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Filed under: SG Choice, Super Bros. Smash For 3DS, Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, Super Smash Bros. Series

Source Gaming Choice #8 – New Stages

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So here we are again. It’s SourceGaming Choice time! If you have been keeping up with us on these, we last looked at our picks for Pokemon Newcomers. This time we’ll be looking at our picks for New Stage additions. We are limiting this to franchises that are already present in the game.
As usual, this is an opinion-based article and should be treated as such.

TheAnvil
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Hornet Hole from Donkey Kong Country 2 really showed the diversity of the environments that game brought us. Donkey Kong as a series is so much more than just a jungle climate and I would so love for that to come across in Smash Bros. Out of all the different possible locations, I think being inside a big bee hive would just about be the most interesting of them all. As for its functionality within Smash, I believe it would be a walk off stage on both sides for it’s normal form, with stage hazards comprising of Zingers. Think of it as being a section of a level like the Windy Hill Zone from Brawl.

 

2015-10-03
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I am a huge fan of Wario, in general. So much so that I wrote a 27 page epic on Wario’s history and representation in Smash. It’s no secret that the Wario Land series is lacking representation in Super Smash Bros., and I feel that a stage would adequately fill that hole. Most people would probably pick Rice Beach, as it’s the first level in the game…but I actually feel the final boss of Wario Land, the Genie in Syrup Castle would make an ideal Smash Bros. stage. The stage would start off in Captain Syrup’s room. After about thirty seconds in, she would rub the lamp and the Genie would appear, making the background disappear. A GameBoy version of Wario would fit the Genie in the background, making platforms appear from the lamp. Of course, the players could use the platforms to continue the fight. Eventually after 2 minutes the background Wario would win the fight and the scene resets. The level would be a perfect representation of the level in the Gameboy version, and would look similar to the Dream Land (SSB4) stage.

Spazzy_D
Xenoblade Chronicles, while a smaller franchise, could really use more stage representation in Smash Bros. This is because exploration is a core concept of the series, and the locals from the game are often as memorable as the characters. As an added bonus, a new Xenoblade stage would mean more Xenoblade music. Gaur Plains, while iconic to the series, is a bit of a plain setting when compared to the phosphorescent swamps and floating constructs found elsewhere in the game. There are so many interesting locals, actually, that it becomes difficult to choose just one. My solution? A traveling stages upon the flying vessel “Junks.” This stage would traverse different locals across the Bionis and Mechonis, and players could fight on the back of ship while being transported from area to area. Both telethia and mechon makes sense as background elements or possible hazards, although the stage would work just as well with no hazards present.

2015-11-01
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I’ve always been a huge Kirby fan, and I especially loved the new Dreamland stage in Smash 3DS. Kirby has a ton of very memorable boss fights, the problem is that nearly all of them take place in completely flat arenas. While they may look visually appealing, they aren’t much different than Final Destination. A while back, Nintendo released Kirby Triple Deluxe, which contained a Smash-like fighting mode called Kirby Fighters. For most stages, they had to take random kirby scenes and then add platforms to make them work. The stand-out stage to me, was the Lololo stage, which was a boss fight in Kirby Super Star. While not a ‘neutral’ stage, I thought it was a stand out in Kirby fighters and would carry over well to Smash Bros. The stage works well because they didn’t have to change the original scene to make it work as a stage, compared to many other stages which have to take creative liberties to match both the original game and be a functional fighting arena.

Nantendo
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Currently, out of every playable series in the Super Smash Bros franchise only R.O.B.’s series, Gyromite, has never had a stage based on it. For the most part, this is understandable as the Gyromite series only contains two NES games: Stack-up and Gyromite. Stack-up is an odd game that involves the R.O.B. peripheral itself and is more of a code input game. YOu play as professor Hector and by having him input codes, you R.O.B. in real life will stack certain coloured discs up, however it was a more a novelty than a game. Gyromite is a little bit different as it is a side-scrolling platformer where you must help Professor Hector navigate a level while R.O.B. acts as player 2 and opens different coloured doors. Both games require the use of R.O.B. to function (although in reality Gyromite could probably be played with just a friend) and so are unlikely to ever see a re-release but the mechanics of Gyromite specifically could make an interesting level.

