Dojo Day: Penguins, Targets, and Pictochat...

Oh my! This week's Smash Dojo has left us with some new and exciting information, including a pleasantly plump penguin in a royal costume, a target testing system that appeared in the previous games, and a doodle-like, Nintendo DS-based stage. Welcome to Dojo Day!

PictoChat: This stage, I have to say is one of the most interesting thus far. The stage is based off of the wireless doodling and chatting software on Nintendo’s latest handheld system, the DS. The stage is normally flat, but soon a random sketch will appear on the screen, and that screen automatically comes to life as platforms, moving objects, and drawings that have effects like flames or someone blowing the characters away.

Donkey Kong Makes his Stand: Uh oh! It seems that Bowser’s minions have stolen all of DK’s precious bananas. This is the cinematic that begins Donkey Kong’s journey in Adventure Mode. And this time, he’s not alone. His trusty sidekick, Diddy Kong has his back. Together, they’re ready for anything!

STADIUM: Target Smash!: Returning from the previous installments, this mode has characters breaking 10 targets in a limited amount of time. However, this time all of the target challenges are outdoors and there will only be five different target stages, so character-specific stages for this mode have been sacked. Another tidbit of information Sakurai announced is that you will be able to record up to three minutes of Brawl footage to replay later!

King Dedede: Yet another new character has appeared. And completing the Dreamland trio is King Dedede, brought into the Brawl battlefield by his trusted Waddle Dees. This self-proclaimed king of Dreamland has been sought out as a character since the first Super Smash Bros., he was cut from Super Smash Bros. Melee due to time. Finally, he makes his debut in Brawl as one of the heavyweight characters who delivers quite the punch.

King Dedede: Special Moves:
UP Special Move: Super Dedede Jump: In this attack, Dedede jumps extremely high up, and then comes crashing down with his mallet in hand. This is similar to Kirby’s up special move from the previous games. An interesting part of this attack is that when Dedede comes crashing down, he hits up stars from the ground, for other players to use. However, this attack could be deadly, as it renders Dedede vulnerable for a moment after he hits the ground.
SIDE Special Move: Waddle Dee Toss: This is similar to a child’s game of water balloon toss, or more like Peach’s Vegetable attack and Link’s Bomb attack. Dedede grabs a Waddle Dee from out of nowhere and can choose to carry it around or throw it at an enemy. When the Waddle Dee is thrown, it continues to walk around the stage, similar to Mr. Saturn, for Dedede or another character to pick up and throw again. Dedede can also pull out a Waddle Doo or Gordo too, which results in different effects when thrown. The Waddle Doos will just shoot beams out from wherever they land, and the Gordo will just be its spiky self as it just lays there, waiting for characters to nonchalantly walk into it and take damage.
DOWN Special Move: Jet Hammer: In this attack, Dedede’s mallet reveals a mechanized jet engine hidden underneath. When charged, this attack accelerates and strengthens Dedede’s mallet swing, smacking anyone around him. However, if you charge it too long, it will explode and cause damage to poor Dedede.

The most interesting pieces of news this week was definitely the inclusion of a PictoChat stage and King Dedede. King Dedede sounds like an interesting character and I’m glad to see more Kirby characters in the game, although this may be the last one. The PictoChat idea looks cool, and I’m excited to see what other drawings show up in the stage. The Donkey Kong video, though it looked cool, was a little disappointing. The video also shows that Dixie Kong will most likely not a playable character. If she was, I’m sure she would have shown up in the video, fighting alongside DK and Diddy Kong. However, don’t lose faith, because she may just show up as an Assist Trophy. This has been another installment of Dojo Day, and be sure to tune in next week!

[via Smash Bros. Dojo]