Time for Round 18 grades!
psb123's grades:
Deepsea Metro by
GolisoPower
Iconic Status: 4/5
Splatoon 2 exists solely because of the success of Splatoon 1 and this represents something that gives more exposure to the world of Splatoon and the Octolings. Both of which are things that a lot of Splatoon fans have wanted to see. However it is DLC that is still fairly new (it wasn't even released when you submitted this stage) so I don't think it's had quite enough time in the sun yet.
Originality: 7/10
Apart from the enemies there's not a lot this stage really does. And the whole enemies as hazards thing is a pretty common, and in some ways overused, idea. I was considering being a little more lenient since I haven't played the Octo Expansion and would not know how well this ties in to the source material. But what made me decide against it was the fact that the Octo Expansion wasn't out when this stage was submitted.
Playability: 6/10
Some of those Octarians don't sound too bad, but most of them do. Plus the layout of the stage has too much potential for caves of life.
Overall Score: 17/25
Castle Bleck by
TheMarioaddict
Iconic Status: 5/5
This may be the end game area, but you see bits and pieces of it inbetween chapters. It stands out pretty well for Super Paper Mario which is the only Paper Mario game not to follow the traditional gameplay formula and still be at least decently praised by fans (and the only PM game like that to be good
)
Originality: 10/10
We don't see staircases on Smash Stages a lot and Dimentio adds a nice touch to this as well while staying true to what he does in Super Paper Mario. Plus the overall setting of Castle Bleck is pretty darn unique.
Playability: 10/10
The only thing that could cause some concern here would be Dimentio. And while his attack certainly does a lot of damage it's easy to not get caught in and there is potential for escape. Especially in team matches. Not to mention the fact that him floating around for a few seconds first makes his attack easy to telegraph. No problems here as far as I'm concerned.
Overall Score: 25/25
New Donk City by
Munomario777
Iconic Status: 5/5
It's the favorite kingdom of a lot of Odyssey fans and is home to one of the games most memorable moments AND brought an oldschool, minor Mario character into the spotlight. Whenever the idea of a Mario Odyssey stage comes up, most people flock to this. I wonder what will happen in regards to that idea
Originality: 9/10
This is a darn good layout for New Donk City! Very faithful to how you roam around the place in Odyssey. My only real gripe is the festival being locked to Saturday evening. For Animal Crossing it makes sense but the New Donk Festival isn't locked to a specific day. The festival should definitely be there but there are other ways to incorporate it.
Playability: 9/10
Not the biggest fan of needing bounces from Taxi's and Umbrellas to get to certain areas. But nothing else poses an issue.
Overall Score: 23/25
Bowser's Castle by
TKOWL
Iconic Status: 5/5
With me having both seen a lot of people saying and being in the camp of Bowser so desperately needing a stage like this, combined with how notable an area it is from so many Mario games, it can't not have a perfect score.
Originality: 10/10
I LOVE that layout! I have had so much trouble in the past picturing a way for a Bowser's Castle stage to look that I really really liked. You have no idea how grateful I am to you for giving one here. As for the enemies. That's a very risky gimmick to add for originality since it's such a common idea. But with how you incorporated them, as well as how well it meshes with your idea overall, I think you get a pass here.
Playability: 10/10
The Magikoopa had me a bit concerned. But I think it's easy enough to deal with given a bit of effort.
Overall Score: 25/25
Boss Fight by
Kevandre
Iconic Status: 5/5
This kind of stage is one that would need to stand out more for it's bosses rather that it's location, and fortunately a lot of these bosses are quite recognizable. Not to mention they are all Lava oriented bosses. Which makes the lava setting of the stage itself fit quite well.
Originality: 10/10
In addition to the pros of the lava setting I mentioned earlier, the idea of a stage that brings a bunch of bosses from multiple Nintendo games into one is by default very creative. There's really no reason to take off any points here.
Playability: 9/10
The only reason I'm taking off a point is because Mecha Bowser's Fireballs sound just a tad bit too tricky to deal with. But I'd say you did a good job balancing all the others.
