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

[TheMarioaddict]

wow can't believe the stage that was submitted late won smh

Nah, I'm just kidding. Congrats to TechPowah, really cool stage!

 

[GolisoPower]

Congrats to TechPowah for his Patch Land stage! Guess yarn beats clay any day...XD

 

[TechPowah]

To be fair, I did the same thing with the ancillary series round with Noisy Notebook
fear my late game submissions
:y

anyway here's my victory artwork
thanks all

 

[Deleted member]

Time for Round 21!

Winning the poll at 10 votes, Round 21 is.................

Earthbound

​

A cult classic despite being a series of only 3 games. And all 3 of those games are eligible despite Mother 3 still having yet to release worldwide and if I'm to be honest, I'm starting to doubt it ever will. Either way it is still eligible just like Mother 1 and 2 and that's......really all there is to say about what's allowed.


And with that. On July 2nd 2018, Round 21 has begun. You have until Friday, July 6th to submit entries.

Good Luck!

 

[Cosmic77]

Ness used PSI Fire. It's super effective!

Except that's a Pokemon reference, not EarthBound.

...And Ness can't actually use PSI Fire in EarthBound.

 

[Nani?]

Kudos to anyone who makes a stage of the Insane Cultist Lair where all of the platforms are made out of Insane Cultists.

 

[TheMarioaddict]

(Haha! I may have sabotaged Earthbound last round, but now I shall be the very first contestant to submit an Earthbound stage! Oh, how the tables have turned!)

Earthbound, huh? Not my biggest knowledge base, if my previous-round sabotage is any indication. Still, I do know a thing or two! At least enough to make a stage from, anyways. Earthbound has a lot of wacky things in it, you know - time travel, weird aliens, rude neighbors… and even a monk whose actual literal name is Poo. And if his name is that ridiculous, then just you wait until you see his home!

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Dalaam!

Thank you MaskedTomato SaladPie for making the official Splatoon stage that showed me how to make that zig-zag thing work.

Name of Stage:
Dalaam

Game of Origin:
Earthbound

Description of Stage:
So this one’s got a bit of a weird layout. I’d explain it in text, but I tried that once, and it got really complicated. Long story short, there’s a bit of a Moray Towers situation going on with the center two passable platforms, and the uppermost platform is flanked on both sides by small solid platforms. Additionally, there’s a passable platform on the right with a ladder below it. You know what that means… you can get some sick usage out of the brand new attack-from-ladders mechanic! Visually, the stage is set among the floating kingdom of Dalaam, complete with grassy paths and fluffy clouds. A few huts adorn the lower parts of the stage, while the Palace of Dalaam overlooks the whole thing. You’ll be able to see some Dalaam residents milling about in the background as well!

Gimmicks and Hazards of the Stage:
How do you feel about becoming one with nothing?

That’s right, the main gimmick of this stage is the Mu Training! After around 20 seconds or so, the sky will darken, and an ethereal face will descend from the heavens. Fear not, he won’t make you stand still or cut off your arms or anything…

...rather, he’s come to adjust the layout of the stage! To help you achieve enlightenment, he’s removed all distractions, leaving just one humble platform in the center of the stage. After 20 seconds, the floating head will leave and the stage will return to its normal form. However, there is one other thing about this stage (not really a hazard, but rather a fun easter egg): During the Mu Training, if all players choose to remain perfectly still for its entire duration, then before leaving, the floating head will congratulate you on completing your training, and when you return to the stage proper, all of the Dalaam citizens will be cheering you on! So this is the power of enlightenment!

Music:
The Floating Kingdom of Dalaam (Earthbound)
Sailing to Scarabia (Earthbound)
Pokey Means Business! (Earthbound)
Poltergeist/Roving Tank (Earthbound Beginnings)
Battle With a Dangerous Foe (Earthbound Beginnings)
Mt. Itoi (Earthbound Beginnings)
Strong One (Mother 3)

This was a bit of a weird stage to design, but I’m pleased with how it came out! I hope you enjoy!

[Edit: Hm. Looking at those images now, I think I may have made my Mario-for-scale a bit bigger than I'd like. I'll correct that later.]

 

[TKOWL]

(Images aren't loading in currently no matter what I try but once it fixes itself they'll be in)

Stage Name: Saturn Valley

Origin: Earthbound ​

Description:

Escaping the zombie town of Threed, Ness and co. find themselves in a strange village called Saturn Valley. The place is occupied by odd little creatures named Mr. Saturn that speak in an odd scribble-like text and say things like "Boing!". Despite their strangeness, they are a peaceful folk and have all the amenities Ness and his friends could need, such as the only free hospital and hotel in the game, along with powerful equipment to bring them through the rest of the game. Once the party helps free kidnapped Saturns from the Belch Factory, the Saturns allow them passageway to the third shrine. Near the entrance is a pool of pink water that fully recovers Ness' group. They all return later on in the story, as Dr. Andonuts has discovered that the Saturns are a technologically advanced species and help him complete his Phase Distorter, which allows Ness, Paula, Jeff and Poo to fulfill their destiny and confront Giygas in the past. A Saturn Valley also appears in Mother 3, and the Saturns are the defacto mascot the series.

Saturn Valley, like the Saturns themselves, is a bizarrely laid-out stage, with two walkoff blastzones and two pits that are surrounded by cliffsides. There are two Saturn houses whose architecture provides a weird platform structure, almost being like an inverted cone. At random 30 second intervals in the match, Dr. Andonut's Phase Distorter will teleport into the middle of the stage, being another object for fighters to jump on/knock around on. It will disappear about 20 seconds after it appears, however. For fighters with lower jumps, there is an incomplete ladder that leads to the rightmost cliff face, and if a fighter reaches the top of the ladder, they can jump easily to the ledge. The rightmost cliff face has a raised platform with the entrance to the third shrine inside, and an empty pool of water, However, if fighters are dueling near the spot, the pink spring water will sometimes pour in and it will act as a minor healing pool. This naturally makes it one of the most contested areas of the map to control. Mr. Saturns will be watching the match as it progresses, and when the phase distorter comes in, Dr. Andonuts and Apple Kid will observe the match as well. Some of the Mr. Saturns can even walk into the battle, function as the standard Mr. Saturn items.

Unlockable?: Yes (Break someone's shield with Mr. Saturn)

Music:

Theme of Saturns (Arrangement of Hi Hi Hi and Mr. Saturn Theme Z) (Remix)
Your Name, Please (Remix)
Sanctuary Guardian (Remix)
Otherworldly Foe/Kraken of the Sea (Remix)
Yucca Desert/Roving Tank (Remix)
Mind of a Thief (Mother 3i Remix)
Funky Monkey Dance (Mother 3i Remix)
Dry Guys/Strong One (Remix)
MROB-6720M (Remix)

 

[Guh-Huzzah!]

Good job everyone! Can't wait to judge this round!

