Jamcon 26 - 3

|\/o\/| Intro |\/o\/|

The raddest man in the Radical Lands, the man known as Sir Sicknasty of Spades was chosen by the land itself and marked with the words "Most Rad." on his fingers to prove his right to its throne, becoming the one known as King Radical. Tragically, this mystical land made of everything the 80s and 90s considered 'rad' began to decay, and to search for a new home, he took a risk and leapt through time and space- winding up on Earth in the distant past, home to many oddities such as (later on) the good Dr. McNinja, but otherwise terribly, unbearably 'lame'.

King Radical made it his life's goal to make Earth even a fraction as cool as his homeland, though his memory of those wonderful lands slowly began to fade with time. First he assembled a people he dubbed the "Inocktek" from peoples across the land with the promise of a shallow copy of one of his homeland's many wonders, pizza, then he began to pass along his knowledge of his home's technology and culture. Unfortuantely, he made the mistake of teaching them tennis- a mere reproduction of the glorious sport lost in the fog of his memory, but too much for the minds of those who had never seen the wonders of the Radical Lands, an obsession that quickly consumed them.

Pushing them to construct a temple to protect his written records of the Radical Land with a system of taking away and giving back tennis rackets, penned as precisely and carefully as he could, he chose to leap forward through time using the temporal anomaly made from his entrance to the world to when they had hopefully gotten past their addiction (as the temple would only deactivate its traps once they had stopped challenging the temple machine fueled by the souls of the former champion tennis players). Unfortunately, his efforts with the Inocktek were fruitless, and they had ceased to be- (not because of the tennis thing though- apparently he had underestimated the minimum number of people for a stable breeding population, and inbreeding took its toll).

Worse, lack of translations of their language due to their xenophobic and paranoid bent that came about in the years after he left meant the temple's purpose was forgotten, and it was instead mistaken for some sort of doomsday device that needed a tennis player to defeat the guardian to prevent the world's destruction (instead of just the temple's which would then reveal the book of knowledge that the Inocktek could've used to continue slowly working towards a betterworld).

His second attempt would be more gradual. A modern world meant more luxuries already, and he had learned from his mistake, chosing instead to dripfeed his miracles, while focusing on small but many improvements to people's quality of life. Cumberland, Maryland was the staging ground for his newest effort,- filling pot holes, encouraging the locals to enter the local community college, skate parks and safe playgrounds for the children, founding a combination dunebuggy and fireworks factory, the list of his charitable deeds goes on. However, his means to this end was through the formation of what can only be called a mafia, bizarre as it is for such a small town, and its ranks were filled with the absolute worst people he could find. A chance at rehabilitation, perhaps?

Whatever his motives are, he comes into direct opposition to a local vigilante, doctor, and ninja, most fittingly named Dr. McNinja- the protagonist of the now completed webcomic of the same name. When our hero(citation needed) snubs one of King Radical's shady henchmen (who responded to being told to go to a hospital with a threat of violence and is promptly and casually disarmed of his weapon), he comes home to find his clinic has been rigged to explode (again) and an ambush of assorted goons waiting for him.

At the end of the arc, Dr. McNinja finds out that the mysterious actions of a former friend turned enemy (but actually not) were because he owed a debt to King Radical, and gets a glimpse at Cumberland, Maryland's mysterious benefactor- whom he is sure has to be up to something nefarious, hidding his true goals behind False charity...


|\/o\/| Stats |\/o\/|

Air Speed: 1.155 [Sheik, 20th]
Fall Speed: 1.61 [Wario, 42nd]
Jumps: 34.4 Full Hop, 16.59 Short Hop, 34.4 Mid-air Jump [Total height 68.8, Bowser Jr., 27th]
Run Speed: 2.09 Initial Dash, 1.873 Run [Donkey Kong, 29th]
Traction: 1.31 [Ness, 5th]
Weight: 101 [Hero, 30th, Heavyweight]
Special: Wall Jump

King Radical is a fit individual despite his apparent age (it's implied that beings from the Radical Lands age slower), not matching some of the truly incredible contestants within Super Smash Bros' roster, but being relatively above average in each category. He stands a bit shorter than Captain Falcon, with a similar build, and a swaggering posture that sees him stand a little thinner. He boasts a pair of decent wall jumps, a low crouch as he squats down, good aerial acceleration/decelleration, decent rolls that lean slightly on the faster and longer lasting ends, a list of nice-but-not-strictly-necessary benefits. His fall speed is the only thing perfectly average about him, and that's arguably to his favor, leaving him not particularly vulnerable to juggles nor laddering and able to return to the ground quickly without dropping like a rock off-stage.

While he isn't outright impressive in any area, his good weight and air movement as well as some burst movement options gives him an excellent recovery and allows him surprising maneuverability. It's his moves that stand out; atop a decent if not very impressive foundation of standards and aerials, he has some very flashy but borderline impractical specials and smashes he has to be smart about using. Though far from a slouch in a fight, his days of crusading through the Radical Lands slaying monsters strange and no doubt mind-bendingly cool are behind him, and so he has to fight a bit dirty with the power of love, his army of "Common Men", assorted blessings to this lame world, radical tricks, and some guns he found to accomplish his goals, all of which contribute to his long term plan in the form of his mechanic.

Note: Distance is measured using Training Stage Units, those numbered middle-sized squares on the Training Mode stage that are roughly Kirby-sized. For another easy point of reference, platforms on Battlefield are 3.2 Units.


|\/o\/| Mechanic - Rad Meter |\/o\/|

King Radical funnels his time and effort toward making the world a more radical place for all, which is reflected in how he fights his opponents- bringing everything the average teenager would tack on to their OC donut steel purely for cool factor that isn't also edgy to bear in his fights against the raddest individual of this otherwise deprived land, and tossing in a touch of style and well-earned grandstanding to boot, finding it the most thrilling game he's enjoyed since leaving his home.

A 10-notch meter sits above King Radical's UI, displayed as a pair of open hands around the handlebars of a dirt bike, with his spade symbol on the metal cover over where they meet. Each notch being filled is represented by a finger curling down around the handle, with a soft rev marking the fifth and a louder one announcing a full bar. On display are the marks given to him by the land itself, "Most" on each right handed knuckle barring the thumb, "Rad." on the left (viewer's left and right, respectively).

