All-Star Battle R/Ikuro Hashizawa

"This is... This is... This is Baoh! (これがッ！これがッ！これが 『バオー』だッ！)"

Ikuro Hashizawa (橋沢 育朗) was confirmed for All-Star Battle R during the game's Part 4, 6, & 8 Reveal Trailer.

As voiced Ikuro in All-Star Battle, he reprises his role as Ikuro's voice actor in this game too. His moves are narrated by Toru Okawa. As with a majority of the game's roster, voicelines for Ikuro were either added or re-recorded.

As Ikuro is unable to speak in his Baoh form (only capable of repeated battle cries of "BARU!" as well as general grunts and roars), he is accompanied by the game's narrator calling out the names of his attacks along with descriptive phrases. However, Ikuro will call out the game's name on the title screen in his human voice, and briefly speaks lines, also in his human voice, during his special mirror match intro and during match victories.

Gameplay
Ikuro has 850 health and uses the Baoh Armed Phenomenon (バオー) Battle Style. Ikuro represents the "Glass Cannon" sub-archetype of combatant, and firmly 'rushdown'. Despite his low health, he also sports the highest dash speed of any character in the game, making it easier for him to close the distance on his opponent or maneuver into favorable positions more frequently. Several projectiles, a super jump, and a forward-moving attack also serve in covering his approach. His skills all execute with great speed, as well as offer methods to repeatedly switch sides and force his foe into guessing what direction to guard in. When combined with his great damage output and Style action that allows him to shrug off incoming attacks, Ikuro is an oppressive offensive fighter. At the same time, his innate health regeneration forces the opponent to continuously engage him during battle so as to not allow him to recover any significant amount of lost health. In this manner, Ikuro also holds the advantage in prolonged rounds.

True to his role, however, Ikuro is fragile and his defense is poor. His Saber Phenomenon, his main combo starters, can easily be punished if he whiffs or gets blocked. Baoh also doesn't have any way to escape pressure other than using his Saber Off reversal, which leaves him extremely vulnerable if it is blocked or whiffed. He can also evade attacks using the Stylish Guard, but using this mechanic is also extremely risky. His "This is Baoh!" Style may activate fast and give him invulnerability to force his way through enemy attacks, but in the face of an aggressive opponent, Baoh won't get the chance to activate it without getting hit in response.

As a whole, Ikuro is a fickle and difficult combatant to wield. He rapidly overwhelms and defeats anyone who is unfamiliar with his powers, but may easily become the one being overwhelmed in turn. Nonetheless, with good execution and strong momentum in his favor, Ikuro can very quickly capture victory before his opponent has a chance to regain control over the battle and retaliate.

General Changes

 * Baoh's increased block stun on hit has been removed. Infamously, in All-Star Battle, blocking attacks as Baoh was extremely punishing as not only was he essentially stunned for a short period of time, but the opponent could keep attacking him while he was blockstunned, trapping Baoh until his guard gauge ran out. Blocking attacks like a jumping Heavy would pretty much guarantee a throw. This is no longer the case.

Dialogue
Outside of, Ikuro has unique interaction dialogue for both his match entrances and victories when facing certain characters.

All-Star Battle Mode
All missions in starring Ikuro as either the Player or Enemy, in order of appearance.

Music
Ikuro's theme is Baoh, The Final Weapon (最終兵器バオー), and can be unlocked in-game by triggering a Stage Gimmick in 's  vs Ikuro Boss Battle.

Its name is taken from the title of.

1.3.0

 * Crouching Medium Attack
 * Increased size of hitbox.

1.4.0

 * Throw Escape
 * Adjusted to standardize character advantages and disadvantages when being throw escaped.

1.4.1

 * Easy Beat Combo
 * Changed the skill that is used in the Easy Beat Combo from the variant of "Baoh Hardened Saber" to the  variant.
 * Jumping Heavy Attack
 * Sped up startup.
 * Increased attack duration.
 * "This is Baoh!" style
 * Increased action speed.
 * "Astonishing Leap" special
 * Revised animation.
 * Adjusted forward and backward jump distance.
 * "Baoh Hardened Saber" skill
 * Increased forward motion of variant.
 * Changed so that the final hit of the variant will not occur if the move is blocked.
 * Increased the forward move distance of the final hit of the variant.

1.5.0

 * Easy Beat Combo
 * Changed the skill that is used in the Easy Beat Combo from variant of "Baoh Hardened Saber" to the  variant.
 * This fixes an unintentional change made in 1.4.0.
 * "Get the hell out of my way!" throw
 * Adjusted the hitbox of forward throw to align with the hitbox of back throw.

1.6.0

 * "This is Baoh!" style
 * Shortened the Super Armor period for skills so that it disappears on the first active frame of the skill.
 * "Baoh Melting Acid" skill
 * Increased landing recovery time when guarded.
 * "Baoh Break Dark Thunder Phenomenon" skill
 * Enlarged hitbox so it can hit opponents who dodge at point blank range.

2.0.0

 * "Baoh Break Dark Thunder Phenomenon" skill
 * Made it so the character faces toward the opponent.
 * Added a pull effect to the initial hit's hitbox.