Ike Have Fury! Push to the Top!

The Smash. Train breaks for nobody.

The Veteran - Ike

He fights for his friends! The strong-armed swordsman of Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn for the GameCube will likely make a second appearance in the fourth Smash Bros. title. That is, unless, he's destined to meet Roy... but that's not terribly likely given his completely different fighting style.

I think if Magnus doesn't end up being a playable character, Ike would do well to have a Magnus costume to swap into.

The Insidious Newcomer - Fawful

Oh, the CHORTLES! I imagine Fawful, of the Mario and Luigi RPG series, fighting kind of like M.O.D.O.K. in Marvel vs. Capcom 3, in that he'll be big on hovering around and setting traps and fighting with ranged abilities. He doesn't seem like one for punching, so much as lashing out in with (literal) lightning fists. And what better way to become the mustard of your doom than with a Final Smash consisting of him absorbing the Dark Star's power and going berserk. He has fury, and it will be felt. Honestly? I have nothing for an alternate costume, so let's just move on, shall we?

The Stage! - Pushmo

When I originally started thinking about a Pushmo stage, it just involved the little red sumo guy (pictured above) moving parts of the stage around and forcing the battle to ebb and flow along it. But then I had a much more grand idea: turn Pushmo into the new scrolling stage, akin to Rumble Falls. The idea is that the little sumo dude is pushing and moving blocks and climbing along at the bottom of the stage, while redirecting the platforms that the combatants have to bounce upon. There could be cute little NES Sprites formed in the blocks along the way, and as the stage gets higher, it just goes into space until finally reaching an ever-shifting pinnacle. There could even be some other Nintendo cameos in the background; the Mario Galaxy Faceship in space, or some goonies flying by the sky.

Songs to Push by

Pushmo - Challenge Song

The obvious theme for a Pushmo stage is, well, the main song you'll hear while playing Pushmo! It's a cheery, yet perilous song. It's very reminiscent of a carnival scene, with some 8-bit sounds peppered in because "why the hell not?"

Sakura Samurai: Art of the Sword - Theme

Another delightful and relaxing stage, that if properly re-tuned, could be an epic ballad to Smash to.

Mutant Mudds - 1-1

So this isn't a Nintendo game, but at this point I'm trying to play up a "Best of the eShop!" soundtrack for this stage. With as many good games as there are now, I can only imagine how many more there will be by the time we get a new Smash. This track comes from Renegade Kid's Mutant Mudds, a retro-platformer that just rocks.

VVVVVV - Positive Force

It wasn't originally even on the 3DS, but VVVVVV is one of my favorite little gems, and it WAS an eShop download, so I'm counting the brilliant tune Positive Force for this little set list. I would love to ascend a tower of shifting blocks to this tune. Times like this I wish I was a developer so I could just make this myself...

Mighty Switch Force - Caught Red Handed

Not-quite dubstep, but definitely some bass-filled electron-goodness never the less, this select track from puzzle-platformer Mighty Switch Force makes me wonder how big-box games don't have soundtracks as amazing as WayForward's games.

Man. So much good music in the eShop selections... Any favorite tracks from there you'd like to see included? Comment below and let me know. Oh, lordy, that rhymed. Why am I leaving it like that? What's wrong with me?

Psychic Warriors and the Towering Fortress!

This one's going to be kind of short. I'll be frank: I'm not dealing with subjects of my expertise. I've never had a chance to play Earthbound, I haven't had time to finish Kid Icarus: Uprising, and I've never finished a game of Fire Emblem. That said I've got something I feel is insightful on all 3, but what I would really love to see is some input from other fans of the respective items. I know you're out there, give me some advice here!

Ness

The PSY-Boy Wonder will be making an obvious return, but at this point, I'm kind of stumped as to what we want to do with him. I honestly cannot come up with a thing, so if any of you hardcore tourney types want to pitch in with some balance issues, I'd love to hear about them!

What I can do is talk about an alternate costume idea: Mike Jones from StarTropics. I've pondered putting Jones on here as a character himself, but in retrospect, he fights exactly like Ness; with a baseball bat, a yo-yo, and even the occasional psychic power. Rather than throwing a clone out there, I think it just makes more sense to go this path.

Magnus

The hero of the human realm in Kid Icarus: Uprising, Magnus is an imposing figure. The obvious problem we run into is that he's "just another big sword fighter." True, and honestly there's not a lot to go off of in terms of super specific signature moves. But as I occasionally do: remember that Captain Falcon was a head in a car before Smash Bros. developer Masahiro Sakurai transformed him into the Falcon Punching, Falcon Kicking tour-de-force that he is now. Plus, he is one of Sakurai's characters... so... You know, I'm just tossing out here that it's actually kind of likely.

You've got me on a Final Smash, but hey, they pulled Luigi's out of damned nowhere, so sky's the limits etc. etc. A cool alternate costume would see him dressed up as a warrior of Palutena; that being either some paladin armor or something with flowing robes like Pit.

Fire Emblem - Begnion

Look at that tower concept art. That sounds like a perfect level design. I love the coloring. Throw in a dramatic scene like a dragon attacking, warrior's clashing on the roof. Sounds like a perfect Fire Emblem stage to me.

Fire Emblem Stage Soundtrack

Fire Emblem - All Normal Battle Themes

The Fire Emblem franchise has some amazing battle themes. So to kind of mix it up again this time around, I found a video that I thought would be a more perfect representation of what I want to see out of a stage themed around all these swords and dragons. Featured in this video is the battle theme from every Fire Emblem game lined up back to back for 15 minutes. It's quite an interesting journey through some really unique sounds. If you have any favorite Emblem tracks, leave them below, I'd love to hear them!

