Fountain of Dreams
| Kirby's Adventure Dream Land: Fountain of Dreams | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
   Fountain of Dreams as it appears inSmash. | |||||||
| Universe | Kirby | ||||||
| Appears in | Melee Ultimate | ||||||
| Availability | Starter | ||||||
| Crate type | Normal (Melee) Presents (Ultimate) | ||||||
| Maximum players | 4 (Melee) 8 (Ultimate) | ||||||
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| Article on Wikirby | Fountain of Dreams | ||||||
Announced in theE3 2001 trailer,Fountain of Dreams (夢の泉,Fountain of Dreams) is astarter stage inSuper Smash Bros. Melee which returns inSuper Smash Bros. Ultimate.
InMelee’sAll-Star Mode or when in his unlock battle, this stage is played on when the player facesMarth and any of his teammates (with theFire Emblem music playing). Unusually, inClassic Mode,Bowser is fought on this stage during the giant battle, despite this beingKirby's stage and the abundance ofMario stages. InUltimate,King Dedede is fought here for his unlocking battle.
Stage overview[edit]
The stage resemblesBattlefield in its layout, as it consists of a flat main platform with three overhanging soft platforms, all three with the same size. The middle platform is immobile, while the two on the side gently move up and down in no particular correspondence. They can rise to be as high as just under the highest platform, or drop to the point where they sink through the level, thereby making them impossible to stand on.
On the bottom of the stage there is a solid pillar which characters canwall jump on. It is not possible to pass underneath the stage due to this pillar.
Ω form and Battlefield form[edit]
InSuper Smash Bros. Ultimate, the main platform of theΩ form andBattlefield form is suspended in the air, and it is resized and reshaped to matchFinal Destination andBattlefield, respectively. The threesoft platforms of the Battlefield form are based on the ones in the normal form and are stationary.
Ω form inSuper Smash Bros. Ultimate.
Battlefield form inSuper Smash Bros. Ultimate.
Hazards Off[edit]
With hazards turned off inUltimate, the left and right soft platforms do not move. This is similar to the stage's Battlefield form, though the pillar underneath remains.
Origin[edit]
This stage is loosely based on theFountain of Dreams located onPlanet Popstar inKirby's Adventure andKirby Super Star'sMilky Way Wishes. It is powered by theStar Rod (which is absent from the fountain itself inSmash due to its reoccuring role as an item) and gives good dreams to the inhabitants ofDream Land. In this stage, the overall design of the Fountain of Dreams and its surroundings are different than how they appear in either game; however, this stage would later become the basis for how the fountain and surrounding area appear in futureKirby games afterMelee's release, such as inKirby: Nightmare in Dream Land,Kirby Super Star Ultra, andKirby Fighters Deluxe.
InKirby's Adventure, the Fountain of Dreams is whereKirby fought and defeatedKing Dedede after he stole and broke the Star Rod into seven pieces. Kirby then restored the Star Rod and put it back into the fountain; however, this freed the evilNightmare, a dark creature that corrupted the fountain, which King Dedede had sealed away by breaking the Star Rod. Afterward, Kirby fought and defeated Nightmare using the Star Rod. InKirby Super Star'sMilky Way Wishes, there are multiple Fountains of Dreams on Popstar's neighboring planets; Kirby awakens them in order to summon theGalactic Nova to grant a wish. InKirby Air Riders, the Fountain of Dreams returns and serves an important role for its story mode,Road Trip, and the new characterNoir Dedede.
Tournament legality[edit]
Melee[edit]
Fountain of Dreams is aneutral stage in competitive play, and one of the most popularstages forcompetitive play, due to its general balance: the moving platforms can preventcamping, and the shape of theedges of the stage prevent characters from getting stuck underneath them. Additionally, the pillar on the bottom of the stage allows characters who canwall jump to improve theirrecoveries, while simultaneously preventing players fromstalling by traveling underneath the stage.
Fountain of Dreams benefits characters who gain safer recovery mixups due to the ability to wall jump and/or the very low position of the lower blast zone relative to the stage, such asMario. It also benefits characters who have largely horizontal KO options but are more vulnerable to being KOed off the top, such asPeach, due to the high ceiling and narrow side blast zones. Fountain of Dreams hinders characters who rely greatly on precise movement, as the moving platforms can mess up the timing of theirwavedashing orwavelanding, and the small size of the base stage prevents them from utilizing theirdash dance to the fullest potential. This stage is considered excellent forJigglypuff andMarth, as they realize all of the above advantages of the stage; Marth, in particular, can control space much more effectively due to the small stage size. It is consideredCaptain Falcon's worst stage, and also one ofFox's andFalco's weakest stages, although some top Fox players do not mind this stage.
