Teej is back with a vengeance! Super Smash Bros. - The Cosmic Offensive

Hey, everyone! I'm back and it's only been...two years?! Wow...time flies, huh? For those of you who don't know me, I'm the guy who made Paper Mario Pocket and Paper Mario Pocket 2: Future Shock! That one was misfiled under "unfinished". I did, in fact, complete it. It wasn't as good as I would have liked, but I finished it.

Anyhoo, I'm a little older, a lot wiser and more well versed in game design than ever and I'm working on a project for my portfolio; I'm planning on attending game design college and applying for work at Nintendo, and as it turns out, fan games are appropriate for portfolios.

I don't know about you guys, but I was sorely disappointed in the story of Super Smash Bros. Brawl. I decided to write a better one and it's been sitting in my computer as several sets of notes for months now. I made the first volume into a comic, but I decided "why not make it a game?!" So, I'm back and in need of resources!

That said, here's the original comic. I finished Volume 1 and part of Volume 2, but it will be as-is in the game and I'm prolly not finishing the comic because of that, so...

SPOILER ALERT!

Spoiler for:

http://supersmashbros.thecomicseries.com/

Super Smash Bros. - The Cosmic Offensive is a Kingdom Hearts-esque story of the characters of Smash Bros traveling to each other's worlds to right the wrongs of their respective villains. But it will not be the right villain in each world! The main characters I've chosen as PCs (four at a time, differing between worlds) are:

Mario, Luigi, Yoshi, DK, Kirby, Meta Knight, Red (Pokemon Trainer), Samus, Sonic, Fox, Falco and Link.

The other characters will appear in their respective worlds and join the party while the main heroes (the titular Smash Brothers) are there. The primary villains, brought together by the Ancient Minister consist of:

Bowser, King K. Rool, King Dedede, Mewtwo, Ridley, Dr. Robotnik, Wolf O'Donnel, Leon Powalski and Ganondorf.

So, here's the deal; I need sprites! I need tilesets! I need ideas, for this one thing...

I've got a great plan for an item crafting system similar to how enchanting works in WoW: give almost any item in the game to a specific NPC and he will break it down into the basic components. Use those components on other items or together and you can create powerful weapons and items! For instance, break down a Poison Mushroom into Purple Mushroom Powder and combine it with a Hylian Shield and get a shield that damages enemies when they attack Link! Maybe combine Essence of Blue Pikmin with a Plumber's Uniform and get a Penguin Suit! See? It also will work for items from the games. It's kind of a combo of WoW enchanting and the item crafting system from Team Fortress 2. Sound good? I need ideas for recipes!

More than that, however, I need spritesheets. I can make character sheets no problem, but if anyone can make/help me find tilesets for the worlds, I'd really, really appreciate it. Here are the worlds I can confirm at the moment:

Pop Star (Kirby)
Mushroom Kingdom (Mario)/DK Isles (Donkey Kong)/Yoshi's Island (Yoshi)(they're clearly on the same planet)
Zebes (Metroid)
Hyrule (Legend of Zelda)
World of Pokemon (Pokemon)
Corneria (Star Fox)
Mobius (Sonic)
Distant Planet (Pikmin)
Mute City (F-Zero)
Shadow Moses Island (Metal Gear)

Here's the kicker: I'd like them all to somewhat retain their original art styles to make the player really feel like they're in a different dimension. That's the thing; the walls between dimensions have been shattered by some unknown evil force and the Dark Brotherhood is causing chaos. By making their presence as off-worlders known, they're destabilizing space/time and could shatter the universe. If you played Brawl, it's pretty obvious who the real villain is, but don't spoil it. HE has a very interesting origin story within this canon.

That said, anyone who has played my games before knows that I NEVER stray from established canon. I like my games to feel like Nintendo could have made them. I'm a fanboy like that (and several other ways I won't go into detail on). So, if anyone is willing to help me out, even with a suggestion for an item combo, I'd appreciate it. I have every intention of finishing this one; it just might be my ticket into actually MAKING games for Nintendo instead of WISHING it was by Nintendo. A fanboy can dream...

other than "please don't call him anything other than just RED because he's just RED." I've only got one suggestion and it's not really related to your game it's more of a people who want to design games should watch these sort of thing. that suggestion is, watch extra credits on the escapist.

