Xbox Legends ClimaX: The Xbox Series X/S's 'Ultimate' Smash (Star Wars/KOTOR Finale)

[Champion of Hyrule]

1. Jack
2. Arbiter
3. Grunty

 

[ssbashworld]

Results

1 Arbiter 17
2 Gruntilda 8
3 Jack 7
4 Gregg 1
5 Mumbo Jumbo HM

Top 3 have been added to the roster.

Job 6 - Nominate a Gaming Character for the Roster. Can be 1st or 3rd party. Only rule is the character must have appeared on Xbox by 2004.

I will nominate Beat (Jet Set Radio)

2002 sequel from Sega was released exclusively on Xbox. Microsoft also originally published Shenmue II showing a close partnership between both companies.

Spoiler: List of Noteworthy Xbox Partnerships

According to wikipedia the below 3rd party games were published by Microsoft. You can pull from other IP that appeared on Xbox but thought I would note these major partnerships.

Dead or Alive 3
Oddworld: Munch's Oddysee
Shenmue II
Ninja Gaiden (2004)
OutRun 2

 

[darkvortex]

Ryu Hyabusa
Multiple Ninja Gaiden and DOA games have been Xbox exclusive, plus a ninja on the roster would be cool

 

[darkvortex]

Question for later. Are non video game characters allowed? I think spawn would be a funny pick but I figure the answer is no

 

[KneeOfJustice99]

May as well take a stab at this! As funny as the Burger King (from Sneak King, the third best-selling Xbox game, yes, really) would be, I tempered myself a little and decided to submit someone who I think would be decently unique, but still really logical, as a third-party pick.

Character Name: Sam Fisher
Character Origin: Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell (2002)
Rights Holders: Ubisoft

Whilst we do already have Joanna Dark to fill our "spy" archetype, I think Sam Fisher's use of CQC, military equipment, and other gadgets and tools, would make him a pretty unique character that would lend well to being playable (think of him being a little like Project M's take on Snake.) Gas grenades, sticky tasers, and smokescreens also lend well to a degree of uniqueness beyond just "shoot and punch" (plus, Joanna's moveset will probably use more acrobatics anyway, whereas Sam's moveset rewards methodical play.)

As for why Splinter Cell over something I'd personally prefer like Shenmue 2, it was a massively successful timed Xbox exclusive that was the 6th best-selling game on the platform, as well as being critically acclaimed by reviewers at the time. Plus, he'd have some pretty cool interactions with characters like Joanna, come to think of it.

 

[ssbashworld]

Question for later. Are non video game characters allowed? I think spawn would be a funny pick but I figure the answer is no

Personally leaning towards no but i may open up a discussion at a later point to allow every to voice their opinion & vote on the matter,

 

[MartianSnake]

Character Submission:

Abe (Oddworld)
Going with Abe as an Oddworld rep as I feel he has more potential than Munch, and he's more known than Munch. For the record, I would LOVE to add Stranger to the roster come the next game, but Stranger's Wraith isn't out yet, so.

 

[Qwerty UIOP]

Submitting Joanna Dark(Perfect Dark)

 

[darkvortex]

Submitting Joanna Dark(Perfect Dark)

she's in already

 

[Northsouthmap]

Ryo Hazuki (Shenmue)

Similar to Beat's case

 

[ssbashworld]

Will give Qwerty UIOP & everyone else one more day to update/make a submittion. This will be our last character job for the 1st game.

In the meantime
Job 7 - Developer Discussion 2

We are about to dive into stages & assists.

-How many of each should we have?
For reference smash had
Stages - 9 (or 12) then 29
Assist (Pokemon) - 13 then also 29

-Also how should assists work, should it match Smash, should it be built into the fighter (tied to button with a cooldown), or something else?

I think we should match Smash in how assists function. Think our Stage & assist count should at least match the roster at 16 but go no higher than 20. Maybe go right between at 18?

 

[MartianSnake]

Will give Qwerty UIOP & everyone else one more day to update/make a submittion. This will be our last character job for the 1st game.

