Barista (Super Smash Bros. Infinite)

“	Barista is an odd name for both a dog and a fighter! This rhythmic poochy uses a variety of characters and items from Rhythm Heaven in his attacks. Try to keep up or you will be tune deaf!	”
—Description from the Super Smash Blog.

Barista (マスター, Master) was first revealed at the end of the October Nintendo Direct 20XX as a bonus feature after the initial fade out screen. The reveal coincided with the reveal of Rhythm Heaven Fever Switched, an enhanced port of the Wii game which contains some content from Rhythm Heaven Megamix.

Attributes[]

Barista is a mobile, light fighter who has an extremely high learning curve thanks to the unorthodox the fighter has. Much like the other canine fighter, Duck Hunt, Barista walks on all fours and stands slightly shorter than the hunting duo. In terms of weightC he is the lightest of all the fighters which makes him a particularly big target for being launched. That being said, he can use his agility and smaller frame to easily dodge attacks should need. His greatest strength which attributes to the learning curve is the Rhythm mechanic which consists of timed input presses that will greatly maximize damage output when timed perfectly. Timing the button press exactly gives Barista the edge he needs to win the match.

Many of Barista’s attacks utilize various elements found in the Rhythm Heaven series including characters like Munchy Monk, Cheer Reader, and more. This makes the fighter hard to predict as that don’t have your typical punch, kick, bite, slash, etc-type attacks. Instead, opponents need to memorize each attack in Barista’s repertoire and how counter it effectively. This is easier said than done as these attacks are very powered up by the Rhythm mechanic. Despite these strengths, any well-placed smash attack or powerful special attack on will just about annihilate the poor pup; even as low as 45% depending on the attack. This makes maining Barista risky so care and practice is needed to achieve results with the character.

Rhythm Mechanic[]

The second button press of the attack following the initial button press has increased damage and knock back, similar to how it works in Super Mario RPG. My goal was to either add an additional effect, and/or an animation change to every move if the second press was pressed in time. The time when to press the button for the second time is different for each move, but is the same every time that move is used. For example the second button press for A forward smash has a different timing for the second button press of a jab, but the timing for the jab and forward smash is the same across every match.

Moveset[]

Tilts, Smashes, Aerials & Throws[]

