I’d say Rivals of Aether shines for its gorgeous pixel art and fluid animation. It also has a fantastic roster of characters including the Shovel Knight, and Ori from Ori and the Blind Forest.
And while the game’s base character roster isn’t extensive, it can rival even Super Smash Bros. Ultimate if you count the custom characters made by fans.
So let’s take a look at some of the best fan-made custom character mods to bolster your fighter ranks.
What better character to bring into your Rivals of Aether than the bringer of pain, the invincible tormentor, the quacking chaos – the goose from Untitled Goose Game.
This “cute on the outside but horrible on the inside” goose lives to ruin everyone else’s days.
They do it with the dedication of a sportsman. And for the most part, they succeed.
This humble goose doesn’t have the flashiest moves. But geese are plenty dangerous without any extra magic.
There isn’t a ninja more reliable than the bad-ass Ryu Hayabusa from the Ninja Gaiden series.
His sprites’ colors in this fantastic custom character mod resemble his older incarnations, where blue was a prominent color rather than the darker tones seen in more recent games.
Besides regular ninja stuff like throwing shurikens and teleporting, Ryu will use his Shadow Clones and fire-summoning abilities to establish his dominance on the battlefield.
It’s a great fast-paced character for people who like the challenge of landing precise moves.
Devil May Cry’s Dante’s big brother is a legendary swordsman and the Son of Sparda.
If he really tried, he could take on any other character in Rivals of Aether.
To give them a chance, he’ll fight without leaving his white plastic chair. And from this throne he’ll swing his Yamato for hard-hitting (but easy-to-interrupt) moves.
Most of his special attacks cost meter to use.
But he can activate Devil Trigger after some criteria are met, which lets him spam them without restrictions.
Considering how absurd he looks, it’s a very polished and balanced character.
Flash animation used to be this great big thing back when I was younger.
People used it in games, short films, and all sorts of interesting projects back in the day.
This mod pays homage to the ancient craft by introducing a character from a famous 2003 flash animation called Natsumi Step!
Natsumi has a fun moveset that should be accessible to any player.
You might have trouble watching the original animation nowadays, considering Flash isn’t easily supported anymore, but you can remember Natsumi through this character.
The Shovel Knight DLC character for RoA was a major reason I gave the game a chance back in the day.
And this fantastic re-skin of the shovel-wielding warrior is great to spice things up.
Instead of risking making a badly balanced or just boring character, this mod’s developer focused on creating an aesthetically pleasing transformation.
Clad in traditional heavy Samurai armor, this character will gracefully swing his katana to victory.
Well, considering he moves the blade exactly like Shovel Knight moves his shovel, maybe it isn’t so graceful – but it looks great.
The main character from Undertale persuades their way into the fray.
Most people played through Undertale like pacifists. So Frisk is generally thought about as calm and peace-loving.
That said, a Genocide playthrough taught me they had everything in them to be murderous psychopaths – and some of that strength is passed onto the RoA character.
My favorite part about Frisk is that they actually wield Flowey as a weapon, shooting “friendship pellets” at Frisk’s opponents.
After getting to know the character better in Undertale, this is a bizarre sight.
The Reckless Safety Notice Man is one of the most unexpected new characters for RoA.
But I’m all for it!
I always thought you needed to be a brute to really hurt anyone or break anything with the good-old Wiimote. Well, this is that brute – the faceless silhouette from the Wii’s safety notices – and he’s got some pretty unsafe moves.
Some of his best moves include flailing recklessly (a danger for nearby flatscreen TVs) and throwing a bowling ball like you would in Wii Sports.
From the same artistic current as 100% Accurate Fox comes Speedrunner Link – based on the hero’s look in Breath of the Wild.
This ridiculous caricature of Link has plenty of regular weapons and abilities you’d expect from the Hyrule warrior, but it’s his joke moves that make this mod shine above the competition.
I nearly lost it when I saw the shield bounce glitch as a fighting game move.
He can fly a bit with his paraglider, and even move metal cubes around with Magnesis as he would in Breath of the Wild.
One of the most tasteful characters you can get on your RoA is Terra, the rebel Magitek Knight from Final Fantasy VI.
Each of her moves has beautiful and fluid animations – and the visual effects for special attacks such as Blizzara, Fira, and her upward Tornado are just amazing.
These powerful spells can give you the edge in a fight. But you’ll have to wait for MP to recharge if you abuse them.
The bored look on her sprite’s eyes reminds me a lot of official Final Fantasy artwork, and it drives me nuts.
Nelson Chitty is a Venezuelan expat living in Argentina. He’s a writer and translator passionate about history and foreign cultures. His ideal weekend is spent between leisurely playing games of Civilization VI and looking for the next seinen anime to marathon.