In the meantime
Job 7 - Developer Discussion 2

We are about to dive into stages & assists.

-How many of each should we have?
For reference smash had
Stages - 9 (or 12) then 29
Assist (Pokemon) - 13 then also 29

-Also how should assists work, should it match Smash, should it be built into the fighter (tied to button with a cooldown), or something else?

I think we should match Smash in how assists function. Think our Stage & assist count should at least match the roster at 16 but go no higher than 20. Maybe go right between at 18?

For the first game, I whole-heartedly believe that it should be 20 stages and 0 assists

That's right, no assists, it's the first entry in the series, we have a super limited pool of games to pick assists from, I wholeheartedly believe assists should not be added in this game.

Next game? Sure.

 

[darkvortex]

That's right, no assists, it's the first entry in the series, we have a super limited pool of games to pick assists from, I wholeheartedly believe assists should not be added in this game.

Next game? Sure.

I can agree with this. I think our game should be bigger than 64 but not as big as brawl yet. closer to melee

18 stages sounds okay though

 

[KneeOfJustice99]

Will give Qwerty UIOP & everyone else one more day to update/make a submittion. This will be our last character job for the 1st game.

In the meantime
Job 7 - Developer Discussion 2

We are about to dive into stages & assists.

-How many of each should we have?
For reference smash had
Stages - 9 (or 12) then 29
Assist (Pokemon) - 13 then also 29

-Also how should assists work, should it match Smash, should it be built into the fighter (tied to button with a cooldown), or something else?

I think we should match Smash in how assists function. Think our Stage & assist count should at least match the roster at 16 but go no higher than 20. Maybe go right between at 18?

I reckon 18 stages is a decent shout, considering the potential to represent stuff that isn't necessarily fighters (immediately, Microsoft Flight Simulator springs to mind as a stage with some potential.) That said, maybe less would work... but 18 still seems good. (Maybe have 10 by default and 8 unlockables?)

For the first game, I whole-heartedly believe that it should be 20 stages and 0 assists

That's right, no assists, it's the first entry in the series, we have a super limited pool of games to pick assists from, I wholeheartedly believe assists should not be added in this game.

Next game? Sure.

I can get behind this. Having the 360 title feature assists as a big new feature seems like it'd be fun, and there'd be a lot more to pull from (ie, Xbox Live Arcade, etc.) As for how they'd function, I'd probably say it'd be a built-in kind of thing similar to Marvel vs. Capcom: Clash of Super Heroes or Fraymakers - you get to select your assist before you start, you get an assist button, and when you press it it'll summon the assist who'll do their own attack, with a cooldown afterwards before you get to use it. Their attack might have unique effects, properties, or uses depending on the character, but each assist only has a single attack and then maybe an entrance and exit animation or something.

 

[Qwerty UIOP]

For the first game: 10 stages should be good

No assists this game is okay with me.

Submitting Cooper(Grabbed by the Ghoulies) instead

 

[ssbashworld]

Discussions are still open, general consensus right now seems to be no assists & 18 stages (10 or 20 were also mentioned).

Nominees
Ryu Hayabusa (darkvortex)
Sam Fisher (KneeOfJustice99)
Abe (MartianSnake)
Cooper (Qwerty UIOP)
Ryo Hazuki (Northsouthmap)
Beat (nirvanafan)

Vote for your Top 4, yours 2nd or lower, Top 4 overall will be added.

1 Cooper (kind of a now or never deal & i say lets give him a shot)
2 Sam Fisher (kind of like the idea of maybe having Xbox have a bigger focus on western 3rd party ip, also kind of funny pick since a splinter cell save exploit played a big role in opening up the xbox modding scene)
3 Ryu Hayabusa (mixed between ranking him or a sega rep higher, think what brought him over the edge was the fact that a Halo Spartan will be playable in the next Dead or Alive game)
4 Ryo Hazuki (as much as I want Beat I think Ryo would be a better fit)

Abe's a good pick too but not too familiar with the series compared to the others.