-Make it a good one!

Mad Scientist's Balloon Experiment Gone Wrong in the Old, Snowy Hills!

I just wanted to take a time out here to thank you for reading this, and any of my posts thus far. Life's busy and there's a lot to read, so it means a lot to me that you take time out of your day to even give my articles a glance.

The Veteran - Jigglypuff

Man. So. Look, I don't know here. I think Jigglypuff is fun to play, and I think (s)he brings a unique "so cute!" dynamic to the roster that helps keep this a fleshed out character selection screen for all sorts of people. I just don't know what else we can do with her at this point. I would need to have a new mechanic to toy with. I just think it's important that we bring her back is all. I mean, if any Pokemon has to go to free up space on the roster, I think Jigglypuff is first in line, I just hope it doesn't come to that.

Instead of a normal 'alternate costume,' I say we just give her 5 more hats. Because whenever I play Jigglypuff, I just want to look at her wearing hats. Do I go with the little flower in her tuft of hair? Or do I go with the female Pokemon Trainer? Pft. The answer is simple. It's the only correct answer: I go with the sunhat with the blue ribbon. Done.

The Potential Newcomer - Professor E. Gadd

Here's an interesting dynamic that I'm sad Nintendo kind of left behind in the Gamecube era. Professor E. Gadd was a great excuse to provide new and interesting gameplay mechanics to existing characters. It's kind of a shame he hasn't been around to do that more often, and more so that he hasn't been given his own crazy mechanic-filled game. Well I think a new Smash is a perfect time for him to shine.

What we do is we take all of his known gadgets and gizmos, namely the Poltergust 3000 vacuum, the F.L.U.D.D. water canon, and his magic paint brush, and we give them to him as weapons and abilities, switching on the fly. A down+B could find him pulling things close with his vacuum to shoot them out, or sucking up items similar to DeDeDe and Kirby. An up+B could have him firing the F.L.U.D.D. downwards to propel upwards and onwards; a recovery move similar to R.O.B.'s. He could fight with the paintbrush like a sort of sword, and his B move could leave paint marks that act as traps on the field. Maybe this whole thing could just be a robot controlled by E. Gadd, because it does seem kind of weird beating up on a geriatric professor, but you get the idea.

For a Final Smash, the good Professor could bust out some crazy new contraption or combine all of his into a super-weapon. Really there's no one thing that would work, but any sort of amalgamation of technology would be exactly what we need. His alternate costume, provided he himself is the fighter, could be like a robotic-version of himself, or him in some sort of goofy armoring. Think about it.

The Stage - Danger! Icy Conditions Ahead from Yoshi's Island

What it comes down to with this stage is that, visually, it's one of my favorite's from Yoshi's Island. I absolutely adore the palette used on this stage, and wouldn't mind seeing it in a full-fledged stage. Some neat stage hazards could include rolling balls of snow or avalanches, or some of those pesky Goonies flying around. Now, maybe, we're getting a bit too close to Ice Climbers territory here, or maybe we could put them together. I don't know. What I do know is that if we're doing some sort of music-mixture, there are a lot of cool ice themes from throughout other games that could go here. It's with that in mind that I'm going to deviate from my normal music selection a bit here. First, a couple tracks from Yoshi games that would work, but everything else will be excellent "Snowy level" related music. I hope you enjoy this mixing it up.

Music to chill to

Yoshi's Island - Underground

The reason I selected this music has more to do with the fact that it could be remixed in such a way to be a very good, icy theme. When I hear that sort of sparkling sound, I imagine ice in the distance. It's a cool song, and in the right hands, could be more than fitting.

Yosh's Story - Alpina Blue

So yeah. That's just a perfect fit so let's move on.

Kirby's Epic Yarn - Cozy Cabin

I've already used "Snowy Fields" elsewhere, but let's assume that we can also use it here. Just in case, I've also provided the theme "Cozy Cabin" from Kirby's Epic Yarn, because of the inviting tone it has. It's warm and comfortable, without being boring and uneventful. If anybody should make a proper Yoshi's Island sequel, it's the people at Good Feel.

Mother - Snowman

It was featured in Brawl, but I think bringing it back for a more appropriate stage like this would be quite ideal.

Super Mario Bros.3 - World 6

This is going to get old after more than a minute, but I have heard some really awesome drum and bass remixes of it in the past. Perhaps a bit dark for this otherwise cheery stage, but something to mix it up isn't necessarily a bad thing.

Super Mario 64 - Cool, Cool Mountain

At night... I can still hear the penguins. Screaming. When will the screaming stop? When?

Donkey Kong Country - Ice Cave Chant

Still one of the best songs that has ever been recorded by human hands.

Twilight Princess - Snowpeak

Another one of the more subdued themes, but still one of my favorites from Twilight Princess. It helped that I was living in Michigan at the time, playing this game in the dead of winter. It really left a mark with me, and ties me back to another time. It's hard to believe it's been almost 6 years.

I hope I didn't leave you.. out cold.. with that mix up. If you were preturbed, I hope you'll manage to.. stay frosty.. with me as we move forward. I just hope we can all.. chill out.. and talk about Smash Bros. ideas. I'd see myself out, but this is my blog and I have no where else to go.

What are your favorite chilly tunes? Leave me some links below, I love to hear them.

-Make it a good one.

