Re: Super Smash Bros.: Wii U / 3DS
Posted: Sat Oct 04, 2014 11:27 am
So here's my first day thoughts.
First couple things I noticed. Tripping is no longer a thing (thank god) but neither is gliding. As a result, Meta Knight's recovery is reduced considerably (though it's still good thanks to multiple jumps and his specials), with Charizard's being cut considerably more.
The Miis are kind of a disappointment, but they're still cool. Brawler handles like Mario/Captain Falcon, Swordsman plays like Link, while Gunner is clearly Samus. Many of their selectable moves are just copies of the main character's moves, which gives them a bit of a mix-and-match feel. For example Brawler's standard special gives you a choice between a Shotput throw, which is similar to Mario's Fireball, a charge-up punch like Donkey Kong, and an Explosive Kick which is just a Falcon Punch with your foot. Despite the fact that nearly all of their specials are copied moves, the ability to make your own character is there and it's still a cool feature. My personal Mii is a Brawler and I'm doing pretty well with him. Miis can't be used in online play "with anyone", likely for the fact that they're just mish-mashes of everyone else. They can be used in "with friends" modes.
Pertaining to stages, I find myself playing Omega layouts more often than the standard layouts because many stages are annoying to deal with. Some particularly bad stages layout wise are the Paper Mario stage, especially the Bowser's Castle layout, and the Nintendogs stage with those damn falling blocks. I was also severely disappointed with the Wily Castle stage, only because the Yellow Devil spawns too frequently and generally takes up the entire stage when he's in play. Unlike the demo, playing in the Omega layout won't disable items unless you disable items in Item Switch. Some Omega stages have space beneath the main platform, such as Rainbow Road and Corneria; in these stages the Hothead and Bombchu items become much more dangerous as missing doesn't get rid of them.
Music is awesome as always. The Sparkman Stage theme is an instant favorite. N's Castle a great composition as well as the Rainbow Road Melody (bonus points for including Super Circuit's Rainbow Road theme). There are a couple stages where more than two tracks can play, contrary to previous statements from the development team; Wily's Castle has played at least three different themes for me.
Online play. God damnit Nintendo you had eight years to fix this. It's just as laggy and choppy as ever and there's noticable input delay unreleated to the lag. I honestly hope the lag I was experiencing was people connecting through toasters or from some place on the other side of the planet. Other than that, it's still no different except for a 2v2 mode. I haven't tried the Glory mode yet, but it's no-items-final-destination so you can figure how that goes, though it does have options for 1v1 and 2v2 matches in addition to the free-for-all.
Classic's fun. The difficulty slider is exactly the same as Kid Icarus' Fiend's Cauldron, even the difficulty names. Classic gives you the option of choosing a path for each stage. They're color-coded based on their difficulty; blue is easy, green is normal, red is harder. The harder routes will give you more coins and bonuses after the match, so if you want to clean house you need to play the red stages. Before each stage a slot wheel spins and you stop it. What it stops on will be what you get when you win the match, be it trophies, customizations, or more coins. If you game over you lose some of the loot you've won already and you don't get to keep anything until you beat the Master Hand at the end.
Multi-Man Melee is mostly unchanged, though the polygons are now random Mii Fighters generated from the Miis you have saved in your system. Items also no longer spawn in play, instead they are delivered via platform above the stage. Which means no more accidentally screwing yourself by a bad Smart Bomb spawn. 15-minute mode is gone, in it's place is a Rival mode where a CPU controlled player playing as the same character as you is competing for kills. The game goes until you fall and your final score is the number you killed minus the number your rival killed. Cruel Melee is also back, play at your own risk. Home-Run Contest is unchanged, though long launches are now sped up. Target Smash is comparable to Angry Birds, launch the bomb and see how much carnage you can do with it.
Smash Run is pretty cool. It's not quite adventure mode, but it's still fun to beat up monsters from across the Nintendo-verse (with some Dig Dug, Metools, and Egg Robos for good measure). You kill the monsters and collect their powerups, making you stronger. At the end of five minutes, everyone involved plays a final match which can range from a free-for-all, a race, a Multi-Man-Melee battle, or just killing more monsters. There are also other prizes to earn through Smash Run; trophies, customization, and extra powers for Smash Run. Powers for Smash Run give you options to provide an edge, such as a free heal, on-demand strength upgrades, or items to use whenever. Each item has a weight and the amount of items you can carry is determined by each character's weight class; the heavier and slower a character is the more they can bring.
Overall, there's a lot to do and keep entertained. It's a great addition to the series and it's already shaping up to be better than Brawl (minus Subspace Emissary), but I don't think it will quite hold a candle to Melee, nothing ever will.
