Adventure Mode: The Subspace Emissary is a mode in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, similar to Melee's Adventure Mode. It was hinted at with the This world... update on July 20th, and fully unveiled on August 3rd.
Overview
On July 20th, Smash Bros. Dojo!! was updated with a collection of enigmatic images that depicted Mario and Kirby transforming from trophies into fighters (akin to the introduction of Melee). After Kirby’s apparent defeat at the hands of Mario, he is changed back into a trophy, but Mario reverses the transformation and Mario and Kirby shake hands. However, the sky darkens soon after, and Meta Knight’s ship, the Halberd, flies over the stadium, soon followed by the appearance of a mysterious character. The screenshots were accompanied with this description:
In this world, trophies fight. They know nothing but fighting. Fighting is the sole reason for their existence. Being turned back into a trophy, being unable to fight, is much like death. Those are the rules of this world. But...When someone...or something...breaks those rules, the world will pay a terrible price...
The post was placed under a mode referred to as “???” until August 3rd, when it was changed to "Adventure Mode." On August 3rd, Smash Bros. Dojo!! was updated again. This time, more information was given. The mode was dubbed “The Subspace Emissary,” and a multitude of screenshots were shown, as well as a cutscene related to the “This World…” update. In the cutscene, Mario and Kirby were seen shaking hands, as depicted in the screenshots, and after waving to the crowd, the Halberd appeared as it did in “This World…” The mysterious character from before was shown to be one of apparently many odd, robot-like creatures formed from some sort of shadowy matter. Princess Peach and Princess Zelda were seen watching from the sidelines, but rushed down to the middle of the stadium to assist Mario and Kirby in fighting the mysterious army. After Peach and Zelda reach the stage and help destroy the Primids, an entity from the sky called The Ancient Minister appears on the stage. The Ancient Minister drops a Subspace Bomb on the arena, then flies off. As Mario approaches the bomb, he is hit by a cannonball and is sent flying from the arena. Petey Piranha appears and captures Peach and Zelda in cages. Some fans believe that Mario "broke the rules" of the World by reviving Kirby, and this is what triggered the Halberd to arrive and deploy its drones.
The various screenshots in the update depicted a multitude of new enemies, as well as a few familiar ones, such as a Hammer Bro, who was previously confirmed as an Assist Trophy, and Bullet Bills. There were also a new series of enemies that were introduced that are part of the Subspace army. Some enemies of the Subspace army appear to be helpful while other ones are dangerous.
The updates “This World…” and “What is the Subspace Emissary?” have definitely had an impact on the Super Smash Bros. community. Many have wondered whether a fully-fledged story would fit into the Super Smash Bros. universe or not. Others believe that it will change Super Smash Bros. for the better.
Gameplay
The Subspace Emissary mode is a side-scrolling adventure in the style of a platformer, inspired by the Mario and Kirby games. However, it retains all basic mechanics of Super Smash Bros., such as a damage meter, stocks and Smash-style attacks. The mode features a world map where stages are selected; once a stage is selected, the difficulty can be chosen, and the character(s) will enter the stage. The selectable characters will change depending on the plot; a character selection screen has been shown, but it is not clear whether the characters are chosen before selecting a stage or after. According to various movies shown at E for All, if you follow the plot without exiting the adventure mode, the screen will sometimes freeze and you'll be able to select a character depending on who's on the screen. For example, when Mario, Peach, Zelda and Kirby prepare to battle the subspace invaders back in the stadium, the cinematic will freeze and you'll get to choose between any of these 4 characters with a simple cursor.
Plot
The story begins in a stadium, where Peach and Zelda are watching a friendly match between Mario and Kirby. The two fight with fierce intensity, and during the battle, a cutscene shows Pit observing the battle as well from a mystical fountain. Mario/Kirby wins, and Kirby/Mario turns into a trophy. Mario/Kirby returns Kirby/Mario back to normal, but when he does, the sky suddenly darkens and the Halberd appears out of nowhere. The Halberd shoots out little spores, which come together to make the Primid, the main force of the Subspace Army. Mario and Kirby, joined by Peach and Zelda, defeat the Primids. After they do, the leader of the Army, the Ancient Minister, appears and drops a Subspace Bomb, which is activated by two R.O.B.s, and is set to detonate in 2 minutes. Mario races to disarm the bomb, but is blasted out the stadium by a cannonball. Petey Piranha then captures the two princesses and attacks Kirby.
