These are some of my favorite characters not only in gaming, but media in general, that I've designed Smash-esque movesets for.
The list consists of both characters I would actually wish to have in a Smash game, and others whose potential of appearing in one is nigh impossible, but still had realizable movesets going for them from my judgment. I've separated both types with a "Possible?" column in their character infoboxes; possible characters come first in the list, and have reasons listed for their inclusion or exclusion.
So far there's only one character in this page; I used to have more concepts, but they were made prior to Ultimate, and I deleted the page to adjust them after the game came out.
In all moveset tables, damage is listed without the 1v1 multiplier (as base damage).
Zero
| Zero | |
|---|---|
 
| |
| Universe | Mega Man |
| Possible? | Yes |
| “ | Zero Goes On A Hunt! | ” |
| —Introduction Tagline | ||
Zero (ゼロ, Zero) is the famous Maverick Hunter from Mega Man X, one of DracoRex's favorite videogame franchises. Zero's current voice actors, Johnny Yong Bosch in English and Ryotaro Okiayu in Japanese, would reprise their roles.
Reasons for inclusion/exclusion
As a Mega Man X representative, Zero is by far the most important character, even more so than X himself, having his own sub-series as well as a bigger role in the story of some Mega Man X games.- His larger focus on melee-based techniques provides a more unique moveset compared to X, who would be too similar to Mega Man.
Being a third-party character from an franchise already represented with a playable fighter could hurt his chances...
- ...But then again, Smash has plenty of Capcom content already, and Zero being an Assist Trophy in Ultimate strongly supports his popularity.
Attributes
| Stats | Weight | Dash speed | Walk speed | Air speed | Traction | Falling speed | Air acceleration | Gravity | Wall jump | Crawl | Midair jumps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Value | 105 | 2.18 | 1.132 | 0.95 | 0.108 | 1.8 | 0.01 base 0.1 additional |
0.107 | Yes | No | 1 |
General
- Zero can both wall jump and wall cling. Unique to him is also a wall cling attack, which keeps him on the wall and can be used for as long as the cling lasts.
- Zero has the ability to air dash by tapping the control stick horizontally in midair. It consumes his double jump, and cannot be performed if he has already used it up. This also allows him to turn around in midair.
- An air dash lasts a maximum of half a second (30 frames), and can be canceled as soon as 1/3 of it is executed (on frame 11), either with another action or simply stopping tilting the control stick forward. Even after an air dash ends, its increased air speed carries over to Zero until it is canceled out by air friction.
- Similarly, by jumping out of his initial dash, Zero can perform a dash jump, which consistently increases his air speed, acceleration and friction until he air dodges, lands, grabs a ledge, clings to a wall, or gets hit. With the exception of down aerial (which is a stall-then-fall) and Ryuenjin, he can use any attack and keep the increased mobility.
- Dash attack, down smash, back aerial, and down aerial all produce projectiles.
- Down smash is unique in that it produces more projectiles the longer it is charged. However, its charge damage multiplier is half the usual amount to compensate.
- His side special, Twin Dream, temporarily summons a holographic clone of himself that mimicks his actions at a distance away, albeit dealing only half damage with attacks.
- His down special, Rakuhouha, spreads several strong projectiles around himself and grants invincibility, but can only be used on the ground and has 4 uses per stock.
Pros and cons
- Fast ground mobility and drift, alongside long reach in most attacks.
- A variety of projectiles that can be used for mid and long range combat, most notably Z-Buster (which can charge up to three projectiles) and Rakuhouha.
- Dash jumping and air dashing provide him with several unique spacing mixups.
- His down aerial, wall cling attack, and Twin Dream give him a powerful edgeguarding game.
- A plethora of reliable KO options at high percents.
- A fast, powerful out of shield option in Ryuenjin.
- Several attacks are above-average in lag, making them easy to punish unless carefully spaced.
- Like most swordfighters, Zero's tall stature and lack of fast retaliation moves leaves him particularly vulnerable to juggling. Although he possesses air dashing as a mixup, it consumes his double jump.
- Vulnerable recovery due to his slow default air speed, Ryuenjin's lack of protection, and the inability to use both a double jump and air dash.
- Some of his strongest options are limited, with Z-Buster requiring charging, Twin Dream having a 12.5-second cooldown, and Rakuhouha only having 4 uses per stock.
