Super Smash Bros. for 3DS
Publisher: Nintendo Developer: Sora / Namco Bandai Platform: 3DS Players: 1 (Solo), 1-4 (Group), 2 or 4 (Online) Release: 2014 Genre: 2D Fighter / 2D Platformer Rating: 9.3 \ 10.0: Excellent
Above are four players battling on the Paper Mario stage.
I have been waiting quite awhile for a new Super Smash Bros. game. In fact, I listed "Too long a wait for the sequel!" as the only flaw of Super Smash Bros. Brawl., a game that I awarded a perfect score of 10.0. After years of waiting, my wish has been granted! I was very hyped for this game, but a little skeptical because HAL Laboratory was no longer the developer. Instead, those duties have been given to Sora and Namco Bandai. Sora is the developer of 3DS masterpiece Kid Icarus: Uprising, while Namco Bandai is behind the Tekken and SoulCaliber fighting series, as well as may other games both inside and out of the genre. Series creator Masahiro Sakurai is a member of Sora and is still the director, but who can't blame me for being a little nervous. Not surprisingly, the game ended up being incredible. The main modes of the Super Smash Bros. series are still present. Of course, you can still have a one-to-four player brawl, and customize the rules to your liking. Those who didn't think that four players was enough will be satisfied with the new limit of eight players! This can be accomplished by an owner of the Wii U version selecting the 8-Player Smash mode. One player can use the GamePad, up to four players use Wii Remotes, and you could even have eight 3DS users can link up to the Wii U mode. If eight players on one screen simultaneously isn't enough, than I don't know what is! Quite a few new characters are joining the brawl: Duck Hunt Dog (from Duck Hunt), Bowser Jr., the Koopalings, and Rosalina and Luma (from the Mario series), Robin and Lucina (from the Fire Emblem series), Palutena and Dark Pit (from the Kid Icarus series), Wii Fit Trainer (from the Wii Fit series), Shulk (from Xenoblade Chronicles), Greninja (from the Pokémon series), Little Mac (from the Punch Out series) and third-party characters Mega Man, Pac-Man, and Ryu from Street Fighter (who can be purchased as DLC. Returning from Super Smash Bros. Melee are Dr. Mario and Mewtwo, the latter of whom is available as DLC. Of course, there is a handful of new stages. The 3DS edition of the game includes stages based on Nintendo's handheld games that are not included in the other version. Some of the new battlegrounds are from 3DS titles, such as 3D Land (Super Mario 3D Land), Reset Bomb Fortress (Kid Icarus: Uprising), and Tomodachi Life (from the game of the same name). Exclusive to the 3DS version is the new Smash Run mode. In this mode, which can be played with three CPUs or with three friends over local wireless, you have five minutes to explore a large map and defeat enemies from nearly every franchise represented in Smash in order to acquire stat boosts. After your time is up, there will be an event that can be a free-for-all, a team battle, a race through an obstacle course, or something else. You're also able to choose what tracks from the game's vast library of music will play during the five minutes. I've become addicted to this mode, but it's a shame that it had to substitute the Adventure mode from the previous two games. The Subspace Emissary Adventure from Brawl was so good it could have been a great game on its own. Smash Run doesn't have as much depth and can get repetitive due to there being only one map, but it's still very fun. Another notable new feature is the ability to customize the abilities of any fighter. You can unlock new smash moves and substitute the default moves if you don't like them as much. Additionally, you can pick a set of powers to use in Smash Run. You are also able to apply stat-changing badges. Each badge increases a stat but in turn decreases another stat. Some badges also have special effects, like granting you a ray gun at the start of every battle. I like my fighters a little on the Bruiser (higher damage) side. In addition to being able to customize fighters, you are able to create your own Mii Fighter. When you create a Mii Fighter, you are able to choose from three classes: Brawler, who's attacks are primarily melee-based; Swordfighter, who combines sword attacks with some medium-ranged weapons; and Gunner, who's attacks are all projectile-based. You are able to unlock clothes for your fighter, some of it Nintendo-themed. If you think Toads from Mario are adorable (and who doesn't?), then it is possible to have a mushroom cap and look as adorable as a Toad... kinda. All of the single-player modes, including All-Star and Classic modes remain in the game. All-Star's concept of defeating