Invictus Maneo/Ripto

**“**Say hello to your new king!**”**
— Invictus Maneo selection quip
**Ripto** is an ill-tempered dinosaur who resents his short size and plots to unleash his unbridled fury upon the world, assisted by much larger minions Crush and Gulp to help him achieve his goals. He is known for his contempt and disgust for dragons, particularly Spyro the Dragon, who has defeated him on multiple occasions and as such serves as his arch-nemesis. Despite his stature and foul temper, he is pretty competent as a villain, able to easily overtake all of Avalar and rule it in his image even if only for a short while.

Ripto originates from the 1999 game Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage!!, and his home stage is Ripto's Arena.

## Fighter Info

### Basics

Ripto is a lightweight character who largely specializes in stage control, taking advantage of his short stature and magical powers to cover all of his weaknesses and keep his foes at bay, preventing them from coming close to him if they don't know how to approach him or protect themselves from his onslaughts.

Ripto's sole weapon is his magical scepter, which he primarily uses to produce various particle effects that trap his foes before blasting them away from him, interrupting their approaches. Ripto sends away plasma waves in his light down tilt and edge grab attack, juggles green fireballs up in the air in his light up tilt and up air, and surrounds himself with blue electricity in his dash attack and neutral air, each based on the moves he'd get upon gathering special colored orbs in *Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage!*. He can also summon and kick bombs straight down in his down air as well as throw them backhand for his back air. In all of his heavy tilts, Ripto summons Crush to swing his club around to deal monstrous damage, and he summons Gulp in his throw game to devour and chew up his foes before spitting them out in the direction Ripto commands.

On the other hand, Ripto has some of the worst defense of anyone in the game, should he fail to keep his foes away he's likely to be K.O.'d by an attack with even modest strength. He also has an inconsistent kill game and his learning curve renders him hard to play.

### Specials

* **Special A: Superflame**
Ripto will hold his staff in the air, quickly charging much energy inside its Power Crystal before unleashing a powerful fireball that travels fast and hits hard. Alternatively, by releasing it before max charge, Ripto surrounds himself with green fireballs the player may release in a spiraling formation before they dissipate.
* **Special B: Inferno Worm**
Ripto will laugh in a mocking way before summoning a huge worm made of fire, sending it after his foes. It will hone in on whoever's closest to it, attempting to charge through them multiple times. It can be destroyed with any attack, but with the two Ripto can send on the battlefield at a time, it can be very tricky to deal with.
* **Special C: Metal Eagle**
Ripto will summon the enormous metallic eagle he uses in the final phase of his encounter in *Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage!*, ascending straight high with it in an instant before sending it on a diagonal crash course. Ripto can dismount the eagle at any time before it hits the floor or an enemy, which makes it explode right away.
* **Special D: Magic Barrier**
Ripto will surround himself with a barrier of three magical cards that block any and all attacks from reaching him unless they're designed to pierce shields, allowing him to approach his enemies easily while in an invulnerable state. The barrier does dissipate quickly and have a long cooldown, plus it has a bit of startup lag.
* **Showstopper: Ripto's Rage!**
Ripto will use his magic scepter to trap his foe(s) inside a magical cage. If successful, he will dangle the trapped foe(s) above a pool of lava, having Crush and Gulp beat them up while he charges up a massive fireball above his head. He will then blast his foes in the inferno, cutting their ropes to burn them down.