WritersBlah
Smash Journeyman
So...I'm not sure if this would go under the Stage Discussion forum or not, but it seemed more geared towards discussing potential new stages. I would personally like to discuss only stages that have already been confirmed through official announcements, and how likely they are to be used in the tournament scene. I'll go ahead and post all the currently confirmed Wii U stages, and will update this post accordingly as we get new confirmations. Note: if you wish to discuss the potential legality of the 3DS stages, please do so in this thread: http://smashboards.com/threads/stage-legality-speculations.353426/
Stage List
Battlefield
Speculated Legality Status: Starter
Reasoning: Do I really need to give one? It's arguably the most neutral stage in all of the Smash games to date; to argue any other status would be highly unorthodox.
Final Destination (and its variants)
Speculated Legality Status: Starter
Reasoning: Like Battlefield, it's been a starter stage in every Smash game to date. It does favor characters with a good ground game or campy projectiles, but most matchups here are usually pretty fair overall. The variations of Final Destination, as seen in the For Glory mode, seem to have a few non-aesthetic differences like size and blast zone areas, but we'll really need to see these in action before we can really give a definitive answer, though my guess is that they'll probably all be legal starters as well.
Boxing Ring
Speculated Legality Status: Banned/Counterpick
Reasoning: Here's an interesting stage. Judging by the gameplay footage we've seen thus far, it looks like it'll be a very large horizontal stage, so characters with strong vertical finishers seem like they'll have a bit of an advantage. The ropes bordering the main stage also have some interesting properties, giving characters who jump off of them a higher jump, though I'm not entirely sure how much this'll affect a match. It also appears to be a walkoff, so that may be something going against its tournament viability. Overall, there are quite a few elements at work here which may change the game up a bit too much. I'd personally like to advocate for giving it a trial run at the beginning of the tournament scene, but odds are in favor of this one getting a ban.
Mario Galaxy
Speculated Legality Status: Banned/Counterpick
Reasoning: A walkoff with wonky gravity physics? Seems like a pretty early ban to me. However, we don't know how exactly the gravity will play into matches, so there may be hope for this stage yet.
Skyloft
Speculated Legality Status: Counterpick
Reasoning: Structurally, this stage seems nearly identical to Brawl's Delfino Plaza, a traditionally counterpicked stage. Depending on how the stage transformations play out, it could end up falling into starter or even banned categories, though both options seem a bit unlikely.
Pyrosphere
Speculated Legality Status: Counterpick/Banned
Reasoning: The layout of this stage seems pretty balanced, offering different height ranges with the three platform tiers and pretty large blastzones in both axes. It is pretty large however, so characters with a good ground game or full-screen projectiles might have an advantage here. What may throw this stage into banned territory however, is the much-talked about stage boss. We haven't seen any of the boss in action, so it could range from being an easily avoidable stage hazard to a game breaking menace. We'll need some more footage before we can say for sure.Also hoping the boss isn't Ridley.
Halberd
Speculated Legality Status: Counterpick/Banned
Reasoning: It's Halberd from Brawl. It was a counterpick there, it'll probably be a counterpick here. I heavily doubt any of the new characters will really cause the stage to play too much in their favor, so it's counterpick status seems pretty solidified. However, there have been some talks regarding potentially banning this stage in Brawl due to its hazards in the second half of the stage cycle, so if that ban goes through, it could potentially carry over into this game. Please stay posted for further developments.
Kalos Pokémon League
Speculated Legality Status: Starter/Counterpick
Reasoning: We don't know an awful lot about this stage, but if I had to guess, it looks like it's gonna be a transforming stage like the previous two Pokémon stages, but unlike Pokémon Stadium 2, the transformations we've seen look much less divisive in terms of fairness and consistency, matching or even surpassing the overall neutrality of Pokémon Stadium from Melee. All things considered, it looks like it's pretty safe tournament-wise.
Palutena's Temple
Speculated Legality Status: Banned
Reasoning: This looks like Smash 4's answer to Temple from Melee and New Pork City from Brawl.Heck, the name "Temple" is in the bloody title! Overly expansive, cavernous stages like these are usually among the first stages to be banned from tournaments, and I heavily doubt this one has anything going for it competitively.