The Kappa and The Witch! Unforgettable Vacation on the Island of Laughter!

Hail to the Returning King: Bowser

The devilish King of the Koopa Clan. The biggest, baddest bruiser of 'em all. The Turtle who fails and fails again, bound to an eternal destiny of failure. It's easy to find Bowser the sympathetic character, honestly, but he doesn't want your sympathy.

He wants your women.

But if the existential quandary that was the ending to Mario Galaxy taught us anything, it's that he will never succeed. He has a similar problem in Brawl. He's so damn slow, and has such poor range that playing him is hardly viable. Which sucks because he's actually fun to play. He does everything you would want a Bowser character to do... Unfortunately, true to Bowser's sake, that also means he's going to lose pretty much all the time in the grand scheme of things.

Honestly I think there's one thing that could improve the behemoth's on-field capabilities a great deal: make him unstoppable. Now I don't mean just give him a power star and let him go nuts (donuts), I mean make it so his attacks, slow and cumbersome as they are and should be, cannot be stopped. It was an element Sakurai tapped with Ike primarily in Brawl, but I think Bowser needs some more of that too. He's easy to fight from any sort of range being as gigantic as he is, so let him soak up the damage while he's attacking, but give him a chance to attack. His biggest flaw is that it's so cripplingly easy to dodge and cancel him out of any attack that it's hardly worth doing anything other than stealthing up to a conflict in progress. And have you ever tried stealthing with a 10-ton tank? It isn't easy.

Alternate costumes... let's see... How about give him a color scheme/slight redesign to fit the way he looks in the Mario and Luigi RPG series. Either that or the super terrifying design he has in Super Mario Strikers: Charged (pictured above for it's sweetness.)

Hey, Ashley, what'cha playin'?

Everyone knows she's the greatest. So why isn't she in Smash yet? Serving as another member of the Wario stable, Ashley could bring some much needed love for disgruntled teenage ladies the internet over! Plus, another caster, because there honestly isn't enough magic going around this game. With her powerful wand, this girl could hocus-pocus all over the place.

I'm thinking some magic spells that could involve causing random WarioWare related items to summon up and shoot across the screen if we want to get really weird. If we want to stay simple, she could just summon up some fireballs or shoot some ghosts around. She's got an evil little demon buddy who could make some great mid-range attacks. Really, we're using magic, and the imagination is the limit, so let's just go with it.

I've got some Final Smash ideas. Oh do I have some ideas. So this one's a little simple. "Pantelonus Giganticus!" and a giant plant monster bursts from the ground, flailing all over the place and murdering anyone that comes near. Simple but insane, but I think I have something to top that. She disappears, and then suddenly goes all "The Ring" or "The Grudge" on the screen, her hair covering her face as she acts all ghosty and just floats around the screen doing harm to individuals she gets near. But in like a cute, goofy, Ashley sort of way. Granted I think her hair should just be a weapon anyway, so that's where I'm drawing that from.

And if we had to give our sweet Ash an alternate costume, how about something like dressing her up as Mona. She'd love that, I'm sure.

It's not a question of where, but when: Wuhu Island

I can already hear somebody out there groaning, but let's face facts. Like it or not, Wuhu Island isn't going anywhere, and it's going to be a stage in any future incarnation of Smash Bros. We can't escape it, it's happening, so just bite down on the pillow if you don't like it. Me? I"m bracing for impact, because I rather like the island.

Now, there's a -lot- of potential with this island. There are literally too many locations to choose, so I foresee this being a level where travel is involved. Whether it's a floating platform that flies around like Delfino Bay in Brawl or a flying bus/blimp platform like Mute City, I have no idea, but it's either some crazy travel around the island or multiple stages revolving around it. It's just too big.

Songs that make you go "Wuhu!"

Wii Sports Resort - Theme

So I heard you like awesome fucking music. Well, then, you're in luck. Because if this song doesn't rock your god damn pants to the ground and leave you a puddly mess of your former self, then I don't know how you call yourself alive.

Mii Plaza - Puzzle Piece Swap

I'm not being mean. I'm not being sarcastic. I legitimately adore this song with every fiber of my being.

Find Mii - Battle Theme

To mix things up and give an actual battle theme once in a while, I thought this would be a neat addition.

Face Raiders - Final Battle 1

So, I'll admit that I haven't touched Face Raiders since the 5 minutes I played it over a year ago, so I was unaware that it actually has a pretty boss soundtrack. This song, may in fact, be too awesome for this level and just might need it's own place as a final boss theme in Smash Bros.

Wii Party - Jungle Game Board

So I find this to be a rather rousing track, perfect for a Smash stage.

Wii Fit - Get in Shape

I can still hear that little balance board taunting me. I hate it with the passion of a thousand rednecks at Cher concert in North Carolina. (There's a little political humor for you. Don't expect that often.)

I could talk about how awesome Nintendo's music has been for it's Mii-centric games for the past 6 years has been, but I really do need to sleep at some point, so I think we'll call it there. But if you have any favorites, by -all- means, please let me know below!

-Make it a good one.

Who says evil doesn't have rhythm?

Big wheels keep on turning.

Veteran - Ganondorf

It's time that Ganondorf stops being a Captain Falcon clone. It barely made sense from the beginning, and it should have stopped there. He has a taunt where he pulls out a sword that he uses in the most pivotal fight in Twilight Princess and then he PUTS IT AWAY! I don't? What? No. No more of that. That's why I propose not one but TWO alternatives. The first, is clearly visible above: we acquire Wind Waker Ganondorf.

