I was surprisingly fond of this weeks’ Smash Bros. reveals. While it is true there were no new characters revealed, they did a good job of sneakily showing off new stages! Before I get into that, I just want to apologize for my confusion regarding Pikachu in last weeks Smashing Saturdays. I am not a big fan of the electric rat, so I probably haven’t been paying as much attention to him as I would otherwise have, and thus thought his screenshot indicated a reveal. In fact, he has been on the roster since the site has gone up. So for that, I apologize. But that’s enough of that. You all want to see some pretty pictures, right?
Monday’s screenshot was a curious one. At first, I was underwhelmed by it. I thought it was just a less exciting picture of the Galaxy stage that was revealed last week. Then I looked it over again. This screenshot is taken from orbit. Which wouldn’t be a big deal if this was Super Mario Galaxy, where bouncing from planetoid to planetoid is commonplace. However, as this is a level in the new Smash, I can’t help but wonder – does this indicate the Galaxy stage will have you traveling across various planets? If so, what is the method of conveyance? Can your Smash attacks knock foes to another planet? Or does it involve a more mundane method of transportation? Either way, I find myself more and more excited about this new stage!
Alas, poor Marth, I knew him well. Okay, all gloating aside, this is another screenshot that I initially dismissed. All it shows is Marth getting his butt handed to him by Wii Fit Trainer, right? Wrong. See, this week is all about the sneaky. Once I looked the pic over more carefully, it started to look very familiar. That banner and waterfall in the background are undoubtedly from Skyward Sword, a level I’m pretty sure hasn’t been announced yet. Regardless, I am looking forward to playing in a new Zelda themed stage! They have all been varied and challenging to play on in the past, and I’m sure this Skyward Sword level will be no different.
Ah, classic NES vs. SEGA action! First of all, I love Wednesday’s screenshot for this dramatic action scene. Secondly, I love it cause it reveals yet another new stage, obviously a Sonic based one. Not the same Sonic stage from Brawl, either, based off the windmill. Not sure which Sonic game this is taken from, but there is a high likelihood it is from Lost World. Granted I haven’t yet played Sonic’s latest adventure, but the more level variety the merrier!
Another fun one. Not much to be said about Thursday’s screen, other than I love these three classic Nintendo icons together. What I don’t love? Evidence that Peach’s utterly worthless Toad deflection attack is still present. Unless they did a lot more tweaking to make using that move more intuitive, I won’t be using it, as much as I love Peach. One more to go.
Finally, Friday’s screenshot is a study in contrasts. Stern Marth next to cartoonish, spastic Luigi was a good choice. Though this doesn’t reveal any new characters or levels, this does show that the new Smash is still focused on being fun and crazy. Here’s hoping next week has some new characters to show off as well as levels. In the meantime, take a gander at our latest Character of the Week written by our talented Editor, Raymond Dwyer!
Character of the Week
Raymond: There are two sides to any Super Smash Bros. game. At its core, it is a very unique fighting game that emphasizes fun over all else. The mechanics are not necessarily deep, but the precision with which those mechanics are applied can separate a novice from a master of the game. The other side of Super Smash Bros. is the labor of love towards everything that Nintendo has represented over the past few decades since they started making video games. This sentimental approach is also the reason why I almost always use Samus when I play any iteration of Super Smash Bros. It’s not because I believe she is the best fighter, or allows me to reach the limits of competitive play against others, but simply because Metroid is by far my favorite series of video games. Playing Super Smash Bros. as Samus is a way for me to relive small parts of that nostalgia, venting the passion I have for the series into the healthy practice of violently beating other gaming icons that are usually far more popular. Mario, Pokemon, and Zelda may win out in retail, but I make sure the Metroid series is the last one standing on the battlefield.
So I’m competitive, but it’s less about mastering skills and more about defending Samus’s honor. My play style is best described as aerial: I like to be evasive and strike competitors strong as they leave themselves open. This typically might suit characters such as Fox or Marth, and I have had good experience with them as well, but I’ve taken advantage of Samus’s floaty characteristics to make the most of her moveset. For example, the power beam is often used by players to harass distracted players from afar. However, I will charge the beam early and save it for a long period of time. I unleash it when the competitor’s guard is down, but my favorite moment to bust out the beam is mid-air at point blank range.
You could argue Zero Suit Samus is better suited to this style, even a superior overall character to an armored Samus, and you’re probably right. However, Zero Suit Samus is not the Samus I know from the beloved series she originates from. So I use the armorless version, but usually as a victory lap that I save for the end of the match. As a Samus enthusiast, I quickly mastered the ability to transform mid-game, and would do so during my competitor’s last stock while I was ahead. Many people I started a match with refused to believe it was even possible to transform during open battle, but I showed them. When you went against me, the sign of a Zero Suit Samus meant the battle was all but over.