Moveset
- During his initial dash, air dash, and dash jump, Zero produces red afterimages of himself, much like in Mega Man X4 up to Mega Man X6. When these actions are canceled or (in the case of a dash jump) their effects are lost, the afterimages disappear.
| Move | Name | Damage | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Neutral attack | 2.5% | Slashes up to three times with the Z-Saber: first with an outward vertical slash, then an inward horizontal slash, and finally a heavier overhead slash. Based on his standard combo attack in Mega Man X4 and Mega Man X5. | |
| 2.5% | |||
| 4% | |||
| Forward tilt | Youdantotsu | 10% (base), 12.5% (tip) | Thrusts the Z-Saber while moving forward a short distance. The tip of the Z-Saber deals extra shield damage and can KO reliably at high percents. |
| Up tilt | Shoenzan | 4% (slash; hit 1), 2% (flame; hits 2-4) | Swings the Z-Saber set ablaze in an ascending arc in front of himself, creating a flame that rises upward. It drags targets up in multiple hits, and has relatively low ending lag, allowing it to combo into aerials at low percents. |
| Down tilt | 5% | Slashes horizontally across the floor while kneeling. Has the lowest lag out of Zero's tilts, and deals set knockback, with the tip of the Z-Saber always causing grounded targets to trip, giving it great followup ability. Based on his crouching attack in X5 and X6. | |
| Dash attack | W-Shredder | 11% | Comes to a halt and launches an afterimage of himself forward, which performs the Shippuuga, slashing with an energy blade. Covers a long distance for a dash attack, and has projectile properties, meaning Zero does not experience hitlag from it. However, it deals low shieldstun, and may miss if used too close to opponents. |
| Forward smash | Raijingeki | 2% (hits 1-7), 6% (hit 8) | Turns the Z-Saber into an electric beam and thrusts it forward, hitting targets multiple times. Possesses very slow startup, but it is Zero's stronger normal finisher, and its long duration and horizontal range allow it to easily catch opponents within its area of coverage. |
| Up smash | Ensuizan | 3% (hits 1-3), 6% (hit 4) | Leaps slightly off the ground and performs four quick somersaulting slashes above himself. Grants a few intangibility frames. Somewhat weak for a smash attack, but very effective for catching landings and contesting aerials due to its wide coverage. |
| Down smash | Earth Gaizer | 16% | Punches the ground to create two brown, rising energy bursts at his respective sides that reach up to above his head. Charging it allows Zero to summon up to three additional pairs of bursts at progressively farther distances away. A powerful vertical finisher, and gains immense horizontal coverage when charged. |
| Neutral aerial | C-Sword | 10% (clean), 8% (late) | A somersaulting slash in a full circle, generating an orange crescent blade in front of himself. Starts from the front, with the late hit constituting the second half of the slash. A decent KO move with the clean hit. |
| Forward aerial | 7% | A quick diagonal slash in front of himself. Has low lag all around, making it an excellent combo starter and extender, but its range is shorter than the rest of Zero's attacks, especially vertically. Based on his standard midair attack in X4 and X5. | |
| Back aerial | Fire Wave | 12% (slash), 4% (fireball, early), 6% (fireball, late) | An outward ascending slash with the Z-Saber set ablaze, which launches a short-ranged fireball in a straight line behind Zero. It is his strongest aerial if the slash hits, KOing at around 135% from center stage, and deals high damage if both the slash and fireball connect. However, it has moderate startup and landing lag. |
| Up aerial | Raijinshou | 1.8% (hits 1-6), 4.5% (hit 7) | Slashes in a spiraling motion with the Z-Saber held overhead, generating an electric tornado above himself that hits multiple times. It has a long duration, high vertical range, decent KO ability, and provides a similar hover effect to Fox's forward aerial, making it excellent for catching opponents above Zero. However, much like back aerial, it is slow in startup and landing lag. |
| Down aerial | Rakukojin | 13% (blade), 5% (anchor) | Turns the Z-Saber into a metallic blade and performs a diving thrust. Upon landing, the blade breaks apart and creates an anchor as a projectile, which bounces a short distance forward. Has very slow startup for an aerial, and high landing lag, but meteor smashes throughout its whole duration, Zero can slightly drift horizontally while it is active, and it doesn't drop him too far downward, allowing it to be used offstage without a large risk of SDing. The anchor can also be dropped off edges, functioning as a situational edgeguard tool. |
