Now that Steve/Alex have revealed it looks like we’re going to have another long wait between characters. Since I personally enjoyed speculating on the idea last time I figured I’d make a follow-up with some more brainstorming on what it could be like. Since this is really kind of a continuation of that article, it might be a good idea to go check that out first.
Another Stage Idea: Mineral Town/Forgotten Valley
While my previous post went with Flowerbud Village’s town square as the ideal singular location for a stage due to its strengths in providing unique layouts, character cameos, and already being a raised platform allowing it to work as a traditional Smash Bros. stage would, it did ignore the possibility of another kind of stage: A traveling stage.
With the two towns connected through Mother’s Hill (and Gamecube/GBA Link Cable) and both being particularly beloved entries in the series, it’d certainly be a treat to feature both towns as part of the stage. Acknowledging I’m probably the only person in the world who likes the Pacland stage, maybe the Witch Princess or Goddess could transport you around instead of sidescrolling? Honestly, if they went that route, maybe it’d be nice to feature other game’s locations too. Take me back to Waffle Island!
Another Moveset Gimmick – Livestock
One idea I didn’t bring up last time would be having Pete’s moveset focus largely on animals and animal care. It seems like a natural thing to gravitate to instead of focusing on crops. After all, the series is called Bokujou (Ranch) Story in Japan, not Noujou (Farm) Story.
How each animal could be used, and how you care for them, is a little harder to figure out though. Some are more obvious, like having your horse either be your side special or just used while running, maybe chickens/ducks could be used for recovery, but… cows… maybe certain smash attacks? There could be some more exceptional animals too, like ones from Theodore’s Circus in Animal Parade or the various wild animals that have appeared throughout the series.
Care taking would likely be the bulk of the meta though, with making sure your animals are happy, fed, and brushed to maintain effectiveness while battling. It’d also probably be a bad idea to let your animals get hurt while using them, which could be a tall order in a 4 or 8 player match.
Final Smash
Somehow I totally skipped going over this in my previous post, so I guess now’s the time.
- Stampede – The first one that comes to mind after thinking about all those animals would be to use them all at once on your foe. The only drawback is that it’s kind of been done before, with Yoshi’s new FS being extremely similar.
- Blue Feather – Easily one of the most iconic items in the series, so this could be one of the ideal ways to include it. Maybe it could even be said that ending a battle with love rather than violence would be more in line with Story of Seasons’s overall vibe. So I wanna ask you. Do you think love can bloom even on a small battlefield?
Yeah… I do. I think at any time, any place… people can fall in love with each other.
- Harvest Festival Poisoning – One of the few opportunities you ever have in Story of Seasons to intentionally hurt other people is at the Harvest Festival by throwing in a poisonous ingredient. Ever since Kirby stopped bringing the cooking pot to battle there’s been room for a cooking themed Final Smash, so this seems like a pretty clean fit.
More Potential Mii Costumes
I kind of leaned on Rune Factory to provide some easy options last time, but it’s not like mainline Story of Seasons itself is without viable choices. This time, let’s reach a little harder to try to find some characters that could fit into the three roles from Story of Seasons itself.
Brawler: Gwen
There’s rarely much violence in Story of Seasons, but one extremely memorable moment is in Save the Homeland. If you mistreat your dog, Gwen will ask you if you feel bad for what you did… and if you say no, she’ll teach you a lesson. GET ‘IM, GWEN.
Gunner: Ann, Rick, Bill/Will, Louis, Phoebe, Daryl, etc.
Gunners are a kind of iffy proposition for Story of Seasons, as there’s hardly any firearms in the series, and the few there are certainly aren’t lasers… but, there’s a pretty decent selection of inventors, scientists, and such. Surely, one of them could repurpose an ice cream maker or something.
Swordfighter: Kevin, Angela, Molly, and Kasey
With both of the Wii titles being fondly regarded, it makes sense to find some way to fit them into Smash’s hypothetical Story of Seasons representation. The slightly longer, thinner limbs on Mika Nunokawa’s characters are a little bit closer to a Mii Fighter’s compared to the older Igusa designs, which would probably leave Pete, Sara, or Claire as a little more stylized and closer in line with characters like Ness or Mario. Just slap a hoe or sickle into their hands to serve as the “Sword” and they’ll fit right in.
—-
I think that’s it for this time. There’s not a whole lot else to theorize about, besides maybe some taunts or something. It’s still not exactly likely to ever happen, but it’s a fun thing to speculate about. With the 25th Anniversary for the series coming up it’d be nice to see a new game announcement and for the series to show up in the biggest celebration of gaming history around. Hopefully at least through a spirit event… maybe next time I’ll try to do a deep-dive in as many of those as I can.
Ranchstory News Blog 