Super Smash Bros. Ultimate has the ultimate goal of bringing absolutely all fighters from all previous Super Smash Bros. game back. Well, Nintendo has shown a lot of the game last week at E3 and from the looks of it, it's not just the fighters that might all come back.
In fact, a total of 79 classic stages have been sighted already, where only 34 stages from past Super Smash Bros. games would be missing. You can take a look at the following topic on GameFAQs or at SmashWiki to see, which stages are back. And just because a stage hasn't been spotted yet, it doesn't mean that it won't be in the game.
But overall this is a lot already. In comparison: Super Smash Bros. Brawl had a total of 41 stages and Super Smash Bros. for Wii U a total of 55, including the DLC. Of course both games didn't have as many classic stages (10 Melee stages in Brawl and 21 returning stages on the Wii U), but getting this sheer amount of stages alone is super exciting.
The "Stages" section on the official website hasn't even opened yet and we might learn more about the plans for stages in the near future. But so far they have brought back over two thirds of the stages already, where they might as well bring back the rest!
However, there are some stages, where this might be a technical challenge. The Pac-Maze stage in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS for example took advantage of each player having their own screen. But it still would be possible to either change this and/or offer this unique feature for local multiplayer with multiple Nintendo Switch systems. (Golden Plains had a similar gimmick with the coin counters, but those could just be put above the character avatars to make it work.)
Also, the Miiverse service has been taken down, so if they were to bring the corresponding stage back, they would need to include either handpicked or faked Miiverse messages (like it's done in Splatoon 2). That's still a possibility, but in the end it was just a Battlefield clone. And we're getting Battlefield variants of every stage now, anyway.
There are also some stages that would be redundant. Flat Zone X for example combined both Flat Zone and Flat Zone 2, so you don't really need the older versions. We also don't need two different versions of the Pictochat stage and the Sector Z stage was effectively replaced by Corneria in later titles.
Another questionable candidate would be Pyrosphere, now that Ridley is a playable character in the game. Ridley as stage boss was basically the key feature of the stage, but they could still bring the stage back, with or without Boss Ridley. Technically, the Ridley in Metroid: Other M is a clone, so having him there next to the original Ridley could be a thing. And it would be fun to fight Boss Ridley as Ridley. In addition, this stage would be the perfect place to feature duels between Samus and Ridley...
Well, even without these questionable stages, there would still be over a hundred possible classic stages (106 to be exact), which is an amazing number. So, hopefully they will try to bring back even more stages than what we saw and maybe even break the hundred. But in the very least they should also bring back Pirate Ship and Brinstar Depths.
Pirate Ship is simply a fun stage and it's the only stage from the Zelda franchise that hasn't been confirmed yet. With it we would finally get all Zelda stages in one Super Smash Bros. game, which has never happened before. Also, the stage has been DLC in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, where you wouldn't want them to sell this as DLC yet again. So, it would feel wrong, if they left this out again.
And if Pyrosphere doesn't make it, Metroid fans should at least get Brinstar Depths back. This way we would have all of the original Metroid bosses united in the game in different ways, where you could have a scene, where Mother Brain hits Ridley, while Kraid is luring in the background.
Well, in any case this game will be stage heaven. Next to the large selection of classic stages, there's also a new option to deactivate stage hazards. This lets you disable stage bosses or anything else that might kill players, which will let you enjoy many more stages (competitively) without the disturbances. Plus, you get both an Omega and a Battlefield variant of every stage now, so there are basically three or four different versions of each stage. This will give you lots and lots and lots of possible playgrounds.
In addition, if Super Smash Bros. Ultimate still has a Stage Builder, which is quite likely, it hopefully will return some features from the one in Brawl and add some more backgrounds and textures on top. Ideally, you could most assets from the game's normal stages, so that you could create your own Zelda stages and so on.
So far two new stages have been confirmed: the Moray Towers from Splatoon, as well as the Great Plateau Tower from Breath of the Wild. In addition, it seems like there will be a stage based on Super Mario Odyssey, where we already could see New Donk City.
It's likely that upcoming newcomers will feature their own stages as well. Spring Man for example could come with the Spring Stadium from ARMS. Simon Belmont could feature Count Dracula's castle. And so on.
Here are some more ideas in addition:
With the massive selection of classic stages, some good new stages, the option to play without stage hazards, the Battlefield and Omega versions of each stage and a good Stage Builder, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate will become the absolute stage paradise.
In fact, a total of 79 classic stages have been sighted already, where only 34 stages from past Super Smash Bros. games would be missing. You can take a look at the following topic on GameFAQs or at SmashWiki to see, which stages are back. And just because a stage hasn't been spotted yet, it doesn't mean that it won't be in the game.
But overall this is a lot already. In comparison: Super Smash Bros. Brawl had a total of 41 stages and Super Smash Bros. for Wii U a total of 55, including the DLC. Of course both games didn't have as many classic stages (10 Melee stages in Brawl and 21 returning stages on the Wii U), but getting this sheer amount of stages alone is super exciting.
