Smash Ultimate Makes Kirby's Marx Even Better

February 6, 2019

AI Summary

5 min read

In Kirby Super Star, the final boss of the Milky Way Wishes campaign is a jester-like creature named Marx. He bounces around the screen, fires crescent-shaped projectiles, and seems almost playful—until he gains control of the planet, transforms into a monstrous form, and reveals a wide, unblinking, crazed grin. The entire fight is built around one idea: don't trust appearances. When Super Smash Bros. Ultimate brought Marx back as a boss in 2018, the development team had to preserve that core motif while adapting him for a platform fighter with radically different mechanics. According to this analysis from Skip the Tutorial, they succeeded—and in some ways, they made him even better.

The design philosophy that made the adaptation work

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What you'll learn

1 (00:00) **Marx’s Core Theme: Don’t Trust Appearances** - The episode opens by establishing Marx as one of Kirby’s greatest villains, whose entire character is built around the motif of deceptive appearances, a theme Smash Ultimate amplifies.
2 (01:10) **Why Marx Translates So Well to Smash** - The host explains the design philosophy that makes Marx a near-perfect fit for Ultimate, contrasting him with more complex characters like Ganon.
3 (02:19) **Fleshing Out Marx’s Moveset** - A breakdown of how Ultimate expands Marx’s attack pattern while preserving the original spirit of his insanity.
4 (03:27) **The Power of Presentation and Surrealism** - The host argues that Ultimate’s graphical leap isn’t just obvious, but thematically deep, using the 3D render to enhance Marx’s unsettling nature.
5 (04:28) **Comparing the Endings: Possession vs. Redemption** - A crucial comparison of how the boss fight concludes in *Kirby Super Star* versus *Smash Ultimate*, revealing a deeper thematic choice.
6 (06:02) **Why Smash Beats Star Allies as a Marx Reference** - The host contrasts Ultimate’s boss fight with Marx’s appearance as a playable Dream Friend in *Kirby Star Allies*, arguing Ultimate is the superior representation.
7 Standout Quotes

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Show Notes

Smash Ultimate Makes Kirby’s Marx Even Better! Marx is one of Kirby’s most famous bosses, so when HAL Laboratory adapted him as a boss in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, they had big shoes to fill. Luckily, this Smash boss fight in the World of Light and Spirits modes is very faithful to the original fight from Kirby Super Star, and it might even be a better boss battle due to the changes Sakurai’s team added. Let’s discuss that, on this episode of Boss Battle Breakdown!