| Wall cling attack | 6% | Slashes outward while clinging to the wall. Weak with short vertical range, but has low lag and launches at a semi-spike, allowing it to function as a situational gimping tool. | |
| Grab | — | Reaches out with his free hand. | |
| Pummel | 1.6% | Punches the opponent. Based on the Kaiser Knuckle weapon in X8. | |
| Forward throw | 9.5% (hit 1), 2% (throw) | Charges up his Z-Buster and shoots the opponent at point-blank, with the recoil causing him to leap back afterwards. Considerably laggy, but it is Zero's strongest throw, KOing at around 125% at the edge. The first hit also has a wide radius and is even stronger against bystanders, KOing them at around 100% from center stage. Based on how he destroys Vile's Ride Armor in the original Mega Man X. | |
| Back throw | Shippuuga | 5% (hit 1), 3% (throw) | Turns around, dashes a distance back with the opponent, and slashes them away with the Z-Saber glowing pink. Useful for bringing the opponent closer to the edge and setting up edgeguards. |
| Up throw | Rising | 4.5% (hit 1), 2% (throw) | Launches the opponent away with a leaping upper slash. Low ending lag allows it to combo into a neutral aerial or Ryuenjin from low to mid percents, and up aerial until high percents. |
| Down throw | Lightning | 9% | Zero's head gem glows, then right after he releases the opponent, a thunderbolt strikes them. It can combo into neutral aerial, forward aerial or Ryuenjin from low to mid percents, dealing more damage than up throw but losing its followup ability earlier. |
| Floor attack (front) | 7% | Slashes in a circle around himself while getting up. | |
| Floor attack (back) | 7% | Same as front floor attack. | |
| Floor attack (trip) | 5% | Stabs in front of himself, then slashes horizontally behind himself. | |
| Edge attack | 9% | Climbs up and performs an overhead slash. | |
| Neutral special | Z-Buster | 4%-8% (shots), 8%-12% (blade) | Fires a yellow energy shot forward from his Z-Buster. It can be charged by holding the button, and canceled by shielding, dodging or jumping, which stores the charge. The shots' size, distance and damage increase with charging, and the move can reach two additional phases:
|
| Side special | Twin Dream | 0.5× of Zero's attacks | Zero summons a holograph of himself, which stays at a fixed distance in front of him. The holograph mimics his movements, and all attacks except grabs and throws, although it does not produce projectiles. The holograph can be summoned with little lag, and its attacks stack up with Zero's, but only deal half as much damage. It goes through solid surfaces and is unaffected by opposing attacks, but disappears after 5 seconds or if Zero is hit, after which it has a cooldown period of 12.5 seconds. |
| Up special | Ryuenjin | 4% (hit 1), 1% (loop hits), 5% (last hit) | Sets the Z-Saber ablaze and performs a rising upward slash, hitting opponents multiple times before launching them at the apex of the jump. It cannot be drifted horizontally, and does not sweetspot edges until the last hit comes out; however, its distance and amount of hits can be controlled by holding the button, dealing a minimum of 2 loop hits and a maximum of 6. It is also a powerful finisher, KOing at around 110% if fully held. |
| Down special | Rakuhouha | 18% (clean), 15% (late) | Slams one fist onto the ground, sending out nine blue energy shots in a 180° spread around himself. The shots cover a long distance, go through solid surfaces, and have exceptional KO power, while Zero gains full invincibility during the move's startup. They also cannot be reflected or absorbed. However, only one shot can connect per opponent, and the move has only 4 uses during each of Zero's stocks, which cannot be replenished. It also has noticeable ending lag, and cannot be used in the air. |
| Final Smash | Genmu Zero | 40% | Zero first uses Dark Hold, inverting the stage's colors and stopping all other characters and moving objects completely. Afterwards, a purplish energy surrounds him, and he unleashes a large green energy blade forward with a slash of the Z-Saber. Shortly afterwards, the stage and time return to normal, and opponents that were hit by the blade are launched. |
Taunts
- Up Taunt: Turns away from the screen and gives a thumbs up, saying "Got this one!". Based on his animation when clearing a stage in Mega Man X4 up to Mega Man X6, while the phrase is taken from when he is selected in Mega Man X8.
- Side Taunt: Unsheathes his Z-Saber and assumes a defensive stance with it, saying "It's not over yet!". The phrase is taken from when he is brought down to low health in X4.
- Down Taunt: Warps out and back onto the stage, much like Mega Man's down taunt. It uses the sound effects from X4.
On-Screen Appearance
Warps down on the stage.
Crowd Cheer
"Zero! - Our Hero!"
Idle Poses
- Turns towards the screen and looks around, with one hand close to the Z-Saber's handle.
