Hey everyone, how’s it going?
Steve here to welcome you to Instant Classic, Episode 2!
In this episode we’re going to continue making our way through each character’s
Classic Mode route, five characters at a time.
This series is all about exploring the little-known meanings and facts present in each character’s
route, and this time we’ll be checking out characters from across gaming history, along
with one you guys voted for in the last episode!
Our first character is none other than Cloud Strife, from Final Fantasy VII.
If you haven’t played the game before {insert Reggie what’s wrong with you clip}...
some people might have some strong feelings about it, but I’ve got you covered.
Final Fantasy VII was the game that ended Square’s relationship with Nintendo decades
ago.
Suffice it to say, before Smash for Wii U, the thought of seeing Cloud of all characters
in a Nintendo game was almost laughable, but he’s here now and he has a route all his
own, called “A ride?
Not interested.”
Our first easter egg lies in the route’s name.
In Final Fantasy VII, the player is often given the option to make Cloud reply to certain
questions with “Not Interested.”
It happens so often in fact, that it’s become Cloud’s catchphrase to a degree.
For Smash fans in the West the quote has been hiding right under our noses!
In this taunt {insert pause for taunt audio} Cloud is actually saying “Not Interested”
in Japanese!
That cool bit of info aside, Cloud’s route isn’t so much about the characters he fights,
but where he fights them.
Starting things off, Cloud battles Toon Link aboard the Spirit Train.
This is cool for a couple of reason, not only because the route starts with a battle between
Cloud and Link, but also because Final Fantasy VII open with cloud getting off a train.
It’s a really cool nod to Final Fantasy fans.
From here on out, things get a little crazier.
Our next encounter sees Cloud fighting Fox and Falco aboard the Great Fox.
There’s no real connection to Final Fantasy or Cloud here, but fighting Team Star Fox
aboard their own ship seems like a job Cloud would be hired to do by Avalanche.
The next match takes place aboard the Halberd as Cloud faces off against Meta Knight.
The color palette used for this stage and the overall design of it makes it feel like
this could be right at home in Midgar.
I never thought about it before playing the match, but if you slapped a Shinra logo on
that thing, you could hide it in Final Fantasy VII no problem!
And now for something that is decidedly not from Final Fantasy, Mario’s Rainbow Cruise
stage.
It isn’t the Highwind, but there’s no arguing that this isn’t an airship!
And what would a Final Fantasy character do without an airship?
In this battle you’ll have to dispatch Mario, Yoshi and Peach.
While beating down Princesses and Plumbers isn’t what he usually does, with a bit or
creative thinking we could possibly classify Yoshi as a monster, right?
If a Nintendo character is going to give you a ride, who better than Captain Falcon and
what better stage than Big Blue?
This fight is particularly thrilling considering how fast the Blue Falcon zips through this
stage.
Or does it?
If you haven’t seen our video on how this stage, and many other stages, work, make sure
to check it out… after you’re done with this one of course!
Our final battle before the boss of this route is against Star Wolf on Lylat Cruise.
Wolf’s speed can cause Cloud some problems, but once you get him out of the way your ride
is over.
One might even say you’ve reached your Final Destination.
And of course, waiting for you at that Final Destination are Crazy Hand and Master Hand.
This match is nothing out of the ordinary.
I would’ve loved for One Winged Angel or something to play during the fight at least,
but Final Fantasy is woefully underrepresented on Smash’s soundtrack.
Once you’ve taken out the unhinged hands, I think it’s safe to say that you’ve proven
your lack of interest in getting a ride by beating up everyone offering one.
Next on the list is Nintendo’s most health-conscious combatant, Wii Fit Trainer.
In her Classic Mode Route, Aerobic Smash she deals with opponents of that might not be
living the healthiest lifestyles.
Wario pays a visit to the Wii Fit Studio in our first match, and he isn’t there for
nutrition information, though he could probably use it, considering he eats everything from
items to other combatants’ special moves.
Aside from being a hilarious example of the two extremes of Nintendo’s character designs,
there isn’t anything special about this match.
Next, three Kirbys try to eat our trainer whole in the Great Cave Offensive.
Once you’ve cleared them out, Pac-Man will pay a visit to the studio.
While the yellow puck gets a lot of physical activity chasing those ghosts, he is also
constantly eating dots.
But at least he makes sure to get the occasional serving of fruit!
Next up, you’ll be making a house call to Jungle Japes, where you’ll team up with
Dr. Mario to work out with a giant King.
K. Rool.
All those bananas must have gotten to the king of the Kremlings, or someone on Sakurai’s
team thinks K. Rool needs to shed some serious pounds!
As we near the end of the route, we’ll head to Wuhu Island to battle possibly our worst
offender, King Dedede.