After Kirby defeats Petey, he explodes, and the cages the princesses were in break. Kirby and Peach/Zelda land safely only to watch Wario appear with a huge gun. Wario turns to see a weakened Zelda/Peach, and aims the gun at her. A black arrow comes out of the gun and hits her, turning her into a trophy. Wario grabs the trophy and runs out of the stadium. Kirby and Peach/Zelda run after him, but Kirby sees the bomb at 5 seconds before detonation, and takes Peach/Zelda with him on the Warp Star escapes from the Stadium as the bomb consumes the arena in Subspace. Pit sees the bomb detonate, and is ordered by Palutena to go and stop the Subspace Army. Pit takes his bow and descends into the clouds.
Pit fies down to a cloud, but sees the Halberd approaching. The Halberd creates more Primids to attack Pit, who splits his bow into swords and fights off the Primids. After fighting through several different types of Primid, Pit looks out and sees Mario's trophy and reawakens him. The two team up and go to fight the Subspace Army. The two heroes travel through the clouds chasing the Halberd, but realize that they aren't fast enough. Then, they see an Arwing chase the Halberd.
Meanwhile, Kirby and Peach/Zelda are still flying on the Warp Star when the Halberd comes up behind them. The Star hits the ship and the two land on it. They then go on to explore the ship, but they are interrupted by the ship battle between the Arwing and the Halberd. The Arwing is shot down and knocks over Peach/Zelda and Kirby as it falls out of the sky. The two manage to land safely on a cloud and are confronted by the Subspace Army. The two begin to descend to solid ground as they fight through the Primid. After defeating a larger member of the Subspace Army, a Greap, the two continue their journey.
In a jungle, a car with a load of bananas piloted by a Koopa Troopa drives at insane speeds escaping the woods. Donkey Kong is then seen beating up some Goombas and other Koopa Troopas. When he goes onto a ledge and sees the Koopa's car, a Goomba fires three Bullet Bills at him. Diddy Kong jumps out of nowhere and shoots down the Bullet Bills with his Peanut Popguns, and the two Kongs chase the car. After facing some giant Goombas and other Koopa Troopas, the two find the stash of bananas, but are confronted by Bowser. Bowser pulls out the gun that Wario used and points it at Diddy. Donkey Kong realizes what will happen and punches Diddy away, only to be turned into a trophy by Bowser. Bowser laughs evily and carries his prize with him.
Meanwhile, Mario and Pit continue their journey through a meadow-like area. The two finally find the Ancient Minister, who is carrying a Subspace Bomb. They both try to hit him, but miss. The Ancient Minister continues flying as Mario and Pit continue the chase.
Meanwhile Diddy is coming from the jungle into a lake, where a Rayquaza attacks an Arwing that crashed and grabs Diddy. Fox McCloud emerges from the Arwing and saves Diddy. The two then team up to face Rayquaza and defeat it. Diddy then drags Fox with him back into the jungle. After facing more of Bowser's troops and exploring more places in the jungle, the two confront a clone of Bowser made by Shadow Bugs. After defeating him, the real Bowser fires another shot from the trophy gun at them. Fox grabs Diddy and jumps off a cliff to save them both.
The story then goes to an abandoned town, where Lucas is attacked by the King P. Statue and a group of Primids. Lucas runs from the statue, but is eventually trapped by a root in the ground, but is saved by Ness, who destroys the statue with PK Flash, revealing Pokey Minch in a giant spider mech. After defeating Pokey, the two are attacked by Wario. Wario fires the trophy gun at Ness, who dodges every shot. Wario finally aims the gun at Lucas, but Ness gets in the way and gets hit. Lucas, frightened, runs away from Wario, who now has the Ness trophy. Lucas runs into the Pokémon Trainer and his Pokémon Squirtle, who takes him with him to find two other Pokémon.