Gyromite, the stage, would be a scrolling level designed to look like the original game. I imagine it being more like 75m in that it would have the 8-bit design rather than a reimagining like Wrecking Crew. Players would start of potentially disconnected from each other and can impede each others path by knocking the barriers into each other. If you keep in the dynamite then this level becomes more like an obstacle course than a normal stage. The focus for once is not on simply fighting, although some open areas will allow for it, but rather a struggle for survival as you try and make progress while impeding that of the other fighters. Once the scrolling reaches one end of the stage it will go back in reverse and a skilled will try and force their opponents up into the top where there is limited movement. Thanks to the inclusion of Omega stages Sakurai and his team can go all out making stages unique and changing up the formula a bit without worry as those who want to focus entirely on fighting can still do so in the Omega form.

Wolfman_J
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While Pokémon is well represented in the stage department for Smash 3DS, as someone who mostly plays the Wii U version I did feel like it could use a third stage for the six-character franchise. The Cave of Origin from Ruby & Sapphire (and drawing from their remakes visually) would provide that, as well as do some new things for Pokémon representation. Like the dear, departed Spear Pillar, it would be an area from a mythical, mysterious area in the series – in this case where the player faces off against Kyogre and Groudon. Using the much nicer looking Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire as specific reference points would also be the first time in which Pokémon remakes were referenced in Smash; considering how much important they’ve become, it’s worth bringing them in.

The stage I’m imagining would be a Final Destination-esque rocky platform, flanked by outcroppings on either side that go past the Blast Zone. It would also get alternating backgrounds (à la Boxing Ring) of lava or heavy rain, but they wouldn’t effect the stage. What would, though, is the central platform itself, which would tilt slightly in one direction or another  It wouldn’t be too extreme, just slight shifts that could put players a bit more on edge. Also, just to not screw anything up with Kyogre as a Poké Ball ‘Mon, you’d only see it and Groudon via gargantuan silhouettes and glowing lines in the background.

nocturnal YL
Smash did a great job showcasing many different series, but sometimes it feels like Smash stereotypes certain series. This is particularly glaring when it comes to the stages. For example, Brawl has Lylat Cruise and Castle Siege, which are essentially generic spacecraft and castle that don’t actually belong to the series the stages are based on, thus giving off only general impressions about their worlds. And I don’t like this because they fail to truly showcase the series, as if the Smash team couldn’t tell where did the various Star Fox and Fire Emblem stories take place in other than “space” and “castle”. This phenomenon is one thing I want to see changed.

With this in mind, I propose Tower of Guidance, the gigantic tower in the capital of Begnion seen in Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn. The tower has a vertical layout, and its broken floors and stairs make it a good candidate to be used in a side-scrolling game like Smash. Other locations in Radiant Dawn and certain parts of Fire Emblem Fates have suitable terrains too, but the Tower stands out for not looking like a generic castle or other terrain types already prominent in Smash. In terms of how the stage works, I’d say it should be a scrolling stage — something Smash Wii U really needs.

Do you agree with our choices? Which stages do you think should be added to Smash Bros.? Let us know in the comments and we may feature it in the next SG Choice!

12 comments
  1. Wow, great article! Out of the staff picks… it was tough, because so many were good, but I have to give it to Nantendo this time. R.O.B. is the only character in the series besides Dr. Mario to never have his own stage, and I think it’s about time he did.

    Also loved PushDustIn’s for Wario Land representation (I know that boss battle well and it would make a great stage), and Spazzy_D because it does sound like a pretty interesting stage (and Xenoblade music is amazing… but that leaves the question as to what track(s) the stage would use.)

