Super Smash Bros. The Next Generation - Day 29

Out of Their Element! The Boy Prodigy and The Red Flash!

  Hey, do you like awesome music? Of course you do. Well this has nothing to do with anything really, but I hope you enjoy. There's awesome Phoenix Wright animations to go with it.

The Veteran - Lucas

  The kid from the game we'll never see localized, Lucas is somebody you're possibly more familiar with than me. I've finally decided to jump into all of the Earthbound games here shortly, but I don't have the time right this moment. As it stands, Lucas was one of my absolute favorite characters to play in Brawl. I loved the way he animated, I loved the way his PSi powers looked, and I loved the way they operated. What little I do know of Lucas paints him as one of the most tragic video game characters out there, and I think with that I'd rather take this time to just say he's awesome and move on.

The Rollin' Newcomer - Dillon

  Hero of the eShop title Dillon's Rolling Western, this armardillo of few words may not be much in terms of noteriety, but he just looks cool. Rolling Western could very easily be the start of a big franchise for Nintendo, if they wanted to push it, and I think the titular hero is 'cool' enough to be a bit more mainstream.

  Yeah, so his primary thing is rolling around, and we have characters that do that. Well if Sonic is out for whatever 3rd party licensing agreement causes him to shoo, then Dillon can easily take his place. Even still, check them claws, son. This desert dweller is going to cut down anyone who stands in his way.

  His Final Smash could involve constructing a tower that just starts shooting at any and everyone on the field, while an alternate costume could dress him up like a Sandslash, because fuck yeah.

Balloon Fight

  Originally I had planned to do an Ice Climber stage, but you know what, no. I love those guys, but I gave Yoshi the ice stage, and poor Balloon Fighter never got to be a playable character (despite being a prototyped in Smash Bros. Melee). So here's his. Balloon Fight: The Stage. Look at that screenshot. It's a stone's throw from a Smash stage as it is. You've got the stage hazards in the clouds and psycho death fish monster living in the water. We can even keep this as a retro stage for some of that 8-bit nostalgia. So there you go: Balloon Fighter. For the music I'll be doing a selection of remixes I find on youtube for various NES era games that are otherwise unrepresented in Smash thus far.

Music to (Balloon) Fight By

Pictobits - Balloon Fighter

  How in the hell have I gone -this- long without referencing Pictobits' soundtrack? I love that game! This is also a great way to get my 'remix' on without sacrificing the fact that I just love the glorious 8-bit tune. Honestly, it's going to be hard not to just make everything for this level Pictobits. (Listen to the whole thing, it builds as it goes)

Pictobits - Excite Bike

  See, you guys, now I'm all excited for this Pictobits stuff again. Well get ready, because there's still more.

Pictobits - Devil World Part 1

  So Devil World is a Japan-only title, so you've.. Sorry, hang on. *Pushes up glasses* So you've probably never heard of it. Well the Devil from this game was in the previous Smash, as an assist trophy, so I figured I'd bring this sweet Pictobits remix in.

OC Remix - Ice Climbers "Snow Cone Heaven"

  This awesome remix comes to you compliments of the brilliant musical minds of OC Remix. It has a lot in common with some previous remixes, I'm aware, but I actually enjoy the ragtime sounds layered on top of the simply satisfying beat.

OC Remix - Mach Rider "Mach Schnell"

  Another great OC Remix of one of my favorite NES tunes.

Punch-Out! Wii - Minor Circuit

  I don't think the team at Next Level Games, who did Punch-Out! Wii and Super Mario Strikers: Charged get enough credit for the amazing work they do, especially in the musical department.

DDR: Mario Mix - Destruction Dance

  I've posted a few songs from this collection before, but "Destruction Dance" is easily my favorite. The rapid fire pianos atop a swanky dance beat just get me right in my chewy center.

  E3 is coming up soon. I'm ever so hopeful, yet completely doubtful, that we'll see any solid Smash news this year. I'm sure we'll get a "And yes, it's still happening, and maybe here's a title for it with a nameplate!" but that's about it. Hope for the most, expect the least.

-Make it a nice day!

Smash Bros. TNG - Day 6

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.