Personally, this was my favored design of the Demon King. It shows a sort of age and wisdom that Ganon has accrued over his seemingly eternal life span. He's no longer the brash, destructive youth. He's a more calm, calculating sort of menace. But when things get down to it, he can thrash with dual blades and a reserved agility. That's the kind of fighting style I want to see him carry into the next Smash. We don't have a true dual-blade fighter, so he'd also be filling in a relatively fresh spot. He could have special moves that include a powerful magic sphere that he throws at enemies. If properly timed, perhaps they can bounce it back, and fighters can re-enact the classic Ganon-Link game of tennis. (Side thought: When will Link and Ganon get to show up in the Mario Tennis series? Isn't it time we turned that into Smash Tennis? Anyway...) For a Final Smash we could see him summon the Helmaroc to terrorize the screen, or a small cadre of his Puppets who just start tossing energy orbs all over the place. And for an alternate appearance, what's not to like about a Zant costume to fit those giant sleeves?

Alternatively, why not ditch the whole Ganondorf idea and go straight to Ganon, the big blue beast. Give him a Bowser re-sizing, and make him a heavy character who fights with a trident and magic to mix in some range for his otherwise slow speed. Firey trails of bats, a forward-B teleport (complete with SNES sound effect), and a disorienting ground stomp are just a few of the ideas I have for the pig-monster's arsenal.

Potential Newcomer - Sylux

It's obvious that we're overdo for some more Metroid characters, and I think Sylux is a great choice. He's a popular hunter, he can have his own fighting style with a ranged life-draining weapon, and he's clearly involved in a larger Metroid story somewhere. Another great villain, and somebody who, in Sakurai's hands, can be given a terribly unique fighting style

His Final Smash could involve him summoning his ship to lay fire onto the field, or he could turn into his "morph ball" form and just go around blowing crap up. An alternate costume for him would be a tough call. Ultimately, I think one of the other hunters would be a great choice, or a Space Pirate design. Or he could just have his own unique armor swap.

Setting the (Dance) Stage - Rhythm Heaven

I think "Built to Scale" is a necessary for at least part of a Rhythm Heaven stage. It's important that the next Smash pay tribute to one of Nintendo's more intriguing IP's, and since a fighter is out of likelihood, a stage is at least worth considering. My idea for the stage is similar to the WarioWare stage from Brawl, where the stage keeps changing to various songs and videos from the Rhythm Heaven franchise. Built to scale is an early stage, and a memorable one, so I think it makes a great starter point. Dodging the assembling pieces, or at least the peg that puts them together, makes for a great little stage hazard. I also envision tons of cameos, like airplane pilots playing ping pong and monkeys shooting golf balls at the stage. On a 3DS version of Smash Bros. TNG, this could make for especially engaging 3D effects to have traps on the foreground shoot into the stage.

The (abundant) music of Rhythm Heaven

Rhythm Heaven Fever - Ringside

"Whubadubadub; is that true?" Try not to say that over and over after listening to this track.

Rhythm Heaven Fever - Monkey Watch

Really, it's the monkeys that tie this piece together. "Oo-ee-oh Clap clap!*

Rhythm Heaven DS - Built to Scale 2

Something about the cool beat and the melodic piano just makes this song irresistible to my brain. And, considering my stage idea is "Built to Scale," I suppose it's entirely necessary we put this here, too.

Rhythm Heaven Fever - Remix 3 - Tonight

Something I learned with Smash Bros. Brawl is that a lot of the localized songs for Nintendo Games are actually sung by members of the localization team. Leslie Swan and Nate Bihildorf are some of the names that show up in the US vocal credits for the Wario Ware songs, and I wouldn't be surprised if those are the folks who did the Rhythm Heaven vocals. My hat's off to you folks, because I rather like the way these songs sound.

Rhythm Tengoku - Remix 6

I love the snazzy swings in this song. Remixes are an integral part of the Rhythm Heaven experience, so it's nice to include a few of them.

Rhythm Heaven - Shoot 'em Up!

One of the best tracks in the whole damn series. That's really all there is to say about that.

I could use the whole soundtracks to these games, these were just some of my favorite tunes and choices. Does anybody out there have any favorite Rhythm Heaven songs they'd like to see in a stage, or just on their own? I'd love to hear about them in the comments below.

-Make it a good one.

The Cold, The Prince and the Realm of Animals!

Fortunately, I was somehow able to pull myself away from the greatest thing ever long enough to write today's entry, so let's get down to business, shall we?

What's cooler than being ice cold? Ice Climbers

Perhaps it's their non-assuming appearances, or perhaps they're strategically worthless, but I've always received the notion from the Smash Bros. community at large that the Ice Climbers (of Ice Climber) are not terribly cared for. But I've never been swayed by common opinion; I love me the Smash-tastic Duo. They have a super-unique mechanic, they represent an older time of gaming, and they're bloody precious.

So the question comes down to, what can we do to reinvigorate the Ice Climbers a bit? Aside from some sharper partner AI, and possibly a "revenge" mode for the Climber left behind will help balance them out structurally, but what about new tricks? How about needing to knock them both out to get a full KO? Is that too broken? It feels unfair to sometimes be punished by your partner not being present for the Up-B recovery, and dying for nothing. What if you had a mechanic to swap between the climbers at will, allowing you to perform switch-ups if you think you can't recover because your partner was left on the platform? You would still have to A: pull the switch off and B: not get killed while your partner stands mindlessly on the platform. These are some thoughts to try and spice up their mechanics while making them more viable, although as I said, my perception could be off and they could be some miraculous top tier team in which case none of what I just said should really happen.

