Blazing Fast! It's Always Darkest Before Dawn!

I don't know about you, but I still love my stupid, Anime-themed titles.

The Super Veteran - Sonic

Captain Falcon finally got overshadowed with The Fastest Hedgehog Alive showed up. Probably for the best, that guy really needed to be brought down a peg. You blow up a galactic arm ONE TIME and suddenly you think you're the world's mightiest champion. Anyhow, Sonic was the sort of "needed to happen" guest star once it was revealed that Solid Snake had broken the 3rd party barrier. And since Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games had already happened, it was pretty much a given thing that it was going to. And then it did! And he was pretty alright. They did his stage well, great music selection, and he wasn't half bad. He wasn't half great either, though. Really, for me, what it came down to was his signature moves. I loved his fighting style, and I loved his Up+B spring-jump. But the homing attack felt off, and the Jigglypuff style rolling dash felt weak.. and it was two moves? But not really? I dunno, just wasn't a fan. However, one Wii/DS exclusive title could change that: Sonic Colors.

Suddenly you have a whole arsenal of wicked special moves to pull out. A short-range laser dash, a crazy drilling move, turning into a rolling spike trap, and just all sorts of neon-colored powers to make him a bit more versatile and impressive on the field. And for an alternate costume, we have options. I know Shadow's popular but.. well I don't much care for him, and he's just a palette swap. no, I think the right idea is to go with Metal Sonic or Classic Sonic. Give him a bit of paunch, or robotisize him. Gives a bit more of a nostalgia spread, I think.

The Newcomer - Dark Samus

The knee-jerk reaction to Dark Samus is to make a Samus clone, and in some areas, that probably wouldn't be inaccurate to do. She could even have a (kind of creepy) Zero Suit Samus form. But I think there's a lot more that you could do. Sure we might have to make a few things up, but Dark Samus hardly acts like her (it's?) counterpart in any conventional ways. Sure they both have an arm cannon, but that's just for shooting. Samus isn't the only person who gets a charged-up power blast, anyhow. If anything I see Dark Samus being more of a Mewtwo clone, at least animation wise. It would always be hovering around the stage, rarely actually touching down, and it would be a much more floaty counterpart to our favorite bounty huntress. And fire on the Grapple Beam, our menacing duplicate would extend it's ethereal Phazon tentacles for grappling and recovery.

An alternate costume is kind of hard, since Dark Samus is kind of already an alternate costume. The only thing I can think to do is an SA-X costume that consists of us putting Dark Samus' moves and animations over regular Samus' model. Which I think is kind of neat, but aside from the scary all-white eyes, wouldn't be terribly differentiating. Maybe keep the mask visor that more Y-shaped to help tell them apart? Oh, and the Final Smash is an easy one. In fact, there's a lot of options. Basically we can go full Metroid Prime (the titular monster) and become a rampaging tank or an energy-draining tentacle monster. Alternatively, we can go the Corruption route and summon a giant Aurora Unit to wreak havoc.

Stage - Passaj

Golden Sun is, unfortunately, another one of my weak areas, so I don't terribly know much about the series. Please feel free to illuminate me on some great stage ideas, but just looking around, this place really caught my eye. I love the mountainous location, the old architecture, and the breathtaking background. That allow is reason enough for me to want Passaj made into a stage, but it's mountainous structure with numerous peaks makes it a pretty Smash styled local with places to fall off each side.

Don't get me wrong, I know enough about the series to know that Mt. Aleph is the most important local, but I can't really see much of a stage there. It's just kind of a mountain peak. Unless there's something about it I don't know from way later in the games, I'm just going to have to write that one off.

The Music of Passaj

Golden Sun: Dark Dawn - Theme of Golden Sun

I'm not going to pretend like I know these songs or have any real significant meaning behind them. I just think they sound neat.

Golden Sun: Dark Dawn - Boss Battle

Those folks at Camelot sure know how to make a wicked soundtrack.

Golden Sun: Dark Dawn - Saturos Theme

It occurs to me that the kind folks of YouTube who put up these videos might not have the right themes, so if I listed something incorrectly, I apologize and please let me know so I can fix it.

Golden Sun - Colosso Battle Theme

I don't know what a Colosso is; I just wanted to make sure I wasn't leaving out awesome music from the original game.

Golden Sun - Isaac Battle Theme

So that's pretty much one of the best RPG themes ever.

Golden Sun: The Dark Ages - The Golden Sun Rises

This song just sounded... important, so I went with it.

So that's it for today. Be prepared for this weekend - I'm going to be catching up on a -lot- of articles. By my math I'm roughly 7 or 8 behind, so I"m going to be posting over-time. Yay content! Let me know if I hit anything with this Golden Sun stuff, or if I missed anything dramatically obvious. One of these days I might have the time to catch up on the series.

-Make it a nice day.

A Boy and His Ape! The Hunt for Treasure!

Writing, writing; so exciting, 'citing.

The Old Ape - Donkey Kong

Another of the original Smash gang, Donkey Kong has been a great heavy-hitter. He's always had a decent range to help back up his muscle, which has kept him fairly effective, but I think a little more brute force and un-flinchable resolve might help make him a much more fearsome opponent.

