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

[GolisoPower]

Stage Name:
Lordran

Origin:
Dark Souls

Gimmicks and Hazards:
Stage transitions, bonfires, stage-exclusive gimmicks.

Unlockable?:
Yes. Get KO’d as Link 100 times.

Music:
Dark Souls Medley
Lord Gwyn (Dark Souls)
Ornstein and Smough (Dark Souls)
Chaos Witch Quelaag (Dark Souls)
Gaping Dragon (Dark Souls)
Lordran (Original Composition by Chikayo Fukuda. Changes to accomodate the active stage.)

Description:
This is it, boys and girls. My final stage for this entire contest. I’ve journeyed through the past. I dabbled into the future. I’ve explored the familiar and the obscure. And now, with this stage, I’m pulling out all the stops. Ladies and gentlemen, a stage I’ve been researching for a while. Today, we journey to Lordran, the world setting of the famous (or infamous, depending who you ask) Dark Souls franchise.

This stage starts out at Firelink Shrine no matter how many times you pick Lordran. After 30 seconds of battle, fog will start to form and obscure the main platform while cutting off access to other platforms for 5 seconds before it clears and reveals another part of Lordran, the process taking 9 seconds overall. This can be either Blighttown, Anor Londo, the Royal Woods, the Undead Burg, Sen’s Fortress or the Painted World of Ariamis. Every 35 seconds, the stage will change.

Firelink Shrine is a simple layout platform with no exclusive gimmicks whatsoever. Just the tree of the Shrine serving as platforms for the layout, the brighter colors of the branches representing the platforms used. Despite it seeming so, the root does not block ground speed.

Anor Londo has a different layout in addition to an exclusive gimmick that each of the other stages departing from Firelink Shrine have their own of. This stage’s gimmick is that the stage is slowly rising like an elevator, with the four outer platforms changing position for the entire duration. After 10 seconds, the stage will stop rising and arrive at the room where Ornstein and Smough are residing as background characters similar to the monsters in Dracula’s Castle. Sometimes, the Chosen Undead will be fighting them in the background.

Blighttown has ladders similar to those of Wrecking Crew, but the real gimmick lies in the fact that all players in Blighttown will slow down similarly to Witch Time or the Stopwatch for a duration ranging from a quarter of a second to one second. This effect is quite random and unpredictable. Chaos Witch Quelaag will be seen in the background, sometimes battling the Chosen Undead.

The Painted World of Ariamis is the snowy level home to resident floofy lady Crossbreed Priscilla, who resides in the background. Sometimes, Priscilla would encounter the Chosen Undead, who would either leave her be or engage in battle with her. Occasionally, Priscilla will summon a blizzard that covers the platforms with snow over 4 seconds, slowing down all ground speed by .75x. The snow lasts for about 8 seconds before melting, but until then, you better hope your character is good in the air on this stage, otherwise you’re screwed. When fog starts forming, the snow on the main platform will melt instantly.

Royal Woods is where the fight against the one-armed Artorias takes place. Said knight is seen in the background fighting (who else?) the Chosen Undead, but this battle surprisingly interacts with the stage. Occasionally, Artorias will fling 1-3 globs of abyss which can hit the stage or any fighters, said abyss indicated by the midnight blue. If the globs hit the stage, they will remain there for 4 seconds before disappearing. If any players touch it, whether through puddles or globs, they will be inflicted with the poison effect Yuri Kozukata inflicts. This poison will deal 7.5% damage over 4 seconds, but the abyss’ effect does not stack.

Sen’s Fortress is the massive stronghold that serves as the gateway to Anor Londo. Sometimes, a giant guillotine pendulum will swing 3 times over 6 seconds, grazing the main platform as it does so. The guillotine blade has a hitbox as tall as Ivysaur and as long as three Ganondorfs, and deal 9% damage on hit with as much knockback as Corrin’s half-charged Dragon Fang Bite. The wooden rod that is attaching the guillotine blade does not have a hitbox. The guillotine process can happen from 1-3 times before the stage transitions. The Iron Golem boss appears in the background, sometimes fighting (take a wild guess!) the Chosen Undead.

And finally we have the Undead Burg, one of the first areas of the game and the most popular area for PvP in Dark Souls. In random locations across this stage, with no fixed position, a Soul Sign will appear every 3 seconds for 5 seconds. Anyone who walks on top of them will summon the soul of an inactive fighter to battle alongside you in jolly co-operation. This character has about 75 Stamina Points and has the A.I. of a Lvl. 5 CPU. Another summon sign will not appear until after the summoned fighter disappears and another 10 seconds have passed. They can also disappear as soon as the fog starts forming. In the background, the Taurus Demon is seen, sometimes fighting...you know who.

After leaving Firelink Shrine when you start the match, there is a chance that you’ll come back to said area. You’ll never know which stage you’ve arrived in until after the fog is gone. Now I’m sure by now that you’ve noticed something across all the stages: the bonfires. A big staple of the Dark Souls series, the bonfires serve as checkpoints throughout the land of Lordran, and act as respawn points in that game. Now it’s time to get to the good stuff. The shared gimmick across all stages used, the bonfires. A player can strike the sword composing of the bonfire to light it, giving it an outline of the player’s color. Now normally when a character is KO’d and still in the game, they usually respawn at the top of the stage, right? Well not this one! A player who owns the bonfire will keep respawning at that bonfire until the stage transitions, the match ends or the player is out. Invincibility frames from bonfire respawns are normal, but there’s a catch. When a player does respawn at the bonfire, they are surrounded by embers that reflect half the damage and knockback of all attacks they take, but at the cost of ending invincibility frames early. And because the next stage you go to is random, and the bonfires are under ownership of the player until the stage transitions, it discourages camping. Like say, you have a bonfire in Anor Londo. Then you transition to Royal Wood, then Painted World, then go back to Anor Londo. That bonfire will be open for anyone again. Hazard Toggle removes the stage-exclusive gimmicks like the abyss or the random slowdowns, as well as the ember frames of the bonfires.

Now my friends, I give you the chance to judge it...one last time. With this and many others, our Age of Fire ends...for now...

 

[TheMarioaddict]

The Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Stage Creation Contest's final round is..........

Anything Goes 2

​

First of all I got to say, this is probably my favorite Round Representation image in the entire contest. A mockup of Ultimate's Stage select screen that features the winner of every round up until now plus a good chunk of the other submissions that I personally liked a lot.

Damn man, you beat me to the punch - I was literally just starting to make a mockup to this effect, just as a for-fun thing. I love it!

Aw yiss, 6 of my stages made it on! Thanks for that!

 

[Kevandre]

Well, here we are. The final round of the Smash Bros Stage Contest for Smash Brothers Ultimate. It’s been an insane ride this year and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed being a part of it. One of my favorite times that comes around every few years is the Hype Cycle prior to a Smash Bros release. For Smash 4 and Ultimate, a large bulk of my own participation has been on Smashboards, and more specifically in this contest and the previous iteration of it. So I want to thank you guys, especially @psb123 for making this a thing again.



As it’s the final round, I decided to go all out for this one. I hope you guys enjoy this as much as I did. I started working on it in September in preparation.

​

​

The Collective Unconscious​

(Psychonauts)​

​

Let me get this out of the way right off the bat. Psychonauts isn’t on a Nintendo console. It absolutely should have been back when it came out on the original xbox and PS2, but for some reason it never made it to the Gamecube. Even in its re-release on Steam and digital download for the other consoles, it’s never made its way over onto a Nintendo console. However… Part of the rules of this round dictate that if a character has appeared on a Nintendo console, I can use that character’s game for this round. Razputin, the main character in Psychonauts and the upcoming Psychonauts 2, has appeared on a Nintendo console, once, in Bit Trip Runner 2: Future Legend of Rhythm Alien on Wii U. True, he appeared purely in DLC format for the game, but all the same, I distinctly remember freaking out for a second when I saw Raz’s face in the Wii U eshop. Thus… HE COUNTS.



Psychonauts, for those unfamiliar with the game (go play it), is a 3-D platformer in the vein of Super Mario 64 or Banjo Kazooie. Raz is a psychic kid who learns a lot of new moves while going to mysterious and vastly different worlds within the brains of other people at Whispering Rock Psychic Summer Camp. Whispering Rock itself is half of the hub world of the game, and all the other locations are complex realities inside the brains of his teachers, and… some others.



The Collective Unconscious is a more simplistic level select that Raz can get to at any time if he’d go straight to a level rather than making his way to each person to jump inside. For our stage today, the Collective Unconscious itself is more of a fleeting view than anything, as this is indeed a travelling stage! Players will be placed on a single final destination-sized platform whilst in the Collective Unconscious travelling portion, looking like the picture above. The stage will pick a door at random to go into, which transports you to that part of the stage. The FD-sized platform will remain in each substage for a few seconds before disappearing so everyone can jump to a safe platform without fear. I didn’t want to overdo it here though, so this stage will only travel to 5 of the different levels from the game.



Oh, and Razputin is with you inside every brain. He’s the psychic after all. Though, for most of these, he’s just kind of there in the background, rather than being interactable.

Basic Braining​

The first brain one enters in Psychonauts is Basic Braining, a no-nonsense level that is meant to act as a tutorial in the game, and train the students in the ways of being inside a brain. As such, I’ve based this part of my stage on the Airfield portion of Basic Braining, which might also be the most memorable part. It’s fairly straightforward, in that it’s basically a main platform on the bottom, two passable platforms in the middle, and two passable platforms on top, connected to non-passable platforms in the shape of airplanes that Coach Oleander has sitting there. Be sure you know how to Tech, as you’ll need it if you get launched up from below!



After 30 seconds of fighting here, Razputin will open his smelling salts and the FD-sized platform shows up for five seconds, which will take you off back to the Collective Unconscious. He will always do the smelling-salts animation when the stage is about to change, so you’re given a little forewarning as well.

Milla’s Dance Party​

​

This is the stage that is probably most well known by people who haven’t played Psychonauts, as this base level contains the terrifying hidden background of one of the characters. That said, I’m not really referencing that in my stage, more just showing one of the reasons I chose to include it as one of the substages, since it’d be recognizable to people who haven’t played the original game (do it seriously).



In the Milla’s Dance Party section of the Smash Bros stage, there are 5 platforms. Only the two on the top right and left are passable. The stage at the center is your primary fighting ground, and it is generally bigger than my mockup implies.



The two floating orange-flowery platforms stay where they are… until you stand on one.

​

When your character stands on one of these platforms, it will rise up to the level that Meta Knight is at here. If nobody stands on these platforms, they’ll slowly fall back to where they were by default.



Raz is bouncing around the bottom part of this area on his levitation ball, which is something he learns how to use at Milla’s Dance Party. For the Smashers though, it’s a pit.



Also on this stage, you’ll find some of Razputin’s classmates such as Bobby, Chloe, or Dogen partying on one of the top three platforms. They’re in the background like in Smashville. Sometimes, Milla Vodello herself will be there too!