@psb123 I think i was being a bit vague xD
He won't stay on screen for 20 seconds, he will quickly fly across the middle of the screen (He is the size of Kirby) and will be there for, like, one second, i meant after 20 seconds, the next animal friend will appear.
tried to balance it out by making him KO'd in one hit.
Couldn't make a good stage for the life of me lol.
(now i feel really stupid.)

Edit: OH GOODNES. Just re-read that, i didn't mean he'd KO you in one hit, i meant he would hit you, with an attack that does very little knockback and about 5% of Damage.

 

[Kevandre]

Osohe Castle
Mother 3

I’ll be real with you, I scrambled to make this stage before I left for the vacation. I’ve never been into RPGs like this so I personally never played any of the Mother series, but on my let’s play channel I did make my cohort play Mother 3 as his first game, so I do have lots of knowledge about this game (And watched Vinesauce’s playthrough of Earthbound so I knew stuff from that too). When racking my mind about potential stages from either game though, I kept coming up blank. I felt that the obvious locations for stages had already been used by Sakurai (Because really, Onett, Fourside, Magicant and New Pork City are the obvious ones to me)… But I then decided that I was more into the idea of a fun stage than an iconic one, so I cast my mind towards stage ideas more like Warioware’s Gamer stage, which is one of my favorites from Smash 4, despite the fact that it was not really an ICONIC thing from its source games.

So what I landed on was Osohe Castle, a part near the beginning of Mother 3 that you explore as Duster, the only missing party member from Mother 3 in Smash Ultimate. At the end bit of Osohe Castle, you fight against a music conductor named Mr. Passion who plays glorious symphonies and is basically a poltergeist.

At first this stage is pretty standard, with a few slightly raised platforms just to keep it from being too Final Destination-y, but nothing too exciting. You can stand atop both chairs, the couch and the grandfather clock, but can’t destroy anything.

After about fifteen seconds of battle, Mr. Passion shows up in the background!

The music swells and all of a sudden the platforms you were standing on are floating eerily in the air! They alternate up and down so anybody on the ground (Including Little Macs) can jump onto any of the objects without trouble.

You can’t directly interact with Mr. Passion, as he’s hanging out in the background between the chimney and the funyarinpa portrait in front of the doors. He’ll be conducting/poltergeisting for 30 seconds before he vanishes and all the objects fall back to the ground where they once were.

You can make Mr. Passion vanish early if you like by performing a Star KO on someone- they’ll fly right into his face and he’ll huff and puff and wisp into smoke. But he’ll be back in fifteen seconds to start the process again.

Unlockable: Play as Lucas 20 times.

Music:
Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5 (When Mr. Passion is there)

When Mr. Passion is not there:
Osohe Castle (Mother 3): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jGvecN1uiCE
Osohe Ragtime (Mother 3): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZdrBzwJlikI
Mind of a Thief (Mother 3): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RL_RPM50C1k
Smiles and Tears (Earthbound): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qwrPLtEfwuk
Sanctuary Guardian (Earthbound): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DVcyZ_TtLhI
Pollyanna (Mother 1/Earthbound Beginnings): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vBbRJoHTJAM
Phantom Rabbid Song (Mario+Rabbids Kingdom Battle): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PH-cpqE-efw

 

[Deleted member]

Poll for Round 22 is up. There are a few overhauls it's received to go with the contests extension, such as now having 10 voting options instead of 7, so I'm going to do a bit of a refresher course of sorts and just explain what all the options are.

Mario Party Stages

This one is pretty simple. We had a round for Mario Platformers, a round for Mario Kart, and a round for Mario RPG's. The only other sub-series I can think of out of Mario that is big enough to warrant it's own round is Mario Party. Requests for a Mario Party Stage have been building in recent years as well.

Smaller Mario Game Stages

This round covers the rest of the Mario games that aren't big enough to warrant their own round. Such as Mario Tennis, Luigi's Mansion, and Captain Toad Treasure Tracker.

Yoshi and Wario Stages

Like with Donkey Kong, Yoshi and Wario have their own game series that they represent in Smash rather than being Mario Characters. So Yoshi's Island, WarioWare, Wario Land, and other games like Wario World are what this round is for.

Kid Icarus and F-Zero Stages

Both of these series have their fans but are relatively small all things considered. Each one as it's own round runs the risk of being too stagnant so I'm putting them together as a double dip.

Retro Game Stages 2

Requests for Repeat Rounds have been piling up and while not every round will get a repeat this is one that will. The first round like this was early on in the contest so it could be interesting to see what the new faces since then can come up with. But like before only Nintendo games. And nothing that came after the Super Nintendo and Gameboy Color.

Misc. Nintendo Games 2

Another repeat. Retro Games has a limit of nothing that came after SNES. This one covers all the other smaller nintendo games starting at the N64 and Gameboy Advance. Here's hoping someone submits a Golden Sun Stage this time =P

Sonic the Hedgehog Stages 2

Apart from Sonic, Mega Man, and Final Fantasy all of the 3rd Party characters currently in Smash come from series that I fear would be too stagnant as their own rounds. Sonic I would argue has the most stage potential of all the 3rd Parties so I'm giving him a 2nd lap to see what people come up with.

Final Fantasy Stages

Pretty much covered this under the Sonic description. Though sometimes I do fear this might end up being too stagnant after all. Why is the Mega Man option we've had for so long not on the poll right now? Because now that it's been confirmed that Mega Man 11 will come out before Smash Ultimate I want to wait until after MM11 releases so people can pull stages from it.

Castlevania Stages

This one is kind of an odd one. Currently there is nothing in Smash in the realm of Castlevania representation. But there are more than a handful of character requests that come from games not currently represented so I added in a few rounds from some of those games. Why is this one of them? Because of that rumor from the guy who correctly guessed the Ninja Turtles would be in Injustice 2.

Any and all rumors should be taken with a grain of salt, but this same guy called EVERYTHING that was shown for Smash Ultimate at E3 and has said in two rumors now that Simon Belmont will be playable. Nothing is confirmed yet, but I would argue that it's likely at this point. So I'm giving people the opportunity to make some Castlevania Stages.

Banjo-Kazooie Stages

This is a pretty similar case to Castlevania Honestly. Only instead of rumors that seem likely Banjo & Kazooie instead have a LOT of fan support behind them and head of Xbox Phil Spencer himself is even on board with the idea. Nintendo and Microsoft have been getting along great lately so while once again not a guarantee it has more of a chance now than it ever has.

And let's face it, this reveal would the 2nd Cloud reveal in terms of hype and shock. So in the chance that it will happen I'm letting people think of stages for the Bear and Bird.

