(Please read this post with Xander Mobus's voice, it would be so epic, I guess)
(I know the logo looks really bad but I suck at designing stuff and besides, I did it in like 2 minutes using GIMP).
Greetings, Smash fans. It's-a-me, LoZ00 (I'm Italian, I can say it without being offensive). Perhaps you might be asking: "What is this thread about?" I couldn't blame you: I would be asking the exact same question if I were you. Well, I've been reading many predictions about a possible reboot for the Super Smash Bros. series and so I told myself "Why not creating a reboot myself?". This idea grew in me and so here you're going to read my own ideas about a possible Super Smash Bros. reboot that I called NEW Super Smash Bros. (don't try to deny it: if it were real, Nintendo would name it just like that). So, basically, I'm going to update this thread about every 2-3 days (I won't be consistent at all, I know how I am), and then we can discuss my ideas, in order to theorycraft this game. I hope you will find the discussion to be as entertaining as I believe it can be. In order to make the thread a nice place to stay, please, don't be offensive or rude: we are here to have a discussion and, most importantly, to have fun.(I know the logo looks really bad but I suck at designing stuff and besides, I did it in like 2 minutes using GIMP).
How does this thread work?
Glad you asked, LoZ00 from the past. Basically, in every update, I'll be sharing a new concept or idea for a certain character, stage, item, mechanic and so on, then we can discuss and try to make it even better. I'll write an extensive post regarding the subject (for example Mario) and how it works in my head, then we can start the discussion. Before moving onto the next subject (for example, after Mario we'll see Link), I'll make sure to update the original post with your best ideas. Please, don't be shy: I'll be so happy to change my original ideas if I see that you are enjoying this kind of thread (although I might be jealous if such a good idea wasn't mine, but still!). That's enough with talking, let's jump onto the general introduction. General introduction: what's NEW Super Smash Bros.?
As I stated before, NEW Super Smash Bros. is a possible reboot for the Super Smash Bros. series that lightly revolutionizes the general mechanics (if it ain't broken, don't fix it), but that deeply changes how characters are portrayed, having a general focus on newer or more current characters and how they are portrayed in recent games. This was done in order to give the game a precise chronological identity (what I mean with this expression is that people will easily recognize it was done in the late 2010s even if they read it after five years, even if they won't be reading by that time). The general gameplay stays the same, as we'll discover better in the gameplay section. But now, let's dive right into the roster section! The Roster: who are the playable characters in NEW Super Smash Bros.?
Before introducing the characters, I would like to say a couple of things. First of all, I had a very hard time selecting these characters and each one of them was thought through for a very long time, and still, I'm not sure about a couple of them. So please, don't be salty or sorry if I won't take into account your ideas to improve the roster, as I'm sure I forgot about a whopping amount of characters, but this selection of characters is something I really care. I tried to be as balanced as possible, however, there are still a couple of very biased picks. Then, when I picked these characters, I decided to only choose Nintendo fighters, as Smash, as its core, was meant to be a fighting game for Nintendo's biggest all-stars. Finally, I mostly picked characters that are still relevant nowadays OUTSIDE of the Smash series. So sorry for some fan favorites, but many of them really were in because they have always been in. Now, let's go with the characters, the 40 fighters you and your opponents will pick (I kept the numbers from Ultimate, although I had the idea first, because I think they are really good, as they mix characters from different series together while maintaining a certain kind of order).- Mario - Super Mario Bros. series
- Link - The Legend of Zelda series
- Inkling - Splatoon series (both female and male variant)
- Peach - Super Mario Bros. series
- Kirby - Kirby series
- Samus - Metroid series
- Pikachu - Pokémon series
- Lucina - Fire Emblem series
- Donkey Kong - Donkey Kong series
- Isabelle - Animal Crossing series
- Luigi - Super Mario Bros. series
- Bowser - Super Mario Bros. series
- Tom Nook - Animal Crossing series
- Diddy Kong - Donkey Kong series
- Piplup - Pokémon series
- Olimar - Pikmin series
- King Dedede - Kirby series
- Yoshi - Super Mario Bros. series (don't worry, this wasn't a mistake)
- Chorus Kids - Rhythm Heaven series
- Ike - Fire Emblem series
- Pit - Kid Icarus series
- Fox - Star Fox series
- Zelda - The Legend of Zelda series
- Eevee - Pokémon series
- Mii - Miitopia series
- Toad/Toadette - Super Mario Bros. series (Toadette appears as an alternate costume of Toad, also I should mention that from now on characters are unlockable)
- Isaac - Golden Sun series
- Three Mage-Sisters - Kirby series (Francisca, Flamberge, and Zan Partizanne from Kirby Star Allies, the player is able to switch between the three like Pokémon Trainer in Brawl and Ultimate)
- Wario - Super Mario Bros. series (this wasn't a mistake as well)
- Dixie Kong - Donkey Kong series
- Rex - Xenoblade series
- Euden/Midgardsormr - Dragalia Lost series (Euden can transform into Midgardsormr and vice-versa, like Zelda and Sheik in Melee and Brawl)
- Incineroar - Pokémon series
- Spring Man/Ribbon Girl - ARMS series (Ribbon Girl appears as an alternate costume of Spring Man)
- Alph - Pikmin series (not a clone of Olimar)
- Octoling - Splatoon series (both female and male variants, not a clone of Inkling)
- Lyn - Fire Emblem series
- Ridley - Metroid series
- NES Remix - NES series (a single character that represents many NES games, takes various appearances, will probably be more clear when I will introduce it).
