An SSB4 Story Proposal: Going back to basics.

[Artsy Omni]

Link to original post: [drupal=4509]An SSB4 Story Proposal: Going back to basics.[/drupal]



This is from a thread I posted on Nsider2's Smash Forum It has some added parts (marked with *) as a result from some of the discussion that followed.

So I was playing Subspace Emissary today with one of my co-workers, and being able to play through it a second time made me realize how much of a pile of nonsense it is. To start with, the level design is horrendous. But the thing that bothers me the most about it was the enemies and the plot. I touched on this in one of my other threads, but I think the plot aspect of Smash Bros is in dire need of simplification. So I got to thinking on the drive home...

Think back to SSB64. While the game's extremely light on story, it wasn't nonexistent. The opening cutscene outlined the basic premise: Master hand, the representative of a child's creative spirit, pulls out a few dolls and arranges a few objects on his desk. 1, 2, 3, SNAP! Suddenly, the desk becomes an arena, and the dolls come to life; we are now seeing the world through the imagination of the child, objectified in Master Hand.

As the players progress through the 1-player mode they eventually reach the "polygon team." This is essentially the objectification of the child saying "Sure, Mario can defeat anybody, but can he defeat.... MARIO!??!?" We've all played with our toys and came up with the same matchup in our playtime.Eventually, the character defeats Master Hand himself. What does this represent? It represents the character becoming something more than a figment of the imagination; in essence, the character has realized his own legacy, which transcends imagination entirely, and becomes part of the real world.​

In my opinion, this premise is far more compelling than Subspace emissary, because it has a meaning deeper than a story about trophies that come to life to defeat some Tabuu who wants to engulf the world in subspace. If offers insight into the very nature of what it means to be a character with a legacy, which is precisely what Nintendo's all-stars are.

I think Smash needs to return to this general premise. Back to the basics of what makes the game so amazing in the first place. Brawl was a celebration of Smash Bros gameplay, but I think SSB4 ought to be a celebration of the very nature of Smash Bros as an idea. My own proposal is to not try to create a typical antagonist that is behind all of the conflict, where all of the other villains are just pawns (Tabuu -_-). I think they should simply return to Master Hand, who is just as much a protagonist as he is an antagonist.

The story should be about Master Hand, or the creative spirit, simply doing what he does best: playtime. Like a child with a collection of figurines, he takes all of the heroes and pits them against all of the villains. He imagines the unique and varied worlds of Nintendo colliding. He imagines the characters running through their own worlds and the worlds of their newfound allies to help people they've never helped before. There would be segments where you play as heroes against the villains, and villains against the heroes, because a child plays both parts in his mind. In that sense, we are Master Hand, playing with the characters. Then at the end, the paradigm shifts: we become the character, fighting against Master Hand to claim our status as more than a hero in a child's fairy tale: to become a legacy. And perhaps Crazy Hand can reprise his role as the one who comes along if you play exceedingly well up to the end: the sign that you went above and beyond expectations leading up to the final battle.

* Now I'm wary of going further into specifics of story ideas, but this came up during the discussion. Perhaps to move beyond a simple revival of the original SSB's story, we could go beyond the metaphor of the Child's imagination and have a deeper evil that is the child's fears? Before fighting Master and/or Crazy Hand, a penultimate boss could be the child's fears, objectified in some new, original character. This would symbol the child overcoming his own fears. Some people would be content with a pure revival of the original premise, but just as an unexpected element, there's a story suggestion for you. Personally, I would keep Master Hand as the final final boss, but that's my own personal taste.

So that explains the premise. How does this apply practically to gameplay? Well, my proposal is to make the adventure mode two-fold: Hero story and Villain story, with a united story at the end as the characters strive together to obtain "legacy status." * However, I'm aware of the fact that the playable heroes will likely far outnumber playable villains, so in that case, the adventure mode can just be one big story, where every now and then, you play using the villain characters, seeing the story from their perspective.

All of the adventure stages should be famous levels or places from the franchises represented in the game. No subspace, no ambiguous castles, space stations, bases, or jungles. Adventures through the actual different worlds of Nintendo, with perhaps some optional levels from third party games. No Primids, Feyesh, Floows, or Jyks. Just famous enemies from the franchises. The stage premises themselves should simply relive story moments from the various games that have an eternal place in our hearts.

