Most of us have that memory. For this editor, it was college, where Super Smash Bros. Melee had already become so popular that people were hosting local tournaments across campus. The not-quite-launch title for the Nintendo GameCube was widely credited for massively boosting sales of the console in the first year of its launch, and it could consequently be predominantly responsible for its subsequent success, however mild by comparison to the PS2. The buzz was real amongst core gamers, especially those who had grown up playing Nintendo games.
Arguably equal parts sweet, polished nostalgia and serious competitive gameplay, Super Smash Bros Melee was a curious specimen. Its release was just two years after the original, Super Smash Bros., for the N64 in 1999. While admittedly flawed in the realm of balance and fairly rough around the edges, Smash 64 was a valuable and progressive step in the world of competitive fighting games. In fact, in many ways, it redefined them, and that redefinition endures even today.
After having spent many dozens of hours with the latest Super Smash Bros. game, it’s time for the longest review your humble editor has ever written of any product. Buckle up!
The basics reevaluated: Smash History 101
But let’s step back for a moment and examine where this all began. The problem was primarily that the first Super Smash Bros. game sought to include four-player fighting matches without completely breaking the experience. The solution was brilliant. First, it completely did away with the concept of HP/life bars and replaced them instead with a much fuzzier concept of ever-increasing damage. This would be displayed in terms of an increasing percentage, which correlated directly with the distance characters would fly when struck—such that being struck at 30% damage would result in far less distance travelled than would being struck at 300% damage. This was important because players could only be killed by launching them outside the borders of the battlefield—sort of akin to a sumo wrestling match if you will, except a lot more fun and colorful.
Although traditional “stock” matches would still be included, Smash also introduced a new form of play—arguably more conducive to three- and four-player matches, especially those where fun was the primary emphasis and competition was secondary—the “time” match. This allowed players to continue playing even after dying until time expired for the battle; to keep track, the game tallied each player’s kills (“KOs”) and deaths, including suicides (“SDs”). Each kill earned players a point, whereas each death lost them a point. At the end of the match, the number of total points determined the winner.
Apart from forcing a reassessment of one’s competitive strategy to first deal damage, then launch the opponent, these basic formulaic changes also opened the field for additional simultaneous fighters. Since players would be able to keep playing even after death, the prospect of being swiftly defeated was painful but not debilitating to the detriment of one’s enjoyment. Instead, one can simply reappear and exact revenge on the killer, or step up one’s game to produce a flurry of compensatory kills and possibly regain the lead. In three- and four-player matches, the option of Stock matches was less congenial but simultaneously uniquely strategic, as when one player refused to die, the tendency to “gang up” on that particular player to reduce his odds of winning the match was completely natural.
The next major reinvention was for sake of accessibility, something which Nintendo had long preached (in exchange for occasional criticism from the hardcore) throughout its history of game design. What was the point of complicated button sequences in fighting games? To restrict access to particular overpowered moves? To simply complicate matters and make winning matches that much more difficult? Anyone who had successfully mastered the technique of a Zangief spinning pile driver would attest to the gratification of performing one in the heat of battle, so the concept was sound enough. Certainly this staple of the genre mandated endless practice and lots of time investment to be able to compete with the experts, but the reality is that it also served as a serious barrier to entry which stifled accessibility to newcomers.
To help flatten the learning curve, Nintendo completely did away with button combinations, replacing them instead with the simplest of controls: A attacks (with any direction producing different directional attacks), X/Y jumps (with jumping attacks differing from those performed while grounded), and B (along with any direction or neutral) performs four different special attacks. Players could shield by holding the L or R button for a limited period of time to block oncoming attacks, or dodge by pressing a direction while holding the shield button. Finally, simultaneously pressing a direction and the A button executed a Smash Attack, which was chiefly intended to launch players at risk of being KO’d.