Each time he hits the foe with a Special or Smash attack, and every Taunt he performs, fills a notch at the FAF if not interrupted. Each Special or Smash attack a foe lands on King Radical or one of his followers is also a notch filled, but taking significant knockback (more than the width of one of Battlefield's floating platforms) costs him a notch. To limit this, each given use of an input or taunt can only give Radical or take away 1 notch of Rad Meter (so multi-hit specials won't immediately fill the gauge), and if the input is in the stale move queue within the last three moves, it won't award or remove any points- nothing radical about a one-trick pony! Being KOed resets the Rad Meter to 0, and 5 seconds passing without gaining or losing a notch loses him 1.

So what does the Rad Meter do? Well, we can't reveal King Radical's plan in detail just yet, but this flashy mechanic is actually all for the benefit of changing a single but very important input in King Radical's set, and it is very much worth the effort of filling that Meter. Just know that as the meter fills, King Radical's animations become a little more bouncy- almost downright giddy with child-like glee as he approaches a full meter.


|\/o\/| Neutral Special - Rad Gear |\/o\/|

Reaching into his cape behind himself, King Radical waits for a directional input, then retrieves an item based on the direction. Pressing B again has him quickly abort the stance with a shrug and minor end lag. This is fast enough to do, but it's a moment of vulnerability without the option to shield or move, telegraphed by a clear animation and no hitbox- so don't do it in melee is what I'm saying.

Each provides him with either a temporary upgrade to his options or some simple benefit his kit is missing, but it's also a gift he's willing to share with his friends and foes alike. They can all be dropped or thrown like normal items, and most have a cool down before another can be produced to avoid spam.


|\/o\/| Up Input: Tennis Racket

Even if it's a shadow of its true glory, Radical still keeps a Tennis Racket around to play a quick round with his loyal subjects. Or as a memento of better times, hard to say, he's actually not very fond of the 'lame' version of Tennis that is nevertheless a blessing to this world. A bludgeon's a bludgeon, though, and he can get a chance to recapture some of that lost glory with this battering item's special quality: each of its four inputs has a reflector quality to the hitbox proper- not quite as good as that sounds since half of them are not a return to sender and the other two have their own issues, but the multiple angles compensate for the difficulty and low damage multiplier.

If it reflects a projectile, the racket breaks and is discarded. The reflector quality does not extend to sourspots, but it's worth it given the projectile will now earn a notch in the Rad Meter if it hits a foe. King Radical can have two tennis rackets in play at a time, with a broken, eaten, despawned, etc racket counting towards this limit for 3 seconds after the fact.


|\/o\/| Tennis Racket Jab:

This is a fairly slow move- slower than any other Jab in the game, in fact. Justifiably, given it's actually a projectile. The wielder produces a tennis ball from... nowhere honestly, and tosses it into the air for a standard tennis serve- slapping the ball out of the air with a downward swing.

The racket itself does 4% and light, downward knockback that can start a tech chase in the event the ball somehow doesn't hit the opponent- such as if one's already in play. No matter how many rackets and King Radicals are in play, only one of these tennis balls may exist at a time. In which case, the toss up is skipped, making this a still slow but actually Jab-relative speed attack with respectable coverage above and in front of the wielder. The end lag is middling regardless, forcing the wielder to try and chase the downed foe to get a proper reward off of it. The knockback sadly scales a little too quickly to remain reliable later, but early on it's a helpful way to put the opponent on the back foot immediately.

The tennis ball is a tiny projectile that moves relatively slowly, bouncing along the ground in increasingly shallow arcs if left to its own devices. If confronted with an obstacle- foes, surfaces, and so on- it'll bounce off in the other direction. Just think of a bouncy ball with some actual physics to it and you have the idea for how this moves in relation to terrain and outside forces.

On contact, it deals a respectable 7% and flinching- diminishing as it slows. Aside from despawning if it slows to a near stop, the ball has a 3 second duration before it despawns that resets each time it touches the ground, hits a foe, or is reflected or deflected (such as by a tennis racket, for example). If it hits a foe or their shield, it'll lose its hitbox for a brief period to prevent insane repeated hits for damage in tight quarters. Even without that, the possible rebounds, slow speed, and annoying duration make it great stage control if left alone, forcing foes to opt for an attack of their own to remove it or simply vacating their current spot for a more open area, any reaction at all being a window to exploit by smacking them one with the racket.

Jab also has the easiest time reflecting a projectile of the four inputs, start lag aside, but the least useful results outside of the tennis ball itself- it reflects projectiles at a steep, downward angle. With the tennis ball, it can bounce it a few times to keep it active, and this leads into a second benefit- each reflection does have that small multiplier, slowly building up as it keeps in play. This also applies to the speed with which it travels, moving faster with its higher damage if you can keep up. It's another reason to hand out some rackets.


|\/o\/| Tennis Racket Forward Tilt:

A simple horizontal swing (forehand ground stroke for you tennis fans at home) is your Forward Tilt, a no frills attack that deals 4% and modest, set knockback ahead and slightly upward. It comes out frame 5 and has a short active frame window; even with the unfortunately long end lag, it's a relatively fast move that's spammable. Its coverage area is a little narrow, but it can be angled up or down with a surprising degree of flexibility, letting it swat foes out of the air or foes on the platform below.

Combined with decent disjoint, this is a surprisingly good poking tool and can reset to neutral safely, with the only downsides being a lacking reward for landing it and being poor against shields and dodges alike due to pithy shield stun and that blink and you'll miss it active frame window. Up close is a sourspot that does a pathetic 1% and flinching that's not enough to keep it safe, though time to react is limited and it might be better to shield or dodge to evade repeat uses.

Forward Tilt has one major benefit: sharing the best reflector angle of the lot with Forward Smash as it sends the projectile forward and slightly upward- a counter to jump-ins and a nasty surprise for foes approaching behind a projectile. The multiple angles can catch tennis balls easy enough, but this isn't especially great in terms of result as they'll go sailing away unless there's something to intercept them, being best for your last use of the ball after you've juiced it up a little with repeated deflections. The speed it comes out makes it even more desirable (and is why it's so much better than Forward Smash), but that timing is tight because of, say it with me, the short active frame window.

