After preordering the Nintendo Wii last week and listening to the ochestral soundtrack of SSB:M, I was inspired to make another one of these "stages I'd like to see in the new game" entries. This'll probably be the last SSB update before the game actually comes out, so I'll either stop doing them or just concentrate on the crazy, "no chance in hell this'll get made" ones.
#7 - Mario Stage - SMB3
Well, they've covered every other NES Mario game, so I figured they should give the best one its own stage. I have a few ideas for a Super Mario Bros 3 level they can adapt for a SSB stage:
a) World 1: Specifically, the stage with the weird square colored platforms that Mario could sneakily get behind for the first Warp Whistle of the game. Players likewise can do the same trick in this SSB stage if they find they're in trouble, and simply duck behind the level to avoid getting hit by other characters. They'll be forcibly ejected back into the ring if they stay hidden too long (otherwise games would go on forever), and they can get back by leaving the side of the screen (in that small "safety" area where they get the microscopic view before actually going too far and dying) and walking back into the arena. Pros for this stage: Interesting hiding gimmick, very memorable level. Cons: The gimmick could be abused by cowardly players.
b) World 8 (Tank): This rail level was one of the more interesting deviations from the usual Mario stage structure, in that instead of a regular geography-based platforms, Mario was right in the middle of a huge armada of tanks mobilising presumably towards the kingdoms he had just saved. Instead of being able to defeat the tanks, he had to simply get past them by jumping up and under the moving machines while avoiding their fire as they trundled along. Obviously, this stage would be one of those rail stages in SSB:M where players need to be continuously aware of their surroundings, lest they get left behind or trapped and end up losing precious lives. While difficult, I enjoyed the stage challenging players to keep and eye on each other as well as the stage itself, and I especially liked the devious tricks you could play such as stunning or otherwise debilitating someone long enough for the moving stage to finish them off.
This level could also work for any of the rail stages in SMB3, including the Submarine and Airship levels (which were a lot harder because of how easy it was to fall off and die), as well as the individual airship missions of the Koopalings at the end of each world.
c) World 2: I just liked the idea of a stage with that angry sun in it. It could randomly home in on players, perhaps choosing the one with the most health or the one doing the most damage to other players. The quicksand in those worlds could also give the players something to watch out for.
#8 - Roy/Marth Stage - Fire Emblem
These two characters were sort of downplayed in Melee for fears that not too many Western players would be familiar with the Fire Emblem series, Nintendo's (though it's actually made by Intelligent Systems) excellent Strategy RPG that has been running in Japan for a while on various Nitnendo consoles. This can be evidenced by the fact they don't even mention Fire Emblem in their bios/trophy description. They do have their own theme tune in the game, but not their own stage (using instead Hyrule Temple).
Based on the game's generally chaotic warring between two factions of fantasy-esque troops, I figure the level should be a battlefield - such as a field or castle, though somewhere memorable and specific to the newer games would work better - that is constantly being besieged from various units from the games, such as Pegasus Knights, magic archers or the various beastmen units. It would sort of work like the Pokemon stage from the first game, in that the various units/Pokémon would randomly show up and cause damage to anyone in their fixed animation path.
Obviously, the stage would be centred around the new Fire Emblem for GC in order to sell it, and it may even end up using the main character(s) from that instead of Marth or Roy (though those two are better known by fans of the series, and by fans of Super Smash Bros Melee of course). I have yet to play either of the GC games, so I sort of base my knowledge of this stage around the GBA game and a few of the earlier games I've played on emulators.
#9 - Alucard Stage - Symphony of the Night
This stage assumes that Alucard will make it into the game (he's one of the fan favorites, though there will probably be quite a few licensing issues considering Nintendo shares the license with Sony currently). Probably both the best and most disturbing of the recurring Castlevania bosses, Legion is basically a big ball of human corpses covering a malevolent psychic core that fires bolts of energy at you and otherwise attempts to crush you with the quivering mass of bodies that covers it. Legion stages tend to be very large square-ish rooms with platforms on either side to help you jump over Legion while attacking it.
The SSB stage will be the same, with Legion following a set pattern of rolling around the room and shooting energy bolts in random directions. Another one of those "be aware of your surroundings stages". I'm thinking the players could defeat Legion or make it less of a threat by taking apart its "human shield" with concentrated attacks, maybe for it to return several minutes later to avoid the rest of the match taking place in a big empty room. Like the previous stage idea, particularly cruel players may decide to stun players and leave them somewhere where they may accrue hideous damage from Mr Sunshine himself as he rolls over them.
Unlike the Castlevania level however, the stage won't be inside a box since the players would never be able to leave the screen (and therefore be invincible). The sides and ceiling will be left purposely open, perhaps allowing Legion to leave the screen and reappear somewhere else (which would be daunting for players, I think). Also, as an added annoyance, perhaps those flying medusa heads could also show up to immobilize or otherwise aggravate players already trying to dodge the Big Ol' Ball O' Bodies.
