Hyrule Castle is a hugely important monument in gaming. It's the birthplace of some of the greatest moments in gaming, home of the lovely Princess Zelda, and the office of the monarchy of the ENTIRE land of Hyrule, setting of one of the greatest gaming franchises ever. But, I'm not gonna talk about any of that. In fact, Hyrule Castle is important because it's home to some of the most pivotal battles in history.

Without it, how would we know how much ass Kirby could kick when fighting Captain Falcon?


BOOSH!!!

That's right. This episode of Level Headed talks about one of the greatest fighting arenas ever envisioned; Hyrule Castle from Super Smash Bros. Many of you feel the same way as I do; this proves it (btw, screw Saffron City). Oh, what was that? You don't like Hyrule Castle? Well, how about I give you a face-full of cold hard facts? TOO LATE HERE THEY COME:

1. Layout

Super Smash Bros. in general, had the best levels of all the SSB games. Hyrule was the best of this amazing group because of the things it DIDN'T do. It's not as long as the dread that was Sector Z. It wasn't as short as the painfully small Yoshi's Island stage. It didn't have cheap-ass gaps in it like some OTHER levels (you know who you are). It was also a very strategic level. You had plenty of room to escape enemies if you knew certain routes around obstacles. Plus, the 2 towers (the middle one, and the "barn" to the right) gave you enough height to pull off sweet moves. And, speaking of that barn, it was a perfect blind spot to mess with people that got close enough to grab the Pokeball that just happened to fall off the top of it.

2. The Tornado


What a douchebag.

Yep, you knew this was coming. Say hello to the most evil wind formation in the history of gaming. Set up as a trap on the level, the tornado (nickname: Hurricane Dick) had almost the same devastating power it does in real life. Once that bad boy came on screen, you knew some shit was going down. There was only one rule Hurricane Dick followed; if you get caught, you will die. There was always some sort of mad dash when the tornado first appeared, either to get away from it, or get one of your opponents to fall into its grasp. Plus, the 2 seconds of whirling around in that death vortex are the most excruciating seconds in video game history; you're just stuck there, knowing you're about to die, knowing you can't do anything about it. But, the fact that this little elemental twat is in here makes every Hyrule match that much more exciting.

3. The Left Side

Yes, the entire left section. That little slant on the side of the screen was a pivotal area for destroying rivals. I can't tell you how many times I was the focus of brutal combos just by being bounced up against that damn little wall. Plus, the tornado occasionally turned up there, pretty much annihilating anyone in that spot. Plus, the kid that always spammed Kirby's rock drop could be screwed up by the slant and fall to his death if he wasn't quick enough.

Hahaha, take that, asshole!

Later games in the SSB series have, for some strange reason, gotten rid of the beloved castle. But, in return, they decided to give us the worst level in the latter 2 games (which I refuse to talk about and play on). Thankfully, SSBB decided to give us a level editor and, in turn, a chance to resurrect one of the most fun levels ever devised. Here's a pattern for making this level in Brawl (minus the tornado =[ ):



LEVEL SELECT:
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Fort Frolic (Bioshock)
Airport 1001 (Mega Man X)
Crescent Isle (Skies of Arcadia)
Chainsaw Hedgemaze Mayhem (Zombies Ate My neighbors)
Temple Of Ice (LoZ: Phantom Hourglass)