Cloud Sea of Alrest
| Xenoblade Chronicles 2 Cloud Sea of Alrest | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
  Cloud Sea of Alrest as it appears inSmash. | |||||
| Universe | Xenoblade Chronicles | ||||
| Appears in | Ultimate | ||||
| Availability | Downloadable | ||||
| Crate type | Normal | ||||
| |||||
| |||||
| Article on Xeno Series Wiki | Cloud Sea | ||||
Cloud Sea of Alrest (アルストの雲海,Sea of Clouds in Alst) is a stage inSuper Smash Bros. Ultimate based onXenoblade Chronicles 2. It is bundled withPyra andMythra in Challenger Pack 9, which is also part of theFighters Pass Vol. 2. It was released on March 4th, 2021.
Stage overview[edit]
The fighters battle on top ofAzurda (also known as Gramps), serving as the home ofRex inXenoblade Chronicles 2. Azurda continuously floats through the skies as other Titans fly by. The entire stage has a gentle sway that slightly changes the altitudes of platforms. There is a single floating platform on the left end of the stage, and Azurda's neck acts as a mild slope on the right side. Occasionally, Gramps will raise and lower his head, which will affect the angle of the slope. He will also turn his head to look at the Titans, which temporarily shrinks the size of the stage. The stage contains indications for when he is about to turn his head, such as his neck shaking, a windmill spinning faster than usual, and the door to Rex's house closing. If there are fighters standing on Azurda's head or hanging from his horn when he turns his head, they will slide inwards rather than fall off. Throughout the battle, Azurda will provide banter and comment on the state of the battle. When the battle starts, Azurda will say "I want to see a good, clean fight. Do you hear?" When a player is down to one stock, Azurda will say "It seems that we will soon have a winner!" Other examples include when a fighter isKO'd,Self-destructs and when a Titan appears in the background. He also possesses unique lines forPyra andMythra if they are present in the match.
Occasionally, the following Titans will appear in the background:
- Goldmouth, the Argentum Titan, with the Maelstrom following behind
- Gormott
- Uraya
- Mor Ardain
- Genbu
- Indol
The order the Titans appear is randomly selected at the start of the match; once all six have appeared the cycle repeats in the same order. Additionally, the lighting and color scheme of the background changes as the Titans appear. The World Tree will also occasionally appear in the background.
The following characters appear as cameos in the background, with one Driver and Blade pair being randomly selected:
- Nia and Dromarch
- Tora and Poppi α
- Mòrag and Brighid
- Zeke and Pandoria
They can appear either in front, to the side or on top of Rex's house, standing either together in one spot or standing apart in two different spots. However, they will not appear in matches with five or more players.
Ω form and Battlefield form[edit]
The main platform of theΩ form andBattlefield form does not feature Azurda as the main platform, but instead uses a haphazardly constructed airship that matches the size ofFinal Destination andBattlefield, respectively. Additionally, the character cameos do not appear; however, the Titans still appear in the background.
Ω form
Battlefield form
Hazards Off[edit]
With hazards off, Azurda's head does not move at all, staying at the starting position throughout the match.
Origin[edit]
The layout of the stage comes from the beginning ofXenoblade Chronicles 2, whereRex lives on Azurda's Back as they swim across the Cloud Sea in search of salvaging jobs. The Titans spotted in the background are all areas that can be explored in the game. The background characters that appear on the stage are party members that Rex befriends throughout the story's events.
While this stage is a home stage forPyra/Mythra andShulk, the latter can only be present at the beginning ofXenoblade Chronicles 2 during a New Game+, as Rex loses Azurda as a home before encountering Pyra, with Azurda regenerating into a small larval stage for most of the game. Although Azurda regenerates into his adult form at the end of the game, Rex's house on his back no longer exists. Rex's fellow party members cannot be present on Azurda's Titan form at all until the very end of the game, as they do not appear at the start of a New Game+, unlike Pyra/Mythra and other Blades previously unlocked (including Shulk).
Tournament Legality[edit]
Cloud Sea of Alrest has been banned from tournaments due to the large slope on Azurda’s neck creating unusual, potentially disruptive geography. The lower blast zone somewhat obscures characters that are inside the cloud sea.
Gallery[edit]
Sora andJigglypuff on the stage.