 

[GolisoPower]

Stage Name:
Threed Circus

Origin:
Earthbound

Gimmicks and Hazards:
Urban Zombies and circus walls

Description:
Hurry, hurry, hurry, step right up and have a grand old time at the Threed Circus! As one of the many areas of the game, Threed Circus is where the Apple Kid uses his newest invention, the Zombie Paper. The circus tent walls are semi-hard, meaning you can only go through them by being launched. Meanwhile, the roof is a soft platform. Outside of the circus are Urban Zombies that swarm outside the circus and damage anyone over time to anyone who comes in contact. If an Urban Zombie damages an opponent over 100% damage, they will be instantly KO'd. They cannot be defeated in this stage, unlike in Earthbound, so the circus is your safehouse. The drawbacks is that the zombies only deal 1% damage per 2 seconds they're so slow, and they don't have much range, either. They also cannot enter the circus by themselves. Another thing to point out is that while this appears to be a walk-off, know this: because of the Urban Zombies, walking off and SD'ing isn't recommended.

Unlockable:
No.

Music:
Love Theme (SSBB Mix)
Threed (Earthbound)
Earthbound Medley
Zombie Central (Earthbound)
Free at Last (Earthbound)
Smiles and Tears (SSB4 Mix)

 

[PeridotGX]

Poll for Round 22 is up. There are a few overhauls it's received to go with the contests extension, such as now having 10 voting options instead of 7, so I'm going to do a bit of a refresher course of sorts and just explain what all the options are.

Mario Party Stages

This one is pretty simple. We had a round for Mario Platformers, a round for Mario Kart, and a round for Mario RPG's. The only other sub-series I can think of out of Mario that is big enough to warrant it's own round is Mario Party. Requests for a Mario Party Stage have been building in recent years as well.

Smaller Mario Game Stages

This round covers the rest of the Mario games that aren't big enough to warrant their own round. Such as Mario Tennis, Luigi's Mansion, and Captain Toad Treasure Tracker.

Yoshi and Wario Stages

Like with Donkey Kong, Yoshi and Wario have their own game series that they represent in Smash rather than being Mario Characters. So Yoshi's Island, WarioWare, Wario Land, and other games like Wario World are what this round is for.

Kid Icarus and F-Zero Stages

Both of these series have their fans but are relatively small all things considered. Each one as it's own round runs the risk of being too stagnant so I'm putting them together as a double dip.

Retro Game Stages 2

Requests for Repeat Rounds have been piling up and while not every round will get a repeat this is one that will. The first round like this was early on in the contest so it could be interesting to see what the new faces since then can come up with. But like before only Nintendo games. And nothing that came after the Super Nintendo and Gameboy Color.

Misc. Nintendo Games 2

Another repeat. Retro Games has a limit of nothing that came after SNES. This one covers all the other smaller nintendo games starting at the N64 and Gameboy Advance. Here's hoping someone submits a Golden Sun Stage this time =P

Sonic the Hedgehog Stages 2

Apart from Sonic, Mega Man, and Final Fantasy all of the 3rd Party characters currently in Smash come from series that I fear would be too stagnant as their own rounds. Sonic I would argue has the most stage potential of all the 3rd Parties so I'm giving him a 2nd lap to see what people come up with.

Final Fantasy Stages

Pretty much covered this under the Sonic description. Though sometimes I do fear this might end up being too stagnant after all. Why is the Mega Man option we've had for so long not on the poll right now? Because now that it's been confirmed that Mega Man 11 will come out before Smash Ultimate I want to wait until after MM11 releases so people can pull stages from it.

Castlevania Stages

This one is kind of an odd one. Currently there is nothing in Smash in the realm of Castlevania representation. But there are more than a handful of character requests that come from games not currently represented so I added in a few rounds from some of those games. Why is this one of them? Because of that rumor from the guy who correctly guessed the Ninja Turtles would be in Injustice 2.

Any and all rumors should be taken with a grain of salt, but this same guy called EVERYTHING that was shown for Smash Ultimate at E3 and has said in two rumors now that Simon Belmont will be playable. Nothing is confirmed yet, but I would argue that it's likely at this point. So I'm giving people the opportunity to make some Castlevania Stages.

Banjo-Kazooie Stages

This is a pretty similar case to Castlevania Honestly. Only instead of rumors that seem likely Banjo & Kazooie instead have a LOT of fan support behind them and head of Xbox Phil Spencer himself is even on board with the idea. Nintendo and Microsoft have been getting along great lately so while once again not a guarantee it has more of a chance now than it ever has.

And let's face it, this reveal would the 2nd Cloud reveal in terms of hype and shock. So in the chance that it will happen I'm letting people think of stages for the Bear and Bird.

Banjo Round? Wasn't expecting that. I've never played a Banjo Kazzoie Game, so I may not get it, but I'm curious about what makes the series worthy enough to have it's own round. All it has are two N64 games, a mediocre Wii Era Game, and two GBA games nobody remembers. I don't know why it gets it own round, especially when it doesn't even have a character yet (I'm OK with Castlevania though).

 

[Guh-Huzzah!]

Banjo Round? Wasn't expecting that. I've never played a Banjo Kazzoie Game, so I may not get it, but I'm curious about what makes the series worthy enough to have it's own round. All it has are two N64 games, a mediocre Wii Era Game, and two GBA games nobody remembers. I don't know why it gets it own round, especially when it doesn't even have a character yet (I'm OK with Castlevania though).

Your point on Banjo not having its own rep is true. But i think the reason why it's worthy of its own round was because it was one of the games Rare made during Nintendo and Rare's cooperation before microsoft took it over and made it trash. It was one of the most popular titles on the N64 and is still loved by fans to this day. It's the 10th top selling N64 Game, actually! It's a game i've been wanting to play for a long time.

 

[Deleted member]

Banjo Round? Wasn't expecting that. I've never played a Banjo Kazzoie Game, so I may not get it, but I'm curious about what makes the series worthy enough to have it's own round. All it has are two N64 games, a mediocre Wii Era Game, and two GBA games nobody remembers. I don't know why it gets it own round, especially when it doesn't even have a character yet (I'm OK with Castlevania though).

It boils down to a combination of the large fan support and the history they have with Nintendo. They were a very big deal on the N64 and the poster boy and girl for Rare's contributions to the console and to Nintendo. That's why they have so many fans who want them in and I think they are a very sensible addition because of this.

Rare may be owned by Microsoft now but Phil Spender, the head of Xbox, himself has said that Banjo & Kazooie could still be in since Nintendo and Microsoft have worked out Rare IP troubles in the past with no issue.

 

[TechPowah]

If Microsoft is kosher with Minecraft on the Switch <with crossplay!!!>, they're kosher with Banjo and Kazooie being in Smash

 

[Kevandre]

Also, Banjo has a big wealth of potential stages to make. A very big wealth

 

[ottobot]

Moonside (Earthbound)

This stage is based off of the Moonside dream (?) sequence from Earthbound. Like in the game, the level would appear as a city made of neon-light style outlines on a black background. The stage is made up of 3 main platforms, pictured above, which take the shape of buildings. (they're actually based on 3 buildings clustered close together in the original Moonside). Not pictured is the background which would have the Moonside skyline, including the large tower that takes up the central part of the city, off in the distance.

