Combo Moves were a planned mechanic exclusive to the Wii port of Tornado Outbreak that would allow players to maximize their destructiveness by rapidly swinging the Wii Remote up and down. The mechanic was first introduced in the 2008 prototype of the game, known as Tornado Alley.
History[]
The development of motion controls for the Wii version of Tornado Outbreak were implemented in the early stages of the Wii's prototyping phase. As the game evolved into a multiplatform release, the decision was made to limit the use of motion controls during gameplay. Players would operate the game using the Wii Remote and Nunchuk in a traditional manner: the Nunchuk's control stick would maneuver the tornado, while the Wii Remote would be used to perform actions like capturing Fire Flyers, camera adjustment, and Stone Stomping.
However, motion controls were not entirely eliminated, as they were implemented into Totem Battles, more specifically the Battle Mode. Here, players would rapidly shake the Wii Remote left and right to pummel a Totem's head or arm until it was destroyed.
Discovery[]
Mentions of Combo Moves have existed within the game since its release. In 2017, unused texts relating to the cut side mission mode alongside the cut BATTER-RAM move were found within the "tornadoalley.bsu" file. In 2024, several assets from the Tornado Alley Prototype were discovered, including an still frame of an animated tutorial instructing the player on how to perform combo moves such as SMASHDOWN and BATTER-RAM.
Moves[]
Two combo moves were initially planned during the game's development, those being SMASHDOWN and BATTER-RAM. A SMASHDOWN combo would've presumably been performed by shaking the Wii Remote up and down while performing a specific action on the Nunchuk. A BATTER-RAM combo would've been performed by targeting a specific object with the Z-button while swinging the Wii Remote left and right until the object was destroyed. This move would've ultimately be reworked into the Battle Mode mechanic for Totem Battles.