Elsewhere, Marth is seen watching some R.O.B.s detonate another Subspace Bomb and races to find out how to stop it, but his castle is besieged by the Subspace Army. Marth fights his way through swarm after swarm of the Army until he finally gets to the grounds outside of the castle, where he watches the area of Subspace slowly expand. Meta Knight then flies in and attacks Marth, and the two duel briefly, but they are interupted by Primids and team up to stop them. After stopping the wave of Primids, they see the Ancient Minister. The two desperately attempt to stop him, but fail. Finally, Ike attacks with Aether and cuts the bomb from under the Minister and severs his floating chair, sending him whirling off into the sky. The three then tem up to chase down the Ancient Minister and stop the Subspace Army.
On a remote road, Luigi is passed by a Waddle Dee and then another. Thinking they are enemies, he gets into a cowardly fighting stance. He is attacked from behind by King Dedede and turned into a trophy. Wario passes by and sees the Luigi trophy and tries to grab it, but the Waddle Dees ambush him while Dedede steals his trophy car and his trophies.
Meanwhile, in the Lost Woods, Link pulls out the Master Sword. He leaves, but passes by a sleeping Yoshi. The Halberd passes over the two and immediately drops Primids, awakening Yoshi and putting the two into a team. The two heroes beat back the Subspace Army as they try to escape from the Lost Woods and chase down the Halberd.
On a secret island, Samus Aran is shown sneaking into a base in her Zero Suit. After getting by some R.O.B.s, she enters a room where she sees Pikachu in some kind of torture device that is being used to clone him and breaks it with her Paralyzer Gun. This sets off an alarm and many R.O.B.s start to attack. The two travel through the base searching for something. After fighting their way past the guards, they enter a control room, where Samus sees her Power Suit...
In a pass, Kirby sees King Dedede go by in the trophy car and chases after it, leaving Peach/Zelda behind. Peach/Zelda turns, but is transformed into a trophy by Bowser. The clone of Bowser comes up to the trophy and consumes it, creating a clone of her. The clone tries to shoot Mario/Link and Pit/Yoshi, who are running by, with the trophy gun, but it is destroyed when Link/Pit shoots an arrow at it. The Peach/Zelda clone then faces Link/Mario and Yoshi/Pit and is defeated.
Mario/Link looks up and sees Link/Mario and Yoshi/Pit standing by the clone's trophy and attacks Link/Mario. Link and Yoshi/Mario and Pit then face Mario and Pit/Link and Yoshi, defeating them. King Dedede then grabs Mario and Pit/Link and Yoshi's trophies with an arm from the car, but the arm is cut in half by Kirby, who revives Mario and Pit/Link and Yoshi as well. Pit/Link then destroys the car by shooting an arrow at it, and King Dedede takes the ramaining trophies and runs. The five heroes team up and chase King Dedede down.
Meanwhile, in a control room, Ganondorf orders Bowser to track down Dedede and gives him the coordinates to his location.
At a remote mountain, Lucas and the Trainer see a Charizard fly into a cave and follow it. The two journey through some ruins and an active lava pit until they confront Wario by the cave's entrance. Lucas and Squirtle fight Wario and defeat him, which turns him into a trophy.
Mario, Pit, Link, Kirby, and Yoshi go into Dedede's hiding place, which was trashed when Bowser and his men attacked it. They see a hole in the wall and go inside of it. When they get out of the building, Mario sees Bowser and attempts to punch him. Bowser holds up Peach's trophy and Mario stops. Pit fires an arrow that Bowser nearly dodges, and a Dedede cap comes off of peach's trophy. Bowser then gets in his floating bowl and heads back to the Halberd. Meanwhile, the Ancient Minister sets up a bomb outside of the building, and Ganondorf is shown receiving orders from the Master Hand via TV screen.
Pokemon Trainer and Lucas continue their trek into the cave, fighting off the Subspace Army as they go. After descending through floor after floor of enemies, the Trainer sees an Ivysaur trophy and captures it. The two then continue to procede deeper into the cave, where they come face-to-face with Charizard. Lucas, Squirtle, and Ivysaur defeat Charizard, and the Trainer captures him.