At first this stage appears to be a normal, hazardless stage, but after some time hazards will appear. There are two types of hazards.

1) Teleportation
This is based on how the player must teleport around Moonside to navigate it in the original game. When this hazard appears, two of the stage's edges will glow.

When this is happening, players knocked offscreen along one of these edges will, instead of being K.O.'d, be teleported out of the equivalent spot on the other glowing edge. (see the two arrows pictured above for an example). They maintain all momentum, Portal style. The bottom blast zone will never be affected in this way due to issues with collision on the buildings. otherwise, any combination of left, right, and top blast zone is valid. After ~10-15 seconds, the stage will go back to normal.

2) Evil Mani Mani Statue
This hazard acts somewhat like a stage boss, but rather than attacking the players, it turns off the blast zones. It is based on the Boss of the original Moonside area.

Every once in a while, rather than the Teleportation hazard, the Statue will appear on the central platform. This hazard is significantly more rare, appearing about once for every 3 appearances of the Teleportation hazard. It does not move, and is about the same size as a standard human character. While the Statue is on stage, the borders of the screen are covered in a pink energy that appears more crystalline and solid than the Teleportation's glow. This energy acts as a Wall/Floor/Ceiling, preventing K.O.s. (This is a reference to how the Statue traps Ness in Moonside until he defeats it). After 30 seconds, the Mani Mani Statue will vanish, bringing back the blast zones. However, this is obviously a very long time for a hazard of this scale. To compensate, the Mani Mani Statue can be destroyed, which has the same effect as it vanishing naturally. The Statue does not move, and has 50 Hit points per player in the match (so, in a 2 man battle, it will have 100 HP). Players must choose whether to destroy or protect it, depending on their situation. This leads to something of an equalizing effect, with players at risk of death trying to keep it alive, while players who are winning have to spend time dealing damage to the Statue instead of their opponents.

The main theme of this level, other than the cool neon visuals, is blast zone manipulation. I am hoping that this mechanic, something not really touched by real smash stages, is weird enough to evoke the mysterious and alien feeling of Moonside. (side note: this is my first try at something like this, how did I do?)

 

[Kevandre]

Moonside (Earthbound)

This stage is based off of the Moonside dream (?) sequence from Earthbound. Like in the game, the level would appear as a city made of neon-light style outlines on a black background. The stage is made up of 3 main platforms, pictured above, which take the shape of buildings. (they're actually based on 3 buildings clustered close together in the original Moonside). Not pictured is the background which would have the Moonside skyline, including the large tower that takes up the central part of the city, off in the distance.

At first this stage appears to be a normal, hazardless stage, but after some time hazards will appear. There are two types of hazards.

1) Teleportation
This is based on how the player must teleport around Moonside to navigate it in the original game. When this hazard appears, two of the stage's edges will glow.

When this is happening, players knocked offscreen along one of these edges will, instead of being K.O.'d, be teleported out of the equivalent spot on the other glowing edge. (see the two arrows pictured above for an example). They maintain all momentum, Portal style. The bottom blast zone will never be affected in this way due to issues with collision on the buildings. otherwise, any combination of left, right, and top blast zone is valid. After ~10-15 seconds, the stage will go back to normal.

2) Evil Mani Mani Statue
This hazard acts somewhat like a stage boss, but rather than attacking the players, it turns off the blast zones. It is based on the Boss of the original Moonside area.

Every once in a while, rather than the Teleportation hazard, the Statue will appear on the central platform. This hazard is significantly more rare, appearing about once for every 3 appearances of the Teleportation hazard. It does not move, and is about the same size as a standard human character. While the Statue is on stage, the borders of the screen are covered in a pink energy that appears more crystalline and solid than the Teleportation's glow. This energy acts as a Wall/Floor/Ceiling, preventing K.O.s. (This is a reference to how the Statue traps Ness in Moonside until he defeats it). After 30 seconds, the Mani Mani Statue will vanish, bringing back the blast zones. However, this is obviously a very long time for a hazard of this scale. To compensate, the Mani Mani Statue can be destroyed, which has the same effect as it vanishing naturally. The Statue does not move, and has 50 Hit points per player in the match (so, in a 2 man battle, it will have 100 HP). Players must choose whether to destroy or protect it, depending on their situation. This leads to something of an equalizing effect, with players at risk of death trying to keep it alive, while players who are winning have to spend time dealing damage to the Statue instead of their opponents.

The main theme of this level, other than the cool neon visuals, is blast zone manipulation. I am hoping that this mechanic, something not really touched by real smash stages, is weird enough to evoke the mysterious and alien feeling of Moonside. (side note: this is my first try at something like this, how did I do?)

I dig it! I forgot about Moonside. That could be pretty interesting

 

[Good Guy Giygas]

This is my first time actually posting in this subforum, but I couldn't pass up the opportunity to make an Earthbound stage since it's my favorite game series. Anyway, here it is.

"MT. ITOI"
from Mother 1/Earthbound Beginnings

​

Since Earthbound and Mother 3 tend to get most of the love when it comes to representation in Smash, I decided to make a stage based on one of the final and most difficult areas from the very first Mother game: Mt. Itoi. It's a fairly simple stage, consisting of one main area in the center and two smaller pillars on the either side. The main platform also features the iconic tank from this portion of the game, as well as the XX stone. Now, I drew this on paper since I'm not good with digital art, and I wanted to make sure the drawing itself stood out against the background, so please excuse the blank blue sky. Just imagine a rocky desert terrain and mountains in the background.

To better understand the layout, I made an edited version of the picture above to demonstrate the stage collisions.

Spoiler: Collisions

Here you can see the solid ground roughly represented by red lines, while pass-through platforms are shown in green. Something also worth mentioning, the XX stone is further in the background and doesn't affect the fight line. Similar to this, the tree stump ladder is in the foreground and acts only as decoration.

Hazards
While I wanted this to be a pretty stagnant stage, there are a few hazards to watch out for. However, I'm pretty sure no one really likes boss character hazards or things like that, so I refrained from those in this stage.

One of these hazards is EVE. In the original game, EVE is a robot who temporarily joins your party at this point in the story. She has very high offensive and defensive stats and is necessary in obtaining the seventh melody. On this stage, EVE will randomly appear during the match on one of the two rock pillars. She acts similarly to the Flying Man (Magicant stage) or the summon orb (Midgar stage) in that she will aid the player who reaches her first. Once in contact with her, EVE will randomly do one of four things: 1). She will buff the player's smash attacks, 2). She will buff the players defense and prevent them from being knocked back (like the Metal Box, only without making them metal), 3). She will briefly attack the other opponent(s) (like the Flying Man), or 4). she will simply self-destruct, dealing damage to the player who contacted her. She only appears once per match, if she appears at all.