This totally new approach for the fighting game finally achieved Nintendo’s goal of easy to learn, challenging to master, which is what most great strategy games in history leveraged (think chess). But they didn’t stop there. In addition to simplifying matters and providing opportunity for three- and four-player matches, they introduced new complicating factors in other areas. Since Smash gameplay was so much easier to learn than that of other fighting games, and since the addition of the third and possibly fourth player in each match begged larger, more multifaceted fighting arenas, Nintendo could afford to stretch the battlefields beyond the typical flat, planar 2v2 fare and sprinkle hazards throughout the field to spice things up. This led to an array of different levels which ranged from the tame and simple (Kirby’s Dream Land) to the deadly and complex (Mushroom Kingdom). Verticality was a frequently-emphasized attribute, as different platforms (some moving), pits, and ledges were much more easily navigable thanks to a simple jump button rather than the conventional (and obtuse) “press UP to jump” joystick-inspired design of fighting games. Super Smash Bros. felt the influence of Nintendo’s platforming roots.
Finally, in a nod to another very popular Nintendo franchise (Mario Kart), the developer added items to the mix—fifteen total—which could easily turn the tide of a battle. In spite of the fact that their inclusion arguably muddled the connection between skill and victory, it also made four-player matches a lot more fun in the right environment, and it brewed a frenetic form of party-style battle gameplay that was as-yet unfamiliar to the fighting game community. The option to play without items was also available for those who were less enthusiastic about their influence on the matches.
While the original Super Smash Bros. was deeply flawed in terms of character balance and some of the level design, it enjoyed some four million copies sold worldwide, and it was the beginning of a powerful new franchise for Nintendo. This was due not only to its sheer inventiveness and clever permutation of the fighting game basics, but also to the fact that it was Nintendo’s first widespread cross-pollination of its famous franchises and characters. To see Link battling Mario alongside Pikachu and Ness was something which many gamers had never expected.
To the next level: Melee Arrives
Nintendo must have instantly recognized the power of this new concept, as it soon after began work on Super Smash Bros. Melee. Released in 2001 (just two years after the N64 original), Melee took every aspect of the experience up a notch, to critical acclaim and widespread fame. Somewhat unfairly described as a “happy accident” by the gaming crowds, Melee managed a sense of balance and breakneck speed that ignited fighting enthusiasts and sparked a movement of serious Smash competitors.
Apart from the much-needed rebalancing, the next major contributor to its success was volume. The game literally multiplied the amount of content of its N64 predecessor—exponentially—and introduced countless new single-player modes and tons of new incentives to keep playing for the long haul. For starters, the number of playable characters more than doubled, reaching 26 (up from the 12 in the N64), nearly half of which would need to be unlocked over the course of play. Instead of just 9 total stages, Melee multiplied that by more than three to 29, a huge jump. Plus, it added a new set of rewards for playing the game: trophies (over 290 in total), which were exquisitely-detailed collectible items celebrating Nintendo’s extensive catalog of games and history, each accompanied by a description of its own. These could be viewed at any time via the Gallery, and zoomed or rotated to your heart’s content.
The presentational upgrades didn’t stop there, either. Apart from being one of the early games for Nintendo’s new GameCube system, it was also the first game from the company to include a live orchestra soundtrack (performed by the New Japan Philharmonic), featuring songs—some wonderfully-composed—spanning tons of Nintendo’s popular franchises. It was, in short, the greatest celebration of Nintendo gaming history and fan service that the world had yet seen, all baked into a fighting game which was as solid as it was completely unique in its design. It was destined for success, and having sold over seven million copies worldwide, that destiny was realized.
Big ambitions hampered by missteps: Brawl disappoints
The next big release in the Smash series was as amazing in some ways as it was painfully disappointing in others. Preceded by many months of introductory trickles of data on Sakurai’s official Smash Dojo website—including screenshots, music samples, revelations of characters, stages, and features, and tidbits about the game’s design changes—2008’s Super Smash Bros. Brawl was less of a surprise when it was released for the Wii than Melee had ever been seven years earlier. Although this approach to embracing the spotlight with public game development updates was novel and a first for Nintendo, it also somewhat dampened the experience of unwrapping a box of secrets like so many did with Melee years prior.
Fortunately, Brawl featured such a staggering array of content that it didn’t completely kill the sensation. Packing 37 playable characters (up from 26; 14 of which were unlockable) and 41 stages (up from 29; 12 unlockable), the game also catapulted the number of trophies from 290 to 544, as well as introduced a number of new game modes, including The Subspace Emissary, which was a single-player platforming/action adventure for enjoyment by one or two players. Just in case you needed more to unlock, a total of 700 stickers was available featuring artwork from almost every Nintendo game in history, each of which could applied to a trophy stand to enhance characters’ ability in The Subspace Emissary adventure mode. Brawl was also the first game to include characters and elements from outside of Nintendo’s repertoire, including Sonic the Hedgehog and Solid Snake.
