Ah yes, Super Smash Bros, I’d almost forgotten about what is just about any Nintendo fan’s dream game. From the characters that span multiple games and genres to stages that do the same, not to mention the incredible backlog of music that Nintendo has to use. Super Smash Bros is the ultimate celebration of Nintendo’s past and present. But what about Smash‘s future? Well, that’s what Challenger Approaching has always been all about.
In the offices of the developers, once every two weeks, a different staff member will give you their thoughts and ideas for new characters, stages, items, and anything else for the next instalment in the Super Smash Bros series. We’ve all heard about some of the staff talking about the merits of Ridley from the Metroid series, Samurai Goroh from the F-zero series, and Kid Icarus : Uprising‘s Magnus. Nut this time around, I’d like to pitch three of my own suggestions, as well as a brand new feature unseen before in Smash.
So, as for the new feature? I would call it “The Smash Store.” This idea came to me when I was trying to think of ways to include non-fighters from Nintendo’s history, and it took off from there. The store’s appearance and interface would be similar to the way stores have worked in the Zelda series since Ocarina of Time, with a shopkeeper up front, and shelves in back, showing off what’s in-store that day. Each week, the store would cycle through a different Nintendo shopkeeper, potentially consisting of Tom Nook from Animal Crossing, Beedle from The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker, Toadsworth from the Mario series, Cranky Kong from Donkey Kong Country, and Fire Emblem’s Anna, each interacting with the player in their own ways, for example Cranky would give discounts to his simian friends whilst Beedle would sell cheap but annoy the player in game with his “great bargains” creating several fun experiences to be had. But what, exactly, would the shop do?
Historically, characters, stages, and trophies were unlocked once certain play criteria were met. Brawl expanded upon this idea by giving us the “Challenges” screen, where you could see a grid of windows to everything you have yet to unlock. In these windows were special trophies, CDs, stickers, as well as unlockable stages, and even extra parts for the Stage Builder. Each of these rewards was kept secret until the glass was broken on an adjacent window, thereafter the conditions to unlock the next item would be revealed. Meanwhile, characters were kept out of the grid, completely secret. Finally, it supplied you with five golden hammers to break the glass on any item you found impossible to win otherwise.
This was a fantastic system that I’d love it to remain mostly intact, albeit with one change: the inclusion of characters. To the side of the main grid on the Challenges screen would be a smaller one containing every unlockable character, and of course the unlock conditions for any window; however, you could only find out who the character is after meeting them. They would remain secret even after breaking the glass of an adjacent square thus ensuring not reveal the mystery.
The primary function of the Smash Store, then, would be supplying players—for a pretty penny, of course—with golden hammers for breaking the difficult windows in Challenges, characters included. Of course, it would also sell other types of bonus content. In Brawl, the CDs and stickers that did not make it to the Challenges grid could be found during any given match, while all three past entries rewarded gamers in the single-player modes with coins to use in slot machines and minigames to win trophies new and old. These methods of getting such rewards would remain intact, but with the Smash Store, the coins would serve an additional new purpose. Every day, the Smash Store would offer two new items of each kind, so with every visit, you’re guaranteed to get a new prize, rather than a duplicate of something already in your collection. There was nothing worse than having a nearly full gallery that’s missing only a few trophies, just to drop a couple of hundred coins and get nothing new in return.
What do you think? Is it time for Takamaru to make a proper return? Is Chibi-Robo fearsome enough to be included with fiends like Jigglypuff and Kirby? Is Waluigi enough of an all-star to make the cut? Or would you rather have another swordsman or mage like character? Just remember to visit Nintendo’s website and mail them your suggestions. You never know what might happen.
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