Week in Review Issue #3

[Venus of the Desert Bloom]

The Week in Review Edition #3

Writers:
@ Venus of the Desert Bloom
@Opossum

Hello and welcome to another edition of The Week in Review! First off, I would like to say a big thank you to everyone who reads and supports this thread. I ecstatic to see so many people supporting and willing to help with the WiR. I will do my best to ensure this becomes a facet of the Smash Bros. 4 Discussion forums!

I would like to say a big and huge thank you to:
​

• @Opossum for helping out with this weeks WiR. He helped handle Day #2 and co-wrote Day #3. In addition, he helped me by proofreading any mistakes - something I didn't even ask him to do. It was a huge help!
• @ Mario & Sonic Guy for agreeing to be interviewed! It was a lot of fun and I feel we will get to know you just a little bit better!
• @Captain Hotcakes for writing up the massive Villager analysis. I really appreciate the hard work that went into writing it up. Please take some time and read the Villager analysis!
• Lastly, to all of the Smashboards users who posts really make up what the WiR is. Without your insightful (and crazy) posts, this thread would not exist so thank you very much!

This issue of the Week in Review is going to be a big one and one that I am very excited to present to everyone! (I have 28 pages here without the Villager analysis!!) Please show your support by posting down below, volunteering to help (even if it's proofreading our finding quotes), and reading about it. I write it because I enjoy it and I hope you enjoy it to

To view last weeks WiR, please go here!

Want to help or contribute?
[collapse=Rules and Other Infos]This is the first edition of "The Week in Review".

The Week in Review will be a series of articles I have made throughout the week concerning the Pic of Day through using posts, threads, and MiiVerse to pool information and opinions about Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and 3DS . However, the articles are not only limited to my own observation but to those of the larger Smash 4 community. Users are encouraged to submit articles and observations as well as opinions concerning the pictures that were updated throughout the week. I will explain how you can contribute later.

So what can you expect from this thread?

On Friday, I will update the thread with a new article which will contain the Pic of the Day, other relevant images, information, I will also be pulling out interesting and thought provoking posts that have popped up throughout the week on the various threads such as the Wii U Discussion thread, 3DS Discussion Thread, MiiVerse Photo Thread, Roster Discussion Thread, character support threads as well as the Super Smash Bros, Wii U/3DS Backroom thus linking them altogether. In addition, I will also be adding up any information that Sakurai has revealed outside of the website/MiiVerse such as interviews and news articles.

I will open the thread on the weekend for people to talk about how the week went and comment on the articles. However, I will be closing the thread on Monday in order to prevent premature discussion about the weeks updates. I will be operating on Japanese Standard Time since both myself and Sakurai (OMG both of us in the same sentence?!?!?!) live on JST. View the JST Page in order to fully understand how time works.
Additionally, while this thread will focus on solely the Pic of the Day, I will sometimes allow pieces to be written about Smashboards, the Smash Community, MiiVerse, or Sakurai information. Additionally, once we have more information regarding the nature of the character, I will allow a user to write up an in-depth analysis of a character, veteran or newcomer. So come show your stuff!

Why is this thread needed?

We do have various discussion threads pertaining to various aspects of Smash. However, this is less of a discussion thread and more like a newsletter. I intend to present the facts and portray an unbiased review of the week. It will also serve as a hub to collect information, pictures, and articles that have been released in a weekly format thus allowing users to review the past weeks for better understanding how to predict future updates or to comb through information in an effective manner. It will also serve as a place to users to present their information, opinions, and observations in a semi-academical format. More information is listed below. If you see an interesting, funny, thought-provoking, or ridiculous post either on the SWF or on MiiVerse, PM me about it and I will include it! If you want me to remove you from a certain Tag, PM me and I will take you off.

Also, I wanted to use this space to allow users to be creative and constructive in speculating Smash in a more journalistic manner. I will not edit any posts except if they are inappropriate, bypass the censor, hateful in nature, or irrelevant.

How can I help?

You can contribute to this thread in many ways.

1) You can serve as a guest writer. This is done by contacting me via PM and apply to be a guest writer for the current week. I am able to allow or refuse the guest writer based on past credentials and reputation within the Smash 4 community so please keep that in mind.

After approval, I can either give you a piece to write OR you can choose one yourself. It should be focused on a particular Pic of the Day. Please promptly let me know which one you intend to. If I do not hear from you within a day, I will not accept an article. The article itself should be professionally written with little to no grammar or spelling mistakes. Any sources should be cited with a link to direct readers. While I understand some updates may be hard to write for, please write at least two paragraphs for each update. Unless it is an update of Luigi's nose but I am sure someone can find some Freudian psycho-analysis about that update. Please refer to the first edition post about how to write an article (though I am pretty sure many journalist/lit majors can do a much better job than I can lol).

2) You can help me gather posts that are excellent or at least interesting in nature. PM me any posts concerning a particular update and I will then add it to the articles. I frequent the above mentioned threads on a daily basis but I obviously miss things so I am heavily dependent on everyone getting me those great and thought-provoking posts. I want this thread to showcase what the brilliant minds in the Smash 4 community can do!

3) While you can discuss past and future weeks, please refrain from dissecting or analyzing the previous/future weeks and save that for the current week.

4) Could someone be a dear and make a banner for this thread. It's not urgent but a banner would be grand.[/collapse]

Table of Contents

Spoiler

1.1 Day #1: Avada Kedavrasalina and Luma!
2.1 Day #2: You raise me uuuuup~
3.1 Day #3: Statue of Limitations
4.1 Day #4: Secret Nintendo Meeting
5.1 Day $4: We Finally Decide Who the Best Archer Is!
6.1 Day #5: He's Blue, He has Aura, and He is Back! Lucario!!
7.1 Week Overview
8.1 Editorials
9.1 Week in Review Interview: Mario_and_Sonic_Guy
10.1 Character Analysis: The Villager Part 1

Avada Kedavrasalina and Luma!! Wand Power!!
Day #1: Monday
1/27/14
Author: Venus of the Desert Bloom

We opened up the week to another look into Rosalina's specials. This one is the down special (B) move "Gravitational Pull". This attack is what was seen on the Rosalina reveal when she was redirecting Mario's F.L.U.D.D. It finally has a name in "Gravitational Pull", a long name for a very handy and speculated move. Rosalina pulls out her wand and, in quick fashion, redirects or pulls a move or item towards you. So what this actually mean. Let's take a look at two examples:

This obviously showcases an attack, Mario's F.L.U.D.D. being redirected by to avoid hitting her. In fact, Rosalina is not even facing Mario but, rather, facing away from him. The attack seems to encompass all of Rosalina. Her wands starts right where the F.L.U.D.D. hits but is is uncertain if that is an requirement for the attack to be diverted.

Props to @ 8-peacock-8
@ Mario & Sonic Guy suggested the following attacks would be affected by Gravitational Pull:

What we should probably keep tabs on is which projectile attacks can be stopped or redirected by Gravitational Pull. I have a few inputs to share...

Mario - Fireball: Gets redirected.
Mario - F.L.U.D.D.: As shown on the trailer, the water gets redirected.

Link - Hero's Bow: The arrow gets redirected.
Link - Gale Boomerang: Barrier acts as a wall, repelling the boomerang.
Link - Bomb: The barrier disables the bomb upon contact.

Samus - Charge Shot: The shot gets redirected.
Samus - Missile: The missile gets disabled upon touching the barrier.
Samus - Bomb: The bomb gets disabled upon touching the barrier.

Yoshi - Egg Throw: The barrier acts like a wall, repelling the egg.

Kirby - Final Cutter: The projectile that gets created from this move will get redirected.

Fox - Blaster: The lasers get redirected.

Pikachu - Thunder Jolt: The attack goes around the barrier.

Luigi - Fireball: Same as Mario's Fireball.

Ness - PK Flash: The barrier fully protects Rosalina from the attack.
Ness - PK Fire: Attack goes around the barrier.
Ness - PK Thunder: Attack goes around the barrier.

Peach - Vegetable: The vegetables will get stopped in their tracks by the barrier.

Bowser - Fire Breath: The barrier redirects the flames.

Zelda - Din's Fire: The barrier fully protects Rosalina from the attack.

Sheik - Needle Storm: The barrier redirects the needles.

Ice Climbers - Ice Shot: The barrier acts like a wall, stopping the projectiles.

Mr. G&W - Chef: The barrier acts like a wall against the food projectiles.

Falco - Blaster: Same as Fox's Blaster.

Pit - Palutena Arrow: The arrow gets redirected by the barrier.

Wario - Wario Bike: When used as an item, the Wario Bike's parts will get stopped in their tracks by the barrier.

Zero Suit Samus - Paralyzer: The projectile gets redirected by the barrier.

Squirtle - Water Gun: Same as Mario's F.L.U.D.D..

Ivysaur - Bullet Seed: Attack gets redirected.
Ivysaur - Razor Leaf: Attack gets redirected.

Charizard - Flamethrower: Same as Bowser's Fire Breath.
Charizard - Rock Smash: The barrier fully protects Rosalina against Rock Smash, thanks to that move's classification as a projectile.

Diddy Kong - Peanut Popgun: The peanuts get redirected.
Diddy Kong - Banana Peel: The barrier disables the banana peel's effects.

Olimar - Pikmin Throw: The Pikmin will get stopped in their tracks by the barrier.

Lucario - Aura Sphere: The attack will get redirected.

R.O.B. - Robo Beam: The laser will get redirected.
R.O.B. - Gyro: The barrier will disable the gyro upon touching the barrier.

Toon Link - Hero's Bow: Same as Link's Hero's Bow.
Toon Link - Boomerang: Same as Link's Gale Boomerang.
Toon Link - Bomb: Same as Link's Bomb.

Wolf - Blaster: Same as Fox's Blaster.

Mind you, this is purely speculative given the nature of what we saw on the trailer.

However,

Here it shows Rosalina vacuuming in the items and gathering them about her. My question is: how to differentiate between an item and an attack. If an item was thrown right when an attack projectile is fired, will is absorb or redirect the attack or do both? Though it does not seem that Rosalina supporters are too worried about it.