Normals
Jab	Figure Fighter	Damage 5% 3.3% (2nd) 3.8% (3rd) 6% (4th) 6.2% 5.5% (2nd) 4.4% (3rd) 8% (4th)
When Summoned Barista will push a small button on the ground as if he were inflating the Figure Fighter. If A is pressed once, Figure Fighter will send out one punch, However if Jab is held down, he will do two left punches, followed by a right punch. If the A button is pressed individually for all three punches, the third punch will change animations to the animation done when a punching bag is broken in Rhythm Heaven, and the opponent will be sent further. This makes the attack one of the laggiest jabs in the game.
Dash	Wandering Samurai	Damage 6.2% (1~4 hits) 8.2% (final hit)
When a Dash Attack is performed, The wandering Samurai will appear behind the Barista, and will perform a multi hit slash with a finisher similar to Luigi’s. If the A button is pressed at the end of the multi hit, the Wandering Samurai’s finishing hit will have increased knockback. If the extra A press is missed, then the Wandering Samurai will finish with a standard slash like he uses when slicing one demon, but if the A press is successful, then He will finish with the same slice that he finishes slicing multiple demons with. The Barista will dive into the ground as this is happening.
Forward Tilt	Shrimp Shuffle	Damage 7% 10%
For Barista’s Forward Tilt, a shrimp will be launched forward (similar to Olimar’s Forward Smash, but with less range), like they do on the count “3” of shrimp shuffle. If A is pressed when the shrimp finishes traveling, increased knockback will be dealt, signified by the Shrimp bowing before it despawns. The Barista will point one of its forelegs out, similar to Olimar’s animation as this is happening.
Up Tilt	Flock Step	Damage 3% (pop) 4.5% (final) 5% (pop) 6% (final)
For Barista’s Up Tilt, a Huebird will appear squatting underneath the Barista, and will stretch out to full height, with the Barista on top of the Huebird’s head. If at the peak of the move the A button is pressed again, then the Barista will kick upwards with its hind legs, extending the move’s range and increasing its knockback.
Down Tilt	Crop Stomp	Damage 6.3% (stomp) 6.8% (stomp) 5.2% (upward swing)
For Barista’s Down Tilt, the farmer from Crop Stomp will appear behind the Barista and stomp his foot down, which will spike the opponent. If the A button is pressed again when his foot lands on the floor, then the Crop Stomper will swing his arms up, sending the opponent straight up, with relatively high kill power. If the A button press is missed, then he will simply despawn. The spike effect has the same low knockback regardless of percent so that the combo will always work, but if the opponent is in the air, it will scale with percent, that way opponents can be spiked off the ledge like with Luigi’s down taunt. Barista will bounce into the air slightly when this move is used, similar to how the vegetables are sent flying in this minigame.
Smash Attacks
Forward Smash	Lumberjack	Damage: 18.2% (2 hits) 28.2% 20% 33%
When Forward Smash is used, A Cat will appear in front of Barista, and the Lumbearjack will appear behind Barista. The first hit of this attack will be the Cat placing the log down which will bury the opponent. The Lumbearjack will then swing his axe onto the buried opponent. If the A button is pressed when the axe connects with the log, the move will have increased knockback, and this will be signified by the log splitting clean in half. During this animation Barista will be bobbing back and forth like the cats do in Rhythm Heaven.
Up Smash	See and Saw	Damage: 5% (See) 12.3% (Launch) 10% (See) 18.8% (Launch) 8.3% (See) 13% (See)
When Up Smash is used, the See Saw will appear, with the center of it being placed behind (in the x direction) the Barista, so that the projectile will fly right over the Barista. When Up Smash is used, See will jump up and land on his side of the See Saw, sending Saw about the length of Villager’s Up Smash above him. If the A Button is pressed while See is at the apex of the jump, See will slam into the board, not only making the move come out faster, but also Sending Saw twice as high. This moves functions as an anti air like Snake’s Up Smash. While this move is happening Barista will duck and cover his eyes, as if he were trying to not be hit by See and Saw.
Down Smash	Power Calligraphy	Damage: 10% 15%