His alternate costume should be a hammer-less Bonkers from the Kirby series. That might be a bit too self-referential for Sakurai-san, but that's alright with me.

The New Kid - Animal Crossing Kid

When you first look at the Animal Crossing Kid (shown above), you don't really think of anything for a fighting game. Look at him. He's just a kid, what can he do? To be fair to him, he wouldn't be the first kid to enter the Smash, nor the least assuming. I mean, if this guy can make it, AC Kid is golden. He's packing an arsenal of weapons disguised as harmless tools. That unassuming fishing hook is now his Up+B recovery/grapple. His Down+B throws a spherical hunk of dirt towards his enemies, much like the Diggin' Chargin' Chucks of Super Mario World. His held B can power up a sling shot that scatters and pings damage in a wide range in front of him. With Forward+B the Animal Crossing Kid will AX you a question, while chopping your soul in twain. Needless to say, there's stuff to work with, here.

His Final Smash is a bit tricky to figure out. Mr. Resetti is already an Assist Trophy, so how about we light things up instead with a Fireworks Show! It keeps the fun, festive nature that is evocative of the cover of Animal Crossing: Wild World, but can also set your opponents ablaze! Now that sounds like fun, doesn't it? Oh, and if you haven't noticed a running theme here, Animal Crossing Kid's alternate costume should be a female, and both of them should have an army of different shirts for their alternate colors (or maybe even HATS?!)

Stage - The Shake Dimension

WarioWare may definitely be the place for Wario these days, but we've already had a stage for that. Plus, this game has come out since the last Smash, so it's chronologically efficient. Plus, it's another excuse to put the puzzle-platforming geniuses of Good Feel back in the spotlight, so I'm all for that as well.

There's a lot of breathtaking locals in The Shake Dimension, the setting for Wario Land: Shake It. I think the vibrant jungle up above would be more than suitable enough; a Latin American flavor that hasn't yet been seen in the mascot fighter. Traps like falling blocks, rolling rocks, or even the entire stage shaking out of control could make this jungle trek far from relaxing.

Shake Your Groove Thang - The Music of The Shake Dimension

Wario Land: Shake It - Stonecarving City

This fancy little ditty is sort of 'The Wario Land" song to me.

Wario Land: Shake It - Gurgle Gulch

That "Good Feel" piano makes me feel oh-so good. Listening to the soundtrack to this game makes me want to play Kirby's Epic Yarn, and vice-versa.

WarioWare: DIY - Jimmy's Aerobics

We can't forget to include a WarioWare track, and honestly this is probably the best one they've ever made. Hands down, this is the one track that needs to be in whatever's next for Smash and given the "Ashley's Theme" treatment.

Dance Dance Revolution: Mario Mix - Starring Wario

A delightful remix of the first stage of the otherwise doldrum Wario World for Gamecube, this tune is a must have for any Wario level.

Wario Land 4 - Hall of Hieroglyphics

For as much as Sakurai-san tried to capture games at every point in the franchise with the music, Wario was pretty much overlooked on everything that wasn't WarioWare. Hopefully this time around we get a bit more celebration into all things Wario.

And I'm going to bed.

-Make it a good one.

Cartoons! Foreign Blades! A New City lies ahead!

The more I see of it, the more I want to buy a device to hook up SD cards to my computer solely for the purpose of checking out "Project M." (Now with Skyward Sword! It's actually a neat level idea that isn't terribly different than my own.)

Should Have Been Called Kid Link - Toon Link

If I had to give myself a main, a favorite, a go-to-guy, it would be Toon Link. He was designed to represent The Legend of Zelda's more colorful line of games, starting with Wind Waker and moving to the handheld with Minish Cap through Spirit Tracks. who was represented in Majora's Mask and Ocarina of Time. Toon Link was more floaty, and his fighting style differentiated in a few key ways to his adult counterpart, but in the end, they were mostly the same. Aside from my idea of transforming adult Link into a wolf and partnering him with Midna, I think changing up Toon Link to better reflect his own branch of the series is the best way to differentiate the two.

For starters, Toon Link has a wholly different series of weapons in his games that he could draw from. Sure, his adult counter part has come into contact with some of these, namely the snake whip from Spirit Tracks, but his brighter self had it first. Plus there's that gusty leaf thing. Okay so yes, some of these have some cross over with regular ol' Link, but the fact is there are tools that could be use to differentiate him. Or, we could just keep him the main Link and change make that Wolf Link change up. There's an interesting debate here, and I'd love to know what others think.

On a side note, I think we can agree that Toon Link needs a better Final Smash than the Triforce Slash. Calling in and directing Phantom Zelda or adorning the Fierce Diety mask from Majora's Mask would be better alternatives, I should think. Especially since his costume swap should be the more realistic Kid Link from said Majora's Mask.

The Unfortunately Named Newcomer - Shulk

This goes back into that weird second party category. Nintendo was the sole producer of Xenoblade Chronicles, but Monolith Studios made it. That said, Monolith has had a great working relationship with Nintendo, even being one of the main side-studios helping to make Super Smash Bros. Brawl. In my opinion, the studio has a good chance at having a representative in the newest Smash, and this guy right here is a good contender.