Garden of Hope
Speculated Legality Status: Counterpick/Banned
Reasoning: This one looks like it's going to be pretty controversial throughout the community. Blast zones are present in all four directions, but it is pretty big, and some of the platforms look like they could promote some pretty bad camping. Then again, there's nothing particularly game-breaking here. I imagine this stage's legality will be heavily dependent on individual TOs' discretion. I'd personally have it as a legal counterpick, but some matches here may prove otherwise.
Town & City
Speculated Legality Status: Starter
Reasoning: Oh, look! It's a reverse Battlefield! Actually, not really. The side platforms on this stage will be moving horizontally, a la Smashville. Also, the City transformation removes the center platform. Depending on how it's removed, it could prove to either be harmless like in Fountain of Dreams or a potential (but dangerous) method if getting some vertical KOs during the transition. All things considered though, this looks like it's gonna be a pretty safe starter. The transformations don't seem very game-breaking, and any stage hazards being present seems extremely unlikely. Looks like a sure-fire starter in my book.
Wii Fit Studio
Speculated Legality Status: Banned
Reasoning: It's a large, flat, walkoff stage with a few moving platforms (not pictured above.) There's too much that can go wrong with any walkoff stage, and if camping on Bridge of Eldin was easy, this one's gonna be a nightmare.
Pilotwings
Speculated Legality Status: Starter/Counterpick
Reasoning: This is a relatively simple stage with a few minor tilting transformations akin to Lylat Cruise in Brawl. As a relatively simple stage that basically looks like Final Destination mixed with Lylat Cruise, it seems like it's probably gonna be a starter. There are some elements such as planes moving which interrupt grabs that may lean this stage more in the favor of counterpick status, but we'll honestly need some more footage before we can say for sure.
Windy Hill
Speculated Legality Status: Counterpick/Banned
Reasoning: I...I...I have no idea what to think about this one. I've heard it might have some gravity gimmick like Mario Galaxy, but it's not a walkoff. But it has rotating platforms in the top-right corner that lead off into the blast zone. And there's two rotating springs near the bottom. Against my better judgment, I'd say it'll probably end up getting banned, but I think it might be worth a try first.
Wily's Castle
Speculated Legality Status: Banned/Counterpick
Reasoning: In all blunt honesty, this stage looks like it'd be amazing to play on. There's some moving platforms that might encourage camping, but there's a hole in the zip line that causes it to temporarily flip downwards, a la Gutsman's stage. With these elements at hand, this could make for a very fun tournament stage that doesn't cater too heavily to any one type of character. However, there is the matter of the Yellow Devil...and this is the point that I feel will cause many TO's to ban it. Number one, it's a pretty large stage hazard, and number two, killing it gives a huge advantage to the player who landed the final blow, which can throw a competitive match out of balance. It makes me really sad, because this stage looks amazing otherwise, but I feel this one will probably end up getting banned, unless Yellow Devil proves to not have that large of an affect on the match.
Mushroom Kingdom U
Speculated Legality Status: Counterpick/Banned
Reasoning: Oh man, I hope those hazards aren't as bad as they look...speaking from a design perspective, this stage looks to be made with a medium-sized competitive stage layout in mind. Platform placement is good, and it doesn't look like it favors horizontal or vertical killers, and the platforms' spacing looks like they're just far apart enough that attacks like Marth's up Smash won't reach the platform above him. Honestly, at first, this seems like a shoe-in as a counterpick. What really worries me though, are two things. One, in the first transformation, we have Super Mario World blocks. They look solid, unless they function like how they do in Yoshi's Island (Pipes) from Melee, and even then, it could be a potential problem. Heck, they could do that whole shrink & enlarge shtick from SMW as well. And in the second transformation, we have that spiky enemy. Damage/knockback power is unknown, but judging by his size alone, he seems like a problem. And this is just my guess, but it looks like he'll be bouncing between the water jets. That alone could land a ban on the entire stage.
