Super Smash Bros. is coming to the Nintendo Switch, and while details are scant, we do
know one thing: Inklings are on the way!.
So that got us thinking.
How exactly will they work in Super Smash Bros?
On the surface, it seems like a pretty simple transition.
But when you really sit down and think about it--how the Inklings battle in their game,
the mechanics of how Smash works, and nailing that representation that the series does so
well--well, the process of making the character viable becomes a lot less clear.
And that’s exactly why we wanted to give it a shot to try and figure out how the Inkling
could work in Smash Bros. for the Nintendo Switch.
Before we get into any of the actual moves, there’s one thing that absolutely has to
be addressed when it comes to the Inklings, the ink part.
After all, it’s how they attack, swim around, and refill their ammunition in the form of
more ink.
This mechanic is essential to the character, just as Olimar has to pluck Pikmin from the
ground; their inclusion rings hollow without referencing how they work in their own game.
So how would the ink work in Super Smash Bros?
There are many problems that could arise from its implementation.
Is there a limitation on how much the Inklings can use?
How does it affect opponents?
Would they be slowed in any way from walking through ink?
How would the ink be clearly shown on a 2D plane?
And how would opponents interact with the squid compared to the kid?
While we don’t have answers to all of these, we do think that Smash Bros would hew closer
to the Splatoon games.
Based on the moves we created, almost all of the Inklings’ attacks would require ink.
This means players would have to balance the use of ink along with having to refill it.
To this end, a gauge would be placed near the Inklings’ percentage in a similar manner
to Little Mac’s KO meter.
It would serve as a quick and easy way for all players to see how much ammunition the
Inkling has.
The tricky part is how much ink would the various moves use up?
Sub Weapons use up more ink than a standard attack and the use of a Special Weapon always
refills the ink completely.
There would have to be some sort of restructuring to balance these ideas.
Do you limit how much the Inkling can do?
Would the ink drain faster or slower than in Splatoon to balance the character?
How often would they need to recover ink?
Could they pull off combos?
It really depends on how the developers decide to balance the Inklings.
But this ties into another problem, how do other players deal with the Inklings’ ink?
Unlike Splatoon, your opponents can’t really replace the ink with their own of a different
color--unless they’re playing as an Inkling themselves of course.
We toyed with the idea of only having the ink disappear after a set amount of time,
but that still seemed to favor the Inkling.
What we felt was closer to the spirit of Splatoon is that the ink could still vanish over a
short time, but any player who walks over or interacts with the ink would cause it to
immediately disappear.
So while an Inkling could hide in the ink and refill their tank, they would instantly
be knocked back to the surface if another player ran over where they were hiding.
This creates an interesting dynamic where the Inkling must constantly battle for their
turf in order to stay effective in combat--you could even say, a turf war And needless to
say, if they’re knocked out, all of their ink will disappear forcing them to start from
scratch.
Now this still leaves the actual process of changing from a kid to a squid.
In Splatoon, it is done with a single button press: the ZL Button.
As long as it’s held down, the player will remain a squid allowing them to enter the
ink to not only hide, but move faster and fill their ink reserves.
So how do you translate a mechanic like this to Smash Bros.?
The obvious answer is a Special Attack, maybe Down or Neutral Special.
But after careful consideration of how essential being a Squid is, we have another idea--and
well, it’s a bit wild--because it’s something that no character in Smash Bros. history has
done: and that’s making it the Inkling’s Guard move.
So rather than the usual bubble shield that appears for most characters--which we admit
the Inkling’s Bubbler would be perfect for, the Guard button would transform the player
into the squid form, allowing for instant access at any time with a button your finger
is always on--which would be the same one used in Splatoon and Splatoon 2.
So this would obviously be a very different way of guarding--because you’re not really
guarding at all--instead it’s about dodging attacks entirely by hiding in the ink and
being mostly invisible to the other players.
Even low attacks would sail right over the Inklings while they were hiding in ink unless
the attack carried your player over the area they were hiding, although an Inkling swimming
around would leave them slightly more exposed.
An example of this type of attack would be Captain Falcon’s Falcon Kick along the surface.
Not only would this dissipate the ink but force the Inkling out of hiding to take damage.
It’s a mechanic that makes the Inklings extremely different from the other characters
while still staying true to their own.
As a result of this mechanic though, that would also mean that dodge rolls wouldn’t
be an option, however, air dodges would still be possible.
But what if you tried turning into a squid without any ink around?
Well, since the Inkling is still flat on the ground, it would cause all but low attacks
and grabs to fly right over them.
