Dojo update: Lift off!
It's been just over a week since we discovered Captain Olimar would be making his presence felt in Brawl, yet already we've learned more about his capabilities and his stage (which, by the way, looks pretty great). Today, we got the skinny on his Final Smash, titled "End of Day."
Grab the Smash Ball as Olimar, and night immediately sets in. As in the Pikmin games, that's the signal for the diminutive cosmonaut to head to the safety of his ramshackle spaceship, so he can take to the night sky and avoid the vicious beasts that lurk about on the ground below. Of course, his opponents won't have the same privilege, meaning they'll get chomped on by hungry Bulborbs, and suffer considerable damage in the process. There's even a spectacular coup de grâce to this Final Smash, with Olimar's ship crashing back to the stage seconds later with a bang, hurting any brawlers who are close by.
Sakurai notes that End of Day won't deal as much damage in one-on-one scraps, but also points out that you're less likely to have your KO stolen in such a match (which seems pretty obvious, really, but we're not going to question the man).
Anyway, that should be pretty much it for Olimar and his Pikmin chums; anybody else get the feeling that we're closing in on the end of dojo updates? We do, and this makes us sad pandas.











Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
worm @ Jan 17th 2008 11:48AM
"sad pandas"
Haha! Love to see the obscure South Park references!
Croove55 @ Jan 17th 2008 12:01PM
I thought Chris was just being random. Nice catch.
As for the continuation of the updates, I kind of feel that they'll have to continue until mid-February, at least. The biggest boosts in demand for this game come from the updates here. I don't think HAL is going to give up their best advertising medium just this early, since they've still got a month and a half to keep those on the fence interested. I'd say they have at least two big surprises left, or at least one, and that they'll stop updating at earliest on Feb. 7. But my predictions for this kind of thing are as unreliable as Sakurai is confusing, and a lot of people smell the end of the updates, so it's probably just wishful thinking.
Shadow31 @ Jan 18th 2008 9:02AM
Yeah, um, it has to be near the end of the updates. It sorta comes out in less than two weeks. Sure, maybe not in the US, but in Japan, so its release is very near.
Don Day @ Jan 17th 2008 11:58AM
Does anyone else think that this final smash move is weak sauce? Some final smash moves are so awesome (Fox, Snake, Bowser) but others just seem kind of weak (Meta Knight, Olivar, Wario). I wonder if the low key final smash is indicative of a stronger character.
SoshiKitai @ Jan 17th 2008 12:59PM
Low key? Weak sauce?
1. Meta-knight is a close-range fighter, and can get into a melee-range real quick. To get right into the fray is his style, and if he gets the smash ball, that means certain doom the instant he gets close enough! (That'll especially work if people are trying to knock the smash ball out of his hands) At that point, they're all knocked out instantly! Quick and strong and just continue fighting, that doesn't seem pretty weak to me.
2. Olimar's an unconventional fighter. He's pretty weak himself. What's he supposed to do? What's wrong with letting the giant monsters take care of it? They'll do massive damage the more opponents are on the stage... a lot of chaos will ensue from it! And if he's lucky, he'll crash right on them! Yes, it's weird, and has a lot of chances of stolen KOs... but what do you expect from a guy who throws little plant life on you to do his bidding???
3. Wario... well... he's kinda' weird already. People who would love to use him wouldn't think of really being a top-brawler, they'd just want to see how weird he is and annoy other opponents. (However, it would've been completely different if they took Wario from WarioLand, or Wario from the early Gameboy games) But he's most famous for his Wario Ware, so they chose that kind of style of fighting for him. What's wrong with his final smash if he's already weird enough? You get a powered up move-set and a one-hit kamikaze attack (the bike), THAT gives you the ability to immediately raise everyone's percentages and finish them all off with one blow! I think that suits him just fine.
