As you probably now know, Nintendo has confirmed that NFC (Near Field Communications) technology involving physical character figurines is becoming a major focus of the Wii U and 3DS systems. But while Nintendo’s keeping quiet about exactly what titles are going to be tied into the technology (at least until E3 rolls around this year), I’ve come up with a few interesting ideas about what types of games Nintendo might make involving this technology. So if you want to find out for yourself, keep reading!
When it comes to recent Mario platformers, many have said they’re becoming a bit too ‘stale’ and ‘conservative’, with many of the New Super Mario Bros games and other recent titles sharing things like the same look, the same style of music and the same game structure. But that’s not what it has to be like! Oh no, as people who’ve played the Wario Land series should know, that franchise has shown full well how you can revolutionise a simple series of 2D platformers in every single installment. And so here are five things from the Wario Land series that future Mario platformers should use as well.
But people might be wondering which ones I do want to see in the next game. So that’s the point of this article, a list of characters from every single series represented in Super Smash Bros that I really hope to see come the fourth installment. Here are the characters who I really do want to see included in the game.
Mario characters
As far as Mario characters go, there are a few characters I think would be interesting to see playable in Super Smash Bros 4. These are:
Waluigi
The first Mario character on my list, I think Waluigi is a great candidate for a playable character in Super Smash Bros 4.
Above: Waluigi could be an interesting new playable Mario character in Super Smash Bros 4.
The main reason for this is simply that he’s important enough that him being added would be fairly likely to happen, as well as different enough in design and abilities that he wouldn’t end up being a clone of anyone (unlike the likes of Princess Daisy or Rosalina, who could easily be based off Peach).
His origins in Mario spinoffs could give him some interesting attacks and abilities too. Like the ability to use the tennis racket his assist trophy form has, his weird water skiing type abilities from Mario Power Tennis and various others. Perhaps he could use explosives too, as a sort of reference to Waluigi’s Island from Mario Party 3?
All in all though, I think Waluigi is both a likely character to be made playable and a good choice for a new Mario series rep, so I hope he ends up as playable in Super Smash Bros 4.
Fawful
Fawful is another character I want to see in Smash Bros 4 as a Mario rep. Why is this you may ask? Because frankly, the RPGs don’t get anywhere near enough representation in the series and Fawful is pretty much the most well known, popular character in any of them.
Above: Fawful + Super Smash Bros = awesome
Add to this his various abilities that could be adapted to special moves (he could use his headgear in his various specials and become Dark Fawful for his final smash), as well as his hilarious quotes and comments (it’d be pretty funny hearing him use phrases like ‘I have fury!’ as part of his taunts or the like), and you’ve got a character who I think could work quite well in the next Smash Bros title.
Paper Mario
With the one minor catch that he shouldn’t be a clone of Mario. No, Paper Mario should be used to represent the Paper Mario series and the attacks/partners/pixls you can get in said series, and should take advantage of that for his attacks. Maybe he could use his hammer for one of his B attacks, summon the likes of Bow or Vivian to dodge attacks or use one of the various ‘flying’ partners like Parakerry or Lakilester as part of his Up B special. There’s plenty of possibilities here.
Above: Paper Mario’s abilities could make him a formidable fighter in the Super Smash Bros franchise.
Not to mention the neat music they could add to go with the character. Perhaps something like this could be his victory theme:
Above: Darn those victory themes are catchy.
We need a Paper Mario character in the Super Smash Bros series (or for that matter, any other series other than just the Paper Mario one), so Mario in his paper form could work well in that respect.
Zelda characters
Vaati
As far as Zelda characters go, I think Vaati would be a better choice than Ghirahim or one of the other ‘fifteen minutes of fame’ characters. Why?
Because for one thing, he’s as close to a secondary villain as the Zelda series will ever get. Appearing in three games (two of which he’s the main antagonist), Vaati is the only Zelda villain bar Ganon who’s ever appeared in multiple titles and managed to come up with different plans. So he’s more at least more interesting than any other non Ganon villain in the franchise, and hence more important to boot.
Above: Vaati is the second most important Zelda villain as of this time, hence should be in Smash Bros
As far as attacks and abilities go, he’s got plenty of possibilities there too. He can use things like tornadoes and wind powers as part of his special attacks, turn into his giant eye form from Four Swords/Four Swords Adventures for a final smash and likely has a whole bunch of other interesting characteristics that can help him fight differently to other characters in the game.
