I want to start a topic for everyone's favourite naked ninja (unless you count Tekkyuman as a ninja, I guess. He would be good too, but I think Nikujin is more popular.)
I see Nikujin as a fast running, fast jumping, fast attacking character who clocks up damage with light attacks, mostly close-range but a few projectiles, all the while dodging the enemy more than blocking.
The lightness of his attacks means he has few options to KO, though, so he must often rely on his most powerful move, the dreaded head-stab, which can easily KO once the enemy is at a high damage %. Nikujin has relatively low health and shield stats, so he must rely on dodging and avoidance.
Portrait
Sprites
Idle - Nightshade, Inane, Xion
Walking - Rostiger, Radnom
Jumping - Rostiger
Hurt - Rostiger
Throwing - Hayif, Boyd
Wall Grabbing - Lucaz, Rostiger
Sword Swing - Lucaz, Rostiger
Through Slash - Soulliard, Rostiger
Through Slash Trail - godsavant
Upwards Slash - Rostiger
Flipping Downwards Slash - Rostiger
Low Slash - Rostiger
Spear Spin - Rostiger
Shuriken Throw - Rostiger
Wall Run- Soulliard, Rostiger
Head Stab - Rostiger, Arachne
Guarding
StatisticsNikujin has somewhat low health, though he compensates for this with extremely quick speed, excellent jumping abilities, and the ability to grab walls. His attacks are powerful and fast.
Move ListA- Katana - Slashes with his katana just like in the original game. Tap repeatedly for a 3-hit combo. Fairly light damage, but quick.
>A- Through Slash- Slides a short way across the ground and slashes once, extremely fast, in the middle of the slide.
^A- Rising Slash- A strong upward slash.
vA- Crouch Slash- Slashes the ground in front of him, tripping opponents and setting them up for further attacks.
vA (aerial)- Flip Slash- A quick, spinning downward slash.
S- Shuriken- Similar to the shurikens used by purple ninjas in the game. A quick horizontal projectile. Tap repeatedly for a 3-hit combo.
>S- Spear Barrage- Gets out a spear, the same as used by the green ninjas in the original game. This takes a few frames of warmup. Once the spear is out, he performs a blisteringly fast slashing combo, replicating the one in the original, of course. If the opponent is trapped in the combo it quickly racks up damage. If they avoid it, however, Nikujin is rather prone to a counterattack.
^S- Air Run- Similar to his original wall-run, but can be performed in the air. If it hits an enemy, though, Nikujin runs on them, hitting them repeatedly while dragging them upward with him. This could be useful to force low-lying characters high into the air where they don't want to be. If Air Run is used on a wall, Nikujin will wall-run and go significantly further than he would in the air. If he traps an enemy between himself and the wall, he can drag them up the wall, and thus score more hits on them.
vS- Head Stab- When used on the ground, Nikujin hops forwards before performing the attack. When used in the air, Nikujin dashes downward a medium distance with his sword out. If he hits an enemy, he stabs into their head. They freeze for a split second, and then Nikujin flips backward and his opponent takes a nasty amount of damage. Also note that if Nikujin has used his second jump and/or his Air Run, he gets them back after using Head Stab. This is in keeping with the 'head stab jump' of the original game.
Original Move List
A: Katana. Slashes with his katana just like in the original game. Tap repeatedly for a combo. Fairly light damage, but quick. An interesting feature of this attack is that it retains some of the character's momentum, making it a little 'slippery'.
A>:Through Slash. Slides a short way across the ground and slashes once, extremely fast, in the middle of the slide. With good timing, you can slide past an opponent while hitting them and then follow through with a strike from behind.
A^:Rising Slash. A pair of quick overhead slashes while rising slightly into the air. Can be used to hold off enemies above.
Adown: Crouch Slash. Crouches and slashes twice in front of him, low to the ground. Changes his hitbox for a moment, which makes it good for countering other, higher attacks.
Air: Air Slash. A simple aerial slash, similar to the ground katana, but cannot lead into a combo.
Air^: Collection Slash. Dashes upward a short way with sword pointing downward, ready to slash. If it hits an enemy, the two are bound together for a moment (think Captain Falcon's upB) as Nikujin slashes them three times. Multiple enemies can be caught if they are close together. If no enemies are hit, the slashes never happen, meaning you can also use it as a very short air-jump to confuse/avoid opponents.
Air>: Spinning Slash. Leaps sideways in a short, low arc, spinning around with his sword out for multiple hits.
Airdown: Ninja Kick. Kicks downward repeatedly for a fast combo, similar to Kirby's airdown. If the enemy hits the ground, the combo ends, but if the characters are high enough that the combo can run its course, then it finishes with a nasty slash for good measure.
S: Shuriken. Similar to the shurikens used by purple ninjas in the game. A quick horizontal projectile. By holding down S, you can 'stack' shurikens similar to Shiek's needles. When you release the shurikens, they fly almost simultaneously and on a slightly different angle from each other(only around 1 degree). Like Shiek's needles, the stacked shurikens are held until you throw them, even if you move around. This move can also be used while wall-clinging.
S>: Spear Barrage. Gets out a spear, the same as used by the green ninjas in the original game. This takes a few frames of warmup. Once the spear is out, he performs a blisteringly fast slashing combo, replicating the one in the original, of course. If the opponent is trapped in the combo it quickly racks up damage. If they avoid it, however, Nikujin is rather prone to a counterattack. He can cancel the combo by blocking, but this doesn't come into effect immediately. If this hits an enemy in the air, both characters will fall quickly to the ground as the combo goes off.
S^:Air Run. Similar to his original wall-run, but can be performed in the air. Basically a third jump with good air control. If it hits an enemy, though, Nikujin runs on them, hitting them repeatedly while dragging them upward with him. This could be useful to force low-lying characters high into the air where they don't want to be. For example the Dwarf would be wary of this move since two of his specials don't work in the air. If Air Run is used on a wall, Nikujin will wall-run and go significantly further than he would in the air. If he traps an enemy between himself and the wall, he can drag them up the wall, and thus score more hits on them.
Sdown: Head Stab. When used on the ground, it does nothing. When used in the air, Nikujin dashes downward a medium distance with his sword out. If he hits an enemy, he stabs into their head. The game freezes for a split second, and then Nikujin flips backward and his opponent takes a nasty amount of damage. Also note that if Nikujin has used his second jump and/or his Air Run, he gets them back after using Head Stab. This is in keeping with the 'head stab jump' of the original game. This makes it perfect to use like a Meteor Smash. (A Meteor Smash is a SSB term meaning an attack that strikes straight down, used for KOing an opponent as they try to recover. Head Stab is not a true Meteor Smash because it doesn't go straight down, but it can be used in the same way.)
Community
