Nintendo’s new ‘Super Smash Bros.’ on the 3DS lands a solid hit
With files and review from Jon Hall
The ‘Final Destination’ stage has never looked so terrifying. (Smashboards)
The first time I played Super Smash Bros was shortly after its release in 1999, at a birthday party. There was something immensely satisfying about watching Samus beat the absolute crap out of Link, Mario and Pikachu. It’s incredibly likely the game settled all sorts of bets between middle-schoolers across North America.
There have been a couple more games since then.
To put it lightly, the new Smash Bros. (Released Oct. 3rd on the 3DS, coming December to WiiU) kicks an inordinate amount of ass. In all the hours I’ve put in since release day (more than 8, according to the achievement I just unlocked) I’ve only seen two instances of slow-down on the handheld, and there was so much crap going on at once I’m amazed it didn’t just lock up.
The character roster is huge. Of the 49 fighters, new additions like Pac-Man (… from Pac Man) might seem a bit crazy at first, but they all play great and I’d forgotten just how hilarious 3D Pac-Man looked.
Big news for fans was adding Mega Man. The Blue Bomber has had incredibly vocal fans on the internet making the case to include their hero since the first game, and it seems Capcom deemed Smash Bros. popular enough to share their second oldest franchise.
There have been no DLC announcements for new fighters or stages yet. Nintendo’s latest additional content schemes have been quite reasonable. Mario Kart 8’s two offerings are $8 each, with each one offering 8 new tracks – Or you can pay $12 for both.
What happens when you link the 3DS game with the WiiU version isn’t entirely clear yet. There is a custom fighter creator, and both titles have battle stages unique to their platforms – whether or not it will unlock stages from the other version remains to be seen.
Nintendo seems to be acknowledging the growing popularity of esports, offering both casual and ranked battles. The competitive fighter scene typically uses the Gamecube release, or a fan-patched version of the Wii sequel (Which is technically illegal). Having a new game that conforms to competitive requirements would help.
I’ll have a hard time pulling myself away from this one, especially since at least one other member of Link Magazine owns a copy – Maybe we’ll have to settle any future disputes with Smash.
(9/10 Nintendo 3DS)
Check out the trailer below!
Ria Renouf is an Associate Editor for BCIT’s Link Magazine. A second-year Broadcasting student, she’ll report on anything; her first loves, however, are movies, music, gaming and technology. Outside of BCIT she reads many books and cheers for the Vancouver Canucks and Seattle Seahawks. She also aspires to be a new generation’s Tintin, and does so by reporting for radio station CKNW News Talk 980AM’s news desk.