Lungfishopolis​

​

In Psychonauts, Raz does enter the brain of a mutated Lungfish from the lake at Whispering Rock Camp. Within Linda the Lungfish’s mind, Razputin is perceived as being an enormous Godzilla-like creature that the locals refer to as “Goggalor.” In this Smash Bros stage, Raz is the platforms that the characters can fight on. Raz’s hat (As well as its side-thingies) all act as the platforms on this stage. In my original mockup of this portion, that was it, but on review I also added two platforms on either side of his head to make the playability a little higher for this bit since I was getting very heavy memories of fighting on trophies in Melee’s event matches. These platforms are passable from below, but not from above, and they connect directly with Raz’s hat’s side-thingies. Raz makes his way downtown, squishing little Lungfish, destroying the orphanage and fighting off tanks. These hazards don’t affect our fight, however. It’s all just a cinematic stage.

Black Velvetopia​

​

I’ll be real with you. I made this mockup for Black Velvetopia originally a few years ago in the time after the original stage contest died but TheMarioaddict and I were desperately clinging to making stages. And, sure, it works on its own as a stage, but I think it works even better as just one of the parts of this transforming stage.



The ground, the windowsills, the bridge, and the top of the buildings are all platforms, with only the ground itself acting as unpassable. The sides of the road (where the buildings are) are endless pits so don’t try to jump over that way… Also keep an eye open for the rampaging bull, El Odio.

​

He runs down the street from the back and will send anyone flying upwards if he hits them! You’d have to be at like 80% to be KO’d from it. He’s also an instant shield-breaker if you try to shield when he runs up, so maybe don’t do that. Especially if you’re Jigglypuff.



Razputin walks around a little, placing paintings on a wall.

The Milkman Conspiracy​

​

Our final substage is arguably the best area from Psychonauts at all- The Milkman Conspiracy. When Raz travels into the mind of a schizophrenic night-guard who believes in many conspiracy theories, he finds himself in a world filled with sidewalks that go in strange directions, a ton of G-Men that look identical (voiced by Steve Blum) that are trying their best to blend in, all in a suburban setting.



In the Smash Bros stage, I’m kind of rolling with the strange sidewalk angle. I’ve made it go as a Mobius strip because, well, it’s simple and people will understand the concept when they see it. In this case however, I’m not messing with Smash Bros’ gravity, but it will keep with the paths a Mobius strip implies- if Lucas were to walk right from where he is, he’d continue down to the bottom right end. He could not, however, keep walking around the inside, upside-down. Ness also couldn’t walk to the right without falling off.

The blue lines show where the sidewalk is passable, and the red shows where it isn’t. One can jump through the center overlap, as well, if that wasn’t clear.



The bunches of houses in the background aren’t interactable at all, and in the actual stage, would vary more in color and model, but for the sake of my mockup, they’re all the same. They’re mostly the same in Psychonauts anyway. On this portion of the stage, you might see a G-Man running around in the background with something like a rolling pin, complaining about how his husband doesn’t care about their marriage anymore, or another G-Man playing a plunger like a trumpet. Raz will behave similarly, holding up a stop sign saying he is a road crew worker or something similar. Look, you’d have to play the game. It’s hilarious.



As for music, the music will change depending on what area you’re in, using the song from that level from the original game. It is due to this that people who’ve played the game will be very happy I left out Waterloo World and Gloria’s Theater… Waterloo’s music gets in your head too easily and Gloria’s is just obnoxious lol.



Unlockable: KO Lucas as Ness or vice versa 10 times.



And… that’s it. The final stage from me for this hype cycle. It’s been crazy. But I’m really glad to have been here for the whole thing start to finish. Looking at this stage and knowing that the competition is going to be putting together their own stages with as much passion as I put into this one, I realize I’ll probably lose this last round but honestly I’m okay with that. This is a passion project stage for me through and through.

Spoiler

​

​

 

[Deleted member]

Well, here we are. The final round of the Smash Bros Stage Contest for Smash Brothers Ultimate. It’s been an insane ride this year and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed being a part of it. One of my favorite times that comes around every few years is the Hype Cycle prior to a Smash Bros release. For Smash 4 and Ultimate, a large bulk of my own participation has been on Smashboards, and more specifically in this contest and the previous iteration of it. So I want to thank you guys, especially @psb123 for making this a thing again.



As it’s the final round, I decided to go all out for this one. I hope you guys enjoy this as much as I did. I started working on it in September in preparation.

​

​

The Collective Unconscious​

(Psychonauts)​

​

Let me get this out of the way right off the bat. Psychonauts isn’t on a Nintendo console. It absolutely should have been back when it came out on the original xbox and PS2, but for some reason it never made it to the Gamecube. Even in its re-release on Steam and digital download for the other consoles, it’s never made its way over onto a Nintendo console. However… Part of the rules of this round dictate that if a character has appeared on a Nintendo console, I can use that character’s game for this round. Razputin, the main character in Psychonauts and the upcoming Psychonauts 2, has appeared on a Nintendo console, once, in Bit Trip Runner 2: Future Legend of Rhythm Alien on Wii U. True, he appeared purely in DLC format for the game, but all the same, I distinctly remember freaking out for a second when I saw Raz’s face in the Wii U eshop. Thus… HE COUNTS.



Psychonauts, for those unfamiliar with the game (go play it), is a 3-D platformer in the vein of Super Mario 64 or Banjo Kazooie. Raz is a psychic kid who learns a lot of new moves while going to mysterious and vastly different worlds within the brains of other people at Whispering Rock Psychic Summer Camp. Whispering Rock itself is half of the hub world of the game, and all the other locations are complex realities inside the brains of his teachers, and… some others.



The Collective Unconscious is a more simplistic level select that Raz can get to at any time if he’d go straight to a level rather than making his way to each person to jump inside. For our stage today, the Collective Unconscious itself is more of a fleeting view than anything, as this is indeed a travelling stage! Players will be placed on a single final destination-sized platform whilst in the Collective Unconscious travelling portion, looking like the picture above. The stage will pick a door at random to go into, which transports you to that part of the stage. The FD-sized platform will remain in each substage for a few seconds before disappearing so everyone can jump to a safe platform without fear. I didn’t want to overdo it here though, so this stage will only travel to 5 of the different levels from the game.



Oh, and Razputin is with you inside every brain. He’s the psychic after all. Though, for most of these, he’s just kind of there in the background, rather than being interactable.

Basic Braining​

The first brain one enters in Psychonauts is Basic Braining, a no-nonsense level that is meant to act as a tutorial in the game, and train the students in the ways of being inside a brain. As such, I’ve based this part of my stage on the Airfield portion of Basic Braining, which might also be the most memorable part. It’s fairly straightforward, in that it’s basically a main platform on the bottom, two passable platforms in the middle, and two passable platforms on top, connected to non-passable platforms in the shape of airplanes that Coach Oleander has sitting there. Be sure you know how to Tech, as you’ll need it if you get launched up from below!



After 30 seconds of fighting here, Razputin will open his smelling salts and the FD-sized platform shows up for five seconds, which will take you off back to the Collective Unconscious. He will always do the smelling-salts animation when the stage is about to change, so you’re given a little forewarning as well.

Milla’s Dance Party​

​

This is the stage that is probably most well known by people who haven’t played Psychonauts, as this base level contains the terrifying hidden background of one of the characters. That said, I’m not really referencing that in my stage, more just showing one of the reasons I chose to include it as one of the substages, since it’d be recognizable to people who haven’t played the original game (do it seriously).



In the Milla’s Dance Party section of the Smash Bros stage, there are 5 platforms. Only the two on the top right and left are passable. The stage at the center is your primary fighting ground, and it is generally bigger than my mockup implies.



The two floating orange-flowery platforms stay where they are… until you stand on one.

​

When your character stands on one of these platforms, it will rise up to the level that Meta Knight is at here. If nobody stands on these platforms, they’ll slowly fall back to where they were by default.



Raz is bouncing around the bottom part of this area on his levitation ball, which is something he learns how to use at Milla’s Dance Party. For the Smashers though, it’s a pit.



Also on this stage, you’ll find some of Razputin’s classmates such as Bobby, Chloe, or Dogen partying on one of the top three platforms. They’re in the background like in Smashville. Sometimes, Milla Vodello herself will be there too!

Lungfishopolis​

​

In Psychonauts, Raz does enter the brain of a mutated Lungfish from the lake at Whispering Rock Camp. Within Linda the Lungfish’s mind, Razputin is perceived as being an enormous Godzilla-like creature that the locals refer to as “Goggalor.” In this Smash Bros stage, Raz is the platforms that the characters can fight on. Raz’s hat (As well as its side-thingies) all act as the platforms on this stage. In my original mockup of this portion, that was it, but on review I also added two platforms on either side of his head to make the playability a little higher for this bit since I was getting very heavy memories of fighting on trophies in Melee’s event matches. These platforms are passable from below, but not from above, and they connect directly with Raz’s hat’s side-thingies. Raz makes his way downtown, squishing little Lungfish, destroying the orphanage and fighting off tanks. These hazards don’t affect our fight, however. It’s all just a cinematic stage.

Black Velvetopia​

​

I’ll be real with you. I made this mockup for Black Velvetopia originally a few years ago in the time after the original stage contest died but TheMarioaddict and I were desperately clinging to making stages. And, sure, it works on its own as a stage, but I think it works even better as just one of the parts of this transforming stage.



The ground, the windowsills, the bridge, and the top of the buildings are all platforms, with only the ground itself acting as unpassable. The sides of the road (where the buildings are) are endless pits so don’t try to jump over that way… Also keep an eye open for the rampaging bull, El Odio.

​

He runs down the street from the back and will send anyone flying upwards if he hits them! You’d have to be at like 80% to be KO’d from it. He’s also an instant shield-breaker if you try to shield when he runs up, so maybe don’t do that. Especially if you’re Jigglypuff.



Razputin walks around a little, placing paintings on a wall.

The Milkman Conspiracy​

​

Our final substage is arguably the best area from Psychonauts at all- The Milkman Conspiracy. When Raz travels into the mind of a schizophrenic night-guard who believes in many conspiracy theories, he finds himself in a world filled with sidewalks that go in strange directions, a ton of G-Men that look identical (voiced by Steve Blum) that are trying their best to blend in, all in a suburban setting.



In the Smash Bros stage, I’m kind of rolling with the strange sidewalk angle. I’ve made it go as a Mobius strip because, well, it’s simple and people will understand the concept when they see it. In this case however, I’m not messing with Smash Bros’ gravity, but it will keep with the paths a Mobius strip implies- if Lucas were to walk right from where he is, he’d continue down to the bottom right end. He could not, however, keep walking around the inside, upside-down. Ness also couldn’t walk to the right without falling off.

The blue lines show where the sidewalk is passable, and the red shows where it isn’t. One can jump through the center overlap, as well, if that wasn’t clear.



The bunches of houses in the background aren’t interactable at all, and in the actual stage, would vary more in color and model, but for the sake of my mockup, they’re all the same. They’re mostly the same in Psychonauts anyway. On this portion of the stage, you might see a G-Man running around in the background with something like a rolling pin, complaining about how his husband doesn’t care about their marriage anymore, or another G-Man playing a plunger like a trumpet. Raz will behave similarly, holding up a stop sign saying he is a road crew worker or something similar. Look, you’d have to play the game. It’s hilarious.



As for music, the music will change depending on what area you’re in, using the song from that level from the original game. It is due to this that people who’ve played the game will be very happy I left out Waterloo World and Gloria’s Theater… Waterloo’s music gets in your head too easily and Gloria’s is just obnoxious lol.



Unlockable: KO Lucas as Ness or vice versa 10 times.