Some questions that come with this attack is that could be it be spammed or will there be a penalty such as it becomes smaller, slower, or weaker? There would have to be considering the need to balance the attack so it's not too OP. What do you think the attack entails? Will there be a punishment for spamming it?

Stuff Confirmed for Monday
- The attack's name is Gravitational Pull.
- It is Rosalina's Special Down B attack.
- It will redirect attacks/pull in items.
- You do not have to shake the WiiMote to do the attack.

You raise me uuuuup~
Day#2: Tuesday
01/28/14
Author: Opossum

On Tuesday, Smash fans were greeted by the release of another new item. This time, the item in question was the Beetle, one of the new pieces of Link's arsenal from The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword. This was our first new item confirmation since the reveal of the Blue Shark from Steel Diver.

Responses to this news were mixed. Some of the time, users would applaud Sakurai for adding this new item.

@wezai

Seems like a fun item

@CrimsonVallier

I personally like this new item!
It looks like it could help with meteor smashes.

Other times, posters seemed to dislike the item. Reasons for this were also mixed. Naturally, some came from people who don't like or use items in general, but other times, people were upset that the Beetle did not, in fact, become Link's Side Special.

@MOI-ARI

Lame! I thought the beetle would be Link's new side B, replacing the gale boomerang thingy from TP, cuz y'know. This is SS Link... Right?

Other responses were in a...league of their own...
@Chris Baker

All I got from this is the amount of Marth porn is going to spike.

As another point of interest, some users made an observation that the Beetle may function similarly to the Metroid Assist Trophy in Brawl, holding the foe in an inescapable hold. What do you think about the Beetle? A nifty new item? A waste of space? A method of increasing a swordsman's...fanbase? Let us know what you think!

In The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, Link first gains access to the Beetle in the Skyview Temple after defeating a Stalfos. In its home game, it was used to retrieve items and hearts, and eventually, drop things like bombs onto foes. Another combat purpose involves using it to split the stem of a Deku Baba, making it easier to kill the pesky plant. Interestingly, it is the first time the Boomerang was absent since Zelda II. Many believe that the Beetle took its place in the game as a long-reaching item. Here is an in-game shot of the Beetle:

It is important to note that the Beetle item in Smash Bros. is more reflective of the basic Beetle item in Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword instead of the Quick Beetle (white wings) and the Tough Beetle (an entire white, yellow, and red color scheme). It makes sense for the Beetle to reflect it's most basic form however it might be safe to assume that this version of the Beetle will be weaker compared to the more advanced forms found in Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword. Go to the Zeldawikifor more info on the Beetle.

Things confirmed:
1) The Legend of Zelda gets its first SSB4 item confirmation, and fourth item in the series over all, though the Deku Nut, Heart Container and Bunny Hood remain to be seen.

Statue of Limitations?
Day #3: Wednesday
01/29/14
Authors: Opossum
Venus of the Desert Bloom

Pic of the day. You can find this statue of the Goddess of Light in one of the stages. She's watching over the arena.

On Wednesday, we were treated to a new Wii U stage! This time, it appears to be Palutena's Temple from the Kid Icarus franchise. Seeing as it is taken from Uprising as far as appearance goes, it left quite a few people confused: could stages from handhelds get in the Wii U version, and vice versa? People had mixed views of this, and debated as to whether it was truly an Uprising stage, and not just a redone Kid Icarus NES stage.

A lot of us have already deduced that the statue is set up like Palutena's Temple in Uprising; so even though it's probably Skyworld, the design is almost certainly being influenced by Uprising.

@Starphoenix

I actually think it is from Uprising mostly.
About the part where I said that it looks cleaner as opposed to the dullness of Chapter 20 of that game has shown (which was the opposite of Mushroomy Kingdom, where it was a duller version of a Mario stage), that we established. However, I remembered that Skyworld is made up of more than 1 island. In the flying portion of Ch.18, Palutena (large hologram version) throws an arena similar to the one in the background (except looks more damaged) at you. So I would assume the thing in the background is one of many arenas that's on one of the different islands in Skyworld. I think even the Skyworld stage from Brawl is shown having different islands in the background, too.

In conclusion, I am putting my thoughts on this stage being Palutena's Temple from KIU, indicated by the statue with wings that was also shown in Ch.20 from Uprising, and from what I said above.

@Admiral Pit

It's probably just a redesigned Skyworld to represent the NES game.

@ 8-peacock-8

No, it is...
If I'm correct, it's based off of Chapter 20 (don't believe me, wait until they show off the Centurions).

So, this could mean that not every stage will be as once thought (consoles for consoles and handhelds for handhelds)...

@ Substitution

It's not Uprising , it only used it as a base because Uprising's style is now canon to the whole series , but it can't be based on the chapter because in chapter 20 the Skyworld is all worn out and ruined .

It's the Uprising artstyle , but this didn't happen in the story , so it's based on what the place probably looked like on NES , but updated .

@Mypantisgone

As I see it, the new Kid Icarus stage is both from the NES game and Uprising, much like how Planet Zebes, Brinstar, Brinstar Depths and Norfair are both from Metroid and Super Metroid.

Skyworld is from the NES game, but also appeared in Uprising. So, the stage's ORIGIN is the NES game, while the stage's DESIGN is based on Uprising, sharing a similar art style and having the same statue and structure from the same game. The Palace in the Sky and Palutena's Temple from the NES game and Uprising respectively, could be interpreted as the same area anyway, as both are situated in Skyworld and where Palutena lives and watches over the humans.

@ Frostwraith
The general consensus seems that the stage takes elements from both versions: the NES and Uprising. The idea that the Wii U will only have stages from console games and the 3DS having stages from handheld games seemed to cement in people's minds.

However...

Considering the KI series hasn't gotten a console game in over 25 years, we can make an exception.

@ NintendoKnight brings up an interesting argument. How about series that have appeared in Smash such as Game and Watch, MOTHER, Pikmin, Ice Climbers, F-Zero, and Wii Fit. Few if none of them have not appeared on a 3DS before. Needless to say, you would expect a character to have a home stage regardless of the system they appear on. Technically speaking, there should be a Pikmin stage on the 3DS version since that would represent Olimar. Likewise, there should be a Kid Icarus stage on the Wii U version. It only makes sense for the Wii U version to combine the two elements since Uprising is the newest game in the series.

I feel that the Wii U = Console Games, 3DS = Handheld games applies mostly to franchises that have appeared on both platforms or a stage that does not have a representative newcomer. For example, Super Mario Bros. has Mario Galaxy as a stage for the Wii U while the 3DS has New Super Mario Bros. as the Super Mario Bros. stage. Likewise, the 3DS has Geruda Valley from Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D while Wii U has Skyloft. However, the Nintendog stage is an example of a stage that is only represented as a stage yet it does not have an evident counterpart for the Wii U. Bearing that in mind, I expect that the Wii U has some similar stages such as a Nintendo Land stage. I think all franchises has at least one counterpart for the other system, even the franchises that appear solely on one console such as Wii Fit, Pikmin, Golden Sun, Xenoblade, Super Punch-Out!, etc.

Others went out and directly said it may not even be Skyworld...

]It doesn't look like Skyworld, seeing how it takes place on land... and the clouds aren't everywhere like in the Brawl stage.

@Arcadenik

It doesn't look like it takes place in Skyworld. It looks more like that it takes place in the Overworld Level of the NES game. The statue can be put up to the fact that it looks like it takes place in the human part of the Kid Icarusverse. (humans building statues of their gods)

And even if it did takes place in Skyworld (NES game still) it isn't weird that theirs some statues of Palutena lying around.

@ 8-peacock-8

However, most agreed that is is most likely Skyworld.

In addition, the other point of interest is the statue of Palutena. More interestingly, Sakurai did not address Palutena by name as he did with Viridi, but instead gave her an epithet, similar to Ridley. Many felt this raised her chances, and this is just Sakurai referencing the fact that he knows the leak exists. Others, though, think this means bad things for Palutena.
@CrophMaruMariolu2W0vol41PEeeeeek makes an astute discovery concerning similarities between a statue in Brawl's Skyworld and SSB Wii U's Skyworld...

Oh wow, this new Kid Icarus stage looks pretty cool. And about the Palutena statue...

Spoiler

Sorry if this has already been said, but Brawl's Skyworld does have a Palutena statue in the background. For those who don't know, some pics to compare:

It's interesting to note that in Skyworld they did not use Palutena's upgraded design for the statue. I'm guessing they wanted her to resemble original Palutena more (maybe because of the stage...?), as the design kinda looks like the one found in the NES game manual. I personally think it would have been cooler if they used Palutena's upgraded design, but whatevs.

Ah, what the heck. A pic I took for fun. why did it end up darker D:

Yeah... not trying to make a huge deal about this or anything, but little things like this always intrigue me lol.

If this is to be true, then it's evident that this Skyworld is (possibly) related to the Skyworld in Brawl which was an updated remake of the NES games.

Lastly, some people equated to her statue confirming or deconfirming her as playable (in light of last weeks leak). Others were more skeptical:

People fail to realize, Brawl's Skyworld also had a statue of Palutena in the background.

This update doesn't confirm, nor deconfirm her inclusion into the roster. What it does confirm, however, is a new Kid Icarus stage for the Wii U version.

@mygamecube

If the lack of ribbons are being considered evidence for a fake leak, then one must also consider that the faces on the statue and the leak are identical.

@ThatWasPeachy

@Senselessbeak put his skills to the test

This is the statue and arena from uprising.

Key things to note. Her face in this uprising statue image CLEARLY resembles the uprising Palutena.

Looking at the new statue, you see one of the biggest differences is her face.....which is IDENTICAL to the leak Palutena.
Both statues dont have charms, and have minor differences compared to their physical model.
I don't know how else to spell it out, this is 100% evidence that the leak was real.

EDIT: Also notice the staff: The staff in the uprising statue matches her in game staff
The PotD staff matches the leak perfectly.......

Now let me ask you a question, why would Sakurai change the staff and face, if this was meant to be an adaptation of Palutenas Uprising statue?

