i made a short list of stage ideas i'd like to see
here. they were just base ideas for locales, with no stage gimmicks explained. well, i'm going to try to describe some of the ideas i have for them.
World 8-4 aka Bowser's Room --
-- the de facto retro Mario stage. it's a flat stage with walk off edges, lava pits, and statues that spit fire. it could have a few ? blocks too. but the one gimmick i really want to see is the axe. if a player touches the axe, which is at a random part of the stage, parts of the floor will open up to reveal more lava pits.
Rainbow Road --
-- i imagine this stage to act like Mute City and Delfino Plaza. the players fight on a default platform that flies around the track. the platform lowers onto the track at random parts, creating new platforms in their place for more dynamic fights. kart racers sometimes zoom by, as well as Chain Chomps. you can figure out which would hurt more. as for which Rainbow Road this is modelled after, i'd prefer to see an original one. but if i had to pick an existing one, i'd pick the one in MK64.
Good Egg Galaxy --
-- in particular, i can see this taking place on the planet you start on in this stage in Galaxy. the one with the house on one side, and the tower on the other. like Brinstar Depths, the planet would rotate around randomly. in addition, Star Bits fall onto the stage randomly. they can be picked up and thrown at enemies.
100m --
-- to get rid of the yellow blocks, you'd attack them instead of walking over them. having the hammers there might not be smart either. but the fire enemies would be there, as would DK. if you release both blocks from a floor, the middle part of that floor falls onto the one below it, crushing anyone beneath it. the same goes for DK. after all the floors have been broken, they would respawn after a certain amount of time.
K Rool's ship --
-- i don't have much here. i can see the layout being just like in DKC. kind of a wider but shorter Pirate Ship, with less platforms and less room to swim, if any at all. some Kremlings could show up too.
Kakariko Village --
-- i can see this place working like Onett, minus the cars. it's a flat stage with walk off edges and no pits. the structures would be a couple houses, maybe a more elaborate structure like the windmill from OoT. the stage's main gimmick would be Cuccos. a Cucco would show up randomly. you can pick him up and throw him. if you're holding one while in the air, your falling speed will be tremendously slower. if you attack a Cucco, it'll attack back. and if you attack it enough, you'll be swarmed by a whole flock of them.
Ganon's Castle --
-- i can't say much about what the stage could be like. an evil looking version of Hyrule Castle from 64, maybe. maybe it would be indoors. but the one concrete idea i have for this is it would be destructable. so much so, the entire castle would collapse, leaving a flat playing field at the very bottom, with rubble and whatnot strewn around. obviously, i'm thinking of Ocarina again.
Phendrana Drifts --
-- i didn't list this one originally. but i can't think of a good way to present the other two suggestions (Tourian and the Pirate Homeworld). this would be the first open room in Phendrana, with the two rock columns in the middle. it would be another flat stage with no pits. but it would have a Sheegoth or two on the bottom that can attack you. you can kill them, of course.
Death Egg Zone --
-- specifically, i'm thinking of the Death Egg from Sonic 3 & Knuckles. so that means its gimmick is gravity switching. however, instead of players playing on the ceiling, the stage would invert, for the sake of less headaches. other hazards could include electric floors, spikes, and a badnik or two.
Clock Tower --
-- this stage wouldn't be based on one Castlevania Clock Tower in particular, but use the most common elements. spinning gears, both horizontal and vertical, and of all shapes and sizes. and of course, those pesky Medusa Heads. i can see the stage being very tall but not that wide.
also, i think it was Hypershell who suggested an F-Zero stage where you fight atop the machines of the Chain Gang from the story scenario in F-Zero GX. i really like that idea. only thing i'd say is that there should be a default platform to stand on, and other machines could zip by and blow up at their leisure.
and why is it that i'm having such a hard time thinking of a Mega Man stage?