For King Radical specifically, this a slight upgrade over his Jab's existing role in his set- better frame data, better reach, flexible coverage, the reflector quality- only losing out on immediate payoff with damage.


|\/o\/| Tennis Racket Dash Attack:

A diving save! The wielder leaps forward 1 Unit with racket outstretched, swinging upward slightly as they belly flop and scramble back to their feet. This has two hitboxes, the low outstretched hitbox during the dive itself that does 6% and flinches, and the swing upward that does 6% and modest upward knockback. This move comes out very quickly, but has some bad end lag that prevents much in the way of follow-ups unless the character specifically has an upward-hitting option that's on the faster side or some sort of delayed hitbox ready to go (now who would have both those things, I wonder?).

The low first hit is more useful than it appears initially, being a quick poke that comes out super early and being low enough to shield poke a foe who was expecting the racket's Forward Tilt, lingering long enough to catch dodges meant for a dashing grab (or the racket's Forward Tilt), and comboing straight into the upward sweep to make this do vaguely rewarding damage. It also causes the wielder's hurtbox to flop low to the ground, letting some taller folks low-profile a projectile on approach, a way to deal with those without losing the racket.

The reflector isn't as useful, but has its niche- specifically in that it'll aim almost directly upward. Pop the tennis ball up at a foe who hopped over, or at least give it some excessive hang time to turn it into a delayed hitbox you can smack again later for fun and profit. Any portion of the two above hitboxes hitting the ball will have this effect, and it can even be used to catch a ball about to go off stage, (though you're then limited on tools to get it back on stage, but it's a neat trick for when you're timing a serve to interrupt a recovery- a radical way to finish a stock, if I say so myself). No worries about sliding off yourself- the dive stops you short if you'd go past a ledge, or a blast zone if on a walk-off stage.


|\/o\/| Tennis Racket Forward Smash:

Holding the racket low and behind themselves, the wielder performs a 'two-handed backhand'- or just swings it in a diagonally upward sweep that brings it up to stomach level for humanoid fighters. On contact, it deals 15~21% damage and moderate knockback. While it has a bit of wind-up compared to the other three inputs, it's reasonably quick for a Smash attack, and can still cut it as a late KO option thanks to its low knockback angle compensating for the slow scaling. If it has a flaw, it's probably the slightly middling reach and narrow coverage.

It carries with it the same reflector angle as Forward Tilt, can be angled the same way, and actually has a higher damage modifier. The wider active frame window comes at the cost of coming out later, so either that tennis ball is coming back and your opponent isn't in place to stop you, or you have to read the opponent's projectile of choice (distance and slow travel speeds allowing far more lenience obviously). On the bright side, the low end lag allows it to be used somewhat safely in neutral in a pinch, and gives you time to serve up another tennis ball to fling after the hit opponent as they regain control.

King Radical favors big, flashy Smash inputs that get big, flashy results. The tennis racket gives him a KO option that isn't as immediately dangerous on hit, but will still do the trick later, and can turn around a tight fight with an opposing zoner. It's also notable as a power move he can provide to any allies who might be lacking in them, forcing opponents to divide their attention. As much as he may enjoy the cheers and admiration of the crowd, King Radical is quite fine with letting others take the stage- such humility!


|\/o\/| Down Input: True Dew

Whew, that was a lot of typing. My mouth's pretty dry (don't ask how that works)- oh, why thank you King Radical! This item is a throwing item that can double as a consumable- a 1 liter bottle of True Dew. Not that imitation stuff you may be familiar with, this is the original recipe from the Radical Lands, recreated as closely as is possible within this realm. It even comes in the many flavors of the imitation, one of a few random colors (though defaulting primarily to a green bottle with green- not clear- liquid in it, with team colors restricting King Radical's flavors to the matching color).

While holding the item, tap A to have your character twist the cap off and throw their head back, the borderline mystical qualities of the True Dew healing the consumer for 10% in 1% increments over an admittedly unsafe period. The empty bottle remains in play as they drop it, a sort of cooldown as it sits there doing nothing for 3 seconds before despawning and prohibits producing another until it's gone to prevent chugging Dew after Dew while a foe is offstage or flying into the distance from a star KO. It also, regardless of who drank it, provides King Radical with another notch in his Rad Meter.

As for its use as a throwing item, it's not that great of one- on the lower bounds for damage (which varies between throwers based on weight as per usual for thrown items), causing foes hit to flinch. The first time, at least. After it's been thrown once, throwing it again has a different effect- the bottle will burst into a small AoE (just shy of Kirby's size) of delicious, tragically wasted Dew. It does only 1% damage, but it flinches foes caught in the AoE with exaggerated hitlag that can open them up to combos. Like above, it leaves behind a useless empty bottle that can't be interacted with for 3 seconds. King Radical himself can use Side Special or Up Special to chase after the thrown beverage and get a heftier reward, or leave the toss to someone else so he can extend a combo for a tasty payoff.


|\/o\/| Right Input: Machine Gun

While it's admittedly not very rad in a vacuum, King Radical's plans to radicalize the world required him to dip into some unsavory business. Thankfully, that business came with some really kick ass firearms! Totally worth it. Like any good mafioso in the US of A, King Radical ensures his men are properly armed, and sometimes that requires more than just an easily concealed pistol or a two-by-four with some nails in it.

This shooting item has one mode: full auto, baby! Tap, hold, smash, it makes no difference- the wielder is locked in place as a spray of bullets rain forth from the barrel, kick back gradually pushing the gun up and their aim with it. This does a whopping 10 hits of a not-so-whopping 1.5% and light high-angle knockback each, which would amount to 15% total but most opponents will pop up out of the stream at some point. It's high commitment, too, with its long active frames and moderate end lag, requiring a few clean hits to place the foe far enough way or to clip them right at the end to be safe.