Overall Score: 24/25
Dream Palace by
PeridotGX
Iconic Status: 5/5
Certainly an odd choice considering compared to an actual level from Star Allies. But people like those Dream Friends and the free dlc adding more gives a lot of incentive to replay the game.
Originality: 10/10
I got to say I'm a big fan of the unique way the enemies (technically?) were incorporated here. Instead of them going around dealing damage they grant a buff to the character they've friended. A buff that is very faithful to the source material and sensible for Smash no less.
Playability: 10/10
The friends are already not a problem here since they grant a fighter a reasonable buff. And the layout causes no problems either.
Overall Score: 25/25
Whomp's Fortress by
SwagGuy99
Iconic Status: 5/5
Honestly you could pick any location from Mario 64 and it'd be hard to give it a low iconic score since the game is so impactful and memorable. But being the 2nd level of the game does give Whomp's Fortress a slight edge.
Originality: 10/10
I've been a fan for some time now of the idea of getting actual Mario 64 levels into Smash as stages. And this one is very faithful to the source material. Not just in layout, but in hazards.
Playability: 10/10
I don't mind the Bullet Bill since you can detonate him early by attacking from a distance. I was at first concerned by the cannon since it seems easy to get forced into it. But you didn't say it deals any damage so that negates the problem.
Overall Score: 25/25
Pokemon Stadium 3 by
Jamisinon
Iconic Status: 5/5
The main reason that a lot of people have had this idea is because of the thought process of "People want an actual Pokemon Stadium 3 game. So why not reference that idea in Smash?) which makes sense.
Originality: 3/10
I'll admit that I've been a fan of the idea of a stadium 3 stage as well and credit where it's due I do like the Fighting Form you came up with. Truth be told I probably would have scored this higher if not for the fact that Pokemon Stadium 1 AND 2 have already been shown to be in Smash Ultimate. And since this stage takes 3 layouts that were already used in those stages it sadly gets hurt in the creativity department by unfortunate circumstances.
Playability: 10/10
Fortunately you did pick the most playable forms out of the ones used in the first 2 stadiums. And the new fighting form doesn't pose any issues either as far as I'm concerned.
Overall Score: 18/25
Cosmic77's grades:
"Deepsea Metro" by GolisoPower:
Iconic Status: 4/5
Splatoon 2 is extremely popular, so most content from that game would be easy to recognize.
However, this is from DLC. I don't think it's fair for me to give this a perfect score since only a limited number of people who bought Splatoon 2 would've bought the DLC too.
Originality: 7/10
I like the subway concept, but the enemy swarm thing has been used so many different times in this contest. I really would've preferred something else.
Still, the enemies themselves are unique. At least they wouldn't be carbon copies of other common enemies we see in Smash.
Playability: 5/10
I appreciate the Octarians being easy to eliminate, but there's power in numbers. Imagine fighting 12 of these guys with two players.
Overall Score: 16/25
"Castle Bleck" by TheMarioAddict:
Iconic Status: 3/5
As much as I love SPM, the game is past it's prime. An area like this wouldn't feel like a Paper Mario stage unless you actually played this specific game before.
Originality: 7/10
The setting is unique, and I do like the layout of the stage. Dimentio was also a nice addition, and I think he functions very differently from every other stage boss (if that's what he should be called) we've had in Smash.
That being said, it feel like your stage is missing that special something for when Dimentio isn't around. Maybe Bleck, Nastasia, Mimi, and Mr. L could make cameos?
Playability: 7/10
Dimentio is OP as heck. Getting 50% damage from one attack is pretty crazy, and that could ruin the entire battle for one poor soul.
I'll at least take into account that he can be defeated.
Overall Score: 17/25
"New Donk City" by MunoMario777:
Iconic Status: 5/5
I feel like this score should be self-explanatory.