The guy’s mnions are themed after food, he eats people like Kirby and he even lays
down during fights.
And finally, before our boss battle we return to the studio to take some of the jiggle out
of Jigglypuff, good thing the adorable Pokemon is constantly trying to rest.
Your last battle is against Master Hand and Crazy Hand.
Despite being the most common boss in Classic Mode, we can’t think of one that would better
fit.
Nintendo is fond of reminding you to stretch and take frequent breaks.
Maybe Wii Fit Trainer beating up on some hands is meant to be a reminder?
Now it’s time for my favorite Classic Mode route so far, in Mega Man’s: Variable Weapons
System: Online!
In this route, The Blue Bomber faces combatants who best embody classic Robot Masters from
the early days of the series.
Every fight in this route puts you in the Omega Mode for its stage, which is fantastic
considering there were no obstacles in Mega Man’s boss rooms.
It’s almost something like a light version of Spirits Mode.
Let’s take a look.
The first battle pits you against the Ice Climbers on Summit while Ice Man’s theme
from Mega Man plays in the background.
Popo is a dead ringer for Ice Man in his default outfit, making him an ideal choice to start
out the route.
In our second fight, we have Samus and Mega Man facing off to Metal Man’s theme in the
Coliseum.
At first, you may find yourself wondering why Samus and a Fire Emblem stage would best
represent Metal Man, but it’s a pretty good choice.
Samus actually wears the same colors as Metal Man, and though it doesn’t happen in its
Omega Mode, the platform in Coliseum is raised and lowered mechanically with tons of gears,
which is kind of like Metal Man’s stage from Mega Man 2.
Now, if only we could finish the fight with a single buzzsaw…
After Samus, Mega Man takes on Donkey Kong in Jungle Japes while Wood Man’s theme plays
in the background.
The connection here is pretty obvious, seeing as Donkey Kong lives in a jungle surrounded
by trees and he’s the only character that sports that tree-trunk shade of brown that
Wood Man is so fond of.
Now it’s out of the jungle and back indoors in your next fight against Captain Falcon
in Gamer.
Captain Falcon is representing Quick Man from Mega Man 2.
Quick Man’s stage is infamous for its lasers that would kill you on contact.
In this case, the closest thing to it would be mom’s gaze, which will damage you, though
only in the normal version of the stage.
The connection between Quick Man and Captain Falcon might seem obvious at first, considering
he’s the main character in one of the fastest racing games ever created, but it goes just
a bit deeper than that.
Captain Falcon’s helmet actually somewhat resembles Quick Man’s; they both use the
same color scheme and the Falcon on the front of Captain Falcon’s helmet is similarly
shaped to the boomerang on the front of Quick Man’s!
Now as we near the end of Mega Man’s route, we have to take on six Mega Man clones in
a horde battle at Wily’s Castle.
This fight could be a throwback to either the copy Mega Man battle in the original game
or the three-on-one hologram Mega Man battle in Mega Man 3, though since these are all
real opponents, I’m inclined to say it’s an original take on the first game’s boss.
Once you’ve cleared out the imposters, It’s time to battle Galleom.
It’s easy to see why Galleom would be chosen, as he looks like he’d be right at home in
a Mega Man game.
But the connection is actually deeper than that.
Galleom is a callback to Mega Man 2’s Guts Tank, and not just because he has a tank form.
The connection is made more obvious when you realize that a remixed version of Guts Man’s
stage theme is playing in the background.
After you beat him, however, you aren’t done!
This is one of the few routes that has a battle after the boss battle and it’s one of the
best I’ve played so far.
Your final fight is against Dr. Mario at Dr. Wily’s castle, which is an obvious reference
to Wily; it’s a fun fight, but what’s really cool is what happens after you defeat
him.
When Dr. Mario gets smashed, Mewtwo descends from the top of the stage to challenge you.
This is one of the most clever references I’ve seen in any route so far, as it’s
reminiscent of when you defeat Wily in Mega Man 2 only to have him seemingly transform
into an alien and start the fight anew.
Once you’ve defeated Mario and Mewtwo, it’s game over!
Second-to-last we have Lucas, the only character in Smash whose game has _never_ been released
in the West, well, officially, anyway.
In his route, Magic, Sacred Powers, and PSI!
We’re going to fight against users of various mystic arts to prove that Lucas’s psychokinesis
is where it’s at.
Our first fight is the last one I expected, personally, with Lucas facing off against
Ness in Magicant.
What makes this match interesting is that both fighters use slightly different variations
of the same moves, though in Mother 3 Lucas never actually learns most of the moves he
uses in the game.
Once Ness is out of the way it’s on to the Coliseum to battle both variations of Robin
from Fire Emblem.
