Super Smash Bros. Ultimate: Stage Creation Contest (Complete)

GolisoPower · Feb 13, 2018

You did good,

Kevandre ! Congratulations!

Deleted member · Feb 13, 2018

Alright guys. I'm closing off voting for the next round now.

Winning the Poll at 5 votes, Round 2 is............

Mario Platformers

The main draw of the face of gaming, platformers are Mario's most successful line of games starting all the way back in 1985 with Super Mario Bros. (or 1981 with Donkey Kong depending on how you look at it). And they've received massive critical acclaim. From 64, to Galaxy, to Odyssey and so many others in between it's very much expected that a Mario Platformer of some kind will get a stage to represent it every Smash game.

So for Round 2 we'll be delving into that rich history and seeing what you guys come up with for a Main series Mario stage that could be in Smash Bros.

Two things to keep in mind:

1. These are MARIO platformer stages. Which means both it has to be a platformer, so no entries from Luigi's Mansion or Captain Toad Treasure Tracker, and it has to be from the Mario line of games. Yoshi and Wario are represented as their own series in Smash Bros. so stages from games like Yoshi's Island and Wario Land aren't allowed.

But if it's a Mario series platformer then it's elligible. Be it a famous one like Super Mario World, an obscure one like Super Mario Land 2, or even a debatable one like Super Paper Mario. Yes I know that last one is from a series that got famous for it's RPG's but it is still a platformer despite it's RPG elements. I can see why someone would think it belongs in the Mario RPG category since that's where every other Paper Mario game will go. But I have to be technical and count it as a Platformer because that's what it is.

2. For round 1 I gave contestants 6 days to submit entries before I closed off the round. After receiving feedback on this, I have decided to extend the length of each round going forward to 8 days. So with this 2nd round beginning on February 13th, that means you all have until February 21st to submit your entries.

Good Luck!

Russell_SSB · Feb 13, 2018

Name:
New Donk City

Origin:
Super Mario Odyssey

Description:
New Donk City, one of the biggest cities in a kingdom called Metro Kingdom. In New Donk City, you fight on top of the rooftops of each building and build-board (they change each battle, like Bowser & Peach's wedding for example). Players also fight in the street and on top of vehicles (but that it depends on how it works, see Gimmicks/Hazards). This stage can also go on at night (6:00pm - 6:00am) and day (6:00am - 6:00pm) on your time. New Donk City will have Pauline and her band perform at night as things change for the New Donk City Festival.

Gimmicks/Hazards:
1. There will be times when vehicles (taxis and scooters for example) run into you and/or your opponents, causing them 28% (taxi) and 13% (scooter) of damage.
2. As you hit the fire hydrant, water will push you away a little bit.
3. When the traffic crosswalk sigh with "?" get hit, an item appears (even Smash Balls and Assist Trophies). It'll show up again after 20 seconds.

Unlockable:
Yes; Play as every Mario character in Classic Mode.

Extra Stuff:
The reason why I chose this stage is because of how much players love this installment in the Mario series. Plus, fighting in the big city could possibly be a fun experience! Plus, you'd find some Easter Eggs on the bill-boards.

Music:
- New Donk City (Super Mario Odyssey): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JF7nb4zU2fo
- New Donk City (Melody) (Super Mario Odyssey): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pRFe1fK3_os
- Ground Theme (Band Performance) (Super Mario Odyssey): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SjM0GFikHhA
- Jump Up, Super Star! (Super Mario Odyssey): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMVZaBhpa8g
- Jump Up, Super Star! (Japanese Version) (Super Mario Odyssey): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rgU3EHWKvX8
- Break Free (Lead the Way) (Super Mario Odyssey): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-kHwRuk9U0
- Break Free (Lead the Way) (Japanese Version) (Super Mario Odyssey): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HsbPsLllHh4&t=5s
- The Star Festival (Super Mario Galaxy): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ih9KffOGPBk
- Throwback Galaxy (Super Mario Galaxy 2): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GlU-oBPiOJs
- World 8 (Bowser) (Super Mario 3D): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fWRMSn63yb0

GolisoPower · Feb 13, 2018

NAME:
Super Bell Hill

ORIGIN:
Super Mario 3D World

DESCRIPTION:
The first course in Super Mario 3D World. The stage itself is a side-scrolling stage similar to 3D Land but with some curved spaces, giant versions of 3D Land’s brick blocks and bell-shaped trees. However, unlike 3D Land, there are places that are normally unreachable by those without wall-jumping. This is compensated by Clear Pipes that they can enter. The stage scrolls past grassy plains, and passes by a white bridge. When the scrolling reaches the end of the stage, a Sprixie will use her magic to send you back to the start of the stage, which has reset after all you’ve done.

GIMMICKS/HAZARDS:
Super Bell Hill has two stage-exclusive items: the Super Bell and the Double Cherry.

- The Super Bell gives your character cat ears and paws, which grant them a 1.25x boost to their non-Smash attack normals as well as the ability to climb walls. The wall-climb has about as much speed as crawls like ZSS’ or Wario’s.

- The Double Cherry gives your character a copy near you that perfectly copies your movements down to the slightest detail except for one: they can easily die in one hit from any attack from an opponent. Five doubles can be out at a time.

Another gimmick in this stage is that at the end of a stage, there’s a flag pole that players can latch onto. When a player first lands on the flagpole, all other players have 5 seconds to latch onto it, otherwise the flagpole will emit a wave of green star energy that deals about 24% damage with as much knockback as Ifrit’s fire attack to those not latched on.

UNLOCKABLE:
No.

EXTRAS:
Mario, Luigi, Peach and Rosalina will go through the course in the background as if it were a game of 3D World. If any or all of these characters have been selected by any or all players, they will be replaced with different-colored Toads.

MUSIC:
Super Bell Hill (Super Mario 3D World): https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=wFxzHKx1BYQ
Fuzzy Flood World (Super Mario 3D World): https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=zsiWzvA7qvw
Hisstocrat (Super Mario 3D World): https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=qdXgHUvpAuY
Bowser’s Lava Lake Keep (Super Mario 3D World): https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=FPD3vlJorxw
The Great Tower Showdown (Super Mario 3D World): https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=SQXE2Ii3duM
Final Boss Phase 2 - Medley (New Super Mario Bros. Wii): https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=uduv2mfC09k
Champion’s Road (Super Mario 3D World): https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=_gHxPLhnFCg
Come on! (Mario and Luigi: Paper Jam): https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=4SYLQl98orI
Final Boss (Mario and Luigi: Paper Jam): https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=GphACo5c0Y0
Adventure’s End (Mario and Luigi: Dream Team): https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=f6e0CGXOS2Q

Kevandre · Feb 13, 2018

Oooooh, I have a good idea... But I'll need screenshots... But I'm already past that part... Welp. Time to start a third file.

Salcan · Feb 13, 2018

We should also put up the other options that were on the poll, just for archival purposes. Round 2's poll consisted of:

Mario Platformers
Mario RPGs
Handheld Zelda
Other Nintendo IP
Handheld Sonic

Can a stage take influence from more than one game as long as all games referenced fit the category?

Deleted member · Feb 13, 2018

We'll probably start the next poll after Round 2 ends but still before the grades come in.

And yeah. As long as it fits the category a stage can take influence from multiple games. Just make sure that for something like Bowser's Castle you stick to platformers for your influence. Can't really count it if it's represented as a Mario Kart stage with "Bowser's Castle is in platformers" as the justification.

Kevandre · Feb 13, 2018

Alright so, My idea of this stage is pretty grand overall, but god, putting in the effort to get all the different screenshots needed was a pain. I even played a new Odyssey profile to this point to take the screenshots tonight but then in the end, I felt like I could probably just do mockups in Illustrator instead to better show off my idea. And I realize I probably will lose most "iconic" points with this one too but I don't mind.

Bubblaine
Super Mario Odyssey

Description:
I bet you're getting some Isle Delfino vibes from this stage. I'm going to type up the description and add concept images as I go, but the above is the general aesthetic I'm going for.

So the default spawn, as well as the travelling portions between the main fighting areas, is on the head of the Seaside Kingdom's boss, Mollusque-Lanceur (No, I didn't realize that was his name, either).

"You'll never get my sparkling water!"

Now, Mollusque doesn't actually attack our fighters at all. He transports them on his head to each location, and will move to either side of the screen without any launching ability. Sometimes he'll move towards the right side of the screen which will make the right side a better launching point, and if someone is trying to recover from below, they might be SOL.

The locations he takes the fight to are the four locations in Bubblaine that Mario ground pounds a button to attack Mollusque with a cork!