When it works, though, it really works. Blows foes up and away where they're not an immediate threat with a decent wad of damage on top, shreds shields with a small amount of shield push and good shield stun on each hit, catches out dodges made up close (not so much afar due to the spread), and can force an air dodge at the far half of its range.


|\/o\/| Left Input: Skateboard

Rounding out the block is a classic icon of the 90s 'cool' that King Radical embodies, or at least our lame world version thereof- the Skateboard! This is an equip item that works like a discount Bunny Hood, applying a small speed and jump height buff to the 'wearer' while equipped as they ride it around or perform an inexplicable sick kick flip, though they'll sadly lose the board upon being hit even once by a move doing flinching or knockback. As a side effect, it practically leaves the rider working with ice physics for their traction (but not literally, so no weird interaction with the Ice Climbers), which allows dashing in and inputting an attack en route to let yourself coast into range after the start-up is done- a trick we'll be seeing elsewhere in the set, so not a big benefit to King Radical himself, sadly.

On the upswing, there's also a hitbox attached- 3% damage when the 'wearer' bumps into an opponent and puts them into a prone state a short distance away (warning: they snap out of it if they go past a ledge)! This sounds pretty good, but it's even better than you think, because it's a passive hitbox active while running or in the air, requiring you only touch the foe with the board itself. Gnarly! The obviously mandatory drawback is that it'll dismount the rider and despawn the skateboard in the process, aaaaand it might also flinch the rider in the process, limiting what they can do out of it. And there's a three second cooldown to producing another one after the first despawns. But all the upsides are worth it, and if you think about it, that flinch is potentially a bonus- cancel out of the end lag of a whiff or a slow move for free! Overall, having one of these on-demand is pretty rad.


To review, he can provide a simple battering item that's underwhelming on its own but invites risks around projectiles, a healing item that leaves the user vulnerable for a bit or can be thrown as an AoE, a shooting item that is high commitment for high reward, and an equipped item that grants a small buff to aid approaches and win the neutral by getting right in the opponent's grill. Everything here encourages King Radical or whomever he's handing it over to to play more aggressively.


|\/o\/| Side Special - Rad Ride |\/o\/|

King Radical suddenly turns, cape billowing dramatically- and smirks as the sound of a dirt bike revving dramatically is heard, the cape blowing back to reveal he has mounted his most radical choice of transportation! This command dash has a lot in common with Wario's own bike, though of course with a few changes. Here's a quick run down of things to know about his bike:

\/o\/ Radical's ride is not quite as large length-wise. Its top speed is slightly higher than Wario's bike's (so slightly faster than Fox's run speed), and it falls slightly slower. Turning is the same. Its speed does not diminish in the air.

\/o\/ Radical can perform a single jump while riding his bike on the ground, a simple ramp appearing out of nowhere to let him reach his full hop height as a visual flair.

\/o\/ Running someone over does 6% and light low-angle knockback aimed behind himself. The hitlag is short enough that foes will recover before he can try again.

\/o\/ Radical can initiate any of his moves as appropriate for his position (ground or air) from his bike with slightly extended start up, barring his grab game or specials.

\/o\/ A move initiated from the bike counts as part of Side Special for the purposes of Rad Meter, though using their own staling for these purposes. Since he can use Smash inputs from the back of his bike, he can potentially get two notches in one hit!

\/o\/ Radical will continue coasting forward at his current speed while performing an attack until FAF- for better or for worse.

\/o\/ Anything that causes flinching or knockback will dislodge Radical from the bike. So will crashing into a wall, a flaw shared with Wario. The latter yields no Rad Meter notches. Bogus.

\/o\/ Radical can dismount one of two ways: hold down to hop off onto the ground, or up to full hop off of the bike.

\/o\/ Dismounting has extensive ending lag, unless he just hit someone with an attack, in which case he'll do a sick flip and the end lag is much shorter than his normally casual exit. The window for this is indicated by the celebratory wheelie he pops after.

\/o\/ If he dismounts voluntarily, the bike will continue rolling forward with its hitbox as per Wario's bike. It'll slow quickly to a stop after a hit, though.

\/o\/ The bike can be picked up and thrown around like a heavy item; King Radical will simply remount it if he picks it up and presses A. He can throw it again with the grab button.

\/o\/ The bike cannot break into smaller pieces, instead going up in a spade-shaped explosion 1.5 Units tall and 1.5 wide at its tallest/widest areas when destroyed or thrown into someone, doing 15% and moderate radial knockback that scales to KO reasonably early. An honorable end for a noble steed.

\/o\/ King Radical cannot summon another bike until the current one despawns from lack of interaction for 5 seconds, or is destroyed.

Whew! Okay, so now onto the use cases. First and foremost is an approach tool; you have a passive hitbox on the front that can serve as a great combo starter, and you can prep an attack on approach that'll counter a response to it, or bait a reaction and abandon bike to let it serve as a projectile you can run in behind (the bike'll easily soak a hit en route even if it doesn't hit its mark).

This turns a great deal of King Radical's kit into approaching tools so long as they have reasonably short end lag, or you can double down and throw out a Smash attack for maximum stunt points (read: 2 notches in the Rad Meter) and possibly end a stock in style... or eat an attack to the face if you read wrong and they did not in fact throw out a hasty defensive response to seeing you approach.

Projectiles are a bit of an issue, but hey, guess what you can use on the back of your dirt bike if you had it out already? The tennis racket synergizes very nicely with Radical's approach, Forward Tilt's spacing knockback setting them up for a second Forward Tilt and keeping the tennis ball bouncing alongside you, Jab swatting foes that just try to jump over out of the air, a sudden turn catching rolls behind him, or Forward Smash to punch through an opponent's attack with a charged smash attack. Dash Attack is regrettably not usable from bike-back, but if you hit the foe, dismount, and quickly use an instant dash, your bike is suddenly an airborne projectile set to blow where it lands!

The other items synergize too, even if not as well. Chase the opponent down as your rapid fire machine gun shots push them back, guzzle some Dew as you retreat to a safe distance or cross up a foe as they shield/dodge, or fling it at them on approach and combo into the bike's hit. Dismount and let yourself coast along behind the dirtbike on your skateboard, almost but not quite keeping pace with its movement to make use of King Radical's other moves as they strike to stop his bike.

