Venom

Venom
File:StarFoxSymbol.png
Universe	Star Fox
Appears in	SSBM
Availability	Starter
Tournament legality Melee Singles: Banned Doubles: Banned

Venom (Japanese: ベノム, Benomu) is a starter stage in Super Smash Bros. Melee.

In All-Star Mode, this is where Falco and his teammates are fought.

Origin

Venom as seen in Star Fox 64.

This stage is from Star Fox 64's last level, Venom. While Venom made its first appearance in the SNES game Star Fox, this stage is based around the Star Fox 64 version. In both games, Venom is a barren deserted planet and this can be seen when flying over the planet. There is a point in Star Fox 64 where the player is flying through deep valleys of rock and can choose which path they want to take. The deep valleys of rock is retained in Melee, and this can be seen when the Great Fox traverses through them. Another similarity between Venom in Star Fox 64 and Melee is that the ground and the clouds in the background look similar; however, Venom in Melee has volcanic activity, which is contrary to both Star Fox games.

In both Star Fox games, there are floating obstacles that the player has to dodge. Another obstacle in Star Fox 64 are pillars or rock that will suddenly shoot upward from the ground. In certain spots in Star Fox 64's Venom, there are holes in the cliffs and ground where enemies dock their ships before attacking the Star Fox team. All of the aforementioned is retained in Melee's Venom.

Ever since the first Star Fox, the Star Fox team's main aircraft that they pilot are Arwings. In this stage, Arwings can be seen flying over the Great Fox. The design of the Arwing is the same as the design used in Star Fox 64. In Star Fox 64, there is a mercenary group called Star Wolf (who can be battled on Venom in Star Fox 64) and they have aircraft similar to Arwings called Wolfens. The design of the Wolfens in this stage resemble how they were designed in Star Fox 64.[1]

The music that plays on this stage is an orchestrated version of Star Fox 64's main theme. [2]

Description

The battle takes place on the Great Fox. Unlike the Corneria stage, the battle is fought on the front view of the ship, in contrast to the side view. Characters can fight on either 4 wings of the ship, and somewhat on the tailpiece in the center of the stage. This tailpiece is also a hazard that makes it hard to go to the other side. The top two wings of the ship slope inwards while the bottom two wings slope outwards. Items tend to roll off the two bottom wings of the ship.

Every now and then, an Arwing or Wolfen will appear and start firing at the ship then will fly off. Any character that gets hit by the shots will take damage. Also, when the ship flies into the cave, sometimes characters hit the walls of the caves when smacked upwards or towards the sides, which might save one from getting KO'd.

In Brawl, its music returns, but not the stage itself. The song plays on Corneria, which did make it into Brawl.

Like many stages, this stage can be recreated in Brawl via hacking, as seen here.

Tournament legality

Venom is banned in tournaments, primarily due to the fin in the centre of the stage, which can easily cause infinite combos; the bottom wings also promote camping, and the blastlines are considered to be too close to the stage.