Well, this week has definitely made up for last week. Sure, there were some sneaky and confusing pics that intrigued me last week, but this week completely outdid it with some really compelling new shots and one BIG reveal. I won’t spoil it here, but Friday was an exciting day for Smash fans. Besides that, we have our usual crazy commentary as well as a great Character of the Week for all you Fire Emblem fans out there. So enough chit chat – let’s get Smashing!
The more I learn about Rosalina and Luma, the cooler they sound. Monday treated us to this lovely pic, as well as some info about one of her moves. Her down B will apparently be called Gravitational Pull, and will suck up items and weapons alike. This could make her a real powerhouse, allowing her to disable her foes. I did find it funny that Sakurai hedged that the name is tentative, probably figuring all you sickos out there would give it a different meaning. Shame! (Not really.) Moving on.
I really enjoyed Tuesday’s screen for a couple of reasons. First off, it shows Marth being comically dragged into the sky. I never tire of the blue swordsman getting his comeuppance. Secondly, it reveals a new item from Skyward Sword, the golden mechanical Beetle. I hadn’t been too impressed with the other new items revealed previously, but I adore chaos causing ones like this. In previous games, I also enjoyed the Bumpers and Curry. The crazier things get, the better Smash is!
Okay, I know I’m probably overreacting, but I got all kinds of excited over Wednesday’s pic. I don’t know if this is from the same stage as the Kid Icarus one revealed last week, or from a Wii U exclusive one. Regardless, it made me wonder if we might get more Kid Icarus representation on Nintendo’s latest console. Perhaps a game in the future — obviously not by Sakruai himself, since he already said he was done with the series. Or maybe something more exciting? There have been rumors floating around about Palutena possibly being a playable Brawler, and this reveal seemed to coincide with the timing. I may be a suspicious guy, but that doesn’t mean I’m wrong. Guess we’ll have to wait and see.
Thursday was pretty darn cool. Don’t you just love this dynamic angle? It also proved interesting, as Sakurai’s post spent a lot of time talking about how the arrows fired at the same time would cancel each other out, and how there are many elements that further affect such tactics in the game. If nothing else, it shows me that they are doing a good job to avoid carbon copy gameplay elements, which is a good thing.
Okay, I warned you above that Friday was exciting. Below is proof!
Lucario is back! Though there had been some speculation that perhaps Mewtwo might make a triumphant comeback, sporting his Mega form. Looks like the Aura Pokemon stole his thunder! I am perfectly fine with that, especially since Sakurai promised they powered up his Aura ability to make him even more dangerous. I always loved the idea of a Brawler that got stronger the more damage they took, and if his Final Smash is improved, Lucario might finally be a force to be reckoned with. I am still holding my breath waiting for Ness and Yoshi to be revealed, but I was happier than I expected to see the return of this epic Pokemon.
And if that wasn’t exciting enough, next you’ll find a Fire Emblem Character of the Week by our lovely resident Aussie and Editing Manager, Charlotte Buckingham!
Character of the Week
It is well known amongst my friends and longstanding members of staff that I have something of an obsession with Ike. So much so, in fact, that I very nearly bought a lifesize cardboard cutout of the manly hunk when I was in year 10.
Though Ike was not one of the best characters in Brawl, he is by far the one I have the most fun playing as. In Brawl, Ike is powerful, but slow, and it’s not very hard for a good player to see what he’s going to do next. This is largely the reason he never gets far in tournaments. But I just love knocking people around with his attacks; landing a smash attack can kill light characters at 25% (I have done this before). It’s also lots of fun getting people with a counter; I won a tournament match with that once. Two Ikes on Delfino Plaza, final life, 150% +, won with a counter. Good times.
If Sakurai made him like Intelligent Systems did, however, Ike would arguably be one of the best in the roster. In his own games, Ike has incredible speed and power, making him one of your best units in Path of Radiance and Radiant Dawn. In fact, my enjoying Ike so much in Brawl was what got me so much into the Fire Emblem series in the first place. I found and played Radiant Dawn, my first Fire Emblem game, backtracked to Path of Radiance when I found it, and then acquired more of the English games. Fire Emblem is now one of my favourite series’ of all time. It makes me a little sad to think that Ike is unlikely to be in Smash 4, as he’ll probably be replaced by Chrom; the first and the latest Fire Emblem heroes seems to have been the general pattern thus far.
In addition to his strength, Ike is in possession of incredible kindness and selflessness. I love the way he treats everyone equally, be they peasant or royalty; when he meets the empress of one of the countries in Path of Radiance, he promptly gives her a good telling off for mocking his employer for her own amusement. This is also a key point in his games, as he lacks the racist attitudes many of his fellows hold towards those with the ability to change form into animals.
Aside from all of that – dude wields a two-handed sword with just one hand at the age of 18. How awesome is that!?