For an alternate costume, I think it would be cute to dress them up like Hammer Bros.

The Fuzziest Newcomer - Prince Fluff

Prince Fluff is interesting. When thinking about Kirby, I had to come to a decision on whether or not Kirby should be converted to his Epic Yarn self, and as much as I'm in love with that concept, this felt like the stronger idea: just use Prince Fluff. He can specifically represent the Epic Yarn thread, letting Kirby stay the power house that he is, while still bringing all that mind-meltingly adorable powers that come from Epic Yarn.

Fluff has it all; yarn whips, turning into a weight (made of yarn!) and dropping down, turning into a car for his dash; there's nothing this Sultan of String can't do. Smash Attacks? Got those too: he turns into a giant yarn tank and starts shooting missiles at people. Of course, as I learned from Fox, that might not be great, so perhaps turning into a UFO and flying around collecting gems to charge himself up for big AOE nuke attacks works, too.

And he's got all the threads. What if, for an alternate costume, Prince Fluff was instead made out of a 2D drawing Paper Mario style? I can hear your panties melting from here.

Animal Crossing - The City

The most iconic piece of the most recent Animal Crossing game makes a fairly effective stage. Pulled back enough, it could allow for tons of cameos and random happenings on in the lower part of the screen, while the architecture of the building tops makes for a solid fighting structure. Honestly, I admit I'm reaching a bit here, because it's hard to top the absolutely perfect idea of "Smashville," but it's either this or you're some miniaturized characters playing in an Animal Crossing person's house on top of the Blue Furniture Set.

Part of me thinks it would be more interesting to have Animal Crossing represented as a sort of Hub World in Smash Bros., rather than a stage itself. But I've also had this idea for Nintendo Consoles. Basically, instead of a standard menu, you have a small town and an Animal Crossing villager to run around it. The game of Animal Crossing is still very much built right into it, although maybe in a slightly reduced fashion, but you access things like your game, different apps or menu options by going to different parts in the town, or your house. In the case of a Smash Bros. game, it could have Animal Crossing companions introducing sections of the menu like what's in the vault or the online play. Tom Nook could sell you items like trophies and custom map parts in the store, and K.K. Slider shows up on Saturday Nights to play you a ballad. It's, admittedly, a terrible idea for an interface, but it always had a strange charm to me.

Crossing Over - The Music of Animal Crossing - The City

Animal Crossing - Rainy Day Theme

For some reason, Smash Bros Brawl included absolutely -no- music from the original Animal Crossing (unless you count the K.K. Slider songs, which were in both). Well I say this time, we fix that, because the original game had the better soundtrack. Featured in said soundtrack was the Rainy Day theme, which should play whenever Smash Bros.: TNG detects rainy weather on your Weather Channel app, provided the WiiU can still do that.

Animal Crossing - K.K. D and B

If any one K.K. Slider track gets the brilliant "Go K.K. Rider!" treatment from Brawl, it's ""K.K. Drum and Bass." It's always the first song I get in Animal Crossing, next to "Surfin' K.K."

Animal Crossing: City Folk - The City

I suppose if I have The City is a setting, it should also be a song, eh? There are multiple versions of the song that cover the various general times of day (morning, night, etc.) and it would be superbly appropriate if the version that played depended on your system clock.

Animal Crossing: City Folk - Shampoodle

Guilty pleasure time. I fucking love this song.

Animal Crossing 3DS: Trailer Theme

Somebody made a nice midi compilation of the theme from the trailers, and I thought it was unique enough to include it here, as a bit of forward thinking! It's a pleasant little track, and just hearing it makes me want the new Animal Crossing.

Alright, all of this Animal Crossing talk has me super nostalgic. After losing literally all of my towns, however, I don't have a home to go back to. So here's to holding out for Animal Crossing 3DS. In the mean time, what do you think of my Smash ideas thus far?

And if you're from Reddit: welcome! I hear my boyfriend sent you. Isn't he the best?

-Make it a good one.

The Feudal Warrior! A Link to the Days of Old!

Today I keep on keeping on with one of the Vet-est of the Veterans and one of Brawl's most requested characters.

The Veteran of Time - Link

So Link is an interesting ones because I've got two directions I could take on him. The safe direction is to keep him roughly how he is. Grant him the art style of Skyward Sword, maybe outfit him with something more useful than the Boomerang, and call it good. Alternate costumes? I"m bouncing between a more traditional Twilight Princess/Ocarina of Time skin, or his outfit from the start of the adventure with his super-adorable bed-head. Like I said; that's a fairly safe bet.

The more extreme alternative is to let Toon/Kid Link take his place as the "Hero of Smash" entirely, and conform Link into Wolf Link.

The obviously outrageous point here is that we are completely replacing a veteran as of the original Smash with, essentially, an entirely new character. His own move set, his own smash; everything changes. Certainly we could turn this into a Zero Suit Samus style Final Smash after effect, but I think a dedicated character is more... Appropriate. Now we could also just stack this on top of regular Link, making 3 Links (because I'm not giving up my Toon Link), and at that point what we have is a chain, not a roster. I would like to point out that one of the reasons I've developed this concept is because I've actually seen it shopped around a lot on "The Webs," and because Midna herself does not a good character make.