The first is a hillside that has Spiked Shells that sometimes roll down the hill from offscreen. Both sides of this portion of the stage are walk-offs, and the spiked shells do minimal damage but provide some knockback that can be deadly at higher percents. There is a single platform that moves back and forth above the hillside.

The second location we are dropped off at is a small two-hill arrangement with not a whole lot of space to be on at any given time, but there are additional platforms that wiz up and across in the form of the new Gushen enemy! You can stand on top of them to use as platforms as they splash up from the bottom or across from the side! Just don't get caught in their jetstream!

The third location is a tall white & gold (or blue and black depending on the person) tower that is overall very bare and flat. It serves as a nice respite in the middle of all of the chaos!

The last stop is the hot spring! Now that might sound relaxing but it seems as though SOMEONE left a bunch of lava on top of the water! So you don't want to fall into it. There are a few solid platforms on the left side of the area as well as three drop-thruable platforms on the right side to provide additional support.

From here, Mollusque will pick you up again and bring you back to the first area he dropped you off at again. The fighters spend roughly 25 seconds at each location before Mollusque picks them up and takes them to a new place, with 15 seconds on his head in between.

Is your stage unlockable:
Beat adventure mode with Mario!

Extra Stuff:
Mario Odyssey is such a good game, and Bubblaine is tied for my favorite Kingdom in the whole thing. I found it relaxing, memorable, and exactly what a water level should be like. The boss fight on the Kingdom is one of my favorite boss fights I've had in a video game in many moons so I had to find a way to incorporate it in this round, even if it overcomplicates the stage and I'm unlikely to win the gold. But I've often found that gimmicky stages are some of the best in Smash games, even if they aren't the favorite of tourney-players. Odyssey deserves the grandest stages possible, and I'm happy to contribute ideas!

Music:
Mollusque-Lanceur Theme: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gir4D5_W6k0
Mollusque-Lanceur Theme (8-Bit): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wTt0jhxFnk0
Bubblaine: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PGSpvk764wg
Vs. Boss (Sunshine): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58ZVat0Ocdg
Shadow Mario (Sunshine): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mxb7eHYfLm4

Russell_SSB · Feb 14, 2018

Kevandre said:
Alright so, My idea of this stage is pretty grand overall, but god, putting in the effort to get all the different screenshots needed was a pain. I even played a new Odyssey profile to this point to take the screenshots tonight but then in the end, I felt like I could probably just do mockups in Illustrator instead to better show off my idea. And I realize I probably will lose most "iconic" points with this one too but I don't mind.

Bubblaine
Super Mario Odyssey
View attachment 136670

Description:
I bet you're getting some Isle Delfino vibes from this stage. I'm going to type up the description and add concept images as I go, but the above is the general aesthetic I'm going for.

So the default spawn, as well as the travelling portions between the main fighting areas, is on the head of the Seaside Kingdom's boss, Mollusque-Lanceur (No, I didn't realize that was his name, either).

"You'll never get my sparkling water!"

Now, Mollusque doesn't actually attack our fighters at all. He transports them on his head to each location, and will move to either side of the screen without any launching ability. Sometimes he'll move towards the right side of the screen which will make the right side a better launching point, and if someone is trying to recover from below, they might be SOL.

The locations he takes the fight to are the four locations in Bubblaine that Mario ground pounds a button to attack Mollusque with a cork!

The first is a hillside that has Spiked Shells that sometimes roll down the hill from offscreen. Both sides of this portion of the stage are walk-offs, and the spiked shells do minimal damage but provide some knockback that can be deadly at higher percents. There is a single platform that moves back and forth above the hillside.

The second location we are dropped off at is a small two-hill arrangement with not a whole lot of space to be on at any given time, but there are additional platforms that wiz up and across in the form of the new Gushen enemy! You can stand on top of them to use as platforms as they splash up from the bottom or across from the side! Just don't get caught in their jetstream!

The third location is a tall white & gold (or blue and black depending on the person) tower that is overall very bare and flat. It serves as a nice respite in the middle of all of the chaos!

The last stop is the hot spring! Now that might sound relaxing but it seems as though SOMEONE left a bunch of lava on top of the water! So you don't want to fall into it. There are a few solid platforms on the left side of the area as well as three drop-thruable platforms on the right side to provide additional support.

From here, Mollusque will pick you up again and bring you back to the first area he dropped you off at again. The fighters spend roughly 25 seconds at each location before Mollusque picks them up and takes them to a new place, with 15 seconds on his head in between.

Is your stage unlockable:
Beat adventure mode with Mario!

Extra Stuff:
Mario Odyssey is such a good game, and Bubblaine is tied for my favorite Kingdom in the whole thing. I found it relaxing, memorable, and exactly what a water level should be like. The boss fight on the Kingdom is one of my favorite boss fights I've had in a video game in many moons so I had to find a way to incorporate it in this round, even if it overcomplicates the stage and I'm unlikely to win the gold. But I've often found that gimmicky stages are some of the best in Smash games, even if they aren't the favorite of tourney-players. Odyssey deserves the grandest stages possible, and I'm happy to contribute ideas!

Music:
Mollusque-Lanceur Theme: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gir4D5_W6k0
Mollusque-Lanceur Theme (8-Bit): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wTt0jhxFnk0
Bubblaine: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PGSpvk764wg
Vs. Boss (Sunshine): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58ZVat0Ocdg
Shadow Mario (Sunshine): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mxb7eHYfLm4

Actually, this stage looks like a fun one!

Kevandre · Feb 14, 2018

Russell_SSB said:
Actually, this stage looks like a fun one!

Thanks!

PeridotGX · Feb 14, 2018

Super Mario Bros. 3
Mushroom Kingdom III

Expecting a stage based around Super Mario Odyssey? Anyway, as earlier mentioned, this stage is based around SMB3, but not a specific level in that game, other than loosely World 1-2. (does that knock iconic points?). The main platform is in the center, being the grassy platforms from World 1-2 of that game. There's also a semi-solid platform on top of it, that you can step on or in front of. The blast-zone to the right is slightly farther then the one to the left (though not nearly as lopsided as the picture shows.), but the leftmost one has a platform someone could safely recover on, making a decision for the player to make.

This stage's main obstacle are Para-Goombas, who appear every 45 seconds. Doing what they did in SMB3 (But not in Paper Mario, I just grabbed the first picture I could find that worked), they spew 5-10 Micro-Goombas below them. If a player gets touched by a Micro-Goomba, their jump height and their fall speed decrease and increase (respectively) to a huge degree (Mario falls like Fox and has the jump of Kirby, for scale). The Micro-Goombas fall off after 15 seconds.

This stage is unlockable, and is unlocked after getting every Koopaling's trophy. The omega form just takes place on the central platform. This stage is usable in 8 player Smash, but with 7 or 8 there aren't Para-Goombas.

Song List (* is unlockable via CD)

Ground Theme (SMB3)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XvSnRc_283A

Koopaling Theme (SMB3)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7CgFWFmGqlo&t=33s

Koopaling Theme (SMB3 SNES)*

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9vP05D_HyQ&t=40s

Airship Theme (SMB3 SNES)*

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eSr3WeoPhMo&t=105s

SMB3 Melody (Smash 4 mix)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qk7_mN5gDqw

SMW Final Boss Theme

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BlpQk-3SOSQ

Throwback Galaxy (SMG2)*

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fVt61oE5BfE

Main Theme (Super Mario 3D Land)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QuKqO6J9gKk

Cascade Kingdom Theme (SMO)*

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P8cKiffNad0

Wooded Kingdom Theme (SMO)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0HEEuCeclSM&t=407s

Metro Kingdom Theme (SMO)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JF7nb4zU2fo

I know my choice was kinda random, but the Paragoomba idea came in my head and I worked from that. I spent a while designing the course and I'm still not entirely a fan.

Russell_SSB · Feb 14, 2018

PeridotGX said:
Super Mario Bros. 3
Mushroom Kingdom III
View attachment 136731

Expecting a stage based around Super Mario Odyssey? Anyway, as earlier mentioned, this stage is based around SMB3, but not a specific level in that game, other than loosely World 1-2. (does that knock iconic points?). The main platform is in the center, being the grassy platforms from World 1-2 of that game. A semi-solid platform on top of it, that you can step on or in front of. The blast-zone to the right is slightly farther then the one to the left (though not nearly as lopsided as the picture shows.), but the leftmost one has a platform someone could safely recover on, making a decision for the player to make.

