Peppino

"Peppino Delivers A Beating!"

Peppino Spaghetti is the protagonist of Pizza Tower, developed by Tour de Pizza.

He is also a playable character in Nexed.

Real-World History
Pizza Tower was loosely inspired by lead designer McPig's idea for a horror comic series about a chef fighting pizza demons. While this idea never reached fruition, its protagonist, Peppino, was reused for what would become Pizza Tower. Peppino was originally planned to be named "Pizza Tower Guy" after McPig's now-former alias, but the name was eventually changed. Peppino would later gain more characterization through sketches posted on McPig's Twitter during the development of Pizza Tower.

Development of the game began in March 2018, with regular builds being given through fan-game events and Patreon backer rewards. The game would release on January 26th, 2023 to much praise from the gaming community for its inspiration from games such as the Wario Land and Sonic the Hedgehog series.

Gameplay Information
"Peppino's Pizza is one of the best pizza joints in town... or at least, that's what Peppino himself would want you to believe. The panicked and ill-tempered chef of the failing eatery, he was sent on a wild adventure through several gauntlets in order to defend his pizzeria against the evils of Pizzaface. Despite his cowardice, he tore his way through Pizzaface's gauntlet and put an end to him and his Pizza Tower!

It seems like Peppino's been sent on another one of these escapades thanks to the greedy landlord Mr. Stick, ending up in some strange fighting tournament. ...Wait, what does a fighting tournament have to do with paying rent? Whatever, can't worry about that now - It's pizza time!"

Peppino is a fast glass cannon fighter with a series of movement options and damaging attacks. His Mach Dash special allows him to move while performing practically any attack, while his Up Specials give him a number of ways to gain vertical height and provide mix-up potentials. That, combined with his strong grabs, makes him a powerful force.

However, like many glass cannons, Peppino is a lightweight - While not as light as the standard for his archetype, he can be KO'd fairly early in spite of his body type. In addition, Peppino struggles with range due to his lack of a projectile, making him suspectible to zoning.

Moveset

 * Crawling: Peppino can crawl.

Grounded Attacks

 * Jab: Peppino throws a slap resembling an unused animation from Pizza Tower.
 * Dash Attack: Peppino performs a headbutt as his head becomes comically large, merging his dash attack animation and a counter animation from Pizza Tower.
 * Forward Light: Peppino throws a roundhouse kick, resembling a boss pummeling animation from Pizza Tower.
 * Up Light: Peppino thrusts both palms into the air, being a slight nod to his item animation from Pizza Tower.
 * Down Light: Peppino rolls forwards a short distance.
 * Forward Strong: Peppino throws a straight punch as his fist becomes comically large, resembling one of his finishing moves from Pizza Tower.
 * Up Strong: Peppino throws a leaping uppercut, resembling his uppercut move from Pizza Tower.
 * Down Strong: Peppino throws a breakdance kick resembling his breakdance animation in Pizza Tower.
 * Counter: Peppino performs a palm strike resembling one of his parries from Pizza Tower.

Aerial Attacks

 * Neutral Air: Peppino strikes a random pose as he emits a cartoony flash of light, damaging nearby opponents. This resembles his Taunt ability in Pizza Tower.
 * Forward Air: Peppino throws a double axe handle, being able to spike opponents.
 * Back Air: Peppino throws a roundhouse kick behind himself, resembling an unused animation from Pizza Tower.
 * Up Air: Peppino thrusts both fists into the air.
 * Down Air: Peppino stomps downward with both feet, being able to spike opponents.

Grabs / Throws

 * Grab: Peppino grabs the opponent with both hands.
 * Pummel: Peppino headbutts the opponent.
 * Forward Throw: Peppino's mouth grows large as he bites down on the opponent, sending them forwards. This move resembles one of Peppino's finishing moves in Pizza Tower. This is his best combo throw.
 * Back Throw: Peppino spins the opponent around before throwing them behind himself. This is his best kill throw, and resembles his throwing animation from Pizza Tower. This is his best kill throw.
 * Up Throw: Peppino uppercuts the opponent.
 * Down Throw: Peppino performs a flying suplex with the opponent, launching them at a diagonal angle.

Stage Intro
Peppino falls out of a Pizza Portal, landing on his head and looking around anxiously before entering his battle stance.

Taunts

 * Peppino spins around before raising his fists into the air with a cheer. This resembles his animation upon beating a boss in Pizza Tower.
 * Peppino does a stereotypical Italian gesture with his hands, resembling one of his idle animations from Pizza Tower.
 * Peppino pulls out a phone and puts it next to his ear, only to recoil after the caller starts yelling. This resembles an unused animation from Pizza Tower.
 * Peppino screams out of fear, resembling his animation upon starting a boss fight in Pizza Tower. When Peppino is above 100%, the voice clip changes to a scream of rage.

Victory Animations
Peppino's victory theme is the A-Rank jingle from Pizza Tower, slightly abridged (starts at 0:01).
 * Peppino is seen with his back turned to the camera, only to turn around and give a thumbs-up with a grin. This resembles his A-Rank animation from Pizza Tower.
 * Peppino is seen fighting off a small horde of enemies from Pizza Tower. The animation ends with Peppino stuffing a Cheeseslime into a pizza box and throwing it at the camera.
 * Peppino is seen running out of a tower, slamming the door behind him and covering it with his body while breathing heavily.

Colors / Costumes


Trivia

 * Peppino is the first character to be added to Nexed before the official release of their origin media, being added to the game on October 23rd, 2022 before Pizza Tower's release on January 26th, 2023.
 * The official release of Pizza Tower saw a major rework of Peppino, incorporating more elements from the final game.
 * Peppino's Back Air was originally planned to make use of the Firemouth transformation from Pizza Tower.

Credits

 * MrNart: General inspiration.
 * Baysha: Help with getting sprites.