Lol, I wasn't 100% on the last name anyway. Also, I watch Zero Punctuation, so watching Extra Credits isn't that big a stretch. I'll take a look.

Edit:
I'm guessing you meant the Other M improvements thing specifically. I'm watching it right now and I just want to say this:

Mario and Luigi deserve to be deepened IN A GOOD WAY. Their personas in this game will be based on a cross-section of their behavior in the Paper Mario and Mario and Luigi series as well as their personalities in the cartoon series. They will still look and sound like we (well, I) always imagined them and how we've seen them. Remember, I'm a huge fanboy; specifically a Mario fanboy, so they will be correct.

As for Samus? Consider Other M not considered. Samus is NOT a pussy and she does NOT need a father figure. She is the most badass bounty hunter anyone has ever seen and even Boba Fett s**ts his pants at the sight of her gunship. THAT is who Samus Aran is. She is the badass chick who you do not f**k with. She's the one who has Kremlings begging for her not to shoot them, then uses her grapple beam to toss them halfway across town saying that "it's not technically a gun". Actual scene from the first volume of the comic I did. Samus will be badass. She will be "take no prisoners, let's get this done because it's the right thing to do, nobody hurts my friends and gets away with it" badass Samus. Period. BUT! She will also have one thing that I liked from Other M: She loses her cool when she sees Ridley. The guy killed her parents. He's almost killed her several times. She has a lot of complex, negative emotions about him and they will show.

Kirby, Dedede and Meta Knight will be like they are in the anime. It was written by Sakurai, it's canon, moving on.

Red will be primarily based upon his persona in the Pokemon Adventures manga with some changes for story and exactly WHY he was chosen by Arceus to represent their world. In this continuity, he's their Chuck Norris. He's their champion. He's the best trainer in the world. Oh, and Blue is jealous as all get out that Red was chosen over him.

Link; here's a toughie. He has never had a speaking role outside of the cartoons, and I'm almost tempted to keep him silent because of that. I dunno; if anything, he won't say much, at least not until I've played more of the LoZ games. Again, consider his personality in the cartoon not considered. Excuse me for thinking Link is not a dick. He isn't.

Sonic talks in the games and the cartoon. He's quick to act, quick on the uptake and quick to make jokes and keep it light. Easily the comic relief.

D.K.'s persona is from Donkey Kong 64, as will the world when they get there. He's the most "fleshed out" in that game, anyway.

Fox and Falco also speak, so no real trouble there. Fox will have some daddy issues because he's constantly being compared to James, but he and Samus will almost be kindred spirits because they both lost their parents to an enemy they fight to this day.

Then there's the "cameo" heroes. They'll have their own worlds, but they won't be permanent members.

I can already tell Captain Falcon is going to be fun. A slightly less douche-y, way less of a misogynist, still super cocky version of Duke Nukem, and constantly hitting on Samus. She's the hardcore broad he's been looking for his whole life, so she's basically going to be the method by which his character is expanded.

Olimar isn't going to be too hard. He's just a simple guy who wants to go home. I have his captain's logs to build him off of.

Pit is clearly badass. Can't wait for Uprising; his personality will be right out of that. He's a kid on a mission, he has a duty to Palutena and he gets the job done.

Snake won't be hard; we know who he is.

Peach's personality will be closer to the Paper Mario series than in the cartoon. She's a clever girl and stands by her friends.

Zelda is far less dainty and more badass than Peach. She rarely fights as herself, but changes to Shiek to do it and she takes no prisoners.

Diddy will make an apperance in the Kong Isles chapter and will be based off of DK64.

Wario...oy. This guy is going to be fun. Based off of his behavior in the WarioWare series as well as in Mario Golf/Tennis. He's going to beg to join the Dark Brotherhood. A lot. When...ONE of the members turns sides, a slot opens for our gaseous Mario doppelganger.