The downsides are you're committing to that movement, you're very vulnerable to attacks interrupting your approach or retreat (especially projectiles if you lack a tennis racket) and opponents can deny you this input if they knock you off and get between you and your bike. Losing a potential recovery aid is a pain, and that's 2 for 2 (or 5 for 5 depending on how you count it) for inputs you can lose access to for a while after using if you're not careful. The bike itself is a little unwieldy with that extra speed and acceleration put on the Wario bike's slippery, laggy turns and decelleration. But if there wasn't any risk there'd be no reward, right?


|\/o\/| Up Special - Rad... Birdosaurus? |\/o\/|

With a majestic, er, squawk, one of King Radical's less conventional means of transport arrives. No, not his hot air balloon with the giant novelty sunglasses, but the majestic "Birdosaurus" (not to be confused with the smaller but otherwise identical "Pterodactyl"). Imagine Ridley at 1/2 scale with King Radical's upper half poking up from behind its head and you have the rough dimensions of the creature that blurs into existence beneath King Radical's feet and carries him into the air 4 Units up and slightly forward. It then enters a controlled glide forward until King Radical willingly drops by double-tapping down (entering free fall), lands (ending the move with minimal lag) or is hit.

The Birdosaurus' body is a hitbox as it rises, doing 11% and modest knockback at a diagonally upward angle. The disjoint to either side of King Radical isn't anything to scoff, but is notably limited to start before the Birdosaurus spreads its wings, so using it at level with a foe or out from a shield requires being very close. Not without question in either case, given it's modestly fast in terms of start up to make it a great combo ender or out of shield option.

From there, its body becomes a sourspot doing 4% and light low-angle knockback in the direction it's moving until it comes to a stop. This second hitbox has near-zero disjoint, but can potentially combo once out of the first hit and is at least a little protection, but also serves one other role: it's the perfect set up for the next part if it hits.

After short lag, the Birdosaurus shifts into a glide vaguely similar to the late end of Metaknight's Up Special, and the player regains control. Aside from angling the glide up or down slightly, King Radical is bringing back an old favorite: the ability to attack from his mount. This works similarly to his dirtbike Side Special, with a couple key changes. Firstly, only Smash attacks are available from the back of the Birdosaurus. While this sounds disappointing and limiting creatively, not to worry- to make up for it, all of his Smash attacks involve a chainsaw, and thus are appropriately radical. Secondly, it's the end lag that gains added lag, making his already risky Smashes very punishable if he misses. Thirdly, the Birdosaurus doesn't crumple to any hit- having some weak armor, better than nothing though not surviving stronger blows and only blocking one attack that would deal flinching or knockback. He is still vulnerable to a good punch from the likes of Ganondorf, or even some middling hits from the cast, which will send him and King Radical into a spiralling freefall. This armor also does NOT extend to King Radical himself.

Lastly, the Birdosaurus isn't content to simply coast along- they are not only predators, but they are notorious sadists, reveling in the pain (or inconvenience) of others, and it'll quickly lock-on to the nearest foe and pick up speed as it approaches them from the moment the input is made, capping at a speed similar to King Radical's dirt bike until he releases, then levels out and resumes gliding at the FAF, without fanfare. King Radical can only attack this way once from the back of the Birdosaurus, so don't miss. Like the dirtbike, there's a benefit to dismounting after a hit, though there's no timing window past that point- dismounting normally leaves King Radical in freefall, but dismounting after a hit leaves him free to act and potentially recover to the stage (such as via Side Special).

Where the dirt bike is a potent approaching tool and combo starter, the Birdosaurus is a combo ender and KO confirm with how you can charge up your Smash on approach and possibly chain the initial hit to the sourspot to your Smash. A particularly risky play is to chase foes off stage this way for an early KO, but he can also do it as a dramatic recovery boost- using the blood thirst of the Birdosaurus to gain speed and a slight upward angle as he nears the ledge by rushing to meet someone trying to chase him off stage to finish the job themselves.

As a final note: if the foe ends up behind the Birdosaurus by more than 1 Unit, it'll let out a panicked squawk and beat its wings to come to an abrupt stop, flinging the monarch from his perch on its back up and forward a short distance as one last recovery boost. King Radical can grab the ledge in this state, but the clearly panicked patriarch can't do much else from there. This is more of a bane than a boon, as it means trying to use this as an approaching tool invites the foe to dodge or roll and a casual jog over to punish him as his picks himself up off of the floor. Unless, of course, they're preoccupied- you'd be amazed how easily a man riding a flying dinosaur with a revved up chainsaw can sneak up on someone given the proper distraction...


|\/o\/| Down Special - Rad Subjects |\/o\/|

King Radical digs a flip phone out of his pocket (man you can feel the age of this comic, can't you?) and rings up one of his minions with a smirk. Flipping the phone shut and stuffing it back into his pantaloons, King Radical stands impassively as one of his lame-o mooks- er, a member of his "Army of Common Men" appears, bludgeon of some flavor in hand and revolver holstered under their coat.

Common Men are a little taller and lankier than King Radical, with universally worse stats- just imagine the picture of mediocrity and then nerf everything a hair from there and you've got it. Meh jumps, meh run speed, meh weight, poor traction, poor air speed, and a fall speed that's just unfortunately fast without being fast enough to drop out of combos or juggles. The Common Man despawns after their 10% Stamina is eliminated, upon hitting a blast zone, or when King Radical is KOed. The only upside is their number, with a cap of three minions in play at a time applying to each instance of King Radical in the fight, decreasing by 1 for 5 seconds when one is KOed.

Still, they'll do their best for King Radical, adoring him unconditionally. Every 3 seconds, one of the Common Men will perform one of their attacks, cycling through in the order they were summoned. For every additional Common Man in play after the first, this delay is reduced by 0.75 seconds, so 1.5 second pauses between the FAF of the last attack and the next minion in line aggroing on the nearest opponent.

If the nearest opponent is within 3 Units and is not closer to King Radical than to the minion, the minion will leap into action, running toward them with their not so impressive run speed and then swinging their bludgeon in an overhead motion. Telegraphed start up, punishable end lag, and a decent but not really special 9% damage and light low-angle knockback that'll never scale to KO. The mook will have an expression of exaggerated glee or sheer disappointment depending on if they hit or miss, bless their horrible, horrible little hearts.