Above: Vaati’s Four Swords form could be part of his final smash
So Vaati seems like a great character for Super Smash Bros 4. He’s an important Zelda character who’s appeared more than once and actually has some relevance to the franchise, he’s got more personality than most of the ‘villains of the week’ that have appeared in games without Ganon and his abilities lend themselves perfectly to a Super Smash Bros 4 moveset. Here’s hoping he makes it in.
Pokemon characters
Mewtwo
Does anyone NOT like Mewtwo? Thought not. He’s already an extremely likely character for Super Smash Bros 4 (due to his new gen 6 form/redesign and being cut from Brawl at the last minute), and I have to say I’m definitely hoping he gets in.
Above: Ideally with both his forms as options.
He’s a perfect representation of gen 1 alongside Pikachu and Jigglypuff, he was an interesting gameplay to play as back in Super Smash Bros Melee and he is by far and large one of the most popular Pokemon ever featured in the series. You don’t even need to design a moveset or abilities, since he was already a Smash Bros playable character.
So yes, Mewtwo so needs to be in Super Smash Bros 4.
Genesect
The other Pokemon I want to see, I think Genesect is so much better a character choice than Zoroark that it’s just ridiculous.
Above: Genesect is the fan favourite of gen 5
I mean, for one thing, people LIKE Genesect. Sorry Game Freak, Zoroark was a complete failure as far as recreating the popularity of Mewtwo, Lucario or Deoxys goes and appealing to fans, and Genesect has currently turned out to be the true ensemble darkhorse of gen 5.
And you can’t exactly blame them for that. Genesect? An awesome genetically modified prehistoric bug Pokemon from ancient times, complete with a laser cannon on its back. Zoroark? Just a fox that can pretend to be other creatures. One is just so much cooler than the other, and I think even Nintendo themselves have realised that by now.
As for his abilities in Super Smash Bros 4, those won’t be too difficult to figure out. Genesect learns quite a few interesting attacks in the Pokemon video games, and I’m sure the likes of Techno Blast could be adapted to a special move fairly easily (perhaps give him a way to change the type of the move in Smash Bros as well, and have it do more damage to certain fighters depending on what type it is?)
Because of all this, I really do hope Genesect makes it into Super Smash Bros 4, since he’d be a perfect gen 5 playable Pokemon rep and would be popular with a whole ton of fans.
Kirby
Kirby character wise, I have to admit there’s not really anyone I think’s needed for the next game. Bandana Dee/Waddle Dee would be okay (but hardly the most interesting character choice in the world), but the current line up of Kirby, Meta Knight and King Dedede works about as well it should do for representation.
Still, if Sakurai does want to add a Kirby character, he should go full out insane and add a ridiculous one. Forget the ‘safe bets’ like Waddle Dee, add someone who you’d think would never work in a fighting game and that looks absolutely ridiculous instead. Maglador? Sure! Nightmare? Go ahead! Yin Yarn? Might as well!
I’ll be happy regardless of what happens here, so Nintendo might as well go a bit nuts when it comes to another Kirby character.
Metroid characters
Ridley
Yes, I know people say Ridley is too big. But do you know what I say to this?
Who cares
Above: Ridley is the next most logical Metroid character to be playable in the Smash Bros series.
Super Smash Bros is not ‘canon’. Characters don’t need to be the size they are in their original franchises, nor even at the same scale or using the same exact design. Don’t believe me? Just check out the pages on Zelda Wiki, Metroid Wiki, Bulbapedia and other sites dedicated to a Nintendo franchise and note how their Smash Bros pages note that the information included is non canon. Resizing Ridley is not the end of the world.
Besides, who else do you think would work as a Metroid rep in Super Smash Bros 4? We’ve already got Samus and Zero Suit Samus as one character, and all of the other major bosses or enemies in the franchise are even less humanoid than Ridley is. Or so unimportant no one cares about them except the most die hard Metroid fans.
Ridley just seems like a great character to include. He’s an iconic Nintendo villain with plenty of fans and popularity, he has a ton of possible attacks and abilities that could be used in game and he is literally the second most important character in the Metroid franchise. He should be made playable in Super Smash Bros 4 regardless of any necessary size changes.
