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[RomanceDawn]

The only part that's difficult to picture about the Clown Car is how it'd be balanced when it's always flying. I suppose it could be made to hover close to the ground. It's not as natural as, say, MODOK in MvC3, because Smash is a game of sumo, and so the ability to hover indefinitely could give a character an unfair advantage. But I'm sure Sakurai could make it work if he really wanted.

Otherwise, it's fairly simple -- the Koopa Clown Car would be the fighter, with its boxing gloves and propeller and Bullet Bills and Bob-ombs and Mecha-Koopas and Big Steelies. The pilot would be Bowser Jr. or any of the Koopalings as alts. It'd probably be called "Koopa Clown Car" on the select screen and website, but the announcer would say the name of whichever Koopa you chose to pilot it (similar to announcing the individual Pokémon in Pokémon Trainer's group when you won in Brawl). Since the fighter is the car itself, it'd have one set of hit-boxes no matter who is flying it.

It's one rumor I'd really like to be true. There's really no reason to think it is true, though.

Yeah hovering thing is honestly no different than Charizard and MetaKnight hovering over the ground as their dash or better yet how Mewtwo is always hovering across the ground when he moves. The clown car doesn't need to leave the ground like ROB or Pit's old up B for constant flight. Its a non-issue really.

 

[MrSaturn99]

I'll only accept Bowser Jr. being playable if it means we get a playable Iggy.

Spoiler

preferably with his rainbow hair

 

[Ryce]

Is Diddy second party? I know Rare made him, but I think Nintendo fully owns him.

I meant second-party in that they were designed outside of an internal Nintendo studio. Nintendo technically owns all of the characters on that list.

 

[Neiteio]

The Clown Car would work fine just hovering slightly over the ground. I don't think that's a huge technical problem.

The question is how does it fall off the stage. It's a flying machine, after all.

I'm sure Sakurai could find a solution, but it's just hard to imagine one offhand.

 

[Neiteio]

Well it could either hover above the ground and have something like peaches float instead of multiple jumps.

Or they could redesign it slightly and give it little legs.

I'm all for it just so we can get the Koopa Clown Car in the game.

OK, if they went with the Yoshi Safari mechs, Sakurai would gain 10,000EXP in my eyes

 

[balladofwindfishes]

The question is how does it fall off the stage. It's a flying machine, after all.

I'm sure Sakurai could find a solution, but it's just hard to imagine one offhand.

The same way Charizard/Kirby/Dedede/Metaknight can fall off the stage, I presume

 

[BakedYams]

Rayman confirmed? Wait for 2:14

He did say Rayman. Wouldn't be surprised and Rayman deserves it. Give me Snake and I'm happy.

I love Rayman, and respect projects like Zombi U

however

Ubisoft increasingly gives me that slimy feeling I get from Jersey Shore or Keeping Up with the Kardashians, if that makes sense

Neiteio, I feel like you and me are brothers or the same person.

I just wrote everything on my mind that I remembered

if I remembered it it must be important

or something

anthony is gaf's writing major extraordinaire.

 

[Hatchtag]

I meant second-party in that they were designed outside of an internal Nintendo studio. Nintendo technically owns all of the characters on that list.

Ah. That said, I think Sakurai can just use diddy if he wants to, but with Pokemon and Fire Emblem he needs to get permission from Intelligent Systems and The Pokemon Company or Gamefreak. Could be completely wrong though.

 

[Lord_Byron28]

It seems like noone is really getting it.

Its not Bowser Jr thats playable, its the Koopa Car with either Bowser Jr, or any of the Koopalings. It seems to me that the Koopalings aren't alts, since they are DIFFERENT PEOPLE, but all share the same slot regardless because being in the Clown Car, with the shield over it, would make them all have the same hitboxes. The name of the slot itself would probably be "Koopa Kids" or something.

That alone makes me believe the leak. I don't think noone has thought about it, yet it makes perfect sense. Also Nintendo has been promoting the Koopalings alot more in recent years leading them to be the main newcomers in MK8. In retropect, atleast imo, there is absolutely no way that the Koopalings aren't playable when I see just how they've been promoting them and how iconic they are. I honesly would be shocked if the leak was wrong, but as always we shall wait and see.

I dont get how items like the tanooki leaf or how things like Pikachu's roll grab would work on it is my big thing.

 

[Pompadour]

The Clown Car would work fine just hovering slightly over the ground. I don't think that's a huge technical problem.