Coliseum
Speculated Legality Status: Banned/Counterpick
Reasoning: Is this a walkoff? It looks like it, so that's already got it teetering in the banned category...according to Sakurai's post, there's going to be some platforms that sporadically appear throughout the stage, so this is essentially a much larger Wii Fit Studio (though I'm sure the platform orientations won't be exactly the same.) Even so, that doesn't really change anything in the long run, so unless this stage ends up not being a walkoff as this camera angle suggests, then this is a definite ban.
Stage List
Battlefield
Speculated Legality Status: Starter
Reasoning: Do I really need to give one? It's arguably the most neutral stage in all of the Smash games to date; to argue any other status would be highly unorthodox.
Final Destination (and its variants)
Speculated Legality Status: Starter
Reasoning: Like Battlefield, it's been a starter stage in every Smash game to date. It does favor characters with a good ground game or campy projectiles, but most matchups here are usually pretty fair overall. The variations of Final Destination, as seen in the For Glory mode, seem to have a few non-aesthetic differences like size and blast zone areas, but we'll really need to see these in action before we can really give a definitive answer, though my guess is that they'll probably all be legal starters as well.
Boxing Ring
Speculated Legality Status: Banned/Counterpick
Reasoning: Here's an interesting stage. Judging by the gameplay footage we've seen thus far, it looks like it'll be a very large horizontal stage, so characters with strong vertical finishers seem like they'll have a bit of an advantage. The ropes bordering the main stage also have some interesting properties, giving characters who jump off of them a higher jump, though I'm not entirely sure how much this'll affect a match. It also appears to be a walkoff, so that may be something going against its tournament viability. Overall, there are quite a few elements at work here which may change the game up a bit too much. I'd personally like to advocate for giving it a trial run at the beginning of the tournament scene, but odds are in favor of this one getting a ban.
Mario Galaxy
Speculated Legality Status: Banned/Counterpick
Reasoning: A walkoff with wonky gravity physics? Seems like a pretty early ban to me. However, we don't know how exactly the gravity will play into matches, so there may be hope for this stage yet.
Skyloft
Speculated Legality Status: Counterpick
Reasoning: Structurally, this stage seems nearly identical to Brawl's Delfino Plaza, a traditionally counterpicked stage. Depending on how the stage transformations play out, it could end up falling into starter or even banned categories, though both options seem a bit unlikely.
Pyrosphere
Speculated Legality Status: Counterpick/Banned
Reasoning: The layout of this stage seems pretty balanced, offering different height ranges with the three platform tiers and pretty large blastzones in both axes. It is pretty large however, so characters with a good ground game or full-screen projectiles might have an advantage here. What may throw this stage into banned territory however, is the much-talked about stage boss. We haven't seen any of the boss in action, so it could range from being an easily avoidable stage hazard to a game breaking menace. We'll need some more footage before we can say for sure.
Halberd
Speculated Legality Status: Counterpick/Banned
Reasoning: It's Halberd from Brawl. It was a counterpick there, it'll probably be a counterpick here. I heavily doubt any of the new characters will really cause the stage to play too much in their favor, so it's counterpick status seems pretty solidified. However, there have been some talks regarding potentially banning this stage in Brawl due to its hazards in the second half of the stage cycle, so if that ban goes through, it could potentially carry over into this game. Please stay posted for further developments.
Kalos Pokémon League
Speculated Legality Status: Starter/Counterpick
Reasoning: We don't know an awful lot about this stage, but if I had to guess, it looks like it's gonna be a transforming stage like the previous two Pokémon stages, but unlike Pokémon Stadium 2, the transformations we've seen look much less divisive in terms of fairness and consistency, matching or even surpassing the overall neutrality of Pokémon Stadium from Melee. All things considered, it looks like it's pretty safe tournament-wise.
Palutena's Temple
Speculated Legality Status: Banned
Reasoning: This looks like Smash 4's answer to Temple from Melee and New Pork City from Brawl.
Garden of Hope
Speculated Legality Status: Counterpick/Banned
Reasoning: This one looks like it's going to be pretty controversial throughout the community. Blast zones are present in all four directions, but it is pretty big, and some of the platforms look like they could promote some pretty bad camping. Then again, there's nothing particularly game-breaking here. I imagine this stage's legality will be heavily dependent on individual TOs' discretion. I'd personally have it as a legal counterpick, but some matches here may prove otherwise.