This stage's main obstacle are Para-Goombas, who appear every 45 seconds. Doing what they did in SMB3 (But not in Paper Mario, I just grabbed the first picture I could find that worked), they spew 5-10 Micro-Goombas below them. If a player gets touched by a Micro-Goomba, their jump height and their fall speed decrease and increase (respectively) to a huge degree (Mario falls like Fox and has the jump of Kirby, for scale). The Micro-Goombas fall off after 15 seconds.

This stage is unlockable, and is unlocked after getting every Koopaling's trophy. The omega form just takes place on the central platform. This stage is usable in 8 player Smash, but with 7 or 8 there aren't Para-Goombas.

Song List (* is unlockable via CD)

Ground Theme (SMB3)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XvSnRc_283A

Koopaling Theme (SMB3)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7CgFWFmGqlo&t=33s

Koopaling Theme (SMB3 SNES)*

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9vP05D_HyQ&t=40s

Airship Theme (SMB3 SNES)*

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eSr3WeoPhMo&t=105s

SMB3 Melody (Smash 4 mix)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qk7_mN5gDqw

SMW Final Boss Theme

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BlpQk-3SOSQ

Throwback Galaxy (SMG2)*

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fVt61oE5BfE

Main Theme (Super Mario 3D Land)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QuKqO6J9gKk

Cascade Kingdom Theme (SMO)*

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P8cKiffNad0

Wooded Kingdom Theme (SMO)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0HEEuCeclSM&t=407s

Metro Kingdom Theme (SMO)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JF7nb4zU2fo

I know my choice was kinda random, but the Paragoomba idea came in my head and I worked from that. I spent a while designing the course and I'm still not entirely a fan.

Best. Idea. EVER!!!!!

Deleted member · Feb 14, 2018

To answer

PeridotGX 's question about Iconic status. While I can't reveal anyone's thoughts on the iconic status of any submitted stage until grading time, I can say that I've realized the flaws in my old thought process against Grassy Plain Stages. Hence why I've updated the explanation of the contest to remove any negative connotation towards them.

PeridotGX · Feb 16, 2018

Russell_SSB said:
Best. Idea. EVER!!!!!

Thanks!

psb123 said:
To answer PeridotGX 's question about Iconic status. While I can't reveal anyone's thoughts on the iconic status of any submitted stage until grading time, I can say that I've realized the flaws in my old thought process against Grassy Plain Stages. Hence why I've updated the explanation of the contest to remove any negative connotation towards them.

What I meant was that other then a very slight inspiration of World 1-2, the stage isn't based on an actual part of SMB3. How would it get graded?

Deleted member · Feb 16, 2018

I can't reveal how it would get graded yet. That stuff is revealed when all the stages receive their grades. Sorry Man.

Deleted member · Feb 18, 2018

Okay everyone. Just leaving a reminder that the round will end on February 21st which is this coming Wednesday. That leaves you about 3 days left to submit an entry.

Salcan · Feb 19, 2018

When on the 21st will the round end? I'm kinda busy right now so I need exact times to see if I can finish my stage in time.

Deleted member · Feb 19, 2018

Salcan said:
When on the 21st will the round end? I'm kinda busy right now so I need exact times to see if I can finish my stage in time.

I'm thinking I'll close off the round at about 9:00pm Pacific Time.

Deleted member · Feb 20, 2018

So I've got an update to make on Round 2. Based on the lower number of entries received so far and what S Salcan has said about a busy schedule leading to difficulty for him (it is "him" right?) submitting a stage in time, I have decided to extend the deadline of Round 2 to February 27th.

Activity has admittedly been more scarce on this contest then I would like. Obviously I can't, and don't want to in the first place, pressure anyone into participating but it would be nice if more people submitted stage ideas. Salcan has helped a lot with both participation and giving good feedback on how the contest is working. So I feel it's fair to allow him (I seriously hope I'm assuming that right) a little more time if he needs it.

Plus I'm starting to wonder if single digit days are too low an amount for people to submit stage ideas in time. If you've been interested in participating but these time frames have indeed been an issue for you please let me know.

Kevandre · Feb 20, 2018

See, I had been thinking that there was way too much time. People are going to lose interest with this long between the rounds opening and the judging beginning, then to the results coming out. A quicker turnaround rate will keep people more interested, I think. If some miss a round they were looking forward to, they can still make a stage and we can talk about it but it just won't be part of the contest. This happened a lot in the old contest- we'd make little "additional" stages just to pass the time

Deleted member · Feb 20, 2018

Kevandre said:
See, I had been thinking that there was way too much time. People are going to lose interest with this long between the rounds opening and the judging beginning, then to the results coming out. A quicker turnaround rate will keep people more interested, I think. If some miss a round they were looking forward to, they can still make a stage and we can talk about it but it just won't be part of the contest. This happened a lot in the old contest- we'd make little "additional" stages just to pass the time

You and Cosmic77 have both pointed that out. And to be honest I can see pretty clearly where you're coming from.

Sorry if I got your hopes up S Salcan but after this realization I'm going to have to go back to the original deadline of February 21st. AKA tomorrow.

I'm open to suggestions on any changes to this new plan I'm about to state, but here's what I'm thinking currently.

1. Rounds will now last 5 days.

2. The polls to decide what the following round will be will start at the same time as a new round.

To add to that 2nd point, I'm going to try to contact Cyndane about getting the round 3 poll started hopefully today.

Kevandre · Feb 20, 2018

psb123 said:
You and Cosmic77 have both pointed that out. And to be honest I can see pretty clearly where you're coming from.

Sorry if I got your hopes up S Salcan but after this realization I'm going to have to go back to the original deadline of February 21st. AKA tomorrow.

I'm open to suggestions on any changes to this new plan I'm about to state, but here's what I'm thinking currently.

1. Rounds will now last 5 days.

2. The polls to decide what the following round will be will start at the same time as a new round.

To add to that 2nd point, I'm going to try to contact Cyndane about getting the round 3 poll started hopefully today.

Honestly, I think a weekly schedule would be awesome. New round starts Monday morning/Sunday night, and it's closed Friday night. Judges have a weekend to grade and then we start anew. If that works with the judges' schedule, I think that's a good way to go about it

Russell_SSB · Feb 20, 2018

Kevandre said:
Honestly, I think a weekly schedule would be awesome. New round starts Monday morning/Sunday night, and it's closed Friday night. Judges have a weekend to grade and then we start anew. If that works with the judges' schedule, I think that's a good way to go about it

Good thinking.

Deleted member · Feb 20, 2018

You may have noticed that a poll to decide round 3 has started. Now that it has, here's the finalization of how the contest is going to work moving forward.

1. We're rolling with Kevandre's idea of a consistent weekly schedule. Late Sunday or early Monday every week a round will begin and go until midday Friday. Each round ending Friday will give the judges a weekend to grade the entries. Ideally the grades will be posted Sunday but I'm the only judge who's schedule I can control.

2. Even if grades are taking time to come in the start and end times of each round stay the same. Meaning it's entirely possible that a new round will begin while grades for the previous are still coming in.

3. With this schedule in mind, Round 3 will begin on February 26th. The Poll to determine what that round will be shall go until that same day. And once Round 3 starts the poll to decide the category for Round 4 will begin as well.

Speaking of the Poll you may notice that a few things are off about it. Cyndane has been contacted about that so it will hopefully be resolved soon.

In the meantime I'll explain the two things missing from the poll. The "a" at the end of the "Splatoon, ARMS, a" category is supposed to start an "and", because what that category actually stands for is "Splatoon, ARMS, and Xenoblade"

I've separated all of the misc. series into a few triple threat kind of categories to keep it less cluttered. Splatoon, ARMS, and Xenoblade are the biggest 3 of those misc. series so that's the first of these triple threats.

There's also a category for Handheld Sonic stages that has yet to be added. Like before Switch games like Sonic Mania are allowed in that round (just like how Breath of the Wild is allowed for the handheld Zelda Round) and games available on Mobile like Sonic Unleashed are eligible as well.

I see that a vote has already been cast for the Metroid Stages. If whoever voted for that wishes to change their vote after hearing this then let me know what you want your vote changed too.

Salcan · Feb 21, 2018

Kinda in a rush here this will be a little unrefined. Also, no image for the stage's layout. Anyways, without further ado.....

(Peach evading a rolling spike bar in Tricky Trapeze Theater)

Name: Tricky Trapeze Theater

Game: Super Mario 3D World

Inspiration: Super Mario 3D World made a big push for circus inspired stages, with World 5-2, Tricky Trapeze Theater being one of them. It has an obvious mechanic in its swinging bars, so why not use it for a stage? Well, it lacks a bit in the aesthetics department, with a sea of clouds being the main/only background element and its platforms are made up of generic castles and the multicolored tilting platforms seen above. And where are the theater elements that should be in a stage called Tricky Trapeze Theater?