And… that’s it. The final stage from me for this hype cycle. It’s been crazy. But I’m really glad to have been here for the whole thing start to finish. Looking at this stage and knowing that the competition is going to be putting together their own stages with as much passion as I put into this one, I realize I’ll probably lose this last round but honestly I’m okay with that. This is a passion project stage for me through and through.

Spoiler

​

​

Question. Say the absolute crazy awesome happened and Raz was playable. Who would pull an Alfonso and take his place as part of this stages gimmick if he was in a match?

 

[Kevandre]

Question. Say the absolute crazy awesome happened and Raz was playable. Who would pull an Alfonso and take his place as part of this stages gimmick if he was in a match?

Well seeing as how Chrom is both playable and in Robin's final smash, probably nobody, especially since that would change the layout of the Lungfishopolis stage (Though that might actually be cool). But in the case that they'd replace him, I'd probably pick Lilly.

 

[Perkilator]

Is my entry eligible? It’s a stage I created using random I j’écris in my house and making the platforms.

 

[TKOWL]

Primp Town Magic School
Puyo Puyo ​

In the wacky and wild world of Puyo Puyo, students train themselves to become ace magicians at Primp Town's Magic School, taught by the lovely Ms. Accord. In Puyo Puyo Fever 1 and 2, Amitie is a young sorceress in training, attending the school in hopes of becoming a powerful magician. She gets into a variety of scenarios throughout the games, almost always being solved by a match of Puyo. The school acts as a backdrop for many Puyo matches, and is a somewhat iconic location for the series. Puyo itself might be familiar to those who know of Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine or Kirby's Avalanche, both games being reskins made for a western audience: players face each other matching together four colored blobs together in the hopes of chain reacting together more and more of these combos as the match progresses. The series has always has niche success in America, but has been insanely popular in Japan, always selling well and recently becoming the first game in Japan to be officially recognized as an esport. I became a huge fan of the series after Puyo Puyo Tetris came out last year, and have been really dreaming that it gets represented in Smash in some way.

This stage is a fairly basic one, with one large solid platform in the middle and two symmetrical long pass-through platforms on both sides. Things seem simple when the match just begins, but soon the gimmick shows itself, as the backgrounds behind the two thin platforms unveils two Puyo combatants, randomized from a wide selection of Puyo's cast. with Arle and/or Amitie being excluded from the selection if they're being played as currently. A fever meter for both challengers appears next to their puzzle field, along with piece previews, and then their Puyos begin to fall down. While the Smash fighters are duking out, an automated match of Puyo Puyo is taking place in the background. The pieces that are laid down are transparent and don't interact with the fighters, but the ones currently falling down can actively be destroyed by fighter's attacks, potentially screwing up the AI's plans. Hitting the falling Puyos doesn't slow down the fighters in any way, and touching them doesn't inflict any damage either. As more pieces fall down, combos will begin being built, and once those do, the garbage system will begin to make its way into the match.

If a basic one or two chain is made, only a few garbage blocks will rain down, but if a larger combo is made, bigger waves of garbage Puyo will rain down! Depending on the aforementioned number of garbage Puyo descending, hitting it can either result in minor flinching (one or two blocks), to a huge amount of damage (the maximum of four full rows represented on the attack indicator as a meteor). However, if one side counters the other with their own combos, their fever meters will begin to rise. If their fever meter reaches max, they enter the Fever mode, where preset combos will appear for them, allowing them to pile upon massive amounts of combos towards the other side. If the top row of either of the AI's Puyo boards fill up, their field will disappear along with the platform they were situated on, removing it from play for about 10 seconds. After that, a new challenger appears, and the process will begin all over again. This stage has a game within a game feel to it, replicating the Puyo patterns to a tea, but fighters can choose to interact or not with the match, as the garbage blocks will only fall after indication on one side, making the hazard avoidable. However, this could be a chance for a classy combo: if your opponent tries to retreat to the safe side of the Puyo board, you can throw them back at their side and make them collide with the incoming garbage!

Unlockable?:
Yes (Unlock Arle and her echo fighter, Amitie)

MUSIC:
It's Been A Long Time Since We Passed Through Space Time! (Puyo Puyo 20th Anniversary)
Puyo Puyo 1 Medley
Satan's Theme (Puyo Puyo 15th Anniversary)
Darkness of puyopuyo2 (Puyo Puyo 20th Anniversary)
Puyo Puyo Tsu Medley
Puyo Puyo SUN Theme (Puyo Puyo Chronicle)
Everyone is Good Friend (Puyo Puyo~n)
Her Dream Is To Be A Fantastic Sorceress (Remix)
Fever Mode Medley
The Untrained Demon King Ultimate Legend (Remix)
Surge of Crimson Shouts! (Puyo Puyo Fever 2)
Ringo's Theme (Puyo Puyo 20th Anniversary)
Fly Over The Dimension (Remix)
Fun Puyo Puyo Hell! (Puyo Puyo 20th Anniversary)
Challenge! Puyo 2 Tetris! (Remix)
PuyoTetris Mix (Puyo Puyo Tetris)
Last from Puyo Puyo 2 (Puyo Puyo eSports)

 

[TKOWL]

With this being the final round, thank you so much for hosting this contest @psb123, I had a really fun time making these stages and it helped me out of a lot of creative slumps. Also thank you to everyone else submitting stages, the stuff I've seen in this thread is fantastic and you all are very creative individuals. I hope we can find a way to do something like this again!

On a related note to my submission, I have this new challenger art for Arle I did about 8 or so months ago, I really want her in:

 

[Deleted member]

With this being the final round, thank you so much for hosting this contest @psb123, I had a really fun time making these stages and it helped me out of a lot of creative slumps. Also thank you to everyone else submitting stages, the stuff I've seen in this thread is fantastic and you all are very creative individuals. I hope we can find a way to do something like this again!

On a related note to my submission, I have this new challenger art for Arle I did about 8 or so months ago, I really want her in:

You're quite welcome

 

[Kevandre]

With this being the final round, thank you so much for hosting this contest @psb123, I had a really fun time making these stages and it helped me out of a lot of creative slumps. Also thank you to everyone else submitting stages, the stuff I've seen in this thread is fantastic and you all are very creative individuals. I hope we can find a way to do something like this again!

On a related note to my submission, I have this new challenger art for Arle I did about 8 or so months ago, I really want her in:

Thank you for joining this contest, man. Your stages have been a sight to behold every time you've submitted one and I've really enjoyed them.

Also, I thought it said "Pimp Town" and for a split second thought we were getting some kind of Saints Row/GTA-esque stage. I was very wrong.

 

[Deleted member]

Is my entry eligible? It’s a stage I created using random I j’écris in my house and making the platforms.

I’m not sure I understand what you mean.

 

[Perkilator]

I’m not sure I understand what you mean.

Like this, for reference:

 

[Deleted member]

Like this, for reference:
View attachment 181328

Yes, you can use that to describe your stage. As long as it fits the criteria of being eligible in source material and is displayed in a way that the judges are able to understand then your stage will be good to go.

 

[Perkilator]

Sweet! Anyways…

Name:

My Generic Stage


Game of Origin:

N/A


Description:

This is a stage I created purely from imagination. It’s my first time properly designing an SSB stage, so it’s pretty generic (as the name implies).

Gimmicks and Hazards:

There’s a cannon to the left of the stage that moves up and down. Also, the pencil occasionally tilts, as shown by the green lines.


Unlockable?

No.

 

[Deleted member]

Sweet! Anyways…

Name:

My Generic Stage


Game of Origin:

N/A


Description:

This is a stage I created purely from imagination. It’s my first time properly designing an SSB stage, so it’s pretty generic (as the name implies).

View attachment 181329


Gimmicks and Hazards:

There’s a cannon to the left of the stage that moves up and down. Also, the pencil occasionally tilts, as shown by the green lines.


Unlockable?

No.

Oh. Um. That's not what I meant. I thought you were talking about using drawings on that notebook to show what your stage would look like. Sorry for the miscommunication but you have to actually pick something from a video game that meets the criteria of what's allowed for this round. Sorry but this is not eligible.

 

[Kevandre]

A true underdog

 

[Primid]

Well, here we are. The final round of the Smash Bros Stage Contest for Smash Brothers Ultimate. It’s been an insane ride this year and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed being a part of it. One of my favorite times that comes around every few years is the Hype Cycle prior to a Smash Bros release. For Smash 4 and Ultimate, a large bulk of my own participation has been on Smashboards, and more specifically in this contest and the previous iteration of it. So I want to thank you guys, especially @psb123 for making this a thing again.



As it’s the final round, I decided to go all out for this one. I hope you guys enjoy this as much as I did. I started working on it in September in preparation.

​

​

The Collective Unconscious​

(Psychonauts)​

​

Let me get this out of the way right off the bat. Psychonauts isn’t on a Nintendo console. It absolutely should have been back when it came out on the original xbox and PS2, but for some reason it never made it to the Gamecube. Even in its re-release on Steam and digital download for the other consoles, it’s never made its way over onto a Nintendo console. However… Part of the rules of this round dictate that if a character has appeared on a Nintendo console, I can use that character’s game for this round. Razputin, the main character in Psychonauts and the upcoming Psychonauts 2, has appeared on a Nintendo console, once, in Bit Trip Runner 2: Future Legend of Rhythm Alien on Wii U. True, he appeared purely in DLC format for the game, but all the same, I distinctly remember freaking out for a second when I saw Raz’s face in the Wii U eshop. Thus… HE COUNTS.



Psychonauts, for those unfamiliar with the game (go play it), is a 3-D platformer in the vein of Super Mario 64 or Banjo Kazooie. Raz is a psychic kid who learns a lot of new moves while going to mysterious and vastly different worlds within the brains of other people at Whispering Rock Psychic Summer Camp. Whispering Rock itself is half of the hub world of the game, and all the other locations are complex realities inside the brains of his teachers, and… some others.



The Collective Unconscious is a more simplistic level select that Raz can get to at any time if he’d go straight to a level rather than making his way to each person to jump inside. For our stage today, the Collective Unconscious itself is more of a fleeting view than anything, as this is indeed a travelling stage! Players will be placed on a single final destination-sized platform whilst in the Collective Unconscious travelling portion, looking like the picture above. The stage will pick a door at random to go into, which transports you to that part of the stage. The FD-sized platform will remain in each substage for a few seconds before disappearing so everyone can jump to a safe platform without fear. I didn’t want to overdo it here though, so this stage will only travel to 5 of the different levels from the game.



Oh, and Razputin is with you inside every brain. He’s the psychic after all. Though, for most of these, he’s just kind of there in the background, rather than being interactable.

Basic Braining​

The first brain one enters in Psychonauts is Basic Braining, a no-nonsense level that is meant to act as a tutorial in the game, and train the students in the ways of being inside a brain. As such, I’ve based this part of my stage on the Airfield portion of Basic Braining, which might also be the most memorable part. It’s fairly straightforward, in that it’s basically a main platform on the bottom, two passable platforms in the middle, and two passable platforms on top, connected to non-passable platforms in the shape of airplanes that Coach Oleander has sitting there. Be sure you know how to Tech, as you’ll need it if you get launched up from below!



After 30 seconds of fighting here, Razputin will open his smelling salts and the FD-sized platform shows up for five seconds, which will take you off back to the Collective Unconscious. He will always do the smelling-salts animation when the stage is about to change, so you’re given a little forewarning as well.