He fights similar to a rogue in World of Warcraft. All of his best moves are performed from behind or from the side while larger characters like Reyn are distracting monsters. With that in mind, this sword fighter could be a more lightweight rogue like character. Not quite the finesseful Marth, but not quite the basic Link either. It would be interesting, albeit potentially broken/worthless to have him do more power attacking enemies from behind. Perhaps a sort of teleport-slash that gives him something reminiscent of that ability without actually breaking him.

His Final Smash would likely be one of his 'limit break' type moves. You've played the game, you've already thought of some great ideas. For an alternate costume, I'm going to suggest his cohort Reyn's outfit, but I will neither confirm nor deny that I have ulterior motives behind such an outfit. Either that or an end-game tier of armor from Xenoblade.

Neo Bowser City

It's odd to me that Bowser has yet to receive a stage all to his own. Mario seems to get all of the stage designs; I mean, even Luigi got a stage before Bowser. With that in mind, I sought out to give the big bad his own place to call home. Now it took some thinking. The standard gray castle with flowing lava is indeed evocative of the Demon King, Koopa, but perhaps that's a little 'to easy.' We could just as easily have a Zebes style stage of floating magma and gray bricks with Dry Bones running about and be done. But I thought it would be interesting if we could also include the most recent Mario Kart 7 into the mix, thus bringing me to New Bowser City. Wait, wait, that was the wrong link. Try this one.

So rather than giving Bowser his own castle, we give him his own city. In some distopian future world where it's always raining, and where our fire-breathing foe is the lord of some serious tech. It's an interesting mix, and with a little artistic representation, I think it could really be a more ominous stage featuring Clown Copters shooting wind streams up (pictured above) and random slicks of oil spilling and causing pratfall effects that everybody hated so much in Brawl.

The Tracks of Neo-Bowser City

DDR: Mario Mix - Bowser's Castle

So I'll admit, I'm sort of cheating here. The actual theme to New-Bowser City is kind of really lame. So instead, I went with the amazing Dance Dance Revolution: Mario Mix rendition of his Mario Kart: Double Dash "Bowser's Castle" track. I find it much more suiting.

Super Mario World - King Bowser's Theme

A high-energy track just begging for a good cover.

Yoshi's Island - Bowser Jr. Battle

I love how ominous the tune starts out, and then kicks into some thrashing synth-rock. Just like his Super Mairo World theme, there is some great potential for a good cover here.

Super Mario RPG - Bowser Battle

Alright, so we have yet another Bowser battle theme, but they're just so good. This one is a remix of the Super Mario Bros. 3 battle that was brought to us in Super Mario RPG, a game which I and many like me are quite partial to.

Super Mario Galaxy 2 - Final Battle

I would almost prefer this song be saved for some battle with Bowser on Final Destination, because it's just so amazing. It's almost too amazing for a regular stage like Neo-Bowser City.

Paper Mario: Thousand Year Door - Rawk Hawk's theme

While keeping in the theme of Mario games, but taking a small diversion, I thought Rawk Hawk (a personal favorite character) had a great battle theme. It lends itself well to a stage where Bowser reigns. By putting this here I pretty much acknowledge the fate that my favorite character in Paper Mario will not be joining me in a new Smash Bros.

What characters have you come to terms with not being in a new Smash? Fill out the comments section below with your shining words!

Short circuited by the Scamp! Panic at the Holo-deck!

Another fresh batch of speculation and wishful thinking for your enjoyment.

The Vete-rodent - Pikachu

Ol' Cheap-a-chu. Favored by newcomers for his surprisingly devastating Thunder attack, and pinchable cheeks, this yellowed vermin makes everybody's lives just a little more difficult. I say it's time to nerf his cute little tail off. Bring him down a few pegs. And also give him more outfits for costumes, like his World Championship costumes.

The Newcomer - Bowser Jr.

More than just a simple Bowser clone, Bowser Jr. would be a devilishly delinquint addition to a roster of goody-two-shoes. Armed with a paintbrush and a temper the size of an air-ship, this little scamp could be an interestingly floaty-yet-heavy character. The paintbrush could act like a spear for most combat, but also serve to paint traps on the floors, or even open up a black hole as a Final Smash. Perhaps he could even have an ability that turns him into Shadow Mario, giving him a change-up in his move list and making him fight more like Mario. That kind of flexibility in his fighting style might help give him an edge, while never really being 'two characters in one' like Sheik/Zelda. Plus, it's canonical, so it makes sense.

For alternate costumes, I'm enjoying the idea of him being decked out in his Super Mario Strikers: Charged gear, which makes him look significantly more brutish.

Metroid Other M - The Bottle Ship

Few times, she's been around that deck. But she ain't no holo-deck girl. Metroid - Other M is the only Metroid game that's come out since the last Smash Bros., although Metroid Prime 3: Corruption was ignored pretty much entirely. With that in mind, I still felt that the hologram deck of the Bottle Ship could make for a unique stage. The stage could fluxuate from high-tech filled Jungle, to a desert landscape, or a snowy terrain. With this shift, similar to Pokemon Stadium, comes new platforms and hazards. While shifting it could look something like this. The idea is more about how this stage can be visually entertaining while remaining structured nearly identical. Besides, it's either this or we go for the easy answer of "the scene where you fight Ridley, adding in a couple of pass-through platforms, and making the space-dragon himself a stage hazard." It's not a bad idea, it's just the easy one.