 

[Mamboo07]

1. Beat
2. Sam
3. Cooper
4. Ryu

 

[KneeOfJustice99]

1. Ryu Hayabusa (Even beyond just the fact that the Ninja Gaiden reboot was originally an Xbox exclusive, Koei-Tecmo were a pretty sizable part of the Xbox's launch, with Dead or Alive 3 being a prominent third-party launch title that kicked off the Xbox's gamelist to begin with. It kind of makes sense to include them as a third-party with this in mind, and Ryu Hayabusa is a pretty obvious and solid way to do just that.)
   
   
2. Ryo Hazuki (Following the movement of SEGA to a third-party developing studio, their relationship with the Xbox specifically is honestly pretty interesting, and it's cool to see that a few of SEGA's IPs ended up as exclusives for the platform. That said, as cool as Beat would be - even if I am a little biased towards him - Ryo feels like the more obvious choice. Shenmue was a big deal at this time, and still to this day has some reverence - plus, given he's literally from a game where you have a complex fighting system to begin with, it makes sense that he'd be easier than others to bring over here.)
   
   
3. Abe (A bit of a wildcard compared to some of the more obvious candidates, but after a little bit of research, I think Abe would be a lot of fun to see. He's got exclusivity on his side, he's from a series that - at this point - has run for a few years with reasonable success, and he's generally a well-liked character with decent moveset potential that'd be unique from a lot of others. Really, the main reason I put him here is because of how obvious Ryu and Ryo are as candidates, plus the fact that Abe's typically more closely associated with PlayStation due to their previous exclusivity to that platform.)
   
   
4. Sam Fisher (Self-vote, but I think this could lend to future takes on these rosters becoming pretty interesting. Remember, Microsoft is a US-based company - so working with Western developers is probably more likely here than in most other places. In addition, Splinter Cell has a lot of pedigree behind it, originally featuring as an Xbox exclusive, and Sam himself has plenty of moveset potential. Not much to add that I've not already pointed out, but I think Sam has the potential to send our future rosters in an interesting direction going forward.

Shoutout to Beat and Cooper though, both of them do seem pretty cool and I'd honestly not be opposed to them, I just think we have a little bit too much focus on Rare at the moment and Beat's probably not as well-suited to inclusion as Ryo given they're both effectively fighting for the same role.

 

[darkvortex]

1. Abe (He's funny. he isn't the most "xbox" character but I think that's why he fits. I think it'd be really interesting to see how we translate him)
2. Sam Fisher (Splinter Cell was a big deal for the Xbox. I think he could have a really cool stealth based moveset)
3. Ryu (Koei and Microsoft are really tight at this point. Ninjas are cool)
4. Ryo (Came down to him or Beat but I think a good old fashioned Brawler is needed and Shenmue is important

 

[MartianSnake]

1. Sam Fisher
2. Ryu Hayabusa
3. Abe
4. Beat

 

[Qwerty UIOP]

1. Ryu
2. Cooper
3. Sam
4. Abe

 

[Northsouthmap]

1. Ryu Hayabusa
2. Sam
3. Ryo Hazuki
4. Beat

 

[ssbashworld]

Results

1Ryu Hayabusa 20
2Sam Fisher19
3Cooper9
4Abe8
5Ryo Hazuki7
6Beat6

So we admittedly have a kind of weird situation. Feel like Ryo & Beat took votes away from each other. Overall everyone (except Qwerty UIOP) voted for 1 of the 2 Sega reps showing we mostly agree that 1 should have made it.

How do we feel about this situation? Ryo would be the rep as he just beat Beat. Should we let it go & neither make it or is there another solution we can get behind such as delaying someone to our next game & moving them to some sort of other role for now.

Spoiler: Tentative Roster

1. Master Chief
2. Arbiter
3. Blinx
4. Hero of Oakvale
5. Jack of Blades
6. Banjo & Kazooie
7. Gruntilda
8. Brutus
9. Conker
10. Joanna Dark
11. Battletoads
12. Arkantos
13. Ryu Hayabusa
14. Sam Fisher
15. Cooper
16. Abe

 

[darkvortex]

Feel like I'd have preferred a Sega rep over Cooper and I kinda regret putting and quite so high but I'm okay with just moving on and makimg this our roster

 

[SneakyLink]

1. MS now owns Activision. It doesn’t mean anything now but when we get to the Series X/S installment it will.

2. Both Ryo and Beat would have a few more releases on future platforms, albeit crossovers/rereleases. Perhaps we should revisit Sega for a future installment?