- Ganondorf/Ganon - The Legend of Zelda (can switch between the two formes, like Zelda and Sheik, but has a particular restriction, again, it will be more clear when I will introduce him).
The Stages: where do these battle take place?
Now, let's analyze the arenas of the game. Unlike characters, stages were chosen more "casually": what I mean is that I care for some of them, while some others were added as "fillers", not because they're bad, but because I tend to have fewer ideas for stages. Your help with this section would be really appreciated! Send me your incredible ideas, I know you have many! Stages won't be numbered, rather they are grouped by series. And finally, * marked stages are unlockable- Super Mario Bros. - 1-1, Princess Peach's Castle, ScareScraper*, World Bowser, Whomp's Domino Ruins, Battle Stadium (from Mario Kart 8 Deluxe), New Donk City*.
- The Legend of Zelda - Lake Hylia, Stone Tower Temple, Pirate Ship*, Skyloft, Hyrule Castle Ruins* (from Breath of the Wild).
- Splatoon - Inkopolis, Salmon Run
- Kirby - Dream Land, Fountain of Dreams, Mt. Dedede* (a substitute to the Ring)
- Metroid - Chozo Ruins, Pyrosphere*
- Pokémon - Pokémon Gym, Spear Pillar, Ultra Space*
- Fire Emblem - Arena Ferox
- Donkey Kong - Homecoming Hijinxs, Sunset Shore, 75m*
- Animal Crossing - Town (a stage similar to Smashville), Tortimer's Island
- Pikmin - Twilight River
- Rhythm Heaven - Night Walk
- Kid Icarus - Palutena's Temple
- Star Fox - Corneria, Fortuna
- Miitopia - Greenhorne*
- ARMS - DNA Lab
- Golden Sun - Venus Lighthouse*
- Xenoblade - Torigoth
- Dragalia Lost - Dragon's Roost*
- NES - NES Remix*
- Others - Wuhu Island (Wii Sports), The Desk* (Chibi-Robo), Savvy Boutique (Savvy Style), Snipperclips (Snipperclips), Obstacle Course* (Wii Fit), Nintendo Land* (Nintendo Land)
Aesthetics, Sounds & Music: Smashing with style!
To many, this part will seem pointless. But not for me, because I'm "crafting" a game like it was real. How should characters look like? This is a really tough question to answer. Of course, Nintendo characters come with a very wide variety of styles, ranging from the colorful Mario, Kirby, and Isabelle to the more serious Link, Samus, and Lucina. So, it is hard to find an art style that catches them all. Something we could experiment is a cell-shaded style, but I'd rather go with a more comic-book like approach. Let's have exaggerated POWs and balloons popping out during the fray, nice outlines around the characters and colorful scenarios. In order to make you better understand what I mean, let's take Persona 5's art style, and further exaggerate on the outlines in order to truly make the game seem like a comic. Sound effects should be very noticeable as well, like in Ultimate: you should hear a hit landing and you should be satisfied by it. Finally, I'd like to briefly talk about music. It will be pretty hard to set a tone for pieces of music coming from a massive amount of games and series, but if I had to choose a music style that nobody, apparently, complains about, is jazz. I don't mean that every music track should be a jazz rearrangement of a famous Nintendo track, but I think that maybe original tracks and many new remixes should belong to this genre. Also, I don't see why we should waste all the music from previous entries: this is the only aspect from previous Smash titles that would be carried over to NEW Super Smash Bros. Let's now dive into the last section of this huge post: the gameplay section. Gameplay: how to Smash!
We've been talking a lot about fighters, stages, and stuff, but how exactly does one Smash? Well, not many things changed from the previous entries: basic and special attacks are performed like in older games and Final Smashes are present as well. However, there is something I'd like to talk about. First off, the hitstun. I know Smash 64's hitstun was infamously high, but I'd like a hitstun in between Smash 64 and Melee. Combos are hype, both to see and to perform: I'd like to encourage a combo-heavy, very flashy playstyle. This also means that footstools are removed, as they are mostly performed by accident. Parries now can be performed alongside shield (for example, L triggers shield, R triggers parry). Parries are much faster than a shield in the start-up and block the opponents for a few frames, should they hit the player, but they have a very long cool-down to compensate. Shields can be broken, while parries cannot. Due to the higher hitstun, shieldstun will be higher as well. There's an input for short-hops as well (for example, X triggers jump, Y triggers short-hop). This, alongside the universal 3-frames jumpsquat, retained from Ultimate, will make short-hops easier to perform for less advanced players. DACUS returns as well. Attacks out of a dash reappear from Ultimate. Players cannot run past a shield now, as they stop moving. However, by jumping when being very close to a shielding opponent, they can perform a new maneuver, called "step over". By stepping over, a character performs a hop high enough to be just above the opponent. The shielding opponent will be committed to shielding, allowing the hopping player to damage the opponent's shield and possibly even break it.That's all for today, folks. I'll be returning in a couple of days with the #01 character himself, Mario. Also, you may notice that we're lacking in modes, items, and options. I'll talk about them in following iterations of the series. Have a smashing day, everyone, and see you soon!