The "Stages" section on the official website hasn't even opened yet and we might learn more about the plans for stages in the near future. But so far they have brought back over two thirds of the stages already, where they might as well bring back the rest!
However, there are some stages, where this might be a technical challenge. The Pac-Maze stage in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS for example took advantage of each player having their own screen. But it still would be possible to either change this and/or offer this unique feature for local multiplayer with multiple Nintendo Switch systems. (Golden Plains had a similar gimmick with the coin counters, but those could just be put above the character avatars to make it work.)
Also, the Miiverse service has been taken down, so if they were to bring the corresponding stage back, they would need to include either handpicked or faked Miiverse messages (like it's done in Splatoon 2). That's still a possibility, but in the end it was just a Battlefield clone. And we're getting Battlefield variants of every stage now, anyway.
There are also some stages that would be redundant. Flat Zone X for example combined both Flat Zone and Flat Zone 2, so you don't really need the older versions. We also don't need two different versions of the Pictochat stage and the Sector Z stage was effectively replaced by Corneria in later titles.
Another questionable candidate would be Pyrosphere, now that Ridley is a playable character in the game. Ridley as stage boss was basically the key feature of the stage, but they could still bring the stage back, with or without Boss Ridley. Technically, the Ridley in Metroid: Other M is a clone, so having him there next to the original Ridley could be a thing. And it would be fun to fight Boss Ridley as Ridley. In addition, this stage would be the perfect place to feature duels between Samus and Ridley...
Well, even without these questionable stages, there would still be over a hundred possible classic stages (106 to be exact), which is an amazing number. So, hopefully they will try to bring back even more stages than what we saw and maybe even break the hundred. But in the very least they should also bring back Pirate Ship and Brinstar Depths.
Pirate Ship is simply a fun stage and it's the only stage from the Zelda franchise that hasn't been confirmed yet. With it we would finally get all Zelda stages in one Super Smash Bros. game, which has never happened before. Also, the stage has been DLC in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, where you wouldn't want them to sell this as DLC yet again. So, it would feel wrong, if they left this out again.
And if Pyrosphere doesn't make it, Metroid fans should at least get Brinstar Depths back. This way we would have all of the original Metroid bosses united in the game in different ways, where you could have a scene, where Mother Brain hits Ridley, while Kraid is luring in the background.
Well, in any case this game will be stage heaven. Next to the large selection of classic stages, there's also a new option to deactivate stage hazards. This lets you disable stage bosses or anything else that might kill players, which will let you enjoy many more stages (competitively) without the disturbances. Plus, you get both an Omega and a Battlefield variant of every stage now, so there are basically three or four different versions of each stage. This will give you lots and lots and lots of possible playgrounds.
In addition, if Super Smash Bros. Ultimate still has a Stage Builder, which is quite likely, it hopefully will return some features from the one in Brawl and add some more backgrounds and textures on top. Ideally, you could most assets from the game's normal stages, so that you could create your own Zelda stages and so on.
New Stages?
So far two new stages have been confirmed: the Moray Towers from Splatoon, as well as the Great Plateau Tower from Breath of the Wild. In addition, it seems like there will be a stage based on Super Mario Odyssey, where we already could see New Donk City.
It's likely that upcoming newcomers will feature their own stages as well. Spring Man for example could come with the Spring Stadium from ARMS. Simon Belmont could feature Count Dracula's castle. And so on.
Here are some more ideas in addition:
- Lorule Castle - This stage from A Link Between Worlds is a must for the amazing music alone. It could take place at the inside of the castle with some grates over lava or feature the bridge between two caste towers at the top. This could be Hilda's stage, if she were to become an Echo of Zelda.
- Biosphere - A different stage based on Metroid: Other M, where they could re-use some assets from the Pyrosphere stage like the smaller enemies, if it doesn't return. You first meet the Ridley clone inside the Biosphere, which could be even put in the background.
- SR388 Surface - The landing area in Metroid: Samus Returns would have Samus' Gunship in the background and maybe even feature the infamous Baby Metroid in some form.
- Sarasaland - Originally it was planned to add a stage based on Super Mario Land to Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS. This eventually became the GameBoy Dream Land, but they could still go back to the idea and maybe even create a modern recreation of Daisy's homeland.
- Minecraft - Probably the best way of representing this iconic franchise in Super Smash Bros., which matched Nintendo's level of cult like no other game, is via a stage, entirely made out of building blocks. Of course there would be some Bedrock foundation, but the rest would be pure block chaos. They could even put some enemies in there, like Creepers, and make the stage switch between overworld, Nether and the End.
Conclusion
With the massive selection of classic stages, some good new stages, the option to play without stage hazards, the Battlefield and Omega versions of each stage and a good Stage Builder, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate will become the absolute stage paradise.
No comments:
Post a Comment