Week in Review Issue #12

[Venus of the Desert Bloom]

The Week in Review Edition #12
3/31 - 4/04​

Banner by @ Venus of the Desert Bloom​

Staff
Writers:
@ Venus of the Desert Bloom

Editor:
@Aerodrome

Last Week in Review​

Last week was much better than the previous week; leaving people more happier with more substantial updates. However, with the lack of a veteran reveal last week and March as a whole, many felt this one of the worst month for updates. Monday revealed either a new item, assist trophy, move/taunt, or final smash in the form of the Cucco. Tuesday showed us the comparisons between the outlines on the 3DS; either outlines or no outlines. Wednesday showed us yet aagin a new item with the Kid Icaurus inspired Ore Club. Thursday was a doulbe whammy with two piece of information - the release of the Super Smash Bros. Wii U/3DS article for Famitsu as well as the return of Andross as an assist trophy. Finally, Friday showed us step by step how Prism Tower operates. Overall, last week was a good week with both new and returning information.

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

ThatWasPeachy for the Wii Fit Trainer Analysis Part 2

@Louie G. for taking an interview

Thank you guys for helping compile information concerning the MYM Thread of the Week and putting up with my barrage of questions

[*] 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!

Previous Issues

[collapse=Previous Issues]
To view the previous issues
Issue #1
Issue #2
Issue #3
Issue #4
Issue #5
Issue #6
Issue #7
Issue #8
Issue #9
Issue #10
Issue #11
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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: Premium gets a Face Lift
1.2 Day #1: Luigi doesn't Suck
2.1 The Day Smashboards Stood Still
2.2 Day #2: Super Smash Treasure Hunters Bros.
3.1 Day #3: This Item Blows
4.1 Day #4: Thunder Meteor Smash!
5.1 Day #5: Isabelle Works Hard!
5.2 Day #5: Nintendo Direct 4.8.2013
6.1 Week Overview
7.1 Week in Review Interview: @fatmanoice
8.1 Stage Analysis: Pyrosphere
9.1 Franchise Analysis: Metroid
10.1 Thread of the Week: Ridley Support Thread
11.1 We Want YOU to Vote! Results and Poll

Luigi Doesn't Suck
03/31/2014
Day#1: Monday
Writer: Venus of the Desert Bloom

​

Luigi fans rejoice! While not 100% confirmed, the Poltergust_3000 is set to be apart of Luigi this time around.

Judging from the PotD, it is likely that the Poltergust will be featured as Luigi's Final Smash. This is most evident due to the Final Smash aura that surrounds Luigi in the picture.

This isn't a confirmed Final Smash.
It probably is, but for all we know, Sakurai just decided to take a picture of one of Luigi's new specials while having a Smash Ball.

@Espy Rose

While it is entirely possible that the Poltergust 3000 will be included into Luigi's move set (possibly as his down b), this image does suggest that the Poltergust 3000 is a new Final Smash

That could be the case, however take notice of the background. Everything is pretty dark. Which normally only occurs once the Final Smash is activated.

@Ephecus

This does certainly seem like the case with Luigi gaining a new Final Smash. However, Sakurai never went out and said whether it was a new move or a new Final Smash.

"Who would've thought I'd get to show off the Poltergust in Super Smash Bros.?!" Wondering if it's going to suck something in? Yeah, it probably will."

However Sakurai does hint at the nature of the Final Smash or new move. Going from its Luigi's Mansion counterpart, it's possible that it will suck up enemies within the area and then spit then out for high damage.

However, this may mean that Luigi's unique and quite humorous Negative Zone will be replaced with this potential new Final Smash. Still, it's great to see the Poltergust get some much needed love and some new Luigi's Mansion content is almost a guarantee. Here are what some users are saying...

So we have confirmed Veteran Final Smash changes.

@UberMadman

YEEEEEEEESSSSSS! YEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSS!
... I sound a little too excited.

@KingShadow

The Poltergust 3000 does not only suck ghost and random items, but elements as well (at least in the original Luigi's Mansion, as I haven't played the new one). Maybe the final smash could absorb elements from opponents, and spit them back out at them? Or at least it could just come equipped with an element beforehand and Luigi spits that out.

@ Leonyx

This made my day more than any veteran could. Thank you, Sakurai, you handsome devil you.

@APC99

I am glad that they changed Luigi´s Final Smash.

I hope they change DK´s final smash for rambi and Pit´s Final smash to the mecha angel thing that he uses.

@9Volt

As a Luigi fan, I am more than glad to see Luigi's Final Smash be his Poltergust. It just makes absolute sense to me.

I hated his Final Smash in Brawl because it didn't make much sense towards Luigi's character. Also, I hated that freaking dance. By the time the dance was over, the opponents have already escaped, making the Final Smash rather useless in that regard.

What I'm also happy about Luigi's Final Smash being the Poltergust is that it means that it won't replace Luigi's down special, the Luigi Cyclone. I was tired of hearing suggestions that the Poltergust should replace the Luigi Cyclone, which would hurt Luigi's recovery tremendously.

@Brawler610

Well chuffed they finally have Luigi the Poltergust - shame about no character this month, but we should have a direct soon to cheer us up.

@EmbersToAshes

And indeed there weren't any characters, veteran or newcomers revealed this month and it stands as the only month since the announcement that did not have a character reveal. While the reasons are unknown, so believe that Sakurai is trying to save for a big update somewhere down the future, for E3, or a potential Direct that could come sometime this month. Regardless, despite zero character reveals, March was a pretty average month with some interesting updates.

Things Confirmed for Monday:

1. Luigi's uses the Poltergust 3000 in some form.
2. No character reveals for March.

The Day Smashboards Stood Still
04/01/2014
Day #2: Tuesday
Writer: Venus of the Desert Bloom​

April Fools, the day we prank each other with horrible jokes, body humor, and other trollish behavior. In truth, it is the one holiday where we can all be trolls. In fact, other websites, news outlets, and businesses/companies participate in the April Fools fun as well.

Smashboards is not the exception as it unleashed its newest version of Smashboards, the 2002 version. Sporting 2002 AOL blue, LAN black, and sporting graphics that only Dial-up can deliver. Warchamp7 rolled out the 2002 carpet and unveiled this new theme to Smashboardians.

Edit: Based on feedback, we've decided our users are not ready for the latest and greatest in 2002 software and web design and have reverted back to XenForo.

Tonight we've upgraded Smashboards to the latest forum technology in order to continue bringing our users the best experience. I'm sure everyone will find this update much more visually appealing and give them the best forum experience possible!

After over 13 years of Smashboards, we hope everyone can appreciate the move to the superior software of the 2002 era and apologize for the staffs blindness to this fact in the past.

Thanks for all your support, and thank you for being a part of Smashboards.

@Warchamp7

While some new it was an obvious joke, others were more confused and others were even angry.

This brings me back to when I first joined the forums.

@MEWTWOMASTER2002

This is painful on the eyes. The old skin was less compact and much more clean, making everything easier to read.

I prefer the old one better, the new one is painful.

@Player -0

Retro is the new future!

@Depster

What the heck happened to the design?

I'm near-certain this is an April Fool's joke though. I'm looking forward to the inevitable confusion fest.

EDIT: Yeah, this is seriously glitchy and weird. Definitely an April Fools prank.

@KingofPhantoms47

]I forgive you SWF staff.

Celebrating the old style.

View attachment 11199

[/quote]
@Old Man Grey

I was so unbelievably sad when I noticed that the classic skin was gone due to vBulletin not being a thing anymore. If this skin stays on Smashboards after today, expect me to be on here a lot more often. Thanks staff.

@Eikelmann

No... i understand the desire for a change, but this new style is ****ing hideous...

@Yanoss1313

Oh wow. Blast from the past. I feel old. =(

@Darkfur

Hrrmm this site dose not look professional anymore and is to simple like this looks like a crappyer game faqs now. this is not going to attract new members.

@Road Wheel Death

Well I like it but I'm sure this is just temporary I'm not taking the bait just yet of this being a April fools joke I mean the old one look more high quality

@Smashoperatingbuddy123

Sadly, the party was over and we all had to be serious again. The site returned to normal or whatever skin you chose before. However, within the darkness, the joy continues....

2002 Smashboards will remain available as a Premium theme.

@Warchamp7

And this is the third time I tagged him in this article. If you get all hot and bothered over nostalgia and want the 2002 Blue Classic Theme, Premium will get you there as well as a number of other benefits.

And with that, I am quitting the WiR. Thank you for your patronage!

Things Confirmed for Tuesday:

1. Smashboards particpated in April Fool's activities.
2. The new 2002 Classic theme is available for Premium members.
3. I am horrible at telling lies....

Super Smash Treasure Hunters Bros.
04/01/2014
Day #2: Tuesday
Writer: Venus of the Desert Bloom​

Tuesday's PotD perplexed fans even further with a both a vague comment and picture:

"Pic of the day. This may look like a side-scrolling action game, but it's actually one of the stages."

According to Sakurai, this is in fact a stage but what stage is it? This got fans guessing what it could possibly be. Several theories were thrown around such as:

That spring. The layout of those stairs and floors. The rustic ruins background theme of the pieces.

It's Stage Builder?

@Captain Hotcakes

I think that maybe a stage of FE.

@Fansmash

Still not sure what this stage is based on. At first, I thought it was Fire Emblem. Or even something obscure from Zelda, like a Zelda 2 dungeon. I never played Pandora's Tower, so I couldn't tell you if it was from there.

But if it is from Pandora's Tower, can we expect a Xenoblade one? It seems much more popular and important of a game to Nintendo. Though I guess if Shulk is playable, he'd be shown off first wouldn't he?

@Thekewlusername

So yeah. Palutena's Temple. The only thing throwing me off is the spring. Perhaps you can edit stages, sort of as a template.

@LOGIA666

Palutena's Temple is looking to be a lot less boring than originally thought.

@SmashShadow

I thought it was this,

@Vegeito2727

I'm thinking its either Arbiter's Grounds or Palutena's Temple in a 2nd phase that switches similar to Castle Seige.
That is, if its based off a game. It may be stage builder.

@andimidna

More realistically, the spike ball could be Kirby's Down Special.

@Shalashaska

im saying this is a stage made in the stage builder. I hope they add more to that feature. Was a great concept

@DizzyDrew

Spoiler

The design of the golden strip.

Spoiler

The tiles.

Spoiler

The torches.

Spoiler

The ghost-like structures in the background.
[collapse=other pics]

[/collapse]
There's a lot to work with there.

@andimidna

I thought this was the Arbiter's Grounds. After figuring out that it's just Palutena's Temple, well, my enthusiasm was squashed. I would've loved another Twilight Princess stage

@BridgesWithTurtles

While there was no real definite answer, many chose to think this is just another extension of Palutena's Temple. Judging from the walls, floors, decoration, and overall style, it could possibly point to a lower level of Palutena's Temple.

Another idea that was thrown around was Arbirter's Grounds. Much like Palutena's Temple, Arbiter's Grounds was considered due to the design, style, and background which fit the desert prison.

Likewise, several other stage ideas such as a Wii U Fire Emblem stage, Pandora's Tower, or possibly a custom stage made from Stage Builder. This feature that first starred in Super Smash Bros. Brawl was often criticized for lacking in content and placed too many limitations yet many thought it was a step in the right direction. With Smash 4, many were hoping Sakurai would improve on the Stage Builder. If that is the case, it could possibly confirm that Stage Builder can potentially create states with talk off blast lines....considering that we do not see edges on either side.

Regardless, Sakurai was extremely vague with this update yet it created a large amount of discussion between speculators on what it could be.

Interesting enough, both Legend of Zelda and Kid Icarus was, at one point so, in reality, I think these two are the best contenders for claiming this stage. Arbiter's Grounds as a stage just gives me the chills. It would be awesome.


Things confirmed for Tuesday:

1. A new unnamed stage.

This Item Blows
04/02/2014
Day #3: Wednesday
Writer: Venus of the Desert Bloom​

"Pic of the day. The Gust Bellows can blow opponents away with its powerful wind blasts. When someone drops it, though, the gusts run wild! Out of the new items, more than a few will be from The Legend of Zelda series. We'll take the most interesting and straightforward ones and reformulate them to match the Smash Bros. world."

This is the fourth item revealed from the Legend of Zelda franchise and the second item from the Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword. These items include the Beetle, Cucco, and Fairy. It seems that Sakurai is not being willy-nilly with adding items as opposed to 3rd party characters. It was an item that I was expecting prior to the Beetle being revealed. I am pretty estatic that this item was included as it could provide some interesting situations.

So what is the Gust Bellows?

