Bandits Steal... The Spotlight!?

#Minions4Smash

Greetings, Gunvolt Gang! Azure here entering the Minions for Smash contest, where we have to make generic enenmy characters from a series already repped in Smash playable! If you've read the title and know me at all, then you can see where I'm going with this. Being the Fire Emblem fanatic that I am, of course it's only right to bring the MOST iconic enemy from that franchise into Smash. That of course is...

BANDITS!

Bandits are in every Fire Emblem game, usually appearing as the first mission you take on. Generally they are axe wielding classes such as Fighter or Barbarian, but Bandits as a whole can be a multitude of different classes. You see where I'm going with this, yeah? Just like how Piranha Plant is an amalgamation of many different Piranha Plants, the Bandit will be the ultimate Fire Emblem character, with many weapon types and abilities at their disposal. With that all said, making a full on moveset for a Bandit can prove challenging, which is why some creative liberties will be taken. However where I can, I will be utilising source material that is available, such as critical hit animations, attack animations for that class, etc. Now let's delve into the Fighter, starting with...

Well, the subtitle says Stats, but this is moreso the general Fighter itself. Here I'm some general stuff that is more tied to the fighter than the moveset. First up, the actual stats.

Weight Value: 107

Running Speed: 1.519

Air Speed: 0.931

Fall Speed: 1.6

The alternate costumes are several different types of Bandits over the course of the series history, though we do have a few repeat games. Our default costume will be based off the generic Bandit design from Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia. Secondly we have a nameless Brigand Boss, who also appears in Shadows of Valentia. Third and fourth are generic bandit appearances from Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance. Fifth is a generic Barbarian from Fire Emblem Awakening, Sixth is a generic Fighter from Fire Emblem Fates, Seventh is a generic Bandit from Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones, and finally we have a Brigand from Fire Emblem Three Houses. You can see that Ferdinand as the Brigand Class is representing them in the image, but that's simply because I couldn't find a good image of a generic Three Houses Brigand, which is what they'll actually look like in Smash.

Their Boxing Ring Title is "Beginner of Great Journeys", referencing how they are often at the start of the grand journey that the main character embarks on in Fire Emblem games. Their Kirby hat gives him an axe and bandana based on the default costume. You'll see what Kirby's replacement Neutral Special will be in a bit! His taunts don't carry much origin, but I will say if they do. Up Taunt has Bandit toss a bag of gold around in his hands, as well, bandits are known for stealing gold, especially in medieval settings like Fire Emblem. Side Taunt has them pull out a Devil Axe and charge up with a purple aura around it. The Devil Axe is an infamous weapon from Fire Emblem that you'll see more of later. And finally Down Taunt has the Bandit laugh, as bandit voice lines often contain laughing in Fire Emblem games. For example, Garrick in Awakening:

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《Neutral Attacks》

:black_small_square: Jabs and Tilts :black_small_square:

Bandit's Jab is fairly simple, as are most jabs. First, a horizontal swing, then followed up by an upwards diagonal swing. Both of these use the axe. Attack animations are hard to get images for, so you'll have to take my word when I say it's based on an attack animation and critical animation of the Brigand class in Three Houses.

Dash Attack is based off a Thief attack animation from Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade. They pull our a knife and slash across before diving back a bit. Thankfully I was able to find the animation for this one. You can see that the slice consists of two quick hits, which are automatic and do not require 2 inputs for Smash. Both Edge Attack and Getup attack also use a dagger/knife, but they're being grouped here as they aren't as significant to a moveset.

For their Forward tilt, they take an Iron lance and thrust it forward. This attack has a tipper effect and is primarily based on Armour Knight lance animations from Fire Emblem Awakening.

Down Tilt is a downward swing of an axe, based on a Bandit attack animation from Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon. To describe it, you could say it's similar to Byleth's Down Special animation wise, except the swing isn't overhead.

Up Tilt was a bit harder, since Fire Emblem animations don't typically utilise upwards attacks. However since Bandits are often different classes, an idea struck. Once again pulling from Three Houses, the Bandit will take a pair of Iron Gauntlets and punch straight up with one of them. This is one of the few animations in Fire Emblem that actually go upwards, as in Three Houses a gauntlet animation shows this. In fact, I've brought an image for the occasion.

:black_small_square: Aerial Attacks :black_small_square:

Now for the Aerials. This is also where things got farily interesting, and where some moves had to me somewhat made up to actually fit. Firstly, Neutral Air is a somersault with a sword in hand, based on part of a Mercenary class animation from Blazing Blade, however I believe it is also in other FE GBA titles.

Down Air is based on the descent part of the animation, functioning as a drop-down attack that looks very similar to the drop-down of Ike's Aether and Chrom's Soaring Slash. Naturally, it will Spike, as most kamikaze Down Airs do.

Amino has an image limit for blogs, so I can't show every move on the character. But Forward Air is a heavy one-handed axe strike based on a Bandit critical animation from the GBA era. In good old #ForwardAerial fashion, this move will also spike, adding another to the Bandit's arsenal.

I wanted to include a bow somewhere in this moveset, but having it as say, the Neutral Special, would be a bit unoriginal. So instead I'm rebranding Villager's Slingshot and making Back Air the bow and arrow. Bows are a very iconic Fire Emblem weapon and in esrly bandit maps there's usually that one archer you have to defeat (Shadows of Valentia to name one). It will function much like Villager's slingshot but of course with a bow and arrow. It'll be stronger but not as fast to use.