In addition to that, it also upped the ante in terms of presentation, starting with a soundtrack bursting at the seams with a ridiculous 258 songs, many of which were unlockable by way of picking up special CDs which were randomly dropped during battles. Many of the songs were the work of one of 38 different world-renowned gaming composers, with names such as Nobuo Uematsu, Yasunori Mitsuda, and Yoko Shimomura contributing rearrangements to the cause. And of course, the game was more beautiful than ever, with levels that zoomed across stunning vistas from games like Star Fox, Kirby, and Super Mario Sunshine.
It was by definition one of the most ambitious games ever produced. However, while its timeless enshrinement of gaming history is undeniable, the enduring quality of its gameplay proved questionable. This was thanks to a series of unexpected missteps in balancing, such as the much-maligned tripping that characters experienced when running or dodging completely at random, as well as stages which were far more hazardous and distracting than nearly any of those found in Melee or the N64 original. Beautiful they were indeed, but their contributions to the game’s fun factor and balance were far less positive. Furthering this trend toward Mario Kart-like chaos was a selection of even more disruptive items, such as Smash Balls and the Dragoon. The game’s physics were also considerably “floatier” than Melee’s, which made matches slower-paced and granted a larger window for reaction. Of course, most of these problems (excluding tripping and the general physics) could be solved by simply switching off those stages and items (or all items) which proved unbalancing, but the specific customization necessary to accomplish this state of acceptable competitive play was cumbersome at best, and worse, impossible to replicate in online play.
Unfortunately, the game was not written to be patchable, and as such, corrections to any of these problems were impossible following its release. Although it received an overwhelmingly positive critical reception, its legacy was eventually dwarfed by Melee thanks to its unsuitability as a prospect for long-term competitive play amongst enthusiasts, which Melee continued to enjoy, even in spite of the latter’s introduction of various unintended game-breaking bugs like wave dashing (which were also patched in Brawl, much to the chagrin of those who felt they actually added to the experience).
Challenger approaching: Super Smash Bros for 3DS and Wii U
After six long years, the next entry in the Super Smash Bros. series is finally upon us, albeit split into two parts: one for 3DS and one for Wii U. Not only did the 3DS counterpart (released in September 2014) feature comparable amounts of content to Brawl, the gameplay revisions were enthusiastically received by the community: no longer was tripping a phenomenon, and the physics were more of a cross between Brawl and Melee, with a slight bit more floatiness than Melee, but far less than that of Brawl. Many have described it as “just right”.
While we won’t spend a massive amount of time recounting our thoughts of the 3DS game (seeing as we only just posted our review a couple of months ago), the changes made by this latest revision (both on 3DS and Wii U, though each version is different in terms of content) are of central importance to this review. In short, it’s clear that Nintendo has been listening to the fanbase’s criticisms of Brawl, as Super Smash Bros. for 3DS and Wii U corrects nearly all of the major gripes affiliated with it.
Overview of Content
First things first: in terms of breadth of content, this latest release is the biggest and baddest yet. The amount of content it contains is practically unfathomable, with the 3DS version alone boasting over six hundred trophies, hundreds of songs, and the same mind-boggling fifty characters as the Wii U version—including third-party newcomers Pac-Man and Mega Man (Solid Snake, meanwhile, is no longer included). While both versions of the game share the same characters, all but five stages are completely unique between them—and though the 3DS version only includes some 34 stages (seven fewer than Brawl), the Wii U installment trumps all previous entries with a massive 47.
The Wii U game also manages an as-yet-unknown number of trophies, but it’s certainly more than the 3DS installment, and far more than Brawl—as promised by Nintendo’s own promotional video for the game. The game also includes nearly all of the songs found in Brawl, plus tons more—with a starting lineup of some 300-something tunes, and hundreds more unlockable from there (again, via CDs, though this time they’re normally acquired as rewards for playing some of the various game modes and trials). Like Brawl, it’s possible to adjust the frequency with which each song plays on each level in the My Music menu. It’s the first clue to just how infinitely customizable the game actually is.
