Source Gaming Choice #8 – New Stages

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.

   
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.

      
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.

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.

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.

  
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.

 
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.

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!