* Perhaps to really highlight the premise as the game being a figment of the imagination, the Game Over screen could be the player's character trophy/figurine/doll falling onto what starts as a collection of stage assets from the various levels, but then it fades into a table with some household items, as it awaits the player's choice to Continue or Quit. It would be a great shoutout to the original Intro scene.

Some example level premises (nothing too specific):

• Link Slicing up Goombas on the way to a battle against Bowser
• Bowser beating up against cowering soldiers on the way to Hyrule Castle to kidnap Princess Zelda
• Zelda breaking out of Bowser Castle because she's not as helpless as Peach
• Captain Falcon beating up Metroids to get off of a soon-to-explode planet
• Mario punching Octoroks out of the park on the way to the Ganon's Tower
• Helping Team Star Fox defend the great fox from enemy ships
• Mario Collecting Vegetables on a snowy mountain climb to get to the Pteradactyl that will take you to the next level
• Kirby defeating wild or trained pokemon
• Zelgius fighting through soldiers and archers to challenge Marth.
• Running around, shrunken by some evil plot of Bowser, trying to survive against Bulborbs and Armored Cannon Beetles.

These are just some non-specific, simple premises that prove that there is no need for some off-the-wall Subspace Emissary to unite the characters under a single plot. Just start throwing villains after heroes they've never tried to fight before, and vice versa. It's all child's play.

Now I mentioned roster in the Blog Title. However, I'm not going to actually list characters. Instead, I'm going to propose a general idea:

Include more villains from each franchise! This is necessary for this "Hero/Villain" mode to work. Now some franchises have no real villain (Ice Climbers, for instance), but as state above, those characters can still play a role in the Hero's story as a means to further progress toward whatever villain there is. And those villains can fight against those heroes.

THAT is what Smash Bros is all about. The simple joy of loving Nintendo franchises and wanting to pit them against each other. The story premise is simple, yet has a deeper layer of meaning that can truly be appreciated by the kids who are now grown up and see life for all of its complications, yet look back on the simplicity of childhood.

As always, your feedback is much appreciated.

 

[Kantrip]

Excellent post, I agree completely.

A while back, I was thinking of ways to enhance the Subspace Emissary plotline. I thought that it was the first attempt at a story that the smash series had presented us. Then I realized that was not true. In fact, the SSE was actually taking away the story that we had been given!

SSB4 needs to bring back the simplicity of the original.

 

[Katakiri]

I completely agree. Melee's adventure mode was definitely the best example of all of this. Running through the Mushroom Kingdom, exploring dungeons in Hyrule, escaping Planet Zebes only to be greeted by...Kirbys?!, fighting a super-powered Bowser. I mean add a little plot to it and you could make a game out of just that.

If any of you remember Kirby Amazing Mirror & how it's worlds are connected by mirrors, there's your plot device right there. Brawl did a nice job of creating it's own world, but that's not what draws Nintendo fans to Smash. We want to see the characters' worlds not Sakurai's world. It was a great story, not to discredit him, but it wasn't what fans wanted.

When the second cutscene you show is DK & Diddy fighting Mario enemies that are stealing their banana hoard which is a plot device in their series, you expect to see Mario or DK enviroments not generic jungle or noncolorful plains.

 

[OmegaXXII]

I agree completly as well, SSE mode should definetly intertwine with universal dimensions such as Mario's Zelda's etc..

I also like the concept of having unique SSE characters as well, but it wouldn't hurt to add some recognizable ones as well.

The battles in particular should resemble those of their main storyline, like Ike fighting The Black Knight for example or Captain Falcon in a cutscene against either Goroh or Black Shadow in a track, the SSE story should somehow resemble that of canon games in which those characters appear in.

 

[Artsy Omni]

Thanks for the feedback guys! I've got some other stuff in store ready to post in the blog, but I'll hold off on that for now.

I agree completly as well, SSE mode should definetly intertwine with universal dimensions such as Mario's Zelda's etc..

I also like the concept of having unique SSE characters as well, but it wouldn't hurt to add some recognizable ones as well.

The battles in particular should resemble those of their main storyline, like Ike fighting The Black Knight for example or Captain Falcon in a cutscene against either Goroh or Black Shadow in a track, the SSE story should somehow resemble that of canon games in which those characters appear in.

Hmm. I would personally prefer for SSE to stay in Brawl, with any original content in SSB4 being totally new in accordance to the different premise. My opinion of course.