Game Modes – Existing Modes
The various modes which are available are largely similar to that of Brawl (and SSB for 3DS). Here’s what’s returning from previous games:
- Smash – Conventional Smash. Submodes include:
- Smash – With all of the usual adjustable rules, including—yes—Stage Switch, Item Switch, and Item Frequency
- Special Smash – Stamina, Size, Head, Body, Status, Gravity, Speed, and Camera are adjustable here
- 8-Player Smash – Yep, 8 players. Naturally, a combination of GameCube controllers and other controllers is needed to achieve 8 human players (as only up to 4 GCN controllers are supported), though four players can easily take on four CPUs as well.
- All-Star Mode – Now playable with one or two players co-op!
- Events – 51 Events total, with 21 co-op events in addition. This mode also retains Brawl’s idea of difficulty selection per Event Match (Easy/Medium/Hard), as well as the insistence of preselected characters for most matches.
- Classic – Also playable with one or two players co-op. The new Classic Mode is well-designed and quite similar in spirit to that of the 3DS, though presentationally it is different. The “map” on the Wii U version is a flat game board, where players move their piece to a chosen group of characters (set atop a visible indicator of which stage on which the battle will occur). The different groups also visibly feature specific reward bonuses, such as trophy icons or special parts (which we’ll cover later on in our review). At times, Intruders invade the scenario and alter the selected battle after selection. Other times, only one scenario is selectable. After the first five rounds, players face a Fighting Mii Team battle (with eight players simultaneously), after which they go on to face the final boss, which changes depending on the difficulty level selected.
On lower difficulties, this final battle is simply Master Hand. Higher up it becomes Master Hand and Crazy Hand. Further on this is followed by a battle with Master Core, which evolves via multi-stage battles depending on the difficulty with even greater granularity. And finally, at the highest of difficulties on single-player only, the Master Core match is followed by one final challenge: Master Fortress, which is a somewhat brief romp through a challenging platforming/action field where players must defeat enemies and destroy targets known as the master hearts to dispose of the monster once and for all.
Speaking of which, the difficult selection remains the same as that of the 3DS version: that is, it’s once again the novel concept introduced in Sakurai’s Kid Icarus: Uprising game, where players bid coins to attempt higher difficulties (ranging from 0.0 to 9.0), with ever-increasing rewards accompanying them. If you lose, you also lose some of the prizes you’ve collected thus far, and you’re forced to endure a difficulty drop of 0.5, which, of course, also reduces the future rewards you’ll receive during this session. It’s a clever risk/reward design which encourages attempts at higher challenges but still rewards those (with infinite continues) who can’t quite cut it.
- Stadium – Now playable with either one or two-players co-op. Submodes include:
- Target Blast – This is different from previous games in that, rather than navigating a predefined course tailored to each unique character in an effort to break the targets as quickly as possible, you’re instead launching a bomb into one of three total unique playing fields in an effort to break as many targets as possible in two attempts. The damage done to the bomb affects its distance and trajectory, much like in Home-Run Contest. The timing affects when the bomb will explode, as it counts down from ten seconds. Personally, we prefer the older version of Break the Targets, as the uniqueness of each stage and the potential for strategic improvements to each run made it enticing for competitive or online play. Nevertheless, it’s merely a supplement feature which in either event is unlikely to become a central focus for players.
- Multi-Man Smash – Including 10-Man Smash, 100-Man Smash, 3-Minute Smash, Rival Smash, Endless Smash, and Cruel Smash.
- Home-Run Contest – The same as we know it from previous installments.
- Training – Not so much a mode as a feature, it’s still appreciated to help learn the various moves and damage coefficients.
- Stage Builder – Missing from Super Smash Bros. for 3DS, this new version of the Stage Builder is superior to Brawl’s in that it allows you to actually draw the platforms on the GamePad. However, it also seems to include far fewer hazards and other elements (we’ve yet to unlock Special Parts for placement in the custom stages, and it doesn’t look like they’re available). Eventually it will be possible to share custom stages online and search amongst other created ones for download. For now, it remains a fairly basic feature with not much utility.
