With Luigi's attraction well underway, it was only logical to assume that his older brother's was even further in development. And it would be a correct assumption, though the speed of development had nothing to do with any particular prioritization.
No, Master Hands respect for the Smash Fighters was generally very high, and even with those whom he favored least of all, he would never go out of his way to undermine them.
The reason was due to the actual conception of the attraction.
Luigi's 'Mansion of Ghoul's' (the current working title) was harder to work out, given what Master Hand would have been working with, making a ghost chase around four individuals. Tweaks had been made, with park guests having a few more edges, and they were being tested out, along with adjustments made to the speed of the ghost suit on attendee would wear.
Extra time had to be spent to plan out the core of the game, while Mario's was much easier to design and test out. A simple variation made on the classic game tag.
And it proved that the term 'beauty in simplicity' has, and will continue to have relevance for years to come. Essentially four players dressed as Toads, while one dressed as Mario had to keep away from them. The only major variations on the game were the design of the space they'd be playing it, with an occasional Super Star appearing to shake things up.
Master Hand had originally brought the ideas to the Miis helping out with much trepidation. In truth, he found the idea a bit lazy, since it barely featured much of what Mario was best known for in the game. There wasn't even any jumping, and while a certain dedicated Captain did without it, that was a choice, not any sort of restraint.
As opposed to the taunting and finger pointing he had expected, the Miis were curious, and tried it out. One shoddy prototype field later, and the Miis working for him found it enjoyable enough, so a more refined version was made, and open to random volunteers. The result was just a lot of good, enjoyable fun.
It still bugged Master Hand conceptually, but he reconciled with it when he thought about all of the things Mario had done over the years. He was a person who could adjust to all sorts of situations, from dangerous, to menial. It wasn't out of character for him to do this, and the theme of Mario had more-or-less been integrated with the game as a whole, so it was left together, eventually becoming 'Mario Runners' ( the very straightforward working title).
Still, looking back, Master Hand believed that he could have done a bit more with a Mario themed attraction, rather than what had been made. He was satisfied, but with all of the history he had, there would always remain the nagging feeling that there could have been more.
Perhaps he could make up for it with a few special event matches. Themes and celebrations of past events of Mario and other characters. It would be a fun idea for the fans, and he could possibly give a bit of interesting trivia as well.
Such as the history between Mario and the recipient of the letter he had just completed.
Yes, with thoughts about Mario's conflicts and unique encounters, his first major is naturally one of the first things people think of… if they're a bit more well-versed in his history, that is. Most people think of Bowser when it comes to Mario, thinking of his arch rival, rather than his first rival.
The King of Swing himself, Donkey Kong.
One of the strongest fighters in any of the tournaments, Master Hand could always rely on him to provide a good fight, and even be a decent sport about any losses. Most of the time. Over the years, Master Hand had noticed that the largest of the Kong's had mellowed out, and he was happy knowing he wouldn't be as much trouble as Mario's current arch-nemesis.
Master Hand only hoped the great ape hadn't lost any of his his fighting spirit, with how much he wanted to live peacefully outside competition.
Donkey Kong, King of the Jungle,
You are a fighter who has had a very unique transition into your current position. What started out as a simple kidnapping plot for a girl you liked eventually died down when you were defeated and set your sights on the person who stopped you. Whether it was with barrels or jumping, you became fixated on trying to beat Mario, the red-clad warrior who was always there to stop you. Suddenly, it stopped being about any sort of revenge, and just became about proving you could beat him.
Eventually, you were invited into one of the fiercest competitions that you had ever participated in, going against Mario, his friends, and even his foes.
Kart Racing.
Yes, it was just one of many ways you would compete against Mario, and find new rivals to compete against. It wasn't combat, and yet you were satisfied with it, and relegating normal fighting to my tournament, and against the enemies that threatened to overtake your island. Whether it was the Kremling Krew in the past, or the latest attempts made by the Snowmads, you were all but willing to guard your home and take down whatever obstacles that got in your way.
Between protecting your home, and competing in different competitions, you barely had any time to cause any more mischief, and you're typically resigned to living peacefully in your jungle.
With the path that you've taken in life, you've become less of a hero, and more of a defender. A fighter who wants to defend everything that's his, and everything he cares about, and that's as far as you typically want to go. You've mostly moved beyond fighting Mario, and have grown content with your current life, spending your days enjoying yourself with your friends and family.
However, since you still do get a rush from the thrill of competition, and with the great strength you use to keep your home safe, you have been invited to the Super Smash Bros. Tournament once more. You'll have the opportunity to test your skill against your old rival, and all of the other fighters from different worlds that you've come to know, as well as a few you don't.
There won't be any bananas at stake, nothing to fight against, just a friendly brawling to see who is the best fighter.
