Well folks, it’s that time again for another Smashing Saturdays! This week recaps the Isabelle reveal while also offering a more in-depth video of her skills. It also details the Shovel Knight Assist Trophy, some new music, a returning stage and a couple of veteran brawlers. On top of that, we have another Character of the Week. But don’t worry, since that’s two in a row, the next Most Wanted Brawler will be extra crazy. Ready? Let’s get Smashing!

Sure, we knew about Isabelle last time, but since that reveal Sakurai has posted a new trailer. This one focuses in a bit more detail on her attacks. For instance, we now know that her Side B is the Fishing Pole seen in the reveal. By paying close attention, we can also see that, unlike Villager, Isabelle plants her Lloid Rocket in the ground before it fires vertically. My question of her Final Smash has also been clarified as the same one Villager uses. Which, in my book, makes her an Echo character, even if Sakurai and company don’t acknowledge it outright. But that’s fine with me, since she looks different enough to be a unique new brawler. Plus she’s ridiculously adorable, which is always a bonus.

Sure, we already knew about Shovel Knight being an Assist Trophy as well. But we didn’t know all the details (or if we did, I forgot). Now it’s clear that Shovel Knight can bury foes in the ground, toss up rocks as he digs, and even dig up an occasional tasty treat! Truly, his shovelry skills know no limits.

Since Isabelle is a new addition to the roster, it fits they are adding more music from the Animal Crossing series. The latest song is the title theme from Happy Home Designer. Composed by Kazumi Totaka, it’s surprisingly catchy with just a hint of hard rock. It’s actually quite enjoyable. You can listen to it here.

Oh Onett. You’re as peaceful and idyllic as you are shockingly dangerous! I’m happy to have the chance to play once more on this classic Earthbound stage. It’s fun fighting on awnings and leaping to avoid incoming traffic. Getting hit for 30% damage is no joke, especially for the lighter characters I tend to prefer.

I’ve always been a fan of Ganondorf in theory. I just wished he wasn’t a mere Echo of Captain Falcon. While that really hasn’t changed, it’s nice to see him return to his iconic duds from Ocarina of Time. That means he’s slimmer and perhaps a bit faster than recently. But best of all is now he actually uses his sword for a few attacks! I’ve been begging for that a while now, and it’s nice to see the devil get his due. So to speak.

Speaking of devils, how about the Yellow Dev…er, I mean Pikachu? Yes, the electric rat is here and as painfully chaotic as ever. He’s still a bastard in the right hands, though in the wrong hands he’ll just spam Thunderbolt. One thing I’m very happy about is now Pikachu has an alternate costume dressed up as the mighty Pikachu Libre! Not as great as Libre being a whole new character, but I’ll take it.

Now, stick around for another segment of Character of the Week!

Character of the Week

Bowser

I’ve talked about the King of Koopas at length in some small detail previously, but I wanted to give the big guy the spotlight this week. As I have said, I didn’t always love Bowser, but once he got some speed to match his mighty strength, I quickly grew to appreciate him. He can soak up a ton of damage with his turtle shell, and he can retaliate with the best of them. Plus, he’s one of the most iconic villains represented in the game. As a longtime fan of the Mario series, I’ve enjoyed Bowser for much longer. In Smash Bros., he’s the only heavyweight character I main (DK is more of a medium weight IMO). And there’s a reason for that. Much as I love light, annoying brawlers like Ness and Peach, sometimes you just have to give in to the urge to light things on fire and smash them underneath you. I honestly can’t wait for the chance to put the hurt on my friends again with this not so regal reptile!

Thanks as always for joining us! Tune in next week, and keep counting the days until the December release date!