Planet Zebes

Planet Zebes
Planet Zebes
Universe	Metroid
Appears in	SSB
Availability	Starter
Tournament legality Super Smash Bros. Singles: Banned (occasionally counterpick) Doubles: Banned (occasionally counterpick)

This page is about the stage in Super Smash Bros. For locations on this planet, see Brinstar, Brinstar Depths, or Norfair.

Planet Zebes (惑星ゼーベス, "Planet Zebesu") serves as the lone Metroid installment stage for the original Smash Bros. Like most other stages, it did not return in Melee, and is generally banned in standard tournaments for its interference with gameplay, though is sometimes allowed on behalf of its size ideal for aerial combos.

It is the home stage of Samus Aran. This is also where Captain Falcon is fought when being unlocked.

Wavers as well as Ridley can occasionally be spotted flying in the background.

Layout

Full view of Planet Zebes from SSB.

Planet Zebes consists of a rough, jagged base, three main platforms (one of which is sloped at an angle), and one smaller platform ascending and descending to the far right of the stage. Hazardous acid surges below, periodically submerging most of the base and two of the three platforms, though never rising high enough to reach the topmost platform.

Touching the acid results in damage and serious knockback, capably KOing a player if their damage meter is high enough. It can also however be used strategically as a means of salvage if risen high enough; in the event of a player being knocked off of the stage and into the acid, it will launch them skyward, allowing them to reuse their recovery or simply fall back onto the stage. Obtaining a Starman (or any form of invincibility) grants invulnerability to the acid, allowing the player to walk through it with no obstruction. However, if, while invincible, the player falls off the stage and through the acid, he or she will self-destruct. It will not "bump" the player up, as they are immune to its burn.

Comparison to Brinstar

Some stages in Smash Bros., while not directly returning, were recycled or heavily modified for Melee, Planet Zebes and Brinstar being one such example.

Similarities

• Both have rising and falling pools of acid.
• Brinstar's acid moves in an identical pattern to Zebes'.
• The music is the same tune, though Brinstar's is a remixed medley.

Differences

• Brinstar, in retrospect, is much smaller than Zebes.
• The two platforms adorning either side of Brinstar are constrained by fleshy stalks that can be broken if attacked, having the platforms slope at sharp angles.
• There is no small ascending and descending platform in Brinstar like there is in Planet Zebes.
• Brinstar's acid deals significantly less knockback compared to Zebes', and won't KO outside of extreme percentages.

There are several other minuter details. A cluster of organic material conjoins the base of Brinstar and splits the stage in two when destroyed. Also, Ridley is no longer seen flying in the background, but is instead replaced with a giant throbbing alien organism, as well as a Chozo Statue that occasionally gets up and roams about.

Origin

A room in Brinstar from Metroid featuring the yellow acid.

This stage is purportedly inspired by the Brinstar area of Planet Zebes in Metroid, however the only clear reference is the yellow acid featured in some rooms harmful to the player upon falling in. Metroid II: The Return of Samus would also have acid hinder the player from further excavating the planet's depths, to which killing enough Metroids ruptures an earthquake and sinks the acid, allowing safe progression. Contrarily, toward the end of Super Metroid, in Mother Brain's room an earthquake occurs and acid begins to rise. While originating in Metroid, the acid on the Planet Zebes stage rises and falls flippantly, potentially referencing both Metroid II and Super Metroid.

Corresponding to typical Metroid platforming, the stage does appear suspended amidst a large vertical grotto; its background textures also seem borrowed from that of Super Metroid. The music is based on the recurring main "Brinstar" theme originally heard in Metroid.

External links

Music for Planet Zebes