Marth, Ike, and Meta Knight fight a giant robot that they had apparently been tracking in a desert. They defeat it, but it instead falls into a cave, the one where Lucas and the Trainer are in. They defeat the robot, but it turns that the robot had a Subspace Bomb used as a self-destruct and takes both of the characters to the skies. Lucas, now gaining his courage, uses PK Thunder to detach the robot's arm that was holding them and they both start falling presumably to their doom until Meta Knight catches them.
The Ancient Minister shows up in the same desert, but in a different region, where he is confronted by Mario's group. After fleeing from them, the group gives chase. After going through a wide spanse of the desert, the group catches up to the Minister, who starts firing shots at the group. A R.O.B. grabs the bomb underneath the Minister and gets some others to activate it. Despite the group's best efforts, the bomb is still activated. As the Minister flies away, a R.O.B. looks up at him and waves goodbye. The bomb detonates, but the group just barely manages to escape as they run as quickly as they can away from it.
Meanwhile back in the forest, Fox and Diddy have recovered from their jump and start fleeing from Bowser. Along the way out they face the Subspace Army as well as Bowser's troops. The two finally get on a path that leads out of the jungle, but Diddy is shot by Bowser's Trophy Gun and has his trophy consumed by Shadowbugs, which creates a clone of him. Fox appears to be outnumbered when Falco Lombardi flies in in his Arwing and jumps out. He kicks the gun out of Bowser's hands and destroys it with his two blasters. Bowser then hops in his flying bowl and flees, but the clone of Diddy grows larger. Fox revives Diddy, and the three face the evil clone. After defeating the clone, Diddy drags Falco back onto the path with him and Fox. The three start treading through a waterfall as they face more troops. On the lake, they see a transport with DK's trophy on it. In order to get on the transport, Falco calls his Arwing
Samus and Pikachu continue their run through the base to retrieve Samus's Power Suit, encountering more R.O.B.s and Subsapce Army guards. They finally enter the room holding the suit, but are confronted by two Shadow Bug clones of the Suit. After defeating the clones, Samus puts her Suit back on, which alerts the guards. Samus uses her Suit's weapons to quickly blow through all the guards, and the two try to find the leader of the R.O.B.s so that they can shut down the base. The two go as far as a dead end, where they are attacked by Ridley, who grabs Samus and drags her along the walls and slams her into them. Pikachu blasts Ridley with a lightning bolt, causing him to drop Samus. Ridley then battles the duo. After defeating the monster, the two exit out of a secret door, but they see some R.O.B.s carrying Subspace Bombs out of a part of the base, so Pikachu and Samus decide to enter it.
On another part of the island, a giant R.O.B. is harassing Captain Olimar and a group of Pikmin when it is knocked down by Captain Falcon, taking several Pikmin with him. The two captains decide to team up and escape the R.O.B.s, traveling through some old ruins of buildings, but are attacked by regular-sized R.O.B.s as they attempt to run. They make it to a ledge where they see the transport carrying DK's trophy being attacked by Falco's Arwing, which drops off Diddy onto it, who inturn frees DK. Captain falcon grabs Olimar and jumps onto the transport, where they are attacked by more Primids. They finally defeat the Primids as the ship prepares to enter the base, giving them the perfect chance to slip in...
Back in the desert, meta Knight sees the Halberd engaging in a ship battle with another ship, and he takes off to get get on the ship, and meets the Ice Climbers on his way up the mountain. The three continue the hike together, but are slowed down by hordes of Primids. Once they get to the top, they encounter Lucario, who challenges Meta Knight to a fight. Whoever wins revives the loser just as the Halberd attempts to knock the heroes off the mountain by ramming into it. The Ice Climbers fall off, but Meta Knight and Lucario jump onto the ship.
Back at the base of the mountain, the Ice Climbers meet up with Marth, Ike, Lucas, and Pokemon Trainer. This group splits up when a large group of Primids attack, but luckily Mario's group jumps down to help out. After a long fight, the two teams defeat the Subspace Army group.