every fighter in the game without dying remains untouched. Classic mode, in which you face a series of battles concluding with a duel with Master Hand, has been changed. Rather than completing a predetermined series of fights, you are able to choose your path. Additionally, you are now given two lives per fight rather than five to use throughout the entire series of skirmishes. Another change to classic mode is the 0.0-to-9.0 difficulty wagering scale that is heavily inspired by the Fiend's Cauldron from Kid Icarus: Uprising. You are now able to purchase Nintendo-themed trophies, using either in-game coins or Play Coins. Super Smash Bros. Brawl added online features. However, you were only able to do a free-for-all. You now have a lot more freedom. You are able to fight For Fun, in which you can battle with items and no stats are recorded; or For Glory, in which there are no items, stats are recorded, and you must play on the flat Final Destination-inspired Omega variants of stages. The online mode suffers from occasional lag, but not enough to be annoying. The main letdown of this game is that while there is a tremendous deal of content, one of the only major addition is a new mode, one which replaced a better mode, at that. It's also disappointing that this game features no animated intro like the last two titles. Equally disappointing is how much harder it is to play with pals. Sure, you can still have extremely fun four-player brawls with your friends, but they all need to bring a 3DS with a copy of the game-- no more pick up and play. My final quibble addresses the underwhelming 3D effects. The game looks smoother in 3D, but I was expecting my rival's faces to pop out when they were sent hurtling into the front of the screen by a Bob-Omb. The flaws keep this game from being perfect like Brawl, Super Smash Bros. is still an incredible game that any 3DS owner or Nintendo fan should add to their library, no questions asked.
Ups
Tons of new characters and stages
New Smash Run mode
Fighters can be customized with new moves and badges
Finally, Mii Fighters, and you can dress them up!
Trophies can be purchased
More diverse online options
It's Super Smash Bros. What do you expect?
Downs
No Adventure mode or animated intro
Occasional online lag
Lack of major additions
Less accessible local play
Underwhelming 3D effects
ESRB: E 10+ Content: Cartoon Violence, Comic Mischief, and Mild Suggestive Themes Price: $39.99 (Retail / Download)
Above are four players battling on the Paper Mario stage.
I have been waiting quite awhile for a new Super Smash Bros. game. In fact, I listed "Too long a wait for the sequel!" as the only flaw of Super Smash Bros. Brawl., a game that I awarded a perfect score of 10.0. After years of waiting, my wish has been granted! I was very hyped for this game, but a little skeptical because HAL Laboratory was no longer the developer. Instead, those duties have been given to Sora and Namco Bandai. Sora is the developer of 3DS masterpiece Kid Icarus: Uprising, while Namco Bandai is behind the Tekken and SoulCaliber fighting series, as well as may other games both inside and out of the genre. Series creator Masahiro Sakurai is a member of Sora and is still the director, but who can't blame me for being a little nervous. Not surprisingly, the game ended up being incredible. The main modes of the Super Smash Bros. series are still present. Of course, you can still have a one-to-four player brawl, and customize the rules to your liking. Those who didn't think that four players was enough will be satisfied with the new limit of eight players! This can be accomplished by an owner of the Wii U version selecting the 8-Player Smash mode. One player can use the GamePad, up to four players use Wii Remotes, and you could even have eight 3DS users can link up to the Wii U mode. If eight players on one screen simultaneously isn't enough, than I don't know what is! Quite a few new characters are joining the brawl: Duck Hunt Dog (from Duck Hunt), Bowser Jr., the Koopalings, and Rosalina and Luma (from the Mario series), Robin and Lucina (from the Fire Emblem series), Palutena and Dark Pit (from the Kid Icarus series), Wii Fit Trainer (from the Wii Fit series), Shulk (from Xenoblade Chronicles), Greninja (from the Pokémon series), Little Mac (from the Punch Out series) and third-party characters Mega Man, Pac-Man, and Ryu from Street Fighter (who can be purchased as DLC. Returning from Super Smash Bros. Melee are Dr. Mario and Mewtwo, the latter of whom is available as DLC. Of course, there is a handful of new stages. The 3DS edition of the game includes stages based on Nintendo's handheld games that are not included in the other version. Some of the new battlegrounds are