I loved Polygon Team because there was a polygon for every character. I loved the look of the Alloys, though, and if there were an alloy for every character, that would be a cool thing to integrate into adventure mode as the heroes and villains unite against the child's own made up ideas, much like fighting the polygons.

And while a roster of, say, 50 characters would make for a lot of unique alloys to invent, I think it'd be worth it.

The brunt of adventure mode should be all about the franchises, but leading up to Master Hand, I think Smash original enemies and characters would be good.

I just personally hated the enemy designs in SSE. XP

 

[Starphoenix]

This is a brilliant post. I admit I usually gloss over a lot of ideas, but I'm glad to have taken the time to read through this. It is creative and builds upon a game and story I have many nostalgic memories with.

Great job.

Now as for adding villains, between playable characters and bosses we should be able to have more diversity in terms of story.

 

[Shorts]

I've said this before, but I think a great path for SSB is one similar to the Soul Caliber series. In the adventure mode, each character has their own story, with a few alternate endings depending on choices you make and paths that you choose. It's enough freedom to make you feel like you're in control of your character, but not so much that the mode doesn't take more than fifteen minutes to complete.

An example of how the choices might work are: "Though Bowser fought with all his strength, it still wasn't enough to defeat the Master Sword. Before Link was about to strike bowser with a final blow, he told Link that he knew where Zelda had been taken. Bowser then imformed Link that Zelda's wherabouts were to the north, near Icicle Mountain, however Link knew better than to trust someone blindly, so he needed time to think"

Does Link,

A. Follow Bowser's adive and head towards Icicle Mountain

B. Continue west in search of the Kongo Jungle


The Adventure mode could give you a variety of different types of battles, with three or four decisions to make, and than maybe an ending sequence for each characters possible ending. They could throw in "Rival Battles" and "Boss Battles" as well.

 

[Artsy Omni]

I've said this before, but I think a great path for SSB is one similar to the Soul Caliber series. In the adventure mode, each character has their own story, with a few alternate endings depending on choices you make and paths that you choose. It's enough freedom to make you feel like you're in control of your character, but not so much that the mode doesn't take more than fifteen minutes to complete.

An example of how the choices might work are: "Though Bowser fought with all his strength, it still wasn't enough to defeat the Master Sword. Before Link was about to strike bowser with a final blow, he told Link that he knew where Zelda had been taken. Bowser then imformed Link that Zelda's wherabouts were to the north, near Icicle Mountain, however Link knew better than to trust someone blindly, so he needed time to think"

Does Link,

A. Follow Bowser's adive and head towards Icicle Mountain

B. Continue west in search of the Kongo Jungle


The Adventure mode could give you a variety of different types of battles, with three or four decisions to make, and than maybe an ending sequence for each characters possible ending. They could throw in "Rival Battles" and "Boss Battles" as well.

So you're more in favor of the Melee approach to Adventure mode, in which playing through the whole thing doesn't take a while? Rather than Brawl's approach, which has a long story that involves al the characters that can take multiple sittings?

I think either can work. I'm not so much concerned about the format as I am about the premise itself and its production values. So I'd be content either way as long as it's not another SSE fiasco with uninspired levels and enemies.

 

[---]

Just read through it, great idea's.

It should be closer to Melee's adventure mode, but longer and more stages based on different series, instead of just Mario, Zelda, and F-Zero.

Also how about a stage based on the SSE with Tabuu as a secret boss?

 

[Artsy Omni]

Just read through it, great idea's.

It should be closer to Melee's adventure mode, but longer and more stages based on different series, instead of just Mario, Zelda, and F-Zero.

Also how about a stage based on the SSE with Tabuu as a secret boss?

As much as I hate SSE, it's enemies, and Tabuu, it's probably a good idea, since a lot of people liked the invented world of SSE. So I'll remain open minded about it, as hard as it is. XP

 

[Starphoenix]

As much as I hate SSE, it's enemies, and Tabuu, it's probably a good idea, since a lot of people liked the invented world of SSE. So I'll remain open minded about it, as hard as it is. XP

Tabuu wasn't that bad of a character, despite the fact he had little of that (character). If he had had more development he could have been much better than he was. Personally, and this is just me, I'd kind of enjoy seeing Tabuu break out and be featured in a different Nintendo title. That aside, I feel we will see him return in the next game as every Smash created boss (Master Hand, Crazy Hand and Giga Bowser) have continued on past the title in which they originated.