- Options – Controls, Sound, Internet Options, and My Music
- Vault – Basically the hub for all collectible items and saved data. Included:
- Trophies – Here, you’ll find yet another submenu with your Gallery, Hoard, a Shop where random trophies can be purchased for coins, and Trophy Rush (playable by one or two players co-op), where players can break falling boxes and avoid hazards such as bombs and electrical bursts to try and collect trophy blocks and custom parts blocks, which in the end are tallied and converted to random trophies and parts. The duration of the Trophy Rush is correlated with how many coins you pay in admission; for instance, up to 900 coins can be paid for a Trophy Rush session of 2 minutes and 30 seconds.
- Replays
- Album – Here, you’ll find in-game snapshots (saved to the SD card) and can even annotate them, paint on them, and organize them into albums.
- Movies – A collection of all the in-game CG movies you’ve encountered, as well as promotional movies for SSB4.
- Sounds – A list of all the songs (and voices) you’ve unlocked so far in the game. The songs can be played at random, in sequence, or on repeat. You can even favorite the ones you like the most and only play a list of those if you choose.
- Records – Within, yet another submenu containing Fighter Records, Stats, and Milestones.
- Tips – View an endless sequence of random tips exploring SSB4’s features, secrets, and tidbits of gaming history.
- Masterpieces – Collect and play timed (5 minutes or less) versions of the original classic games that spawned the characters featured in SSB4.
Game Modes – New Modes
While most of the modes are still intact, there are a few important differences. Subspace Emissary is completely absent, along with any sort of adventure mode at all in fact. Sakurai decided late in development to scrap the idea of an adventure mode in favor of fleshing out the rest of the content, and we can’t say that we disagree with that decision. While Super Smash Bros. for 3DS included the Smash Run mode which was indeed fun as a distraction (and primarily for sake of unlocking the game’s massive amount of hidden content), SSB for Wii U is missing that mode in exchange for Special Orders, which includes two additional varieties of challenge modes: Master Orders and Crazy Orders.
Master Orders / Crazy Orders
In the former, you’re given the option to pay-to-participate in one of three randomly-generated challenge scenarios, such as (for instance) a Tiny Battle with five other characters, all of whom have a life-sucking flower on their head, or a Home Run Contest goal of 1500 feet or more with Wario. Winning earns you the prizes hinted at on the “ticket” you select, whereas losing earns you nothing. The latter builds on this concept by providing players with 10 minutes to play as many challenges as they can. Damage to your character is cumulative between matches (though a small amount is healed in between), with another twist: the total amount of damage you take across all battles is used to determine your HP for a final battle against the boss Crazy Hand when you finally decide to wrap things up. Each Crazy Orders attempt is quite pricey: 5000 coins or one Crazy Orders Ticket (the latter of which are actually fairly easy to come by via playing other game modes—thus, it’s rarely worth ponying up the cash).
These modes are both fun and worth the inclusion. They’re mostly for quick and random attempts at rewards, even if they can be at times frustrating (especially Crazy Orders thanks to the sacrifices involved if you lose)—largely because it’s possible at times to lose simply due to a poorly-timed item being made available to a CPU opponent or a stage hazard which didn’t go your way (more on this later in the review).
Smash Tour
This is a board game of sorts where players roll the dice on one of three game boards (Small, Medium, and Large) for a set number of turns, collect characters scattered around the board as well as power-ups (similar to those found in the 3DS Smash Run), and take part in battles each time a player encounters another. All players participate in these battles regardless of which players cross paths. There are also items that can be “used” (trophies, in particular) to produce additional effects both on the game board and during battles. The ultimate goal is to collect the most buffs and as many characters as possible for use in one final Smash free-for-all at the end of the game. This final battle is also timed, however, so that adds another element of strategy to the equation.
Cool as it might seem as an excuse to play a bunch of predetermined battles with friends, my fellow editors and I just had a lot of trouble wrapping our heads around the flow of Smash Tour. Ultimately (as one might expect given the board game/Mario Party-esque overtones), the entire experience just feels very chaotic and far too influenced by sheer luck to be truly meaningful.
