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.

Super Smash Bros.: TNG - Day 3

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

  I'm not sure if Meta Knight is getting his own stage again, but I wanted to make sure I include this because... well because it's good, really.

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.