When Down Smash is used, A Calligraphy brush will appear behind Barista (in the x direction), and will turn blue before swinging to the front of Barista like a pendulum. If the A button is pressed when the Brush is at the end of the swing, it will swing back in the other direction. Barista will tense up and turn slightly Red when using this attack, like how the hand does in Rhythm Heaven
Aerial Attacks
Neutral Aerial	Tambourine	Damage 1.2% (per hit, 6 hits max) 1.8% (per hit, 8 hits max)
A Monkey will appear on the back of Barista Holding a Tambourine. The Monkey will shake the Tambourine creating a multi hit with music notes similar to Pikachu’s Nair. If the A button is pressed again on the final multi hit, the monkey will slap the Tambourine instead of shaking it, and stars will come out instead of music notes dealing more damage and knockback.
Forward Aerial	Forthington & Baxter	Damage 6% 6.6%
Forthington or Baxter will appear on top of Barista and swing his Tennis Racket Down in front of Barista. If the A button is pressed again when the swing is finished, then the racket will swing back up, and any projectiles will be reflected.
Back Aerial	Dog Ninja	Damage 11.2% 11.2% (first) 11.8% (second)
Dog Ninja will appear on top of Barista facing behind Barista. This move will have a lot of start up, and its hitbox will last for a short window, but if A is pressed during this time then the move does increased damage and knockback, being one of the strongest back airs in the game. The animation will change so that the dog ninja slices with both of his blades instead of one if the correct timing is achieved.
Up Aerial	Cheer Reader	Damage 2.2% (hits 1-3) 5.9% (final)
The upper half of a cheer reader will appear behind Barista and spin her sign above her in a multi hit before finishing by revealing one of multiple pictures. This attack is similar in function to Dedede’s up Air. If the A button is pressed at the end of the multi hit the final hit will have increased knockback. The cheer reader’s sign will sparkle at the end of the animation if the timing is correct. This attack doesn’t cause a damage increase when timed and only does increased knockback.
Down Aerial	Fork Lifter	Damage 4% (fall) 7.2% (land) 2.2% (bounce up) 6.8% (second drop)
A fork will appear, and Barista will ride it downward, acting in a function similar to Toon Link’s dair. If the A button is pressed when the fork comes into contact with the ground, it will bounce back up and land for a second time, burying opponents. This allows for a mix up because the opponent can try to punish the first bounce, or wait for you to do a second bounce.
Throws
Grab	Munchy Monk	0%
The Munchy Monk will appear and grab the opponent.
Pummel	Monk Slap	Damage 1.8%
The Monk will slap the opponent for the pummel. The pummel will step up the beat, and if the throw is performed in time with the pummels, then the throws will have increased knockback and damage.
Forward Throw	Mandrill	Damage 6.1% (min) 13.2% (max)
The monk will transform into Mandrill and Bowl the opponent straight Forward, killing pretty early. If the Throw is timed with the pummels, then the Pink Mandrill found in hole in one two will come out instead
Back Throw	Frog	Damage 5.3% (min) 9% (max)
The monk will transform into the frog, and spin the opponent behind him, looking and killing similarly to Mario’s back throw. If the Throw is timed with the pummel the lead blue frog will come out instead.
Up Throw	Dough Dudes	Damage 4.5% (min) 7.8% (max)
The Monk will transform into the Dough Dudes, and the opponent will be bounced upward by the top Dough Dude. This doesn’t have high kill power, but sets up for early combos. If the throw is timed with the pummels, then the second bigger dough dude will bounce up as well.
Down Throw	Tap Trisl	Damage 7% (min) 12% (max)
The Monk will transform into Rhythm Girl and she will tap three times on the opponent before they are sent flying, similar to Kirby and Meta Knight’s Down Throw. If the throw is timed with the pummels, then two monkeys will appear along side her and tap.
Misc Attacks
Floor Attack	Executive Chair	Damage 2.2% (per hit, 3 hits max)
A chair spawns in and Barista spins in it momentarily. Hitbox extends up pretty far, but doesnt have good horizontal reach.
Ledge Attack	Monkey Slap	Damage 8.2%
A watch monkey (with increased size) slaps forward in an arc in front of Barista.

