Great Bay

Great Bay
File:Triforce Icon.gif
Universe	The Legend of Zelda
Appears in	SSBM
Availability	Starter
Tournament legality Melee Singles: Banned Doubles: Banned

Great Bay is a level in Super Smash Bros. Melee that could be considered Young Link's stage (it is where you fight him when you attempt to unlock him, and Young Link was the main protagonist in The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask, from which this stage originates.) Announced at E3 2001, this level is quite fair, although the advantage goes to the large character instead of the small one. It is best to be large because of the setup of the level itself: The more space one can control on the small platforms on the side, the less vulnerable they are to any approach on that area. Staying to the right side of the stage also provides advantage due to the mismatched length of the stage; the area with the turtle has a very long distance to the wall unlike the other.

The water has no effect on characters in this stage. The left platform fits only about two people, and this is still a pretty small area for two people to be dueling. The bottom right platform is equivalent in size and shape. Above and between the two small side platforms, there is a long platform that is the main fighting area. This platform is flat without any obstacles,and provides an easy KO oppurtunity; by having your back face the bottom of the main platform, throwing an opponent behind you will result in them hitting the bottom of the platform and tumbling into the water, taking down the unwary opponent at even low percentages.The main platform can fit four fighters, but only about three comfortably. Sporadically, a large, green turtle will appear in either of two orientations to the right of the stage. After about half a minute, the turtle will sink back into the ocean, killing any players who choose to remain on it. On its shell, it has green grass that provides normal movement friction for characters, but any spots of the turtle not covered by grass will work like a slick surface (i.e. ice or oil). Additionally, the turtle has trees on its shell that players can stand on.

Tingle, from The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask game also appears on this stage. Tingle floats around on a red balloon on the right side of the stage, directly above the right-bottom platform. It is possible to pop his balloon, causing him to flail his arms and legs and fall to the ground or water below. While he is flailing his arms and legs, he can deal 1-2% damage with negligible knockback.

In All-Star mode, this stage is played on when you face Link and any of his teammates.

Origin

This stage is from The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask. It takes place on the Great Bay in Termina. In MM, the player must travel to the marine research lab to place seven Zora eggs in a fish tank, where they teach him the New Wave Bossa Nova song. In Melee, the player battles on the same platform the building is on, with one major difference: the smaller platform below the main building faces the coast in Majora's Mask, but is now on the side of the main platform in Melee. In Majora's Mask, after learning the song, Link must play it to a Zora woman to call the giant turtle, who carries Link to the Great Bay Temple. In Melee, one can battle on the turtle's back, but the turtle is scaled down and never visits the research lab in Majora's Mask. In Majora's Mask, Tingle is hanging from a balloon floating above the lab; the player can shoot down the balloon and buy maps from Tingle, after which he inflates another balloon and rises back into the sky. In Melee, Tingle does the same thing. In Majora's Mask, the moon slowly falls towards Termina until it crashes into Clock Town (if the player runs out of time) or is destroyed (if the player finishes the game). In Melee, the moon is identical to the original and is pushed back into the sky by the four giants.

There are two songs for this stage. One song is the original version of Saria's Song from The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. The second one is an orchestrated version of the main theme from The Legend of Zelda.

Trivia

• In Melee, the marine lab has its back facing the coast, while it used to face the coast in Majora's Mask.

• Additionally, in the original game, the moon was not pushed back into the sky but destroyed completely. Because this would create a permanent change to the Melee stage, it was pushed back into the sky by the giants so it could run on a loop.

• This stage is banned in most tournaments because it is too small to fight on and gives a heavy advantage to larger characters.

• In a beta version of the game, the Marine Research Lab in the background was part of the arena, allowing characters to walk in and out of it. It was moved into the background in the final version.