But let’s get into their actual combat as it too is very different from every other
Smash character we’ve had so far.
As Splatoon shows, the Inklings can fight, but they’re not really physical fighters.
It’s kind of the same as with Captain Falcon and Fox, who had to have new moves invented
that felt true to their characters.
Inklings have moves, but they’re all inherently long distance since they come from a shooter.
While it’s possible that they could have the Inkling throw a punch, we can’t really
see it happening.
Instead, like Mega Man, we have to pull from the weapons they have available and we decided
to primarily draw inspiration from Splatoon 2.
It’s the newer version that more people are familiar with even though the two Inkling
designs we’ve seen so far are based on the original game.
We also had two alternative ideas to how the Inklings could work--one being bit more wild
than usual.
With that one, we played with the idea of them being able to swap between different
weapon loadouts on the fly, in a similar way to the Pokémon Trainer.
But this also leads to a lot more complexity with a ton more options involving three different
movesets that matched with the main weapon types, being Splattershot, Splat Charger,
Splat Roller.
So instead of exploring the insane amount of moves possible in that case, we’ve instead
gone with a more conventional setup to make use of as many different weapons from Splatoon
within a single move-set, a la Mega Man.
At any rate, the Inklings’ neutral attack would come in the form of the Splattershot,
which was featured heavily in the reveal trailer.
But how powerful should it be?
Should each shot briefly stun the opponent like Falco’s blaster or should it have no
effect on their movement like Fox’s?
Well, given that it’d be a constant stream of ink, we think it’d be a bit much to keep
a character stunned the entire time they’re being hit.
So instead, only the initial attack from the Splattershot will cause a reaction in the
opponent, while the subsequent ink shots will rack up the percentage in the same way as
Fox’s Blaster.
Players could even perform short bursts that would be slower but possibly further stun
the enemy to make it more like Falco’s Blaster.
The Forward Tilt would pull inspiration from Mega Man, allowing the Inkling to use the
Splattershot while moving--which we think is important given shooting ink is kind of
the Inkling’s thing.
The Up Tilt is one of the few physical attacks that doesn’t use any ink as it would be
a quick attack upward while in squid form.
Down Tilt would be a quick shot directly below that would primarily be used as an option
for an Inkling to immediately drop into the ink and recover their ammunition.
Meanwhile, the Dash Attack could be reminiscent of a Super Jump, but instead of leaping high
into the air, it’s more of a straight shot forward while in Squid form to damage any
opponents ahead.
We like to think of it as a Squid Missile, or Squissile.
Then we have the Inklings’ Smashes which would utilize different weapons from Splatoon.
The Forward Smash would be the Blaster, perfect for a short shot ahead that causes a small
ink explosion to damage enemies.
For the Up Smash, we had two different ideas that could work.
The first would bring out the Slosher to throw a bucket of ink in an upward arc.
It could even go slightly ahead to arc over obstacles just like in Splatoon.
Alternatively, the Up Smash could come in the form a smaller Inkstrike that would work
in a similar way to Solid Snake’s Mortar from Super Smash Bros. Brawl.
It definitely wouldn’t cover the same radius as the Inkstrike from Splatoon.
Instead, it would probably work best with the blast radius of Snake’s mortar making
for a fun return.
Speaking of Snake, the Down Smash could be the Ink Mines, just like how Snake would bury
proximity mines in Brawl.
For an added effect, they could have an increased proximity radius if used in an spot that has
already been inked.
In the same vein, the Specials would also pull from the Inklings’ weaponry.
We saw in the reveal trailer that the Inklings’ toss out a Splat Bomb and believe that it
would work well as the neutral special.
The Side Special would bring out the Splat Roller, allowing the Inklings to run around
the stage with it while it constantly drains their ink reserves.
It could even be used in the air in order to fling a wave of ink at opponents, just
like in Splatoon.
The Down Special would use the Splat Charger, planting the Inkling in place, but allowing
them to attack from the longest distance in this moveset.
That is, if they can manage a full charge to send a burst of ink forward.
The Up Special would bring out the Ink Jet, but other than the initial thrust upward,
most of the damage it would cause would be below it.
As a recovery, it’s mostly horizontal but there would be some upward momentum, just
like with Donkey Kong’s Up Special.
For aerial attacks, the neutral would be a posed Dualie Shot just like the one the Inkling
performs when jumping and shooting while grinding in Splatoon 2.
It’d be more of a short burst to keep opponents at bay.