I agree. If I were designing the character I would give the clown car a bunch of air jumps and an Up B that wasn't a recovery move, a la Yoshi. Brawl had crazy recovery options for lots of the cast and that specifically didn't break the game.

I would imagine the clown car as sort of a heavy hitter Jigglypuff.

 

[Odie_Esty]

I dont get how items like the tanooki leaf or how things like Pikachu's roll grab would work on it is my big thing.

Clearly the car itself would become a tanooki.

 

[Neiteio]

Neiteio, I feel like you and me are brothers or the same person.

Does this mean we'll start as best friends but then become mortal enemies when we discover Lucina is real and only one of us can have her

Actually, in that case you can have her but I get the boots

Spoiler

True love

 

[Beelzebufo]

It did for 160 million years.

Exactly, not exactly a super stable ecosystem, huh?

A planet of Ridleys would have to be freaking huge.

 

[RomanceDawn]

The question is how does it fall off the stage. It's a flying machine, after all.

I'm sure Sakurai could find a solution, but it's just hard to imagine one offhand.

Charizard and MetaKnight can fall of the stage and they are flying creatures in the fullest. It really isn't that hard to imagine. Yes it has a little propellor on its bottom and is depicted as almost always in flight in the source material but it will just fall and that will be that.

 

[NotLiquid]

I didn't play Other M yet, but basically Everything > Hunters. Hunters sucked. I only got halfway through sp and by the time I played it mp was completely hacked :/

Other M makes Hunters look like high art. Neither are good at following the standard Metroid formula but at least Hunters was consistent. Other M is a mess.

 

[Neiteio]

Charizard and MetaKnight can fall of the stage and they are flying creatures in the fullest. It really isn't that hard to imagine. Yes it has a little propellor on its bottom and is depicted as almost always in flight in the source material but it will just fall and that will be that.

Like I said, I'm sure they could make it work. It's just harder to picture than a wing-based creature since it's perpetually floating by way of its propeller.

But again, I must stress this, for this character and every character:

Sakurai can make ANYTHING work.

Even when he says he couldn't.

If he wills it, it will be.

 

[Tripon]

Smash 4 has been all about making characters stand up and removing 4 legged characters from the roster.

The Clown Car would defeat all of that.

 

[SmithnCo]

The koopa idea seems like a little Mario overkill. The idea is interesting though.

I kinda would want to control Bowser Jr. directly though, maybe as a fast but weak clone of Bowser.

 

[Lunar15]

Dude made the little guy from the game and watch games a character.

and fucking ROB.

Anything can happen.

 

[balladofwindfishes]

I dont get how items like the tanooki leaf or how things like Pikachu's roll grab would work on it is my big thing.

Treat the car as the character and stick the tail on the back of the car, and the ears where they would be if the car was a head. It has eyes and a face, ears can easily be placed on the rim above the eyes.

Or stick the tail on the car and the ears on the koopa.

Not impossible at all.

 

[rekameohs]

Rayman confirmed? Wait for 2:14

No, it's Rain Man.

 

[Beelzebufo]

Smash 4 has been all about making characters stand up and removing 4 legged characters from the roster.

The Clown Car would defeat all of that.

That's true, a lot of people are ignoring this. Sakurai has said multiple times in interviews that he specifically made these new Smash games to make characters stand on two legs. That's deconfirmation right there.

Like I said, I'm sure they could make it work. It's just harder to picture than a wing-based creature since it's perpetually floating by way of its propeller.

Yeah, if nothing else it'd be awkward to see the Clown Car jumping.

a 160 million years is absolutely fucking massive. Dinosaurs died out only 65 million years ago, barely half of that. The entirety of human existence, of all art, of all religion, is less than half of what the dinosaurs were around for. The dinosaurs didn't die because their ecosystem was unstable, they died because of an immense extinction event for which evidence is literally all over the planet. Were it not for the Cretaceous-Paleogene Extinction Event, Dinosaurs would likely still be top dog.

If an entire class of creatures can be wiped out by a single event, they're not living in a stable system. I don't understand why you're having so much trouble grasping this. There's no way Ridleys could live on Earth.

 

[Neiteio]

Smash 4 has been all about making characters stand up and removing 4 legged characters from the roster.

The Clown Car would defeat all of that.