There is no reason to change her face and staff......unless you were to do so to reflect the current games model.

My statement holds.

Now for the cross examinations.

There were some debate regarding the length of the staff compared to the leak and the PofD. What do you think? What is your take with this statue and Palutena? Let's us know!

Oh, and to touch on a particular meme fad...

Many Alfonzo jokes were also made, as per usual nowadays.

[collapse="Alfonzo: 'Leave it to me!'"]

[/collapse]

@ AEMehr

@Ravio_Yo

And my personal favorite

@PikaJew
@Delicious Tears best summed it up...

Alfonzo, the substitute to EVERYTHING!

Things this confirms:
1) A Kid Icarus stage for the Wii U, possibly saying that there can be mixed-platform stage choices.
The Top Secret Nintendo Meeting
Day #4: Thursday
01/30/14
Author: Venus of the Desert Bloom

The Nintendo Meeting took the Super Smash Bros 4 (Wii U/3DS) Topic by storm with news trickling in about the business future of Nintendo. Nintendo outlined some very specific goals they wish to accomplish. They recognized that the Wii U is selling poorly and believe that Mario Kart (due out in May) and Super Smash Bros. for Wii U/3DS (unconfirmed release date) to significantly help sell the Wii U. News came in through the twitter of David Gson, a Senior Research Analyst affiliated with Nintendo. Through a series of tweets, he gave fans updates on how the meeting was going while highlighting on key points that came up during the meeting.

Hours after the meeting, the English translation of the slides were put up for English-speakers to read. To view the slides go here

So what does this mean? It means that Nintendo is trying to re-organize and restructure much how they do business and the goals for Nintendo in the future.

@Starphoenix summed up the meeting with this (and his own added feelings):

Now that the meeting is winding down, here are my takeaways:

- Nintendo has both arms tied regarding the Wii U. They know it was a mistake that was never advertised properly and the only thing they can do is double down, put on a brave face, try and salvage what they can and pump out the next system. Basically Gamecube 2.0.

- Nintendo is going to become more lenient licensing their IPs in an attempt to simply get games onto their systems. Expect more crazy collaborations like Pokémon x Nobunaga's Ambition, SMT x FE, Hyrule Warriors, Chrom and Lucina in Monster Hunter. Series that already come to mind ripe for a big crossover: Dragon Quest and Capcom's Vs. series. Will this have any bearing on potential guests in Super Smash Bros. We shall see.

- I love that they are finally committed to developing continuity between both platform's online infrastructure. They may be many years late to the party, but they're at least getting there.

- My excitement for the DS Virtual Console is subdued by the fact that we heard about GBA games on the VC awhile back and nothing has emerged from that promise yet. When these services actually are on some sort of schedule then I'll be happy. Hopefully the "technical issues" they've been facing with the VC service is a foreshadowing to universal play between Wii U and 3DS systems.

- What to make of Nintendo's new QOL platform / ecosystem... Hard to say. It could be a very smart way for them to reinvent themselves and create another source of revenue beyond, though integrated, with their game platforms. We'll hear more at E3, and for the love of Kirby I hope they explain what this plan of their's is thoroughly, because right now all the information we have is a hot mess.

In addition,

We will announce the specific release dates of each software title and the release of new titles in other opportunities such as Nintendo Direct, but today we would like to announce that a key title for Wii U this year, “Mario Kart 8,” is scheduled to be released globally in May (though it says on page 6 of the supplemental information that it will be released in spring 2014). To create huge momentum, we would like to ensure that the release of titles such as “Mario Kart 8” is not a one-off event.

With the announcement that Mario Kart 8 will have a global release in May, this may shed some light on the much disputed Super Smash Bros. Wii U/3DS release date.

1) A global release date is certainly looking like it could happen. Mr. Iwata has personally said that both Mario Kart 8 and SSB4WiiU/3DS will be a huge selling point for the Wii U thereby linking the two series together. It would only help the Wii U by making it a global release date rather than hurt it.

2) We may see a later release date. Seeing how Mario Kart 8 is being released around May, it only makes sense for Smash 4 to be released further away from the Mario Kart 8 release date. This would maximize the Mario Kart sales, help Nintendo soley focus on promoting and advertising that game, and give it a few months for it to sell before releasing Super Smash Bro.s for Wii U/3DS. Therefore, and this is an estimation, I feel Super Smash Bros. for Wii U/3DS will see a mid to late fall release date (October or November). It would make sense from a sales viewpoint to stretch out the two game juggernauts to increase hype, increase profitability and advertisement, and to separate the two so they do not compete with each other.

This meeting also showed that Nintendo is restructuring their business model to reflect the growing needs of the consumer.

As a platform in its second year, Wii U is currently in a very difficult position.

They know the Wii U is not selling well and game a few reasons such as

Unfortunately, as the current situation of Wii U shows, we have not been able to fully communicate the value of the GamePad. We also realize that we have not been successful in answering consumers’ questions such as, “What is the difference between Wii U and the previous platform, Wii, and what is the benefit of upgrading it?” By looking at the current sales situation, I am aware that this is due to our lack of effort. What’s even worse is that there even appear to be not a small number of consumers who think the GamePad is one of the accessories for the previous platform, Wii.

and to rectify it?

Our top priority task this year is to offer software titles that are made possible because of the GamePad.
We have managed to offer several of such software titles for occasions when many people gather in one place to play, but we have not been able to offer a decisive software title that enriches the user’s gameplay experience when playing alone with the GamePad. This will be one of the top priorities of Mr. Miyamoto’s software development department this year.

We are now sure that we can solve the technical problem of displaying Virtual Console software from Nintendo DS on the GamePad.
The dual-screen Nintendo DS, one of which is a touch screen, has a very strong software lineup, and so we plan to add the Virtual Console titles from Nintendo DS software to the future Virtual Console lineup for Wii U.

So basically, Mr. Iwata wants to create games that fully harnesses the power of the Gamepad as well as bring DS Virtual Console content to the Gamepad which is quite the enticing thought.

What is another avenue that Nintendo intends to look into?

What Nintendo will try to achieve in the next 10 years is a platform business that improves people’s QOL in enjoyable ways.

For those who are not aware of QOL, it stands for...

To view the entire outline, visit the aforementioned website. This is obviously due to the success of the Wii Fit franchise and is something I find interesting. Could it be that Ms. Fit was included due to this new initiative?

@Starphoenix mentioned previously about Nintendo is going to be more free with their IP's. To clarify, here is the quote:

Also, we are planning to utilize Nintendo’s abundance of character IP more actively. I think the reason that Nintendo is now considered to have this “abundance of character IP” is perhaps because of our passive approach toward the character IP licensing business, which tends to have a high risk of damaging the value of the character. In other words, we think that spending time to develop our approach of having our characters appear mainly in our carefully selected games has created our current fortunate circumstances. However, we are going to change our policy going forward.

To be more precise, we will actively expand our character licensing business, including proactively finding appropriate partners. In fact, we have been actively selling character merchandise for about a year in the U.S.
Also, we will be flexible about forming licensing relationships in areas we did not license in the past, such as digital fields, provided we are not in direct competition and we can form win-win relationships.

By moving forward with such activities globally, we aim to increase consumer exposure to Nintendo characters by making them appear in places other than on video game platforms.

While I wouldn't say that Pokemon x Digimon or Mario Bros. x Mickey Gang is for sure confirmed but what this article is saying that Nintendo will be more lenient then they were before in terms of letting 3rd party developers use their IP's.

Lastly, it appears Nintendo may venture to the iOS market such as smart devices citing successful brands such as Google's Kindle and Android.

I have often heard the opinion from many that Nintendo should release its first-party content on smart devices. The rationale behind such a suggestion, in my view, is that it would be illogical not to expand our business on smart devices given that they have outsold dedicated video game systems by a large margin.

Many people say that releasing Nintendo’s software assets for smart devices would expand our business. However, we believe that we cannot show our strength as an integrated hardware-software business in this field, and therefore it would difficult to continue the same scale of business in the medium- to long term.

Therefore, we would like to, instead of directly expanding our business on smart devices, focus on achieving greater ties with our consumers on smart devices and expanding our platform business.

It is evident that Nintendo see the possibilities that the smart device has for Nintendo and its IP's but it would still like to focus on its console gaming. This might seem like a bad move or a good move to some.

Regardless, late Wednesday and Thursday ended up being quite the ordeal with many speculators jumping on the "Nintendo x Disney" bandwagon from this quote

"Iwata: is sharing philosophy with another company and aligning with them, cannot do alone. Is this Disney?"

inb4 Mickey for SSB4.

@ BluePikmin11

Here comes Star Fox X Star wars

@Xhampi

Imagine this.

Game & Watch: Remixed

Starring Mario, Mickey, Donald, Snoopy, and Popeye.

@Rebellious Treecko

Regardless, we know sort of Nintendo's plans for the future as well as their feelings regarding the low sales of the Wii U. Here's to hoping for a bright and productive future for Nintendo
We Finally Decide Who the Best Archer Is!
Day #4: Thursday
1/30/14
Author: Venus of the Desert Bloom

After what was a confusing and intense few hours of the Nintendo Meeting, everyone settled down and began predicting what will be revealed today. And no surprise, many thought that Ice Climbers could be revealed due to its being their anniversary

It can go one of two ways. The Ice Climbers are revealed tomorrow, or just a regular pic and a Direct is announced for Friday where some other character will be shown, if any at all.

@WingedSnagret

But expectations were crushed when Link and Pit graced the Pic of the Day; highlight how the two archers are different from each other. Discussion and comparisons of the two surfaced:

Link's fully charged arrows have always been faster than Pit's arrows. However I'm not sure they were ever quite to this degree.

@Homelessvagrant

Link's fully charged arrows do travel faster, but they obviously take longer to come out.

@Johnknight1

Not when they are fully charged, I believe. Link builds up quite a bit of speed while Pit's remain a fixed speed. If I am wrong than that just means either Link got buffed or Pit got nerfed. I would go with the former before the latter.

