First Impressions: Super Smash Bros On Wii U, 3DS
Thanks to an invitation from Nintendo of Canada, I was able to attend a Nintendo Post-E3 preview event recently and get my hands on several of the company’s upcoming first, second and third-party video games for the Nintendo Wii U and 3DS. Each day, I will be recapping my first impressions on several of the games I got the privilege to check out and post them here on GameSided. Enjoy!
I have so much respect for the fighting game community and how they’ve made an almost 13 year old game relevant through tournament play with Super Smash Bros Melee. They’ve singlehandedly had Nintendo almost shut down tournament play last year to turn it around and have them as a sponsor of Evo 2014 this year. Even Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime spoke to the audience, telling them “No Johns” if he ends up playing anyone next year.
With that in mind, you can tell that game creator Masahiro Sakurai has taken the FGC into mind when creating Super Smash Bros for 3DS and Wii U. However, with my time spent playing with the game across several characters and on both handheld and console versions, it’s a lot more fun to play as free and casually as possible, as most of the fun lies in using a variety of lovable characters from Nintendo and other publishing companies’ collection of fighters.
Here are my thoughts on Super Smash Bros on both the Wii U and Nintendo 3DS.
Super Smash Bros for Wii U
A cool aspect of the Nintendo event is that they had the GameCube Adapters working, allowing newcomers to stay true to the Melee style by using the Gamecube controller and its button layout scheme, in addition to using the Wii U GamePad. It made picking up playing Super Smash Bros on the Wii U that much easier, as no matter whether you played as a new character for the first time or as a classic returning character, the controls are simple to learn and easy to use immediately.
My #1 goal when playing around with Super Smash Bros was to recreate possibly the hypest moment at this year’s E3: getting a Final Smash ball and using it against an opponent to unlock the power of the super fighting robot: Mega Man! Trust me when I say this; pulling it off completely justifies the continued existence of the Final Smash, in my mind, even though I had been critical of its inclusion in Super Smash Bros. Brawl.
While only certain characters and stages were available to play in multiplayer competition at the time, I can already see fans who have been waiting for a great excuse to pick up the Wii U to do so with Super Smash Bros.
And that’s what makes this upcoming Wii U edition so great; its focus on making a fun gameplay that can get you and your friends riled up with excitement. No matter what age you are, there’s a playable character waiting for you to control. Villager was definitely a fan favorite among the kids at the event, while Little Mac was way and above the most used among the 30-and-above crowd. Teenage boys were prone to using Zero Suit Samas, and young adults seemed to gravitate towards the Pokemon characters, including newcomer Greninja. Projectile-based, speed-based, stand-and-smashed based; the playable roster of 20 main characters available at the event let players decided whom they liked based on style, not by tiers or alleged “fairness.”
Technically, Super Smash Bros for Wii U is also the best the game has ever looked. Running at a near-steady 60 FPS, the button inputs feel as responsive as it was on Melee. However, Melee couldn’t boast HD graphics, which help capture beautifully-detailed dynamic maps in action. Backgrounds feel busy, but also lively, serving as cherry on top of already-detailed battlegrounds. Even though a great deal of the new arenas are likely to get banned at tournaments, they are still to be adored amongst fans, especially those looking to add a little randomness to their battles.
While only certain characters and stages were available to play in multiplayer competition at the time, I can already see fans who have been waiting for a great excuse to pick up the Wii U to do so with Super Smash Bros. There’s a reason why there was a neverending line of people waiting to get their hands on it; not only does it bring you back to a simpler time of playing competitive couch co-op with friends, but it feels as true to the series as possible. I can’t wait to hear more about the extra features coming to the game, as well as the final confirmed roster. Ridley’s going to be awesome to play! (unconfirmed, but here’s to hoping it comes true)