Golden Oldies

[ArbuthnotBlob]

Apparently after sitting on the tournament for half a week I’ve had all my energy and ideas come out today xD

Anyway! Given budget, H&S and other considerations I’ve noticed a lot of people, myself included, incorporating the return of older obstacles into course wishes/upgrades, and I was wondering - what are everyone’s favourite obstacles that are currently not in use? For me, I think it’s:

Stage 1 - Lumberjack Climb - I like the current shorter S1 with the lower time limit, but I did also love this as a S1 closer, a different kind of movement to all the rope climbs and netting that came before.

Stage 2 - Chain Reaction - I love this, it’s hardly a field-killer but as a dynamic opener for S2 it just can’t be beat, especially with that stained glass backdrop

Stage 3 - Spider Flip - this was very nearly Lamp Grasper but there’s just something about the tension of that leap that I love, although you could argue it needs the lead-in from Hang Climbing and the Jumping Bars to truly be effective. Bonus shout-out to the Devil Steps, I always thought they looked really fun!

[dakohosu]

Easiest answer. For Stages 1-3 it would be Bungee Bridge, Net Bridge, and Hang Move in that order.

For me it would be:

- Stage 1: I would've also put Lumberjack Climb but as you've already mentioned it, I'm going with a three-way tie between the Jumping Spider, Half-Pipe Attack, and Flying Chute (you can tell I'm a fan of Shin-Sasuke lol). They all fit the whole parkour-esque ethos of Stage 1 so well, as well as being extremely difficult and the latter two especially being some of the most creative obstacles that we've never really seen the likes of since then.

- Stage 2: Double Salmon Ladder+Unstable Bridge combo. The DSL was down the best variant and way more so than the irritatingly stale Nobori/Kudari variant. Then transitioning straight to the Unstable Bridge made the first half of Stage 2 an absolute grip killer and easily the hardest we've ever had. I know a lot of people are going to put Metal Spin or Balance Tank but personally, I never liked them THAT much, though I'd put either way ahead of the Backstream any day of the year.

- Stage 3: Roulette Cylinder, Doorknob Grasper, and Floating Boards. Sasuke 25's Stage 3 proved that you can have a ridiculously hard Cliffhanger for the spectacle and the hype, but not make it ridiculously unbalanced. The first three obstacles of 25's S3 were easily the most creative and are hence my personal favourites, which makes it ever more disappointing that they only lasted 1-2 tournaments until they got replaced by the Arm Bike and Cycle Road of all obstacles as a function of trying to nerf Stage 3 to guarantee a Kanzen....

[subtleagent]

Stage 1 - Free Climbing! Except make the entire wall move instead of just half of it.

Stage 2 - Heavenly Climb from VIKING. It's my favorite final obstacle in any show ever. Unfortunately it IS from VIKING so that probably will never come true.

Stage 3 - Roulette Cylinder + Doorknob Grasper. I feel this combo is highly underrated and the current combo we have (Flying Bar + Sidewinder) isn't even that hard. Granted 39 did shake Stage 3 up a bit, but eh.

[dakohosu]

Jan 1, 2022 12:11:07 GMT -5 subtleagent said:

Stage 1 - Free Climbing! Except make the entire wall move instead of just half of it.

Stage 2 - Heavenly Climb from VIKING. It's my favorite final obstacle in any show ever. Unfortunately it IS from VIKING so that probably will never come true.

Stage 3 - Roulette Cylinder + Doorknob Grasper. I feel this combo is highly underrated and the current combo we have (Flying Bar + Sidewinder) isn't even that hard. Granted 39 did shake Stage 3 up a bit, but eh.

On the point of the Flying Bar, I’m also of the opinion that the first obstacle of Stage 3 shouldn’t be as failable as the Flying Bar is (whereby if you miss you fail immediately). It just runs the risk of a competitor’s run being ridiculously short and anticlimactic (like Isa’s run in 38) and allowing basically zero suspense to be built up.

I think the first obstacle of Stage 3 should always be a strength drainer to handicap competitors and test their resilience for the following obstacles, like the Rumbling Dice or Roulette Cylinder were.

[azn]

Stage 1 - Step Slider or Twelve Timbers, fun and fast obstacles. I've accepted that where never getting a proper climbing obstacle to end the stage but at least w/ these, the stage doesn't start as painfully as it does now.

Also for the fishbone, instead of just regular poles, why not implement the Dancing Stones to make it more unique and difficult.

Stage 2 - Free Climbing, yes ik it's been mentioned already and I also know it's a first stage obstacle but so was the rolling log, and also because the Salmon Ladder needs to go to the third stage immediately to evolve into it's final form. What's better than the Brick Wall?, a moving Brick Wall.

Also I would love to see the SK 5-6 spider walk, my favorite version as it includes moving panels to a very compact layout, would work really well given the rolling log exists in that stage now.

Stage 3 - Chain See-Saw, personally I would rather have this be the successor to the Metal Spin, as I feel it's size should make it easy to install where the Conveyer is, but my other options where already taken and/or mentioned. For such an interesting concept and for dealing damage in it's lone tournament, it's a shame it hasn't returned since.

[subtleagent]

Chain See-Saw was defo underutilized and I would have loved to see it in a beefier form. It's just too bad it only got one tournament.

[sasukefinnja]

Stage 1 - Jumping Spider
Stage 2 - Metal Spin
Stage 3 - Body Prop

[dt]

Stage 1: I know this is a weird answer but for some reason I have always loved the Hurdle Jump😂

Stage 2: Chain Reaction, just for the aesthetic appeal

Stage 3: Floating Boards or Body Prop. Floating Boards are insanely difficult and definitely should have stayed longer than 1 tournament. Body Prop is iconic and really the only legit core killer they ever had. Although if it came back it would need to be beefed up. I believe ANW 8 had that curved one, would love to see that in Sasuke

[ahzoo]

Stage 1 - Flying Chute or Slider Jump
While both obstacles were reliably unreliable [though, to me that only made their attempts the more tense, if unfair], both obstacles did something that isn't really seen anymore in Stage 1 anymore - both obstacles were all about trying to strategise and overcome something that will easily end your run unless you manage to get lucky and the choices you made broke right this time. Furthermore, both tested a competitors strength, agility, and reflexes in equal measure, and would fit perfectly in any Stage 1 with minima effort.

Stage 2 - Balance Tank or Unstable Bridge
Both were tricky, failable obstacles that used the speed-limited nature of their stage to full effect, and both would do a good deal to revitalise an increasingly-stagnant Stage 2, provided they do not come with an extra 10 seconds to complete it.

Stage 3 - Devils Balanco or Spider Flip
While I admit, the difficulty of both was in large part down to their positioning, both were incredibly good obstacles that could still be incredibly good Ninja Killers, the former as a great parasitic obstacle that can make the Pipe Slider tolerable again [as long as we place the bar further away this time], while the latter was just a great tension-builder and a visually-exciting obstacle that served as the true highlight of the Shin-era Stage 3, even after people sussed it out for the most part, although, IMO, if budget permits, trying to expand upon it to something more reminiscent of the Heartbreaker on which it was based would only make it even more tense and draining, while also slightly negating the need for a brutal combination to precede it.