And finally for Up Air, the Bandit will thrust a lance up into the air. Much like Forward Tilt, this move has a tipper and can kill relatively early off the top thanks to it. The actual animation isn't based on any game in particular, however the lance used is the Awakening design (which albeit is very similar if not the same to numerous other designs across the series) much like in the Forward Tilt.

:black_small_square: Grab and Throws :black_small_square:

The bandit has a standard grab, and as Fire Emblem isn't a series where we see a lot of throwing, we'll have to do some improvising here too. Oh and the pummel is a headbutt, no origin there either. On with the throws then.

Forward Throw has them flip a bow sideways and fire through the opponent, who is stuck in place during the animation. This is based on the standard bow Combat Art animation for Fire Emblem Three Houses.

Back Throw is a turnaround swing of an axe, spinning with it in two hands like a spinning top, hitting foes multiple times before they're sent back by it. This has no origin, however axe critical aniamtions have shown the wielder to spin around in the past, such as the Warrior class from Fire Emblem Three Houses.

Up Throw has the Bandit hold a Lightning Sword over their shoulder as a bolt of lightning comes from it and sends the opponent upwards, dealing electrical damage. This is based on the Mercenary class line's lightning sword animation from Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows Of Valentia.

Down throw is a downwards thrust into the opponent with a basic lance, nothing really special about it. I did say I'd have to improvise a little, y'know?

:black_small_square: Smash Attacks :black_small_square:

Now the Smash attacks. Since these moves are grounded I can keep them a little closer to the Source material than the Aerials and Throws.

Up Smash has the Bandit pull out a Javelin and throw it up. It will then come crashing down, much like Snake's Up Smash. The animation in particular may not hold much origin, but the Javelin is an iconic weapon throughout the Fire Emblem series.

Down Smash utilises the same technique as the Back Throw, however this time it is closer to the start of the Warrior class critical animation from Three houses, making two full rotations, both with hitboxes that hit separately. This attack does not have the actual swing from the base animation.

Forward Smash is the same critical animation that I described during the Forward air. The bandit will take a short leap up and then slam down the axe. I avoided including an image there because it was going to come up later here. So here it is:

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《Special Attacks》

:black_small_square: Neutral Special- Devil Axe :black_small_square:

when I mentioned this axe during the taunts section? This is where it'll make its comeback. The devil axe is a reoccurring and powerful weapon from the Fire Emblem series, but it has a unique twist. The Bandit will (albeit quite slowly) swing the axe, dealing devastating damage and knockback. But there's a 1 in 10 chance of all the damage completely backfiring on the Bandit, leaving the opponent to take no damage and putting the Bandit at a terrible disadvantage, not to mention the piles of damage they've just heaped onto themself! It's an extremely risky move and has a window be cancelled before it's too late (in case you misinput), but there's no way to tell whether it'll hurt you or your foe until the swing is complete, and by then it's too late for backsies. Are you willing to take the risk?

:black_small_square: Side Special- Hand Axe :black_small_square:

Based on a crit animation from Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade, the Bandit will throw a Hand Axe across the stage like a boomerang. The attack can be sloghtly angled, but not to the degree of say Link, despite them being similar in function. Like the Javelin, the Hand Axe is important to the series as it's a core staple weapon for 2-range combat.

:black_small_square: Up Special- Wyvern Flight :black_small_square:

This one was a bit tricky at first. While Pegasi are arguably more important to Fire Emblem, males cannot ride them in most games. So I decided on a wyvern. Wyvern Rider is also a farily iconic class, specialising in axes also makes it very fitting for the Bandit as well. A wyvern will swoop in from the background and fly straight upwards while spinning, much like Charizard's Up Special. If used on the ground, the Wyvern will instead charge forward. Once the animation for either varients is over, the Wyvern will soar back into the distance. The aerial version does put the Bandit in freefall after use, like most recoveries.

:black_small_square: Down Special- Ballista :black_small_square:

As a reference to Fire Emblem Shadow Dragon, the Bandit will become the Ballistician class, hopping into a vehicle and firing a giant arrow into the sky. This attack can't be angled, as it flies up and comes down at an arc. After using the attack, the vehicle will disappear while the arrow is flying down, so the Bandit can move around. The Arrow can be shielded, but since the Bandit can attack you, be careful not to get your shield broken.

:black_small_square: FINAL SMASH- "Get 'Em, Lads!" :black_small_square:

For their Final Smash, the Bandit will throw a Large Bullion at the opponent as a starting hitbox. They'll then yell "Get 'Em, Lads!" (Hence the name of the move) as a giant swarm of bandits rush towards the enemy and trample them into the dirt, not unlike Yoshi's Final Smash. After the last bandit has ran over them, the main, playable Bandit jumps into the fray and slams the Devil Axe down as the final powerful hit, and this time without a backfire chance as funny as that would be. If the opponent is at 100% or higher by the time the cutscene is finished, the opponent is instantly KO'd. The Bandits that trample the opponents are all generic, using appearances from many classes over Fire Emblem history, such as the Three Houses Thief design and Fates Outlaw design. None of them overlap with the playable variants.

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《Conclusion》

Thanks for reading! I'll it, a week ago I'd never even considered making a generic Bandit moveset, but here we are. Good luck to all the other contestants out there, may the best minion win! That's all for this blog, this has been your host Azure, stay safe and have a great day!

Well I could end the blog normally

OR I COULD USE THE WARP STAFF

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