I won’t lie. Anything is less exciting after last week’s Smash Direct coverage. I mean, it pretty much set the standard for what to expect from Smash, doling out plenty of great tidbits. That said, this week Sakurai had some interesting screenshots to whet our collective whistles. Most noteworthy in my opinion was the double post on Greninja as well as a Yoshi related screen. We also have a very crazy Most Wanted Brawler for you this week, which relates to my allusion last week about my next obsession worthy character! You know you’re curious!

Enough blabbing. Let’s get Smashing!

Monday started with this lovely screen. At first I was underwhelmed, not because Greninja isn’t amazing, but because of the following quote by Sakurai – “Here’s a very, very new fighter in the upcoming Smash games, Greninja. Greninja’s sophisticated moves are extremely fun to use once you get used to how it controls!” My first thought upon reading this was “Tell me something I DON’T know, Sakurai!” Luckily, I checked the Miiverse and was rewarded with a much more compelling pic and description! Yes, Monday essentially had two screens. Here’s the second, much better, one –

Not only does this illustrate one of Greninja’s moves, Shadow Sneak, but it goes into detail on how it works! “The side special attack Shadow Sneak is a move that makes Greninja suddenly disappear and ambush opponents. If you press and hold the button, Greninja will move a greater distance. Another unique feature is you can move Greninja around freely while charging up.” MUCH better. I honestly don’t know why this wasn’t the official daily screen, but I can’t complain about two for the price of one! Plus, as an added bonus, poor Charizard looks completely flummoxed by the ninja frog.

Tuesday had this screen to share. It directly related to the Direct’s reveal about the different types of Final Destination levels. This one is the Gerudo Valley variant from the 3DS version. While no doubt some of you are beyond enthused by more Final Destination, I personally prefer the havoc and chaos abundant in the regular stages. For example, this version of Gerudo Valley will not include “distractions” such as Koume and Kotake. Boo. Smash isn’t Smash to me if it isn’t insane and fun. But, to each their own. Moving on to Wednesday.

Okay, first of all, this is my favorite looking screen of the week. It is just so strange and beautiful. Second, I have NO idea what this screen is trying to show us. Perhaps the Wii Fit Studio defies gravity and flips players around? Either that, or both these lovely ladies are capable of insane aerial maneuvers. Not sure. Either way, this stage is sure to tempt many to buy the Wii U version when it comes out in Winter.

Thursday treated us to another screenshot of Smash Run mode. I love seeing DK pummel that octocritter. But the Sakurai quote made it even more compelling (for once) – “Tac (on the left) steals your charged power. If you’ve charged up a lot, he might steal a ton of it. Chase after him quickly to get it back!!” Leave it to the godfather of Kirby to bring back one of the most annoying enemies from that series. That said, I do like the crazy variety of series represented in Smash Run. They have stuff from Kirby, Mario, Pokemon and even Donkey Kong…

And this is my second favorite screen from this week. Why, you ask? Because Yoshi is adorable. ‘Nuff said. Plus, Sakurai mentioned how both versions of the game will have ROUGHLY the same types of Assist Trophies and Pokemon. Hmmm. Not sure how relevant that will be, but it is interesting. Plus, looks like Isabelle will be in both versions. Yay?

But, that’s not all! Stick around for a new Most Wanted Brawler where I unveil my latest crazy, non-Ridley playable character idea…

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Okay, so last week I told you all to pay attention to the Direct when it discussed Smash Run. Know why? Cause I happened to notice a old enemy from DK’s SNES days show up – a Kremling! Which, of course, led me to speculate that the next playable Brawler might be –

Most Wanted Brawler

King. Captain. Baron. Boxer. There have been many faces to the villainous King K. Rool, created by Rare in Donkey Kong Country. And, while I know he could not possibly transform into all of them in the next Smash Bros., I see a way he could exemplify the best abilities from all his incarnations.

For his Neutral B attack, K. Rool would call upon his trusty Blunderbuss from his Kaptain days. This potent weapon would fire slowly moving horizontal cannonballs that occasionally would bounce or grow spikes. This would mix up a basic projectile and keep foes guessing, similar to how Princess Peach randomly plucks random items from the ground, or how Dedede used to hurl random minions. It wouldn’t be the fastest, but it would be a powerful deterrent, nonetheless.

For his Side B, K. Rool would leap into his barrel rocket from Donkey Kong: Barrel Blast, and blast forward like a madman. If it connects with foes, it will explode, dealing damage to both K. Rool and his foe. Unfortunately, if nothing blocks his path, K. Rool will instead go careening off the screen to his demise.

K. Rool’s Recovery Up B move would take a page from Baron K. Roolenstein. That incarnation used tons of crazy gadgets to hinder the Kongs, but most potent was his Propeller Backpack. Just like in DKC3, it would only give K. Rool minimal lift. However, combined with his Barrel Dash, it would make K. Rool very good at recovering from the cusp of death.

Last, but not least, his Down B would make use of his immense girth to crush foes underneath him with his Kremling Krusha! This is by far his most powerful move, but it is easy to see coming and avoid. It would be most effective combined with constant Blunderbuss fire to keep foes guessing. Better yet, when activated on the ground, he would leap in a set arc instead of straight down.

But what of his Final Smash? This was tricky. I figured, since I have included moves from all his other incarnations, why not use the K. Rool from Donkey Kong 64? The mad King Krusha K. Rool, boxing champion, is what he would transform into after crushing the Smash Ball.

In this form, K. Rool would launch his giant punching gloves at foes as projectiles, Smashing unwary foes with ease. Better yet, with every successful hit, the chances of activating K. Rool’s trademark invisibility would increase. This power was seen in both DKC2 as well as DKC64, and, despite it not making a lot of sense, it certainly made K. Rool all the more dangerous. Thus would be the case here. But, since it wouldn’t make a lot of sense for K. Rool to be invisible to the player controlling him, he would be a mere transparent outline that blurred into the background instead of completely invisible.

So what do you think? Is K. Rool a possibility for the next Smash? Or am I just a wee bit crazy? Chime in below!