Ninten (Smash Plus)

Ninten is a playable character in Super Smash Brothers Plus for the Nintendo Switch Plus. Representing the Earthbound/Mother franchise, Ninten is listed as Fighter #46 in Smash's modified numbering system and is classified as a Middleweight fighter. He is hidden at the start of the game, but can be unlocked through random encounters in Versus Mode or by defeating Classic Mode with both Ness and Lucas. He is also a new character, as this is his first playable appearance in a Smash game.
Ninten plays very similarly to both Lucas and Ness in the sense that he has the same movement patterns as them and utilizes PSI energy as his primary weapon. However, Ninten's strengths are much more defensive in nature than they are offensive. Whereas both Lucas and Ness have a barrage of projectiles to space out characters and powerful Smash Attacks to deal with those who come up close (his constant baseball bat companion should be evidence of that), but Ninten's special moves are more designed to undermine opponents rather than attack them outright. While he is capable of holding his own in a fight, his unique special moves give him a slightly higher learning curve than Lucas or Ness. Still, he is a formidable character in his own right. Ninten has two normal jumps and no other movement options.
==Moveset==
===Basic Attacks===
*Neutral Jab- Ninten fires off a three hit jab, beginning with two quick kicks followed by a pummel from the handle of his trusty baseball bat.
*Side Tilt- Ninten performs a basic swing with his baseball bat, though not with as much power as his side smash.
*Up Tilt- Ninten will toss his boomerang into the air a short distance and have it land back in his hands. The upward throw does more damage than the return trajectory.
*Down Tilt- Ninten performs a legsweep with his bat directly in front of him.
*Dash Attack- Ninten throws his fist forward with a bolt of PSI energy in the form of a fist. Pops opponents straight up into the air rather than launching them back, making it useful for setting up combos, but it has bad endlag if it misses.
*Grab & Pummel- Ninten grabs opponents with both arms, shocking them with PSI energy for his pummel.
*Forward Throw- Ninten tosses up the opponent psychically and then smacks them away with his baseball bat.
*Back Throw- Ninten psychically tosses the opponent behind him, finishing with a single blast from his slingshot for additional damage.
*Up Throw- Ninten spikes the opponent skyward with a single PSI uppercut, similar to his dash attack.
*Down Throw- Ninten psychically slams the opponent into the ground before blasting them with PK Beam to launch them backwards.
*Neutral Air- Ninten performs a simple flying kick with a lingering PSI hitbox around the edge of his foot to launch foes.
*Forward Air- Ninten fires a spreadshot from his slingshot, causing three projectiles to launch at slightly different arcs.
*Back Air- Similar to his front air, Ninten fires three projectiles from his slingshot, each at slightly different angles.
*Up Air- Ninten causes a small explosion of PSI directly above his head that will sweetspot if it hits right as the move begins.
*Down Air- Ninten performs a PSI-enhanced foot stomp that will spike opponents hit by the very end of his feet.
===Smash Attacks===
*Side Smash- Ninten will take a mighty swing with his baseball bat similar to both Ness and Lucas. Unlike them, his bat will be charged with PSI energy, creating a more powerful attack if it connects in the sweetspot. It also has a bit more endlag than either Ness or Lucas' version.
*Up Smash- Ninten creates a ball of PSI energy directly above his head as if firing PK Beam, only for the ball to detonate directly above him, hitting opponents multiple times and launching on the final hit.
*Down Smash- Ninten performs a downward swing with his baseball bat on either side of himself. Quick to come out, but the smash attack comparatively does little damage and knockback.
===Special Moves===
*Neutral Special: PK Beam- Ninten will cause a small ball of energy to appear above his head, which will then launch a beam straight forward if the button is tapped. The beam goes a fair distance and travels through opponents like Robin's Thoron, but with not nearly as much damage. Holding the button though will allow players to choose the direction the beam travels, only releasing the button will fire the beam. If Ninten is hit while choosing a direction, the attack will be canceled.
*Side Special: Brainshock- Ninten will fire three rings of psychic energy a short distance directly in front of him. Being hit by only one of the rings will do only small flinching damage. However anyone hit by two or three rings will not only take more damage, they will also be momentarily dazed, with the status ailment lasting longer based on damage.
*Up Special: 4th-D Slip- Ninten will disappear and then reappear a somewhat random distance away via a teleport. Players can choose the direction in which Ninten will appear via directional input, however there is a 1/8 chance of the teleport causing Ninten to travel twice as long as a normal Slide, and a 1/4 chance of the teleport traveling only half as long as a normal Slide. If Ninten lands directly over a player when he reappears though, it will launch foes and give them a Flower effect similar to Jigglypuff's Rest.
*Down Special: PK Status- Ninten will think briefly before causing a small explosion of psychic energy around himself. Any opponent caught in the aura will be afflicted with one of five types of Assist PSI, with a different color on the opponent's HUD reflecting the ailment. A red aura indicates "OffenseUp," which increases the opponents susceptibility to Ninten's PSI based attacks. A blue aura indicates "DefenseDown", which decreases opponents defense to all of Ninten's attacks. A green aura indicates "Shield Off", which will halve the strength of an opponents shield. A purple aura indicates "Darkness," which will decrease the knockback ability of all of an opponent's attacks. Finally a yellow aura indicates "QuickUp", which causes an opponents speed to increase but also their controls to reverse. All status effects last 10 seconds.
*Final Smash: Eight Melodies- Ninten will cause a psychic explosion in front of himself, launching any foe hit by it into a cutscene where the player will be confronted by the image of Giygas from Mother 1. In the background Ninten will play the Eight Melodies on his Ocarina, causing Giygas to launch a powerful attack at the opponents, launching them as the song ends and the game returns to the stage.
===Miscellaneous===
*Entry Animation- Ninten will appear out of thin air as if completing a 4th-D Slip, ready for action.
*Idle Animation 1- Ninten taps his baseball bat on the edge of his shoe twice in a way of getting ready for battle.
*Idle Animation 2- Ninten glances around twice before resuming normal stance.
*Side Taunt- Ninten messes with his Ocarina briefly, playing a single section of notes from the Eight Melodies song before putting it away.
*Up Taunt- Ninten swings his bat as a couple of practice swings before resuming normal pose.
*Down Taunt- Ninten poses in front of the camera and has three PSI sparks appear above his head briefly.
*Victory Animation 1- In a unique animation, Ninten plays the Mother Victory Theme from Smash Bros Melee on his ocarina, finishing with a pose as Ana and Lloyd cheer him on from behind.
*Victory Animation 2- Ninten taps his baseball bat against each shoe twice before adopting a stance as if ready to swing away.
*Victory Animation 3- Ninten stands and poses before falling backwards and falling asleep, snoring all the while.
==How to Unlock==
Ninten can be unlocked in the game any of the following ways:
*Playing Versus Matches until he randomly shows up as a "Challenger Approaching" Fight. Defeat him to unlock him.
*Defeat Classic Mode with Lucas at starting difficulty 3.0 or higher. If players unlocked Lucas through means other than Classic Mode, than Classic Mode must also be defeated with Ness at the same difficulty level before Ninten will appear in Challenger Approaching.
*Unlock him in the Finale of World of Light by defeating him.
*Paying 1,000 gold in a shop, where he can randomly appear (though rarely).
Category:Super Smash Bros. Characters
Category:Super Smash Bros. (series)
Category:Smash Plus Characters