If the nearest opponent is not within 3 Units or is closer to King Radical than the minion, the minion's expression will tighten in resolve, dramatcially reaching into their coat, pocket, whatever for their revolver and leveling it forward dramatically. They fire a single teeny tiny bullet, a fast-moving projectile with 6 Unit range and 4% and flinching for the pay-off, also with telegraphed start up, punishable end lag, and a look of either glee or sorrow based on whether the bullet connected or not.

Both moves are usable grounded or in the air, though typically the minions will only enter the air if put there by an attack, falling stage element, or if chasing an opponent. Typically they're content to slowly approach the nearest foe and then hang about 2 Units away, feebly retreating if the foe gets within that range. Both moves also struggle a bit with shields- having poor shield damage, stun, and push- and dodges- with short active frames on the melee swing and the projectile being a fast little thing.

On their own, these minions... honestly really suck. Easily dispatched and not contributing much but the odd flinch to create an opening for King Radical, though that's all you really need sometimes. Worst of all? They don't even add notches to the Rad Meter, because they're so lame! It's the sole exception to Specials and Smashes being your source of Rad Meter. If only there was a way to make them better?


Well, good news, person who probably didn't ask! First of all, they can use items! Sadly, their lonely little brain cell isn't up to the task of taking the initiative and snapping up Dragoon parts or Assist Trophies as they appear, and they're certainly not going to pursue that bright shiny Smash Ball on your behalf. They will, however, catch any item you throw to them! To top their stunning display of basic motor functions, their unexpected competence streak continues with them being perfectly capable of using those items like other characters!

They won't board King Radical's dirt bike, they know it's not theirs to use- but the closest mook to it when it's left in play without a driver and has come to a stop will try to hurry over to lift it and then carry back to his side with it up to the point their turn is coming up. They'll drop it gently and detour to perform their move before resuming their task of bringing it back, as a small thing to override their usual behavior. It's handy for when you want them to use their ranged option, the safer tool given opponents will generally just smack them away when they go in with the steel folding chair (or other bludgeon).

With the Tennis Racket, they'll use the attack they judge best based on the context- a vulnerable foe, such as one stuck in shield break stun or grabbed by King Radical, will probably eat a charged Forward Smash to the back of the head, released so it hits right before they would be free. A foe in motion away from the mook will be targeted by Dash Attack, and one sufficiently far away will prompt a Jab to serve up a projectile (otherwise defaulting to a chase with Dash Attack). Forward Tilt is reserved for perfectly healthy and capable foes in smacking range. All of these moves lack their normal follow-up options from the mook themselves, but King Radical is free to act as he pleases while they fight, giving him free reign to build on the hits however he likes!

All of this is overridden if there's a tennis ball in play, in which case they'll do their best to whack it at the nearest foe or (if someone else has a racket) towards the other fighter with the second racket King Radical can have in play. This is even the exception to the rule about the spacing of their attacks, as they'll reflexively bat the ball away when it comes by even if it's not their turn or time. If the ball and/or attack made targeting it hits a foe, the timer reset on their attack and they actually will wait until the next team member's up, to prevent infinites (even if the sheer set up is so time consuming and fragile for this hypothetical infinite that anyone caught by it would deserve it). This extends to any enemy projectile, though that ends up being a one-time benefit due to the racket breaking. What a one-time benefit it is, though, reflecting projectiles with whatever option puts it closest to the foe!

True Dew will be downed by a minion with any damage at all, or if the minion is undamaged but the nearest foe is 8 Units or further away. Kind of a waste, given they only have 10% stamina, but it's a free notch in the Rad Meter. If undamaged, they'll give it a toss to the nearest needy person- I.E. the foe. This is basically a better version of what their usual purpose is, being a fast throw and longer hitlag. And hey, if you're fighting someone who relies on comboes to pile up damage, the heal is a good way to make them waste even more time on a minion they didn't get to finish off the first try.

The Machine Gun might just be the best tool for the Common Men if you're not using them to set up a deadly tennis match in the middle of the fight. No matter the opponent's range or condition, a prolonged stream of bullets that covers a conical area is a mean stage control tool even in their incompetent hands. Having an entire little area all but off-limits to the foe gives Radical time to procure more equipment, call in another mook, or perform a taunt to build up that Rad Meter. Assuming the opponent doesn't get hit, of course, in which case he's free to break out an anti-air move on top.

Finally, the Skateboard. Once mounted, the relevant mook's AI changes slightly to pursue the nearest foe at all times- in fact aiming to collide with them! This sounds like a waste of the buff, but bear in mind this turns each incompetent minion into an active, continuous nuisance until dealt with, and one that's harder to avoid thanks to the speed and jump buffs. And this does not interrupt the attacking order, either, with each minion including the ones on a Skateboard performing their attacks at regular intervals. No sick tricks or flips or the like, though. They're too lame for that.


Like, really lame. The lamest people King Radical could find, in fact. It's almost infuriating how bad these dudes are, and not in the rescuing the president sort of way, either. That's without getting into their criminal records, which horrified the good Dr. McNinja when he stumbled across them. The items help, but they're still frail, weak, slow, stupid people, and that's a lot of effort to call out a minion, grab an item, and throw it to them. And then the opponent KOs them in one, maybe two hits?

Sure, they can be useful- the opponent has to split their attention between King Radical and however many Common Men are in play- but couldn't we just replace these, let's not mince words, wastes of flesh with something cooler?

Well don't you worry, King Radical agrees. It's time to explain what the Rad Meter actually does.


(Picture)


When the Rad Meter reaches 4 notches- all letters on the right hand (viewer's left) visible- something happens once King Radical has a Common Men mook in play or goes to summon one. The mook begins to glow, looking confused at first, then scared- then letting out an agonized scream accompanied by a wet, fleshy tearing sound as they explode in a vortex of glowing light, and the portal condenses down to reveal a member of the Radical Lands in their place.


(Picture) (Picture)


This is King Radical's end game. That lingering tear in time and space leaves the world open to being influenced by the nearest two planes- the Radical Lands on one side, and an incredibly, incomprehensibly lame realm on the other, one without ninjas, or ghost-fueled mechs, clones, zombies, anything at all remotely worth calling cool beyond the barest scraps. By introducing more and more of his realm's influence, it slowly pulls the world of Smash closer to the Radical Lands, forcing out the lamest of the lame and bringing in the inhabitants of the Radical Lands, safe from their slowly dying plane.

