Devil's Machine

Devil's Machine (悪魔のマシン) is an unlockable stage in Super Smash Flash 2 hailing from the EarthBound series. It was initially teased in an unannounced stream during Halloween in 2015.

Layout[]

Devil's Machine is one of the widest stages in the game, consisting of a very long platform stretching to the left and right blast lines. The platform follows a straight path but is slightly uneven with a subtle wave pattern. Giygas surrounds the stage in multiple layers across the foreground and background.

With hazards turned on, Giygas periodically interjects with dialogue, which is shown in a text box at the bottom of the stage. The camera zooms out to show the full text box, and when each line of dialogue ends, the screen briefly flashes. The dialogue that can appear includes the following:

AH, GRR... Ohhh...
ARGH! YAAAGH!!!
...GO..................B...A...C...K...
...friends...
...I feel... ....g...o...o...d.....
...I'm......h...a...p...p...y...
(It feels like someone is praying for your safety.)
(It got a little easier to see.)
It's not right...not right...not right... It's not right...not right...not right...
Ness, Ness, Ness, Ness, Ness, Ness, Ness, Ness.. Ness, Ness, Ness, Ness, Ness..Ness, Ness, Ness..
Ness... Ness... Ness... Ness... It...H..U..R..T..S.....
S....................T...............O................P................
(Something in your heart compelled you to sing a song...) (...that you had never heard before.)
(....Something pushed you forward.)
(Something smells absolutely putrid.)
(Woah!) (....Nothing happened.)
(You cannot grasp the true form of Giygas' attack!)
(You feel a soft breeze.) (It smells like sunflowers.)
(You feel... eyes locked on you...) (...But there was no one there.)
(...You feel like crying.)
(You feel...) (strange.)
(You hear chanting in the distance.)
(You remember something that you forgot.) (Wait... This isn't your memory...)
(You think about how much you miss your dad.)
(You think about how much you miss your mom.)
(...You thought you heard someone say your name.)
(...????) (What did Giygas... do?)

Music[]

The main music track is Porky Means Business, an intense synthetic remix of the theme that plays during the first phase of the final battle in EarthBound.
The alternate music track is Deep Darkness, a dramatic remix of the theme that plays inside the Deep Darkness area in EarthBound.

Tournament legality[]

This stage is banned in competitive play. Though completely featureless, the stage's massive size and walk-off blast lines allow for camping and very early KOs when standing near a blast line, as well as very late KOs otherwise. The stage is thus disproportionately advantageous toward fast and projectile-heavy characters, as well as those with strong grab and throw games.

Origin[]

Devil's Machine (appearance) — The Devil's Machine in *EarthBound*.

The Devil's Machine is a large device in EarthBound that serves as the site of the final battle against Giygas, the main antagonist of the game. Located in the Cave of the Past, Giygas's base of operations, it contains Giygas in order to keep his unfathomable powers under control, though said powers would destroy his body and mind over time. Ness and his party land on the Devil's Machine after using the Phase Distorter to travel back in time with robotic bodies, and upon traversing its pulsing flesh-like terrain, they reach the core where Giygas is being held. Porky Minch then battles the party, and after his defeat, he shuts off the Devil's Machine and unleashes Giygas's power, destroying it in the process. This traps the party in a strange dimension shrouded with darkness to battle Giygas, who is ultimately defeated through Paula's prayers.

The stage in SSF2 takes place in front of the Devil's Machine, with the main platform resembling the flesh-like terrain that makes up the area. Giygas's repeating, scrolling appearance on the stage closely resembles the final phase of his fight in EarthBound, in which he is fully invincible to attacks. The dialogue box that appears is based on the one used in EarthBound, and much of the dialogue is stated by Giygas during his fight.

Gallery[]

Screenshots[]

Misc.[]

Trivia[]

The stage is so large that it is roughly half the size of the notorious TEST stage hidden in the data of Super Smash Bros. Melee, relative to the respective games' characters.
Former developer James Hadden has been quoted as being extremely proud of the text box code used in this stage, as it had been programmed from scratch to support customizing the pauses when the text box writes out dialogue. Over 20 total hours were spent making sure that the pauses were the correct length and timing for the maximum discomfort.
According to developer Steven, the reason for adding this stage was that it had a lot of the kind of unsettling ambience and individual personality in an environment that EarthBound is known for but that the official Super Smash Bros. games would be unwilling to show.