@Homelessvagrant

Pit's timing inevitably got changed so he's not a camper anymore, whereas Link probably received nothing but buffs after Brawl! (the same goes for Jiggs)

@Johnknight1

Is it possible that Link was buffed from Brawl to Wii U/3DS? It could possibly be or his arrows fly faster than before. It is something certainly to look atin the future regarding Link and his bows.

What was confirmed:
- Link and Pit are very different in how they shoot their arrows.
-Besides attack power and projectile speed, there are many elements that affect tactics, such as accuracy, vulnerability after attacking, and even seemingly unrelated features like a character's physical abilities.
He's Blue, He Has Aura, and He's Back! LUUCAAAAAAARIOOOOOO!!!!!
Day#5: Friday
01/31/14
Author: Venus of the Desert Bloom

Pic of the day. The heroic Aura Pokémon, Lucario, joins the battle!! We've increased the influence of Aura this time, so a damaged Lucario is truly a force to be reckoned with.

Lucario fans worldwide are rejoicing the return of their favorite Aura wielding Pokemon. Lucario was revealed as a returning Pokemon veteran which, quite frankly, was a surprise. There is no Pokemon release, anniversary, or milestone to hallmark or herald a Pokemon reveal. In fact, many thought either Ice Climbers (due to their anniversary being yesterday) or Palutena (the leaks + Kid Icarus pics) would be revealed today. However, after a drought of Pokemon content, a Pokemon veteran is revealed!

Now, Lucario being revealed is kind of a strange thing since he was an unlockable character back in Brawl. Yet, besides Sonic, he joins the ranks with Luigi and Toon Link as unlockable characters being revealed pre-release. Yet, many considered Luigi and Toon Link to be "special cases" since their reveal coincided with a release (Luigi's Mansion 2 and Wind Waker HD respectfully). Yet, Lucario was not revealed alongside any type of release as I mentioned before. Even Marth was linked to "Fire Emblem Awakening". That being said, Lucario's a big game changer on how we predict character reveals. And by game changer, I mean he just threw out the entire rule book.

EDIT: I stand corrected. As @ Staarih stated in a post below, Sakurai did in fact acknowledge Lucario being revealed due to it being Brawl's anniversary. That being said, I would include him in with the special cases alongside Toon Link and Luigi. I apologize for any mix ups but I want to keep my original writing in-tact.

Lucario joined the battle for the first time in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, which was released six years ago. The production staff of Brawl worked really hard to expand the character roster--without their efforts, Lucario probably never would have joined the battle.

Of course, there could be other reasons as to why Lucario was revealed such as:

1) Game Freak telling Sakurai to do that
2) Nintendo and Game Freak telling Sakurai to do that
3) Sakurai doing it himself and giving no ****s

Regardless, Lucario shattered the age old argument that unlockables are only revealed post-release (and for those who may counter that he was revealed prior to Brawl...it was before the American release but after the Japanese release).

However, it could also mean that Lucario is, in fact a starter which would be pretty crazy in itself. But with four previous unlockables, I am willing to bet that previous unlockables are going to be revealed prior to the release.

I want to cite the fact that Sakurai deciding not to include cut scenes in a story mode due to, well, the internets. It is a story we all know: Sakurai puts in cut scenes, intends them to be viewed in game, dirty little devils record and post them on the youtubes, Sakurai becomes sad Sakurai, the end. With the idea that the internet will know about unlockables when the game is released, Sakurai could be thinking that it's pointless to find unlockables and is willing to show unlockables prior to release. This is speculative mind you but, considering his past actions in terms of Smash and the interwebs, he seems to be adopting a less restrictive/secretive stance.

So back to Lucario, here are what the fans are saying:

I'm....so hyped right now...

**** HOMEWORK! I GOT LUCARIO!

@Swampasaur

Well, looks like Lucario will become much stronger this time around when on high damage.

I'm loving this already. Does Lucario have a page on the website yet?

@KingofPhantoms47

HOLY COW LUCARIO IS CONFIRMED!!!

@ Superyoshiom

Awesome, Lucario is revealed. This will put an end to all of the "cut Lucario" BS.

@MorbidAltruism

We can finally put those terrible "Lucario is cut because he is irrelevant" leaks (or "leaks") to permanent slumber.

@FinalStarmen

Well, with Lucario AND Toon Link back, two characters that were on everyone's 'cut' list... I'm feeling pretty good about Lucas right now.

@chris Bakers

Well, Ike and Lucario were the two that everyone claimed were going to be cut and replaced because of "relevancy." We have one of them now so...

Prepare yourselves.

@JamesDNaux

This now raises the question... If there are actually cuts who the **** are they??

@ The Real Gamer

Fans seen very happy for Lucario; not only to see their favorite character back but also because he beats all odds in being cut. If you go over to the thread Prejudices aside, if a few characters need to be cut who will they be?,

Lucario constantly remains in the lists that people thought would be cut along with Toon Link.

In fact, the thread creator, @PikaJew had this to say:

Danger Zone


X


X

Lucario appears in cut lists over 10 times throughout the thread. Some saying he is irrelevant and to make room for Mewtwo. Which brings into question: what of Mewtwo's chances. Do you think his chances have dwindled or increased?

I would like to bring this adorable little gif:

So Let's take a look at Luario. He now has his own fancy website at :
http://www.smashbros.com/us/characters/lucario.html

Spoiler

It is interesting to note that Lucario is displaying largely all of his special moves.

Spoiler

This is obviously his Neutral B Aura Sphere.

His Down B Double Team

His Up B recovery ExtremeSpeed.

Now these two pictures has been speculating

At first I though they were a Final Smash but, then I started looking at them. In particular, the 3DS picture reminds me of this:

Could this 3DS picture be taken RIGHT before he transforms into Mega Lucario? The Mega Pokemon system is definitely something Smash Bros. should have implemented. Especially since it was a focal point in Pokemon X and Y.

Edit: @ AEMehr posted it is his Up Taunt.

So, tell us how you feel about the Lucario reveal! It certainly was an unexpected but joyous surprise to see him revealed!

To reaquaint yourself with Lucario, visit the Smash Bros. Wiki!

If you do not know about Lucario, go to the Bulbapedia.

Overview
Author: Venus of the Desert Bloom

This week was sort of last week in my opinion. Some really interesting updates mixed in with some average updates. The Nintendo meeting on Thursday did shake up speculation which was interesting to watch unfold. We found out some information concerning Nintendo's plans for their future and reassured in the fact that Nintendo is learning from their mistakes and trying to put their best foot forward. In addition, we learned that they are interested in venturing into the field of smart devices/iOS as well as QOL technology which was quite the surprise. From a gamers standpoint though, the release date for Mario Kart 8 was gladly received.

We did not receive any more information from Sakurai outside of the Pic of the Days and has has largely been silent on information regarding the release date for Super Smash Bros. for Wii U/3DS. The Pic of the Days gave us quite a lot to talk about:

- Monday: Rosalina's Down Special: Gravitational Pull
- Tuesday: Reveal of the Beetle item from Legend of Zelda：Skyward Sword
- Wednesday: A statue possibly of Palutena and reveal of a Kid Icarus stage for the Wii U. It is debatable if this is in fact Skyworld.
- Thursday: Link has faster arrows than Pit. More technical info and focus on physics.
- Friday: LUUUUUCAAAAAARIIIIIOOOO! Lucario was revealed on Friday much to everyone's hype and surprise.

The weekend ended with the the Lucario reveal and ended with much ethusiasm and hype.

How did you feel this week went? Were you happy with the Pic of the Day's? What is your opinions on the Nintendo meeting? Were you disappointed with Ice Climbers not being revealed on Thursday?

Editorials

I would like to take the time to introduce the Editorial section. What is the Editorial section? I will open up the last portion the Week in Review for people to answer the questions asked throughout the articles. What is your opinion of the week? Give me your thoughts and opinions on Smash 4's development and I will publish them! Please, PM only for the Editorial. I will be putting a limit of 10 entries so it is a first come, first serve basis. I will announce when they close.

This is Venus of the Desert Bloom, reporting live from Smashboards.

Stay classy, Smashboards.​

Edit: I've replaced the daily pic link with an image link that's permanent. The daily pic link should not be used, as the image for that link changes with each update.

 

[Venus of the Desert Bloom]

The Week in Review Interview
Today's Guest: @ Mario & Sonic Guy

Mario_and_Sonic_Guy was the first moderator for the Smash 4 discussion boards and has been a prevalent member of the boards since then. He was locking threads, cleaning up OP's, and deleting spam before any of the Smash 4 mods now and paved the way to what the Smash 4 boards are now. I don't think many people realize the hard work he puts into making these boards great. In fact, he has been tight-lipped about himself. However, he granted WiR an exclusive interview so please read more about the first moderator for the Smash 4 boards: Mario_and_Sonic_Guy!!
​

1) How long have you been a member on Smashboards? How long have you been a moderator of the Smash Bros. for Wii U/3DS Discussion Forums?

1a: I've been a Smash World Forums member since 9/18/2007. I've joined some time after the Nintendo NSider Forums closed down.

1b: I became a moderator for the Smash 4 forums when they were created in June 2012. Xiivi gave me the job, but prior to that, he did ask me if I wanted to moderate the Mario Universe forum. I declined that offer, simply for its lack of activity.

2) What is your favorite part of the job? What is your least favorite part?

2a: What I like about the job is a little tricky to explain, but it does give me the ability to update threads if the thread owners can't do the updates themselves.

2b: The main downside with a moderator's job is trying to keep threads from being derailed, along with showing the proper judgment when dealing with certain reports.

3) Has Smashboards improved since you first joined?

I'm a bit uncertain with that question, since my activity before the Smash 4 forums were made fluctuated from time to time.

4) Will you be getting Super Smash Bros. for Wii U or 3DS?

At the moment, I'm more focused on getting Super Smash Bros. U. The 3DS version might come later though.

5) Counting Super Smash Bros for Wii U/3DS, who is your favorite character in the entire franchise?