Custom (Characters)
It began in Brawl as a customization/progression layer via the use of stickers to boost your character’s skills in The Subspace Emissary, but in SSB4, this feature has been reworked yet again and extended to most every game mode (though it doesn’t serve much of a purpose in competitive play). Now, as opposed to collecting stickers and arranging them on trophy bases, you’re merely selecting one of a number of available custom slots for each individual fighter and applying three total pieces of equipment to them—some which boost Attack (but lower Defense), others which Boost Defense (but lower Speed), and finally, some which boost Speed (but lower Attack). The effects are always net positive, so no combination of equipment should ever make you overall worse—however, balance is generally a good practice, as having all speed and attack makes you incredibly vulnerable in the realm of defense. Plus, a bevy of different items featuring bonus effects (including some which are negative) also are available, further complicating matters.
These items are received as rewards when playing any of the game’s primary modes (other than vanilla Smash), and most of them bear unique names. Character-specific items also exist, such that only particular characters or character classes can equip them.
Another form of rewards is also available which applies to the Custom feature, and that’s character moves. Yep—not only can you add three pieces of custom equipment to each character in SSB4, you can even alter their special moves. In fact, each and every special move (four per character) features three different unlockable options, meaning you can choose from up to 12 different special moves for every single character in the game. Some of these are just minor modifications, but others are pretty cool: for instance, you’ll find stuff like other Robot Master powers available for Mega Man (such as Shadow Man’s Shadow Blade or Skull Man’s Skull Shield), which is awesome.
Custom (Mii Fighters)
Want even more customization? In this section, pick a Mii and select a Fighter Type of your choice: Brawler, Swordfighter, or Gunner. Each individual type features twelve different selectable special moves to choose from as well, all of which are unlocked from the start. You can next assign equipment pieces from any class to the character. It’s basically a blank canvas upon which you can choose your style and layer your very best equipment.
After this, you’ll be able to choose from a large assortment of (unlockable) headgear and full-body outfits, most of which are honestly pretty cool (and amusing), such as the Chain Chomp headwear or the Dragon Armor. It’s not merely reskinned—it’s pretty well-rendered stuff!
Obviously as with custom characters, Mii Fighters don’t have much place in competitive play. Nevertheless, it’s a fun addition to single-player and co-op gameplay, and one which, along with the equipment and move customizations for regular characters, serves as a self-regulating difficulty adjustment for those who find some of the CPU battles too challenging otherwise. Over time, with the acquisition of new equipment and unlockable moves, the game can be made progressively less difficult as a result, at no sacrifice to the player.
amiibo
This mode (well, option anyway) allows you to place one of the available amiibo figurines (sold separately) on top of the Wii U GamePad to customize the character it represents. The amiibo characters can be “fed” excess equipment that you decide you won’t need for customizing the fighters in your game, and each piece boosts their stats slightly. The stats and customizations are actually storn in the amiibo itself, so simply carrying the figurine with you also carries with it all its affiliated bonuses. There’s a fun element of strategy and development involved, though we fear that the RPG-like appeal of the amiibo in Super Smash Bros. is likely to be quickly dwarfed by the yearning for fighter balance by competitive types.
Still, we’d be lying if we told you we didn’t want them… all of them. The figures are really cool-looking, boasting a Skylanders-like quality that makes them fun to own for vanity alone.
Online
As of 11/19, the online component of Super Smash Bros. for Wii U has yet to launch. Forthcoming is a patch (scheduled for 11/20) which will enable this functionality, after which point we can reevaluate it if it is warranted. However, it’s likely safe to assume that it will be at least as functional as that of the 3DS game, and at least at this point, we’ve found that to be quite smooth indeed. Other bonuses which are not found in the 3DS version of the game include voice chat between battles (amongst friends). Nintendo has also promised online tournaments at some point down the road, though we’re not sure when we’ll see the first of those just yet.
And that’s not all
As for everything else—where to begin? Super Smash Bros. 4 (SSB4), as we’ll call it, addresses nearly every major complaint that the previous games endured (Brawl especially). We’ve already mentioned the physics and the lack of tripping. Apart from that, there’s the control issue: both Brawl and the 3DS version of the game had to cope with the available hardware of the day, and both were arguably inadequate in comparison to the benchmark that was Melee and its GameCube controller. What can be done about this? How about release a GameCube Controller Adapter for $20 that accommodates up four controllers, along with all-new GameCube controllers specifically branded for Smash?
