Fountain of Dreams

Fountain of Dreams
File:KirbySymbol.png
Universe	Kirby
Appears in	Melee
Availability	Starter
Tracks available	Fountain of Dreams
Tournament legality Melee Singles: Neutral Doubles: Banned
Article on Wikirby	The Fountain of Dreams

Fountain of Dreams (夢の泉 Yume no Izumi) is a starter stage in Super Smash Bros. Melee. It was announced in the E3 2001 trailer.

In All-Star Mode, this stage is played on when the player faces Marth and any of his teammates and in Classic Mode, Bowser is fought by the player on this stage during the giant battle, despite this being Kirby's stage and the abundance of Mario stages.

Origin

Fountain of Dreams as it originally appeared in Kirby's Adventure.

The Fountain of Dreams first appeared in Kirby's Adventure and was originally named Dream Spring. It is the home of the Star Rod, which gives good dreams to the inhabitants of Dream Land. After the Star Rod was stolen and broken by King Dedede for safe purposes, Kirby had to collect the seven parts by traveling throughout the seven levels of the game. Kirby and King Dedede fought in front of the Dream Spring. When Kirby placed the Star Rod back in the fountain, Nightmare, a dark creature that corrupted the Fountain of Dreams, came out of it. Afterwards, Kirby fought Nightmare using the Star Rod and defeated it. [1]

The track that plays on this stage is an orchestrated version of "Gourmet Race" from Kirby Super Star/Kirby's Fun Pak [2], and was later used (albeit compressed) for the penultimate fight against King Dedede in Kirby: Nightmare in Dreamland, the 2002 Game Boy Advance remake of Kirby's Adventure.

Description

It resembles the Battlefield stage in the fact that it has a large lower platform and three elevated ones. The bottom main platform is flat the whole way through without any obstacles in the way. The left lower platform and the right lower platform are the same length. They both, over time, 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. The fourth platform is at the very top and is the same length as the other aforementioned elevated platforms. The top platform does not move in any direction.

Artistic Design

Of particular note in the stage is its artistic design; some Smashers consider it one of the most well-designed stages in the game, especially in terms of cosmetics. Fountain of Dreams is a fountain of rainbow colored water that trickles down the bottom of the stage into a purple mist. According to the Fountain of Dreams trophy, the water is a mist that trickles down into the dream fog that is spread throughout Dream Land, which is Kirby's home. The back of the stage reveals the fountain that the dreams flow from, a few fantastic trees, and a few wooden stars, all of which are illuminated by color changing lights. To the left and right of the stage background there are two spire towers orbited by rings. These objects are tied together by the stage's backdrop - a black sky sprinkled with stars, floating circles, and a spectacular display of an aurora.

Tournament Legality

Fountain of Dreams is one of the most popular stages for competitive play, due to its general balance; the moving platforms can prevent camping, and the edges of the stage can prevent characters from getting "stuck" underneath the stage. Additionally, the pillar on the bottom of the stage can allow for some recovery improvements for characters that can wall-jump.

Despite its balance in single matches, Fountain of Dreams is often banned in team tournaments, due to its small size and its potential to cause lagging, due to the water effects.

Trophy Description

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, 05/93

Trivia

A cost-cutting measure in the reflection effects of the stage prevents characters from blinking.

• Fountain of Dreams is currently the only stage in the entire Super Smash Bros. series with different legality status between singles and doubles play.
• The design of this stage was used in cutscenes in Milky Way Wishes in Kirby Super Star Ultra.
• The reflection in the stage's water is based on the lower-resolution models also used in offscreen bubbles. As a result, it cannot show change in facial expressions such as characters blinking. This can best be seen by using Jigglypuff's Rest or by crouching with Pichu.