Before Rosalina's confirmation, that question would've been pretty tricky for me to answer. Excluding the Smash 4 newcomers, favorites of mine would include Mario, Yoshi, Kirby, Fox, Mewtwo, Wolf, and Sonic.

6) When was the first time you played a Smash game? Can you recall your feelings or what you were doing at the time?

Super Smash Bros. was my first installment. At first, I've mostly used Yoshi to start out, but I did have the habit of spamming the Yoshi Bomb, which was a bad move during the challenger matches. I did gradually improve over time though.

7) With Rosalina being confirmed as a newcomer for Super Smash Bros. for Wii U/3DS, who is your top most wanted character?

At the moment, Rosalina. I'm not as interested with the other confirmed newcomers.

8) What stages would you like to see included in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U/3DS? Past stages included?

Seeing Bowser's Castle as a new stage would be a good start. In terms of past stages, I'd say Lylat Cruise, but mainly for its secret taunt features that can be triggered with Fox, Falco, and Wolf.

9) The Stage Builder and Online gameplay was a step in the right direction but some believe they were lacking.
What is one thing you would like to see Sakurai improve in the name Smash game? (besides the roster.)

Improvements with the online battles would be a good start. After just one Wi-Fi match in Brawl, I saw how heavily flawed Brawl's online matches were.

10) If you could describe Super Smash Bros. with one word, what would it be?

Smashing.

11) Where did your username come from?

You could say that the name came from the fact that I grew up playing different Mario and Sonic titles. Of course, I've been more of a Nintendo person.

12) If you could visit any country, where would it be?

Confidential; I'd rather not answer.

13) What is your favorite season and why?

I'd have to say somewhere around Fall or Winter, though I do have my limits with the cold weather.

14) Please tell us one thing about yourself that we may not know?

I wouldn't know where to start.

Last Week's Screenshots: For the most part, we did get some notable information until 1/16 and 1/17, where the screenshots for those days were just random with no real purpose. The updates seemed good until the end.

Favorite Update: I'd have to say that Rosalina's playable inclusion was the biggest update in my book.

Least Favorite Update: Probably the Pyrosphere update, where Sakurai said An enemy from Samus's past may appear at any second…. That alone has caused a lot of Ridley madness, and even today, he has not shown his face.

This Week In Review: So far, the Monday screenshot stood out, as that's the first time since the E3 2013 trailer that we've got to see a potential Adventure Mode stage.
​

Thank you so much @ Mario & Sonic Guy ! It was great being able to interview you and get to know the person who helps keep these boards great and awesome! Next week, we continue our series on the Smash 4 moderators with the lovely @ N3ON ! Please check back next week!​

 

[Venus of the Desert Bloom]

Villager
Author: @Captain Hotcakes

Coming from Animal Crossing, the Villager is just one of the many newcomers for Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and 3DS that have been revealed thus far. During the initial reveal trailer at E3 2013, Villager was the first character shown off before the veteran reel.

Ever since Brawl, the Animal Crossing series has been represented in the form of stages, items, trophies, and even a series icon of the synonymous furniture leaf. A character which resembles the Villager is a trophy under the name “Animal Crossing Boy” as the first in order of that franchise. Perhaps this was an early design for him.

This accentuates the evidence that Sakurai once considered him for the roster of Super Smash Bros. Brawl. In fact, he did. In his Famitsu column, Sakurai states the reason for cutting as “…because he wasn’t well-suited for battle.” Furthermore, Sakurai only considered the innocent nature of Animal Crossing and not the theme for his moveset the said game has provided with us now.

One of the more outlandish picks for the Super Smash Bros. series, Villager’s arsenal of household objects, outdoor equipment, and even his psychotic memetic tendencies shape him up to be a fun and novel character to play.

Moveset

True to his ability and games, Villager uses many items and tools found across the Animal Crossing series. Each one of his moves references a part of his games in interesting ways.

I’ll begin with the moves that have had their mapping confirmed via the Developer Direct or Pic of the Day. Then, I’ll compose my interpretation of what the other moves we’ve seen will be mapped to.

Dash - Sapling: Villager charges forward holding a potted sapling in his arms before tripping. We know this is his dash because in the Developer Direct and first trailer, he runs before executing the move. Whenever he runs, the sound effect of walking over a stone or cobble surface is heard, only at a faster pace rather than the walking over grass sound effect that is slower when he walks.

The sapling has also been shown to have the ability to be broken. In the trailer, the pot shatters after Villager trips. But in the Direct, it drops on the floor intact. It is unknown whether these different animations are cosmetic or can be triggered to do damage.
Saplings are the most basic tree that can be grown in all Animal Crossing games. Their earliest stage of growth looks to be nothing more than a stick with two leaves opposite of each other on its top. While you never really see their pot modeled onto them in game, their inventory icon does have a pot. Ironically, the leaves of the plant in the pot are that of the bushes from Animal Crossing: New Leaf. Sapling leaves have a three-pointed pattern instead.

Tripping is an effect that occurs seemingly at random in Wild Word onward. By running, there’s a random chance daily where you could occasionally trip every once and a while. And this can get quite annoying! Most often, this is attributed to bad luck revealed to the player via the fortune teller, Katrina or wearing the King Tut mask helmet, which ‘cursed’ the player into tripping whenever they wear it.

Neutral Special - Collect: Villager grabs whatever object is in front of them and store it in his pocket. He can empty them in the direction he’s facing at any time. He can pick up items such as a Capsule to projectiles thrown by other opponents such as Mario’s Fireball. This move has potential for some devilish plays depending on what you can and cannot store. It is unknown what sizes of objects he can and cannot pick up. I would assume heavy objects such as the Item Crate of Barrel will not be able to be picked up.

In all Animal Crossing games, the player always has an inventory where they can store a certain number of items at a time. Objects can only be placed in the manner the Villager does inside the player’s home or other properties they own such as the tropical island house in Animal Crossing. From Animal Crossing: City Folk on, the player can scroll through equipment in their inventory via the D-Pad.

Up Special - Balloon Helmet: Villager dons a helmet identical to the one the character, Balloon Fighter, wears. He has been shown two have two balloons keeping him afloat, which can be popped. That may make this recovery move very gimpable. Once the helmet is equipped, Villager can wave his arms to float in any direction. So far, red and blue colorations have been shown. This was confirmed in the first trailer.

It should be noted that this is one of the three moves shown for the Villager thus far which he has never done in his games. However, this move is an Easter Egg referencing Animal Crossing for the Gamecube. Before the days of the Virtual Console, you could play full-length NES games via furniture. The furniture is an NES console with a box featuring the cover art of the said game. Balloon Fight was one of these games.

As seen in Rosalina & Luma‘s reveal trailer, when all of Villager’s balloons are popped, his freefall animation references the pose that Balloon Fighter does when all his balloons are popped and he descends to the water below.

Side Special - Lloid Rocket: Villager takes out the Gyroid, Lloid. He can launch it or ride on it by pressing the attack button rapidly. Its speed can be controlled. It should be noted that it travels faster when riding. This was confirmed in the July 19th Pic of the Day, but the move mapping and clarification for the December 5th Pic of the Day.

Lloid, a member of the Gyroid species, is a recurring character through numerous games in the series. In Animal Crossing, gyroids identical to Lloid sit outside every player’s home, where they can talk to it to save the game, auction items, change their door pattern, or set a personal message. Lloid goes AWOL in Wild World, but returns in City Folk where he runs the auction house in the city. In New Leaf, Lloid appears next to the plot for any community projects you’re building. He also appears on the island to share tools the player can borrow during their time there.

Grab - Net: Villager swings his net and catches whoever is in front of him. Unlike other grapples in the series, the net looks like it has a long animation when swinging and pulling back the net, perhaps making Villager more vulnerable to attack. He also can hold the net and move. However, his walking speed is slowed when he does this. This was technically confirmed in cinematics in the first trailer, but move mapping and clarification for the November 13th Pic of the Day.

Ever since Dobutsu no Mori, the net has been one of the tools appearing in every game. The net can be used to catch insects and beat up animal villagers.

Now, for the rest of Villager’s moveset! Their placement is based on my critical judgment of where they might be. Your interpretation of his moveset mapping may differ from mine.

Jab - Boxing Gloves: Villager puts some boxing gloves on his hands and performs a punching combo. This move was shown on the Super Smash Bros. website in a screenshot of him punching against Bowser’s forward tilt. It is currently unknown how many hits Villager’s jab will have.

Like the Balloon Helmet, this is the one of the three fabricated moves never shown in any Animal Crossing game. This one can be explained as a nod to the NES Punch-Out! game playable in Animal Crossing. It doesn’t seem to reference Little Mac though, as the boxing gloves have only been shown as red instead of green. Either way, I would judge that this attack doesn’t rule out Little Mac’s possible appearance in Super Smash Bros. 4. In fact, it may just reinforce him appearing.

Up Tilt - Fireworks: Villager ducks as a fountain of fireworks blasts behind him. This was first shown during the Developer Direct.

Fireworks are displayed in the sky during special events. For example, after the countdown ends on New Year’s Eve, fireworks will go off until later in the morning. Some occasions in New Leaf allow for fireworks that explode in the image of patterns the player holds is available by talking to Isabelle, the dog secretary. The fireworks the Villager uses are analogous of the fountain firework introduced in New Leaf; they are outdoor placeable objects that can be bought before certain holidays.

Forward Tilt - Umbrella: Villager whips out an umbrella, unfolding it for a quick attack. This was first shown during the Developer Direct.

Umbrellas are equipable objects present in ever game since Dobutsu no Mori. They can be bought at the Able Sister’s shop. They can be considered nothing more than a fashion accessory, as they aren’t needed to interact with certain objects in the game like a net or shovel would. Although, they can be spun with the press of the A button.

The only umbrella pattern we’ve seen thus far is the paw umbrella. It is currently unknown if any other varieties of umbrella will appear.

Down Tilt - Weed Pull: Villager crouches and plucks a weed from under him. This was shown during the Developer Direct.

Weeds are plants that spawn daily. Their numbers are so scarce that they can be eradicated in one day. However, they will flourish if the player is inactive for long periods of time. Weeds spawning are exacerbated by ‘time-traveling’, where players reset the game clock to points other than their current day. Weeds are considered undesirable and are an indicator of towns owned by bored or inactive players.