Meanwhile, Snake appears out of a cardboard box in the Halberd and continues sneaking around in it. After fighting off several Primids, Snake hears Meta Knight and Lucario coming and hides in a box. Lucario senses him and blows his cover. He then senses a group of Primids coming towards them, so the three team up to stop them. The three make their way into a room that has Zelda and Peach's trophies in cages. Shadowbugs then come from the ceiling and create clones of them to fight. After the clones are defeated, the princesses are freed, and Snake tells them to stay while he keeps looking around.
The door opens, and Sheik and Peach race out onto the open side of the Halberd, having to fight a fierce wind to stay on. They also have to face a large number of guards as well. After a long journey, the two get onto the front deck of the ship. Fox then flies his Arwing in and engages the Halberd again. After Fox aims his guns towards Peach, Sheik teleports onto Fox's Arwing and punches a hole in it. After landing back on the deck, the two prepare to fight, but are stopped by Peach, who gives each of them a cup of tea. Fox is stunned, but takes the tea and starts drinking it.
Meanwhile, Lucario, Snake, and Meta Knight fight the Mr. Game and Watches and send them onto the front deck, where they turn into Shadow Bugs, then into a giant monster. Snake and Lucario join Peach, Sheik, and Fox, and Falco jumps into the fight as well. The heroes fight hard against the monster and finally defeat it. The Shadowbugs melt away to reveal a Mr. Game and Watch trophy. Peach awakens him, and Mr. Game and Watch joins the group, and is entranced by Peach's parasol. Meta Knight, who wasn't at the fight, regains control of the Halberd.
Back at the island base, Samus and Pikachu set off alarms as they race through the facility. They come across a huge amount of guards as they fight to find the source of the bombs. They reach the last room and confront the Ancient Minister and the entire R.O.B. Squad. The Ancient Minister hangs his head as if he is sad, and Samus and Pikachu slowly relent...
Captain Falcon, Captain Olimar, DK, and Diddy continue their infiltration of the base, blowing through R.O.B. guards. They got to a door that DK easily busted through, where the group met Samus and Pikachu. As they enter, a projection of Ganondorf appears. He orders the R.O.B.s to grab all of the Subspace Bombs off of their assembly lines and activate them. The Ancient Minister defiantly gets in their way and orders them to stop, not wanting to lose more of his men. Ganondorf tells them to ignore the Minister and keep going. The Minister desperately tries to stop the R.O.B.s, but Ganondorf orders them to attack the Minister. His robotic body ignites, and the R.O.B.s begin activating the bombs. Ganondorf orders some Auroros to distract the heroes. Despite the attack, the heroes try to stop the R.O.B.s from detonating the bombs. Suddenly, the Ancient Minister destroys all the Auroros, and his clothes burn off to reveal that he, himself, is a R.O.B.! The heroes, along with R.O.B. (or Robot), fight off the Subspace Army guards Ganondorf sends after them. They defeat the guards, and with a few minutes remaining on the bombs, Captain Falcon calls his ship, the Falcon Flyer and has everyone pile into it. However, as they try to leave, Meta Ridley attacks them again. Putting the ship on auto-pilot, the team gets on the top of the ship and faces him. After defeating him, the ship leaves the island as the Subspace area consumes the whole island. Captain Falcon's ship and the Halberd meet with the heroes that are still in the desert.
Out of the giant sphere of Subspace, a giant cannon comes out. The cannon shoots a bomb out, that instantly covers an area in Subspace. At the helm of the cannon is Ganondorf and Bowser, who see the Halberd approaching. At Ganondorf's order, hundreds of turrets pop out and start firing. The Halberd dodges several shots, but is eventually destroyed. However, Captain Falcon's ship, Captain Olimar's ship, Samus's ship, and Fox's Arwing come out of it. The turrets start firing again, but the smaller ships dodge them all. Kirby appears out of the sky on a Dragoon and flies it through the cannon, destroying it. Ganondorf and Bowser go back into the Subspace, followed by the four ships. The combined group of heroes then travel through the Subspace area together, facing an army of Primids and the other Subspace Army types standing in their way.
Back with Bowser and Ganondorf, Ganondorf is ordered to shoot Bowser with a Trophy Gun.