(The ever iconic title screen of Super Mario Bros. 3. You probably didn't even need the image.)

Luckily for Tricky Trapeze Theater's prospects as a Smash stage, the game Super Mario Bros. 3 is actually a play. (No really, it's been confirmed) With a little adaptation, some concepts from this game can be combined with 3D World to make a truly spectacular performance! (Should fit well enough with the "Theater" in the name, right?)

Stage Geometry: Tricky Trapeze Theater has two main platforms. Each is about half as large as Battlefield's main platform and the gap between them is about 1 and 3/4 of a floating platform from Battlefield. Both of these platforms extend all the way to the bottom blast line. (Technically the platforms are arches but there's no way inside) Three Bowsers left of the left main platform there is a floating Mushroom Trampoline that's around the size of a Battlefield floating platform floating about as high as a lower Battlefield platform above. the main platform line. Another floating Mushroom Trampoline serves the same purpose for the right side of the stage. Each of these has a random wall directly underneath it for... reasons I shall explain later!

(It's a Mushroom Trampoline from 3D World. I don't know how to make this caption interesting)

Rising high above the rest of the stage are two floating drop through platforms, (that don't tilt and don't have spike bars, unlike the ones from 3D World) with have the same x-coordinates as the aforementioned Mushroom Trampolines. These platforms are a bit wider than the Mushroom Trampolines below them. Of course, the point is to bounce off the Mushroom Trampolines to reach these platforms.

Over the gap between the two main platforms there is a trapeze bar (design ported almost directly from 3D World, look at Aesthetics for the slight changes.) that characters can grab onto to swing across the gap. There are two of them between the higher floating platforms for the same purpose. All of them are not moving at the start of a battle.

(Blast lines are relatively normal.)

Mechanics: The Mushroom Trampolines (this is exhausting to type, but I strive for accuracy.) act almost exactly like Springs in other Super Smash Brothers. Details of note include:

Characters are not automatically centered when they bounce off these.
Characters do not bounce off the side of these.
Remember how I said there is a wall underneath each of these? That's to keep characters from bouncing off the bottoms of these. That would make stage spikes far too powerful!
These can't be grabbed, so watch your step!

The trapeze bars work kind like 3D World's with some Smash Bros. twists. If a character moves over a trapeze bar while not taking knockback or performing an action, (Being general to avoid any loopholes) they will grab on and slide to the bottom of the trapeze bar. This uses an slightly edited version of the character's ledge grabbing animation, because dev time for animations is valuable. From there, the character can control the trapeze bar's swinging with the Control Stick or D-Pad. Holding Left and right will add speed in the appropriate direction. Keep the swinging motion in mind though, adding speed involves alternating left and right in time with the swing, and slowing down means using the opposite direction of the swing. If no one is on the trapeze bars or the user doesn't press any directions, the swinging will gradually slow to a stop.

The character can jump off at any time using their jump button/Tap Jump. When this is done, the character will have extra horizontal air speed for that jump based on the speed of the trapeze bar. (No extra vertical speed, but swinging more can make the jumping point higher.) Using a Double Jump or some other momentum changing move like most Up Specials returns air speed to normal. Characters can just drop off the trapeze bar with a double tap of down, but why would they, considering the fun of flying very far distances using the trapeze bar?

Don't get too distracted with the trapeze bars though! Characters aren't invincible while using them, unlike ledges, so getting hit will knock a character off. Yet like ledges, only one character can be on a trapeze bar at a time, and when another character grabs a trapeze bar, the first character will get bumped off like a ledge trump.

Aesthetics: The main platforms are arches of grey bricks with yellow lights lining them, and the floating platforms have a golden base with lining yellow lights and multicolored tiles. Unlike 3D World, these platforms connected to an unseen ceiling using metal bars in the foreground and background. The trapeze bars only have one spot to hang off of, unlike the four in 3D World. The top trapeze bars are attached to the unseen ceiling with metal poles, while the bottom trapeze bar is attached to an unseen floor with similar poles. The sea of clouds fills the bottom of the stage and the background.

And now comes the fun theater stuff! Before a battle begins, the stage is behind a large red curtain so the stage and the entering characters are all in silhouette. Small white gloves, like the one representing use of the touchscreen in Super Mario 3D World, skitter around the stage, pulling the trapeze bars, platforms, and Mushroom Trampolines onto the stage. Two spotlights swing alll around the curtain. Just as the Announcer shouts, "GO!" two gloves pull the curtain up above the stage. During the battle, the bottom of the curtain can be seen just below the top of the screen when it is fully zoomed out. Speaking of that, fully zooming out the camera allows players to see that the stage is actually within a theater stage, as if the theater stage is a window into the game.

The audience in the theater consists of Toads, Sprixies, and Lumas on the left side, and Goombas, Koopa Troopas, and Piranha Plants on the right side. They cheer when the in game crowd cheers, although the cheering sound clip is not changed. Speaking of this, using both of the top trapeze bars in a row is a way to make the crowd cheer on this stage!

A spotlight shines on the character that is currently in the lead, showing that they're the star of the show. (If scores are hidden, this effect only shows up every once in a while.) In a match with a time limit, when time is called, the spotlight will fade, the crowd will cheer (without using a cheering voice clip, and some gloves will pull the curtain back down.

Extra Stuff:

This stage can't be played in 8-Player Smash.

In Omega form, the platforms Mushroom Trampolines and trapeze bars are on the stage, but the gloves pull them off of the stage during the opening animation. Clearly they need to plan more before the battles start! A glove also places Empty Blocks to fill the gap between the main platforms, so there's no hole in the middle.

(People probably know what Empty Blocks are, just not what they are named. So problem solved.

)

Deleted member · Feb 21, 2018

Alright guys. Round 2 has officially closed. Thanks to everyone who submitted entries. Of which S Salcan is included (your stage was submitted in time so it's an entry in the contest. Hopefully the grades for this round will go up Sunday. I'm going to push for that as much as I can but I can't make any guarantee's.

Russell_SSB · Feb 22, 2018

Salcan said:
Kinda in a rush here this will be a little unrefined. Also, no image for the stage's layout. Anyways, without further ado.....

(Peach evading a rolling spike bar in Tricky Trapeze Theater)

Name: Tricky Trapeze Theater

Game: Super Mario 3D World

Inspiration: Super Mario 3D World made a big push for circus inspired stages, with World 5-2, Tricky Trapeze Theater being one of them. It has an obvious mechanic in its swinging bars, so why not use it for a stage? Well, it lacks a bit in the aesthetics department, with a sea of clouds being the main/only background element and its platforms are made up of generic castles and the multicolored tilting platforms seen above. And where are the theater elements that should be in a stage called Tricky Trapeze Theater?

(The ever iconic title screen of Super Mario Bros. 3. You probably didn't even need the image.)

Luckily for Tricky Trapeze Theater's prospects as a Smash stage, the game Super Mario Bros. 3 is actually a play. (No really, it's been confirmed) With a little adaptation, some concepts from this game can be combined with 3D World to make a truly spectacular performance! (Should fit well enough with the "Theater" in the name, right?)

Stage Geometry: Tricky Trapeze Theater has two main platforms. Each is about half as large as Battlefield's main platform and the gap between them is about 1 and 3/4 of a floating platform from Battlefield. Both of these platforms extend all the way to the bottom blast line. (Technically the platforms are arches but there's no way inside) Three Bowsers left of the left main platform there is a floating Mushroom Trampoline that's around the size of a Battlefield floating platform floating about as high as a lower Battlefield platform above. the main platform line. Another floating Mushroom Trampoline serves the same purpose for the right side of the stage. Each of these has a random wall directly underneath it for... reasons I shall explain later!

(It's a Mushroom Trampoline from 3D World. I don't know how to make this caption interesting)

Rising high above the rest of the stage are two floating drop through platforms, (that don't tilt and don't have spike bars, unlike the ones from 3D World) with have the same x-coordinates as the aforementioned Mushroom Trampolines. These platforms are a bit wider than the Mushroom Trampolines below them. Of course, the point is to bounce off the Mushroom Trampolines to reach these platforms.

Over the gap between the two main platforms there is a trapeze bar (design ported almost directly from 3D World, look at Aesthetics for the slight changes.) that characters can grab onto to swing across the gap. There are two of them between the higher floating platforms for the same purpose. All of them are not moving at the start of a battle.

(Blast lines are relatively normal.)