All at the cost of most of one measly planet's worth of some boring, unremarkable people, starting with the worst of them all. King Radical sadly lives up to both meanings of his name- he legitimately does not see any value in the lives of normal day to day people, beyond the sole exception of being a door for someone better to come through, and his resentment at being denied his homeland and losing his memories of it day by day has become barely contained hatred toward the world he landed on and the vast majority of its inhabitants.

An otherworldly being bringing gifts that boggle the mind and ruin all others of their kind- the tastes of foods, the sounds of music- by being too good by comparison, driving people to obsession, a sense of morality driven by factors we can't understand, and a disregard for the short-lived mortals around him? Yes, that's right- King Radical is basically an Archfey, with his history of fighting monsters and disregard for the damage he causes in the process also making him a retired adventurer- fans of D&D should now understand the exact level of threat this seemingly eccentric old man brings to bear.

While we won't be giving King Radical the best of his realm immediately as happened in the comic, we will still be getting sizable upgrades to his minions.


Radlandians are bigger than the mooks they replace, a little random in their exact dimensions depending on rng for the first two, but otherwise uniform in their stats- which is to say uniformly awesome, sharing King Radical's own stats and a whopping 25% Stamina. Even if a foe knocks them off stage or tries to escape to the air out of their reach, they'll simply board a rocket board, flying freely through the air back to the stage or after the opponent trying to escape them, though they'll mercifully remain within Steve's building boundary instead of chasing you to the edge of the blast zone.

They follow the same loose rules of the lame minions otherwise, with a few graphical tweaks when they have one of two pieces of equipment out (a sci-fi hand cannon blaster replaces the machine gun in their hands in a small flash of light, and the skateboard wavers and turns into a jet board as they mount it, both otherwise functionally the same) or in the case of their attacks (some of the more beastly ones using their bare fists to attack). The only mechanical tweak regarding items is they'll simply hurl King Radical's unattended dirt bike at a foe when in range, and show Donkey Kong's aptitude at carrying heavy items without slowing.

Speaking of, the Radlandians also receive a buff to both attacks- greater speed, greater reach, and 1.4x the damage. The melee hit deals 1.2x the knockback, though it still won't kill unless you've been chased far off stage, and the projectile now deals light knockback in the same vein as the lame minions' melee hit. There's a sole downside to the Rad minions: one being KOed is two notches off of the Rad Meter. Remember that King Radical actually cares about these guys personally; their loss would both literally and metaphorically make the world a less radical place.

The second mook is replaced by another Radlandian as outlined above at 7 notches, and the third is replaced at a full 10 notches. If the Rad Meter decreases below these thresholds, the new and improved summon will remain in play if already present, but if KOed or not summoned yet, he'll have to build it back up to get to them. Hm, that almost sounds like a downside- let's chase that with the last twist on this overly bloated input, the special ally you receive from having 10 notches on the Rad Meter and try to summon (or already have out) a third minion:


(Picture)


Meet Ron Wizard, King Radical's best friend, right hand man, court wizard, and the writer of Dr. McNinja's old City of Heroes character, though that last point is neither here nor there. What is important is that Ron is even more powerful than the other denizens of the Radical Lands. A slight stat bump across the board to be better than King Radical's own stats, a constant hovering free flight at that increased "run" speed (within the Steve block limited area still), a Tough Guy armor mechanic, 35% stamina, and his own two unique attacks fitted into the rotation of minion attacks.

The first is his ranged option: a wave of his hands to generate a precisely aimed beam of light, half a Kirby thick and extending a ridiculous distance as a disjoint. The beam lingers for a moment, doing repeated weak hits that push victims along the length and then ending on a single hit, totaling 20% with all hits (half of which is just the final blow). The opponent then takes solid knockback in the direction the beam was aimed, a death sentence if they were off stage and below Ron, or particularly high above him, or... near any blast zone, really. The only mercy here is this has actually telegraphed start-up, and Ron is immobilized while attacking and thus vulnerable to attack once the opponent.

His melee option is merely to hold his mechanical hand up, a flash of green light covering a 1.5 x 1.5 Unit in front of him for a moment, with anyone inside of that area suddenly flinching and being coated in a green glow. This is a command grab, wherein Rob pummels (squeezes the life out of) the opponent for rapid hits of 1.5% damage until they escape with grab difficulty- at which point instead of a regular grab release, he chucks them a short distance away for 10% and modest knockback.

He'll stay above the nearest foe in addition to keeping at that 2 Unit minimum range while he can, though he'll zip in to close ranks if another minion is nearby or the foe damages King Radical as a brief but appreciated protective gesture, this being the only way to reasonably get him into arm's reach when he's not on the attack for a distressingly large portion of the cast.

Rob is stage control in its purest form, and entirely capable of KOing foes in contrast to all allies before him. He can use items still, though really, there's no reason to give him a Tennis Racket or Machine Gun; just keep him topped off with True Dew (which if no team colors are on will always be Code Red while Rob is in play, King Radical is determined to provide his best pal his favorite) and maybe toss him a Skateboard as a present if your opponent is inexplicably THAT slippery. He'll also be able to grab and chuck that unattended/unmoving dirt bike as if it were an enemy, skipping the squeeze step and just yeeting that sucker with surprising strength if both it and an opponent are nearby.


King Radical himself through all this will exploit the openings made by his lame minions, combo foes with the aid of his Rad minions, and work in tandem with Rob to have the latter close out a stock or thrive under the oppressive atmosphere he creates. Letting King Radical dominate to such a degree that he gets all of his allies in- maniacal glee growing all the while- is the last mistake you'll ever make, and the sheer domination he gets out of it is the primary motive for players to use his impractical and/or risky Specials and Smashes. Speaking of which, we're finally done with the former, now on to the latter!



|\/o\/| Smashes |\/o\/|

|\/o\/| Forward Smash |\/o\/|

King Radical raises his new weapon of choice for the next three inputs into the air: a chainsaw. While 1 out of 5 doctors might object to the use of a woodcutting tool as a weapon, none can deny it is a truly rad way to cut down your enemies (puns are considered acceptable in the court of King Radical if done while inflicting harm upon someone or something). For Forward Smash, King Radical channels a bit of horror movie monster and raises his chainsaw high, revving it for emphasis.