Nia inUltimate.
Dromarch inUltimate.
Tora inUltimate.
Poppi α inUltimate.
Mòrag inUltimate.
Brighid inUltimate.
Zeke inUltimate.
Pandoria inUltimate.
Argentum and the Maelstrom inUltimate.
Gormott inUltimate.
Uraya inUltimate.
Mor Ardain inUltimate.
Genbu inUltimate.
Indol inUltimate.
Names in other languages[edit]
| Language | Name | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
 Japanese | アルストの雲海 | Sea of Clouds in Alst |
 English | Cloud Sea of Alrest | — |
 French | Mer de nuages d'Alrest | Alrest Sea of Clouds |
 German | Wolkenmeer von Alrest | Sea of Clouds from Alrest |
 Spanish | Mar de nubes de Alrest | Alrest Sea of Clouds |
 Italian | Mare di nuvole di Alrest | Alrest Sea of Clouds |
 Chinese (Simplified) | 幽界云海 | Alrest Sea of Clouds |
 Chinese (Traditional) | 阿爾斯特雲海 | Alrest Sea of Clouds |
 Korean | 아르스트의 운해 | Alrest's Sea of Clouds |
 Dutch | Wolkenzee van Alrest | Cloud Sea of Alrest |
 Russian | Море Облаков Альреста | Sea of Clouds Alrest |
Trivia[edit]
- Sakurai stated that the reason why Azurda is not the main platform for the Ω and Battlefield forms is because the development team thought he would be "crushed into jelly" if they tried to make him fit the shape and size of Battlefield.
- During one of Pandoria's animations, her glasses unfog, briefly revealing her eyes before they fog up again.
- Like withPyra's fighter model andMythra's appearance inSmash as a whole, Brighid's outfit as a background character has been modified fromXenoblade Chronicles 2 due toUltimate's lower age rating, covering up her midriff and legs, as in the original game, her cleavage and undergarments are visible. However, she remains uncensored in "cutscene" footage in Pyra and Mythra's reveal trailer.
- The World Tree, a location in the original game, can be found at the beginning of the stage, when moving the camera to the left side. This applies to both its default form and its Ω and Battlefield forms.
- The tree will later be unviewable from the camera after a couple minutes, but will appear on-camera after ten.
- Cloud Sea of Alrest has the longest background animation of any stage in the series, lasting roughly 15 minutes before looping.
- If at least one fighter is standing on Azurda's head, he will not turn to look at the background unless they move away.
- Despite the house on Azurda's back only existing at the beginning ofXenoblade Chronicles 2 and the Titans forming new landmasses at the end of the game, Azurda claims that "[he misses] this old body" in Pyra and Mythra's reveal trailer, implying that the stage is intended to take place after the end of the original game (where he regenerates into his Titan form).
- The followingAssist Trophies cannot appear on this stage:Moon,Metroid,Ashley,Burrowing Snagret,Devil,Vince,Dillon, andSquid Sisters. Additionally, the following Poké Ball summons cannot appear on this stage:Alolan Vulpix,Alolan Exeggutor,Fennekin,Pyukumuku andMarshadow.
- Steve picks up wool blocks instead of dirt blocks on this stage.
- Cloud Sea of Alrest is the only DLC stage inUltimate that is used for a Spirit Battle inWorld of Light, as it is used for Rex's Spirit Battle if Challenger Pack 9 has been purchased and downloaded.
- Masahiro Sakurai showed an early version of Cloud Sea of Alrest in aYouTube video[1] along with several changes made before release:
- Sakurai suggested the cloud formations be changed to look more natural.
- Sakurai deemed the sway the stage possesses too extreme initially, and suggested it be toned down.
- At one point, the various windmills on the stage were accidentally moving opposite to the wind.
References[edit]
 Xenoblade Chronicles universe | |
|---|---|
| Fighters | Shulk (SSB4 ·SSBU) ·Pyra (SSBU) ·Mythra (SSBU) |
| Assist Trophy | Riki |
| Stages | Gaur Plain ·Cloud Sea of Alrest |
| Other characters | Azurda ·Dunban ·Fiora ·Metal Face ·Nia ·Rex |
| Trophies andSpirits | Trophies ·Spirits |
| Music | SSB4 ·Ultimate |
