A game near and dear to my heart, Super Scribblenauts is tied closely to a family memory of me, at Christmas, when I asked for this game. I opened it up, instantly filling with intense emotion. I believe it was my father who asked what the difference was between Super Scribblenauts and Scribblenauts (which I already owned). It was then that I loudly exclaimed that Super Scribblenauts is better than Scribblenauts because "IT HAS ADJECTIVES!" It seems there were some early signs as to what I would eventually pursue in life. Refocusing on undead, Super Scribblenauts boasts a total of 11 unique undead creatures that can be spawned, some with a few possible names, and will be compared with a man that can be spawned in the game, and shown below. We will begin with the first and most obvious to me, the Zombie.
A cartoonish take on the zombie, discarding the usual green for a blue skin tone, and yellow eyes, a common theme among Scribblenauts undead. Designed for kids the spooky elements are not heavy, however blood, and scars are easily visible, landing the zombie just above the middle of spook.
The danger of a Scribblenauts zombie outweighs that of a basic zombie, moving quite quickly when compared to a basic zombie, only slightly slower than a normal man. The real danger comes from their ability to apply the undead adjective to any living creature they can hit. This pacifies the enemy to them, however, causes the newly undead victim to try and infect any other non-infected life.
The transformation of the zombie is moderate. Not much is done save for some natural changes and color shifts. Clothes are torn, the skin is blue, and blood is visible.
The name is simply zombie and as such matches that of the basic zombie at a 9.
Not much of a scary ghost, looking to take a lot of inspiration from the sheet ghost costume, while keeping the yellow eyes. They can fly, and scare away people, but don't wish to harm anyone innately.
Simply not a dangerous undead. The ghost is a weak damage enemy and is very slow despite its ability to fly.
The transformation is another topic though. No legs, stub arms, and of course the yellow eyes.
The ghost is also known as the soul and the spirit. I decided to stick with ghost, and made it the same as the basic ghost.
Angry yellow eyes and tiny fangs don't correlate to a large spook factor, but the fancy clothing and hair add a dramatic flair that I enjoy.
The vampire is more dangerous in some ways, and less in others when compared to the zombie. They are more powerful against human enemies, turning them into other vampires rather than just applying an adjective. They can move at normal speeds rather than slowing down as well, however their drawbacks outweigh their advancements. For starters, they cannot apply a useful adjective to nonhuman enemies. They apply Vampiric, which simply gives the enemy fangs, and does not end the attack. Meaning fighting any other enemy that isn't human has them at a disadvantage. To add to this, if a Sun is added, they die instantly. As such, the vampire drops to a 4 in damage.
Transform is low, retaining a human-like appearance for the most part aside from the known fangs and eyes.
The name is interesting. Vampire obviously means we need a basic vampire rank, however as a fun fact, Dracula and Nos Feratu both work as well. I didn't try other known vampires but they may work. Vampire I think is on the same level as a zombie, and will receive a 9 for the basic name.
I find this mummy (and most mummies) to be very spooky. I think this mummy stands alongside them.
While spooky, this zombie is not very dangerous. They do not harm people innately, and only deal basic damage when provoked.
The transformation sits at a base level of 5 as without knowing what is beneath the wrappings, we can only judge the eyes and the bandages.
The name obviously also sits at the same as a basic mummy, being a 4.
One of the more unsettling designs, the phantom is cloaked in a brown hood and continues the yellow eyes and the less prevalent but still dominant blue skin of the undead.
A fairly dangerous undead, capable of flying, and dealing double basic damage. The flying is somewhat counteracted however as the phantom moves at a slow speed.
While the phantom shares the lack of legs with his other spectral friend, he is clearly more man-shaped, with the normal arms and head shape. His transformation is just above the mid-range.
The name once again has some controversy. The phantom can be summoned using at least 4 names. Of course, we have phantom (the name I find to be the most accurate), wraith, poltergeist, and lich. Wraith is the next most agreeable, simply another name for a ghost, however poltergeist, and even more so with lich, are inaccurate titles. A poltergeist is a specific kind of ghost that is known for throwing or moving around items and has a strong ability to do so. This incarnation has no such ability, and so the name is discounted. Lich is the most egregious name, as the term often refers to a powerful magic user who has used their skills to put themselves in an undead state to extend their life. They are often closer to a zombie, as the flesh is often rotting, and are not a kind of ghost, being completely corporeal. Phantom and wraith are what we are ranking here, being more unique words for ghost, at a 7. I believe lich and banshee should have been swapped, as you will see below.