There's nothing to suggest any of that. There'd be no reason for any of that. Ivysaur worked just as well as any other character. If he's gone, it's not because he's four-legged. And Bowser's posture adjustment was long overdue to make him more mobile and more in line with his modern-day depictions.

 

[Odie_Esty]

Exactly, not exactly a super stable ecosystem, huh?

A planet of Ridleys would have to be freaking huge.

a 160 million years is absolutely fucking massive. Dinosaurs died out only 65 million years ago, barely half of that. The entirety of human existence, of all art, of all religion, is less than half of what the dinosaurs were around for. The dinosaurs didn't die because their ecosystem was unstable, they died because of an immense extinction event for which evidence is literally all over the planet. Were it not for the Cretaceous-Paleogene Extinction Event, Dinosaurs would likely still be top dog.

 

[BakedYams]

Does this mean we'll start as best friends but then become mortal enemies when we discover Lucina is real and only one of us can have her

Actually, in that case you can have her but I get the boots

Spoiler

True love

Did you just go King Solomon with a foot fetish on me?

Spoiler

I love it.

 

[SmithnCo]

Smash 4 has been all about making characters stand up and removing 4 legged characters from the roster.

The Clown Car would defeat all of that.

There was only one true four-legged character. Just a casualty like squirtle.

 

[Neiteio]

Yeah, if nothing else it'd be awkward to see the Clown Car jumping.

I imagine the Clown Car's jump would look similar to how it moved when you controlled it in the final battle of NSMBU. Actually, the downward drill move from that game would make a cool down-tilt or down special.

 

[Ryce]

My biggest problems with the Koopaling "leak" (which I'm sure is absolutely fake):

• Bowser Jr. isn't a Koopaling, so the character couldn't be named that. "Koopa Clown Car" would be an even dumber character name.
• The Koopalings are barely associated with the Clown Car. It'd be a really bizarre representation of those characters. They all appear together briefly in a giant Clown Car in NSMB2, but that's it. Unlike Bowser Jr., they don't fight with one.
• The Koopalings all have completely different personalities -- that's sort of their defining trademark -- so a universal set of taunts/win poses wouldn't work.

It just seems to me that someone is desperately trying to out-WTF Sakurai without actually thinking through the concept. Sakurai's unlikely choices actually make sense, but this one doesn't.

 

[RomanceDawn]

Like I said, I'm sure they could make it work. It's just harder to picture than a wing-based creature since it's perpetually floating by way of its propeller.

But again, I must stress this, for this character and every character:

Sakurai can make ANYTHING work.

Even when he says he couldn't.

If he wills it, it will be.

Mewtwo is one of those guys I couldn't conceptualize as a kid. I thought his powers would be too much for the Smash cast and he can just float at any given moment. After I saw how they depicted his floating in the game I just stopped questioning certain things.

As for the Pikachu back throw, Pikachu doing a back throw and rolling the clown car will be no different than Pikachu back throwing Bowser.

 

[Lord_Byron28]

Treat the car as the character and stick the tail on the back of the car, and the ears where they would be if the car was a head. It has eyes and a face, ears can easily be placed on the rim above the eyes.

Or stick the tail on the car and the ears on the koopa.

Not impossible at all.

What about things like Pikachu's grab attacks? All the animations im imagining would look completely ridiculous with the Koopa car.

 

[JavelinRobin]

The Koopalings all have completely different personalities.

...they do?

 

[BGBW]

Animated Mario fan trailer for Smash Bros. 4 Super Smash Bros. - Mario Jumps into Battle! (Wii U & Nintendo 3DS). Fan Trailer

Nicely made, though the use of Brawl models does detract from it a bit (I assume they used ripped models from the game)

 

[Odie_Esty]

...they do?

Of course! One of them is bald, one of them is blue, one of them is green...

 

[Neiteio]

My biggest problems with the Koopaling "leak" (which I'm sure is absolutely fake):

• Bowser Jr. isn't a Koopaling, so the character couldn't be named that. "Koopa Clown Car" would be an even dumber character name.
• The Koopalings are barely associated with the Clown Car. It'd be a really bizarre representation of those characters. They all appear together briefly in a giant Clown Car in NSMB2, but that's it. Unlike Bowser Jr., they don't fight with one.
• The Koopalings all have completely different personalities -- that's sort of their defining trademark -- so a universal set of taunts/win poses wouldn't work.

It just seems to me that someone is desperately trying to out-WTF Sakurai without actually thinking through the concept. Sakurai's unlikely choices actually make sense, but this one doesn't.

