By RYAN GEEVER
Contributing Writer
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Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS is arguably one of the most hyped games of 2014. Nintendo’s all-star character brawler launched in Japan September 13th, 2014 and launches in North America October 3rd, 2014.
I have been lucky enough to have play time with the game through an imported Japanese version of the game.
Super Smash Bros., for the uninitiated, is a series built heavily on attacking your opponents enough to “Smash” them off-screen to earn KO’s (Knock-Outs) by using various Nintendo characters. The game-play consists of you using various tilt attacks, special moves and even the widely sought after Final Smash to claim victory over your foes.
Super Smash Bros. For Nintendo 3DS has you picking one of 49 various characters from Nintendo’s long line of all stars (with some exceptions). You have your gaming classics from Super Mario himself to the legendary Hero of Time Link to even the adorable yet shockingly dangerous Pikachu. There has been a long history in the Smash franchise of adding in characters from more niche franchises like Captain Falcon and Ness in the original Smash for the Nintendo 64, and the new Smash Bros is no different. Fighting alongside our favorite Italian plumber and tunic wearing swordsman we have Shulk, main protagonist from the game Xenoblade Chronicles, and even the Duck Hunt Dog, the wicked villain from the classic NES title Duck Hunt.
We aren’t just going for the underdogs this time, because we have some other gaming giants joining the likes of the all stars this time around also. Some of the biggest giants alongside Mario such as Pac Man and Mega Man join the fight, with Sonic the Hedgehog returning as a veteran fighter from Smash Bros: Brawl.
Everyone knows that 95% of the enjoyment of Smash Bros comes from seeing which characters you can make beat up that annoying blue hedgehog before he gets off that annoying taunt, I can still hear it in my nightmares.
Each of the newcomers in this title (as to which there are 15 this time around) are a wonder to play as and are incredibly balanced. This is a case that runs through the majority of the roster as overall there seems to be a greater attention to balance than in Super Smash Bros Brawl for the Nintendo Wii.
Fights no longer prioritize speedy and combo heavy characters. This was the case in Brawl, leaving fighters like Bowser (Super Mario Bros.) left in the dust compared to a faster fighter like Fox (Star Fox).
This time around characters like Bowser and even Ganondorf (Legend of Zelda) whom were previously slow, heavy and hard to use received a nice buff to become easier to help the overall balance to the game. Almost every veteran fighter that returns from a past Super Smash Bros. has been improved in some way, or in some cases, in multiple ways, and almost every single one save for Marth (Fire Emblem) and Princess Zelda (Legend of Zelda) were really enjoyable to play as.
Sadly, not all of the fighters from Brawl are making a comeback, as there have been quite a few cuts this time around including Wolf from Star Fox, Lucas from Mother, Snake from Metal Gear Solid as well as a few others.
Now, getting away from the character selection, let’s go into the various modes the game offers. The online play is smooth as butter and is really enjoyable! I thoroughly enjoyed going online with the very lucky people of Japan and the few Americans who imported it like myself. The online multiplayer is split up into two categories, “For Fun” and “For Glory”. Players who in previous Smash Bros. games would only relegate to the meme-worthy “Final Destination Only, No Items” rule will be glad to know that the “For Glory” mode includes a “Final Destination” alternate stage for nearly every stage in the game. It’s known as the “Omega Stage”. These stages offer flat battlefields with no intruding platforms and no items, purely a battle based on skill. “For Fun” allows players to go online and join people who want a more full experience with items and stage hazards and bosses and everything else Smash Bros for 3DS offers.
The single player modes have also been beefed up in some ways, taken down in others. Fans of the Subspace Emissary from Smash Bros. Brawl may be disheartened that there is no equivalent in this version of Smash Bros. This time, alongside the usual Classic mode is the new single player mode, Smash Run which is absolutely a blast.
In Smash Run you and three other players are thrown into this giant maze where you scavenge around for power ups for your character whether it be boosting their attack strength or running speed. Fans of the game Kirby Air Ride will be overjoyed to know it plays just like the City Trial mode in that game did.
The music in the game is absolutely astounding. Whether it be the new arrangements or even just the best tracks ripped from your favorite games, I assure you will be humming them long after you put the game down…which is now a thing because you can now use the game as an MP3 player when you have your 3DS closed to listen to any of the in game tracks at any time…awesome.
The menu design and UI look fabulous as always, and the stage design is top notch for the new stages introduced. (My personal favorite being Magicant from the Earthbound series).
In the end this game is magnificent. It’s definitely got my favorite roster for any fighting game ever because I have interest in playing and becoming proficient with everyone especially Shulk (Xenoblade Chronicles) and Robin (Fire Emblem) . I’m excited that for once in Smash Bros. the characters all feel like they can perform on the same playing field instead of obviously broken characters (Meta Knight) or practically unusable characters (Bowser).
This game is everything you could practically want in a portable, handheld Smash Bros., it’s oozing creativity and detail. It’ll be a great fall play while we all wait patiently for the Wii U version of Smash Bros. to launch Holiday 2014.
All in all, I give Super Smash Bros. For Nintendo 3DS 9/10. You can pick this game up starting October 3rd, 2014, but if you can’t wait that long there is a demo you can download on your Nintendo 3DS starting Friday, September 19, 2014.