Mechanics: The Mushroom Trampolines (this is exhausting to type, but I strive for accuracy.) act almost exactly like Springs in other Super Smash Brothers. Details of note include:

Characters are not automatically centered when they bounce off these.

Characters do not bounce off the side of these.

Remember how I said there is a wall underneath each of these? That's to keep characters from bouncing off the bottoms of these. That would make stage spikes far too powerful!

These can't be grabbed, so watch your step!

The trapeze bars work kind like 3D World's with some Smash Bros. twists. If a character moves over a trapeze bar while not taking knockback or performing an action, (Being general to avoid any loopholes) they will grab on and slide to the bottom of the trapeze bar. This uses an slightly edited version of the character's ledge grabbing animation, because dev time for animations is valuable. From there, the character can control the trapeze bar's swinging with the Control Stick or D-Pad. Holding Left and right will add speed in the appropriate direction. Keep the swinging motion in mind though, adding speed involves alternating left and right in time with the swing, and slowing down means using the opposite direction of the swing. If no one is on the trapeze bars or the user doesn't press any directions, the swinging will gradually slow to a stop.

The character can jump off at any time using their jump button/Tap Jump. When this is done, the character will have extra horizontal air speed for that jump based on the speed of the trapeze bar. (No extra vertical speed, but swinging more can make the jumping point higher.) Using a Double Jump or some other momentum changing move like most Up Specials returns air speed to normal. Characters can just drop off the trapeze bar with a double tap of down, but why would they, considering the fun of flying very far distances using the trapeze bar?

Don't get too distracted with the trapeze bars though! Characters aren't invincible while using them, unlike ledges, so getting hit will knock a character off. Yet like ledges, only one character can be on a trapeze bar at a time, and when another character grabs a trapeze bar, the first character will get bumped off like a ledge trump.

Aesthetics: The main platforms are arches of grey bricks with yellow lights lining them, and the floating platforms have a golden base with lining yellow lights and multicolored tiles. Unlike 3D World, these platforms connected to an unseen ceiling using metal bars in the foreground and background. The trapeze bars only have one spot to hang off of, unlike the four in 3D World. The top trapeze bars are attached to the unseen ceiling with metal poles, while the bottom trapeze bar is attached to an unseen floor with similar poles. The sea of clouds fills the bottom of the stage and the background.

And now comes the fun theater stuff! Before a battle begins, the stage is behind a large red curtain so the stage and the entering characters are all in silhouette. Small white gloves, like the one representing use of the touchscreen in Super Mario 3D World, skitter around the stage, pulling the trapeze bars, platforms, and Mushroom Trampolines onto the stage. Two spotlights swing alll around the curtain. Just as the Announcer shouts, "GO!" two gloves pull the curtain up above the stage. During the battle, the bottom of the curtain can be seen just below the top of the screen when it is fully zoomed out. Speaking of that, fully zooming out the camera allows players to see that the stage is actually within a theater stage, as if the theater stage is a window into the game.

The audience in the theater consists of Toads, Sprixies, and Lumas on the left side, and Goombas, Koopa Troopas, and Piranha Plants on the right side. They cheer when the in game crowd cheers, although the cheering sound clip is not changed. Speaking of this, using both of the top trapeze bars in a row is a way to make the crowd cheer on this stage!

A spotlight shines on the character that is currently in the lead, showing that they're the star of the show. (If scores are hidden, this effect only shows up every once in a while.) In a match with a time limit, when time is called, the spotlight will fade, the crowd will cheer (without using a cheering voice clip, and some gloves will pull the curtain back down.

Extra Stuff:

This stage can't be played in 8-Player Smash.

In Omega form, the platforms Mushroom Trampolines and trapeze bars are on the stage, but the gloves pull them off of the stage during the opening animation. Clearly they need to plan more before the battles start! A glove also places Empty Blocks to fill the gap between the main platforms, so there's no hole in the middle.

(People probably know what Empty Blocks are, just not what they are named. So problem solved. )

This would make this stage the best play ever!

Salcan · Feb 22, 2018

Russell_SSB said:
This would make this stage the best play ever!

You're joking, right? This stage isn't polished enough. Among the obvious misses:

No Cat Goombas in the audience? Wasn't this the game with the Super Bell as it's new power-up?
No hidden pixel art? Super Mario 3D World was the game that started the trend. (Yes, New Super Luigi U did it first, but making a stage from it that doesn't just look like a New Super Mario Bros. U stage would be hard.) There's even an obvious place to hide some, in the walls of the gap.
I never specified how grounded characters interact with the trapeze bars. They shouldn't interact at all because that would be disruptive for no good reason. (Players on the ground usually want to stay on the ground.) Now, I could have said that the trapeze bars never swing over a platform, (which was the intent) but guess who didn't make that clear or include an image to do the same.
I didn't have time to specify what an "action" is. That's up for interpretation, and some interpretations could cause serious issues. (Fast falling isn't an action to me, but someone else might for example.)
The Mushroom Trampolines may be too far for some characters to reach, because I didn't have time to make exact measurements. The trapeze bar makes this issue a little smaller, but in a team match one member can bounce to the higher platforms to rain projectiles from above while the other member can keep the other team off the trapeze bar for as long as possible to protect the first character.
Giving every character a way to go fast in the air probably results in at least one game breaking combo. I think Bowser's Flying Slam with even some extra horizontal speed will always allow a sacrificial KO should it connect, for example, so I should have used Training Mode and a Bunny Hood to test if that's true or not. (For those that don't see this as much of an issue, know that some casual players don't know how to air dodge effectively. I didn't start air dodging until two years ago, and I started playing in Brawl.)
Speaking of that horizontal air speed increase, I forgot that characters can move backward during a jump. The way it's phrased in the submission, the speed increase works even if you move backward mid jump, or stop mid jump then keep going, which will look awkward. It should work like a long jump in Mario. (Before the character starts moving backward or stops in place, they have to slow down forward momentum.) The double jump can be used for a precise stop, as it cancels the speed increase.

That's a lot of issues, and I'm not even a judge. They probably noted all this and more.

Deleted member · Feb 25, 2018

Okay guys. It is now time for the grades of Round 2! However we have a bit of repeat of the incident of last time. Due to a busy schedule PROmape has retired from being a judge. A new 5th one has already been recruited in the form of @Diddy Kong but because he was brought on after Round 2 came to a close I told him he didn't have to worry about grading the Round 2 stages. So for this round the grades will be coming from me,

Cosmic77 , @8-bit Man , and @Oddball .

Let us begin!

psb123's grades:

New Donk City by Russell_SSB:

Iconic Status: 5/5

There's a reason that so many people claim that if Mario Odyssey gets a Smash stage that this will be it. It's what started the games promotion and was featured arguably the most in said promotion. Even now that the game is released it's not only a fan favorite kingdom but it marks the return of one the most classic Mario Characters. That being Pauline.

Plus it's where the festival that's one of the most memorable moments in the game happens. I could go on but I think you get the idea. This stage can't not have a perfect iconic score.

Originality: 10/10

We've seen cities in Smash before but it is a new area to the Mario series in terms of Smash stages. And the various Easter Eggs on the billboards and whatnot give it a helpful flare here.

It sounds like it has a good layout with fighting on the rooftops, billboards, and streets and the gimmicks and hazards, while stuff Smash stages have used before, are pretty much essential to this stage concept.

Damaging Vehicles, items from the lamp posts, and don't even get me started on the New Donk City Festival. Smashville may do the same thing but having it happen here is a requirement.

Even if we've seen these elements before I can't agree with taking points off for that when they're an essential part of the stage.

Playability: 10/10

It's got room to fight on without being too big and the Taxi's should be easy enough to avoid in most circumstances. Preventing them from being too big a problem despite their damage output.

Couple that with a layout that's designed well enough to be an arena for fighting instead of an obstacle for it (I'm looking at you Great Cave Offensive -_-) and I'd say we have a solid idea for the most likely Mario Odyssey stage. Good job man!

Overall Score: 25/25

Super Bell Hill by GolisoPower:

Iconic Status: 5/5

Ladies and Gentleman we have the stage idea that made me realize the flaws in the "too many grassy plains" argument. Super Bell Hill may be a grassy plain. But it's also the first level and home to one of the most iconic themes from Super Mario 3d World.

To be honest for as many levels as 3d World has there doesn't seem to be that many that really stick out above the rest of them. Super Bell Hill is one of those levels however. So it's got nothing holding it back from a perfect score here.

Originality: 10/10

Sure it may be a scrolling stage in a series that has seen most of the scrolling stages in Smash Bros. so far. But taking off points for originality just because it happens to be a scrolling stage doesn't make a lot of sense to me. That's like taking points off of Palutena's Temple for being big.

