Sakurai has mentioned that not all stages would be between both the Wii U and 3DS as Wii U would focus on stages based on console games and 3DS would focus on stages based on handheld series. Battlefield however is one of the stages that we know is cross platform.
Just like our red plumber who we looked at yesterday, today is another staple of the franchise. Originally arriving on the Gamecube as an unlockable stage for completing All-Star 1-P mode once, this became the main stage in Brawl, unlocked from the beginning and similar to the trailer showing these two games, was the basic stage that most matches originally were shown. No bells and whistles here, just three small platforms overlooking the one long platform below.
The 3DS version feels more compact than the previous console versions with the screens and little bit shown during the trailer. As we do not have true gameplay of the 3DS version shown at this time, it is hard to understand if we will see the entire battlefield or if the camera stays in closer to your fighter due to the 3DS being a one player device. The setting is the floating platform which is built on a floating rock with a lake. They add in two trickling waterfalls going off into the clouds. The jagged rocks in the background are similar to those in Acorn Plains from New Super Mario Bros. U as shown below.
The towering white walls of stone just gives a sense of awe and the higher you go, you make the transition from the Mushroom Kingdom to the heights above the clouds in Battlefield.
The Wii U version looks amazing. They pulled out all of the stops on this stage making it so beautiful. Looking at this screen, you can see the fluttering banners with the brawl symbol in the background. It looks like a demolished stadium that the battlefield has broken away from and is now one of several floating islands floating around.
The image above shows a silhouette of a moon showing that this takes place on an earth like planet. Right behind Mario's ear, we can see another island floating in the distance and can make out the remnants of a city with tall buildings. This is seen even more clearly with the picture below as you can see a temple similar to the Parthenon above the Villager's head and a church with two spires coming out of Mario's fist.
This version of Battlefield is a perfect example of how the new version of Super Smash Bros on the Wii U is going to be pushing the graphical powers. To me, Brawl seemed to be pushing more the graphical power of the characters themselves but so far it is the stages that blow me away in the Wii U version. The blades of grass and the growing moss, it just makes the game feel so alive.
One feature that seems to be in both versions is the Day/Night cycle from Brawl returning where every couple minutes the sky will go through day-dusk-night-dawn. This was confirmed during the live demo Sakurai did where over the 1:30 match the screen slowly got darker but when Sudden Death came around, it was dead of night and looked gorgeous. We have not seen this feature in action of the 3DS version but from screenshots, their seems to be varying amounts of light.
Battlefield is almost as basic as you can get with Super Smash Bros, similar to the fan favorite Fountain of Dreams on Melee. I am excited to see how the other stages on both Wii U and 3DS bring something new to the series.
Battlefield: Tournament Legal
