There are some game series that leave indelible marks on our
generation. Games were it is evidenced
that all of a team’s heart, soul, and dedication went not only into getting it
right, but making something truly fantastic.
A touchstone in gaming history.
Super Smash Bros. is one of those series.
Some of TW’s members are gearing up for the latest release
in the series, the simply-titled Super Smash Bros. for Wii U/3DS, even to the
extent of purchasing Nintendo’s much maligned, sales-challenged console. The big N has given us a taste of this
iteration of Smash already in the 3DS version and while it’s not perfect, it
truly delivers on the SSB experience, albeit in compact form.
(Note: Part I of this review will focus primarily on
the 3DS version of the game as I have enough of a sample to make a fair
assessment of the game. Part II will
come along after I get some hands-on time with the console version that is
releasing today)
Unless you’ve lived in a panic bunker for the last 15½
years, you know what SSB is about. A few
score of Nintendo characters and some non-roster invitees like Sonic & Mega
Man smack the crap out of each other until you can land that perfectly
satisfying, super-powered attack (a “smash” attack) that launches your opponent
off the stage. Tweeks have been added
throughout the games’ iterations such as extra attacks, items, play modes,
characters, Final Smashes, etc., but the core formula remains. You may ask yourself why anyone would keep
paying money for basically the same game over and over again, but as John
Madden himself would tell you, it’s because it works!
Forget Mewtwo, the character that should really be in Smash Bros? Brett Favre.
Smash is very free-form, which at the time of its creation
was a departure from the more restrictive boundaries of traditional fighters
like Street Fighter, with their flat stages, vitality meters, and complex
inputs. It has a short learning curve,
but a ridiculous amount of depth and opportunities to develop each character’s
strategy and metagame. That being said,
let’s just focus on what’s relevant to the Smash Bros.
layman, like ourselves.
In the 3DS Smash, single player mode is multifaceted, as
always. You can hone your skills and
pick up goodies that explore Nintendo’s deep gaming history like trophies, or
character customizations (available in single-player and local multiplayer
only). Minigames like Home Run Contest
and Multi-Man Smash return, but ones like Target Smash have been replaced with
a single-stage, Angry Birds-like concept where you launch a bomb at a
target-laden stage to rack up points.
Call it a matter of personal preference, but I tend to like the
character-specific Target Test and Board the Platform minigames from early in
the series better. They required a degree of
mastery of each character’s moveset and offered great replay value.
Adventure/Story mode from Brawl is gone, replaced by Smash 3DS’s
Smash Run mode, which lets you loose in a maze similar to Brawl’s story mode
where you can build your character’s custom skill set and pick up unlockables
before fighting in a randomized final battle.
It’s a good place to gather & test custom movesets, but lacking in
overall depth. Additionally, no story
mode means no boss battles, and thus, no Boss Attack mode, one of my favorites
from Brawl.
Taking it at it’s own merit, though, single-player mode
offers good depth, though not as much as prior iterations. Maybe it’s just due to system limitations and
we’ll get some surprises on Wii
U. Still great fun though. And after all, let’s not forget the real
reason we play Smash…the killer multiplayer mode!
In Smash mode, the official name of the multiplayer mode,
Nintendo has, in a reversal of previous policy, really taken the fan demand
into consideration. Most notable is the
“For Glory” mode in online play. This
system most closely resembles modern tournament-style play, with no items, and
flat, mono-leveled Final Destination-style stages (like the ones I was just
badmouthing a few paragraphs ago for being too restrictive). It’s just you and your skills vs. the
opponent(s). If you step into this mode
in online play, though, be prepared to eat your teeth.
If you have any.
The player ranking system runs off of a mechanic called
Global Smash Power (GSP) that rates your in-game performance vs. everyone else
in the Smash-verse. I honestly have no
clue how this works in the game’s online matchmaking system or if the game
really even has one, as one minute, you’re in a heated, even matchup, then next game
your opponent is flipping you all over the stage, racking up over 100% damage
in under 15 seconds, and meteor smashing you into the abyss while you try to
figure out how to handle the sudden appearance of a size-14 boot up your
sigmoid colon.