Town & City
Speculated Legality Status: Starter
Reasoning: Oh, look! It's a reverse Battlefield! Actually, not really. The side platforms on this stage will be moving horizontally, a la Smashville. Also, the City transformation removes the center platform. Depending on how it's removed, it could prove to either be harmless like in Fountain of Dreams or a potential (but dangerous) method if getting some vertical KOs during the transition. All things considered though, this looks like it's gonna be a pretty safe starter. The transformations don't seem very game-breaking, and any stage hazards being present seems extremely unlikely. Looks like a sure-fire starter in my book.
Wii Fit Studio
Speculated Legality Status: Banned
Reasoning: It's a large, flat, walkoff stage with a few moving platforms (not pictured above.) There's too much that can go wrong with any walkoff stage, and if camping on Bridge of Eldin was easy, this one's gonna be a nightmare.
Pilotwings
Speculated Legality Status: Starter/Counterpick
Reasoning: This is a relatively simple stage with a few minor tilting transformations akin to Lylat Cruise in Brawl. As a relatively simple stage that basically looks like Final Destination mixed with Lylat Cruise, it seems like it's probably gonna be a starter. There are some elements such as planes moving which interrupt grabs that may lean this stage more in the favor of counterpick status, but we'll honestly need some more footage before we can say for sure.
Windy Hill
Speculated Legality Status: Counterpick/Banned
Reasoning: I...I...I have no idea what to think about this one. I've heard it might have some gravity gimmick like Mario Galaxy, but it's not a walkoff. But it has rotating platforms in the top-right corner that lead off into the blast zone. And there's two rotating springs near the bottom. Against my better judgment, I'd say it'll probably end up getting banned, but I think it might be worth a try first.
Wily's Castle
Speculated Legality Status: Banned/Counterpick
Reasoning: In all blunt honesty, this stage looks like it'd be amazing to play on. There's some moving platforms that might encourage camping, but there's a hole in the zip line that causes it to temporarily flip downwards, a la Gutsman's stage. With these elements at hand, this could make for a very fun tournament stage that doesn't cater too heavily to any one type of character. However, there is the matter of the Yellow Devil...and this is the point that I feel will cause many TO's to ban it. Number one, it's a pretty large stage hazard, and number two, killing it gives a huge advantage to the player who landed the final blow, which can throw a competitive match out of balance. It makes me really sad, because this stage looks amazing otherwise, but I feel this one will probably end up getting banned, unless Yellow Devil proves to not have that large of an affect on the match.
Mushroom Kingdom U
Speculated Legality Status: Counterpick/Banned
Reasoning: Oh man, I hope those hazards aren't as bad as they look...speaking from a design perspective, this stage looks to be made with a medium-sized competitive stage layout in mind. Platform placement is good, and it doesn't look like it favors horizontal or vertical killers, and the platforms' spacing looks like they're just far apart enough that attacks like Marth's up Smash won't reach the platform above him. Honestly, at first, this seems like a shoe-in as a counterpick. What really worries me though, are two things. One, in the first transformation, we have Super Mario World blocks. They look solid, unless they function like how they do in Yoshi's Island (Pipes) from Melee, and even then, it could be a potential problem. Heck, they could do that whole shrink & enlarge shtick from SMW as well. And in the second transformation, we have that spiky enemy. Damage/knockback power is unknown, but judging by his size alone, he seems like a problem. And this is just my guess, but it looks like he'll be bouncing between the water jets. That alone could land a ban on the entire stage.
Coliseum
Speculated Legality Status: Banned/Counterpick
Reasoning: Is this a walkoff? It looks like it, so that's already got it teetering in the banned category...according to Sakurai's post, there's going to be some platforms that sporadically appear throughout the stage, so this is essentially a much larger Wii Fit Studio (though I'm sure the platform orientations won't be exactly the same.) Even so, that doesn't really change anything in the long run, so unless this stage ends up not being a walkoff as this camera angle suggests, then this is a definite ban.
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