Robot, the leader of the R.O.B.s will honestly probably be the deepest character of them all when it comes to motive. He works for his people's best interest. He does what he feels he must. He follows orders. Still, he has doubts and he's the only R.O.B. who even can. The others follow his orders without question. But whose orders does Robot follow? Would Master Hand truly turn his back on the Worlds or is another sinister force manipulating one of the only sentient beings who has ever seen the Creator with his own eyes? Hmm...

So, just to alleviate your fears; I love these characters and if I feel I can't represent them properly, I won't try; I'll ask for help or leave them out. I'm tempted to do that with Earthbound and Fire Emblem considering we never even got most of those games in the US. That said, all of the other franchises will be appearing including Mr. Game and Watch. Don't worry; no expansion there, but he does have a cool origin story. As do the R.O.B.s...

Edit:
Almost forgot something! Mario and Peach. Is there something there? Miyamoto has hinted at it, but never expanded on it. My answer? Yes. Yes, there is. Problem: Mario has been in the friend zone with Peach for twenty-six years. She's not sure how he feels about him, and he's not even sure about how he feels about her. Think about Ross and Rachel from Friends; they love each other but stupid things get in the way. Consider Bowser their Paolo, their Emma and their "we were on a break" all rolled into one. But when the safety of the universe rests on Mario telling Peach how he really feels? Oh, I will get that scene and their relationship right, so help me. Again, again. GIANT MARIO FAN. I will not screw this up; that is my freakin' pledge.

Edit AGAIN:
Holy crap, Red actually HAS a character! I changed his summary to reflect it. I guess I should read the Pokemon Adventures manga, huh?

really I meant all of them in general, but you're thinking, that's good.

really I meant all of them in general, but you're thinking, that's good.

Oh, totally. I love all of these guys; they're a part of me and my childhood and that's why I was so disappointed in the Subspace Emissary. I really felt like they got a raw deal and deserved more than that. Which is why I'm doing this in the first place. There are some common things about all of their worlds: they all have a primary guardian or guardians (all of whom are from established canon), they were all brought together by these guardians to protect the worlds, and none of them know who any of them are UNLESS they've appeared in a game together outside of the Smash Bros. series. For instance, Mario knows Yoshi and DK (in fact, Mario gets really nervous and suspicious around DK when Peach is in the room. I know he kidnapped Pauline, but he's still nervous). There will be introductions, there will be some mistrust at first until they defeat their first major boss. The first world will be where they get their starship, (guess what THAT is) and the first boss there is going to be this horrible thing that Ganondorf resurrects only to have it start feeding off his dark energy. So, that plan backfired and now he resurrected one of the most evil things this particular world has ever seen. Incidentally, this act is what causes one of the Dark Brothers to start reconsidering his allegiance...


Edit:
Almost forgot again. First things first, I know, but I'm also planning expansion packs when I finish the main game that will have supposedly taken place before the ending of the main game. "Other worlds" they traveled to that were NOT in Smash Bros. Think Earth 200X (Mega Man), Spiral Mountain (Banjo-Kazooie), Nightopia (NiGHTS), The Glade of Dreams (Rayman), Wumpa Islands (The ORIGINAL PS1 Crash Bandicoot series), and Funkotron (Toejam and Earl!). I may do others with three to a pack.

This looks cool. I also love these characters. The story seems to be interesting. Also, about Fire Emblem and Mother...
Mother 2 came to the US as Earthbound. If you have time, try playing it, its a good DragonQuest-esque RPG. Its Ness's game.
Mother 3, however... Well, there IS a fan translation rolling around, but it only works on a illegal ROM. Its Lucas's game.
Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance ( 8 ) and Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn (9) are available in english, too. The first one stars Ike, but he plays an support role in the second.

Marth is the main character of Fire Emblem (the first one), the sequel/remake Fire Emblem: Monsh? no Nazo and Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon. Only the last one was released on the DS.

PS.: If you're wondering, the Fire Emblem series are like Final Fantasy: Only a few games are in the same universe.
PSS.: What battle system will it be? Just wondering.