The Forward Aerial would be a quick toss of the Burst Bomb, which explodes immediately
upon contact with anything rather than the short timer of the Splat Bomb.
The Back Aerial would bring out the Splat Brella which would simultaneously block any
incoming attacks while sending out a short-ranged burst of ink.
Finally, the Up and Down Aerials would simply have the Inkling shoot their Splattershot
straight into the air or directly below them.
In the case of the Up Aerial, the ink would fall back down, inking the stage below.
The Grab seemed a little tricky at first since the Inkling’s don’t physically touch other
players in Splatoon.
But the Villager provided the inspiration for a possible option, the Bubble Blower.
Like the Villager’s net, this would lasso them in the middle of the ring with a half-formed
bubble above them.
Pummeling them would just consist of shaking the Blower while they were trapped inside.
And the throws in any direction would all follow the same basic concept where the opponent
would float for a second or two before the bubble burst, damaging them and spreading
more ink.
The only exception would be the Down Throw which would burst the bubble immediately.
Then there’s the Inklings’ rising moves when they’re knocked to the ground.
They can perform a small attack to clear out any nearby opponents as they get up.
If they attack to the front, it’ll be a quick swipe of the the Inkbrush.
If they attack behind, they’ll perform a roll with the help of the Dualies and the
burst of ink from the guns will still damage the opponent.
If they get up without any movement, they’ll swing their Inkbrush in a circular motion
to clear anyone in their way.
And if they attack while hanging on to the edge, the Inklings’ will become a Squid
to physically ram into whoever might be nearby.
The final piece of the moveset is the Inklings’ Final Smash.
We wanted to draw from a Special for this but deciding which one proved to be tricky
as many of them would work quite well as a Final Smash.
Ultimately though, we decided on the Stingray as its initial stream would allow the Inkling
to aim their shot while damaging enemies before the gigantic burst would send them flying.
Though its cone of effectiveness wouldn’t be as wide as Samus or Mario’s Final Smash,
it would be able to go through platforms and across entire stages until it hit the edge
of the screen, even with massive stages like New Pork City or The Great Cave Offensive.
But that’s not everything that goes into a Smash character.
There’s the fun little touches as well.
Such as how they appear on stage at the beginning of a match and this one’s pretty easy.
They would form from the ground and shake off the ink, just like in Splatoon before
the matches begin.
Maybe the spawner will even make an appearance below them before disappearing like Mario’s
pipe.
The Inklings’ would also have three taunts.
One would be a weapon twirl to show off their moves, similar in a way to their victory pose
in Splatoon.
Another would have them take a selfie as these are trendy squid kids we’re talking about.
And the third would have them pose in their Squid form.
What would be really cool though is if there was an Easter Egg involving taunts and the
Inklings’ stage in a similar manner to Otacon talking to Snake on Shadow Moses or Palutena’s
Guidance.
Having Callie, Marie, Pearl, and Marina pop up to comment on different fighters would
be a great way to have them appear in Smash and stay true to their characters.
The last bit involves the different costumes and colors the Inklings’ would have.
Like the Villager, Wii Fit Trainer, and Robin, there would be four for the girls and four
for the boys.
The main costume would likely be the orange Inkling girl that we saw during the reveal
trailer and was used as the basis for the amiibo.
The same goes for the Inkling boy who would be color 2.
The Splatoon 2 Inkling amiibo would act as the inspiration for Inkling costumes 3 and
4 with the Pink Inkling girl as 3 and the green Inkling boy as 4.
For the next two colors, we looked at some of the other official artwork for Splatoon
2 and decided that a turquoise Inkling girl would work well alongside the purple Inkling
boy.
The final two colors would only be slightly different from one another, but we think that
the excitement for the upcoming Splatoon 2 Octo Expansion means that the Octoling girl
and boy should be in the game.
They’re too popular to leave out.
Naturally, the color of these Inklings would also affect the color of their ink that they
shoot.
These are just our ideas for how the Inklings could work in Super Smash Bros. for the Switch.
We wanted to stay as true to the characters as possible while taking liberties where we
had to and never really worried about the competitive scene.
It all just shows how many possibilities there are when it comes to the Inklings as playable
fighters.
There are so many directions that Sakurai and his team could take, and we’re pretty
sure he’d find some way to make them incredibly fun.
But what about all of you?
Did you like our ideas?
Are there any aspects you would change?
Or would you have them work in a completely different way?
Let us know in the comments and be sure to hit that subscribe button for future Smash
Bros. coverage and even more from GameXplain.