 

[darkvortex]

yeah i think Ryo and Best both make sense for our sequel

 

[Qwerty UIOP]

yeah maybe in the future

 

[KneeOfJustice99]

Results

1Ryu Hayabusa 20
2Sam Fisher19
3Cooper9
4Abe8
5Ryo Hazuki7
6Beat6

So we admittedly have a kind of weird situation. Feel like Ryo & Beat took votes away from each other. Overall everyone (except Qwerty UIOP) voted for 1 of the 2 Sega reps showing we mostly agree that 1 should have made it.

How do we feel about this situation? Ryo would be the rep as he just beat Beat. Should we let it go & neither make it or is there another solution we can get behind such as delaying someone to our next game & moving them to some sort of other role for now.

Spoiler: Tentative Roster

1. Master Chief
2. Arbiter
3. Blinx
4. Hero of Oakvale
5. Jack of Blades
6. Banjo & Kazooie
7. Gruntilda
8. Brutus
9. Conker
10. Joanna Dark
11. Battletoads
12. Arkantos
13. Ryu Hayabusa
14. Sam Fisher
15. Cooper
16. Abe

If I'm completely honest, I don't really mind either way.

Whilst I personally don't think we need Cooper if I were to be brutally honest (being our fifth Rare rep and a character with minimal relevance going forward), I do think it's kind of logical to have him here anyway given he's unlikely to get the opportunity in the future - plus, SEGA could always get another chance to shine in the future, given that three third-party picks (Ryu, Sam and Abe from Koei-Tecmo, Ubi Soft and Oddworld Inhabitants) seems like a fairly balanced grouping - and minimal relevance is hardly stopping characters like Blinx from still being decent picks for the time period.

As much as I think Ryo would be a good pick for this time period, Cooper's not someone I'm actually too opposed to. Beat, on the other hand... if I'm again brutally honest, I think his time would have passed by the time we get to future releases, as fun as he'd be to include (and, letting my bias talk for a second, god he'd be so ****ing cool.) There's honestly a few decent later picks from the Xbox library who could be fun to see in future iterations (like the Protagonist of Phantom Dust), so it'd be neat to consider them instead of grandfathering a third-party pick who's kind of lost their relevance by that point - plus, even from just SEGA, there's likely to be a few more relevant picks down the line.

 

[ssbashworld]

General consensus seems to be to move forward without a sega rep, meaning our roster is now finalized.

Now onto stages

Job 8 - Submit a stage idea for the following series (can submit 1 for each).

Halo
Blinx
Fable
Banjo Kazooie

Will submit my ideas later.

 

[Qwerty UIOP]

Banjo Kazooie: Spiral Mountain

Would act similarly to Ultimate stage

 

[KneeOfJustice99]

May as well suggest a few! I wanted to avoid "green plains" or "starter levels" where possible though, given Melee already had this kind of problem this early in the series. Let's nip that in the bud early on, hmm?

Stage Name: Halo
Stage Origin: Halo: Combat Evolved (2001)
Franchise: Halo

Pretty much a copout answer, but an obvious one. Set on the eponymous Halo ring, this is in reference to the second level in the first game's campaign. In terms of appearance - pretty much what you'd expect, but with the ring stretching into the far horizon. It also features a variety of background details like Beam Emitters and some Covenant forces.

Stage Name: Déjà Vu Canals
Stage Origin: Blinx the Time Sweeper (2002)
Franchise: Blinx

Whilst one of the more time-cetric stages might seem like an obvious pick, or somewhere like Time Square, I think Déjà Vu Canals (the second stage from the first game) is a decent pick given its unique appearance (based on Venice), relative prominence in marketing, and generally decent potential. As for the specifics, I'd personally suggest we scale it up and have you fight on a gondola heading downstream, occasionally passing by things like canopies and other boats that act as other platforms. However, when you reach the bottom, time reverses and you start heading back upstream to the fountain again, then repeat. It's a neat way to represent this game's central gimmick!