Down Smash - Shovel: Villager digs holes in the ground with his shovel. Shown in the initial trailer and Developer Direct, this is a sweeping move that covers both sides of the Villager as he digs on hole forward then another behind him. Being hit by this move will plant opponents in the ground.

Shovels, like fishing rods, axes, and nets, are equipable tools appearing across all games in the series. When equipped, you can press the A button to dig a hole. You can bury objects or place plants in a hole. Cracks in the ground which contain fossils, pitfalls, and gyroids after days of precipitation, spawn in town daily. Shovels are required to access them.

Up Air & Down Air - Turnips: Villager holds out one (or more) turnip(s) above or below him. Revealed in the December 2nd Pic of the Day, the number of turnips used in every successive attack fluctuates and increases. The maximum number of turnips he can hold and what determines their number is unknown. Personally, I think this hints to a ‘day-night’ mechanic incorporated into these attacks. Imagine using the turnips on a stage such as Battlefield, where the time of day changes rapidly. The match obviously starts at the day phase, but come night, ‘shop’ closes and the number of turnips out changes. This resets when morning comes again. For stages stuck in certain times of day such as Wily’s Castle or New Mushroomy Kingdom, the number of turnips is fixed and never changes. Stages without clear times of day such as Wii Fit Gym may determine the number randomly.

Turnips are sold every Sunday morning by Sow Joan, who wanders around your town. You can ask for turnips in bunches of 10s. The price raises the more turnips you ask for. Although the turnip market is closes on Sundays, you have one week to sell turnips to characters such as Tom Nook in the other games or Reese in New Leaf at the given price for that day, which is a bet to see which price will yelled the highest Bell value. If you don’t sell your turnips within a week of purchase, they will rot, becoming worthless.

Back Air - Slingshot: Villager turns around and launches a pellet from his slingshot. The pellet travels in a horizontal line.

Slingshots are equipable tools that appear in Wild World. They are used to pop balloons carrying presents which occasionally appear flying across the sky. This is more convenient than I all games behind Animal Crossing, where the player would have to shake a tree in its path at the right moment to get the present.

Down Special - “Raise Tree”: Villager plants a sapling, waters it with a watering can where it grows into a tree, and chops it down wit two axe swings. The sapling can only be planted along any ground surface. While the move takes a lot of frames to go through each phase, the knockback from it looks intense. The aerial function of this move is unknown.

This move appears to have non-linear phases which can be used into each other at any time. This is evident in Rosalina & Luma’s reveal trailer, as the tree is shown alone without the Villager chopping it. We do not know if using the next phase of this move again after the previous one will do anything. My guess is that using the watering can away from the sapling is harmless. But using the axe away from the tree will. Additionally, the tree appears to despawn after a period of time or after a certain amount of damage by other players or hazards.

As highlighted in Villager’s Dash sapling attack, saplings are items which will grow into tree if they are planted in the ground.

Watering cans premiered in Wild World. Since flowers in this game wilt daily, you can pour water on them so they stay healthy the next day. If you plant two flowers of the same species of certain colors, a hybrid flower with a color that cannot be found in stores may spawn next to them.

Axes are equipable tools appearing throughout every game in the series. You can chop down trees with them, reducing them to a stump. To prevent deforestation, axes will wear out in three phases of chipping, shattering after the third.

Bowling Ball: Villager holds a bowling ball in his arms, dropping it below him. He can also walk with it. This move has been shown to be useful near ledges to counter recovering fighters or those below him.

This move has such a unique function that speculators, myself included, have found it hard to determine what kind of attack it is. The general consensus on its placement has been Down Special, Forward Tilt, or Forward Smash.

The forward motion would seem to indicate it corresponding to some forward motion, as Down Specials are typically still. The walking may be part of the charge animation when holding the Analog Stick for a Smash attack. This would make for a unique function to further differentiate the Villager from the rest of the cast. Although, if it were a Smash attack, the downward angle and range of the ball drop would make it most effective when extremely close to the Villager. Perhaps close enough to grapple. Otherwise, there are other purposes for this item we may not know about yet. Can it be thrown? Can you roll it across the floor? Sakurai has kept awfully quiet about this move.

Despite all this speculation, maybe this move doesn’t map to anything we know. It maybe a hint to the “character customization” feature Sakurai intended to implement into this installment of the Smash series. If we drop all the above conclusions, we may have clarification of the first interchangeable move.

The bowling ball, like the two NES referential items, was never used in an Animal Crossing game. If you want to try and make sense out of it, sports balls can be found randomly in town daily in Animal Crossing. The player can move at this ball, rolling it farther the harder you hit. Although the density and weight of a bowling ball would be a bad choice for that. There is a piece of furniture that are bowling pins. But never bowling balls.

So those are all the confirmed moves. The other parts of his moveset are unknown. I purport that they will gradually be revealed by daily updates or footage from the game. But being an avid Animal Crossing fan, there are some items and actions from the games that I think would be nifty when incorporated into the Villager’s fighting style.

Ledge - Toy Hammer: Villager climbs back on stage with one hand and flings forward a toy hammer in the other. It makes a squeaky spring sound on hit.

Toy hammers are found in New Leaf as items for sale on the tropical island. They are used in the Hammer Tour series, where you chase around a vehicular automation of Cornimer’s head for points. Like nets, you can also beat up animal villagers with them. The hit is quicker, but they will become angry or sad within three hits nonetheless.

Floor - Sparkler: Villager grinds the tip of a sparkler across the floor seconds after he rises up, setting it alight. It first hits forward before hitting backward.

Sparklers and Roman candles are celebratory items similar in effect to fireworks. When equipped, the player can press A to set off the sparkler and watch it spark away. They are sold at the Nooklings’ at a period before certain holidays such as the Fireworks Festival or can be received by the plaza during those events by Isabelle or Crazy Redd.

Pummel - Net Pump: Villager jerks back the pole of his net.
Not much to say about this other than it would be another fabricated move. Or it could be like when he pulls back the net after a catch.

Forward Throw & Back Throw - Fishing Rod: Villager switches his net with a fishing rod, hooking the opponent and swinging them around once before throwing them either forward or behind him. The opponent could be used as a meatshield to block incoming attacks, but will probably interrupt the throw animation.

Fishing rods have been in every game since Dobutsu no Mori. Like shovels and nets, they are needed to interact with objects within rivers, ponds, or the ocean. You can catch fish by throwing your bobber in the water, waiting for their shadow to sink them, and tapping the A button to reel them in.

Up Throw - Bubble Wand: Villager takes a bubble wand and blows a bubble under the opponent which envelopes them. They are sent drifting into the air for a limited time before it pops, causing damage. The speed of the bubble scales with the weight of the character trapped. This move also sets up potential for air combos and makes KOing high damage characters more concise.

Bubble wands are special items gained after you get a certain number of StreetPass tags in New Leaf. It is obtained after talking visitors to your Happy Home Showcase. When equipped, the player can blow bubbles by pressing the A button or use the 3DS microphone to blow through it.

Down Throw - Coconut: Villager takes out a coconut from overhead and bashes it over the opponent’s head.

Coconuts are special fruit that can only be grown by the shore or on the sand. They would occasionally wash up ashore or can be obtained by shaking their trees on the island in games like Dobutsu no Mori or Animal Crossing. They grow in bunches of two unlike deciduous fruit trees. The manner the Villager would use it as an attack is a slapstick gag.

Up Smash - Party Popper: Villager holds up a party popper and pulls the string back, causing it to pop in a burst of confetti.

Party poppers are celebratory items sold during the period of time before certain special events or can be obtained by talking to special characters by the plaza during said events. In New Leaf, party poppers are handed out to the animals and players attending community project completion ceremonies, where the player pops theirs followed by the others. These are equipped for the segment regardless of inventory space.

Forward Smash - Megaphone: Villager takes out a megaphone and yells an amplified blurb of Animalese in his direction.
Introduced in New Leaf, the megaphone can be found at the Nooklings’ starting at the T&T Mart upgrade. When equipped, the player can hold the A button and speak the name of a certain character in hopes of locating them. When calling out animal villagers on screen, they will do a greeting animation to indicate the friendship level of that animal with the player. Using the megaphone pointed directly against an animal villager will cause them to get upset.

Animalese is a fictional ‘language’ heard when speaking to other characters. The tone used by certain characters changes by gender, pitch, and mood amongst other factors. It is actually a synthesized text-to-speech program which enunciates letters and syllables in a very exaggerated manner. Listen to it closely and you may be able to discern a few words of your corresponding language. In New Leaf, when speaking to other player characters in the Happy Home Showcase, male and female human characters have a distinct tone of Animalese not hear from animal characters.

Neutral Air - Axe Swing: Villager spins his axe around him while airborne. This move would be weak enough to take consecutive hits before chopping his tree.

I covered the axe in the Down Special “Raise Tree”, but I suppose this has a more sinister purpose for it. In fact, if you swing the axe at an animal villager in a certain range, you can bounce off of them. Though they don’t feel anything.

Forward Air - Bells Pouch: Villager whips out a pouch full of Bells and smacks it in front of him. The duration of this attack would make it useful for comboing and pressuring airborne opponents. It functions in a similar manner to the Turnip attacks in that the thickness of the pouch changes. And with that thickness, the damage changes. The way to go about what determines pouch size could be the ‘worth’ of the item he has stored in his Collect or the damage inflicted or taken in a short spurt after every time he used the pouch.

Bells are the currency of the Animal Crossing series. Depending on the size of Bells stored in inventory, their icon would change. For every one, a number displaying the value which would increase digits with higher amounts is displayed to the bottom right. Under 100 Bells, the icon would appear as a star-crested coin. But in the older games, this amount would be displayed in a very thin, stringy pouch. 1,000 or above, the icon would be a small pouch of Bells. 10,000 Bells or above and the icon would be a fat pouch. The maximum number of Bells in one pouch is 99,999. You can hold more than 100,000 by having more than one Bell pouch in your inventory.