I could see them calling it Koopa Clown Car. It's the car doing the fighting, after all. You could still name the individual pilots on the victory screen, similar to Pokémon Trainer (which honestly wasn't that great a name, either).

They could conceivably vary the animations a bit for the different pilots. Enclosed in a glass bubble, they'd still have the same hit-boxes no matter how they're shown moving inside.

The car would have to be rather large to accommodate Roy and Morton, however. Which means Lemmy, on the opposite end of the spectrum, would look rather small in the car. However, that could be part of the visual humor.

I don't "believe" the rumor, but I think it's a legitimately workable idea.

 

[georly]

Exactly, not exactly a super stable ecosystem, huh?

A planet of Ridleys would have to be freaking huge.

Uh.... not sure if serious.

 

[Storm Kyleis]

...they do?

Yes.

There is barely any character development in the main platform series, but they have starred together in many other games and medias.

 

[Pompadour]

My biggest problems with the Koopaling "leak" (which I'm sure is absolutely fake):

• Bowser Jr. isn't a Koopaling, so the character couldn't be named that. "Koopa Clown Car" would be an even dumber character name.
• The Koopalings are barely associated with the Clown Car. It'd be a really bizarre representation of those characters. They all appear together briefly in a giant Clown Car in NSMB2, but that's it. Unlike Bowser Jr., they don't fight with one.
• The Koopalings all have completely different personalities -- that's sort of their defining trademark -- so a universal set of taunts/win poses wouldn't work.

It just seems to me that someone is desperately trying to out-WTF Sakurai without actually thinking through the concept. Sakurai's unlikely choices actually make sense, but this one doesn't.

* Couldn't the name change when you select a different character? I imagine Bowser Jr. would be the "leader" and be the one represented on the character select screen.
* I don't think this matters that much. Captain Falcon never fought with his fists until Smash Bros. Half of Ness's move set is borrowed from other characters.
* This is your one point I think holds water. I don't think Sakurai is willing to create eight different sets of taunts and winposes. Of course, some of the taunts and/or winposes can be shared but if each character was completely identical in animations it would be kind of a waste.

I'm still holding out on believing this leak. I just really want it to be true as Roy (Koopa) is my boy.

 

[Lord_Byron28]

Mewtwo is one of those guys I couldn't conceptualize as a kid. I thought his powers would be too much for the Smash cast and he can just float at any given moment. After I saw how they depicted his floating in the game I just stopped questioning certain things.

As for the Pikachu back throw, Pikachu doing a back throw and rolling the clown car will be no different than Pikachu back throwing Bowser.

Pikachu's rolling back throw looks fine on Bowser because he has a spine and can bend his body. The car is a chunk of metal that can't contort and bend in the same way as a living thing.

 

[Ryce]

You could still name the individual pilots on the victory screen, similar to Pokémon Trainer (which honestly wasn't that great a name, either).

Charizard, Squirtle, and Ivysaur were considered separate characters, but this leak states that the Koopalings are simply skins.

 

[rawktapus]

...they do?

They're pretty stereotypical, but they are unique and seperate. Morton acting like Wendy would certainly seem....off.

 

[Neiteio]

Charizard, Squirtle, and Ivysaur were considered separate characters, but this leak states that the Koopalings are simply skins.

Sakurai said that characters can vary in name, voice and looks and still be "skins" so long as they play the same, though. Thus, a skin could have its individual name called out on the victory screen. So I think it's plausible, given the parameters we have to work off.

Again, though, I'm not saying there's reason to believe this rumor. I'm just saying it doesn't seem beyond the realm of possibility.

 

[Odie_Esty]

The car is a chunk of metal that can't contort and bend in the same way as a living thing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7pxap-M_--k

 

[georly]

Pikachu's rolling back throw looks fine on Bowser because he has a spine and can bend his body. The car is a chunk of metal that can't contort and bend in the same way as a living thing.

It's arms (and legs) could give the illusion of bending backwards. He could also make it contort or bed. He could also redesign the koopa car to work for smash. One simple offhand comment would address it. "I had to make some changes to make it work for smash bros, I hope you'll understand." or "It looks a little different, doesn't it?" Sakurai could make it work, and at worst, it just looks a little weird.

 

[JavelinRobin]

Yes.

There is barely any character development in the main platform series, but they have starred together in many other games and medias.