"You got the Gust Bellows! It is an ancient and mystical device capable of blowing an endless gust of wind."

http://zelda.wikia.com/wiki/Gust_Bellows

It draws in air and expels it out; blowing things away at high speeds. This would work much like Mario's Down B move as well as Squirtle's "Water Gun" move....without water but with air.

FLUDD confirmed to be even more pointless than before.

@SchAlternate

It is unsure as to the effects of the Gust Bellows or how strong it is but it is enough to blow Samus away. Samus happens to be either average or slightly heavier than average. It is also unknown if holding down the button will cause the wind to slow down and become weaker. However, considering the power of the item, that is most likely the case.

Many were glad to see yet another Zelda item...

I'm glad for new zelda items. We've only had... what 3 before now?

I guess that is more than aveage but zelda has great items.

@Malion

This is a pretty interesting PotD, I would kinda imagine aerial fighters like Kirby, Sonic, and Pit having trouble avoiding this breeze.

@CliffJumper

Interesting to say the least. Though Skyward Sword has a bit more mixed response compared to previous games in the series, I always thought the item selection for the game was pretty interesting.

@DraginHikari

It'll be interesting to see if this item is constantly active once used (like Curry) or if it can be turned on and off like most of the items. I'd assume the second option, but you never really know. As for the huge influx of Legend of Zelda items, I'm kind of ok with it, but I'd rather they show a few more items from series with no items first and then come back to revealing the Zelda ones a little less frequently.

spader13

I wonder if it can also blow other items away or possibly even some stage hazards.

@PLATINUM7

Some thought that the large amount of new Legend of Zelda items spelt doom for potential Zelda newcomers such as Ghirahim, Toon Zelda, Tetra, Groose, and Tingle

Said it before, will say it again.

Sakurai is just trying to fill the demand for Zelda content without adding in a new character for the franchise.
So I think him acknowledging the fact that there are a lot of Zelda-themed items further supports my theory.

@Ariand/AEM

I'm going to hypothesize that all the new Zelda items (and I'm wagering stages too), is because we're not getting a Newcomer.

@GoldenYuiitusin

Though a handful had high hopes for a Zelda newcomer...

I think the opposite. I think the Zelda series is getting so much love at this point, there's no reason for any doubt that they are getting a new rep.

@Xaltis

And, of course, jokes were thrown about the Gust Bellows...especially with Luigi's Final Smash:

What better way to follow up a final smash that sucks than with an item that blows

@JDavisR (NIX)

Great, just a picture of Toon Link blowing Samus...wrong for so many reasons...

@WIldBam

Well, you get the picture. Regardless, we have yet another Legend of Zelda item confirmed for Smash and the second item hailing from Skyward Sword. All in all, the week has been interesting up until now with Final Smashes, stages, and items.

Things Confirmed for Wednesday:

1. Gust Bellows revealed as an item.
2. 4th new Legend of Zelda item revealed
3. Second Skyward Sword item revealed
4. Produces large amounts of wind and, when dropped, it goes out of control,
5. Sakurai acknowledges the large amount of new LoZ items.

Thunder Meteor Smash!
04/03/2014
Day #4: Thursday
Writer: Venus of the Desert Bloom​

Pikachu has recieved a seemingly buff in this PotD.

"Pic of the day. Pikachu's Thunder now starts off with a thundercloud that deals a Meteor Smash! From left to right, you can see this combo starting with Pikachu throwing the opponent upward, Meteor Smashing with the lightning strike, and then directly attacking. Foes can dodge, of course, so the attack won't hit consistently, but when it does, it sure feels good!"

Quite the long winded quote from Mr. Sakurai but he felt it was important enough to explain the nature of the new version of "Thunder". To compare, here is a description of Piakchu's "Thunder" from Brawl.

In Super Smash Bros. Brawl and Melee, the thunder portion of the attack is considered a projectile and can be reflected back at Pikachu or absorbed for health. The explosion cannot, however.

Also in Brawl and Melee, the offscreen cloud portion of the thunder attack can be used as a KO hit if the player being hit is high enough in the air.

http://www.ssbwiki.com/Thunder

The attack would cause players to be launched horizontally or vertically depending on the position of the opponent. As in the above quote, getting hit by the cloud will cause opponents to be KO'd. This was a useful but difficult strategy to KO opponents. However, with this recent chance, a Star KO is now impossible to achieve with the dark cloud. Instead, players are now meteor smashed. Meaning that it will cause the opponent to be shot downwards instead of a vertical knockback.

This does introduce some interesting combo possibilities as well as the potential to Meteor KO and opponent while done in mid-air. The properties of this attack is unknown and fans and Pikachu mains are still up in the air if this is a buff or a nerf.

Cool it's kinda like a buff and a nerf at the same time

@Sonicguy726

It appears so since the attack eliminates the dark cloud Star KO but now introduces the possibilities of comboing with Thunder or a Meteor KO.

Did...did Sakurai just acknowledge the existence of combos in Smash?!?? Mah boi, he be learning quick!

Now to see if b-reverses return.

@Empyrean

Honestly don't know what to think of this. I main Pikachu in Brawl (and god knows he could do with a spike), but the practicality of the mechanic is questionable...

Part of me just wants to fall asleep until the game has been released so that we can decide for ourselves what a 'combo' is.

@Psymon

So if you look closely, it's meteor smashing them into the hit the 2nd hitbox of thunder. (On the 3rd page) Ya know, the one that surrounds pikachu and kills ridiculously earlier.

If that's true, the 2nd hitbox of thunders power has either been nerfed, or boozers at a very low percent.

On top of that, i'm curious what move pikachu's using in that last pic. Looks like u-air.

Well, whatever.
Just glad to finally see a pikachu update.

@Sunnysunny

Regardless, this can be seen as a buff or a nerf; depending how you utilize Thunder and Pikachu. It does seem hopeful for a more combo oriented Smash but some Piakchu fans might miss the old Thunder. Regardless, it still seems like the powerful attack it once was and make improve Piakchu's overall game.

Things Confirmed for Thursday:

1. Pikachu's Down Special "Thunder" can no longer KO if hit with the dark cloud
2. It performs a Meteor Smash when hit.
3. It can be comboed into by another attack.
4. Opponents can air dodge it.

Isabelle Hard at Work!
04/04/2014
Day #5: Friday
Writer: Venus of the Desert Bloom​

Pic of the day. Hello fighters! I'll assist you with fresh-picked fruit from my town!♪

Congratulations on your appearance Isabelle!

Sure it cam late but the Pic of the Day was finally revealed. Isabelle, the ditzy yet helpful secretary at the City Hall from Animal Crossing: New Leaf appears to assist players. It is unknown what she actually does but it appears she will help your character in some way.

Isabelle looks to be an Assist Trophy, obvouisly, and seems like she drops the fruit from Animal Crossing to heal the player who summoned her. Nice.

@mygamecube

so this assist should play like chansey from nintendo 64, also will tom nook be a clone unlockable hmmm

@sovietprince

Good Isabelle good: take Mr. Resetti's spot as an AT so he can be a fighter. Good.

@TheDrillingJuggernaut

However, more people were interested in the Nintendo Direct that was announced for 4.8.2014.

Things confirmed for Friday

1. Isabelle appears as possibly an Assist Trophy

Super Smash Bros. Direct 4.8.2014
Day #5: Friday
Writer: Venus of the Desert Bloom


​

Announced today was the first ever Super Smash Bros. Direct since the game was first announced at E3 2013. Hype is strong and speculation is feirce as fans speculate what this could possibly hold in store for everyone!

@ArcticWolf was the first to post about it:

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=796223
HOLY **** SMASH DIRECT!!!

SMASH BROS DIRECT!!!!!!!!!!!!

@SmashShadow

HOLY ****

THE PLOT HAS THICKENED EXPONENTIALLY

@ Hinata

I just died

@KingLucasx

I do not have the will power and patience to wait until the 8th. I'm going to break.

@BeatNinja

Not just a Smash Direct but a Direct announced not a day or two before, but the week before.

Good lord.

@N3ON

Well now! That's something to get super excited for! SMASH DIRECT!

And I guess that explains the lack of character reveals lately. They were probably saving them. But I'm calling that they are most definitely going to reveal a newcomer on Wednesday. It's a freaking Direct... FOR SMASH! :D

@Bausuke

You guys have the most amusing responses to good news haha.

@Bane84

And that we do! This is great news for every Smash Bros. fan and I am sure the hype will continue and into next week! And to remind members to please use the official Direct thread to discuss the Direct which can be found here:
http://smashboards.com/threads/smash-bros-direct-on-april-8th-3pm-pst.351659/

Finally, Sakurai said this on today's PotD:

I also have another important announcement. On 4/8, at 3 PM PST (8/4 11 PM UK time), we'll be airing a Super Smash Bros. Direct!! There will be all kinds of info about the new Smash Bros. games on this simultaneous global stream that will be delivered "directly" to you, so don't miss it! You'll be able to watch the stream from the official site (www.smashbros.com).

THE. HYPE. IS. STRONG!

Things confirmed for Friday:

1. Super Smash Bors. Direct coming on April 8th, 2014.

Overview​

This week has been an improvement over the past few weeks. We had a steady stream of information, pictures, and improvements. Monday was the possible reveal of Luigi's new Final Smash, the Poltergust 3000. It has been heavily requested by Luigi fans and Smash fans alike. Tuesday was a rather vague update featuring a possible new stage. It is unknown it this is an entirely new stage, an extension of Palutena's Temple, or possibly a stage from Stage Builder. Wednesday was the reveal of yet again another Legend of Zelda item, the Gust Bellows. Thursday was confirmation that Pikachu's Down Special "Thunder" has changed to include a Meteor Smash. Finally Friday was amazing!!! A Super Smash Bros. Direct was announced for 4.8.2014 as well as the appearance of Isabelle in a capacity unknown. Overall, a great week with a very strong finish! This days leading up to the Direct will be torture!​

 

[Venus of the Desert Bloom]

Week in Review Interview
Author: Venus of the Desert Bloom

@Fatmanonice​

As I mentioned in the previous issue, I am going to start re-focusing back onto moderator interviews. It will be two t three round bursts while focusing on the new Smash 4 mods. Our first interview comes from a long-time veteran, Fatmanonice. Known for his excellence in debating and discussion Smash, knowledge of all Nintendo related things, as well as have a quick wit and a sense of humor; Fatmanonice is a great poster and even a greater moderator. I sat with his Grand Popeye'ness with some Spinach on the Rocks for some Q&A about him; as a moderator, as a user, as a person:

1) How long have you been a member on Smashboards and why did you join? When did you become a moderator?

This will date me but I’ve been here since July 2006. I joined shortly after I came back from a trip to Japan where I tried to deliver a portfolio made by me and a number of fans that was in support of Geno for Brawl to Nintendo’s HQ in Kyoto. I came here because stories of my “quest” began to spread across the web and people from here actually got in contact with me while I was still a member of Nsider. Needless to say, I was one of the bigger Geno supporters back in the day and, when that ship sunk with the release of Brawl, I moved on directing online tournaments from the fall of 2008 to the summer of 2009. The first time I was made a mod was in late 2009 but, with the popularity of online tournaments taking a dive by 2010, I stopped coming here as often. It eventually got to the point that I was only coming here maybe once a month and I lost my modship due to a lack of activity. Fast forward a couple of years and a couple of weeks before E3 2013 and I quickly became a regular again and, about six months later, I gained back my moderator status.

2) What is your favorite part of Smashboards? What is your least favorite part?

My favorite part is sharing hype and just eating up every bit of news that comes out. It was a blast with Brawl and I’m glad the community is as strong as ever this time around. It’s nice to be around fellow fans to share the joys and frustrations of a Smash Bros game prerelease and then share the games with them when it finally comes out.

My least favorite part is the stigma against online gaming but, truth be told, I’m not sure if that’s much of an issue anymore. Brawl’s online was terrible but the tournaments were a lot of fun and people were very enthusiastic about them, even if the prizes were only e-shop points. It used to bother me how much people talked down about online players but I think SSB4 will have a better respected online community for obvious reasons. It’s amazing to see players who used to participate in my online tournaments like Dabuz and Pink Fresh go on to become some of the best in the country in Brawl and Project M and I hope to take on the role of a tournament director again once the new games come out.

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

Both. The problem is though that my back catalog of games is ginormous thanks to my busy schedule and I’m having a hard time whittling it down. I’m hoping to be completely caught up by the time both games come out.

4) Who are your Mains in 64/Melee/Brawl? Who do you plan to main in Smash 4?