Music for the Holodeck

Metroid Other M - Debriefing

Metroid fans of old will appreciate this callback to Super Metroid.

Metroid Other M - Ridley Batttle

People can say what they will about Metroid Other M, but if that game did one thing better than all the other games it was the Ridley theme.

Super Metroid - Upper Brinstar

A personal favorite from Super Metroid, I'm surprised it hasn't been used for Smash yet.

Metroid Fusion - Ishtar, Gedo Battle

A little love to my favorite 2D Metroid, Fusion's soundtrack didn't really strike as memorable in a lot of places, but when it did, it did well.

Metroid Prime 3 - Battle with Rundas

Excellent, excellent use of music for a battle. This song stands as one of the best battle themes in a video game, period.

Any Metroid tracks you feel I missed? What's your preference for a Metroid stage. I've got one more in my hat, so keep an eye out for it!

-Make it a good one.

The Captain, The Professor, and The Conductor.

Welcome to the first of a series of catch-up articles! I'll be hammering a few of these out this weekend, so sorry for the influx, but I hope you enjoy!

The Veteran - Captain Falcon

Mon Capitan has has always been kind of a weird character to me. I wasn't even really aware of who he was when the first Smash came out, due to my limited knowledge of the F-Zero series. So seeing this space-car pilot flipping and kicking up flames never really made any sense to me. Never the less, The Cap has Falcon Punched his way into our hearts, and for that we welcome him into a new game.

Kind of a weird idea, but hear me out. For his alternate costume, dress him up like the dude from the Mach Rider trophy in Super Smash Bros. Melee. Or maybe just his arcade Insert Coin screen.Kind of a super obscure reference, but isn't that why we love Smash?

The Newcomer - Professor Layton

This one is kind of tricky. I'm not quite sure where Professor Layton lies in terms of ownership. I know that the brilliant minds at Level 5 make the games, but I don't know if Layton himself is a Nintendo property. So honestly I have zero idea what the logistics of getting him into the game are. In the end, I suppose, if they could get Pokemon, who are technically owned by Game Freak, then it is possible to get Layton. He's got better chances then a total "third party" character, but I'm not sure how much better. Regardless! The good Professor is exactly what Smash needs; a brainy fighter.

"But Randy! He's just an archaeologist who solves puzzles! What could he possibly be doing as a fighter!?" you might be asking me, which is kind of weird since I can't hear you through the internet. But I'll answer your imaginary question anyway! But I will do so with another question. Does THIS (spoiler warning!) look like a man who doesn't fight? What about THIS?! Throw in a little Slot Machine-Gun for a few special attacks, and you've got the best thing Smash Bros. has to offer.

Rounding things out with a Final Smash that consists of a giant Ferris Wheel chasing opponents across the screen. An alternate costume could feature Layton from the old days, before he received his trademark top hat.

It's like a dapper Patrick.

Spirit Tracks Train

The idea for this stage is fairly simplistic at it's base. The battleground is the train from The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks on the DS. Little conductor Link guides the train on different paths throughout the region of New Hyrule, providing for neat background scenery, including the floating pieces of the central tower. It could even travel into the different regions for more variety! Other trains or Phantom Trains could creep up behind the train, providing extra platforms and causing the train's Canon to take fire to protect itself, providing a stage hazard. If we're doing a Toon Link style stage, this is easily the best way to do it.

The Tracks of the Tracks

The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks - Overworld

This has actually become one of my absolute favorite Zelda tracks. It has that sense of exploration and upbeat cheer that I just absolutely adore. It's a brilliant, brilliant piece that I wouldn't mind seeing put into some grand theme for a new Smash. Now, we could also just include the piece from the amazing live symphony. Here's the clip, and the rest of the CD for you to listen to.

The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks - Link and Zelda's Duet

Give this piece some full orchestration and a live female vocal, and I think you've got an amazing track.

The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap - Cloud Tops

Something needed to have that classic Zelda overworld theme, but I'll be honest, I'm kind of over it. There are better themes out there, and that one was played to death in previous Smash games. I'm sure it'll show up again, but I propose this as a unique alternative.

The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures - Log Bridge Fountain

This song features a pan flute, and actually sounds like it comes from Spirit Tracks. The quick beat is reminiscent of train tracks, while the overall melody is fanciful yet energetic.

The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass - Theme of Linebeck

One of the more unique characters in the Zelda series, I just figured Linebeck deserved having his own theme in the game.

The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask - Clock Town Medley

I leave you now with something a tad more unique. A medley of the Clock Town variations as done by Artificial Fear, a YouTube musician who has a penchant for metal covers of video game tunes. I found it rather enjoyable, so I decided to share.

I find that whenever I do these Zelda levels I end up spending an hour (at least) searching through a backlog of amazing music. Trying to pick the songs that have a balance of being instantly memorable and suitable for the stage is a hard act, but I always find it incredibly satisfying once it's all put together. That said, I would love to know what tracks you would love to see in a level like this? Fill up my comments section with awesome music.

-Make it a good one.

