Wednesday, November 18, 2009

my top 25 smash bros stages

dunno why i'm doing this i think there's homework i need to do?


25. Peach's Castle (SSB)

Quite a few interesting elements made this level exciting while a good size kept it fairly playable. The pinball-like upper half always added another element of unpredictability while the two-level main platform and extending bridge was a good place to fight.

24. Big Blue (SSBM)

Although nigh-unplayable, Big Blue is definitely one of the most exciting Smash Bros levels, with awesome music and a dynamically shifting map. Good luck having a decent fight on it, though.

23. Yoshi's Island (SSBB)

A pleasant and nostalgic design with excellent music choices makes this level an instant classic, and the changing seasons adds a nice touch.

22. Green Greens (SSBM)

The falling blocks and apples create the potential for lots of exciting combos, and it's all facilitated by a good size and well placed platforms.

21. Temple (SSBM)

Completely pointless to play on in a serious match, but there's no better environment for trying a lot of interesting tricks. Beautiful design and music, too.

20. Delfino Plaza (SSBB)

Beautiful design and atmosphere. Moving about the level from location to location is always fun, and each one offers up a new experience for fighting without being ridiculously intrusive.

19. Mute City (SSBM)

Very exciting level to fight on, with a lot of elements to consider at any given time. It manages not to detract from the match enough to hinder it, though. Absolutely broken for Peach, though.

18. Fourside (SSBM)

Lots of really cool parts to this stage. Broken from a competitive aspect but still a whole lot of fun. Captures the spirit of Earthbound, too.

17. Brinstar/Planet Zebes (SSBM/SSB)

Maybe it's cheating to include these both as one, but whatever. The lava gives you the potential for tons of amazing combos, and the platform layout is unique without being broken.

16. Jungle Japes (SSBM)

A really exciting level to play on if you're good at DIing and teching. The ledges on it are almost completely broken, and the river takes lives way too quickly, but those are the dangers of playing on it.

15. Pirate Ship (SSBB)

Really fun level to play on with a lot of stuff happening. The design is fantastic, both the tornado and rock collision events are tons of fun, and the cannons and swimming factor is just the icing on the cake. Sure, it's broken as all hell, but it's Brawl, I don't really care.

14. Yoshi's Story (SSBM)

It's a bit small for my tastes, and I hate fighting Marth on here, but it has really nice edges and Randall the cloud always makes for good times.

13. Rainbow Cruise (SSBM)

Really fun level. The boat segment makes for good fighting, and the stuff you can pull off on all the weirdness that follows is always entertaining.

12. Saffron City (SSB)

Classic level. The Pokemon add a really cool factor, as do the moving platforms and the entire idea of fighting on a bunch of tiny buildings.

11. Congo Jungle 64 (SSB/SSBM)

Underrated level in my eyes, gets a lot of bad reputation due to how easy it is to stall. Between the rotating platforms, the ability to jump through the bottom of the stage and the barrel cannon, there's a lot of fun to be had here.

10. Hyrule Castle (SSB)

Another classic level. Huge, with three great areas to fight in, plus the presence of the unpredictable whirlwind. All the ledges are at really genius heights too.

9. Smashville (SSBB)

Excellent level, one of the few that has ledges I can actually agree with. The moving platform is great for those all-too frequent Brawl stalemates, and the atmosphere is very nice and unique within Smash Bros.

8. Onett (SSBM)

Broken on many levels, but loads of fun to play on. What really makes this stage is the number of little aesthetic details scattered around in it and that general Mother atmosphere.

7. Fountain of Dreams (SSBM)

Lots of people hate on FoD for the lag and the way the platforms can screw with you, but I like it. Awesome music, great ledges, and the potential for really amazing recoveries. I agree that the platforms are horrible at some heights, but that's why they move.

6. Poke Floats (SSBM)

Probably the most fun most broken stage out there. Poke Floats is hell for actual fighting but tons of fun for casual free for all matches. Such a creative idea, too.

5. Battlefield (SSBM)

The edges are kinda lame, but everything else is great. The platforms are tight together with just a slight gap for impressive edge cancelling and other such shenanigans.

4. Sector Z/Corneria

Broken in a lot of ways, but still pretty brilliant for competitive play. Sure, people can camp, but jumping down under the wing to an awaiting opponent is one of the best moments in the whole series. And any time the Arwing gets involved is bound to be classic.

3. Final Destination (SSBM)

Pretty much perfect in terms of size and edges, and the design and atmosphere on it is very intense. You might think there isn't a lot to go wrong with on a level like this, but then you look at Brawl FD and thank the gods that they pulled it all together here.

2. Pokemon Stadium (SSBM)

I'm a little bit disgusted that this isn't neutral for 1v1 now, even though they make really good arguments for why it isn't and such. I still think it's brilliant. All of the changes are a bit broken, but they are in a really exciting, shine-infinite mountain-combo sort of way. There's a bit of stalling on occasion, sure, but it doesn't go on forever. And the neutral layout of it is perfect in terms of platform placement.

1. Dreamland 64 (SSB/SSBM)

Perfect. The wind blowing leads to some really impressive combo escaping, the platforms are at an amazing height, there's lots of room on and off stage, and the music has one of the most infectious melodies conceived by man.  Some say matches last too long here, but I don't know why I'd ever want to leave.

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