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Tuesday, February 23, 2021

Bowser's Shulk-Bash Backslash Backlash

By LUDWIG VON KOOPA - One-upping basic “M” alliteration with a tongue twisting tale.

One consequence of the Pyra and Mythra newcomer announcement from last week's Nintendo Direct is that there's new artwork associated with their Super Smash Bros. Ultimate existence:

There's a lot of very interesting things going on here. First, pay attention to Mythra's outfit. In a previous KoopaTV article titled “Massive Melee Mythra is a Marvelous Meta Miracle” by ex-KoopaTV staffer RawkHawk2010, he predicted—over two years ago—that Mythra's leggings and Xenoblade Chronicles 2 DLC would result in Mythra appearing in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate in more than just a Spirit capacity. By the end, he was rudely warning King Bowser Koopa about Mythra, referencing Shulk's trailer that we saw in an August 2014 Nintendo Direct. What you need to know about that trailer is it began with Bowser innocently wandering the Gaur Plain and watching butterflies, and then this Shulk jerk surprise BACK SLASHES the Koopa King for no reason. That was the first time I had ever heard of Shulk.

Super Smash Bros. For Wii U Shulk Back Slash Bowser trailer
Shulk Back Slashed Bowser in his debut trailer for Super Smash Bros. For Wii U.
I've personally held a grudge against Shulk ever since.


Now, look back at the embedded artwork at the top of the page by Masatsugu Saito. Notice who is right behind Shulk's back? That's right. It's King Bowser Koopa. And while everyone's Xenoblade Chronicles attention is on Pyra and on Mythra, Lord Bowser, expertly avoiding Pyra's and Mythra's trailer altogether (as did every other Koopa in the game, including myself), is instead using this time for REVENGE on Shulk. Saito happened to catch the moment before the backslash backlash.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Bowser slashes Shulk's back forward air
King Dad doesn't need a SWORD to slash Shulk in the back. He has his claws!


But it's more than just exchanging a Back Slash with a back slash (forward aerial). You see that pose in the artwork Lord Bowser is doing right in back of Shulk (and Shulk clearly isn't paying attention to the magnificent Koopa behind him)? It looks a bit like this, right?

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Gaur Plain Bowser mouth open start-up animation to Fire Breath on Shulk
King Koopa appears to be readying for something... A battle cry? Or...


Well, if you really want to know what happens next, here you go:

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Gaur Plain Bowser Fire Breath on Shulk
Game over, Shulk! Bet you didn't have a vision of THIS, huh?! FIRE BREATH!


With Shulk burnt to a crisp, we Koopas can focus on meeting the challenge posed by Pyra and Mythra—should they dare make us a target to begin with (as Rawk suggested—with a video, even—would happen in his visionary 2018 article). Lord Bowser has the flames to match Pyra, and the sharp slicey-ness to match Mythra, so the girls can swap all they want, but they won't outdo his natural abilities. And we Koopas at KoopaTV support him all the way!


Do you think 2021 is finally the year that the Koopas will assert dominance over the Xenoblade characters? Are you surprised that Ludwig has been holding an anti-Shulk grudge ever since that debut trailer in 2014? Should Pyra and Mythra be associated with that incident to begin with? KoopaTV will read and respond to your comments. ...Also, you can comment how many times you could say the article title out loud before messing up. Ludwig's record is a whopping...two times.


Pyra and Mythra had a dedicated developer presentation showing them off, and no Koopas were involved. But Mario did get attacked by them. Multiple times!

4 comments :

  1. Shulk deserved it. Also I hate this title what a tongue twister. Specifically the last three words. I keep trying to say it ten times fast and just ugh! The art looks good and I understand everyone has a different style, but Mario looks kinda off here. At least compared to all of the other characters.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. "Specifically the last three words."
      So...everything but Bowser?

      Delete
    2. Well only the bash part of shulk-bash. Bash backslash backlash. I'll try saying it again. BashBackslashBacklashBashBackslashBacklashBashBackslashBacklashBashBackslashBacklashBashBackslashBacklashBashBackslashBacklashBashBackslashBacklashBashBackslashBacklashBashBackslashBacklashBashBackslashBacklash! Nope, still can't do it.

      Delete
    3. Well, nine times is better than what I can do.

      Delete

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