Condor's Peak

Done for the 30th anniversary of the NES classic, Ice Climber!

I was quite dismayed at absence of Popo and Nana in Super Smash Bros. 4. They were definitely a weird choice in Melee, but since they appeared and stuck around for Brawl, they've amassed plenty of fans for characters who only ever had one easily forgotten game. Now that they've skipped out the latest installment (due to technical difficulties, apparently), it feels like a member (or members) of the Smash family is missing.

Supposedly they actually had the Ice Climbers working just fine in the Wii U version before they decided to remove 'em (Jerks). This makes me wonder... Just how far along were they before they got cut? Did they have any ideas for a new Ice Climber stage? Considering how many corners they cut (and the admittedly low amount of content in the NES game to draw inspiration from), I'd guess they would just bring back Summit and call it a day. But what if they did have something original in mind...?

I took it upon myself to try creating a concept for a new Smash Bros. stage based on Ice Climber. I put together a rough draft using sprites from the original game, then later drew something similar to what I had in mind. Condor's Peak might not look as hectic as Icicle Mountain or Summit, but there's still quite a bit more to this stage than meets the eye.

The bridge of ice blocks in the middle can be passed through from below, but not from above. Each individual block can be broken by attacks if it gets hit enough by attacks. As the blocks are reduced in number, Topis will start walking out from behind the walls and push chunks of ice into the gaps, slowly repairing the bridge one piece at a time. They're in the background, so they can't hurt you, and you can't hurt them. You can however make them fall if they're standing on a block and you break it.

If you fall through a gap in the bridge, there's a small platform below to make recovering easier. Don't think you can just stall on that platform, though, 'cause if you spend more than a few seconds down there a Polar Bear will appear on the peak in the background and cause both the peak and the platform (which is attached) to sink into the abyss. Eventually the peak will rise back up.

Sometimes a Nitpicker (the little red bird enemy, which oddly never appeared alongside its fellow IC baddies in any of the Smash Bros. games) will swoop down at fighters, causing a little bit of damage before flying away. They're little more than an annoyance, though, and they can be defeated in one hit.

Finally, there's the Condor itself. It flies back and forth from side of the stage to the other at a consistent rate. The Condor can't attack you, and it can even be used as a platform, but standing on it's still probably not a good idea for two reasons: 1, it flies up at the top of the stage, near the top blast line, and 2, it flies past the blastlines on the sides of the stage, so if you stand on it for too long it will carry you straight to your doom. If it gets hit, the Condor stop appearing on the stage for a short time. Also, occasionally it'll hold a vegetable in its talons when it flies across the screen. Attacking it then will make it drop the veggie, which you can then use to heal yourself slightly.

That's pretty much all I got! What are your thoughts?

Ice Climber and Super Smash Bros. (c) Nintendo