First couple things I noticed. Tripping is no longer a thing (thank god) but neither is gliding. As a result, Meta Knight's recovery is reduced considerably (though it's still good thanks to multiple jumps and his specials), with Charizard's being cut considerably more.
The Miis are kind of a disappointment, but they're still cool. Brawler handles like Mario/Captain Falcon, Swordsman plays like Link, while Gunner is clearly Samus. Many of their selectable moves are just copies of the main character's moves, which gives them a bit of a mix-and-match feel. For example Brawler's standard special gives you a choice between a Shotput throw, which is similar to Mario's Fireball, a charge-up punch like Donkey Kong, and an Explosive Kick which is just a Falcon Punch with your foot. Despite the fact that nearly all of their specials are copied moves, the ability to make your own character is there and it's still a cool feature. My personal Mii is a Brawler and I'm doing pretty well with him. Miis can't be used in online play "with anyone", likely for the fact that they're just mish-mashes of everyone else. They can be used in "with friends" modes.
Pertaining to stages, I find myself playing Omega layouts more often than the standard layouts because many stages are annoying to deal with. Some particularly bad stages layout wise are the Paper Mario stage, especially the Bowser's Castle layout, and the Nintendogs stage with those damn falling blocks. I was also severely disappointed with the Wily Castle stage, only because the Yellow Devil spawns too frequently and generally takes up the entire stage when he's in play. Unlike the demo, playing in the Omega layout won't disable items unless you disable items in Item Switch. Some Omega stages have space beneath the main platform, such as Rainbow Road and Corneria; in these stages the Hothead and Bombchu items become much more dangerous as missing doesn't get rid of them.
Music is awesome as always. The Sparkman Stage theme is an instant favorite. N's Castle a great composition as well as the Rainbow Road Melody (bonus points for including Super Circuit's Rainbow Road theme). There are a couple stages where more than two tracks can play, contrary to previous statements from the development team; Wily's Castle has played at least three different themes for me.
Online play. God damnit Nintendo you had eight years to fix this. It's just as laggy and choppy as ever and there's noticable input delay unreleated to the lag. I honestly hope the lag I was experiencing was people connecting through toasters or from some place on the other side of the planet. Other than that, it's still no different except for a 2v2 mode. I haven't tried the Glory mode yet, but it's no-items-final-destination so you can figure how that goes, though it does have options for 1v1 and 2v2 matches in addition to the free-for-all.
Classic's fun. The difficulty slider is exactly the same as Kid Icarus' Fiend's Cauldron, even the difficulty names. Classic gives you the option of choosing a path for each stage. They're color-coded based on their difficulty; blue is easy, green is normal, red is harder. The harder routes will give you more coins and bonuses after the match, so if you want to clean house you need to play the red stages. Before each stage a slot wheel spins and you stop it. What it stops on will be what you get when you win the match, be it trophies, customizations, or more coins. If you game over you lose some of the loot you've won already and you don't get to keep anything until you beat the Master Hand at the end.
Multi-Man Melee is mostly unchanged, though the polygons are now random Mii Fighters generated from the Miis you have saved in your system. Items also no longer spawn in play, instead they are delivered via platform above the stage. Which means no more accidentally screwing yourself by a bad Smart Bomb spawn. 15-minute mode is gone, in it's place is a Rival mode where a CPU controlled player playing as the same character as you is competing for kills. The game goes until you fall and your final score is the number you killed minus the number your rival killed. Cruel Melee is also back, play at your own risk. Home-Run Contest is unchanged, though long launches are now sped up. Target Smash is comparable to Angry Birds, launch the bomb and see how much carnage you can do with it.
Smash Run is pretty cool. It's not quite adventure mode, but it's still fun to beat up monsters from across the Nintendo-verse (with some Dig Dug, Metools, and Egg Robos for good measure). You kill the monsters and collect their powerups, making you stronger. At the end of five minutes, everyone involved plays a final match which can range from a free-for-all, a race, a Multi-Man-Melee battle, or just killing more monsters. There are also other prizes to earn through Smash Run; trophies, customization, and extra powers for Smash Run. Powers for Smash Run give you options to provide an edge, such as a free heal, on-demand strength upgrades, or items to use whenever. Each item has a weight and the amount of items you can carry is determined by each character's weight class; the heavier and slower a character is the more they can bring.
Overall, there's a lot to do and keep entertained. It's a great addition to the series and it's already shaping up to be better than Brawl (minus Subspace Emissary), but I don't think it will quite hold a candle to Melee, nothing ever will.