Of Mice and Wolves! Knocking on Death's Door!

I deeply apologize for the interruption, even if nobody but me noticed it. I've been stressed to the bone lately with work. That's not an excuse, just an explanation with a hope that you won't mind. This may be a silly pet project that I owe to nobody, but I still take it seriously. Thank you. Here's an amazing Kirby tribute I found to make up for it.

Veteran'd - Wolf

I was a huge fan of Falco in Melee, and Wolf was equally welcome in Brawl. I love that he's a powerful character without being heavier than a sack of steel bricks. I feel like his specials were a tad derivative of Fox's without being as awesome. I appreciate the gritty, low-tech style of his equipment, but overall I think he's due for a few new moves in whatever we get for a new Smash.

Alternate costumes, I'm thinking something more battle damaged, reminiscent of how he looked at the end of StarFox 64.

Newcomer'd - Daroach

I might be shooting a tad obscure with this one, but Daroach is the leader of the titular villains in Kirby's Squeek Squad. He's yet another not-always-bad guy, starting off as a thief of Kirby's believed cake and treasures. What he could bring to the Smash Bros. table is an array of roguish magic-tricks. Borrowing a little from Kirby's Ninja and Magic Hat powers, and combined with the few moves he displayed in the game, there's a lot of potential here to craft a unique character in the Smash roster. And a Final Smash summoning The Squeak Squad sounds delightfully dangerous.

His alternate costume could feature him dressed up like another Kirby villain, or even decked out in his own Epic Yarn attire. What would be really neat is if he had a Poppy Bros Jr. style bomb-throw, and he his alternate costume was Mouser from Super Mario Bros. 2 (Super Mario USA for our overseas friends).

Staged - Kid Icarus: Uprising

Sakurai basically created a new franchise in Kid Icarus: Uprising. Sure it's got some modern representations of those old sprite critters, but it's otherwise unrecognizable. It plays like Sin and Punishment, it looks like Smash Bros. Brawl, and sounds amazing. But we'll get to that last part. My idea for a stage takes place in the level with the Reaper's Castle as seen in "The Reaper's Line of Sight" It was one of the major shots shown off in trailers, and it makes an impact visually. If this entire stage was re-enacted, with a floating platform set-up instead of Pit actually flying, you'd have an amazing view while combating. Throw in laser beams and/or monster stage hazards, and you've got a fast-paced, frantic stage... perfect for Smash. And at the end of Palutena's 5 minutes of flight, the stage lands atop the castle to finish out any time it still has.

Music'd - Kid Icarus: Uprising

Kid Icarus: Uprising - The Reaper's Line of Sight

Dat opening... A fast-action, perilous, thunderous rendition of the Underworld theme, it's a great setting to the stage.

Kid Icarus: Uprising - Opening

It's so puppy-frolicking cheery, followed by a sweet guitar solo. I don't. This song is too good. My ears are unworthy! Sakurai really outdid himself with this game's soundtrack.

Kid Icarus: Uprising - Magnus and the Dark Lord

This is actually my favorite track in the game. It has this stormy weather vibe to it, combined with a 70's Anime sound, wrapped up in a delicious fully-orchestrated caramel that goes straight to the thighs of my brain. My brain thighs.

Kid Icarus: Uprising - Pandora's Labyrinth of Deceit

One of the more interesting levels, Pandora's Labyrinth was the moment I realized just how amazing this game was going to be. I wasn't on some sort of "this first level is awesome!" Mirror's Edge kick, this was the real deal. The soundtrack is... I'm just going to say reflective of the nature of this stage and leave it at that!

Kid Icarus: Uprising - Dark Pit's Theme

God yes, that Spanish guitar fills me with feelings. Dancing feelings that I want to shake, shake, shake out of my system. Dark Pit's kind of destined to be one of those uncommonly favored characters like Wolf, I think. Combined with the fact that this track was just amazing, I figured I'd leave it here.

I'm going to stop there. Not because I think it's a good point, but because I'd otherwise be just posting the whole soundtrack. Kid Icarus: Uprising may or may not be the most fun to play, but my God is that game just an absolute delight in every way, shape, and form. The story, the banter, the music, the visuals.. Sakurai is one of my favorite development leads for a reason.

What do you think, kids? Drop me a comment; I love to chat.

-Make it a good one.

Huff'N'Puffin: Running to Find Yourself!

I finally managed to pry my eyes away from this beauty long enough to write this. I really wish Nintendo would go out of their way this much for some of their games. I love stupid swag.

The Adorable Veteran - Kirby

Kirby, Kirby, Kirby: he's the star of the show. There's not a whole lot here that Smash fans don't already know, and personally, I don't see a lot of need to change much. Kirby's pretty 'baws', and always has been. I'd say if we updated anything, let it be his Final Smash. The Cook thing was cute, but I think between Mass Attack, Epic Yarn, and Return to Dreamland, our options have expanded. His Final Smash opportunities are, respectively; a swarm of Kirby's that overtake foes, a giant rocket-shooting tank, and busting out a huge honking sword to bust dudes up with. All of those sound really appealing, so please, oh please, take your pick. Perhaps a pack of sword-wielding mini-Kirby tanks that shoot rockets...

