Here at Source Gaming we’re going to be launching a new series of articles reflecting our own personal choices in regards to the many different elements of the Smash Bros. series. Each article will have a specific theme and all of the staff will select an item based on that theme that they would like to see included in the Smash Bros. series in the future.
This first article we’ll be focusing on past stages that we’d like to see return from previous iterations of Smash Bros.
TheAnvil
Choice: Great Bay
Game of Origin: Melee
Why:
I’m pretty much a sucker for anything to do with the Hero of Time and his games, so this really just pips over other stages for me. It was always really neat looking and had an interesting albeit unconventional platform arrangement. With the giant turtle, and occasional visits from everybody’s favourite fairy boy. All complimented beautifully with that villainous moon peering in on the battle from a distance. What’s not to love? The Great Bay area is especially significant to me beyond Smash as it was one of my favourite areas to mess around in when I played Majora’s Mask as a youngster. I used to thoroughly enjoy swimming in those waters with the Zora’s mask on. Good times!
Spazzy_D
Choice: Frigate Orpheon
Game of Origin: Brawl
Why: Frigate Orpheon is a fantastic stage for many reasons. First and foremost, it looks and behaves nothing like any of the Metroid stages currently on the Smash 4 stage roster. Most Smash Bros. Metroid Stages have a heavy aesthetic emphasis on either acid or lava. Frigate Orpheon has neither. Instead, it manages to emulate the creepy atmosphere found throughout much of the Prime games by using sparse neon lighting and having the ghastly visage of the monstrous Parasite Queen in the background.
The stage itself has an interesting gimmick that can cause chaos in free for alls but is not so disruptive that careful players can not navigate around it. I am, ofcourse, talking about the stages 180 degree vertical flip. This is not nearly as bad as it may sound to those who have not played the stage before as the game gives you substantial warning before the flip occurs. The platform layouts in both the standard and “flipped” versions of the stage are unique and fun to play on, so really, this stage is two great stages in one! More important than any of that, however, is the fact that Smash 4 could really use a bit more Metroid Prime representation. Bringing back Frigate Orpheon would be a great way to accomplish that.
PushDustIn
Choice: Mario Bros.
Game of Origin: Brawl
Why: I know this is an unpopular stage with MANY players. However, I always kind of enjoy stages which faithfully recreate games. 75m, Hanenbow, Duck Hunt, Balloon Fight, Pictochat (1/ 2), Flat-Zone (1, 2 and X), and even Pac-Land all have some sort of charm to them. Again, a very unpopular choice but I feel these kinds of stages have a place in Smash Brothers.
The stage is extremely chaotic with its’ POW block, shellcreepers and sidesteppers. Obviously banned from tournament play, this stage is incredibly fun to play with other people and will no doubt result in bursts of laughter.
Soma
Choice: Fountain of Dreams
Game of Origin: Melee
Why: Godlike music, great competitive stage. Platforms that change dynamically in terms of height is a bit of rarity in Smash, so it would be a nice addition to the stagelist. A layout that allows for walljumps also allows for some recovery mixups, and it even looks pretty nice in Melee, so I’d be excited to see it in HD. It’s a shame we couldn’t use it for doubles in Melee, but it’s a stage I’d love to see in Smash 4 doubles.
Frostwraith
Choice: Pirate Ship
Game of Origin: Brawl
Why: I was introduced to the Zelda series thanks to Super Smash Bros. Melee, in which I learned who characters like Link, Zelda and Ganondorf were. Temple was, and still is, one of my favorite stages in the Smash series.
It was a little time after I got Melee that I found a used copy of a limited edition Wind Waker that also included Ocarina of Time. Wind Waker was the first Zelda game to have ever played and even completed many playthroughs, something I have done with few games. I became a fan of the series, having played almost every game in the series so far, but since Wind Waker was a big part of my childhood, it will always be a special game to me.
When Brawl came out, Pirate Ship easily became a favorite stage of mine, so it was a shame to not see it return for the new Smash Bros. games. Its various stage elements such as the cyclone, the enemy lookouts shooting cannonballs to the ship and the catapult made for a dynamic stage, even though not very disruptive, and a good representation of several elements of the original game. The King of Red Lions’ cameo and cel-shaded graphics really helped the stage feel even more like the world of Wind Waker.
The music selection was also great, with memorable songs taken from Wind Waker, as well as the original Gerudo Valley theme, among my favorite video game songs ever, and a theme from Four Swords Adventures, another game I have fond memories of.