Donkey Kong characters
King K Rool
Probably my favourite ever Donkey Kong character and Super Smash Bros 4 character request, King K Rool is quite literally the perfect character for this game. For one thing, he has a whole ton of abilities that could be used in Super Smash Bros 4, like some attacks:
B: Blunderbuss shot
B Side: Crown throw
B Up: Helicopter Pack
B Down: Either a barrel from the first game/lightning from the third one
A nice choice of final smashes. Like using the Blast O Matic on the stage like in the Donkey Kong 64 ending:
Above: You have to admit, it’d be cool to see it aimed at a Smash Bros 4 battlefield complete with the other characters still fighting there.
Or turning giant like in Jungle Climber’s final battle:
Above: Sort of like Giga Bowser, but bigger.
Between four and five different costumes that could be used instead of palette swaps:
Not pictured: K Rool in his King Krusha K. Rool boxing outfit
He’s also got an entirely different physique and design to most other characters (including Bowser and King Dedede), so whatever happens he likely wouldn’t end up as a clone or anything of the sort. That’s better than Dixie Kong, who is similar enough to Diddy in design that she could unfortunately be treated as a clone if Nintendo got lazy.
Finally, he fits perfectly into the story mode as a villain. Heck, this whole scene from the Subspace Emissary was desperately missing King K Rool and the Kremlings as the antagonists:
Above: Bowser didn’t fit this part at all. King K Rool would have worked perfectly.
Star Fox characters
I don’t think there needs to be any more Star Fox characters at this point in time. I’d be perfectly fine with some getting added though, more characters is never a bad thing.
Fire Emblem characters
No idea which new character I’d want to represent the Fire Emblem series, simply because I don’t have any interest in the series. Either way, a new character would be good here, and I wouldn’t mind which one ends up added so long as at least one gets in.
Earthbound characters
Not sure. I’d be fine regardless of whether a new Earthbound/Mother character gets added or not, and I’d be just as happy if no new characters from the series made in it. Either way works.
F-Zero characters
There are also two F-Zero characters I think would be interesting to see in Smash Bros 4. Namely…
Samurai Goroh
Well, he’s made it into Super Smash Bros Melee and Brawl… just not as a playable character. Either way, I think Samurai Goroh might be an interesting choice of F-Zero character to have as Smash newcomer, he’s known Captain Falcon for years as a rival of sorts, seems handy enough with a sword and fighting and is the one of the most popular and well known characters in the F-Zero series itself.
Here’s hoping this time he gets upgraded from an assist trophy to a proper playable character.
Black Shadow
It’s been said a few times already, but I agree entirely with the people who say they should use him as the means to ‘declone’ Ganondorf. Add him in, give him Ganon’s current moveset for people who actually like playing as this version and then give Ganondorf a new set of attacks that better reflects the Zelda series. Everyone wins, and it’s something I’d like to see.
Pikmin characters
No idea in this respect. Absolutely any other captain from the series could be adapted to Super Smash Bros, and I’d be fine with any of them.
Wario characters
As far as Wario characters go, I’d honestly be fine with pretty much anyone. From the WarioWare side of things, either Mona, Jimmy T, Ashley, Dr Crygor or 9 Volt would work well as playable characters in a Super Smash Bros game, and from the Wario Land side Captain Syrup could work well too.
Above: The WarioWare cast could be interesting to see.
And even then, that’s hardly the only characters I think could potentially work well. Take just about any series villain other than the Golden Diva, Black Jewel or Terrormisu and you’d have a character who could be adapted into a playable one fairly easily. Or do the same with just about any remotely humanoid individual from the WarioWare franchise and they’d do well too.
Above: Captain Syrup could be interesting as a character too.
So yes, I don’t mind what Wario characters get in, and I’d be quite happy with just about any of them.
Above: Adapt this music with a real orchestra and I’d be happy even without the characters. Just about anything Wario related would be nice.
Yoshi characters
Kamek
He may technically also be a Mario character, but I think Kamek is an awesome possible character for Super Smash Bros due to his abilities, and far more likely to get in as a Yoshi rep than a Mario one.
Above: Does Kamek have what it takes to be a great Super Smash Bros character? I think so.
So why would he be a great character to see? Well for one thing, he’s a magician/wizard and could use magic as part of his attacks. He’s got short range spells to use as projectiles, his flying broomstick to use as part of an Up B attack and an awesome final smash in which he could use his powers to become Giant Kamek from Super Princess Peach.