For 64, Mario and Fox. I was only 11 when it came out so I can’t say that they were serious “mains” but instead those that I liked playing the most. For Melee, my mains were Fox, Mario, and Ness. Again, I only played in casual tournaments at the time so I didn’t have a real concept of things like matchups so, again, these were simply the characters I liked playing as the most. Brawl was when I finally tried my hand at playing competitively seriously. My “viable” main and secondary were Wario and Dedede while my low tier main and secondary were, once again, Mario and Ness. I like to play as every character for each of the games but when I’m trying to play “seriously” I go with my mains or secondaries. As for SSB4, I have no idea. The only character I’m sure of is Mario because, regardless of how good or bad he is, he’ll always be one of my mains but for everyone else it really just depends on how the veterans change and what the newcomers bring to the table.

5) Who is your most wanted newcomer for Smash 4? More than one answer is ok.

For those that actually have a shot, Takamaru. I honestly think he’s this generations’ Pit and I want to see Nintendo revive the franchise within the next couple of years. Unlike Brawl, my wish list for SSB4 is fairly short: Megaman, Little Mac, and Takamaru. These are the three that I feel like “need” to be in the game for me to fully enjoy it. I have a top ten list but the other seven would just be icing on the cake and I could live without them (two of them have already been disconfirmed in the form of Ashley and Waluigi). In my heart of hearts, there are two characters that I really want but I know they’re virtually impossible. The first, obviously, is Geno. Geno is and will always be my favorite video game character. The other is Muddy Mole, who I argue is from the most underrated game in Nintendo’s expansive history. Even trophies of these characters would be a longshot but it’s a nice thought anyways. As for veterans, I’m still waiting on Ness, Wario (who’s so close it’s downright irritating), Ike, and the Ice Climbers to be confirmed.

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

Stages aren’t really something I think that much about, to be honest. A couple of stages I would like to see though are: Bowsers’ Castle (long overdue for Smash, in opinion), Nintendo Land, a Paper Mario stage, a Kirby’s Epic Yarn stage, Sunset Shores from DKCR, and a cell shaded Wario Land Shake It stage. As for past stages, I don’t really care. My favorite stage from Brawl, Castle Siege has practically been disconfirmed so I don’t really have any others in mind that I’d like to see return.

7) What would you like to see improved or expanded from Super Smash Bros. Brawl?

Definitely online play. Aside from that, I completely trust the developers’ judgments in what will be added. Regardless of the final product, they’ll still be games that I’ll play for years to come, just like all the ones before it.

8) What was your most favorite Smash Bros. moment/memory?

I have two that come immediately to mind:

1. Just barely winning a casual Melee tournament in 2002 with Pichu by landing a homerun with a homerun bat on my opponent playing Captain Falcon after they whiffed a knee.



2. Ike’s reveal in Brawl, breaking the 15 month newcomer drought back in 2007. I didn’t even really want him but people went absolutely nuts and it was hard not to get excited because the announcement came out of nowhere and this is when we were hit with big news almost every single week until the end of October.

9) Where did your username come from?

There’s pretty much three reasons for my name.

1. In 2004 I joined Nsider which was an online forum that was run by Nintendo. In the application, they wanted me to decide a screen name and a user name. For the screen name I put “Archnid” which was the name of my alter ego when I was a kid and the name I used for every online account until then because I thought that would be the one to show up in the forums. For the user name, I wanted to something that sounded like a trucker handle for laughs because I thought it was stupid for the account to have two names so I created the name “Fatmanonice.” I guess I didn’t read the fine print because I got the two mixed up and Fatmanonice became the name I had on Nsider. At first I wanted to change it because of how dumb it sounded until people started to affectionately refer to me as FMOI and Fatman (and the mods ignored my requests to change it too but I digress…) so I kept it.



2. In middle school I wrote a joke book called “128 Ways to Tell if You’re Fat.” It was horribly insensitive but me and my friends thought it was hilarious so I made copies and passed it around to people who were interested. I eventually caught the ire of a teacher because his daughter was fat and he threated to have me suspended if I passed the joke book around anymore. After this incident, I went on to make a comic about a fat man that viciously attacked people who had food. Again, I thought it was comedy gold and I continued the comic until my early high school years. The last comic I drew of him was where he was ice skating and he tripped and fell through the ice, sending several dozen children into the frozen water. I titled the comic “Fat Man on Ice” and I’m pretty sure I still have it tucked away somewhere.



3. A friend of mine drew a portrait of me shortly after that comic and in the background I drew the events of the comic and a word bubble coming out of my mouth saying “Life’s like a fat man on ice, if he falls, we’re all screwed.” I started using the expression “it’s like a fat man on ice…” and then making up random things to finish it off or simply walking away, just for the sake of confusing people. I did this until about the end of my sophomore year of high school when the novelty of it wore off.

Contrary to my name, I’m not fat at all. I joke that I have the physique of Waluigi because I’m 6’6 and maybe only 160 pounds, which is a good 60-70 pounds underweight for my height.

10)How do you think Smashboards can improve? What are your goals as a moderator concerning Smashboards?

I think Smashboards has the potential to have a really welcoming environment for online Smash players and I think Smashboards really dropped the ball with this with Brawl. I know IRL tournaments are preferred but a good number of people can’t reasonably go to them. Take me for example. One of the reasons I picked the college I went to for my Bachelor’s degree was because one of the dorms had weekly Smash tournaments but, by the fall of 2008, most people had lost interest and the group dissolved. The closest major tournaments to me were more than two hours away and I didn’t have the time or money to go to them. This is why I started hosting online tournaments because I figured a lot of people were in the same boat and that was indeed the case. I felt like online players were heavily looked down upon until around 2010 when there was an emergence of online players who were ranking and even winning major tournaments, about a year after I hung up my hat from directing tournaments. This is why one of my goals as a moderator is to be there when SSB4 comes out and encourage a good start to the online competitive community while at the same time hosting online tournaments.

11)If you could have any animal trait or physical characteristic (i.e. ability to see int he dark like as cat), what would it be and why?

Probably fangs. I was a practicing vampire for about 3 years and wore fangs during that time because the idea of them always appealed to me. I’ve always been kind of “bitey” in my romantic relationships too but perhaps that’s too explicit for some of the kiddos here to talk extensively about.

12) What is your favorite movie and why?

That’s a hard question to answer… My favorite directors are Tim Burton, Satoshi Kon, Hayao Miyazaki, Ralph Bakshi, and Stanly Kubrick and there’s just so many movies I can choose from them alone without even considering standalone movies I really enjoy. Erg… uh… How about this?

Burton: Nightmare Before Christmas- This and Beetlejuice were pretty much the defining movies of my childhood.

Kon: Tokyo Godfathers- Just a solid movie all the way around and watching it has been a Christmas tradition of mine for years.

Miyazaki: Can’t decide but Princess Mononoke was my first of his movies and was pretty much the one that got me not only into Studio Ghibli but anime in general.

Bakshi: Fritz the Cat- Dark, gritty, raunchy as all hell and wonderfully cynical. Arguably as revolutionary to American animation as Disney’s Snow White was.

Kurbrik: - A Clockwork Orange- A really twisted movie with an even more twisted moral: given certain conditions, everyone is capable of being a really terrible person.

Honorable Mentions: One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Good Will Hunting, American Beauty, Coraline, The Meaning of Life, Paranorman, Persepolis, Ratatouille, Network, and the Rocky Horror Picture Show.

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

I write monthly essays and I post them on Facebook but I’ve posted a few here over the years. I’ve been doing this for about four years now and I’ve covered a lot of different topics in that time. One of my favorite topics to talk about is relationships and dating and I really like giving advice on the topic. I’m also a really big Halloween enthusiast and the Halloween season for me lasts from September 15th (the peak of apple season in the US) until November 5th (Guy Fawkes Day/Bonfire Night in England).

Thank you again, fatmanonice to agreeing to sitting down and letting me interview you. I personally enjoyed reading your responses! I hope everyone took as much as I did from this interview as well as get to know this veteran moderator.

Check back next week for a new moderator interview!​

 

[Venus of the Desert Bloom]

Stage Analysis: Pyrosphere
Author: Venus of the Desert Bloom​

Pyrosphere is a new stage that represents the Metroid franchise. First appearing in Metroid: Other M. While it may be a fire and lava fueled stage that has become all too well known for Super Smash Bros., it holds a lot of significance for both Metroid and Super Smash Bros. You could say it has a HUGE significance.

Here is the description for www.metroid.com

"The Pyrosphere, a simulated volcanic area encompassing Sector 3, is predictably awash in magma flows, lava pools, and a host of beasts adapted to extreme heat. A pyroclasmic volcanic eruption necessitates the Varia feature of Samus's suit."

However, pyroclastic problems are not the only thing Samus has to worry about here...

Stage Overview​

The stage appears as a fairly flat platform with two storied vertical floating platforms. The stage itself is pretty long in size which allows for a lot of fighting and moving around. Take Bowser, who is quite the large character, still looks rather small compared to the length of the stage. Samus looks even smaller. The stage itself is quite large and seems to accommodate either large numbers of fighters or large fighters. It is unknown if the platforms actually moves but, when viewing this video...

...at 2:15, it is obvious that the platforms do not move. It is unknown if this is constant throughout the level but various game play videos show that the plat forms remain stationary. If not for the suspicious lava and Metroid stages having a penchant for over-the-top stage hazards, this stage would do very well competitively due to its simple, linear design, the length of the main stage, and multiple floating yet stationary platform.

The Background​

The background....ahh the background. In some stages, the background isn't as vibrant or doesn't effect the stage much. Others, it's a middle ground. However, there are some stages where the background and what it contains is pivotal...almost crucial to the stage. I will get into as to why it is so crucial later.

In the background of the Pyrosphere, we have several background effects that set the mood of the stage. The first is the lava and fire:

As you can see, lava pours through an opening in the left side of the wall. It cascades downwards past the main stage and down to the bottom. As you can see here...

There is a pool of lava that sits beneath the main platform. This lava cascades down into the lava pool. It is unsure if the lava shoots upwards. For a similar comparison to the Other M incarnation, here is a in-grame screenshot from Metroid M:

http://smashbros-miiverse.com/images/daily/daily-2014-02-06.jpg[/img
Here is the opening that the lava comes out.

Overall, the background decor is dark, metallic, and dingy...

http://smashbros-miiverse.com/images/daily/daily-2013-11-06.jpg

It has a overall dull yellow/brown as well as metal plating to protect from lava, cables, pipes, pipes, and even other doors that lead into other areas of the Pyrosphere. Take a look at the above picture, you can see there once existed a bridges has been broken and casted down into the lava below. It is unsure to what actually caused this but some have surmised that a enemy from Samus' past may be involved.

Which then brings me to focus on the holes and openings in the walls in the background.

According to Sakurai,

Inside the corridor along one of the walls in Pyrosphere, a view that's really not visible in-game. You can't tell from the picture, but it's actually a gigantic open space.

This alludes that there is much more in terms of design with elements included that cannot be seen during game play. To what extent this will in incorporated is unknown however, with such great lengths being taken into creating these vast unseen spaces, it has to be used for some function other than aesthetics and trolling .

There appears to be two holes in the wall: On the right is a long scar that cuts horizontally on the wall. The left upper portion has a round, jagged hole. This hole appears similar to the hole that was left from a certain space dragon that crashed through in order to make his escape.

The hole to the left appears consistent to the original Metroid: Other M design with the holes and cracks in the wall. However, the long scar to the right does not appear in Other M but it could be where Samus was dragged against by a traumatic enemy in the game. However, other from darkness and some meta; nothing can be seen from these holes and cracks. If we go through all of the pictures and videos about Pyrosphere, we are unable to see anything within them.

I decided to pull out this screenshot since it shows the smaller hole clearly yet nothing can be seen inside aside from the long hallway.

Now, I briefly mentioned a certain purple space dragon....no....not this purple space dragon. Talking about Pyrosphere comes hand in hand with talking about

RIDLEY

If you have been living under a rock and missed out on over 10 years of speculation, here is a warm up for you. Ridley is one of Samus' most feared nemesis and the two have constantly fought each other. Ridley first entered into Samus' life by killer both of her parents and further scarred Samus. He is the military leader of the Space Pirates and has proved himself to be both fearsome, dangerous, cunning, and ruthless in combat. Speculation wise, Ridley has remained a top wanted character since the Melee days and has an overwhelming support from both the Metroid community and the Smash Bros community at large. It is no one that this stage has invoked so many into debate whether it confirms or deconfirms such a wildly speculated character.

Ridley has widely been speculated to appear as either a cameo or a stage hazard due to several factors:

1) Pyrosphere is where he is encountered in Metroid: Other M
2) Post-destruction
3) Sakurai's quote

Out of the blue, here's a new stage--the Pyrosphere from Metroid: Other M! An enemy from Samus's past may appear at any second...

This is often seen as an indication that Ridley will be included in some form.
4) Ridley was seen as a stage element in Dead or Alive: Dimensions.
5) The lack of any confirmation of Ridley as a playable character.


