Takamaru (たかまる) is the protagonist of the Japan-only Famicon Disk System game, The Mysterious Murasame Castle.
He joined Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U as a summonable Assist Trophy, and returns as such for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. A Mii Fighter Costume modeled after him was also made available as DLC for the former.
Charcter Description[]
Takamaru is the samurai apprentice to the shogunate and its leader Tokugawa Ietsuna during Japan's Edo-period. One day, a shining gold object falls from the sky and into the Murasame Castle. It then starts to give out a piercing shriek, revealing the object to be an alien who has now given life to the castle's stone statue named Murasame. Its powers also extend to the four neighboring castles (Aosame Castle, Akasame Castle, Ryokusame Castle, and Momosame Castle), giving their respective daimyō lords an evil sphere of power, which in turn lets the alien control them and to summon armies of ninjas and monsters to attack the land. The shogunate task Takamaru with infiltrating the castles to defeat each castle lord and eradicate the alien threat.
Takamaru is only equipped with two weapons - his katana and pinwheel knives - and can be used depending on his distance from the enemy; when he is close, he will use the katana, and when he is far away he will instead use the pinwheel knives. The katana is also capable of deflecting projectiles. As the game progresses, he also gains several new weapons, including fireballs, explosives, and a cloak that grants him invisibility.
Both Takamaru and his game would fall into relative obscurity since its release, mainly due to it never getting a worldwide release until May 29, 2014, when the game was ported to the Nintendo 3DS. Despite this, Takamaru would still go on to make a few notable appearances in other games; Takamaru is one of the residents on Mimin Island in Captain Rainbow whose wish is to control his excitement around women; he appears as a playable character in Koei Tecmo's Samurai Warriors 3 which also comes with a remake of The Mysterious Murasame Castle; one of the microgames featured in WarioWare D.I.Y. is based on The Mysterious Murasame Castle, which involves turning Takamaru invisible; a minigame in Nintendo Land is called Takamaru's Ninja Castle, which involves throwing shurikens at attacking ninjas; and Takamaru makes a cameo in Super Mario Maker 2, as one of the effects has sprites from The Mysterious Murasame Castle appear alongside a sped-up rendition of the game's main theme.
In Super Smash Bros. Brawl[]
Takamaru's only appearance in Brawl is in Sticker form.
No. | Image | Artwork Source | Effect | Character(s) |
---|---|---|---|---|
639 | Nazo no Murasame Jō | Weapon Attack +11 | Anyone |
In Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U[]
Assist Trophy[]
Takamaru appears as a summonable Assist Trophy. He will swiftly move around the stage, mimicking his animations from The Mysterious Murasame Castle. He will attack with a flurry of slashes from his katana, or by throwing his pinwheel knives that travel in an "X" pattern. He is one of the few Assist Trophies that can be KO'd.
Mii Fighter Costume[]
A costume for the Mii Swordfighter modeled after Takamaru was made available as a part of the Wave 6 batch of DLC costumes. The sword it uses is his Ninjatō katana.
Trophy Description[]
The main character of The Mysterious Murasame Castle. In this game, he dashes and jumps straight to the nearest opponent and shows off his swift sword skills. If he's got a bit of distance, he uses his special ninja techniques, based on the rook and the bishop in Japanese chess, to send projectiles spinning through the air.
- 3DS - The Mysterious Murasame Castle (08/2014)
In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate[]
Takamaru returns as an Assist Trophy with his actions remaining unchanged, though now KOing him grants the player a point in a Timed match. The Mii Fighter Costume based on Takamaru also returns, now part of the base game. It must be acquired separately in the Shop; the Wig is available for 450G, while the outfit is 650G.
Spirit[]
A Spirit of Takamaru is available in the base game. It is a Primary Attack Spirit under the Ace class. His Spirit Battle uses a Mii Swordfighter wearing the Takamaru costume, with increased melee weapon attack power and increased move speed (meant to mimic the fast walk speed of The Mysterious Murasame Castle). Takamaru himself will also appear to assist the Mii Swordfighter. Only sword items will spawn during the match. The stage is the Battlefield Form of Suzaku Castle, which is meant to resemble the general setting of the original game, and the song that plays is "The Mysterious Murasame Castle Medley".
The Takamaru Spirit can also be purchased from Anna’s Emporium through the Spirits menu and in World of Light.
No. | Spirit | Artwork Origin | Type | Rating | Effect | Slots |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1128 | The Mysterious Murasame Castle | ★★★ | Sword Attack ⬆ | 2 |
Trivia[]
- According to Masahiro Sakurai, Takamaru has been considered to be playable for both Super Smash Bros. Melee and Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U, but felt that his popularity was too low in both instances, so the idea had to be scrapped.
- Despite Takamaru having an English actor, being Darrel Guilbeau from Samurai Warriors 3, he is still voiced in Japanese in all international versions of Smash. He is one of two Assist Trophies with this distinction, the other being Yuri Kozukata.
- He is one of six characters overall with this distinction; the other five being the aforementioned Yuri, Mewtwo, Cloud Strife, The Luminary, and Sephiroth.
- Takamaru's English Trophy description erroneously labels him as a ninja, despite being depicted as a samurai in all of his appearances outside of Smash.
- Much like Saki Amamiya's Trophy in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, Takamaru's trophy lists The Mysterious Murasame Castle as having debuted on the Nintendo 3DS; this may be because the game was never released outside of Japan until 2014 for the 3DS' Virtual Console.
- In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Takamaru cannot be summoned on Norfair, Mute City SNES, and Boxing Ring.
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Assist Trophies | |
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Introduced in |
Andross · Barbara · Devil · Dr. Wright · Excitebikes · Gray Fox · Hammer Bro. · Helirin · Isaac · Infantry & Tanks · Jeff Andonuts · Jill · Kat & Ana · Knuckle Joe · Lakitu and Spinies · Little Mac · Lyn · Metroid · Mr. Resetti · Nintendog · Ray MK III · Saki Amamiya · Samurai Goroh · Shadow the Hedgehog · Starfy · Tingle · Waluigi |
Introduced in |
Ashley · Chain Chomp · Color TV-Game 15 · Dark Samus · Dillon · Dr. Kawashima · Elec Man · Ghirahim · Ghosts · Isabelle · Magnus · Midna · Mother Brain · Nightmare · Phosphora · Prince of Sablé · Riki · Sheriff · Skull Kid · Starman · Takamaru |
Introduced in |
Akira Yuki · Alucard · Arcade Bunny · Black Knight · Bomberman · Burrowing Snagret · Chef Kawasaki · Flies & Hand · Guile · Kapp'n · Knuckles the Echidna · Krystal · Moon · Nikki · Rathalos · Rodin · Shovel Knight · Spring Man · Squid Sisters · Sukapon · Thwomp · Tiki · Vince · Wily Capsule · Yuri Kozukata · Zero |