from 3DS titles, such as 3D Land (Super Mario 3D Land), Reset Bomb Fortress (Kid Icarus: Uprising), and Tomodachi Life (from the game of the same name). Exclusive to the 3DS version is the new Smash Run mode. In this mode, which can be played with three CPUs or with three friends over local wireless, you have five minutes to explore a large map and defeat enemies from nearly every franchise represented in Smash in order to acquire stat boosts. After your time is up, there will be an event that can be a free-for-all, a team battle, a race through an obstacle course, or something else. You're also able to choose what tracks from the game's vast library of music will play during the five minutes. I've become addicted to this mode, but it's a shame that it had to substitute the Adventure mode from the previous two games. The Subspace Emissary Adventure from Brawl was so good it could have been a great game on its own. Smash Run doesn't have as much depth and can get repetitive due to there being only one map, but it's still very fun. Another notable new feature is the ability to customize the abilities of any fighter. You can unlock new smash moves and substitute the default moves if you don't like them as much. Additionally, you can pick a set of powers to use in Smash Run. You are also able to apply stat-changing badges. Each badge increases a stat but in turn decreases another stat. Some badges also have special effects, like granting you a ray gun at the start of every battle. I like my fighters a little on the Bruiser (higher damage) side. In addition to being able to customize fighters, you are able to create your own Mii Fighter. When you create a Mii Fighter, you are able to choose from three classes: Brawler, who's attacks are primarily melee-based; Swordfighter, who combines sword attacks with some medium-ranged weapons; and Gunner, who's attacks are all projectile-based. You are able to unlock clothes for your fighter, some of it Nintendo-themed. If you think Toads from Mario are adorable (and who doesn't?), then it is possible to have a mushroom cap and look as adorable as a Toad... kinda. All of the single-player modes, including All-Star and Classic modes remain in the game. All-Star's concept of defeating every fighter in the game without dying remains untouched. Classic mode, in which you face a series of battles concluding with a duel with Master Hand, has been changed. Rather than completing a predetermined series of fights, you are able to choose your path. Additionally, you are now given two lives per fight rather than five to use throughout the entire series of skirmishes. Another change to classic mode is the 0.0-to-9.0 difficulty wagering scale that is heavily inspired by the Fiend's Cauldron from Kid Icarus: Uprising. You are now able to purchase Nintendo-themed trophies, using either in-game coins or Play Coins. Super Smash Bros. Brawl added online features. However, you were only able to do a free-for-all. You now have a lot more freedom. You are able to fight For Fun, in which you can battle with items and no stats are recorded; or For Glory, in which there are no items, stats are recorded, and you must play on the flat Final Destination-inspired Omega variants of stages. The online mode suffers from occasional lag, but not enough to be annoying. The main letdown of this game is that while there is a tremendous deal of content, one of the only major addition is a new mode, one which replaced a better mode, at that. It's also disappointing that this game features no animated intro like the last two titles. Equally disappointing is how much harder it is to play with pals. Sure, you can still have extremely fun four-player brawls with your friends, but they all need to bring a 3DS with a copy of the game-- no more pick up and play. My final quibble addresses the underwhelming 3D effects. The game looks smoother in 3D, but I was expecting my rival's faces to pop out when they were sent hurtling into the front of the screen by a Bob-Omb. The flaws keep this game from being perfect like Brawl, Super Smash Bros. is still an incredible game that any 3DS owner or Nintendo fan should add to their library, no questions asked.
Ups
Tons of new characters and stages
New Smash Run mode
Fighters can be customized with new moves and badges
Finally, Mii Fighters, and you can dress them up!
Trophies can be purchased
More diverse online options
It's Super Smash Bros. What do you expect?
Downs
No Adventure mode or animated intro
Occasional online lag
Lack of major additions
Less accessible local play
Underwhelming 3D effects
ESRB: E 10+ Content: Cartoon Violence, Comic Mischief, and Mild Suggestive Themes Price: $39.99 (Retail / Download)
No comments:
Post a Comment