 

[Artsy Omni]

Tabuu wasn't that bad of a character, despite the fact he had little of that (character). If he had had more development he could have been much better than he was. Personally, and this is just me, I'd kind of enjoy seeing Tabuu break out and be featured in a different Nintendo title. That aside, I feel we will see him return in the next game as every Smash created boss (Master Hand, Crazy Hand and Giga Bowser) have continued on past the title in which they originated.

I never judge characters based on what they could have been. The fact of the matter is, Tabuu was a generic, shallow main antagonist with barely any plot involvement.

I simply don't like that they abandoned the premise of the original, because in my opinion, it's more compelling. It's not that I don't think Tabuu could be something great and really make Smash cool. He has potential. But I like the premise of the original so much and I wish they kept it.

 

[Starphoenix]

I never judge characters based on what they could have been. The fact of the matter is, Tabuu was a generic, shallow main antagonist with barely any plot involvement.

I simply don't like that they abandoned the premise of the original, because in my opinion, it's more compelling. It's not that I don't think Tabuu could be something great and really make Smash cool. He has potential. But I like the premise of the original so much and I wish they kept it.

True, it's like eating a bowl of garbage and saying "well, it could have been a cheeseburger, so I enjoy it".

Yes, that is something I noticed. We went from a kind of "whimsical/imaginitive" theme to something that quite honestly takes itself too seriously.

 

[Artsy Omni]

Yup. That's one of the big things. I wish Smash didn't take itself so seriously. I liked it best when it was fun-loving and just totally zany. Not bordering on high-fantasy. =P

 

[Big-Cat]

I've always been fond more of the idea that Master Hand and Crazy Hand are a yin-yang entity where Crazy Hand, the symbol of chaos, melds the different worlds together, explaining how everyone counters each other. Master Hand, the symbol of creation, turns the worlds into crazy versions where creatures of one world are in another and so on. As a result of this, the different characters respond differently to this, some taking advantage while others try to fix it, etc. This keeps the melded aspect seen in the Subpar Emissary, but keeps the original premise seen in Smash 64, albeit in a "darker" tone.

It'd be awesome if they had a good balance of Metroidvania and Mario platforming like in Melee for this while keeping Shortie's idea that playing it as each character gives you only their perspective of the story and then once everyone's stories are cleared, you enter the final chapter.

 

[Deleted member]

I really would love for Sakurai to have more influence of the original's personality in SSB4. To me, the original was more then just a game, it was truly a classic I would never forget. Characters being dolls seems much more natural then them being trophies.

 

[Artsy Omni]

I really would love for Sakurai to have more influence of the original's personality in SSB4. To me, the original was more then just a game, it was truly a classic I would never forget. Characters being dolls seems much more natural then them being trophies.

Agreed. I never really liked the idea of characters being trophies, though I think the idea would work the same with them as trophies, as you could play with them like I often played with figurines as a kid.

 

[JoFTWin]

I'll admit, before I even read this thread I was prepared for some epic story that would be totally impractical for Sakurai to even consider implementing. But I definitely agree with this whole heartedly and I could see Sakurai taking it back to this format. The vagueness and the subtleties of Melee/64 is what made Smash's single player a bit more compelling in my opinion. The ideas were left out on the table and the rest was left up to our imaginations.

 

[Zzuxon]

I love this plot. I've made another, about Crazy hand, and smash balls, and possesion, and dark bugs, but this is really good, better even.

 

[Artsy Omni]

Thanks for the kind words thus far. It would be a dream come true if Sakurai shared this sentiment with me. I love the charm of the first game, and it's totally not nostalgia goggles.

 

[~ Valkyrie ~]

I gotta admit, if that what you wrote about what Master Hand is was true, I'm so like an embodiment of him.

Also, I really do love this idea. It would easily touch on our hearts and remind us how awesome Smash Bros was in the first place.

"I'm so sure Mario's the best, none in the world can beat him!"

" In my opinion Link can beat that guy."

"Oh yeah? We'll see about that! Who'll win?"
The question would end there, but the idea of it is already quite rich in imagination. (-lvl-)

The story also could get quite deep and maybe touch us in some way. (-ll-)

 

[JavaCroc]

Yes, that is something I noticed. We went from a kind of "whimsical/imaginitive" theme to something that quite honestly takes itself too seriously.