Stage Name: Bowerstone
Stage Origin: Fable (2004)
Franchise: Fable

As much as Oakvale might be a more logical choice for a "medieval town/village", I think it'd be neat to have Bowerstone's design evolve in each game - so for instance, in the 360 game, its design reflects its expanded look in Fable II and so forth. That aside, it'd also be a good place to feature different NPCs and the like, and I think it'd also be nice to give it a day and night cycle (to differentiate it from the other "green fields" stage, Halo.) And also, there's tons of potential for stuff you could include as stage hazards, background elements, or otherwise!

Stage Name: Clanker's Cavern
Stage Origin: Banjo-Kazooie (1998)
Franchise: Banjo-Kazooie

As neat as Spiral Mountain would be, I wanted to avoid us constantly having green fields and starter worlds in this game (a problem that the Smash series would already have had by 2001!), so including the third level from the first game - Clanker's Cavern - felt like an interesting call. Over the course of the match, Clanker himself will raise and lower, giving the players more or less space to fight in. He'll also sometimes move slightly to make things a little more chaotic. Not too much as to induce motion sickness, though. (Seriously, I don't get why Spiral Mountain's Smash stage rotates so rapidly.)

 

[darkvortex]

Our roster. Tried to go for renders that fit this era. Forgive the text issues

 

[ssbashworld]

Unless darkvortex has an issue with it will use the excellent roster image made in the op, thank you for that!

Here are my stage nominees

Pillar of Autumn (Halo)

The Halo itself is probably the perfect 1st for the series but thought id throw in the iconic ship of the 1st game primarily utilizing its futuristic army base interior.

Hourglass Caves (Blinx)

Not too familiar with series, thought a cave stage could be fun plus this one is stands out a bit visually imo.

Chapel of Skorm

Unfortunately only have played a little Fable 2 & 3 so far so also not super familiar with the series. Temples seem to be recurring location & this one stood out from the 1st game (was even remade in unreal by fans).

Treasure Trove Cove (Banjo Kazooie)

Agree with what KneeOfJustice99 said about trying to avoid starting green fields when we can. Would go with the iconic 2nd stage from banjo kazooie over Clanker though. Home of a very iconic theme, the cheat code sand castle, as well as a seeming reappearance towards the end of the game.

Vote for your favorite stage nomination (can self vote) for Halo, Blinx, & Fable & top 2 for Banjo Kazooie.

Halo
Hourglass Caves
Bowerstone

1 Treasure Trove Cove
2 Clankers Cavern

Job 9 - Submit a stage idea for the following series (can submit 1 for each).

Brute Force
Conker
Perfect Dark
Battletoads

 

[KneeOfJustice99]

Halo: Halo, mostly just because I think it's kind of obvious - though Pillars of Autumn is also a really fun idea!
Blinx: Hourglass Caves, because honestly they do look pretty fresh and unique, I just felt Déjà Vu Canals could better represent the game's mechanics.
Fable: Bowerstone, though the Chapel of Skorm is a pretty neat idea that I think could be cool.
Banjo-Kazooie:

1. Treasure Trove Cove, because honestly it is decently iconic and memorable whilst not being a green field starting level.
2. Clanker's Cavern, because I think it'd still be a really unique one with a fresh and unexpected look overall.

Job #009:
Stage Name: Ferix
Stage Origin: Brute Force (2003)
Stage Franchise: Brute Force

An alien, forest-like planet with seemingly endless trees all the way to the horizon, Ferix is the home of the Ferals - a primitive, reptilian society of which Brutus is a member. The stage itself would take place on the platforms between trees built by the Ferals, as well as featuring a firefight down below with the other members of your team (Tex, Hawk and Flint.)