The second stage hazard is R7038XX, the giant boss robot encountered in this area of the game. He will walk in from the background and tower over the middle platform. He will stand there menacingly for quite some time before finally making his move. R7038XX will fire a laser beam at one or sometimes both of the two pillars on the sides, destroying them in the process and reducing the playing field drastically. (Just to clarify, his attacks don't target or hurt players, he simply destroys parts of the stage to change up the layout.) After attacking, he'll turn around and march back into the background and disappear.

After about 20-30 seconds, something else will happen...

...Lloyd will whistle the first few notes of "Eight Melodies" and pop out of the tank's top hatch. This will reset the stage to its normal layout. He has no other effect on the battle.

Unlockable?
Yes. To unlock this stage, you must have the Flying Men aid you 8 times on Magicant.

Music:
Roving Tank (Remix)
Mt. Itoi (Remix, something similar to this)
Eight Melodies (Vocal Mix) (Original)
Eight Melodies (The End) (Remix, something similar to this)
All That I Needed Was You (Remix, something like the Mother 1+2 version)
Smiles and Tears (Demo Version) (Original or a remastered version of it)
Sanctuary Guardian (Remix)
F-F-Fire! (Remix, similar to this)
Fight With Mecha-Drago (Remix)

Thanks for reading! I enjoyed looking at everyone else's ideas; they were all super creative!

 

[Kevandre]

This is my first time actually posting in this subforum, but I couldn't pass up the opportunity to make an Earthbound stage since it's my favorite game series. Anyway, here it is.

"MT. ITOI"
from Mother 1/Earthbound Beginnings

​

Since Earthbound and Mother 3 tend to get most of the love when it comes to representation in Smash, I decided to make a stage based on one of the final and most difficult areas from the very first Mother game: Mt. Itoi. It's a fairly simple stage, consisting of one main area in the center and two smaller pillars on the either side. The main platform also features the iconic tank from this portion of the game, as well as the XX stone. Now, I drew this on paper since I'm not good with digital art, and I wanted to make sure the drawing itself stood out against the background, so please excuse the blank blue sky. Just imagine a rocky desert terrain and mountains in the background.

To better understand the layout, I made an edited version of the picture above to demonstrate the stage collisions.

Spoiler: Collisions

Here you can see the solid ground roughly represented by red lines, while pass-through platforms are shown in green. Something also worth mentioning, the XX stone is further in the background and doesn't affect the fight line. Similar to this, the tree stump ladder is in the foreground and acts only as decoration.

Hazards
While I wanted this to be a pretty stagnant stage, there are a few hazards to watch out for. However, I'm pretty sure no one really likes boss character hazards or things like that, so I refrained from those in this stage.

One of these hazards is EVE. In the original game, EVE is a robot who temporarily joins your party at this point in the story. She has very high offensive and defensive stats and is necessary in obtaining the seventh melody. On this stage, EVE will randomly appear during the match on one of the two rock pillars. She acts similarly to the Flying Man (Magicant stage) or the summon orb (Midgar stage) in that she will aid the player who reaches her first. Once in contact with her, EVE will randomly do one of four things: 1). She will buff the player's smash attacks, 2). She will buff the players defense and prevent them from being knocked back (like the Metal Box, only without making them metal), 3). She will briefly attack the other opponent(s) (like the Flying Man), or 4). she will simply self-destruct, dealing damage to the player who contacted her. She only appears once per match, if she appears at all.

The second stage hazard is R7038XX, the giant boss robot encountered in this area of the game. He will walk in from the background and tower over the middle platform. He will stand there menacingly for quite some time before finally making his move. R7038XX will fire a laser beam at one or sometimes both of the two pillars on the sides, destroying them in the process and reducing the playing field drastically. (Just to clarify, his attacks don't target or hurt players, he simply destroys parts of the stage to change up the layout.) After attacking, he'll turn around and march back into the background and disappear.

After about 20-30 seconds, something else will happen...

...Lloyd will whistle the first few notes of "Eight Melodies" and pop out of the tank's top hatch. This will reset the stage to its normal layout. He has no other effect on the battle.

Unlockable?
Yes. To unlock this stage, you must have the Flying Men aid you 8 times on Magicant.

Music:
Roving Tank (Remix)
Mt. Itoi (Remix, something similar to this)
Eight Melodies (Vocal Mix) (Original)
Eight Melodies (The End) (Remix, something similar to this)
All That I Needed Was You (Remix, something like the Mother 1+2 version)
Smiles and Tears (Demo Version) (Original or a remastered version of it)
Sanctuary Guardian (Remix)
F-F-Fire! (Remix, similar to this)
Fight With Mecha-Drago (Remix)

Thanks for reading! I enjoyed looking at everyone else's ideas; they were all super creative!

Nice signature fam. Can't believe it's been like 3 years since I made all those


(Also cool stage!)

 

[Good Guy Giygas]

Nice signature fam. Can't believe it's been like 3 years since I made all those


(Also cool stage!)

Thanks man, I really liked your work on those character portraits back in the day, but yea it's weird to think about how long ago that was. It's kinda funny you mention that though since I only recently came back to this site after a pretty long hiatus (all the new Smash hype brought me back though haha). Anyways, when I came back I noticed my sig and couldn't remember where I had gotten those pictures from since it'd been so long. Now I know!

 

[Deleted member]

Reminder that Round 21 ends tomorrow.

 

[Nani?]

Ok, hey everyone! It's me, Nani? So if you guys haven't already noticed, I'm not a judge anymore, and that is because I left Smashboards, I had a reason but I didn't want to specifically state said reason because I was afraid it would change peoples views of me, but it's kind of starting to stress me a little bit, so I'm just going to be open and honest. The reason I left was because I am actually underage, and at first it didn't mean much to me, but as I went on, I realized that was not right, and by doing so, it might come off as though I was trying to say I was older than I am, which was jot my intent. My intent was simply to join a friendly community.

Maybe me posting this in here seems like a bit announcement, and I doubt anyone will care, but if anyone does, they know now why, though this message was mainly directed to psb. So, that's about it, then. I'll be reading some replies to this, but otherwise, that's about it from me, so if you do have something to say, feel free to comment, but know that I won't respond. Bye.

 

[Kevandre]

I mean, that's up to you man. I think everyone joins websites before they were allowed to, and you aren't like overly immature or anything so feels like an nbd to me lol

I definitely joined Myspace before the website would have allowed me to if I hadn't japed the birthday way back when

 

[Nani?]

I mean, that's up to you man. I think everyone joins websites before they were allowed to, and you aren't like overly immature or anything so feels like an nbd to me lol

I definitely joined Myspace before the website would have allowed me to if I hadn't japed the birthday way back when

Sorry, what's nbd mean? xD

 

[Kevandre]

Sorry, what's nbd mean? xD

no big deal

 

[Cosmic77]

Our quartet has dropped down to a trio.

Oh well. Still better than being stuck with a duo, right?

 

[Deleted member]

Alright guys. Round 21 is now closed. See you on Sunday with the grades for it.

 

[Guh-Huzzah!]

Just finished my Grades! You all had some good stages guys!