- Unsheathes the Z-Saber and puts it in front of him as it flickers briefly, then puts it back away.
By default, Zero keeps the Z-Saber sheathed on his back, akin to his appearances from Mega Man X4 to Mega Man X6.
Victory Fanfare
The theme heard in Mega Man X4 when clearing a stage with Zero.
Victory Poses
- Leaps onto the stage from the background and delivers a takedown slash, then puts the Z-Saber away, saying "Piece of cake." Resembles the way he confronts Colonel in a cutscene in X4, while his ending pose resembles his artwork from X6, and the phrase is taken from when he clears a stage in X8.
- If he wins a team battle with Mega Man, he will say "Pretty good for a rookie hunter."
- Floats down slowly onto the stage with an intense purplish energy surrounding him. Based on his entrace as a boss in his Awakened state in X5.
- If Mega Man was present in the match, he will quietly say "I have succeeded."
- Performs Rakuhouha, causing the screen to shake, then stands up and crosses his arms, akin to his artwork from X7.
Classic Mode: Maverick Hunt
Zero's first five opponents all reference Mavericks from the mainline Mega Man X games in chronological order, starting with Mega Man X4.
| Round | Opponent | Stage | Music | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Charizard  |
Brinstar Depths Ω | Sky Lagoon (Zero) | Charizard represents Magma Dragoon. |
| 2 | Piranha Plant  (x2) |
Distant Planet Ω | Eurasia City: Broken Highway (Zero) | The Piranha Plants represent Spike Rosered and his ability to create a clone of himself. |
| 3 | Giant Bowser  |
Temple Ω | Gate's Laboratory | Bowser represents Rainy Turtloid, with the stage representing his location, Inami Temple. |
| 4 | Wolf  (x3) |
Norfair (Battlefield form) | Conflict – Escape Stage | The three Wolves represent Flame Hyenard and his ability to create two clones of himself. |
| 5 | Dark Samus  |
Lylat Cruise (hazardless) | Jakob Orbital Elevator | Dark Samus represents Vile, with the stage and music representing his battle atop the Jakob Orbital Elevator in Mega Man X8. |
| 6 | Metal Mega Man  |
Final Destination | X vs ZERO | Mega Man represents X, with his metal status akin to the Ultimate Armor, and the stage and music represent his battle against Zero in Mega Man X5. |
| Bonus Stage | ||||
| Final | Galleom | ? | Sigma 2nd | Galleom represents Sigma, the main antagonist of the Mega Man X series, who is usually fought in several giant forms across the games. |
Alternate costumes
All of Zero's alternate costumes change his hair color as well.
- Red – Zero's default appearance in the Mega Man X series.
- Black - Based on Black Zero, as well as the fake Zero in Mega Man X2.
- Purple - Based on the Zero Nightmare.
- Blue - Based on X.
- Brown - Based on Axl.
- White - Based on White Axl.
- Yellow - Based on the Golden Armor from Mega Man X3.
- Green - Based on Sage Harpuia from the Mega Man Zero series.
Kirby Hat
Kirby acquires Zero's helmet and hair. Like Samus' Copy Ability, Kirby charges and fires the Z-Buster shots with his bare hands, including the Z-Saber blade.
Trivia
- When at 100% damage or more, Zero's standard idle animation is different, having him gasp continuously while holding his chest with one hand. This is in reference to the same change seen in the Mega Man X games when he is low on health.
- Much like Mega Man, and akin to his appearances in his home series, Zero splits into multiple orange orbs when KO'd.
- When Star KO'd, he shouts "What am I fighting fooooor?!", as a reference to an infamous cutscene from Mega Man X4.
- From Zero's techniques in the Mega Man X series, DracoRex had also considered including Rekkoha and Raikousen in his moveset. However, he felt the former would be redundant with his down smash and Rakuhouha, and that the latter's best fit would be as a dash attack (as it is used by dashing in its origin game), which was already taken by the more mechanically unique W-Shredder.
- Additionally, while he recognized Ryuenjin was too similar to Roy's Blazer, he included it either way due to being one of Zero's most prominent techniques in outside appearances, as well as one of his best suited techniques for a recovery move.
- Furthermore, he recognized the somewhat infamous reputation of Hadangeki due to its appearance in Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3, but decided not to include it because he found it too similar to Cloud's Blade Beam, and because its only appearance in the Mega Man series is in X7, which he tried to represent as less as possible due to its notoriously negative reception.