I agree, although I don't the story taking serious, darker turns at times. I generally liked the depiction of characters in Brawl, for example, but in some instances it even felt out of character for the characters involved to act as they did.

I'd like the next story to be somewhere between the atmospheres of Brawl and SSB64; I don't mind it using the characters in more complex or darker situations, but keep it under control and at least throw in some humor or lighthearted moments in the story.

I've always been fond more of the idea that Master Hand and Crazy Hand are a yin-yang entity where Crazy Hand, the symbol of chaos, melds the different worlds together, explaining how everyone counters each other. Master Hand, the symbol of creation, turns the worlds into crazy versions where creatures of one world are in another and so on. As a result of this, the different characters respond differently to this, some taking advantage while others try to fix it, etc. This keeps the melded aspect seen in the Subpar Emissary, but keeps the original premise seen in Smash 64, albeit in a "darker" tone.

It'd be awesome if they had a good balance of Metroidvania and Mario platforming like in Melee for this while keeping Shortie's idea that playing it as each character gives you only their perspective of the story and then once everyone's stories are cleared, you enter the final chapter.

I've suggested this idea as well before Shortie, and I agree it's the best way to handle Adventure Mode for SSB4. It not only gives different perspectives on the story from the viewpoints of each character, but it also increases player's choice and replayability by providing the player the same pool of playable characters offered in any other mode. If a player had finished his favorite character's slice of the story, he may want to try out the other characters' stories, and so on.

As for the Crazy Hand/Master Hand concept, I have also imagined Crazy and Master Hand as the Yin and the Yang - they are of different sides of the spectrum, and without one, the other cannot exist and the world collapses from that point on.




Anyways, in relation to your own story idea, Hex, I've thought of an idea to implement Crazy Hand as a sort of sub-plot character to the main storyline while retaining Master Hand as the final boss.

Basically, there are specific points in the story where Master Hand would normally change the progess of events regarding certain characters. For example, as you suggested, he could swap Link and Mario's places and have them fight in the other's world for the other's goal - he is the Master, he controls all up to the point when characters realize their potential.

However, at some of these select points, the player can trigger Crazy Hand to appear instead of Master Hand and shape the story and world of the characters in his own different way.

Given that Crazy Hand is... well, crazy, these transformations would be unpredictable in nature and lead to alternative story scenarios. As examples of this:


A Mario Versus Bowser Fight: Under Master Hand, the brawl is your average, classic Mario Vs. Bowser duel. Under Crazy Hand, Bowser halfway through the battle transforms into Giga Bowser, greatly morphing the challenge of the boss battle.

Fire Emblem: This is a more extreme example, but an example nevertheless. In the Fire Emblem games, when an ally dies, they can never be retrieved. Suppose Ike and Marth were fighting against the Black Knight in one segment of the story, and Marth fell back onto the ground, struggling to keep up. The Black Knight raises his sword and is about to finish Marth.

Under Master Hand, Marth dodges in the last second and the fight continues normally with both Marth and Ike victorious and alive. Under Crazy Hand, the Black Knight successfully "slays" Marth, transforming him into trophy status. The Black Knight follows his initial attack with a final strike at Marth's trophy, shattering Marth's figure and rendering him dead and irretrievable. Ike then defeats the Black Knight on his own. According to this take on the story, from this point on, Marth is dead and is no longer a playable ally on your Adventure Mode team; Ike must continue on by himself.

Bramble Blast: This example plays on both Nintendo nostalgia and the crazy side of Crazy Hand. Suppose Diddy Kong is progressing through a DK-themed level similar to the classic Bramble Blast level of DKC2, but of course with a different layout, graphics matching up with the rest of the game's levels, and with this Brawl remix of Stickerbrush Symphony playing.

Under Master Hand, this level progresses normally and doesn't change from it's basic design. Under Crazy Hand, at one point in the level, the stage tranforms into an exact replica of the Bramble Blast level from DKC2 - graphics, layout, the original music, everything but Diddy Kong's graphics. The level, at the end of this Bramble Blast level, transforms back into it's normal form at the very end of the level. The story progresses the same after this level as it does with Master Hand, but this particular level is transformed.


Those are just some examples. Under this concept, Crazy Hand wouldn't necessarily be a main villain in the story, but a sub-plot that introduces alternative story and level scenarios - which would increase replayability as a side benefit.