Milla’s Dance Party​

​

This is the stage that is probably most well known by people who haven’t played Psychonauts, as this base level contains the terrifying hidden background of one of the characters. That said, I’m not really referencing that in my stage, more just showing one of the reasons I chose to include it as one of the substages, since it’d be recognizable to people who haven’t played the original game (do it seriously).



In the Milla’s Dance Party section of the Smash Bros stage, there are 5 platforms. Only the two on the top right and left are passable. The stage at the center is your primary fighting ground, and it is generally bigger than my mockup implies.



The two floating orange-flowery platforms stay where they are… until you stand on one.

​

When your character stands on one of these platforms, it will rise up to the level that Meta Knight is at here. If nobody stands on these platforms, they’ll slowly fall back to where they were by default.



Raz is bouncing around the bottom part of this area on his levitation ball, which is something he learns how to use at Milla’s Dance Party. For the Smashers though, it’s a pit.



Also on this stage, you’ll find some of Razputin’s classmates such as Bobby, Chloe, or Dogen partying on one of the top three platforms. They’re in the background like in Smashville. Sometimes, Milla Vodello herself will be there too!

Lungfishopolis​

​

In Psychonauts, Raz does enter the brain of a mutated Lungfish from the lake at Whispering Rock Camp. Within Linda the Lungfish’s mind, Razputin is perceived as being an enormous Godzilla-like creature that the locals refer to as “Goggalor.” In this Smash Bros stage, Raz is the platforms that the characters can fight on. Raz’s hat (As well as its side-thingies) all act as the platforms on this stage. In my original mockup of this portion, that was it, but on review I also added two platforms on either side of his head to make the playability a little higher for this bit since I was getting very heavy memories of fighting on trophies in Melee’s event matches. These platforms are passable from below, but not from above, and they connect directly with Raz’s hat’s side-thingies. Raz makes his way downtown, squishing little Lungfish, destroying the orphanage and fighting off tanks. These hazards don’t affect our fight, however. It’s all just a cinematic stage.

Black Velvetopia​

​

I’ll be real with you. I made this mockup for Black Velvetopia originally a few years ago in the time after the original stage contest died but TheMarioaddict and I were desperately clinging to making stages. And, sure, it works on its own as a stage, but I think it works even better as just one of the parts of this transforming stage.



The ground, the windowsills, the bridge, and the top of the buildings are all platforms, with only the ground itself acting as unpassable. The sides of the road (where the buildings are) are endless pits so don’t try to jump over that way… Also keep an eye open for the rampaging bull, El Odio.

​

He runs down the street from the back and will send anyone flying upwards if he hits them! You’d have to be at like 80% to be KO’d from it. He’s also an instant shield-breaker if you try to shield when he runs up, so maybe don’t do that. Especially if you’re Jigglypuff.



Razputin walks around a little, placing paintings on a wall.

The Milkman Conspiracy​

​

Our final substage is arguably the best area from Psychonauts at all- The Milkman Conspiracy. When Raz travels into the mind of a schizophrenic night-guard who believes in many conspiracy theories, he finds himself in a world filled with sidewalks that go in strange directions, a ton of G-Men that look identical (voiced by Steve Blum) that are trying their best to blend in, all in a suburban setting.



In the Smash Bros stage, I’m kind of rolling with the strange sidewalk angle. I’ve made it go as a Mobius strip because, well, it’s simple and people will understand the concept when they see it. In this case however, I’m not messing with Smash Bros’ gravity, but it will keep with the paths a Mobius strip implies- if Lucas were to walk right from where he is, he’d continue down to the bottom right end. He could not, however, keep walking around the inside, upside-down. Ness also couldn’t walk to the right without falling off.

The blue lines show where the sidewalk is passable, and the red shows where it isn’t. One can jump through the center overlap, as well, if that wasn’t clear.



The bunches of houses in the background aren’t interactable at all, and in the actual stage, would vary more in color and model, but for the sake of my mockup, they’re all the same. They’re mostly the same in Psychonauts anyway. On this portion of the stage, you might see a G-Man running around in the background with something like a rolling pin, complaining about how his husband doesn’t care about their marriage anymore, or another G-Man playing a plunger like a trumpet. Raz will behave similarly, holding up a stop sign saying he is a road crew worker or something similar. Look, you’d have to play the game. It’s hilarious.



As for music, the music will change depending on what area you’re in, using the song from that level from the original game. It is due to this that people who’ve played the game will be very happy I left out Waterloo World and Gloria’s Theater… Waterloo’s music gets in your head too easily and Gloria’s is just obnoxious lol.



Unlockable: KO Lucas as Ness or vice versa 10 times.



And… that’s it. The final stage from me for this hype cycle. It’s been crazy. But I’m really glad to have been here for the whole thing start to finish. Looking at this stage and knowing that the competition is going to be putting together their own stages with as much passion as I put into this one, I realize I’ll probably lose this last round but honestly I’m okay with that. This is a passion project stage for me through and through.

Spoiler

​

​

Dang dude, this would be one zany stage! I especially like the Milkman Conspiracy part, I feel like fighting on a moebius strip would be really fun.

 

[Kevandre]

Dang dude, this would be one zany stage! I especially like the Milkman Conspiracy part, I feel like fighting on a moebius strip would be really fun.

Thanks man. Might as well go all in for the final round. Psychonauts is so good I wouldn't want to under-represent it

 

[Perkilator]

Oh. Um. That's not what I meant. I thought you were talking about using drawings on that notebook to show what your stage would look like. Sorry for the miscommunication but you have to actually pick something from a video game that meets the criteria of what's allowed for this round. Sorry but this is not eligible.

Oooooh, okay. Well, guess I’ll just keep waiting til the last round ends.

 

[Deleted member]

So technically speaking we're only on Day 2 of 5 for this final round. But it's still getting late and that 2nd day is approaching it's end as a result, and only 3 submissions so far. Hmmmmmmmm.............

PeridotGX
Primid
Good Guy Giygas
A apaulieg

I've been under the assumption so far that each you have something you plan to submit. Might seem a little bit early to be asking this but I'd rather the comfort of the offer be there sooner (and I'm just a paranoid spaz in general) so do you think you guys will need an extension on the deadline? Normally I would extend it to the end of the day on Saturday if a contestant needs extra time but this time I can go a little longer seeing as how we won't have to worry about another round starting.

I won't be able to extend if for TOO long though. Don't want people to be waiting longer than necessary for those results. In any case, if you guys are indeed planning to submit something but need a time extension, just let me know.

 

[PeridotGX]

So technically speaking we're only on Day 2 of 5 for this final round. But it's still getting late and that 2nd day is approaching it's end as a result, and only 3 submissions so far. Hmmmmmmmm.............

PeridotGX
Primid
Good Guy Giygas
A apaulieg

I've been under the assumption so far that each you have something you plan to submit. Might seem a little bit early to be asking this but I'd rather the comfort of the offer be there sooner (and I'm just a paranoid spaz in general) so do you think you guys will need an extension on the deadline? Normally I would extend it to the end of the day on Saturday if a contestant needs extra time but this time I can go a little longer seeing as how we won't have to worry about another round starting.

I won't be able to extend if for TOO long though. Don't want people to be waiting longer than necessary for those results. In any case, if you guys are indeed planning to submit something but need a time extension, just let me know.

Don't worry, I have my idea ready. Probably won't need the extension

 

[Iko MattOrr]

I was planning to submit a stage, but I've been a bit busy and I haven't finished the thing.
I'm not sure if I will submit it, I don't want to promise anything, though, I'd like to.
Anyway, my location is Rock Star stage 4 from Kirby 64.
As I said previously, it's not an iconic location, despite being pretty unique.
Though, I like it and I don't care if it's too obscure, I'm doing this for fun in some free time.
I hope I'll be able to submit it before the contest ends.

 

[apaulieg]

So technically speaking we're only on Day 2 of 5 for this final round. But it's still getting late and that 2nd day is approaching it's end as a result, and only 3 submissions so far. Hmmmmmmmm.............

PeridotGX
Primid
Good Guy Giygas
A apaulieg

I've been under the assumption so far that each you have something you plan to submit. Might seem a little bit early to be asking this but I'd rather the comfort of the offer be there sooner (and I'm just a paranoid spaz in general) so do you think you guys will need an extension on the deadline? Normally I would extend it to the end of the day on Saturday if a contestant needs extra time but this time I can go a little longer seeing as how we won't have to worry about another round starting.

I won't be able to extend if for TOO long though. Don't want people to be waiting longer than necessary for those results. In any case, if you guys are indeed planning to submit something but need a time extension, just let me know.

Thank you for the consideration and accommodation! I haven’t submitted the last round or few because of my lack of familiarity with the franchises, but I’m very excited for this one.

That said, I have [edit] one idea in mind! I love Pokémon - it is a huge part of my life and identity - but I cannot get my stage idea correct in my mind. The idea that I DO have in mind is a Sonic the Hedgehog level. Why I didn’t think of this for my first entry, I’m not sure! But if Sonic’s universe isn’t getting a second fighter representative, it may as well get a million Stages!

 

[Deleted member]

I was planning to submit a stage, but I've been a bit busy and I haven't finished the thing.
I'm not sure if I will submit it, I don't want to promise anything, though, I'd like to.
Anyway, my location is Rock Star stage 4 from Kirby 64.
As I said previously, it's not an iconic location, despite being pretty unique.
Though, I like it and I don't care if it's too obscure, I'm doing this for fun in some free time.
I hope I'll be able to submit it before the contest ends.

My advice would be to keep at it and get work done on it when you're able. If it gets close to the end of the day on Friday and you need more time just let me know and I'll extend the deadline.

 

[Primid]

So technically speaking we're only on Day 2 of 5 for this final round. But it's still getting late and that 2nd day is approaching it's end as a result, and only 3 submissions so far. Hmmmmmmmm.............

PeridotGX
Primid
Good Guy Giygas
A apaulieg

I've been under the assumption so far that each you have something you plan to submit. Might seem a little bit early to be asking this but I'd rather the comfort of the offer be there sooner (and I'm just a paranoid spaz in general) so do you think you guys will need an extension on the deadline? Normally I would extend it to the end of the day on Saturday if a contestant needs extra time but this time I can go a little longer seeing as how we won't have to worry about another round starting.

I won't be able to extend if for TOO long though. Don't want people to be waiting longer than necessary for those results. In any case, if you guys are indeed planning to submit something but need a time extension, just let me know.

I started my entry today and it's nearly finished. I'm pretty busy this week, but I'll definitely have it finished by Thursday night at the latest.

For those interested, I'm making a Pikmin stage since I was unaware of this thread during the Pikmin round. Stay tuned!

 

[Good Guy Giygas]

So technically speaking we're only on Day 2 of 5 for this final round. But it's still getting late and that 2nd day is approaching it's end as a result, and only 3 submissions so far. Hmmmmmmmm.............

PeridotGX
Primid
Good Guy Giygas
A apaulieg

I've been under the assumption so far that each you have something you plan to submit. Might seem a little bit early to be asking this but I'd rather the comfort of the offer be there sooner (and I'm just a paranoid spaz in general) so do you think you guys will need an extension on the deadline? Normally I would extend it to the end of the day on Saturday if a contestant needs extra time but this time I can go a little longer seeing as how we won't have to worry about another round starting.