I want to go into each one and explain why this can be applicable:

1)

Ridley is first encountered in Other M on the Pyrosphere. It was indeed a traumatic event for Samus as it shook her to the very core.

Samus attempts to engage it [Ridley], but is horrified to discover that it is in fact her nemesis, Ridley,

http://metroid.wikia.com/wiki/Pyrosphere

It is only natural for Ridley to appear in Pyrosphere as a cameo or stage hazard considering he was encountered in this area. As well, Ridley had such a profound affect on Samus that actually caused her to fall into momentary shock.

Taken from the Ridley fight from Other M.

2)

As I mentioned earlier, Ridley created the first hole to crash through to escape after fighting Samus. However, the second longer hole is unique to the Pyrosphere stage. In Mother M, Ridley could be seen flying around Pyrosphere as well as other holes that were much higher up in Pyrosphere. This could point towards Ridley becoming a stage hazard seeing how...

This area's appearance in Other M is mostly the same as it is in Smash 4; the bridge that Ridley burns down, the magma-eruption port that Samus destroys to light the area, and the hole in the wall that Ridley creates while escaping are all in their post-battle state in Smash 4, though the hole has been moved slightly to the right and there is another hole to the right of the door for unknown reason

This post destruction version of stage could result in Ridley having came in; destroying the bridge, scaring the stage, and bashing through the walls.

3)

[quoteOut of the blue, here's a new stage--the Pyrosphere from Metroid: Other M! An enemy from Samus's past may appear at any second...

Sakurai is quoted in saying this in regards to revealed Pyrosphere. In the Japanese translated version, it says "an enemy that traumatized Samus". This could further point towards Ridley being a stage hazard instead of a playable character as, when I mentioned before, Ridley had a profound affect on Samus' psyche after the murder of her parents. This quote is further evidence that Ridley, could be in fact, a stage hazard.
[/quote]

4)

This stage was also featured in Dead or Alive Dimensions as the Geothermal Power Plant

This is in fact the second time the stage will be featured in fighting game and points out that a stage hazard Ridley is possible for the stage not to mention he seems to fit right in with the stage.

In Geothermal Power Plant, Ridley roars which signifies the start of a match and then continues to bombard the stage with fireballs. Knocking a player out of the ring results in Ridley catching the knocked out opponent and slamming him or her into the wall. This is entirely possible to achieve in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U/3DS.

5)

There seems to be a general lack of information for Ridley and this, by all means, seems intentional. Sakurai will occasionally post updates concerning Pyrosphere may tends to suggest Ridley may or may not be a stage hazard or post a picture detailing the surroundings of Pyrosphere minus Ridley. This argument can go both ways and can be considered detrimental to the over all discussion.

I have detailed 5 reasons why Ridley may not be playable and appear as a stage hazard or stage element on the Pyrosphere. Now, allow me to explain 5 other reasons why he could not be a stage hazard but, rather, either playable or non-existent:

1) The stage is based off post-destruction Pyrosphere.
2) Other enemies besides Ridley
3) Ridley's home stage
4) Ridley's popularity
5) Lack of information regarding Ridley is a stage hazard

1)

As I mentioned earlier, while Pyrosphere could look the way it looks due to Ridley causing destruction; there is a chance that it comes pre-destroyed. Meaning that the stage appears this way as it was based off the Other M design after Ridley destroys it. Rather than the space dragon coming in and destroying everything, it could not have a switch between normal and destroyed and just appears destroyed. If that makes any sense at all.

The holes, destroyed bridge, and lava could be from the start. However, an update showing a normal Pyrosphere would destroy this claim.

2)

There have been many enemies who have caused Samus' a lot of pain plus enemies who are also native to the Pyrosphere.

Some of these Pyrosherians include:

Cyborg Zebesian
Asborean
Desbrachian
Dragotic
Mella
Rhedogian

However, I feel these three enemies would be good replacements for Ridley as a stage hazard:

Magdollite
Goyama
Vorash

In fact, the reveal of any of these creatures would further prove that Ridley will either playable or not be featured as a stage hazard.

In addition, there are several reoccurring enemies that have caused Samus some trauma.

Kraid
Crocomire
Phantoon
Queen Metroid

Albeit they would be awkward in a stage that has such a tie to Ridley

3)

Which brings me to mention that this stage is very important to Ridley and represents the character. It also could potentially represent the character as a home stage. This wouldn't be the first time a home stage was revealed prior to the character. Examples include:

Rosalina = Mario galaxy
Little Mac = Punch-Out!!

While there is a strong possibility that Ridley is a stage hazard in this stage, it is also a strong possibility that it is in fact his home stage. Not to mention that Samus could potentially have a stage based off Super Metroid, Metroid Prime, another Other M, or one of the other games.

4)

Ridley has constantly been voted as one of the most wanted newcomer for both Super Smash Bros. Melee, Super Smash Bros. Brawl, and Super Smash Bros. Wii U/3DS. He has an overwhelming amount of supporters (and detractors) and his popularity has certainly been not missed by Sakurai. I think the high level of Sakurai's vagueness regarding Ridley's confirmation is a testament to his popularity and support. Sakurai considers Ridley a very important deal-breaking character.

5)

That brings me to the lack of information regarding Ridley being confirmed or deconfirmed. As I mentioned earlier, the absence of Ridley in Pyrosphere related pictures can be considered both a blessing or a curse in that it could help or hurt his chances. Considering that stage hazards are a pivotal part of stages, the number of pictures featured do not showcase nothing related to Ridley. It is sort of strange to not even see a slight indication considering how many pictures there are compared to stage hazard durations.

Some f the pictures seen here (http://smashbros-miiverse.com/stages/pyrosphere) could potentially hide Ridley should Sakuai crop him out. However, still some fire effect or flying effect coul dpotentially be visible thus lending itself to that Ridley is not featured as a stage hazard on this stage.

Regardless if you consider Ridley a stage hazard or as a playable character, he is deeply related to this stage and not having it be his home stage or featuring him as a stage hazard would be a disservice to the stage itself.

Music​

The Super Smash Bros for Wii U/3DS featured Pyrosphere during Round 8. The winner was @D-idara.

ROUND EIGHT: Pyrosphere (Wii U)

UNIVERSE: Metroid
GAME OF ORIGIN: Metroid: Other M (Wii, 2010)

Winner: D-idara


Tracklist

Name: Lower Norfair / Norfair Ancient Ruins
Universe: Metroid
Game of Origin: Super Metroid (SNES, 1994)
Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OoHm2BZeWbQ

Name: Ridley Boss Theme
Universe: Metroid
Game of Origin: Metroid: Other M (Wii, 2010)
Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fje8t9Jyy-o

Name: In the Deepest Regions of Space (A Metroid Medley)
Universe: Metroid
Game of Origin: In order of appearance...
Metroid (NES, 1987)
Super Metroid (SNES, 1994)
Metroid Prime (NGC, 2002)
Metroid Prime 2: Echoes (NGC, 2004)
Metroid Prime 3: Corruption (Wii, 2007)
Metroid: Other M (Wii, 2010)
Metroid (NES, 1987)
Link: In order of appearance...
(Metroid Title Theme) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-U3sVX2G3w
(Theme of Super Metroid / Theme of Samus Aran, Space Warrior) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5vYsVk23oxA
(Metroid Prime Main Theme) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YfGsArRQjKE
(Metroid Prime 2: Echoes Main Theme) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oLOkc9MwFHs
(Metroid Prime 3: Corruption Main Theme) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C1y8bq_2X2g
(Metroid: Other M Credits Theme) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uncH_Vg3mek
(Metroid Ending Theme) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQeUkUp4uRc

Name: Metroid Queen / Phantoon Final Boss
Universe: Metroid
Game of Origin: Metroid: Other M (Wii, 2010)
Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2lBDdaNmudc

Name: Surface Runner / SR388
Universe: Metroid
Game of Origin: Metroid II: The Return of Samus (GB, 1991)
Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fCIH943auRA

Name: Rundas Battle
Universe: Metroid
Game of Origin: Metroid Prime 3: Corruption (Wii, 2007)
Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6nMFLquJeCc

Name: Samus's Resolve / Final Mission Resolve
Universe: Metroid
Game of Origin: Metroid: Other M (Wii, 2010)
Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bxv4odiTNQg

Name: Main Theme (Metroid)
Universe: Metroid / Super Smash Bros
Game of Origin: Metroid (NES, 1987) / Super Smash Bros Brawl (Wii, 2008)
Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3MRznLSFGFQ

Tournament Legality​

The stage hinges on a delicate balance of whether hazards will be present on the stage. The stage itself is very straight forward and seems to not contain any gimmicks. The main platform is both long and resembles much like Final Destination. To add to this, the four floating platforms acts much like Smashville, another highly accepted competitive stage. However, as I mentioned many times, Metroid stages are known for their dangerous and stage hazard ridden stages. That being said, this stage could potentially be considered tournament legal or banned; depending on the yet unconfirmed stage hazards.

Pyrosphere Screens

All images were taken from www.smashbros-miiverse.com

Overview​

Pyrosphere is a stage steeped in mystery and controversy due to the character that is attached to the stage and that character being Ridley. Every time a screenshot or video is shown with Pyrosphere, Ridley supporters and detractors take to their computers to see if the screen can confirm or deconfirm Ridley has a stage hazard. Design wise, it is one of the safest looking Metroid stages and, from what we can tell, does not have any stage hazards to speak of. In fact, the stage is well balanced and would pass for a tournament legal stage....a first for a Metroid stage. However, without knowing about the stage hazards, it can either be fifty-fifty in terms of tournament legality. All in all, it is a beautifully design stage that grabs the atmosphere of Metroid and really does it well.​

 

[Venus of the Desert Bloom]

Metroid Franchise Representation
Author: Venus of the Desert Bloom

Metroid is an award winning franchise that first started in 1986. It has spanned over 25 years with 11 games within the franchise. Within the Super Smash Bros. universe, Metroid first appeared in Super Smash Bros. 64 in 1999. The franchise was represented with:

• Samus as a character
• Planet Zebes as a stage

As well, music included:

• 8: A remix of the Brinstar music from the original Metroid for NES. It is heard on Planet Zebes.
• 18: The victory fanfare of Samus is an orchestration of the music heard when Samus finds a new item or power-up in general Metroid games.

In Super Smash Bros. Melee, Metroid received more representation...

• Samus returns as a veteran.
• Brinstar Depths as a stage
• Brinstar Depths as a second stage
• Brinstar Escape Shaft as a part in Adventure Mode
• Screw Attack as an item

Music was represented with...

• 7: Brinstar: A medley of three classic Metroid tunes, most of it consisting of a techno remix of the first "Brinstar" area music heard in the original Metroid for NES. It is followed by the short "game start" tune one hears whenever one resumes a game file in a Metroid game, and then the low-key general Metroid theme that was first heard on the original Metroid title screen. This is heard in Brinstar.
• 8: Brinstar Depths: A remix of area music heard later on in the original Metroid, where Samus is particularly close to her encounter with Kraid. A bridge section consists of the short tune played in item rooms in the original Metroid. This is heard in Brinstar Depths.
• 41: Samus's Victory: The victory fanfare of Samus is an orchestration of the music heard when Samus finds a new item or power-up in general Metroid games.

Trophies was represented with...

• Samus Aran's three game trophies
• Screw Attack
• Kraid
• Chozo Statue
• Samus' Starship
• Metroid
• Ridley
• Samus Unmasked

In Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Metroid was represented by...

• Samus as a second returning veteran
• Zero Suit Samus as a newcomer
• Ridley and [http://www.ssbwiki.com/Meta_Ridley]Meta Ridley[/url] as bosses
• Metroid as an Assist Trophy
• Norfair as a stage
• Frigate Orpheon as a second stage
• Brinstar as a returning stage

As for music representation...