Originality: 10/10
I absolutely love the layout you came up with. Feels like this would be a really fun stage to play on. The use of the moving girders, umbrellas, and taxis are also a nice homage to Odyssey,
Playability: 10/10
I was thinking of deducting points for the size of your stage, but since a large 8-player Smash stage seems to be what you were going for, I decided against it.
Overall Score: 25/25
Congratulations! You're the fourth person to receive a perfect score from me!
"Bowser's Castle" by TKOWL:
Iconic Status: 5/5
This place has been appearing in Mario games for years. Not sure why it should deserve anything less than a perfect score.
Originality: 7/10
Honestly, I would've been fine without the enemy gimmick. Your stage has a very unique layout that suits Bowser's castle, and the lava enemies felt like enough.
However, I guess I shouldn't deduct points for you adding more content, or at least not in the originality score.
Playability: 7/10
Enemies are enemies. Even if they're easy to dispatch, they can still get in the way, and yours are no exception.
Overall Score: 19/25
"Boss Fight" by Kevandre:
Iconic Status: 3/5?
This isn't really a specific place, but you chose to add a bunch of iconic Nintendo bosses, so I guess that's what I'm supposed to be looking at, right?
Mecha Bowser? Iconic.
Primal Groudon? Iconic.
The rest? I'm not convinced.
Originality: 9/10
Grading your stage is hard.
On one hand, "boss blitz" are a common concept that people come up with all the time in video games. On the other hand, Smash has never had anything like this, and no one has came up with this idea in the contest so far. Then there's the bosses themselves. They're all very unique, and I can tell you put a lot of time into designing them.
...I'll tell you what. Since I was more critical of your previous stage, I'll be more lenient with this one.
Playability: 6/10
These bosses aren't annoying like Yellow Devil, but I still see them interfering with the fight more often than they should.
I do appreciate you clarifying that each segment only lasts 15 seconds though. That's much more manageable.
Overall Score: 18/25
"Dream Palace" by PeridotGX:
Iconic Status: 5/5
Not the most memorable area you could've chosen. However, the iconic Kirby enemies compensate for this. Once you summon Waddle Doo or Chilly, people are gonna say, "Oh, it's those guys from the Kirby games!"
Originality: 8/10
Normally, I hate "summoning" concepts, but I really like this one. Maybe it's because it functions so similar to Star Allies, or maybe it's because the helpers aren't crazy OP or interfere with the battle. Either way, good stage gimmick.
Playability: 10/10
Since the helpers don't actually do anything themselves, and since the power-ups aren't ridiculously OP, I see no reason to deduct points.
Overall Score: 23/25
"Whomp's Fortress" by SwagGuy99:
Iconic Status: 5/5
Can't beat the classics. This stage is extremely memorable, and it's appearance in Galaxy 2 helps.
Originality: 7/10
Well, you stayed true to the game and made a stage based off of actual areas from Thwomp's Fortress. My only complaint is that I'd like to have seen more than just these three areas.
Playability: 8/10
Not much to nitpick on except for the bomb and the Bullet Bill.
Overall Score: 20/25
"Pokemon Stadium 3" by Jamisinon:
Iconic Status: 5/5
Just about any generic Pokemon stadium stage with a Pokeball on the floor should be easy to recognize.
Originality: 1/10
I really like the idea of mashing the two Pokemon Stadium stages together, but I'm supposed to be grading these stages based on creativity and originality, not practicality.
The only part of your stage that was original was the fighting type segment, and even then it's just a rip-off of Boxing Ring.
Playability: 8/10
At the very least, copying the stage helped me get a very vivid idea of how your hazards would work.
Overall Score: 14/25
Total Scores:
GolisoPower: 33 points
TheMarioAddict: 42 points
MunoMario777: 48 points
TKOWL: 44 points
Kevandre: 42 points
PeridotGX: 48 points
SwagGuy99: 45 points
Jamisinon: 32 points
The Winner is..................
Blue Team
The last of the team colors in actual Smash games. How fitting that it would be used on the Anything Goes round. The two stages that tied for first are..............
New Donk City by MunoMario777
AND
Dream Palace by PeridotGX
CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!