I won't be able to extend if for TOO long though. Don't want people to be waiting longer than necessary for those results. In any case, if you guys are indeed planning to submit something but need a time extension, just let me know.

Sorry I've been kinda absent lately, I've just had some other stuff going on. I haven't really had a chance to finalize my idea yet, but I might be able to get a submission in. This and the last few rounds came at kind of an inopportune time for me I guess. Kinda sucks cause I was really looking forward to this round especially, but life kinda threw me a curveball. I'm gonna see if I can still whip something up, but I'll keep you guys posted.

 

[Kevandre]

1 Day, 1 hour, 30 minutes until I can get my hands on the game.

(internal screeching)
(Maybe not so internal)
(Thank you Gamestop for 9pm launches)

 

[apaulieg]

Edit 3:55PM, it’s done! I may replace the colored-in image with something a little less... bad... but the concept is done.

Stage Name:
Angel Island
Game of Origin:
That Depends! Sonic 3, Sonic & Knuckles, Sonic 2, or Sonic Adventure - This is based upon Sonic Adventure

Work in progress art oooOoOOOOOIWishIHadATabletOoHH

Spoiler: Angel Island Background (Spoilered for TLDR)

Angel Island Background (skip down for stage description):

Spoiler: Angel Island Background (Spoilered for TLDR)

Angel Island holds one of the most important Emeralds in the universe: The Master Emerald. The Master Emerald can control the Chaos Emeralds and, as such, has near limitless power. The Echidnas, particularly the Knuckles Clan, once sought to use the Master Emerald’s energy for war, even killing innocent creatures called Chao in an attempt to access its power. A life-form called Chaos, brethren of the Chao, appeared and nearly destroyed the planet in a rage. One echidna who swore to live a life of peace, Tikal, was able to seal Chaos into the Master Emerald, but she was sealed as well, and a massive energy surge from the sealing tore part of the continent into the sky. With the power of the Master Emerald, that island floats forever, and the few surviving members of the Knuckles Clan were tasked with protecting the Master Emerald and Angel Island for all eternity.

That’s why Knuckles attacks you in Sonic 3 (and later, Sonic and Knuckles). He’s the last surviving member of the Knuckles clan and therefore is protecting the Master Emerald from you, since Eggman tricked him into thinking you were coming for it.

Side note, I’m pretty sure that makes Knuckles’ full name Knuckles Knuckles.

Regardless, in the “current” timeline, the Master Emerald shatters – and when it does, the floating island falls into the sea. In Sonic Adventure, Knuckles has to gather pieces of the Master Emerald to return the island to the sky and stop the re-released Chaos from destroying the world. In Sonic Adventure 2, Knuckles broke the Master Emerald to prevent Dr. Eggman from stealing it, and then he (and his adversary Rouge the Bat) collected the shards again - Knuckles to restore the master emerald and stop Dr. Eggman’s plans, Rouge because she... likes shiny things. And then the emerald alter and/or Angel Island appear in many games after that!

Description of Stage, Part 1: Floating Island

Angel Island is covered in greenery and ruins that take elements from all appearances of Angel Island. The scope and general coloration of the stage are taken from its size and appearance in Sonic Adventure. The Echidna statues are a homage to the flashback sequences of that game as well as Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood. The moss hanging off the stage and some of the platforms are reminiscent of Sky Sanctuary zone (which takes place on Angel Island in Sonic 3 and Knuckles). The gemstones that peek out of the grass and dirt, the odd patch of crystaline mosaic to the bottom right of the stage, and the floral holder of the Master Emerald at the top of the stage all pull from the Hidden Palace Zone in Sonic 3 and Knuckles. My goal was not to make a super-complex level, but rather one that is as true-to-form as I could make it that honors Sonic Adventure and still is interesting when compared to the other 103+ stages in Ultimate.

As a disclaimer: I am not great at perspective. Imagine the appearance of the level makes it clear the plane on which the players are walking, the blast zones are a little farther horizontally, the proportions all make sense (the statues SHOULD be taller than Ridley even), the lower platform is the height of Battlefield's lower platforms, and the higher platform is the height of Battlefield's high platform.

The green outline shows stage geometry - just imagine the "Who can pass under Angel Island" youtube videos! Hint, it's nobody. The irregular bottom geometry both harkens to the shape of the massive Sonic 3 Angel Island and changes up tech/recovery strategy from a similarly flat stage (Battlefield). Despite the thickness of the edges, imagine they have a lip that you can grab onto.

Orange are destructible objects you can pass in front of. Red are stationary platforms you can jump through and pass through. Pretty simple!

It is a wide, fairly flat stage that floats in the air, and therefore has blast zones around the entire perimeter of the screen. Pillars and statues that you can pass in front of hold up platforms, and when destroyed, the platforms disappear. I understand this turns it into a boring, totally flat stage, but the stage gimmick below disrupts the flatness. Additionally, new platforms reappear in ten seconds (thanks to magical Chaos Energy), but this time, they're clouds. And they move!. Unlike in Skyworld, if a character hits the cloud platforms with enough force, they actually bounce off it like a trampoline - just like in the Sky Sanctuary Zone. Below are what the stage looks like without platforms (suuuper minimal) and then with floating platforms with their axes of movement,

Floating Island Gimmick: Master Emerald

45 seconds into battle, regardless of whether there are statues or not, the Master Emerald teleports itself from the background shrine to the Knuckles Tribe Insignia in the foreground, and it becomes an additional surface and portion of the level geometry as shown below (green to show it's level geometry, orange to show you can break it). It will return to the background after another 45 seconds, then reappear after an additional 45 ad infinitum. What you see below is the most basic the stage can be - no fighters, both statues destroyed but within the ten second window where there are also no clouds, Master Emerald in the middle, however the Master Emerald can exist in the stage with the two statues + platforms, two cloud platforms, or one of each. I don't want to overload this post with large images, so please just imagine that. The Master Emerald should be taller than Pichu and Jigglypuff, about the height of Mario, a little shorter than Sonic. You can stand on it, Thunder Jolt travels over it, and you cannot be buried inside the Master Emerald. You can be knocked into it, tech off it, and stand against it... but if you fear that could lead to abuseably unfair setups... read below!

Sub-Gimmick: Master Emerald Teleportation

As a preventative measure to block infinites, I have decided that a character who overlaps with the SIDES of the Master Emerald for more than three seconds is teleported to the middle of the other side of the stage where an orange sphere of light circles around them before disappearing. In terms of "lore", the spirit of Tikal believes in peace and fairness, and she does not want the Master Emerald to break. If she senses the injustice of an infinite, the Master Emerald warps the damaged player out of harm to the other side of the stage. However, if the player is trying to camp and hide from the opponent against a wall/in the Master Emerald's geometry, it warps the player back across the stage (because camping is unfair). Additionally, this serves as a (slow) self-defense measure, making it so a single player can't just focus all their efforts on breaking the Master Emerald immediately. This technically is a callback to Tikal's spirit's ability to teleport players.

In order to prevent players from using the Master Emerald warp's in an advantageous way, the player's actions are interrupted and they are knocked to the ground, so they must roll, stand up, or use a get-up attack. This provides balance to an otherwise potentially problematic movement mechanic. The player will be far enough away from the infinite-abusing opponent that they won't be able to reach the player by the time the player gets up (even using Greninja's Shadow Sneak, Villager's Lloyd Rocket, Rosalina's Launch Star, or Pikachu's Quick Attack), keeping the player from warping into a set-up. However, this knock-down mechanic also prevents situations where the player charges a move standing against the Master Emerald, teleports across the stage, and immediately fires it (such as Luigi's Rocket, Samus' Charge Beam, Donkey Kong's Giant Punch, Ganondorf's Warlock Punch, or any grabs). Obviously this can be abused in a doubles or four-player setting, but I'm far less concerned with that than a one-on-one match.

I know that's complex and a lot to read, but I wanted to emphasize the measures I'm taking to make this stage tournament-legal and disincentivizing stage abuse... and I wanted to emphasize that the teleport is balanced in terms of promoting fairness. It's also worth mentioning that three seconds is not a short period of time to be standing still or kept in an infinite. If the player moves at all away from the Emerald, gets out of the opponent's combo, or even short-hops, the three second timer resets, so this won't be happening too often. With certain recovery, dashing, and jumping, you can get from one side of the emerald to where it would have warped you on the other side much faster than three seconds, so if you're going to camp, you'd do better to actually move than to abuse the wall of the Master Emerald and this warping mechanic since you're making yourself a sitting duck for three seconds. Additionally, this mechanic can only happen in the periods of 45 second when the Emerald is on-stage and while the Master Emerald still has health. Speaking of which:

Sub-Gimmick: The Fall of Angel Island

The Master Emerald has hit points: 100 to be exact. That's not a lot of HP! When it takes 100 points of damage, it shatters, causing the slow motion effect of certain attacks or kill moves. When that happens, you better hope you weren’t underneath the stage, because the green glowing lights of the ruins in the stage turn red for five seconds to show something bad is about to happen, then shut off, and then the entire stage falls through the sky.

For the next five seconds, Angel Island falls. Fast. Characters in the air have their fall speed reduced dramatically like the windy portion of Pokémon Stadium 2, and characters underneath the stage as it starts to fall are hard-spiked into the blast zone resulting in essentially instant death. This iminent change in gravity forces players to decide whether they want to follow opponents off-stage for gimps or spikes before breaking the Master Emerald... or to get their opponent off-stage for a chance to destroy the Master Emerald and make the opponent panic-recover to avoid being stage-KO'd. If you can time it correctly, forcing an opponent under the stage after destroying the Master Emerald can lead to a flashy KO, but smart players would use the five seconds to reposition for the next portion of the stage - or to whip out one chance at a low-gravity-specific combo and try to launch the opponent off the top. The fall is intentionally a short period of time so it cannot be abused by characters with good low-gravity combos or offstage control.


Description of Stage, Part 2: Angel Submerged

After the five seconds, Angel island crashes into the ocean. Any pillars that weren’t destroyed remain (as shown in the below image), as do their stationary platforms, but the cloudy platforms change properties. You're not in the sky anymore, and the Master Emerald isn't around to give them additional magical power, so now the cloudy platforms act like they do in Skyworld - you can jump through them and pass through them, but now hard enough force causes you to fall through them instead of bounce. You can still break the statues, and clouds will still appear ten seconds afterward, but it's not as flashy as when Angel Island is floating. Additionally, the lower blast zones are gone/replaced with water. That means you now have to launch opponents off the sides of the screen, off the top of the screen, or pressure their recovery so that they drown in order to get the KO. Just something to make this stage stand out, fit into its lore, and make it a little more interesting. Again, please imagine the horizontal blast zones on the original images and here are a liiiitle farther than I made them in the art. Additionally, you walk on solid land (the green line), and the water should appear less close. Darn perspective.

Angel Submerged Gimmick: Master Emerald Shards and the Rise of Angel Island

When in this portion of the stage, you may find Master Emerald shards. The first one appears after 30 seconds, and the rest will appear every 5-15 seconds after the first is picked up. When picked up, they are held by the character much like Dragoon pieces, and they can be knocked out of your possession in a similar manner. Unlike the Dragoon, there are seven pieces, and they have an icon and a number indicator next to the player’s icon rather than individual icons to avoid clutter.

