Smash Bros. The Next Generation - Day 7

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.