Plus the race for the flagpole at the end in addition to the stage exclusive items and clear pipes to travel through really help it out in the originality factor.

Playability: 10/10

3d Land on Smash 3DS proved to me that a stage can scroll and still be perfectly playable. And this stage sounds more like that and less like abominations like Pac-Land.

I will admit to being a bit confused as to how the Double Cherry works though. Can their only be 5 clones total or does each fighter get 5 clones? If the latter it might have taken some points off if not for them disappearing in one hit. But since they're that easy to defeat I think you're safe here.

Overall Score: 25/25

Bubblaine by Kevandre:

Iconic Status: 5/5

My favorite Mario Odyssey Kingdom! =D

Don't worry I'm not giving it a perfect score out of bias. It's true that Bubblaine isn't quite as iconic to Mario Odyssey as New Donk City. But honestly, what is?

To take points off of every other Kingdom just because New Donk is what most people assume the Odyssey stage will be just doesn't fly with me.

Plus Bubblaine is home to a fan-favorite capture and boss battle and seems to have a decent fanbase despite not being New Donk City. And let's be real, beach areas have become pretty iconic for Mario.

Originality: 10/10

The transitions between the areas of this stage remind me a lot of Delfino Plaza. Because of that I had to think long and hard about whether or not that meant me taking off points in originality. There are two reason why I ultimately decided not to.

For one thing the areas the lift drops you off at are more eventful. They have more going on in them than the ones in Delfino Plaza.

More importantly though is the point I brought up when talking about Super Bell Hill. Like Scrolling, the Delfino Plaza styled transportation is simply a type of stage we have in Smash Bros. and even if it is a type Mario has seen a decent amount taking off originality points just because of that feels like, once again, taking points off of New Pork City because Temple was a big stage first.

Playability: 10/10

Hazards are few and the ones that are there provide balanced obstacles that don't cripple anyone's ability to fight. No reason to take off any points here.

Overall Score: 25/25

Mushroom Kingdom III by PeridotGX:

Iconic Status: 5/5

Mushroom Kingdom I (of which there's technically two of those) is based on Super Mario Bros., Mushroom Kingdom II is based on the american Super Mario Bros. 2 (because let's face it. The real Mario 2 is too similar to the first), and now Mushroom Kingdom III is based on Super Mario Bros. 3.

I'm kind of surprised Smash hasn't done this yet honestly. On a personal level I would want Mushroom Kingdom I & II to be returning stages if this got in. But with Mario 3 being as famous as it is there's not doubt that people would recognize this.

Originality: 8/10

Now my issue with this one on originality isn't that it's Melee's Mushroom Kingdom idea with Mario 3. That parts all fine and good. But when I look at the layout of the actual fighting stage it just is too basic for my tastes.

More platforms and ground to fight on would have definitely helped it. But with it being just a platform with a block on it and a warp pipe to the left it leaves something to be desired in layout. Enough to where I would have given it a 7, but the Paragoomba hazard bumped it up to an 8.

Playability: 7/10

Unfortunately on the other end of that spectrum the Microgoombas that the Paragoombas drop seem like they would interfere with the fight too much. Loss of jump height and increased fall speed on a stage with little footing doesn't sound it would mix well.

Overall Score: 20/25

Tricky Trapeze Theater by Salcan:

Iconic Status: 3/5

My memory may be a little foggy on this but if I do indeed recall correctly then 3d World had at least a decent batch of these circusy, trapeze filled levels.

I also like the inclusion of Super Mario Bros. 3's intro as a play into the stage. It's a pretty memorable intro. So it helps your idea out here.

That being said though the Trapeze stages don't seem to stick out as well as a few other locations in 3d World and while I do like the twist in originality that the stage's name brings it does unfortunately hurt it's iconic value.

With so many memorable Mario locations hearing one that's given an original name for Smash like this one is bound to cause a few people to go "what?".

Originality: 10/10

As said before I do like the flare of originality given to this stage be it's name. Smash stages that have original names for in general concepts like this are very rare.

But that's just the tip of the Iceberg. The Trapeze is a neat novelty that looks like a fun thing to mess around with every once in a while.

The Mushroom Trampolines are pulled right out of 3d World and go well with the theme of a circus show. And the details of how the play opens and closes when the fight starts and ends are some very nice details even if they're only cosmetic.

Playability: 8/10

Part of me wonders what the overall point of the Trapeze would be outside of just messing around in a match completely devoid of seriousness. But that doesn't take off any points from me on this stage.

Two things that do however are the lack of solid ground in the center and the Mushroom Trampolines sounding like they take up a bit too much of the stage.

Spending most of the fight on the trampolines could force aerial combat a little too much since your always bouncing on a part that takes up most the arena. Which for fighters like Little Mac and Ryu that benefit more from grounded combat could really be a problem.

There are standard platforms to fight on which is good but the lack of having any footing right in the center is something I'd be uncertain about until I play enough matches on the stage to form an opinion on it. I will admit that the gap does seem small though so there is that.

Both of those elements could be a little to wacky to effectively have standard matches on. But they admittedly don't sound too bad so I won't take off too many points.

Overall Score: 21/25

Cosmic77's grades:

"New Donk City" by Russell_SSB:

Iconic Status: 5/5

It might not be the typical grassy hills stage that you'd expect from a Mario game, but I doubt there's anyone who wouldn't recognize this place. Seriously, In three months, Odyssey is already beating sales numbers that Galaxy obtained in three YEARS. If this isn't iconic to Mario games, I don't know what is.

Originality: 6/10

Although the stage has plenty of good gimmicks, none of them are new. The cars function similarly to Onett, the time-of-day thing resembles K.K. Slider in Smashville, and the fire hydrants seem identical to the ones present in Pac-Land (and I suppose Pac-Man's down special too).

I really would've liked to have seen more gimmicks that were actually present in Odyssey, like your usage of the ? crosswalk signs giving you items. Perhaps players could fling themselves off orange poles to get to higher places, or maybe Urban Stingbys could occasionally appear on the tops of roofs.

Playability: 8/10

Doesn't seem like there's much to distract the player in this stage. I can see the cars being bothersome, but the rooftops are a good balance to this.

Overall Score: 19/25

"Super Bell Hill" by GolisoPower:

Iconic Status: 4/5

I feel weird grading this stage on iconicness. As far as how a typical Mario game would look, this stage has it down to a T. Unfortunately, out of the dozens of grass stages we've gotten from the Mario series, Super Bell Hill (and 3D World in general) doesn't seem like it'll be remembered to the same extent as others.

Originality: 9/10

Making this a scrolling stage seems like a good decision. I also like how creative you got with the power-ups. Now that I think about it, I'm surprised we haven't gotten a Mario stage yet that focuses on players fighting over who's going to get special power-ups.

Playability: 7/10

While I like your concept of using power-ups to give players an advantage, I don't think they're powerful or useful enough to warrant players frantically fighting for them. The Super Bell might allow you to dish out a little more damage, but I don't think the ability to climb walls will be all that important to fighters, especially if they can already get up to high places through the use of clear pipes. The Double Cherry seems useful, but if it takes only one hit to destroy it, I don't think it'll last very long for anyone who isn't a projectile-heavy character who plans on keeping their distance and spamming fully charged Shadow Balls. Giving the Double Cherry a time limit or a little more health might have been better.

The stage itself, however, is pretty basic. I don't feel like there are any obstacles that would get in the way of a battle.

Overall Score: 20/25

"Bubblaine" by Kevandre:

Iconic Status: 3/5

If you were to ask someone to name an area from Odyssey besides New Donk City, I don't think Bubblaine would be one of the first things to come to mind. Due to the heavy promotion these kingdoms got, I'd assume Fossil Falls, Tosterena, Steam Gardens, and Mount Volbono would all have a better chance of being remembered.

Originality: 10/10

The area's boss being the form of transportation is what really won me over. I think that's a very unique idea that complements what Bubblaine focused on during the game. I also like how the four areas are all inspired by the Power Moon locations. I'm sure players will appreciate that little attention to detail.

Playability: 6/10

While the tower is much appreciated, I feel like there aren't enough basic areas for characters to fight on without weird terrain or obstacles getting in the way. A flat area on the beach with the tourists playing volleyball in the background would be nice. Maybe even the top of the glass tower holding the Sparkle Water if it has a large cork floating in the middle like it did post-boss fight.

Overall Score: 19/25

"Mushroom Kingdom III" by PeridotGX:

Iconic Status: 5/5

I really shouldn't have to explain my score. An old classic never loses it's iconicness.