• Main Theme (Metroid) - A rock styled remix of the Brinstar theme from the first Metroid title. Aside from the vocals at the beginning of the track, this is taken almost directly from Metroid Prime Pinball, with the insertion of some extra instruments and the addition of the original Brinstar NES-like remix. It is used on the Norfair stage.
• Ending (Metroid) - An orchestrated version of the credits theme used in both the original Metroid and its remake Metroid Zero Mission. It is used on the Norfair stage. This song is also played during both Samus and Zero Suit Samus' Classic Mode credits.
• Norfair - A quirky remix of the lesser known Norfair theme from the original Metroid game. It is the theme of the Norfair stage.
• Theme of Samus Aran, Space Warrior - An orchestration of the credits theme of the SNES hit Super Metroid. It is used on the Norfair stage.
• Vs. Ridley - A completely redone version of Ridley's theme that is featured in several Metroid games and originated in Super Metroid. It is used on the Frigate Orpheon stage.
• Vs. Parasite Queen - Taken directly from Metroid Prime, this was the track that played when Samus fought the Parasite Queen during the opening section of the game. It is used on the Frigate Orpheon stage.
• Opening/Menu (Metroid Prime) - A medley of two tracks from Metroid Prime--the title screen and the credits theme (which itself was an extension of the menu theme). With the exception of the vocals at the beginning, the title screen theme is taken directly from the game, while the credits theme is arranged. It is the theme of the Frigate Orpheon stage.
• Sector 1 - An orchestrated version of the background music of the first mission in Sector 1 in Metroid Fusion. It is used on the Frigate Orpheon stage.
• Vs. Meta Ridley - Taken directly from Metroid Prime, this was the background music that played during the fight against Meta Ridley. This same, unaltered track was also used in Metroid Prime 3: Corruption. It is used on the Frigate Orpheon stage.
• Multiplayer (Metroid Prime 2) - A track taken directly from the multiplayer mode of Metroid Prime 2: Echoes, which itself was a techno remix of the Brinstar background music from Super Metroid. It is used on the Frigate Orpheon stage.
• Brinstar (Melee) - Taken directly from Melee. It is used on the Brinstar stage.
• Brinstar Depths (Melee) - Taken directly from Melee. It is used on the Brinstar stage.
• Samus' victory theme - The "got item" fanfare featured in every single Metroid game to date, except Metroid: Other M.

As for Trophy representation....

• Samus Aran
• Zero Suit Samus
• Zero Laser
• Power Suit Samus
• Screw Attack
• Metroid
• Samus (Fusion Suit)
• Samus (Power Suit)
• Samus (Varia Suit)
• Samus (Gravity Suit)
• Samus (Dark Suit)
• Dark Samus
• Ridley
• Meta Ridley
• Kanden
• Spire
• Weavel
• Noxus
• Trace
• Sylux
• Luminoth
• Space Pirate
• Parasite Queen
• Sheegoth
• Metroid Prime (Core)
• Metroid Prime (Exo)
• Gunship

Finally, stickers was represented by....

• Chozo Statue
• Dark Suit Samus
• Dark Samus
• Federation Trooper
• Gravity Suit Samus
• Gunship
• Kanden
• Kraid
• Metroid (Metroid: Zero Mission)
• Metroid (Metroid Pinball)
• Morph Ball
• Mother Brain (Metroid: Zero Mission)
• Ridley (Metroid: Zero Mission)
• Ridley (Metroid)
• Running Zero Suit Samus
• Samus (Metroid)
• Samus (Metroid Prime 2: Echoes)
• Samus (Metroid Fusion)
• Special Token
• Starship
• Starship (Metroid Prime Hunters)
• Sylux
• Warrior Ing
• Zebes Inhabitant
• Zero Suit Samus

Finally, Super Smash Bros. for Wii U/3DS...

Samus returns again as a veteran
Pyrosphere as a stage
Mother Brain as an Assist Trophy

With Super Smash Bros. for Wii U/3DS not yet released, we are unsure as to what content will be included. However, we can look at the more recent Metroid games and have an idea of what could be included in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U/3DS. I am going to break it down into areas.

1. Veterans
2. Newcomers
3. Stages
4. Assist Trophies
5. Items
6. Trophies

So here we go!

Veteran - Samus

Samus has largely retained the same visually and game play wise. However, she has been changed to resemble her Metroid: Other M model. According to Sakurai, she appears more sleek and agile as opposed to bulky and large.

What has changed is.......

• Forward smash appears to have gotten much faster and now has a small fire charge that blasts out of it, similar to Mario's forward smash.
• Charge Shot claimed to have "drastically improved" speed and power.
• Missiles have a new design but otherwise have no obvious changes.
• Zero Laser is more narrow, and comes out faster.

http://www.ssbwiki.com/Samus_(SSB4)

Now, what could be improved for Samus is a number of things:

Can now crawl, with a similar animation to her old roll, and gains a new crawl attack based off of the boost ball from Metroid Prime. (P:M)
Can now swap between flame and ice beam types with side taunt; this affects her down tilt, forward smash, forward aerial, up smash, and Missiles. Taunt canceling this will still result in a beam switch. This gives Samus a new repertoire of altered attacks to work with, allowing players to be more creative in their styles. (P:M)
Charge Shot can now be charged while airborne. (P:M)
Grapple Beam has shorter reach, but is much faster in both start-up and ending lag, similar to Link's Clawshot. Dash grab retains its speed unchanged but it now has the same range as the standing grab. (P:M)
Samus’s projectiles are all more powerful. Homing Missiles and Bombs do more damage, Super Missiles do more knockback, and Charge Shot does both more damage and more knockback. (BB)
Jab combo now links properly. (BB)
Dash attack and down aerial a bit better. (BB)

http://www.ssbwiki.com/Samus_(PM)
http://balancedbrawl.net/characters/samus/

However, none of this is confirmed yet largely requested by Samus mains and players. It is unknown if Samus will change into Zero Suit Samus after performing her Final Smash or through taunts but it is commonly asked for among Smash fans.

Potential Newcomers​

There aren't too many potential Metroid newcomers available but there are quite a few. One in particular is quite.....big.

Ridley

Ridley is one of the most iconic enemy and second to Samus in terms of relevance. He also had a large amount of popularity and support from the community. Yet, he is also a very controversial character and has a fair amount of detractors....mostly do to his size.

Pros:

• Very iconic character
• Immense popularity
• Airborne based move set
• Strong air game/Weak ground game
• Fan support

Cons

• Large character
• Often considered too awkward
• Boss status in SSBB
• Fairly controversial character choice

Dark Samus

After Ridley, Dark Samus is one of the more speculated potential newcomers for Metroid. However, many cite that Dark Samus would just be a clone of Samus or she is not too iconic to be in Smash. Supporters though cite she could be potentially a semi-clone or even uncloned while utilizing Phazon based powers.

Pros

• Second most speculated character after Samus
• Fair amount of popularity
• Could possibly be an original character and not a clone
• Can utilize Phazon based powers unique to Dark Samus

Cons

• Possible clone
• Has the name "Dark" in front of it
• Not as popular as Ridley
• Not iconic enough

Sylux

Sylux is a bounty hunter with a grudge against Samus and the Galactic Federation. Sylux uses electrical energy in the form of his weapon, Shock Coil. Outside of Ridley and Dark Samus, Sylux is another speculated newcomer. He has a good amount of supporters who cite the ending of Metroid Prime 3: Corruption

A ship that slightly resembles the Delano 7, although with lighter blue coloration and a vastly different hull, can be seen following Samus after the end credits in Metroid Prime 3: Corruption for a 100% item collection rate.

Pros

• Sylux is able to transform into a Morph Ball like Samus
• Uses eletrical type attacks
• Iconic on the Nintendo DS
• Potential reappearance due to the ending of Metroid Prime 3.

Cons

• Low popularity
• Not enough vocal fan support
• Not 100% confirmed he will reappear

Rundas

Rundas is a bounty hunter encountered in Metroid Prime 3: Corruption and has the power of ice. He would be unique in that he is capable of forming and creating ice for attacks in a manner unlike the abilities of the Ice Climbers. Not to mention, he possesses powerful and aggressive attacks. Despite that, he is not overly popular and has a weak fan base and little vocal support.

Pros

• Unique ice abilities
• Potential Prime 3 newcomer
• Unique Metroid character

Cons

• Little support
• Not as iconic as Ridley or Dark Samus
• Little popularity
• Not as relevant

Anthony Higgs

Anthony Higgs first appears in Metroid: Other M. While not considered too likely, he is a fan favorite...mostly do to: "Remember me?" As well, since Metroid: Other M is getting a lot of representation in Smash 4 such as Samus' redesign and Pyrosphere. Despite, he does not have too much of a dedicated, vocal fan support.

Pros

• Appeared in Metroid: Other M
• Has a decent amount of popularity
• Has a small group of supporters
• Iconic within Metroid fans

Cons

• Low popularity
• Not considered likely
• Recent but not relevant

Stages​

Since it is confirmed that both the Wii U and 3DS will have different stages instead of sharing them on both versions, there will be more Metroid representation in the form of stages. Already confirmed is the Pyrosphere for Wii U but a 3DS stage has yet to be revealed. In addition, considering that some of the major franchises have more than one stage, it is likely we will receive more than one stage for the Wii U and possibly the 3DS not to mention veteran stages.

New Wii U Stages​

Skytown, Elyssia
Origin: Metroid Prime 3: Corruption

Skytown, Elyssia is an important part of Metroid Prime 3. It also have a lot of potential stage wise due to the elevator shaft and the various platforms. There are also a variety of enemies such as drones and robots that could be excellent stage hazards, The entire atmosphere would fit well in Super Smash Bros. and add a steam punk atmosphere to the series.

Phaaze
Origin: Metroid Prime 3: Corruption

Phaaze is the last location of Metroid Prime 3 and the final confrontation between Samus and Dark Samus. It has a lot of potential in that it can damage players with dangerous phaaze energy and could be quite the chaotic stage. However, it lacks in diversity unlike Skytown, Eyssia which could hurt it.

Phendrana Drifts
Origin: Metroid Prime

While not exactly a iconic location within the Metroid Prime trilogy, it is well liked by fans of the game and Metroid. As well, it is an ice/snow stage that does not appear a lot in Super Smash Bros, It could potentially be an interesting stage that could have a unique albeit icy feeling.

Upper Maridia
Origin: Super Metroid

A location in Super Metroid that does not feature boiling pools of lava but, instead, lava. It is not exactly an iconic stage but it is one of the major locations of Super Metroid. Plus, it doesn't have lava...a reoccurring theme in most Metroid stages.

Ceres Space Colony
Origin: Super Metroid

The Ceres Space Colony is the first stage in Super Metroid and Samus must escape it before it self-destructs. It could potentially be a stage that moves upwards; much like the Adventure Mode in Melee. Players have to keep up ahead of the explosions underneath.

Biosphere
Origin: Metroid: Other M

While it may seem like overkill for another ~sphere stage, Biosphere could be considered for a second Other M stage. It has lush forests and jungles that is largely missing from many Metroid stages. It also boasts some ferocious wildlife that could be stage hazards.

Sector Zero
Origin: Metroid: Other M

A possible 3rd stage canidate, it is a largeky unexplored area of the Bottle Ship. The stage itself could be interesting in that it could utilize a gimmick/stage hazard of the blast doors opening and closing; sucking players out into outer space or initializing zero gravity fighting conditions.

Potential 3DS Stages​

Oubliette
Origin: Metroid Prime Hunters

A prison ship for the monster Gorea. It has massive rooms throughout the ship. The stage could be fught in Gorea's Lair where the monster is fought. Gorea could potentially serve as a stage hazard and stage elements could include the various Hunters.

Alinos
Origin: Metroid Prime Hunters

A once lush garden world reduced to a state of ruin. Lava pools and fire is encountered here. This could potentially be the lava/fire stage for the 3DS and could utilize falling columns and geysers.

Ridley's Lair
Origin: Metroid: Zero Mission

The lair where Ridley is encountered in on Norfair. It could potentially be the homestage for Ridley on the 3DS (much like Pyrosphere on the 3DS) or could be the stage that includes Ridley as a stage hazard. It would also serve as the Metroid lava stage.

SR388
Origin: Metroid II

The planet SR388 spans through several games including Metroid: Fusion and Metroid: Other M. It has mutliple areas. One area that could be used is the fight with the Queen Metroid in Phase 9. The obvious stage hazard would be the Queen Metroid as well as the other metroids found in the stage.

Biologic Space Laboratories research station
Origin: Metroid: Fusion

One of the main locations of Fusion, it has many areas including the Main Desk, Habitation Deck, and other areas. A stage based on this research station could be a touring stage where the players are deposited into each area for a duration of time.

Past Stages​

Potential past stages could include:

Wii U

• Frigate Orpheon
• Brinstar Depths
• Norfair
• Brinstar
• Planet Zebes

3DS

• Norfair
• Brinstar
• Planet Zebes

I chose to leave out Frigate Orpheon and Brinstar Depths due to the possible graphic limitations of the 3DS.

Assist Trophies​

I mentioned various characters such as Ridley, Dark Samus, Sylux, and Anthony Higgs has potential newcomers. We also have a confirmed Metroid Assist Trophy in...

Mother Brain

As it appears from the picture, she fires a purple like beam. It is unknown if it can track opponents, fire in a straight line, or move up and down to cover a wider area. Judging from the picture, it appears it will cover a wide area by moving up and down.

