The Multiversus Ultimate Roster Showdown: STAGES

To learn more about the MultiVersus Roster Showdown, check out the introduction post here.

As we near the end of the MultiVersus Roster Showdown, it’s time to acknowledge a shortcoming the game has: playable stages. At the time of writing this, MultiVersus has a handful of stages to battle in. For a game that showcases such an expansive catalog to pull from, the limited amount of stages to dive into is quite sad.

So Graydon Webb and Josh Miller go over some stages they would like to see implemented into MultiVersus. Before we get into that, let’s note what is currently in the game:

• The Batcave (DC Comics)
• Cromulons Stage (Rick and Morty)
• Tree Fort (Adventure Time)
• Haunted Mansion (Scooby-Doo)
• Trophy’s E.D.G.E. (MultiVersus)
• Sky Arena (Steven Universe)
• Throne Room (Game of Thrones) – Not Yet Released

Now, let’s get to the suggestions!

Rampage

This one seems like a no-brainer to me! You all remember Rampage from your childhood, right? The three-player game about giant mutant animals attacking a city and scaling buildings? Well, what if you could play Multiversus right in the middle of that madness? I’m picturing something akin to the Earthbound stage from Smash Bros. that lets you jump on top of buildings and they kind of fall apart beneath your weight. So, picture it: you’re doing your normal Multiversus thing, and all of a sudden, tanks show up! They’re wheeling around on the ground shooting at you, so you take the action on top of a building! But be warned: if you bang things around too much up there, the building will come tumbling down! Perhaps in the background, you can see the game’s three main monsters – George, Lizzie, and Ralph – destroying the rest of the city. Or, I don’t know, The Rock could show up. Why not?

Osmosis Jones

Who hasn’t wanted to explore the inside of a human body? Besides Ms. Frizzle. If you guessed “everyone who has ever seen Osmosis Jones,” you would be correct! The story of a white blood cell police officer tasked with guiding a cold pill through a sick man’s body, Osmosis Jones has been a fan favorite of my generation since its inception. It is also a favorite of nearly every science teacher I’ve ever had. Seriously, I have seen this movie a lot. But I digress, the setting of Osmosis Jones – literally inside Bill Murray’s body – seems like a fantastic place to hold Multiversus matches! Imagine the ever-changing landscape, and the possible obstacles you could encounter while flying through this unknown land! No doubt it would be colorful and frantic, and I’m sure it would deliver a lot of fun for fans of the film.

Foster’s Home for Spiritual Fiends

A long name, yes but a brilliant concept; bear with me. Now I know there is already a haunted house stage in Multiversus, thanks to Scooby-Doo. However, this would be a rather darker premise, inspired by the collaboration stages of one PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale! We begin with a tour of Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends: vibrant, welcoming, and full of life. Then the stage takes an unholy turn, as Valak appears and shifts the stage to the Conjuring house, full of ghoulish foes like The Crooked Man and even Annabelle herself. Don’t worry about it being too scary, though, it’s still Multiversus at its core. The aesthetic shift would be the most fascinating aspect to me, watching something so visually pleasing go eerie and ruinous so fast. Thankfully, in the end, Mr. Herriman appears and rebuilds Foster’s Home, ending each match on a happier note.

Just a little fourth wall break here: this was truly the first thing I thought of when I heard Josh’s showdown pitch. I truly hope Warner Bros. does something with these properties in a stage, maybe even changing The Conjuring to Courage the Cowardly Dog if it seems too gloomy for kids. Just the idea of a house that shifts from good to bad while the fight commences is *chef’s kiss*

Why couldn’t you have owned Monster House, Warner Bros.?!

Dexter’s Laboratory

Just think of all those wonderful toys. For those who grew up watching Dexter’s Lab, it was a place of discovery and excitement. You never knew what Dex would be doing or creating each episode. So similar to the Batcave level, we should take some of those ideas from the show and have them in a level. Perhaps knocking enemies into Dexter’s giant robot like you would the Batmobile could be one option. Have Monkey caged up, and once freed, have him transform and do a horizontal attack on everyone between him and the side of the stage. There are so many options that can be used as environmental pieces, it would be foolhardy not to have them as a future stage.

Tiny Toon Adventures

While I originally thought about fighters doing battle at Acme University, I thought, “No, let’s get wacky.” Specifically, Gogo’s home of Wackyland. Here, things can get weird as nothing should remain the same. Giant lips, floating eyeballs, flying fish, and more should be commonplace. To make it a Lil more unique, it can swap to black and white as well to mimic its first appearance in the 1938 cartoon, “Porky in Wackyland”. Overall, a level based on Wackyland should feel different every time you play it. It should never feel the same. So switching out creatures, what physics exists, and more are all ways to make this feel exciting each and every time you jump in.

The Jetsons

Let me be honest here. I think The Jetsons suck. I was never really interested in them. However, the world they live in is different. For example, they live in these futuristic homes stuck to giant poles well above…..Earth I think? A lot like Kami’s Lookout in Dragon Ball. So for a stage, have them fighting in one of these homes. Maybe a couple close by to have a few different platforms to work on. Add in flying cars and any other future hijinks that litter that trash show, and now you have an interesting stage with obstacles to avoid. And if the home is that of The Jetsons, maybe have a window break and have Rosie the Robot peek through and maybe do something like hitting someone before repairing the window. I dunno, that’s something she does, right?

Histeria!

Following in the footsteps of Tiny Toon Adventures, Animaniacs, and more; Warner Bros tried their hand at a show with a similar feel but a different concept. Let’s make a comedic slapstick cartoon but include historical people and events. So, let’s build a stage around that. More importantly, build a stage that routinely flips what the stage actually is. Maybe one minute it’s the American Civil War, the next it’s on the moon during the space race, before changing to prehistoric times. This leaves a chance to change up one level a number of times keeping it fresh and interesting and, less importantly, being educational (yuck)! It would be a fun stage to tackle both as a developer and player and would be a good addition to MultiVersus.

Fresh Prince of Bel-Air set

So before you read this, watch what is one of my favorite The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air moments above.

I’ll wait.

Ok, pretty good, right? Now let’s make this a stage. Take the Fresh Prince set, and have a stage that rotates with the characters on it. Make it similar to how Carlton runs through the set for this joke. This allows the characters to fight through a kitchen, a cabin, the living room, and more. Add in other locations from the show too. Even better, have a moment where the front door comes in so you have the chance to throw a character out of it like Uncle Phil would do Jazz. It’s a goofy inclusion, but one that would be a nice nod to the show given it was distributed by Warner Brothers Television.

So, how’d we do? Any stages listed above that you all would be interested in seeing? What about stages not mentioned? Sound off in the comments or over on Twitter about what stages you would love to see added to MultiVersus.