If you are holding a shard and you cross the light blue dotted area (on your own or are knocked through it), the shard flies out from your character and reforms part of the master emerald in the shrine in the background. It doesn’t matter who brings the shards to the middle – as soon as all seven are brought to the center, the emerald is totally re-built. If one player holds all seven without bringing them to the center of the stage, however, the shards automatically fly to the center of the stage and re-form the master emerald no matter where the player is. Regardless of how, when the master emerald is restored, it emits several flashes of light. The lights of the ruins re-glow green to show the stage is re-gaining energy, and after five seconds, the stage rushes into the sky. You better not have been off-stage

For five seconds, there is extreme gravity on the stage. It plays as normal on the ground, but characters fall much, much faster in the air. Being thrown off at a low angle will just about always result in death. It’s only five seconds, so capitalize on low-angled throws or smash attacks you may not normally use... or run! Again, the duration of this moving-stage portion is kept small to ensure it cannot be abused by characters that specialize in high-gravity situations (characters with low-angled down smashes, tilts, back throws, or meteor smashes/spikes). When the five seconds end, you're back high in the sky, all broken platforms and pillars will reform, and the Master Emerald will go to the background for ninety seconds in order to allow players to play on a more stable stage for a bit. Then it will reappear in the foreground/disappear after 45 seconds/etc etc... it's a full loop.


Extra Stage Forms

In Battlefield form, the stage takes the layout, platform locations, and blast zones of Battlefield. The same applies for Big Battlefield form and Omega form. The aesthetic is entirely the Floating Island aesthetic (as opposed to submerged angel) and the Master Emerald shrine exists in the background with the Master Emerald in sight the entire time - that is to say, the Master Emerald will not become part of the stage geometry, and the island will never fall. The underside of Angel Island matches those stages instead of its own irregular geometry.

With Hazards Off, pillars are not destructible, and therefore there are no cloudy, moving platforms. Additionally, the Master Emerald DOES still appear and disappear on a 45 second timer, but it has no health and only exists as level geometry. As such, the stage will never fall into the ocean and you will never have to collect Emerald shards. That said, Tikal's Spirit will still execute its teleport self-defense mechanism to prevent infinites and camping.

---------------------------------------------------------

WHOO. That's a lot! But that's the idea in a nutshell! Below the break are an easter egg included in the stage, my rationale for including this stage in the game, some scrapped stage mechanics I considered, how to unlock it the stage, and the music that comes with unlocking it. I've included a spoiler for anything unnecessary to understanding the gameplay/the stage, but everything in spoiler is extra flavor and I'd love for you to read.
---------------------------------------------------------

Easter Egg: Time Over

Spoiler: "Tikal Prays for Strength!"

If you SOMEHOW manage to play on the Angel Submerged portion of the stage for nine minutes and forty-nine seconds and the Master Emerald is NOT restored, the sky will turn gray and rainy. After five seconds of the storm, a screen-wide lightning flash turns the whole background white for half a second, and Perfect Chaos will suddenly be towering in the background with no warning that it was coming. It will roar a mighty roar that causes a tidal wave to come from the background to the foreground over five seconds. At the same time, Tikal the Echidna will appear in the center of the screen and begin to pray. Just as the tidal wave is about to hit the stage, Tikal’s prayers are answered, and the entire screen is bathed in a white light that begins with a half second of slow motion as it fades to white. As soon as the white overtakes the screen, the level geometry returns to the starting geometry - that means no water, and you can fall to your death. For half a second, the stage stays white; in this time, players only see their cursors/names. This is kept very short because players should be able to see their characters, but it's a nice visual effect. The white fades to the regular screen during a full second after that, and the fade away reveals you are back at the start of the level just like if the seven shards were collected - pillars restored, master emerald in the background, island in the sky, Tikal and Perfect Chaos gone. The benefit is you didn’t have to go through the six-seconds-of-heavy-gravity, zooming-upward-island motion. But you won’t see this transition unless you really, really try. It's hard to not bring emerald shards back to the alter when the level is submerged. This easter egg can be found much earlier with a special sticker, but keep reading for that.

Why should this stage be in the Game?

Spoiler: Angel Island is super important to the Sonic Universe.

Angel Island provides the entire gameplay of Sonic 3 as well as Sonic and Knuckles. It’s the most important location in the Sonic Universe for a majorly important character already in the game (Knuckles), it houses one of the most important aspects of the game (the Master Emerald which controls the Chaos Emeralds), and it has appeared or at least been referenced in many games (Sonic 2, Sonic 3, Sonic and Knuckles, Sonic Adventure, Sonic Adventure 2, Sonic Advance, Sonic Advance 3 (an analogous location), Sonic Battle (an analogous location), Sonic Rivals 2, a prologue comic for Sonic Forces, Sonic Runners, and Sonic Mania And Sonic Mania Plus.

Additionally, Angel Island may not be the MOST iconic area of Sonic Adventure or Sonic Adventure 2 (I'd argue that's either City Escape, Radical Highway, or Space Colony Ark), but it essentially is the location that causes the entire plot of Sonic Adventure to happen, and it’s an easily recognizable location in the Adventure game. The closest in terms of aesthetic we come to this island in Smash Ultimate is in Skyloft and Great Plateau, and it would be good to diversify the Sonic level options (god I hate Windy Hill Zone). It's definitely iconic enough to matter - I'm pretty sure that outside of South Island/Green Hill Zone, it's the second-most referred to location in the Sonic Universe.

It also gives the Sonic Universe a Classic stage, a Modern stage, and now an Adventure/Dreamcast stage. Considering the Adventure games first were released on Dreamcast and then were ported to GameCube far earlier than any other system, and the gameboy-advance-exclusive Sonic Advance series could communicate with the Adventure games for exclusive content, it would be a good nod to the origin of 3D Sonic’s relationship with Nintendo.

Scrapped ideas:

Spoiler: Shrine-as-Geometry, Emerald Shard Buffs, and Everyone Dies

The stage geometry originally included the emerald shrine instead of making it a background element. That MAJORLY made the level more interesting, as it took the stage from a kind of flat level to one that made the shrine an actual part of the gameplay. There are a few reasons I stuck with the flat level, however. Firstly, there are some elements that already differentiate it from other flat levels: a) the irregular under-stage geometry, b) the destructible statues that hold stationary platforms and when destroyed create moving, unique platforms, c) the high gravity and low gravity portions, d) the water, and e) the Master Emerald and Master Emerald Shard gimmicks. Secondly, including the shrine could make the stage less playable in a way that Princess Peach's Castle from Melee is a unique layout but not "legal". The middle structure can lead into infinites by certain characters, which is not something I wanted to create. Additionally, while I could say "imagine both sides of the stage are actually larger than I drew them", the fightable space to the left and right of the shrine would be somewhat small. It would result in chaotic four player games, impossible eight player games, and could promote camping. I don't want that. The Master Emerald as is risks infinites and camping, but it's a small obstacle that someone can get over with a directional air dodge - and it can be destroyed - so hopefully the risk of infinites and camping are very low and that, with hazards off, this stage could be tournament-legal.

I think it thematically fits with the Master Emerald, Chaos Emeralds, and the Sonic universe to give characters a buff if they collect all seven master emerald shards – something to the effect of Gold Coin armor from Golden Plains or Xerneas’ Geomancy. That said, such a mechanic de-prioritizes fighting over collecting and provides an unfair advantage to a player that collects more easily (which privileges speedy characters and characters with good dodges and aerial mobility), so I chose not to include it… as part of the stage. Check out additional info below for how I still got the effect into the game!

I also toyed with an idea where Perfect Chaos’ wave would actually screen-KO all players as punishment for not bringing the seven shards to the alter… both as punishment for ignoring the stage gimmick as intended AND as an instant 9:59 death easter egg like the original Sonic Games (if you play a single act for ten minutes, you get a “Time Over” death, bringing you back to the last checkpoint you touched with one fewer life). While players in any Smash level are already incentivized to keep opponents out of the center of the stage (sending them out of blast zones and keeping advantage of the stage) and therefore this could shake things up in an interesting way, I think this gimmick would be unfair, and that’s why I didn’t include it. A player that has a stock lead over an opponent can theoretically score a suicide-win by stalling. The easter egg I included is still hard to find, but a) Tikal saving the day is a reference to Sonic Adventure and still references the Time Over death without KOing players, and b) it allows players to return to the original stage if they ignore the emerald shards gimmick. Granted, it only returns you to the original stage after ten minutes... but you SHOULD be collecting emerald shards - in fact, it’s hard to NOT collect them considering the changes to item grabbing mechanics and the range with which the Master Emerald will collect shards from you - so you should never reach that timer unless you deliberately seek the Easter Egg.

How to Unlock the Stage... and extra details:

Spoiler: This Stage is unlocked with a character, some stickers, and a bunch of music as part of the DLC Fighter Pass.

Sonic is such an influential franchise and deserves a second representative, and, despite this DLC character already being in the game, I think Sakurai should make an exception and transform him into a fighter. He is super influential in the series, has been with Sonic since essentially the beginning, and has some very interesting background. Of course, I’m referring to…

[Produces tube of lipstick] Tails.

Halleloo, Tails is finally in Smash! The EGM April Fools Day leak is finally a reality - everyone REALLY is here. I know Tails exists as a sticker and he still appears in the background of Green Hill Zone, but he would be a fantastic character as well!

I made a VERY detailed character concept on Reddit, and if I’m allowed to link that here, I will. I would love for Knuckles or both Tails and Knuckles to be characters, but Knuckles is already an assist trophy, so I don’t think he has any chance. Additionally, Tails has been playable in every game Angel Island appears, Tails’ Workshop exists in the Mystic Ruins (the overworld zone from which Angel Island was created), and this would give all of Team Sonic… as in Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles (by way of stage)… their own representation.

The DLC Tikal the Echidna Sticker, which is a Support Sticker, makes perfect shields easier to execute. The DLC Chaos Zero Sticker, which is a Support Sticker, increases your grab range slightly and adds a water effect to any of your throws that do not have an elemental alignment (so no fire + water for Charizard’s down throw, no electric + water for Pikachu’s forward throw, etc.). The DLC Master Emerald Sticker, which is a Support Sticker, gives a 15 second bonus to damage, knockback, and movement speed at the start of the battle (see? It’s in the game without being a stage gimmick… yay for Fighter Pass!).

In addition, if you equip any of those and you come to this stage, Perfect Chaos will attack the Angel Submerged portion of the stage after only one minute of fighting (where you would only have a maximum of six emerald shards anyway). Tikal will still save the day. This makes the Easter Egg more accessible.

Ten music tracks unlocked for Sonic the Hedgehog Stages include:

Angel Island Classic Remix (Sonic Generations)
Angel Island Medley (a Rock Remix of Act 1 and Act 2 of the stage from Sonic 3 and Knuckles)
Lovers (Sonic the Fighters from the stage you fight Knuckles)
Knuckles v. Rouge theme (Remix this song from Sonic Adventure 2 to increase its tempo)
Mt. Red, A Symbol of Thrill – for Red Mountain Act 1 (Sonic Adventure stage next to Angel Island)
Kick the Rock! – for Wild Canyon (Sonic Adventure 2... I C O N I C stage music for our boy Knuckles)
Back in Time – Theme of Regal Ruin (Sonic R... the "echidna ruins" level)
Final Boss (Sonic 3 & Knuckles)
Hidden Palace Medley (A mash-up of Lava Reef/Hidden Palace and Sky Sanctuary from Sonic & Knuckles but with the sound-font of that game)
Theme of Tikal (Sonic Adventure)

------------------------------------------------------

I love this contest and I'm sad to have joined late! I learned a lot about what makes stages playable and especially what makes stages UNplayable (lol Phaaze), and I love creative endeavors and communities like this. Looking forward to smashing with you all and to seeing if there is a just for fun thread in the future!

