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Smash Bros.' Lucina Isn't A Marth Clone, But She Comes Close
After the reveal of Lucina and Robin yesterday as playable characters in Super Smash Bros., we were left to speculate as to how exactly the newcomers will play. Today, director Masahiro Sakurai clarified Lucina's role and her similarities to another fighter, Marth.
Lucina is clearly a sword-wielding brawler, but Sakurai posted some expanded info about her combat style. "Her physical ablilites are identical to Marth's," he writes. "It must be in her D.N.A. However, where Marth's power is concentrated in the tip of the sword, Lucina's attack strength is balanced throughout the weapon, which might make her easier to control. She's also a little bit shorter than Marth."
That description might make it sound like the character is just an alternate version of Marth, but she occupies her own slot on the roster. "With the Wii Fit Trainers, the male and female Robins, the Villagers, and Little Mac, varying their appearances and voices works just like selecting alternate color variations," Sakurai says. "However, whenever there is even a small difference in abilities, that character gets an actual roster slot. That is why you can select Lucina individually."
Sakurai also points out that, if you look closely, you can see the mark of Naga in Lucina's left eye.
Our Take
I'm not personally interested in splitting hairs about slight differences between characters. If characters are fun to play and have movesets I enjoy, I'll use them. However, it is interesting to see how much thought goes into whether a character earns a separate slot on the roster or is relegated to a variation of an existing fighter.
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