EDIT: The Mother series are in the same universe, but the main character changes. If you're wondering, Mother 1's main character is Ninten.

oh, I know a little about Mother, I actually forgot that Mother 2 was released here, not Mother 1. I don't know the story very well, but Gygas seems like one of the most shallow villains ever. Well, Tabuu...(forebode...)

So, Mother has a shot of inclusion and Lucas would also be included because with the villains' meddling, time begins to get messed up, and Lucas ends up in the past, IE Mother 2.

As for Fire Emblem, I would love to include Ike, Marth and Roy but if they're not from the same world it creates a canon problem and I won't go directly against canon (though I will manipulate it where necessary *glares at Other M). I'd need to play through, or at least read the wiki, on the games but I'm trying to make each world play somewhat LIKE the game they're from. Hence my hesitance to include them.

That said, Earthbound is most definitely in now. I can play the US game and find the fan translation of Mother 3, then go from there. Fire Emblem is still a toss-up. I'll try to add them, even if it's just Ike.

The battle system will be turn based (I wanted to do a Kingdom Hearts-esque one, I really did) but the gameplay will be a little different. First off, you stand alone in combat just like the original game. Your partners are assumed to be fighting hordes of enemies nearby, but your character is responsible for approximately 1/3rd of the enemies. This creates a challenge, and forces the player to consider their attacks more carefully if they are alone. That said, I'm thinking of making it so that falling in battle causes one of your party members to step in, but the problem with that is that if you have neglected their upgrades, they will be useless.

Each time you go to a world, the landing party will consist of two pre-chosen characters and a character of the player's choice to "play as". The characters in the party can be switched to lead roles even if you're not playing as them. That way, for instance, if you REALLY like playing as Sonic, and you only want to use him for the whole game, you can, even if he's in the pre-chosen landing party. Simply pick Sonic in the Character Select screen before you land, and a different character will be put in the NPC slot.

Also, to keep the spirit of the original game, THERE IS NO LEVELING SYSTEM! You level up and gain new powers (not STR or ATK increases; those remain constant and are inherently different for each character) by using the crafting system to create Power Orbs which grant any character new abilities of whatever level the P-Orb is. For example, if you craft a Level 1 P-Orb and use it on Meta Knight, you will unlock the Fury Slash move. If you use a Level 1 P-Orb on him again, you won't be able to because he already has his Level 1 power. Craft a Level 2 P-Orb and use it on Meta Knight, however, and you'll unlock the Dimensional Cape which makes him insubstantial (can't be hit) for one turn. The name of the points you use for powers are Smash Points.

Lastly, I can reveal more on the crafting system. Each world has three tiers of Primary Components you can create from using the R.O.B.'s Destruction tool, though variants and other minor components do exist (Keep in mind that this R.O.B. is NOT their leader, Robot, the playable character from Brawl). For instance, the three primary components you can make from Mushroom Kingdom items are Mushroom Powder, Super Essence and Star Dust. Also, you can combine components from the same world to create/recreate items! Use three Star Dust to create one Starman and make a character invincible for one full turn. Use three Mushroom Powders to create a Heal Mushroom which restores 5 HP. Finally, one cool thing you can do with this system after you can go to five different worlds: combine two of each of the top-tier components from five different worlds to create a highly coveted object of great power which grants the character who uses it one spectacular ability for one-time use in combat...

Oh, what might that be? It's right out of Brawl...

Edit:
Almost forgot; the Ice Climbers will be making cameos, but not exactly as playable characters. Think Sonic's role in Subspace Emissary, but a little bigger than that. They'll be around...

That seems nice... I would enjoy playing it!

Some more questions though:

What about including only one (Fire Emblem) universe? That would cut the Dimensional Paradox thingy. And if they don't make it, as an expansion pack?

What would happen If I didn't use a P-Orb 1 on a character, and then used a P-Orb 2? Could I do it? Would I learn the Lvl 1 move or the Lvl 2?

What about the guest star party members? Could I play as them?

And last, but not least, did you already decide if it will be XP or VX?

OBS.: I'm trying not to read the comic because of spoilers.

EDIT: Oh, and how will Red play? Will Pikachu be a guest star, another of Red's pokémons, or excluded entirely?