The ghoul is tied with the Robot Zombie for the spookiest of Scribblenauts. It is very similar to the zombie, just more. The eyes are sharpened and red, the ears pointed, the mouth a scraggly mess of fangs, I like this design a lot, and find it to be quite spooky.
Double damage, normal speed, causes fear, but no adjectives. The ghoul is another 5 for the Scribblenauts danger.
The transformation of the ghoul, when compared to the zombie, seems like a step up. They seem more elvish and magical than a zombie which seems more grotesque and broken, and if we compare both to the Man baseline, I believe the ghoul is just a little higher.
Another tough one. While Ghoul is the name I find to be the best fitting, it can also be summoned as banshee or wight. Wight is okay, I have just always found it to be so unspecific as to never be accurate, but banshee is simply silly. A banshee is often a ghost that will scream loudly before someone dies, either alerting those around or killing those that hear it. This is no ghost, and as I said before, while Lich and Banshee are too specific to be put into something so basic as these frames, they would fit much better if they were swapped. Ghoul is the best possible name for this undead, and it receives a 6.
The robot zombie incorporates the scariest parts of the zombie and adds more. Blue skin, tattered clothes, yellow eye, with additional robot red eye, green sludge, and exposed rib cage.
The danger of the robot zombie is very low as he is slower than a normal zombie, does not apply undead, and deals normal damage. He does attack innately and causes fear though, so he isn't a 1.
Acquiring robot parts is one of the best ways to gain transformation points, and adding onto the fact the zombie is already a 5, means that the robot zombie is a 9.
Robot zombie is a horrible name. It is very bland and too obvious. However, it can also be summoned by typing in Feep. This is the name of a poster on the Neogaf forums (the company that made the game) and while still very dumb, is better than robot zombie. Feep is a 3, robot zombie a 1, we take the median and go with 2.
A skeletal T-Rex is pretty darn scary even when cartoony. The soulless black holes for eyes really get to me.
The danger is a 1. I know what you may be thinking. "Why is a mummy ranked higher than a literal apex predator reincarnated?" Well. The living dinosaur skeleton deals a quarter damage (less than a ghost), does not inflict fear on his enemies, and doesn't even attack them innately. This is as bark over bite as it gets.
Transformation is that of a basic skeleton, a 1.
It again may be fair to be thinking "if adjectives could be used in this game, why not include things that are dead, but give them the living adjective?" Well loyal reader, in the game Super Scribblenauts, when adjectives that cause life in inanimate objects (for example scared rock, or living corpse) no animations will be given to the object. They will simply hop around as a static image. In the case of the living dinosaur skeleton, he is given animations that mirror that of the T-Rex, and as such I included him. It is a lame name when the entire thing is included. So 1.
I would say a living dinosaur skeleton is on the same level as a living skeleton in black robes.
The Grim Reaper can kill any living thing instantly. Even when given the immortal or invincible adjectives, the Grim Reaper will kill any life instantly.
The Grim Reaper is often considered a manifestation of death, rather than a dead man now reborn. As such, he will receive an extra point in transformation as such, but still remain low.
Grim Reaper and Death both serve to summon this entity. I find the Grim Reaper to be more suited as a name, and it is a great one.
Skeleton in a Viking outfit is slightly less scary than a skeleton in a black robe.
A basic enemy, dealing basic damage, causing fear, and attacking innately.
Bones in an outfit are still just bones.
Skeleton Warrior is just annoying as Skeleton fails to work. one down from basic skeleton as such.
Low middle spook as it is simply a model without a head. You can spawn the head, which has a unique asset, and it looks cool, but I will not include the coolness of the head, in the spookiness of the creature.
Equal to the Skeleton Warrior. Same exact features.
Transform is also low. Simply a model without a head.
Headless Horseman is an odd undead to me. It seems like this was created simply because it sounds nice, and while some may agree, I find it to be a little odd, and so it is only a 5 from me.
Playing Super Scribblenauts on my DS.
The Scribblenauts Wiki - https://scribblenauts.fandom.com/wiki/Scribblenauts_Wiki