Special Moves[]

Barista’s Special Moves
Standard Special	Packing Pests
Barista will lob either a spider or a candy from its mouth towards the opponent. The candys will bounce once before despawning, and the spiders will crawl and do weak damage after landing before they despawn. If the B button is pressed before the projectile lands, it will be swatting down in mid air, starting the second bounce of the candy early, or starting the crawl phase of the spider. After the spider or candy has hit the ground for the first time, another press of the B Button will simply spawn another candy. If the B button is pressed at the apex of the lob, the candy and spider will spike on their way down.
Side Special	Karate Joe
Barista will chuck a flower pot forward from its mouth, similar to duck hunt’s Side special, but faster and travelling further. Side B will be held for this move, and when it is released Karate Joe will appear wherever the Flower Pot was, and perform a Punch. If The Karate Punch connects with an opponent, a Karate combo will be performed, and if The B Button is pressed when the uppercut connects, it will have increased kickback, and Karate Joe will smile at the camera before despawning. The Flower Pot will do small damage if it connects with the opponent, but Karate Joe is not spawned. Karate Joe will not spawn if the flower pot hits the ground before The B button is released. During Karate Joe’s Karate Combo, Barista will stand on it’s hind legs and wave its arms in the air. This will have a tiny weak hitbox on it, similar to how Greninja’s taunt does very little damage.
Up Special	Launch Party
Barista will take the place of the rocket ship from the Launch Party Mini Game. A box will spawn underneath Barista, and a 1,3,5, or 7 will appear. If the B Button is pressed when the number hits 0, then Barista will be launched upward, but not put into free fall, similar to mega man and sonis’s recovery moves. There is a hitbox on this move, but it is not very strong. If the B Button is missed, then the Barista will not travel very far, only About the Vertical distance of Dr. Mario’s recovery. Barista will be launched from the box in the position of the jump from Night Walk.
Down Special	Chorus Kids
The Chorus Kids will appear in a stack behind the Barista, and will sing (scream?) a pulsing note. This will have a visual effect similar to jigglypuffs, where there is a circle of notes around the Chorus Kids. In function this will be similar to Charizard’s and Bowser’s Flames, dealing multiple small hits of damage, with the radius of the scream getting smaller and smaller the longer the note is held. If the B Button is released on one of the Chorus Kid’s pulses then there will be a strong final hit instead of the move just ending. Barista will be singing with its mouth open during this, but will not add to the damage or hitbox.
Final Smash	Ringside Reporter
The Reporter will appear, and a camera flash will appear beside her, and any opponents caught in the flash will be sent to a cutscene. The ringside reporter minigame will play for a couple seconds, before ending in a final flash and zooming out to see the opponent pictured against the screen on a newspaper. The better score you get while in the minigame portion, the more damage and knockback will be dealt to the opponent.

Taunts[]

Up Taunt: The Double Date Gophers jump up from the ground and punches the air.
Down Taunt: Barista chases his tail
Right Taunt: Barista falls asleep for a second mimicking his art
Left Taunt: A Built to Scale block moves back and forth once.

On-Screen Appearance[]

Barista floats in tied to three balloons which pop one by one, like the intro to night walk.

Idle Poses[]

Barista wags his tail.
Barista puts his paws on his headphones and bops his head to the music.

Victory Poses[]

Barista appears alongside the Love Rap trio. MC Love says "Fo' Sho'" and the Barista barks with the backup rappers
The Ringside Reporter appears interviewing Barista with a simple "Wubadubaduba Zat true?". Barista responds with a bark.
Barista throws a pillow into the air, the camera following the pillow. He then sleeps on it.

Classic Mode: Rhythm Melodies[]

Barista's route revolves around different kind of music genre in which a music that closely matches each theming plays in the background with character and stages all based on that. [Note; the song that is used are all from Rhythm Heaven)

Round	Opponent	Stage	Music	References
1		Castle Siege (Mid Phase)	Flock Step	Represents classic music.
2		Suzaku Castle	The Bon Odori	Represents traditional Japanese music
3		Midgard	See-Saw	Represents rock music
4		Moray Towers	Night Walk (Japanese)	Represents pop music
5	Banjo	Smashville	Superb	Represents country music
6	x5	New Donk City	Tap Troupe	Represents jazz
BONUS	Smash the Targets
FINAL	Galleom	Galleom’s Arena	Built to Scale	Represents techno music

Palette Swaps[]

White	Based on Barista's appearances in Rhythm Heaven.
Yellow	Based on DJ Yellow
Purple	Based on the Rhythm Monkey, Cosmos Dancers and Cosmic Girl,
Grey	Based on Karate Joe.
Orange	Based on the Monkeys
Dark Blue	Based on the Ninja Dog.
Pink	Based on the characters Sea Mammals and Baxter.
Green	Based on Sarge and the Squadmates.
Red	Based on Tapgirl.
Black	Based on the Demons
Cyan	Based ib Marshal, Cam, and Ribbon.
Blue & White	Based on the characters of Lockstep 2.

External links[]

Please include:

Super Smash Bros. Infinite Wiki