Originality: 5/10

Retro stages are nothing new to Smash, especially with Mario games. If we're going to add another retro stage, we NEED to have something creative, and I don't think you did nearly enough to capture SMB3's essence. Maybe that pipe at the end of the stage could occasionally spawn Venus Fire-Traps, Goomba Shoes, and maybe even a Koopaling who fires out a few magic projectiles. Anything else that makes this stage stand out would help.

Playability: 8/10

Clarifying how often the Paragoombas would spawn was your saving grace. I don't think they'd interfere with the battle too much if they pop up once or twice in a two-minute match.

Overall Score: 18/25

"Tricky Trapeze Theater" by Salcan:

Iconic Status: 2/5

Unfortunately, the circus theme wasn't a huge aspect of 3D World, nor is it a recurring theme in the Mario universe. I think a lot of people would look at this stage and say, "Wait, a circus!? What Mario game was this in!?"

Originality: 10/10

Between the trampolines and the trapeze, this stage looks like a blast to play on. It's a simple yet charming idea that hasn't been done before in the Smash games. That's sure to make it stand out from the rest of the stages.

I also liked the whole "stage" concept. The curtains, spotlights, and audience really makes you feel like you're putting on a performance.

Playability: 7/10

Although the stage sounds fun to play on, I have my doubts about being able to play a real match without everyone goofing off on the trampolines and trapeze. There needs to be either a time limit on the trapeze before it becomes temporarily unavailable or more solid platforms.

I'm glad you didn't add any hazards to this stage. A stage like this is too hectic for hazards.

Overall Score: 19/25

8-bit Man's Grades:

New Donk City

Iconic Status

5/5

This was the location of Odyssey featured prominently in pre release and you included a lot of elements from the stage

Originality

4 / 10

This I can't give a high score simply because I don't know how these are actually implemented without know the layout of the stage

Playabilty

1 / 10

See above, but more so. With no layout, I can’t judge. How do play on buildings, and on street, is it meant to be a Travelling stage ala Isle Delphino

Super Bell Hill

Iconic Status

4 / 5

Seems to capture 3D World well

Originality

5 / 10

Seems to include a lot of nice ideas, but I do like to see layouts, exclusive items seem nice. And being a scrolling stage like 3D Land is uncreative

Playabilty

1/ 10

It's a scrolling stage without clear idea of how it is layed out. What is explained sounds like a pain

Bubblaine

Iconic Status

3 /5

It just seems like another stage from Odyssey, it's a fun stage sure, but it's not really a stand out in terms of exposure.

Originality

7 / 10

A travelling stage has been done before, but I like the locations and travelling on the boss, although I'd like to know how you get on and off the boss. Although normally these stages have more places to battle.

Functionality

7 / 10

Although I doubt competitives will enjoy it, I think it sounds like a fun stage to play on, I'd play on it that's for sure.

Mushroom Kingdom 3

Iconic status

4 / 5

The idea is great, but it doesn't seem well implemented, it could have had so much more and it kinda pales in comparison to the Mushroom Kingdom stages from Melee and 64

Originality

4 / 10

The layout is boring and does not use enough of Super Mario Bros 3 had to offer. No Angry Sun, No Airship, No Boo, No Chain Chomp. Just a Paragoomba. The previous Mushroom Kingdom stages were love letters to their games. It lacks too much detail. It just needed more than a paragoomba

Functionality

7 / 10

It's functional in a Boring way.

Tricky Trapeze Theatre

Iconic Status

3 / 5

While 3D World did have a lot of circus themes, they were varied and the one chosen was probably the one that stood out the least. It was a fun level. The Super Mario Bros 3 reference was odd

Originality

10 / 10

This is how you do a stage without actually drawing a layout. While I'm left curious about certain features, I think I have a good understanding of what the stage is and I like it. I especially love the detail of hanging from trapeze swing is slightly altered version of ledge grab. Good to see an omega.

Functionality

8 / 10

This stage sounds fun. Obviously banned but I don't care, I want to fight on this stage. One thing I'm left concerned about though is the mushroom platforms, specifically this wall underneath them. Does this mean if I get launched, I won't have a ledge to grab onto, am I able to go under this ‘wall’ to reach one of the main arches? I like a stage I can grab the ledge on.

Oddball's Grades:

Russell SSB’s New Donk City

Iconic Status: 4/5

Probably the most iconic location for Mario Odyssey. It doesn’t get a perfect score because while it’s perfect to represent the latest mario game, it doesn’t do a great job of representing Mario as a whole.

Originality: 4/10

Not too original. It gets extra points for the night and day stuff and the band playing, but otherwise it reminds me a lot of the earthbound stage from melee.

Playability: 4/10

It doesn’t sound horrible, but I don’t really have enough detail to understand how it actually plays. Not enough real detail to get a good grip on how it plays.

Overall Score: 12/25

---

GolisoPower’s Super Bell Hill

Iconic Status: 4/5

It feels very mario-ish and does a good job representing the game and the series.

Originality 6/10

The stage and the layout itself don’t feel that special to me, but the transforming and cloning aspects feel fresh and new.

Playability 7/10

I can actually see the cloning stuff being quite fun, although the wall jumping aspects don’t exactly wow me. Neither does having somebody just magically set you back at the beginning of the stage.

Overall Score 17/25

---

Kevandre’s Bubblaine

Iconic Status 1/5

It’s really not anything I think of when i think mario or even if I’m thinking Odyssey.

Originality 10/10

There was a LOT of thought and creativity put into this stage, from how the stage itself works to the layout of the fighting areas.

Playability 9/10

This level seems like a lot of fun, with enough variety to keep you guessing and adapting. It doesn’t get a perfect because I’m not entirely sure enough time is spent in each location before the change,. It sounds like it might be moving a tad fast.

Overall Score 20/25

---

PeridotGX’s Mushroom Kingdom III

Iconic Status: 5/5

This seems to be a generic Mario 3 stage and really, that’s one of the first things I think of when I think of ANY Mario game.

Originality 5/10

Playability 5/10

Other than being a mario 3 stage, there really doesn’t seem to be a lot going on for it. It does feel kinda bland.

Overall Score 15/25

---

Salcan’s Tricky Trapeze Theater

Iconic Status 3/5

The circus stuff doesn’t strike me as too iconic to the series, but the Mario 3 intro is very iconic. So, I split the difference.

Originality 9/10

A lot of thought went into this, and I don’t think I’ve seen a level based around trapheezes and trampolines before. It could be fun.

Playability 7/10

While it sounds like it could be fun to mess around with, I’m not as certain how fun it would be to try to fight a series battle with the kind of set-up you’ve given us here.

Overall Score 19/25

Total Scores:

Russell_SSB: 66 Points

GolisoPower: 72 Points

Kevandre: 81 Points

PeridotGX: 68 points

Salcan: 80 Points

The Winner is......

Bubblaine by Kevandre !!!!!

By ONE POINT more than 2nd Place.

WOW! INCREDIBLE!!!!!!

Russell_SSB · Feb 25, 2018

Nice job,

Kevandre !

Deleted member · Feb 25, 2018

Russell_SSB

GolisoPower

As you may have noticed, one of the judges had to give your stages relatively low scores because he couldn't envision what the layout of your ideas looked like.

For what's it worth, I thought you both did a great job with your ideas for this round (to be fair, I was very impressed with most of the stage ideas for Round 2) so to avoid such a crippling strike happening to you guys, or anyone who may have that problem in future, again I'm going to give an example of a simple way to make an image that gives enough detail about a stages layout.

We'll be using Honeyhive Galaxy from Mario Galaxy 1 as a basis (Since I'm sad that there were no Mario Galaxy ideas submitted this round

).

What I did for a simple method here is I found a screenshot of the level in question from a Google Image search that I thought was close enough for the layout I had in mind and from there I used colored lines in my image editor program to give an indication of what kind of footing the stage has.

In this case the Red Lines indicate solid ground while the Blue lines indicate platforms that you can pass through by tapping down on the control stick. The Blue Lines also have a vertical line in between them that's supposed to show that there's a single platform that moves up and down.

Any other ground in the image, like the various trees, are just background elements.

That's a relatively simple way to make an image showing your stage's layout. Depending on your idea you may need to use your image editing program (I recommend Paint.net. Which is free) to crop certain parts of one image and put them onto another.

PeridotGX's image for his submission in the Kirby round shows a decent enough example of that.

Hope this helps you guys in future rounds.

Kevandre · Feb 25, 2018

Ahhhh! Good job everyone! Tough competition this round!