4. Fox's Final Smash may be strong, but it's tough to directly aim at the opponent who gives you the most problems. When the Landmaster crashes onto the stage and tumbles and fires in every direction, your toughest opponent will most likely be dancing around you! ...a skilled dodger (and fighter) would scoff at such an attempt really.
5. Snake's attack isn't fool-proof. People can see where he's aiming and can dodge it if they're quick enough... and they get a breather everytime he reloads. Pretty easy if you know who he's after.
6. Giga-Bowser isn't invincible either... if you knew how to fight him in Melee, you know how to fight him in Brawl. Thankfully he's large enough to make sure you hardly miss any shots... and when he turns back to normal Bowser, he'll still retain all that damage he had as Giga-Bowser, and it'll only take one hit to make sure justice is served.
7. The fact is, everyone's final smashes have their strengths and weaknesses. If a person knows how to master a character, they'll realize that certain characters are more effective towards other characters (like an advanced form of rock, paper, scissors) if you bring them out to their full-potential.
8. The low key final smash being indicative of a stronger character??? ... you saying Snake isn't as powerful as Olimar? ... that sounds off.
Don Day @ Jan 17th 2008 1:41PM
A. Dude, you need to settle down.
2. I appreciate the long winded reguritation of information that I already knew. I merely mentioned those fighters as examples to what I was saying. You didn't need to break down the info that is already posted to the Dojo.
4. I'm not saying that Olimar is a stronger fighter than Snake, I was just posing a topic for discussion. Who the hell knows anyway, the game has yet to be released and no one has played as either of them yet. Olimar is certainly an unconventional character and he could very well be a power house once you get passed his learning curve.
Z. I just thought that the differences in a characters final smash might be a way of balancing each fighter.
Prof_Chaos @ Jan 17th 2008 1:09PM
I actually expect one more newcomer. This will balance the character numbers at 12 new and 12 returning. Yes, I know there are currently 12 new and 13 returning on the site, but note that Zero Suit Samus is a version of another character, much like Sheik. That brings the numbers to 11 and 12. Expect one more new character next week (or tomorrow). There's just enough time to announce one and it makes perfect marketing sense for timing. Create a big buzz with an unexpected character (classic Mega Man), similar to the buzz created when Snake was announced (at the beginning), right before the game launches.
Also 3 non-Nintendo characters is a much better number than 2.
SoshiKitai @ Jan 17th 2008 1:17PM
*ahem* SEMI-Nintendo you mean...
Just being on the system gives them some credibility.
...non-Nintendo would be like... I dunno... Master Chief?
And if that even so much pops up as a ridiculous joke, that's just beyond ridiculous.
Prof_Chaos @ Jan 17th 2008 2:55PM
true enough semi-nintendo then.
Mr Khan @ Jan 17th 2008 2:14PM
I like it. It combines a summoning Final Smash and a Meteor final smash
It works out neatly
Mr Khan @ Jan 17th 2008 2:14PM
I like it. It combines a summoning Final Smash and a Meteor final smash
It works out neatly
B1gC72 @ Jan 17th 2008 4:15PM
yea i guess the game is dropping in two weeks in Japan isnt it? that should signal the end of updates since we will then be able to find out everything about the game from it's already released version. im looking forward to finding out about the unannounced unlockable characters. im not really into the whole "surprise" thing for a fighting game like this since there isnt much story to be spoiled (and yes i know about the Subspace Emissary).
Mr Khan @ Jan 17th 2008 5:37PM
Exactly, i don't see why they would continue after the 31st, since some site will have the whole lineup posted by Groundhog's Day
gevenstaines @ Jan 18th 2008 5:06PM
i noticed all the characters' special moves have been announced, but only the name and no description. this shows me which veterans have new moves (mar downB and bowze forwardB), but for the newbies i'm left wondering what it will look like. particularly pit's angel ring and mirror shield. i hope the latter is some sort of reflector.
i also wonder about the likelyhood we will see luigi, ganondorf, or mega man (mostly for the stage music). i'd like to see ganondorf with a new moveset; why they cloned a character from a racing series is beyond me.