Though I may slowly be going insane waiting for Ness to be announced, Smashing Saturdays has kept up the momentum with surprising and fun reveals week after week! This week was especially fun, as it contended with new Assist Trophies, new outfits, more details about Smash Run and even an exciting new 3DS exclusive feature. If that wasn’t enough, we also have a great new Character of the Week by talented new writer Louis Polite!
Are you ready? Let’s get Smashing!
First off was this lovely screen on Monday. Classic Kirby foe the Nightmare Wizard joins the game as an Assist Trophy! But he does more than look cool and menacing. Once he enters the fray, he envelops the stage in temporary darkness, forcing characters to literally fight blind. Nasty. I love how he still looks as creepy as he did in his original appearance in Kirby’s Adventure. He was a stark contrast to the typical Kirby foe, and was a challenging boss to boot! Hopefully he will make as big a splash as an Assist Trophy.
Well, if Zero Suit Samus wasn’t a sexual object before, in her glossy catsuit, she certainly is now. This alternate outfit is a nod to the ending in Metroid: Zero Mission. Plus, it’s an excuse for her to look like she’s been hitting the gym. Fanboys rejoice! If that weren’t enough, she can also wear it in the 3DS version.
So Samus can keep her foes distracted in both versions of the game. Sounds legit. All that really matters is whether or not she plays well, and from what I have seen from gameplay footage, that won’t be an issue. And for those concerned she’s too hot looking, play armored Samus. Problem solved.
Unlike Tuesday, Wednesday was all about chests, and the myriad of treasures they hold. I’ll let Sakurai do the explaining – “The treasure chests that appear in Smash Run are very important. Not only do they give you stat boosts, but they also give you custom parts (the bag on the right) and Smash Run powers (the bag on the left). You should pick these up and use them in the next battle!!” He also had this accompanying screen.
Of course, it wouldn’t be Smash without random surprises, such as the Mimicutie from Kid Icarus: Uprising! These leggy dopplegangers are sure to keep you on your toes as you hunt for treasure. How can something so evil look so innocent?…
Thursday, a mere day after Hyrule Warriors showcased the gameplay video for Ghirahim, we got this screen. Alas, Ghirahim is not playable in the new Smash, but rather is an Assist Trophy. Which I guess is okay, but I really wish Sakurai would give us more playable villains. Most notably, I want Ganondorf back with a unique moveset, but I also wouldn’t complain about other baddies… Especially large, red, winged ones… Sorry, got off track. Moving on!
Once again, Sakurai saved the best info for last! Friday was a very large and involved post, contending solely with music in the game. I’ll post his quotes to save time – “The 3DS version has an excellent Sounds collection! The design looks nice for a sound test screen, doesn’t it? The font color for the “Remix” text on remixed songs comes in pink or white. The pink ones are songs arranged for this version of Super Smash Bros., while the white ones are remixes made in earlier Smash Bros. games. This means there are reoccurring songs from past releases.” Have I mentioned lately how much I love how organized and intuitive the interface in the new games is looking? The color coding is brilliant, but Sakurai had even more to say!
“Choose your songs and play with features on the bottom screen. You can listen to character voices, too. One of the new highlights for this feature is the “Play in Sleep Mode” option in the upper right. If you turn this on, you can listen to the tracks with your headphones even when your Nintendo 3DS is closed. The L and R Buttons will let you skip tracks. This means you can use it as a portable music player. Enjoy listening to the tracks you love by putting all songs in loop, shuffle, or selecting your favorite tracks!! In Smash Run, the background music plays randomly from the songs you select from the track list. This means you can customize your own song lineup!! Usually each stage has two tracks-which makes for a lot of songs on its own-but as a bonus, we’ve added more songs for you to enjoy in Smash Run and in the Sounds area. By the way, here’s another music announcement!! You can now listen to some of the tracks on the official website. We’re planning to add more tracks a little at a time, so stay tuned.”
Wow, that’s a mouthful. But so much awesome info! If you weren’t already excited about Smash, the fact that it is now a portable music player, with tons of iconic tunes from Nintendo classics, should make you ecstatic. But don’t leave yet! We still have a great Character of the Week by newcomer Louis Polite! Stay tuned!
Character of the Week
LOUIS: Can’t let you do that, Star Fox! Okay, okay, I had to get that out of the way early or else you would have been reading the rest of this with that quote in your head. Wolf O’Donnell is a villain from the Star Fox series (with his first appearance being in Star Fox 64) and one of Fox McCloud’s biggest rivals as commander of Star Wolf. Wolf is the classic cliché evil commander in a space opera, except in a furry universe. A furry evil commander. Wolf made his Super Smash Bros. debut in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. The refreshing aspect of his presence was it addressed the desperate need for more villains in the Super Smash Bros. series. Before this game, it was just Bowser, Ganondorf and Mewtwo in Super Smash Bros. Melee. What good are heroes in the game if they have no villains to fight?
It may play into your thoughts that, at the time of this writing, Wolf is not announced for the next game in the series.
At first glance you may groan and go “Sakurai, you added yet another clone of Fox? We already had to deal with Falco.” That’s definitely not the case as the second you use him, he feels and plays very differently from the other Star Fox representatives. First of all, he’s not a combo expert like his fox and falcon counterparts, (arguably even Fox and Falco’s similarities in Melee were heavily fixed in Brawl) he’s not so speedy when dashing, and his B-button moveset isn’t as accessible to use while still being somewhat similar. He’s more of a power game, which is quite unique for a character of his stature, because, for a lightweight character, he sure hits hard and deadly, and the fact that he still manages to keep up with fellow lightweight characters, yet hit almost as hard as heavyweight characters. It’s not even a case of being well-rounded like Mario, it’s a case of being uniquely adaptable. Some of his slight electric flare in his smash attacks may have to do with the fact that he can hit so hard without having to be a total large oaf. (Ahem, Bowser, Ganondorf)
Wolf is a pretty popular pick amongst competitive tourney players. A particularly nasty player can easily pick him up and get comfy with his speedy dodging and skilled with his blasting hits. It also won’t bother those kind of players that his long-range attacks are not so potent for immediate use. He’s also a popular pick for the furry community, one of the more personal reasons I like him. Star Fox has a colorful cast of characters as a Nintendo franchise, and much like Star Fox as a series is in need of more exposure as a whole, it’d be a shame for Wolf not to be in the next game. He’s Fox’s foil and representation of Star Fox characters does need to be there. As stated earlier, there are more concrete reasons based on how he plays as to why he’s a cool character and not just for fan service. Still though, come on, he howls for a taunt, like a wolf! You can’t tell me that isn’t adorable!