Despite its balance in singles matches, the Fountain of Dreams is oftenbanned indoubles tournaments, due to its small size for doubles matches and the water reflection effects potentially causing framerate drops, especially when theIce Climbers are present. Framerate drops disrupt patterns that rely on knowing exactframe timing, which are commonly used by experienced players.
Ultimate[edit]
Fountain of Dreams, including itsBattlefield form andΩ form, is usually banned in all modes due to framerate issues, particularly withWario Bike turning around on the water, which disrupts patterns that are based on exact frame timing. Also, with hazards off, the base stage is considered to be too similar toBattlefield. Most of the framerate issues were fixed inUltimate as of version 8.0.0, meaning the Battlefield and Ω forms are usually no longer banned, though the status of the regular version remains unchanged and a few issues persist with Wario Bike, leaving legality up to the tournament organizer most of the time.
Notably, when runningUltimate on theNintendo Switch 2, framerate issues are dramatically reduced.[1]
Update history[edit]
Fountain of Dreams's lag spikes were fixed.
However, the lag that comes from Wario turning while usingWario Bike still persists.
Teeter drop[edit]
InMelee, theteeter drop (or T-drop) is a technique specific to Fountain of Dreams. It can be performed byteetering on either edge of the stage, then turning around and pressing shield. This will cause the character toedge slip and quickly grab the ledge.
Trophy[edit]
Fountain of Dreams's trophy inMelee is obtained through theLottery after clearingClassic Mode andAdventure Mode once.
- Fountain of Dreams
- This mystical fountain in Dream Land uses the power of the Star Rod to create a gush of pleasant dreams that flow like water. The dreams then become a fine mist and drift over the land, bringing peaceful rest to one and all. It's been confirmed that there are identical facilities on other planets near Pop Star.
- Kirby's Adventure (5/93)
Gallery[edit]
Super Smash Bros. Melee[edit]
InMelee, the low-resolution models used in the reflection effects do not show characters closing their eyes.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate[edit]
Mimikyu on Fountain of Dreams.
Names in other languages[edit]
| Language | Name | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
 Japanese | 夢の泉 | Fountain of Dreams |
 English | Fountain of Dreams | — |
 French | Fontaine des Rêves | Fountain of Dreams |
 German | Traumbrunnen | Dream Fountain |
 Spanish | Fuente de los sueños | Fountain of Dreams |
 Italian | Fontana dei sogni | Fountain of Dreams |
 Chinese | Fountain of Dreams | — |
 Korean | 꿈의 샘 | Fountain of Dreams |
 Dutch | Droomfontein | Dream Fountain |
 Russian | Фонтан грез | Fountain of Dreams |
Trivia[edit]
- InMelee, the reflection in this stage's water is based on the lower-resolution models also used in themagnifying glass. These models cannot show changes in facial expressions such as characters blinking. This can best be seen by usingJigglypuff'sRest or by crouching withPichu.
- InUltimate, there are water physics present on the stage. These include splashes, projectile reflections, and proper reflections for every single move. Characters beingScreen KO'd can also be seen for a brief moment.
- However, the reflections will disappear iffive or more characters are present.
- TheMoon,Nikki, and theSquid Sisters cannot be summoned byAssist Trophy on this stage. In particular, Nikki cannot be summoned due to the dark background obscuring her drawings.
References[edit]
External links[edit]
| Stages inSuper Smash Bros. Melee | |
|---|---|
| Starter stages | Brinstar ·Corneria ·Fountain of Dreams ·Great Bay ·Green Greens ·Icicle Mountain ·Jungle Japes ·Kongo Jungle ·Mushroom Kingdom ·Mute City ·Onett ·Pokémon Stadium ·Princess Peach's Castle ·Rainbow Cruise ·Temple ·Venom ·Yoshi's Island ·Yoshi's Story |
| Unlockable stages | Battlefield ·Big Blue ·Brinstar Depths ·Final Destination ·Flat Zone ·Fourside ·Mushroom Kingdom II ·Poké Floats |
 UnlockablePast Stages | Dream Land ·Kongo Jungle ·Yoshi's Island |