Last, but certainly not least, are the different ideas for Villager’s Final Smash. The iconicity or authenticity of what Final Smash he would use would really depend. Here’s a few ideas I’ve seen around his boards with some personal input:

Final Smash!

Swarm of Bees:

Sudden buzzing so deafening that it lowers the music volume fills the background of the stage. Villager does the Shock emote and runs off screen. A swarm of bees then appear for a limited time. The bees’ method of attack could work in either one of these ways:

-Similar to Snake’s Final Smash, a swarm cloud appears close to the edge of the screen. You move the control stick to guide the bees, traveling in a line, to whatever point in the stage you please. For the first few seconds of animation after the swarm cloud appears, the bees do not touch anywhere on the stage, as they are traveling. But once they do hit, the hitbox around their swarm will be medium range and the sensitivity of movements makes for a slight delay in movement for the bees, allowing them to ‘fluctuate’ from where they previously were for a few seconds. When touching the opponent or breakable objects or hazards, they will take consecutive damage and are suspended in hitstun enough to carry them slightly anywhere in the stage.

-A cloud swarm of medium range flies to the point where the Villager last was. It moves as fast as the medium duration phases of Pikachu’s Bolt Tackle. A slight trial of bees will follow the swarm as they move due to the fluctuation effect posted above. When touching the opponent or breakable objects or hazards, they will take consecutive damage and are suspended in hitstun enough to carry them slightly anywhere in the stage. Additionally, the bees can drop small concentrations of themselves for a few seconds with the press of the attack button. They can also launch bees out from their swarm by tilting the control stick and pressing the attack button. After their duration ends, they will fly back to the swarm. However, both of these moves will shrink the size of the swarm.

Cosmetic Effects: After being attacked, red bruises and boils appear along the skin layers of the character for a period of time. Also, whenever the bees make contact with other characters, a scratching sound similar to those in Animal Crossing is heard. With the stereoscopic 3D effect, the bees would have some interesting depth.

Shaking trees will drop Bells, seasonal insects, and even two pieces of furniture that lay within the trees randomly everyday. However, some trees will drop a beehive, ensuing a swarm of bees chasing you. You can either run indoors or catch them at the right moment with a net. Getting stung by the swarm will put a porous boil over your character’s right eye. Talking to animal villagers after this happens will make them respond with shock, insults, or even medicine if you are close enough friends with said villager. The sting effect can be alleviated with medicine or saving and quitting.

Throughout the Animal Crossing series, bees have been modeled after the Japanese giant hornet (suzumebachi, roughly translates to, ‘sparrow bee’) because their size have made them mistaken for sparrows when flying. They have notoriety in Japan and surrounding climates their extreme predatory behavior and painful neurotoxin in their sting which destroy blood tissue. It is estimate that 30 doses of venom from their stings is enough to make an adult human drop dead. Just think of how much swarms the Villager can be stung by in a day…

Mortgage Payment:

Villager does a little dance to the mortgage payment jingle before pumping his fist in celebration as a fully-expanded home falls from above next to him and will lay on the stage for a limited time. A picket fence, cobbles, and mailbox will pop up from under it as a visual effect. The nature of this Final Smash makes it nearly ineffective on scrolling stages such as New Mushroomy Kingdom.

The full-sized house will be a little smaller than Luigi’s Mansion. Four destructible outside walls will be divided by the top and bottom of both sides. If the top left wall is destroyed, the left roof will cave in. If the top right wall is destroyed, the right roof will cave in. If you break them, you can go inside the room next to the wall. Once inside, the interior of the house will fade, showing the four interior rooms via cross section. Each room has a different set, which may contain certain pieces of furniture to use as items. Here are some examples:

-Blue Set: Blue wallpaper and blue carpet. Blue benches, tables, beds, sofas, etc. lay within the room. Some of them can be stood on as destructible platforms.
-Japanese Set: Shoji wallpaper and tatami floor. A hearth, samurai armor, bow & arrow, black & white katanas, blue & pink kotatsus, etc. lay inside as destructible objects with kotatsus serving as platforms. Samurai arrow is a heavy throwable object. Bow and arrow functions as a one-shot item. Katanas can be wield, hitting a few times before breaking.
-Outdoors Set: Fence wall and grass lawn carpet. Flamingo statues, picnic table, lawnmower, swimming pool, insect zapper, etc. lay in the room and can be destroyed. Picnic table is a destructible platform. Flamingo statues and insect zapper are light throwable objects with the zapper having an electric attack effect. Lawnmower is a heavy throwable object that detonates on impact. Swimming pool can be stood in.

-If the house falls over a ledge, certain moving platforms, or huge stage hazards, it will split down the middle. For example, if Villager drops the house on the right ledge of Final Destination, the left side of the house will stay intact while the right drops below. The rooms are still enterable from the right as it is torn open, but destroying either wall will cause the roof to crush the house. Additionally, the picket fence, cobbles, and mailbox will only spawn with a full house and will fade away with full destruction or it puffing away from the time limit.
The player’s house is a fundamental part of Animal Crossing. This is where the player can decorate their personal living space, save the game from Dobutsu no Mori to Wild World, and expand new rooms via Bell payments to the Post Office ATM. The initial loan is a cost the player must make up to Tom Nook the first time they start the game, considering they have insufficient funds to initially pay it off. The four rooms and their arrangements for the Final Smash version are not the layout of the fully expanded homes in Wild World and New Leaf. Instead, that would be a large main floor with three large floors on the left, right, and back walls, a large basement, and a large upstairs.

Furniture series are common across all Animal Crossing games. Some of these sets are more expensive or can only be obtained through special events. You can use all furniture in a set or use a specific piece from them to match the theme of your room. Having a full set is thought to yield a high HRA score.

Pull in Train:

Villager jumps off screen. From his side of the stage, a beam of light will become brighter in a few seconds as a train horn blows. A train then runs horizontally across his direction, knocking back anything in its path and destroying any breakable objects or hazards. Villager then hops out of the caboose. If this Final Smash is even possible to pull off on Spirit Train, I wonder what it would do. Supersede all other objects on the track as it moves?

Every Animal Crossing game has a method of transportation where the player gets to their town and other through. Dobutsu no Mori through Animal Crossing had steam engine trains. Wild World had a cab driven by Kapp’n, New Leaf had a shuttle bus. New Leaf brings back the train, albeit a modern design.

Golden Inventory:

Villager glows with a golden aura that glints off his body. All of his attacks using the above items are now Golden and do increased attack with some having bonus effects. All of his other attacks become very fast and have increased attack power. His general speed and attack power receive a massive boost, as well as the Villager having super armor for the limited time his Final Smash is active.

Axe Swing & Raise Tree: Increased damage and faster animation. Watering can will do some damage. Tree will be slightly wider and taller with golden leaves. One axe chop takes it down with the axe doing increased damage.
Slingshot: Three high-speed pellets fire. Each will travel diagonally up, straight, and diagonally down.
Shovel: A glowing ray of light will come out from the hole, doing damage before opponents are caught. It’s a reference to the glowing spot to plant money trees in Animal Crossing.
Fishing Rod: The animation is quicker and does more knockback.
Net & Net Pump: Increased damage and faster animation.
Bell Pouch: Is set to maximum thickness along with faster animation and increased damage.
Turnips: Is set to maximum number along with faster animation and increased damage.
Golden tools are the highest degree of tools within the Animal Crossing series. Each tool in the set has different methods of obtaining them, most of which vary from each game. The tools may be merely cosmetic to show for a player accomplishment (Golden Net and Fishing Rod are for catching one of each bug and fish respectively.) Although, others have a special affect for their usefulness. Golden Watering Cans pour in an arc to cover more flowers. Using it on a wilted black rose is the only way to create a golden rose.

Empty Inventory:

While there’s no picture to explain this one, it’s rather easy to imagine. Villager struggles to empty his pocket for a brief moment, then starts to empty them at a fast rate for a limited time. Random items will come out from the Villager’s pocket with 1 second between each item. The emptying is the same as the emptying animation of his Collect; it’s constant and cannot be cancelled. Every item he draws vary in rarity, weight, and arc.

1/10: Whatever Villager currently has stores in his Collect, Sapling, bowling ball, turnip, Bells pouch, fruit, balloon (floats up, breakable), slingshot pellet (fires straight), paper airplane (glides shortly), twig, toy hammer, sparkler, party popper, small bubble (floats upward, breakable), weed with dirt-ingrained roots
3/10: Pitfall, a bomb from Toad’s Woods, Lloid, Sandbag, umbrella, axe, megaphone, fireworks canon (launches a firework before shooting back from the force of the blast)
5/10: Tables, chairs, cabinets, benches, desks, lamps, sofas, lamps, wall lamps, beds, dressers from any of the traditional sets found in the home of the Mortgage Payment Final Smash. All of these appear as leafs before making contact with the ground.

Stats

Please note that all these stats are not official and are estimated based off of observation of in-game footage. Figures are based off of recorded character stats collected from Super Smash Bros. Brawl.

Speed: 279 walk, 208 run according to this, 0.94 in air according to this
Height: Between Ton Link and Wario according to this
Weight: 0.960, Light Class
Jumps: Double
Traction: 0.51 according to this
Range: Low to Average

Tune in next week as I cover more sides of the Villager. Some things I have in mind are miscellaneous animations and effects, projective matchups, alt. costumes, and maybe some other things too. If you have a suggestion for topics you think should be covered or researched, please leave your suggestion in this thread.

See you next week, Smash brethren!

 

[The Real Gamer]

The amount of content that goes into these is pretty staggering... Great work as usual Venus.

 

[Staarih]

Great text! Some might argue that Lucario was shown today because of Brawl's anniversary though (thus revealing a Brawl veteran), and I think Sakurai even made a comment about it. So maybe Lucario's reveal didn't completely come out of the blue.

 

[Venus of the Desert Bloom]

Great text! Some might argue that Lucario was shown today because of Brawl's anniversary though (thus revealing a Brawl veteran), and I think Sakurai even made a comment about it. So maybe Lucario's reveal didn't completely come out of the blue.