What about the balancing problems? No game is perfectly balanced out of the gate regardless of the amount of testing that’s gone into it, and fortunately, Nintendo recognizes this, however belatedly. SSB4 is fully patchable, and in fact, it’s already received one patch pre-release (and will receive another the day before release to enable online functionality). Having said that, the game also reaps the benefits of the nearly two months of “beta testing” of the roster by the general public on the 3DS version, which has been out (and patched three times!) since September.
The squabble over variables
Plenty of complaints have been logged about the disruptive nature of the stages in the Super Smash Bros. games—especially since Brawl’s release, which saw a sharp increase in just such stages. The argument is that people prefer to be beaten by other players, not by the incidental hazards of a stage where the battle is taking place. But while it’s true that too much incidental interference can be a frustration, there are different schools of thought to address here.
Yes, for unadulterated skill-based competitions, it’s best to eliminate as many variables as possible which could come in between the participants. After all, for a display of pure skill, the best hypothetical scenario would be one where absolutely zero variables exist—perhaps even to the point where both players are forced to choose the same character, since imbalances between the various characters also inevitably exist.
But the reality is that perfect tests of skill aren’t always perfect formulas for entertainment. For an ideal example, consider Mario Kart. Very few people who’ve spent time with the game will argue that Mario Kart 8 would somehow be better without the items or the track hazards that racers are forced to avoid—yet those very items are the greatest detriments to balanced, skill-based competitive racing that exist in the game.
Now, it’s true that Mario Kart 8—for as fun as it is to compete online against other seasoned racers—could hardly qualify as a tournament-level competitive gaming experience. But most would agree that in spite of this, skill generally prevails in its design, and most importantly, the game is tons of fun.
In many ways, this same formula applies to Super Smash Bros for Wii U, which relies on the same sort of extraneous circumstances to spice up otherwise relatively rigid versus matches. It isn’t the fact that these circumstances are not 100% skill-based or within the locus of the player’s control that’s important; instead, what matters is that players accept the hand they’re dealt and deal with it to make the most of the situation. Although there are certainly a handful of items and stages in Super Smash Bros. which are perhaps a bit too disruptive to accommodate long-term skill-based play, for the most part, the trials imposed by such unpredictable or inconvenient complexities are largely avoidable by the experienced player. Especially during three- and four-player time matches (where stock preservation is not the primary incentive and the level of chaos is a bit higher than in far more structured one-on-one matches), the allowance of such across-the-board random wrinkles in the formula can actually be really enjoyable if all players release their inhibitions and learn to just deal with it.
For those who can’t, however, Super Smash Bros. has you covered, too. Sakurai no doubt is well aware of the “elite” group of Smash diehards who eventually refused to participate on any stage other than Final Destination, thanks solely to the fact that it’s completely flat and devoid of any hazards whatsoever. It’s just a single plane with two edges on the far ends: the perfect opportunity for any expert to demonstrate absolute dominance over another, less experienced player. Okay then: for those who fall into this camp, every stage is now Final Destination thanks to the addition of Omega (Ω) versions. These Ω stages still take place in their original environments, complete with the artwork specific to the conventional stage after which they’re modeled, as well as the music selections. But they’re completely flat, without any sort of interference whatsoever. The few differences that do exist from one Ω stage to the next essentially boil down to the design of the edges of the platform; some feature walls which extend down into the abyss, while others have curved or angled borders which affect a player’s ability to recover.
This way, even those who refuse to play Smash the way it’s intended for multiplayer entertainment can still be brought to step outside of the confines of Final Destination and enjoy some additional scenery and musical selections from time to time. As for the existence of items, well, the inclusion of the Item Switch and Frequency adjustments provide all the necessary control to appease anyone regardless of their philosophy.
The same sort of recognition has extended to the game’s online mode, where the two different forms of play are For Fun and For Glory. We’ve covered this already in our 3DS review, but the gist of the idea is that for people who care less about competition and more about enjoyment, For Fun is perfect: it leaves the rules of the game untouched, with all items and stages available for use. For the more serious bunch, however, For Glory provides an opportunity to easily locate opponents online who are like-minded about the need for the absence of variables which could interfere with the existence of a fair and balanced match.