With Mother Brain being confirmed for an Assist Trophy, a second Metroid Assist Trophy is slightly unlikely. In truth, they could also potentially become Assist Trophies if not playable. Here are a list of potential Metroid Assist Trophies:

Ridley

Ridley could potentially swoop in from the top of the screen, crash down, and grab the player and slamming them back into the stage. Ridley has the potential to be a devastating Assist Trophy and would be one of the more powerful ones.

Dark Samus

Dark Samus could enter into the stage and begin duplicating herself, creating two Dark Echoes. She then can start devastating players with Phazon-infused attacks.

Hunters

Hunters could be a potential Assist Trophy; incorporating the Hunters found in Metroid Prime: Hunters. While the Assist Trophy could feature one hunter at random or all of them at once. Here are what some of the hunters can do:

Sylux can use his weapon, Shock Coil, to fire powerful beams of energy can that hone into opponents.
Trace can use his weapon, the Imperialist, to turn invisible and snipe opponents from afar.
Weavel can use his weapon, Battlehammer, to lob energy-like grenade to destroy opponents.
Kanden uses his weapon, Volt Diver, to deliver powerful electrical attacks that can hone into opponents.
Spire uses his weapon, Magmaul, to melee opponents with power lava/fire type attacks.
Noxus uses his weapon, the Judicator, to freeze opponents with his short wave attack.

Rundas

Rundas can deliver powerful ice attacks which would freeze opponents allowing others to attack them. He finally finishes his offensive with an area wide damaging ice attack.

Anthony Higgs

Anthony could appear and says "Remember me?" He then begins to blast opponents away with his impressive arsenal.

Gandrahyda
Gandrahyda can assume the form of either the person who summoned her and perform his or her attacks save for Final Smashes This is controlled by the CPU. She is able to be damaged in which her form falls for a moment before reassuming it.

Space Pirate
The Space Pirate is a common enemy found in Metroid and can potentially become an Assist. It could be summoned with three others and begin firing and attack the opponents at random.

Adam Malkovich
Adam Malovich is a father figure for Samus Aran. He could appear in his uniforma nd gives advice to the person who summoned him such as how to defeat players and how to "you must recover!"

Kraid
If Brinstar Depths does not appear as a stage for either version, Kraid could potentially return as an Assist Trophy. He could arise from the background and begin smashing his fists into the stage for wide spread damage.

Metroid

Metroid, a previous Assist Trophy from Brawl, could potentially return as a second Assist Trophy.

Items​

Metroid, while it has a lot of items, most are suit enhancements and arm cannon upgrades that prevent it being used by the wider cast in Smash. However, the Screw Attack was able to be implemented in Melee despite it being Samus's Up special recovery move. This can be applied to another one of her moves...

Morph Ball
The Morph Ball could be integrated into an item. It would appear much like Samus' morph ball form but encased in a clear energy field. Once opened, the player will begin to sparkle. When the move, instead of walking, they transform into the morph ball and proceed forward. Pressing A at this time causes the character to release a bomb and slightly get shot upward. Stopping causes the player to return to his or her original form. Moving the control stick slightly causes the player to crawl forward while pressing it harder causes it to dash forward.

Much like how Samus' Morph Ball's color resembles her color scheme, the Morph Ball for other character also resembles that character color scheme:

Mario: Red shell, Blue core
Luigi: Green shell, blue core
Peach: Pink shell, yellow core
Bowser: Green Shell, red core
Rosalina: Light blue shell, yellow core

Donkey Kong: Brown shell, yellow core
Diddy Kong: Brown shell, red core

Link: Green shell, brown core
Zelda: Purple shell, pink core
Toon Link: Light green shell, yellow core

Pikachu: Yellow shell, red core
Lucario: Light blue shell, dark blue core

Kirby: Pink shell, red core
King Dedede: Red shell, yellow core

Fox: Gray shell, brown core

Pit: White shell, yellow core

Olimar: Gray shell, yellow core

Sonic: Blue shell, white core

Marth: Blue shell, black core

Villager: Red shell, tan core

Ms. Fit: Light blue shell, white core

Mega Man: Light blue shell, dark blue core

Little Mac: Black shell, green core

As well, larger characters such as Bowser, Donkey Kong, King Dedede, and Rosalina have larger Morph Balls than average sized morph balls such as Samus, Link, Peach, and Marth. There are smaller morph balls for characters such as Olimar, Kirby, Pikachu, and Villager. The Morph Ball stays in effect for at least 30 seconds before dissapearing. Being attacked by other players can cause the item to vanish.

Trophies​

Trophies in Super Smash Bros, are usually based off the most recent game in that franchise. Super Smash Bros. Metroid trophies usually consisted of trophies from the Prime series. Judging from that, it is likely that we will see trophies from Prime 3 as well as Metroid: Other M. Here are a few trophies I am certain we will see.

• Samus (Other M)
• Zero Laser Trophy
• Mother Brain

This is taking into account that characters, Final Smashes, and Assist Trophies all received a trophy.

Here are some more that I think are likely:

• Pyrosphere (stage model)
  
• Dark Samus
• Hunters (if an Assist Trophy)
• Rundas (MP3)
• Ghor (MP3)
• Gandrahyda (MP3)
• Aurora Unit (MP3)
• Leviathan (MP3)
• Mogenar (MP3)
• Steamlord (MP3)
• Omega Ridley (MP3)
• Reptilicus (MP3)
• Aurora Unit 313 (MP3)
  
• Samus (PED Suit) (MP3)
• Samus (Hazard Suit) (MP3)
• Samus (unknown Suit) (M:F)
• Anthony Higgs (M:OM)
  
• Adam Malkovich (M:OM)
• MB (M:OM)
• Brug Mass (M:OM)
• Mystery Creature (M:OM)
• Nightmare (M:OM)
• Goyagma (M:OM)
  
• Vorash (M:OM)
• Adam's Helmet (M:OM)
• Samus (Military Dress) (M:OM)
• Samus (Civilian Clothes) (MOM)
  
• Bottle Ship (M:OM)
• Ridley (Nintendo Land) (NL)
• Power Suitst (Nintendo Land) (NL)
• Samus Aran's Gunship (Nintendo Land) (NL)

Overview​

Metroid is a popular franchise that has medium representation in Super Smash Bros. Still, after four games, Metroid hasn't gone past the single Character representation if not counting Zero Suit Samus. Many think that Metroid is due for a new rep and many believe Ridley is that representative. Others think Samus reps the franchise just fine. It is also particularly weak in Items but that is due to most of the items revolving around Samus' suit and arm cannon upgrades. However, Metroid does well in stages with a total of two in Melee and three in Brawl. Metroid is also strong in trophies with the various power suits, enemies, and space craft. This is sure to increase thanks to Metroid Prime 3 and Other M. Metroid is a great franchise that deserves more attention within Super Smash Bros.​

 

[Venus of the Desert Bloom]

Thread of the Week
Author: Venus of the Desert Bloom
​

The Ridley Support Thread​

http://smashboards.com/threads/the-...ead-another-day-not-in-the-pyrosphere.324284/​

@Oasis_S​

The Ridley Support Thread is, quite possibly, the biggest support thread on Smashboards. Created on June 24, 2012 by Oasis_S, it has recorded an astounding 19,052 replies and 438,920 views that spans (at the time of writing) 477 pages. That is sure to climb as the release date approaches. Now you may be wondering why the Ridley support thread as such as high number of posts and views. Ridley continues to be one of the most requested characters for both Melee, Brawl, and SSB4 yet one of the most controversial requested characters. The Ridley Support Thread covers a wide amount of issues concerning both Ridley, Smash, and the Metroid franchise. As well, it seeks to find any proof that Ridley will be included in the game such as rumors and leaks as well as screenshots taken of Pyrosphere, a stage widely considered his home stage. In addition, Ridley supporters form counter-arguments for against Ridley and often participate in discussion regarding these issues. Finally, Ridley supporters discuss move sets, stats, and other information regarding Ridley being included in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U/3DS. I will attempt to cover all of these as well as going over Ridley has a whole.

Courtesy of N3ON
Ridley and Popularity​

According to Shoertiecanbrawl and the SSB4 Poll Lounge, Ridley was ranked number 5 with 130 votes in 2010 and then climbed up to 1st in 2011 with 366. In 2012, he narrowly lost to King K. Rool with 260 posts and grabbed the number 2 spot. In later 2012 and mid 2013, he lost his 1st and 2nd place ranking and dropped down to 3rd place with 705 votes. He climbed back up to 2nd place in 2014 with 72 and is currently staying there - just below Mewtwo. It is important to note that this poll takes most likeliness and want into consideratio and does not differentiate between the two. As well, in 2012-2013, Shortiecanbrawl also polled Gamefaqs. Gamefaqs is less receptive towards Ridley being playable, citing his large size as being a factor of not including him.

Ridley's popularity fluctuates periodically as seen when he waas 5th in 2010 and then shot up to 1st in 2011; just a year later and then back down to 2nd. I would attribute this to the controvery to his inclusion. These points will be brought up later in the article.

Ridley and TooBigots​

A common argument is that Ridley is just too big to be in Super Smash Bros. Ridley detractors often cite issues with Ridley&s size that might prove to difficult to implement him into Super Smash Bros. Those who think that Ridley is too big and cannot be implemented into Super Smash Bros. is termed "TooBigot".

Just throwing it out there, I came up with the term 'TooBigot' as a joke. It's a fitting joke label for people who argue using an old joke...which makes them a massive joke in and of themselves.

@BKupa666

Here is a classic example of someone who views Ridley is too big to be implemented in Smash:

Please note that while TooBigots may not want or do not see Ridley fitting into Smash, they necessarily don't hate the character. Some just do not see Ridley fitting into Smash; either because of size, appearance, or style. Here is another example of what would be called a TooBigot:

http://vaztor.blogspot.jp/2011/10/super-smash-bros-wii-u-meet-ridley.html

However, this Thread of the Week is to highlight the Ridley Support Thread and not "reasons why Ridley will not be in the game." The Ridley Support Thread discusses these matters though and have formed a considerable amount of size counter-arguments to contend with the points that were brought up in the blog and the video.

Here are some images that compare a downsized Ridley to the other characters found in the Super Smash Bros. universe:

[collapse=Size Comparisons by Mario & Sonic Guy]Ridley & Mario

Ridley & Bowser

Ridley & Samus

Ridley & Ganondorf

Ridley & Charizard

Ridley & Groudon

Ridley & Zekrom

Ridley & Galleom

[/collapse]
[collapse=Size Comparisons by Mario & Sonic Guy]Ridley & Bowser (T-stance version)

Ridley & Ganondorf (T-stance version)

I have some extra size comparison images that you could add onto the article...

Spoiler

[/collapse]
[collapse=Size Comparisons by AngelGlory]

[/collapse]
[collapse=MORE SIZE COMPARISONS]

[/collapse]
Props goes to @Oasis_S, @ Mario & Sonic Guy , and @Angelglory.

While this is not the only counter-argument towards "He's Too Big", it does paint a picture how downsized Ridley would look like. However, there are dozens of counter-arguments that Ridley supporters have formed over the years:

In addition, Sakurai has pointed out several times that size canon is not always an issue:

Pic of the day. This dog is huge… Wait, no, the playable characters are small. The Smash Bros. series doesn't always stay true to scale.

This did bolster Ridley supporters and brought Ridley detractors in droves. However, it does feel that this quote did in fact help Ridley's cause as it highlighted that size is not always canon. Sakurai has seemed to purposefully mention the size issues and each time he mentions it, it appears to be a victory for Ridley supporters.

I went to the Ridley support thread to see if I could find some information about counter-arguments to Ridley: @ MasterOfKnees was kind enough to answer some of my questions:

1) What are some popular arguments against including Ridley in Smash 4?

1) There's obviously the "too big" argument. It along with most other Ridley arguments are mostly based around canon and how much Sakurai should allow himself to wrap them from their canon appearances. Others we've seen besides the "too big" argument are that he'd be hard to balance given that he'll have some weird hitboxes and long range, he'd be a Charizard clone, he isn't unique enough, he'd be able to fly forever, and that he's "too scary" for a kid's friendly game like Smash, as stupid as some of them may sound we are posed with these arguments at times.

2) What are some counter-arguments for said arguments? In particular, to the "He's too big" argument.

2) I'll just execute the lesser ones first. Ridley does have weird proportions, and would have some whacky hitboxes depending on the design chosen. Given that his proportions are much more humanoid in his Other M proportions, which is the design likely to be chosen, it wouldn't be that big of a problem. Even then hitboxes are never realistic in Smash Bros, look at some of Snake's hitboxes for example. Furthermore, balance has never stopped a character from getting in, and probably wouldn't at this stage, even if it was a problem. The range "problem" is something that's entirely based on what moveset they're giving him, it wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing though, as long as those long range moves are slow.