While Spirit Train seems like a sort of successor to this stage with its cel-shaded art style and similar concept of fighting on a vehicle as it rides, it doesn’t quite capture the same magic as Pirate Ship does. Of course, I wouldn’t mind at all if a new Wind Waker stage was added instead.
DMurr
Choice: Mute City, New Pork City
Game of Origin: Melee, Brawl
Why: Can I pick two? I couldn’t decide! I don’t mean the 3DS version of Mute City, but the one with everything fully rendered in 3D from Melee. F-Zero GX was one of my favorite games for the Nintendo GameCube, and while I haven’t played any of the other games in the series, I’ve always enjoyed this stage. Big Blue is also a pretty fun stage, but it got to come back in Brawl. Mute City would be another fun, traveling stage to add alongside Port Town Aero Dive to represent the hectic world of F-Zero in Smash 4. My stretch dream would be seeing it remade with a modern visual overhaul, but I would also happily take it as it is.
Since talking about F-Zero for me almost naturally leads into discussion about the Mother/Earthbound franchise, I have also selected New Pork City for a stage I’d like to see added back. With the addition of Lucas as a DLC fighter and 8-
player Smash a part of the Wii U version, I thought New Pork was almost a given! Since it appears stages will be made as DLC for both versions, I understand this is an unlikely choice, but since we have an Earthbound Beginnings stage and an Earthbound stage, a Mother 3 stage would fill out the stage selection very nicely.
BluePikmin11
Choice: Brinstar Depths
Game of Origin: Melee
Why: The only old stage I really wanted is Onett, which got confirmed when Ness was revealed. There are not many stages that I want now, except Brinstar Depths. I am not a big Metroid fan myself, but I do love the rotating stage gimmick. The rotation keeps the stage from getting stale, constantly getting players on the move. The music also gives the stage a unique feel to me that other stages can’t replicate, lots of players really feel the Metroid atmosphere when it is played.
]trichelieu[
Choice: Yoshi’s Story
Game of Origin: Melee
Why: I love simple stages, and the design of Yoshi’s Story is really simple and great. Three platforms with perfect height to execute combos with most characters, short stage to prevent heavy camping and, of course, Randall the cloud, always there to interfere with the match or to troll the poor characters trying to recover. On Melee, I love to go on this stage with pretty much anybody and just move on it, it’s so simple thanks to its small size, I often get kill by my opponent respawning while I’m focused on just executing wavedash/wavelands. I have to admit though that playing with items on it can quickly get confusing.
Do you agree with our choices? What stages would you like to see return from previous Smash Bros. games? Let us know in the comments below!
I would love any of these stages to come back but my personal pick is Fourside. I loved the earthbound stages and we always get Onett whenever one is picked. Fourside had a really unique layout as you fought on top of multiple different size buildings. The space in-between buildings made a good hazard as you bounced around but any good wall jumping character had an advantage. The occasional UFO with its slippery surface also made for a unique field to fight on.
Fourside is also one of the only Melee stages to not have its music come back, and with two EarthBound tracks from Brawl cut, it would be pretty easy to add enough music. I doubt we’ll get Saffron City since Charizard’s a stage hazard, but Fourside is a great alternative for skyscraper fights.
My personal favorite, though, is with Frostwraith; Pirate Ship was one of my absolute favorite stages in the series, and it’d be wonderful having it back.
I can still see Saffron City returning as a DLC stage, regardless of Charizard’s presence. King Dedede himself makes a cameo in the back of Dream Land 64. However, if someone plays as Dedede on the stage, he will not appear in the background. I can see them doing something similar to this with Charizard on Saffron City.
Actually, I was wrong – it’s Charmander who shows up on Saffron, so it should be all good. Though while I like Saffron a lot and would love to get it back, it’d also be neat if we could get a new Pokemon stage, preferably something that stayed away from the arenas the franchise normally gets. Maybe the Cave or Origin to tie into OR/AS?
I’d say my top pick is Mushroom Kingdom from Smash 64. I’m a sucker for stages with retro graphics, and MK had fun things like the actual functioning warp pipes, the Piranha Plants that would pop out of them, and the platforms in the middle.
Besides that, I’d love to see Subcon from Melee return… I miss punching out Birdo. 🙂
I’d love to see New Pork City return, if only for Humoresque of a Little Dog.
I was heartbroken to see it not return.
It’s especially noticeable since it’s a remix of the Drugstore music and you fight right in front of the one in Onett, so it might have worked even better there. It’d be really cool if one update just added a few tracks of music to various stages, but that seems very unlikely.
Yea i wana see saffron city 64 ??