I hope you'll consider showing everyone just how good you are.
-Sincerely,
The God of Order,
Master Hand
P.S. You need to accept or deny this invitation within the next month, or you'll be disqualified by default. You shouldn't wait to see if anyone else will be accepted, all potential finalists have already been decided, and will be receiving their invitations over then next several weeks.
"Waaaaa-GUH!"
Water splashed into the air, as one Tuck slammed into the rest of its allies, knocking them all into the sea. As the Snowmad grunts came out of the murky depths, they looked around, confused about what had happened until they looked back up at the land they had been thrown off of.
Standing on all fours and glaring down on them was Donkey Kong, adjusting his tie, and holding a crumpled piece of paper in his hand. The Snowmads and DK stared at each other, neither moving until one of the the Tuck's gave a sad sigh and started swimming away. The others were briefly surprised, staring at their ally in shock, but then took another look at their adversary, and resigned themselves to simply giving up.
After the defeat of their leader Lord Frederick, most of the Snowmads had decided to move on from Donkey Kong Island and find a safer place to temporarily stay. A few stragglers had decided to try and take the island once more and to say that it did not go well would be an understatement.
Donkey Kong watched in satisfaction as the foes sailed away to parts unknown, leaving him alone with his thoughts on the upcoming Tournament.
Donkey Kong turned around, running into the jungle to gain speed, before leaping into the air, grabbing a vine as he swung forward, thinking a bit about the invitation he received as he jumped through the foliage to head home.
It wasn't that he hadn't decided to do it, he was just anxious and needed to get some energy out.
Donkey Kong had grown out of causing mischief for members of the Mushroom Kingdom, and had grown tired of any direct confrontations with Mario. At best, he would take some time to reacquaint himself with Paulina, while Mario used clockwork toys to beat him and 'save' her. A little game made between the two of them for old times sake. It was just them messing around, and Paulina wouldn't mind. Apparently she had been working at some big business, and was happy to take some time selling some pricy parts for the toys they used.
Still there was nothing quite as satisfying as an all-out brawl between him and someone else, and as old as he would get, Donkey Kong was sure that he could lose that feeling. Whether it was rematches with his old rival, or all of the other friends he made over there, it was still a rush he could always rely on.
Thinking back, there were still a few characters he still had business with. Bowser was as strong as him, and always gave DK a good challenge, and someone as dangerous as Captain Falcon always kept things tense. Than there were the less straightforward characters, like Link and the cartoony Link with their gadgets, and that pink puffball Kirby who should be easy to beat, but always caught him off guard.
And those were just his friends from the olden days. There were so many others to fight, and even those he would pal around with, for reasons he never understood. DK was never good at making friends, it just sort of happened, just like with a certain red plumber. He never really bothered thinking about why it happened, he was fine with going through the motions with things-unless they bothered him. Then they ended up like his enemies.
After climbing up one more tree, Donkey Kong had finally gotten back to his home, crashing through the door.
Literally.
"HOO-HOOOO-HOO!" DK cheered as he pounded his chest victoriously, prepared to show his family members the good news-
Until Cranky smacked him on the head with his cane.
Donkey Kong fell back onto his rear, rubbing his head in pain and giving Cranky Kong a confused look, with Dixie and Diddy looking a bit nervous at their adopted parent's anger. Cranky clarified the reaction it to his son by pointing at the pile of splinters that were once their door, and then pointing the cane at him. DK felt a moment of guilt, before it was replaced with his prior elation. He quickly shoved the crumpled paper into Cranky's face, as an explanation for the broken entrance, and he, Dixie and Diddy looked at it closely, before dawning bright smiles onto their faces.
The three of them gave a load cheer before helping DK up and giving him a big hug, which he returned in kind. After a moment, they released the embrace and Cranky decided that the four of them would celebrate with a big meal, hopefully without any armies threatening to steal their food.
And they would leave the matter of the broken door for later.
Before they started preparing the table, Diddy gave Donkey Kong an anxious look, as he wondered about his own invitation. DK simply sighed and patted Diddy on the head, turning his hat crooked. Donkey Kong was sure his closest friend would join him on the battle fields once again, and was confident enough to let him know how he felt.
He wasn't sure why he felt this way, but listening to his gut had never failed him before.
Yeah, for those that are wondering, I'm more or less alive, I've just been very, very, VERY busy with college. I finally had some downtime with Christmas break, and thankfully got around to updating this. Hopefully this came out well, there are a number of characters in Smash that I'm only familiar with thanks to looking online, rather than playing their games, and DK is one of them. If I ever write him again, I may make some tweaks, but I like what I did here, and I'm satisfied with it for now.
Next up, I want to take the POV into space with the great Samus Aran. That'll be fun, and I have a feeling Master Hand will have plenty to say on her, and so will I. Until then!