And in the main story mode, he seems just perfect for part of the inevitable villain alliance. After all, he’s basically Bowser’s second or third in command in many Mario titles, so he’s already worked with him before and could easily do so again.
So Kamek would be great to see as part of Super Smash Bros 4, and would be a great choice for a second Yoshi character.
Other characters
Palutena
Well, is it even remotely debatable that we’ll get some Kid Icarus Uprising representation this time around? After all, it was the last game Sakurai made…
And so it seems logical to have Palutena included. She’s a well known Kid Icarus character who’s played a major role in every single game in the series, has plenty of support for her inclusion and I suppose could fairly easily be given an interesting moveset and abilities too.
So yeah, if anyone from Kid Icarus Uprising should be playable in Super Smash Bros 4, it should be her.
Little Mac
Above: A character from a series based around fighting should so be in Super Smash Bros
Another general Nintendo character I’d want to see in this game is Little Mac. Why? Well can you honestly think of anyone better suited?
I mean, he’s a boxer from a series based all around fighting. Hence you wouldn’t even need to look very far to come up with ways he could attack or anything else related to him. Attacks? Could be based around his various strikes from the Punch Out series. Arena? The boxing ring. Final smash? Giga Mac from Punch Out Wii:
Above: And his powered up form makes a perfect final smash transformation
Put simply, Little Mac is long overdue as a playable character in the Super Smash Bros series. He’s from a massively popular series that did really in the old days, he’s far better suited to fighting than various other Nintendo retro characters like the Duck Hunt Dog or Balloon Fighter, and I think he’d be a perfect character to include in general.
Mii
No, you’re not reading that wrong. I’m not against Miis in Super Smash Bros.
Why? Because honestly, I think the possibilities with them are nearly endless and that they could make the game more entertaining simply by being there. After all, you’ve all got characters from non video games you don’t like, right? Well if Miis are included, you can then make them in Mii form and get to beat them up in the most over the top way possible. That’s pretty damn cathartic, and it’d be great fun to try and blow up some jerkass from your favourite film or TV show.
Not to even get into the kind of entertainment value that comes out of putting real life individuals in a game based around fighting. I’m sure people on Youtube would absolutely LOVE the ability to have Miis in the game simply for comedy/machinima purposes.
And I guess if there’s a character you like from elsewhere (like James Bond, Batman, the Doctor from Doctor Who), Miis give you a sort of way to make them playable in Super Smash Bros. That’s got to count for something, right?
Finally, for all the criticism of them being ‘unsuited’ for Smash Bros… well, they’re more suited to Super Smash Bros than they are for any other Nintendo franchise. No, what’s a real insult is putting them in a 2D Mario platformer like New Super Mario Bros U where they don’t belong in the slightest. Or having freaking Wuhu Island be the location of two whole race tracks in Mario Kart 7. At least Super Smash Bros is a crossover game where characters from different universes co-existing makes logical sense.
Above: Forget Smash Bros, THIS is a real insult to game canon.
Above: As is freaking Wuhu Island in Mario Kart. No sense whatsoever.
So yes, I do want Miis in Smash Bros 4.
Mega Man
Above: Everyone wants Mega Man in Super Smash Bros, myself included.
Finally, everyone’s favourite blue bomber so desperately needs to be in Super Smash Bros 4. He’s got a whole ton of attacks and abilities that be used as part of an interesting moveset, a level of popularity many of this list can only dream of and the potential to be part of the one of the best announcements in Super Smash Bros history.
There’s nothing much to be said. Mega Man needs to be in Super Smash Bros 4. To show Capcom the character is still extremely popular and should star in more games. To fulfil the dreams of the millions of Nintendo fans who want him in the Smash Bros series. To give the developers a nice excuse to put various elements, items, stages and music from the Mega Man series into Smash Bros 4.
Above: Exhibit A
Mega Man needs to be in Super Smash Bros 4, and I don’t think absolutely anyone will disagree with this.
Well, there’s who I want to see as playable in Super Smash Bros 4. Some are likely to be added due to their importance and popularity, others less so. But I think all have the potential to be interesting playable characters with unique abilities and to improve Smash Bros as a franchise, so I’m gonna keep hoping that at least half of them make it into Super Smash Bros 4.
