Ambush
Anambush orlocked battle is an occurrence where a side-scrolling level stops, locks in place, and spawns in multiple enemies, forcing the player to to defeat them before continuing. Only once all of the enemies are defeated can the player can resume advancing through the level. Ambushes prevent players from simply speeding through every level without engaging any enemies.
Ambushes first appeared inMelee'sAdventure Mode, being present in three stages: Mushroom Kingdom, where the player must defeat theYoshi Team halfway through; the Underground Maze, where the player must defeatLink when passing through any room that contains theMaster Sword instead of the stage-clearingTriforce; and Infinite Glacier, where the player must defeat a team of twoIce Climbers after having survived traversingIcicle Mountain for a sufficient period of time.
Ambushes became considerably more common inBrawl'sSubspace Emissary, with every side-scrolling level exceptSubspace (Part I) andThe Great Maze containing at least one ambush. These can be somewhat identified ahead of time by the sudden appearance of an isolated large solid platform with smaller platforms above, similar to the layout ofBattlefield. Upon occurring, the screen will flash purple with a distinctive sound, followed by a series of enemies appearing on the aforementioned specially-designed part of the level; a slightly darker border will also appear around thescreen. When an ambush ends, the screen flashes white with another distinctive sound, and the player usually receives a reward of some sort, often in the forms ofstickers, though recovery items and trophies can also potentially be awarded. Certain levels includingMidair Stadium,The Battlefield Fortress,Outside the Ancient Ruins,The Canyon, andThe Subspace Bomb Factory II have situations similar to ambushes except that the battle takes up an entire part of the level, instead of being a blockade in the middle of a level. These ambushes generally have a higher enemy count, alongside an extra display on the screen showing exactly how many more enemies remain. The Canyon is made up entirely of an ambush, and is the only level to consist of such.
Ambushes can also happen in certain areas of theSmash Run map inSuper Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS. When ambushes occur, the player is tasked with defeating a number of enemies within a period of time; if they defeat the enemies before the timer runs out, they will receive stat boosts, as well as other potential rewards, such astrophies. Failing to defeat all the enemies within the time limit will not grant any bonuses; the enemies will simply vanish, leaving the player to continue.
Ambushes also appear in a sole stage ofAdventure Mode: World of Light. The first phase of thefinal stage consists of a long upward auto-scrolling segment that locks at four locations throughout for ambushes againstPuppet Fighters.
Trivia[edit]
- Unlike other ambushes, fights with Link in theUnderground Maze are not initiated until the player is grounded. As a result, it is possible to carefully pass through the rooms avoiding touching any of the platforms, and thus complete the stage without ever having to take part in a fight with the character, though this precludes the player from receiving theLink Master special bonus.
- For most ambushes, parts of terrain that are not connected to the main area and are hidden just off-screen become intangible, preventing players from being rescued by a bounce off an unseen object.
- Glires,Glices, andGlunders tend to take themselves out of ambushes, due to rolling along terrain that leaves the screen.
- Humorously, there is a locked battle inSubspace (Part II) that contains nothing but a singleTicken - which appears above no platforms and promptly falls off the screen.