 

[Sarki Soliloquy]

Confound me, I missed the 2nd Kirby Round!

 

[Guh-Huzzah!]

Confound me, I missed the 2nd Kirby Round!

Feels Bad man.

I'm not sorry for that.

 

[Deleted member]

Time for Round 21 grades!

psb123's grades:

Dalaam by TheMarioaddict

Iconic Status: 3/5

A lot of these stages will probably be tough for me to grade due to not having played Earthbound. But unlike a few other submissions this round, this is an area I didn't even know about until your submission. And from what I hear this place kind of suffers from "Recruit Poo and never look at this area again".

Originality: 10/10

I really don't see how it could be anything else. It's got one similarity to Moray Towers sure. But there are differences in layout and it's a stage that you can utilize ladder attacks on (seriously, apart from custom stages is there any stage besides wrecking crew that lets you do that?). And I really like how the Mu Training helps you to achieve enlightenment in both the change in layout and the easter eggs. Fits quite well for an area like this.

Playability: 10/10

I'm glad you clarified that your scaling was off. Otherwise this stage might have been just a tad bit on the small side. But that would have been it's only issue and since that's negated I see no reason to take off points.

Overall Score: 23/25

Saturn Valley by TKOWL

Iconic Status: 5/5

Given the abundance of Mr. Saturn's here I don't see how it could be anything else since Mr. Saturn is both a classic Smash item and a recognizable face of Earthbound.

Originality: 8/10

Not going to lie. That layout is quite similar to Magicant. Which I'll admit wouldn't be as much of a problem if Magicant wasn't also an Earthbound stage. But this stage does enough things that Magicant doesn't to where I won't score it lower than an 8.

Playability: 10/10

I do like how the gimmicks this stage has are less annoying than the Flying Man though. You have an opportunity for ladder attacks which more importantly makes it easier to get to the top-right and you've got a healing pool. However I'm a little concerned about Mr. Saturn's showing up as items. It makes sense but it would be a little irritating for those who like to keep items turned off. This had me very conflicted on whether or not to take off a point. What saved your perfect score here was the new feature of turning hazards off.

Overall Score: 23/25

Osohe Castle by Kevandre

Iconic Status: 3/5

My lack of Earthbound knowledge strikes again. But based on your description this kind of sounds like something worth the middle ground here on Iconic Status. An early game area that you only explore as Duster just kind of sounds like a stage that would get that score.

Originality: 10/10

Living proof right here that Luigi's Mansion doesn't render any other spooky stage invalid. The whole thing of a Poltergeist lifting up furniture to function as platforms in a haunted mansion is a classic idea in spooky media that Smash hasn't utilized yet.

Playability: 10/10

It's a good thing Mr. Passion can't send furniture off the stage. That would have hurt you score here if he could. Perfect playability score, but I find it very odd how you can get rid of Mr. Passion early via giving someone else a Star KO. It doesn't hurt your score at all but considering the type of KO you give an opponent is something you have so little control over it seems kind of strange.

Overall Score: 23/25

Threed Circus by GolisoPower

Iconic Status: 4/5

I don't think I can be TOO generous about this since I still have a big lack of Earthbound knowledge. But this is an area I knew about before this Round so I guess it is a more recognizable area.

Originality: 8/10

I like how you combined the circus and the zombies in a way that works to the stages advantage. Was kind of weirded out by only being able to pass through the circus walls by being launched but it ended up working since that means the zombies can't get in the circus. The Zombie's also discourage walk-offs which is appreciated.

Sad to say though, the kind of idea this stage is isn't one that I would consider fun. Having to stay in a cramped area to avoid danger zones is the kind of stage I would try to avoid.

Playability: 5/10

Sadly there are a couple issues here. The tent is quite tall which makes getting in and out of it too tricky. And like I said before I'm not a fan to trying to stay in the center which you could easily get knocked out of by other players. And if you do it's too hard to get back in and while the Zombie's don't hurt you much the other players can get you up to 100% on their own over time. Which makes the Zombie's being Danger Zones a big problem.

Overall Score: 17/25

Moonside by ottobot

Iconic Status: 4/5

Not sure how impactful this area is all in all. But it does remind me of (and probably has a connection to) Fourside which did make it as a stage.

Originality: 7/10

I can't deny that Blast Zone manipulation is a creative idea but the thing is, this is less Blast Zone "Manipulation" and more Blast Zone "Sealing". And if I'm being honest. I'm not a fan of the idea of Blast Zone Sealing or Manipulation. And when that's the only unique thing the stage does it does cause some problems in the originality department.

Playability: 5/10

In the playability department sealing off blast zones is very much a double edged sword. It could save you in a match where you're trying to stay alive in something like All-Star mode. But in general it makes it harder to KO opponents as well which is something that I think people would want to do more often than be saved by the Blast Zone sealing. So all in all I see people getting more annoyed by this then relieved by it.

Overall Score: 16/25

Mt. Itoi by Good Guy Giygas

Iconic Status: 4/5

Being an area from Mother 1 would honestly probably prevent anything from getting a perfect score given it's limited exposure, even in Japan. But this is named after the creator of the overall series, Shigesato Itoi. So it at least has that going for it.

Originality: 9/10

One of the two main gimmicks is very similar to the one in Magicant but I do like how EVE can do things that the Flying Man can't so that you're not guaranteed the same effect every time. Nothing else is really worth taking off points.

Playability: 8/10

I don't have a problem with EVE. Even with the self-destruct feature I just consider that to be a luck of the draw kind of thing like Goldeen in the Pokeballs. Not something I would take off point for. But what I will take off points for is the side platforms being able to be temporarily destroyed. I like that the lasers can't hurt players, but restricting the arena like that does cause some playability concerns.

Overall Score: 21/25

Cosmic77's grades:

"Dalaam" by TheMarioAddict:

Iconic Status: 3/5

Dalaam, eh? Well, I suppose you could argue it's iconic since it's the home of Poo, but compared to everything else in EarthBound, this area just doesn't stand out very much. The time you spend here is brief, and it has little importance after Poo joins the party.

Originality: 7/10

The layout is extremely similar to Moray Towers, but it seems like that might have been your inspiration for choosing this area in the first place. I'll keep that in mind with your score.

Moving on, the gimmick you chose is... unique? It's a nice callback to the game, yeah, but I'm not quite sure if changing the layout to a simple platform is really all that special.

Playability: 9/10

Honestly, this is the same score I'd give Moray Towers.

Overall Score: 19/25

"Saturn Valley" by TKOWL:

Iconic Status: 5/5

It's the home to EarthBound's unofficial mascot. Also helps since Saturn Valley has shown up in two games.

Originality: 10/10

Love those little references you tied into your stage. The pink spring and the ladders that lead to nowhere are all nice callbacks to the original game. The Phase Distorter along with Dr. Andonuts and the others was also a nice touch.

Your stage's layout was also pretty unique. Seems like that would help it stand out among other EarthBound stages.