Kirby has two directions we can go with costumes. We can start giving him Hats to go with his color swaps, which I'm all down for (Mirror Hat Kirby! Tophat Kirby!) It's either that, or we go with Yarn Kirby. He'd have to have his hats re-stitched, and his powers re-fabricated, but I think it could work all and all. He's so damn cute!

The Potential Newcomer - N

It's easy to see why N might not be a favored character with some people... But there's a unique idea here. Rather than just being a Pokemon Trainer clone, N's mechanic revolves around him calling in Pokemon to help him. He has an aversion to keeping pocket pets locked in their little orbular prisons, so they'll either hang around him or be quickly summoned in with his special attacks. For example, his Up+B could summon an Archeops to carry him up a short distance. His Forward-B could Klinklang to do a beam attack, and his +Down+B could could summon Carracosta to protect him with his shell.

His Final Smash could be summoning Reshiram and/or Zekrom to drop some Fusion attacks on the stage. As for an alternate costume for this Sudowoodo-hugging hippy, I'm thinking maybe a more loose-flowing hippie outfit. We shall see if Pokemon Black/White 2 has any neat outfits.

The Stage of History - Find Mii

Perhaps not my strongest idea, but a stage set in the castle or kingdom found in Find Mii and Find Mii 2 could make a neat little stage. The ghosts and demons that haunt this fortress could be your stage hazzard while Mii's from your Mii Channels go scrambling around in the background. Simple, but cute.

The Music of Find Mii

Find Mii 2 - Dark Lord

This is actually a really cool piece. I like the haunting melody placed over a high-energy beat.

Find Mii 2 - Armored Archfiend

Another whimsical, but dire song.

Find Mii 2 - Save the World, Heroes!

Drama! Intensity! Combat! The clash of metal! The heroes sword! The villains claws! This is the sound of the history of battle! A hero needs victory, and the villain needs to not die! Other Soul Calibur-quality Lines!

3DS Menu - Friend's List

Jaunty, is really the only word I can use to describe this tune. Maybe peppy.

3DS Menu - Mii Maker

The classic tune is back!

3DS Menu - Shop Channel Theme

I mean, yeah, it's no Wii Shop Channel theme, but that's no fault of it's own. Not everyone can be the best. Still, it would make a more relaxing paced track for the stage, which could be a neat change of pace. It certainly wouldn't be the first.

Get ready. Another article is coming up soon. Any favorite Pokemon preferences for N? What hats should Kirby wear? Why is nothing ever going to be as good as the Wii Shop Channel theme?

Space Pirates ride Dinosaurs into the Colosseum.

Servers are down, so I figured now would be the best time to get this drawn up and posted.

Yoshi

Smash Bros. Brawl took the right measures towards making Yoshi a viable combatant again, so there really isn't much left to do with him. His Final Smash of going into all his Super Mario World powers was awesome, so the only thing left for our dino friend is an alternate costume. I was thinking maybe dress him up like Boshi from Super Mario RPG, and I still like that one, but a more unique costume swap would be turning him into a Dachora from Super Metroid.

Space Pirate

I'm not typically keen on the idea of throwing in generic characters into Smash. Even the Pokemon chosen are meant to be specific characters. But the Metroid series doesn't have the biggest list of named characters, so I decided that we'd go with a member of Samus' biggest enemy, the Space Pirates. They've got cool ranged firepower, up close thrashability, and a surprising agility. They would be very unique combatants in the field of Smash. Not to mention, they've already got costume swaps between their more 2D crab-handed selves, and the more intense Metroid Prime designs (Similar to the one above). I'm a bit helpless on the Final Smash, though. This would probably be one of those left field ones that Sakurai comes up with.

Pokemon Stadium 3

I really need to invest in a scanner. Stupid move coming up next month. I've got a lot of these stage ideas sketched out to give you a better idea of what's in my head. As soon as I can I plan on running back down all of these articles with them, but that might be a while. Oh well. Instead, here's a picture of the current Pokemon Stadium, and here's what I want to do with it: More elements!

Sure, I know, it's the safe bet. but a sequelized stage isn't such a bad thing. I mean, we can change up the background to the new Elite Four local from Black/White, but in the end, it's a big platform that shifts on occaision. GIven the Pokemon types that have been used so far...let's see what's left!

Ghost - The stage turns into a sort of haunted house with shifting and disappearing platforms. A real trick of a place filled with Gengars and Rotoms.

Steel - A towering series of metal buildings forming unique structures, perhaps akin to a personal Melee favorite stage Fourside.

Dragon - Dragon type Pokemon converging around an old japanese-style structure surrounded by water and rocks, akin to the Dragon's Den in Pokemon HeartGold/SoulSilver.

Bug - Tall grass crawling with creepy, crawly "NOPENOPENOPE!" type Pokemon, also helping to hide smaller combatants.

Psychic - Levitating platforms powered by psychic Pokemon, perhaps featuring a reduced gravity or floating panels to wall-jump along or block poorly aimed knock-out attempts.

Fighting - The stadium converts into a tatami-mat gym with wrestling ring ropes on either side that fighters can bounce off of. Perhaps training equipment such as Mr. Sandbag can be found scattered all over the place.