Robin’s variations both use magic, which is their link to the route.
Beyond that, there’s nothing too remarkable going on here, so let’s move on to the next
match.
Your next fight will take you to Mario Galaxy to battle Rosalina & Luma.
While Rosalina’s magic hasn’t really been detailed by Nintendo, she obviously uses it.
I mean, she levitates and carries a wand.
Details or not, it’s probably a pretty safe bet that someone whose job it is to protect
the cosmos might have some special powers.
Now it’s time for the Sacred Powers portion of Lucas’s route in his fight against Palutena.
As a goddess, the connection here is obvious.
Fortunately, Palutena has grown some for this fight, meaning a lot of her attacks simply
miss against Lucas.
Use that to your advantage and finish her off quickly.
Once you do, you’ll find yourself up against a decidedly less family-friendly magical girl
in Bayonetta.
Bayonetta is an Umbra witch, and umbra is latin for shadow which I guess you could take
to mean she practices black magic, so… pretty much a regular ol’ witch then?
Yeah, let’s go with that.
Before this route’s boss, you’ll have to take on Mewtwo.
As a psychic Pokemon, Mewtwo fits right into the theme, considering his powers aren’t
all that far removed from those of Ness and Lucas.
Though Mewtwo can’t generate elemental attacks with his mind, he can use various other psychic
powers.
Once you’ve proven that man can best pocket monsters, it’s on to the final fight against
Master Hand and Crazy Hand, like most other times they appear in Classic Mode, they don’t
seem to fit the theme, but maybe you could make an argument for them being psychic projections
or something?
I mean, they are disembodied floating hands, after all.
Last but not least we have the character you requested, none other than the Phazon Fighter
herself, Dark Samus.
In her route, The Great Poison Given Form, Dark Samus is going to take on famous characters
from the Smash roster with an evil doppelganger at her side.
The first match takes you to Hyrule Castle 64 to battle Link with an evil Zelda on your
side.
This evil Zelda is meant to represent Princess Hilda from A Link Between Worlds.
I’m not going to spoil the game for you here, but yeah, she’s pretty bad.
With The Hero of the Wild sent back to the Shrine of Resurrection for another century-long
snooze, it’s on to Arena Ferox for a battle against Chrom and Lucina with Robin on your
team.
If you haven’t yet played Fire Emblem Awakening, or played it a long time ago like I did, not
to worry.
Derrick had to remind me on this one, but towards the end of Fire Emblem Awakening,
Grima, the Fell Dragon possesses Robin, turning him against his allies.
In Fire Emblem Heroes, this form is known as Fell Reincarnation Robin, though that’s
never used in the source material.
Next up, Dark Samus brings a corrupted Ken to take out Ryu on the Suzaku Castle stage.
Ken is sporting dark colors with lighter hair which is a definitely call out to Violent
Ken, who is the only character to only appear in a Street Fighter game on the Switch, though
he was originally created for SNK’s SVC Chaos.
As with most battles on this route, this one is a 2-on-one match, meaning it’s petty
easy, but next time the odds won’t be quite so much in your favor.
Now it’s time to go to Silph Company to battle Charizard, Squirtle and Pikachu with
an evil Ivysaur in your corner.
This match can be pretty tough, consideriing it’s three-on-two, As long as you make good
use of the platforms in the stage you’ll be fine, but the odds won’t get any better
in your next match.
Our second-to-last stop is at Peach’s castle where Mario, Peach and Daisy battle you with
an Evil Luigi at your side.
This one has to sting a little for all the Waluigi fans out there, especially considering
they put Luigi in Waluigi’s colors.
At least you can help him exact a little revenge on his Mushroom Kingdom cohorts in spirit!
Finally, we return to Norfair where Dark Samus is finally on her own in a free-for-all against
Samus and Ridley.
Of course it makes sense for Dark Samus to be alone here, consider she is the evil clone
in this scenario!
Fortunately you don’t have to face these two one-on-one considering Ridley also wants
Samus out of the picture.
Considering their entirely different motivations for ridding the universe of the bounty hunter,
it isn’t surprising that Ridley isn’t on your side either.
ONce you’ve taken them both out, it’s time for the final fight of the course.
And like so many boss fights, Dark Samus’s final battle is against Master Hand.
There’s no link here to the route, but as we’re discovering as we continue, that’s
pretty much the case whenever Master Hand or Crazy Hand is trotted out.
That’s it for Instant Classic, Episode 2.
I really hope you enjoyed it and as always, let us know in the comments who you want to
see in the next episode!
Thank you so much for watching, and make sure to subscribe to GameXplain for all things
Smash and Nintendo.
Until next time, bye!