One of the best games I played at E3 was Super Smash Bros. , without question. As a longtime fan that has put hundreds of hours into the series, Smash is back in a big way. (Disclaimer: As a big Super Smash Bros. fan I want to go into Smash not knowing everything about it so some of these new additions may have been covered in the daily updates on the Smash website.)
Firstly, GameCube controllers were on display at the event and were the only way to play at E3. I also got the confirmation from a demonstrator there that the controller is being put back into production. This controller is Smash and it is perfect that the Wii U entry will have it because… this is basically Melee 2. The speed was roughly the same and the feel of everything was spot on.
There are a ton of new things I got to see in Super Smash Bros. , such as new Pokemon, new items, and most of all new characters. The early standout to me is Rosalina. Having Luma roaming around to assist is great but her smash attacks are also powerful and cover a decent area. She was a little floaty like Peach but more agile like Sheik. I think I might have a new character to master with Rosalina. The other new ones I tried out were a bit mixed. Wii Fit Trainer was ok but the moveset was too confusing to try and learn in the middle of battle. Villager felt somewhat similar to Ness. There was a little bit of something for everyone but I was annoyed there was no Sheik in the demo.
The returning characters have changed some of their moves as well; most notably Link’s dashing A attack is now a leaping slash downwards. There are other tweaks as well but the returning fighters feel more or less about what they were before, and that’s great.
Before I get too off track, the game looks beautiful. Nintendo really knows how to pull out a cohesive art direction. The stages themselves are painstakingly detailed and many liked to change their environment regularly.
A new change I really liked was that items now have a triangle indicator over themselves which is a simple change but makes finding things in the heat of battle a lot easier. The wind up for the homerun bat was much longer but that might need some more testing. It also seemed like a lot higher percentage was needed to knock characters off the stage. As a lighter fighter, Pikachu should not be able to take much past 120% but he was doing pretty well. Maybe the stage edges are just further away. Assist trophies are rare but super powerful. They last a lot longer, maybe an entire minute, and some are quite large and hard to avoid. Random elements like that are why I play Smash though.
Super Smash Bros. on the Wii U was fantastic and everything I could have hoped for. The 3DS version I was worried about because of the controls but that has all changed. After playing for a just a minute I knew that the 3DS version would be just as good as it’s big brother. The analog slider might be odd but performing smash attacks was second nature. This is how a portable Super Smash Bros. should be.
The platform exclusive adventure mode where you fight enemies and power yourself up was a lot of fun. It’s filled with enemies from all the games and seeing a peahat flying around made me smile. The mode ends in a battle that is obviously changed by how you powered up beforehand. It’s a really fun addition that I wish was in the Wii U version.
Regardless of version, the new Super Smash Bros. looks to impress. The game is fast, fun, and just how you remember it. The 3DS version hits October 3 with the Wii U version launching sometime at the end of 2014. Let’s hope it sticks to this year because this really is the killer app for Wii U.
