Topic: SNES platform game character ratings

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Biomech (Realm)
Biomech knows how to shoot things and that's pretty much it.  I'd like to complain about his defense but in truth he has it rough because his game is rough.  His movement in general is about average and he has a lot of offense.  That's his high point in fact.  He gets a good variety of weapons that don't disappear in death, come with decent ammo, and can really kill.  I'm not sure how well he'd do in other games.  I'd have to test it and find out.

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Bonk (Super Bonk)
Ha, I love this guy.  You don't think of many cave men being good shape shifters but Bonk can manipulate himself and his environment as well as Kirby.  His jumping stinks but since his maneuverability is so good and he has a spinning gliding move it doesn't matter.  His offense starts simple enough but upgrading it into something better is easy.  He can take quite a beating too.  I think Bonk is one of those characters that would really surprise by tearing up most games.  I'd definitely export him.

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Boogerman (Boogerman)
He can't jump and his maneuverability could be better.  Fortunately his game takes it easy on him.  Still all his moves, even basic ones, require ammo, and it really brings him down.  His offense as a whole could be better too.  His other stats are largely average.  If the designers of this game intended to make a clowning super hero that really doesn't know what he's doing they succeeded.  I think he'd die early and often in most games.

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Storm (Skuljagger)
Storm is fast.  He's a good jumper and he's maneuverable although sometimes he hangs in the air too long.  His attack is decent and can be upgraded but then down grades with damage.  And he really can't take any damage, which kills him in this game since enemies come out of nowhere often.  At least his attack is defensive.  Overall this is a bad game and Storm comes off as more clumsy then savant.  Maybe he'd export well.  But I don't know.

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Firebrand (Demon's Crest)
Another of Capcom's ass kickers here.  Firebrand is slow but that's the only real mark against him.  His upgrades which are fully varied raise every stat.  Most noticeably Firebrand's offense and versatility rise together as each new weapon doubles as a new tool.  He requires no ammo but can gain optional potions and spells and his defense is supreme.  You gotta love Firebrand.  There's not a game he wouldn't excel in.

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Princess (Magical Pop'n)
If you thought Firebrand was bad let me introduce you to a girl that could be Samus' daughter.  The Princess is lightning freaking fast.  She can surround herself with damage swinging her little pink light saber in all directions, and on top of that she gets a great magical arsenal that caps with screw attack.  Her speed and maneuverability combine with this make her a death bringer, and of course all her spells double as tools.  Princess could handle the hardest of platformers.  She definitely makes my top list.

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Hamel & Flute (The Violinist of Hamlin)
Too bad you can't have one without the other because together they're a real oddball.  Hamel just stinks. He can't jump, he gets stuck in the simplest situations, and his cooler offense requires fancy handwork on the controller.  Flute on the other hand is awesome.  She gains multiple forms thought the game that range from harmless to invincible and airborne.  Hamel can be required to control Flute while she's in costume but other then that he's a weight around her neck.  I'd trash Hamel and I'm sure Flute could handle almost any game.

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Jim (Earthworm Jim)
Jim's great asset is his attack speed and ferocity.  While destroying things in all directions Jim is amazingly stable, more so then a lot of characters that have 360 fire.  Jim is also a great mover requiring no recoil time between jumps or changing between running, climbing, or swinging.  Jim's defense is great too and even green players will be able to get far since Jim can withstand so much.  One drawback might be that Jim requires ammo, but his arsenal is varied and he's rarely short on destructive power.  Jim is another character that would be great in any platform game.  I'd like to try him in Mega Man.

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The Master (Actraiser)
Another lax jumper making up for his lead shoes with upper body strength.  The Master makes a great tank being able to dish out and withstand tons of damage.  For his lack of jumping and versatility he's quick and maneuverable.  His game provides plenty opportunity to prove even heavy characters can get around if they can at least react with decent speed.  I like The Master since he packs a kind of forward force that you don't see very often.  Buuuut I'm not sure how he'd export.  He just can't jump.

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Sam (Prehistorik Man)
Sam skids really bad.  His maneuverability is great though and he's easy to direct in air.  His offense is only average but it's also deflective and that's nice.  Sam can take a beating and he has a decent invincibility period after a hit.  He's more versatile then he looks too.  Sam's speed, his best and worse trait, is what gives him his edge since he can quickly navigate a series of platforms or enemies.  This requires attention on the part of the player though so I'm not sure how well Sam would do in most games.  He'd probably be fine though.

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Sparkster (Sparkster)
Time for another glowing review.  Sparkster is super badass.  His only drawback is the player might have trouble keeping up with him.  Sparkster has a ton of offensive moves that are all also defensive, and as if that wasn't enough he's one of the few characters that can create midair combos using different attacks.  Sonic and Zero can do this too but Sparkster is much more stable.  He'll go, blazing attack or not, wherever you want him, and then immediately blast off again.  His defense is high, his versatility is decent, he can't jump but since he can fly it doesn't matter.  I'd love to export him to all the toughest games and lay the smack down.

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Kirby (Kirby Super Star)
I don't think I need to tell anyone how super Kirby is.  More then just high offense anything that gets in front of Kirby faces instant death.  Which in turn leads to tones more offense, versatility, and even defense.  Of course he can't jump and he's not very maneuverable.  But with countless weapons that all double as tools at his disposal there's really no stopping him.  Now Kirby has been in a lot of games and each one is somewhat different so at this point you've probably all seen just how annoying low speed and maneuverability can be.  But he always does well for the reasons I just mentioned.  I'm sure Kirby could either force or finagle his way through any platformer.

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Kirby can't jump? News to me...

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In superstar at least both his standing start and running jumps don't go very far.  His straight up jump also is also pretty short.  But you don't notice this as you play since he can fly.  Which I guess I should've counted under jumping, oops.  I just thought as I played through game that his jumping was clunky.  I'd always hit my head or miss the ledge overestimating his ability.  By the time I got to the great cave offensive I only dashing or flying, and ignoring ledges.  I'm playing through Dream Land 3 now and it's the same problem.  Kirby is not graceful.

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Mega Man (Mega Man 7)
The blue bomber appears to be an early attempt to add more attack power and potential to what was your average platform character of the day.  Advance that concept seven games forward in time and you get an extremely powerful and versatile character that seems to fit his game perfectly.  Mega Man convincingly pulls off the idea of a robot warrior with the high defense and low mobility you'd expect of a heavy metal body.  With the weapons as tools concept in full swing here it's extremely hard to put Mega Man in a situation he can't fight or think his way out of.  Another character that would excel in any game you dropped him in.