During this charging phase, if he's not on one of his sweet dirt bikes or the Birdosaurus, he can tip toe back and forward as he charges at his gradual walk speed, as if to creep up on his intended victim. Smashing the control stick will even let him turn around- swinging his legs around on his ride in the aforementioned cases if need be- to surprise someone getting clever with their rolls.

On release, King Radical swings the chainsaw downward, looking frustrated if the saw fails to hit something. If he hits, the saw begins to carve into the unfortunate foe as he drags it downward with maniacal glee! This deals a total of 20~28% damage over an extended period, broken up into a number of rapid hits that hold the victim in place before the final hit inflicts half of the damage and sends them flying with moderate, low-angle knockback suited for killing at relatively normal percents and spaces foes far away before then- perhaps reward yourself with a True Dew, or any other item, or a new minion?

Hit or miss, the end lag is middling, allowing foes to respond with a quick attack if he missed and letting him get back on the offensive immeidately after a hit. It's the start lag that's unfortunate, as he pulls the cord to start his weapon and raises it high before even beginning to charge the move, telegraphing his intentions. The time between release and the swing itself is contrastingly lightning quick, making King Radical just as scary to be around as the villains he's drawing on once he's enter the charge state. His ability to move and turn about as he charges, the fast swing downward on release, and the way this move shreds shields with a slight shield damage and stun bonus means it's a quick draw contest between him and a foe in his reach who needs to guess when to dodge or if they should risk a poke. The turn is a little laggy, so rolls past him can be safe if he doesn't read them in time to respond or chase after you, but getting predictable with that just gives him a free hit.

This is obviously your go-to move on Birdosaurus back, and very tempting to use on his dirt bike for being able to spend most of its long start lag en route to the foe, both benefitting from that fast release and even the ability to turn about as a mean 'gotcha' if foes try to roll past. But I'd be remiss to point out a vehicle you might've forgotten about: the Skateboard. The speed buff doesn't override King Radical's ability to move back and forward precisely while charging and can sort of replicate the coasting forward while starting up quality of the other two, without the hefty commitment or a lag increase.

Then there's the value of your minions. Even a lame Common Men mook will flinch foes or force them to respond, so saving this for when you know the next attack is coming and ripping into the foe or their shield when their hand is forced is a simple enough concept.


|\/o\/| Down Smash |\/o\/|

Sneering, King Radical shifts one leg back (assuming he's not on one of his rides) as he charges the attack, holding the chainsaw straight up in front of himself. On release, he drops to one knee (again, not on a bike or dinosaur) and bends down low (even if on a bike or dinosaur) and thrusts the whirling tool of deforestation forward, rising up with it in hand and lifting anyone he stabs in the gut with it upward as he rises, before ending the move with a casual sweeping motion back and toward the ground to dispose of anything still stuck to it with a smirk. If he misses, the swipe is faster, and he grits his teeth angrily.

Should he successfully stab someone with his chainsaw, it results in a similar video and audio flair to Ridley impaling someone with his tail- in part because that's essentially what just happened here. He does a hefty 24~33.6% damage, once again divided into the first half being dealt by multiple small hits (as he lifts the limp foe into the air) and the second half being the final hit (as he flicks them off of his weapon). The actual knockback of this move is limited, but foes crumple on landing for a similar amount of time as from Ridley's comparable attack- meaning King Radical is free to pile on even more punishment on top of the high damage.

The shield stun and damage are again increased, but this move has a bit of an issue in that the shield push is also increased- it'll do some work on a shield, don't make any mistake about it, but it can push foes free before the final hit and leave him open to retaliation. The fact the hitbox starts so low, however, does allow for shield pokes, and the drawn out hitbox regardless of if he hits or misses that initial stab will catch spot dodges.

While not as slow to start charging as Forward Smash, the gap between release and the active frames of the hitbox is much wider, resulting in a move that is technically faster to execute uncharged and less telegraphed but still on the reactable side of frames, not something to use raw or hold to threaten people with compared to others. Combined with the crumble triggering the regrab timer and slightly longer end lag than Forward Smash's already middling end lag, he mercifully won't be chaining these together any time soon.

That's not to say he has a hard time hitting with it. Synergizing nicely with his movement tools, that sudden drop can compress his hurtbox enough to low-profile some projectiles and other hitboxes, an excellent boon while riding his dirt bike or the Birdosaurus. He's not so easily unseated from either, and he holds the hitbox protectively in front of himself and his ride to clash with low-hitting threats, all the while he's speeding towards his victim. The added momentum does not add any damage to the impalement, but dang if it doesn't make it all the flashier.

It's also one of a few attacks in his kit that holds a foe in place for a bit, open to get smacked around by nearby minions as they're being sawed into or even as they just start to pick themselves off of the ground.


|\/o\/| Up Smash |\/o\/|

(three swing combo overhead, front to back to front to back, good duration while riding along to catch foes that retreat from his approach.)


Jab:

(Exaggerated right hook straight out of a comic book panel, resetting to neutral with low, slow-scaling knockback. Radical has a decent neutral game, so this is his means to escape a tight spot and retake control. He has a decent few tools to escape disadvantage, with the downside more being his advantage state takes some snowballing to get worth a darn. Include 'punching a mummy' in the list of things it's good for.)


Forward Tilt:

(Horizontal sword swing, utilizing a longsword with a cross guard stylized to look like sunglasses because of course. Beats out most of what the Tennis Racket can do in the hands of his opponent, conveniently.)


Dash Attack:

(Scooter, sex kick that degrades from a solid get off me attack to dragging hits, surprisingly safe move to cancel out of after a certain point, repeat inputs will have him pushing along to regain speed as a means to cancel it into itself. Can keep it going for a while or end it at his leisure, which is what makes it so strong a neutral tool. Hitbox does not cover his upper half, making it vulnerable to short-hopped aerials.)



Back Aerial:

(Rocket Skates, haughtily crosses his arms and shoots backward, elbowing anyone he bumps into or mockingly wagging a finger at the opponent he retreats from.)