Super Smash Bros 4

Today's picture of the day gives a bit more insight into the retro-chic stage, Balloon Fight, for the 3DS version. We learn today more about its mechanics - if you travel off one side of the stage, you simply reappear on the other. Just like in Balloon Fight!



What does this mean for projectiles? Could we see a strong degree of camping by players with strong projectile games, such as Samus? What are your thoughts on the stage?

Personally, I am sort of disappointed when we get an 8-bit stage. As much as I love things in the retro style, I would love to have seen a glorious reimagining of the stage in 3D, such as when we got Icicle Mountain in Melee. It might have made Brawl's 75m much more tolerable if I could have seen gorgeous locales along with it. Maybe.

I don't know. I feel like the retro stages could be so much more with a hint of polish. It was incredibly cool to see the fish get a beautiful makeover for its appearance on the Summit in Brawl, so I suppose I'm a little disappointed not to see its home locale get a fresh coat of paint.

 

Eep.

 

That does beg the question, though... is it going to be a stage hazard like the Chimera was (which was obscenely annoying as it was), or is it going to be some sort of unbeatable enemy in Smash Run?

 

I don't see why it couldn't be both, honestly.

 

Well geez, here's a strange guy to add as an Assist Trophy. Even Sonic here is shocked at the news.

 

Oh wow, it's Dillon! Now that's a cool Assist Trophy.
Now I wonder if any of the eshop games will get a representation...I want a Pushmo stage.

 

I don't know, I know there were a fair few people who expected Dillon to get a playable slot. I'd personally never heard of him beyond the internet and what I saw of the Panel of him in the Puzzle Swap StreetPass game... but he looks like he'll make a cool Assist Trophy!

 

So, before today's Picture of the Day, Sakurai posted this but then quickly removed it:


I wonder what it means?! Did he think that he somehow accidentally confirmed the Ice Climbers by posting that pic and found that it was still too soon for that??

 

I don't know what the big deal would be with confirming the Ice Climbers since he already pretty much did in past interviews, BUT, hey, it's Sakurai! -- Needless to say, its removal begs the idea that, perhaps, good ol' Popo and Nana will be announced relatively soon.

Per Orne -- I think that it's going to be a stage hazard on Reset Bomb Forest for sure. That much is a given. The screenshot, I think, is set at that stage already, though it's hard to make out. I could see it coming out of a handy-dandy enemy portal to cause havok every so often. It may very well be an invulnerable Smash Run and Adventure Mode enemy as well; we had something like it in Brawl, right? So, why not?

Per Dillon -- Definitely not surprised to see him as an assist trophy. Some had been hoping for Dillon to be playable, which was a stretch, but giving the eShop some sweet lovin' via the assist panel is perfectly fine (and supported!) by me. It's a neat promotional tool, and there's plenty of fun characters to incorporate in that sense.

Per Balloon Fight -- I know what you're saying, @Eebit -- To me, having a couple of retro stages is all in good fun. Could we really have something like Mario Bros. updated anymore than it already was without taking away the essence of what it is? With that said, with this stage in particular, a re-imagining would've been even more enticing -- I agree. Either way, it intrigues me since it's code stays so true to the game it comes from, apparently. I think that if you're hit hard enough, you could still be side-K.O.'d, like on the Mario Bros. stage.

 

Today's Miiverse post regarding mirroring of body positioning showed us an alternate palette for Greninja.



dat red man

 

Red Greninja looks really cool actually.

 

And a few thats following that, we have the addition of another veteran. Returning to these games from Brawl, this veteran is none other than Ike.

 

In today's Miiverse post, Sakurai shows off a feature in the 3DS version.

https://miiverse.nintendo.net/posts/AYMHAAACAADRUqF-tNlUKw

 

"Let's give Nintendo a round of applause for treating these third party characters with the respect they deserve..."

 

I'm a little bit pissed that we didn't get an actually interesting Namco character (like Klonoa), but hey, at least Pac-Man gets a Galaga reference.

 

I was going to say something like that as well. A lot of people are quite upset that it wasn't Klonoa, Heihachi, or Lloyd. I understand the rationale though. And he seems to play in quite the interesting way.

 

Isn't Pac-Man arguably the most iconic Namco character, though? This would appeal to more people, I would think.

 

Yeah, that's exactly it. He is, in essence, the face of their company as much as Mario is Nintendo, or Sonic is Sega. However, there are characters that are better suited to a fighting game atmosphere, in a way, than Pac Man.

That said, I am excited about the way he plays. His moveset looks like it will bring a great retro flavour to the fray. Very creative and diverse, which is nice.

 

I should say that I foresee Pac-Man becoming one of my mains. I like how he looks so far. A lot actually. And it's weird to say it considering how disappointed I am that they him instead of a different Namco character.

 

I think that, at the end of it all, most people outside of the very specific Smash gaming circle would've expected Pac-Man if we were to get a Namco character playable in the game. There were rationales present on, say, SmashBoards (and here) that Pac-Man wouldn't have enough moves to become a playable fighter and that characters like Lloyd, Klonoa, Nightmare, etc. would've been better choices due to their being more apt for fighting right from the get-go.

While I wouldn't have minded anyone else, Pac-Man was the unequivocal best choice for the Namco slot. He always was. Not only is he the face of Namco, but the face of video games, period. Pac-Man is the most recognizable game character EVER. Talk about a legendary inclusion! Objectively speaking, if you still think it would've been better for Sakurai to pass up this opportunity, you're pretty much insane. :5 They've proven us wrong and shown we can get some quality retro-inspired moves centered around him and, while he (probably) won't be my main by any stretch, I can't wait to play as him for the first time.

If you can't tell, I'm actually very excited about this inclusion. Sonic, Pac-Man, Mega Man and Mario all being in the same game is a pretty big deal and, ultimately, it shouldn't have been any other way. Lloyd or Klonoa would've been great, but they aren't icons (beyond their own dedicated, niche fanbases). Pac is the icon. It's very cool that he's been included, and I'm not pissed in the least. Frankly, I'm surprised so many others are, or at least were at first. To me, it's a neat deal with no cons.

As per Ike, glad he's gotten the Radiant Dawn upgrade. It's more suiting to his Brawl playstyle that I assume will largely be returning in a similar fashion in SSB4, and a cool nod to the Radiant Saga's idiosyncrasies as a whole, for me.