Stage Name: The **** and Plucker
Stage Origin: Conker's Bad Fur Day (2001)
Stage Franchise: Conker

A stage taking place inside the **** and Plucker with a general bar fight vibe, featuring various NPCs from Conker's Bad Fur Day amongst the background. You can leap atop the tables if you like, but the only way to K.O. someone is to blast them out of the door on one side. Would this be hellish in a competitive setting? Yes.

Stage Name: Air Force One
Stage Origin: Perfect Dark (2000)
Stage Franchise: Perfect Dark

The plane and temporary residence of the President of the United States, this stage would take place in the plane's interior. However, over time, the walls will be blown out to allow intruders to break in, and the stage can change depending on if the large table in the centre of the room has moved forward or not.

Stage Name: Turbo Tunnel
Stage Origin: Battletoads (1991)
Stage Franchise: Battletoads

The insides of a gigantic creature that happen to be home to one of the most infamous levels in video game history, this one would be a stage that scrolls horizontally on a scaled-up platform based on the appearance of the Speeder Bikes. On the background, the Battletoads are attempting to beat the level and repeatedly failing.

 

[Northsouthmap]

Halo
Hourglass Caves
Bowerstone

1. Treasure Trove Cove
2. Spiral Mountain

 

[Qwerty UIOP]

1. Clanker's Cavern
2. Spiral Mountain

Halo
Hourglass Caves
Bowerstone

 

[darkvortex]

Halo
Déjà Vu Canals
Bowerstone

1. Clankers Cavern
2. Treasure Trove Cove

Area 51
Takes place inside the infamous secret military base. It is a closed off stage, but with a few open doors and a roof area you can knock fighters off of. Takes place inside the balls of the base with computers all around.. There are weapons scattered around that can be picked up for combat and aliens cameo.

Wookie Hole
Based on an infamous level. Players dip down on a platform that travels down through the stage, you have to avoid projectiles and enemies that come from the two sides of the stage, as well as rocks that are planted through the stage. It's a more chaotic stage.

Bats Tower
Players fight in top of the tower. It's a grounded flat platform that players can throw their does off of and there is a round pool of water around the platform. Te clockwork boss form this stage appears in the background.

 

[ssbashworld]

Results

Everyone agreed on our Halo & Fable stage so Halo & Bowerstone have been added.

Blinx stage
1 Hourglass Caves 4 (added)
2 Deja Vu Canals 1

Banjo Kazooie stage

1 Treasure Trove Cove 8 (added)
2 Clankers Cavern 6
3 Spiral Mtn 1

Here are my nominees for new stages.

Honestly never heard of Brute Force before i did this thread & cant find a good source that lists locations so wont nominate anything meaning Ferix is in by default.

Poo Mtn (Conker)

A lot of good choices such as the Pub (nominated by KneeOfJustice99), Spooky, Its War, & Uga Buga but feel like we could see other series do something similar. Something like Poo Mtn is something I can only imagine Conker doing. Iconic location & boss fight (& song) with stage having a cameo by the Great Mighty Poo & Sweet Corn.

Holotraining (Perfect Dark)

Based on the vr training missions in the hub world. Feel like its an iconic location that could look cool & unique being upgraded through the years.

Colossus (Battletoads)

Havent played Battletoads in a long time & never made it too far but this ship seems familiar & could make for a great Corneria like stage.

Vote for your favorite top 2 stages for Conker, Perfect Dark, & Battletoads.

1 Poo Mtn
2 Bats Tower
(Other nominee is The C. & Plucker)

1 Air Force One
2 Holotraining
(Other nominee is Area 51)

1 Turbo Tunnel
2 Wookie Hole
(Other nominee is Colossus)

 

[darkvortex]

I added a conker stage to my submission sorry

 

[ssbashworld]

I added a conker stage to my submission sorry

No problem, adjusted original post.

Will also move job to this post since the other one seems a little cluttered imo.

Job 10 - Submit a stage idea for the following series (can submit 1 for each).

Age of Empires
Ninja Gaiden/Dead or Alive
Splinter Cell
Grabbed by the Ghoulies