The one and only area where this inbuilt dichotomy of fundamentals fails to suffice is in that of CPU-based trials—whether in Master Orders or Crazy Orders, Classic Mode, or Event Mode. It is throughout the later challenges in these modes where skill is frequently tested to its limits, and in such situations, there is nothing more frustrating than witnessing a Smash Ball pop up in front of your opponent or a legendary Pokémon emerge from a Pokéball, only to lose the match. When the stakes are particularly high, such as is the case in higher Classic Mode difficulties or the later stages of a Crazy Orders session, this just feels unfair. Fortunately, these modes are merely supplemental to the core experience of Smash: that is, human versus human multiplayer, whether online or local. So although it’s definitely not a consistently optimal experience when playing against CPUs, it’s hardly a game-breaking phenomenon.
Let’s face it: fighting games, no matter what their composition, are better when played with friends.
Presentation and Final Thoughts
Bursting at the seams with what could possibly be the most extensive soundtrack ever in a videogame, Super Smash Bros. for Wii U certainly is not left wanting in the realm of musical quantity. But what about quality? Fortunately, even though many of them are original versions of the songs directly lifted from their respective games, the various selections consistently impress both in terms of their nostalgia and their compositional prowess. Thanks to the fact that most stages have around a dozen different songs to choose from affiliated with them, you’re unlikely to ever tire of the aural accompaniment associated with your smash sessions, too. And if you hate a song, no sweat: just turn it off or reduce its frequency of selection in the My Music options. It’s literally an audiophile’s dream.
New arrangements are generally of good quality as well, though only a fraction of them include live instrumentation, which is perhaps a bit disappointing. It’s mostly guitar anyway when the opportunity arises, but it’s appreciated where applied nonetheless. Some serious bright spots do exist, starting with a few of the Mega Man arrangements and extending through Mario Kart 7’s Mario Circuit and—of all things—the Wii Fit Skateboarding Arena arrangement. The list of participating composers is only slightly less impressive than that of Brawl, so if you’re a fan of game music, you’re definitely in for a treat.
Graphically, the game is drop-dead gorgeous, and nearly perfectly fluid, too. From foreground to background, the level of detail involved is as stunning, character models are literally flawless, and the animation involved communicates perfectly the personality of each individual fighter. If you don’t think HD Nintendo IPs are an exciting prospect, just spend a few moments playing on the Super Mario Galaxy level and see if your mind changes.
The only criticisms one could levy in this department center on occasional hiccups, load times (which can be excessive in our pre-release version of the game—up to 10 seconds at times), and a general lack of new live orchestra musical arrangements (which Melee provided in droves). The hiccups we’re referring to were only present in matches (seemingly) where lots of character models were loaded sequentially, such as ones where players battles many different characters back-to-back. The action would pause for a moment and then quickly pick up again after the next character appeared. This was rare, however, and although disconcerting, it’s likely patchable, and it probably does not affect multiplayer in any capacity. Regarding load times, the bigger issue is not so much the length of the longer load times, but rather their frequency and placement. For instance, we often ran into long waits (with just a black screen) after failing a 10-second attempt at a Master Orders ticket or returning to the fighter select screen in-between Stadium games. It should never take that long to retry a challenge or reach the results screen, as it just makes a frustrating loss that much more difficult to endure.
Final Thoughts
There are infinite ways to dissect this latest Super Smash Bros. release, and surely a menagerie of opinions will be tendered exploring the inevitable design adjustments coming away from Brawl. But to distill it all down into a cohesive thought, this much is inarguable: Super Smash Bros. for Wii U is massive, ambitious, and absolutely a masterpiece. It isn’t perfect, and—as is the case with any online, highly popular, competitive game—any unseen flaws will most certainly come to light soon enough as the Smash community puts the code through its millionth hour of real-world testing. But for now, it is safe to say that what matters most has been addressed by Nintendo, Bandai Namco, and its team of tireless developers. This is without a doubt the best Super Smash Bros. game yet, and if you own a Wii U, it undoubtedly deserves a spot in your library.