What would Wolf Link do? Well aside from gnawing a person's face off, there could be a special where holding down the special button causes Midna's attack field to come up, and if somebody gets caught in it, he does a dash attack to them for minimal damage. There's also lots of opportunities for Midna's fist-hair to do some more conventional grabbing and attacks. A fine final-smash could involve Midna going ape-shit spider monster like she did towards the end of Twilight Princess, or summoning a bridge on top of somebody. Or would that be a bridge too far? I can never tell. Oh and for an alternate costume, I don't know, Toon Wolf Link and Midna? I think that'd look neat. Or we could be total jerks and just give them an Ookami make-over.

The Potential - Samurai Goroh

Samurai Goroh was another one of those characters I saw people rooting for. It's true that F-Zero hasn't had any newcomers since the original Smash when Captain Falcon was unlocked, so I believe it's about time the stable gets another member; and Goroh is the perfect character for it. A lot of hearts were broken when he was revealed to be an Assist Trophy, which I thought weird because, hey, at least he made it into something, right? Here's to hoping that this time around, the big guy gets his chance to thrash about with heavy samurai dicing.

Classic Lylat Cruise

Plus

Of all the Smash Bros. games, Star Fox is one of the few titles that has had a new incarnation. So without anything in the future to reach for, I have decided to reach far into the past. What I"m looking to do is re create the stage Lylat Cruise structurally and combine it with the original Star Fox visually. That means the same stage from a physical perspective, because honestly it was one of my favorite stages, but remixed to be all polygonal looking. Where in Lylat Cruise, we traveled all over the Lylat system, we could do the same here, travelling to all the different levels of Star Fox, and maybe a few surprises like Star Fox 2 (which never really launched despite being a finished product) or a SNES-ified new level. I have a cool sketch of this idea that I might be able to upload eventually.

The Music of Classic Lylat Cruise

StarFox - Corneria

There was a neat remix of it in Brawl, but I propose leaving it alone this time.

StarFox Assault - Corneria

It's not just a fully orchestrated version of the original Corneria song, at least not in a way I recognize. So it fits the Corneria theme, but is also it's own awesome song. Win - win.

StarFox Assault - Sauria

Here's my "meeting half-way" between a game I did not care for and a game I did. It's the music of Sauria, from StarFox Adventuers, but it's from StarFox Assault. I do like it's very adventurous tone, though, so I say it fits either way.

StarFox 64 3D - Venom

So the only thing to come out from StarFox was a remake. Ehhh at least it had revamped music for me to take advantage of!

And there you have it, my selections for today. Choice comments are welcome in the area below!

-Make it a Good One.

Bounty Hunters 'til The End: Night in the Big City!

I'm going to put a big ol' spoiler tag on here for Zelda: Skyward Sword. If you have not finished it, and you care to, I'd recommend finishing it and then coming back.

Alright, you finished it? How was that ending? Pretty sweet, aye? Too bad you had to drag your way through some sludge to get there, but I think it was well worth it. Moving on, though...

The Veteran: Samus/Zero Suit Samus

Even though I picked the Corruption suit due to my love of, well, the Corruption Suit, I think standard Samus and Fusion Suit Samus are the obvious costume choices here, with Zero Suit Samus's alternate being her little military get-up and short hair from Metroid: Other M. Now, if we're concerned about hit-boxy type stuff, and understandably so, then I will revoke my Fusion Suit nomination to that which is pictured above. Aside from discussions of costume swaps, though, there's not much to talk about. Samus has always been incredibly versatile and, in my opinion, fairly balanced. I'd appreciate if Zero Suit got a few new moves, as the Sexy Dodge just isn't cutting it, but overall I've no real complaints.

The Potential Newcomer: Demise

I hate clones; both as a moral dilema that brings up questions like "What is truly alive and what isn't," and as a cheap character knock off that reeks of lazy design. I get that it's for the purpose of cutting down game development time, but in most cases, I'd rather just pack skins. In Smash, there was room for leeway because we're adding characters that we know from other franchises, not creating forgettable characters that we'll eventually forget *coughCharliecough* So I ask you; do we need Ganondorf, and can we do better?

As it stands, the Zelda stable has 4 characters, one of whom is technically two. Link and Toon Link are clones, although they've done a fairly decent job of making them relatively unique (I think we can go further, more on that), but Ganondorf is a clone of Captain Falcon. That has literally never made a damn bit of sense to me, but I've gone with it. Well, I have ideas for other characters that might bring us upwards of 6 characters in the stable, and I think going past 5 is a mistake. I say, we cut the clone, and go with his canonical predecessor, Demise. A sword fighter who moves like Bowser, but has range is interesting to me. He'd be almost of a DeDeDe, but with more momentum. It doesn't hurt that I just plain love the way he moves, and for a 'destroy the world' kind of evil, he's surprisingly personable. He's actually quickly become one of my number one wants for the next Smash Bros, and I don't mind sacrificing Ganondorf if he doesn't do something to come into his own this go around.

The Stage of History: Castelia City

I've been wracking my brain for a good level out of the new Pokemon Black/White series, and it finally hit me that I had been looking too hard. Castelia City is perfect. It's probably the most iconic location, and there's a -lot- that you can do with it. Two ideas come to mind: The Rooftops and the Port.

On the Rooftops of Castelia City, you can get a great view of some of the distant bridges and landscapes, while focusing on a stage that resembles good ol' Saffron City. Rooftops, some floating platforms, and a tone of Pokemon cameo traps. It's not terribly original, but it is... *ahem*... super effective!

