Nintendo Battles

Nintendo Battles would be a Nintendo fighting/melee game for the Wii U. The game would be like a cross between the SSB saga and well-known 3D fighters like Tekken, but it wouldn't necessarily have an air of seriousness.

Some might say that this concept is too similar to SSB, but there are certain differences. For one thing, there would be a slightly different collection of characters. For another, the characters are not forced to fight in a single way; in Brawl, the characters essentially just fought the same way as they entered: in two dimensions, working around each other. In this game, you start out with no special equipment, and have to fight more deliberately. The environment can also be used to an advantage. That is, swords, staffs, ropes, etc. can be picked up and used by any character.

Plot
The plot is actually very similar to the one in the Star Trek episode, "The Gamesters of Triskelion," in which Captain Kirk, Ensign Chekov, and Lieutenant Uhura are drafted into a fighting troop by some strange, temporarily unseen forces which bet on the winners of fights, ignorant of who lives or dies.

This is also how Nintendo Battles begins: a variety of protagonists are communicated with in their minds by a powerful force and transported instantly to a bizarre arena. They try to fight the guards surrounding them, but they are tripped, stalled, and prevented from escape. They are told by a mysterious voice that they will be released only when they do what he commands, what what he commands is that they battle. He says that he will force them against his own champions, and if the heroes manage to defeat all of the champions, those who survive will be permitted to leave.

The heroes have no choice but to comply, but they don't necessarily take it sitting down. Whenever the voice goes dormant for the night, some of them sneak around, bringing down guards when necessary and discovering the secrets of what is holding them there, in hopes of finding some way to defeat it.

Gameplay
I've never made an executive decision regarding how the game will be played (format, scrolling, etc.), but for a good comparison, look at the versus mode in Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. It has a nicely rotating arena format with good character visibility, and can be well applied to both a versus and story mode. Even though it's not technically a fighting game, this game has my favorite versus mode for how well-put-together it is.

This game would also take away from the Soul Calibur series, in that it is an over-the-top 3D stage fighter. Basically, the entire idea of Nintendo Battles is making a Nintendo crossover fighter that appeals to fans of a different kind of fighting game, like Street Fighter or Tekken, and that deviates from the old SSB format a bit.

Characters
As stated before, some characters are heroes and some are champions. Champions will consist mostly of villains or other protagonists, as they are easily imaginable as wanting to fight the heroes, but they can be unlocked through defeat.

The protagonist branch would have to consist of important Nintendo characters, but the list can be altered at any time.

Heroes

 * Mario - A medium-weight fighter, with higher-medium speed and power.
 * Luigi - A medium-weight character with lower-medium power but higher-medium speed.
 * Peach - A medium-weight character with higher-medium speed and power just below medium.
 * Link - A medium-weight character with higher-medium power and medium speed.
 * Zelda - A light-weight character with lower-medium power and medium speed, but with high trickery.
 * Sheik - A medium-weight character with slightly higher power than speed.
 * Kirby - A light-weight character with higher-medium speed and medium power.
 * Captain Falcon - A heavy-weight character with lower-medium speed and high power.
 * Samus - A heavy-weight character with high power and higher-medium speed.
 * Zero Suit Samus - A medium-weight character with balanced power and speed.
 * Pit - A light-weight character with high speed and low power.
 * Donkey Kong - A heavy-weight character with lower-medium speed and high power.
 * Sonic - A light-weight character with off-the-charts speed and medium power.
 * Fox - A medium-weight character with high speed and lower-medium power.
 * R.O.B - A medium-weight character with higher-medium power and medium speed.
 * Shulk - A medium-weight character with high power and medium speed.
 * Falco - A medium-weight character with high speed and lower-medium power.
 * Ike - A heavy-weight character with high power and lower-medium speed.
 * Charizard - A heavy-weight character with higher-medium power and lower-medium speed.
 * Greninja - A light-weight character with high speed and medium power.
 * Little Mac - A light-weight character with medium speed and high power.

Champions

 * Bowser - A heavy-weight character with low speed but high power.
 * Wario - A heavy-weight character of lower-medium speed and high power.
 * Waluigi - A medium-weight character of high speed and lower-medium power.
 * Ganondorf - A heavy-weight character of lower-medium speed but high power.
 * Ghirahim - A tricky medium-weight character with medium speed and higher-medium power.
 * King Dedede - A heavy-weight character with high power but low speed.
 * King K. Rool - A heavy-weight character with high power but lower-medium speed.
 * Dr. Eggman - A heavy-weight character of medium speed and medium power.
 * Black Shadow - A heavy-weight character of high power and medium speed.
 * Wolf - A medium-weight character of higher-medium speed and higher-medium power.
 * Ridley - A character of high speed and high power, but he is somewhat vulnerable.

Stages

 * Isle Delfino
 * Soda Forest
 * Lethal Lava Land
 * Hyrule Castle
 * Gerudo Valley
 * Clock Town