Another week of updates, another week closer to release.
This week we received word of a cool new Pokemon and an interesting new stage. This game can't come soon enough.
New Final Smash: Zelda's Light Arrow
Revealed in title only last week, Zelda's final smash was showcased on Monday. As we hypothesized, her final smash is basically the same regardless of whether she is currently Sheik. It appears to be very similar to Samus's Zero Laser attack. If Zelda grabs a smash ball she'll be able to initiate the attack. She'll simply draw her bow back and let a light arrow fly in the direction she is facing. A beam of light shoots out, severely damaging and most likely knocking off anyone in its path. The only difference seen in this move depending on whether or not it is Sheik or Zelda is the direction in which the victims fly. If it's Zelda they fly up and away, at a 45 degree angle from the beam. If it's Sheik they fly straight away, following the path of the arrow.
New Pokemon: Manaphy
It's been a while since we've been shown a new Pokemon over at the Dojo, but that changed on Tuesday. Manaphy, the only legendary Pokemon capable of breeding, may pop out of a Pokeball. It's unique power is sure to confuse things during a battle. While it's unclear how players are chosen, Manaphy will pick two people and swap them. The end result is that players will have to fight as their opponent for a short amount of time. The blog post is quick to point out that committing suicide is not a good option in these cases, as despite the fact that your character isn't the one falling off, the death will still count against you. Sounds like players are going to have to start mastering as many characters as possible!
New Stage: Mushroomy Kingdom
The day after one of the most interesting Pokemon was announced comes one of the most interesting stages. Mushroomy Kingdom appears to be an auto-scrolling replica of world 1-1 from the original Super Mario Bros. It looks just like it in almost every way, except for the fact that everything looks older. The designers wanted the level to look as if it had sat around since its original inception in 1985. On top of all of that, the level will also occasionally be world 1-2 instead of 1-1. This random level change technique could theoretically be used on other levels as well. How many alternate levels might we see? Also, make sure you don't miss the bonus post from Wednesday. You can hear a cool new version of the classic Mario theme to go along with the new level.
New Movie: Tokyo vs. Kyoto
Thursday brought a simple gameplay video of an online battle between Nintendo headquarters in Kyoto and the development team in Tokyo. It was uploaded to demonstrate the lack of lag in online play. It also does a great job of showcasing the Lylat Cruise stage and Samus' final smash. Check it out here. For some reason, a completely different battle was posted on the Japanese site. It features Delfino Plaza and Kirby's final smash. Check that one out here.
New Feature: Masterpieces
In what is probably the most unexpected move yet, Super Smash Bros. Brawl will include Virtual Console demos of several of the classic titles that are represented in the game. These trial versions will be timed demos and judging by the following quote, they won't be very long. "Ahaha! Oh man, out of time already?!" Some games, like Super Metroid, will even come with some save data built in, so you can see more than just the first part of the game. One interesting note is that the example games listed on the English Dojo differ from those listed on the Japanese Dojo. Does this mean different regions get different games? No one can be sure, but the end of the post reveals that the games shown are not the only ones in the game. Titles listed on the English site are Ice Climber, Super Mario Bros., The Legend of Zelda, Kid Icarus, Kirby's Adventure, Super Metroid, and Star Fox 64. The Japanese site lists Ice Climber, Super Mario Bros., The Legend of Zelda, Kid Icarus, Kirby's Adventure, Fire Emblem, Super Metroid, Mother 2, and Star Fox 64.
The Dojo also linked to a series of Iwata Asks articles that can be read here. There is a wealth of interesting information there, including some insights into the online features of the game, as well as a revelation that one of the men behind the story of Final Fantasy VII helped write the story for the Subspace Emissary.