Alternatively, if we look at the front level, a port is a neat option. You have all the hustle and bustle of the city streets in the background while parties fight hoping from bridge to bridge, with boats that come and go as other central platforms. Flying Pokemon or random flying platforms could serve along the upper plane, but rather than having to worry about falling in the gaps, you just have to worry about becoming useless while swimming to recover. It'd be an interesting dynamic, and one of the more unique stages, I think.

The Music Selection of Castelia City

Pokemon XD - Mirror B's Battle

If there was one thing I didn't get about Brawl's music design, it was the Pokemon tracks. Don't get me wrong, I loved almost all of it, and Sakurai hand-picked some of my favorite random tracks that I never thought would make it in there (Route 223). But he has stated that his design for picking songs was to try and grab something from every game, because somebody's first Mario was New Super Mario Bros., so there needs to be a song from that in there. Now I"m not expecting him to grab -everything-, but I feel like Pokemon covered very little ground considering the sheer breadth of the series. That's why my first submission is Mirror B's battle theme from Pokemon XD. It was an atrocious game that I got 100% completion on, because I clearly value myself little, but if one thing carried me through it was these beats.

Pokemon Battle Revolution - Main Street Colosseum

Full disclosure: I never touched that game, but I have the music, and it is surprisingly good. This song isn't quite my favorite, but I think it most suits the idea for a Castelia City stage.

Pokemon TCG - Normal Duel

Pokemon HeartGold/SoulSilver - Game Center Music

Also known as the "Lucky Channel" music from the original Gold/Silver, this track captivates the fun and excitement of the big city, and really would lay up great against the backdrop of Castelia. As I mentioned earlier, that was a tremendous lack of music from all over the Pokemon games, and I think Gold and Silver got snubbed hard. Hopefully with the semi-recent release of HG/SS, we can see a track or two come into the mix.

Pokemon HeartGold/SoulSilver - Ho-Oh Battle

This isn't the most impressive song on it's own merit, but I think it's ripe for a good remix. Focus on the traditional Japanese style of Taiko drums and tsugaru's, and I think you have the potential for one of the most bitchin' remixes ever.

Pokemon Black/White - Castelia City

Sort of the obvious choice, isn't it? I rather like it, and it fits, so I don't see why we can't include it.

One of the things Black/White was really great about was evolving music to fit the scenarios. It's something more games, especially RPG's, could stand to do, and it was well done here. When the tides of battles changed, the music reflected that, and I think adding that element into Smash Bros.: TNG is important. That's why I suggest that whenever somebody is down to one stock, or the clock is down to 30 seconds, any music on any Pokemon stage immediately switches to this:

Pokemon Black/White - Battle Danger!

They need to make sure to keep the disorienting shift of the beeping between left and right side, as well. It really helps add to the chaotic feeling of the song.

Thanks to The Avengers, I'm already a day behind and I'm still too tired to catch up today. I'd apologize, but only one person is even reading this, and you already know I'm sorry. That said, I'm going to double up here this weekend and I expect to be back on track shortly. Thank you for putting up with this disturbance in my schedule.

-Make it a good one.

Robotic Overlords and The Boxer: The Knitty Gritty

Another late night batch of Smash Bros. wishful thinking.

The Veteran - R.O.B.

I think nobody liked R.O.B. because he was the last reveal, and he wasn't the one character everybody still had in their hearts, whomever that may be. I don't think that's fair to R.O.B. I like robots, and Smash. Bros. had a disparaging lack thereof, and our Operating Buddy filled that gap well. Plus, I just like the way he played. He could stand to have a few better specials, but overall he was neat. Here's too hoping you're better received this time around, pal. And if you could come with a neat little costume that made you look like Chibi Robo, who probably isn't going to get their own character otherwise, well that'd be neat.

Potential Newcomer - Little Mac

One of the big arguments I heard last time around against Little Mac is "What the hell does he do in Punch-Out that we can replicate?" Well.. Really, nothing. But if I may... What did Fox and Captain Falco do in their games that made them so easily adaptable? The answer is: not much. Sakurai made most of that up, and there's no reason he couldn't do it again. A quick-moving, relatively diminutive, fast-jabbing pugilist is exactly what's in order for him. Throw in some moves reminiscent of Knuckle Joe, or elemental punches that he 'learned' from Hitmonchan, and suddenly you have some game-bending hybrids that make him all the more unique. For his Final Smash, we could always have him Hulk out like in the Multi-Player mode of the Wii game. And for an alternate costume... well, how about a Knuckle Joe or Hitmonchan costume? Just throwing it out there.

Also, we deserve a Punch-Out! song in this game. The fact that it has not yet been (fully) included is a reeeeal shame.

Setting the Stage - Fountain Gardens

Kirby's Epic Yarn needs a stage. There's no two ways around it. I really don't care what we do for it, I just picked this stage because it's bright, cheery, and chock full of yarny goodness. As far as I'm concerned, all of Smash Bros: TNG could be Epic Yarn-ified and i would be most content. Potential stage hazards include crinkling stages pulling platforms together or apart, and zippers that reveal new platforms.

Music Selection for Fountain Gardens

Kirby's Epic Yarn - Fountain Gardens

I don't care, I want it. I don't care where it is, I want it. Now. Inside my head. Forever.

Kirby's Mass Attack - Meadow Breeze

It may be weird to think about this, but there have been 3 Kirby games since the last Smash Bros. There's a lot of good music to draw from, so I'm trying to skim over it just to cover bases here.

Kirby's Return To Dreamland - Cookie Country

Nice and up-tempo, a great companion piece to any Kirby stage, really.