 

[Kevandre]

This post will become my actual post... but the actual post is not ready! I have made a nice sketch as well as some of the collisions for the various forms the stage will take, and I wrote out all the text for the stage. I just need to finish three more sets of collisions and then make a nice, fully colored form of this artwork, and that should be done tomorrow. But I wanted to give a preview! Anyone know what stage I'm doing?

That looks like the Master Emerald in the back. I'm assuming this stage won't make one chuckle

 

[Iko MattOrr]

WARNING: This submission is incomplete and doesn't count as an entry (I'm sorry but I didn't make it in time ).

Kirby 64 - Planet Rock Star

Origin:

This stage is a mix of several environments from the world "Rock Star" of Kirby 64.
The Kabu-face temple ruins on the left is a reference to the first stage of the world, as well as most of the visual style comes from that level too.
The broken column is a reference to level 2, while the black pyramid on the right is the main environment of level 4 and boss (I excluded level 3 because it's a cave level and it was unfitting with the chosen location).

Description:

This stage is an hybrid. It starts as a static stage, and has a couple of place where it stops a while, but overall it's a moving stage. Similar to the Super Mario 3D Land stage, going through it from start to end is like going through a sort of level, with obstacles and such.
Each section/room has its own rules, so I'll split the description in parts.

Desert Section

A simple and large stage, with organic and smooth ground shapes. The slope/cliff at the center of the stage is part of the Nruff gimmick that I will describe later.
Parts of this stages are inspired by parts of the original level design of Kirby 64.
The platform on the far left is there so that you can stay safer from the Nruff, but at the same time it exposes you to the risk of being close to the end of the stage. You can drop through that platform.
The bridge can be destroyed and it becomes a pit; you can't drop through it.

Spoiler: Collisions and proportions

Collisions:

Proportions (stage/characters size comparison):

Rough descriptions of the other sections are in the gimmicks part.

Stage Hazards and Gimmicks:

Desert Section

The stage starts in the desert, with the pyramid in the background.
The Desert Section is wide and open, but with not many platforms other than the ground floor itself.
There are only 2 different platforms: the one on the left over the Kabu temple, and the bridge on the right.
The platform on the left is just a regular platform that lets you drop through by pressing down, while the bridge on the right is solid, but can be destroyed with enough damage. If destroyed, The bridge will stay broken until the next transition of the stage.

The stage will stay in the desert section for long enough before transitioning; occasionally, a Nruff can spawn from the left or right border of the screen and ram at every player who gets in its way (the hit is not that much powerful, it only kills at very high % (like 150% or something) and deals something like 10% at best, they spawn with low frequency so they won't be too annoying).

If a Nruff hits someone, it bounces back and pops into a small Kirby-ish explosion that doesn't deal any damage.
The Nruffs coming from the left will jump when the ground platform ends, while the Nruffs coming from right will hit the wall and bounce back, running in the opposite direction until they go out from the stage once again.
If the bridge is broken, all the Nruffs will fall into the hole as soon as they reach it.

All rooms/sections:

When you have to enter an hole in the ceiling in order to change room, the ceiling is always solid. To compensate this, in those moments, a sort of energy field connects the hole to the elevator platform, and the players won't be able to leave the platform until it goes past the hole. It works similar to that force field that holds Sandbag into the platform in Homerun Contest (Smash 4): it may be possible to force a player to fly through the barrier if launched at very high speed (like Sandbag in Homerun Contest), but in normal circumstances, players can only enter the energy field and not exit.

Inside the Ruins - Shotzo Room

(Yes, even though they are very technological, they are still considered ruins, according to the title of the level's song)

After some time in the Desert Section, the pyramid will start to fly, slowly, until it disappears above the screen.
Except it doesn't disappear actually.
It will appear in the stage's layer, aligned with the center of the bridge (regardless of if it's broken or not).
When it leaves the ground, the "pyramid" reveals its real shape: It's actually an octahedron, not a pyramid (though I'll continue to call it pyramid for simplicity's sake).
The spaceship is too big, so you can't fly over it or something; it will release a purple platform approximately around as big as the ship of Rainbow Cruise or the UFO of Fourside.
The platform has (more or less) a triangular collision box and it's all solid, you can't drop through it.

In a similar way as the Yoshi Wolly World stage, some hints will appear to alert the players that the ground will soon disappear. Every player must go onto the platform released by the pyramid, before it goes inside.
It's a sort of elevator, and it will transport you inside the technological ruins.
Visually, both the elevator platform and the inside of the pyramid are sectioned, you can see a texture covering the inside of the sectioned walls.

The first room you encounter inside the pyramid is the Shotzo Room. While the elevator goes up, you are in a vertical tunnel with many Shotzos on the wall (Shotzos are cannons in the Kirby series).
They will shoot at the players, first by showing an indicator on the stage, then shooting a bullet in that direction.
The tunnel is small, the walls are adjacent to the edges of the elevator so you can't drop down, you can only be KOd in the upper side of the screen (instant KO only, no star KO).
When the Shotzos reach the platform, they enter in the wall with a small animation.
This room is dangerous but it lasts about 10 seconds, it's a transition room only to introduce you to the next section.

Inside the Ruins - Moving Platforms Room

(That obstacle at the center with the crystal shard is not present in the stage, and there is overall a lot more space, between the moving platforms too).

The elevator stops and connects to the floor of the next room, becoming part of it. The room is now wider, you can be KOd on right and left of the screen again.
The room has a flat floor and it's completely empty, except for 3 levels of polygonal moving platforms going in different directions (some go left, some go right, occasionally they may change direction)
The platforms are flat and cover all the distance between the left and right sides of the screen, but they occasionally have holes/missing parts, and anyway you can drop through them.
There is some additional empty space in the above part, and despite the ceiling of the room is kinda visible (in prespective in the background), it's still too high and you can still be KOd in the upper side of the screen.

This room is pretty standard, nothing special happens aside of the Pix hazard that I'll describe later.

When you have spent enough time in this room, all the polygonal platforms will align with the missing part at the center of the screen, then they will "open", leaving the stage completely. The elevator platform will detach from the floor and it will start to move up again; all the players must jump on it and they will be transported to the next room.

Inside the Ruins - Artificial Sky Room

This is the core of the pyramid, you can see a big empty space showing the octahedral structure of the spaceship from the inside.
Gameplay-wise, this section of the stage consists in the usual elevator going up, while additionally some colored cubes (a mix between technological and virtual shapes) will appear near the elevator and work as platforms for a limited time (they can position themselves in different formations, that are random, and they are solid, you can't drop through them).
Overall, the most common formation is, the elevator at the center and 2 platforms of the same lenght (2 cubes each) floating at the sides of the elevator, with a small gap from it, and aligned slighty above it. They move with the elevator, resulting as static for the player, but in some formations it's possible that a moving cube appears: a moving cube can go left-right or up-down.

This is called the "Artificial Sky Room" because you can see the sky in the background of it, but occasionally the monitors will shut down for a little, revealing that the sky is just an illusion and that you're still inside that thing.

At the end of this section, another ceiling, another transition, and another section begins, the final one!

The Top - Pix Arena

You reach a new floor, but this time the platform won't stop. The elevator will continue to go up, and something interesting happens:
The top of the spaceship opens completely!
You see the actual sky!

Originally this location was the arena of the bossfight against Pix, the boss of Rock Star.
Now it's a bit different, but similar enough.
The elevator is still at the center and goes up, while a strange structure of the shape of a ring spins around it, slighty below. That ring deals damage, similar to the road in the F-Zero stages (not Big Blue). It's placed in a way that makes the recovery more difficult (but still possible), because it's just below the edges of the stage.

It doesn't spin all the time: after a while it stops, and when it stops spinning it becomes a normal platform (you can drop through it).

The ring is composed by several pieces, and some times, when it stops, it disassembles itself and creates different platform structures, occasionally with oblique platforms too.

When the elevator reaches the very top of the structure (that's a sort of empty tower with gaps that let you see the real sky), the stage will continue with its usual pattern, but it will stop to go up.
All 3 pieces of Pix will enter the battle, and they won't disappear until defeated.
When Pix is defeated, the remaining visible elements of the spaceship will disassemble and disappear down: the characters will freefall for a while until they return to the Desert Section, and the stage will loop back from the start (with the bridge repaired).
The defeated parts of Pix will still fight as wireframe until all 3 of them are defeated, like in the original game (only in the final section, wireframe Pix won't spawn in the other sections).

Pix

Pix is a boss from Kirby 64.
It's made of 3 octahedrons of about the size of Kirby each (maybe a bit smaller), each one colored of one different color, RGB (red, green and blue).
They appear to be some sort of virtual polygonal beings, and they become wireframe when defeated.

In this stage, they may appear at any time in every section except in the Desert Section.
Pix have a very simple pattern: they go above a player and shoot a bullet down at him. The process is slow and predictable enough, so it's not a big deal.
At least until you reach the top of the structure, where they start using some combined attacks together, creating virtual blades and slashing them around the stage like in the original bossfight.

Pix using the basic attack: it throws a bullet at the enemy below itself.

Pix using virtual polygons as blades and fighting with them.

You can defeat each Pix in any section of the stage, though, as you defeat a Pix in an early section, the other ones get a barrier and become harder to kill. During the boss sequence, they lose the barriers and each Pix can easily be defeated in some hits.
If you defeat 2 Pix in early sections, the third one can't be defeated until the boss location.

Defeating the last Pix and letting the stage loop counts as a KO.

Pix Drops

Pix Drops are the actual gimmick of the stage.
Each time a Pix performs an attack, it releases a Pix Drop (but only if it misses).
Pix Drops are strange things resembling the shape of a molecule, and with the same color of the Pix who dropped it.

Think of how stars usually work in Kirby games: when a boss attacks you, it releases stars, that you can inhale and spit back at the boss to attack it.
Pix Drops work the same with the only difference that if the attack is succesfull, they won't drop.
Wireframe Pix also don't drop anything.

How do Pix Drops work?
They can be grabbed like items, and you can launch them up, down or left/right; they won't be affected by physics, they will always travel in a straight line until they find an obstacle or go out from the screen.
(Once grabbed, you can keep a Pix Drop and even bring it to the Desert Section, even though Pix doesn't spawn in the Desert Section).

When launched, if a Pix Drop hits another character, it will deal damage and/or knockback to it.
They have different elemental properties depending on the color:

Red: It will deal fire damage to the opponent, with low knockback but higher %

Green: It will deal regular damage/knockback to the opponent

Blue: It will deal water knockback; low/no damage but higher knockback

Pix Drops can be combined too!
It works exactly like when you combine the abilities in Kirby 64: You throw a Pix Drop at another Pix Drop, and they will fuse.
If the 2 Pix Drops are not compatible, the one you threw will stop and fall back to ground (it can be grabbed again), while the other one will just disappear.
In case 2 players have launched Pix Drops against each other, if they are compatible, they will combine, if not, the one that was thrown first will stay, the other one will disappear.
Combined Pix Drops always have higher priority over the basic ones, even when you launch a basic onto a combined that's standing on ground: the combined one will always destroy the basic ones.