    The stage I would love to see is the fabled Dr. Mario stage that never seems to get made (despite some work being done on the viruses.) I love the Dr. Mario games, and there are some possibilities for a stage based on it. I could see it taking place in a giant version of a game in progress (similar to Duck Hunt), with a few viruses spread out that could either act as platforms or hazards (maybe each one could do something different when touching it, like one giving a Lip’s Stick flower or one freezing the player.) Viruses would gradually be eliminated, and a new round would begin.

    As the Megavitamins come down, they could be used as platforms. At first I thought it might’ve been interesting to be able to grab the Megavitamins and throw them (like the pellets in the Pikmin stage), but it may be too confusing both from a player and programming standpoint to determine which Megavitamins can be picked up and which are purely platforms, so just having platforms may be better.

    Winturwulf (@winturwulf) on November 15 |
  2. How about a Pokémon stage inspired by a route? The series has so many interesting and aesthetically unique locations in its overworlds that it’s a shame we haven’t seen any of them in Smash yet.

    Delzethin on November 15 |
    • We need the bike theme if that’s going to be a reality! :0

      Winturwulf (@winturwulf) on November 15 |
      • Hadn’t thought of that, actually. Which bike theme? And it’d probably need a remix to be more suited for battle…

        Which routes do you have in mind? I’ve thought for a while that you could pair a Route 119 stage with Sceptile…

        Delzethin on November 16 |
    • My initial idea for a Pokémon stage was a route, but I never felt super confident with any of the ideas I had. The one that came the closest was Tohjo Falls/Route 26, which I imagined as a sort of walk off stage with two levels separated by water.

      Wolfman_J on November 16 |
  3. How about stage based on crossovers game like Project X Zone, and Mario & Sonic Series. This is not like mixing two franchises together like PlayStation All-Star Battle Royale but That would be awesome to have crossover game to have crossover stage. Any IDEAS?

    I agree Pokemon and Fire Emblem needs a new Stage, Mario and Zelda already got love for many representations in the game.

    KeyTree on November 15 |
  4. Tower of Guidance has been my most wanted stage since I’ve beaten Radiant Dawn, so happy it got referenced here 😀 it would be a huge spoiler stage though, especially if it showcases the final boss as a stage hazard somehow.

    ShinyRegice on November 16 |
  5. This is the great article! Of course there might be new stages upcoming for the next and final update other than Midgar, so we can expect something for it! Wario Land’s idea is good, as I felt nostalgia from it since I played that game too when I was little. Gyromite stage may be a little complicated, but it should be a good one since R.O.B. needs his own stage.

    I also have the idea. Indeed Pokemon needs more stages as Mario and Zelda rosters fairly had enough. I was thinking of bringing Black and White’s Nimbasa City’s amusement park, as it reflects to Smash 3DS’s Lumiose City. Using the moving ferris wheel may be the main platform for the stage, while easier to loose balance as the cabin shakes. However, rather than choosing stages from the main series, I was thinking of bringing something from the spin offs, and I chose Pokemon Mystery Dungeon as my choice of title. As for the stage, I chose Pokemon Square from the very first series of the game, Red/Blue Rescue Team. There will be no pitfalls as the field is plain, just like Onett, but the buildings like Kecleon’s shop and Persian’s bank can be platforms as well. Pokemon will be appearing on the background as viewers, but immediately evacuates when something happens. One description of this game is the random natural hazards, which it’ll effect the field or attack the players during the dungeon exploring. Heavy rain can blind the view, strong winds forces player to blow away, sandstorms will blow and attack players, and hails will attack players from the skies. People will say this game’s overrated, but I strongly disagree with that as they don’t understand; this game has fantastic music such as the main theme, even Primal Dialga, and it will be great if they’ve used those for Smash! And yes, fighting in the Pokemon world where no humans exists may be wrong, but Smash is about imaginations, so it wouldn’t be a problem of where they can fight.

    zoniken on November 16 |
  6. Legend of Zelda Dark World anyone? What about Mt.Itoi from Earthbound? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

    aguchamp33 on November 16 |
  7. Bowser’s Castle

    Arthur 97 on November 16 |
  8. I would love so much see the Tower of Guidance in Smash Bros. I really want it :3