Fair point. But I think maybe people are thinking about this too much. Having them all laugh or do some sort of flip and pose on the victory screen doesn't exactly break down their established "characters."

 

[Beelzebufo]

It's also sort of fishy that we didn't hear anything about these characters (basically all of which involve alternate costumes/clones, outside of Duck Hunt Dog) until after Lucina was revealed, showing that clones were possible, after that interview released, showing Sakurai may be open to the possibility of different character alts if they have the same abilities, and after Takamaru was confirmed, making DHD the new go-to retro rep. Even if this stuff was shown before Takamaru was deconfirmed, still seems pretty convenient. Unless I'm totally wrong about the timeline?

 

[Neiteio]

It's arms (and legs) could give the illusion of bending backwards. Sakurai could make it work, and at worst, it just looks a little weird.

The facial expression on the Koopa Clown Car can change, as well

 

[RomanceDawn]

My biggest problems with the Koopaling "leak" (which I'm sure is absolutely fake):

• Bowser Jr. isn't a Koopaling, so the character couldn't be named that. "Koopa Clown Car" would be an even dumber character name.
• The Koopalings are barely associated with the Clown Car. It'd be a really bizarre representation of those characters. They all appear together briefly in a giant Clown Car in NSMB2, but that's it. Unlike Bowser Jr., they don't fight with one.
• The Koopalings all have completely different personalities -- that's sort of their defining trademark -- so a universal set of taunts/win poses wouldn't work.

It just seems to me that someone is desperately trying to out-WTF Sakurai without actually thinking through the concept. Sakurai's unlikely choices actually make sense, but this one doesn't.

I'm not saying the leak is real despite believing it for the most part but I think some of your reasonings against it don't hold much weight. It will probably be named Bowser. Jr, with each alt getting a different name like Lucina was intended to be.

Characters in Smash use attacks from other characters in their source games all the time. Them being in the clown car is hardly farfetched and it's been done before in the source games however briefly.

The koppalings might all have different poses and victories and they might not. Fox, Wolf and Falco get different voice work when they battle against each other. Some characters like Snake and the Star Fox guys get special treatment on their stages well. Each character does have more than 1 victory animation right? What of each Koopaling gets just one?

The actual fighting animations would probably be identical as well. So many characters share assets anyway I just don't see it as an issue. Now idle animations might differ a bit but their personalities don't differ that much, they are all just like bad little kids. I mean in Mario Kart what truly defines them but their voices and maybe Wendy blowing a kiss?

I just don't think its that out there of an idea.

 

[NeonZ]

Speaking of Wolf

Why was he in Brawl?
I don't mind him at all, I think he's a nice character.

But...
1. He wasn't "easy" to add. He's not really a clone, and shares no animations with Fox.
2. He's not really that important in his own series, more like a pest than anything
3. Star Fox isn't really that big of a series to get 3 characters.

Wolf was a big character in Assault, unlockable for multiplayer and with many appearances, including as an ally. And, after that, there was Command, all around the time where Brawl line up was decided, and some time before it became obvious that Star Fox was pretty much dead.

Still, I think the main reason behind his addition was the popularity of the other Star Fox characters in Smash. That's likely why he was made in Fox's "mold" even though he doesn't directly reuse anything aside from Fox's Final Smash. He was a character added mainly to please fans of the other space animals in Smash itself. Of course, this is just speculation.

 

[Neiteio]

While I don't see reason to believe it (nor rule it out), I will say that the Koopa Clown Car would add something that's been missing from the newcomers so far, at least in terms of aesthetics.

So far, many of the newcomers have been human or human-esque (Villager, Mega Man, Wii Fit Trainer, Rosalina, Little Mac, Mii Fighters, Palutena, Lucina, Robin), so this would add some more animal mascots that feel distinctly "Nintendo-y." Also, it'd add some needed color -- the newcomers so far have prominently featured dark colors, especially blue, so adding the Koopalings with their greens and oranges and reds would be nice.

 

[Ryce]

Sakurai said that characters can vary in name, voice and looks and still be "skins" so long as they play the same, though.

But the Koopalings shouldn't/wouldn't play the same, and that's part of the problem. I might put stock in the rumor if it mentioned only Bowser Jr., but the Koopaling alts are too nonsensical for me to believe. They don't fight or behave like each other in the Mario games, so why would they all be alternate costumes? I understand color homages, sure, but full-on model changes would be bizarre.