How to combine them? This way:

-Red and Green make a Yellow Pix Drop
-Red and Blue make a Purple Pix Drop
-Green and Blue make a Cyan Pix Drop

Yellow: It deals electric damage along with stunning the opponent before the knockback

Purple: It deals darkness/poison damage, the opponent will stay covered in a dark smoke for a couple of seconds, gradually getting more damage and some movement limitations

Cyan: It deals ice damage, freezing the opponent as well


Extra:

Rock Star would be the usual generic desert level, if not for that massive black thing. That's a pyramid, yeah, but it's also a futuristic spaceship with advanced technology; it's the main element of this stage.
This concept is kinda recurring in the series: it was introduced in Kirby's Dream Land 3 (in a very similar location featuring a cameo of R.O.B.), then after Kirby 64, it was heavily referenced in Kirby: Planet Robobot, with music (from that KDL3 stage), location concepts (there is another level with technological pyramids even though it looks different), a boss (Holo Defense A.P.I.) and some elements in the final part of the game.

How to Unlock:
It's bundled with the Adeleine DLC

Music:

Rock Star - level theme - Kirby 64
Shiver Star Factory - Kirby 64
Inside the Ruins - Kirby 64
Ripple Star Castle - Kirby 64
Miracle Matter - Kirby 64
Staff Roll - Kirby 64
Vs Morpho Knight (Adeleine & Ribbon version) - Kirby Star Allies (0^2, Miracle Matter and Ripple Star medley form Kirby 64)
Sand Canyon Pyramid - Kirby Planet Robobot (Kirby's Dream Land 3 remix)
Mysterious Trap - Kirby Triple Deluxe
Haltmann Works Elite Management - Kirby Planet Robobot

 

[apaulieg]

That looks like the Master Emerald in the back. I'm assuming this stage won't make one chuckle

"Oh no".

It's updated! Yay.

 

[Deleted member]

A apaulieg
Iko MattOrr

So are your stages in their final revisions now or will there be more updates?

Good Guy Giygas

Are you going to need a time extension for your entry?

 

[apaulieg]

A apaulieg
Iko MattOrr

So are your stages in their final revisions now or will there be more updates?

Good Guy Giygas

Are you going to need a time extension for your entry?

All content in my post is now final except I may replace the colored-in version with a higher quality colored in version (either more time and care in photoshop or colored pencil). For the sake of evaluation, it’s done!

 

[Iko MattOrr]

A apaulieg
Iko MattOrr

So are your stages in their final revisions now or will there be more updates?

Good Guy Giygas

Are you going to need a time extension for your entry?

Well... not at all...
My stage is still missing a lot of stuff...
but if you want to close the contest, do it, after all, staying into the deadline is part of the game, I was unable to, so it's my fault.
after all it's just a game.

 

[Good Guy Giygas]

A apaulieg
Good Guy Giygas

Are you going to need a time extension for your entry?

Possibly. I've been working on it today but I still have quite a bit to do.

 

[Deleted member]

Well... not at all...
My stage is still missing a lot of stuff...
but if you want to close the contest, do it, after all, staying into the deadline is part of the game, I was unable to, so it's my fault.
after all it's just a game.

Possibly. I've been working on it today but I still have quite a bit to do.

I can still extend the deadline no problem if needed. Just let me know if you guys will end up needing that. Question for Iko though, is your stage able to be evaluated in it’s current state or would you rather it not count as a submission the way it is?

 

[Iko MattOrr]

I can still extend the deadline no problem if needed. Just let me know if you guys will end up needing that. Question for Iko though, is your stage able to be evaluated in it’s current state or would you rather it not count as a submission the way it is?

Yes, it can be evaluated... it's not as complete as I wanted, but there is a basic amount of informations that should be enough to give you an idea of how the stage would work (only the desert section is complete with detalis and all).

EDIT: I changed my mind. Actually, I think that it's better if it doesn't count as a submission.
It's just too incomplete, and my description of some sections is too vague to get an idea.
It's better to not consider it an entry, sadly... I'm very sorry, really.

I added as many informations as I could, including pictures, but so far I only did about 1/4 of the planned work.
To complete it as I wanted in my original plan, I would need something from 2 days to 1 week (I don't know precisely), but I don't want to make you delay the end of the contest for this long, especially for the other people who have already finished and are just waiting the results.
So, I give up. I mean, my entry is still valid and all, it lacks a lot of stuff, but I prefer to leave it as it is.

What it's missing:
-Artworks for the other 4 sections
-Collisions for the other 4 sections
-Examples of the possible configurations for the random platforms in the last 2 sections (with collisions)
-Details on how Pix fights and how it appears in the stage, how does it move, etc (maybe with some pictures).
-Once completed, some adjustments, polish, order, and stuff

It's just too much IMO.
Maybe, after the contest ends, I may decide to complete it just for fun, but now I'm a bit tired and I prefer to stop.

 

[Deleted member]

Yes, it can be evaluated... it's not as complete as I wanted, but there is a basic amount of informations that should be enough to give you an idea of how the stage would work (only the desert section is complete with detalis and all).

EDIT: I changed my mind. Actually, I think that it's better if it doesn't count as a submission.
It's just too incomplete, and my description of some sections is too vague to get an idea.
It's better to not consider it an entry, sadly... I'm very sorry, really.

I added as many informations as I could, including pictures, but so far I only did about 1/4 of the planned work.
To complete it as I wanted in my original plan, I would need something from 2 days to 1 week (I don't know precisely), but I don't want to make you delay the end of the contest for this long, especially for the other people who have already finished and are just waiting the results.
So, I give up. I mean, my entry is still valid and all, it lacks a lot of stuff, but I prefer to leave it as it is.

What it's missing:
-Artworks for the other 4 sections
-Collisions for the other 4 sections
-Examples of the possible configurations for the random platforms in the last 2 sections (with collisions)
-Details on how Pix fights and how it appears in the stage, how does it move, etc (maybe with some pictures).
-Once completed, some adjustments, polish, order, and stuff

It's just too much IMO.
Maybe, after the contest ends, I may decide to complete it just for fun, but now I'm a bit tired and I prefer to stop.

I see. Very well then, I won’t count your entry. Thank you for at least trying though.

 

[GolisoPower]

I see. Very well then, I won’t count your entry. Thank you for at least trying though.

Yeah. That stage was pretty cool. The color thing was pretty unique.

 

[Primid]

PIKMIN PARADE
(From PIKMIN 3)
​

Firstly, I've really enjoyed participating in these contests every week and seeing what stages you guys cook up for each round; my only regret is not finding this thread sooner! To drive this point home, my final entry is a Pikmin stage since I missed that round. Pikmin is one of my all-time favorite Nintendo franchises, so I thought I'd show it some love.

I originally was going to do a traveling stage that took players around to various areas of PNF-404, the planet from Pikmin 3, but I knew this would be too time-consuming. Instead, I opted for a different type of traveling stage: one in which Olimar and Alph's trusty pals carry the stage themselves! I'll do my best to explain how the stage works, so hopefully this won't be too confusing.

The stage itself is made up of various fruits being carried by the Pikmin. The Pikmin continuously walk from left to right and the background scrolls behind them. The background changes between the game's locales as they make their way across PNF-404. Basically the main portion of the stage and the winged Pikmin that hover above remain in the same position, and it's the combination of the scrolling background and the animation of the marching Pikmin that give the illusion that the stage is moving. (Think the Mushroomy Kingdom stage, only the background moves. The speed at which the Pikmin move is also very similar to the speed of other scrolling stages). More on the standard layout's boundaries can be found below.

Spoiler: Boundaries

Like I mentioned, the stage is a walk-off. The fruit sometimes shifts up and down as the Pikmin walk, similarly to the logs on Kongo Falls. The cherries carried by the lone Winged Pikmin is solid with grab-able ledges, while the Pellet being carried my the other winged Pikmin is pass-though. The Nectarous Dandelfly is also pass-through, and its body moves with a wave-like movement.

Red = solid ground
Green = pass-through

As they trek across the surface of PNF-404, the Pikmin must avoid some of the planet's deadly fauna, including this Yellow Wollywog. After spotting the Pikmin, it will jump from the background, float in the air momentarily (just as one would in the game) before bouncing onto the orange and into the foreground offscreen. Anyone caught below will be dealt ~35% damage. If confused about how the Wollywog works, see the spoiler below.

Spoiler: Wolliwog Bounce

The Blue here represents the Yellow Wollywog's path. While it floats in the air before slamming down onto the orange, it's body serves as a solid object that can be stood on.

Next, the Pikmin wander to the home of a Shaggy Longlegs, who will approach from the background and step over the battlefield, crushing some unsuspecting Pikmin in the process. Players can walk through his, um... hair... if they are standing in the middle of the stage as it steps over it. Once he steps into the foreground and offscreen, a few more Pikmin will quickly run onscreen to fill in the spots of the recently deceased ones. R.I.P. little guys.

The next stop on their journey is the Twilight River. The platform arrangement changes slightly during this segment, adding an additional pass-through pellet and a lengthier cherry platform.

These poor Pikmin thought they were safe, but alas, more dangers are afoot. The Pikmin will march through an Arachnode web and unfortunately some of the Winged Pikmin will get caught in it, eliminating the cherry-platforms. The two other groups will fly above the web. Players can also get caught in the web and will be carried offscreen if they don't break free in time.

The next segment is more of a transitional area. The platform arrangement is fairly straight forward and a few sleeping Bulborbs can be seen in the background.

Now in the rainy Garden of Hope, the Pikmin will encounter a Puffy Blowhog that will blow all the platforms offscreen. Anyone standing on them will simply fall onto the main "platform." The Blowhog is in the background and cannot be interacted with.

Nearing the end of their long march, the Pikmin will carry players to the Formidable Oak, the final area of Pikmin 3. Two groups of winged Pikmin will fly in to provide the two pass-through platforms. The Plasm Wraith will also take shape in the background and eerily watch as the parade passes through its domain.

The final stop on the journey is the Distant Tundra. Here, the fruit will be abducted by the Spero and the remaining Pikmin will return to the safety of their Onion. The stage stops scrolling at this point and players will be dropped off onto the snowy ground to duke it out. A Whiptongue Bulborb will patrol behind the battlefield just to keep the background interesting. For the ending stage boundaries, see below.

Spoiler: Boundaries

So yeah, this part is a flat walk-off. The propellers of the Onion are pass-through and the Spero is a solid object with grab-able edges.

Music:
(Medley of the following Pikmin 3 songs)
Alph's Crash Site
Tropical Wilds
Twilight River
Rainy Day
Plasm Wraith
Distant Tundra

(Medley of the following Pikmin 1 songs)
Carry, Fight, Increase and be Eaten
The Impact Site
The Forest Navel
The Distant Spring
The Final Trial
Creature Montage

(Medley of the following Pikmin 2 songs)
Awakening Wood
Perplexing Pool
Wistful Wild
Rest Area
Submerged Castle
Valley of Repose
​

Thanks for making all the way to end, hopefully everything made sense! I know this was pretty long, but I wanted to make something interesting and different given that it's the final round. Like I said earlier, I've had a blast working on these stages and while I'm sad to see this contest series come to an end, I'm truly glad to have been a part of it.