Hyrule Castle

Hyrule Hyrule Castle
Universe	The Legend of Zelda
Appears in	SSB
Home stage to	Link
Availability	Starter
Tracks available	Track 7
Tournament legal (SSB)
Singles	Neutral (US ruleset) Banned (Japanese ruleset)
Doubles	Available
Article on Zelda Wiki	Hyrule Castle

Hyrule Castle (ハイラル城) is a playable stage in Super Smash Bros. and home to Link. It did not return in Super Smash Bros. Melee, although another Hyrule-based stage, Temple, did. This stage is considered to be the most neutral of all SSB stages along with Dream Land and is one of three legal neutrals along with Congo Jungle. In Japanese tournaments, this stage is banned, as Dream Land is the only allowed stage due to its large size and stage hazard such as the tornados. On the opposite end, it is the most common stage in Peruvian tournaments.

Origin

Hyrule Castle as it appears in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.

Ever since The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past there has been a Hyrule Castle where Princess Zelda and other members of the royal family live. The Hyrule Castle seen in this stage is based around Ocarina of Time. This stage is an accurate rendition of the castle seen in Ocarina of Time except there are no platforms that go up the middle tower and the spear on the right has been turned into a gazebo-like structure.

In The Legend of Zelda a recorder can be played to summon a tornado that warps the player to a certain dungeon depending on the direction the person is facing. This is the only Zelda game before Ocarina of Time to feature a tornado. In this stage there is a tornado that throws players upward. The tornado itself could be a reference to The Legend of Zelda, but what the tornado does has no relation to it. Death Mountain, a volcano in Ocarina of Time, can be seen in the background.

The music for this stage is a remixed version of The Legend of Zelda's overworld.

Layout

The full view of the stage from SSB.

The stage has a large main platform in the center. Three platforms float about midway across the main platform, with the middle to the right of the top and bottom ones. To the right of the main platform is a lower, connected platform with a gazebo-like structure in the middle of it. This area is sometimes known as the "Combo Tent" as characters can use aerials and throws to knock opponents off walls and into combos or KOs. This was made famous by Isai's "Greenhouse" Pikachu combo, which is multiple back throws into a down air or back air, Up smash, and then a Thunder to KO. Characters may stand on top of it, but may not jump through it. Connected to the left of the main platform is a slightly lower, slanted platform. In competitive play, Fox dominates on this stage as well as Link.

Features

The only terrain effect are the four tornadoes, commonly called "nados" or the "nado" in the SSB community, which spawn randomly over the stage. They tend to last around 10-20 seconds, and move randomly in a direction, although they may suddenly speed up and home in on a character. If caught, a character is held for about 2 seconds before being dealt 14% and thrown upward, KOing between 65 and 130% depending on weight of character and location. The tornado's knockback is similar to a throw in which it cannot be Smash DI'd. It is possible to attack someone while they are in a tornado as well. If a tornado speeds up and/or catches a character, it tends to spend less time on stage. The image to the side show the locations of the four tornados/nados spawns.

The four spawn points of the tornado. Note the location of the tornado on the upper platform that can kill at very low percents.

As a small Easter egg, Death Mountain can be seen in the background.

Description from the Instruction Booklet

A tornado spins about the stage, wreaking havoc on all that cross its path.

Trivia

• Maxim Tomatoes never appear on this stage. If the Maxim Tomato is the only item turned on via Item Switch, all the crates and capsules that appear will be explosives or a "dud".
• This is the only stage from "The Legend of Zelda" universe to be an available stage in both singles and doubles.

External Links

Music for Hyrule Castle