Today’s a double update, the second half of which formally introduces us to the new Pokémon Stadium stage, titled—appropriately enough—<a href="http://www.smashbros.com/en_us/stages/stage11.html">Pokémon Stadium 2</a>. Oh, Sakurai. That’s <em>so</em> Nintendo 64.
<img src="/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/09/stage11_070906a-l.jpg" />
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This stage has been like that kid back in high school who you kept seeing in the halls, and you kind of had a crush on, but… well, you never actually got around to introducing yourself. That’s kind of like how Meta Knight was too, save the fact that he’s always staring you down, but this stage must’ve had a twin or something, because you know you’ve seen her before, somewhere.
That said, if you’re familiar with Pokémon Stadium in Melee, you’re familiar with this one, more or less. The stage as a whole has some nice refinements and upgrades (including what looks like several smaller, less distracting screens in the background with a camera on the match), and its transformations are back. All represent new types in the Pokémon universe, and Sakurai shows us three of the four, starting with ice.
<img src="/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/09/stage11_070906b-l.jpg" />
As you’d expect, things become icy and slippery, making traction a difficult thing to find. I guess it’s like a stage littered with banana peels.
<img src="/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/09/stage11_070906c-l.jpg" />
Next up is ground, which causes a mound of dirt to rise up into the air. Here we also see a few guest stars. Knowing Sakurai typically leans toward first-gen Pokémon, I’m not surprised by the Cubone or the Dugtrio.
<img src="/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/09/stage11_070906d-l.jpg" />
The last one we see is the flying stage, where—this is where things get a little weird—everyone’s jumping capabilities are improved, like a stage littered with bunny hood dust. Although Sakurai just says they’re “boosted” jumps, I can’t actually tell whether everyone jumps really high, or if the stage changes so that it starts blowing people up higher. If it’s the former, recovery situations could potentially get pretty interesting if you’re on the brink of death and the stage suddenly shifts into flying mode.
The one transformation we don’t see is electric, and I’m hoping that it’s because Pichu is standing in the background somewhere, and Sakurai just wasn’t ready to part with him like that yet. Or maybe there’s an Electabuzz, and that would just be too awesome to reveal now. Either way, here’s hoping.
What are your thoughts on the Colosseum that wasn’t? Is the repetition of a Melee stage like this a sign of its venerability, or just a cop-out? What does it say for the return of Past Stages in Brawl? As always, let us know what you think.
<img src="/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/09/stage11_070906a-l.jpg" />
<!--more-->
This stage has been like that kid back in high school who you kept seeing in the halls, and you kind of had a crush on, but… well, you never actually got around to introducing yourself. That’s kind of like how Meta Knight was too, save the fact that he’s always staring you down, but this stage must’ve had a twin or something, because you know you’ve seen her before, somewhere.
That said, if you’re familiar with Pokémon Stadium in Melee, you’re familiar with this one, more or less. The stage as a whole has some nice refinements and upgrades (including what looks like several smaller, less distracting screens in the background with a camera on the match), and its transformations are back. All represent new types in the Pokémon universe, and Sakurai shows us three of the four, starting with ice.
<img src="/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/09/stage11_070906b-l.jpg" />
As you’d expect, things become icy and slippery, making traction a difficult thing to find. I guess it’s like a stage littered with banana peels.
<img src="/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/09/stage11_070906c-l.jpg" />
Next up is ground, which causes a mound of dirt to rise up into the air. Here we also see a few guest stars. Knowing Sakurai typically leans toward first-gen Pokémon, I’m not surprised by the Cubone or the Dugtrio.
<img src="/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/09/stage11_070906d-l.jpg" />
The last one we see is the flying stage, where—this is where things get a little weird—everyone’s jumping capabilities are improved, like a stage littered with bunny hood dust. Although Sakurai just says they’re “boosted” jumps, I can’t actually tell whether everyone jumps really high, or if the stage changes so that it starts blowing people up higher. If it’s the former, recovery situations could potentially get pretty interesting if you’re on the brink of death and the stage suddenly shifts into flying mode.
The one transformation we don’t see is electric, and I’m hoping that it’s because Pichu is standing in the background somewhere, and Sakurai just wasn’t ready to part with him like that yet. Or maybe there’s an Electabuzz, and that would just be too awesome to reveal now. Either way, here’s hoping.
What are your thoughts on the Colosseum that wasn’t? Is the repetition of a Melee stage like this a sign of its venerability, or just a cop-out? What does it say for the return of Past Stages in Brawl? As always, let us know what you think.
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