Perhaps still in the process of winding down from Sonic’s big reveal, the Dojo had a somewhat lackluster week this time around.
>> New Pork City (Stage) [10/15/07]
By far the largest stage unveiled yet, New Pork City of the Earthbound franchise boasts multiple platforms, a swinging ship, and the extremely strange “Ultimate Chimera”, a toothy pink beast with an adorable little bird on it’s head that will kill anyone it encounters and subsequently bites. Essentially, you are to the Ultimate Chimera as crime is Scruff McGruff.
Hyrule Temple? Pssh. I spit in the general direction of such smallness.
>> STADIUM: Home-Run Contest (Game Mode) [10/16/07]
Perhaps the coolest update of the week was on Tuesday, in which Sakurai shed some light on the return of the Home-Run Contest. Big whoop. We already knew Sandbag was back - my grandmother saw this update coming, right? Wrong. It’s been given a serious makeover, one that will make you play it longer than it takes to get the trophy for it. So, what’s new?
- There’s now a force field, weak as it may be, surrounding the platform to keep you and sandbag from falling out of bounds prematurely. Translation - you’ll no longer have to hunt down the one character (in Melee’s case - Yoshi) that can rack up damage without moving Sandbag.
- There are now co-op and alternating co-op modes, allowing you and a friend to kick the shit out of Sandbag together or alternately, respectively.
- Still not enough for you? Well, you greedy bastard, the previous modes I spoke of are also available ONLINE. The Home-Run Contest is now, truly, a contest.
I don’t entirely understand the concept of a psychic kick, but it looks painful.
>> How to use the Wii Remote (Control Method) and Meowth (Pokemon) [10/17/07]
Bust out a Wiimote and study this diagram, it’s how the sideways Wiimote control option will work. It’ll definitely take some getting used to, but according to the attendees of the Nintendo Media Summit and the E for All Expo, it feels surprisingly comfortable when you get the hang of it, and apparently better than the Classic Controller. Regardless if any method bothers you too much, you can always remap the buttons for any control scheme to your liking.
Grabs are a little awkward.
The second part of the update highlighted the return of the wisecrackiest of all Pokemon, Meowth. He strangely vanished after the original Smash Bros., but is back and in THREE DIMENSIONS! Apparently, he hasn’t learned anything in his time off, as his attack is the same - although it sure looks a lot better than a hovering jpeg likeness with coins flying out of it.
Looks like that coin hit the vile of Nitroglycerin in Lucas’ pocket.
>> Little Mac (Assist Trophy) [10/18/07]
Perhaps the coolest Assist Trophy yet, Little Mac of Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out! fame returns, like Meowth, in 3D. It was a little disappointing to some that he didn’t make the cut for full-on Smash Bro. to appear as a mere item, but the fact that he made it at all is a pleasant surprise for everyone. So - what exactly does he do? Well it’s pretty easy to figure out. He boxes your ass into submission. How exactly? With a sweet charge, punch, uppercut combo of course. But perhaps what’s even sweeter is that he’s maintained his slightly smaller than normal stature. How could you stay mad at a pseudo-midget?
Ike gets pwned AGAIN.
>> Peach: Final Smash <Peach Blossom> (Character Smash Ball Reaction)
Apparently the person that wrote the Brawl review on Destructoid was mistaken. Peach’s final smash is no reference to Super Princess Peach. But the mistake is easy to make. Peach’s Final Smash is naturally, quite a production. A large, Peach-themed border frames the fight and Peach takes center stage to do a dance that, for some unexplained reason, makes everyone fall asleep and peaches rain from the sky. But that’s not all. When her dance is over, she has the freedom to either regain health from the peaches or pummel sleeping enemies with them. But that’s still not all. The closer a contender is to a peach, the longer they’ll be asleep. What a bitch.
I was kinda hoping for a royal army of Toads…
And there you have it, the triumphant end to another Smash Week. *sigh* Let’s check in with the Confirmed, but not Featured List.
Characters: None!
Stages: Mario Circuit, Norfair
Assist Trophies: Hammer Bro., Nintendog, Advance Wars, Metroid, Drill Dozer, Little Mac, Sin and Punishment Character
Pokémon: Chikorita, Goldeen, Kyogre, Torchic, Snorlax, Starmie
Items: Hammer, Bunny Hood, Metal Block, Cloaking Device, Lip’s Stick, Mushroom, Mini Mushroom, Food, Spiny-Thwomp-Ball-Thing, Smart Bomb, Home-Run Bat, Beam Sword, Fire Flower, Party Ball, Spring Pad, Screw Attack (Franklin Badge-esque), Bob-omb, Fan
Currently Anticipating: Tom Nook
In Other News: Luigi has been confirmed in Super Mario Galaxy. See for yourself here and here.
In More Exciting News: GameTrailers just updated with a Brawl media blowout. Watch, drool, repeat.
Until next time. Keep on keepin’ on.