And... Any Metal Gear villain? Liquid Snake, Revolver Ocelot, or even Liquid Ocelot? Or are you trying to limit the villains to counterpart of the Main Characters?

And you can see more of Gyigas's backstory in Mother 1 (NES). There is an translation around, official even, just unreleased.

Okay, let me tackle these one at a time here:

Q: What about including only one (Fire Emblem) universe? That would cut the Dimensional Paradox thingy. And if they don't make it, as an expansion pack?

A: That's a possibility. If I did do that, I would likely include Ike first. I really do want to include Fire Emblem and I will do everything I can to do so.

Q: What would happen If I didn't use a P-Orb 1 on a character, and then used a P-Orb 2? Could I do it? Would I learn the Lvl 1 move or the Lvl 2?

A: Good question! Crafting higher level P-Orbs will require more materials, but the difficulty curve will be set so that tougher enemies won't be around until later worlds. But if you can craft it, you can use it at any time regardless of their Power Level. However, it will NOT unlock lower level powers if you use a higher level orb. Just be careful who you use it on; the power you'll unlock is a mystery and once you use the orb, it's gone!

Q: What about the guest star party members? Could I play as them?

A: Yes! But only on the worlds they are featured in. Even if a character is pre-chosen for a world (IE, Kirby and Meta Knight for Pop Star) they can still be your main character. This goes for guest stars as well, but keep in mind that you still have to unlock their powers and they won't come with you after you finish the world! I may create separate, easier to craft P-Orbs for party members who are not permanent.

Q: And last, but not least, did you already decide if it will be XP or VX?

A: XP. I have experience in it, I know how to make it work, I have a ton of scripts I can use, I know how to do the artwork and I've built three games in it already. If I have to learn VX, it will take a lot longer.

Q: Oh, and how will Red play? Will Pikachu be a guest star, another of Red's pokémons, or excluded entirely?

A: Actually, since sprites for Red that fit the art style are, well nonexistent, when you choose Red, you're actually choosing Pikachu! Red will be considered to be the player, basically giving Pikachu commands. In other words, you choose Red, and his response is "Pikachu, I choose you!". Oh, that was bad...

Q: Any Metal Gear villain? Liquid Snake, Revolver Ocelot, or even Liquid Ocelot? Or are you trying to limit the villains to counterpart of the Main Characters?

A: In a word? Yes. In more words? Hell, yes.

Wait, more? Okay... Shadow Moses Island will be a world. The party will be Meta Knight, Samus and Snake. The plot will revolve around Metal Gear Solid 1 for PS1 because it's the only one I'm familiar with and, honestly the one most everyone knows at least a little bit. Oh, and Snake and Samus might just share a...moment. :O

As for Gyigas, I've read about him. Most likely, the story on Mother will be that Ganondorf is trying to resurrect Gyigas and absorb his primordial evil power as his own. Well, if you read the comic, that plan already failed once, but that's our Ganondorf!

Oh, also I've decided Link will be mute save for accord, disagreement and battle sounds. He's the soft-spoken hero we all love and I refuse to give him a voice on the off-chance I screw it up. This is Ocarina of Time/Majora's Mask Adult Timeline Link by the way.

Lastly, remember how I said every world will play like it's out of the original game? Yeah...that raises a problem for Corneria, doesn't it? Not to mention that there are no sprites of Corneria on the ground.

So...the Lylat System will be an optional chapter wherein the player takes command of their character in a starship of some kind (Arwing if they don't have one of their own) basically helping Fox and Falco take out the combined armadas of the Space Pirates and Andross. If you finish the chapter, Falco will join the team as a permanent member!

