Here are this weeks announcements from the Dojo blog. Two new stages and a cool new game mechanic are inside!
This week at the Dojo was similar to most other weeks. A bunch of minor announcements were made that are somewhat interesting. Still no brand new characters though.
New Stage: Rumble Falls
In somewhat of a twist, what could end up being the spiritual successor to the oft maligned Icicle Mountain stage was announced on Monday. This time taking on Donkey Kong: Jungle Beat as a theme, Rumble Falls is a level that will be constantly scrolling upwards. Therefore, players will have to climb up while they battle in order to avoid falling off the bottom. The end of the post leaves a cryptic quote, “Hey! What's at the top? Huh? Hmm...I wonder..." Should we expect a giant fruit to dig into? Most likely.
New Character: Yoshi
Another returning combatant was officially announced on Tuesday with the unveiling of Yoshi. It seems many of his attacks will remain similar to what they were in Melee, including his sandbag destroying mid-air bicycle kick. Apparently the egg toss will now be able to be used as a third jump as well, allowing him to get back to the stage easier.
New Stage: Skyworld
This week was a good week for stages, as Skyworld is the second one that was announced. Themed to go along with Kid Icarus, it features a platform system similar to that seen in many of the levels thus far. The twist here is that all of the platforms can crumble away. They will regenerate quite quickly though, so it will be interesting to see how that affects the battles.
New Mechanic: Footstool Jump
A brand new game mechanic that has not been in a Smash Bros. game before was announced on Thursday. Possibly inspired by the original Mario Bros. game for NES, players will now be able to jump on the heads of other players and spring off. The result is a comical squishing animation of the victim. At the end of the post it was revealed that this can be done in mid air, allowing for vicious, unrecoverable meteor smashes. Of everything revealed thus far, this mechanic could have the most effect on how bouts will play out.
New Assist Trophy: Knuckle Joe
The week was rounded out with today's announcement of a new Assist Trophy. Knuckle Joe, from the Kirby games, may pop out of some of those trophy cases. He'll unleash a combo attack that starts with a barrage of Vulcan Jabs, moves into a strong punch that is strangely reminiscent of Captain Falcon's Falcon Punch, and ends with a Rising Break lightning attack.
That's it for this week. It's always sad when there aren't any huge new announcements, but the trickle of interesting tidbits is pretty neat in its own right.