Well, either this kid’s been playing Smash Bros. or his ass is going
camping.
The pool of opponents is much deeper than, say, Mario Kart
8, if just for the sheer fact that more people own 3DS’s. It doesn’t seem like it’d be too hard to get
an even pairing, but I’m by no means an expert on this sort of thing. The flat stages in “For Glory” mode also seem
to favor characters with high speed and sharp control (Greninja) or superior
ground strength (Little Mac), at least at first glance. As the metagame develops and patches are released,
look for OP character complaints to taper.
Games can still be played in the traditional, frat-party style in “For
Fun” mode with items and such. And if
you have enough people with 3DS’s, local multiplayer or online battles with
friends provide their usual madcap fun.
As you can tell from above, the online experience isn’t
perfect. The lag that plagued Brawl is
still prevalent in places with the 3DS version, especially shortly after
release. Battles will occasionally
disconnect mid-match if game freezes up for too long. It raises concerns for how well the HD
version for Wii U will tolerate it. Will
economy-speed internet connections suffice like they do with the 3DS? Will we be able to throttle down the frame rate
or graphic definition to keep pace? Will
it be impossible to get a game in on day 1?
By the time you read this, we’ll have answers, but expect some headaches
at least early on and after Christmas. I
can’t claim any great technical expertise and I know some of this is on the end
user’s side of things, but…I dunno. It’s
2014. It seems even a company like
Nintendo that’s been behind the times in online offerings shouldn’t be having a
problem this noticeable with online play.
Wow, with as much focus as I’m putting on what’s wrong with
multiplayer, it’s hard to tell that I honestly love it. What it boils down to is having a game
against a fellow Smasher anywhere in the world at pretty much any time. If the price is enduring a few disconnects
and slowdowns, so be it.
So what’s the game like overall? Well, for Smashing on the go, this thing is a
must-have. It’s a given that with less
powerful handheld hardware, there’s something that feels held back. But for pick-up-and-play, I don’t need a
jam-packed game, just some great Smash action.
The game speed feels more natural than Brawl, though not as precise as Melee
(long held by the pros as the series’ gold standard). As we mentioned earlier, some pundits may ask
how many times you can release essentially the same game and have players
accept it, but this isn’t Call of Duty.
There’s not a new Smash Bros. every year, it’s a once (maybe twice) a
decade event and the games themselves seem to celebrate that. There’s no need to reinvent the wheel here,
just stick with what you’re good at and add a little bit to it here and there.
Honestly, the only things we change with these games are the flavors of
Mountain Dew and Doritos we market alongside them.
Director Masahiro Sakurai and his team pour their hearts and
souls into these games and it shows, with Mr. Smash almost
Urban Meyer-ing himself to death at one point during the development of Melee
(click
here if you’re not a sports fan and don’t get the reference). Even when trying to balance health and social
wellness a bit more this time around, Sakurai and co. have delivered on Smash
3DS and are poised to blow minds today when Smash U drops. Nintendo’s hoping it will bring the Wii U
back to relevance as it enters the third year of its life cycle. The sales numbers will shake out over time,
though. Let’s just have some fun with
Smash Bros. now…just like old times…
Look for Part Deux of
this review when we take you to school on Smash U (ha!). Think this review’s a little too gushy? You’re probably right. Check out this honest assessment
of the Smash series instead!
All opinions expressed
herein are solely those of The Claw and his real-life alter ego and do not
necessarily reflect the views of Team Waynedale Gaming nor its member bloggers.
Currently Playing:
Really? Did you even read this
article?
Currently Painting:
eButcher—Khador Epic Warcaster
Currently Watching:
Metallica on Craig Ferguson!!!!!
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