Do you agree with my list? Are their any other characters I should have listed? Post in the comments below or at Nintendo 3DS Community and let me know who you think should be in Super Smash Bros 4!
If you’ve been reading Nintendo 3DS Daily for a while now, you may remember that I wrote an article about how the 3DS’s AR features were going ignored by Nintendo and how so few games seemed to make any real use of them. If you missed it the first time, you can read that article here:
But now that Mario Party 3DS and this whole ‘Photos Together with Super Mario’ thing have been announced, could it be the case that Nintendo are finally ready to actually do something with the feature. I think so, and I think that the way Mario Party is implementing this whole Augumented Reality business shows that Nintendo have quite a bit more confidence in it than they used to.
How is this? Well look at this Mario Party screen and tell me what’s different about the whole AR setup used:
That’s right! Actual moving characters and gameplay that seems like it’s based on button controls in an Augumented Reality generated scenario! Prior to this, all AR stuff in Nintendo games was pretty much non interactive. Oh sure, you could press buttons to shoot things or vaguely interact with the generated imagery, but every single game was basically done in First Person View with the 3DS itself being moved as your main control scheme.
This on the other hand seems to be different. Mario and Toad are moved with the control stick and buttons on this net surface completely independently of how you move the 3DS. Heck, it even seems like you’ll have to move the 3DS camera ‘around’ the virtual object to see them on the other side! It’s seeming proof that actual GAMES can work with AR functionality, stuff that’s more than a cross between Pokemon Snap and a theme park shooting gallery.
So it could well be indication Nintendo is going to use AR for ‘proper’ games as well as mere ‘app’ like experiences such as Face Raiders or Pokemon Dream Radar. Something allowing you to controls characters seperate from the camera like the above mini game could be the preclude to all kinds of neat things. Like making Super Smash Bros 4’s characters seemingly fight on your desk/bed/wherever like kid from the Nintendo 64’s game’s intro! Or heck, use it for better versions of real life toys or something. Can you imagine how cool it’d be to have a Lego game use this (or something like Minecraft)? You could end up building virtual block structures and interacting with them like in a game world! Complete with none of the mess or clearing up or awkwardness gained from the real thing! Other great possibilities that await with this type of AR usage include a strategy game similar to Pikmin (seriously, can you imagine if someone used either Pikmin or that old Army Men license for something based around Augumented Reality? Could be huge) and real life Pokemon/Yugioh/whatever style battles that appear to be taking place in front of you in ‘reality’! Just make both player’s consoles generate the same image through the camera and have what appear to be Pokemon Stadium style battles in your room/backyard/school! That could seriously make millions…
But even ignoring the possibilities, you know the other great thing that having AR mini games in Mario Party 3DS and working on stuff like this Mario camera app proves? That Nintendo haven’t given up on the feature like I’d feared. That Nintendo might plan on implementing it in more of their recent games and actually try using it for some of the ideas listed above. Either way, it seems my worries about Augumented Reality being abandoned may have been too premature and I’m very much interested in seeing what creative uses Nintendo can come up with for the technology!
Zelda and Luigi’s Mansion. Not exactly two series you see compared often, but with the style of the second Luigi’s Mansion game being very much like a Zelda title, it seems like sometimes the Legend of Zelda series should take quite a bit more inspiration from it. So what things should the next Zelda game mimic from Dark Moon? These:
1. The more complex puzzles.
Let’s face it, the recent puzzles in the Zelda series don’t feel like they fit into the game world very well. You’ve got the bog standard crate pushing and switches, various gimmicky elements which completely feel out of place in the medieval environment and a general reliance on cliches to the point the TV Tropes page for ‘stock video game puzzle’ literally says ‘as used in the Legend of Zelda’. But do you know what game does puzzles well?
Luigi’s Mansion 2/Luigi’s Mansion Dark Moon.
Seriously, the types of puzzles you face in the likes of the Secret Mine or Treacherous Mansion are literally ten times more complex and ‘interesting’ than your standard Zelda puzzle ever was and actually feel like they fit the environment perfectly. Forget pushing boxes or standing on switches to open doors, these levels have you do things like activate machines in one room to affect the environment in another or bring objects through multiple sections of the level to do things like light them on fire or water plants in a different location. We need more ‘logical’ and less self contained puzzles like in this game in the next Zelda title. Make it feel like you’re doing interesting things with the objects around you when solving puzzles rather than being involved in a ‘game’.