He wouldn't be a Charizard clone. Saying he'd be a Charizard clone is like proclaiming Ike to be a Marth clone. Charizard's playstyle in Smash is based primarily on the ground, despite being a Flying-type. Ridley always excels in the air and is portrayed as very clunky on the ground, so obviously he wouldn't have the same playstyle. And if anyone honestly expects to see Ridley use Rock Smash anytime soon, then they're lacking imagination or knowledge of Ridley. Which does lead into the uniqueness argument.

Few, but still some people, proclaim he wouldn't be as unique as the currently announced newcomers. Believe it or not, but there's not an aerial oriented heavy weight in the game yet. Some people think Dedede is aerial based due to his multiple jumps, but aside from his B-Air his aerial game is very weak compared to his ground game. Ridley would be a reverse Little Mac pretty much by being big and heavy, clunky on the ground but agile in the air. Moveset wise there's so much you can do with him, just from fireballs, shockwaves, aerial movements, etc. Probably the most popular idea for a really unique gimmick for him is an aerial grab, which Ridley very often uses in the games.

"He'd be able to fly forever." Kirby, Meta Knight and Dedede can fly forever in their source games. Next. "He's too scary!" I guess that's why he's been in every Smash game to date. Even then he's not very scary at all, in Brawl he even looks somewhat goofy.

With them out of the way, let's open up arguably the most popular argument in Smash history: Is Ridley too big? Oh man, how many years I've talked about this, I'll never be able to hear the combination of the two words "too" and "big" properly again. If you haven't figured by now, my answer to it is a big fat NO:

I will however start out by killing an argument I see pro-Ridley people often use:

NES Ridley. If anyone doesn't know for some reason, NES Ridley is barely a head higher than Samus is. However, that appearance was retconned in Zero Mission where Ridley is as big as ever. Furthermore, his appearance is very obscure in general in that game, his neck is part of his lower jaw, he's completely upright, and he jumps around like a little child. I personally wouldn't ever bring that appearance up, because it's pretty irrelevant.

However, there's another appearance that many pro-Ridley guys bring up that I agree with: Melee Ridley.

No matter how little time his appearance in the intro lasts, it shows that Sakurai is willing to scale him down, even for such a small purpose as being featured in a cinematic opening.

Speaking of Sakurai not taking canon sizes seriously, we have a few good examples in the game already. No, I'm not talking Bowser, when he was included in Smash Bros he only had a single enormous appearance in a Mario game, that being Mario 64, he was small in the rest. I'm talking Olimar, and partly Ganondorf too. As we all know Olimar's entire game is based around being miniscule in a big world. Being incredibly small is a core part of Olimar's character, but despite that he's in Smash, and he's even higher than Kirby, even Sakurai pokes fun at it:

Spoiler

If Olimar, someone who's entire character is based around being small, can get in, then someone like Ridley, who's entire character is NOT based around being big, can easily get in too.

Then there's Ganondorf, this isn't as big a thing, but in Twilight Princess he's double Link's height, but in Brawl he has been cut short quite a few inches.

I talked about how important size are to these characters, and a misconception I often see is that size is a very important aspect of Ridley's character. Big shocker, it's not. Some people don't believe Ridley can act like Ridley without being big, they believe being able to hold Samus with one hand is a necessity. That's not what Ridley is about. Ridley is the leader of all Space Pirates, he's a cunning and intelligent being who becomes savage in battle, and most important of all he's Samus' arch nemesis, having killed her parents and all. Ridley's most important role in the games is his rivalry and history with Samus, this is what's truly being emphasized in his battles, not that he's big, his size is simply a side effect of being a Metroid boss, meaning he has to be easy to hit. Even then Ridley is one of the smaller Metroid bosses, as evidenced by being the smallest of the 4 main bosses in Super Metroid. If you want to talk about someone who's whole character is based around size, we're talking Kraid. Kraid's one and only appeal is his size, there's nothing else to his character, and that's why enormous guys like Kraid can't be a Smash character while Ridley can, because Ridley isn't about size. Size isn't a necessary part of Ridley's fighting style either, unless you don't think Ridley acts like Ridley in the Melee intro or in the Prime games (minus Meta Ridley in Prime 3) where he never uses his size to his advantage.

Heck, talking of the Prime games, there's a grand example of his size not even being taken that seriously by Retro Studios. In Prime 3 there are two Ridley battles, one where you fall down a shaft fighting him as Meta Ridley, and another more standard one where you battle him as Omega Ridley. In the Meta Ridley fight Samus can easily fit in Ridley's mouth, however in the later Omega Ridley fight Ridley is quite a bit smaller to the extend that he'd be choking would he ever try and eat Samus whole. This is because in the Meta Ridley fight he uses his size to his advantage, where as in the Omega Ridley fight it's more of a 1 on 1 duel, so being big isn't necessary for that fight, aka Ridley is scaled depending the role he has to fit in the fight. For reference, here are the two fights, the cutscenes being the important part:

Spoiler

- Ridley fight starts at 3:56

Furthermore, we've had some great mock-ups made by users if anyone wants to see examples, namely from @Angelglory. Here's one that really rocks, even if the wings and tail are a bit big that's just a matter of properly scaling the proportions:

Spoiler

- Same size as above.

And just to round things up, I'll just throw in this last image, I think it says it all:

That should do it for now.

-------

Wariofan1 did provide some great counter-arguments that many of the Ridley detractors often bring up to discredit the space pirate. While Ridley arguments have existed since the first Super Smash Bros., there is no clear cut outcome. Different online communities are either more pro-playable Ridley, more anti-playable Ridley, or set somewhere in the middle. While Smashboards does have a vocal anti-playable Ridley, I would say the pro-playable Ridley group is much more vocal and active; thanks to the Ridley support thread.

Ridley Stats and Move Sets​

Any good support thread will have move set of the character. While posters in the Ridley Support Thread may discuss how Ridley is not too big or argue against the TooBigots views, they do discuss how Ridley would be implemented in Super Smash Bros.

@Hotfeet44

Spoiler

View attachment 10890

Size: 10/10 (Ridley’s size is basically the largest character in the game in terms of overall size, closely followed by Bowser, Rosalina and K.Rool. However, Ridley’s weight is much less than that of Bowser and K.Rool, which acts against him in both single player and multiplayer matches. Ridley isn’t overly light, but he’s much lighter than you’d expect of a character his size.)
Strength: 7.5/10 (Ridley’s strength is definitely above average, but as with his thin frame, Ridley isn’t able to hit as hard as say Bowser and K.Rool. However, while he can’t hit as hard as said heavyweights, Ridley’s combo potential is MUCH higher than theirs, as his gameplay ability, the Dragon flight, makes him quite the combo-strong character. He’s no Meta Knight, but he can hold his own)

Speed: 6/10 (Ridley’s speed varies on how he fights, as he’s quite the sluggish character on the ground while he’s faster in the air. Ridley’s overall range on attacks also varies, as his range can go anywhere from very short to very long, most of the long attacks coming from his tail.)

Recovery: 10/10 (Ridley is a character with a total of four initial jumps and a special recovery that lets you fly around while launching fireballs, which gives him incredible abilities to not only recover, but protect himself from edge guards.)

Uniqueness: 8.5/10 (Ridley’s overall style of play is one not seen in Super Smash Bros, as he’s a character who can connect his attacks into aerial floating abilities and back into more attacks in the air. His overall style of play is inspired by Firebrand’s playstyle of Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3, in which he can use a lot of airborne abilities to keep up combos, which Ridley can as well.)

Gameplay Ability: Dragon Flight (A float ability that is used by holding up on the analog stick during a jump. This float lasts longer than Peach’s, and is Ridley’s main way of combo attacking. All attacks that have connections to this gameplay ability are marked with a “$” on the end.)

Standard A Combo: Pirate Combo (x3, 14% total, attacks twice with two attacks from his claws and then one from his tail)

Forward + A: Dragon Crunch (Neck reaches forward and bites at the opponent, 14%)

Up + A: Cutter Wings (Strikes upward with his wings, doing a small hop into the air, which can trigger dragon flight, 12%) $

Down + A: Tail poke (Tail reaches around and strikes opponent with its pointed end, then retracts behind Ridley. (10%)

Dash Attack: Talon Pincer (While dashing, Ridley will pull back his body and raise up his feet with his talons out, hitting the opponent away. If you hold the button, you can sometimes even grab the opponent and toss them away at the end of the dash, 8%)

Aerial Attacks:

Neutral A: Double Talon Kick (While in the air, Ridley will do a kick with both his legs, 16% total, can connect into Dragon Dash) $

Forward + A: Swooping Beast (Ridley will swoop in a downward arc then back up into the air, now facing the other way, one of the main attacks used with the dragon float ability. 14%) $

Up + A: Wing Gust (Uses the force of his wings to blow wind upward, which creates a wind effect. This attack can connect into Dragon flight. 12% + Air effect) $

Down + A: Fire Breath (Tilts his head down and shoots a blast of fire downwards, can hit opponents for a meteor smash or create a carpet of fire on the ground upon contact, 13%)

Backward + A: Tail Slash (Ridley’s tail will do a slashing motion upward, knocking the opponent up even farther, 14%)

Smash Attacks:

Forward Smash: Supernova Breath (With his head tilted down, will launch a large fireball at the ground in front of him, creating a small explosion. 29%)

Up Smash: Dragon Coil (Ridley’s tail will coil around him then shoot straight up, launching the opponent upward. 24%)

Down Smash: Tail Spear (This unique smash attack allows Ridley to hit hard in front of him with minimal range but have long range behind him but lower damage and knockback as his tail swings around his body. 21-24%)

Grab/Throws:
Grab: Grabs the opponent with both hands, holding them in place

Pummel: Bites the opponent (4%)

Front Throw: Like DK’s unique moving throw, will be able to move forward with opponent then toss them away (10%)

Up Throw: Throws the opponent upward then hits them in midair with a fireball (10%)

Down Throw: Steps on his opponent with his talon and cackles (11%)

Backward Throw: Crunches the opponent in the grip of his tail then tosses them away (12%)

Standard Special: Phazon Breath (By holding the B button, will launch out a maximum of four phazon fireballs from his mouth in a stream-like pattern. This attack has three charge stages, the first launching one fireball, the second launching two, and the third launching four. All four fireballs aim towards the ground, causing a small carpet of fire to ignite on the ground once the fireballs hit it. 7% per fireball)

Side Special: Dragon Toss (Ridley will do a small dash grab in front of him, then fly up into the air with his opponent in his talons. At a certain height, Ridley will crunch the opponent in his talons and throw the opponent downward. Ridley is incapable of using Dragon Flight or other special attacks on the way back down to the ground. Cannot continue to jump after attack finishes. 19% total)

Up Special: Space Turbulence (Ridley be able to fly around freely like in his battle in Super Metroid, being able to launch small fireballs from his mouth through the air to protect his ascent. These small fireballs do minimal damage, but can stop edge guards from stopping Ridley’s return. Ridley will not go into a helpless state once the attack finishes, but he will be unable to use special moves on the return to the ground, or the abyss if he doesn’t make it back to the stage. 5% per fireball)

Down Special: Tail Grinder (Ridley will do a small hop into the air and let his tail grind along the ground, causing sparks to go flying. An opponent caught up in this attack will take multiple hits in a row before the final hit knocks them away. Ridley will drop back down to the ground once the attack is used. In the air, this attack will cause Ridley’s tail to spin around his body in one quick succession. 17% total on the ground, 15% in the air)

Final Smash: Omega Ridley (Ridley will tap into the phazon and transform into the ultimate beast of the Space Pirates, Omega Ridley. With Omega Ridley, you get three extra jumps and every attack is increased in power, as well as an increase in overall size. However, the overall speed of Ridley is the exact same. All Attacks x1.5 damage)

Colors:
#1: Purple (Standard Ridley)

#2: Red (Super Metroid Art Ridley)
#3: Black (Metroid Zero Mission Ridley)
#4: Blue (Original Artwork Ridley)

#5: Bright Purple/Green (Original Metroid Ridley)

#6: Meta Ridley (Metroid Prime)

Taunts:
#1: Ridley will raise his head up and roar

#2: Stretches his wings out, extending his claws

#3: Cackles as his tail smacks against the ground

Winners Circle:
#1: Ridley will fly in from the top of the screen and crash onto the floor

#2: Ridley will have the baby Metroid in his grip, taking off and flying off-screen

#3: Ridley will roar as two space pirates drop in with their guns out, posing and aiming around

