Port Town Aero Dive



Port Town Aero Dive is a stage in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, confirmed on the Smash Bros. DOJO!! blog website on Monday 4th February 2008.

Origin
Ever since the original F-Zero, Port Town has been one of the recurring locations that hosts race courses for the F-Zero Grand Prix, along with Mute City, Big Blue, White Land, Fire Field and Sand Ocean. In all three of the main games in the series, Port Town has had two tracks to its name. This particular circuit, Port Town: Aero Dive, is the setting of the second race of the Sapphire Cup in F-Zero GX.

In the Smash Bros. series
Port Town Aero Dive has been faithfully recreated for one of the F-Zero universe's new contributions to the Smash Bros series. The main platform for this stage zooms along the track, stopping randomly in several locations, each of which has its own unique terrain. Since this is a rather daring course, the configuration of the terrain in each location within it is appropriately treacherous. Expect lots of steep slopes. Sometimes, the platform will even separate completely from the track. When it does, you’re in store for some really great views of the course. The race cars have changed from Mute City. They do more damage and can kill at 50%. Furthermore, it might be impossible to damage them due to their higher speed than the cars in the last installment. Additionally, the racers are large enough that characters might be hit by them, even if they are standing on platforms floating above the track.

Strangely, this stage is a starter while Captain Falcon is not, similar to Snake and Shadow Moses Island. The stage is also similar to Mute City from Super Smash Bros. Melee, in both the stage hazards, idea and that it is an almost perfect recreation of an F-Zero track. What sets it apart from Mute City is that no two laps in a single brawl are the same; the platform doesn't always drop players off at every stop. In fact, there is no set amount for the number of times it stops during one circuit either. The other difference between Port Town and Mute City is that the platform in this stage isn't facing forward all the time. Instead, it rotates 90 degrees so that when it lands, you are viewing the course from the side.

These are the places that the stage stops at, in the order that they appear:
 * The start/finish line. The terrain is completely flat, making it difficult to avoid the F-Zero racers. The battle always begins at this point.
 * The first corner. There are two parallel platforms here. The ground is at a slight angle.
 * The top of a futuristic frieght/boat. A giant R.O.B.-shaped crane can be seen to the far right of the stage, which also appears in the original Port Town stage in F-Zero GX off of which this stage is based. This area has three platforms. As this area is high above the track, the F-Zero racers will never pass through this area.
 * The top of a large, hovering disk above the track. As this area is high above the track, the F-Zero racers will never pass through this area. This area has a circular platform in the center, and two hovering platforms above gaps to both sides. If you try to land far enough to the left or right, you can find ground at the edge of the disk, but it is easy to be KO'd this close to the edge.
 * The straight with a gap in the middle. There are three platforms arranged in a V-formation above the gap. A boost pad can be seen in the background. This is the section of the stage right before the high jump. Unique to this section is that in the original Port Town Aero Dive stage in F-Zero GX, there is no gap in the center before the jump.
 * The stepped section after the huge jump. The stage is considerably wider than the rest of the stage, and the F-Zero racers can be seen from a long distance away, making dodging them slightly easier, regardless of the lack of platforms.
 * The area before the vertical piece of the track. The race cars drive in from the right-hand side of the screen. There are also three platforms, making this stop similar to Battlefield. F-Zero racers can only be avoided by standing on the top middle platform, as cars will still strike on the other two platforms.

One more important thing to note is that coming into contact with the actual course causes a great deal of pain. Touching the track below is quite damaging, but on the bright side, it can save one from falling, if the platform is near enough to the track. As well as that, the wall which curves around the second corner gives high horizontal knockback.

Songs in My Music

 * Mute City
 * Fire Field
 * White Land
 * Car Select
 * Dream Chaser
 * Devil's Call in Your Heart
 * Climb Up! And Get the Last Chance!
 * Brain Cleaner
 * Shotgun Kiss
 * Planet Colors
 * Golden Forest (1080° Snowboarding)
 * Mach Rider (Melee)

Songs in bold must be unlocked

It is worth noting that, oddly enough, the actual Port Town music from F-Zero GX is not available in Brawl. Also, the Melee version of Mute City only appears in Big Blue, but players considered it more suitable for Port Town. This decision seems even stranger when one considers that Mach Rider, formerly alternate music for Big Blue, has been transferred to this stage.

Trivia

 * For some peculiar reason, the lightning boosters placed around the circuit do not actually increase the car's speed in Brawl.
 * Unlike other stages, such as Mushroomy Kingdom which identify the specific game it hails from, Port Town Aero Dive is only given the setting F-Zero and not F-Zero GX. The same goes with Spear Pillar.
 * If you use a hacked camera to zoom out on this stage, you'll see that the entire circuit is never entirely generated. Only what you see while fighting and the next few seconds of track the platform will advance to is what is generated at any one time. A similar thing happens on Big Blue.