2. The creepy atmosphere and tenseness.
Bcause if I see any one common complaint about the Zelda series, it’s that you really don’t feel… ‘scared’ by it any more. There’s no feeling of danger any more in the series with everything using ultra bright primary colours and fairly relaxing music. But Luigi’s Mansion 2 does this kind of ‘on edge’ atmosphere ridiculously well, and the music actually makes you feel like literally anything could happen. Heck, listen to this music from Haunted Towers and tell me it doesn’t make you feel at least a bit… wary:
Or this music from elsewhere:
Or this from the Secret Mine:
Similarly, the mansion design really makes you feel like you’re exploring a ‘real’ place despite some of the ridiculous obstacles you encounter. I can seriously see the likes of the Old Clockworks or Secret Mine in a Zelda or even Metroid style game. Heck, the final mansion (which I won’t show a picture of here) looks so ridiculously menacing from the outside that it seems like a perfect location for a Zelda dungeon.
So I really hope Nintendo’s in house Zelda team take some inspiration for the location design, atmosphere and music from Luigi’s Mansion Dark Moon this time around.
3. The sheer amount of enemies and their variety/ferocity
Another thing the Zelda series should take from Dark Moon is how enemies used in the game. Indeed, if the modern Zelda franchise has any problems with enemies, it’s that you never fight enough of them at once for them to become a real threat. But Luigi’s Mansion 2 doesn’t make that mistake later in the game. In the secret missions for instance you fight between five and ten randomly generated enemies at once to clear out the ‘infestations’. That’s far more like the number of bad guys you should be up against in any standard Zelda dungeon room.
Other parts in the game do this well too. For instance, there’s a point later in the game where King Boo opens a portal to another world and lets out a whole ton of ghosts that infest every room in the mansion. And honestly, I have to say I found this one section more difficult than pretty much any Zelda dungeon made in the last ten years. You’ve got enemies who’d never normally be in the same room teaming in great numbers, the very real chance of being horribly slaughtered when you make the slightest slip up and an incredibly ‘epic’ battle against a gigantic monster horde at the end that mixed every possible type of ghost together in one place. It’s difficult, it’s brutal, and quite honestly it’s the type of monster difficulty that should be far more common in the Zelda series.
Two Slammers, a weapon holding Greenie and a Mummy. This is the kind of variety Skyward Sword’s horde should have had.
We need to see more instances where enemies come in gigantic packs and team up on Link in the Legend of Zelda franchise. And we definitely need to see more times where different types of enemies come in the same room and cover each other’s weaknesses. Forget the Bokoblin horde from Skyward Sword, imagine how amazing it would be if you could end up in a battle where Darknuts, Stalfos, Moblins, Bokoblins and Iron Knuckles were in the same room! Just add in a few minor enemies coming from all sides, and you’d actually have a battle that lives up to the official art and backstory of the series.
Above: Kind of like this.
Additionally, I think the level of variety in basic enemies could be nice to see in the Zelda series too. I mean sure, Skyward Sword had Bokoblins with different designs and powers, but imagine if we had the variety seen in the Greenies in Luigi’s Mansion 2 in a Zelda game enemy. Where they’d grab and use different objects, armour and weapons to help them attack, use various disguises and other forms like knights and mummies or come up with tactics like going under the sandy floor rather than just walking slowly towards you and striking in an extremely telegraphed way. That would be the type of AI I’d love to see.
Finally, they should take inspiration from how the enemies in Luigi’s Mansion 2 behave. You know, where they actually attack regularly rather than constantly try to block your moves. It’s far better to have vicious enemies that suicidally charge into battle and fight to their last breath than cowards that constantly act defensive and like a puzzle sequence.
4. The Scarescraper should be in a future Zelda game (or at least something like it).
Seriously, can you imagine how awesome it’d be to have a multiplayer mode in the next Zelda game where you and three other Links have to take on an infinite sized dungeon with randomised floor plans and enemies? That would be one of the best things in gaming history, and would be a fantastic mix of Four Swords and the typical Zelda formula.
