Great Bay

Great Bay
File:ZeldaSymbol.png
Universe	The Legend of Zelda
Appears in	SSBM
Availability	Starter
Tournament legality Melee Singles: Banned Doubles: Available

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Great Bay is a stage in Super Smash Bros. Melee that could be considered Young Link's home stage (it is where the player fights him when they attempt to unlock him, and Young Link was the main protagonist in The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask, from which this stage originates). Announced at E3 2001, this level is quite fair, although the advantage goes to the large character instead of the small one. It is best to be large because of the setup of the level itself: The more space one can control on the small platforms on the side, the less vulnerable they are to any approach on that area. Staying to the right side of the stage also provides advantage due to the mismatched length of the stage; the area with the turtle has a very long distance to the wall unlike the other. Also, it is possible to perform a stage spike by hitting or throwing characters into the underside of the main platform, resulting in easy KO's, especially for those with decently long forward or backward throws.

The left platform fits only about two people, and this is still a pretty small area for two people to be dueling. The bottom right platform is equivalent in size and shape. Above and between the two small side platforms, there is a long platform that is the main fighting area. This platform is flat without any obstacles,and provides an easy KO oppurtunity; by having a character's back face the bottom of the main platform, using a back throw will result in them hitting the bottom of the platform and tumbling into the water, taking down the unwary opponent, even at low percentages.The main platform can fit four fighters, but only about three comfortably. Sporadically, a large, green turtle will appear in either of two orientations to the right of the stage. After about half a minute, the turtle will sink back into the ocean, KOing any players who stand on it. On its shell, it has green grass that provides normal movement traction for characters, but any spots of the turtle not covered by grass will work like a slick surface (i.e. ice or oil). Additionally, the turtle has trees on its shell that players can stand on.

Tingle, from The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask, also appears on this stage. Tingle floats around on a red balloon on the right side of the stage, directly above the right-bottom platform. It is possible to pop his balloon, causing him to flail his arms and legs and fall to the ground or water below. While he is flailing his arms and legs, he can deal 1-2% damage with negligible knockback. It's also possible for Tingle to fall into the water.

In All-Star mode, this stage is where Link and any of his teammates are faced.

Origin

The Marine Research Laboratory, as seen from the coast in Majora's Mask.

This stage is from The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask. This stage takes place in the area in Termina called the Great Bay Coast. In Majora's Mask, the player must travel to the Marine Research Laboratory that is in the middle of the water. In this stage in Melee, players battle on the same platform that the lab is on. The overall design of the lab looks similar to how it appeared in Majora's Mask, except the lower platform is now to the right of the building rather than in front of it and the lab and the platforms have been scaled down. In Majora's Mask, the lab is facing toward the shore, but in this stage, the lab is facing away from shore. To save in Majora's Mask the player must check an owl statue. One of the locations of the owl statues is on the lower platform. The owl statue seen in Majora's Mask is also seen in this stage on the lower platform.

Majora's Mask is the debut game for the character Tingle. Tingle is seen hanging on a red balloon. If the player wants to talk to Tingle, the player must use a bow and arrow (or other forms of projectiles) to pop his balloon. When Tingle is on the ground, he spins around for a little bit, and blows another balloon to float back up to where he was. In this stage, Tingle can be seen hanging on a red balloon. The balloon can also be popped by attacking it. When Tingle lands, he still spins around, and inflates another balloon.

In Majora's Mask there is a giant turtle that must be awaken to get to the Great Bay Temple. If the turtle is woken up, he splashes upward. In this stage, the giant turtle is retained, but the turtle has been scaled down. The turtle still splashes when rising out of the water in a similar fashion to how he did it in Majora's Mask. The palm trees that are on the turtle are also retained. However, the giant turtle never goes to the marine research lab, and the turtle also never goes back in the water.

The moon as it originally appeared in Majora's Mask.

The beach of the Great Bay Coast looks very similar to how it appeared in Majora's Mask. The buildings, palm trees, umbrellas with towels under them, etc. have all been retained. In Majora's Mask, beyond the beach are rocky cliffs with rock platforms along the wall. There is also a door, a rocky cliff, and rock platforms, which have also been retained in this stage.

Also in Majora's Mask the Moon is falling towards Termina, and Link has three days to stop the moon from falling. The moon can be seen getting closer and closer as time progresses in Majora's Mask. In this stage in Melee, the moon can be seen falling closer towards the ground as time progresses. When the moon gets to a certain height, four giants which appear in Majora's Mask come and stop the moon, but the giants now push the moon back where it was previously. The design of the moon and the giants look similar to how they appeared in Majora's Mask, but they all have also been scaled down. Also, the moon is facing east in Majora's Mask, but is seen facing down in the stage in Melee. [1]

There are three songs for this stage, two of which are heard at all times. One song is an orchestrated version of the main theme from The Legend of Zelda and the other song is a slightly remixed version of Saria's Song from The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. [2]

Trivia

• This stage is banned in most tournaments due to the easiness of stalling and the bottom platforms which are very easy to gimp off of.
• In a beta version of the game, the Marine Research Lab in the background was part of the arena, allowing characters to walk in and out of it. It was moved into the background in the final version.