@Sonicguy726

Size - 9/10 – Ridley is a very large character and is around the same size as Bowser
Strength - 8/10 – Ridley is extremely powerful, being a large, purple dragon
Speed – 2/10 – Because of his power he is pretty slow and relies on his good air game
Weight - 8/10 – Ridley is pretty heavy
Entrance – Ridley swoops in and roars
Taunt 1 – Ridley Screeches with a mouth full of fire
Taunt 2 – Ridley Roars while flapping his wings
Taunt 3 – Ridley Performs 2 quick slashes and the stabs his tail into the ground
Victory 1 – Ridley flies past the screen twice and then lands roaring
Victory 2 – Ridley Breathes fire towards the screen and then flies off
Victory 3 – Ridley spins around whipping around his tail
A – Claw Slash
A + A – Claw Slash + Tail Whip
A + A + A – Claw Slash + Tail Whip + Wing Slap
Dash Attack – Dive – Ridley will dive forward slashing with his claws
Forward Tilt – Tail Smack – Ridley will turn around and smack his opponents with his tail
Up Tilt – Wing Slash – Ridley will put his wings upwards attacking with them
Down Tilt – Low Slash – Ridley will crouch and attack with his claws
Forward Smash – Crunch – Ridley will bite forwards
Up Smash – Upwards Slash – Ridley will swing his claws over his head
Down Smash – Ridley will spin attacking with his tail on each side
Neutral Aerial – Wing Spread – Ridley will spread out his winds attacking with each
Forward Aerial – Bite – Ridley will perform a quick bite forwards
Up Aerial – Over-head swipe – Ridley will swipe upwards with his claws
Down Aerial – Kick Smash – Ridley will kick downwards meteor smashing opponents
Back Aerial – Tail Smash – Ridley will stretch out his tail behind him and wing it around
Grab – He will grab opponents with his claws
Pummel – He will slash at the opponent
Forward Throw – Ridley will knock his opponent forwards
Up Throw – Ridley will throw them up slightly and knock them up with his wings
Down Throw – Ridley will fly upwards into the sky, with the opponent in his hands, then fly down and slam them into the floor
Back Throw – Ridley will throw the opponent behind him and then hit them with his tail
Neutral Special – Fire Launcher – Ridley will begin to charge up fire in his mouth and then he will shoot it out, you can store 4 fireballs at one time
Side Special – Sweeping Claw – Ridley will dash forward and grab whoever is in front of him, he will then fly up and slam them into the ground
Up Special – Air Dash – Ridley will begin to charge up and then will launch the direction you imput
Down Special – Tail Quake – Ridley will fly up and stab his tail into the ground causing shockwaves to come out either side
Final Smash – Omega Ridley – Ridley will transform into Omega Ridley, he gets faster, stronger and larger and is easily able to KO opponents

http://sonicguy726.deviantart.com/art/Super-Smash-Bros-for-Wii-U-3DS-Ridley-Moveset-433649695

If you have a Ridley move set, please send it over and I will include it into the WiR!

Future of the Ridley Support Thread​

While Ridley is often speculated as a likely character, he does have quite a lot against him. However, should he be revealed, how is the Ridley Support Thread prepared to handle that. With a Ridley reveal would be an onslaught of members posting in the thread as well as renewed interest in both Samus, Ridley, and Metroid within Smash Bros. As well, it would also bring in the Ridley detractors, calling him a waste a slot and that he could be too OP.

Ridley would of course receive his own sub forum much like Little Mac, Villager, Mega Man, Ms. Fit, and Rosalina and Luma. The fate of the Ridley Support Thread would transition from a support thread to a general discussion thread. This would mean a more general focus on the character instead of chance and likeliness. As well, it would be natural for other threads related to Ridley to appear such as a picture thread, move set speculation, social, video gameplay, misc information, and many others.

As a forum rule though, attacking and flaming both the character and the fan base would be considered as against the rules and would be punished. I am talking to you, TooBigots.

Lastly, it would serve as a hub for all Ridley related discussion and information post-release, much like how is Brawl. It is really exciting to think of this becoming a reality.

Potential Character Analysis: Ridley​

Sadly, I could not find someone to write a detailed potential character analysis for Ridley and I did not have enough time to write one myself. If anyone is interested in writing up an analysis, please contact me via PM.

In Conclusion​

The Ridley Support Thread is dedicated to all areas of Ridley discussion such as Ridley as a character, playability, move sets and stats, likeliness, anti-Ridley arguments and counter-arguments, important, and other areas of Ridley discussion in addition to other Metroid franchise discussion. Overall, this is the main hub for all Ridley discussion and, if or when Ridley is confirmed, it will serve as the base of Ridley character discussion.​

 

[Venus of the Desert Bloom]

We Want YOU to Vote! Results​

Author: Venus of the Desert Bloom



Which Fire Emblem character do you want to see be playable?

Last week, I polled voters on which Fire Emblem character they would like to see playable in Super Smash Bros for Wii U/3dS. It is often a controversial topic as many Fire Emblem fans think one character has better than the other.

In total, there were 63 votes which is pretty good considering I forgot to put up a poll for the past 2 issues. There were a variety of responses and I think partially reflects which Fire Emblem characters Smash fans want to see in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U/3DS.

Here is whole the characters did in terms of votes:
​

1. Roy
   4 vote(s)
   6.3%
2. Ike
   16 vote(s)
   25.4%
3. Chrom
   10 vote(s)
   15.9%
4. Lucina
   5 vote(s)
   7.9%
5. Chrom/Lucina
   7 vote(s)
   11.1%
6. Robin
   4 vote(s)
   6.3%
7. Anna
   7 vote(s)
   11.1%
8. Tharja
   2 vote(s)
   3.2%
9. Owain
   1 vote(s)
   1.6%
10. Lyn
    2 vote(s)
    3.2%
11. Eliwood
    0 vote(s)
    0.0%
12. Hector
    1 vote(s)
    1.6%
13. Black Knight
    1 vote(s)
    1.6%
14. Micaiah
    2 vote(s)
    3.2%
15. Other
    1 vote(s)
    1.6%

Judging from the results, Ike got the most amount of votes with 16 votes and 25.4% of the overall poll. Second was Chrom with 10 votes which amounted to 15.9% of the overall votes. Third was a tie between Anna and a pairing between Chrom/Lucina at 7 votes each totaling for 11.1% of the poll. Other mentionable characters were:

Robin and Roy with 4 votes each, 6.3% of the votes and Lucina at 5 votes, 7.9%.

It appears that Ike did very well but I attribute that to the fact that people desire no cuts this time around. As well, the votes could be attributed more to Ike fans rather than people who want to see a new character. However, as expected, Chrom did very well for himself; gaining 10 votes as well as an additional 7 when paired up with Lucina. Lucina did well for herself as well with 7 votes when paired and 5 votes for herself.

Characters from Awakening did fairly well in terms of votes (Tharja, Chrom, Lucina, and Owain all receiving votes). However, Lyn did recieve 2 votes which I attribute to her Assist Trophy status. Interestingly enough,Hector, Micaiah and the Black Knight did well for themselves despite not being relevant. Finally, Anna did well for herself which I suspect due to her vocal fans such as Bluepikmin11.

Overall, Ike seems to be the most voted Fire Emblem veteran whereas Chrom is the most voted Fire Emblem newcomer and most fans expect a Fire Emblem character based on recency considering Awakening is the most recent FE game.

We Want YOU to Vote!

In what capacity would you like to see Ridley be included in Smash Bros. for Wii U/3DS?

​

• • • As a playable character
    • As a stage hazard on Pyrosphere or another stage
    • As a background element in Pyrosphere or another stage
      
    • As a boss in the adventure mode
    • As an Assist Trophy
    • As a collectable trophy
    • Other
    • I don't want to see Ridley included
    • No answer

 

[Hinata]

I'm hurt. I'm part of the quotes for the Smash direct, and you didn't even tag me right. D:

Heheh. Anyway, always nice to see people's reaction to these pics every week. Keep up the good work.

 

[Venus of the Desert Bloom]

Blah the formatting on the WiR is screwed up. I don't have much time to fix it.

And its fixed.

 

[Venus of the Desert Bloom]

Double post!

Check out my article about the Direct here!

http://smashboards.com/threads/super-smash-bros-direct-4-8-2014.351665/

 

[MasterOfKnees]

Given how big a Metroid fan I am, this is the best Week in Review ever.

 

[Venus of the Desert Bloom]

Forgot to add this up!

Misc Information/Requests
The WiR is a huge commitment for me. I typically spend anywhere from an hour to 5 hours of my day making sure the WiR is as good as it can be. But I do have a job that I constantly have to prepare and study for as long as taking online classes myself and studying Japanese to further my career. Not to mention I have a social life, a wife, and commitments that conflicts with the WiR.

Therefore, I depend A LOT on outside help. If you would like to help write a WiR, please contact me via Private Message and we can work out the details. If you have any idea or would like to contribute something different, I am open to ideas. For example, the veteran analysis was entirely @APC99’s idea. I could also use some help in finding quotes, watching threads, and proofreading. If you see some interesting posts that you think may help me in writing the WiR, simply quote it in a Private Message or quote/tag me in your post on that thread. That way, I am sure to read it and within its context.

Secondly, I want to open to three Requests I have for people. If you are interested in helping out, please put "____________ Submission" so I know what you are applying for.
​

Little Mac Newcomer Analysis

Are you planning on maining Mac? Was he one of your most wanted characters? Or are you interested in writing about him? I am looking for a capable writer to help cover the Little Mac analysis. What is needed?
​

1. Commitment (You will be expected to have each part finished by Friday.)
2. Detail and Thoroughness (Make sure you are detailed and thorough in your analysis. This includes move sets, stats, game play, speculated match ups, etc).
3. Professionalism (Please be organized when writing and keep a professional attitude. Formatting and design is very important.
4. Look at the previous Newcomer Analysis as an example on how to write them.
5. Don't be afraid to ask for help
6. Make it your own. I said before to look at the previous Newcomer Analysis but also make it personal. Feel free to make some changes if you want.

If you want to write up a analysis on Little Mac, hit me up on PM.​

Potential Character Analysis: Ridley

Are you an avid supporter of Ridley! Show your knowledge of the space dragon by writing up an analysis of how Ridley would be incorporated into Smash! Everything from move sets, stats, game play, and more! Contact me for more details!

Peach Veteran Analysis

Do you you main Peach! Do you enjoy the character! Come and write a Peach Veteran Analysis for your favorite princess! Whether it's about Toad, her possible new move, or speculation for her Final Smash; show your Peach knowledge with us! Contact me for more details!​

 

[Venus of the Desert Bloom]

Double post!

@ThatWasPeachy's Wii Fit Trainer Part 2 coming next week!

 

[Pazzo.]

Nice WiR! Can't wait for next week... with the onslaught of information and all!

 

[Ryan.]

Voted for Ridley as a playable character.

I think this was a great week for updates. Happy about Luigi's Poltergust, whether its a final smash or a special (unless Sakurai is being a major troll and he is just taunting while he has the smash ball. ). The stage looks really cool, whatever it is. I actually really like the new item Toon Link is using as well, and good to know more about Pikachu's changes. Friday, well the main news for everyone was the Direct.

BTW it still says you need a banner in the "Want to help or contribute?" spoiler as #4.

 

[Mario & Sonic Guy]

It'll be hard to say what information we'll get from the upcoming Smash Bros. Direct, but it might answer some questions about the newcomers and their movesets.

 

[Venus of the Desert Bloom]

BTW it still says you need a banner in the "Want to help or contribute?" spoiler as #4.

I need to update that. I am still open for new banners because I would like to cycle between different banners to keep things fresh.

 

[Leonyx]

Woah cool, I was tagged the Week in Review! I'm honored. I thought few people had read that post too.

 

[Substitution]

I picked other.

Or the, "I don't mind what his appearance is" option.

 

[Deleted member]

Glad to see my Luigi post get quoted here! :D
I just wanna mention that I voted for Owain as a joke. I only want him in Smash for all the wrong reasons.

Anyways, I am going to vote the the "Other" option since a "I don't care" option doesn't exist.

 

[dimensionsword64]

I think we'll get at least a trailer and a newcomer.

 

[Gunla]

Venus, if there's any need for assistance based on the possible influx of info on the Direct, I'm sure I and a few others can help. (Heck, that analysis is already half done on my part.)
Since I want to see Nintendo deliver, I said Playable for Ridley.
This issue is great. Though the next WiR will have lots of juicy info...

 

[Venus of the Desert Bloom]

Glad to see my Luigi post get quoted here! :D
I just wanna mention that I voted for Owain as a joke. I only want him in Smash for all the wrong reasons.

Anyways, I am going to vote the the "Other" option since a "I don't care" option doesn't exist.

I tried to add that but maybe something was wrong with the forums but when I hit "add another option", nothing happened :/

 

[mimgrim]

I'm the only person who voted for Black Knight, and thus the person who made Black Knight do "well". Haha. Nice. xD