What’s more, it should have the same difficulty levels and harsh enemy combos as in Luigi’s Mansion Dark Moon too. Imagine wandering through a creepy maze and not knowing whether that one type of enemy or boss you don’t like is lurking around the corner! Or walking into a room and realising that Iron Knuckles and Darknuts are in the same tiny area and you’ve got to take on a whole room full of them! Think Luigi’s Mansion’s ghosts are bad? Imagine having the entire enemy list of the Zelda franchise to deal with and the insane enemy team ups that could create!
Above: Just imagine something like this, with Zelda enemies in! Same danger level too!
The idea of having randomised bosses would work well into the Zelda series version too, especially if they had the kinds of attacks the Luigi’s Mansion 2 random ones had. You think a normal Darknut is bad? Try fighting a gigantic one that could set half the room on fire and move three times as quickly! The amount of evil boss types a Scarescraper like mode in a Zelda game could end up creating is ridiculous…
Really, this kind of multiplayer would fit in the Legend of Zelda series perfectly, and should definitely be considered for either the 3DS or Wii U game.
5. Some of the bosses should have the level of variety shown by the first Luigi’s Mansion Dark Moon boss.
Really, the fact you had to use three different tactics to bring him down rather than just repeating the same old tricks multiple times makes this boss leaps and bounds above anything found in a modern Zelda game.
Above: Depressingly, this is a first boss. Compare it to Gohma from any Zelda game, and it’s definitely a more interesting and engaging fight.
They should stuff like this (and also like the Mr Freeze fight from Batman Arkham City where he learns your tricks after you use them once) for many of the bosses in the Zelda series. Figured out how to hurt Phantom Ganon by shooting arrows at him? Well he’s figured out how to avoid them now, so you need to find a new way to bring him down. Thought you knew how to beat the final boss already? Looks like he’s found a way around that, and even completely ignores your fishing rod now! Add in a few things in the environment you have to manipulate to your advantage (to do things like drop the ceiling on the boss or put out the lava pit or whatever), and the boss fights would be far more entertaining than the somewhat easy and stale ones from the likes of Twilight Princess or Skyward Sword.
6. The characterisation and ‘interesting’ things the enemies do
One of the neatest things about Dark Moon was how at certain points in the story you got to look inside various windows and cracks in the walls and observe the enemies going about their ‘normal’ activities on the other side. For instance, in the Secret Mine you got to see the Shrewd/Scornful Possessor trying to horribly murder some innocent creatures with bombs as it ran for its life. Or how in the Treacherous Mansion you got to see Toad running around scared as Boos and ghosts took over and King Boo trapped him inside a painting with dark magic.
That kind of thing would be fantastic to see a new Zelda game since it’d actually make you HATE Ganon. Or whoever the antagonist is, since you’d see them being evil jerks to innocent people around them. Imagine actually seeing Ganondorf freezing Zora’s Domain and the helpless reactions of the Zora Tribe as they got locked in ice. Or watching him order his troops to feed the Gorons to Volvagia as his dinner. That would truly make you see the evil deeds of the villain and his group, make you see them as bloodthirsty tyrants who actually need to be destroyed rather than just relying on ‘off screen villainy’. Even better if they spot you like in Luigi’s Mansion 2 and actually send soldiers out to have Link killed in response. Then you fought them, etc.
Above: I love how in Luigi’s Mansion 2 you actually see the ghosts and villains do things that show them as ‘evil’ or ‘playful’ or whatever.
The other scenes before encountering enemies would be nice to see too. Like how in Treacherous Mansion you see the Mummies waking up and punching their way out of their tombs before moaning and surrounding Link from all sides. Or how in the basement you see the Knight get up out the chair and ominous march towards Luigi with its pole weapon at the ready. That should be sort of like how the Redeads/Gibdos and Darknuts are introduced in a future Zelda game. Make them seen truly ‘ominous’.
Above: The mummies actually blast their way out the sarcophagus and stumble towards Luigi rather than just being in the open like say, Redeads.
Hell, the whole way the Mummies attack by coming out the ground is exactly how the Redeads should fight in a future Zelda game. Instead of having them predictably stand around, have them actually burst from the floor/walls/coffins in the room as you walk past. That’d scare the hell out of a lot of Zelda players.
All in all, there’s a lot of things Luigi’s Mansion 2 does well that I think the Zelda series could take inspiration from, and I hope some of these ideas end up in the next Zelda game in the franchise.