Wow, missed that! I am adding that in now!

I would like to bring Captain Hotcakes Villager into the spotlight. A lot of work went into the analysis and, for one, I am very impressed. Good job, Captain Hotcakes!

 

[AEMehr]

On Lucario's special list, the image for Aura Sphere is incorrect.

Also, the speculated Mega-Evolution animation is actually Lucario's Up Taunt from Brawl.
Anyways, this is a really well made topic! I anticipate reading more of these as the weeks go by.

 

[Venus of the Desert Bloom]

On Lucario's special list, the image for Aura Sphere is incorrect.

Also, the speculated Mega-Evolution animation is actually Lucario's Up Taunt from Brawl.
Anyways, this is a really well made topic! I anticipate reading more of these as the weeks go by.

Added and edited. I appreciate the heads up!

 

[8-peacock-8]

Wasn't expecting to get tagged so many times. Awesome.

 

[FalKoopa]

Wow, Captain Hotcakes write-up is massive. And good work as always, Venus. I'd suggest the admins to make this thread appear on the Smashboards homepage or Facebook page.

 

[Frostwraith]

I'm really liking this series of articles. Keep up the good job, Venus!

 

[Venus of the Desert Bloom]

Thanks everyone! I am glad everyone enjoys the new additions!

 

[Vintage Creep]

My God at that Villager article. Just how did you manage to find all that information about him.
Anyway, a very nice week overall, alternating useless updates to unexpected updates (we got a new item, a new stage and a new character).

 

[N3ON]

Great read as always Venus (and the other authors), looking forward to next week!

This was a pretty awesome week as far reveals go. And as far as Sakurai stepping up his trolling game too.

 

[Muster]

Wow, the villager article is outstanding! I can't wait to see info on Mega man

 

[Baskerville]

Wow, good stuff to you guys for this. I really appreciate the time and effort here.

 

[Mario & Sonic Guy]

Is there any chance that I can compose an article that could potentially be used for the later Week in Review issues? I was hoping that I could do one for Rosalina & Luma, as I have been trying to keep tabs on their movesets and other things.

 

[Substitution]

Honestly, I see the fireworks being more on an up-smash. Just feels too powerful to be an up-tilt...

 

[AEMehr]

Oh, the Villager write-up is missing the actual Up tilt. Which is Villager flailing a stick above his head. The Fireworks are definitely his Up Smash.

 

[NintendoKnight]

I'm loving these articles. I'm honestly looking forward to the next one.

Oh, the Villager write-up is missing the actual Up tilt. Which is Villager flailing a stick above his head. The Fireworks are definitely his Up Smash.

Actually, Villager crouches down before using the Fireworks.

 

[AEMehr]

I'm loving these articles. I'm honestly looking forward to the next one.



Actually, Villager crouches down before using the Fireworks.

Well this is interesting.
What the heck is it then????

 

[NintendoKnight]

Well this is interesting.
What the heck is it then????

I have no freaking idea.

Between the shovel, bowling ball, fireworks, and planting the tree, I have effectively given up on trying to figure out how the Villager plays.

 

[SmashShadow]

I'm loving these articles. I'm honestly looking forward to the next one.



Actually, Villager crouches down before using the Fireworks.

Couldn't it have been triggered with the second analog stick (C-stick on Gamecube controllers)?

 

[Venus of the Desert Bloom]

Is there any chance that I can compose an article that could potentially be used for the later Week in Review issues? I was hoping that I could do one for Rosalina & Luma, as I have been trying to keep tabs on their movesets and other things.

I was actually going to contact you about doing a Rosalina and Luma analysis for when the time comes. As well as help contribute to any Rosalina update

 

[Mario & Sonic Guy]

I was actually going to contact you about doing a Rosalina and Luma analysis for when the time comes. As well as help contribute to any Rosalina update

I'll be on it when it's time to make the article. I will need to know when you need me to start making the Rosalina article though, as I do know that Mega Man and Wii Fit Trainer will need to be taken care of first.

 

[Ryan.]

Love reading these, great job. It was a great week for updates.

 

[BluePikmin11]

This is a great interview and issue, I may keep track of these week in review issues now.

 

[ndayday]

These things are incredible. It would be great to look back on these in a couple years too since a lot of pre-release hype gets forgotten.

Anyway, I loved the Lucario reveal. It's the most hyped I've been since E3 in terms of Smash and I actually kind of hate him as a character. I can't say I thought he would get cut since he's a pretty popular Pokemon but at the same time we have Mewtwo and it wasn't completely clear whether we'd get a 5th or 6th gen rep. I like this though. Zoroark felt like a failed Lucario to me and nothing sticks out in my head for 6th gen. Simply, it just came out of nowhere.

Also, I might consider uploading all these images to imgur (basic account requires 1 image view/6 months to stay up) or tinypic with an account (otherwise the url is recycled after 3 months and you end up with images of selfies on your post). Miiverse (cloudfront) should be safe but I'm not sure about tumblr and 4chan archives.

 

[Venus of the Desert Bloom]

That's a good idea. I'll look into doing that! It would be a shame to lose these.

 

[Superyoshiom]

I found very part of this issue thorough and satisfying.

 

[---]

I'd be willing to do a Megaman analysis if you'd like Venus.

I've been wanting to expand upon some previous posts I've made.

 

[Ulti-Bman]

Incredible. Hopefully, after mods get their chance, you could interview lower-status members like me, for example? Anyways, I had loads of fun reading this and I hope this thread becomes even livelier! To put it shortly, I felt that Monday's update was good for specification, but we didn't really learn much new. The Beetle item sounds awesome, and I look forward to using it in my less-serious matches with my younger siblings! The Palutena update was meh to me, but the prospect of a Kid Icarus stage for Wii U is cool. I think it's supposed to represent the NES version. Nintendo's update wasn't as revolutionary as I imagined, but it's a step in the right direction for my #1 gaming company and I feel they'll get out of this pit they've dug themselves into. The Pit and Link info was cool because it was something I never knew about personally and it's nice to see Sakurai paying such attention to details and mechanics. Lucario is my second favorite Pokémon (Snorlax is first) so today's update was definitely exciting for me, especially since I thought Lucario may have been replaced by Mewtwo. On further expection though, I realized that it's very easy for both to coexist in the same game, so two awesome Pokémon can join, possibly! Overall, a great week as opposed to the okay last week. Thanks so much for taking your time to make this!

 

[Substitution]

I'm loving these articles. I'm honestly looking forward to the next one.



Actually, Villager crouches down before using the Fireworks.

Probably the start-up animation.

 

[Venus of the Desert Bloom]

A reminder that if you'd like to write/co-write an article such as a pic of the day, please PM me!

 

[Gunla]

Certainly quite some interesting reads here. Can't wait for the next issue!

 

[Jumpman84]

Good articles, I really liked them. But there was one thing that really bugged me...

Of course, there could be other reasons as to why Lucario was revealed such as:

1) Game Freak telling Sakurai to do that
2) Nintendo and Game Freak telling Sakurai to do that
3) Sakurai doing it himself and giving no ****s

Why does everyone think that Game Freak is responsible for what Pokemon characters are shown? They're just the developers of the main games. The Pokemon Company is in charge of the franchise and the Pokemon themselves and are far more likely to have control over the Pokemon content in games like Smash Bros. Sakurai even specifically mentioned working with them in regards to Pokemon content, not Game Freak.

Just the one minor nitpick and it's not just you. A lot of people assume Game Freak is a master puppeteer, controlling Sakurai's Pokemon content. But it just doesn't make sense. Only the stages that come from main series games and/or human NPCs would make sense for that.

​

 

[Venus of the Desert Bloom]

Good articles, I really liked them. But there was one thing that really bugged me...

What bugged you exactly?

 

[Jumpman84]

What bugged you exactly?

Sorry, my laptop somehow hit the post button before I could finish writing. It's fixed now.

 

[Venus of the Desert Bloom]

That's interesting. I'll look into that. But people believe due to a lack of Pokemon content (aside from Lucario), that it could be due to Gane Freak or, as you said, the Pokemon Company.

Likewise, I was just presenting several opinions that are popular. I wasn't subscribing to a particular theory. Just presenting what I see and read; even if it's not 100% correct. Do you mind if I add what you wrote to that section?

 

[Jumpman84]

That's interesting. I'll look into that. But people believe due to a lack of Pokemon content (aside from Lucario), that it could be due to Gane Freak or, as you said, the Pokemon Company.

Likewise, I was just presenting several opinions that are popular. I wasn't subscribing to a particular theory. Just presenting what I see and read; even if it's not 100% correct. Do you mind if I add what you wrote to that section?

Not a problem at all. And I'm sorry if it seemed like I was being rude or attacking you. I can understand people believing that Game Freak was responsible. And I believe that Game Freak COULD have asked Sakurai to not reveal a newcomer for Pokemon X and Y's release. In fact, Lucario's recent reveal is not an advertisement for a game, but links to the official Pokemon website, supporting that they may not want to advertise X and Y with Smash.

However, Pokemon content itself, such as characters and PokeBall Pokemon, is more likely to be tied to The Pokemon Company. This company was founded in 1998 and is responsible for marketing and licensing the franchise. It's international branch, in particular, was known for creating controversy with various Pokemon media. Originally, the TCG and anime dub were handled by Wizards of the Coast and 4Kids, respectively. This was because the company was fairly new and didn't have its international branches yet. When the first branch, Pokemon USA, was formed, they reclaimed control over the franchises after those contracts ended. Granted, this was only in the US, but to me, it seems to establish a trend of The Pokemon Company wanting to be more hands on with how Pokemon is run around the world.

Sorry for rambling on, I didn't mean to start a whole discussion about it. Here are some more articles. The first is The Pokemon Company releasing a Pokedex app for ipads and such. The second is Sakurai's remarks on choosing Pokemon for the games.

http://www.ign.com/articles/2012/12/10/official-pokedex-app-coming-to-ios

http://www.nowgamer.com/news/1970393/pokemon_in_super_smash_bros_how_theyre_selected.html