My only gripe with Project M is the stage choice and as a previous user put it: variety.
Now I understand the Project M is geared towards a more competitive fanbase but when having vanilla Project M, I can't help but sort of miss some of the vBrawl stages that made Smash Bros. the multi-player, get your bros. together for some crazy hi-jinks party game. While some of vBrawl's stages aren't the best competitively, some of them have unique quirks and amazing atmospheres that are often overlooked due to competitive-worth and interfering with matches. To be honest, a lot of vBrawl stages pay an incredible amount of attention and respect to their source material, something that Melee and 64 stages can only dream of.
With the N64 stages that were placed over "un-playable" Brawl stages, I felt a lot of them lost their quirks and unique charms that made fun to play on. Though Hyrule Castle still reigns supreme for casual 4-player FFA matches due to its design, I felt the same can't be said for Saffron City and Kongo Jungle, which I felt become bland, neutered husks of the fun and unique stages that they once were. I'm baffled that some stages like Summit and Big Blue get a pass where other stages such as Spear Pillar and Luigi's Mansion get axed altogether.
Now I'll admit this next part is nitpicking, but why are there so many castle stages? We have Castle Siege, Dracula's Castle, Peach's Castle, Hyrule Castle, and arguably Temple. Now don't get me wrong, the Dracula's Castle stage is amazing both gameplay-wise and visually but why is it in the game, there's no Castlevania representation and material in the base game that Project M is built on so why add it? Based on that logic, it's like we can have a stage from the Super Monkey Ball series or Banjo Kazooie, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but you get the idea.
Though a lot of the stages are near exact replicas or original in their own way, I have some issues with Skyloft and the Training Room. With Skyloft, I felt the stage is unoriginal and dare I say half-assed, as it takes assets from Temple slaps a new coat of paint on it and puts the beautiful Skyloft scenery behind it and goes, "BAM! New stage!" The Training Room on the other hand is a great addition both visually and conceptually, especially when compared to its Brawl counterpart though my issue with it is originality: as it tries to apply something from traditional fighters such as Street Fighter into Smash Bros. series; I feel as if its inclusion undermines what Smash founded itself: a unique fighter that set itself apart from traditional fighters by providing controls that are user-friendly to both newcomers and veterans. With the advent of this new Training Room, I feel as if Project M is trying to be like more traditional fighters rather than focusing on the points that made it unique.
That said, I will do my best and explain the merit behind some of the axed (or altered) stages.
- Luigi's Mansion: Luigi's always had the short end of the stick, since his installment he's always been second to Mario, even his year didn't go too well with the "alright" installments of Dark Moon, Dream Team, and New Super Luigi U. But having his own launch title game for the GameCube gave our lime hero a glimmer of hope with Luigi's Mansion and the Brawl team took note of it, christening the stage selection with Luigi's very own home stage: Luigi's Mansion! (Sorry Bowser, you'll have to wait). But Project M adopts the ideology of Luigi being a second-rate character and cut his very own home stage for... Dracula's Castle...? What does Castlevania have to do with Smash Bros.? Why does Luigi lose what very little he has? It's just unfortunate for our green-weathered friend for he will always be in Mario's shadow... though I do understand that the detructible pillars of the original stage can easily be exploited by Ivysaur, but it's still sad for Luigi to lose his stage for one that has nothing to do with Smash Bros.
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: Though you may cringe with disgust as to why I would defend this stage, Spear Pillar was unique as it is an original stage that wasn't in an urban environment and designed heavily around the main Pokemon games D / P, with a top half based on Spear Pillar itself and a bottom half paying homage to the cavern portions of Mt. Coronet. When describing this stage, the word I would use is: mystical, with its starry yet misty background, hieroglyphics that found the ever-so stressed Sinnoh mythology, and most importantly, the omni-present legendary Pokemon, arriving onto the battlefield in a cloud of smoke, with ominous, gleaming red eyes peering at you while you hear its stomps as it marches onto its platform, observing your fight apathetic to your cause - that was when you knew was out of your control. Though the time-slowing, float-inducing, topsy-turvy Hyper Beam happy hazards this stage presented turned many off, Spear Pillar stands out from other Pokemon stages for its unique atmosphere and its absence in Project M is one I truly miss.
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: Brawl and Project M finally gave the Fire Emblem reps: Marth, Ike, and to a lesser extent, Roy their very own home stage! The Project M version differs slightly from its Brawl counterpart as it skips the second portion: the castle interior. Though this is a minor nitpick, I miss the second portion as it captures the atmosphere of the Fire Emblem games, which are everso changing as you progress through the game's chapters and the whole stage's concept is a testament to that. It would be nice to revisit it by modifying the statues, though I can live without it.
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: The WarioWare games were founded on by the concept of microgames - short second games that were simply fun and the WarioWare stage brought that concept with it in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. The stage's design is solid though these microgames were a glaring point quickly addressed by the Project M team. It's understandable that this is a solid competitive stage and I'll cut my losses on this one though.
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: The Smash Bros. games weren't just a party game, they're games that pay tribute to the history of Nintendo and 75m is a perfect example of this idea. vBrawl gave Smash players a chance to revisit the classic level 75m in a perfect replica, even with Donkey Kong in the background and classic SFX, though it wasn't the perfect transition especially when it comes to Smash Bros.'s style of gameplay as the stage is a complete mess of platforms and hazards so it's no surprise this stage got cut for the Smash 64 hit Kongo Jungle. Though Kongo Jungle bears nostalgic value for players who have been with Smash since its beginning, I would like to argue that a Donkey Kong-based stage has more nostalgic value as a Nintendo fan, reminding us how far Nintendo has gotten since the good ol' days of going to the arcade, pushing pocket change into the arcade cabinet and traversing infrastructures as Mario to save Pauline from the clutches of Donkey... errr... Cranky Kong? Good thing there's always 1337m to fall upon.
So there's my thoughts on what I believe is some of Project M's weak points. Still a great game that's helped me get back into Smash by offering a great and balanced roster that's actually fun to play so regardless of your taste in stages, Project M is a good candidate for gaming with friends, whether you hail from a more casual base or competitive-base.
Keep up the good work PMBR and thank you for offering the GOAT rendition of this stage:
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