Also, here are the starship assignments as they stand:

Mario: Space Pop (Sky Pop from Super Mario Land upgraded by Professor Gadd)
Luigi: Space Pop
Yoshi: Space Pop
Link: Arwing
Samus: Samus' Gunship (duh)
Fox: Arwing (duh, again)
Meta Knight: Dagger (Smaller version of the Halberd built to defend the Halberd from attacking starships)
Kirby: Warpstar (Yeah, he's badass like that. Fox installs a detachable shielding and weapons system compatible with Arwing technology)
Sonic: Tornado X (You'll already have been to Mobius by this point and Tails will give Sonic the Tornado X just in case)
Red: Modified Arwing (Pikachu in an R2-D2 situation powers and controls the weapons system, so Red has mostly electric blasts)
Donkey Kong: My First Arwing! (Slippy has made a simplified control scheme Arwing for training..ahem...young pilots. DK barely fits in the cockpit, but it's a simple "point and shoot" interface. He'll do fine! We hope...)

EDIT: I NEED SOME HELP!

M'kay...I found a script (sort of) for the Star Fox chapter. It's a space shooter minigame script all right, but no rings, no laser upgrades, finite missile capacity, no bombs, etc. No Star Fox stuff. If I send this thing to one of you guys, any chance you could mod it to do the following:

1. Add Gold Rings, Silver Rings and Bombs
2. Add boss fights
3. Add the ability to change scenes and get out of the space_scene and back to the map

If anyone can do that, or find a script that has it (or similar stuff) I can make this work! Otherwise, it's going to be a little weird and not as "Star Fox-y" as I'd like.

Wait, you mean, when we are in Mario's world, we'll be platforming, Link's world, ARPGing, etc?

(Yay stealth world)

... When the fighting comes in  ?

Unless they are just minigames, and not the entire world.
And about the Spaceshooter... Maybe you should post it in the XP Script Request?

Pretty much. It won't be exact, obviously and it won't be a collection of minigames by any means. The game will play essentially the same in each world, but with different gameplay elements.

For example, the Mushroom World will require traversing areas and fighting enemies going from story point to story point, but so will Hyrule and Mother. It will play a lot like Paper Mario or Mario and Luigi (most of my RMXP games do; they're all story-oriented). However, some worlds will have an extra something peppered in. For example, on Mobius, you'll be going through areas that are inspired by or are the actual areas from Sonic games. On Shadow Moses Island, you'll be going through the base, trying to avoid detection, but fighting enemies if you are detected. On Distant Planet, you'll be attempting to rescue Pikmin from the...ahem...enemy as you traverse the world. So it will all be heavily story-based, but a little different depending upon the world in question.

As for the Lylat System, that world will be far different because it's an optional space shooter minigame. I may be able to manipulate the script to work using parallel processes, but I'll see if I can't make it work on my own before I post in script requests. Good suggestion, though. Thanks.

Ooh, I see it now. It will make the player remember the original games, but with a twist mixed in to make them remember which game they're actually playing.

And will there be a VS mode? You know, just for fun, you choose a character, an enemy (battleback maybe) and then fighting ensues?

Exactly.

No VS mode planed ATM because I'd hate to compete with the real VS mode in Brawl. This game is meant to replace Subspace Emissary, not the whole game.

Second, I'm happy to report that I've successfully modified the shooter engine to work as best as it can all by myself! The mission will be complete when a certain number of enemy ships have been eliminated, so it's not QUITE like Star Fox, but it's not going to be perfect no matter what I do. In the end, you'll do a standard battle against Andross himself to unlock Falco. Well, more accurately, unlock the fight with Falco to unlock him. Think: Warning! Challenger approaching!

Also, new feature announcement: achievements!

I am an achievement junkie; I love 'em. There will be all sorts of achievements for doing both mandatory and optional stuff. Expect silly/pun names. I'm good at those.

EDIT:
Good news, everyone! I've been hard at work and decided that since this is a fangame of epic proportions, I'd like all of the music to be fan remixes! I need to compile a master list of songs and what style I need them in, but just something to keep in mind.

http://ocremix.org/
This site has videogame remixes. Just sayin'.

I know about OC Remix, and I'll be using a lot of their stuff. However, sometimes they haven't remixed a song I'd like or it's not in a style that will work for an area. For instance, a rock remix of Green Greens won't be as good as, say an acoustic remix because of the style of the area I've designed.

Of course in the case of Green Greens, I'd rather use the Pop Star theme from Kirby 64 anyway. LOVE that song. If I can't find a remix, I may use the original, but most of the game will be remixed.