Kirby's Epic Yarn - Meta Knight's Revenge

Kirby's Epic Yarn - Lava Landing

Midst an already brilliant soundtrack, this song happens to be one of my personal favorites. The low key piano that eventually crescendo's into an all out piano assault on your fuzzy insides is very striking. It may not be the most apt for this stage, but it would look good on any sort of volcanic/lava-filled stages if we're in the mood to mix things up.

Kirby's Epic Yarn - Mt. Slide

My final selection of the night is another Epic Yarn track, a chilly little piece called "Mt. Slide." It evokes a wonderful sense of energy and a little danger, which fits perfectly with Smash Bros. It'd be great to mix this into an Ice Climbers style stage, too.

And that's it for another day. Look forward to seeing more of my wild and crazy ideas, or just come back to listen to great music. Whatever brings you here, I welcome you!

-Make it a good one.

The King and his Princess of the Sky.

Now I'm doing ridiculous titles where I combine the three things I'm talking about. So there's that.

Veteran - King DeDeDe

The King made his debut in Smash Bros. Brawl, and was mostly met with lukewarm reception by the tournament scene. Well nuts to them, because I fucking love DeDeDe and I don't care how bad he is. I make myself better with him. I don't know what kind of mechanics Sakurai-san is planning for the next Smash, but I'd love to see DeDeDe with something more useful than an inhale that can't copy and tossing minions that occasionally aren't worthless. That said, I absolutely adored his running attack; it's pretty much the greatest thing ever for a long-time fan of the character.

If he could have an alternate costume, I would love it to be him in Yarn form. Because that shit was mother-fucking precious.

Potential Newcomer - Princess Daisy

Oh daisy. We all know your up-taunt is "Hi, I'm daisy!" and it will be infuriating. You will be the greatest tank character Smash Bros has ever devised. When you taunt, nobody will resist the swelling desire to annihilate you; and that will be your greatest weapon. You'll be dressed there in your soccer uniform from Mario Strikers, and you will bring a flurry of kicks, Chie-style, while tossing around soccer balls and maybe throwing some Mario Party dice or something. Whatever. The fact is you'll be surprisingly heavy and brutal; something no female character is. And dat wiggle. You might flip-kick me for saying that... but the priiiize...

Your alternate costume will most likely be a dress, and that's fine. It'll somehow be better when that's what you wear to a fist fight. Your Final Smash could be similar to the Strikers :Charged Mega Hits. You'll leap into the air and make it rain deadly, flaming soccer balls. And it will be grand.

Setting the Stage - Skyloft

Skyloft is a big place. Now, while it's tempting to just create another New Pork City or Sky Temple from Melee, I also think individual pieces of this could make interesting stages. The Goddess Statue, for example. Her hand could be an upper platform, the ground is the main platform, with a wall to the left as a sort of obstacle. Not the most dynamic stage ever, but if it could... Spoilers... Re-enact an important moment from the end of the game in the background, well that would be something cool to watch. Maybe even add in a similar low-gravity element that we saw in the iceberg-slide of the Ice Climbers level in Brawl.

Music Selection for Skyloft

Zelda: Skyward Sword - The Ballad of the Goddess

The first super-obvious choice is the, oddly underused Ballad of the Goddess. This proper version of the song did not show up anywhere in the game that I can recall, despite being a super important component of it.

Zelda: Skyward Sword - The Sky

Flying may have been one of the worst things about that game, but the music helped make it all the more tolerable. It's a bit more adventurous than combat flavored, but it's still a pretty great piece.

Zelda: Symphony of the Goddess - Ballad of the Windfish

This one is a dedication to the love of my life, Michael, who is probably the only one reading this right now. But that's fine by me. We went together to see The Symphony of the Goddess in Dallas, and this song was a secret second encore that they played, and my god. It's fucking brilliant. If you listen, they do a rendition of the chorus with each of the different instruments you acquire throughout the game. Whoever put this symphony together wasn't just some person they hired to do it. This person knew their shit, and put together a brilliant god damned show. This piece is personal, not just to him, but to my love. I only a few months ago finished Link's Awakening for the first time, and I wish I had done so sooner, because this is just.. It's beautiful.

Zelda: A Link to the Past - Mini-Game House

That's right, I just linked you the best thirty god-damned minutes of your life. Enjoy. In all seriousness, though, I think it could be a cool piece to maybe combine with some other mini-game themes from other Zeldas, or just make into a really weird piece. They did more with less in the last Smash Bros., so I say why not.

Symphony of the Goddess - Gerudo Valley

A fan favorite to be sure, this is the best version of Gerudo Valley's myriad covers that I've ever heard. I'm really surprised this theme hasn't been revisited in any Zelda's despite having returned to the Valley on a number of occasions.

MOKA - Title Theme (Ocarina of Time)

Here's something with a little more flavor that I thought you might enjoy. If you like it, I recommend checking out the rest of the album, it's quite nice.

Twilight Princess - Howling Medley

The Song of Healing's appearance in Twilight Princess was... Let's just say it was nice. Majora's Mask may not be the best game in the Zelda series, but it's most certainly my favorite. For this idea, however, I would like it if all the songs featured as the songs you howl in that mysterious domain were put together in a cool medley (perhaps with a few surprise additions) similar to the Ocarina Medley in Brawl.

Alright, so it's a little late, but there you have it. So much Zelda music in that one, and there will be more! What do you think so far? Am I on track? Do you like where this is going? Do you wish I was making the next Smash Bros. as badly as I do? Probably not... but oh well. That's okay. I can live with that.

-Make it a good one.