Salcan · Feb 26, 2018

Just short of victory... Doesn't really help that I love to make stuff from random stages I like rather than the most iconic things. (For 3D world, I'm pretty sure the most iconic stages would be Shadow Play Alley, Hands-On Hall and good old World Bowser. Oh, and Super Bell Hill of course.) Well, I guess there's always next time.

psb123 said:
psb123's grades:

Tricky Trapeze Theater by Salcan:

That being said though the Trapeze stages don't seem to stick out as well as a few other locations in 3d World and while I do like the twist in originality that the stage's name brings it does unfortunately hurt it's iconic value.

With so many memorable Mario locations hearing one that's given an original name for Smash like this one is bound to cause a few people to go "what?".

As said before I do like the flare of originality given to this stage be it's name. Smash stages that have original names for in general concepts like this are very rare.

Tricky Trapeze Theater is based on the actual stage of the same name from Super Mario 3D World though. So I guess my stage isn't as unique as you originally thought.

psb123 said:
8-bit Man's Grades:

This stage sounds fun. Obviously banned but I don't care, I want to fight on this stage. One thing I'm left concerned about though is the mushroom platforms, specifically this wall underneath them. Does this mean if I get launched, I won't have a ledge to grab onto, am I able to go under this ‘wall’ to reach one of the main arches? I like a stage I can grab the ledge on.

Knew there would be a misunderstanding. To clarify, the wall under the Mushroom Trampolines is shorter than the Mushroom Trampolines. It's only meant to make it visually cleat to a player that when a character is knocked into the Mushroom Trampolines from below, unlike the Planetary Springs from Windy Hill Zone, the character will react to the surface as if it were a regular ceiling, and not a spring. It should not block a player from returning to the stage by going underneath the Mushroom Trampolines.

Cosmic77 · Feb 26, 2018

Congratulations to Kevandre and all the other users who participated. I won't lie, voting for these entries was tough.

Russell_SSB · Feb 26, 2018

Cosmic77 said:
Congratulations to Kevandre and all the other users who participated. I won't lie, voting for these entries was tough.

Thanks! I tried to come up with something good for the round, but everyone else had some REALLY amazing choices as well.

GolisoPower · Feb 26, 2018

Another win for

Kevandre ! Holy cow! Congrats, dude!

PeridotGX · Feb 26, 2018

Yeah, my stage definitely could've spent more time in the oven. Congrats to everyone!

Deleted member · Feb 26, 2018

It's Round 3 time everybody!

Winning the Poll at 6 votes, Round 3 is............

Splatoon, ARMS, and Xenoblade

Nintendo has got a lot of miscellaneous series under their belt that for the most part don't quite hit the same level of success at their long running heavy hitters. But these 3 are the closest to obtaining that status.

Splatoon practically has hit that status. Being Nintendo's most successful new IP in quite some time, ARMS has made a name for itself as well, doing better at launch than new entries in long running fighting game franchises like Street Fighter, and Xenoblade is trucking along pretty good as well. It's at the very least comparable to something like Metroid at this point in terms of people recognizing it.

But due to the small amount of games these 3 series have it would probably be too restricting to separate them all into their own categories. So we'll be putting the 3 of them together in a sort of "Triple Threat" kind of round.

Same rules apply as always. Including the rule of one stage per contestant. Meaning if you want to submit a stage from each series to be graded in the contest, sorry, but you can't. You can submit as many stage ideas for fun as you wish but only one stage across all 3 series can be your entry in the grading process.

And with that, on February 26th, Round 3 has begun. You have until Friday March 2nd to submit your entries.

Good Luck! And please, do try to keep spoilers for any Xenoblade games to a minimum.

Kevandre · Feb 26, 2018

(Spoilers for Splatoon 2)

CEPHALON HQ

Get him, Agent 4!

Description:
The setting for this stage is the final boss fight from Splatoon 2!

(I've dimmed the background just for the sake of viewability of the concept)

So my thought here was that, in the final boss fight of Splatoon 2, the Inkling playable character is grinding the rails around DJ Octavio, swapping between the rails and firing the rainmaker at him to take him down. All this while the Squid Sisters perform their concert on the screens on the walls! For the most part, the stage is set up in a Battlefield style, the bottom platform being attached to the grind rail moving around the arena in a circle just like the game. The other smaller platforms also stay in place with the main platform on the bottom.

The platforms will jump to the other grind rail when the stage does a full circuit of the room, which will just do a perspective change to the other side (So folks who were on the left prior to the rail change will be on the right after it, essentially).

Seems pretty harmless, right?

Well...

It is a boss fight.

Enter DJ Octavio, leader of the villainous Octolings.

He's in the background of the stage all the time, sometimes firing his giant gold robot fists at one of the four platforms at random!

In the source material, the Inklings attack DJ Octavio by hitting his own fists back at him! If he smacks you, you can be launched at higher percents, so be careful! Though hitting him with his own fists three times will take him out of the fight entirely for a full minute so it might be worthwhile to focus him down early before your other opponents!

Is your stage unlockable:
Unlock the Inkling and the stage comes with!

Extra Stuff:
I'll be real with you, this round is a little more difficult. I played the first Splatoon game and have watched entirely through the first Xenoblade game, and that's about it. Never played Splatoon 2, or ARMS or seen much aside from Direct info on XX/X2. When I saw this category was winning, I did some research... Hahaha. This seemed like a fun concept, I thought! I also thought that the concert going on on the screens in the background could change depending on the music playing. If it's Squid Sisters or Marina&Pearl changes depending on the song that was chosen.

Music:
Spicy Calamari Inkantation (Squid Sisters) : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6zGCKhfXPVo
Ebb & Flow (Marina&Pearl) : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xFG6770beMc
Ink Me Up (Squid Sisters) : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FrHDNaM2ph0
Tide Goes Out (Marie Solo) : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xmBnIVxlDY
Bomb Rush Blush (Callie Solo) : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HJfCuVBJnxg
Off the Hook (Marina&Pearl) : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JETbrWffM_o
Tidal Rush (Squid Sisters+DJ Octavio): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbDpqJZj_OQ

GolisoPower · Feb 26, 2018

Oh, man! Now I can finally put this up after stupidly putting it up in the KIRBY round! Here it is:

https://arms.nintendo.com/assets/img/fighters/max-brass/stage2.jpg

Stage Name:
Sky Arena

Origin:
ARMS

Description:
An arena built atop the Arms League HQ where the player fights either Max Brass or Dr. Coyle in the arcade mode. The platform in the center is leveled, similarly to the Punch-Out!! Arena, but there is nothing to bounce off of, not to mention there are two giant fire pillars on opposite sides of the stage, which will be explained below.

Gimmicks and Hazards of the Stage:
These giant fire pillars can deal 20% damage when knocked into, also having some decent knockback at a 359 degree angle. At one point, Hedlok will appear in the stage and attach itself to the first player that hits it. With Hedlok equipped, the player has access to four stretchy arms that can hit opponents from long distances for 5% damage each, or grab the opponent with a sort of tether that deals 25% damage if it hits a player. The former is triggered when the player uses a normal or a special while the latter is triggered with a grab. However, Hedlok has his weaknesses: he will immediately detach himself if the player he's taking over is launched, and can only be attached for 12 seconds before disappearing, pausing only when a grab lands on an opponent.

Is your stage unlockable:
Yes. You unlock this stage by taking 1,000,000% total damage on one character from when you first boot the game (You can track it in the Records Section).

Extra Stuff:
A montage of Smash battles that have happened prior to the one on this stage will be playing as recordings on a screen in the background.

Music:
ARMS Theme: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7lg8nCXtxwc
Spring Stadium: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e1W3eY2RNpI
Ribbon Ring: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uFNBVT_905U
Ninja College: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7GEgQgxuLFQ
Mausoleum: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bh9nAJF1qqU
Ramen Bowl: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IuKqzNVqKao
Scrapyard: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJu1naHk1bg
Cinema Deux: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZWFEgLL7vns
Buster Beach: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2aGm2LxqjHI
Snake Park: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M2ufqDNEf2E
DNA Lab: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AYNT0yfkzMw
Sky Arena (Day): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P3v5zJc1eVk
Sky Arena (Night): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yllb9hnGGSg
Via Dolce: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ml9MSsTSV2U
Temple Grounds: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cww9eg50SEE
Sparring Ring: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pWogzuNDnZo
[NAME REDACTED]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s0k4HqWYztk
Hedlok Theme: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lto0gqPQqdQ
V-Ball: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PY6N6PXj2cU
Hoops: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OS_xGcZPBCI

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate: Stage Creation Contest (Complete)

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