Poison - A treacherous cloud of haze that harms anybody who enters it by ticking up their damage counter floats around a sickly, swampy environment.

Dark - The lights go out in the stadium, as only a few Pokemon illuminate the platforms required for survival.

The Sound-scape of Pokemon Stadium 3

Pokemon Black/White - Team Plasma Battle

I thought Team Galactic would have the best combat music in Pokemon, but Team Plasma showed me wrong.

Pokemon Black/White - Legendary Battle

My favorite part is when the drum kind of slows down and then builds up. I don't know if there's a musical term for that, I never studied music that much. I just know I really like it.

Pokemon HeartGold/SoulSilver - Global Terminal

Trade Center rave, everybody!

Pokemon Platinum - Cynthia's Theme

I know i'm rather battle-heavy with the music this time, but I think this is a good stage for it.

Pokemon Gold/Silver - Battle with Red

Silver and Gold were snubbed in the previous Smash, so I think this time they deserve a little bit of a boost.

Gotta catch 'em all. What ideas do you have for songs or Pokemon stages? Drop a comment like a hot potato.

-Make it a good one.

A Bird's Life in the Kingdom: Starring You!

The timer is ticking on this one, as the gates of Diablo await... But for now, we Smash!

Veterans of a Feather - Falco Lombardi

The bird with a bad attitude from the StarFox series, Falco's always been a contentious member of the team. The cocky 'do-everything-myself' loner that you either love or you hate, nobody can deny that he gets things done. Shown here in his StarFox Assault attire, holding what I think would have made an interesting (and way less broken) Final Smash, Falco really received an update in Brawl. Despite the knee-jerk reaction to call him a clone, he actually fights very little like Fox, outside of having the same basis of Special Moves. That's where I think our pilot could stand to have his feathers ruffled; he needs to mix up his arsenal. I say we bust out some more firearms for him in the next game, with his Assault duds mixing up his costume with his standard leather jacket.

Fun fact I learned today about the cast of StarFox: did you know that they amputate their legs and replace them with cybernetic replications so that they don't lose the blood from their brain when hitting intense G-Forces? It's perhaps just a rumor, but here's some info on it.

The Newcomer - Mii

I can see why Nintendo wouldn't want to have Mii's as playable characters for a number of reasons. You have trademark issues where Zoidberg and Peter Griffin start showing up as combatants, you have to worry about penis-faces for online matches, and something about not wanting to have scenes of people beating up the cutesy avatars of their loved ones. Makes sense, and it's really a huge block against this actually happen, but I'm going to be really hopeful for a moment, so please indulge me.

I envision a game where the Mii's are combatants armed with just one thing... A Wii Remote. This Wii Remote becomes a weapon, however, transforming into Omni-Tool style replications of the items you're supposed to pretend you're wielding when you brandish one. Suddenly, the remote is an bow for firing ranged arrows, a laser gun with just a press of the B button. Perhaps it's a shield for defending one's self, or a sword for dicing. You could even pretend to roll a bowling ball across the ground like a Koopa shell, or turning into a grappling hook to save you from falling off the ledge. The possibilities are quite literally endless, and I think it's a unique little spin on an otherwise limited character.

The Final Smash is called the "Mii Parade!" It's just what it sounds like; a ton of Mii's break free from their plaza to stampede the screen and trampling your enemies underfoot. In lieu of alternate colors and costumes, what with the Mii's having their own colors from being imported, I recommend Hats, as featured in the Mii Plaza on 3DS.

And hey, while searching the internets, I found a flash Mii creator. So. Here you go!

New Super Mario Bros.

Filling the roll of the 'standard' looking Mario stage, you could grab the openning level to New Super Mario Bros. Wii. Peach's castle in the background, a big rotating hill in the middle, and some breakable blocks. Simple and effective. There's also the log ride in the poison lake, featured above, that was one of the game's more interesting treks. And as a Smash level, it could be provide to be a simple, yet perilous scrolling stage. The players stand on what boils down to be a Final Destination sized log, rafting down a Brinstar Depths acid pit. Various traps and blocks will occaisionaly swing by and make hazards for the players, keeping the stage from being more than a log in the mud.

Songs for a New Super Mario Bros Wii. stage.

New Super Mario Bros. - Athletic

The sort of obvious track, right?

Super Mario 64 - Credit Roll

I'm not sure why, but I've always just absolutely adored this theme.

Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door - Battle

Alright, we need a song you can actually throw-down to, and I think this is a pretty good one that doesn't forsake the style of the style of the level.

Super Paper Mario - Lineland Road

A lot of people didn't care for Super Paper Mario, and I can see why. It wasn't the strongest entry, but I thought it was an neat-o experiment in gameplay, and I admire trying something new rather than just remaking the same ol' game all the time. Regardless, there's no doubt that this game starts off strong, and Lineland Road accentuates that fact.

Mario Kart Wii - Toad's Factory

Not going to lie: I just really like this tune.

Super Mario Land - Muda Land

This song is so damned cheery! Keeping in line with slightly less obvious Mario songs, I think throwing this one into a stage for New Super Mario Bros. is the right decision in every way.

Alright! That's another done. We're moving through these pretty well. I could stand to have some more comments, though. I love bouncing ideas off of people. So if you're reading this, go ahead and drop me a line, I'd love to hear it. : )

-Make it a good one.

