Okay, since I’m all about the honesty, let me be frank – overall the reveals this week were a bit of a letdown. Sakurai seems to alternate between crazy weeks of reveals and ones where he plays it relatively safe, and this week was the latter. However, there were some pretty cool screens this week, and some new information came to light regarding Mii Fighters that has me chomping at the bit. Hell, I’m so excited I’ve already started crafting my own celebrity Mii avatars for when Smash releases in October! So, stick around and I promise things pick up in the last few screens!
Let’s get Smashing!
I had to do some research for Monday’s drug induced screen. I admit, I was not familiar with what game this was from, but thanks to some assistance from fellow staff, I discovered this strange area is from an arcade game called Pac-Land. It was released in 1984, and focused on the TV form of Pac-Man, and was side scrolling instead of the classic gameplay. For some reason, it involved him wearing a feathered cap with a fairy inside (not joking) and escorting said fairy to safety past ghosts. Then, at the end of the stage, the fairy is safely returned to the Fairy Queen, represented in this screen. I assume that means she will be a stage hazard in a new Pac-Land based Smash stage. Weirdness. And here I thought Warioware was the weirdest stage possible…
Tuesday was pretty basic, but I really liked the screen nonetheless. It showed off a regular tunic outfit swap for the venerable elfin hero, but it is essentially just a color swap. Still, Link is rocking it like only he can. Moving on.
I’m honestly not sure what the deal is with Wednesday’s screen. We’ve already had this stage revealed, and this doesn’t seem to bring to light any new details. Sakurai’s quote has me even more flummoxed – “The all-time classic Balloon Fight returns to the modern age, now playable with four players. This is only a small piece of this jam-packed game.” Is Sakurai saying there will be a Balloon Fight mini game? Or is he just referencing the fact that up to four players can battle on a Balloon Fight stage? Clarity is your friend, Mr. Sakurai!
I love Thursday’s post. First of all, this is an adorable picture. Second, I loved Nabbit in New Super Mario Bros. U. Lastly? He’s a stage hazard! “Here’s Nabbit, who appears in the Mushroom Kingdom U stage. You can’t see him, but Luigi is inside Nabbit’s bag.” Just like Luigi, to constantly get kidnapped by monsters. Oh, wait…
I know, I know. I’ve been fanboying out over the Mii Fighters, but that’s just cause I love the premise! Being able to make your own Brawlers really appeals to me, and with Friday’s revelation it is even more exciting – “Some of the physical characteristics of Miis get carried over when you use them as Mii Fighters. The smaller ones become speed fighters and the bigger ones are more akin to power fighters.” So now besides having 36 something permutations of movesets, we can also have small, medium and large Mii Fighters with different speed and power? I’m trying real hard not to drool over all the possibilities.
But that’s not all! We also have a great Character of the Week by Tyler Lubben that’s just what the doctor ordered!
Character of the Week
TYLER: I already mentioned before that Mario had been my main in Melee, but I did a fair bit of jumping around in that game. When I got tired of vanilla Mario, I’d trade in the overalls for a lab coat, and toss pills at folks instead of fireballs. One of the dreaded “clone” characters that plagued Melee, Dr. Mario played very similarly to the original, but with a few differences. Doc was a bit slower than Mario, and also couldn’t jump as high, but his attacks and pills dealt more damage than his traditional counterpart’s. It looks like all that medical training somehow made him stronger. I guess knowledge really is power.
While Mario was more fire-themed, Doc was strangely electrical in nature. This isn’t a huge shift, though, and is really only evident in their forward Smash attacks. Whereas Mario shot a small blast of fire, the doctor would hit opponents with his hand directly, which would then deliver a small shock. It’s not a huge difference, but the absence of the fire blast meant that Doc’s attack had a slightly smaller range, but also hit harder when it connected. Dr. Mario’s forward attack in the air, which I loved as Mario, was also changed. Instead of knocking opponents straight down, it would send them up and away. So, rather than a finishing move, it’s more of an attack to keep them from coming back from the edge. Doc’s cape attack, or the “Doctor’s Towel” as I called it, was also slightly bigger than Mario’s, so I greatly appreciated the increased range.
Here’s my thought: while I highly doubt that Dr. Mario will be taking a spot on the roster in the upcoming Wii U/3DS version, that doesn’t mean I think he won’t be in the game. On the contrary, I’d say there’s a pretty good chance we’ll be seeing him returning to the battlefield. As we’ve already seen, different character skins are definitely a feature of the new game. If this is any indication, there’s a high probability that one of Mario’s alternate skins could very well be the good doctor. Whether or not he’d be tossing pills or playing at all differently from the original remains to be seen. However, my gut says the changes would be purely cosmetic. Even so, I, for one, wouldn’t mind seeing Mario don the lab coat and head reflector once again. And, if it does make a re-appearance, I wonder if we’d see more like him.