Playability: 9/10

The tall cliffside on the right could pose as an issue, but everything else is fine.

Overall Score: 24/25

"Osohe Castle" by Kevandre:

Iconic Status: 3/5

I'm not really sure if I can describe how I feel like this area stacks up to other parts of the game. Either way, it's still inspired from Mother 3, and it doesn't look like the typical setting you'd expect in EarthBound.

Originality: 7/10

The poltergeist idea is new. I think it's a little weird to see it implemented in EarthBound of all things, but it's still a cool idea regardless.

My only complaint is that I'd like to see a little more zest to the gimmick. Maybe a candlestick could float by and anyone who touches it receives 3% damage?

Playability: 10/10

Nothing to say here.

Overall Score: 20/25

"Threed Circus" by GolisoPower:

Iconic Status: 4/5

This one is a bit tough. Threed is a memorable part of the game, but it can't quite hold a candle to some of the other areas, namely Onett, Saturn Valley, Winters, Fourside, and Magicant.

I'll give it a four. At the very least, Magicant proves that Threed is notable enough to be put in Smash.

Originality: 10/10

I really like the whole horror/survival theme you chose. Really makes you want to be careful when you're inside the tent so you won't get launched into the zombies.

Playabillity: 7/10

Can't ignore those zombies. While KOing someone at 100% is more reasonable, it could make or break a battle for someone.

Overall Score: 21/25

"Moonside" by ottobot:

Iconic Status: 5/5

Fourside is already in the game, and this place basically mirrors it. In addition, this is arguably one of the strangest places in the game, thus making it more memorable.

Originality: 9/10

The teleportation gimmick is new, and it stays true to the game. Launching opponents is gonna be a lot of fun in this stage, and I'm sure strategic players could work up some bizarre combos.

Playability: 3/10

Putting up barriers around the entire stage? It's gonna be hard to play here and get any actual KOs.

Overall Score: 17/25

"Mt. Itoi" by Good Guy Giygas:

Iconic Status: 5/5

One of the most memorable areas in Mother. I was thinking about deducting points for this game being Japan-exclusive for over two decades, but I decided against it.

Originality: 9/10

Love the callbacks to the first EarthBound game. Really nice to see all of the references from Mt. Itoi jumbled up into one stage.

I also like the use of the bots. They should keep players on their toes.

Playability: 7/10

I think you needed to clarify how powerful EVE is. If she can attack fighters and deal as much damage as she does in her own game, that'd be troubling.

Overall Score: 21/25

Blips' grades:

The Mario Addict’s “Dalamm”

Iconic Status: 3/5


I have only played the first 20 or 30 minutes of Earthbound, so your score may be suffering because of my lack of Earthbound knowledge, so i’m going to give you 3 points just in case I’m wrong.


Originality: 9/10


I will admit that the Moray Towers like layout is a bit uninspired, the other platforms kinda takes this statement back a smidgey bit, but the giant floating grandpa head or whatever his name is takes is back for me. Also like the easter egg! Very original.


Playability: 10/10


Looks like a very fun stage, i would play on it! I don’t really have any complaints. Pretty basic, but fun stage.


22/25


TKOWL’s “Saturn Valley”


Iconic Status: 5/5


An iconic area that’s home to iconic characters. You got my Seal of approval or somethin.


Originality: 9/10


Stage layout reminds me slightly of Gaur Plains. But i’m going to go on a limb and say it’s a coincidence. Everything here seems original except the giant machine...thing. (I’m tellin’ ya i know nothing about this game.) I believe it appears in magicant, doing the same thing that yours does. I may be wrong, so I’m only taking off one point.


Playability: 10/10


Feels very playable, just two nitpicks, that ladder leads up to nothing. It's almost leading up to the ledge. But it doesn’t, i really don’t get that. It’s like having fries with ketchup. Weird. (Yup that’s an unpopular opinion.) I would take off a point, but it really depends on if your playing with that type of guy who constantly throws you off the stage.


24/25


Kevandre’s “Osohe Castle”


Iconic Status: 3/5


So, you did me a favor and pointed out this locations iconic status, so thanks for that, but people seem to like spoopy stuff so I’ll give this an ok rating.


Originality: 10/10

Considering what you said about this games iconic status, i can say this is a pretty original concept, the music changing when Mr. Passion appears is also one of those small details i appreciate.


Playbility: 10/10


Not much to say. Just very playable.


23/25


GolisoPower’s “Threed Circus”

Iconic Status ⅘


The Threed Circus (i believe) is one of the more iconic areas in the game.


Originality: 10/10


If i were making a smash stage, a circus tent would be one of the last things to come to mind, and that’s shocking, considering the idea works so well!


Playability: 10/10 There’s nothing here that really seems unfair to me, it seems like a very balanced and fun stage.


24/25


Ottobot’s “Moonside”

Iconic Status: ⅘
I believe this is a very iconic area in Earthbound.


Originality: 10/10
I never would have thought of a stage that cancels KO’s!


Playability: 4/10

Although canceling KO’s is original, that doesn’t mean it isn’t annoying, i can see this feature making matches fairly lengthy.


18/25


Good Guy Giygas’ “Mt. Itoi”

Iconic Status 9/10
Fairly iconic (I think)

Originality: 9/10 I must admit, the Laser Beam reminded me a bit of The Halberds Laser Beam, but I’m probably being picky, but I am going to take off one point for basically using the Metal Box in EVE’s Moves.


Playability: 9/10 It feels very playable, but EVE Exploding sometimes when a player allies with her just sounds dumb. And i don’t think you even said there was a Warning She would Explode.


22/25

Total Scores:

TheMarioAddict: 64 points

TKOWL: 71 points

Kevandre: 66 points

GolisoPower: 62 points

Ottobot: 51 points

Good Guy Giygas: 63 points

The Winner is............
Saturn Valley by TKOWL

CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!!!!!!​

 

[Guh-Huzzah!]

Congrats TKOWL!
Also just wanted to say, sorry if anyone's grades suffered cuz of my lack of Earthbound Knowledge.

 

[GolisoPower]

TKOWL deserves a lot of applause for his stage! Congrats!

 

[Kevandre]

As soon as I saw TKOWL stage I knew it would win. It's a logical next stage for the franchise, I think. Grats man

 

[TKOWL]

Thank you all!!!!! Happy to win this one, I'm a big fan of Earthbound. Here's my quaint EB collection:

 

[Deleted member]

Time for Round 22!

Winning the poll at 8 votes, Round 22 is....................

Retro Games 2

​

Way back in Round 5 was our first round for Retro Games. Now we have the second one (and very likely the last one since I don't want to repeat rounds a 3rd time).

Same rules as the first time we had this round. Nintendo games only, nothing that was released after the SNES and the Gameboy Color, and for the most part we're trying to stick to the smaller guys. I'm not outright banning older games from big series like Mario and Zelda but if you just pick something solely from Super Mario Bros. 3 or The Legend of the Zelda Oracle of Ages for example, than I won't count it.

tl;dr, if you're going to include something from the long standing series you'll have to throw them into some kind of "cycle through multiple games" stage or else it won't count.