Psychic Warriors, Monsters in my Pocket, and the Fastest Stage on Earth!

I took a break from playing Binding of Isaac in celebration of Mother's Day to bring you this special bulletin. Now would be as good a time as any to point out that you won't be seeing any (directly) third-party characters in my listings, and deliberately so. The only exceptions to this are Sonic and Snake who are already through the door, and certain properties that appear only on Nintendo and would be considered to be "Second Party" properties, like Professor Layton. Back to adventure!

The Veteran - Pokemon Trainer

The creators of Project M found it useful to break apart the individual Pokemon of the Pokemon Trainer team into single characters to fill up their roster, and I think that's awesome... for a mod. Doing that in reality is filling up a roster of 35-45 characters with 7 Pokemon, and that's just too many. Pokemon Trainer was a great idea at shoving more characters into the roster with a unique mechanic befitting of the franchise they come from, so for the record, we're keeping that mechanic.

With that being said, I think it's also important to try and cram even more of the pocket-sized bastards into the game, and the best choice for this is with a good ol' fashioned Alternate Costume swap. Suddenly; Squirtle is Cyndaquil, Ivysaur is Bayleef, and Charizard is a Feraligatr that can arbitrarily hover around. Or perhaps Charizard is replaced by Empoleon? Squirtle is now Chimchar, and Torterra replaces Ivysaur. Basically, start pulling out some other regions. A small search found that somebody has already modded this in somewhere, at least for the Trainer himself.

I does want.

Isaac!

The Assist Trophies was a point of contention for people, and I think inappropriately so. I understand being upset that your characters of choice aren't playable, but considering they were scrapped, wouldn't being happy that they were still more prominently in the game be a good thing? A lot of characters, love them as I do, are not fully roster material. Jill from Drill Dozer has two moves; drill and jump. But there was one character that I would have placed money on being playable, and I was shocked to find him show up as only an Assist Trophy; and that's obviously Isaac from Golden Sun.

He's got two games to pull a multitude of abilities from, and unlike most sword fighters, he has his Psyenergy to give him some interesting ranged abilities. From the physics based Move to an array of Summons, there's just so much they could have used. I feel like he may have been cut last minute and turned into an Assist Trophy to keep him involved, but that could just be me projecting. In either case, I really would like to see him as playable in the next game. Nintendo's new IP's have been fairly slim in recent years, with Pikmin being the most recent that received a slot in Smash Bros.'s roster. Isaac would be filling a desperately wide gap.

Do a character swap with the hero of Golden Sun: Dark Dawn and his final smash could be the spell Ragnarok, bringing a flaming sword down upon his enemies.

Stage: Sonic Colors - Tropical Resort

Provided the Blue Blur returns for another round of fisticuffs with Nintendo's all-stars, I think a more Nintendo-specific stage wouldn't be a bad choice. So the perfect choice was Tropical Resort from Sonic Colors. Partially, I just absolutely love the visual style of this stage. I'm a sucker for photoshopped wallpapers of spacey planets in the background of tropical beaches, and I also like neon colors. Really, everything about the setting for the iconic Sonic Colors stage just stuck with me. Oh, and I also like twangy surf music, so that also helped.

I hope you guys like music. There's a lot of it. The idea was to try and catch a mix of songs that have happened since the last Smash and versions of songs from Sonic Generations that I think deserve a spot.

The Music of Tropical Resort

Sonic Colors - Tropical Resort

Being that Tropical Resort is the stage... makes sense, doesn't it?

Sonic Generations - Green Hill (modern)

Not including this would be like not including World 1-1 in a Mario collection.

Sonic Generations - Stardust Speedway: Bad Future

It was a tossup between this and Palmtree Panic, and this had a remix, so I went with it.

Sonic Generations - Casino Night Zone

Yeah, that's 30 minutes of swanky Casnio Night Zone for you. You're welcome.

Sonic Generations - Super Sonic Racing Remix

Autotune rules my soul, I can't help it.

Sonic Generations - Biolizard ~ Support Me

A great battle tune made even greater with this 3DS exclusive Sonic Generations tune.

Sonic Generations - Rooftop Run (modern)

I could just as easily call this Sonic Unleashed but... well one of those is a good game. (It's not Unleashed.)

Sonic Generations - City Escape (Classic)

City Escape is one of my favorite songs. Period. It was at the right place at the right time in my life, and it holds a huge spot in my heart. I'm not saying it's the best, mind you, but I love it. Well this version played on that, my love of classic electronic tunes, and my love stupid auto-tune, and just kind of sucker punched me in the heart.

Sonic Generations - Water Palace (modern)

Back to back, this song isn't half bad. Another 3DS exclusive, this time borrowing from Sonic Rush on the DS.

Sonic Colors - Reach for the Stars

A sappy but awesome tune, the theme to Sonic Colors. Or Colours if you're some kind of monster.

I hope you enjoyed that overload of amazing music rocking you to your chocolatey centers. I ended up having to cut my list in half just to get down to those 10. What are some of your favorite songs, my suave and sensible reader? The comment place would be a great place to express yourself, you know. You should give it a shot.