's longevity and NOT as a Trophy (seriously, the sight of the 3DS trophy almost made me go into a BSOD mode, even more so after seeing that buying his trophy at 500 coins was in no comparison to a 2500 coin Nintendogs trophy in the shop), sticker, stage hazard, or anything other than a place in the roster. There are plenty of skilled Mewtwo (Melee/ Project M) players who deserve praise for helping keep this Pokemon's presence known and awareness of how much more Mewtwo is different from the other roster Pokemon when examining the Anime, Movies, Shorts and Pokemon Adventures manga. Most importantly is that Mewtwo should be a character that everyone can feel comfortable using in a Smash match, not just by skilled players, and not to be ridiculed when appearing in a match.

As ecstatic as I am at this long awaited announcement via a Nintendo Direct video (and NOT some leak or rumor), I always ensure I observe every aspect of things I come across in life and that not everything should be accepted at face value immediately. Sakurai was well aware that a lot of dedicated Smash and Pokemon fans (myself included in both) were extremely disappointed that Mewtwo was absent in Brawl and even more so after game hackers managed to examine the game data (as I mentioned at the start of this journal). Many game media sites did see all the recent exposure Mewtwo was receiving as clear signs that his return was imminent and inevitable, but everyone was spellbound when it became clear (at the time...) that he was absent yet again. Theoretically, these all added to the Smash developers awareness that this could be used as a... for lack of a better word, a cash-grab... sigh. I was hoping it wouldn't come to the case of DLC, because there were speculations that DLC wasn't on the agenda to begin with. But alas it appears to have become reality. BUT, if you are a true, dedicated Smash Bros. player and fan like myself, you SHOULD already have both versions (bought and/ or pre-ordered) so paying for Mewtwo DLC shouldn't be an issue. Which raises some interesting questions regarding this announcement...

Is Mewtwo going to be fully integrated into the roster along with his fellow Smash comrades, such as a Classic Mode appearance, Classic Mode completion Trophy, All-Star Mode appearance alongside Pikachu, Jigglypuff, Charizard, Ness, Sheik and Ganondorf, All-Star Mode completion Trophy, Character Customization, Amiibo, etc.? What about his current trophy in the 3DS? Will it get reshaped after the DLC? Would it appear as his Classic Mode trophy, or will it be a separate trophy? There are definite slots for more DLC chars (3 based on the 3DS selection screen, 4 technically but Mewtwo is confirmed to secure one himself) and with the case of Mewtwo, this may potentially hint at Lucas (a character I rather enjoyed playing in Brawl and miss as well for Smash 3DS and Wii U, and seeing as how he too has a 3DS trophy) or Roy (Fire Emblem) possibly returning to name a few. Could newer characters appear as well via DLC? Is Stage DLC still on the agenda as some game hackers have discovered in Smash Bros. 3DS (Miiverse stage likely an update patch rather than a DLC stage)?

With Mewtwo's return, I hope he doesn't just receive the Dr. Mario treatment in that much of his Melee moveset is preserved as DEFAULT, because that would greatly undermine the just representation all of his fans and supporters believe he deserves in a Smash title since Melee. He can have a more fine-tuned Disable and Confusion special via Custom movesets, but I'd prefer that these NOT be part of his default special moveset because their effectiveness has been clearly drained away from memories of Melee and not to mention that modes like "For Glory" nullifies any customization done to characters. His Final Smash will very likely be one of his Mega Forms (maybe a random pick of either?), but the return appearance of Final Smash trophies and the Mega Mewtwo X and Y trophy shown during the Nintendo Direct could invalidate this possibility and would instead bestow perhaps Mewtwo's signature move, Psystrike as his Final Smash instead?

The developers have Mewtwo's return set for Spring 2015, so they have plenty of time to get him right and in much better form than his Melee days. Although Mewtwo's 'supposed' splash screen wasn't quite the same as the others, I was surprised it wasn't "Mewtwo Strikes Back!!" (like everyone predicted which appropriately references his first movie appearance) instead of "Mewtwo is on the way!!" Granted the character is still in production, and there could be an associative intro cutscene movie along with it, but c'mon the tagline sounds better when it references the movie. lol



I'm going to try to put in time to draw something commemorate this announcement on my WACOM (see above 4th Drawing); however, I still have quite a few cubicle drawings that need cleaning, so I may postpone those briefly. This news certainly helped bolster some motivation in me at least. Recently the 'R' button on my 3DS became unresponsive, possibly due to dust and residue accumulation underneath (caused by intensive Super Smash Bros. 3DS play sessions), so I had to send it back to Nintendo for repairs. Do hope that all the problems are fixed and I'll be more careful when I resume smashing, but in the meantime I have plenty of other stuff to occupy myself on.

*UPDATE* My 3DS came back recently, glad that the 'R' button is now back to being more responsive. I'll be more careful in the future. Back to smashing.