Also, as this is a repeat of a previous round I need to mention that if your stage is a carbon copy, or too similar, to submissions of past rounds it won't be eligible and you'll have to submit something else. Free free to ask if you're unsure about what counts.

And with that, on July 9th 2018, Round 22 has begun. You have until Friday, July 13th to submit entries.

Good Luck!

 

[Kevandre]

Éclair Palace​

(For The Frog The Bell Tolls)​

​

​

For this round, I decided to challenge myself a bit… By picking a game/series I knew literally nothing about. So I picked “For The Frog The Bell Tolls,” or Kaeru no Tame ni Kane wa Naru. This game was never released outside of Japan, released on the GBC. As most of the retro games I’d have picked are part of long running franchises that have their own rounds, I tried hard to find something more unique.



Now, this game is obscure. Recently, there was a fan-translation to English, as well as the main character of this game becoming an Assist Trophy in Smash 4 (Prince Sable). But aside from those things, I had no idea what I was looking at aside from that it looked like Link’s Awakening. So I did a little bit of research, cobbling together a workable stage. That said, I won’t pretend that I know the source material well enough that this is accurate to the base game or not.



Anyhoo, enough rambling.

​

I put together an interesting idea for this stage based on the palace I saw in some screenshots, which I believe is called Éclair Palace. It was the most unique thing I could find, so that’s where I ended up. Characters can stand atop the palace’s domed ceilings, or on the palace’s outer walls. The moat around the palace is not a friendly place to fall so look out!



Éclair Palace has spiked protrusions at the top of each dome as well, so look out for those. They will never KO you but can do some slight damage if you fall directly on one from above (Though not from the sides, it is not easy to use these in combos so they won’t be broken).



In addition, there is a small path to the palace in the middle of the palace’s outer walls that lead to the door. One might think it’s a good place to just camp, but, stay down there for more than ten seconds…

​

The witch Mandola emerges from the Palace’s door! She will fling a little potion bottle at fighters that are hanging out near the ground! If you are hit by her potion bottle, you’ll transform into a cute lil frog. A cute lil frog that you have no control over, that will by default leap up to the castle walls. You’ll remain a frog for 3 seconds, and have no attacks, but CAN be launched by opponents, so watch out and plan! Don’t try to camp at the bottom, but you won’t be instantly penalized for it either.



Anyway. I did the best I could with my understanding of the source material. I hope you guys like it.





Unlockable: Summon the Prince Sable Assist Trophy while playing as Greninja

Music:​

​

Éclair Palace: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OrUe7DK2kXo​

A Princely Duel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HqWusZCpW9E​

Port Saltwater: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=abHqh7QMBqo​

The Prince’s Adventure: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KSer-WueLjs​

A La Mode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4k8jBzijejA​

Nantendo FunCenter: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRCYy5vW17o​

Assault: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ipUtkV-kZtI​

Slay the Snake!: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ku2bO2ZGReA​

 

[splat]

Retro stages, huh? It got me thinking about Nintendo's large vault of forgotten games. Do I go deep, dig around for some kind of hidden treasure - or do I stay near the surface and work with something people are familiar with? At the very least, I wanted to try my hand at a somewhat unconventional stage. One that bends-- no, breaks the rules, like so many retro games did back then.

With those themes in mind, I weighed my options. Mach Rider, perhaps? Too obvious, and how would it work without being too similar to Mute City 3DS? How about Excitebike? I'm sure someone else will tackle that one. Maybe I could revisit my Balloon Fighter idea? While still pretty cool, we already got a stage based on it. Instead, I settled on a game that never really got the mania it deserved due to seeing the light of day at a bad time.

That said, let me uncover my entry for the week, hailing from Mole Mania:
(If you hadn't figured it out from the bad wordplay)

In Jinbe Land Underground, the fight takes place in a large, square room. ​

As the stage features walls and ceilings instead of platforms and edges, it is quite similar to traditional fighting game stages. In Smash Bros., however, you win by knocking your enemies out of the ring. How is that even possible here? Well, weaker attacks will have you bounce around from the walls and the ceiling, but strong attacks will --

C-crash! With too much damage, you will be sent flying out from the top! ​

Apparently, there's a whole world out there! Who knew Jinbe's farm has such a pretty forest? It's only understandable if you want to spend more time up there - though not everyone is equally happy with your residence. While your foes might dislike you fleeing from the battle, there's someone who dislikes it even more.

Get back in the hole quickly, or Jinbe will come out and try to put you six feet under himself!​

The mad farmer Jinbe appears! And my, is he powerful! As you might know, Jinbe can only be defeated by breaking his castle, but since it isn't anywhere near, around you'd better run. Not only does he pack a mean wallop, he really wants to keep his farm in the best shape possible.

It seems large iron balls are the best way to keep your farm tidy. Who knew?​

If there aren't any fighter above ground level, Jinbe rolls around large iron balls that fix any holes. We're no scientists, so we're not sure how it does - but hey! What works, works. However, if you get launched into a wall, you crash through the sides too. No iron ball can fix holes underground, so those craters are permanent. In longer battles, you may even get to the point where you can blast your foes out of the sides of the stage! No fight is the same when you're below the surface.

Music
I think it'd be pretty cool to see mash-ups of some of the themes featured in Mole Mania.

1. Forest Theme
2. Pipe Theme
3. Jinbe's Castle Theme + Heading to Level 8 Theme + Final Boss Theme
4. Boss Battle Theme
5. Level Select Theme + File Select Theme
6. Title Theme
7. Cabbage Minigame Theme + Big Cabbage Theme + Saved a Kid Theme
8. Reading Sign Theme + Credits Theme

Notes:

1. Unlocked through reaching 200% in a single fight.
2. Teching is your friend on this stage.
3. The walls staying how they are is a reference to how your tunnels are permanent in the game (unless you reset the level, as far as I know), while holes can get plugged (by barrels or Jinbe - though I felt irons balls were more fun in this case (and easier to create an image for)).
4. I wanted to make a stage that does not only feature a cave of life, but makes it the core mechanic for some super casual fun - and what would be a better fit than a game that's built around being in caves and tunnels? This is obviously not meant as a competitive stage at all. It might drop me a fair few points in the Playability category, but I wanted to do a silly this time around.
5. Obviously not fit for 8 player smash. The size portrayed also is be a bit too small for 4 player Smash, but the images do show what I'm aiming for with this stage without losing readability.
6. I loved the tone of voice of the Smash Dojo, so I attempted something similar. Hope I managed to imitate the style!
7. Mockups made using various parts from Kirby Triple Deluxe, Kirby Star Allies and Donkey Kong Country Returns as well as some stock material. The logo was done in a style similar to how Mole Mania appeared on the 3DS eShop version, with the Smash 4 font. Gotta stay true to that Nintendo style!