Features
As previously stated, the mode features an original storyline with several all-new enemies designed specifically for Brawl. It is also assumed that several new stages, such as Terra Firma, will appear.
The Team update revealed several new details about the gameplay. The mode features co-op; a second player can play at the same time as the first, though the camera still focuses on Player 1. If player 2 gets too far behind, then they will get boosted up to where player 1 is. Also if player 1 loses all of their stocks, player 2 loses as well. In addition, players will be able to "power up" their characters with Stickers that you obtain in the differents game modes.
Teams
Mario ---Kirby*
/ |
Peach* Zelda*
Kirby get one princess while Wario takes one away depending on how game is played.
Pit
|
Mario
Donkey Kong*--Diddy Kong
|
Fox
- DK turns into a trophy by Bowser [1].
According to videos the following also team up:
- Samus/Zero Suit Samus & Pikachu
- Meta Knight & Ice Climbers
- Link & Yoshi
- Ness & Lucas, then Lucas & Pokémon Trainer
A At further points that are probably nearer to the climax, the following groups team up:
- Mario, Link, Yoshi, Kirby & Pit
- Ness, Luigi and King Dedede
- Pokemon Trainer and Lucas
- Donkey Kong, Diddy Kong, Pikmin & Olimar, Capt. Falcon
- Meta Knight, Marth and Ike
- Meta Knight, Lucario, Solid Snake
Bosses
- Mario or Kirby VS. Petey Piranha
- Fox and Diddy Kong VS. Rayquaza
- Lucas VS. King P. Statue
- Ness and Lucas VS. Pokey Minch
Updates
This details the various updates in regards to Subspace Emissary.
- This world... Though vague, it hints at the Subspace Emissary mode. It describes a world where trophies fight (the Smash world), and where being returned to trophy form is akin to death. It also states that breaking "the rules" will have dire consequences, and ends the update with a mysterious shadowy creature (now known to be a Primid). The update features a black background, opposed to the white background normally used for updates.
- What is the Subspace Emissary? The first "official" update on the mode. Over a dozen screenshots are shown, as well as a video clip that shows an animated version of the screenshots in This World. The update lays out the basics of SE, with the plot focusing on character development and moved along by quick cutscenes.
- The Subspace Army. Properly introduces the Subspace Army, including the Primids, the grunts of the Army, and the Ancient Minister, its leader. A video clip included with the update shows a Subspace Bomb, Mario being knocked away by a cannonball, and Petey Piranha trapping the two princesses in cages, leaving Kirby to fight by himself.
- Petey Piranha A character description of Petey Piranha, who appears to be a boss character. Petey cannot be directly defeated; instead, Kirby must damage the cages trapping the princesses. Only one of the princess can be rescued, as the Subspace Bomb's timer apparently forces Kirby and the rescued princess to escape.
- Pit's Descent A video clip showcasing Pit's entry into SE. From a temple in Skyworld, he is called by Palutena, the Goddess of Light, to help combat the Subspace Army; to help him, he is given a magical bow that can split into two swords. He meets up with a trophy Mario in the clouds (Mario was blasted there by Petery Piranha). Pit revives Mario and goes on to fight alongside him.
- The Enemies from Subspace Shows several of the stronger members of the Subspace Army.
- Team unveils several new elements in SE, including a world map, co-op play, teams of characters that join together and a vague comment about "powering up" characters to combat the Army.
- Donkey Kong makes his stand Donkey Kong's bananas have been stolen by a hoard of Bowser's minions. Now it's up to the ape and his sharp-shooter nephew, Diddy, to reclaim the thieved fruits.
- Fox's Misfortune Diddy Kong comes upon an crashed Arwing near the jungle's lake. However, Rayquaza emerges from the lake and snares Diddy. Rayquaza is then thwarted by Fox as he rescues Diddy and reflects Rayquaza's attack back at it.
- Subspace Emissary Movie A Short trailer for the Subspace Emissary. While containing most of the footage already seen, some new things are shown, like Bowser attacking Fox and Diddy with the Trophy Gun, and an interesting team up of Meta-Knight and the Ice Climbers.
- Sticker Power-Ups Showing that some Stickers can be used as power-ups.